Haiku poems

This term has been great. I competed in the gym festival, in the twisters category and I placed 5th, which meant I am going on to the Waikato gym festival. It was a great day, but there was so many people in our schools A.L.C, which was were it was held, it was very confusing as to where you were meant to be. So far I have got 4 badges on my arm this year; Symphonic band, Jazz band, football and production. I am also going to get gymnastics,  and hopefully cross-country, athletics, table tennis, and softball. I had my studentled conference this week (week four). It went well. I have improved a lot in maths and we have now started on algebra.

This is my speech for 2015

National geographic vs gossip magazines

Did you know that a dung beetle can drag 1,141 times its own weight? That’s like a human pulling six double decker buses! And, did you realise that your blood makes up only 8% of your total body weight? That’s crazy! I can guarantee that you would not learn these facts, or other informative information like this if you read gossip magazines, like Woman’s Weekly, Woman's Day, OK, New Idea, Girlfriend, and more. This is why I believe that children and adults alike should not be reading magazines that are all about celebrities life dramas, and the latest fashion accessories, but a magazine that is educational, from which you can gain lots of valuable knowledge. This magazine is National Geographic.

First of all, National Geographic is a lot more educational and informative than the average gossip mag. Instead of learning about who Katy Perry has broken up with, or if Kim Kardashian has been wearing the best clothes lately, you can learn about other, more important and interesting things. Some of the subjects that are in National Geographic magazines are the earth, space, global warming, endangered animals, and where we get our food from, but there are lots of others. Once, I read an article dedicated to Botox, how it can be used medically, whereas gossip magazines only teach you about the use of Botox for beauty. Another article I once read was about parasites, how they take over animals bodies! A single National Geographic magazine houses hundreds of facts and so much knowledge. It’s amazing what you can learn! Another great thing about their magazines is that unlike gossip mags that get old and out of date after a week or so, you can look at National Geographics at any time to find facts and knowledge about almost anything you can think of.

Secondly, gossip magazines are sending the wrong message, while National geographic is not. No one should make someone feel overweight, or not good enough, but this is what gossip magazines are doing to females, and males. They are constantly showing pictures of beautiful models and celebrities, with perfectly slim and curvy frames. People can become depressed, or end up starving themselves because they are made to feel bad about weight, all thanks to gossip magazines. Also, their self- esteem can lower. This is not how a magazine is meant to make you feel! After reading one, you should not feel worse, but you should have enjoyed what you read, and feel happier. You should not be reading something that makes you feel bad, or make you feel like you need to have a perfect Barbie Doll figure. They should read something completely different, something that makes you feel good. That is National Geographic.

Another reason why you should read National Geographic over gossip magazines is because by reading them, you learn to appreciate nature and the earth. You learn about all the exotic animals and plants nature has to offer, and really start to understand and respect all the other types of life around us. You learn about all the different lifestyles and types of people there are in the world. You learn about thousands of beautiful forests and places, that they are starting to disappear as humans are destroying the earth, and how it’s going to become even worse in the future. By reading National Geographic you can also be inspired to travel afar, to see new things and experience what the world has to offer. I know that I for one have already started a travel bucket list, thanks to reading their magazines.

In conclusion, I urge you to start reading National Geographic instead of gossip magazines now. They are a lot better, as they are educational, they teach you to appreciate the earth, and they do not send bad messages like gossip mags. Why get a magazine that is only about looks, the latest dramas and fashion styles, gossip, and celebrities? So, the next time you head to the store, and feel the need to buy a magazine, don't get a gossip one, buy National Geographic.

PRODUCTION MATINEE

Today at school we had our matinee for some of the school, and schools in TA. I was quite nervous, not of being on stage in front of people, but of worrying I was going to laugh while delivering my lines! It went good, from my perspective, but there was some microphone failures, and one girl sung a whole song without a mic! Tonight we are having our first real performance. I will post after I have done all three night performances :)

Week 7

This week we had a photographer come in and take photos of the band, and classrooms for our new school website. It was the queens birthday this weekend, so we had Monday off school (yay!!!). I learnt about the weather in french (how to talk and speak about the weather in french, that is!). We also went over weekdays and counting too 30. I don't know if this is the correct spelling, but here it goes: Lundi, mundi, mercredi, jeudi, vendredi, samedi, dimanche. Those were the weekdays. Today, Wednesday, we had our first meeting for the people in  the gym festival. We had to do some skills that would determine what group we were put in. It was really easy stuff, even the highest group, twisters, was easy!! The hardest things to do in the twisters, (which I am in) is a handstand forward roll, backwards roll, and a round-off off the beam. We are doing jump jam today, which will be fun. I hope we do 'Like the ceiling can't hold us' song, which is one of my favourites. Tomorrow we are having student assembly, which I am sure will be a lot better than work!!! At tech arts I made nachos, which were REALLY YUM!!! I also made apricot danish For maths we have moved onto geometry, and have revised circumference of circles, shapes, area, and I have learnt about volume and how to find it. For writing I have finished my NZ roads persuasive, and have started my argument. I think I am going to do 'Is Traditional or Modern Medicine More Effective?'. I am quite passionate about plants and all the health benefits they have to offer, so I think it will be good. For reading, I read the book ' The Giver' and am starting to do a book analysis on it. It was a really good book, and I recommend it to anyone who is a competent reader. Here is the blurb I have writen.

