Malawi

We have been comparing similarities and differences between Omar’s life’ a girl that live in Malawi and our life here in New Zealand. We’re going to be looking at how hard Omars school life and home life is compared to ours.

Omars school life is hard because, students have to be at school at 6.30 to sweep the dusty playground, half an hour before school starts. Students also have to share 1 book between 4-5 people. Not having enough money to buy books, pens or even pencils is hard for kids. 1.30 is the time they finish school, during that time they only have two 10min breaks. One at 8.40 and another at 10.40. Since they don’t have any where to hold their assembly they have it outside.

Sadly Omars parents died, so she now lives with her grandparents. Her  grandpa is the chief of her village but they live in a poor home. Inside her room she has no bed because her Grandpa sleeps on it. She calls it her bedroom but she has no bed so its basically just a room. On the floor is where Omar sleeps. The toilet and the kitchen are in two separate blocks outside.

Exams are really hard to pass, because students don’t have enough time to study. But when they do go home they're too busy helping out with the food and chores. Teachers sometimes have students at the age of 12-16 in their class, because they didn’t pass their exam. If students were unable to pass the exam then they stay in the same class.

SIMILARITIES & DIFFERENCES

We wear shoes to school but Omar doesn’t. She has to walk 6 kilometres to get to school whereas we just live down the road. In New Zealand its a must for us to go to school unlike kids in Malawi most of them stay home and learn to cook and do the chores. They also get their water out of a little well, however we get our water out of the tap. There is a lot of differences in Malawi.

There are some similarities such as we walk to school, we have assemblies, sing the national anthem and play sports. Omars school does the same as us. Another similar thing is that us and some schools in Malawi have desks and chairs. Books are provided but shared between 4-5 people in Malawi schools, unlike us we have netbooks and also get our own books.

its the kids responsibility to come to school early and clean the school. As for us we have don’t have to clean, instead we have a caretaker and cleaners. Mwaya school starts at 7.00 and finishes the day at 1.30, which is way different to Pt England School. Electricity, we have this but Mwaya School does not. They have no computers and they can’t even flick the switch to turn the light on, because there's no electricity.

For breakfast they grow Cassava and make it into a porridge. Here in New Zealand we have a variety of breakfast cereals to eat. Instead of living in a house with a kitchen and a toilet, they have them in two separate blocks outside. But after using the toilet they have no sink to wash their hands. These are all so different to how we live.

Yr 7 Fractions/Decimals My Next Steps

School 1- So first we have to split 45 into 9 parts, and also figure out how much is on one part. So I know that 9x? has to equal 45, so that's five. There is five in one part. But we want 7 of those five's so 7 x 5=35.

School 2- Now we have to split 56 into 8 parts, so I know that 7 x 8=56 so there is 7 in one part. But I want 6 of those so 7 x 6= 42. But it says which school has sold the most gingerbread men and the answer to that is school number 2.

Yr 8 Add/Sub My Next Steps Strategy 2

This is trying to tells us what is 54.20-9.99. So first I'm going to add .01 to 9.99 to make 10. We do this because we need to keep the distance between these two numbers the same.

Since I done added .01 to 9.99, I have to add .01 to 54.21. So now this leaves us with a new question  to answer. 54.21-10=44.21. As you can see this is a very easy strategy to learn and is good.

Yr 8 Add/Sub My Next Steps Strategy 1

So 9.08+0.02= 9.1. Since I added 0.02 I have to subtract 0.02 from 2.59 and that equals 2.57. So now that leaves us with a new question to answer. 9.1+2.57=11.67. This is a really easy strategy to do. Once you get to know it, it will be easy.

Edited Writing Sample

I heard a whisper but no-one was there

As I was fast asleep I heard a whisper, a whisper that I've never ever heard before. I felt scared and had no idea what was there. It was dark, no lights were on and everyone was sleeping. I crept quietly to where the whisper was coming from, but no-one was there. It was then I started to think that I was hearing things. “Huh, that's funny any ways back to sleep”, I said to myself.

