Come on, let's have a karate lesson!

On the 20th of November my dad and I went to Hill park school for my karate class.

When we got to Hill park school, my Sensi Christian decided to have a meeting with us first to discuss what we were going to do for our fundraiser on hypnosis night. A hypnosis night is when a hypnotist comes in and they hypnotise some people. After the meeting, our class started.

Before we started the class, we had to bow in. A bow is when you sit on your knees and think about what you thin is going to happen. After that, we had a warm up. We had to find a partner and stand opposite each other and I was with my friend Cooper. Next sensi Christian said, " Run to each other and do 10 to 1 push ups then go back and do 2 to 1 setups and keep going!" After 15 minutes of a warm up, we did komate.


Komate in English means fighting. First we had to put on our mits and pads. Mits and pads are protection guards for our hands and feet.

After we got ready, we went back to our partner and started to fight. Cooper said that I was as blind as a bat because I always forget where I was hitting. After we fought for a little while, I partnered up with my friend Morgan. Morgan is a person who has a heart of gold because she is sweet and kind.

After that, we rehearsed for the hypnosis night. I was with my friends Andrew and Jess, they are people who are always as busy as a bee. We had to think of activities to do on the night.  My friend suggested that we could do the mannequin challenge. The mannequin challenge is when you stay still like a mannequin. After we did the mannequin challenge, we went home because we were tired.

I had a wonderful time doing the mannequin challenge. I hope next time, my friend Sam could come because she really wanted to do the mannequin challenge.

Learning Intention: We are learning to use descriptive language.
Success Criteria: I know I can do this when I use appropriate similes to describe my karate class.

Happy first birthday Jodha!

Learning Intention: We are learning to use descriptive language in our recount.

Success Criteria: I know I can do this when I use adjectives to describe Jodha's first birthday.

On the 29th of October, my mother, brother, sister and I went to bounce and beyond for my dad's friend's son's birthday party. My dad's friend's son's name was Jodha and that he was turning 1 year old!

Before we went to Jodha's party my mum, brother, sister and I went to buy him a birthday present from  Fulsun. When we got to Fulsun, my mum went inside to get a present while my sibling and I had to wait in the car. After a while, my mum came back with with two bags and one one of them looked like it had clothes in it. When she got in the car, she told me to open one of the bags. So I did and I saw  a birthday bag that had, "Happy birthday!" After that, my mum took  her phone out and entered in the in the address for where Bounce and beyond was. It was 10a Kerwyn Ave, East Tamaki, Auckland.

When we got to Bounce and beyond, we noticed that Jodha and his family were not there so while we were waiting, my brother and I went to play on some of the equipment that were also there. First we went to the climbing wall. When we got to the climbing wall, we saw that there was a big queue so we went to the slides.

There were two slides. One slide was really big and it was coloured red, yellow and blue. The other one was a combination of two slides and it was coloured green, blue and yellow.

First, my brother I went to the big, red, yellow and blue slide. There were stars that went up to the top. When we got to the top my brother told me to push him down but gently. When he got to the bottom, he started to cry so I quickly got down and asked him if he was ok. He didn't answer me so  I took him to my mum and she told me to go and play while she looked after him.  

After a while Jodha and his family came so we all went to to the party room. The party room was dark and was a medium sized room. The room was filled with lots of food.  I ate some chips, chicken and fish. The chicken was so crispy and delicious.

After we had finished eating, we all sang the happy birthday song to Jodha and and ate some cake. It was a rainbow layered cake with white icing. After we all had some cake, my brother and I went downstairs to get some ice cream. I had some chocolate ice cream and my brother had a vanilla ice cream. After we had some ice cream , we went home because we were all tired.

I had a wonderful day at Jodhas' birthday party. I hope my dad could come next time because he really wanted to come.

Happy 7th birthday!

On Sunday the 11th of September was my brother's 7th birthday. My mum and I decided to celebrate it at my nana's house.

First my mum and I had to go and buy some KFC because my brother Zinho likes it. While we were out, my nana and papa were also busy getting ready for the party. They were making sure that the food will still be hot when we got back. From KFC, we went straight to my nana's house. It only took us at least four or five minutes because it's too close from their place.

