Pose for the Camera!

Yesterday was a Sunday. A Sunday that involved a photoshoot.

At 10 o'clock, on the dot, my parents and I went to a photoshoot including a few of my dad's Strength Tech crew. There were two photographers. They had lots of big and small flashes.

Before they started taking photos like crazy, we had to prepare a simple workout and wait for some of our Strength Tech crew to roll in. We had at least 20 or more members come and help out with the photoshoot.

Finally! We were ready to take photos. My dad started the photoshoot by getting our crew to do a movement called "Kettlebell (KB) Clean & Press". To be honest, from my perspective it looked hilarious. In total they did about 10 different movements and drills. From running on the spot to boxing hard out, they definitly were working hard and hopefully the photographers got a load of great photos!

A New Principal?

Breaking news! Mrs Vickers is retiring. 

It has been decided that it is time for Mrs Vickers to retire. Ms Gorge (A.K.A our chairperson) accepted Mrs Vickers' decision and has been very supportive towards it. 

Yesterday, Thursday 29th Novemeber, Ruapotaka School offically met our new principal for 2019. The new principal is female and has a lively personality. Her name is Mrs Hamilton.

Not too sure about what lies ahead next year but, I can confidently say we will all be sad to see Mrs Vickers go.

Clean, Dirty... Clean, Dirty.

This term has been all about litter in our environment. My class has made many discoveries and documents about what we have learnt.

My group including, Ana, Malia, Katrina and Vika, created a slide presentation from information we've gathered from websites and our classroom.

I'm In a Sticky Situation! - Tech With Mr Pineda

This week at Tech I was able to finally assemble my charity box.

I decided, I didn't want to make a normal box so, I made a heart (box?) At first I was getting very frustrated and annoyed but as soon as I slowed down to take a minutes or two to think, I became very relaxed and chilled out.

20 Minutes Later

Now that my blue print is finished, I cutted the shape out and hoped I wouldn't cut myself.

Here is what it looks like after it has been assembled

Not Your Usual Comic... - My Weekend Fun

During the weekend I was reading all sorts of comics on an app called Webtoon. The comic I was reading is called "I Love Yoo" by a woman that goes by the name of Quimiche.

Her comic fills me up with joy and always puts a smile on my face. I Love Yoo is based on a 17 year old girl, Shine-Ae, who was seperated from her mother and older sister at a young age. Throughout her childhood and middle school years Shine-Ae was bullied. What I thought was sad though, is the fact she always lied to her dad and said she was fine. I thought Shine-Ae was a brave person for never letting the bullies get the best of her. Shine-Ae always wore a smile on her face.

79 chapters later, she has made some friends and enemies throughtout her wild journey with a couple of rich people but, they are so kind to her (Majority of the time).

11/11/18 Armistice Day

This Sunday is Armistice Day. A Day where we celebrate the truce made by Allies of WW1.

 My class decided to commemorate Armistice Day by creating slide-shows fulled of information and pictures from WW1. My group is made up of very skilled people when it comes to slide presentations. With help from Pupuke, Tristan and Tiari we were able to make an outstanding slide presentation about Armistice Day.

Phones on Silent Please the Movie Will Begin Shortly...

Wednesday 7 November... The day my class and I become FAMOUS!

Today is the 11th annual Manaiakalani Film Festival. There are 13 schools in the Manaiakalani cluster... The theatres were crowded! So many films were show-cased that I'm not completely sure which film was my favourite but I am definitely proud of my school and my class.

Here is my class film. Filmed by Tupouseini, edited by Saluselo, script holder, Riiana and directed by me, Jessica.

Shh... Testing in Progress - Test Week

It's almost the end of week two and my brain has been working extremely hard. 

We've had all sorts of tests. From writing to mathmatics our week has been completely messed up. I am 75% positive I have improved my scores from the beginning of the year. 

Out of all the tests, my absolute favourite would have to be... The PAT mathmatics. Not completely sure why but, I think I love looking at the different diagrams and reading the story problems. I know what some of you may be thinking, "Well, that's a bit weird" but it's what I like.

