Kapa Haka Time!!!!

 Last week moana syndicate (that's me!) finally filmed our Kapa Haka performance. We decided to film in the hall, Koka Brodies partner, Canaan is a photographer. So he had all his fancy gear ready to film us. To be honest it was super scary having all these cameras staring you down.

This year I was in the front row and I was thrilled! I tried and tried to stay there and the teachers had noticed. Our bracket had quite a few new song such as Ka Waiata, Ka Panapana and Toia mai. I had tried to learn these songs at home and it payed off!

I had always found the poi tricky, but lately I feel like I have got the hang of all the moves in E Rona. My favorite move in the poi was when the front row went on the ground (sitting) and the second row stood on their knees. I thought Klara did an awesome job leading E Rona.

My favorite song was easily Toia Mai, its such an up beat song with fun actions and words. Kapanapana was a real challenge for us to learn, it was about the volume, the breathing and the actions.

The whole performance was easily my best I have ever done and i'm super proud of the effort I put in. And on top of that I achieved my goal! On the stage I felt proud to show all the hard work that we put into our bracket. We even made the principal cry!

Watch us preform

Ilminster Green Team

 Today we caught a bus and headed to Ilminster (my future school). We went to watch the Green Team preform a awesome play about why littering is horrible, and why we should Do the 3 R's (Reuse reduce recycle).  

The play was about 2 little koura (crayfish), a nana koura (nana crayfish), skater kids, aliens and a robot! the two koura were asking their nana to tell them stories about her as a young koura. She started telling them the story of her stopping the aliens from trash planet turning earth into a rubbish into a dump like planet trash. 

The alien king had sent out his guards to find a new rubbish dump on earth, they ended up finding the perfect place... The skate park! After dumping all their rubbish there the king says to chuck out the robot, so the left him in the pile of rubbish and he hides there, until... the kids come and try to move the rubbish but they get electrocuted. They end up finding the robot and demanding him to call the king. 

The king got quite frustrated but ended up making his way down, the kids tried to debate that the skate park should not be the rubbish dump for the aliens, but the king just ignored them and called the mothership to bring them back to planet trash. Later the kids go up to Nana koura to get her help, but she refuses, after a while of begging she says ok and then they get the robot to call the aliens.

The king came down again quite frustrated but his mood quickly changed when he saw Nana Koura, THE KING THOUGHT NANA KOURA WAS THE LOST KING KOURA!!! When she told him to pack up the rubbish he got straight to work. In no time the rubbish was completely gone!

I cant wait to audition for the green team when it comes to auditioning. The play made me feel like i need to take responsibility and do the three R's, Reduce, reuse and recycle! On message to self: don't litter like the trash aliens and end up living in a dump literally and figuratively.

Speeches

 This term we are doing our speeches!! I love doing our speeches because you get to stand up and persuade people that my opinion is right and that I am right. THis term my speech topic is Going For Gold In Achieving Your Goals . I am arguing that you should go for gold and achieve your goals and how you should go about it. Here is my speech:

Arthur Ashe once said

Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can,”

  We all have goals in life that we set out to achieve.

 I believe we all have the ability to achieve these life goals.

 It's just a matter of using what we were given and go for gold to achieve the best we can.

 That's where this quote resonates with me.

Start where you are. 

Starting where you are is key,

like all things in life you need a starting point.

 If you start from where you are you can understand your strengths and weaknesses

 then you can work out a mental plan as to where you need to go next to achieve your goal.

Finding the start is stopping and looking around you to find the starting track. 

It is often thought that you have to go somewhere and then you can finally begin but actually all you need to do is start right where you are and go from there. 

Start with something that is achevibal, 

something easy 

and then work your way up to bigger goals 

that will require knowledge, preservarencie and determination.

Use what you have.

 We all have things that are unique

 and those things are the reasons we are different from everyone else, 

all we have to do is embrace that we are different and use those as our superpowers to go for gold. 

Use your surroundings to help you reach your goal, 

if there is something you need,

 set a goal to get that or make do without it.

Arthur Ash became the first and remains the only African/American tennis player to win the U.S. Open and Wimbledon singles titles, (famous world tennis comp), 

He used his skills and proved just because he's different he can still go for gold and achieve his goals.

 Use your knowledge that you have now to elaborate and learn more to go for gold.

 Obviously over time you will obtain the right tools and skills you will need to go for gold.

Do what you can. 

In life to achieve goals and go for gold you can only ever do what you can,

 but you also have a voice to say

 “this is what is happening".

 You should do your absolute best in everything that you do to show that you are worth the support and value

Doing what you can can also mean helping others with their goals,

 their goals can become your goals to achieve.

 You have the power of all of your decisions and choices,

 the goals and things you take up

 and the things that you do. 

You can make change in someone

, something, or the world

All of our goals are achievable and are worth achieving

. Goals are part of life

 you are going to have to make one somewhere in your life. 

