Experience Cobham Visit

Excitement buzzed in the air as all the year 6's from Wairakei crowded onto the bus, trying to find the perfect seats next to their friends. It was going to be such a fun morning! Cobham Intermediate gave us the chance to go along to their school for the morning and experience some of the activities that intermediate children do. 

When we arrived we waited outside for a few minutes until one of the students came and escorted us to the hall. We weren't the only primary school there. Burnside Primary was there too! The head students and deputy head students welcomed us before the principle, Mr Thelning, had a chat with us.

Soon after we were split into groups and taken to our first activity for the morning. My first class was 'Habits of Mind'. We played a game where the teacher said "a ship came out to port loaded with a cargo full of things beginning with....". He would then say a letter and when he pointed at you you had to try and say something begginning with that letter but only in three seconds! If you don't say anything or your word doesn't start with that letter you are out. I won the game and when I played against Mr Thelning I won again! We then invented some creative shoes and drew them on paper.

After morning tea we were sent off in different groups to a new activity. I was so lucky! I was in the cooking tech group! We made scones in pairs and were given the choice to put either dates or cheese in them. Funnily enough everyone chose cheese!

I really enjoyed the Cobham experience and I think Cobham Intermediate would be a good school for me because they have lots of opportunities for students to get involved; not just because they gave us sausages and fizzy drinks!

Cycle Safety Day 1

I can already tell that this week is going to be a busy but fun, full on week with Cycle Safety at school. The Cycle Safe team go around schools and teach children how to ride safely on the road. The year 6's get to part take this week! That's me!!! Today everyones bike and helmet got checked to make sure they are safe to use. My helmet is all good and so is my bike, well, except for one minor issue but it is safe to ride which is the main thing! People who don't have a bike or a helmet get to borrow but only under one condition - that they wear the provided hair net under the helmet. I guess that is to prevent nits from spreading. Today we also learnt about signalling and checking for cars. After our lesson on that we got tested to see if we are ready to ride on the road. I passed! Yay! So, tomorrow I will get to ride on the road. I will update you later in the week but that's all I have to say for now. Have an awesome week!

Student Leader and Student Council

I am so excited! I have been accepted as a student leader for Wairakei school, 2014. Firstly, the eight student leaders have voted for me and another girl to be the media people. This means we create advertising for school events, organised by the student council or we might write reports for the school newsletter! I am super happy to be chosen for this role! 

All the student leaders from our school (not the student council) are going to a training day in a couple of weeks time. This will help to build up our leadership skills even more and it will help us become better leaders. I am really looking forwards to this.

I am also a part of the student council. The student council will organise events throughout the year to fundraise for the school or charities like world vision. We will also arrange events that are just for pure fun. 

It is a big step up to become a leader of the school but I feel I will be able to handle it pretty well. I can't wait to tell you more about my leadership journey as the year progresses!

Newspaper Article

The newspaper article which Leo and I wrote has finally been printed in the Nor' West newspaper! The article is about our year 6 school camp and how the Okains Bay locals helped us out when the Okains Bay campground was closed due to storm damage. It looks really great! Here is the link to the online version. Take a look!

http://issuu.com/the.star/docs/114090na/9?e=0 

School Camp

Last week we went to Okains Bay for our school camp. It was so much fun! Here is an article that I wrote with my friend Leo for the local news paper. Hopefully next week when the news paper comes out I will be able to take a photo of it to post on my blog!

Campground Closure Works In School's Favour

Okains Bay locals generously came to the rescue by opening the school grounds for use when the storm damaged campground was temporarily closed. It was such a relief to many of the Wairakei School pupils when it was announced that the Year 6's would still be able to go to Okains Bay for their school camp as planned, only with a slight change of tenting destination. "I was so grateful when we were overwhelmed with Okains Bay's kindness," admits Wairakei School teacher Kate Olliff, "it really was welcoming of them to allow us to use their school grounds for four days!"

A fun filled four days would have definitely occurred for the students and teachers as they enjoyed some relaxing time away from the classroom. They did many challenging activities from playing at the beach and going to a Maori/Colonial Museum to setting up their own tents and cooking their own meals. It was a great chance for the children, being the oldest in the school, to use their leadership skills and to prove what great role models they can be to the younger ones whom look up to them. Year 6 student Teagrae says, "I really enjoyed camp but most of all I feel it really helped me to step up because I had to cooperate well with other people and I don't usually work in a group."

Despite the fact that they had to tent on a school ground everything went as planned and in the end, the change actually worked in their favour. "It was great to be camping in the centre of the Okains Bay Village because the children who go to the school there were able enjoy the opportunity to spend more time with different children," agrees Wairakei School principal Shane Buckner, "the use of the Okains Bay School pool was also much appreciated!" The year 6's are now back at Wairakei School and are carrying on their school work as per prior the camp. 

2014 - My World

I am really excited for 2014 and what it has in store for me! This year I'm in a BYOD (bring your own device) class which means everyone in my class has their own iPad that they bring to school each day. After doing some research I have realised how far technology has come over the past few years. I am also really looking forwards to Yr 6 camp which is going to be heaps of fun! We are going to Okains bay for three nights and four days and are tenting all three nights. Surely that's something to look forward to!

I have a lot of hobbies and things that interest me. First of all I really enjoy dancing because it is a way of expressing myself through movement. This year I am taking lessons in ballet, contemporary and stretch/pilates. Throughout the year I will be entering various competitions for ballet, possibly contemporary and hopefully by the end of of the year I will have reached a high enough level to sit the RAD (royal academy of dance) grade 5 exam for ballet. As well as expressing myself through dancing I like to express my feelings through music. This year I am learning both the flute and the piano for my fourth year. I am also hoping to take part in group lessons such as recorder ensemble, instrumental group and choir. One part of music that I really enjoy is that I have the freedom to compose my own pieces and songs. Another thing I like to do in my free time is make lots of arts and crafts things - a nice relaxing thing to do, espiecally on a rainy day!