Future Focused

Here is a poster we created to show what we think future focused learning is. To the left we have painted, 'The Present' and on the right is, 'The Future'. 
lol from Team 5 PES on Vimeo.

Mini Tattoo Project

For our task we were to create two tattoo designs. The first one being a cultural one and the second being one that represented yourself. The presentation above includes the tattoos and an explanation for each I created. 

Year 8 Camp!

A few weeks ago, the year 8’s were lucky enough to go and camp at the Marsden Bay Christian Camp in Ruakaka. It was so much fun, I wish it had lasted longer! Over the four days we spent there, I got to enjoy relaxing, many activities and more.

Day 1 wasn’t that bad but it surely wasn’t my favourite. After taking a 2 hour bus drive, we stopped at Langs Bay and started our hike towards Waipu Cove. Ms Squires had planned what was supposed to be an easy walk, but due to the weather it wasn’t so. The track was not only slippery but very narrow which made it harder for everyone to avoid plummeting to their deaths. But luckily, everyone made it to the end.

For me, my favourite day was day 3. We did many different activities such as a fire pit cooking challenge, archery, a confidence course, frisbee golf and kayaking! Then to finish the night off, we all gathered around a campfire and sang songs.

But overall, my highlight from camp was probably spending time together as a whole year 8 group (instead of just our team groups). Also, getting to know other people that I don’t usually hang out with.

Tangle Explanation

A celtic knot is a piece of art that has been interwoven to create the illusion that it has no beginning or end. Having that class 1 and class 5 have combined (Panuba), this particular style of art is great as a collaborative project, as everyone can contribute with their own design.

It’s a great idea to do some planning and researching before you start draft-sketching. Look at different designs, patterns, colours and symbols you could include in your piece. But remember to include something that represents you.

Choosing only a few colours that contrast each other would be better than using a lot. Bright and bold colours will also make your artwork stand out more.

Placing all the pieces in the right place of the tangle can be quite confusing, so it's a good idea to label them. This way, it'll be easier to assemble the celtic knot.

Unique Games - Dandy Shandy

As part of our inquiry task, we are to find and research a unique and uncommon game that has originated from one of the countries participating in the Commonwealth Games. Tyla, my partner, and I have chosen a game called Dandy Shandy. We have struggled to find any real historic background, so therefore we assumed that it originated from Jamaica, having everything we came upon related back to it.

Storylines 2014

This Thursday, the extension group is heading to the Storyline's Festival at the Vodafone Events Centre. Similar to last year, we will be hearing from four New Zealand authors, Jill MacGregor, Juliette MacIver, Cath Mayo and Paula Green. Below is a short biography about each of the authors we will be seeing.

Jill MacGregor was born in Dunedin but currently lives on the Kapiti Coast. She was a VSA teacher in Tonga for two years. She has travelled throughout the Pacific Island exploring and experiencing the cultures and the village life. Her ‘Children Of The Pacific’ stories are based on her own experiences in the islands.

Juliette MacIver is an author of Children’s books, who grew up in Wellington and went to Victoria University. There, she completed a degree in linguistics then got a diploma in teaching English. When she was young, she always enjoyed writing but never really thought she would, ‘Be A Writer’.

Born in Auckland, Catherine Mayo writes novels for young adults. She is a musician and is apart of a band called Gentle Annie.

Paula Green lives with her husband on the West Coast of Auckland. She writes poets and Childrens stories. Including Flamingo Bendalingo and Macaroni Moon, she has published eight poetry collections.

My Mascot

During class, we were given the task to research and create our own mascot. We learnt about the past mascots, such as Shera the tiger from the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth. Then we had to draw our own mascot and write a background story. A mascot is something that is supposed to bring good luck to an event or organization. They can also be a representative for brands and other things. 

I have chosen to draw and make my mascot a sheep because of how common they are in New Zealand. His name is Waipounamu, meaning south. I have decided to name him this due to the popularity of sheep in the South Island of New Zealand. He has a silver fern going across his fluffy coat. 

Life Education Caravan - Marijuana

Being the age we are, our (Team 5's) visits to the Life Education Caravan were mainly focused on drugs and alcohol. We learnt about the effects it can have on people and listened to a few people who shared their own experience with drugs and alcohol. Many things were talked about and one of them was, Marijuana. I have decided to write a quick paragraph, highlighting some of the main things we learnt about it. 

Usually seen as a gateway drug, Marijuana can be easy to access, cheap and it can lead you into the web of addiction. ‘Once you start, its hard to stop.’ This drug is quite common and is referred to in a variety of ways, such as, weed, pot, herbs, tinnies, etc. The effect it can have on you, not only changes the way you think but also the way you look. It damages the brain and stops you from reaching your full potential.

Facts about Sounds

This term we are learning about sound and how it works. Along with a few of my friends, we made a short video that includes a few facts about sound.

Fun facts from Team 5 PES on Vimeo.

THANK YOU!

Last week Point England School was visited by a group of people from The Variety Club, MOTAT and Johnson and Johnson. They surprised the school with sacks full of presents wrapped up for each kid. Every one of us received a gift and for that we would like to thank them. Of course the presents were perfect as they were buying things for people they didn't even know. But I really appreciate how they took the time to buy us presents for Christmas.

We would like to say a humongous thank you for the presents. Once again I would like to thank The Variety Club, MOTAT and Johnson and Johnson for the great presents. I’m sure everyone will cherish and treasure their gifts given. This surprise definitely made someone’s day. My present was a memo board. THANK YOU!

I Wonder.....

I wonder....When was school invented? Our task was to create a movie answering a question that people may ask when doing everyday activities. Gloria and I created a movie that answered the question...When was school invented?


