Farewell

 Dear everyone,

It's now time I write the epilogue of my journey here at New Windsor School. It was a great experience for me, I spent 6 years there, and I don't regret that.

When I first started in New Windsor, I was a bit nervous. I actually used to go to St. Thomas's school, all the way in Meadowbank. I went to St Thomas back when it was still small. The school is huge now. And the same principal is still there! I don't remember which class I was in though. 

Anyway, enough about St Thomas's School. Time to talk about New Windsor school. I was quite nervous when I started, but my first teacher, Mrs Amputch, made me feel welcome to the class, along with some other students. 

I started to feel more and more comfortable in this school and when new students came in, I welcomed them as well. I started to make new friends and I made more and more as I grew there. New Windsor school was still tiny back then. There was no paint job, the entire school wasn't blue. There were also no fences in the backfield and rooms 23, 24, 25, and 26 wasn't even renovated. Room 27 was still being used. The school logo was also different, and we had something called the PB4L values before the New Windsor way values. We didn't even have Miss Harland back then, we had another principal and his name was Mr Bermingham!

I really enjoyed all the trips we went to. It's a shame the road patrollers didn't even get to go to Rainbows End and the year 5 and 6s never got to go camping. I would describe New Windsor School as the best part - the best time of my life, the teachers gave it everything they could to give us the best experience. And it worked. And for that, I am very thankful. Thank you, New Windsor, for doing your best. But hey! Who knows! Maybe I'll make blogs over the holidays, maybe, juust maybe. But don't get your hopes up though, as there are no promises.

I would like to say a special thanks to these teachers, although some of them no longer teach here anymore, I would still like to say special thanks to these teachers;

Mrs Amputch

Miss Gibbs

Mr Mac

Mrs Simon

Mr C

Mrs Ashworth

Mrs Dobbie

Mr Jones

Ms Corbett

Ms Tannahill

And of course, massive thanks to all other teachers in the school. But those particular ones are the ones who taught me in my six years of experience here. And I couldn't be more thankful.

I have made so many friends in this school, now I have to leave it all behind.  Although the title "New Windsor Student" will be departed from me, I will remember New Windsor School. And of course, I will remember our times with my amazing blogging journey and you, reader. It's so amazing to see how far I've gone in blogging. From about two sentences and a picture to this.

Though I have not made many blogs, it was fun and I will always remember it.

And the next generation of New Windsor, becoming a senior is more difficult than you think it is. Your expectations are very high, and it's a major jump from year 4 to 5. So you guys better behave. That would be my piece of advice.

Well? Let's see what BBI has to offer me in 2022. I will never forget this journey of blogging and my great journey at New Windsor School. This is Rieza Yusuf signing out of nwsriezay.blogspot.com! You guys are the best. What an experience. What a ride.

Farewell ;)

Year 6 slide

Kia ora readers,

For our work, we had to create a year 6 slide about ourselves. There were questions asked were like what you want to be when you grow up, favourite fast food, and other stuff like that. I'm pretty sure you guys know what I want to be when I grow up, but you don't know my favourite fast food and stuff like that. Is it Tacobell? No. McDonald's? No. Chipotle? That's not even in New Zealand! Anyway, please stop guessing because you are going to find everything out in the slide below!

Yes, that's right. My favourite moment from this year - staying home. Honestly, It's just nice to chill at home, but not for 3 months. Actually, I think 4 now. Never mind, I forgot. Also, I wasn't the creator of the template. Mr Jones created it. So special thanks to him for creating the template. You can check out his blog here! 

You made it to the end of my blog post, Thanks for taking the time to read it. I appreciate it. Have a fantastic day and see you on the next blog!

I did a thing...

1st blog of December!

Welcome readers,

I have pretty much stayed away from my blog for a week now. Eheh... Sorry for the inactivity. For our work, we had to create a digital portrait. What is a digital portrait? Well, you take a photo of yourself and you trace literally everything. Everything. Every single detail. Well, I don't think we had to go into THAT much detail, but I did anyway. I added an insane amount of detail to my face, and I think it turned out pretty well. The photo below is what I made:

This time, I didn't use Canva. I used Google drawings! Do you like it? I put a lot of work into it. The digital portrait is one of the main reasons I was inactive. I also didn't know what to write and the third main reason why I was inactive: Laziness.  Once again, I apologize for being inactive. 

I followed a tutorial on how to make one. If you would like to watch the tutorial too, Here it is! But beware - the tutorial is really long. Like, really long. It's roughly 50 minutes. 49 minutes, to be exact. 49 minutes and 18 seconds, to be approximate. Wait... Don't exact and approximate have the same meaning? Never mind.

You made it to the end of my blog post! Thank you for taking the time to read my post. Have a great day and see you on the next blog!

Get to know me a little better!

 Welcome readers,

For our work today, we had to make a google slides presentation about ourselves. I created a slide presentation about getting to know me better! Hope you know me just a little better by reading the slide below! 

Ask me questions?

 WARNING: This blog is going to be really short. Like, really short. Only one question.

Welcome readers,

Just a quick question - I am making a google slides presentation about getting to know me better. I will post it on my blog when I finish it, but I need questions first. Make sure to ask me anything about myself in the comments. I will put it in the google slide. Kia ora!

Welcome to New Zealand!

Kia ora readers,

Today we had our last CyberSmart lesson with Phil. For our task, we made a postcard to persuade people to come to this place. We could convince them to go anywhere, for instance, I make a postcard for someone and tell them to go to Italy. I would make a postcard for them that looks nice and has a nice view of Italy. That would persuade them to go to Italy, right?

Anyway, I made a postcard about how people should come to New Zealand. The embed of the photo and letter I wrote is below.

Guess what I used to make it? I think the answer is pretty obvious now. Canva! I use Canva for everything. I know this is like the billionth time I said it, but it's true! Canva is a site to make anything from videos to postcards! What do you think of the postcard?

Overseas viewers, this is for you. You should come to New Zealand and check out all the things we have! Whether you want to live in a city or the countryside, New Zealand is the place for you.

