My Sockburn School Memoir.

Listen to me Reading my Memoir Here. (By Clicking.)

My voice is horrible.

I've had to record myself reading my Sockburn School memoir.

The memoir covers my six years here at Sockburn.

My Journey at Sockburn School.

My experience at Sockburn School has been a long and hard one, but I have still loved it. I have had a great time at this School, but sadly, ‘all good things must to come to an end.’ -Geoffrey Chaucer, 1374.

When I started at Sockburn, I was placed into Room 9 as a new entrant. My teacher in Room 9 was the one and only Mrs. Marshall, who I can’t remember much about. It was six years ago now. Though, I can recall meeting my ‘friend’ friend (and sports fanatic,) Samuel Jack.

Once I finished up in Room 9, I was transferred to Room 12, with the clever Mrs. Holden. Fun fact: I was the only child moved from Room 9 to 12, everybody else went to Room 10, or Room 13. I was alone & frightened…. I was in that classroom for 2 years, and in those days I got to drink coconut milk and sing a TON of Samoan songs. I also happened to end up as the ‘youngest and smartest’ in the class somehow….

Then… Room 11 flew into my life. To teach me, I had the ingenious Mr. Crookbain, who was very into gardening. It was in that year that I was taught long addition, I was answering questions like 294 + 769. It was a total brain strain for me the time. 2012 was wrapped up in what was called a crazy year.

Now, for my favourite teacher, the sports-crazy Mr. Kerr. The year that I was Room 5 was a great year, full of horses & jockeys domination and basic facts. The smile chart was pretty cool too, speaking that I was getting rewarded for having fun and playing games. Though, the Kerr credits was hands down the best part of the class. Kerr credits were a fake currency that you could spend on different prizes and activities. We also had huge credit auctions at the end of each term, it was amazing.

After Room 5, I was transferred to the melodious Mrs. North’s classroom, Room 1. It was in this class that I learnt to play the ukulele, even though I didn’t join the ukulele group. Mrs. North taught me a lot about singing and music in general, and she helped me appreciate music the way it’s meant to be appreciated.

And now…. Kahikatea…. What a classroom to behold.

The first year that I was in Kahikatea, I started with three teachers. The brilliant and somewhat shouty Mrs. Boswell, the ‘dad jokes’ Mr. Barrow and the lyrical Mrs. North. We also had the musical Mrs. Tanner to drop by (and a beat) every now and then. In that year, I became an experienced IT moniter, got trained to do Road Patrol and I was reunited with my Room 12 friends. (Who were now Year 6…)

My second year of Kahikatea rolled in. Mrs. North had left the classroom to go and travel around the world, and Mr. Barrow had to become the principal of the School, so…. He was replaced with the accomplished Miss. McCormick. To add to this, I found out that the gorgeous Tracey Drummond (Who is also my Mum,) was working in the classroom. Fun!

The teachers here have moulded me into the student that I am today, and I am thankful for that. I have had a terrific time at Sockburn School, and I wish I can stay just a bit longer…. But that’s a dream just out of reach.

Fin,

'No Relation' - An Original Melody.

Click here to view the melody.

I have been learning to use the programme, 'BeepBox.'
BeepBox allows you to create chiptune melodies from scratch.
This specific piece took me about four hours and twenty five minutes.
I will forever be proud of this song, and I will never make something this good.

Scenic Collage

 I created this collage on the 9th of November, 2016.

I was learning how to use the website Befunky.com to create a collage. Specifically, a scenic one.

Next time I create a collage, I will need to try much harder to find more and better images.

I also need to learn how to add more and more boxes to add an image.

The Ball.

The Ball.

‘Twas on a frosty Monday that I was walking to school. It was a lovely day, sun was seeping through the cracks that the clouds left open. I was walking, bouncing my beloved basketball. I felt alive, happy, like today was going to be a good day…. Or, at least I thought so.

A couple minutes later, I was just entering the school gates, STILL bouncing my basketball. Everyone was running around, enjoying the great weather. It felt amazing, seeing so many happy faces. But, little did I know, I was going to lose something.

Later on, I was playing with my bouncy ball, shooting hoops and landing sick dunks. That was, until I missed one of the shots. The ball rebounded off a classroom and over the school fence, into the hood of a car.

I watched, crying, as I saw my ball explode. No! I thought, looking over at the remains of what was once a ball. It was a sad day.

A very, sad day.

Fin.

A Day in the Life of a Monster Hunter.

A Day in the Life of a Monster Hunter.

“This should be the place,” Garrett would exclaim, “it looks like a Witch would live here.” Garrett put away his map and looked forward. An old, run down house would sit in front of him. It was painted black, and must’ve been built in the 1900s. The place was an antique, though Garrett couldn’t care less. Garrett kicked down the door, and drew his blade. The sword was silver, polished and had a silver wolf head engraved into the hilt. “This should be fun.” He exclaimed, his voice cold and lifeless.

