Gwynne Shield Final 2010

This is it. It was the biggest day of all. The TA Gwynne Shield Team met at Waikato Stadium, in Hamilton, arriving at the scene of the playoff for third and fourth, but we had other things on our mind, well, really only one. The Gwynne Shield itself. We were coming up against our foes, Cambridge in the final of the Gwynne Shield 2010. The last time TA had won the Gwynne shield was 20 years ago, and our coach was part of that team. He was keen on getting his hands on the shield again, and he had faith in us to win it.

So there we were, running out on to the field to face the Cambridge team for a second time in a final this year, hoping we could have a replay of the McKenzie Cup . We lined up on the 10 metre line, facing Cambridge. Then the loud cheer of our supporters came, and they knew what we were doing. Mana started the Haka off, making the Cambridge players a little bit scared, and then the whole team joined in. The whole time we were yelling our heads off, and when we finished the Haka, the crowd roared and the coach came on to the field and said he would be surprised if we could talk after the volume of the Haka.

But on the Waikato Stadium turf, I felt like I was just like one of the Waikato players, who play here nearly every week of the rugby season. BUt the whistle went, I stopped dreaming, and I kicked off to start the final. WE got possession straight away. WE scored within the 1st 5 minutes, and Cambridge never came back. Halftime score – 20 0 to us. Cambridge managed to score a try in the 2nd half, but they couldn’t catch up. End Score – 25 5 to us. We won . WE are the best team in the Waikato and probably the smallest town. We did the aka for our supporters and then went in the changing rooms to yell out as lud as our lungs would let us ‘ We are the champions.’Cambridge were in the changing room next to us, and they probably heard us singing. But we didn’t care, we just won the Gwynne Shield!

There was the ceremony for the medals and shields, and we got our shield, and waited anxiously to see how many people from our team got a trial for Roller Mills, which is Waikato for our age. They went through our team and named 4 people from our team. I was a bit disappointed because I thought I had a good tournament, but that soon turned into excitement when i heard these exact words – ‘ And last but not least, Jake Gibson TA’ I was filled with happiness and m,y dad came racing up to me and shook my hand and was so proud of me. I thought he was a bit drunk because he was hugging me and there was nothing he wasn’t saying out loud. I was quite embarrassed.

BUt after that we all headed for the Redoubt, to have a few drinks, well the parents did.

Week 3 Term 4

This week I have learned how to add, subtract, multiply and divide the algebraic numbers. Here’s a couple of examples. 7ba + 2xy=_

you go 7 + 2 = 9,and then the letters, which equals 9abxy. Notice that even though the b came before the a, I still put them in alphabetical order, which is what you are meant to do.

7ba-5fd=_ 7 – 5=2, then the letters, which equals 2abdf.

This week I went to the inter intermediate volleyball at the Ta events Centre. We lost most of our games, but won a game that got us into the playoffs, so we didn’t get 7th, which was last. We bet Maeroa in our second game and then  in the playoffs we bet St. Andrews, a team we just lost to by 1 point. We bet them in the playoff for 5th and 6th, so we ended up coming 5th. Our goal was to beat last years ranking, which was 7th, and we did.

Today we have a student assembly, and the sports camp team, which  I was in, we are performing our chant in front of the school, as part of our report for sports camp.

My goal for next week is to finish my work on time, but also have my work tidy, not messy. I will do this by not rushing to get work finished but taking my time, although I still want to finish it on time.

Term 3 Week 9

This week I have been reminded how to recognize the lines of symmetry of shapes, and the total order of symmetry. To find the lines of symmetry in a shape, you look how many times you can put a line in the middle of a shape, at any angle, and it can look the same on both sides of the line. To find the total order of symmetry, you see how mny times a shape can turn and still look the same.

Next week I am going to be on sports camp at totara springs. There area schools from lots of places, and I am lucky enough to be going. We will be competing in a variety of sports, and hopefully will win. There is a separate competition at sports camp, called the chant off. I reckon ours is alright, and I reckon we have a chance of winning the chant off.

