Arohanui whanau

(photocredit)

Hey everyone!

After seven fabulous years at Tamaki College I have moved closer to home. I am now teaching at Marcellin College, and have passed on the blogging mantle to some of the other staff in the English department. 

I already miss the fabulous staff and delightful students at Tamaki, but I'm excited to have a new challenge at Marcellin.

Thanks for reading the blog, I am proud of the students who contributed over the years.

Arohanui xxx

Ms Arna Metcalfe

Reflections from 9RTd

Today we discussed the purpose of reflection- review, thinking back on our year. We came up with some focussing questions on the board to think about our year.

I'm so proud of the students in 9RTd and the great strides that they have taken in their reading and writing.

Ite, Cheyaane, Henry, Tupou, Faaaoane, Jennyfer, Wakatere, Lose at the Manaiakalani film festival!

"Throughout this long challenging year in english I have learnt many things, such as how to write and includes metaphors and similes in writing, and how to annotate poems and even various texts. I learnt these basic learning skills by paying attention when ever the teacher spoke. To help me with my learning I read chapter books from time to time. Listening to the teacher helped me understand and gain basic knowledge. From time to time I learn’t at home and in B9, this learning area helped me to think and learn challenging and basic information. My strengths in English is reading and the area in need for more improvement is writing. Various skills I need to work on range from writing and reading and also listening. Things I need to improve on next year is to stay more focused and pay more attention to the teacher."

-Edward Baah

"What have I learned this year? I’ve learned a lot of things this year like one of them is learning new words.

What can I do better? What I can do better is to stop talking to friends during class and learning time and to also listen to the teacher more.

How did I learn? I learnt in so much different ways one of them are reading books which can help me learn new words and to also help give me ideas on how to write a poem or any type of writing.

Did I change? I think that I changed in so much ways like I have came to school more than I used to and also going around and asking people for help instead of sitting there and doing nothing until the bell rang."

-Wakatere Cecil

"From the start of this year 2015, English was a subject that was difficult. I’ve learnt many things such as poems, grammar, punctuation and many more. Learning these basic skills was not as easy but I eventually learnt these things and in which I endeavour to use in my everyday life. To do better next year, I will focus more, pay more attention, read oftenly and to become more involved in learning areas. I learnt in English by completing all tasks given and trying my best to my full potential. My strengths in English are learning and having an extensive vocabulary and having a very positive attitude towards my learning. Learning doesn't only take place at school meaning I can learn at home, in public and anywhere possible by reading or listening to things taking place around me."

-Dion Tuitukau

more reflections to come...

Dion Tuitukau's speech

What do we live for, if it's not to make life less difficult for each other? A quote from Mark Twain reads "Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see" Science tells us that kindness directly influences your propensity for happiness. But kindness does more than that; it not only improves your health but increases your longevity, it’s a proven biological fact. It's easy to forget that sometimes people look at us and actually listen to what we say which can either make them feel really good or really bad.

What's in it for us? People reciprocate the favour of being kind or they will simply be altruistic. The very process of saying kind words can be short to say, but these words have echoes that never end. Great sacrifices and choices is what life is partly made of where little smiles, kindness secure comfort for people all around you. Three things in human life are important; the first is to be kind, the second is to be kind and the third is to be kind as said by Mother Teresa.

Sometimes in life we are so eager to talk, that we often forget to ask ourselves; who will benefit from I'm going to say, will someone be hurt.Asking  yourselves these questions may save others pain through needlessly hurtful words. A story of Kindness I found on the Internet reads

Successful people take control of their words, rather than letting their words control them. We are more conscious of our thoughts and words and the power we unleash when show kindness to others as human beings.

More importantly, your words can make a positive difference on the people you interact with every day. Before you speak ask yourself: Is what I am about to say going to uplift the hearer? Will it inspire, motivate, and create forward for them? Just remember kindness is the three important things in human life.

Jennyfer Fa'amita's speech

Kindness or not:

I am not gonna start my speech of with a I wonder or a question because I think that my question maybe quite obvious but if you want me to say it I will, What will the world be like if we’re all kind to each other? when I think about this question, I think it’s not possible because we weren’t all born to be perfect we were all born to be different, but being kind is not something you are born with, it is something that grows in you, I mean every single one of us in this room shows kindness but in our own unique way.

How do you show kindness? I show kindness by saying hi, but smiling is something I don’t like to do, but I know that Henry he is that type of person that likes to smile maybe that’s how he show’s his act of kindness, Cheyanne show’s kindness by not making others feel otl (only the lonely) she may not see it but her friends can realise her act of kindness, Wakatere is a person who is always mean to others but when you really get to know him actually does care believe it or not but it’s true, kindness is expressed differently it shows your originality, the kind of person you want to be and the kind of person you are.

In our own classroom, everybody is constantly mocking each other, shouting and screaming but when it does get rough they start to get physical, everybody thinks it’s a bad thing but I say let them fight but not get physical I know this sounds weird but when they fight they always seem to laugh and smile in the end, yeah they ain't showing kindness but it shows that they care, it shows that bonds are not only made by being kind but bonds can get stronger if you do it your way, kindness is something that we don’t show often in this class, especially in this class but we seem to get along, kind or not but as as we are all smiling that is what matters the most.long

To finish of my speech I would just like to say try to be kind to one another if you want to live longer in life.

Wakatere Cecil's speech

World Peace?

I wonder what it would be like if we had world peace? Well if the world was ever at world peace it will be so much different to what it is now as we all know that I think that everyone should not just show kindness but to also do and be kind towards other people so that way one day the world just might have world peace. Just imagine the world full of       kindness,peace,war free,happiness and full of huge smiles don’t you think that it would be so much wonderful that way? Do you think that the world would ever have peace? We also need world peace because of the trouble that has happened in France and i’m sure you’ve heard about that?,and those in France that has died during the attack their families must be swimming in a pool full of there tears for there love ones.

Any ways I think that world peace is really important to everyone if you want to live in a caring and loving world if not then something must be wrong with you.There are kids all over the world being bullied,picked on and even getting beaten up for nothing!!! we need to stop hating and start to appreciate people for who they really are. Everyone has picked on someone before including myself? and don’t say you haven’t bullied someone before because there is someone that you know you have bullied and also hated on. You might of bullied your siblings if you're an only child you would of came to school thinking that you can pick on the smallest person in your class or one that is the darkest or maybe that one person that everyone hates in the classroom. I really want the world to be a happy place and also to be safe wherever you go.World peace would just be wonder full for everybody don’t you think?

World peace is not the only thing we need in this world we also need the life of freedom.Freedom is what every single one of us in this whole entire world needs. Just thinking that if we all had freedom we could do whatever we wanted well not whatever we wanted but like most of the things that we never could do before. Like having to be 15 or 16 to get a license or also because we ain’t got know choice when the teacher says we have to do this but you don’t wanna do that but then they say you have to because it's the work I gave you now do it.

By the way have you ever wonded what it would be like if there was no such thing as bullying or moking? I’ve always wonded what it would be like mocking free know one calling each other names and also know more people judging other people basted on there sexualty or how they act. If there was ever know such thing as bullying and mocking we would be so much better everyone loving and caring for others that they don’t even know I would love to live in a world just like that. And here is a quote by the one and only (Tupac Shakur) “Before we find world peace we gotta find peace in the war on the streets”

Gustavo's comic

Khylie's comic