Mental Health

Here is another Summer Learning Journey post for Day 4 Week 3 Activity 3 year 6-8. For this task I was told to make a post about mental health. When I was making this I tried to use phrases that helped people that have problems. I tried to spruce it up a bit by making the title and background colourful and I also used pictures to nominate what I was talking about. What I found hard while making this post was trying to find good phrases. Here is my post about mental health!

Staying Healthy

This is another Summer Learning Journey post for Day 4 Week 3 Activity 2 year 6-8. For this task I was told to write down five ways about how my family and I are trying to stay healthy. What I found hard while making this post was trying to find my trying to stay healthy fifth thing. Here is my post about Staying Healthy!

Barack H. Obama

This is my 39th Summer Learning Journey post for Day 4 Week 3 Activity 1 year 6-8. For this task I was told to go onto a website about people who won Nobel Prizes. Then I had to pick someone and write what they did to get the prize and who they are. What I found hard while making this post was trying to find the right Nobel Prize winner. Here is my post about Barack H. Obama!

Transformer Motorbike

Here I am again for another Summer Learning Journey post for Day 3 Week 3 Activity 3 year 6-8. For this task I was told to draw a really fast vehicle and then I had to write about what it is. What I found hard while making this post was drawing my vehicle. Here is my post about The Transformer Motorbike!

3D Printed Prosthetics

Here is another Summer Learning Journey post for Day 3 Week 3 Activity 2 year 6-8. For this task I was told to watch a video about 3D Printed Prosthetics. Then I had to make a post about one thing I learnt and one thing that surprised me while watching the video. What I found hard while making this post was trying to find something I learnt. Here is my post about 3D Printed Prosthetics!

Tiny Houses

This is another Summer Learning Journey post for Day 3 Week 3 Activity 1 year 6-8. For this task I was told to watch some videos about tiny houses and then write down if I wanted to live in one. What I found hard while making this post was working out whether I wanted to live in a tiny house or not. Here is my post about Tiny Houses! 

Coding

Here is another Summer Learning Journey post or Day 2 Week 3 Activity 3 year 6-8. For this task I was told to go onto a coding website and give it a try. Then after that I had to take a screenshot of me doing it then put it on my blog with a little blurb saying if I  liked the website. What I found really hard while making this post was trying to figure out how to do coding. Here is my post about coding!

My Challenge

This is my 35th Summer Learning Journey post for Day 2 Week 3 Activity 2 year 6-8. For this task I was told to write about a challenge that I overcame. What I found hard while making this post was finding a challenge that I overcame. Here is my post about My Challenge!

A Starry NIght

This is another Summer Learning Journey post for Day 2 Week 3 Activity 1 year 6-8. For this task I was told to look at a picture, then I had to describe what I saw. Here is the link to the picture that I had to look at. What I found hard while making this post was trying to look at the picture really closely. Here is my post about A Starry Night.

A Starry Night

I can see a sky that’s full of swirls of blue. Thousands of stars floated in the sky. The hills where like waves rising and falling. The village was just a variety of colours. The church top was seen for miles. A huge fire arose on the hillside. But this one was black and peculiar.

Rivalry

Here I am again for another Summer Learning Journey post for Day 1 Week 3 Activity 3 year 6-8. For this task I was told to write down three different rivalries in sport or something different. But to get full points I had to have a picture of the rivalry. What I found hard while making this was trying to find some good rivals. Here is my post about rivalry!

My YouTube Channel

Here is another Summer Learning Journey post for Day 1 Week 3 Activity 2 year 6-8. For this task I was told to imagine that I am a YouTuber and I had to write down what my YouTube channel was going to be about and what kind of videos am I going to do. What I found hard while making this post was trying to find what my YouTube channel was going to be about. Here is my post about My YouTube Channel!

My Favourite Websites

This is another Summer Learning Journey post for Day 1 Week 3 Activity 1 year 6-8. Do you have any favourite websites? Well, for this task I was told to take a screenshot of four different websites that I liked. Then I had to put them all on a presentation. What I found hard while making this post was trying to find good websites. Here is my post about My Favourite Websites!

