Yaju's visit

Yaju Cheng has been at our school for the past week. Yaju is from Beijing. In China she is a secondary school teacher. She teaches English and in China English is taught as a foreign language. We have learnt some Chinese and things about the Chinese culture. I learnt how to count to 10 in Chinese.
It has been one of the best experiences ever to learn Chinese from a Chinese person.
The other day we made dumplings and the whole school got the opportunity to make them. Even our 5 year olds made some.
While Yaju has been here we are teaching her English. We have to speak extra slow so she can understand and sometimes we teach her new words.
We have been doing Chinese finger painting with her.
 I have really enjoyed spending the week and learning about a new culture and language. Yaju is a very nice person and I hope she will visit again. Thank you Yaju for coming. I hope you enjoyed learning from us and we REALLY enjoyed learning from you.

Staff Sergent Kelly Carter visit

Staff Sergeant Kelly Carter visits Apiti School
Kelly Carter. Peter Blake Dream Team Leader, visited Apiti School on the 22nd of July to talk to students about leadership and to share some of her achievements.
Her goal was to convince us kids that we could do anything we wanted to. Kelly is a very successful sportswoman who has represented NZ for triathlon and plays hockey. She also achieved one of her greatest goals, the Ironman. Kelly also is a Staff Sergeant in the New Zealand army and has spent time training for Australian and New Zealand soldiers. She works with helping soldiers with rehabilitation.
I learnt from Kelly that we don't just have to be one thing but that we can do one thing and then try something else.
During her presentation she awarded me with a Sir Peter Blake Trust Leadership Award. I got a package with a whole lot of items related to leadership, a medal and Sir Peter Blake's book . She awarded me with the award because my teachers had nominated me for it.
My goals for the future are to achieve in everything I want to. Whatever I do I want to be successful.

Production about me

I am Hannah. I am 12 Years old! I really enjoy music-singing, dancing and sports.
My first show was our Apiti school Production in 2007 which was Footrot Flats!!
I was a sheep and that was where it all started !!
My favourite Apiti School Production was Grease because we got to do lots of dancing and singing. In Grease I was a cheerleader and I was also Cha Cha! I got to push my sister over. She was Sandy. That was probably my favourite bit!
I then went onto a show in Town called ‘Little Tommy Tucker’ That’s when I knew that I really loved acting. I was a twin! It was such a good experience because I learnt a lot about being on stage the whole time and keeping my character.  The hardest part was probably using my facial expressions to react to everything they were saying! It was challenging to perform at my best every single night for 2 weeks! I was very tired and so was the whole cast.
This years Footrot Flats is going to be very enjoyable for me because I have more lines then BAA!  I think Cheeky will be a great character for me because she is pretty much the complete opposite to me so it will be fun to act.
Performing is definitely something that I am going to carry on doing when I am at high school!

Production writing about my character cheeky hobson

Cheeky Hobson!

She has blonde curly hair that looks like a bird’s nest!!

She has lips as red as an apple!

Her high heels she wears make her as tall as a skyscraper!!

Cheeky is a lady that always has to look very nice and makes sure everyone thinks she looks good! But when she goes to the farm she see’s everyone else wearing these GUMBOOT things? And she isn't very keen to wear them at first ... but more and more she warms up to them!   

She has a bit of Sas and she likes it when things go her way.

She loves Wal very much ... in fact she is obsessed with him. Cheeky always asks Wal if he has ever stayed in town! As you probably will notice its her way of telling him he should come stay with her in town.

She takes any opportunity to get close to Wal! Although Dolly and Dog don't really like Cheeky she still always goes to the farm for dinner, just to see Wal.

She is a very bubbly person who is keen to try new things ... EVEN living on the farm! A good example of this is when she says to Wal she will try it on the farm BUT she is also still trying to get Wal to come to town. So they make a deal ... If she goes and stays on the farm he needs to stay with her in town.

But sometimes things are to hard for Cheeky!

Cheeky will always try to get her way so don't be surprised if you see her throughout the whole production still aiming for the same thing! For Wal to come to town.  

