Kapa Haka 2021 - 3, 2, 1... Action!

Kapa Haka was finished. Moana Syndicate had just finished performing their well - practiced Kapa Haka bracket. That included Utaina, Ka Waiata, Aue Rona E, Ka Panapana, Wainui Haka, and Toia Mai Te Waka Nei (In Order). My favorite song out of those six would have to be Ka Panapana. Even though I didn't have the opportunity to lead it, I still enjoyed it very much. 

Matua Canaan, Koka Brodie's partner was the one who recorded us with microphones and recording boxes everywhere! Knowing that the microphones were there helped me in knowing that a LOT of parents and public audiences were going to see it; wanting me to shine brighter even  more.

The performance lasted for about 5 - 10 minutes, and my hands and knees were trembling all the way. In my reflection I think that in projecting your voice and smiling really lights up your performance, especially for me.

Overall, I think that I did a very good job today at Kapa Haka, and I wish I could do it over, and over again.

Thank you for reading my blog, 

Kale'a :)

Below is a picture of me 

Ilminster Green Team - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

The Ilminster Intermediate Dream Team had just started their performance on why we should stop littering and reduce, reuse, and recycle. It took about 30 minutes, and all of the costumes were student - made. As the hall dimmed it's lights after the whole Moana Syndicate had arrived, and the settings popping with color, the play began.

Nanny Koura entered the stage, sitting down on the gleaming painted rocks along with Kina, in front of the ocean set. The grandchildren begged for an exceptional story that evening, Nanny Koura refused and rushed them to bed. But, one grandchild stayed on the floor, begging once more. The story she chose was of when Nanny Koura fought the Morons from Trash Planet, and how she convinced them to STOP littering. 

The Morons arrived, planning for a plot that would destroy all ecosystems on earth, just like it did on trash planet. With no coincidence involved, the local kids came to the skate park, showing off their "tricks".  They littered their 10 cent lolly wrappers, joining the other junk food rubbish. 

The Morons left, but not for long. They rushed back, and Nanny Koura found them. She was known as the long - lost Queen Koura, and they bowed to her innocently. She convinced them to stop their destroying of all planets, and once again, they were all at peace. 

I think that the Ilminster Green Team did a very good job on spreading the message about cleaning up our towns.

Thank you for reading my blog!

-Kale'a

Conservation T - Shirts Challenge: Save The Cheetahs!

 Aloha! For the last couple of weeks, I have been working on my Conservation T - Shirt Challenge. The CT-SC is about drawing a T - Shirt design with something on the back and front, giving a lowdown on why we should save this animal/living thing. 

Each person in my class was given a printed piece of paper with a T - Shirt diagram on the front and back. The front part of the paper was what the front of your T - Shirt would look like, and the back part of the paper was what the back of your T - Shirt would look like. 

I chose to draw about why we should save the cheetahs. Below are pictures of the front and back of mine.

Back

Front

Thank you for reading my blog!

-Kale'a :)

Speeches 2021 - Going For Gold By Being Kind: Malkin Moonlight

 Kia ora, this week I will be saying my speech to 60 of my classmates. I'm just a bit nervous. My speech is about why we should be kind, just like the famous book character Malkin Moonlight created by Emma Cox. Down below is my speech for you to read:

If you want to be kind, be kind to all.  Just like the famous book character, Malkin Moonlight. Malkin Moonlight was created by the American Author, Emma Cox. I know that Emma created Malkin for a reason. To inspire others to be kind, wherever, and whenever.  He doesn’t care who it is, what it is, or whatever their personality is. We should always be kind, just like Malkin.

Even though someone is rude to you, it does not mean that you have to be rude back. Malkin was  thrown into a river to drown, but instead of being rude back to his owner, he got himself out and chose to be kind for the rest of his life.

Bullies are sometimes rude to people because it makes them feel good. “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” Meaning, that if you show kindness to someone, that time is never wasted. It doesn't matter if you do a small act of kindness or a big act of kindness. The important thing is that you do an act of kindness and it is never a waste of time.

