On the 15 June Te Awamutu Soldiers went to Minogue Park for a netball competition.  Our first game was against a mostly boys netball team and we won with about 10 goals difference, our next game we won with 4 or 5 goals difference against Raglan then 1 goal difference against Paterangi which took us into the semi-finals.  We played TAI Demons, it was the hardest game we had ever played! Once the buzzer for the end of the game had gone it was a draw, we had to keep playing till one team was two goals up.  The first to get a goal was their team, then we got a goal, then they got a goal and both teams were playing as if our lives at risk.  No one could make a mistake or else it all would have been over.  We got a goal and tried so hard not to let the other team get the ball.  When the ball was down in our goal circle their defence was trying really hard to get the ball but our team was trying harder, Kendal got the ball and tried to shoot a goal and she scored!! My whole team was crying (except for me because I don’t cry in public) and was so happy that we got into the final.  We had played on another 15-20 minutes and had our final 5 minutes after that.  We were tired but still went on.  One of our players couldn’t't play because she had a black eye from the semi-final.  For the final we played Okapu juniors. In the first half we were up 4 goals and it went quite quickly.  They weren’t as hard as the previous game but in the second half they were much harder.  The final went so fast and we won it.  At prize giving we won a hat and a drink each and the team won sports bag.  On the way home we had a ice-cream from Mac Donald’s then I fell asleep at home.

On Monday 12, till Wednesday 14  the Symphonic band and Choir went to Totara Springs.  On the first day we arrived there we met Matamata school which was staying there too.  We all got settled into our cabins and had free time after that  till our rehearsals for the big concert, which we had on Tuesday night.  In our free time we could go for a bathe in the hot pool, play on the playground/Lullaby, play on some of the entertainment down the back like the round about thing, or just wander around in and out of our cabins.

The next day we had some normal rehearsals and also had a dress rehearsal.  Later on that night we had a big concert where all the parents came to watch, first we all sang the national anthem then the choir sang some songs, after they sang their songs the senior band played some of their pieces, straight after that it was time for the junior band.  I was nervous but once we started to play our second song I was not nervous at all.  I play the flute in the junior band.  Later on when the concert was nearly over some of us had to trade seats with a Salvation Army band that came to play, the youngest I think was at college just out of intermediate and the oldest was in his mid eighties.  They played some songs for us then the senior band and the visitor band joined and played”Eye of the tiger”.  After the concert we had free-time and I went for a swim in the hot pool.  Then we all went to bed.

The next day we had to pack up all our stuff and clean our cabins, and the dining room etc.  After everything was packed up Mata-Mata school were first to go on the water-slide while TAI could go on the three wire or do archery, I was going to do the three wire but the line was too long and the water-slide was ours so I just walked back to the water-slide and four could go on at a time and I liked to go down the slide superman styles, which was when you go down on your stomach holding each-others ankles, it was really fun.

Later on we all loaded the buses then hopped on and started on our way back to school.  Once we arrived at school we unpacked all our luggage into the hall and waited there for our parents to collect us and then went home.

Day one

Between 8:00 and 9:00 everybody arrived at school and once we had all of it in the big trailer that was on the back of Mr Thompson’s car which I was in and then we left for lake Okataina and had lunch there.  Once we had had lunch and finished a bush walk we did there we left for Ohope and unpacked our luggage into our cabins and just played games around the campsite for a while.  

Later on that day we walked across the road to the beach and write our names with sticks into the wet sand and played some games there, then we headed for our cabins again and had a snack.

By about 5:30 we left for the Aquatic centre and we went on the hydro-slide and we had a lot of fun there for a hour or two.  Once we finished there we just played some games before dinner, then we went to bed.  But our cabin surely stayed awake which didn’t impress the teachers.

Day two

The morning was really bad because breakfast was at 7:30 and every-night we go to bed at 10:00 but no-one really go to bed till way later! and some people were almost asleep face first in our breakfast.

After breakfast  room3 and room7 split, room 7 went kayaking, fishing and for a walk to Shelly bay.  We went to the high-ropes first and we had to put harnesses and helmets on and my first activity was really scary, my favourite activity was the trapeze, I had to climb up a big pole and stand on it, then there was a trapeze a couple of feet away and I jumped for it and grabbed on to it but then I let go of it and went flying, it was pretty fun because I am scared of heights .  Once we had done some activities and had lunch we left to the Amazing Maze n Maize.  We split up in our car groups and set off into the maize and trying to find pictures and laminated pieces of information.  We found a haunted house and It had dead legs and heads with blood everywhere, it was cool.