Extension I Wonder School from Team 5 PES on Vimeo.

Where is Chris?!

It was a sunny day and Danny, Emily and Chris decided to go camping at the beach. When they asked their mum she was shocked and instantly said NO. They had no idea why mum was so strict about this.

One night, they snuck out of the house with camping gear, hoping their trip would be worth the risk of getting in trouble, but they didn't know what they were in for. As they walked closer to the beach, more and more excitement grew. Suddenly, all in a flash the kids had reached the beach and realised something had gone wrong. Someone was missing.

Chris must have run off, while they were walking. Danny quickly pulled out his phone and frantically started dialing, until he noticed, no signal. Emily instantly realised this was a very big mistake. “Think!” she thought to herself.

There was nothing else to do but to tell their parents, so they followed the tracks back to their house. Along the way there were many obstacles but that didn’t stop them from getting back home. Arriving at the doorstep, Emily pushed open the door ran to her parents room and found that no one was there.


In the end they did find their parents and Chris and from then on they listened to their mum and dad.

THE END

How To Make A Paper Box

Step 1: Fold the paper so it makes quarters. Then unfold it.

Step 2: Fold the long edges into the middle crease then unfold.

 Step 3: Next fold the short edges into the middle crease and leave it there.

Step 4: Then fold the corners to the nearest crease like this.

Step 5: Fold back the edges in the middle so that they cover the corners.

Step 6: Open it up and pinch the sides and....

Step 7: Your done!

Meeting Tommy Kapai Wilson/Uncle Anzac

IS AWESOME!

At assembly this morning we had a special visitor come. His name is Tommy Kapai Wilson. Many people know that he is an New Zealand Author and writes the well known Kapai Pukapuka (books). But on the books he’s Uncle Anzac. I guess you could say that’s his Author name.

He was brought up in a family of 11 kids! And he was one of them. One day he was told that he had a gift, and that gift was writing. As he grew older he had many different jobs. He was a dishwasher (his first ever job) a butler, a  magazine editor and more!

This morning he and his bro’s came to our school. While we were at the assembly he read us a book called ‘The Day I Met A Princess’. It is such a good book! There is one particular page in the book that has a very special meaning to his his family. Sorry but you’ll have to read the book for yourself to find what it is. Also he told us that war is dumb, everyone has a gift and if you make 10 people smile a day you’ll have a great life.

Anyway, I had the chance to meet Tommy himself. Well not really but some of the extension students had the chance to do a workshop with him. With our netbooks we started planning what our story would look like.

Firstly, the title: The Ancient Touchstone Of Pt England. We then planned what would be included. We planned 7 different things that we would have. After this we went outside to have a look around at some things we had included and where we could place the touchstone.

Meeting the Author of the Kapai books was a real pleasure for me. I have to say Kapai’s Kiwi Holiday is my personal favourite. Remember... War is dumb, everyone has a gift and if you make 10 people smile a day you’ll have a great life.

My Storyboard

This is a storyboard for a movie I am creating about Emily Naylor. Stay tuned to see the movie.

Cross Country!

Walking through the mud to the starting point, I could see that the course was not going to be easy. Mr Burt clapped the blocks together and off the 10 year old girls went. "Oh, It's so muddy!" I could hear as I jogged through. 

Reaching the gravel road I saw puddles, and more mud. Jogging along, my friends and I are all not far apart. To get to the first bridge we had to go through heaps of muddy puddles. It wasn't very nice. Then before we knew it we were at the first bridge. That meant we were starting our run in the bush. 

There were heaps and heaps of places we could've slipped. But most people didn't. Near the last bridge I saw my uncle! He worked at Telecom and they were helping us. "Hi Uncle Kimana!" I yelled as I ran past. I was nearly there and man was I puffed. Finally I had finished!!!

I found that run much much better than last year's one. But I was very tired. Overall I think I did really well and I hope I beat my last one!

Olympics Animation

Here is my olympics animation.

BasketBall

Last week we got to play Basketball with a pro. He taught us different techniques and skills that we would need if we did end up playing Basketball.

First we started outside with some drills. Soon we got into pairs a got a ball. We practised different ways to bounce the ball up and down the court. Once the first person finished the next person went. We also got to go in the hall for a game.

Entering the hall I could see that there were 2 basketball hoops set up. We got to play a game called Golden Child. We split up into 2 teams. One team were the shooters and the other team were the runners. Each team had an aim and for the shooters it was to try and get as many people out by getting as many basketballs in. But for the runners, their aim was to get as many people around the court before the shooter's score. If the shooter's score the person must stop running and the next person goes. When there is only one person left he runs but when he/she passes you, you can run too. We played this game and unfortunately we lost!

I had a lot of fun at basketball! It was pretty tiring though. As much as it tiring it’s also alot of fun and I can’t wait to go again!

Medley Relays

Medley Swimming is a team event that has 4 people who swim 4 different strokes. They must swim these 4 strokes in the correct order which is: Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly and Freestyle.

To win this event athletes must swim 100m’s as fast as you can. Strict rules are adhered to, such as using the right stroke and turning correctly.

Swimmers wear swim suits or jons made of spandex so that there is less drag. Goggles are also helpful because they let you see if your going off track and when you need to turn at the end. They also use swimming caps. The caps are nice and smooth like a bullet point and it helps them stay in line. Obviously this is done in a swimming pool.

Skills and strengths are needed to compete and to have these skills and strengths you have to train. Swimmers are most likely to be in the pool around 5-6 days of the week for around 6 hours. Athletes would also have to keep a healthy diet.

I think that this would be a tiring  sport and I hope that the teams do well.

The Olympic Creed

 Pierre de Courbertin wrote this creed.
This is it. "The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well".