Dr Martin Luther King, Jr.

As you know this is my last post for this week so here is my 30th Summer Learning Journey post for Day 5 Week 2 Activity 3 year 6-8. For this task I was told that I could write about any politician or activist I wanted, as long as the post had the name of the person, what they do and how does what they do help people. I picked Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. What I found hard while making this post was finding a good person to write about. Here is my post about Dr Martin Luther King, Jr.

My Random Act Of Kindness

This is another Summer Learning Journey post for Day 5 Week 2 Activity 2 year 6-8. For this task I was told to perform a random act of kindness and then I had to write what I did, how did it make me feel and how did it affect the person. What I found hard while making this post was trying to find a good act of kindness to perform. Here is my post about My Random Act Of Kindness.

New South Wales Fires

This is another Summer Learning Journey post for Day 5 Week 2 Activity 1 year 6-8. As you know Australia has been having the most dreadful fires and the worst are in New South Wales. For this task I was told to brainstorm five ideas about how to help the people in NSW that have been through the terrors of the fires. What I found hard while making this post was trying to think up some good ideas. This post was supposed to be in video but I had problems, sorry! Here is my post about How To Help The People Who Were Affected By The NSW Fires.

My Role Model

This is another Summer Learning Journey post for Day 4 Week 2 Activity 3 year 6-8. For this task I was told to write about someone who is a role model to me and it could be a parent, grandparent, cousin or a neighbour. I picked my Mum! What I found hard while making this post was trying to find a good Role Model to write about. The picture in that post is a free photo from Pexels Here is my post about Wise Words From My Mum!

Indigenous Groups

This is another Summer Learning Journey post for Day 4 Week 2 Activity 2 year 6-8. For this task I was told to look at five different websites for different Indigenous Groups, then I had to pick two that I was interested in. I had to to write down two different facts for each group so its four in total. What I found hard while making this post was picking two Indigenous Groups that I was interested in. Here is my post about Indigenous Groups!

Whakataukī

Here is another Summer Learning Journey post for Day 4 Week 2 Activity 1 year 6-8. For this task I was told to go onto a document and pick a Whakataukī that you liked out of seven others. Then I had to write down the Whakataukī and have a picture of what it is. What I found hard while making this post was  picking a good Whakataukī for my post. Here is my post about a inspirational Whakataukī.

Dork Diaries, Birthday Drama

This is another Summer Learning Journey post for Day 3 Week 2 Activity 3 year 6-8. For this task I was told to write a short book review about a book I like with a picture or illustration of the book. What I found hard while making this post was trying to find a good book to write about. Here is my post about a book called Dork Diaries, Birthday Drama!

Whats Outside

Here is another Summer Learning Journey post for Day 3 Week 2 Activity 2 year 6-8. For this task I was told to write a ten sentence short story about whatever I wanted as long as it was ten sentences. What I found hard while making this post was trying to find what to write about. Here is my post about Whats Outside.

Dame Whina Cooper

This is my 22nd Summer Learning Journey post for Day 3 Week 2 Activity 1 year 6-8. For this task I was told to find a inspirational woman to put on the New Zealand ten dollar note instead of Kate Sheppard and I had to have a little explanation of why I picked the person. I picked Dame Whina Cooper. What I found hard while making this post was finding the right woman to go on a ten dollar note. Here is my post about why Dame Whina Cooper should be on a ten dollar note.

Rosa Parks

Here is another Summer Learning Journey post for Day 2 Week 2 Activity 3 year 6-8. For this task I was told to consider a problem that black men and woman faced and I had to write down what Rosa Parks did about that. I also had to write what other people thought of it. What I found hard while making this post was finding key things about what Rosa Parks did. Here is my post about Rosa Parks!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

This is another Summer Learning Journey post for Day 2 Week 2 Activity 2 year 6-8. For this task I was told to go onto a website about students trying to protest about climate change. What I found hard while doing this post was finding what to write down out of what I learnt. Here is my post about Climate Change!