There are many ways to be kind, at least choose one. Malkin chose all. "Not being shown any love or kindness does affect you," says 71-year-old Carolyn Frawley. Did you know that kindness and empathy help us relate to other people and have more fun and happy relationships and memories with friends, family, and even perfect strangers we encounter in our daily lives? And if you think about it, kindness can actually make you healthier. 

You could say kindness is a little like vegetables, it can make you healthier, mentally and physically. But sometimes, we just don’t feel like eating them. By being kind to people, it makes you happy, and it also lowers your blood pressure. By lowering your blood pressure, you have a less chance of having heart attacks, which can mean the difference between life and death. Literally. 

Importance of kindness to others could be the most important thing on Earth. Here is just a small list of things that kindness can do to change our daily lives.

1. Happiness - Makes you happier knowing that you’ve done something important.

2. Anxiety - It can help you face your fears, like standing up to BIG audiences. 

               And..

3. Confidence - Makes you confident knowing that you are stepping up to make things right.

I asked other students in our class why they think it is important to be kind. Here are the results. “It can make yourself and others a better person by being kind.” “If you aren’t kind when you are young, then it will affect you in your older life.” “If you are kind, then others will be kind back to you.”  “Even if others aren’t kind to you, you should still be kind back.”  “That truly proves that people do care, and they do want to be kind, just as I do too.

 The real reason Malkin decides to be kind, is that he cares, and if we start to care, we can all be kind.  If I wrap kindness into just 3 words, I would say, Kindness does matter, and the next time you see someone being bullied, tell them why  kindness really matters. “Do things for people not because of who they are or what they do in return, but because of who you are.”

Thank you for reading my blog in Term 4 2021!

-Kale'a 🐈‍⬛

On Your Mark, Get Set, Go! Athletics Day 2021

Bang! The sound of the wood blocks clashing together richoched in my ears as I raced along the 100 meter track, passing 4 out of the 8 year 6 girls in the first 50 meters. I sprinted to the limit as I tried to pass my nemesis of a friend, Klara. I couldn't quite get there, but when I crossed the finished line, I was relieved to know that I had come 3rd in the Finals of the Year 6 Girls 100 Meter Sprint 2021. That was almost the end of my Athletics Day in 2021, let me tell it to you from the very beginning.

My class MLH, had just finished cheering on the junior syndicate with their 50 meter sprints as the Year 6's moved over to the 200 meter track. Koka Ngaire (one of MLH's teachers) had written an asterix on my  hand, marking that I should not be put in the same heat with another Year 6 Girl that had an asterix on their hand. My heat included Maggie, Alivia, Klara, Rio, Alice, and I. 

I came first.

Then, it was the finals. That included Charlotte A, Charlotte M, Klara, Ella, Cornelia, Dillyn, Alivia, Lola, and I. Charlotte M came first, Lola came second, Klara came third, Charlotte A came fourth, I came fifth, Alivia came sixth, Dillyn came seventh, Cornelia came eighth, and Ella came nineth. 

Next, was Ball Throw. It passed fairly quickly, with Cornelia first up. She threw far! Klara was close behind in second, and Cornelia in first, and before you know it, I'm on top! Charlotte A was next, and she was now in first, she is a very strong thrower. It kept going on and on, passing through all the year 6 girls, the leaderboard changing but somehow, I clinged on! The final podium looked like this:

1. - Charlotte A

2. - Kale'a (Me)

And...

3. - Dillyn

Yay! I was so proud knowing that I had gotten a placing! Next was Long Jump. We got three jumps each, and one of my jumps was a no jump, but if it wasn't, then I would've been in first! The final podium ended up with Klara in first, Charlotte A in second, and Charlotte M in third. 

