I am using Dr. Edward De Bono's hats to write about the recent winter sports that Totara Syndicate was involved in:
White Hat: facts and information
On Tuesday the 24th of August some of our school participated in the winter sports tournament. The sports that you could play were hockey, netball, soccer, rugby, miniball and volleyball.
Blue Hat : the big picture
I choose netball because I really enjoy playing Goal Defence. We played five games of twelve minutes throughout the day.
Yellow Hat: positives
It was a great sunny day and we won all of our games. I loved the fact that I was in a team with my friends.
Black Hat: negatives
We had too many people in the team so I had to go off for a game.
Green Hat: new ideas
I think it would have been cool to have more games and longer games. Perhaps we could have some different sports.
Red Hat: feelings and emotions
I thought the whole thing was a great idea and the whole netball team was excited and enthusiastic about playing as some of them hadn't played much before. It was also really fun going on the bus to get there.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Mice Story
Last week our class got mice as pets. Here is a story about their first few minutes in our classroom.
"Dave's here", yelled Evie.
"I know you're kidding," I called from around the corner.
"Right," said Dave.
He was here, with the mice!!!
Before they came Ella, Evie, Isi, Joey and I were in the classroom writing names on the chalkboard for the mice.
"Aww, they are so cute!" I cried.
The mice were adorable; they made my day.
In the cage there were three mice: a plain brown female, a white and black spotted female and a white and brown spotted male.
I lifted a female out of the cage; it's tiny foot gently touched my hand then both feet scrambled around me. It felt as though a pair of angel wings were fluttering around my hands.
It then slowly started wondering up my sleeve.
"Come here, c'mon," I called.
I could feel the mice swishing past my arm, going up and down but not coming out.
"Ah, there you are," I said as it popped its little head out as if to say 'Come in with me.'
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Making Lemonade
Today we made lemonade; not the lemonade from the supermarket but natural lemonade.
If you want to make it here is the recipe:
- A clean, 1.5 litre plastic bottle, with a screw-on cap
- three lemons
- a cup of sugar
- a little bit of granulated yeast
- a jug for pouring
- a bowl
- Get three lemons and squeeze them in to a bowl.
- Put 1 cup of sugar in the jug and fill it with boiling water up to 2.5cups. Stir it till the sugar has dissolved, then add water until you reach 4 cups.
- Pour the sugar mixture into the bottle then pour the lemon mixture into the bottle.
- Add a quarter of a teaspoon of yeast in your bottle.
- Fill the rest of your bottle with cold water, but remember to leave 5cm at the top.
- The lemonade needs to become fizzy, so leave it in a mild place for about four days.
- Before you open it leave it in the fridge for a few hours.
VOILA!!
YOU HAVE MADE LEMONADE!!
I really enjoyed making this lemonade in the school staffroom. We put all the ingredients in and we left it to become fizzy. I can't wait for Monday to come because we can have some lemonade and I love lemonade!!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
My Holidays
In the holidays I went to my grans in Mount Peel. We went skiing at Roundhill for two days and at the night times we stayed in a backpackers with our cousins. We stayed at my grans with our cousins for 5 days and on the last day we went ice skating on a friends pond. I really enjoyed it!!!!
After this, we flew straight to my other grans for the last week of the holidays. She has motor-neuron so it's great for us to help her with stuff. At her house we did loads of activities including rock climbing, swimming in spas, riding on the motorbike and going shopping.
Bad news then hit me when my Great gran, who was ninety nine, died and we had to go back to my gran's straight away. We went to the funeral; it was very sad :( . Afterwards we buried her in my grandparents graveyard (she also lived near the graveyard).
We walked up for drinks at my cousins house and we played kick the tin (a traditional family game).
It was an awesome, weird, sad, a bit overwhelming but fun holiday!!!
After this, we flew straight to my other grans for the last week of the holidays. She has motor-neuron so it's great for us to help her with stuff. At her house we did loads of activities including rock climbing, swimming in spas, riding on the motorbike and going shopping.
