My creative wiriting

Recently in English class, we have been writing a creative writing piece on a risk or a challenge. The risk or challenge I choose was if you were cliff diving.

Here is my writing

 

I truly thought I was going to die. I was sitting on the edge with my feet dangling off. As I looked down I could see a mixture of rocks and rough waves colliding against the cliff wall. It was absolutely terrifying. I stood up and pulled myself away from the cliff edge, away from the danger.

How was I really about to jump? I couldn’t convince myself to get closer to the edge. I knew that I couldn’t quit now. I had already told my friends that I was going to jump. What would I tell them if I backed out? What would they think? Would we even be able to stay friends? This was a huge issue as many different outcomes and thoughts rushed through my head.

I was sweating. My palms were flooded. The sweat rolled down my arms and back. My ears were hurting from the sharp cold wind swirling around me. My body wasn’t ready for the pain it was about to go through.

I take a step closer to the cliff edge. I look down, planning out how far I need to jump. Suddenly a stupid thought came to me. I was going to do a trick. Out of all the things that I was thinking why did tricks stand out? I knew I could do at least a flip but from this height, really? I start a countdown in my head. 5! 4! 3! 2! Heads! someone shouts in the distance. A ball lands next to me as I stand in confusion. Huh? I kick the ball back to them and continue my countdown this time without distractions. 1! …   Ahhhhh!. I was soaring towards the water. Just as I’m about to hit the water I remember the trick I was going to do. I jolt myself forward trying to do a roll when… Smack!

My stomach was fully red and vomit was filling up, some even rolling down the side of my cheek. I was at a loss for words as my vocabulary was filled up with a mixture of groans, and cries. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, huge waves started coming at me. I couldn’t swim away. I was barely staying above the water. I needed my arms to hold my stomach. It truly felt like it would explode the moment I moved. I quickly duck under the wave. Good thing there was only one, so I thought. Many more waves start rushing at me. I forced myself to swim. I swam so quickly I was like a torpedo. It was pretty impressive. I got to shore when I remember my stomach, it was soo sore I could barely move. I don’t think I would have been able to without the adrenaline boost from the jump

I lay there on the shore looking up at the cliff I had just jumped from. I can’t believe what I have done. It looked massive. I really jumped; belly-flopped, all from that height. How did I even survive?

Roald Dahl

 Genre: auto-biography

Author: Roald Dahl

Title: Boy

Summary:

Roald Dahl finished school and he has to find a job. He was asked if he wanted to go to a university like oxford but he turned down the opportunity to go to further schooling. This was so that he could do work. He choose that he wanted to work in a place that would send him to travel the world since in his day this was a rare feat. He applied for a job at shell because that's the place he would prefer to work at. He ended up getting selected for one of the seven available jobs even though around one hundred people applied for the job. He got the job and after training, he was offered to go to Egypt but turned it down because it was too dusty. He ended up getting sent to East Africa. He thought it was perfect.

This shows he was determined to get the job he wanted and go somewhere where he wanted to go.

My Holidays: My unique story

Hi Guys!

My Holidays

18/10/21

Throughout the holidays I did many things. Most of the things I did were centered around family.

My cousin came down from Wellington in the holidays. I stayed with him all week and we did heaps of stuff. For instance, we went to the movies and saw Free Guy. We also went to the pools, went out for lunch with our grandparents, went mini-golfing, and had a family lunch for everyone to catch up and to celebrate our uncle for making the Aotearoa men netball team that played the silver ferns. 

How this links with my CV: This would show that I am a family-oriented person. Many employers are looking for people that do things like this.

What skills does it show: flexibility, It shows that I can make time for things such as family time. I can attend things that I have been welcomed to turn up to. It also shows that I can be placed at the correct time.

BYE!

Roald Dahl Boy

Title: Roald Dahl

Chapter: Getting dressed for the big school. 

State: Uniform

Explain: In this chapter, Roald Dahl got sent off to a British public school Repton. In this, he has to buy a uniform which he doesn't like. On the day of school, he has to get into his uniform and he finds it hard with the fancy collars and things that he doesn't like. It takes him a while but eventually he gets it and hops on the train to school.

