Letter to New Zealand

Letter: Hello my dear friends and family of New Zealand who have been affected by the earthquake, I am very sorry to hear about the natural disaster that has hit most of your homes. I hope that you all know that our thoughts and prayers are with you. You should know that food supplies are on their way. I give my condolences to those who lost someone and I pray that whoever got injured will get better soon.

For those who didn’t know the earthquake was a 7.8 magnitude earthquake! It has so far been the third biggest earthquake recorded in New Zealand history. After the quake there were over eight hundred aftershocks, about 21 aftershocks every hour! There has been landslides, cracked and broken roads and sadly some people thought it cool to go looting at the same time as the earthquake hit. It says on the news that there is a possibility that there could be a Tsunami that might hit the top of the South Island in Kaikoura.

After the disaster there were still problems occurring, for example; aftershocks, looting and possibly Tsunami’s. Some families could have lost a family member. The aftershocks as you already know were over 800. Basically two earthquakes! The tsunami is likely to happen but we don’t know yet. Some adults who need to get to work can’t because of the uneven roads and most kids would have missed out on their NCEA tests because of the quake. Lots of schools and houses have been destroyed.

So to the people of Kaikoura I really am sorry to hear about what happened. I know how big the earthquake was not only by the news telling me it was a 7.8 earthquake but the night it hit it came all the way up to where I live and I felt a little quake in Auckland. So those who are leaving have a safe trip and for those who are staying be safe and I hope that your houses and businesses get fixed.

The Lake Monster (narrative)

There were stories about a terrible river monster that lived in the Taupo river. It loved feasting on people who swam or kayaked in his waters. But this story didn’t worry 2 brothers Zack & Max who loved to go on new adventures. They grew up hearing of this Myth, and from then on they wanted to find and destroy this horrible beast. so one day they got into a 2 man kayak and started paddling with their spear guns close by, just incase the beast decided to show itself.

When they got to the middle of the lake they saw two stranded kayaks. The two brothers thought it was strange to leave two brand new kayaks in the middle of the lake. Then suddenly there was something in the water. It moved swiftly through the water with its sharp and scaly skin. Then it went under the boat. The boys were worried that the beast would bring them under. But then the 2 brothers saw something under the water. It was two people who were stuck. luckily they had scuba gear on or else they would have died long ago. But they didn’t have long, the beast would soon get a good grip on them and have lunch. The two brothers seized their weapons and dived down to cut the stranded scuba swimmers out of the monster's grasp.

But as Zack and Max got closer Zack realised something, the monster that everyone grew up hearing about was actually seaweed. That explains the scuba gear. The two people who were on the kayaks, were going fishing and got stuck in the seaweed. When the two brothers brought the divers back to their kayaks, the divers said thank you and then left with their kayaks and never saw the two brothers again. Then when Zack and Max went home they told everyone about their adventure with the terrible lake monster (not). The next day everyone went to see if the brothers were lying or not. But the brothers were right. From then on the 2 brothers, Zack and Max were an insparaition to young kids about being brave.

Practice for Narrative Writing

Reflection writing

Last year in 2015 there were many things I enjoyed. I enjoyed learning new things in reading, writing, maths, and even technology. In Reading I learnt how to read in between the lines. Writing, I learnt how to add extra detail. Maths, I learnt more efficient ways of solving problems, and technology, I learnt how to cook some meals, make some stuff with wood and tools and in graphics made better art.

This year in 2016 I have 2 goals. My first goal is staying on track, and my second goal is to get into Sacred Heart College. So hopefully they both come true. If they do then that’ll be great but if they don’t then I hope at least the second goal comes right.

The Rotorua Experience

Have you ever been to Rotorua and thought of anything besides the smell? Have you ever thought that maybe you’d want to do something besides swimming, eating or sleeping. Have you ever thought about doing something fun and exciting like… zip lining, bungee jumping or maybe even having fun on The Luge. The Luge is basically a 1/2 person vehicle that escorts you down the mountain on tracks. Sometimes very fast and sometimes very slow. So let me entertain you about my adventures with my family about the holidays.