The sun shone straight through the gaps of my curtains. By morning I forgot all about it and got on with my day as usual. Suddenly I heard the same whisper then I clicked “There’s that whisper”, I said to mum. “I can’t hear anything”, mum replied. Slowly I walked to the hallway and stood there for a good 2 minutes, but still nothing was there. I started to have second thoughts that this would be a whisper from a ghost.

Since it was the weekends I got to stay up and watch T.V. I was begging my sisters to stay up, so that if I heard the whisper they could hear it for themselves. But they were exhausted. There I was alone watching a scary movie as I heard a soft quiet whisper go straight through my eardrums. I shot towards the hallway and looked very very closely. “Oh my god, Arghhhhhhhhhh!”, I shouted. Everybody woke up, even my neighbours. “Whats wrong?”, Said dad. It took me quite a while to answer that question. I guess you know what my answer was.

That night was the most terrifying night of my life. After a while we called somebody to come and bless the house. My family didn't take any chances. “ Hearing whispers in the middle of the night, that's pretty scary”, I said. I eventually calmed down, but felt scared to even close my eyes. Morning came and they were here to bless the house. I didn't know what it was, but it sure wasn't someone that I've seen before.

I got the news that I was right there was a ghost inside the house. I was a little bit wary afterwards but heard no more whispers. Now we can get on with our lives as usual. But then my sister started to talk in her sleep. “Oh no, here we go again”, I said to myself.

Lorde

Lorde’s song “Royals” has beaten Miley Cyrus’s song “Wrecking ball” and Katy Perry’s “Roar”. This achievement has put her in the top 100 chart and she is the youngest solo artist. She hit the number one spot during the holidays. 

Lorde is 16 but turns 17 on November the 16. She’s the only New Zealand Artist to hit the top of the Billboards hot 100 list. She's a year 12 at Takapuna Grammar School on Auckland's North Shore. Her real name is Ella Yelich-O'Connor but is known as Lorde. She released her first album "Love Club" and gained millions of fans.

Yr 7 Add/Sub Next Steps

So first I know that 9.8 is closest to a tidy number, so I added 0.2 to get to 10. Since I done that I have to do that to the other number.

So 25.6+0.2=25.8. This leads us to a new question to answer. 25.8-10 and that equals 15.8. As you can see this is a really easy strategy to do.

Add/Sub Yr 7 My Next Steps

Well... I know that 7.8 is the closest to a tidy number, so I added 0.2 to get to 8.

Since I added 0.2 to 7.8, I have to subtract 0.2 from 3.7 which makes 3.5. We do this to make it equal and you'll get the same answer.

So I end up answering a new equation. 8+3.5 and that equals 11.5.

My First Day Of School

Stumbling into Tamaki primary school grounds, I felt like dropping. I tug onto my mum as she talked to my new teacher (Miss Sharma). I hid behind her feeling apprehensive. My heart pounded as the kids politely asked if I wanted to play a game. Excitement rushed through my veins, but that all changed.

The bell rang, I stood in the middle of the classroom, shy and wondered what to do? I didn't want to talk to anybody. Obviously that meant I didn't want to go to school. Students in my class were annoying, they would sit and stare at me while I was completing my work.

Morning Tea passed and I finally made a new friend (Lavinia). During maths time I didn't feel lonely. It was great to have a new friend. All of a sudden I heard the lunch bell ring. My friend and I grabbed our lunch and headed straight out the door. It was absolutely good to be out of the classroom, especially when you feel like you've been working for hours.

After lunch time it was time to relax and listen to the teacher read a story. “Almost home time”, I said to myself. Wanting to go home I waited until the bell rang. Finally it rang, that was the time I felt really happy.

T.M.S Show Not Tell

She stared at the blue envelope, resting in her hand “Another letter, number 22”, she said in a nice voice. As she stumbled on the cracked concrete, she looked up at the house and noticed paint fading, broken tiles, cracked windows, cobwebs everywhere and a whole lot of dead flowers in the garden. I knocked on the door and gulped.

After a while it was slowly opened by an old man with a walking stick, and a long white beard. I reached out and handed the note to him without saying a word. He stared at the letter and looked surprised. “Follow me”, he said in a calm voice. As we walked down the hallway it was dark and spooky.