John Key's Eight Year Comes To An End

I am learning to reflect on Prime Minister of New Zealand, John Key resigning! 

Prime Minister of New Zealand and National Party Leader John Key has announced his resignation! His eight-year domination over New Zealand has come to a dramatic ending. Within a weeks time New Zealand will have a new Prime Minister most likely to be Key's deputy, Bill English. English has known since September of Key's stand down, giving him a lot of time to plan on the major job in front of him.

Paula Bennett, Amy Adams and Judith Collins, are all potential contenders for the potential spot as PM. The National Party will meet next Monday to select a replacement as leader. 

Key has resigned because of family reasons, he said he has made 'significant sacrifices' during his time in politics. His children Max and Stephanie are dealing with 'an extraordinary level of intrusion' 

Key states; "For my wife Bronagh, there have been many weekends and nights spent along, many occasions that were important to her that I simply could not attend" Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull gushed in his praise of Key saying he would be a great loss to New Zealand and a great loss to the world.

Overall, I didn't like John Key from the start we was PM of New Zealand. My family don't like him so I stick with my family. This is just like the election of the new President of America but different. I think it will be better to see another person take the spot, now that it is on the news I am beginning to go with why he resigned, he resigned because he hasn't been spending enough time with his family, being PM is a really huge job because you have to go here and there. If I were PM I would do the same thing because family is everything.

Bill English looks like a good person to be the new PM, he is the finance minister, but he has some rivals competing for the spot. I will miss John Key a little.... 

Here is my other tasks for this morning. It's said to hear John Key resigning, but also good at the same time because Bill English is the most likely to become the new PM of NZ. 

Bill English should be a great PM, be if he isn't.... I found writing about his situation a pleasure because this is a really big thing! 

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Many thanks!

John Key Steps Down As Prime Minister

WALT: Write about John Key stepping down as PM.

Here is one of my Reading tasks for this morning, it's about John Key stepping down as PM of New Zealand, I think this is a really dramatic situation but it will be good to see another PM take the spot as PM. I will be blogging another task very soon, and it states my opinion. I enjoyed researching information about this situation because John Key is stepping down. I found writing 50 words a challenge because I couldn't go over 50 words.

What is your opinion?

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Many thanks!

Origins Of Christmas Songs.

This morning my class and I were given a task from our teacher Ms Komor to research 3-5 different CHRISTMAS songs and search where they originate from. The 5 songs that I have chosen is "Jingle Bells" "Feliz Navidad" "All I Want For Christmas Is You" "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" and "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" I chose these songs because I know them well and some I know off by heart. My favourite song out of this is probably "Jingle Bells" because I sang this song at a young age. 

I was also given the activity to search 4 countries that celebrate Christmas differently. The countries that I have chosen is Serbia, Spain, Australia and India. Serbia have their own special tradition, they tie up their father and mother and their parents have to give them money to get them freed. Spain celebrate Christmas by getting a cheeky addition in the form of a character called the 'caganer.' Australia's tradition has it that Father Christmas swaps his reindeer for 'six white boomers' or kangaroos. 

India celebrate Christmas by decorating Mango Tree's, they also use Mango leaves and decorate their homes with the leaves. Did you know that.... Each year more than 3 billion Christmas cards are sent in the U.S alone? The Germans made the first artificial Christmas trees out of dyed goose feathers? Christmas trees have been sold in the U.S since 1850? Christmas trees usually grow for about 15 years before they get sold? Oklahoma was the last U.S state to declare Christmas a legal holiday, in 1907? Christmas wasn't declared an official holiday in the United state until June 26, 1870? Alabama was the first state in the United States to officially recognize Christmas in 1836? All these facts are really interesting and some of them I didn't even know about. 

Out of these seven the one I think is the most interesting to me is that Christmas trees grow for about 15 years before they get sold! Many people buy Christmas trees and I think they don't even know how old they are. Overall, I think that this research really got my mind thinking and now I am ready for more research on Christmas. My family celebrate Christmas this year by going to church as Christmas is on a Sunday. Christmas marks the birth of Jesus, our saviour and redeemer. Something that I enjoyed was researching the different Christmas songs and finding out the meaning of the lyrics. 

Something that I found challenging was some of the lyrics of the songs because I used my own brain to figure out the meaning. My next steps in learning is to use my brain more often and search up more sites to find out the answer. I think we have Christmas Songs to feel the spirit and joy of celebrating Christmas, Music is my motivation and without Music I would be stuck. Many Christmas songs were published a long time ago but people today still listen to them. Christmas carols are always something that I look out for! 

Thanks for having the time to read my work for today! Feel free to leave a comment! Many thanks!

Black Gold Reflection

I am learning about events that happen in the world.

