I have worked hard to get my school work in on time and presented to a high standard. For our first visual language, we had to work in partners and I found that fun although it was a bit challenging at times! Our second visual language was individual and I enjoyed working by myself to complete the task.

We have been doing art for tech arts and we have been focusing on drawing and painting kombis we had to draw a few different kombis form different views and colour them using blending techniques with pastels. For our next task, we had to paint a side view of a kombi with a theme e.g., my theme was the beach with a tree and some grass.

In maths we have been focusing on graphs. I have learnt how to construct many different types of graphs and how to transfer information onto graphs such as pie graphs.

We have just had our inter-house athletics day and it was really fun. I wanted to push myself to do the best I could and I think that I did.

I am really pleased that next year I will be in the extension class at the collage.

In English, I have been working on the school magazine, I have writen a report on the wearable arts that happened earlier this term and I have also writen some things for the House Captains and Class Counsillors.

In Tech, I have started making my phone holder. It is in the shape of a rabbit and will be made out of wood. Mr. Monk, Mrs Kilgour and I have come up with the idea to put fabric behind the ears, paws, cheeks and tail and push hem foward with stuffing. Sophie helped me come up with the idea of using a rabbit by reminding me about the bunny that I painted on my cushion last year in fabric.

For inquiry, we have been making posters with information about what to do in an earthquake. Sophie and Kate are in my group and we have been working hard to reshearch about earthquakes and include relevent information in our poster.

In band we have been working on a new piece that we have been given called Hear was Soul. i like Heart and Soul because it is qute easy and has a good main tune that all sections of the band get to carry.

My goals for next term:

* to finish the magazine on time and completed well.

* to keep up to date with all tasks.

This year, the whole school is doing Science Fair. I decided to do mine on “what is the relationship between different amounts of light and how well a plant will grow?” I put three plants outside, three on the kitchen windowsill and three in my closet. My hypothesis was that the plants outside would grow the best, then the plants on the windowsill, then the plants in my closet. My hypothesis was partly right; the plants outside did come first, but the plants in the closet came second and the plants on the kitchen windowsill came last.

Author: Jacqueline Wilson

Genre: Fiction

Days to read: Three

Beauty Cookson is anything but beautiful and is tired of being teased about her name. Her father is forever fussing about dirty shoes in the house or Beauty using paints or gel pens and Beauty and her mum are sick of it. On Beauty’s birthday, her dad insists that she invites everyone in her class, but that means inviting Skye, the meanest girl in the school, as well and Beauty knows that Skye will be horrible. Rhona, the one girl in the class that’s nice to Beauty, gives her a rabbit as a present, but Beauty’s dad is furious! When they all get back from the theatre, Beauty goes out to the back yard to check on her rabbit and finds that it has been murdered. Of course, Beauty and her mum know exactly who is to blame and they move out with absolutely nowhere to go…

I really liked this book because it’s about a real-life situation and Jacqueline Wilson wrote it well. I especially liked the way Beauty’s emotions are portrayed. The one thing that I didn’t like about this book was that it was a bit flowery at times. I would rate this book 9/10 because it was a really good story.

My favourite character was Beauty because she was really brave when her dad was being so mean or when she was being teased at school. My least favourite character was Beauty’s dad because he was manipulative and always belittled Beauty and her mum; even hitting them.

Overall, I thought this book was a really good read; once I picked it up, I couldn’t put it down!

By Erin!

In maths, I have learned that to divide decimals, it is just like normal division, but you don’t carry the decimal point. I have also learned that when you have an equation like 6 divided by 0.4, it is easier to multiply the 0.4 by 10, but you have to multiply the 6 as well. Making it 60 divided by 4 if you have an equation like 5.6 divided by 0.08, times both of the numbers by 100; making them 560 divided by 8.

My goal for next week is to:

write a really good report on wetas.

I will know I have done this when I have gotten good remarks on it.

