Covert Mission

For Writing we have been working with a partner or independently to create a Pick-A-Path. I chose to do mine on a mission. I tried my very best to keep the main character gender neutral, so I haven't put any strictly female or male descriptions in there. If you notice any please tell me so I may change them. 

Hope you enjoy my slide.

Lake Daniels

Lake Daniels*

It all started with the long drive, winding and hurtling down roads. Not quite racing to our starting point. It was an amusing car ride to say the least, and I was getting excited as we drove on. It was around 5-6 when we arrived and began piling food onto our flimsy plates. The looks on everyone's face when we found the pasta was still warm is still etched into my memory.

Once we'd all finished and Westport arrived we were split up (much to my dismay) into two groups. However, it mildly redeemed itself when I noticed I had Haylley, Anna, Brooklyn and Hayato to keep me company. This is when the painful yet hilarious trek in the dark started.

At first the path was easy to spot, no need for the headlamps and torches we had put on earlier in preparation. This was also when we weren't getting pain in our feet or bored enough to start up games. It was then I decided to complete the challenge we had been given. We were to find someone (we didn't know, so sadly I couldn't pull a trick) and learn 3 facts about them.

I found Coral and discovered her and her mother came from england when she was 16, her favorite track is the Heffy because the scenery changes and she knew a girl who winged her entire speech and got through. It turned out later that no one would check of we actually did it.

It was a few minutes after that, that the Boredom settled in. And the chaotic singing erupted from our little cluster, which I can say proudly, was at the very front of everybody. All through the track we were belting out lyrics, and singing off key. We were running off of the adrenaline that came with the very loud, very out of tune songs. It was a blur for most of the track, except when we were filmed doing our little haka.

My feet were beginning to hurt, the ache setting in as we settled into walking along a flat path. It was just as we were starting to voice our complaints when we heard the sound of ducks. The normally irritating noise, I figured out, meant we were likely near a source of Water. A Lake to be more precise. Mere seconds later our little section was sprinting towards the sight of a cabin.

After snacking on some food, I decided that this was definitely enough for one day. Sadly, I was the one of few who did that. Everyone else kept on talking and talking.

Then, magically produced by the power of sleep, it was morning! And we all very slowly woke up. I quickly consumed y up and go, along with some of food before choosing a spot on the bench. After I had claimed said spot Lachlan, Jack and EB made an appearance. Absolutely soaking wet. They had. Either bravely or due to some bad choices had decided to go into the lake.

More Walking occurred. Jokes were said. Things were lost. Those things were found. We walked faster. We met some men with brooms. Then the trees stopped.

We had finished. Technically.

*Doesn't include the Lewis Pass

Writing Workshop

Yesterday, I went along with Anna, Brooklyn and Holly to a writing workshop in Christchurch. There were five stations all covering different aspects of the subject. We started off at poetry and made our way around until we finished with illustration. The stations were Poetry, Structure, Character, Language and Illustration. My favorite is a toss between either Language or Poetry because we had time to write in them.

I'm really grateful that the school gave us the opportunity to go and learn from these five talented authors, I learnt plenty of tips on developing stories and can’t wait to implement them.

Wildboy Book

For silent reading I was recommended a book by Miss Hanna. I was unsure since it wasn't the type of book I normally read but I decided to give it a try. Since I am now over halfway through the book I think it's safe to say I enjoy reading it.

My book is called Wildboy and it's about a man who decided to walk all the way around New Zealand. I myself would never even think about doing this but reading about all the adventures he's been through it definitely sparked my interest in travel. Although I like this book it does have some downsides. For example it can drag on in certain places if nothing exciting is happening, it also means that you can be tempting to stop reading. I'd recommend this book to those who enjoy Non-fiction stories, or travelling.

My Speech

Here is a ScreenCastify of my speech for those who wish to see it. Highly suggested that you do not put your volume on full; HIGHLY SUGGESTED. I wasn't going to speak to it in front of the class but due to the tremendous amount of static you couldn't hear a few words that I thought crucial to hear. So as a result I ended up speaking in front of over 30 people. Hooray for me! I believe I wasn't too bad on the speaking front.

My topic is Social Media. I chose this as my topic for my speech because I’m often on the internet and I find myself constantly going back to Instagram. I wanted to find out why that was. Voila! My speech was born.

It turns out people enjoyed it so I found myself headed off to Quad Schools.

Community Service

I am glad to announce I have completed my twenty hours of community service. And more.

First I must say that starting it early on was amazing advice given to me by the previous Yr 8's. It's a great feeling to have nearly everything you need to do done by Term three. I get Term four off! If anyone was to ask me advice about Community service starting early would most definitely be my answer.

I got most of it done at the library in Rangiora, by shelving books and blacking out the tags on books they were giving away. It was great to give back to them especially since I get books out frequently. I also used the chance given to me by the school to do Rotary Club. Time flew by really quickly when I was in charge of the stove. Although my face almost got burnt a few times! I plan on adding a few more hours to achieve my goal of 46 hours at the end of the year. I think I might cook for the local church, where they'll give it away to those who can't cook for themselves.

I hope others found this as rewarding as I did. I feel grateful that I was given the opportunity to give back.

Hockey

Sadly, the one true exercise that I will do willingly is coming to a halt. Yes that is right, the glorious Hockey season is coming to an end. So in response to my last game in a few days I decided to reflect on how I've improved since starting.

Firstly, when I began I was utterly terrible at moving while clutching on to my Hockey stick. I would drop it or swing it too high. Maybe even drop it while i was swinging it too high... However now I am glad to be able to tell you, I can successfully sprint down the field with my hockey stick in hand.

Next on my list of pre-season problems is durability. At the start one look at Nunweek's park and I would already be tired. I was also a Fall back back then as well (the person who stays at the back, not really running).  Although I still dislike, hates too strong of a word, running I am doing a lot more of it now. Especially after being moved to a half, the people who are there to run.

The last item I have on the short reflection I'm writing is my aim. I am not saying I can hit the goal more than sixty percent of the time, I'm saying I'm less likely to miss it by more than four meters. I almost great on the passing to people though which I find a considerable improvement.

Now, I know that my Winter hockey is finishing. This is were the great thing about hockey comes in, it's made for both the hot and the cold. So I'll be back to hitting that hockey ball down the field soon!