Reflections on Round Robin Writing

Today the writing lesson was a bit different. We played Round Robin Writing. I thought it was a great idea. Also since both my partners were contributing and sharing their ideas. I enjoyed the lesson yet something that I would like to change is the time limits. Three minutes for planning is fine but five minutes for writing, I would like it to be moved up to about seven minutes. I think we should try this out again because it was so much fun.

Eua Island

Last week and this week I have been reading stories for tongan language week. Even though Tongan language week was last week. My task was to read 5 stories and draw pictures to indicate what was happening in the story. The picture above is the first story I drew up about how the Eua Island was created.

The big water winds

The wind howled menacingly like a wolf at the full moon. Lightning licked across the evil sky: a serpent’s tongue tormenting the clouds. The Earth began to shatter…

My bare face was exposed to the ice cold air. I tugged on the two strings on my hoodie, forcing my soaked jacket to give me a tight hug. I clenched onto my microphone and practically yelled at the camera. It was like my mouth was being constantly filled with salt. At full speed the wind went at my cameraman which made him unsteady. He tried to hide his fear, but his eyes said it all.

It finally came. The second thing we feared the most. I ripped out my earpiece which had bugged me since the start. The static was just too much. After I did that I saw the faces of my crew scrunch up. I also noticed the red light that indicates we’re recording had disappeared. A deep sigh escaped my mouth. In this type of weather we should have expected that our connection to the news company would eventually cut.

The crew became frantic and started a search for something that might help. My cameraman remained calm and yanked something out from the trunk of our van. It took quite a while for him to get what he wanted since the crew were also searching through the van. The thing my cameraman picked out was a portable generator. Sadly it wouldn’t turn on. It drowned.

The head of the crew, Michael, shouted for everyone to calm down. He pulled out a big black box while I zipped another jacket and covered my microphone with my right arm. Michael placed an antenna on top of the van and played around with some wires. Suddenly the red light flashed on and I was on with my words once again. In a blink of an eye the antenna flew off the van and straight into the water. We were back at the start.

After a few minutes a light bulb appeared on the top of my head. If our connection is lost here, then what would it be like somewhere else? I thought to myself. After talking to the crew we set off. After 20 - 25 minutes we came to a stop. Michael said that there should be a connection around here. We all went out and I got ready to yell. The red light popped up and in no time we finished our part for the news.

Even though we had a rough time it was an experience I can add to my life. The floods level never stayed the same and the falling buildings that were hit by the voracious wind. A few of my crew did get injured but they still worked hard, which I was very thankful for. They could have been cowards yet they strived to give people their long awaited news. However we were lucky that no one was swept away besides the antenna.

Perpendicular

Today for maths we were learning how to draw a perpendicular. We used a compass. It took me a few times to get used to the compass. A perpendicular is always at a 90° angle. I enjoyed learning about this new math topic. I now know how to draw up a good perpendicular.

The tohunga

Intergarating - Vocabulary and Reading

Maori Myth: The tohunga

Protagonist is our word for the day. We had to read a Maori Myth and then write about the protagonist in that story.

The protagonist in the text is the tohunga. The tohunga was an old priest that used to be well known back in the day. The kids in the village would disrespect him yet he stayed calm and didn’t yell at them. He was a kind man. He was also very wise and could tell what was to come in the future.

Tongan language week

Last week it was Tongan language week. We had been doing our fair share of learning the Tongan language. A Tongan teacher did a dance to end of the Tongan language week. It was the first time she had ever danced for the school, which I thought was pretty amazing.

Losing the fight

Today we had our E-asttle strand test and I have sadly moved down. I was at a 5B but now I am at a 4P. Now I must work harder with measurement and probability, so that I can get to a 4A or more. I really want to accelerate with my learning so I will work harder with my, "gaps" and "to be achieved." However I did do well with my statistics.

Tongan language week

This week is Tongan language week and these are a few things we have displayed in the foyer at our school. We have these things displayed to give more awareness and information about Tonga. Our teacher said that we would be learning how to count in Tongan, which I think is really exciting. I would adore if people not only in New Zealand but around the world would ignore the race, religion and colour of others so that we can all live peacefully. Personally if I could, I would raise awareness of how hurtful judging someone can be which hopefully could get people to stop judging others.

Science expo

Today was the science expo for our topic study. I was part of the group that was explaining what was on the table. The class had made projects on pulleys and wheels and axles because our topic study was about simple machines.