Inspiring writiers: follow up

While ago we published some story starters written by Tangaroa students.  Last week we recieved  this story from Luke B in Tawhirimatea, who had been inspired by Sophie's idea.  How fantastic is this!  Well done Luke B, thanks for sharing your writing.


See Sophie's original post here:

Career Day

Over the last wee while we have been looking at the cost of moving out of home, and what sort of income is required to meet daily living expenses. It has been a real eye opener for some students and there may be a few people living at home longer than they thought! The next part of this was to look at career paths. Students have explored a career of interest to them, using the careers NZ website quizzes to help. Today they ran a career day for students from Tawhirimatea. Careers ranged from working at Rebel Sport to marine biologist, pilot to vet. We had authors, architects, rock musicians, you tube bloggers, a Prime Minister, screen printer artists and early childhood teachers. Plus a whole lot more. Personal trainer was a popular exhibit, as was anything that had a hand out. Students who produced pamphlets quickly ran out and the year 6 students asked really great questions.

Playing with 3d

Kia kaha Kaikoura

Thank you for all your donations. We have taken them to a truck heading for Rangiora this afternoon and Kaikoura tonight. 

Looking at Leadership

Had a wonderful time today with our awesome year sevens at the GRIP Leadership course. Lots of really exciting ideas were shared. 

Circumference problems

This week we have been trying a variety of tasks that involve using circumference.

Check out our videos.

Are you faster than a 12 year old?

Apparently the Rāwhiti staff team aren't!  - Awesome day of athletics (relay team loss not withstanding).  Some outstanding results across the board,  looks like a strong athletics team going through to zones this year.

Don't flip out, it's slo mo...

Check out some of our slo mo flips during passions time last week.

Inspiring writers

Recently we watched this video by Dai Henwwood sharing his experience of writing and coming up with a story starter to inspire others.  Well, we love really cool story starters too, so we had a go at coming up with our own inspirations for other writers out there.

Tiana and Aroha
Sophie T
Dara and Akasha
Anna, Freya, Bella
Piper
Alex and Kayla
Lizzie

Delroy, Neco and Sophie

Nina and Mariah
Hollie and Lucy  (black screen but clear audio)

If any of these inspire you to write, please share your stories.  We'd love to hear them.

Engagement

In teaching circles the topic of student engagement is often discussed, but recently in Tnagaroa it hasn't been about students, and a totally different type of engagement has been celebrated.  Students worked together to bake and amazing cake and bring food for a shared lunch to celebrate the engagement of our own Jenny Whiteford!  Congratulations to both you and Ross for the future that lies ahead of you.

Haunted - a story

Haunted

She told me to bite the bullet, so I did   Now I’m dead.  On the bright side it’s nearly halloween and I’ve obviously got the best costume now that I’m a ghost.

I nudged my dead body with my foot as I looked around the black and orange living room.

“Wait…if I died in the living room wouldn’t it be the dying room?” I wondered out loud.

I swerved around quickly as a loud scream filled the room.  My roommate was standing in the doorway staring at me and my dead body.  I quickly stuck my hands in the air and screamed.

“I’m innocent, I swear!”

My roommate’s face was paper white and looked as if someone had drained all the blood from her body.  She lifted up her hand to point at me. “G-g-ghost!”she stuttered in fear before collapsing.

I looked down at my roommate unsure what I was going to do.  I scanned the room for somewhere to hide the unconscious body.   A closet caught my eye and I shoved my roommate into it. I was about to hide my dead body as well but a scream interrupted me. I spun around to see my roommate’s friend standing in the doorway.

“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me!”  I muttered, throwing my hands in the air. She screamed again before sprinting out the door.  I quickly picked up my dead body before chucking it into the same closet my roommate was in.  I was about to lock the door but it burst open.My screaming roommate tumbled to the floor.  She backed away from my dead body before staring at me with fear and confusion.

“Boo?” I said awkwardly.  She pointed at me for the second time. ”H-how you’re d-dead!  You can’t do that!”

“Ooooo!  That’s because i’m a spooooky ghoooost!” I whisper in my best ghost voice.

“B-but g-ghosts aren’t real!You’re not real!”she yelled at me accusingly.

“Wow rude, I may be dead but I still have feelings, you know.How would you feel if I called you not real, huh!?”  I snapped back.

“Why did you kill yourself?!” she said while making a gesture towards my body.

“You told me to bite the bullet!”I screamed back at her defensively.

”That’s not what I meant!”she cried.

”Then what did you mean?” I cried back at her.

“It’s just a saying!It meaning deal with it, not kill yourself!”she explained angrily.