100 Meter sprints was my favorite. My heat included Cornelia, Rio, Alice, and I. I came first, Cornelia came second, Alice came third, and Rio came fourth. In the finals was Charlotte M, Charlotte A, Klara, Lola, Alivia, Ella, Cornelia, and I. It was very nerve - racking! I was racing through the white lines and in the end, I came third! Charlotte M came first, with Klara close behind.

Athletics day was soooo fun! I can not wait for next year's Athletics Day at Intermediate.

I hope you enjoyed my blog,

Kale'a :-) 

Artist Study 2021 - Pete Cromer Collage

Kia Ora! My blog this week is about a new activity my school syndicate (Moana Syndicate) just started to host in Term 4, and it is called Moana Artist Study. In the earlier Term, Term 3, the whole syndicate had to vote from 4 Artists and what Artist they wanted to learn and create a piece of art using their style. The choices were:

• Pete Cromer - An Australian Artist who create pieces of art from native Australian animals
• Heather Galler - Creates Colorful landscapes using shapes including spirals, triangles, etc.
• Invader - A pixel Artist who uses squares to create 2D pieces of art; Retro.
• Diana Adams - Realistic Landscapes, gets inspiration from her surroundings.

We had to choose our 1st choice, 2nd choice, 3rd choice, and our 4th choice. I got into Koka Ngaire's group, which was Pete Cromer (My first choice) and my three friends Klara, Cornelia, and Maggie also got in. 

First, we talked about how Pete Cromer creates art in general, and where you can find it. Koka Ngaire also streamed a video for us to watch and get inspiration ourselves. Since Pete Cromer uses native animals as ideas, we wrote down all the native animals in New Zealand. Koka Ngaire told us to research our top two choices, paste 8 photos of each animal one two slides, and then decide on our final animal.

I chose the Tuatara (My first choice), and the Piwakawaka/Kākā (My second choice). I can not wait for the next session tomorrow!

I hope you enjoy my weekly blogs.

-Kale'a ♡ ☆

Enviroschools Day - Green Gold For WBS!

Aloha, (Hello) and welcome to my blog. My name is Kale'a and I have been writing about my school's recent day winning Green Gold as an Enviroschool. To win Green Gold, you must win the first two before you can go for Green Gold; silver and bronze. Once you have won both, you get to go for Green Gold, and Green Gold is basically the top one, so we were extra excited. I hope you enjoy reading about my experience with it.

First off, the bell rang for the beginning of school. I ran to tell my friends to go to the hall, and gave a big hug to my friend that I wouldn't see until the end of the day, Cornelia. "Now, come on! We're going to be late!" Ivy, Charlotte A, Te Atawhai, Klara, and I had to be on time for the Powhiri to welcome the 4 Enviroschools team associates by singing 3 songs in Te Reo (The Maori Language). We got into our lines, and my friend Te Atawhai began to welcome them into our school in Maori as well, then we began to sing. 

After the powhiri ended, since Charlotte A, Te Atawhai, Klara and I were part of the Enviro Group, we had to stay inside the hall and announce some presentations. First up was Klara and Izzy, and they were talking about our school's pepeha, which is explaining our Maori Family through NZ; I think they did an amazing job. 

Then were my other two friends, Te Atawhai and Charlotte A. They did theirs about our local penguins, the Korora (Little Blue Penguin). It was very interesting and they also did a great job. Some intermediate students also came to talk about their journey when they were at Wainui Beach School. 

I didn't get a chance to say mine about our school's wetland, Mangaone Wetland, but I enjoyed listening to my friends and that was very exciting, and that was enough for me for the day. 

Our small Brain Break filled my belly right before it was time to come back inside. We showed the four EnviroTeam around our school as they jotted down ideas silently. Their names were Charlotte, Rick, Kirsty, and Kauri. We first went to the Shade House where we grow our native saplings, then to the fruit orchard, with oranges, apples, plums, mandarins, persimmons, and feijoa. We also had lavender and bee hives where we could now use our just bought new kid bee suits. 