Nelson Mandela's Story

Here is another Summer Learning Journey post for Day 2 Week 2 Activity 1 year 6-8.  For this task I was told to act like I was Nelson Mandela when he was in prison and have a journal for the days he spent in there ( 27 years) and try to write down how he felt and lived and I had to make it very descriptive. What I found hard while making this post was trying to figure out how he felt because you would not be happy in a prison! Here is a post about Nelson Mandela's Story.

Dear Jacinda,

Here is another Summer Learning Journey post for Day 1 Week 2 Activity 3 year 6-8. For this task I was told to write a letter to Jacinda Ardern either about something serious or something silly. But I made mine serious. While writing this post I found it hard to put my thinking into the right words! Here is is my post about a letter to Jacinda Ardern.

Dr Jessa Rogers

This is my 17th Summer Learning Journey post for Day 1 Week 2 Activity 2 year 6-8. I was told for this task to work out a years, months and days question which was... 7 April 1985- 9 July 2010. Then I had to work out what was the difference between those two dates. What I found hard while doing this post was calculating the months and the days took a lot of thinking! Here is my post about Dr Jessa Rogers Award Age!

Top 5 Things I Love To Do!

This is another Summer Learning Journey post for Day 1 Week 2 Activity 1 year 6-8. For this task I had to write about the Top 5 things that I love to do and I had to have a photo for each thing. What I found hard while making this post was trying to find the right pictures for my favourite things to do. But I finished it all up. Here is my post on the top 5 things I love to do!

Captain James Cook

Here I am for my last Summer Learning Journey post for Day 5 Week 1 Activity 3 this week. For this task I had to pick an Explorer or a Sportsperson that I like and I had to have their name, what they do and how their work helps others on the document. I picked Captain James Cook! Here is my post about Captain James Cook.

Yusra Mardini's Story

Here I am again for another Summer Learning Journey post for Day 5 Week 1 Activity 2 year 6-8. What I found very interesting while doing this post that Yusra was only 14 or 15 when she went on the journey to get to Berlin. But the thing I really like about Yusra Mardini was that even though there were a few problems on the voyage she kept going, she didn't want to die in the water ( especially if she was a good swimmer!) Here is my post about Yusra Mardini!

Yusra Mardini’s Story

She once had a happy life and a good home, a good city and a good country.
But now, now thats all gone. One single day changed all that. 

Yusra Mardini’s had a good family, Mum, Dad, a little sister and an older sister
named Sarah in Syria. When she was younger she was scared of the water
so when all her friends jumped in
she would look at the deep end, and she could
scarcely see the bottom! So when she tried to
float on her feet, she fell head first.
That’s when she realised she loved it, so her Dad and her older sister,
Sarah trained her to become a professional swimmer.
When she dived into the pool all her problems disappeared,
it was like a whole different world! She was winning heaps
of competitions all while her country was happy.

But when Yusra was thirteen there was war in her country between the
Syria Government and the Protesters who wanted the
country to be a democracy but the President didn’t want that.
So anyone who spoke their minds where shot,
more Syrian Protesters were shot, more and more
people died and it turned into a civil war.
Big protest groups tried to fight the government to get control of cities.
More people died but they were just ordinary people minding
their own business and that’s what worried Yusra and her family.
But for the first year they were safe in their home in the capital of Syria,
the suburbs of Damascus.

Soon the fighting came to the outskirts of Damascus and them
and their neighbours could hear explosions and machine guns far away.
But after a few months the fighting reached the middle of Damascus.
One day when Yusra and her Dad were walking to the gym for swimming training,
they spotted big holes in the roof and Yusra’s beloved pool had rubble in it.
Yusra had to stop training because her swimming place had been bombed and
she had nowhere to swim anymore. 

 After that only a few of the neighbourhoods where safe
and Yusra’s life was getting torn apart.
The war had reached her city and every hour of the
day machine gun bullets pounded through the streets,
and huge tanks rolled through the neighbourhood.
Her family where all so scared of what could happen to them.