You made it to the end of my post! Thank you for taking the time to read my blog post. And thanks, Phil for, giving us such fun tasks to enjoy. Have a great day and, see you on the next blog! Ka kite!

My Digital Collage

 Welcome readers,

For our work on distance learning, we had to do a pretty fun task. It was called making a collage. A collage is when you stick together a bunch of objects and make it a new piece of artwork. Our teacher gave us the choice to do it either digitally, or physically. I chose digital. I decided to search up digital collages for some inspiration and I took lots of inspiration. I didn't copy though. I think it turned out pretty well. 

The reason collages are so fun to make is because there are actually no rules to making a collage. unlike other pieces of art, they sometimes have these rules. Collages don't have any rules. In fact, breaking the rules is what makes them look more interesting to look at. You can let your imagination run wild, and it's pretty fun!

It's also a pretty old piece of art, but it's a new type of art. Do you get me? No? What I mean is, some of the earliest collages date back to 200 BC, but then became an official type of artwork in about the 1900s. I'll give you an example. The collage below is what I made. 

Do you see what I mean now? It's like an abstract piece of art. I think it stands out and the colours pop and that's what makes it look nice. And guess what I used to make it? Canva! That's right, Canva isn't just useful for making posters, you can also make digital collages, brochures, flyers, infographics, and waay more than that! I would be here for days if I told you all of the capabilities of Canva! What do you think of the collage?

You made it to the end! Thanks for taking the time to read my blog post, Have an excellent day and see you on the next blog!

P.S: Thank you all for 1,000 views! I never thought I would get to that milestone! And here I am at 1,000 views on my blog. Thank you reader, I couldn't have done it without you. Goodbye!

The NZ Times (False Media)

 Welcome readers,

Today we had to make a false media. Meaning fake, not real. For me, I decided to bump it up a level by creating an actual fake website. That's right, I created a fake website. I added these 6 random articles that came from my head, but they are actually true. I just thought of them. Do you think it looks real? I think it looks very real! I made the fake URL and the search bar. I also put up this wanted poster because I thought that would look nice.

I really enjoyed making this "website" because I could be as creative as I want with no boundaries. It was really fun and I suggest you give it a go as well. You can be as creative as you want, make up your own articles with no boundaries! Here is an embedded photo of my "website" below:

I originally called it "the daily times" but when I searched it up on actual google it turned out it was already taken. So I just changed it to The NZ Times. What do you think of it? Do you like the wanted poster? I actually didn't cheat on any math test though.

Or did I...

I'm joking, I actually didn't. There wasn't even any maths test recently anyways. And the articles on the news may not be recent, but that's okay! Oh, and please do NOT call the number on the wanted poster. Who knows if it actually belongs to someone. I just made this site because it's fun and for my schoolwork, not to trick people that this is an actual site. I used to remove.bg for the photo on the wanted poster.

You made it to the end! Thanks for taking the time to read my blog post. I really appreciate it. Have an excellent day and see you on the next blog!

ASB - Get wise with your cash!

Kia ora everyone,

Today we joined a zoom meeting at 11am with someone who is part of the ASB GetWise program. The ASB GetWise program is a financial literacy program to teach and inspire students to be confident and to be wise with your money. He said he wanted to play this game with us and I was the only one in the zoom meeting while everyone else is in school. I wasn't the only one who stayed home, there were other people but they just didn't join for some reason.

Anyway, he said he wanted to play a game with us. He said it was a game about being wise with your money or something. And it actually was. First, he told us to write cash as if we were writing an acrostic poem. Then, he told us to write "Clear" for the C in cash. What he meant by clear was to set a clear goal for what we wanna buy. We had to say what we were gonna buy (obviously) How much it was, and where you are going to buy it from. Is it going to be online? Or a shop? He gave us one minute to write down that information.

Then, he asked if anyone wanted to share anything with the class. A few people shared their info, but not many.

So, you kind of get it, right? After that, he asked us what the next one will be. None of us really figured it out, so he just told us. The second word was "Actions". What he meant were the actions we could do to get our income. Income is kind of like your earnings, the money you earn for doing jobs. He asked us what actions we could do to get income. He gave us 30 seconds to write down ways to earn money. I wrote down to do chores, help out with the house (basically chores, why did I write that), and to help other people for a price. There are other ways, like helping out your neighbourhood - doing neighbourhood jobs.

He then asked us what the next one would be, and we guessed save. We were partially right because it was save & spend. Same thing anyways.

He then told us to imagine he gave us an income of $20 and he asked what we would save and what we would spend. For instance, imagine someone got an allowance of $15 a week, and they spend $5 a week but save $10. But for us, we "have an income of $20." He gave us 30 seconds to write the info of how much we would spend a week and how much we would save. Some students said they wanted to save all of it and not spend anything, others (including me) said they would spend $5 a week and keep the other $15.

The final question was How long? What he meant by this was he was asking how long until you get enough money to reach your goal? For me, it would take me 4 weeks as I chose that I want to buy more clothing. Specifically, track pants. I don't know why but I just really like wearing them. And I don't have that many pairs. Other students wanted to buy an iPad, and someone else wanted to buy some books. One student said he wanted to save up for a Nintendo Switch.

Now, It's time to apply this to your real life! Have a talk with your parents or some trusted friends. Maybe try knocking on your neighbour's door to see if they need any help with anything. If you would try this out, what would you set your goal on? How much will it be? What are you going to get? What are you going to do for your income? Where are you going to get it from? What will you save & spend? How long do you think it would take you to reach your goal?

You made it so the end of my post! Thanks for reading it, I really appreciate it. Have a fantastic day and see you on the next blog!

P.S: Sorry for the inactivity on my blog for the past 6 days. I have been really busy with some other stuff.

ANOTHER Fail?!

Kia ora readers,

It is once again another fail blog! How much fails will there be?!

Anyway, For distance learning we had to make something called a fish tessellation. Yes, this time it was a fish one. So you can probably see why I messed up on this one. It was a complicated pattern, and it was paper. Anything associated with paper & scissors you know I am going to mess up. And tape. Tape is really hard for me too. I am left handed too which makes this nothing but even more difficult.

