SMAA SCHOOL YEAR 8

New Term, New Class

2011-06-04T09:49:00.002+12:00

Hi everyone -

Term Two has started and we are a new look class, as Year 7 & Year 8 have been combined for the remainder of this year. We had a number of pupils leave our School because of the earthquake, and were left with numbers less than fifteen in both classes.

You can check out our new Senior School website at

https://sites.google.com/site/smaaseniorschool/

It has lots of reminders, info and links for the happenings in the senior end of school.

You can catch some very good pieces of narrative writing on this blog page in the coming weeks.

Also watch out for reports from the Prefects on their experiences at the Young Leaders'

Day.

Regards,

Tony Kendrew

The 2010 Victorian Soiree

2010-07-01T15:43:00.002+12:00

Wow! What a night the Year 7 and 8 Soiree was. The Soiree began with the Grand Promenade which was followed by God Save the Queen. There was dancing and music.......and more dancing. Since we don't have that many girls in the Senior Syndicate, we had to gather 'reinforcements' as you might call them. A massive thank you to all the Year 7 and 8 mothers that danced in place of the girls we didn't have. Back to the evening itself, we all looked AMAZING, even the boys, I'll admit it. The girls all looked beautiful in their frilly dresses and the boys did look sharp in their tuxes as well. The dances worked out well as well, even if we did have a limited amount of space. I personally think that the Pattycake Polka and the Circle Waltz turned out the best. Priyanka Nathu, our Orchestra leader, provided a delightful musical interlude on the piano. The evening concluded with supper. The Soiree was a wonderful night that will be remembered for a long time to come.
Megan Lord.

Year 8's Busy Term

2010-05-20T15:29:00.002+12:00

This term, Year 8 has been a very busy class. Last week we had our Years 4 to 8 Cross Country at Hagley Park which proved to be a real challenge for all of the classes. This year, the 8, 9 and 10 year old girls and boys had to run 2 Km and the 11 and 12 year old girls and boys had to run 3 Km. It may not sound like a lot but add the distance of the run to the temperature of the warm afternoon and you get a tough day at the office. The main focus in the Senior Syndicate this term is our study of early Victorian Christchurch and we have been preparing for our Victorian Soiree at the end of week 9. We have been learning many dances and the race is on between our parents and the students to see who can learn the dances first. On top of the cross country we have been going to the Christchurch School of Gymnastics every Thursday to improve our skills. All of us are exploring our options and making decisions about which high schools we will go to next year.

Year 8 Gets Underway.

2010-03-09T15:25:00.004+13:00

Even though we have only been back at school for six weeks, Year 8 have already been extremely busy with all our new responsibilities. A couple of weeks ago, we had our annual Swimming Sports held at Christ College's swimming pool. It was a fun filled event for the Year 4-8 classes. In that same week we had an art workshop with Wendy Duggan and we learnt how to draw portraits. We have also completed a topic study about Being A Great Leader and are now onto an English topic looking at Sophisticated Picture Books. As for the rest of the term, we have a visit Rehua Marae, Independent Swimming Sports and a visit from Miles Kaukau to learn about Maori art and carving.

a prayer for Christmas

2009-12-08T15:44:00.002+13:00

A prayer for Christmas

I dream that there could be fewer people sleeping on the streets on Christmas Eve.
When for once the ice would stop melting ,just for one day.
That every dollar could be equally shared around the world.
Maybe for one minute we were all the same; that there were no mirrors, no eyes.
That animal shelters weren't so overflowing after Christmas.
That perhaps just each minute a piece of litter could be picked up from the ground.
That everytime we had a piece of chocolate or drank our morning coffee that we would care where it came from.
That just for one moment we could put down our spears and guns, look up at the sky and smile.
If only.

By Raphaela

my christmas prayer

2009-12-08T15:32:00.002+13:00

This Christmas, I want an i pod. Or a plasma T.V. would be nice.
Actually something much better to watch would be to see the ignorant become educated,
to notice, care about and change the unfair and sad lives of the starving and enslaved.
A beautiful Christmas image would be that it is a time that everyone comes together from opposite ends of society, to give gifts and respect and help each other.
Imagine a world of blind people - if friendships were easy, not at all shallow.
If they were easy and kind, if all the unnecessary factors of a relationship that are unfairly judge mental, age, beauty, race were eliminated.
How much stronger and wider our friend circles would be if everyone just stopped judging.
My last Christmas wish is that no one is alone.
That everyone invites someone, so no one is left out.

By Georgia Rouch

My Christmas Prayer

2009-12-08T15:26:00.002+13:00

This Christmas I pray,
that every empty child,
will be full of not only sweets and Christmas ham,
but joy, laughter and love.
I pray that Santa will visit them all,
and that they'll find homes,
and people who will be there to catch them if they fall.
I pray that others will understand how life is,

for the poor, unhealthy, and uncared for.

I pray that these people will do what they can,
to restore the kindness and love that was taken away from others.
Overall, this Christmas I pray,
that all the world will have a very merry Christmas!

Amen.