When Yusra was only fourteen she knew they had to leave it
was going to be dangerous but it was even more dangerous staying in their home.
when Yusra begged her parents to make the trip to Europe
their first response was a no. It was too dangerous
for all five of them to go and Yusra’s little sister was only a toddler.

Sadly, the bombings reached their neighbourhood and their house was destroyed.
No one got hurt because no one was home but everything
they had and all their belongings were lost.
Her mother finally let in and Yusra ended up going with
her cousins that were making a trip to Europe but luckily Sarah was going too.
But when the day came that she had to leave her Dad,
Mum and little sister it changed her life.
Would she ever see them again? 

The only things she bought with her was a cellphone, some clothes and money
to pay people to help them. In most of the countries
Syrian Refugees where welcome so those people were going
to help them cross the borders. The plan was
to go to Berlin, Germany where other Syrian
Refugees have gone and to find a nice community there and
Yusra hoped she could swim again.

They finally started their journey to Berlin, Germany. Yusra
was going with her cousins, older sister and another group of
Syrian refugees. First they flew to Beirut, Lebanon then they went to Istanbul,
Turkey. They were all worried that they would get caught by the police
who would send them back to Syria but they never did. From Istanbul they
made their way south to a coast closest

to the Mediterranean sea and it was really close to an island
in Greece called Lesbos too.That's where they would meet up with guys
who would help them get a boat and
get off land without anyone seeing.
This would be the most dangerous part of their journey, by sea. 

They hid in the trees by the beach waiting for the
right moment to make a move and then it came.
They ran to the boat loaded all twenty people in and
they where off with their little motor but not for long.
The Turkish Coastguard spotted them and told them
to come back to shore. Yusra now knew that it was going to be harder than
she thought.

They tried again but this time it was at night when the
darkness loomed over the sea and when the coast was
clear the ran to the little boat.

Once everyone was in they pushed off to sea and
started the motor.
But after about twenty minutes the motor sounded
as if it were working too hard and then as the minutes
went by it slowed and slowed to a stop.
THE MOTOR WAS BROKEN!

As the water started washing into the boat
the people tried to fix the motor.
After all, the boat was only a little dingy and
was supposed to only hold six people but it
had twenty in it today. None of the Refugees
wanted to die because only four of them knew how
to swim, so they threw everything they had out of the boat but that didn’t
make a difference. As the water was
ankle deep Yusra looked at Sarah
and they knew what to do. 

The two sisters and two other people from the
boat jumped out into the freezing water and Yusra
grabbed the rope at the front and started to swim
with one hand and her legs. Pushing and dragging
for an hour now they were starting
to get tired but they could see the island in the distance
so nobody gave up hope. 

But Yusra’s muscles where starting to get numb from all
the work they have been doing. So when she
thought she could do no more she looked up
into the boat and spotted a little boy perhaps six around
the same age as her little sister.
She thought they were going to die out her but she managed
a smile and tried to make him laugh because even if they did
die out here they might as well go down laughing!

When they were just about to give up hope Yusra looked at
the island and it seemed like they were actually getting closer!
So they kept on going until… they hit land, they finally made it to land!
Yusra, Sarah and the other two refugees that were swimming did
all of that for three and a half hours! 

So as soon as they got to land they just laid there trying to regain strength.
Those four amazing people had saved the lives of themselves
and sixteen other people! But no their journey
wasn’t finished yet they still had to get
to Berlin, Germany and they were in Greece!
They travelled north from country to country, crossing borders
to get to their final destination. But they had one problem on their way there. 

After a month long trip through nine different countries,
Yusra was in Berlin. Her life was far from
perfect now, she had to sleep on the
ground in a refugee camp but she had heard of a swimming club.
Even though she had not swum in two years she still tried
out for one of the swimming teams and even though she
wasn't really in shape the coach knew that she would be
a good swimmer. So Yusra got into the routine of getting up at 6.00am in
the morning to go and swim before school and as soon as
her classes were out she would go down to the swimming
pool for more practise. Her times where getting
faster and people started to notice. In 2016 she got into
The Refugee Olympic swimming team with
ten other refugees ( she apparently still didn’t have an official
country even though she lives in Berlin now!)