The Giver is set in a tightly controlled society, told by a young teenage boy, Jonas. In this community, there is no war, hunger, suffering, music, colours, or memories from the past. All decisions in the town are made by ‘The Elders’, right down to who you marry, what job you do, and what children you will be given. Everyone is happy with this way of life, and they passively accept all the rules and customs. But, when Jonas turns twelve, the job he is given at the big Ceremony of Twelve, changes his whole aspect on life, and the community. He is given , is ‘The Receiver of Memory, which is the most respected job.

Week 6

This week we had WIMS Football up in Hamilton, on Tuesday, which sucked because we missed out on making bread or pizza. It was really fun though, but we didn't end up getting into the semi finals unfortunately. Our first game was good, 0-0. Our second game was worse, we lost 3-1. In that game Michele (our coach) put me in Striker instead of defence for the first half, because I have a really good kick. I don't like striker as much as defence though, because I always feel the urge to protect the goalie. Our 3rd game was alright, but the referee from the other team was really unfair and biased towards his team. He didn't even know the rules properly. We ended up losing 1-0. They got that goal when they were down on our side and the goalie kicked the ball away but it ended up hitting Nikyla (on of our team mates) in the face. We went to see if she was okay and they sneaked in a goal. It is mufti day today, and the theme was first response, but no one really dressed up!!! We had a volleyball session with Ashleigh again, which we spent working on our accuracy skills and teamwork. In maths we are starting on geometry. So far I have been working on area. BYE!!!

Reading task two: What makes a good mystery story

Explain what makes a good mystery story based on your understanding of:

‘The Red Room’ by H.G. Wells

‘Adventure of the Speckled Band’ by Arthur Conan Doyle

And ‘The Signalman’ by Charles Dickens

To me, the setting of a mystery story is very important. It sets the scene, and can enhance a story a lot. A good setting for a mystery story can be set anywhere, but they are normally somewhere that sound either, frightening, bleak, creepy, haunted, or old. I found that all three stories had good settings. The Signalman was set by a lonely railway, with a big dark tunnel. Here is an extract describing the story. ‘His post was in as solitary and dismal a place as ever I saw.’ The place is described to be extremely bleak and isolated. The Red Room is set in an ancient castle, looked after by three very queer, and very old custodians. ‘The long, draughty subterranean passage was chilly and dusty, and my candle flared and made the shadows cower and quiver.’ The Adventure of the Speckled Band was set mainly in an old manor, called Stoke Moran. ‘The boards round and the panelling of the walls were of brown, worm-eaten oak, so old and discoloured that it may have dated from the original building of the house.’

A good plot is also very important in mystery stories. A good mystery plot should keep you guessing, and doesn’t have an obvious ending, or answer to the mystery. It should keep you hanging, stumped, and waiting to read what comes next. You should not get bored. Building up tension, and suspense is very important as well. Throughout the story you should be wondering what's going to be happen, and the story needs to get its readers interested right from the start. There was suspense in The Signalman, and The Red Room. I found there was not much suspense at all in Adventure of the Speckled Band. There was also not much tension in the story, apart from a little at the end. The Red Room and The Signalman had quite a bit of tension throughout the story.

Good characters are essential to a good story. Dynamic, round, or protagonist characters are a lot more interesting to read about than flat, static, or protagonist characters. If the main characters is relatable to yourself, or if you feel for them, it can get the reader more involved in the story. Characters also need to be believable. The characters in the three short stories were all different, but were all enjoyable and added interest to the story, especially the signalman from The Signalman story. He was very quiet, dutiful and fearful, solitude man. The narrator in the story appeared to be very curious and practical minded. The main character in The Red Room was quite sure about himself, and was also practical minded. At the end he was extremely nervous and tense. In The Adventure of the Speckled Band the main character was Sherlock Holmes, who remained calm throughout the story, even when someone came in and threatened him. He was practical minded, and was VERY intelligent.

In all three stories, old english was used. I find that is more effective than writing normally in mystery stories, even though I normally dislike reading it. All writers were very descriptive, and set the scene right from the start, except from The Signalman. The stories all had a range of sentence starters, apart from The Red Room. They were all long or medium. There was hardly any short sentences, but there were lots of different sentence starters.

Overall, I believe that there are many things that make a good mystery story. You need an appropriate setting, good characters, a decent plot, suspense, tension, and good language and description.

One of my reading tasks

Learning Intention

To compare  and contrast some of the elements in two short stories

‘The Signalman By Charles Dickens

Lamb to the Slaughter By Roald Dahl

SETTING

The Signalman story is set in England, by a railway that goes into a tunnel. I believe it be around the 1860’s. Lamb to the Slaughter is not set around that time, because the speech mannerism is different, and the objects and everything included in the story seem modern. It was set in a town or village, because in one part of the story she walks down the corner to buy some groceries, which you can’t do in the country.

