Change a Child’s Life by Reitz

Have you imagined innocent kids drowning in that big piece of water? That’s why kids in New Zealand need to learn how to swim.

The most special thing that can help us how to swim is a pool,a pool can help us how to be confident in the water. Swimming Pools can help New Zealand kids know what to do if there was a real wave heading our way, kids can be taught where and when to swim. A pool is similar to an ocean but only shallow, so New Zealand kids can be cured of drowning if the New Zealand Government change their mind and let each school have a turn with a swimming pool.
A swimming instructor can change a child’s life too, a swimming instructor encourages kids to learn how to swim in different and helpful styles. There’s lots of swimming styles that helps us how to save ourselves from the unpredictable waves that can kill us in a second but the problem is that we don’t know all the swimming styles needed, that’s why we need a swimming pool and a swimming instructor.

Swim for Life by Maxine

Why swim? I believe that you should swim because Water Safety N.Z. says that during the past 5 years the average number of New Zealanders dying because of drowning is 105, mostly 15 to 24 year old. Sadly N.Z. has the worst drowning rate in the developed world. What is surprising to find out is that 0 to 4 year olds die of drowning in bathtubs and in bathrooms. 

Teaching your children to swim is essential for one important reason: CHILDREN LOVE THE WATER, in my opinion. Another reason why children in N.Z. should learn how to swim is that our country has hundreds of natural beaches and a lot of swimming pools. To help save your children and save their own you should equip them with the necessary skills to be an independent swimmer or else they will be at risk when they grow older.

So in conclusion Swim to Survive. 

Wordle of my swimming is essential 

Swimming is Essential by Angela O

.

Swimming is essential because if no one knew how to swim and someone went for a dip in the sea there are 7 out of 10 chances that that person is going to drown. But if people knew how to swim there would be at least 1 out of 7 chances of drowning. If people knew how to swim they could possibly survive a rip and use the signal for help. It is important for people to know how to swim  swimming can be a lot of  fun but it can also be dangerous if you're not careful. swimming will also help you keep your energy up if you continue to swim a lot.  And swimming is good physical exercise!

Swimming...not just a great sport! by Angela B

Made on http://www.wordle.net/
Learning Intention: To use the features of explanation writing to inform our audience.   

Swimming isn’t just a great sport, it’s also an important skill to know. The number of children drowning in New Zealand has increased over in years. One reason why kids like us, drown is because they don’t know how to swim.

If you know how to swim you have a higher chance of surviving if you get caught in a rip or a dangerous disaster that includes water like floods. You would have a higher chance of surviving because with your ability to swim and your water safe knowledge you would know what to do in a situation like this.

Swimming is also a great way to keep fit because you’re working out your whole body. Maybe in a few generations we’ll be living in an underwater world. If you don’t know how to swim, you should learn now because you’re not only saving yourself you could be saving the life of someone else.

The audience wanted more by Luisa

The Cultural Festival has been held at Saint Patrick's School for many years, this year, in 2012, it was held once again in the Saint Patrick's Parish hall. With six groups to perform, the maori group was up first, and as our school stood up to sing the National Anthem, one of the girls in the group stood, focused, awaiting for her cue of the music to start. When it did, her voice filled the entire venue, inside and out and with that amusing introduction, the crowd stood simultaneously and sang in a slight awkward tone to the lyrics of our country's national anthem. Afterwards, the Kapa Haka group went into their national dance for their woman, the poi. With beautiful singing and swift movements of hands, the girls in the group onstage were exactly the definition of perfection, literally. Then from the peaceful tune of the girls singing, the boys, from my perspective, that had suddenly transmitted into men that very night, belted out with loud movements, and commands from their leader in the language that all native's of Aotearoa once used when all was in harmony with the discovery of the first ever tangata whenua. Not being able to watch the whole performance was a little disappointing however outside of the hall everyone was still able to hear what was going on inside and all were eager to claim seats of their own. Overall, the maori group was one of the best groups to step foot on the stage that night, with a lot of practise that brought meaning to their performance. Everything about it was amazingly stunning and made the whole audience want more from every member of the group.

Image source: Saint Patrick's School

The best cultural festival yet by Maria

 From my perspective, I think that standing in the spotlights is the best place to be while performing at the Cultural Festival, especially in front of an audience. Being a part of the Cultural Festival for eight years has been fun and a privllage because it has helped me gain confidence and leadership in cultural groups and has made me strive to be the best role model as a senior student in my school. My key highlight of the night was opening the festival. I was chosen as one of the leaders for the Kapahaka group of 2012. It was my responsibility to open the National Anthem with a traditional karakia, welcoming the people and family from the past. To get my timing right to the music I had to listen and be focused to come in at the exact time otherwise everyone would've missed the beginning. After the National Anthem we sang a Pasifika greeting. I would like to give a big  thank you to  the teachers and friends of our school for taking time to help and support  our Kapahaka group for 2012.

Smart Footprints

We've been learning about personal and private information online.  We have been learning to decide what personal information  is safe to share online.

• We are not sharing private information that would give out our identity e.g. Last name, credit cards, home address and birth dates.
• If we are not sure we will check with a trusted adult (parents or teachers) If there is no one to ask, we will choose to keep that information private. 

We have written personal profiles to share on our blogs, you can read these by visiting our Room 8 blogs and clicking the label - Personal Profile.