I enjoyed nothing about this, considering that it's cutting paper. And you know I HATE doing that. Yes, HATE. Despise. The photo below will explain everything:

I don't even know what these even are. They obviously don't look like fish. I tried giving them sad faces because of the horrible job I did on them, but they ended up looking mad at me. I can see why. Sorry fish! That paper was once beautiful until it saw me and got crushed by me into a mistake with those fish I drew.

I think what I can do better next time is actually make it symmetrical and cut it more carefully instead of cutting it carelessly and not measuring it.

You made it to the end of my blog post! Thank you for taking your time reading this blog post, I really appreciate it. Have a great day, and see ya on the next blog!

Canva Poster(s)

Day 84 in lockdown. Blog 5 in November.

Hola readers,

For Distance learning we had to make another poster about what our superpower is as a friend. If you don't know what I mean, I'm talking about what you are good at doing as a friend. Like, making them not feel lonely, or cheer them up or something. What do you think your superpower is? For me, my superpower is cheering people up when the feel sad of feel down. The poster below is the one I created.

   

I also created this poster on Canva. (Look at the title!) Do you think it looks nice? This time, I didn't just find a template and use it, I created it myself! Though it may not be much, I think it looks really nice and I'm proud of my own poster. I really recommend Canva if you want to make a poster or something. I actually created 3 different designs because I just couldn't pick which one looks the best! Which one do you think looks best?

Kindness is like dropping a stone into water. When you drop the stone, ripples form. And those ripples are the changes you made to the world. The bigger the stone, the bigger the change. Sometimes when your change is so big, it can become a wave, not a ripple.

It seems you have made it to the end...Thank you for taking your time reading my blog and as always, have a great day!

Distance learning - Journals

Bonjour everyone,

Today in distance learning we learnt about journals. What is a journal? A journal is often something that is kept private, like a diary. It is something personal that is kept to yourself and often written in a first-person view, as if you are talking to the journal. You can freely express your entries with rants, thoughts, reflections and freely pour out feelings. 

Even though a journal is kept private and I told journal that I wouldn't show anyone, I had to show it to you guys since it is part of my schoolwork even though I really don't want to. I'm so sorry journal! This will be the only time I will be showing it to our viewers. I copy and pasted it because if I embed it, I will be updating the doc every day and if people see, they will also be seeing my daily thoughts with journal.

Monday, November 8, 2021

Dear Journal,

You are now my journal where I just write down my normal thoughts. I will tell you how I am feeling today.

It’s a shame we are in lockdown now, journal. I have been growing more and more restless as the time passes... I wish covid could just end in a snap of the finger. There are also the people who don’t want to vaccinate. Don’t you feel the same, journal? Those anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers are doing nothing but making the situation more and more worse. And yet everyone is complaining about how they have to stay home. The answer is pretty obvious. We just need 90% of each suburb to vaccinate, then, we can finally move down an alert level! But that sounds like a dream right now. All we can do is dream about it. Just dream and dream…

I don’t even know why I am talking to you. You are non-existent and not listening right now. This is for my schoolwork, anyways. And this is to entertain my boredom and loneliness. So I'll just imagine you’re listening, journal. I don’t know why, but for some reason, I hear a tick.. Tock.. Tick.. Tock.. It almost sounds like a clock. It might be my brain being so bored that it starts to count. Or is it Big Ben in my head? 

Sorry, journal. You are kind of like my buddy to talk about things I don't normally talk about with other people. I am just letting my thoughts flow to you and talk about it. That is what a journal is for, right? Don’t worry - Journals are kept private. They- What? What did you say? Oh! Yes, I know that. I was just about to say that to you! For some reason, the teachers are telling us to share our work onto our blog. But journals are supposed to be kept private! Yes! I know! I don’t know why they are telling me to share something private between you and I to the whole world! (my blog!) I think I am going to end the journal entry here, journal. See you tomorrow!

P.S: I'm really sorry if these thought don't make sense at all. They are just the first things that come to mind.

Recount - my trip to the Coromandel

Day 78 of lockdown.

(I wrote this on google docs but I wanted to share it with you guys too!)

Welcome everyone,

I remember when I went to Coromandel. It’s one of my favourite places in New Zealand. There is so much stuff to do there, but the windy roads on the way there make it a pain to go there. But trust me, it’s worth it!

Fortunately, I don’t get carsick that easily, my dad doesn’t get carsick so long he's the driver. My mum and my sister are just fine. But, we were going there with our cousins and they got car sick really easily. Everyone fell asleep except for me and my dad. The car behind us (our cousins) was just vomiting and vomiting.

20 minutes later…

We finally made it out of the windy roads and just a straight road for the first time. 5 minutes later, we were straight back to windy roads.

3 hours later…

Day one - Exploring the new house

After suffering from windy roads and lots of vomits, we finally made it to Whitianga. We were trying to work out the new house, and there were a bunch of hiding places. It was really fun, but we didn’t play hide and seek. There were already board games set up over there, so we played Twister. I was surprised that I wasn’t the first one to get out, because I’m not flexible. At. All. 

Anyway, we had a fun time playing twister, and then we were picking our rooms. Me and Hasan, (one of my cousins that came along) got a room that looked like it was in the corner of the house. It was really nice but I couldn’t risk getting the top bunk, Hasan wanted the top bunk anyway.

We didn’t really do anything on the first day but play board games and explore the new house. Hasan and I were playing the board game Battleship, and it was way more fun than I actually expected. We ended up playing a whole bunch of games of battleship for like 2 hours straight. We then went to eat some food. After we ate, we went straight back to battleship. And then after that, we just walked around for a bit.

At night, we just watched Netflix and played some games of Mario Kart with each other until we fell asleep.

Day two - Cathedral Cove

On day two, we went to Cathedral Cove. We drove to a place to this bus station thingy that brings you to the track. Everyone was figuring the prices, while Hasan and I were just circling around and talking to each other.

