The House Winner Is... by Riiana

Throughout the year the four houses (Whero, Kakariki, Kowhai, and Kikorangi) have been aiming to be the winners of each term. The way you gained points was by doing something good and the teachers or prefects would award the students.

The points from each term were added up to figure out the winner of the year. Yesterday we found out who that winner was.

It was Kikorangi! We received a house winner trophy and a round of applause. Kikorangi won with 1,281 points.

Cultural Items 2018: The Principal's Cook Islands Dance

Mr and Mrs Vickers supported by the Cook Islands Cultural Group

Cultural Items 2018: Cook Islands Cultural Group: Girls

Cultural Items 2018: Boys Combined Dance - Cook Islands Cultural Group

Cultural Items 2018: Girls Combined Dance - Cook Islands Cultural Group

Cultrual Items 2018: Ruapotaka Girls Dance by Cook Islands Cultural Group

Cultural Items 2018: Ruapotaka Boys Dance by Cook Islands Cultural Group

Cultural Items 2018: Girls Introductory Dance by Cook Islands Cultural Group

Cutlural Items 2018: Welcoming by Cook Islands Cultural Group

Cultural Items 2018: Sasa (ending) by Samoan Cultural Group

Cultural Items 2018: Sasa by Samoan Cultural Group

Cultural Items 2018: Toe Foi I Paretaiso by Samoan Cultural Group

Cultural Items 2018: Liomata Ole Fiafia by Samoan Cultural Group

Cultural Items 2018: Siva a Tama by Samoan Cultural Group

Cultural Items 2018: Nuien Dance by Samoan Cutlural Group - Sipolo - Mary-Ruth, Joanlisi, Jessica and Alexandra

Cultural Items 2018: Hawaiian Dance by Samoan Cultural Group - He Mele No Lilo - Joanlisi and Mary-Ruth

Cultural Items 2018: Tau'olungaa Duet - Tupouseini and Izabella

Cultural Items 2018: Tau'olunga Duet - Vika and Julianne

Cultural Items 2018: Kailao by Tongan Cultural Group

Cultural Items 2018: Tau'olunga by Tongan Cultural Group

Cultural Items 2018: Sipi tau by Tongan Cultural Group

Cultural Items 2018: Haka by Maori Cultural Group

Cultural Items 2018: Waiata Poi by Maori Cutlural Group

Cultural Items 2018: Waiata by Maori Cultural Group

Prizegiving 2018: Cultural Items 2018 - Haka Powhiri by Maori Cultural Group

Prizegiving 2018: Cultural Group Speech by Katrina

From Us To You

The Ruapotaka Primary Cultural Groups would like to present you with these small gifts as a reminder of our performance today and with it our heartfelt thanks for your support and encouragement towards our cultures for the many years you have been a Principal.

December, 2018

Prizegiving 2018: Y8 Graduation

Tupouseini, Mary, Alexandra, Tyron, Solomone, Henry, Katrina, Julianne, Vika, Izabella and Saluselo

Prizegiving 2018: Head Prefect 2019

Jessica

Prizegiving 2018: Y7 Prefects 2019

Frank, Sione, Agueer and Madisyn

Prizegiving 2018: Prefects' Speech by Leanah and Jessica

2018 Prefects: Katrina (Head), Leanah, Jessica, Saluselo and Riiana

The Prefects would like to say 'thank you' to Mrs Vickers for all her hard work throughout the 27 years of working at Ruapotaka School. She has done so much to help improve the school ever since 1991. Starting assemblies, laying down rules and putting students first before herself.

From the first day we started school, Mrs Vickers acted like a second mother to us, loving us and showing that she cares. Saying thank you is not enough to show how much we appreciate her.

We wish Ms Vickers all the best in her new chapter of her life.