As we are traveling home to Auckland from Nelson we stop off at a few places, Wellington, Rotorua then back home. But while we were at Rotorua we thought it would be fun to do a little bit of adventuring. So just before we head back home we decide to take a little drive by, by Skyline Rotorua. And there are so many cool things their. But I already knew what we were going to do their, we were going on the Luge ride. It’s so cool, and the last time I was there was 4 years ago! and back then I wasn't able to go on the advanced by myself, but now I am, because I’m over the age of twelve and I’m over 135cm in height.

The Gondola ride up was fun. There are six of us in a eight person Gondola so we weren't squished at all. The view is great, you can even see the mountain bike tracks and also the city looks beautiful. The not so good news happens when we get off the Gondola. The line for the Luge rides are packed! Like seriously packed. There’s just one word for that. Patience, lots and lots of patience. But before we go and wait for a while we first need helmets. And these particular helmets are fancy pants. There are different colors for different sizes, like red for small, blue for medium, and well you get the idea right.

Anyway the line has not died down yet and the sun is blazing down on us, well, at least it’s not raining. Looking at the three different tracks, Scenic, Intermediate and Advanced, we decide which one to go on. Most of us want to go on the Intermediate to start of with, But sadly we found out that on your first go you had to go down the Scenic track. After learning about the rules on how to drive they let us go for a little ride down the track. My brother Levi and I raced down the track and managed to pass other riders on the way. At the bottom there’s this two seater ride that escorts you back up to the top from whence you started.

At the top my brother and I have to wait a little while for the rest of the family. Because we bought a family pass and that means we all have to stay as a group. When the rest of the family get to the top we finally go for another ride. But this time we go on the intermediate ride. A little more tricky, sharper turns, one little jump and a faster ride. So this is what we did all day until the pass ran out and after that we hopped on the gondola and rode back in a real car.

Dinosar Poem

The Google Expedition

Yesterday Pt England School had a Google Expedition. In this expedition there were little cardboard goggles called Google Cardboard. They are like I said, little cardboard goggles. They’re not much, but when you add a phone to it(and the right app), things become a little more interesting. You can visit exotic lands. You can even go underwater, or if you’d like, go into space! So, let me take you on a journey through the world that we live on.

First up the Borneo rainforest. We weren't exactly in the midst of the rainforest, but we were in a cave underneath it. There were other rock climbers down here with us. It was a full 3D experience! We couldn’t move around though but who cares, it was the bom! To my surprise when I looked to the right I saw a figure with a familiar face. I’ve got it! The man that I saw was David Attenborough. He is a Scientist and a very famous narrator on documentaries.

My favorite place we went to was the ocean. When we were there, there were Bull sharks, fish, and other fellow scuba divers. An interesting fact about Bull sharks, is they’re more aggressive than Great White’s. Also they are able to swim in fresh water! Which is an interesting fact but not good for us! But in another part of the ocean where we visited there were cool but a little scary Whale sharks. They are huge! Whale sharks can be as long as 20 metres! But wait that’s not it. They can also weigh up to 20 tons! Now I don’t know about you but I would not like it if one of those whale sharks sat on me. I’d be jelly in seconds!

Anyway, those goggles were pretty fun and, I rather enjoyed looking at others zooming around on the carpet with other Google cardboard pieces and enjoying themselves far too much. But the experience was amazing. I’d like to thank Google and the creators, David Coz & Damien Henry for the experience. The rest of Pt England would agree with me we loved it!

Ryming Poems

Writing Test (Edited)

Two days ago I thought it would be an exactly normal day when out of nowhere on the timetable it showed that there was a change. “Fun Time”, I was confused, I had no idea what fun time was or what it meant. Anyway, later on in the day I was getting some idea’s about what “Fun Time” was. From teachers, to students, to other random people. It was a full rotation of fun things.