My goal for next week is to have a part to play in our school competing in the sports camp, and be able to help our school win sports camp. I will do this by playing to the best of my ability at all sports so I know I have put in my best effort.

Term 3 Week 6

This week I have learned about finding the unknown values in a triangle. For example if there is a triangle with two angles with a measurement, say one was 80 degrees, and the other one 50 degrees, that equals 130 degrees. Because all triangles add up to 180 degrees, the other angle must be 50 degrees because 130 plus 50 equals 180. There are different sorts of unknown triangles and its quite easy to find the unknown angle of them. today we learned to find the unknown angles of all sorts of shapes. Straight lines all add up to 180 degrees. If there is a shape with a line at the bottom, they want you to find the unknown angle left for the straight line.

I am really confident with it and with finding the unknowns of all shapes I got 2 wrong out of the whole thing, and in the triangles I got like 1 or 2 wrong.
I am in belmont. sports camp, and ski trip. Next week is belmont sports exchange, the week after is ski trip, and then two weeks later is sports camp. I am really looking forward to them all.

Week 4 Term 3

This week I have been reminded how to find the area of different shapes, and circles. For finding the area of a circle, if the radius is 4 cm, you go 4 squared times pie and then the answer is what you get. If the diameter is 4 cm, you go 4 divided by two, and then 2 squared times pie and you will get the answer. For the area of a square, say the sides are all 4cm, you go 4×4 and then divide it by 2 to get the answer. Once you get the hang of it it’s quite easy.

Yesterday we had our school cross country. I got 5th in my race, so I am going to the Inter Intermediate Cross Country at Porrit Stadium. Last year I got fourth out of the waikato Intermediate Schools but this year I hope I can do better. We still dont know who won the house or class competition for our school cross country, but to be honest, even though our class has won the last 7 years, I dont think we have won this year.

Speeches are next week and I am on Monday after interval. Im not to good with speeches but I hope I can do well, noticing  a difference from being head student, talking alot more in front of an audience. LAst year I didn’t get through to the team finals but this year I am hoping I can make it into the school finals and maybe even get a place.

We have started Pubertal Change this week, and have been reminded on a couple of things about the changes we go through in Pubertal change. I am a lot more mature this year then what I was last year, because last year I was just cracking up laughing the whole time, and this year I haven’t laughed a lot.

My goal for next week is to get through to the team finals in speeches, and I will achieve this by getting familiar with my speech and looking up when I am delivering it to the class.

Wearable Arts

Yesterday we had our wearable arts. It was our team final and I had to model Beef’s Maori garment. As you can see in the photo Beef said  I wasn’t allowed wearing a shirt as it is part of the Maori culture. The reason behind why I had to model Beef’s garment was because he had mainly done everything else and if Beef modeled it I would have done hardly anything. SO there I was, walking up the cat walk with only my PE shorts and Beef’s garment on. I got up onto  the stage and did a little twirl and then walked back down and got this photo taken as I was walking. We made it into the school semi finals tomorrow but this time the good news is that Beef is modeling it because he is actually a Maori and because he actually fits it, as I had to use safety pins to make the garment fit me! The garment was very itchy because the sash (the thing that goes across my chest) was made out of a sack.

Science Fair

For my Science Fair I decided to do my experiment on which type of bat is the best for hitting a softball, wood or aluminium. On a calm and cold morning my dad and I went to Albert Park and tested my experiment out. What we did was with the ladder we brought down with us, dad leaned up against the upright post, and put the rope through a hole in the bowl we brought down and tied it to the cross bar. Dad stood at the height of the cross bar and held the bowl with the softball inside, and held his arm straight out and then let the bowl drop and swing down so the ball would just pop out and sit up perfectly for me to whack it. I did it 3 times with the aluminium bat and 3 with the wooden bat.Dad measured every time when I hit the ball and recorded it onto a piece of paper. Dad is like really smart so he found the average of them after I have hit the softball 3 times with the wooden, and then the aluminium bat. Then it was back to my house to finish everything off before the All Blacks played.