Making Logos - Graphics with Mr Pineda

Today, the 17th of October, my class returned to Tamaki College. My group and I, were designing logos for a charity we chose.

I chose Domestic Abuse as my charity. I believe no one should be treated as if they don't have a life by being physically pushed, kicked or worse. That's why I chose Domestic Abuse as my charity. As I've mentioned before we made some logos supporting our charity. Here are my logo's so far.

Hello Term 4 and Goodbye Term 3!

The holidays have ended and Term 4 has begun. This Term is going to be the busiest by far! I am so excited and nervous about what lies ahead.

Preparing for Culture Groups

This week, we've sorted out our culture groups for the end of the year. We have a Maori, Samoan, Tongan and Cook Island group. I'm in the Samoan group. 

We are a few steps ahead by, practicing now. I am so thrilled that I can take part in the Samoan group! I enjoy learning more about my culture by dancing and expressing myself. Mrs Folu, our Samoan teacher, has been teaching me for three years so I am very thankful for her help. 

I can't wait until next term. The real journey begins. My adrenaline is going to go through the roof! Here are the Samoan girls from last year. 

ToonDoo - Graphics with Mr Pineda

This week at Tech, I'm with a new teacher with a whole new style.

My new teacher for Tech is a man called, Mr Pineda. He does things based on drawing and designing. In other words, graphics. I am so stoked! Mr Pineda welcomed us into his classroom and introduced himself.

A few minutes of chatter and introductions later, we finally started our activities. We created an account on a wondous website called ToonDoo. Here is what I've created so far.

3, 2, 1... Pow! - Volleyball

Yesterday, the 4th of September was the last day for volleyball. My class had great fun playing against eachother.

Coach Renee had so much planned for us. We had a combination of games, elimination, a tournament and two rounds of boys vs girls. I had a lot of fun!

At the end of our session though, sadly, we had to say farewell to coach Renee. Right before we split our seperate ways we had a photo shoot. 24 photos later we finally said our last goodbye and thank you to coach Renee.

You Want a Pizza (Piece of) Me! - Cooking with Robati, Saluselo and Konzay

This is the last week of cooking with Mrs Tuipoluto. We made Hawaiian pizza.

This was a "group project". I joined forces with Robati, Saluselo and Konzay.

Method:
Step 1 - Spread tomato paste on to pita bread.
Step 2 - Add diced onion and ham.
- Drain pineapple from a can.
- Add to pizza.
Step 3 - Sprinkle a handful of chesse on top of everything.
Step 4 - Place in oven at 200°c.
- Bake until chesse has melted.
Step 5 - Take out and cool down.
Step 6 - Top it off with either tomato sauce or hot chilli sauce. (Optional)
Step 7 - Enjoy.

I have really learnt a lot from cooking with Mrs Tuipoluto. The three main things I learnt was, 1, how to read the instructions 2, how to read the ingredients 3, how to measure the ingredients. I am grateful for being able to learn these things for future reference. 

Busting Out Rhymes Isn't a Crime - Poetry Recital

Last week Friday, the 20th of August, Ruapotaka School had a poetry recital. All classes from Room 1-12 had at least three finalist. I was one of many finalists with my partner Tupouseini.

From Room 1 all the way up to Room 12 I could see the different standards each class had. For Room's 1, 5 and 6 they just had to learn and memerise a poem as for Room's 9, 10 and 12 we had to learn and memerise a poem, use expression, have a steady place and use props (optional). 

I was nervous and excited at the same time! Before Tupouseini and I started, we looked at eachother and shared a smile.
                                               

Here are all the finalist from my class, Room 12. Left to right we have Saluselo, Tyron, Tupouseini, me and Leanah.

Double Dutch Jump, Jump! - Skipping Practice

This term we having skipping! My class is working very hard to come up with a routine to preform infront of the whole school and some parents if we're lucky.