2 minutes later…

They finally figured out the prices. Now, all we had to do was wait.

10 minutes later…

They finally came. Now to go there. There wasn’t really anything on the trip to the track.

7 minutes later…

We were finally there. After 19 minutes we finally made it to the walking track. Now for the hard part. The actual walk. It was really hot that day, and when I saw the first sign it said: Viewpoint: 35m. Me, not reading the word viewpoint, thought: Oh, this won’t be long. But when I was walking, the view looked very nice, and Hasan and I were way ahead of everyone. After 35 minutes, (and an extra 10 minutes waiting for everyone else) we made it to the viewpoint. I was confused because I thought I would already be there but we were only at a viewpoint.

We then took a photo with everyone else, and there was this random man who just walked in and stood with us for the photo and he was in it as well. Everyone was cool with it though. I thought it was pretty nice as well.

Ok, so I was pretty confused and then I saw another sign saying “Cathedral Cove: 45m”. I was just stunned by seeing that sign. 45 minutes is a long walk. Like, really long. (for me at least) the view was beautiful though, being high up and being able to see my destination from high up. I started to slowly descend down until I got all the way to Cathedral Cove. 

But I wasn’t there yet. I saw another sign that said “ Cathedral Cove: 25m”. I was just shocked. I have been walking for 45 minutes just for another sign to say I still have 25 minutes?! Even worse, it started to look like a maze. All these paths made me confused. Luckily, there was this sign that showed me and Hasan all the directions to the cove.

When we finally figured out how to navigate the sign, we were able to get to Cathedral Cove with ease. We finally made it to Cathedral Cove. It was this beautiful brace and it had this giant cove that looked like, well, a cathedral. It was so nice to be under a shade for once, and it felt nicer there. The sand felt softer than a blanket. Hasan and I didn’t pack any swimwear, and we were mad at ourselves for doing so. 

Turns out, you were allowed to swim there, and the water looked so nice and cold after that hot walk. We waited about 5 minutes for everyone else to come, and this rock looked big enough for me to stand on. I stood on the rock and I never looked behind me. I just broke the big rule of the sea - never turn your back on the sea. There was this huge wave headed towards the cove and it splashed on the rock I was standing on and it hit my back.

I was super wet and just thought “Oh screw this, I might as well just jump into the water with my current clothes. I just jumped in and Hasan joined me too. It was pretty fun but super heavy because we were not wearing clothes suited for the sea. But it was still pretty fun though!

Big regret. It was the biggest regret of my life. When we were going to walk all the way back up, I never thought of that when I was in the water. When I walked out of the water, the sand was sticky. It was sticking everywhere on me. It was even worse when I walked up. It was super exhausting and there was no view. Eventually, even Hasan got ahead of me.

At one point, I think I even went on the wrong track and then walked all the way back and then went on the right track. After a hard hour of walking wet with sand sticking everywhere and feeling very uncomfortable, I finally made it back. I sat under a tree then got some ice cream after realizing there was a stand nearby.

We waited for the bus to come back, and then it came back to pick people up. When we were finally home, I got a shower and changed. We also noticed that there was a beach super close to us, so we went there and just sat there. It was pretty nice just watching the sunset at the beach and calming. After that, we then went back to the house and Hasan and I just played even more games of the board game Battleship. After that, we just watched Youtube while eating noodles, and then once that was done, we just went to sleep.

Day three - Hot water beach

On day three, we drove to Hot water beach. This time, Hasan and I actually packed our swimwear. It was low tide though, so nobody was digging holes for the hot water.

I brought my bodyboard this time and Hasan brought his. My sister also brought her one and Hasan’s older brother, Najmi, brought his one as well. We then went into the water wearing proper gear, (not normal clothes)

I went into the water, waiting for the waves to come. It didn’t work that much because I was never in the right position and they were coming a little too early. My bodyboard is also a bit broken because the slick of it is chipped and it’s also kind of sticking out.

There was a big wave coming now. I got into my position and, I don’t know what type of grudge the sea holds against me, what did I ever do? I was thrown back onto the sand with the waves and then it slowly slipped away while I'm still rolling there in the ground.

I decided not to go in the water again, and since I wasn't going to, one of my OTHER cousins, Asked me if he could use my bodyboard. Now he's 17, (I think,) and my bodyboard looked tiny on him. When he went into the water, the bodyboard broke. Yes, it broke. It was snapped in half.

Since my bodyboard was broken, I couldn't risk going into the water. I think I used my sister's one instead.

There was this stream sort of thingy on the side of the beach and I was just chilling in that instead. Hasan and Najmi were also there. We were just swimming around and skipping stones, but the experience was still fun.

After that, we went home and ate some food, got changed, and we didn't really do anything interesting when we went back home.

Day 4 - the trip home

The next day, we went back home, and we had to go through all those windy roads again and suffer all the vomits. We even had to make a stop on the side of the road because everyone was vomiting so much. And one of the families got sidetracked by seeing the warehouse.

30 minutes later...

They finally came back. Now we could continue. The view of the trees looked very nice and there was a lot of oxygen. Other than that we just drove home. Until...

We went to Hunua Falls on the way home. We didn't swim there, since the drowning risk is high (according to the sign) but I just went in again with my normal clothes. It was fine anyway. 

There wasn't really anything apart from vomits, views and windy roads, but at one point there was a cliffside on the way home, so that was cool.

What a long recount! I've been working on this for 2 days! Consider this blog a special, since I don't normally write this long. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog! (if you even made it here) Goodbye!

Rangoli pattern

 Day 75 of lockdown. 2nd blog in November.

Namaste readers,

It is Diwali soon (2 days) and we had to make a rangoli pattern for Diwali. Before I explain that, let me tell you what the celebration of Diwali is. Diwali is a festival of lights celebrated by Hindus, and the festival lasts five days and it is held in either October or November.

Anyway, we had to make a rangoli pattern for Diwali. A rangoli pattern is a colourful design on the floor using coloured rice powder. It is often used by Hindus throughout Diwali.

