Mitchell's - 40 Hour Famine!

Hey bloggers! If you didn't know a few weeks ago the Year 5 & 6 Extension group, as well as the Year 7 & 8 Extension group had the amazing opportunity to take part in this years 40 Hour Famine. It is run by World Vision every fundamental year.

Image attribution: World Vision

All money raised goes towards helping the country of the year. Last year my extension group fund raised for Syria and I think we also did it this year for Syria too. It takes part between June the 9th - June the 11th of 2017.

On the night of June the 9th the extension student's bought things such as blankets, pillows, beanbags, mattresses, Just Juice, and Barley Sugars. Also if you didn't know we were having a sleepover and we are not allowed to eat or drink - except from Just Juice and Barley Sugars, because that is apart of the campaign.

We all slept in the library. One side for the girls, and one side for the boys. After we set up our stuff we all gathered in the hall to have a meeting about what we were going to do. Also we are put into groups depending on which colour you wanted to be in.

Me and my friends were in Team Green, while my sister and other participants were in groups such as Team Blue, Team Red, and Team Yellow. It was really competitive. We were going to have lots of fun.

Our groups had so much fun because you have to dance to a song your whole group decides on. We choose the Beyonce classic - Single Ladies to make a comedy and also to entertain everyone.

After that we did something really important. We were at the sleepover for a reason and also to raise money for the people in Syria. We turned off all of the lights in the hall and lay down on the ground to feel like what it would feel like for Syrian kids who have nowhere to go.

Anyways after all of that we got to have freetime. We had 4 options. To watch a movie, hangout in the library, hangout in the hall, or play games in Creative Space - (ICT - Computer Lab). Me and my friends went around the place.

Soon after 2 - 3 hours it was getting late. We then all went to sleep at 10:00.

The next morning everyone was very tired. Also it was a Saturday morning and everyone then eventually went home. Unfortunately I only fast 20 hours as I was really hungry. Also my sister did 20 hours too.

Well that's it! Have you ever done a famine?

Thanks for reading!
By Mitchell.M
25/06/17

The Big 2017 Polynesian Celebration!

Chehuuuuu! Guess what? Yesterday Team 5 got the opportunity to experience the 2nd day of Polyfest along with some other schools! The trip was for us to experience and learn more about our Polynesian culture. The stages that had cultural groups performing on were the Maori stage, Cook Island stage and the Diversity Stage! I really wanted to watch the Samoan and Tongan stages but they start on Friday and Saturday! We arrived on a bus and waited in line for about 5-10 minutes then we got to go inside well actually outside.

My 1st highlight happened when we arrived and got to attend some of the workshops. Some workshops were finding out about the ancient culture and traditions about our people.  Plus we saw a lot of stalls selling Island related stuff you could wear and eat. My group also got to go to a workshop called “Te Wananga o Aotearoa where they, had a 360 degree camera and record us with some cool moves!

ASB Polyfest 2017 Logo.

After participating in all of these fun workshops we had the opportunity to get into groups and spread wild! We got to go to different stages to watch people perform, do fun activities and heaps more! Even some of my family was there cheering on my cousin, as she was performing on Diversity Stage in the Fijian group. Also today, my aunty will be performing in a Tongan group for AGGS. After watching a few performances we were hot and dying to jump into a pool. We were so exhausted we went to buy some drinks to cool us down. Finally we got to watch some real action go on with the hard pukana’s and the hard poi movements, but I was really dying to go watch some Tongan and Samoan stages.

Us in the bus going back to school.

Lastly it is really important for students to participate in a polyfest group because it is priority to learn about your traditions in your culture and learn the dances of the ancestors that were there before you! Join a polyfest group even if you're Chinese or Indian, find out if there is a Diversity stage group in your school, but it is really important to join a polyfest group to follow the footsteps and the ways your ancestors shared.

It hit 2:00 and it was time to travel back to school! No… I didn’t want to leave, well at least I was coming back on Saturday where the Tongan and Samoan stages were on. Yay! Anyways we lined back up and hopped back into the bus and we went away! Also we got to take back some awesome gifts from the polyfest workshops such as: Mobile phone fans, Calendars, Posters, Temporary tattos and heaps more to explore and have fun with!

Thanks for reading and I hope this makes you want to go to Polyfest and learn about polynesian culture!