As soon as we entered the house, we saw my grandparents already setting up the food. Then I realized that we had forgotten the cake which was sitting in the fridge at our house. We quickly hopped back into our car and drove back home. Thank goodness, the traffic was not bad so we got there sooner. We immediately grabbed the cake from the fridge and left because we were already running late for the party and the food was getting cold.

Finally, the party started.  My mum placed the KFC chicken on our plates and told us that we can always come back for seconds, if we wanted some more. I had some KFC chicken, taro and fish. The skin of the chicken was so crispy and I savoured the flavour and the crunchiness of it!

Then my mum brought out the birthday cake! It was a cookie and cream cake which was everybody's favourite. We were all so excited!  I  placed the number 7 candle on the cake and my papa lit it.  We sang the happy birthday song in English and in Samoan. Then, the birthday boy blew the candle on the cake. Right after that, my mum cut the cake and I helped her give a slice to everyone. When I was eating the cake, I noticed that it tasted like cheese cake. It was so delicious! Sadly, we had to go home because it was almost time for my karate class.

I had a wonderful time with my family celebrating my brother's birthday. I hope next time my dad could attend. He always works at night time and it's difficult for him to take some time off work.

Learning Intention: We are learning to understand and use descriptive language in our writing.
Success Criteria: I know I can do this when I use appropriate adjectives to describe my brother's 7th birthday party.

Family dinners are awesome!

On the 28th of August, my family and I went to my aunt's house for a family dinner.

First, my dad and I cooked butter chicken because everyone had to cook a dish to bring.  While we were cooking, my dad told me to taste it to see if it was cooked already and if the taste was ok. It tasted so good that it made me feel hungrier and I wanted more of it.  I couldn't wait to get to the family dinner!

We placed the food in the boot of the car and we  drove to my aunt's house with my family. When we got there, we had to wait for my cousins to arrive because they were still cooking their food. While we were waiting, my brother and I took turns playing on my dad's phone because we were bored. After ten minutes my cousins arrived. When they all came in the house, we shouted,''Yay!'' because we were all starving. Finally, we sat at the table and had dinner together. Everything tasted so delicious especially the butter chicken which felt like it just melted in my mouth.

After dinner, we played some games. The first game was soccer. I was in my cousin Ben's team and my dad and brother was in the other. Then the game began. Dad's team was leading. But then, Ben scored a point which made me so happy because we caught up to my dad's  team in the points. Eventually, we added up all the scores and it was ten to ten. It was a tie! Everyone was so happy!

I felt happy because I got to bond with  my cousins before they left for Australia. Hopefully, we can visit them there so that we could spend time with them again and create more happy memories together.

Learning Intention: We are learning to use descriptive language in our recount.

Success Criteria:I know I can do this when I use adjectives to describe my family dinner.

Do you have a basketball hoop?

Learning Intention: We are learning to use descriptive language in our recount.

Success Criteria:I know I can do this when I use adjectives to describe my weekend buying my cousin a basketball hoop

On Saturday, my family and I went to the Warehouse to purchase a basketball hoop for my cousin. First, we had breakfast. We had some cereal, bread and some eggs. Then we went to the Warehouse that is at Sylvia park in the car.

After we went inside the store, we went to look for a basketball and a hoop straight away. When we saw the basketballs, we thought that they weren't pumped up properly, however they were all beautiful. My dad chose a nicely pumped up ball because we didn't have a ball pump. Then we went to choose a basketball hoop. My dad and mum saw a junior hoop for $80 dollars. We weren’t sure whether it was a small one or not because it came in a huge box.

We asked a staff member if we could have a look inside the box because we weren’t sure if the basketball hoop was the right size for my cousin or not. When we looked in the box it was too small. So my parents, brother, sister and I tried to find a bigger hoop as quietly as we could. We found one that was just the right size so we brought it for $70.

Soon we left the store and we went to the pizza shop to order a pepperoni and a ham and cheese pizza. The cashier said that we could pick up the pizza in 20 minutes. We waited for my mum to get the pizza and then we headed to my cousin's house. I ran as quickly as I could back to the house because I was so excited about playing with the basketball.

My favourite part was when we got the basketball and the hoop because my brother, cousin and I have always wanted to get a hoop. My family and I were all so happy because this way we can have exercise any time that we want. When my brother, cousin and I get better at playing basketball, we might get a higher basketball hoop.