“Oh.”

An awkward silence took over the room.

“I ruined my teeth because of you.”

By Nina

Apologies

Quick apology for the lack of posts this term which has been due to an ios update causing blogger to crash.

Term Four here we come...

I can't wait to see everyone back after the holidays.  Especially can't wait to start using the new furniture - much of which arrived over the holidays.  Here are some photos to make you curious.

New furniture is on its way!

After an outstanding effort at cleaning up from Tangaroa this morning,  Liz and Helen came to talk to us about the new furniture which will be arriving over the holidays. Ngā mihi nui ki a kōrua mo o kōrua mahi nui. We can't wait. What an exciting  start to our last term. 

Sci Fi story

I’m in a cell, regretting my choice of actions.

“I should have just stopped”

As I sit there regretting what I did a tray of food and water appear at the door. As I eat and drink I make a recount in my head of what I did.

I had heard about rumors which they have read in the newspaper about aliens appearing in our general area.  I was freaking out about how maybe people will connect the dots  and find out that I am not from this planet.  I had only recently found out about my powers when I accidentally used my power to move objects with my mind.  Let me explain.

A couple of days before that I had just found out that I had these unique abilities after I watched the Star Wars movie saga. I thought that The Force was real so I tried it out and I moved the TV remote from the other side of the room into my hand.  I told my parents.  Then they explained about how I’m not from here, neither are they, and and that the rumors are true because it was their U.F.O that people saw flying in the sky.  Of course this came as a shock to me but I always thought that our family was different.

The next day I was walking to school as I see a kid getting beaten up by a bigger kid,I go over and tell the bigger kid to leave him alone but, as I say that, he walks up to me and then my reflexes took-over.  The kid flew right onto the other side of the street and into someone’s garden.  One of the bigger kid’s friends called the cops and that was when I decided to run.

I ran towards home  but the cops were already there so I ran towards the beach. (Oh did I mention that our species are fast runners? Well we are).  I didn’t plan at all what I was going to do so I just had to wing it.  I heard sirens behind me and they were getting louder so that meant that they were gaining on me and fast.  I got to the beach but the cops were right behind me and when they came out with guns that was when it got worse.I flipped the three cop cars that were chasing me and that was when I realised that I was a real criminal so I decided to run some more.While I was running I heard a rumble and when I looked up I saw an army chopper.Then all of a sudden there was a loud BANG  then there was an explosion 10 metres beside me.  Luckily I didn’t get affected by the impact but there was just loud ringing in my ears and when I looked behind me there was a humongous tank.  When I turned back around a man was standing in front of me but before I could react he gave me a pistol handle to the face and the chase was over.

When I woke up I was in a big metal container I knew that I could break out easily but I knew that they would have all types of weapons at the ready.So I decided to stay until they eventually let me out.

So I have been here for about four years I’ve been counting the days on the walls I guess I’m gonna have to start writing on my arms. Just one more year until I’m out then it’s time for me and my family to commence mission objective:human extinction.  

By Delroy

Motor biking

When I was six my dad bought me a  fifty  cc mini motorbike.  At first  I hated the absolute heck out of it, mainly because it made me cut myself when dad told me to get on.

I learned how, six days later, and loved it.  Dad took me to a shop to get some brand new Fox gear with gloves, boots, pants, socks, helmet and t-shirt.

When I couldn’t fit them, which was when I was nine, dad got me new gear.  He was going to get a protective chest plate  which was going protect my chest from rocks and sharp things.  He was also going to get me a neck brace, so when I fall off my bike or jolt too far back or forward  I would have a better chance of not damaging my neck or head.  

I was without  a bike for 14 months then dad got me a 125 ccs  dirt bike early last year.  We go out on tracks at the Waimakariri.  We go on the beach a lot.  Whenever we go out to Okains Bay we would ride around the campgrounds.  

We went to this other one near the airport with Stella and Francis, then my bike got stolen and haven’t got it back or found it.  I went for my first ride in ages on a 230 ccs and then  dad got me a suzuki 200 ccs 4 weeks ago.

By Maraea

Spitfire rock the house

Amazing performance by the senior band Spitfire this morning at assembly. Well done!

Robotics

We have been doing programming for robots.  We had to do programmes on the computer and download it onto the robot.   The programming is so the robot can move.  You can also make the robot speak and have smiley faces on the screens.

There are differents types of programmes.  We used mindstorm.
At the start we learnt how to work the measurements to get the robot through an obstacle course.  We also learnt how to make it reverse.