By Mitchell.M

Mitchell's movie review - Hidden Figures || 2017

Hello bloggers! Yesterday the Year 7 & 8 extension group had the opportunity to attend the Sylvia Park movie cinemas to watch the new 2017 movie Hidden Figures. The movie is about 3 African - American women who work with NASA, they are part of a group who are behind one of the greatest operations in history! So on Wednesday morning we went off to the movies!

At the movies we bought some popcorn,lollies and drinks. While we were waiting we were watching the movie trailers that were playing on the big screen that everyone could see when the walked into the movies. Finally it hit 10:40 and the doors to go inside the theatre were open. We slowly walked in, well we weren't allowed to run. Woohoo! It was only the extension group and a elderly couple who were watching the movie!

A few ads played while we were waiting for the movie. They were really funny! After a few minutes it was 11:00 and the movie started playing. Everyone was so excited and ready to view the spectacular movie Hidden Figures.

It would have been my 2nd time I would have watched the movie Hidden Figure so I wasnt really surprised. Plus I got the seat that was right in the middle which was awesome! It took about 2 hours from 11:00 am - 1:00 pm. In the movie theatre it was really quiet, all you could hear was the movie and eating sounds from people eating popcorn.

Review - Hidden Figures : This is my review from the Hidden figure movie. Likes: What I liked about the movie was that it told the racism stories about what happened back in the old days so people these days know that it is wrong and disrespectful and they do not copy what was done like in the 1900s. Dislikes: What I didn't like about the movie was that the movie was set in the same places. It could have been set in a few other settings/backrounds. What they should improve on: The movie makers should improve on making the movie more entertaining for all age groups.

Thanks for reading
By Mitchell. M
9/03/17

P.S : Thanks to Mr Vogt's sister for the money to buy the movie tickets and the helping teachers who provided transport from school to Sylvia Park. 

Hawke's Bay

Did you know that has one of the largest concentrations of Art Deco buildings in the world. ???  My mum and dad has been to Hawkes bay before but I haven't. Hawkes Bay has alot of tourists to come view the sunny climate the beaches have for them.

The best hotels I recommend to stay at is Kennedy Park Resort Napier. It is not a 5 star hotel   but it is worth a try. I reccomend this hotel because it has Free Wifi,Free parking,it is accessible,Outdoor pool,Laundry Service,Kid friendly,Restaurant,Fitness centre and Bar.     

One day we drove to Splash Planet. It was so cool and water was everywhere. 

The waterslides were amazing. There was even an indoor pool with all the kids rides. Bumber boats were exactly like the ones at Rainbow's End

My teacher Miss West is from Hawkes Bay , Napier.

Thanks for reading.

By Mitchell.

7/10/2016

Mitchell Riverside Highlights (Monday) 2016

HELLO BLOG VIEWERS !!! Welcome back to my blog. On Friday I came back from Riverside CAMP. It was a really fun experience. This year my team was named the Thunders. I slept in cabin number 1. We did alot of fun activities. Here are some highlights.

Monday (First day of Camp) - Around 6:00 am in the morning I awoke with a big yawn loud enough for my parents to hear in the other room. I slowly made my way down to the kitchen to have breakfast. My sister also had breakfast with me too. Then I brushed my teeth,got ready and watched TV. When it was around 8:00 am my Nana came to pick us up to drop us to school. When we got there other Riversider's were packing their stuff too. 

We went to the breeze were we sat down and did the check list to see if everyone was here. Everyone was her and we were ready to go. I hopped on the bus with my friends Noah and Ajani. On the trip to Willow Park we played Yellow Car. You play by spotting a random yellow car while driving in the distance. We finally arrived at Willow Park in Eastern Beach. We drove down the driveway and there we saw the buildings of the cabins. 

The bus driver pulled the brakes,the door opened and everyone ran out. I clutched my hands to someone's suitcase and lifted it out to the foyer room. Everyone did the same with different bags. After everyone's bags had been put in we went to the Rimu Room. 

We did our first ever activity. It was the running around game. We had a piece of paper and had a whole lot of questions on it. We had to find them out by running around the park.

After that we had afternoon tea,got changed and headed to the beach. After the fun beach games we had showers and had lunch. We got changed and it was time to play the Crunchie hunt. In the dark you had to find Crunchie chocolates. In the end I found 0 but we all got to eat some anyways.

We had our first sleep in our cabins. Make sure that you read what we did on all the other days by checking out my other blogposts I will post.

Thanks for reading.
By Mitchell.
2/10/2016