Holly’s Space

Academic-

• I will make sure that I keep up with all classwork that we do, I will do this by not sitting by or working with anyone that will distract me.
• Since I am in second year French I will make sure that I practice hard to keep up with the other people in the group, I will also make sure that I try saying the words or sentences we are focusing on even if I can’t pronounce them right.
• I also want to make sure that I don’t leave my work to the last minute, if I do this I believe that my work will start improving as I will not be rushing it and I will have more time to edit and proof-read it.

Cultural-

• In symphonic band I would like to make sure I can play loudly and correctly so that I can be the best trombone player I can be, if I practice hard then hopefully I can do this
• In jazz band I would like to make sure that I can play all songs correctly not just the songs I enjoy, also I want to make sure that I am not afraid to play any of the solos and to practice them so I can play them well

Personal-

• In the Production the elves and the shoemaker (see below) I would like to put in my all and make sure I can do my best, I will make sure I concentrate so that I can remember the dances, the script and the songs
• In all the after-school activities I do I will make sure that I do the best I can especially in the dancing I do which are Jazz, Tap and Hip Hop

I have just found this really cool website called Free Rice. It is like a vocabulary builder but with some really weird words. I mean who knew that a coccyx is your tail bone, and that fetid means stinky, I for sure didn’t. I also quite like it as it will tell you the right answer if you get it wrong and it tells you your vocab level and your highest level as well. So what’s the catch, what’s so cool about it. Well each time you answer a question right you are donating 20 grains of rice to the countries with poverty and starvation. So your donating 20 grains of rice just for answering a question and it doesn’t even cost you a thing apart from a few minutes of your spare time.

So check it out at freerice.com. I thought it was really cool, especially for people like me who do need to get better at vocabulary!!

The Elves and the Shoemaker 

“Once there was a shoemaker and his wife; they were so poor he wondered what would become of them. One night before he went to bed the shoemaker left out his last piece of leather and, the next morning, a beautiful pair of shoes were in its place. A rich lady passed by, saw the shoes and was so delighted, she paid twice the usual price. This continued day after day until the Shoemaker and his wife resolved to discover the identity of the mysterious cobblers. Who were they? How did they sew so beautifully? And how could the Shoemaker and his wife ever repay them?”

 ’I found this blurb and this picture on http://www.karenwallace.co.uk/new-books.htm’

Last weekend I auditioned for the production “The Elves and the shoemaker”. The auditions were held where production is going to be held at ‘The Woolshed’, this is a little theatre in my hometown Te Awamutu. Anyway I auditioned for the part of an elf. I had come straight from tennis and so I went and got changed while Mum filled out the form, my nerves were starting to build up, this was the first time I’ve done something like this at The Woolshed so I didn’t know what it was going to be like. One of the main reasons I wanted to audition for this is because I really enjoy acting and because they asked for elves that are past or present tap dancers and I am in level 5 at tap this year. I grabbed my tap shoes and the lady led me in, I had butterflies, I was so nervous. I was in the room, the two ladies who were going to audition me introduced themselves and then asked me to put my tap shoes on and show them some steps. I was still so nervous but once I started doing some tap moves it slowly began to drift away. I did a couple of steps and then they said that I could obviously tap so now lets see if I can sing. I can sing but I don’t think I’m the best so I got a bit worried again. She played some music and gave me some words and I tried to sing along with it. After that it was all over and they said they would get back to me with how I went.

During the next few days after the audition I kept on wondering ‘how did I go’ ‘will I get in’. I just wanted to know straight away but then on Tuesday night the phone started ringing, my mum answered it and then gave it to me. “Hi this is Susanne” was the next thing I heard. Susanne is the lady that is organising this production and one of the people who auditioned me as well. Susanne then said “I would really like you to be a tap dancing elf in my prouction The Elves and the Shoemaker” I was so excited I could barely believe it. I was half speechless all I could say was ‘wow’ and ‘cool’. She said that she would send me out a letter on what was going to happen and when the rehearsals will start and then said goodbye, I said thanks so much bye and hung up. As soon as I had hung the phone up I shouted out gleefully “I’m going to be a tap dancing elf” I am so excited and I just can’t wait for it all. It’s going to be hard to learn it all but I’m pretty sure it’s going to be worth ot in the end.