In Maths, Rangoli can be a creative way to discover symmetry, reflections and tessellations.

I created my own rangoli pattern using the tessellation creator once again. Remember? The one where I created the triangular tessellation? Yeah, that one. But this time, I didn't create a tessellation - I created a rangoli!

This also looks kind of like a tessellation. But unfortunately, I cannot think of it right now. I can't be bothered.

Sorry for the short blog, but thank you for taking your time reading this blog! I really appreciate it! Have a great day!

My experience with speeches

 Day... Whatever I don't even know anymore of lockdown. Blog 1 in November. 40th blog!

Pinch and a punch for the first day of the month! No gives! Haha!

(I originally wrote this on Google Docs but I wanted to share it with you guys!)

Speeches... Speeches... Ugh... It makes me shudder even saying the word. I hate speeches. Yes, I hate them. All they do is make me more and more nervous and every time I do one I can just hear my brain whispering: Rieza... You can’t do this... You’re not confident enough… Your speech isn’t good…

I absolutely hate them.

Even though teachers say they “boost your confidence”, I think the exact opposite. And I don’t think I’m the only one. Many other people support my opinion. I am a very shy person especially when it comes to public speaking. I haven’t actually presented in front of my school, because my speech is never good enough, and I’m glad they aren't. I’m just gonna keep making bad speeches so I don’t get into the finals.

 There was this one time last year where I wasn’t presenting in front of the school, but I was presenting in front of 90 people. It took me about 20 seconds to build up the courage to pull my queue cards out and start reading. 90 people is just about enough to make me shake and embarrass myself. And of course, my brain was screaming at me that I can’t do it and I should just run away. Yes, I was thinking about doing that.

I am so glad that speeches look like they are going to be cancelled this year. I made a speech, but I don’t even think it’s three minutes long anyways.

It seems you have made it to the end of my blog post. Thank you for taking the time to read it! Have a good day!

What is media?

Day 71 of lockdown. Blog 6 in October.

Hello everyone,

Today for distance learning, (well, yesterday, but I'm blogging about it today) we were learning about media. What is media? What does media do? Media is something that is everywhere, even my own blog is media. It is something that is everywhere, and it can do anything to people such as sharing information, catching up on the latest trends, the current news, and it can entertain people, such as billboards, adverts, mobile devices and this blog you are reading right now.

We were given a google form to answer what type of media we consume a week. Unfortunately, I cannot show you the google form, but I made a graph to really see what I do in a week.

Yes, I play a lot of video games. A. Lot. Over ten hours a week. In fact, I bought this new game about 5 days ago and it shows you for the amount of hours you have been playing. It said 20 hours. What else am I supposed to do anyway? It's lockdown! I'm boring myself to tears! Video games are the only things that is currently keeping me sane. No, I don't have an addiction. I don't play that much.

We had the choice between google sheets, google drawings, and word art, but I chose google sheets since I haven't created a graph in a long time.

You have made it to the end of my blog post! Thank you for taking your time reading this blog. Have a great day!

New Zealand's Future - Kaitiakitanga

 Day 70 of lockdown. Blog 5 in October.

Welcome readers,

For distance learning today we were learning Kaitiakitanga, meaning guardianship and protection. We must be aware of our environment so we can make it available for our future generations. Instead of filling it with trash, why not make a change, and protect the environment? We need to be aware of and protect our land.

We had to make a poster about how we can promise the future of New Zealand. Here is a photo of the Poster I made.

I found this template on a website called Canva and changed a few things, I think it turned out pretty nice. I also really encourage you to follow my quote, and actually apply it to your lifestyle. Below is a list of things you can do to start helping the environment.

Try picking up any rubbish.

Try planting.

Pick up some rubbish.

Reduce, reuse and recycle.

Be a tidy Kiwi!

I'm afraid this is the end of my blog post. Sorry, I just didn't know what to write. This blog may be short, but I can promise you the next one won't. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. Have a good day!

Distance learning - Tessellations

 I lost count of what day we're in in lockdown. Blog 4 in October.

Hello everyone,

Today for Distance learning we were learning about tessellations. Tessellations are sometimes called tiling as well, but I'll be calling it a tessellation. A tessellation is where the designs are made by tiles that can fit perfectly without any gap or overlap. For instance, like A brick wall. All of the bricks fit perfectly into each other without any gaps or overlaps!

You can make a tessellation out of anything, whether it is arrows, triangles, squares, anything! as long as the follow a pattern. All tessellations follow a pattern. Patterns can be created from curves, lines anything. (Like I said before.)

In A tessellation, all corners of the pattern meet at a point called the vertex. A vertex is just A corner point in A tessellation. As an example, look at the photo below;

The photo above is an example of A vertex. Three hexagons meet at this vertex, and hexagons have six sides. Therefore, this is called A 66.6 tessellation.

There are rules as well about the tessellation. Let me run you through them.

Rule 1. The tessellation must fit perfectly into the other shapes without A gap or overlap.

Rule 2. The shapes must be the same size.

Rule 3. The vertex must be the same for every corner.

Those are all of the rules for the tessellation and that is what A tessellation is.

Anyway, we had to make our own tessellation on this website, I just made A triangular tessellation.

Here is my very basic, boring, no colour triangular tessellation. I couldn't be bothered even doing the colours since it already took me so long just to do the actual shape. If you want to make a tesslellation yourself, You can check it out here!

Here is A little presentation I made to help you understand tessellations better;

Congratulations! You made it to the end of my blog post! Thank you for taking your time reading my blog. Have a great day!

Tivaevae Quiz

 Day 64 of lockdown. Blog 3 in October.

Kia Orana readers,

It is Cook Islands and Niuean week, and we were learning about tivaevae. Fortunately, we didn't have to make a paper tivaevae. We had to make A quiz. I will be showing you the quiz I made at the end of this blog.

First, I will give you some information to prepare for my quiz, I will be explaining everything about tivaevae.