Prizegiving 2018: 2019 Manaiakalani Ambassador

Leannah

Prizegiving 2018: Manaiakalani Ambassador

Saluselo

Prizegiving 2018: Tamaki College Manaiakalani Scholarship

Katrina

Prizegiving 2018: Sportsperson

Saluselo

Prizegiving 2018: Sporting Ability

Junior: Piripi

Middle School: Ong Manout and Texas

Intermediate: Izabella

Prizegiving 2018: Intermediates

Citizenship: Riiana

Principal's Award: Jessica

Leadership: Katrina

Responsibility: Mary

Supportive: Pupuke (absent)

Prizegiving 2018: Middle School

Most Helpful: Reality

Principal's Award: Limiteti

Senior Citizenship: Madisyn

Prizegiving 2018: Junior Trophies

Most Helpful: Mya

Friendship Trophy: Nikaiyah

Principal's Award: Sapapalli

Citizenship: Paea

Prizegiving 2018: Duffy Award - Attitude of Excellence

Sione

Prizegiving 2018: Dux

Tupouseini

Prizegiving 2018: Academic Excellence

Y1 Eve, Y2 Patrick, Y3 Sapapalli, Y3 Emeline, Y5 Sebastian, Y6 Augueer, Y7 Leannah and  Y8 Tupouseini.

Prizegiving 2018: Most Imrpoved

Y1 Chrislyn, Y3 Juniah, Y4 Shelan, Y5 Jacob, Y6 Jamayne,

Y7 Tristan and Y8 Alexandra.

Prizegiving 2018: St John Citizenship Award

 Malia and Liza

Special Assembly ツ by Ana

This Monday morning we had a special assembly. The year 4's were awarded special prizes for having a great attitude towards learning.

They have received a 40 dollar deposit towards they're chromebooks for next year 2019. The overall winner was Aleki. Mrs Samuel-Latu has given him a new uniform, 40 dollar deposit for his chromebook and a box of favourites.

Joy, Solomene, Pita and Aleki were acknowledged for their dedication and hard work towards learning.

Mrs Samuel-Latu and her sisters have been coming for the past 8 years to present these awards. Sadly this is the last time we will be having this type of assembly for our year 4's.

I hope the winners will continue their hard work and dedication in the future.

Meeting Our New Principal by Konzay

Yesterday we had a Powhiri for our new principal for next year. Our new principal's name is Mrs Hamilton. She looked like a gentle woman.

For the Powhiri we sang songs for Mrs Hamilton and welcomed her to our school.

Culture Groups! by Solomone

Every Friday everyone from years 5 - 8 go to their culture groups to practice their traditional dances. There are four groups and they are Tonga, Samoa, Maori and Cook Island. I'm in the Tongan group.

We are doing two dances. One is called the Sipi Tau. The Sipi Tau is the rugby league haka for The Mate Maa Tonga Rugby League Team.

The other dance is Kailao. The Kailao is a warrior stick dance that tells what happened in World War II. My favorite dance is the Kailao because it shows how strong and fierce we are.

Malaga Journey To Success

Where are your grandparents from and why did they migrate to New Zealand? We wondered how many of our  ancestors migrated to New Zealand? Watch our movie and find out!

😨!!!Exams Are Back ALREADY!!!😩-By Julianne.

👑Now that it is the last term of 2018 and us yr 8's are going to college next year. We have a lot of exams going on this term. I feel nervous,scared,anxious,terrified and frightened at the same time. When my first test got handed out onto my desk I was shaking!! then I thought to myself "I can do it!". When our results were up I was actually very proud of myself!!.👑

Culture Groups-By Leanah.

It is nearly the end of the year so that means...

Culture Groups!! Everyone is going to be split into their cultural groups because at the end of the year we are going to showcase our cultures.

There are 4 different cultures that will be shown and they're the Maori group, the Samoan group, the Tongan group and the Cook Island group.

Coach Pete Is Here!!!-By Saluselo

On Tuesday, we had Tennis with Coach Pete. It was pretty nerve-racking because I have no experience with a Tennis racket. Luckily, Coach Pete taught me all through the steps.

I was partnered with Katrina and after a little while, Sosiua joined our group. We started off by hitting the tennis ball at or near the cone.

Then we started a rally and we always swapped after a while if we had three or more people in our team.

I hope that we get more practice in the weeks to come. It was fun!!