The fight was long and hard, and at the end Garret was covered head to toe in blood and potions. Once the witch had died, the body evaporated into air. All that was left was a tiny glass container called a ‘Grief Seed.’ Garrett picked up the seed and pocketed it. “Reparto!” He chanted. Suddenly, the blood on his clothing disappeared and his suit looked brand new. Garrett pulled out his dusty old map again and started tramping to his home.

While Garrett was walking, he encountered many hostile creatures that were hungry for blood. Monster hunter blood. By the time Garrett was home, he was covered in different coloured bloods. His pockets were full of wolf pelts and he was already heading to his carving knife. He was going to make a fur bag, and he was going to cover it in animal blood for water proofing.

By the time he was finished, night was already dawning on the wooden shack. The woods sounded peaceful for once, if you don’t count the billions of crickets screaming their lungs out. Garrett new that this day had been a productive one. Garrett headed over to his bed, and slept.

Netiquette.

Components	Beginner	Getting Going	Smart Learner
Learning	What have I been learning? I’ve written what I have been learning about e.g. shared my WALT I have put in an image, drawing or a screenshot of my learning	How do I know I have learnt? My post includes information and ideas that show what I learned. I created a DLO that shares my ideas about the learning: eg, a video, diagram, infographic etc	Reflected on my learning: My post has my new ideas and what I enjoyed or found really difficult I’ve shared what I think my next steps are, what I’d like to know more about, and what I might do differently next time
Impact	I have explained the learning I did Most of my ideas can be seen I included a photo, image or screenshot	My title is unique or catchy My DLO is my own creation, makes sense and adds more information My post may include embedded html content e.g. collage, video, Google Slide, animation etc	My post shows WHO I AM as a learner and is unique to me. My information and ideas help my audience to understand the learning, [and there’s a link to this activity to my class learning site] For my DLO, I (or my group) made all of the learning being shown from scratch
Punctuation	Some of my spelling and punctuation is not right My post might be hard for the reader to understand	I have checked my punctuation and spelling I have asked a buddy to read my post, made corrections and I cannot see any mistakes	I’m confident all my spelling and punctuation is correct and it makes sense for my readers, they will be able to read it easily
Layout	My font sizes and colour may be different and need making the same My images or embedded content might not fit properly I may not have used labels or a title on my learning blog post.	I previewed layout to see how my post would look and changed it where I needed to Font size and colour match I’ve used a title & labels   If I’ve used other people’s work or thinking I have shown the source or attributed it to them	Media/html content is checked e.g. size, position, and appears when post loads My labels and title are specific to the learning & help people searching my blog I am beginning to use scheduling for publishing so my posts don’t all come at once

My Holiday. (Animation.)

I recommend you full-screen the presentation.

My 'Fun' Night Shift at the Museum. (Writing.)

My “Fun” Night Shift at the Museum.

“Be careful, it’s said that on this day, at this time that the exhibits come to life.” The Ex-Night Guard explains to me as he points at a number on the clock. “Wait… Wait... wait wait! What time?” I ask the man, petrified of what I have just heard. I started to shiver until he took my watch, set an alarm and said, “When this goes off, run!” It was at this moment that he walked off, and I was alone.

I grabbed my flashlight from it’s holster and flicked it on. I slowly and cautiously walked around, horrified by what that crazy man had just told me. “This isn’t a movie, no no. Nothing like this will come to life.” I walked over to the gift shop, and took a bag of chocolates. Once I had grabbed my chocolate, I walked over to the counter and sat down. Thirty minutes passed and I wondered what time the Old Night Guard had set the alarm on my watch. Another thirty minutes pass and I hear a beep, followed by another beep, followed by another beep. It was the alarm.

“Wh- What do I do!?” I say to myself, over and over. He said to ‘run,’ but where would I run? I just chose to grab my flashlight and walk straight into the museum gallery entrance. That was a great idea, walking into the room where they keep all of the weapons and all the other dangerous stuff. My bravery is both a blessing, and a curse. I hear a voice, “Kia ora Koutou!” I ignored it, until I heard it again and again. I turned around, and screamed. The Maori hunters had become alive!

I dashed for Christchurch street, because I thought it would be calmer, I was wrong. So. Very. Wrong. Christchurch street was like Hornby Mall at rush hour! There were horses everywhere, bikes, people, stores, it was crazy! I hid in a store when people wearing fancy clothing walk past, it was the clothing gallery exhibit! Fine china was everywhere, obviously the Ancient China gallery. As penguins slid straight down the streets, I knew that the Antarctic exhibit had been affected too. I was panicking, wondering if the animal exhibits had been affected. It was a couple seconds later that I heard, a big, loud, roar.

As animals were racing down Christchurch street, I bolted out of Christchurch street, heading for the only safe place I could think of… I went to the weapons exhibit. “If I go here, I can protect myself,” I think, petrified of the wildlife I just saw fly past me. “If I can get a bow, or a spear… I should be safe.” I kept running and running ‘til I found myself at the exhibit. It was at this moment that I walked to a transparent, glass container. I kicked the glass, making it shatter. I took a moa spear that the old Maori people used, now I was ready to make my way for the exit.