I looked at the rotations. There were brain busters, Fear Factor and three more activities that I haven’t mentioned! Today was going to be a fun filled day. We were split up into groups, so when we travel from station to station there will not be traffic jams and stuff like that. Some people I saw were disappointed and I asked them why. The most popular answer was, “I’m to tired and I don’t feel like running”. Well that’s a shame because when the teachers said fun time they meant amazing race!

As I said before there were activities like brain busters, well that particular game was the favorite game of them all. To some people it wasn't so great because all you had to do was answer 5 questions on a piece of paper. But I found it awesome because these five questions looked interesting & also were very challenging. One of them were, “What is something ancient that we use today to help you see through walls”. Someone in the same group as me answered X-ray vision. But hold on, that’s not ancient, It’s not even in the present time. Who knows if it’ll be in the future. After a long time of thinking I realized something. I looked around the room for any clues to help me, and then looked through a window. Got it! A window, and to my surprise I was right. Yes, one question down, 4 to go. Sadly, we didn't figure out the other questions. At least we figured out one question. One is better than none.

My next favorite game was Photo Booth. In this event we had to take dashing photo’s of ourselves. But don’t worry there were costumes, so It wouldn't of been one of those boring photo’s. Where would we be without costumes? So getting ready wasn't that hard for someone who wears costumes all the time at home. I heard some people were shy. There is no need to be shy, especially around friends and family. There were specific poses we had to take like, a straight face pose, funny pose, normal smiley pose and a made up pose. The best one for me was the made up pose. Our team was going crazy, no shyness their. After that I was totally exhausted. We were running from place to place and man I can’t believe I kept up with the group.

Finally after all the fun, it was time to stop and cool down back at class. But also to get our energy back up for the run that happened soon after. On the way back I could smell something that almost made me puke. I know what it was, it was the fear factor. They had to eat dry Weetbix which I can handle. But there was something else I could smell. That’s right it was the fruit salad mixed with spaghetti, Gross. Anyway today was awesome besides that revolting smell. So I was right Tuesday was a fun filled day.

Rock Climbing In The Holidays

The equipment you shall need is:

• Harness
• Carabiner
• Rock Climbing wall

The things attached to the rock climbing wall is:

• Automatic belay
• Rocks
• Plastic
• Cable

The place was pretty cool, the place that we went to was Rock Climbing! It wasn't very big, but it was big enough for me, Toby and about another 3 or 4 people. When we got to the Rock climbing we weren't sure if we wanted to go. But when a man (me) of great courage stood up and said he wanted to do it my brother Toby decided he wanted to do it as well. We already knew how to climb rocks but we needed reminding just to confirm our confidence. After reprocessing the rules into my brain over and over again I was finally ready to do some climbing.

The first rock climbing wall I did was the easiest out of them all. Whenever I’d look over my shoulder at Toby I’d see him trying his hardest to get to the top. Sometimes he would get to the top and sometimes he wouldn't. There was one challenge that killed me. It tested my strength, I did it but after then the others I did wasn't easy. One Rock Wall I helped Toby getting up the whole way. I was next to him on a different wall having fun with him. My mother and I were so proud of him and his achievement and so was Toby.

There was one wall where you don’t use your hands you use these tiny poles and put them in holes on the wall. That’s how you climb up the wall it’s not easy especially when the poles don’t grip into the wall easily. On another wall you time yourself on how fast you can get up the wall. I was extremely proud of myself when I got 18.65 seconds. That’s really fast for me. Then is was time to go home, thanks to mum me and Toby got a drink afterwards and had some chocolate eclairs.Then after a bite I said, “Thanks mum these are the best”.

Here is a link to the Rock Climbing site if you'd like to go there.

The Exciting News

After Walter Dickson I was emailed that I made it into the 2nd trials for Walter Dickson! Sadly I can’t make it because I’m going down to a farm next friday and I am going to have an awesome time! But what exciting news, It startes with 80 people and gets cut down to 45 and then to 20 something and finally 22. I made it to the 45 people so that’s a huge thing for me. So that’s awesome and next year I might get the same chance hopefully!