We finished with robot battles.  You had to programme your robot to have speed or spinning advantages to take out other robots.

Awesome mathematicians!

In Tangaroa, many of our students like to sharpen their math skills on a fun, game based website called Sumdog.   This week we took part in a challenge against 20 other schools throughout New Zealand. Students had to answer 1000 questions and results are based on percentage correct.

We topped the leaderboard on Monday, and were third overall, but even better, we had 4 students (Cole, Josh, Lizzie and Dara) placing in the top 6! 

They were closely followed by Samantha, Ruth, Nile, Jayden and Sophie T, all placing in the top 20. 

Well done everyone who took part. 

Karim The Panda Warrior -Origins

Once upon time in a town called Wuhan, there was a boy, well a panda, who was destined to be a panda warrior. He just didn’t know it yet. His name was Karim. He was adventurous, exciting and fun but nobody liked him because he was over enthusiatic.

Karim  woke up to the sound of his mother yelling from the bathroom.

“Honey, the hot water’s not working.  Can you go and see the plumber?”.

“Okay mum” he sarcastically.

He ran down to the shop.  The man was eating noodles.  Karim yelled for the man.  The man ignored him. Karim left.

As he was walking home some kids from Karim's class sneered at him.   Akro, the leader of the bunch, pointed at him.  They ran at him so he turned and ran. They were fast.  Karim was running as fast as he could but Akro was the fastest child in Wuhan.

Akro caught him. They started beating him up. Then out of nowhere the plumber came and attacked the boys.  Karim moved away.    The boys bolted.  Karim thanked him.

The plumber took him home. He told his mum the boys are now banned from the streets without an adult.  Karim was safe.  

By Campbell

Everest

Day 1

As I lay in the crisp snow it slowly eats away my only body warmth I need to survive.My skin screams every time I make a move.It feels like my skin is one with the icy snow.

Why did I even want to come here?  Now because of me I’m risking my life.I sit up bend forward and check my fingers,they are purple, solid and extremely sore.

I don’t have anything on me, I lost everything when I slipped. I only have the clothes on my back and a crushed biscuit in my pocket to live off.

I’m literally hanging by a thread on the side of this powder-covered mountain.The only things holding me here are my crampons and my reliable ice axe.  I would say I’m roughly two thousand meters above ground and if I slip it would be a deadly ending.

Anything could go wrong in the matter of seconds.

Day 2

A night and day has past and I need help severely.  The cold is making my strength deteriorate and I’m nearly the size of a matchstick,I also think my hypothermia will soon become deadly.  I’m too tired, too weak to hold on any longer,when will my help arrive?But on the other hand I don’t want to move as I’m in pain and scared of what could happen if I do. The best thing to do is to sleep. That’s the only way I can escape the cold for a minute.

Icicles start to form at the end of my nostrils, the cold wind whips my face and the bright snow blinds my eyes.

Day 3

With my health worsening I need to find a way down fast. I try hard to think but my brain is frozen numb. I then see a helicopter flying high going in and out of the clouds that hug the gigantic mountain, I do everything in my power to get the pilot’s attention. After minutes of waving, yelling, screaming and pretty much anything it just slowly fades into the distance.

I think the only way out now is to use my crampons and slide down the mountain and slowly manoeuvre around big rocks to the bottom.  I have no choice. I get into a suitable position to do so and start on the big slope.

My tongues dry and my stomach is growling for food and my feet are starting to cramp up from wearing the crampons for so long.I try to push through the pain and think about all the things I could live for when I do get out.

After a few hours of moving quickly I’m now 200 meters above ground. My hands are now solid and they crunch as I bend them to grasp the ice axe. Tears start rolling down my cheeks because I know that help and safety is very near.

As people rush out to help me I thank god he brought me back safe and I kiss the ground beneath my feet.

By Hollie

Gulf of Guinea Part 1. Hull breach

Gulf of Guinea Part 1. Hull breach

It was another day the Guinea Gulf.  We had just finished a raid on the British alcohol transfer ship.  We gained $1,000 of rum and it was going to be a fine night for me and my lads. We drank for hours on end until we were all drunk that some of the lads fell off my ship THE SPARROW.   I said to my lads “Pull ‘em out with the fishin’ net!”

1 week later we had sold the rum for a profit $785. Later in the town of Nigeria a young boy came out of a crowd of people and told me “Captain Peter Mullet I heard a group of British Captains talk about hunting you for a bounty of $1,000 for you wanted dead or alive,” I replied “Thanks boy, here’s $50 for your help.”

