The Big School Garage Sale

It was 9.15am and I swore I was late, but by the time I got school, there were already kids helping out everywhere. Some were out front near the round about holding up signs, some were cooking the sausages, and the teachers were selling things in the hall. Things were going quite well I would say.

Once I got to school I was looking around for things that needed to be done. So I was told to either fold clothes or help out with holding signs, which seemed pretty embarrassing. So instead I helped to try and sell some things. Later on I made my way towards the BBQ where the boys were slacking off, so I gave them a hand. It was really hard having to serve a lot of people. I reckon I dished up about 25 sausages at the most.

By the end of the sale which was nearer to 12pm, almost less than half the things that were in the hall got sold. I was glad about this because everything we sold would be going towards our yr 8 camp next week. After all the sausages were sold, we all packed everything up, and made our way. I'm super ecstatic and can't wait for camp. It's going to be awesome.

St Kents New Entrants Day

It took a lot of nerve for me to speak to anybody, but when I finally did, I realized I had met a potential friend. I was sitting in the St Kentigerns chapel, with a heap of other kids entering year 9 next year. I didn't know anybody, and neither did the girl behind me, so I introduced myself to her politely. It was new entrants day, and that meant that we had our exams ahead of us. Which I wasn't exactly keen about.

My new friend Katy and I chatted for a bit, until a man walked through the chapel doors and told us to stand. From then on the day began. After he talked for a bit, then a man named Mr Gordons spoke to us, and split us into our groups. Fortunately I was in the same group as Katy. The groups we were put into were the groups we were going to be staying with for the rest of the day. I had a teacher by the name of Mrs Miller. She was very kind and polite, and I found her really cool.

When we arrived to our classes, our first subject we had to sit was English. It was fairly hard, but I thought I did well. Straight after English we sat the Reasoning test. This I found pretty hard, since I had never sat a test quite like it before. Then it was interval for 30 minutes. Katy and I hung out again, and I found out a lot about her. She happened to be Head Girl of her school down in Papakura. 

After Interval was over, we headed back into our class with Mrs Miller. This time we were sitting Mathematics, which for me was lucky, since I like the subject maths. As I turned the paper my fingers started to become more anxious as it was going to be our last exam for the day. I took my time with questions, and eventually got the end with an extra few minutes to spare. When time was up, we had a 2 minute talk with each other before we were released for lunch. S

Unfortunately Katy had to go for the rest of the day for her mothers events, so I was by myself. The rest of the day we played sports, and got to know the prefects a little better. At the end of the day, I found it alright. Aside from the fact that I was a bit to overwhelmed about everything in the beginning, it was okay. 

All I have to do is wait for another six more weeks at least, and I'll be attending the very school.

Maths Strategy

Question 1: An addition problem using decimals (to the hundredths)

Samantha had saved $89.50 to buy her dream cellphone. She needed $31.50 more. How much does her dream phone cost?

Questions 2: A subtraction problem using decimals (to the thousandths)  

Not where you can use partitioning.

Lucy had a 1.5litre energy drink. Her friend drank .789ml. How many litres are left?

Question 3: A multiplication strategy using  decimals.

There were 5 people wanting a 1.5g chocolate bar. If all the 5 people put their chocolate bars together how many grams would there be?

Question 4: A division problem (Sharing out) using decimals

Allison had 4.5m of fabric. She needed to make 10 (.15cm) shirts for her classmates?

Question 5: A fractions problem. Finding a fraction of an amount. (More than 1 part) or  from the parts or fraction working out what  total amount is.

If Sarah ate 1/2 of the pie. How much of a fraction would be left over?

Question 6: A proportions/ratio problem

Waimaria went to the pools. In every 4 pools there were 5 girls and 9 boys. How many boys were there all together at the pools?

Maths

1. The world record for throwing a cellphone in 2012 was 102.68 metres. James attempted to beat the record but only managed to throw 97.89m. How much was he short by?

102.68 - 97.89 = 4.79

97.89_____.11______98____________4___________________102____.68____102.89

2. Sione uploaded a presentation to his blog but it was too big. In the HTML code he saw that the size was 920  pixels wide by  648 pixels high. He thinks if he reduces it to ¾ of the size it is, it should fit. What dimensions does he need to change in the HTML code?