Walter Dickson Trials

I’ve heard about it… I’ve learnt about it… but I haven’t seen it… until now! I’ve been invited to trial with Walter Dickson! It may sound like a joke, but it actually is the best rugby union team in Auckland. So it is a massive deal that I got invited to trial. There are only 80 people who have been chosen out of all of Auckland! It was on sunday.

After school had finished I rushed home to spread the news I just got. My mum was delighted and so was I for that day. But as the days passed so did my interest in the trials. The rain was not going away and I was afraid that I’d have to play in that freezing weather and my fingers don’t take numbness very well.

It’s sunday after church and honestly, I was tired, I was just not in the mood for playing rugby, it was horrible. But my mum and dad said, “If you don’t go then you’ll have to do the chores around the house with us”. That was my cue to leave, I would have rather played rugby than done chores for about an hour! So I packed my bag and Anth (dad) dropped me off and came and supported me with my brother Levi.

There are 6 games in the tournament. I played 4 of them. It was an amazing experience and I’d just like to say thank’s to my mum about making me lunch and a drink. At least when I got home I could just chill to a movie with butter chicken, mmm that was good.

I never had the chance to show you the letter (or part of it) so here it is. The letter wrote,

Wednesday 20th May 2015

Dear Parents

I have the pleasure in confirming that your child has been nominated by Pt England School to attend trials for Remuera zone Walter Dickson Representative rugby team.

The Walter Dickson tournament is a prestigious tournament between 8 zones throughout the Auckland region. It is limited to children in year 7 and 8 and they must weigh in less than 55kg’s on the day of the event. The tournament this year is during the July school holidays from 6th to 10th July and boys selected for the final squad will be required to be available for that whole week. The tournament is held at Teachers Eastern Rugby club at Okahu Bay in Orakei.

In addition to the tournament, the boys selected in the squad must be available for trainings (day & time to be confirmed) that will commence the week of from 1st June until the tournament in July…

That should be enough of the letter, because if I went on you would be to bored and I can’t let my readers get Bored! This is it for me today, Hope you didn’t fall asleep during this text. My punctuation hasn't been that great so could you help me by if anything sounds funny or is messed up the please comment below and tell me where it is and then correct it thank you!

NRL Nines

In the Christmas holidays I got to go to the Auckland nines fans zone on Saturday and it was wicked. I loved it, I was a member, and that meant free food and drink. It also meant that when the teams had finished the signatures they would come to the members lounge and you could have a chat to them or take photos with them, choice!

If you go on the nrl.com site and then go to videos and then scroll to the bottom and keep turning the page until you get to the "Meet the Nines fans". Anyway the day ways hot, sticky but awesome. It was worth it! I hung out with family and a couple of friends. We had so much fun that day, everything was so awesome. Except for the weather, too hot!

I had the chance to met and take a photo with Chanel Mata'utia and he was really cool. I got signatures from Panthers, Rabbitohs, Rosters, Knights and Sea Eagles. This is Chanel's wiki page if you want to learn more about him. Just some extra information?

My New Life At PT England School

4 weeks ago I started year 7 at PT England School (PES). It has been an awesome time here with my new life. I'm doing a lot of different things, but you know in an interesting way.  This shall be an amazing, but challenging and adventures year. I've made new friends and have caught up with old ones. It's great, I'm in my dream class with Mrs Tele'a. We split up for Literacy and Numeracy, I'm with Mrs Tele'a for Literacy and with Miss Clark for Numeracy.

Speaking about Literacy I just did my writing test today and hopefully I did well. I shall be doing my Maths test tomorrow which'll be very exciting! I'm involved in somethings like Sport and kapa haka. If you didn't know and it is your first time on my blog then I have my own little laptop which is where I access all of my learning. I'f it's your first time on my blog give yourself 8 Points, if you just read it and it's not your first time then you have scored yourself 5 Points. Comment your Points below!