Examples: 

butterfly collar, braces, waistcoat, tailcoat.

Example of Britain public school uniform:

Why do Christchurch NZ schools value school uniforms?

I think that NZ/Christchurch schools use uniforms because it's culturally accepted because everyone would feel a part of the group. This means that everyone would be together and it also goes with the Maori concepts of the Whanua all sticking together. 

They also have their uniforms for reasons such as everyone looking tidy and so people cant be bullied by their clothes.

Reading Reflection

 27/09/21

Title: New Zealand Olypian Gianni Stensness opts for Australia as All Whites squad name.

Author: Andrew Voerman

Text type: Article

One of NZ's top Oly Whites will decide to play for Australia which was the country of his birth doing forward. He 22 male had played every minute of the Olympics at Center Back. NZ isn't too worried though since they have many great players in the same position. Captain Winston Reid is still the Country's preferred position but he hasn't been named to play these exhibition matches. Members of the team have stated: "I'm not going to say it isn't disappointing to see Gianni make that choice". This is disappointing to many members and fans of this football team.

My opinion on the text:

I think that many fans and members will miss the player but they do have many good replacements so its not to much of a hassle for the team.

Roald Dahl

14/09/21 

Title: Boy - Roald Dahl

Author: Roald Dahl

Autobiography

non-fiction

Characters Met: The Matron, Headmaster

Description:

In this story, Roald Dahl is talking about his life, and it starts in his childhood where he was sent to a boarding school. He then introduces us to two new characters, The Matron, and The Headmaster. The Headmaster is in love with money and power while the Matron hates kids and many people fear her. He goes on to tell many stories on how horrid she is to kids like when they talk after lights out she takes them to get a beating or when they snore she pored a liquid in their mouth that would foam up all over their face and wake them up. She was truly horrid.

20/09/21

Title: Boy - Roald Dahl

Author: Roald Dahl

Autobiography

non-fiction

Characters Met: The Matron, Headmaster, Roald Dahl, 

Description:

Roald Dahl, had to go to the doctor for an issue with his nose and mouth after it was thought he had adenoids. In boiling water, the doctor put a metal rod. Then the doctor then pulled out the metal rod which turned out to have a blade attached to it. The doctor made Roald open his mouth and cut out the flesh from Roald's mouth. These ended up being his agnoids. The doctor made him spit every last bit of the adenoids. He then went home and rested. unfortunately, in the 1920s they didn't use any anesthetic so that would have hurt a heap but it was normal so it wasn't a fuss.

What Genre does this text belong to: This text is an autobiography of Roald Dahl's life. In this book, he tells us what his life was like and some events that he went through. It is quite interesting to go and look back on Roald Dahl's life.

Reflection

Far-right threats to Maori women:

Who: Reported by Michelle Duff, and Kristy Johnston. Effecting Maori Women

What: Far-Right activist abusing and threatening Maori Women 

When: Article published on Friday the 13th of August 2021

Where: New Zealand

Why: Because Far-Right activists feel they are superior to Moari women

How: By stalking, harassing, and threatening Maori women.

My reflection:

Maori women all over New Zealand are being harassed by far-right men who think they're superior. Those thoughts can only be compared to those of Hitler and the nazi party. These women are getting unfairly threatened and abused by men using online platforms to share their opinions. These videos of this happening have been taken down but unfortunately, people are still uploading these clips and messages to other people who share similar ideas.

Term 3 Reflection (commitment)

 Commitment:

Commitment is a big thing in New Zealand especially at times like now during the Olympics as a kiwi named Haydon Wilde just won bronze in the triathlon which is the first NZ medal in that event since 2008. He had to commit to heaps of training to get to where he is today and he has been training heaps for the last five years to make the Olympics. Haydon has trailed behind all races and he had to stay committed to climb up the ladders and back into his race he ended up coming up short of first place but should still be proud of his bronze medal achievement. He shows the NZ spirit and has shown what can happen when you stayed committed. Surprisingly in another text, I had read it also shows the same topic of commitment. This article was about other kiwi Olympics athletes who like Haydon are doing their best to win a medal for their achievements at the games. This article talks about how the New Zealand rugby sevens team is in the semi-finals against Great Britain after beating Canada in the quarters. For this team to make the Olympics they must if shown a great amount of commitment to training for years and for many, many hours to make the Olympic team and for them as a player to see improvement in their sports. With their commitment, they will see their achievement and see how far they have come so far. These two articles are great ways to show what you can achieve if you fully commit to something just like these athletes. 

