My Diary,I mean Journal

Hey Guys, 
I have just finished writing my book called "My Diary Journal" and here is a little -sneak peek- of the first page.

Hi, I’m Sam.

Here are a few things you should know about me,

I’m a 13 year old boy,

I LOVE ice cream and I DESPISE my 16 year old annoying sister, Michelle,

I have never had a girlfriend and probably never will,

And I’m not exactly the kind of person that comes to your mind when you think of ‘popular’.

Well, actually, I’m not anywhere near the kind of person that comes to your mind when you think of popular.

Ok, now that we have that out of the way, you must promise me, that what I tell you, stays between us. Got it? Good.

Romance

Romance

Romance is very old fashioned. He loves writing poems and never types emails, all the notes he sends to people are handwritten. All the letters he sends are in a light beige coloured envelope with a rose stamp, and his script is impeccable.

Romance loves his family with all his heart. His Mum, Love, and his Dad, Passion have always taught him that when life gives you lemons, you smile and offer it some homemade lemonade with three cubes of ice, a straw and a little floral paper umbrella. His sister, Friendly, also taught him many things but the most important lesson he has learned from her is that if you be nice to everyone around you, the world will reward you.

Romance loves art, drama and music and he is flawless at playing the piano and guitar. Unlike his best friend Charm (who adores pop music and whatever song is trendy at the time) he likes playing and listening to classical music and he idolises Beethoven and Mozart. He speaks very formally and has a very wide range of vocabulary.

Some of Romance’s favourite things are flowers, vanilla and rose scented candles, nature, restaurants and most of all, writing. Although Romance doesn’t hate anything, there are a few things that his dislikes, like bullies, when people are mistreated, Hate, the harshest, meanest kid in school and Disrespect, the kid at his school who laughs when his elders fall over, or when the cute animal dies in that movie.

You can always catch Romance wearing a nice ironed tie or bow tie. He even has a special drawer full of nicely organised ties. Romance also made his own cologne that smells like heaven and drives the women crazy.

Something else that makes Romance stand out in the crowd is that me is forever holding his favourite

diary, which has roses on the cover, where he writes poems about love and nature.

Romance is a complete gentleman and has never believed in the “Girls have cooties” stuff back in Primary school, in fact, all of his friends are girls.

Romance is the impeccable ruby rose, without any thorns.   

Perfection

Perfection

   He walks the hallways like they’re his own,

Although he his humble personality never lets him see it.

His brown slightly shaggy hair playfully sways in the light breeze.

His light summer tan makes him seem almost glistening.

His tall, thin figure shows off his tan muscles.

His skilled fingers glide up and down his grand piano flawlessly,

As his eyes glitter with euphoria.

He loves art and has impeccable script,

Which is helpful considering writing is his favourite subject.

His humour can make even the strictest and mature people laugh,

While his personality can lighten the darkest emotions.   

His smile is flawless,

It is enough to make any girl swoon.

His laughter is as beautiful as the birds,

Singing cheerfully in the morning.

His eyes are as glimmery,

As the morning dew,

Reflecting the rising sun.

He is perfect.

Perfection is like a warm sunny day,

After a month on snow,

Or the shower of rain in a desert,

Awakening the hibernating flowers.

Perfection,

Is the rainbow,

After the hurricane.

Lazy

Lazy

Lazy is one of the more disliked students at his school. He hates physical education, doesn’t help anyone, doesn’t work hard at anything and is always late. Lazy always has a rip somewhere on his school shorts, permanent stains on his previously white uniform top and has messy, unkempt hair. Unfortunately for everybody who was around Lazy, he has a major problem with B.O since he forgets to shower most days, never puts dirty clothes in the laundry and can’t be bothered brushing his teeth in the mornings.

Lazy doesn’t like exercise, but he does love food, so he is very unhealthy and unfit. Lazy’s favourite hobby is watching T.V and sitting on the couch eating takeaways.

Lazy has very, VERY messy handwriting and a limited vocabulary list. He loathes mathematics and only likes school for it’s recess and tuck shop. During recess he sits with his best friend Clumsy and complains about teachers and P.E while Clumsy complains about how dangerous is the thing that he stepped on today (every day there is a new story).