By Rebecca Tang

What's Happening in Year 8

2009-11-03T15:38:00.006+13:00

It's the last term ever for the Year 8 students (so sad!) and there is heaps on! Saint Mark's School from Wellington have just returned home from their visit here. We won the Debating Cup and chess games against them. This week is exam week and we have all been studying hard. We have already had our Mathematics and Writing. We are beginning to prepare for the school disco, which is run partly by the year 8's. Also there is the Independent Schools'Year 8 semi-formal dance coming up this term, and all the girls are talking about their gorgeous dresses and all the boys (as usual) don't really mind what's happening. Just about all of us have chosen a high school to go to next year, and we are very upset because we have only 2o and a half days left at St. Michael's School. All the girls are getting very emotional about this. We are excited about going to new schools and gaining new experiences but it will be sad to say goodbye to the great friends we have made here. We (Georgia R, Raphaela, and Rebecca) know that we will definitely miss all our friends here as some of them aren't going to the schools that we are going to. Year 8 has been awesome for us and we will never forget it.

Term 1 2009

2009-03-31T15:25:00.005+13:00

I think we have learnt and accomplished so much this first term. We have been to a week long camp, held our annual swimming sports, had lots of different specific studies, a vist to Science Alive and weekly technology lessons at Christchurch East School. The trip to Science Alive was the first event to be held. At Science Alive we were able to take part in interactive activities to help us understand Sir Isaac Newton's 3 laws of motion, which I found extremely interesting. Our next event was the Swimming Sports. This was a Year 4 to 8 event. Swimming events at St. Michaels are great because everyone is so supportive. It's amazing to see the banners waving and everyone cheering as as you enter the water, preparing to race. Throughout the term we have been taking weekly technology lessons and Year 8 was split into groups, sewing and cooking. The cooking group made a small dish every week and the sewing group's finished product was an appliqued cushion. We have also been doing some interesting studies in Social Studies thes term including; being a great leader, and the Treaty of Waitangi. Term 1 in year 8 has been so exciting and I am definitely looking forward to the rest of my year.

By Georgia Rouch

Wellington Northern Tour

2008-10-28T15:42:00.000+13:00

After hours of waiting on the bus we arrived in Picton and were faced with... more waiting. There had been an issue with our boat and the voyage across to Wellington had been delayed for nearly four hours. When we finally got onto the ferry it was another three hours of sitting. Our school Debating Team and coach, Year Eight teacher, Mrs Horwood spent over an hour practising for the debate that was to be held in Wellington. We landed in Wellington to be greeted with rain. We were paired with our billets and left for their houses.

We returned to St Mark's the next day, we had a scheduled church service but due to the fact that I was in the Debating Team I missed it as I had been preparing for the debate with my classmate Courtney. The debate was immediatly after the service. Courtney, Blake and I were led to their school hall and told to sit at the front. We were curious about why the rest of the St Michael's Senior Syndicate came in mid-debate while the St Mark's students were there from the start. The moot for the Debate was "The Cost of the Olympic Games is justifiable." We were on the negative side. We were all extremely nervous about giving persuasive speeches in front of people we didn't know but the outcome was positive for us. We won the debate!!! That meant St Michael's could keep the tropy for another year. Later on in the day we went to Parliament where we viewed Question Time. We then visited the Wellington Cathedral and went up the various flights of steps to see the many bells. That afternoon we returned to our billets' houses for our final night in Wellington.

Friday morning came incredibly quickly, we grouped outside the St Mark's Chapel after saying good-bye to our billets. When everyone has arrived we got onto our bus and drove to the "Weta Workshop." That is where the animation and special effects for many movies are created. We watched a short documantary and had a browse at the many animated creations "Weta Workshop" had produced. After that we departed to the airport where we would catch the plane back to Christchurch.

To conclude, the Northern Tour was a thoroughly enjoyable experience that gave us the wonderful opportunity to visit other cities in New Zealand and view many wonderful sights there.

Florence Fournier, 2008

Appassionata

2008-03-11T15:33:00.002+13:00

On 19 February 2008, Year 8 went to Appassionata to see Beatrix Loeffen, a fellow classmate performing in the show. Appassionata is a show that starts with God making the earth, the flowers and finally humans. All of the models that took part in the show wore amazing flower costumes that were designed by Jenny Gillies.

At about 10.50 a.m. all of Year 8 lined up in pairs and started to walk down to the Christchurch Cathedral (which was where the show was being held). We arrived at the Cathedral and were shown to our seats. By 11.15 a.m. the show had started and we were all excited for having the chance to encourage Beatrix in such an outstanding way.

The costumes were exceptional; there were pansies, lillies, roses, poppies, fuschias, not to mention many more. Jenny Gillies designed them with such detail, care and attention that those of us who knew alot of different flowers could work out which flower was which.

Appassionata finished at 11.50 a.m. All of Year 8 enjoyed it in some way or another. It was a huge privilege that Martin Loeffen, Beatrix's father, could provide us with the tickets to see Beatrix in such an important cultural event.

Written by,
Courtney Clyne