Thank you Mr Horan

Mr Horan Tribute from KPE TV on Vimeo.

For the Manaiakalani Movie festival our class decided to make a movie and dedicate it to our principal Mr Horan. We would like to thank our principal for all the work he has done for our school. Thank you Mr Horan.

Having fun at the Museum

All the students from Tamaki Intermediate School came to school for the museum trip. When the students came to school we all had to go to the hall to get ready to go. We all came to the hall and we all had to wait until the bus arrived then we could go. When the bus came we went to the bus group by group. We got seated on the bus and the bus driver started to drive. Off to the Museum we go!

When we arrived at the Museum half the of us had to go to the Museum first and the other half went to Winter garden to look at the beautiful plants there. We looked at a lot of flowers and plants and were saw a banana tree and a lot of different other trees. After that we had to go and  have lunch outside on the Domain grounds.

Then we had to go into the Museum to look at lot of Maori patterns. We also went inside a whare nui within the Museum and it was a very special place because it has a lot of history within its walls. Mrs Bailey was very excited.

The other part of the Museum I liked was the volcano house. It where you pretend you are at home watching the news about a volcanic eruption then all of a sudden the house actually shakes. Its scary if it is your first time.

At 1.30 pm we had to board our bus and come back to school. We were all tired but very happy we had a fun day learning outside of the classroom.

Memories of 2012

This year we started learning a lot of new things and we had to do more work. However the work this year was a bit harder and more challenging.

In Mathematics we do maintenance every day. We learnt about measurement, statistics and recently we learnt about fractions. Learning about fractions now is getting easier because we have been doing it for a while.

In reading we have read about a lot of different subjects. We read fiction and nonfiction but I enjoy non fiction. We also learn our spelling every week and our class have to get 20/20.

This year is going well for our whole school we have achieved a lot in our work.  The days are going faster and we are learning well and my teachers help me to learn a lot. They help me with my maintenance sometimes and teach me a lot during group teaching.

We have also been attending Te Reo classes. It is cool because we learn about Maori patterns and flax and also learn to speak Te Reo.

During this year we also went to the Coca Cola Careers Expo at Greenlane. It was exciting because there were so many people there and different jobs with a lot of giveaways. We enjoyed collecting the free stuff and the display I enjoyed the most was the Army.

This year I have realised that learning is cool because you can get brainy. I have also learnt to keep trying even if it is hard.

A Saturday at school

It was a hot day on Saturday but use at school that day were not. It was the day for sports and some fun old school games.

We all showed up at school at about 30 minutes before we played some old school games. Once it was time to play the games we all were called to come under the shelter to have little talk about where we could get our lunch and many more things.

Then the games started  and the first game we played was the three legged race. The first race was won by Calliope soon after Calliope won Leander came speeding down the middle and won the next round and after the judges added up the scores it was Calliope in second and Leander in first. It was amazing to see how fast the student could run pinned together with only three legs.

Once the game was finished we played another game that was called roll the hoop. It is when a player uses their hand to roll the hoop to the their destination. The first race was won by Achilles the the next race was won Achilles, then the judges added up the scores again and then Achilles in first place and Orpheus in second.

Near the end of playing games it was time for the tug-of-war. After the houses challenged each other the students then challenged the parents. It was hard for others but for me it was easy because I was trying to sit on the rope. It was a tough task trying to beat the parents because they are stronger than us.

Towards the end of the sports day Mr Horan held a lollie scramble for the little children while we have to leave and get ready for Hakawaiata. It was sad to walk away from the lollie scramble but we were told we will get our own lollies after. That cheered us up as we walked towards our house areas.

An educational fun day out of the classroom

I have just finished a fantastic day at the Museum. We had to pay $4. This was a part of Te Reo and Science.

In the morning we as a school got ready to hop on the bus or vans. The bus was filled with excited children ready to learn. On the long bus ride I sat next to Huriana. I didn't talk to her much. We went through the trafficless motorway.

When we arrived we walked to the Winter Garden. It was really pretty. The plants and gardens looked nice. There were beautiful flowers and ponds with fish in it. They were good exciting to look at.

I saw a catfish it was brown and black. We then walked to have morning tea and look at the beautiful view that was in front of us. As soon as we finished morning tea and lunch we lined up in our groups and then started walking towards the museum.

We separated from the other groups and we were off to begin our journey in the museum. Firstly we went to the Victorian age exhibition where there were old fashioned clothing and other antiques. It was very interesting. Then we went to all these other places and during that time we went to the earthquake house. It was very frightening and funny at the same time. Over all I had heaps of fun and really enjoyed looking at these old stuff. I hope that in the future we could go again.