Lazy’s mum, Messy, and his Dad, Dirty get along very well., but their house is a mess and smells like a public bathroom. All of their house is coated with mould and dirt, all, that is, except for Lazy’s sister’s room. Lazy’s sister, Tidy, is the only one in the house who has an impeccably clean bedroom and who’s ensuite smells like lavender. Tidy hates what her parent’s house looks like, but she adores her parents and secretly when they go out for takeaways, she cleans as much of the house as she can and makes herself a salad, that is organised by colour of course.

Lazy loves the words never, and give up, unaccomplished, or failure, for he hears these words all the time.

Lazy is the job, that you can never finish.

Blue

Blue

Blue is a strong feeling,

like depression,

loneliness,

desolation,

Blue is the water,

the same water that you waste daily,

the same water others can’t afford,

the same water others never have enough of,

Blue is the ocean,

the lake,

the river,

that is home for undiscovered creatures,

skimming the sand,

in the unknown depths below the glistening blue surface,

Blue is coldness,

discreet winter wonder,

Blue is smooth,

cold,

like ice beneath your fingertips,

Blue,

is cold,

desolate,

mysterious.

Teen Smoking

Teen Smoking

In this generation more and more young kids are starting to smoke. The average age that Maori youth begin smoking is 11.5 years and the average age for non-Maori youth smokers is 12.7 years. Also evidence is emerging that smoking addiction can be influenced by genetics. Younger kids brains are supposedly more susceptible to nicotine addiction. After just one cigarette people can get addicted and it’s worse for younger teenagers. Also, if a child’s parent and/or caregiver smokes, then that is the most effective predictor of if a child will smoke.

One of the most dangerous consequences from smoking is the diseases and physical problems from nicotine. Smoking kills 5,000 New Zealanders every year! On average, smokers die about 14 years earlier than non-smokers. Just one cigarette can start an addiction, while an addiction can rob you of about 14 years of your life.  Smoking can start a range of different types of cancer and many, MANY other smoking-related diseases. Smoking is also the single leading cause of preventable deaths, not only in New Zealand, but internationally. Some teens think that there are safer cigarettes like ‘light’ or ‘mild’ cigarettes. That is not true at all, roll-your-own tobacco isn’t any safer either, in fact, it was found that ‘rollies’ (roll-your-own tobacco) actually has more nicotine, tar and carbon monoxide which makes you have a higher risk of developing a large range of cancers, than smokers with tailor-made cigarettes.

Unfortunately, younger kids are more likely to get addicted to smoking than older people. 1 of 5 teens who are addicted to cigarettes smoke 13-15 times a day and about 30 percent of teen smokers will continue smoking and die early from a smoking-related disease. For kids, teenagers are really cool and the big sister or big brother of a young child is a role model to their younger sibling and the child’s friends, so the younger sibling of a teenager who smokes all day with his friends ends up being a bad role model, showing the kids that smoking is a really cool ‘grown-up’ thing to do, and kids love acting like a ‘grown up’. Also the gradually growing lungs of teens who smoke will not develop fully, which puts them at a higher risk for lung disease.

Another big problem with smoking, is the costs. Just one pack of cigarettes costs $14.50 and many people buy about three packs a week, which is $43.50 and $174 a month which is $2088 a year. $1199 is the cost of the new 32G iPhone 5s. So if that teenager saved up all the money that they used for buying cigarettes they could buy an iPhone 5s in about six and a half months. Imagine that! Stop smoking, get healthier, and get an iPhone 5s! I think that is a pretty good deal.