I started walking straight forward, down the seemingly endless hall, prepared for any sort of enemy. I looked straight into the hall, when a shadowy figure appears on my sight. “Who are you!? What are you doing here!?” I question the figure. The figure just came into my flashlight light and said, “Sup Greg!” It took me a couple seconds, but Samuel had appeared in my sight line. Sam didn’t say anything for a bit, though he grabbed my arm and pulled me to some sort of safe room. Samuel locked the door, sat down and said, “We should wait for the dinosaur to pass, then we can go out and have some REAL fun. The Fine China dances!”

The End.

My 'Fun' Night Shift at the Museum. (Animation.)

I was given the challenge to create an animation that summarises a story we have created.
I chose this one. You can view this story at: http://spsgregoryd.blogspot.co.nz/2016/09/my-fun-night-shift-at-museum-writing.html

The Football Field Word Cloud.

Shanix and I created this word cloud to persuade the teachers to give us a football field for our new school.
(We will be moving to that new school in 2017.)
Check out Shanix's blog at http://spsshanixt.blogspot.co.nz/ !

A Pathway to Where?

A Pathway to Where?

By Samuel & Greg ( They’re in the best friend hall of fame.)

Chapter I : The Endless Forest.

12th April 1991, I was curiously exploring through the seemingly endless forest. I couldn’t help but notice the decorative river streaming a wobbly line through said forest. I balanced myself across the steep river bank, suddenly (and) to my surprise I tripped dramatically, fell and soaked myself head to toe. I was filled with embarrassment. I was extremely thankful that nobody was watching.

“Ugh!” I thought to myself. “Why is it always me?” I flicked my long hair out of my hazel eyes and I embarked on my journey to home, where I could get a new set of comfortable clothing. As I started I took 3 weary steps away from the treacherous riverbank and headed off, I then questioned where home was. I forgot my compass!

Chapter II : The Brightly Coloured Fish.

“Oh, there it is.” I mumbled to myself. And there it was, floating on the mighty river. It was next to a brightly coloured fish, in the middle of the body of water. I had to dive in! I inhaled a deep breath before catapulting my already freezing cold body into the transparent water.

The fish was racing it’s tiny body through the hyperthermic water, it was majestic looking. You could see it’s long, luscious fins pushing the  water back to the source of water’s origin. I wish I had a camera, yet if I did… It would’ve blown a fuse due to the watery conditions I found myself in. I then grabbed the fish, took the compass and threw the compass back up on the shore. I let the fish off with a warning, he wouldn’t have understood me but.. Meh. What do I do ?

Chapter III : Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

As I watch the fish flip and flop away from me, I start wondering why I was still in the water. I still need to head home. Priority #1: Get out of the water. As I make my way to the surface of the water I notice that the forest appears to have changed around me. “Wait, no it hasn’t.” I think to myself, the narrator is being stupid to me. Wait it was just a DREAM! You suddenly feel Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. The End.

P.S: Check out Sam’s blog at: http://spssamuelj.blogspot.co.nz/

A Day in the Life of a Computer.

I have made an attempt at creating an animation based on my computer knowledge.

The Fishing Trip.

The Fishing Boat.

By Gregory.

“How’s your swimmin’?” My Uncle asks me, his loud, firm voice echoes in my ear. “If I fall in the water, I won’t drown!” I yell back, I swiftly slide myself down the towering ladder. We were at the fishing dock, I was lowering myself carefully into my Uncle’s boat. If there was no boat there, I would be soaking, wet and swimming with the fishes in the seemingly infinite waters.

Safely on the boat, my uncle opened his boating log and wrote down something. (I wasn’t looking… Or caring.) Once done he placed the log down, walked out onto the deck and told me a fact about the “pesky little” seagulls. It felt awkward… Very awkward. Jokes were and still are, my Uncles great talent. “I will now make a container MAGICALLY appear,” he announces. Yet magic wasn’t his great talent, I had an eccentric look on my face…

He then proceeded to pull a container out from under a trapdoor on the boat. I clapped sarcastically and said “WOAH, WHAT!” My uncle opened the container, and I nearly puked. It was full of literal… FISH MUCUS! No gloves on, he started filling a transparent bag full of said mucus to use as bait. That’s why he said the fact about seagulls, the fact was that “the (pesky little) seagulls swoop in and steal fish bait thrown into the water.”

Seagulls were squeaking and squealing around our boat, this could mean only one thing. They had smelt the fish bait! I was about to take cover until my Uncle scared them away. Hizzah! I have now embarrassed myself... AGAIN. I groaned in despair, ‘till suddenly he asked me if I had wanted to see over 20 oysters caught in one cage. He then states, “I will now pull this magic rope...” I sighed. It was going to be a long… day.

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