When doing 100m Butterfly she was the only one in her heat
from the swimming team and she WON!
Now her parents and little sister live in Berlin with her. She
didn’t care what country she swam for she just wanted to make
refugees around the world proud!

By Sophie

Things That Are Important To Me

This is my 13th Summer Learning Journey post for Day 5 Week 1 Activity 1 year 6-8. I was told for this task to write down 3 different things that are important to me. What I found hard while making this post was finding good things that are important to me. But I got there! Here is my post about things that are important to me!

West Coast Travel Brochure

Here's another Summer Learning Journey post for Day 4 Week 1 Activity 3 year 6-8. I had to try to make a travel brochure about a country that is special to you but I mixed it up a bit and I did mine on the West Coast! What I found hard while making this post was trying to find a good district to do it on. But I know where my heart lies! Here is my post about how awesome the West Coast is!

My New Name

Here is another Summer Learning Journey post for Day 4 Week 1 Activity 2 year 6-8. In this task I was asked to change my name. What I found hard while making this post was finding a really cool name because there are thousands of cool names out there! But I found a cool one in the end! Here is my post about my new name!

Serena and Venus Williams

This is my 10th Summer Learning Journey post for Day 4 Week 1 Activity 1 year 6-8. I had to watch 2 videos about Serena and Venus Williams and one was about women who play tennis pay rights and the other was about their accomplishments. What I found hard while doing this task was finding key things about the two sisters that I learnt. But I got there. Here is my post about Serena and Venus Williams!

The Lawyer

Here I am again for another Summer Learning Journey post on Day 3 Week 1 Activity 3 year 6-8. For this task I had to pick a friend or a family member that has a dream job. Then I had to brainstorm 6 ways I can help them get the job. I picked my friend, Tahlia and she wants to be a lawyer. What I found hard while doing this post was trying to find really good ways to help Tahlia get her job. But I did it! Here is my post about helping my friend be a lawyer!

The Interview

Here is another Summer Learning Journey post for Day 3 Week 1 Activity 2 year 6-8. I had to pick a famous basketball player like Lebron James or Steven Adams, then I had think I was interviewing them. So I had to write down 5 questions I would ask my picked basketball player. What I found hard while doing this post was trying to make up some good questions. But I got there eventually! Here is my post on Interviewing Steven Adams!

My Superpowers!

It's getting closer to Christmas only 5 days now. CAN'T WAIT! Here is my next Summer Learning Journey post for Day 3 Week 1 Activity 1 year 6-8. I had to pick three superpowers and then have my reasons why i picked them and what am I going to do with them. What I found challenging while doing this post was finding the superpowers that will make a change in the world. But I finally got the right ones! Here is my post on My Superpowers!

My Awesome Dad

This is my sixth Summer Learning Journey post for Day 2 Week 1 Activity 3 year 6-8. I had to write about someone I know or what I did that was heroic. I picked my Dad! The thing I found hard while making this post was trying to find a good heroic story. But I was happy to nominate my Dad. Here is my post about my awesome Dad!

Neil Armstrong Poem

Here I am again for another Summer Learning Journey post for Day 2 Week 1 Activity 2 year 6-8. The thing I found challenging was finding the right words for my poem. But it was cool how we got to do any kind poem we wanted! I had to write a short poem thinking I was Neil Armstrong ( the first person to set foot on the moon) and I had to write how it would feel. Here is my Acrostic Poem.

The excitement grew inside me

How I longed for this moment

Each of my parents cheered me on

Death gripped my mind

A risk I took

Yet I kept on going

Amelia Earhart and Jean Batten

Here's my fourth Summer Learning Journey post for Day 2 Week 1 Activity 1 year 6-8. What I found hard while making this blog post was trying to find the differences and  common things about Jean Batten and Amelia Earhart. But I enjoyed learning about both of their lives. Here is my post about Jean Batten and Amelia Earhart.