Procedural writing about an Olympic Sport

Hockey

What is Hockey?
Field hockey is a game played on gravel, natural grass, sand-based or water-based artificial turf with a small hard ball. The game is popular among both males and females in many parts of the world, particularly in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Field Hockey is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks.

What skills do you need to be a Hockey player?
*concentration                * be fit
*Have to be focused          * control the ball
*Fast           

What equipment do you need?
*Field Hockey ball
*Field Hockey stick
*Mouth guard
*Shin pads
*Cleats
*Jersey
*Extra Slap Shot Grip (optional)
*Protective Gloves (optional)
*Protective eye mask

How many players/teams are there to be needed?
*2 teams in each games
*11 or 6 players including a goalkeeper

Steps on how to play Hockey.
1) Get a Grip. With your left hand, grip your stick at the top with knuckles lined up and thumb pointing down towards the hooked bit of the stick, roughly aligned with the bit that's pointing up. Your right hand should grip your stick at a point lower on the stick that is comfortable to you. You should be able to stand with the hooked tip grazing the ground, the flat end facing out.

2)Take a stance. Left foot pointing front, right foot back support. Bend your knees slightly, aim for the ball, which should be in line with your left foot or slightly before it, but not ahead. keep your knees bent. Otherwise, you will be very sore the next day!

3)Trap the ball.To stop the ball, as it's coming towards you, move backwards, to slow the ball before stopping it. Just keeping the stick still often means the ball will roll over the stick, and hitting the ball will often cause it to go haywire in a completely different direction.

4)When the ball is on your left, twist the stick with your left hand so that the flat side is again facing out correctly. Let go of your right hand as you twist, grip again once stick is in position. Make sure you never touch the ball with the rounded side of the stick, always use the flat side.

5)Hit it! Move your right hand closer to your left hand, the ball should be in line with your forward foot. There are several different types of shots like the....

Slap-shots: choke down your right and pretend you're playing cricket. Only hit the ball in a desperate circumstance, or when you're shooting for a goal.

Pushes: grip should be between that for a hit and a slap-shot; ball should be right in front of the flat side of your stick, which should be somewhere around your back foot. Transfer weight from back foot to front foot, lean into it and push.

Hook variation: place stick almost parallel to ground, hooked portion curving lovingly around the ball. Transfer weight from back foot to right foot, pull hard then push in one smooth motion.

Flicks: hands in slap-shot grip, dig edge of stick beneath ball, much as you would toe scoop a soccer ball, lift and push, transferring weight from back foot to front foot.

Drives: Holding both hands at the end of the grip, bring the field hockey stick back until about waist-height, and swing into the ball with all force.

Tips

Always mark someone especially when the other team is taking a free hit, and a shot on goal.

Have a stick and ball handy in your living room. While waiting for other things to happen, or when when you are bored, take it out and play with it. Doing this regularly will boost your ball control and feel for the game.

Enjoy it. Your skills will improve as you play, and in order to play a lot make sure you enjoy the game. Don't let yourself be pressured or stressed, and find a team you enjoy playing with.

When choosing a stick make sure it is the right size. You can do this by holding the sticks up next to your leg and seeing if it is at your hip. If it is, the stick is the right size. If it is below your hips then it is too small. If it is above your hip then it is too big.

From Norbegun room 12

A moment of success

Last year in Term Two, one day singing was interrupted because Mike from the New Zealand All Sports Academy addressed the assembly and asked the students if some of us wanted to join his academy to go overseas to compete in sports events like rugby and soccer.

The trials began the next week. There were a lot of us who trialled the first day. Then, on the second day I trialled out for soccer with a lot of others. It was hard but we all did a fantastic job.

When Mike was about to make the announcement of who had made it into the team it was a nervous time for all of us. Finally when he announced who made it we were proud that all of us who trialled that day made it in. I was extremely proud of myself.

Then came lots of training, lots of hard work and fundraising opportunities. When Mike told us how we were going to fundraise, quite a few of the members of the team dropped out because they didn't like fundraising. They didn't attend the trainings and  did not come to the fundraising so Mike did not let them back in the team.

The fundraising we did was not only in Auckland it was in Wellington, Hamilton, Napier and other places in New Zealand. The best place for fundraising was Napier because lots of people gave donations and we raised a lot of money that afternoon and the other best place was in the capital city Wellington.