So remember whether you are smarter, 

Faster,

 Taller

 or more popular

 doesn't mean your goals are easier or harder than anyone elses to achieve

, at the end of the day make sure you go for gold.

Green Gold!🌳🌿

 Since 2014, our school has been working our way up to be a Green Gold school. It is now 2021 so we have been completely environmental for 7 years! Our generation (us kids), are the ones that can change our future from global warming, trashed streets and sickly gasses floating around in our air to beautiful wetlands filled with birds and native plants, clean air and native animals that are nearly extinct coming back to full capacity. 

Yesterday we had the Green Gold people ( Charlotte, Kirsty, Rick and Kauri ) come and judge if we are worthy of holding the Green Gold title. In the morning when they got there we greeted them with a powhiri. After the powhiri my class went to find the start of Hamanatua, our school awa. I horse ride over the hill we were walking so I knew the way. 

When we got to the gate into the farm Koka Rozie told us the precautions to take on the farm and then we headed in. Right at the start was a steep, slippery hill we had to climb up to get to the creek. I barely made it down the hill without falling, when it was my turn to jump I had tightened my bag straps and prepared myself and swoosh... I made it without any water on me, TADA!!

Onwards..... We followed the river through mud and poop until we got to the base of Hamanatua. Woohoo!! We made it. Everyone was super ready for lunch so we sat and ate our food. It is hard to believe that Hamanatua started as a big wetland, just a humongous paddock full of mud and cows!

When we got back a awesome surprise was waiting for us... WE GOT GREEN GOLD!!!!!!!

ITS MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 On Monday, it was my 11th birthday, Mum said because it was my birthday I could stay home! My day started off by," Ella wake up it's your birthday! Also, read this", Mum passed me a cute little note that when I read it my heart melted, it read: Happy birthday Ella! We feel terrible that your books haven't come... We are so proud of the young woman you are becoming. I am really excited to spend this special day with you. I got up and had breakfast, and just as I was finishing my Nannan and Poppa came over.

My Nannan said happy birthday and passed me a little present and said here this is just a little thing compared to the trip to the Mount with me and Poppa. Yesterday we were having a family party because on Monday my family had work the next day, my family decided to give me my presents then. My Aunt gave me a beautiful dress from Australia, the small present my Nannan got me was bar soap conditioner and shampoo, my Nannan, Poppa and my Parents all chipped in to book a hotel in the Mount and go to all these cool places!

We booked tickets to World Of Wearable Arts an amazing fashion show right here in NZ, But soon after it got canceled. After my Nannan and Poppa left, I ran got into my riding gear and packed the chocolate moose cake in the bag with some spoons. off we went and dropped Willow and Jae (my siblings) to school! Me and mum were in a rush to get the horses up the top of the hill for the farrier. We went up and he rung Mum, RING RING RING. Mum hung up, put the phone in her pocket and sighed.

Part 2 coming soon.

Cross-Country

  Today we went and did cross-country. Because we went into a lockdown, cross-country was postponed, and today was the postponed date.  Before the surprise Lockdown we were given out ice cream forms for cross-country. 

On Monday they told us if we still have it at home you could bring it in with the money, some people had time to bring it in and some people did not (I did not). I couldn't run the cross-country because I had a sore hip and my friend (Te Atawhai) couldn't because she had foot sores so we were given some rubbish picks and buckets so we could pick up rubbish while we wait.

Honestly there was lots of rubbish, over the road from the park we picked up the rubbish from was a dairy so there were a lot of lolly wrappers, chip cartons,  plastic sandwich holders and cigarette butts. I was surprised how much rubbish there was, especially under the big trees with all these branches.

When it came to lunchtime the ice creams for given out because I didn't get an  ice cream. First the WAI kids lined up, WAI are the little kids they are year 0, 1 and 2, then NUI Lined up, NUI  are be middle aged kids they are year 3, 4 and some year 5s, then finally MOANA got to go, they are the oldests kids who are year 5s and 6s. 

I enjoyed cross country this year.

I challenge you to a drawing challenge!!!

As we're in lockdown my Mum has decided to give us a drawing challenge, which has a topic on what to draw each day. The first day was bones, the second day was an exotic pet, and today is something with two heads. I'm really excited to do it because I think I'm going to do a two headed dragon. For bones I did a horse skull in a field of flowers and for exotic it I did a toucan and a rainbow jungle. It is really fun because you get to be creative but also have a topic that helps you to get your creative juices flowing.This is great cause there's not much to do because it is very raining and cold so we can't go out for a walk, and we can't go for adventures. Just before lockdown my Mum got us new pens and pencils. Some are metallic and glittery and some are neon, The pencils are perfect for blending and making shadows.If you are bored I will put a photo of the list and you could start doing it because it is very fun and entertaining.