I personally think that in-person school is better because students who misbehave could do other things instead of participating in their school activities and work. Their parents won’t be there to supervise them in what they are doing when they are on a device.

Some children who misbehave could skip online meetings and their work that are given to them. There could be chances when a student swears or is being rude towards the teachers and the teachers can’t do anything about the situation. When students spend too much on their device doing school work, most of the time it could damage their eyes and brain which keeps them awake all night when they have breaks.

Even though in-person school is more expensive than online school, it’s recommended better and to keep the students active and make them move around more often. Online school could harm students health to always sit all day. Unlike In-person school, Sometimes you can go for walks around school, play sports, have P.E sessions etc.

In-person school is better for hygienic reasons and purposes. In-person school is good to prevent people from skipping classes and making sure everyone has attended. Working on devices at In-person school is temporary which won’t be in front of your face for long. Unlike Online school, you could spend your whole time focusing on a bright screen that would damage your sleep schedule and others.

On the other hand, online school is cheaper and saves time getting ready for in-person school. It’s also cheaper for parents who are struggling with money and bills. You can get less distracted by anybody so that you can keep focus on your work so that you won’t fall behind because of distractions from other school students. You can participate in more work since it’s digital and online if you have anxiety with others around you.

 

 

 

 

During school, I waited until the clean up song was played because the girls and boys had to be separated to change for swimming. The moment the song played on the screen, everybody started to stack up chairs and clear everything on tables.The girls and I went and entered a classroom with no boys in sight. The older students put the blinds down so we could all start changing. The bus arrived for the boys since they went first.We all went outside for our lunch break to gain energy before we went swimming.

When a few of the girls and I saw the bus we went towards the staff room to inform the Teachers who were going to supervise us during our swimming. The teachers told us to make our way into the bus as soon as everyone was here. The bus had such a vibe. We sang songs, and did fun dances. We finally arrived. I made my way in as for the others.

We waited patiently for the boys lessons to finish. When the boys finished, we went up the stairs and jumped into the pool as the instructor asked us to. Our lesson was with kick boards. We used it to do back strokes and freestyle but holding the kick boards with our hands to help us for beginners. Everyone took turns until we were all on the other side. When we finished, our Instructor told us to hop out of the pool so we could all jump back off.

Once that was finished, we came out of the pool and went our way to the exit and went into the bus. The teachers provided us rubbish bags for us to sit on so the seats on the bus wont get wet. I put on my jumper like everybody else because of how freezing cold it was. As soon as the bus arrived at our school we went inside the class and changed back into our school uniform. Once we were all ready, we went under the schools canopy to wait for the bell to ring at the end of the day.

Almost 2 weeks have passed since we had been swimming. On our second to last day, we had boats and learning ways to save someone to prevent them from drowning. We were separated into our age groups and we used different ways to save someone. I had a partner who I had pretended to save. There was a life jacket, a pool noodle and a new rescue item that I couldn’t name. I threw a life jacket so it could help my partner float better.

Then I threw a rope to pull her closer to me enough to use the pool noodle to pull her back safely. When all partners were finished, we switched with the younger ones and used the boats this time. We were divided into 2 groups so that there were enough to fit everyone in the boat. Our instructor told us to hold our life jackets and one by one fall behind our backs into the pool. At first, I was nervous when it was my turn. I relaxed my body and slowly leaned backwards until I fell.

I held my nose before I did so water couldn’t make its way in. I climbed back up and sat with the people on the edge of the pool. That was the end of our lesson but the best. I thank the teachers and the pool instructors for giving us the chance to learn how to swim. These lessons could save lives and I am very thankful for it.

 

 

In the morning I felt ecstatic. I went to school and all of the seniors went in the canopy to sort out our teams. I sat with my team ready to go. We went down to the gate and crossed the road on our way to where the tournament occurred. When we arrived, we saw many schools setting up and practicing for their games. We set up our mat and put our bags on it.

We went up to an empty field to practice before our first game. We were given permission to view a game with other schools competing. We cheered for both teams seeing who won. Our teacher, Mr Bell told us both of our teams would be competing in other schools.My team were nervous but happy to play. We put on our tags and waited for the other school to arrive.

