Jamie



My name is Jamie and I am the eldest child in my family and I'm 9 years old. I have an Irish family.My favourite subjects are reading,writing and spelling(but mostly writing) .My favourite sport is rugby. If I could see into the future I would like to know what kind of cool high tech gadgets they have if the have any at all.I have two little brothers,one is called Ben and he is in room 19 and the other is called Finn and he is only 2 years old.I forgot to say Ben is 5 years old.My mum is called Anita and she likes math and sometimes helps me with mathletics.My dad is a doctor and I think he is good at his job because he teaches junior doctors.My mum has to look after me and my brothers so she isn't going to work anymore. My brother Ben is always pestering me to stop reading.My favourite TV show is Malcolm in the middle.I play a website called roblox and like meeting my friends on it.My fave author is probably Eoin Colfer because I LOVED the Artemis Fowls.Last week I did EOTC, education outside the classroom.I did it every day except friday.

Monday:On monday we went to the orakei marae.When we got there we dumped our bags on the platform of a little maori shelter.My dad thinks it might be called a whare.If it is I can't remember.Anyway we then went into the marae and I was suddenly amazed by what I saw.There were carvings all over the walls and wooden totem poles with statues of maori people holding each other.The last one would be holding up the roof.When we got inside we did the maori welcome.After that we had morning tea.Then us boys learned the haka while the girls went to do the poi poi dance.We practiced the haka until lunchtime and by then my legs could have completely disinigrated.After lunch we showed the haka to the girls and they showed thier poi poi dance.Then we FINALLY went home.

Tuesday:On tuesday we did orienteering.It was fun but it was very tricky and messed up.We had to walk to wiatarua reserve and all the way I chatted with my friend Tobias.First we all got a map.Then we all got a marker sheet beetween two.I shared with Tobias.Then our group set off to find the first marker.Somehow,in the end it turned out to be a giant mess.First we couldn't find a few of the markers.That turned out to be the big problem.In the end we gave up and had lunch.After that we had some free play in the playground and on the skate ramp which we used as an AWESOME slide.Then we went back to school.

Wednesday:On Wednesday it was treetop adventures!!!!HOORAY!! I was really really excited! On the bus I vaguely remember talking about horror movies and how scary they are.At treetops we all ate morning tea and the people who had been before started.There were things called carribeanas that you got two of.You had to clip two of them on to the things you were crossing.It was SO cool.there were tightropes an flying foxes called Tarzan swings and got to swing down from extreme hieghts with a light little thing that hooked over the wire and had wheels.Tree adventures was my absolute favourite!

This is my simile poem that I did about stormy ocean waves. This is a sad little Irish tale I will tell you. __The Children of Lir__ Long long ago, in Ireland, there lived a king called Lir. He was one of a very powerful race, which made him like a god. He had four children and a great wife. The childrens names were Fionnuala, who was the eldest and only girl, and she was very pretty. Aed was the second oldest, and like a young eagle in the sky. Fiacra and Conn were the youngest, and really really cheerful. Life was as it should be, until the queen took sick and died. The family were super sad and they missed her every minute of the day. The king saw a lady one day, and fell in love with her. He was struck to her beauty and blind to her evil. When the new wife(who's name was Aoife) saw the children she absoloutely hated them. One day she drove them out in a chariot and ordered the horseman to kill them. He shouted "I SHALL NOT!" but she knocked him to the ground.They rode on and stopped at a lake. She turned them into swans." For three hundred years you will swim on this lake,And then you will fly to the cold sea of Moyle.for another three hundred years you will shiver and suffer, before you can go to the sea of Erris, for the final three hundred years! You must wait until a druid with a shaven crown comes over the seas and you hear the sound of a bell, ringing for prayers. Only then will your exile be over."She gave them the power of speech and let them sing beautifuly.Soon the king arrived and was so upset he was crying.Fionnuala told him they could not leave the lake. The king spotted Aoife and turned her into a demon and she vanished. The king and everybody the kids knew soon died.They went through all of Aoife's curse until they were blown to shore.Soon they heard a bell ringing.It was saint patrick's bell.An old monk of the church met them and blessed them with holy water and they turned human again.But since they were nine hundred years old they lay down and died.So at last the family was together again,in heaven.

In school we have been learning about the myth Pandora's box and masks.In Pandora's box Pandora releases poverty,death,disease,sadness,misery and last but not least hope.These are masks that represent those evils and hope.

__Pandora's box dance.__ My mask is painted silver because silver seems like a powerful colour.It also has a broze greek war helmet encrusted with jewels(fake ones though).There are thick white wings attached to the head because Hermes(I play him in the dance) has a winged helmet.It was hard trying to make a hermes mask but I finally did it.There are also some other little touches like bronze paint outlining the eyes and blue streaks coming down from the eyes and mouth.

In the dance my job is to spin Pandora (Bridgit)around and teach her to be charming and decietful(Hermes does this in the myth Pandora's box).I do this by making a smiley face shape with my fingers around my mouth, then I give her the shush sign to be decietful.We only have 8 beats to do our moves and some people have 16.I think our dance could work out really well.

When I was performing the dance I really wasn't that nervous.After all I was performing in front of all these people who had been in my year group for 5 years.It all seemed to be over in a flash.I really liked room 9's and room 13's dance.After it I decided that it was one of the most enjoyable experiences this year.(There have been lots of enjoyable experiences this year).

In the holidays I did LOTS of things. In the the first week my dad had to go to work. :( (the first of two holiday disappointments) The second disappointment was that Ireland lost to Wales. :(. In the second week I went to Rainbows end and I went on the invader ride -the seats were so tight.It felt like I was on forever!!I also went to the museum and saw the Webb Eliss cup.(someone gasps :O ) In the weekend of the rugby world cup (RWC) some visitors came over from Tauranga and one of them went to the two semi finals. I got to stay up late to watch NZ vs Australia.I went to the RWC fan zone 3 or 4 times during the holidays.There were THOUSANDS of fans there on game-days.I also went to the art gallery and I saw some Picasso, Matisse and many more.

AND THE ALL BLACKS WON THE RWC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(and Ireland did well too).

__Book review__

Right now I'm reading a book called....... Heroes of Olympus, The son of Neptune.

Percy Jackson wakes up after a long slumber and finds himself in the care of the wolf goddess. He leaves her to go to the Roman demigod camp. On the way to sisters of medusa (gorgons) who keep reforming after dying, try to kill percy but he escapes into the Roman camp and destroys the gorgons. There, he embarks on a quest that, if he failed, could destroy the world