Happy early birthday!

On a cool, sunny Sunday afternoon, my family and I went to the beach because it was almost my cousin's birthday and we wanted to celebrate it early.

First we filled a basket with some delicious food and took our swimming togs and went to Mission Bay. My dad put a mat on the sand and put our basket with delicious food on it. My brother and I put some sunscreen on, and went for a swim. He was making sand castles while I collected some beautiful sea shells.

When we felt tired we went to our parents and had some sandwiches, some fruits and some cold juice lemonade. Later on,  we went back for another swim. When we're finished swimming, my mum took us to bathrooms for a shower.

Later on, we decided to go to the park, sat on the swing and went on the slides. After a while we went for a walk and my dad bought us some mouth watering ice cream. We had a lovely time with my family and we really enjoyed the time we spent together.  

Maybe next time my cousins could come with us because we also want to do some bonding moments with them . I hope that we could spend more and more time  as one happy family to create more beautiful memories together.

Learning Intention: We are learning to understand and use descriptive language.
Success Criteria: I know I can do this when I use adjectives to describe my cousin's early birthday celebration.  

Have you ever been to a karate tournament before?

On a sunny, warm Saturday, my parents and I went to my karate tournament in Henderson at St Dominic School.

When we got to St Dominic School, my parents and I had to wait for my team to arrive because we always take a team photo so we can recall later on. After all our team members arrived, we took a nice photo and then we hurried inside because it was going to rain.

As soon as we got inside, my parents and I quickly found a seat otherwise we might no get one. After we sat down, my silly friends and I went to the back to warm up for the tournament. Before long, the tournament started.

First we had to get into our divisions. I was in the green belt to red belt female division. After we were put into our divisions, then we did kata.

I did kata Seienchin. Seienchin is a slow and fast kata (training exercises) which we needed to move our hips a lot. Then we moved into komati. Komati is a type of fighting techniques. I had  to go up against two red belts that was good and it was hard. However I beat one if them.

After that we were awarded our medals. I was surprised because I didn't think I was going to get a medal. I received two silver medals and I was so happy.

I hope next time my papa would come because he really wanted to come with us. I was so humble to get two medals. I will train hard and hopefully I can get two gold medals next time.

Learning intention: We are learning to understand and use descriptive language in our writing.

Success criteria: I know I can do this when I use adjectives to describe my weekend of going to my karate tournament.

Happy early birthday mum!

On a sunny, warm Saturday afternoon, my family and I decided to take my mum to a restaurant because it was almost her birthday and we wanted to give her an early birthday surprise. We went to a restaurant in Panmure called Indian Pepper. Indian Pepper is a buffet where you can eat as much as you wanted to.

When we got to the restaurant, my dad told the owner that we had already made a booking. Before long, a waiter approached us and led us to our table.

After we sat down at our tables, my dad said a little prayer to bless the food and he said, "Dear Lord, thank you for this beautiful day and for the lovely food that we were about to eat and bless our mum because it was almost her birthday. Amen." After my dad said the prayer, we went to go and fill our plate with the yummy food from the buffet.

I also had hot chips, crispy chicken and some chilly chicken. When I eat the chicken, it melted in my mouth. As soon as I had finished with the savoury food, I had  some dessert. I had cold mango ice cream and some cookies and cream cheesecake. When I ate the cookies and cream cheesecake, it melted in my mouth and it was so yum. After that, we decided to go home because we were all so full.

I had an amazing time with my family and I hope next time we are able to take our grandparents with us because they also really wanted to try the food there.

Learning intention: We are learning to write a recount using the correct structure.

Success criteria: I know I can do this when I write the orientation, followed by the events and then a conclusion of celebrating my mum's early birthday.

Have you ever had a birthday at the swimming pools before?

It was a cool, sunny day on Saturday the 18th of June, so my family and I went to the swimming pools in Panmure because it was my nana's birthday.

When we got there, we quickly changed into our togs as if we were running away from a volcanic eruption. Then we ran to the pools as fast as we could because there were a lot of people and we wanted to be first.

First we played some games with balls. We passed the ball to each other. When we were passing the ball, my cousin Luke threw the ball at me and it hit my face. It hit me so hard that I almost cried.