Willem Freed:

Willem Freed is a seven-year-old boy from Christchurch. He had a birthday party which was turned into a fundraising event. For his birthday he asked his mum if he could fundraise for Orana park instead after he found out that they had been cut from funding. He raised over 1000 dollars from his disco-themed birthday fundraiser. Orana park was very glad about this donation.

Reflection Section

My Wellbeing:

14/6/21

My Wellbeing goals:

In the past 3 weeks, we have been doing different tasks to help us reach three well-being goals. The Goals I was doing were 1: Making a morning routine and following it. 2: Drink more water 3: Talk to my friends more at home. All of these tasks have helped and I and my well-being and it has had many other benefits than just my basic wellbeing. In New Zealand, there is a huge issue as we have some of the highest suicide rates in the world and we want everyone in the country to be happier and healthier. This can be caused by things like bullying or the way people treat others.

9/7/21

Schools and drugs

Stuff article:

Recently our school had been in stuff news for having a student sent to hospital for smoking synthetic cannabis on the school grounds. Out of the small group of students smoking lucky only one of them got impacted with issues to their health. Robin Sutton the school principal has stated that “As a result of this incident appropriate action was taken to ensure the safety of all students at school,” it said. “The matter now rests with the police.” As for now, the police have confirmed they are working with the school.

Why is this text written this way: The text was written this way to inform the public on the issue of synthetic cannabis and how this may affect students at high schools.

Margaret Mahy: Memory reflection

 25/5/21

Book: Memory

Author: Margaret Mahy

Ideas:

25/05 - believing stories = growth mindset/ resilience - grief [Dr. Lucy Hone]

 Early in the novel, Mahy writes of Jonny, 'For Jonny, imaginary things, once properly imagined, could grow as powerful and lucid as if they were true. He had always been the victim of stories, not only other people's but his own as well (Chapter 1). What are some of these stories that Jonny is a victim of?

Jonny’s family and friends are always saying that he will be a failure or that he will end up living back at home. Jonny began drinking to get out of the fact that he believes the same as them and he is a shadow of his sister. His dad said that he will be back once Jonny left him and moved out because he didn't believe in Jonny. Although he hasn't become that great he still has shown resilience as he's proved them wrong and continues to fight the thoughts he has.

27/05/21

Memory:

Task- explain how MM is poetic with 2 [new] examples from the text.

Margaret Mahy is not only a writer but a poet, and her prose in this novel is one of its most outstanding qualities. Her descriptions are always succinct. For example, she describes the drunk Jonny searching the telephone book for Bonny's name:

Margaret Mahy uses poetic terms and writing heaps in her book here is 2 examples of her using these poetic words and writing in the text:

"Janine's as pale as thistle-down, Bonny's the yellowish-brown of certain honey-suckle flowers"

"The sea constantly fretting and complaining on the rocks far below"

08/06/21

Memory:

Ethics: Johnny is helping out an elderly lady by cleaning up for her around her house. In doing so he finds around 500 dollars just lying around and this money is starting to rot. He now has to choose if he wants to take the money and steal it or leave the money even though the lady may to even remember it's there.

If I was johnny I would have left the lady but told her about the money so she doesn't forget it.

What are ethics: Ethics is what you believe is the right thing to do. These are your values.

The bible is another book that teaches values and ethics.

Music/poetry = Message

 28/5/21

Music/poetry = message

Work:

Music and poetry are used to show many meanings and nowadays it can be the way people talk about many big issues. Here is a song/poem that has meaning to me.

One of my favorite songs is blessings by chance the rapper. In this song, he talks about how God has an impact on us and this is big in my culture. The way he does this may be seen as inappropriate and people don't like it but I like how he chooses a nice sound to go with his lyrics.  