My class is divided into 3 groups. Groups of 7-9. My group is made up of really talented students when it comes to skipping such as, Tupouseini, Izabella, Mary, Tiari, Saluselo, Tyron, Tristan, Leaaepeni and of course, me. We have been working very hard to come up with a routine and now we just need to memerise it and fit it in with some music.

Get to The Point Already! - Cooking with Robati and Saluselo

This week at Tech I was accompanied by two of my classmates, Robati and Saluselo. Together we made sausage kebabs. 

Method:
Step 1 - Soak the non pointy end of the kebab sticks in cold water.
Step 2 - Slice sausage into four. Half it then half it again.
Step 3 - Slice a piece of red capsicum and red onion.
Step 4 - Put both sausage and vegetables on the kebab stick.
Step 5 - Set completed kebabs on a flat tray, put in oven at 200°c for 15 minutes.
Step 6 - Take the kebabs out, cool down and enjoy.

Preparing For Cross-Country!

For the past few weeks, at school, we've been practicing running for Cross-Country. Our routine had to be changed because of the wet grass but, that didn't stop us from trying our hardest. 

Each day for 2-3 weeks, we ran for 10-15 minutes. At first I wasn't so hyped but, once I had a rhythm it wasn't as bad as I thought. I zoned out... Then next thing I knew our 10, 15 minutes were up.

Pasta-La Vista! - Cooking with Bella

I am once again at Tech. This week my partner, Bella and I made ham and pasta salad.


Ham & Pasta Salad: Method
Step 1 - Boil pasta until it's soft.
Step 2 - Drain the pasta in cold water (use colander)
Step 3 - Dice half a tomato, half an onion and some ham.
Step 4 - Add tomato, onion, ham and mayo to pasta.
Step 5 - Serve in a white bowl.
Step 6 - Clean up.

The taste of the pasta salad was very different from what I'm used to. It had fresh and refilling vibe to it which I can't exactly explain. Overall I thought it tasted okay, a bit under seasoned but, not terrible. 

Kahurangi: Maori Myths and Legends

On Wednesday the 1st of August, a group of young, Maori performers came to our school.

The group was made up of two males and four females. They started their performance by singing Maori songs. Afterwards, they all introduced themselves one by one. We all said "Kia ora!" with our loudest voices.

Once they finished introducing themselves, they continued the on with the show. They retold a myth about a beatiful sea creature and a handsome man from the land. The man was madly inlove with the beatiful sea creature and so goes for the sea creature. There love was so strong that the man wished he could stay with her forever but sadly couldn't, the only way for that to be possible was to make the lovely maiden eat cooked food. The man tried to feed her cooked food in her sleep but she woke up from the smell of the cooked food. She ran away and became a rock under the sea upset.

That myth was my favourite one out of everything they performed. Hopefully one day they will come back and perform for us once again.

You Butter (Better) Not Mess With my Chicken! - Cooking with Robati and Saluselo

This week at Tech we cooked butter chicken with rice. Cooking along side me was Robati and Saluselo.

Method:
Step 1 - Dice the chicken.
Step 2 - Fry the chicken until brown.
Step 3 - Take out the chicken into a white bowl.
Step 4 - Fry onion until soft.
- Add sauce,
- Add chicken.
Step 5 - Serve with rice.

Once we were finished we took a spoon and taste tested our completed dish. I thought the dish was very favourful and nicely cooked. Although, Robati did think it was a bit too spicy, Saluselo and I didn't mind the heat.

I am seriously considering making butter chicken again following,
Mrs Tuipulotu's recipe!

Nacho (Not Your) Cheese! - Cooking With George

This week at Tech, Mrs Tuipulotu put us into new pairs. My new bubby for Tech is a student from Saint Puis named George. George and I made Nachos following Mrs Tuipulotu's recipe.

Nachos - Method and Ingredients 
Step 1 - Dice an onion.
- Fry until soft.
Step 2 - Break up the mince.
- Add to fried onion until a nice brown color.
Step 3 - Mix together baked beans, a tablespoon of tomato paste and tomato puree until combined.
Step 4 - Add sauce to the mince.
- Add cheese to the mince once the sauce is bubbling.
Step 5 - Serve the Nachos with corn chips on a plate or in a bowl.