After reading an article about hair being cut, bought then imported really makes me wonder... "Is the world coming to an end?" It might sound funny and all, but really it's not. The article I have read this morning is called "Black Gold" and it talks about hair being cut in China and then being sold to places all around the world. Some women shave their hair for religious sacrifices, and I think that is fine, but in the article there is a girl named Qingwen Liu, 14, and she had her 1 metre long ponytail cut off by her mother, they sold it to a man with one leg, they agreed with the price of $140. Qingwen Liu, wasn't afraid she had done this before. 

I think the author's purpose of writing this article was to get people from all over the world to know where some wigs are coming from. In the article it says that some salons don't know where the wigs come from, the customers just think about the price not the origin. As I write this article a question attacks my head over and over again, "If the people knew where wigs are coming from, would they still buy it?" I still need some time to research if people knew where wigs are being imported from, and if they would still buy them. About 62,500 shorn ponytails are imported into NZ every year, that is ALOT of hair being cut off and then sent here for people to wear!

I think that there is such a high demand for hair because many people in the world don't appreciate their hair, have cancer or simply just lose hair. Many people use their hair for fashion, just to look good for someone or something. Male celebrities like, Dwayne Johnson, Vin Diesel, LL Cool J, Bruce Willies, Kobe Bryant and many more, don't mind having bald hair. To me I think they suit having bald hair, not to mention, they have had hair on their heads before. Since these celebrities have had no hair for a long time if I see them with hair, it would be unusual for me because I haven't seen them with hair for along time. I've been hearing stories of hair not growing back if you shave the whole thing off, I don't know if it's true of false but I will find out. I myself try and use the best hair style with my hair when I go to school, I can't imagine my self going to school with messy hair. It just isn't my thing. When my hair grows to long I get a haircut from my uncle, I get the same haircut everytime he cuts my hair, 0 fade on the side, and 2 fade on top. 

If hair wasn't on demand I think our society would change, or wouldn't change. This is a really hard thing to answer. I think that our society will change, and it would stay the same so technically I think it would, and it wouldn't change. I will start off with why I think it would change. I think our society would change because if hair isn't being imported into NZ people might not have the courage to leave their houses with a bald , mostly for women. Of course, it doesn't matter if you have a little hair but being completely bald is something that many people around the world get bullied or laughed at for, and that can affect their social skills. They might not want to leave their houses again. Now I will be talking about why our society won't change. If hair wasn't on demand, I think that people wouldn't care to much because some people might already have hair, but what about the people with no hair? I have had weird looking haircuts in the past and as I look around I seemed like the only kid with that kind of hairstyle, but I was too young to really look at myself and say, "It's alright, I'm too young anyways"

Overall, I think that people in China and all around the world, should really look and think about their daughter's. Many girls around the world have their hair cut off and then send for money, If I were a girl I wouldn't let anyone cut my hair and then sell it, to me it seems pathetic. I know that people in China don't have that much money but if you lost one of your children it would be  a heartbreaking situation. It also states in the article that some girls try to run away, but then get dragged back by their parents... Then they get their hair cut off! That is really sad to hear, but at the same time it's life. Qingwen Liu has her hair cut every 3 years... I feel sad for her, but it's her parents who predict her future.

Here is my reflection about an article I have read called "Black Gold" if you want to read the article yourself, you can! Just copy and paste this link http://www.nzherald.co.nz/indepth/national/black-gold/ I rate this article a 8/10 because it has some really sad news in it. Something that I enjoyed about writing this article is that I got to release all my opinions onto here, the thing that I found challenging was reading the artice, it was the longest article I have read in a while. But as a year 7 this is helping me learn what being a year 8 feels like. My next learning steps is to read the whole article, I was using my Skimming and Scanning skills, and I still understood what the article was about.

Thanks for having the time to read my article!

Feel free to leave a comment!

Many thanks

Camp Raglan Reflection

I am learning to reflect on my experience while at camp. 

I enjoyed a lot of things at camp, from the team building challenges to the Flying Fox and Archery. But the thing I found enjoyable the most was the Air Rifles, the reason for this is because it was my first time shooting from a Air Rifle. At first, I thought the gun would be light because of it’s name but it turned out to be heavier than I thought… But it wasn’t that heavy. The first time I had a go I missed all my shots, but as I got another turn I knew how to aim and got all my shots on the target. I was proud of myself but I ended up losing my target… I found getting ready for camera’s a real challenge because some of the photo’s that I’m in, I ain’t even ready yet.

That is embarrassing. I also found keeping our cabin fresh and tidy a challenge because boys are boys and the smell of boys.. Smell normal… My favourite memory for me was probably the Bonfire night, I think this because a small group of boys turned into a big group of wonderful singers. We sang through the night flashing our torches high into the night sky. We also had a FiaFia Night, FiaFia night was funny because everyone had the courage to step out of their shells and shine their amazing talents. I was surprised when some people, stood up on stage performing , some people I thought, who wouldn’t have the courage.