Click here to listen to song

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Reflection Blog (Resilience)

04/05/21

The Power of YET.

Resilience and growth mindset both work together hand in hand. These are used to tell people who fail that you can try again and the power of yet does this well. The power of yet is to change the mindset of people from I can't do it to I can't do it YET. A growth mindset is important for people because it shows that improvements can be made and if they don't know how to get to an end result and think that intelligence is fixed is exactly what a growth mindset and the power of yet is meant to change. As you can tell it sounds way better to have a growth mindset than a fixed mindset and that's because it is. Fixed mindsets are bad because you don't get as much brain growth and actually don't learn as much even if they were taught the same thing. Growth mindsets and the power of yet are very important for everyone to have. 

17/05/21

What do freedom writers, John Minto, and resilience have in common?

Freedom writers and John Minto are both about fighting for freedom and equality. They are both fighting and trying to get what they think is right to others so they can survive. These both also show resilience as they have to keep on trying even when they are getting shut down by people like the police and everyday people who are against these ideas. People like them are great people are will go down in history for being impactful for our planet and people who live on it.

19/5/21

Pink Shirt Day:

Pink Shirt Day is a day to stop bullying and for people to stand up and against bullying. This is called pink shirt day because it encourages people to wear a pink shirt since in Canada two boys stood up for homophobic bully that was towards a year 10 student who wore a pink shirt. We support it in New Zealand too since it is important to stand up against bullying for the better of others. I think that this day is very important and that we should stop bullying.

25/5/21

Book: Memory

Author: Margaret Mahy

Ideas:

25/05 - believing stories = growth mindset/ resilience - grief [Dr. Lucy Hone]

 Early in the novel, Mahy writes of Jonny, 'For Jonny, imaginary things, once properly imagined, could grow as powerful and lucid as if they were true. He had always been the victim of stories, not only other people's but his own as well (Chapter 1). What are some of these stories that Jonny is a victim of?

Jonny’s family and friends are always saying that he will be a failure or that he will end up living back at home. Jonny began drinking to get out of the fact that he believes the same as them and he is a shadow of his sister. His dad said that he will be back once Jonny left him and moved out because he didn't believe in Jonny. Although he hasn't become that great he still has shown resilience as he's proved them wrong and continues to fight the thoughts he has.

Memory

 Book Title: Memory

Author: Margaret Mahy

Jonny:

Facts: He is Drunk, his sister Janine is dead in an accident, His photo was above the TV

Emotions: Miserable, in denial.

Description: Eye swollen lips swallon.

Jonny is a drunk Character in the book Memory by Margaret Mahy, He is a drunk man and this quote further proves it "I'm not drunk he said to nothing" this proves that he's drunk because he's talking to no one.

Culture

 What is culture: Culture is when you are part of a group or a social section. This can include religion, sports, and where you are from, etc.

Why are we learning about the culture: We are learning about different cultures so present something for the school culture day.

We have learned about many cultures and I learned about my culture more. In the New Zealand culture, we have many things that other places in the world think are different. For example, what we have and do in New Zealand is quite different from what they say to do and learn in the US. 

What I learned about other people's cultures: I learned that many different people have many different cultures. For example, the Filipino culture is present a lot different this is shown by the clothes they wear and the food they eat. Also the practices they do at places like home.

What did I make and how does this connect with my culture:

This works with my culture because it shows a common Christian sign surrounded by a heart which all work in the Christian culture which is part of my culture and the culture I was grown up in.

What is culture: Definition: the ideas, customs, and social behavior of a particular people or society.

This Means: Your culture is anything or group you identify with eg, where you are born, your beliefs, and your practices, etc. 

Here is someone else's culture: 

This shows their culture by having the culture they identify the most with in the middle and all their background culture on the outside showing how they got where they are today.

Here is my other reflections: https://gpstobeyg.blogspot.com/2021/02/my-reading.html

My Culture

 Hi Guys.

Recently in class, we have been learning about our culture.

I made a DLO about our culture here is mine:

Opinions

How is the treaty of Waitangi relevant today 

eg. The 'Tie Issue"

The treaty of Waitangi is relevant today and connects with today's issues.