Week 7 Term 2

This week I have become more familiar with percentages and how to find the percentage of an item.

Say if it was find 2.5% of 672. You find 10% which is 67.2, then 1% which is 6.72. Then you find 0.1% which is 0.672. Because you find 2.5%, you multiply 6.72 by2 because it was 1%. Then you multiply 0.672 by 5 because it is .5. Add them up and that is the answer of 2.5% of 672, which is 16.8.

For our note taking on Weta, I knew I did something wrong as I had no Topic Sentences, even though I did them as I went I know they aren’t proper ones. Other than that I feel I did an alright Draft report.

I have had two days off school this week and because of that, I had to finish all my work before thursday. I completed this and marked my maths, handed in my Draft Report and am nearly finished my english.

My goal for next week is to be well on task and not annoy any one or myself at my new seat and I will do this by not talking, focusing on my work and not talking back to people that talk to me.

Term 2 Week 6

This week I have remembered how to divide fractions. If for example it was 3/4 divided by 7/9. You flip the second number so it would be 3/4 x 9/7= 27/28. If you were dividing a mixed number and a fraction for example 4/9 divided 1 2/5 you make it an improper fraction. Now it would be 4/9 x 5/7. You just add it up and then simplify if you can.20/63. Its pretty simple once you get the hang of it. I have also done some revision on adding and subtracting fractions. Now we are moving on to changing fractions, to decimals to percentages.

We have also done a series of note taking and Topic Reports. First we got a sheet about Elephants. We had to write notes about what we were reading to make a draft report about the topic. we have completed a draft report about Elephants, and are now onto a draft report about Cheetahs. I am nearly writing it now.

My goal for next week is to be  finished all my maths and english and I will do  this by not talking and just working.

I also don’t want to be on the floor needing to be taught something I should know with only a little group.

Term 2 Week 5

This week has been a week that I have got a lot of my work done and am pretty satisfied with what I have done. This week I have learned how to multiply fractions. If you are multiplying you just multiply across the denominator and numerator for example 3/5 x 4/7 would be 12/35. I have also been reminded how to add and subtract fractions. If you were adding for example 3/5 + 4/7 you would make the denominators the same. In this example, because you multiplied the 5 by 7 to get 35, you have to multiply the numerator by 7 as well. You do the same with the other fraction. So in this case it would be 20/35 + 21/35 and then you add them up and make the answer a mixed number. 41/35 =1  6/35. You do the same for subtraction but just subtract instead of adding. Also this week I was very happy at the amount of pages I read considering how long it takes me to read a book, from Monday I have read about 80 pages of my book, Crab Apples. On Monday I attended the National Young Leaders Day at the Rotorua Events Centre. We had to arrive at school at 7 o’ clock in the morning to sort out the cars and then drive to Rotorua. When I was at the Young Leaders Day I learned a couple of leadership skills and some motivational sayings from some of the top leaders in New Zealand. The one I can remember the most is “If you can dream it you can do it,”  from Dayna Vawdrey. There were five speakers at the Young Leaders Day and the one that really stood out was Pat Buckley. He was a drug addict at the age of thirteen and nearly died at the age of 26. That was the turning point in his life and now he is going around NZ schools explaining why not to get involved in drugs. He said ” There are leaders all around you that are trying to do the same as you,” and ” It’s alright to have friends, just make sure they’re the right friends.”  

That is pretty much the week for me and in my thoughts I think it was a pretty good one. Here is my goal for next week:

My goal for next week is to be finished my maths work by the middle of the week and I will achieve this by no stopping and talking if I don’t get a question, and to work hard and not distract or get distracted.