When we plated our food I could see the cheese sliding down like an avalanche. It looked so good but, smelt weird to me. Mrs Tuipuloto come around giving everyone a plastic spoon so we could taste our food. My partner George said he liked the flavour of the sauce so, I took his word for it and gave it a go... To be honest, I thought it had a weird, sour taste. 

If I were to make Nachos again I would use kidney beans(black beans) instead of baked beans.

My Egg-cellent Time At Tech: Cooking With Helena

(As you can see, I am smiling awkwardly)

Today we made 11-12 quiches. Once again I paired up with Helena. 

Baking with Helena was very fun and interesting because I learnt how to re-use the left over pastery we had and I got to learn a bit more about Helena.

Ingredients:

• One sheet of puff pastery
• Ham
• Cheese
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup of milk

Method:

Step 1 - Cut the puff pastery into 12 pieces.

•  Put pastery into two muffin trays.

Step 2 - Dice ham. 

• Add ham to the muffin tray.
• Add cheese also.

Step 3 - Whisk 4 eggs together with 1/2 cup of milk.

•  Add evenly to muffin tray.

Step 4 - Bake for 15 minutes at 180℃.

Cooking With Helena

Today at Tech I paired up with a Saint Pius student called Helena. Together we made pasta with mince.

Pasta With Mince - Ingredients and Method

Step 1 - Boil pasta with 2 cups of hot water until soft. Drain under cold water using a colander/drainer.

Step 2 - Dice half an onion into small pieces and fry it until soft.

• Add the mince and fry until cooked.
• Add sauce, spices and cheese.
• Add cooked pasta.

Step 3 - Bake in oven for 10 minues with an extra handful of cheese on top. Take out once the cheese has melted.

During the process of making the mince, I learnt how to dice an onion and how to tell if pasta is cooked or not. Mrs Tuipulotu, our teacher for Tech, recommended we taste our food every now and then.

Sadly, the pasta I thought was cooked was partly raw. 50% of the batch was undercooked and crunchy while, on the other hand, 50% was cooked to perfection. Next time I'll stir the pot every now and then to ensure all the pasta gets boiled to perfection.  

Receiving A Duffy Book

On Monday the 14th of May, I recieved a duffy book.

As we were coming to an end to our school assembly, Mrs Vickers spoke aloud to all the teachers to name one student from their class to recieve a "caught being good" duffy book. I was choosen from my class.

I arose from the ground to go to the front of the multipurpose room, near Mrs Vickers and a table covered in brand new books. While I was reading some blurbs, I could see some of the little children smiling at the books they chose.

Once I chose my book I stood in a line desending from, Room 12 to Room 1.

(Photo of me awkwardly smiling.) 

Pop, Lock And Drop It! - Hip Hop With Jess

Last week on Tuesday my class, Room 12, had a hip hop class with an amazing dancer. Our instructor's name is Jess.

She taught us the difference between warming up and stretching. Jess said that dancers stretch at the end of their performance. I thought that was some what strange.

She had us warming up by doing weird arm and leg movements. Once we all were warmed up and pumped, she started showing us the dance. She designed a fun dance for us to learn. We were dancing to Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars.

By the end of the session we were all laughing with bright red faces. I thought it was very fun and tiring, but I did enjoy dancing.

Getting Up For Training... Ugh

During the holidays I was hanging out with my father. We did so many different "activities" together.

On a bright Monday morning my dad barged into my nan's room and woke me up. At first he gave me a fright. He then jumped on me, I couldn't breathe! "Jess, get up. We're going to the gym!" 
I looked at him tired and annoyed.

8:30 a.m
It took me a long period of time to get out of bed. I did not want to leave the warmth of my blankets. I eventually got up, brushed my teeth and got dressed. As I was putting my t-shirt over my head I felt like I was going to fall. 