The issue I'm connecting it with is the tie issue which is some members of parliament not being able to show their culture and being able to express themself and where they are from. Some members refuse to wear a tie and rather wear a cultural piece instead. 

I think they should allow cultural pieces instead of a tie but if they don't wear a cultural piece they should wear a tie. This is because everyone should express themself and culture because this shows their belonging. 

My Reflection Blog

 11/02/21

Title: Back to Black

Genre: Article

Source: Listener 28/1/21

This story is about Akira Ioane a New Zealand rugby player who has everything looking good until he failed. He was a rugby player who was looking like he was going to be a star until he started to believe what social media said about him and he hit a low point in his life. He started to gain weight and now was not at a good enough fitness level to succeed in his sport and other players got ahead of him. This wasn't looking good until his dad helped him get back on track. "I knew I had more to give" Akira Ioane stated. He started to get back on track during lockdown because at this point no one was able to worry about him and he and his wife started to train together. This was because he knew he was falling off track and he had heaps of help from his pairs to get him back to the top and competing at his sports at a high level. I think this is a good example to never give up and never give up on yourself.

15/02/21

Title: The Recruit

Genre: Fictional

Author: Robert Muchamor

Key Points:

James Choke was in a science class that he hates to be in. He is tired from play GTA all of the night before. Samantha the person who sat next to him was known as a nerd and was really smart but James hated her because she made fun of his mum for being fat. He was probably the strongest in his year and bet up any boy who made fun of his mum but what way he going to do to a girl. Samantha kept on making fun of him so he gripped her and held her against the wall and she got her face cut in the wall so James had to run to get out of trouble but he was caught.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jA6BiZCPOE2anefM6kavWFLLtjmQ7ogaUjFWWoSKhGQ/edit?usp=sharing

17/02/21

Title: The Recruit

Genre: Fictional

Author: Robert Muchamor

Key Points:

What views of the world is the text reflecting: The part I've read about this text is about a boy who gets into an argument and makes a mistake he then gets bully and beat up by his classmate's brother who he accidentally cut with a nail in the wall. This shows that the boy thinks that this world is cruel and a bad place to be. He isn't having a good time at home as well as his mum's husband is pretty rude and mean to James (the boy). He thinks that his mum's husband is just using her for money and isn't going anywhere in life as his longest time employed is only two weeks.

24/02/19

Title: The Recruit

Genre: Fictional

Author: Robert Muchamor

Purpose: To entertain.

Key Points:

James got home after getting a beating and grabbed something to eat. After this, he made his way to the bathroom and looked into the mirror just to see that half his body is covered in blood and scrapes. He went to cover the cuts until he realized he needed to clean it first. He jumped into the shower and it was pretty soothing for his face apart from the fact the there was a blood spiral forming around his feet. While in the shower he decided he might as well pray so he did. After he got out of the shower he went to play some computer games but he got bored pretty quickly so he thought he should invite one of his friends to play with him. When he asked his friend his friend told him he couldn't risk getting bet up too and left. James was now starting to think if his friends are fake. 

Does this text construct a version of reality? Yes because it creates a setting in a made up place that is in this world. These places and easily be compared to common places that we have. eg. school, and his house/apartment.

26/02/21

Title: Athletics Day

Genre: Fictional

Author: Patrica Grace

Purpose: To entertain

Key Points:

Keri was a school student who was pretty unknown at school, she didn't have many friends but she was hoping that today since was athletics day she would try to impress everyone. She signs up for the 200-meter event and her heat is about to start. She was thinking she was going to beat everyone by far and that it would be pretty easy. Her race starts and she runs as fast as she can but as she glances over she sees someone run past her at the last second. She lost that race but still made the finals as she prepared for the finals she starts to tense up. As the race was about to start her friend was thinking that she's got to put in her all. The race starts and she's making her way down to the end and she's in a close race with the person who beat her last time. She crosses the line and she wins and she is really excited. After the race, the second place comes up and congratulates her. She now made a new friend.

Who is real in this text? None of the characters are real as it is a made-up story about a girl's experience on athletics day.