Holiday description - ice skating

The sounds of the Palmerston north square came to life.The dew drops glimmer in the morning sunlight. Sarah and I made our way down the streets of Palmy to the ice skating ring. A couple people were wandering around on the ice. My heart started pounding as we came closer I was quiet nervous because this was only the 2nd time i had been ice skating. I took one breath as we walked in and all I could smell was toe jam because so many people had been in the tent taking off and on shoes, I grab my skates the tight buckles quickly slam down onto my feet. Sarah glided her way onto the ring and I shuffled not far behind her. The ice sparkled bright it looked like smashed glass. My feet skidded along the ice, I grabbed a firm grip on the side of the wall. My ankles twisted and turned as the bright orange skates slide on the ice. I slowly let go of the wall and get my balance, I swung myself into the middle of the ring. But after about 5 minutes I was struggling to stay up and before I knew it I was collapsed on the ground soaking in the wet ice. Meanwhile Sarah was skating around like a swan gracefully. It looked easier then what it was, but really all it took was balance. More and More people started arriving which meant more risk of crashing into someone. There were so many people you could just about feel everyone else warm breath on your neck. Sarah grabbed the wall and pushed me of the side into the middle. Suddenly out of knowhere a boy came and smashed into me, he was going so fast that he didn't even stop he just kept going and feel into the wall. The force of how fast he was going just made me fall over and my legs went straight out and I did the splits. The sun finally came out and the ice started to turn to slush. I started to get the hang of the skates and started skating around but kept resnobaly close to the sides. We wandered back over to the tent and took our skates off. My socks stuck to the inside of the boots.As the boots finally slide of a big feeling of relief rushes through my body. The ice skating boots resemble to skiing boots and they feel great when you take them off. Sarah and I strolled back out of the tent and took the stench of the boots with us!  

Cross Country

My nerves finally start to kick in as we wander over to the start line. My age group of girls slide over to the start line we all do a warm up together, I can tell that all of us are feeling so nervous. We all watched as the boys sprinted of. “ Clap” as the wood blocks smash together the sound echos through my head. Before I knew it i was running side by side with Rupene. I had my own goal set in my head all I had to do was keep a positive attitude and have lots of stamina. I had pulled out a bit of a lead and was now starting to get tired. As I came to the first fence I knew I couldn't waste any time dawdling over it so I made a great leap over all the wires. I had no time to slow down running down the hills into the creeks. As soon as my frozen feet hit the cold hard rocks it sends a rush of numbness to my feet. So i'm not even half way through yet and I can't feel my feet! The Rain starts to come down and it gently falls on my wet muddy body. I had finally caught up to Logan who was coming 2nd for the boys. Soon I had come to the junction where we needed to turn to go up the hill! My stomach tensed as I knew what was about to come. My mind drifted of but while it was I was thinking of a plan, it was as fast to walk and take really long strides then to run! So using my technique I flew up the hill. As I was struggling to catch my breath I knew I had to keep going. I took one moment to peer down the hill and then suddenly I rocketed down the hill and my legs couldn't keep up with my body and I fell to the ground. From that moment I had a brilliant idea that I should probably just roll down! When I had finally reached the bottom I picked myself up and kept running. I was exhausted I was trying very hard to catch my breath. My legs were almost about to collapse. I felt like a battery that was slowly losing all its power. I had the finish line in my sights all I had to do was keep myself together! My legs sunk down into the bog it felt as though I had a animal or something on my leg that wouldn't let go! Suddenly my eyes spotted the rocks I was determined to finish with a bang, So as soon as my feet touched the rocks although my feet were numb and Freezing I was just about finished. As soon as I came around the corner My legs bursted into a sprint! When I ran over the finish line I let out a great sigh of relief ! I stood on the bails and received my certificate for 1st! I was very proud of myself and I know that all you need to do well is be positive in your mind!         

Fungi report

The Hypholoma acutum are normally found growing in small or large clusters on dead wood in mixed forests and gardens in NZ. They are yellowy brown with a small peak in the centre. They go a blackish brown as they get older. The Hypholoma acutum has black spores. The spores come out the gills when the cap spreads and opens wide like a pancake. These mushrooms only occur from April-May.