How SPCA'S Help The World

Here is my third Summer Learning Journey post for Day 1 Week 1 Activity 3 year 6-8. What I found challenging while making this post was to pick a good charity cause they were all so awesome! But I loved the SPCA one best! Here is my post about How SPCA'S Help The World.

My Culture

Here I am again for another Summer Learning Journey blog post. This time I have finished the Day 1 Week 1 Activity 2 for year 6-8 students. The thing I found hard while doing this blog post was finding out what my culture is because because I am part British, Irish, Scottish, Australian, NZ and English. But I loved finding out where my ancestors where from! Here is my Summer Learning Journey blog post about my culture!

10 Foods To Bring On A Sea Voyage

The summer holidays have already started at Awahono School. So I though I might start getting into the routine of doing a Summer Learning Journey post everyday. I have completed the Day 1 Week 1 Activity 1 for year 6-8. The thing I found hard while doing this post was trying to find food that lasts long because if you picked the wrong one you could starve. But I loved how we got to pick what foods WE wanted to eat. I love the topic of the Summer Learning Journey because I love learning about the history of the world and the people on it. Here is my blog post on 10 Foods To Bring On A Sea Voyage.

My Respect Reminder

Sometimes in class I am not always an A+ student... so here are some reminders for me that I wrote for myself and it might help you too!

Wooden Christmas Trees

In class we have been getting into the Christmas mood by making Wooden Christmas Trees. First we had to find a big or little piece of wood that was a triangle shape for our tree. Then we had to start planing out what patterns we wanted on it. Now for the painting part, most of us are at this stage right now but some have already finished. Tahlia and I are in the middle of painting our big tree. Here is our Christmas tree that is not quiet finished. I am excited to show you the finish product so stay tuned. 

My War Speech

In Room Six we have been learning how to write speeches. We had to chose a specific topic, mine was World War 1. What I found really hard was when we had to pronounce all the words right and actually saying the speech in front of people. Some people who were confident in talking in front of people were able to put there names up for Speech Board. Speech Board is an event where you share your speech with slideshows and props in front of real judges! I was one of the people who did it. After we did the speech they rated us on ow we presented it. The different awards were a disqalification, pass, commended, highly commended and distinction. One of our students at Awahono school was rated a  distinction which is the highest rating and most of the others where rated highly commended or commended. here is my World War 1 speech!  

I hear people say… If we didn’t have this war we wouldn’t have any of the things we have now. but I just don’t understand, Why have all this technology when you could have saved the lives of thousands. even if some did survive the horror they remember from war would be with them until the end.

 This is how it all started out. It was the one time that THE GREAT WAR could've been stopped. So, there was this guy who was named Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and he was the next in line for the Austo-Hungarin throne, but I think there was some people like Gavrilo Princip who were really really jealous, like deadly jealous. So, on 28 of June 1914 when that guy and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg were riding in one of those convertible carriages with no roof, There was an assassination. And sadly The Duchess of Hohenberg and Archduke Franz Ferdinand died, when they were shot to death by.. Yep, you guessed! Gavrilo Princip the really jealous guy. So. after that he was in prison for twenty long years which he obviously deserved and basically everything went downhill from that. And that was how a Deadly Deadly war started.

 If you were a soldier that guilty feeling would not go away, knowing you killed and slaughtered so many people.. So many innocent people. You would never forgive yourself. A warrior you were but now just a body in the field once brave and bold but now broken. When you signed up you thought it would be fun, no life or death situations, you thought it would just be a game but no, no war is much different from that. Sometimes, a soldier might just knock on your door saying that you must die, and you can’t hide because there is nowhere to go, you just have to accept your fate. You know your innocent but they don’t know that and I don’t think they will believe you because they just want to get it over and done with, maybe there's somewhere else they need to be, for example: on the battlefield shooting bullets through the enemies heads. Yep, they’ve got to do that. For some reason!

 The harsh reality they had to live in back then would have been gruesome and deadly. And I know I wouldn’t like to be in that situation. But I am going to make sure that there is not any more wars like that in the future.