Training went on full swing. Every afternoon after school we practiced hard. The day came when we met at the Panmure library on the 10th of April to go overseas. It was a time of happiness for all of us kids and our families because we achieved what we had been training and fundraising for.

We got on the plane, we were all excited to go overseas because it was a great experience for us all . The view from the plane was beautiful. It felt like we all were looking at little toy houses. Our first stop was in South Korea. We stayed there for a night. It was one of the best hotels I have ever been to in my life. It looked like a hotel designed by Donald Trump. The next morning we got ready to leave the hotel and head off to the airport. At the airport was very confusing. The flight information was mostly written in the Korean language until this Korean man told us where to go because he could understand and speak English. We got on our plane. One hour later we headed off to England to start our tour in the Uk for Soccer and Rugby.

On the plane I realised that this was a moment of success for my mates and I. All our hard work paid off.  We worked for achieving success and did very well playing against English and Scottish teams and won some of our games. What an experience! I will remember this for a long time to come.

Excellence is about trying

Last year in term two Mike Henry from the New Zealand All Sports Academy came over to our school and asked anyone from our school if they wanted to be a part of the team. I seriously wanted to be in it so I set it up for me to achieve. After we finished assembly I asked if I can be in the team and Mike said "Yes, but you have to be good and behave until I come back next week".

So I tried to behave and I kept on trying and trying. Finally Mike came and talked to my teacher and my teacher was talking about the good things and what I can be sometimes e.g. noisy, talkative.

I was chosen to be in the Academy and I was full of joy. The first trip the Academy went on was the Wellington trip. We had to sell chocolate to people and a lot of people bought some.Then we had  to pay our flying ticket and then we zoomed off and left to Wellington.

Once we got to Wellington we went straight to fundraising and straight after fundraising we headed off to our hotel on a street named Willis St. When we got to our hotel we went to our room and placed our stuff in the closet and then went out for dinner. That was an awesome trip.

Achieving Excellence by conquering my fears

What a great and awesome break we had during the two weeks of school holidays and in one of those days something great had happened to me.It was on the 9th of July and it was one of my cousin’s birthday. We were in charge of her birthday party and it was going to be an awesome day.

It was of course a busy day when the phone rang. It was my cousin. She told me that I had to do a speech for her and it had to be nice. I had to say it in front of heaps of people. I was worried because I am a very shy girl but I couldn’t say no so I accepted to do the speech she asked for.

Two more days until my cousin’s birthday and I spent two hours moaning and disagreeing about the speech  and nearly a whole day working on a little speech until I knew what I was about to say. I was definitely scared but I knew I was going to do a good thing to my cousin.  

I woke up and I had just realised that today was the 9th of July. Today was going to be an awesome and fun day. Today was the scariest day for me and do you know why? It was all because of the one and only speech. We celebrated it at her house and I was really proud of what my family did to make her birthday awesome.The decorations were fantastic and there were plenty of yummy delicious food getting ready to be eaten and balloons filling the whole house with joy.

We had a great time spending every second wisely, playing fun games eating until our stomachs were filled with delicious food and then an announcement was made. It was my turn to shine in front of all the smiling people ready to hear my speech about my wonderful helpful cousin. I was really scared and shocked but I knew there was a lot of people supporting me.

My speech began like this...To all the people who knew her I would like to say that today as we all know is her birthday and she really deserves this because she is awesome and helpful in all sorts of ways. She cares for everyone and I know she is going to be successful person when she grows up. I have also written why she is a fantastic cousin to me and why she is the coolest cousin in the whole wide word. When I finished all I heard were people cheering for me and I was so happy and proud of myself. Later on my cousin gave me a big hug.

This was something I achieved because I wasn’t as confident as before and so if you have to do something in front of a birthday party just give it a go and don’t be scared like me.

Alyson reflects on a time when she achieved Excellence

All I could feel was my heart pounding. I was so nervous. It was a time when some students were awarded a trophy. I was excited and nervous at the same time.

My friends and I lined up for the big day. It was Graduation day for the year 6's. Graduation was when all students were farewelled and were given good luck in the future. All the students were happy but I was really was not that happy, because I was sure that I wasn't going to get an award. My principal went up on stage and announced the Sports Awards and the Cultural Award. Then it came down to the Learning Awards. It was then the Writing Awards. I was so confident I wasn't going to get it.

A few moments later I heard my name being called for the Excellence in Writing award. I was so surprised, I took a breath in and let it out again. I felt really confused because my friend was really good at writing but I wasn't. I didn't know what my family’s reactions until I saw them smiling away. I walked up with pride and I was really proud of myself, then my aunties walked up and put a lolly necklace on me I felt really proud.