In conclusion, do you really think that smoking is a reasonable way to spend your gradually minimizing life? If you smoke, than the annoying habit of smoking will steal your life and the only thing it can actually give you is diseases. Not the best way to end life. Think about smoking as a hole that you jumped into, and every day, the deeper you fall, the air gets tighter and one day, you will reach the bottom from such a high speed, that you will finish your life’s short journey, just because as a teenager, you jumped into that hole. Unfortunately, it’s not just adults that make stupid mistakes. Adults have influenced silly teens to start smoking. As if cigarettes aren’t bad enough, not only do they burn holes in your lungs, they also burn holes in your wallet. Have you ever seen those homeless people who sleep on benches and smoke? Those cigarettes have burnt holes in their wallets. Do you want to end up coughing and wheezing all day, walking around all day in the same clothes you wear every day, sleeping on park benches, talking to ducks, and begging innocent people for their money? No. Then either don’t start smoking, or if you already do, STOP SMOKING!!!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Murrays Bay

Murrays Bay

On Monday 11th August, a group of young, eager, and musically gifted students from the Te Awamutu Intermediate’s Symphonic Band got involved in our annual event where we travel up to Murrays Bay, Auckland, to share our talent with the Murrays Bay Intermediate’s band. Before the event we had been practicing and getting ready for weeks! Our band deserved a fantastic trip to extend our knowledge in music and reward us for the hard work and effort put into our weekly band practices. Most of our senior band players (students who have been their instrument for over a year) participated in this event, as well as a few talented year sevens who had been involved in music before 2014. We arrived at school at 8am, kissed our parents goodbye and excitedly chattered with our friends. After a 2-3 hour trip on the bus, we arrived at Waiwera Hot Pools where the swam in warm pools, watched a movie in the movie pool, rode on the hydroslides and enjoyed the lazy river. After about 1-2 hours at the pool we left and drove to Murrays Bay Intermediate. At Murrays Bay Intermediate the students from our school who were getting billeted met their hosts and went to their hosts house while the students who weren’t getting hosted stayed at Murrays Bay Intermediate. The students getting hosted stayed with their hosting family for three hours and had dinner there. I personally, was taken to BurgerFuel for dinner. After our three hours was over we walked back up to Murrays Bay Intermediate to have a band practise from 6pm-8pm. At 8pm the parents of the Murrays Bay Intermediate students took their children and the students that they were hosting. My family took me out for ice cream at a dairy and we went for a walk down by the beach. I had heard later that some others did the same. After a good night sleep at the hosts house or the school, everybody got their instruments ready for the next rehearsal which started at 9am when class started at school. We practised right up until morning tea where Murrays Bay Intermediate provided all the students participating a bag of chips, an apple and a juice box. After morning tea we practised until lunchtime where we were provided with hotdogs, chips, canned sparkling juice and lolly cake. Some kids who brought money also bought themselves and a few friends a treat from the school’s canteen. Everybody who brought money bought themselves, and maybe their friend, some spicy wedges with ketchup and slushies!!! We were very fortunate as the slushie maker at their school was broken for a long time and was only then fixed the day after we arrived, meaning that we got to enjoy a delicious, refreshing mango/lime slushie. Unfortunately, after lunchtime, it was time to head back home. After we waved goodbye to our new friends at Murrays Bay Intermediate we packed our bus and prepared ourselves for the long trip ahead. Luckily some of us are still in contact with the lovely people that we met at Murrays Bay Intermediate due to the fascinating presence of social media. We sure do miss the amazing views from the Auckland Harbour Bridge though!!!  

Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover

Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover

Okay. So I will be straight up honest with you. We all do it. We just can’t help it. We all look at someone or even something, and expect it to be the way it looks. For example, if we see a cute little girl in a pink dress and pigtails, we will immediately think of her as a kind little sweetheart who picks flowers and loves strawberry ice-cream just because it’s pink. Sometimes, that might even be the case, but who knows? She could be the type of girl who dresses her dog against his will and tries to get rid of her baby brother by hiding him in the cupboard, hoping the lion from Narnia eats him? Or if we see a man with tattoos on his arms and long black hair looking after a child, some people will think that he will be the type of parent that leaves his child at home alone while he goes out to spend all his money on those tattoos and gambling, or the type of guy who smokes all day and supports family violence, but for all we know, those tattoos could be reminders of close family members who passed away, and he could be the type of father who will spend an hour listening to his daughters favourite subject in school instead of watching football with his mates. He could have a loving wife at home.