Answer 630 pixels high, 754 pixels wide

3. Tiaki is fixing part of his fence. The pickets he needs are .68m long each. How many metres of timber does he need to cut up 45 pickets?

.68 x 45 =

.68

x45

------

300

 45

2400

 320

-------

36.5

If the timber comes in 5m lengths only what is the minimum amount of lengths he needs to have enough for 45 pickets?

40x5= 200

5x5= 25

200+25= 225

The timber is $3.55/m. How much will he have spent?

3.55x36.5= 114.85

30x3.55= 90.55

6x3.55= 18.55

.5x1.75= 5.75

90.55+18.55= 109.10

109.10+5.75= 114.85

4.  Julia is an artist. She has been painting a huge mural for the town centre. For the main colour she used a 20 litre pail of white mixed with a 10 litre pail of blue. Unfortunately she ran out of paint before she finished the mural. She thinks that she will only need 6 more litres in total to finish. How much blue and white paint does she need to mix up to get the 6 litres of paint she needs that is exactly the same colour she has been using?

Answer - 4:2

The Horse And His Boy

This is a podcast that my friend Gabriel and I recorded. It is called The Horse And His Boy by C.S.Lewis.

Future Aspirations.....

Last week on Thursday a group of people came to our school to talk to the year 7 and 8 students about our future’s. There were five main speakers for the event, and one of them happened to be the same age as us, and he attended Ficino School. The other four speakers were adults and they all were well educated people, who had dreams, and aspirations for their futures.

We all were told to be seated in the hall first before we were separated. Andrew Patterson was the MC/Host for the event, and before we were split apart he spoke for a while. I stayed behind with the yr 7’s in the hall and was the videographer. The first speakers name was Tristan who was a year 7 entering University next year. He spoke to us about his life, and about his accomplishments at such a young age. Being able to attend University at the age of 12 is just amazing! Tristan also spoke to us about one of his projects where he thoroughly researched about this specific milk bottle. Tristan is definitely an inspiring person.

Tristan was my favourite speaker for the day, and he really made me think about what my future aspirations were going to be. I once thought about being a doctor, but now my heart is locked onto becoming a successful lawyer in crime. Through all the five speakers that spoke on that day, they all truly have made an influence in what my future dream is going to be.

My friends Shoal and Ashleigh like to listen to music so they say that when they grow up, their future dreams are to at least work around the music industry. It seems very predicted because they are very determined and amiable girls who always chase their aspirations and dreams.

Friends

My 7 main friends......

So there’s Shoal. She’s one of my main friends, she has to be the most funniest one out of the bunch, and the mature one. Then there’s Ashleigh, she’s the most boyish one out of all of us. But still she’s one of the most hypo friends I know. But then there’s Huelo-Ata and Brooklyn. I look at them as twins because they both have hypo persona’s. They both love to laugh a lot, and they're both quite fit and intelligently smart. Vivienne is the brainiac out of all of us, she’s the mature one, but she can be immature, and really funny and kick back most of the time. My best friend outside of school is Jasmine. She’s tall, but not taller than me I would say. (Kidding) We always hang out with each other after school, and we’ve known each other since we were young children.

Shoal is an amazing friend. I’ve known her ever since she came to Pt England in year 4. Her personality is very friendly, and she’s such a comedian. Shoal is very intelligent, and is highly up there with academic results. She is also my queen and I adore her 24/7...

Ashleigh is on of my friends that I’ve known ever since I first started school which is 9 years now. We were in the same class every single year after the other right up until we entered Intermediate. We still hang out every interval, and she is the most boyish friend I know. But she still has her girly ways, and I love her for that.

Vivienne is one of my mains as well. I’ve known her ever since I was in Room 15, but we only started hanging out in year 7 properly. She is the eldest out of the bunch, and she is very intelligent. She loves food, and she is very fit and skinny.

Huelo-Ata is my friend that I met last year. Yet it feels as if I’ve known her for ages. Her laugh is very contagious and it makes us all laugh along. She is very fit, and she loves her sports, and is very good at it.