Tivaevae (sometimes spelled tivaivai), literally meaning patches, is the art of quilting in the Cook Islands. Quilting was first introduced to the Cook Islands women by the French in the early 1800s. Once the islanders learned how to sew and embroider, they quickly made quilting into a unique art all their own. While they may be made by a solo artist, tivaevae are also created in local women’s groups, where friends gather to swap news and stitches. These groups are called panges, which takes 8 women to form.

In every pange, there is A Ta'unga, kind of like the expert in the pange. Once the tivaevae is finished, the Ta'unga sews A boarder around the tivaevae.

There are three different types of Tivaevae. Tivaevae Manu, Tivaevae ta'orei, and tivaevae tatura. Each tivaevae take different times to complete. It also depends on compexity and time. They can take from one week up to two years to complete.

Tivaevae manu

Probably the most common type of tivaevae, this type of tivaevae features cut-out patterns sewn applique-style on to a solid color backing. Designs are cut out similar to paper snowflakes, by folding the fabric into quarters or eighths.

Tivaevae ta’orei

This is the patchwork style of tivaevae made from 1-inch squares of fabric, sewn onto a solid backing. With thousands of pieces necessary for one blanket, ta’orei quilts can take years to complete.

Tivaevae tataura

Both tivaevae manu and tataura are made from cut-outs appliqued on a solid back. Tivaevae tataura also includes embroidery stitches used to embellish the design.

Tivaevae are often markers of important life events, being given to important visitors or as special gifts on weddings, birthdays, and the traditional boys’ hair cutting ceremony. Even if tivaevae aren’t being given as a gift at a special event, you can bet they are being used as decorations!

I think I have given you enough information for my quiz. Are you ready? Here we go! Scroll down to see the quiz.

The ultimate fail.

 DAY 63 OF LOCKDOWN!

Fakalofa atu everyone,

It is Niuean/Cook Islands week this week and we had to make something called the tivaevae. Tivaevae are treasured quilts made by women in the Cook Islands. They are made from brightly coloured fabrics including flowers, geometric shapes and animal designs, though animal or bird shapes are considered unlucky on the bedspread.

They are sometimes made for gifts, or special occasions, such as a weeding, or a boys' haircutting ceremony.

So we had to make our own tivaevae out of paper and we followed A tutorial. And guessing from the title - yes. It is another fail blog. An ultimate fail. I made A mistake instead of a tivaevae.

Remember how I said how I hated origami? Yeah I think this is why. I also said I am very bad at my cutting skills. That is true. That is the whole reason this failed.

I enjoyed nothing in this because I was using some kitchen scissors and - oh come on! You can't get mad at me again for doing that! It said in the video to get 2 A4 sheets of paper and cut them into A square this time! Anyway, where was I? Oh, right! I was using blunt kitchen scissors and they didnt work. At. All. This photo will explain everything. I am also left-handed so it makes it a lot harder for me to cut.

I will be saying the same thing I said last time. This was A beautiful piece of paper absolutely destroyed by me into A mistake.

I don't think I will be doing this again anyway, so I won't be doing anything better next time. I've had enough of origami and cutting paper.

I'm Back!

 Hello everyone,

Yes, I am back! Back after the school holidays! And I am back here to talk about my holiday. And there is one event in particular that I will be talking about - My birthday!

I turned eleven two days ago, (October 16) But celebrated it on October 15, because it was one of my family friends birthday already so they just decided to celebrate 3 birthday people all together. The third birthday person? My family friends little brother, Akmal. His birthday is on the same as mine, but he was born in 2008, not 2010. What are the odds? It was shocking when we found out!

Since me and Akmal's birthday is on the 16th but we celebrated it on the 15th, his older sister's birthday is actually on the 15th! But a massive age gap. 

So we just when to the skate park and his big sister can enjoy the whole house. I don't actually skate but my sister does. So I took her skateboard and went to the skate park with them! And doing that was the biggest mistake. People make skating look so easy, especially Akmal. He rode down A steep slope with such ease, I decided to give it A go myself. I went to the top and tried riding down, and then I grazed my elbow. It took me at least 10 minutes to build up the courage to go down again. 10 minutes later, I finally built up the courage. The courage to ride down. And of course, test my luck, I fell down again. Even worse, I fell on the same spot I fell on the first time. 

My elbow started to really hurt and I decided to check it. I saw this dark red big scab and A graze right under it. Even now it still hurts. I am writing this blog with the graze on my elbow right now. Skating was probably one of the worst mistakes I have made.

Chinese Language Week - Day 4

 Ni Hao Ma,

I know, I should have done days two and three, but, on day 3, I went on a walk and completely forgot about blogging. On day two, I was too lazy to blog. I'm really sorry for no blogs!

 Anyway, Chinese Language week Day 4. We had to do this challenge where we had to draw our Chinese animal and write something about it. The Chinese animals are kind of like the Chinese version of Zodiac signs. Like, 2021 is the year of the Ox. I was born in 2010. So I am year of the Tiger. Most of my class are Dragons, Rabbits and Tigers. My teacher is A dog.

 Now I am going to tell you all of the Chinese animal birth years. If you don't know your one, you can find out by reading this blog! The Year of the Ox is for people who are born in 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, and 2021.  

The year of the Rat is for people who are born in 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, and 2020. 

The year of the Tiger is for people who are born in 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, and 2022. 

The year of the Rabbit is for people who are born in 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, and 2023. 

The year of the Dragon is for people who are born in 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, and 2024. 

The year of the Snake is for people who are born in 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, and 2025. 

The year of the Horse is for people who are born in 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, and 2026. 

The year of the Goat is for people who are born in 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015, and 2027. 

The year of the Monkey is for people who are born in 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, and 2028. 

The year of the Rooster is for people who were born in 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, and 2029. 

The year of the Dog is for people who were born in 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, and 2030. 

And last but not least, the year of the Pig is for people who were born in  1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019, and 2031.

There is actually A legend behind all of the Chinese animals. According to myths, the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac were selected through a race. This race is meant to create a time measurement for the people. There could only be twelve winners and in order to win, the animals had to cross a rapid current river and reach the finish line on the shore.