The problem about judging people by their appearance is that you will immediately think of that person in the way that you judged them, and then are surprised that the person is different. Sometimes people even avoid some people because they expect someone to be or act one way but end up being completely different. Sometimes judgements can be correct, but nevertheless, that isn’t the right way to get to know people. For example, the cover of The Fault in Our Stars was just words on a blue background, but that story was amazing. School is the place where judgement is the worst. Judging someone can lead from just thinking of them differently, to straight up bullying. If you avoid a person that looks like someone you won’t want to hang out  with, then they will feel completely rejected. They will be lonely. You can’t judge a person in the first few minutes of acquaintance! Most of the time, the most quiet and shy people you meet end up being some of the funniest people you will ever know.

Everyone knows that you will be judged. That’s why kids in this generation are making a big deal of being skinny. Unfortunately younger and younger kids are ending up in youth anorexia hospitals due to the fact that they feel fat because of the types of people who judge others. For those of you who don’t know what anorexia is, it is a serious illness, slightly similar to depression, where you feel like you are too fat and starve yourself until you look like skin stretched over a bag of bones. After starving themselves, these kids usually either die, or end up having eating disorders for the rest of their lives. We must all remember that you can’t judge someone unless you are perfect, and nobody is perfect, therefore no one has the right to judge anyone else by the way they look. Right?

Judging people starts rumours and stereotypes. For example not all blondes are unintelligent, guys aren’t always stronger, guys who spend a lot of time on the computer or  read many books aren’t geeks or nerds, guys aren’t always better than girls in sports like rugby or soccer, really skinny girls aren’t the only ones who can get a job in acting or modelling, remember ‘Fat Amy’ from Pitch Perfect? Rebel Wilson also got her own show called Super Fun Night. These are just a few of the many stereotypes that people judge others by. Stereotypes and judging people is mean and hurtful.

Please think about I have just said, and try, just try, to not judge people. Just pretend you are blind, I mean, like don’t shut your eyes in public, but if you see someone who has tons of eyeliner on and wearing black clothes from head to toe, instead of imagining them as a goth or an emo, try imagining them having a pink bedroom with stuffed animals, helping out their mother in the kitchen and taking their white poodle out for a walk. For all you know they could just be trying out a new look. Also, I know this goes out mostly to girls but for some boys too, your size, is perfect, and your weight, is just a number. Don’t let society’s view of you be more important than your view of yourself. Aswell as not letting others judge you, try not to judge them, sure it seems difficult, but it will make your life a lot easier, and others lives happier. So please, I know you are reasonable people who wouldn’t want others to be depressed, please, don’t judge a book by it’s cover.  

By Oksana

   

Passion Hour

Passion Hour:

So about 2 weeks ago we started Passion Hour. For those of you who don't know what passion hour is, it is the same as genius hour. Genius hour/ Passion Hour is one hour a week where the students in my class work on a project of their choice. Some students chose to learn how to present the art of illusion, while I, am writing a short picture book for teens about bullying. 

The Tsunami

Hello, sorry I haven't blogged for a while. Not much time. So lately I have written a short 600 word story for the Elsie Locke writing competition. This story had to be 500-600 words long (maximum) and the story had to be about the importance of water. So here it is...

The Tsunami

Let me start off by saying, I never thought much about water. Just something that comes out of the tap, but that all changed. After one long, boring day.

“Morning sweetie,” Mum murmured softly. “Do you remember what day it is?” I did. Mum has been talking about it months before it actually happened. Water Saving Day. This was a big thing in my environmentally friendly family. Because of the fact that most of the people in my town care for the environment more than they care about themselves, this was a big thing at my school too. Which meant learning about water all day. Why should we care? We like fizzy drink better anyway. I mean, what is there to learn about water? It’s in the sea but it’s salty, it comes out of the tap, and fish live in it. There, I already know everything about water. It can’t do anything, like it’s fun learning about environmental things like tornados and everything like that.

The morning at school today was the most boring thing I have ever attended. It was even more boring than your grandmother lecturing you about what you like and do now compared to what she had done in the dinosaur era when she was young. The most interesting thing that day was about tsunamis. It was still boring, but about 0.01% less boring.  Then again. What damage can a tsunami make anyway, it’s just water? It would be so COOL!!!! No school. Swim inside our house. Drink fizzy drink 24/7 instead of plain old water. Who wouldn’t want that?