Fish Pie! - Cooking With Mrs Tuipulotu-By Leanah

Fish Pie!

Method:

1. Peel potatoes and bake until cooked.

2. Mash the potatoes and lay them out into the baking tin.

3. Mix tuna fish with 1/2 can of mushroom cream and 2 table spoons of mayonnaise.

4. Mix well, then pour the mixture on top of the potatoes, top it off with cheese and bake for 10 mins.

Last Term Of The Year! Make It A Good One-By Mary.

Finally it's the last term of the year, we are going to finish the term with hard working and fun as well. 

I am looking forward towards this last term. There will be tests coming up and hopefully, I'll do better than before.

LAST TERM OF THE YEAR! MAKE IT A GOOD ONE. 

My Two Books I Got At Syndicate Assembly-By Storm

I had been chosen to go up and choose two books and the name of the two books I chose was The Ghost Light and The New Girl. I chose those books because they looked and sounded interesting. . I was nervous because as soon as they chose me, I had a numb foot and whenever you have numb feet its means you have pins and needles and that makes you kind of walk like a penguin or cricket which is really embarrassing.  I was extremely nervous and I even had to take a picture.

Making Logos - Graphics with Mr Pineda

My group and I, were designing logos for a charity we chose At Tamaki College for Graphics Tech.

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.

Year 7/8 Speech Finals Term 3, 2018

Congratulations to the winners of the Speech Finals today.

1st: Pupuke

2nd: Leanah

3rd: Jessica

Skip Off

Kotipi beats big brother Pupuke and wins the Senior Syndicate Skip Off earlier this week. Congratulations!
1st: Kotipi
2nd: Pupuke
3rd: Agueer
                                                             

                                

Who Won? by Riiana

Friday last week was originally supposed to be the skip off but the rain had other plans. We were lucky enough to get all the Rooms displays done. Since we weren't able to do the skip off, we seniors did it on Monday which replaced fitness.

Congratulations to Agueer, Pupuke and Kotipi for placing in the Top 3!

If you'd like to see how it went down, here's the clip.

Printing At Tech by Julianne

             

                       

On Wednesday we went by bus to Tamaki College for Technology. When we first arrived we had to finish off our name art, then we got to do our printing on t-shirts and jumpers. I had so much fun printing my name with Izabella. After we printed our names we then put matching gold turtles on our them. We left our final product to dry out. It was time to thank Mr Pineda then return back to school!💥

You Got To Be A Bookworm To Be Reading! by Henry

Everyone likes reading?! Well I do.

A person named Denzal discussed how he used to read. I said to my little but developing brain of mine, "Wait, every time I do a blog, everyone is reading it, which means I may be assisting little youngsters stretching their own vocabulary."

During his talk,  Denzal asked what our hobbies were and what we liked to do for pleasure. 

When he asked that question I was thinking of how I help kids extend their reading skills by just writing this post.

What do I do for pleasure besides playing video games all day? Writing. This made me think of what I want to be in the future. I want to be an author in 10 years' time. 

And no-one can stop YOU if you're DETERMINED to follow your dream.

🖥Changing Tech Groups🖥 by Tristan

Last week we changed our Tech groups. My group (Group A) started with Cooking with Mrs Tuipolotu, then Graphics with Mr Pineda and now we're doing Materials with Mr Grundy. The last couple of sessions have been phenomenal. I hope this class will be as wonderful as the last ones, and I reckon it will be because it's interesting and fun to do!

Daffodil Day by Storm

Today we had Daffodil Day.

Daffodil Day is to support the people who have cancer. We supported cancer by fundraising to help the people who research the disease find a cure for those people with cancer to maybe live for an extra  day or maybe even for the rest of their life.

Later we made paper daffodils and I asked Mrs Vickers how much money we made  today and she said, "$73." I was like WOW!
That is amazing that we are going to definitely give that to the people with cancer.

ToonDoo - Graphics with Mr Pineda by Jessica

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.

Tongan Language Week! by Izabella

Malo E Lelei and greetings to you all. Today was the last day of Tongan Language Week so Julianne and I brought traditional Tongan clothing and head_gear.