In Maths…

• Learnt how to do long division and multiplication with decimals
• how to do long division
• how to find cube roots
• How to find square roots

In Tech I have:

• Learnt how design and make a logo using the first initial of my Christian name

Next week my goals are to:

• Finish, my book review and hand it in on time
• Start my science fair project.

In music, we learned how to write and compose a twelve bar blues song I also learned what the blues are about and how the first blues songs came to light. In maths, I remembered how to do tree diagrams and I learned how to figure out percentages.

This week was also very sad because of the passing of our Koro. Koro’s tangi was attended by our kappa haka group and a few other students. Tahuna Taahipehi, a past student at T.A.I, has passed away also in a moterbike crash.

My goals for next week are…

*to learn some of our new music in band.

* To finish all of my English and vocab.

When I was twelve years old, my life changed. My sister and I were fighting over who was going to sit in the front seat of the car. “Will you two hurry up?” mum yelled, “We are going to be late for your aunt’s birthday party!” With a defeated look, my sixteen year old sister Lauren shrank into the back seat, folded her arms and glared out the window. Triumphant, I jumped into the car and turned my I pod on. An hour later, Lauren finally unfolded her arms and asked if she could listen to a song. I put my head to one side pretending to consider, “Please Kate?” Lauren asked. “Kate, just give her the I pod!” mum said sternly. Reluctantly, I handed it over and with a smug look, Lauren put the speakers really loud and put on a song I hated. I got out my phone and started to text my best friend, Chloe. About half an hour later, it was around seven p.m and had gotten really dark. In the back seat, Lauren yawned. I hadn’t noticed, but mum was yawning too, her eyes drooping. I was about to tell her to maybe stop into a motel, when a huge THUMP! Cut my sentence of. Mum’s eyes flew open and she franticly tried to steer our swerving car back onto the road. The last thing that I remembered was Laurens ear piercing scream.

I woke up to a white roof, looking around, I realised that I was in a hospital. I pulled the tubes from my nose and tried to get up but the unbelievable pain in my ribs stopped me. I tried to move my legs but they wouldn’t work. I began to yell as it started to come back to me; mum asleep … the car swerving … Lauren screaming. Dad came running to me and hugged me hard, hurting my ribs again but I didn’t care, I was just so glad to see him. “Dad!” exclaimed, “Where are mum and Lauren?” he eyes welled up, “Mum’s fine but Lauren … she’s not doing so well,” the tears started to fall, “She broke both legs, all of her ribs and her face is-” dad couldn’t talk anymore, he was sobbing uncontrollably. I was astounded; I couldn’t move enough to put my arms around his neck. “But … mum was just tired, she didn’t mean to I mean… she… ” I burst out crying too, I couldn’t believe it; “When can I see Lauren?” I asked. “You can’t; your right leg is broken and your ribs are all fractured, some broken” “What?” I exclaimed I looked down at my leg; it was hanging in a weird hammock thing above my bed. I lay back, stunned and that’s when I heard an ear piercing scream from next door. Dad ran out and then I heard him scream too. Ten minutes later, Mum and Dad came back to me. “Lauren’s dead,” mum said.

It was two weeks since that day and Lauren’s funeral. I walked toward her coffin with mum at my side and dad on her other side. The service had been just what Lauren would have wanted; simple and elegant. I was suddenly suffocated with family and friends all fighting their way through the crowd to hug me; it took all my strength not to burst out crying. Today had been a day that I never thought would come; I didn’t think that at 12 years old I would be burying me big sister.

By Erin!

How to write a rondo in music e.g. I like chocolate, I hate mushrooms, I like chocolate, I hate meat, I like chocolate, I have also learned how to play some notes on the guitar and key bored.

In English, I have learned how to do a story map.I have also learned how to do a crossword with the answers having two meanings.

In maths, I learned how to add and subtract integers e.g. 1-7= -6.

This week I have also gone to the Jump Jam practices at lunch times and I am hoping to get into the national team.