CHARACTERS

The main character in The Signalman is the narrator, who tells us the story from first person. The other main character is the Signalman. The Signalman seems to be very scared, and lonely. He is very vigilant and good at his work. The narrator is curious, intelligent and is very practical. I think this because whenever the Signalman says something supernatural, the narrator always thinks of a practical explanation for it. I think this also may also mean he is a doctor. In Lamb to the Slaughter, the main character is Mary Maloney, the wife. Mary is a round character. She changes after Mr Maloney talks to her, saying that he is moving, or cheating on her I believe. Mary goes on autopilot and seems to be in daze. She decides to cover up her crime because she feared for her unborn child. Mr Maloney seemed to be very solemn, and he didn’t seem to love his wife as much as Mary loved him. He might have been a little detached that night though because of what he had decided to tell his wife. There isn’t much description or information about him. I found that the characters in both stories were completely different.

OPENING

The openings in both stories were different. In Lamb to the slaughter the mood starts of being peaceful and calm and you don’t expect anything bad to happen. An example of why I think this is: The room was warm and clean, the curtains drawn, the two table lamps alight- hers and the one by the empty table chair opposite. This was the first sentence in the peace. It portrays everything being all peaceful. It starts to change when he has lots of whisky in his drink. In The Signalman the story starts off being sounding dreary when the narrator described what he saw, and what the Signalman looked like. An example is: So little sunlight ever found its way to this spot, that it had an earthy, deadly smell; and so much cold wind rushed through it, that it struck chill to me, as if I had left the natural world. I didn’t like the opening in The Signalman, because I found it hard to understand and get into. I also found the language was annoying, but it made the story better. The opening in Lamb to the Slaughter was more enjoyable, I found.

THEME

The theme of The Signalman is when the narrator (who is not described throughout the story), visits a man, who tells him he has been seeing a mysterious ghost. The narrator is told that after each sighting, a bad event followed. One day the ghost appears, trying to warn him about something. Later that day the signalman died. I think the point or what he was trying to get across was how ironic his death was, as the ghost had said the same words as what the train driver which had run him down had been trying to say. In Lamb to the slaughter the theme is about a husband and a wife (Mary). It is set their house, which is described to be lovely and homely. The husband returns from work, and tells his wife something. After he told her, she went to the freezer and got out a leg of lamb. She kills her husband with it, then sticks it in the oven. She then fakes being innocent, and fools the police, so she and her unborn child would not die. Lamb to the slaughter is also ironic, as the police are having a conversation which goes like this; “'That's the hell of a big club the guy must've used to hit poor Patrick,' one of them was saying.'The doc says his skull was smashed all to pieces just like from a sledgehammer,' 'that's why it ought to be easy to find. 'Exactly what I say.' 'Whoever done it, they're not going to be carrying a thing like that around with them longer than they need.' One of them belched. 'Personally, I think it's right here on the premises.' 'Probably right under our very noses. What you think, Jack?' They say this while eating the leg of lamb that Mary killed her husband with.

STYLE

The style that Roald Dahl uses in Lamb to the Slaughter is very descriptive, and he uses lots of adjectives. I like how he does that, because you can get a clear picture in your head of the story. It is written in third person, while The Signalman is written in first person. The Signalman isn’t as descriptive as Lamb to the Slaughter in my opinion, but Charles Dickens describes the scenery around lots, which is quite drab, dreary and dull, so I think he wanted it to sound like a very miserable place. He used quite a lot of direct speech, but it was easy to follow. He described the Signalman lots, and told us of his background and what he was like. There is nothing written physically about the narrator, but you can pick up on his personality.

SUSPENSE

There is suspense in both stories, though I found there to be more in The Signalman. This is because death followed when the ghost appeared the first two times, so you wonder what is going to happen when it appears the third time. It also keeps you wondering for longer than Lamb to the Slaughter, where there was only suspense when he had a lot more whisky in his drink than normal, and the part where he 'Sit down, 'just for a minute, sit down.' It ended once he had spoken what he wanted to say to Mary. The suspense in The Signalman ended when the narrator learnt of the Signalman's death.

PLOT

The plots of both stories are not very similar. Also, the setting and year are both completely different. The only way the characters are similar is that one of them die in each story. Another way the plots are similar is that they are both have irony in them, and something unexpected happens.

ENDING

Both stories have a twist at the end. In The Signalman, the twist is when the narrator finds out that the Signalman had died because a train had run him down, and the driver of the train had been shouting out “Below there, look out, look out!”, which is what the ghost had been saying when he had last appeared. The twist in Lamb to the Slaughter is when Mary Evans kills her husband, Mr Maloney. I didn’t expect her to be able to get away with the crime, which she did. I admire her for being so clever and smart about destroying the evidence. In both stories, I didn’t know what was going to happen in both stories, which is really great, as there is nothing worse than knowing what is going to happen at the end.

OVERALL

Overall I liked Lamb to the Slaughter the most, because it was funny, surprising and kept me interested the whole time.