I ran back to THE SPARROW and told the lads. “We’ve got to set sail, or we’ve got a fight on ours hands.” We packed up the supplies and set into the sea.

Once in the Gulf, but not past the border, I saw some British patrol boats guarding the border. I told the cannon crew to load up the cannon balls, the bola crews to load up the bolas and mortar crew to load up and aim at the British boats. I told the bola crew to shoot at the sails, cannon crew at the hull and the mortar crew to shoot at the steering wheel and top deck.

1 hour later, still in the battle, we destroyed 5 British boats but there were the same amount remaining.  Later, a member of the cannon crew yelled out to me “HULL BREACH!” I yelled back “Evacuate now, get out of there!”  We sailed as far away as we could until we hit a sea mine.  THE SPARROW was sent into the air, traveling at a speed of  70kmh and crashed into a deserted island.

TO BE CONTINUED

By Akasha

KIDNAPPED!

KIDNAPPED!

It was all over the news paper. My girl. My daughter, gone, what do I do? She’s missing and I can’t do anything about It. I’m useless to her, I’m such a bad mum. But I have to keep trying. She has to be around here somewhere right?

I spend the whole week looking for her round the town we live In but nothing. I miss her so much, she Is the only thing I have. Who has the nerve to take my daughter! I get angry really angry. My daughter Is gone and I don’t know where. Someone’s taken her. Away from me, what If she never comes back.

As I’m driving down the street still looking for something I don’t even know. I hit something. I jump back in shock when I slam on the breaks not knowing what I hit. I’m getting out of the car scared to what I’m going to see.

I walk round to the front of the car seeing the start of what I hit. As i get closer I can see that It’s a person but It was my daughter! I ran to her with tears streaming down my face uncontrollably. But when I get to her i see what I have done.

She’s gone. dead , not alive because of me. I don’t even know where she was, or what happened to her. I killed her.

Blood all over my hands and my clothes I take her into my arms not letting her go “ baby please don’t go” but It’s too late crying my eyes out I say “goodbye my baby”.

By Lizzie

Ginger Addiction

Ginger Addiction

Written by Tiana

She showed up at his door soaking wet, bruised and covered in glitter.

“Don’t ask,” she mumbled as she slipped past his open mouth, and shocked expression.

She disappeared into the bathroom for a while and when she re-emerged she had gotten a bit of the glitter off, although it was all through her hair and it still stuck to her skin.

She slumped on the couch, by the warm fire to dry herself off, he went to the kitchen.

She could hear him banging around doing something and when he came back he had two mugs of hot cocoa.

They both seemed to sink into the couch, while the warmth washed over them in small heat waves.

He was about to fall asleep when she suddenly whined:

“There was only one gingerbread man in all of the market,”

“So you what? Tripped and fell into a pond, got a truck of glitter tipped over you, threw yourself onto the gingerbread stall and it collapsed around you?”

“Pretty much, yeah,” she said after much thought.

“No surprise there then,” he remarked quietly.

“Hey!” she said with a hurt expression on her wet, sparkly face.

“Well, your addiction to ginger is not human!” He said truthfully,

“Did you get it?’ He added inquiringly

“no!” she said solemnly, they kicked me out of the market.

“Yes, well, I can go to the supermarket and buy you one,” he sighed knowing full well that it will most likely end up a gingerbread house.

“Yay! Thank you! You’re the best friend ever!’’ she screamed hiding the $2.00 glitter packets in her wet pockets,

“Oh, did I mention that there is this new crystalized ginger flavour…”

He sighed, this was going to be a long day.

Panda

Panda

Omph! Something heavy lands on me,

I open my blurry eyes to a black and white face,

I gently push him away with my paw,

He fights back, this means war!

I hear the gate shut, click.

I’d better hurry, quick, quick!

The lady comes in with a basket,

A basket of bamboo!

Yummy, scrummy, i eat the rest,

I love bamboo, it’s the best!

The lady picks me up,

And rolls me down a hill!

Rolling, rolling, down the hill

Is it ever gonna end? I hope it will!

I finally come to a stop, when i hit a panda

Right in the face!

She batts me away, i jump on her,

Now i have really dirty fur,

Wheeeeeeeeeee!

I look behind me, two more rolling down the hill!

We jump, we fight, we play, we roll

We run, we tumble, we push, we bowl

Our eyes and ears droop down low,

As we stack up for a nap, so fluffy and warm.

We wake up after midday,

And start another play,

We race each other up the hill,

As we smell that yummy bamboo!

We see something move

Its that lady, trying to leave

Darn, we were too late

Don’t worry

We...

Will...

Wait.

By Tiana