After that the graduation ceremony was over. I was then given more lollie necklaces and I shared them among my friends. For the first time in my life I knew that I have made my nana really proud. To  see her smile just because of me was a really happy feeling. To win this award was a big achievement which brought great happiness for me and for my family.

Kaisara's speech

The tsunami as it struck Japan 

Ko Maungarei te maunga
Ko Tamaki te awa
Ko Waitemata te moana
Ko Ruapotaka te marae
Ko Mahuhu i te rangi te waka
Ko Ngati Whatua te iwi
Ko te kura takawaenga o Tamaki toku kura
Ko Tamaki te waahi
Ko Mr Horan te tumuaki
Ko Mrs Raj ko Mrs Parker Tofa toku kaiako
Ko Vaea te matua
Ko Atauloma te whaea
Ko Kaisara toku ingoa


When I say DI - you say SASTER, DI-SASTER, DI-SASTER. When I say DI wait, wait, wait  hold on did you feel the ground shake? Whoa! Did you hear the waves crashing? It must be a disaster. Yes it is, the Japanese Earthquake.

On March the 11th last year a massive earthquake hit the coast of Japan with a magnitude of 9.0 at about quarter to six in the afternoon. It was approximately 70 kilometres of Tohoku.

Did you know that this earthquake was the fifth largest in the world and the most powerful earthquake to ever have hit Japan? Well this earthquake was so powerful that it killed 2,000 people and over 10,000 missing people in Northeastern Japan. It was also confirmed that about 5,100 people died and almost 2,000 were injured in Tohoku.

People said that during the quake roads were waving up and down causing buildings and houses on fire. They also said that about three to five nuclear power plants were badly damaged and were quickly taken down because of the tsunami.

Minutes after the earthquake a powerful tsunami was triggered in Tohoku making buildings collapse in a blink of an eye and sending off violent terrifying noises. The tsunami soon travelled as fast as a jet to about 10 metres inland to a city called Sendai. The tsunami began to grow quickly to the height of 40 metres which is about three quarters of a tree!!!

At the schools, teachers and students were shielded under their desks and tables. They screamed and screamed. The teachers quickly assembled the students in the playground and started to call the roll. While they were waiting for response the teachers noticed that seventy students were missing and ten teachers too. They heard the bad news the next day that those seventy students died including the teachers in this terrible tragedy.

How would you feel if your family had no water or power to survive? Well one million homes had no water and a massive five million homes without any power. How devastating is that?

You might be thinking what happened to the elderly people? Well did you know that the elderly were abandoned to go into the hospital? Did you know that fourteen of them died shortly after? Do you think you can help them make a better future and a better life? Do you think you should donate them money to make a memorial stone for those who have lost their lives? Yes? So why can’t you stand up for them and help. Please this is your chance to help Japan because maybe they can help you someday.

My preparation for my speech.
I went to different websites to research facts about my chosen topic. From these websites I collected a lot of information about the Japanese Tsunami. After that I started to draft my speech on my own. After I wrote my draft, I took a closer look at it and started to edit. I enjoyed writing my speech and I learnt so much from this sad tragedy. The next stage is to present my speech to my class and teacher. 

Throughout the weeks in ALiM (Accelerated Learning in Mathematics) I’ve learnt so many things about maths that I didn’t know before. The strategies that I was taught got more interesting and clear to understand. I think I will improve on the test and will reach national standards.

Every year I have told my friends that I hated maths, but now with Mrs Raj I am starting to love it and I am really interested in maths. The ALiM group will help others achieve in maths too.

Alyson

I have been learning in the ALiM group and I think that I have learnt a lot of new things about maths and now I can use all the new strategies I have been learning. I used to hate maths but now I love it. It is easy and when I do my post test I will improve from a stage 5 to a stage 6 or 7.

I did well and I am very proud of myself, my parents will be extremely proud of me and I would love to thank Mrs Raj for teaching the group all the new strategies and I think that the ALiM group has helped a lot.

Norbegun

I am so happy that I am one of the students that were picked to be in the ALiM group. This year I was not very confident in maths but now I am FLYING!! through it. Next term I am hoping I can still be in the ALiM group.

Sariah

Being in the ALiM class is fun and I am really enjoying it. I wish the work were a bit more challenging but I still love the class. Now I am a lot more confident in maths and I can use smarter strategies to solve problems. I now think that I will achieve high standards and I hope I continue to be in the ALiM group throughout the year.

Chylsea