The photos show us wearing the Tauvala, Kiekie, Kahoa, Tekiteki  and a Pule Taha. I wore the Pule Taha and Kiekie. A Kiekie is made out of Coconut Husk and Pule Taha is made out of cotton material.

Julianne wore a Tauvala and held up a Tekiteki during our Tongan presentation to all the Ruapotaka classes. The Tekiteki is made out of bark and sticks.

Then Vika, Peni and Tupou wore the same thing, a Tauvala but with different patterns.

Faka'apa apa ke ho mo faiako mo ho family koe ai pe oku tauhi a mou tolu Malo.

Speeches by Sosiua

Speeches are coming up. I don't want to go up on stage because it horrifies me that everyone is going to be sitting there just staring at me. It'll be so embarrassing if I do something wrong. I just don't think I have the skills and potential to do it, but I have to because everyone has to do one and who knows I might be picked for the finals.

Quiche !! by Lisa

At Tech we made quiche and I want to tell you the steps so you can make delicious quiche.

Step 1 - grab a whisk and 4 eggs, then mix
step 2 - get a half ham and cut slices in a straight line then cut across.
step 3- put the mixture in a muffin tray.
step 4 - sprinkle ham pieces and cheese over the mixture.
step 5 - pour eggs and bake the muffins for 180 degrees celsius for  10 minutes.

Enjoy😛

It's Nearly The End Of Term 3! by Tupouseini

It is now week 9 the second to last week of Term 3 and I can't wait until the holidays. I like the holidays because I can spend some quality time with my family.

The worst part of the holidays is being without my friends! I only have a week and a half left to make the best of Term 3.

 Next term I'm going to have mixed emotions because I'm nearly going to college. We still have cultural groups, prize giving and many more stressful things as Year 8 students.

The Last Day Of Volleyball by Tiari

Yesterday on the 4th of September  was the last day of  volleyball. I had so much fun and an amazing experience playing volleyball .  It was my fist time playing volleyball. It was so cool and I wish Coach Renee could stay longer.

Firstly, Room 12 played a game called elimination and then after that we was playing a tournament and the last game we played was girls vs boys.  The Girls won. I hope Coach Renee has fun at her new school.

Jovi Clay Modelling- By Tiari

Last week group two was doing jovi modelling. The students had really good ideas and showed excellent modelling techniques. I loved modelling with Mrs Lonsdale-Cooper. She read an ABC book, but the book was not just about words it showed art ABC pictures. I loved that book because it was fun and arty. I had a good team to help me as well.

Cross Country- By Vika

Two weeks ago, we had our schools Cross Country race. It first started from room 1 all the up to the seniors. I was enthusiastic and eager about doing the cross country run around the school, because I like running and playing different kinds of sports.

When it was the year 8's turn to run we lined up, so we could get ready to run. I was glad that it was only 2 laps and when we were running I tried to keep running and jogging to keep my place. I also kept up ran with a steady pace to help me, not lose my energy quickly.

At last it was our final lap and we were nearly done. I came 3rd out of the year eights which made me pleased and I came 2nd for the girls which made me even happier. When it finished I was happy but exhausted at the same time.

Double Dutch. Jump! Jump! - By Jessica

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.

Origami is cool-By Izabella

Origami is the art of paper folding, which is often associated with Japanese culture. In modern usage, the word origami. Its used as an inclusive term for all folding practices, regardless of their culture of origin. We are creating things like a waka, love heart, bird and the hardest of all Iris.

Our Art Learning -By Joanlisi

On Thursday we had to split into two groups whether we go to an art lesson or library and I was in group 2 with others.

After interval group 1 had to go in room seven to do art, but group 2 had to be at the library to do some quiet reading and play chess, we did that for a while and then group 1 finished. We had to stop what we were doing and switch rooms. Group 2 had to go to room seven for our art learning lesson, we marched to room seven and finally we arrived. 