Two nights later I slept soundly, because it was Boxing Day and I still felt full after last night’s Christmas dinner,  until I heard my mum, screeching my name in the corner of my room. “Sarai!!!” Sleepily I squinted through the darkness. Suddenly I noticed my brand new Christmas present, my alarm clock floating past me. It’s midnight. The look of horror on my mothers face strikes me

As we clung to the vigorously swaying palm tree the treacherous, dirty water collided with our trembling pale bodies. The new lit-up 2004 music competition sign came crashing down and exploded sending an electrical current through dangerous water.  My heart thumped against my bruised ribs threatening to escape but the churning water wouldn’t let it. Crushed cars floated by as though they were lighter than feathers. Palm trees, buildings, all of these things that seemed impossible to destroy, came crashing down. I only realised that I have been holding my breath when I desperately needed to catch my breath. I screamed but all the came out of my quivering lips was a muffled sound and a myriad of misshaped bubbles. Finally. The belligerent water takes over. I am terrified. I have never been so scared before. Not even of Dad. Broken bits and pieces of peoples memories and belongings crash into me. I can’t breathe, but everything is a lot more quiet, slightly peaceful. I feel my consciousness slipping.  

I wake up. In a clean white room. The first thing that hits me is the disinfectant smell. Quietly, in fact, almost silently except for the small creak from the door, a young nurse comes in. That’s when I realise I am connected to myriads of little tubes and wires. “What happened?” I whisper. There is a slight shrill in my voice for being unused for a while. I don’t understand why I am here. The nurses sweet face breaks into a sympathetic smile. “I will bring your mother in, she will explain everything,”  

Oksana 12 years old 

National Young Leaders Day

On the 9th June 2014 a group of year 7 and year 8 students from Te Awamutu Intermediate drove to the Rotorua Events Centre at about 7:30am. Once we arrived there we received small booklets to write down some notes about what each speaker there said to us. The first speaker of the 5 that day was Allison Mooney, a professional motivational speaker. She told us about significance and how every leader was different type of leader, but still a good one. For example, there are the talkative, funny and playful type, the active,powerful and brave type, the organised, thoughtful, very precise and often musical or artistic kind and the peaceful, quiet, and often shy type. All of these types could make very adequate leaders. Our second speaker was a widely known NZ celebrity, Tamati Coffey, who you might know from his previous jobs in ‘What Now’, a weatherman on ‘ Breakfast’ news, and a introducer on New Zealand Got Talent. He spoke to us about dreaming big, and achieving big. Some of my favourite quotes from his speech were “The possibilities are endless” “Self-doubt will make you miss out” and  “Dreaming big only works if you work hard, because a  thousand mile journey, starts with just one step. The next speaker was Paula Fakalata, who told us to reach our dreams, no matter what, and to reach your dreams you need to 1- have great, supportive, encouraging friends 2- have positive thoughts, absolutely NO self-doubt and 3- have a go, reach your dream by trying. Our fourth speaker was Alison Shanks, a professional NZ cyclist. She has participated in the 2012 London Olympics. She has won a large amount of competitions so far and has now moved to Cambridge. She told us that if we work hard enough, we will make it. “Someone has to be a gold medal winner,” she says “why couldn’t it be me? Why can’t it be you?” Aim high- dream big. Before our last speaker we had a special person tell us about being a singer/songwriter. Her name is Nakita Turner and she is 15 years old!!! The main quote in her speech was never give up. Our last speaker for the day was another professional motivational speaker, Cam Calkoen, who suffers from Cerebral Palsy, which makes him speak slightly differently, and walk differently from other people. He told us that no matter what the conditions are, strive to reach your dreams. He told us that no matter what people think about you or say about you, you are the only person who can really judge yourself. He says that instead of being upset when people laugh at him and think he is strange, he lets them laugh, in fact, he makes them laugh at him, because when you can laugh at yourself with other people, it doesn’t feel like they are teasing you. Cam Calkoen was one of the most loved speakers of the day. Not only did we listen to motivational speeches but we also watched short 3D movie clips that had something to do with leadership and not giving up. The leaders day was a huge success and helpful to young striving leaders. I’m sure that this experience was helpful to everyone who participated.  

