Netbooks.

Netbooks

Getting our netbooks this year was a huge success. Since all of our students were receiving netbooks, it was going to be a big part of our learning.  I was in the year seven extension class last year and we had received our netbooks at the end of 2011 so we were quite familiar with them and I was so happy to get it again.

We had used the netbooks mostly for writing, reading and inquiry. It was a big milestone to our learning.  Everyone’s eyes were glued to the netbooks because we were so obsessed with them that we didn’t want to go off. The only thing was that we couldn’t take our netbooks home like the other schools did. We could only take them home at the end of the year when they were fully paid for by our caregivers.

The netbooks were a great help because we all individually received one and I could just keep all my documents and files to myself. It was also a great help because we didn’t have to bother the teachers by going to them every now and then to check our work or go to the ICT suite. Instead we could just share our documents with our teachers on Google docs.

Although we received our netbooks this year and had the chance to go on them every now and then, I still wish that we could’ve used them more for all of our learning. Getting our netbooks was a wonderful experience and I can’t wait to take my netbook home and use it in the future.

Tatiana

Moment of success !

My moment of success was when I was about 9 years old. I had gone shopping in the mall at Manukau and entered a dance competition. Any age from 5-13 could join in. My mum thought it was a good idea for me to enter the competition. The dance had to be cultural and I knew a lot of cultural dances but my Nana told me to learn a new one for the competition.

We went to my aunty's house so she could teach me to dance. We had about 4 days till the competition so we had to practice fast. My aunty decided to teach me a cook island dance and I was familiar with the song so I could get the moves fast. I had to shake my hips a lot and it was tiring but I ould manage to do it.

I was nervous because I wondered if the other competitiors had a better dance than me and had a bigger chance of winning. I practiced every night and day. My costume was made the night before and it looked magnificent. I had a humongous skirt with big pointy leaves sticking out. I had a flowery outfit and it was stunning.

Then on the day of the competition. I went to the place where it was held with my mum and nana. I was going to get changed there so that was good. I watched lots of children walking into the hall and I started to get nervous. Everyone watched children dancing and they looked awesome but I think I had the best costume.

Almost 12 dances had been performed and after that, a lady walked up to the stage with a piece of paper and a microphone. She called out my name and said that it was my turn.I was so shy and nervous but my family came to watch and I wasn't quite shy anymore. As I walked up to the stage people started clapping for me and I could hear the voices of my family cheering for me.

Then everything went quiet and the song started playing. All I could think of was my dance and the song. I remember that my face started to fill with redness and my eyes started to water, but I kept on dancing and soon, everything was okay. When it was time for me to stop and shake, everyone started cheering and my nana walked up to the stage to dance around me even though she wasn't supposed to.

When I finished dancing I was smiling as everyone started clapping for me. There wasn't a big crowd but they sure did make a lot of noise. I walked off the stage loud and proud jumping around like a little bunny rabbit. My family ran up to me and said I did well.

Then, when all the dancers finished dancing, the judges walked up to the stage with a big and two little trophies. They were talking about how awesome each performance was, but there was just one person who stood out. They first announced the person who came third. It was a girl and everyone clapped for her. She was awarded the little trophy but she had a huge smile on her face for coming third.

Next, they announced the person who came second. My name was called out and my family started cheering and screaming. I walked up the stage with my costume on and smiling away. They awarded me a trophy and a certificate. My heart was beating so fast that I couldn't think at that moment.

When we went home, my family was congratulating me so much and I was just so proud of myself. The trophy is still in our wall unit and I look at it every time I walk pas it. The trophy reminds me of my sweet moment of success.

L.I : Explanation of a Sandstorm.

Sandstorms.

A sandstorm is strong dry wind blowing over the desert that raises and carries along clouds of sand or dust. They often appear as solid walls of dust as much as 5,000 feet high.

The strong winds are caused by intense heating from the ground and makes it strong enough to move full sand dunes. Air is unbalanced when heated and this causes mixture with higher winds in the troposphere and lower winds in the atmosphere which creates the tough surface winds.

Sandstorms are most likely to occur in the Sahara Desert or anywhere where rain is unlikely to come. Sandstorms can happen anywhere where the earth is dry. They usually happen on hot summer days under certain atmospheric conditions.

Sandstorms can dry up water, people, plants and anything really that contains water. It can also cause blindness. Thousands of tonnes of sand and dust can be picked up in a sandstorm or duststorm.

If sandstorms happen in a town, it causes health problems, particularly those with lung problems or asthma-related conditions. They also clog up water pipes or air filters. Sometimes it's dumped over the sea and the effect of it is devastating when flood waters dump tonnes of mud into the sea, clogging the gills of sea creatures,  which means wherever the sand or dust is put, it will cause suffocation to animals, plants and even humans.