I then grabbed my shoes and waited by my dad. He looked at me in a weird way so I started staring at him. After sometime, we had to leave the house. I hadn't even put my shoes on! As I sat in the car I looked outside my window day dreaming.

Once we arrived I slipped on my shoes and prepared myself for the training session that was about to begin. 

A few minutes later
It was around 9:30 a.m when my dad started his training session. We did kicksits, push ups, kettlebell swings and many other movments. The workout he had designed was fun and tiring.  

By the end of the session I was exhausted! I could barely move my arms, nor my legs. Luckily, we did some stretching otherwise I wouldn't have been able to transfer myself from inside the gym to the car!

Key Points To Being a Cybersmart Learner

Throughout this week my class has had a few refreshers. The most important refresher we had was how to be a cybersmart learner/student. We started researching on the Manakalani website for some help. Each one of us has written down at least 3 or 5 facts we learned throughout this process. I have written 5 new facts I have learned.

I have linked the sources for my ideas so, you can check them out for yourselves!

Manakalani - Cybersmart

1. Being able to understand the difference between private and public information. Source: Smart Footprint
2. Everytime I connect, collaborate and publish things online I create a digital footprint. Source: About - Cybersmart (Sideshow, slide 15)
3. Making smart, positive and supportive decisions about who I interact with online. Source: Smart Relationships
4. Being able to understand copyright laws and the consequences that come with agreeing to terms and conditions. Source: Smart and Legal
5. Being able to think and analyse the construction of digital media. Source: Smart Media

The Profit Is Coming - The River Talks

On Thursday the 15th I followed with 14 others from my class and Room 10 to an event called "The River Talks". We walked to the little river beside the Glen Innes pools. It was disgusting. 

The river smelt terrible, the water was green and there was barely any fish swimming. A man was standing in the river saying a special message in Maori. He then translated his message. It was about the history of the river. He also spoke of his history with the river. 

After that, he walked us over to a massive waka. The waka was long and slim. The man told us that we are the future, we will row the waka in the river once we make it clean. That message really inspired me to try harder to stop pollution and help stop people from littering. He started telling us about his childhood, how he went to the river all the time. 

Then, a young boy from Tamaki Primary read a poem. The poem was about imaging a future where no one litters, where the world had less pollution, a world where rivers were clean. Soon after this two girls from Point England presented a poster their class made.

Later on, we moved along to two adults demonstrating what happens if the water pipes were blocked. I was amazed. A young lady then performed a dance. The dance did look weird but I enjoyed it. It was different. Followed by a man from one of New Zealand's many islands, showed us how the river talks. He had a little drum. The beats represented the river's emotions. It was really interesting. We then did a rhythm game by following the beat.

There were art pieces spread around the area. I was able to have a few quick glimpses. As we continued we watched a Cook Island group perform and learned about the benefits of having plants and trees around a clean river. 

The River Talks, in my opinion, was a significant event.

Pewter Casting

Every Wednesday my class, Room 12 takes a bus to Tamaki College. We are divided into 3 different groups A, B and C. I'm in group B.

Have you ever handled metal? I have! My group is doing pewter casting. We've been conspiring ideas for pendants for family members and friends as a gift.

Here are possible pendant concepts I had thought of. Each silhouette represents something that my recipients (people who maybe receiving a gift) like. I have thought of my father, papa and mother. They are all so dear to me. 

This week at least 4 people in my group were able to get started. I decided for my final design, to go with the fish for my papa. The metal we are using is called "pewter". It's a melt-able metal that is somewhat easy to bend.

So far I've been able to make my mould and get a rough looking pendant. Next week I'll be moving onto smoothing and polishing my pendant.

Becoming A Prefect

At the end of last year, 2017 I was chosen by five prefects to become one! It was very nerve wracking. Three others from year seven and six were chosen. Receiving a badge knowing that others notice how responsible I am makes me feel more proud of myself.

Now, here we are in 2018. Everything has changed. I have new responsibilities and expectations to fulfil. So far I am having lots of fun. Everything has been so exciting and interesting to me. It is now easier to understand how responsible and efficient a teacher and principle has to be.