When I saw the players they were huge. They were from Glen Innes School and looked like year 9’s but we relied on our biggest and best players to win for us and the others too. At least 3 girls should be on the field and I was one of them. I was steady and the referee had started the game. I was nervous and didn’t want to catch the ball out of embarrassment. When I was out of breath, I went to swap with someone else like reserves. I watched how proud I was of my team and realizing we won I cheered and screamed for them.

There was a bell. Our first game and we won. We went to check on the other team proudly representing our school. The other team ran and cheered that they had won. Everybody was filled with happiness and hugging each other. We headed back to our bags and relaxed waiting for our next game. We ate our morning tea to fill up our energy.

Mr Bell told us to not eat too much because we might have a stitch more quickly so I mostly drank water. I grabbed the rugby ball and asked a friend if they wanted to play with me. Slowly, more people joined with us and decided to play touch because there were enough players. We enjoyed our time and Mr Bell had told us we were going for our second game. We walked to the same field from our last game and saw the school we were going to compete with. They were as giant as the other people like last time.

Their school was called Glen Brae School and I realized I saw one of my good friends. I waved at her with joy and was happy to see her. I was one of the back up people waiting for someone to replace me. I screamed at my team trying to get them motivated. One of my Best Friends volunteered to replace it and I went out on the field ready to rip some tags. Towards the end, the bell rang and the referee announced that we had won.

I cheered and went towards the field our other team was competing. We went to them with happy faces and saw them with sad ones. They had said that they lost but we hugged them because we knew those people were too good. We were soon competing with Stone Fields shortly after. I was most nervous with this team because I’ve heard they were a very good team. Just when the game started, after a few minutes, they already had gotten a goal.

I had fear in me. I trusted and had faith in my team to win for us to get into the finals. We spread out in the field staying strong even though we were exhausted. The Stone Fields schools were all thin and tall but they were pretty good. The game had started. I was one of the people out onto the field.

I was excited and we started with the rugby ball first. One of the boys picked it up and tapped it. He ran to attempt a goal for us but his tag had been ripped. He passed a ball to another player and they ran straight for it and they got a goal. We jumped up and down out of happiness and this time the other school had to play. Soon after the bell rang to tell us it was half time.

Both of the teams came in the middle of the field which was what the referee had told us. When the bell rang again, the person who kept track of the points had announced we had won. We cheered and we were happy because everyone thought we were going to lose because of how good they were. Both teams went up on a line and slowly walked to high five the other team. We walked back to our bags exhausted.

My muscles were tired but I was happy that we went in the finals. I ate some food to get me up and going. I practiced with my classmates until our teacher said we had to go for the last game. Our whole team including the other team who had lost previously, came to watch our last game cheering for us.  It was the scariest team I’ve competed with. They looked as if they already finished college.

I was a backup person this time. I cheered for my team as loud as possible for them to get motivated by my words. I switched with someone who was tired and I ran up the field next to a person for support. So far the other team had lots of goals then compared to us. When the game ended, I went up to the person who kept track of the number of goals and asked her how many goals my team and the others had. She said that it was 9 to 3 which we had 3 goals.

My jaw dropped on how much they had compared to ours. I went and told the team and their jaws had dropped too. We lost but we were happy we were in the finals and celebrated with a hug. We high five the other school and I hugged one of my old friends there. We walked back to our bags and I went home with my mom. I was tired and happy we placed second and I would definitely do it again.

 

Facts: Tuatara’s are a species of reptiles located in New Zealand. Tuatara has gotten its name translated in the Maori language. In English, it says ” Peaks on the back”. Maori people seen Tuataras as guardians and messengers. Did you know? Tuatara has only one species and has been around 250 million years ago. There are 100,000 Tuataras left on earth meaning Tuataras are happily not extinct. It’s related to Rhynchocephalia, a reptile family who is mostly the same size.

They might look like lizards but are the only ones left in the Rhynchocephalia family, who are living. Tuataras are known for being New Zealand’s biggest reptile.