We had to do some Poetic Writing based on Doors so here’s Mine- 

Slowly I creep up the long passage way towards the huge double doors that seem as though they are a million miles away. Many thoughts rush through my head as though they are race cars at a speedway, following and chasing each other as fast and hurriedly as possible around and around in the small space of my head. Giant white pillars off to my left with horizontally striped bumps gradually growing bigger at the bottom and thin, parallel bumps running vertically up and down each of the five pillars. Light shines through each gap between the tall pillars just the same as the early morning sun shining through the windows when you first get up. Fascinated I looked around at the place a bit more, I noticed the roof, it was a plain but gleaming white, so spotlessly clean you wouldn’t even mind eating off it. Chandeliers hang precisely off the roof, glass beads made into many chains hang down off each of the chandeliers with glowing cream candles surrounding them marvellously. Gleaming pearl tiles hide under my feet with a clip clop sound happening with each slow-motion step I sneak. Doors after doors with about a metre of white wall between each, the shining rays of light give each wall a chilly feeling and a cold light blue tint. A chilly feeling shot through me when I looked back towards the front wall and the main door as if an icy cold knife was being run down my back. Magnificently a slightly pearl coloured frame surrounds solid and glistening double doors, the stunning white twinkling from the light almost seems to blind me. Incredible designs made from indents in the glossy wooden doors seem to make it even more splendid and appealing. Handles of gold coloured metal in the shapes of italic S’s sit patiently below the locks as if they are just waiting to get turned. The door seemed as if it was just staring at me, enticing me to come closer and closer, still I just kept creeping forward, as silent and stealthily as a snake. Cautiously I snuck up to the sparkling door and tried to peer through the tiny key hole, sadly it didn’t work. Carefully I lifted my hand towards the door handle, thoughts and questions entered my mind, ‘What is behind here?’ ‘Should I be opening it?’ Freezing metal suddenly connected with my fingers and shivered down my spine. Nervously I tried to pull open the door, there were shouts from children and parents chatting as if I had been in a parallel universe and just stepped back into the real world. Gradually I sat up wondering where I was, then it clicked like a light bulb turning on. 

It was all just a dream and I was still sitting casually on the wooden bench at the Park. 

Jessye (the main character in this book) loves living with her nana at the river house, but also really loves living with her weird and wacky mum at whatever her current home happens to be. When Jessye’s mum sweeps back into her life and wants to take her back to her current home with her, Jessye has to make some very difficult decisions and choose whether to stay with her mum or her nana. But the one main problem is that Jessye’s Mum doesn’t like her nana and nor does her nana like her mum, or more she just doesn’t approve of her. 

One of the things that I quite liked about ‘River Song’ is that it was set in
New Zealand and had lots of things to do with Maori culture. I also thought that it was well structured and in a very good order of events which I find very good in any books or stories. At the start of the book there is this saying “I have discovered that you can go along for ages without seeing things as they really are. And then one day their true colours light up as clear as anything, as clear as the sun in the morning. And on the day my destiny gave me the nod. I was sprawled on the sofa in the river house beside nana, listening to her sing.” I think that having this gives a good base for the whole book and also it makes the readers more interested in it by making the readers wonder ‘what does that mean’ and think ‘why is that’ which I thought was really quite good. Another thing was that you get hooked into this book almost straight away, in any books I find that if you get into the story straight away you will enjoy the book more and won’t want to put it down.

I would rate this book about a 9 out of 10, I really enjoyed it and couldn’t really find anything I didn’t exactly like about it. I would recommend ‘River Song’ to almost all ages from about 10 up and both to boys and girls. This was a fantastic book and I can see why many other people will enjoy it. So overall this was an excellent read, it was set in
New Zealand and included many different parts of Maori Culture in it. It was well structured, jumped straight into the actual story, was rather interesting and left you anticipated and anxious about what was going to happen next.

By Holly

New Zealand cricketer Jesse Ryder, 23, is going to be out of playing cricket for at least three months after an incedent at christchurch bar early on sunday morning a few weeks ago. After getting very drunk he punched a glass window and got serious injuries on his hand. When Ryder was then admitted to Hospital he was said to have been abusing the Hospital staff and demanding to get immediate treatment for his Hand.

After finding out about this New Zealand Cricket was absolutely appalled. This made it even worse when they found that Ryder had been out drinking until 1.30 a.m. the night before the one day final between New Zealand and England at Christchurch on Saturday

I think that this is a very bad example for New Zealand. The fact that one of our cricket players would even be out drinking the night before a final is bad enough so 1.30 is just awful. Then also getting so drunk to cause such injury to his hand just chips in on making it even worse. I have also heard Ryder saying that he is able to control his drinking but to me this obviously shows that it is a problem. Surely he would have enough sense to stop the drinking before it gets this bad so I definitely think that his drinking is a big problem.

Is Ryder’s injury punishment enough for his behaviour?

 I don’t think that it is- he has set a very bad example for New Zealand; he was out drinking the night before; he abused hospital staff and is not able to play cricket for three months at the least. So personally, it was his drinking that caused it so I dont think that his injury is enough punishment and

But thats only my opinion- Whats Yours?