Bad news then hit me when my Great gran, who was ninety nine, died and we had to go back to my gran's straight away. We went to the funeral; it was very sad :( . Afterwards we buried her in my grandparents graveyard (she also lived near the graveyard).
We walked up for drinks at my cousins house and we played kick the tin (a traditional family game).
It was an awesome, weird, sad, a bit overwhelming but fun holiday!!!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Cabbage Story
Dave set us a task to write a story about anything.It had to have the word cabbage in it some where.
Once upon a time there lived a little boy called Tommy. He always wore a red hat with holes in it and some smelly old p.j’s for his clothes. His family was very poor. They lived in a dirty old mud shack. Tommy was always feeling miserable but he tried to do the best he could.
Every day Tommy walked into the forest to find food and water. He always walked past the big tree that had light and dark brown patches.
One damp, rainy, cloudy day he was sprinting past the tree when out of his right eye he saw a little patch of light just behind the tree. He wondered what the light was from, because there was usually no light in the forest. Then he thought to himself ‘I shouldn’t stop and look. I’ve just got to get food to my family.'
He found a little patch of wild berries and some mushrooms, grey with white patches. He wasn’t sure if they were poisonous or not. Hopefully his mum knew.
He trudged back but as he got near the tree he slowed down and started walking. He looked down at the ground and saw all the sticks, brown and green, and the leaves, all damp and muddy. Just as he was lifting his head up he dropped one of the mushrooms. It was all to much for him, He sat down, starting to sob. He listlessly cleaned the mushroom with his t-shirt and while he was doing this he sobbed and sobbed. Tommy thought to himself ‘I’m so tired and so hungry’.
As he walked home past the patch of light he got more and more curious to see where it was coming from, but he decided to go home and maybe have a look at it tomorrow.
At the shack his mum, dad and big brother were waiting for him. His brother said “I wish we could have cabbage; they’re so nice and sometimes juicy”.
Everyone sat down to have their mushrooms and berries. Just as the family was about to eat the berries Tommy said “Mum, are the berries -?"
But it was too late. His brother had already popped a berry in his mouth. Tommy saw the red, purple and brown berries swaying loosely around in his mouth as his eyes closed slowly and the berries went down his throat. Tommy yelled “NOOO!”, but it was too late. His parents rushed over to him and tried to keep him alive but it was no use….
Late that night the sky was dark but a full moon and stars shone down on their little mud shack. Tommy was just about to lie down when something struck his mind again.
What was the bright clearing behind his lucky tree?
He crept out and went to see what was behind the clearing. He carefully ran to the clearing, watching out for sticks and stones. He came to the clearing. In the bright moon lit clearing he could just see the green and brown jagged leaves. “Slowly,” he thought, but the sticks crunched as each foot gently went down on the ground. He pushed through until he was there!!!
Right in front of him was a long field with round puffy balls lying just above the soil. It seemed like there were thousands of them, maybe even millions! Each and every puffy ball was about the size of a blown up balloon. He looked around and for miles he could see only long rows of the puffy balls. He walked over to them, touching them one by one, smelling a strong, fresh, watery scent. He tried to pull one of them out but with no proper food for days he didn’t have much strength. Suddenly he realized that this might be good food for his family!!! He found himself really excited, jumping up and down.
As he walked around the field he stepped in to a large but shallow pond. The pond was very fresh. Tommy was so thirsty so he tried having a drink. He felt a rush of energy all through his body so he drank more and more until his belly was over loaded. Then Tommy sat down on what he thought was moss. It felt comfy and it was soft. He just sat there thinking about what to do. He was also listening to the birds chirping and the trees swaying, spreading a little breeze.
Tommy went back to his shack. By the time he got back it was nearly morning. He crept over to his place where he slept on the ground. He then saw his mum and dad with tears dried on their faces. Tommy looked over at his brother. He started crying, and buried his face into his old holey blanket.
The next morning Tommy told his mum and about what he’d seen the previous night.
“But Mum I know it’s there," sobbed Tommy.
In the end Tommy's parents gave in. He took them past the trees and bushes, over to the tree with light and dark brown patches and through to the bright patch of light. His mum and dad couldn't believe their eyes.