Adaptations: Tuataras have a certain temperature in their bodies in New Zealand’s average temperature. They live in burrows that are big holes found in the ground. Tuataras are nocturnal to hunt food to survive which is unusual for lizards to have. Tuataras body helps them to camouflage in nature to survive the wild because of their colors on their bodies. Tuataras tail breaks when an enemy is after them just like geckos.

For your information: No picture because it wouldn’t load.

 

 

 

 

Pukeko is a native bird to New Zealand. It’s not endangered but people can get arrested and receive fines if they do any harm or even kill. It’s related to the Rail bird family which is another species of bird. They also have another name called Australasian Swamphen. They are more of a vegetarian bird but also eat some other things like eggs, chicks, or maybe small fish.

Here is a photo of what they look like:

Our teacher, Mr bell let us do a cyber smart challenge. This challenge I’m doing is about transparent images and learning more about digital learning. There was a google slide with instructions to help me on how to do transparent images, and to learn how to remove the background on an image. This experience was fun and helpful.

Example.

Nora Swann is a fashion designer and also a stylist. When she was younger she was a shy person and anti-social.  She started her business when she won a fashion competition and was inspired to do more designing. Nora has traveled to lots of countries such as Korea, Japan, Samoa and New York for Fashion Shows. One time Nora went to Papatoetoe at night in the middle of the streets for a fashion show. Nora has a beautiful family and has two daughters and a husband.

Her design led her to win awards and was the world’s biggest model agency for the Pacific women. Nora Swan now comes to schools to teach people to be self-confident and to be body-positive. She spreads her story to inspire and encourage children to not be afraid to be themselves and to follow their dreams. For me, she is one of my big role models and she has inspired me to achieve and follow what I want best.

 

On the 13th of June it was Ki Orahi. When it was morning tea we were put in our houses getting ready for the rounds. The groups were named Kauri, Totara, Rata, and Rimu. I was in Kauri where I had the fastest people. We were up in the first round and we were up against Rata. Our goal was to hit the tupu and sometimes we would switch sides.

We won on the round and we were cheering with excitement. After lots of rounds it was time for lunchtime. We ate under the canopy enjoying our food while talking with others. We got some time to play on the playground and on the field. When the bell rang we had another round which was the second to last. We had some people cheering us up which hyped everyone.

My team prayed before we went to play to give us good luck and hope. I tried my hardest to play, along with others on my team. We were now playing against Rimu.  We had lots of points and had more than the other team and I doubt that we were gonna win. When the game ended we were sent into the canopy to announce the winners.

The host, which was our coach came to announce the winners. I crossed my toes and my fingers hoped my team would win. The team who came 3rd was Rimu and Rata and 2nd was Totara and the 1st was Kauri! Inside I was so happy and proud of my team. I would like to experience this game again.

This is an example of our Tournament.

 

I have completed and achieved my Prototec certificate and I am pleased and proud of myself. I have learned my division and am improving a lot.  I like prototec because you can learn and improve your times tables a lot.

     Here is my certificate. I got 98% for my work and I have done it in just 8 minutes and 28 seconds.

Epro 8 Challenge

 

On Monday morning we were sent 6 big boxes by Room 8 for a challenge. Mr Bell, Our teacher introduced us to a challenge named Epro 8. It is an engineering challenge that helps kids build things and understand how some things work. Every student received a booklet for instructions for our projects on what we’re working on. 

Our first project was about building a box by watching a tutorial video. The class was split into 4 groups that Mr Bell thought they would work well with. Our first project is building a box with the tools and equipment and using teamwork to complete this task. Our project was one of the first to be finished and successful. 

The next day we were learning about building a hut by only making it by ourselves. It was a tricky project but still fun to learn. We would only follow the measurements on the booklet then do the rest on our own. We put extra sticks and joiners to make it more secure. I thought our team would make it the best.

Others had different ideas and had so much creativity with their hut. We put cardboard boxes on top as a roof for if the hurricane came. The next day we were building a dump truck. It was hard for us to build the tray behind it and make it flip since it had to dump things like dirt. I liked building it because it taught my team how some things work. 

That was our last project and we learned to measure toys. I liked this challenge because it was unimaginable and important for us to help human society in the future and could fix problems that come ahead of us.