Some of the performances made me laugh, because they were too funny. I didn't imagine my friend Pio having the courage to do a dance in front of us! Everyone started laughing, because well he should grow up to be a comedian. As we laughed throughout the night it was getting late and soon we had to go to bed. I wasn't looking forward to going to bed because it would be the last night we would sleep at Camp Raglan and I didn't want to leave. But we had to, just hearing people talking about us leaving Camp made me want to stay longer... Unfortunately it didn't happen... Why couldn't camp be for 2 weeks???

Here is my camp reflection, it's not much but I gave it my best shot.

Leaving Camp Raglan was a real upset for me because I was enjoying it so much! I found staying at Camp a real pleasure, and leaving camp a real challenge!

I would like to thank my team CKQ (Cultural Kings and Queens) for all their support, we wouldn't have broken a record if they weren't here for me.

Please leave a comment!

Many thanks!

My Camp Raglan Goals

WALT: Create goals for camp 2K16.

Here are my goals for Camp Raglan 2016. Camp is tomorrow and I am very excited to be going to Camp Raglan.. The thing is it's a two hour drive which is a very long time, well 2 hours and 30 minutes. But it's still the same thing.

It says that camp Raglan is a place to create memories, I hope it's true.

My highlight before going to camp is that I get to know people more and build stronger bonds.
When we come back my church is going to Rainbows End! 

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Many thanks!

My Weekend!

I am learning to write about my weekend!

Every week my weekend is the same. I go to my grandads have loads of fun there come back on Sunday morning and get ready for church. But this week it was sort of different because I finished church early, went to the pools and ate a Denny's for breakfast. 

On Friday I had the day off because it was teacher's only day, so I went to watch my younger brother's athletics day. Me and my mum got there at around 11:00am, and then left again to go buy some food. I wasn't in the mood for walking but I had to, so I did. When we did get back to school we were just in time to witness my youngest brother race. He was amongst 8 boys, my mum starting cheering for him so I got a little embarrassed and told to her to cheer to loud. Bam! The sound of wood smacking together rattled in my ears, my brother was in the lead but as they were edging closer towards the finish line he started looking behind which made him lose speed. My mother was angry in him for not looking and keeping his eyes on the finish line but he's still got a lot to learn.

As the day went on it got more boring, so I asked my brother if he could get a ball and I started playing some basketball. Glen Innes School have different hoops, different sizes. I starting shooting in the shortest hoop. It was easy because I could just simply through it, the bad thing is, they don't have proper basketball courts like my school. When I finished on the shortest hoop I went to the tallest hoop, it was just like the smallest one but taller. I had to get my shooting right in order to get it in... I was having the time of my life until it was time to go home! I looked for my mum and brothers but I didn't find them so I just continued laying until my mum started calling me!

Then we got home, my mum said we could go over to my grandad's house and that's what we did. My brother and I packed  some swimming togs because we knew we were going to the pools, and also some clothes. We caught a ride with my papa, and when we got to my grandads we unpacked our stuff and went to the front house. It was the same people in there my aunt and cousins.

Until my uncles came over with his kids and wife. It was fun when they came over because I got to play with their oldest child which is 2 years old. But it was getting dark and soon it was time to go to bed so my uncle and that left and said they would some back to go to the pools. Lucky I brang me some togs.

Saturday morning. Nothing to do. Nothing to say. So I just sat in the lounge watching T.V until my cousin's came running day saying to get dressed as we are going to have breakfast. I was up in a flash! I didn't where we were going but I didn't ask until we got to the actual place. My uncle, aunt,brother and cousins we in the car alongside me. When we got to the place I was amazed... We were at DENNY'S! I hadn't been there before so it was my first time tasting their food. We sat in by our table and ordered our food. I ordered French Toast and Pancakes, I couldn't finish it because I was full... I didn't want to waste the money so I  ate my food until it was finished. But my stomach was very sore. 

Finally we got home, my uncle came over and we went to the pools. We stayed there for about 3 hours then went home, it was getting late anyway. It was 6:30pm and I was very tired. The instant we got home, I crashed out on the bed. Wishing that tomorrow wasn't Sunday...

6:14am, time to get up and watch the All Blacks vs Ireland live. I was so engaged that I didn't want to move but I had to because I had to go home and get dressed for church. Before I left the score was 14 - 9 All Blacks... When I got home I had a shower, got dressed then went to church to set some things up. I finished church early because I had to go and get ready for camp tomorrow!

Then we got home, and I slept, and slept throughout the day...

Here is my reflection about my weekend!

Please leave a comment!

Many thanks