Novel analysis - The Fault in Our Stars

L.I- To read a novel and critically analyse, and evaluate aspects of it.

Title:       The Fault in Our Stars  

Author:  John Green

Genre:   Fiction (based on a real person)

Pages:  313

Hazel Grace is a 16 year old girl who has cancer. She has had cancer for the past three years. All this time she has to carry an oxygen tank around everywhere she goes. She decides to join a support group at their church with kids the same age as her who also, have cancer. She meets some friends there and sets off to find her favourite author in Amsterdam with her new, one legged boyfriend Augustus Waters. They fall deeply in love and promise to stay together until death does them part, but unfortunately, that’s what happens. Luckily, romantic, poetic, and metaphorical Augustus Waters left her clues to find a love letter, just before he died.     

I think that the moral of the story is basically, what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger, and what does, makes your closest friends and family stronger. In this story there are a few quotes and metaphorical things that create an emotion and a theme for the reader, like “Some infinities are bigger than other infinities.”  and  “Are you serious?! You’re smoking while you have cancer?! Are you trying to kill yourself?!” exclaims Hazel, shocked. “It's a metaphor, see: You put the killing thing right between your teeth, but you don't give it the power to do its killing.” replies Augustus.   Also “I wanted to know that he would be okay if I died. I wanted to not be a grenade, to not be a malevolent force in the lives of people I loved.”  Like this, there are many, many other metaphorical and emotional quotes that build up the picture and feelings, just like a musician accenting different parts of a melody to create emotion.

This story takes place in Indianapolis, Indiana, where Hazel Grace and Augustus Waters live. Until they leave to Amsterdam to meet their favourite author. In Amsterdam they go to the Anne Frank house for a tour, to Oranjee (a famous restaurant) and obviously meet Peter Van Houten ,their favourite author, at the author’s house. Even though author turns out to be a horrible person the trip isn’t a complete waste of time as they share their first kiss at the top of the Anne Frank house.

Hazel Grace is a very smart, and funny girl. She has a very likeable personality.She more of a listener rather than a talker and all she wants is for her parents to be happy, which is hard when all they ever have time for is her, because if she suddenly has a lung problem once again they must be as close to her as possible. Her lung problems have happened too often for her parents to be able to stay too far away. She isn’t very active as she only has one and a half working lungs so she gets breathless easily. Hazel has short hair, once again, because of cancer, and a thin tube running from her nose to her oxygen tank that never leaves her side. She is quite romantic but not quite as romantic as her boyfriend Augustus. Unfortunately she is very self-doubtful. She is humorous, but in a smart way. She thinks very logically, and metaphorically, and understands that she is going to die sooner than others. She isn’t the type of person who believes in miracles, but she isn’t depressed. She is funny, but her jokes are never mean, to anyone, or anything. She is the type of person you would want to have a lasting friendship with, as she never gets boring, and she’s the kind of person you don’t meet everyday, but you would like to.

This book was very detailed, but not in a boring, everlasting way. There were parts of the story where there was an unsolved mystery and the author, John Green (a genius), left little suspicious clues to follow and to predict what happens, but the really great thing about the language in the story is how metaphorical it is. I guess you could say that the story is like a dark hallway with many open doors, but you never know where you are going until you’re there. There are many unexpected twists in the story and they keep the reader captivated.

Overall the novel is amazing. The author, John Green, has once again completed a masterpiece. This story has been a huge success with people of all ages, although the main audience was teen girls. I love the language used in this novel and how everything about it has been thought out perfectly. If I could go back in time and read this book again, I would.  All the characters personalities and stories fit together perfectly like a puzzle and if one piece was different the puzzle would be incomplete. This story makes you think differently about life and everything on Earth. I found this novel faultless and inspirational, and I am not the first to think that.

By Oksana