Then we went back to our cabins and later on that night we went to the Aquatic centre and went on the hydro-slide again and went for a swim.  Once we had finished we went back to our cabins and had dinner.

Day three

At 9:00 sharp we started off for our kayaking session, that was Kaitlyn’s dad and Joshes mums group.  When we got there we went through some skills of how to kayak and then we put our life jackets on from shortest to tallest, and I was the tallest.  When we hopped in the kayaks we went for a long kayak out to around the middle of the lake and it was quite shallow, we did some activities out there then we came back and played a tiggy in our kayaks.  Once we had finished we headed back for camp.  We all had showers and dried ourselves from the kayaks then walked across the road to Shelly Bay, it was a long walk down the beach and some of us were collecting pippies and putting them in Patrick’s lunchbox to save them for fishing later on.  Once we got towards the end of the beach we started to climb up this hill.  When we had got to the other side we stopped there for lunch, then we climbed back over and started on our way back to the cabins.  We quickly got ourselves sorted for fishing and started on our way to the fishing place, when we got there we stayed there fishing, I actually didn’t catch any fish but Sarah almost caught a Snapper.  When we had finished we headed back to our cabins.

Once we had been back for a while then we started on our way to Awakeri Hot-springs.  I was freezing cold when we got there because I was just in my togs.  I jumped in and the pool was so warm.  After a while we had a BBQ and cake, then we got to buy lots of lollies.  We basically ended the night when we got back to the cabins.

Day four-Last day

It was the last day and everybody was packing all their stuff up and cleaning their cabins.  Once everybody had all their luggage in the big school trailer we headed to Te Puke and had bought lunch there.  Most of us bought Subway but Nicky and I didn’t have any money so we couldn’t buy any, everyone went to the park and ate their lunch there.

Then we left from there and headed back to school, we arrived at school around 2pm.

In 2006 I was at Pokuru school and I saw an advertisement in the newsletter for trials for rep netball, so I thought I might have a chance at getting in so I went and trialled with some of my friends and I found out that I got in so I was really happy.  Atthe end of the year we got to trial again for this year because we might not be that good after the holidays so I trialled again with some of my friends and I was the only one who got in out of Pokuru school so that was great.  Now that it’s 2008 rep netball should be starting around about now.  I cant wait because it will be challenging and fun!!

When I was nine years old I quit Seido Karate because I was tired of it, I was a blue belt yellow tip and by now I probably would have been almost green belt.  This year I am almost twelve and started back there two weeks ago, but this time I go there with one of my mums friends sons Bejae.  I have to start from no belt now because I have forgotten most of the Katas and words in japanese.  Everytime I do something I remember that we used to do it when I was eight.  On Tuesdays we have sensay Rubin and on Thursdays we have sensay Mike who is the most skilled sensay, we have to be on our best behaviour or else we have to do heaps of pressups and sit ups etc…

Title-High Tide

Author-Anna Mackenzie

Publishing team-Christine Dale, Penny Scown,Rachel Scown,Peter Rees

N.O pages-156

Genre-Adventure

ISBN-1-86943-571-0

This book that I chose is an adventure story with a streak of laughter, love and sadness. The main subjects are hiking, accidents and friendship. This book is about seven teenagers and there teacher who go hiking up the peninsula thinking they will have a great time, little do they know what they just signed their selves up for. This story started off a bit confusing but by the time it was near the middle I was totally hooked in to the story. They were going on a 14 hour hike and their destination was a light house along a beach, when they arrived there that’s when all their problems started, two people went missing and they all split up looking for help and almost everyone some how got hurt.

Throughout the story characters my personal favourite was Jake, he is a bit of a bad driver but he had a cheeky sense of humour and also had another side of him that people hadn’t met until he was stuck with Samantha in the bush,

Another favourite was Samantha (preferably Sam) she told the story, I thought she was really caring towards Martin and Jake.

The character that I felt sorry for was martin because his mother always bashes him and he goes to school with bruises all over him and a couple of black eyes, he just says he fell over. It’s really quite sad, also I think that Mr Collins parents were a bit uptight blaming the class that went on the hike for his death. After they went out of their way carving his headstone.

I think that the author maybe could have focused on Mr Collins death and if they had found anything lying in the sea a couple years later, the author also could have explained how the children in his class back at school felt about this.

kelela