Technicraft Term 4 by Mika

Every Wednesday this term we went to Tamaki College for Tech. We had Mr Grundy as our teacher and he taught hard material. It was fun in his class. At the end, this is how our objects turned out on our last session.

Going to Tamaki College Sports Day by Don

On Friday the future year nine students of Tamaki College had a wonderful and splendid time!

After a quick ride on the Tamaki College van to Tamaki we hopped off and headed to the auditorium. There we received our team colours and were seated. There were P.E. teachers in front of us and a small stage. Everyone had been organised into teams and took off.  

The first thing we did was a teamwork game. We had blindfolds on and had to use different noises to find each other.

Our next thing was morning tea and we had a drink, muffin and a apple. Straight after that was the REC center where we played octopus and a challenging boat game. Our next team was on the prickly grass that hurt me and was also in the red hot sun. On the big field we played three games, two including teamwork. When we finished it was lunch time which was a sandwich, chips, water bottle and a chewy watch.

To finish the day off we had a NFL game (no tackling just tagging) , and a really fun and tiring tug of war. Tug of war was arranged so that team colors could verse each other. We then heard a speech and I won a prize!

DONisaur by Don

For Visual Arts we made origami objects. One of my favorite ones that I did is the dog. The dog can move.

We used different coloured papers and had lots of fun. I made a Dinosaur, a stunt plane, a sausage dog and a daffodil. 
Here's a picture taken by Simon. My purple Donisaur is searching for food.

Writing Participants

Sini, Don and  Miria were awarded the Participant's Certificate for entering in the 2015 Barfoot & Thompson Young Authors Challenge writing competition. There were over 1000 entries from all over Auckland and Northland and their stories had to link with the theme: 'There's No Place Like Home'.

Here is Miria's story:

    My Home Is Where My Heart Is

    From a visitors point of view my homeland appears to be a wreck but to me it's still home. Pipiwai. I was raised there and I have many childhood memories with many family members and enjoyable experiences with animals.

Firstly the landscape is astonishing. From the rivers to the towering country hills and mountains in the far distance. The fragrance of the countryside is fresh  with a hint of farm manure and the smell of pine in the breeze. Everywhere you sight is lush green grassy paddocks with multi coloured cows, bulls, sheep, horses and free range chickens.

Out of many various stories my nana has told me this would be my favourite. Te Heke a courageous Ngapuhi chief discovered a fantasizing big rock in a plot of a Pakehas’ land. In the rock are four holes and water squirts out of them. Pipiwai inherited its name from this rock. Pipi means to squirt and wai means water. This rock is located in a paddock on Moores Road.

While I'm there, I like to indulge in the luxurious clear waters. If you're trying to get privacy this is almost impossible because all the locals gather to enjoy time with their whanau and friends or to cool off in the summer heat. There are many streams, rivers and lakes you can soak in, in the peace and quiet.

Going on nature walks is something I really love. Just walking through forests and coming across interesting objects you wouldn't have expected to sight like unusual bird feathers, animal tracks and sap from kauri and gum trees. Collecting and admiring new things you're unfamiliar with is amazing. Seeing all of the land around me shift a bit every time I'm there, so there are always new adventures to take on daily.

Te Horo is the only primary school in Pipiwai. Every Wednesday it used to hold a Twilight family night to fundraise money for new construction to take place around the school or just to gather and enjoy time with the whanau. Adults and children were able to participate in activities that involve netball, volleyball and touch. The best thing was the hearty Maori food such as Maori burgers, hangi, fried bread and kids treats.

If you need milk, petroleum or meat, farmers are willing to barter. They are so generous they even give kids good paying jobs in the holidays if you’re alright with getting down and dirty with the animals: waking at early hours in the morning while the dew sets on the grass and condensation forms on the windows. Would you consider being a part time farmer?

Eels are a delicacy in the Maori culture. There are many streams located around Pipiwai some may even be just a paddock away. The key to catching eels is to be quiet and stationary. Ripples on the surface of the water are a great sign, the more ripples the more eels. Eels are nocturnal so it's best to go eeling at sundown.

Unfortunately some households can’t access water to flush their toilets so there’s a long drop. There aren’t any lights and you have to set off in the dark alone or alongside a parent. But on the bright side it’s more efficient and you’re using less water. When it comes to that time of the year  you have to make a new plot for your long drop, you get yourself stuck in quite a smelly situation.

I gotta say, “There's no place like home.”

Glossary

whanau - family

marae - Maori meeting house

ataahua - beautiful

Tamaki College Orientation Day

                                            

A DAY OF FUN AT TAMAKI COLLEGE . 

WHERE ELSE WOULD YOU FIND A PLACE THAT'S AWESOME?                                          

When we arrived at Tamaki College, excitement was on our faces. When we arrived in the hall we received our name tags. Not long after that we heard, “Welcome to Tamaki College!” We turned to the front and a lady introduced herself. “I am Kathryn Moore, one of the Deputy Principals.”

Afterwards she told us to look at our coded name tags to see what groups we were in.

Later on we were all looking forward to all the sorts of subjects there: English, Art, Food tech, Social Studies, Science, Maths, Music and P.E.

For interval, Tamaki College students prepared us with tasty snacks like juice, and yogurt. For lunch we had one sandwich, an apple, a bottle of water and other yummy snacks.

After we ate our lunches we had time to talk about what we did and also take photos on our netbooks. Later on after our conversations we had to listen to Kathryn because she wanted to tell the leaders at the end of the day to present a student in their group with either a Chrome Book Bag or a Wireless Printer.

Our school was really lucky because two year eight students received a printer and two students received a bag. Our school was really happy that some of our students received prizes. At the end two students from Pt England each presented a speech thanking the Tamaki College teachers and students for having us there.

By Estah, Ofa, Mika, Kolotina, Chance, Don and Damien