"It's like a dream, but it's not!" squealed Dad. And guess what the round balls were? Cabbages!!!!!
"Yum!" said Tommy.
"Hurray!!" yelled Mum and Dad.
Then there was a moment of silence as they all remembered about Tommy's brother still flopped over the mud chair.
Tommy then said, "I've just got a feeling, if we put a cabbage in his mouth something might just happen".
Tommy, Dad and Mum yanked a cabbage out of the ground. All of them then ducked back to the mud shack to see Tommy's brother. He was gone!
"Where could he be?" Tommy thought.
Right then Tommy's Mum remembered.
"Oh! I put him under a blanket".
Tommy pulled off a piece of lush green cabbage, and passed it to his Mum. Ripping little pieces, she slowly fed the cabbage into her unconscious son's mouth. Tommy stood behind his mum, anxious about what would happen. His brother's eye slowly opened but closed almost immediately. As Tommy looked over, his brother's eyelids started going up. He came to life again! Everyone rushed over to hug him. Tommy was very happy from then because they sold the cabbages and ate them. They made friends but still lived where they were in their little mud shack.
Once upon a time there lived a little boy called Tommy. He always wore a red hat with holes in it and some smelly old p.j’s for his clothes. His family was very poor. They lived in a dirty old mud shack. Tommy was always feeling miserable but he tried to do the best he could.
Every day Tommy walked into the forest to find food and water. He always walked past the big tree that had light and dark brown patches.
One damp, rainy, cloudy day he was sprinting past the tree when out of his right eye he saw a little patch of light just behind the tree. He wondered what the light was from, because there was usually no light in the forest. Then he thought to himself ‘I shouldn’t stop and look. I’ve just got to get food to my family.'
He found a little patch of wild berries and some mushrooms, grey with white patches. He wasn’t sure if they were poisonous or not. Hopefully his mum knew.
He trudged back but as he got near the tree he slowed down and started walking. He looked down at the ground and saw all the sticks, brown and green, and the leaves, all damp and muddy. Just as he was lifting his head up he dropped one of the mushrooms. It was all to much for him, He sat down, starting to sob. He listlessly cleaned the mushroom with his t-shirt and while he was doing this he sobbed and sobbed. Tommy thought to himself ‘I’m so tired and so hungry’.
As he walked home past the patch of light he got more and more curious to see where it was coming from, but he decided to go home and maybe have a look at it tomorrow.
At the shack his mum, dad and big brother were waiting for him. His brother said “I wish we could have cabbage; they’re so nice and sometimes juicy”.
Everyone sat down to have their mushrooms and berries. Just as the family was about to eat the berries Tommy said “Mum, are the berries -?"
But it was too late. His brother had already popped a berry in his mouth. Tommy saw the red, purple and brown berries swaying loosely around in his mouth as his eyes closed slowly and the berries went down his throat. Tommy yelled “NOOO!”, but it was too late. His parents rushed over to him and tried to keep him alive but it was no use….
Late that night the sky was dark but a full moon and stars shone down on their little mud shack. Tommy was just about to lie down when something struck his mind again.
What was the bright clearing behind his lucky tree?
He crept out and went to see what was behind the clearing. He carefully ran to the clearing, watching out for sticks and stones. He came to the clearing. In the bright moon lit clearing he could just see the green and brown jagged leaves. “Slowly,” he thought, but the sticks crunched as each foot gently went down on the ground. He pushed through until he was there!!!
Right in front of him was a long field with round puffy balls lying just above the soil. It seemed like there were thousands of them, maybe even millions! Each and every puffy ball was about the size of a blown up balloon. He looked around and for miles he could see only long rows of the puffy balls. He walked over to them, touching them one by one, smelling a strong, fresh, watery scent. He tried to pull one of them out but with no proper food for days he didn’t have much strength. Suddenly he realized that this might be good food for his family!!! He found himself really excited, jumping up and down.