Brooklyn is one of my mains also. And is a very awesome girl who is pretty in her own way. She loves to laugh like I mean A LOT! She makes the most funniest facials and noises ever. And I couldn’t imagine being in a different class from her.

Jasmine is of my amazing friend. She’s been there for me through thick and thin, and it really sucks that we won’t be going to the same college. Every single day after school we hang out and play at the park, or either sit at my house watching movies. I’ve known her ever since I started school as well, right from her very first day I’ve known her.

Darius is probably the only boy mate I have who I feel I can trust with anything. I’ve known him ever since we were in room nine together. He is a very kind and sweet type of boy, who is also academically clever. He’s also very good with his sports, and is unfortunately also not attending the same college as me next year.

All my friends will always be kept dearly near my heart. Even when we all depart our separate ways in life for college. It really sucks that we all may not be going to the same college’s, but we’ll all still be friends in time.

The Three P's

Protection: My mother fought for her life to be able to stay alive and protect us. Her very own children. My Dad wouldn't be strong enough to take care of the five of us. So she had to stay strong so she could protect us as we grew older, and she ended up doing so.

Partnership: As my Mother tried to recover in rehab it took co-operation and partnership between my dad and us kids to be able to help her each day. Including my grandparents, we all collaborated together to help my mum recover from her big operation.

Participation: Almost everyday my brothers, sisters and I went to the hospital with our Dad to check up on our mum. Some nights my eldest sister slept with her, and most of the time we took turns feeding our mum. I was only 3yrs old but I loved my mum dearly, and I wanted to participate in any kind of act that would be able to help her become stronger.

This is a movie/poem that I made with the help of Joshua Iosefa based around my beautiful mother! Hope you enjoy.

Writing Sample Narrative - Jungle

It was a seven day cruise and my parents thought that it would be a good idea to spend our first week of the holidays occupying our time in the middle of the ocean. The thought of water made my stomach squirm. I hate being around wet surroundings, and my parents knew that. I guess this was a punishment for getting really bad grades. On the other hand my little brother James who loved to be around water had good grades. So I was guessing that he had chose the location for our family vacation this year.

“Rita have you packed all your stuff yet? We’re leaving in five” my mum asked me. “Yeah. I’ll be down soon” I responded in a sluggish voice. I wasn’t keen on spending seven days in the middle of the ocean but I had no choice. The ship was huge! There were a lot of people planning to spend their first week of their holidays on a ship which meant that the cruise was going to be full. It was already day 3 of the cruise and the sun was beating against my skin as I lay there on the skydeck of the ship. I felt dehydrated so I stood up and went for a walk to the vending machine. I tried looking for my parents, and my little brother but none were in sight. I bought a drink

I stood on the railing sipping my drink when suddenly a couple of kids thought that it was funny to bump into me. Just from that little bump I went flying overboard. My heart was pounding so fast. I couldn’t do anything because I was flying off the ship! Then suddenly my whole body was under the ocean. I was being thrown and tossed around by huge waves. I thought that I was dead. But then I woke up along a sea shore.

A whole gigantic jungle was before me and I was scared to my bones. I stood up slowly and sluggishly, and peered around. I was all alone in the middle of the ocean on an island, probably not even on the world map. I didn’t know what to do, so I made my way into the jungle. I could only see green all around me. Night almost fell and I needed to find shelter for the night. The only clothes I had were the ones that were on my back, and they were still quite damp. I saw a tree fairly high off the ground that was climbable, so I spent the night in there. After five days of treacherous nights all alone I began to think no one would ever find me, when suddenly.

To be continued.

One Direction

The famous boy band One Direction started off each being individual singers auditioning for the television show X-Factor. They were all eliminated after boot camp, but Simon Cowell brought them all back together to become the now popular icon One Direction. Niall Horan, Zain Malik, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlison and Liam Payne are five good looking boys who have stolen the hearts of many young teenage girls. After their first song was officially out What Makes You Beautiful, the song and the band went sky rocketing to the top of the charts. Now they are famous world wide! A lot of girls are One Direction fans, and I know I am truly a Directioner!!