Originally, there was a cat and a rat, who hated each other with a passion. It’s hard to believe that they were once friends. These two were the worst swimmers in the animal kingdom, but they were both smart. They discovered that the fastest way to the river is to hop on top of the ox. The generous ox agreed to carry them across the river. However, the rat was so eager to win that he pushed the cat into the water; thus the cat never forgave the rat, and wasn't included in the race. Other variations of the story say that the rat just never told the cat about the race and did not even compete at all.

Afterwards the ox and the rat made it to shore. The rat jumped in front of the ox and came first in the race. The ox came in second and the tiger finished in third. All of a sudden, a loud thumping sound came: it was the rabbit. It jumped from one stone to another and was doing well until it slipped. Fortunately, there was a log floating by and it grabbed onto that log and floated to the finish line earning the fourth place in the race. In fifth place was the dragon, but everyone thought that it would come in first because it could fly. It told Jade Emperor that it had to stop a couple of times to help some villagers. And on its way to the finish line, it saw a little rabbit on a log and decided to give a little puff of air to help it get to shore. After the dragon, the horse came galloping towards the finish line. The sneaky snake was hidden behind the horse’s foot. It suddenly appeared and the horse was scared. The snake took advantage of this and landed itself in sixth place, and the horse landed in seventh.

Soon after, the monkey, the rooster, and the sheep landed onto shore. Unlike some of the previous animals, these three actually helped each other to get to the finish line. The rooster found a raft, and the monkey and sheep hopped on. Working hard together through the water currents and the weeds, they reached shore: the sheep came in eighth place, the monkey in ninth place, and the rooster in tenth place. In eleventh place was the dog. Even though it was a great swimmer, it was late. It told the emperor that it needed a bath, and the fresh water from the river was too tempting. Right when the emperor was going to close the race, an “oink” sound was heard: it was the pig. “Lazy little pig” originated from this story. The pig felt hungry in the middle of the race, so it stopped, ate something, and then fell asleep. After it awoke, it finished the race in twelfth place and became the last animal to arrive.

The order of the lunar calendar follows the outcome of the race, where the rat is the first animal to start the sequence, and the pig is the last. After the pig, the sequence starts over again. The lunar calendar has been a significant calendar for China and the Chinese zodiac. Many parts of the world are also familiar with this calendar. 

Wow! That was A long blog post! I have been working on this blog since 12:00! Now it's 1:39! I guess this will cover missing two days of blog posts? Hopefully! I'd never expect to make A blog post this long! Bye!

Chinese Language Week

 Ni Hao,

This week, it is Chinese language week and our class has been learning some stuff. We were learning 1 - 10 in Chinese. That was the first task. The second task was... Wait. I forgot. Nevermind! Anyway, It is Chinese language week and we were learning 1 - 10. The numbers are: 一 二 三 四 五 六 七 八 九 十 .  Ok, you probably didn't get that. The English pronunciations are: Yi, Er, San, Si, Wu, Liu, Qi, Ba, Jiu, Shi. They are actually supposed to have macrons and stuff on top of the letters, but they take way too long to get. I'm afraid this is already the end of my blog post. This one may be short, but the next one won't. (depends on how lazy I am actually) Bye!

Overseas Viewers?

First day of Level 3!

Hello everyone,

For some reason, I was checking my live traffic feed on my blog because I was curious where they came from. So I checked it and I was amazed. I had blog viewers from Cambridge, Oregon, Virginia and Italy. And then I got even more confused when I saw they found my blogs on Twitter. I just didn't even know what was going on. I was trying to process it but I just didn't get it. Now I know that my blogs are on Facebook since one of them are A feature blog post (Two now!) But I just didn't get it when I saw blog viewers from Twitter. Like, what? I joined my 9:01 Google Zoom Meet (inside joke in my class) I asked my teacher why my blogs are on Twitter. Apparently, all student feature blog posts are go both to Facebook AND Twitter. It said 95% were from New Zealand, 4% was from The United States, and 1% was from Italy. So, overseas blog viewer, I would just like to say hi!

Finally!!

Kia Ora!

FINALLY!! Yes, Finally!!! We did it Auckland!!! We are moving to Alert level 3 Today at 11:59 PM, I am so happy to eat fast food for the first time in 5 weeks, So happy to see other people, so happy to finally be able to go out instead of the supermarket and tiring walks. So happy for everything! Though I am kind of sad to see Alert Level 4 go.. I actually was grateful for many things in the lockdown, like sleeping in, staying up watching movies, and other stuff, but I don't look at it like that. Instead, I look on the bright side and I encourage you to look on the bright side too! You can now go out, go to the mall, go to the park, go to the gym, go to KFC (That's what I'm most excited about!) and other stuff! Though I still probably won't be going physically to fast food or Restaurants, I probably will be using Uber Eats because, there will probably be like, 200 people lining up there. But still, stay safe, because level 3 still poses A risk. Bye!

I'm getting restless.

 Day 35 of lockdown. I'm getting restless.

(This blog is probably going to be short today because i'm too lazy. Sorry!)

I was SHOCKED when I finally found out what day we are actually on of lockdown. No wonder I was feeling restless! You want to know what day we are on lockdown? We've been in lockdown for 5 weeks. 5 WEEKS! That means we've been in lockdown for 35 days!! Lets hope Jacinda will say we get out of lockdown today or tomorrow.

Keep going Auckland, you got this. 👍

Maori Language week - Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu

Kia Ora Tatou,

It is Maori language week and what we were doing for Maori language week was learning how to pronounce the longest place in NZ (maybe the world even) Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu. The sentence consists of 85 letters and it is A hill in Hawkes bay. The 85 letter word means "The summit where Tamatea, the man with big knees, the slider, climber of mountains, the land-swallower who travelled about, played his flute to his loved one. Long, right? I was surprised when I first saw the thing! And the I was even more surprised and shocked when I had to pronounce it! I thought I was never going to be able to do it, but, guess what, with the help of my teacher, and A google slide, I was able to pronounce it! Now I'm not going to put it on my blog because it is very bad and cringy, but, I am still surprised I am even able to say it even with some mistakes! If you want to learn yourself, I will break it down into six parts for you below. (This is how I learnt it)

1. Taumata whaka tangihanga koauau

2. O Tamatea turi pukaka

3. Piki maunga

4. Horonuku

5. Pokai Whenua

6. Ki tana tahu.

Try reading one part, and when you think you nailed it, move on to the the other. Once you think you nailed that, read it from the beginning to the part you just learnt from. And so on and so on. Kia Ora!