As he walked around the field he stepped in to a large but shallow pond. The pond was very fresh. Tommy was so thirsty so he tried having a drink. He felt a rush of energy all through his body so he drank more and more until his belly was over loaded. Then Tommy sat down on what he thought was moss. It felt comfy and it was soft. He just sat there thinking about what to do. He was also listening to the birds chirping and the trees swaying, spreading a little breeze.
Tommy went back to his shack. By the time he got back it was nearly morning. He crept over to his place where he slept on the ground. He then saw his mum and dad with tears dried on their faces. Tommy looked over at his brother. He started crying, and buried his face into his old holey blanket.
The next morning Tommy told his mum and about what he’d seen the previous night.
“But Mum I know it’s there," sobbed Tommy.
In the end Tommy's parents gave in. He took them past the trees and bushes, over to the tree with light and dark brown patches and through to the bright patch of light. His mum and dad couldn't believe their eyes.
"It's like a dream, but it's not!" squealed Dad. And guess what the round balls were? Cabbages!!!!!
"Yum!" said Tommy.
"Hurray!!" yelled Mum and Dad.
Then there was a moment of silence as they all remembered about Tommy's brother still flopped over the mud chair.
Tommy then said, "I've just got a feeling, if we put a cabbage in his mouth something might just happen".
Tommy, Dad and Mum yanked a cabbage out of the ground. All of them then ducked back to the mud shack to see Tommy's brother. He was gone!
"Where could he be?" Tommy thought.
Right then Tommy's Mum remembered.
"Oh! I put him under a blanket".
Tommy pulled off a piece of lush green cabbage, and passed it to his Mum. Ripping little pieces, she slowly fed the cabbage into her unconscious son's mouth. Tommy stood behind his mum, anxious about what would happen. His brother's eye slowly opened but closed almost immediately. As Tommy looked over, his brother's eyelids started going up. He came to life again! Everyone rushed over to hug him. Tommy was very happy from then because they sold the cabbages and ate them. They made friends but still lived where they were in their little mud shack.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
My PARTY!!!!
My party was in May.
I went 10 pin bowling with my BFF's.
Ella took sooooooo many photo's - all of them are cool.
I also got some awesome presents including vouchers, stuff from Smiggle and Diva!!!
For dinner we got takeways from Mango and we had trumpets for a birthday cake.
We watched Bandslam the movie and Bride Wars. Both movies were awesome.
At night we didn't go to sleep for ages. We played a game where we said 1, 2, 3 then we all jumped into the middle. It was so fun. After that we just talked and chilled and Ella took so many photo's of us at night. That's one of them. In that photo we were all really hyped.
I went 10 pin bowling with my BFF's.
Ella took sooooooo many photo's - all of them are cool.
I also got some awesome presents including vouchers, stuff from Smiggle and Diva!!!
For dinner we got takeways from Mango and we had trumpets for a birthday cake.
We watched Bandslam the movie and Bride Wars. Both movies were awesome.
At night we didn't go to sleep for ages. We played a game where we said 1, 2, 3 then we all jumped into the middle. It was so fun. After that we just talked and chilled and Ella took so many photo's of us at night. That's one of them. In that photo we were all really hyped.
Matariki
Matariki is the Maori name for the group of stars also known as the Pleiades star cluster or The Seven Sisters. It is referred as the traditional Maori New Year.
The Maori New Year is marked by the rise of Matariki and the sighting of the new moon that follows. Matariki can be seen in the last few days of May every year and the New Year is marked at the sighting of the next new moon which happens during June.
Matariki has two meanings: Mata Riki (Tiny Eyes) and Mata Ariki (Eyes of God).
Traditionally the size and success of the season's crops were determined by the stars. The brighter the stars were, the warmer it was, and the better it was for growing crops. Matariki was also a time for a family gatherings and to think about the past and future. People celebrate Matariki to show respect to the land they live on and to celebrate the Maori New Year. It is also seen as a good time to learn about the land they live on and to remember whakapapa (ancestry) who have passed from this world to the next.
All Iwi (Maori tribes) celebrate Matariki although they celebrate it at different times. Some celebrate it when Matariki's first seen in the dawn sky, others celebrate it more to the end of which is after the full moon rises.
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