After a while, I felt better so I went to line up for the water slide. It was a very long and loud queue so it took me a long time to get to the top. When it was finally my turn, I felt a little bit scared because it was a long and dark tunnel. When the light turned green, I went down the slide very fast. It was so dark that I couldn't see anything.

After that, I felt hungry. Before we ate, we sang the happy birthday song to my nana and we gave her a cake. It was a big, yellow banana cake. I love banana cakes because they are very sweet. We also had chocolate ice cream, warm hot dogs, hot chips, cake and some cold drinks. The food was very delicious and yummy. Soon it was time to go, so we had a nice, warm shower. Then we had a lovely drive home.

I had a very relaxing time with my family and I really enjoyed going on the slides. I hope I’ll be able to try the other slides next time.

Learning intention: We are learning to understand and use descriptive language in my writing. 
Success criteria: I know I can do this when I us adjectives to describe my recount about my grandmother's birthday.  

Let's go to the park!

On a cool, sunny day my family and I went to the park on Banks Road.

At the beautiful park, we played some awesome games like volley ball, throws and more. The first game we played was soccer. First we had to get into teams. I was in my dad's team and my brother and my mum were in the other team.

Then the game began. When we were playing, I got a goal and I shouted, '' Yay!'' The scores were 10 to 9. My dad and I won! After that we decided to have some food because we had used all our energy and we were all starving.

We had some nice hot chips, cold water and yummy ice cream. As time went by, we felt bored so we played on the swings and the slide. It was so much fun. After a while we decided to go home because I was going to have karate class later on in the day.

It would be great if next time we could have more time to play more games. I also hope I could spend more time with my family for a bit longer every weekend.
Learning intention: We are learning to understand and use descriptive language. 
Success criteria: I know I can do this when I use adjectives to describe my recount playing at the park in the weekend. 

Is your favourite movie 'The Jungle book'?

On a warm, sunny Saturday afternoon, my family and I decided to go to the movies to watch the Jungle book.  We were all excited so we got ready as soon as possible then immediately went to Hoyts Cinema at Sylvia Park.

When we got to the movies, my dad bought tickets for us. Then, he told us that we will be in Cinema 4 but we had to wait for two hours because the movie was starting at 3 o’clock and it was only 1 o'clock. While we were waiting we went to countdown to buy some popcorn and snacks. We got crackers, some fruits like apples and pears and some lollies.

After we got all that we needed, we headed back to the cinema because it was almost 3 o’clock. We went straight to Cinema 4 and settled ourselves in the comfortable chairs.

Then the movie started and we also started eating our popcorn and snacks. Before the movie was finished, all our food was gone.

The movie was about a little boy named Mowgli who thought that he was a wolf because a pack of wolves raised him. There was a tiger named Shere Khan who wanted to kill Mowgli because he wasn’t an animal. Fortunately, Mowgli was not killed because all the other animals in the jungle protected him by attacking the evil Shere Khan.

My favourite part was when Mowgli helped a baby elephant because it was stuck in a hole. I hope next time we could invite some friends because my friend James really wanted to see the movie as well. I had a fantastic day with my family watching the movie.

Learning Intention: We are learning to understand and use descriptive language in a recount.

Success criteria: I know I can do this when I use adjectives to describe my weekend watching the Jungle book. 

I hope our compost decomposes soon!

On Monday the 23rd of May, my class Room 7 and I decided to make  our class compost.

My teacher Miss Chao put us into four teams to gather the ‘ingredients’ that we needed to make our compost. The first group had to rip up clean newspaper. The second group had to cut the banana peels from the bananas that we ate after lunch. The third and the fourth group had to go and collect some leaves. I was in the third group with my friends Mana, Caleb and Matej. We had to go and get some leaves to contribute to our compost.

When we got back, we had to cut the leaves and put it into the compost bin. We cut the materials that we had so that they will decompose more quickly. After that, we all had a turn to stir and water the compost.

My favourite part was when we got to stir the compost because I wanted to see what it would be like after we finish stirring it.

Learning intention: We are learning to write a recount.

Success criteria: I know I can do this when I follow the structure of a recount starting with the introduction, following by the events and a conclusion of making compost with my class.