I don't know what to blog about

 Day what should I blog about of lockdown.

I seriously don't know what to blog about. If anyone has any suggestions, please tell me in the comments. And I am very bored. So, yeah. (Sorry for the short blog this is like the worst one I've done i'm just too lazy to blog about something)

Endless work (30th blog!)

 30th blog milestone!

Day help me I am dying of boredom of lockdown.

Today in distance learning, well, this is probably the most work iv'e done. In distance learning, we were going to do Shape Bingo through A Google Zoom Meet. (An inside joke that goes around my class) Unfortunately, we didn't get to play because no one has finished making their shapes. The reason why we didn't finish our shapes is because we had to do 54 OF THEM. 54. We had to do;

Nine different coloured rectangles

Nine different coloured squares

Nine different coloured circles

Nine different coloured hearts

Nine different coloured stars

Nine different coloured triangles.

And 9x6 = 54. Even worse, We had to do it in Maori. Now I think "Distance Learning" Has turned into literal child abuse. And if you don't believe me, here is A screenshot of all 54 tabs I had open.

No those aren't random tabs, those google drawings were my work.

Distance Learning - Te Whare Tapa Wha

 Day what should I do today of lockdown.

Today in Distance Learning, our class was learning about Te Whare Tapa Wha. It means four sided house. What we were doing with the four sided house was that we put one type of health on each side. One was spiritual, One was Social, One was Emotional/mental, and the other one was Physical. We then wrote some stuff on what we can do to improve it.

Lenny faces ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

 Hello readers,

I know, I just did another blog like, a minute ago. That is because i forgot to do blogs for the past two days. This blog is the replacement for Monday. Sorry for no blogs.. Anyway, I'm gonna talk about lenny faces. Most of you have probably heard of seen this before. For those who haven't, the face I added in the title is A lenny face. There are actually lots of types of lenny faces, but the one I added was the original one. The reason why i'm blogging about this is because I was in A google meet, and then I just typed in A lenny face for no reason. Everyone then started typing lenny faces with me and then my teacher noticed. She asked: Oh my gosh those are so cool! What are they called and then we all said lenny faces and then started explaining it to her. She thought they were really cool, so, she made A whole shared doc about it. And yeah, thats why i'm blogging about lenny faces. Bye! ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

How bored I am

Hello readers,

The reason why i'm doing two blogs today (i'm going to do A third one soon) is because I forgot to make one for Tuesday. Sorry! I'm just going to talk about how bored I am in lockdown. You know, there was A point of lockdown when I was so bored, I started colouring in my pants? I think that was the peak of my boredom right there. Sorry for the short blogs, I'm going to do another blog as soon I finish this one.

Lockdown - What can I do today?

 Day bored of lockdown

Just A short blog today. And yes, that is how bored I am. So bored that I end up colouring in my pants. So bored that I have to reach out to my blog viewers on what I should do today apart from distance learning and games. If anyone has any suggestions can they please tell me in the comments? Please. I am dying of boredom.

When will this lockdown end?!

China Bans Gaming

Day don't even care anymore of lockdown.

I was just scrolling on KiwiKids News (that's how bored I am) when I saw an article that caught my eye. "China Bans Gaming for people under 18 years of age" I clicked on the article and read it. Apparently, China has limited gaming for people under 18 years of age for only 3 hours A week. That means that they can only play for 1 hour on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays. Even worse, they can't pick when they get to play. They are only allowed to play from 8pm to 9pm.That basically means, if I was in China and blogging at this time (12:38) it would be illegal. My opinion on this rule is that it should be taken away and they can play whenever they want, how long they want.

Distance learning - Ratios Day 2

Day too lazy to check of lockdown.

So today we were learning some more ratios. Ratios day 2. We went on Math is fun and did the Ratio tasks. Here is A slide of what I did. (sorry if this blog is also short i just didn't know what to write)

Distance Learning - Ratios

Day unknown of distance learning. We were learning ratios.

A ratio indicates how many times one number contains another. For example, if there were two bananas and six apples in A bowl, then the ratio of the apples and bananas would be two to six. Ratios can be said in three different ways. There can be 2:6, 2 to 6, and 2/6. And that is A ratio! (I am sorry if this blog is short, i didn't really have any ideas)

Origami Frog fail

 Hello readers,

Yes, it's another fail blog. This time it's about an origami jumping frog I tried to make. I don't know why I tried to make A frog. Even though the teacher gave us way easier options like an origami cat, or dog, but I chose frog for some reason.

The one thing I did enjoy though was.. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. What I think about origami is just tedious folding paper again and again until it makes A shape, or animal. I think that is very boring. I hope this picture explains everything:

A beautiful piece of paper ruined into a mutant frog-rabbit or something, I don't even know anymore.

I think what I can do better next time is that maybe I should get actual origami paper and not cut A normal piece of paper into  A 15x15cm paper. I also think I should practice my folding-in-half skill better because as you can see, I am very, very bad.

Also, if you want to know how to make A origami frog yourself,  Here's A google slide by Me:

Lockdown

 As you all know, New Zealand is in lockdown due to the Delta outbreak. And while we are in lockdown, We have been doing some distance learning. Every day, our class has two daily meetings and one optional meeting if you want to join. The first meeting is from 9:00 to 9:15 for the teacher to tell us what we do for the day, the second meeting is from 10:30 to 11:30 for the second thing on what were doing for the day, and the optional third meeting is just for any queries or issues which is from 2:00 to 3:00. We have been doing lots of work in the lockdown, including blogs, (I'm doing one right now) writing, reading, maths, and a lot of graphs.