Then it was time for Morning Tea. Charlotte A, Te Atawhai, Klara and I raced each other to the playground as we played on the metal monkey bars, while Klara tried to tag us as she was 'it' for Monkey Bar Tag.

Morning Tea had ended fairly quickly, and we were back in the hall before anyone else. As soon as everyone was in the hall, Koka Jodie, the EnviroGroup teacher, told us to go to one of the A3 pieces of paper across the hall. I went to the one that Kirsty was at and Klara came too. 

We had to think of what we do to we keep track of data at our school, like how many plants we planted, how many trash bags we go through, etc. We got lots of Post - Its down and Kirsty said we did a great job. All of a sudden, it was lunch. Koka Jodie said that she, Charlotte, Kirsty, Rick, and Kauri were going down to Hamanatua Stream (where my class went hiking instead of staying at school) and if you wanted to come you were allowed to tag along. Everyone put their hand up. Koka Jodie saw one boy's hand up and she said, "Nate, I know you don't like walking..." Everyone burst into laughter. "But, are you sure you want to come?" He responded with, "Well, hmmmm, I'll think about it." Klara and I chuckled silently until Charlotte A noticed and, well, she barks instead of laughi..."HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Too late. Everyone was staring right at us, and Klara and I just stood up slowly, and then bolted through the open doorway. 

We were down at Hamanatua, chomping down our lunch as Koka Jodie pulls out of what I think is a meal for 20! There was quiche, bacon and egg pie, salad, pineapple, mandarin, and orange. We each got to choose between bacon and egg pie or quiche, and I chose the vegetarian quiche, but I think I regret the quiche. 

Koka Jodie and most of the group went for a walk around Hamanatua, and there was only Charlotte A, Izzy, Klara. Lochie, and I. Charlotte A and I were running up the really steep hill and at the top we surprisingly, spotted our class! "Hi, Cornelia!" I yelled to my friend; I guess I would be able to see her one more time. 

It was time to walk back to school. Klara, Te Atawhai, Charlotte A, and I played a game called 'Around The World', but the walking version. We would take turns calling out multiplication equations like 11 x 11, and the other three would have to say the answer. They would be the winner. I was also being a bit silly, and made up another game where I gave the four of us each boy names that started with the first letter of our last names, for example:

Klara - Peter

Te Atawhai - Paul

Charlotte - Albert

Me/Kale'a - Dave

Then, I would say one of the boy names and the other three would have to answer who the real girl was. I found that game very fun.

We were back at school as we entered the hall, where we now had to sit all together and discuss if we agreed with all the group's pieces of paper. If we agreed with all seven, we would be Green Gold! By telling if we all agreed, we would vote with thumbs up, or thumbs down . First sentence, thumbs up from all of us. Second sentence, thumbs up again. Third, cha - ching. Fourth. Fifth. Sixth, Good. "Now, what happens when we have all seven" Kauri asked. "We get GREEN GOLD!" Klara replied enthusiastically. And  then, seventh, ALL THUMBS! And by not even trying, we all shouted at the same time, "WE GOT GREEN GOLD!"

Just in time, the bell had rung for 3:00, school's over. We ran back to class after having a couple of high - fives from each adult. e Atawhai asked if we were allowed to run around each classroom announcing the news. "We got Green Gold!" Again. "We got Green Gold!" And again. "We got Green Gold!" Until all classrooms heard the news. We also delivered a gift to Koka Jodie saying thanks from our principal, Koka Nolian, and vice principal, Koka Sue. Back at class, Koka Ngaire, our teacher, was announcing which two people would be going to the Principal's Tea Party to join the other one person from the classrooms around Wainui Beach School (there would be two from our class since we are a Learning Hub made from two classes). And to make the day even better, Klara AND Charlotte's names got called!

I was so happy for my two friends. It was an extra jam - packed day, filled with fun adventures and tasty food.

I'm glad for my opportunities at school.

Thank you for reading my very long blog. 

-Kale'a 🐈‍⬛