We all met Mrs Lonsdale -  Cooper, if it was hard to pronounce her name then you could call her Mrs L- C. She told us to grab two colours of  jovi modelling clay for art, there was only the colours of brown, red, orange, green, white, grey, black and yellow, it was some boring colours but anyways I chose green and white and the others they chose red, orange, yellow, black and green. She read a book of different drawing's and more but at the same time she said we could play with our jovi modelling clay to make it soft. After a long time around, I made a flower bracelet and Mrs Golder came around and took a picture of my master piece. 

So long Kevin and Hunter- By Henry

Everyone, grab your tissues because our friends from Taiwan were leaving! Don't worry, they're going to see us in the next, uh I don't know, 10 - 15 years . *Room 12 cries* So don- oh, you're still crying. Well how about we flashback to one of our memories back when they outsmarted all of us, even the year 8's. *Henry and the rest of the Class, GET SMARTER* But....

As one awesome and intelligent person said, *That person is me, of course.* "All things must come to an end."
So, we all hope you a farewell and I hope we'll meet you all in the future.

The NZ Icon by Henry

Okay, I know, I'm making a pointless blog post about a bike. I don't want to explain how a bike can become a NZ icon...so I won't.

Anyway, you think I'm going to copy and paste a Newshub post, right? Not really, I'm actually going to write about what I feel about this and tell you whether I like it or not.

Great "Icon." Am I right? No. I mean, look at that man! That "bike" won't even function properly, and please don't tell me there is going to be someone riding on it. literally?.  I mean, come on.

I know NZ is that inventive but not like this! I still wonder if it's stable enough to even go as fast as a person running. What do you think of that?

But as much as I would want to laugh to death about this invention, my emotions for this are...

HILARIOUS.

Still kind of creative.

Image Link and ACTUAL Post

Good Bye Miss Raj 💝 by Liza

Sadly we have come to the end of term two, with a wonderful teacher leaving our school. Miss Raj is a teacher who teaches year three and four. She has taught at Ruapotaka Primary for 13 years 💝 teaching students new things everyday to help them improve their learning skills.

We will miss you Miss Raj I hope you have a good time at your new school.

Work At Night At Hira Bhana by Sosiua

At night I go to work with my dad and we work at Hira Bhana. We do some planting on the farm so we can provide the markets with vegetables and some fruit.
I can drive a tractor while my dad, uncles, and cousins select the ripe fruits and vegetables. After the adults have their turn at picking the fruit and vegetables we have our chance to prove that we can correctly pick the food supplies for the markets,  as well as letting  the adults have a break.

Going Hunting With My Uncle! by Solomone

In the holidays I went down to Palmerston North to stay with my uncle until the holidays finished. I was so excited to go. I went by car with my uncle's girlfriend's family. After the long drive we finally arrived at our destination .My nieces came out and they were so happy that we came.

My uncle asked me if I wanted to go bush hunting - to go kill a deer on the mountains. My reply was yes and I was so excited and nervous at the same time. 

 The next day me and my uncle got ready and were picked up by his boss and we traveled to somewhere far. When we got there,  my uncle and his boss grabbed their rifles. We walked up hills and down hills. We even went through bushes. We waited on a high mountain and I got to hold my uncle's gun. It was very cold and it seemed like it was about to snow. 

We couldn't find a deer so we went back the way we came. It was a great experience. 

Hip Hop Off by Alexandra

Today was the day we showcased our dance moves. Each group from different classes have been selected to show off their own dances or the dances that they have been taught from our instructor, Jess. The people who were chosen to dance had to practice hard to be better than before.

This afternoon in the multipurpose room the whole school watched all the dances. The best dance group I liked was Room Twelve because the dancers added different unique  moves to the dance which they put together themselves. They looked amazing.

But the funniest one I liked was Room Six because they just made me laugh.

Reading Test by Liza

On Tuesday I had my first reading test with Mrs Golder. I was scared that I might move down a level. When I started my test I read a story called,  "Captain Kirk" silently, then had to read it out loud to her. When I had finished reading the story, the teacher gave me a lot of questions which I had to answer. Some were easy and some were hard. When I finished my test I was pleased and happy that I had moved up a level.