05/03/21

Title: Diary of a wimpy kid: The Getaway.

Author: Jeff Kenedy

Genre: Fictional

Purpose: Entertainment

Key point:

Gregory and his family are going on holiday on Christmas eve for Christmas morning and to have Christmas away on a hot resort instead of on the inside away from the snow. The fact of Christmas away wasn't fun for Greg and he found out he won't get any gifts because of this. Another thing he hated is that he has to go on a plane for the first time and he wasn't looking forward to it. His family was running late to the airport and stress was building once they got there they were trying to rush to their gate just to find out it was delayed.

Who benefits from this text: The reader benefits from this as it entertains them as it doesn't teach them anything but they will still get something out of it and that is entertainment.

15/03/21

Title: Diary of a wimpy kid: The Getaway.

Author: Jeff Kenedy

Genre: Fictional

Purpose: Entertainment

Key Points:

Gregory and his family make their way to this resort they are going to as they get on the plane to begin their journey Greg starts to worry as he seats next to some random family. he is on the plane but as they are in the air he starts to worry about things like turbulence. They finally get there and go to the resort which they thought was cool and they liked how the room was massive. they go get changed so they can go and look around but they realized that they grabbed the wrong bag at the airport so they couldn't get ready.

What knowledge does that reader need to bring to understand this text: To understand this text the reader must be able to read and speak English fluently. Other than that no specific knowledge or skill is needed.

19/03/21

Title: Diary of a wimpy kid: The Getaway.

Author: Jeff Kenedy

Genre: Fictional

Purpose: Entertainment

Key Points:

Greg and his family are doing some activity at the resort and having a normal holiday until it all goes wrong as on the last two days. It started looking good as they use the wrong bag for some clothes which they use to go into a restaurant and get food but then a family realized that they were their clothes and now they had a target on them they gave they clothes back and then went scuba diving but Greg younger brother caught a box jellyfish and it was let out at the pool so now everyone is trying to attack them. they get a kick out of the resort after this day and they decide that they will sneak back in but chaos started but they managed to get some family photos. After this, they get noticed and are now on the run. Greg somehow gets to the other side of the resort and is trying to get to the exit. he realizes he has to jump a fence to do soo but as he did that he broke it and now both sides of the resort can be accessed by anyone so chaos broke loose and they got out of their quick and go back home straight away. 

What genre this text belong to: Fictional as it's not real.

26/03/21

Title: At the student poetry reading

Author: Kim Stafford

Genre: Poem

Key points:

This poem, it is talking about students at a poetry event who are making poems to say. This is about how people can feel when they are writing a poem. They express their feeling through poems and this poem may be a reflection on some of Kim's feelings when she first was writing a poem.

What do the word suggest: these words suggest some of the feelings poets get when they are about to perform or when they are performing, in the text she uses a class as an example of how this is shown. This poem also shows how people can be affected by writing poems of their feelings. 

This shows feeling from the kids used this quote from the text proves that: 

"I guess you could call me broken,

says one. I’m still lonely, says another,

but now I can name it with a song."

WGA

 Today in wananga class we learnt about different inventions and did an icebreaker actvity.

Here is my work:

Getting to know your classmates

This activity is used as a way to talk to other people within your class and possibly find out things that you may have in common. You need to be up out of your seat, and find someone who fits each of the boxes outlined below. Please try to use a different person for each box. 

Born in the same month as me…. William	Has a dog as a pet…. Jack	Came on the bus to school this morning… Noel	Went on holidays in the school holidays….. Tyler
Was born outside of Christchurch….. Tyler	Is taking Music as a subject this year….. Peni	Can speak another language…… JC	Has an older brother or sister…. Austin
Has been at HHS since year 7…. Emily	Can juggle…. Andireas	Is older than me…. Austin	Is extremely excited to be in TfM :) … Jack

As a reflection task, we were asked a question about an invention we would like to see invented in the future.

If I had to choose an invention I would invent an auto cooking kitchen. This kitchen will take the food you want to cook and it will do it for you and make you a great meal.

I would choose this because it would make life easier with one less task to do and this would also make sure that you don't have the risk of making mistakes.