"The First Catch" by Xemos Nicholls-Plowman. This is a 'timed' piece of writing which Xemos wrote in one hour.

The choppy waves cut through the wild waters and smashed into the side of the small barge. The rain, fast as bullets, pelted the surrounding area of sea. There I sat, on the small barge. Bored out of my mind.

I heard the voice of my dad calling me to come under the shelter. I stifled a sigh and started to reel up my line..... Suddenly out of the blue I felt a massive tug. An extravagant grin spread across my face as I started the battle. We both fought ferociously as I slowly reeled him in. His strength was as mighty as 100 gorrilas and he felt as fast as a cheetah. After a long struggle, he began to tire and I got my dad to finish him off. Then he surfaced.

He was big, and a brilliant shade of blue. My heart raced at the sight of him. The crew of the barge grabbed a big net and tossed it over him. He was then bundled on board and measured. It turned out that when I was reeling up my line, the hook caught on his belly, so it was actually an accidental catch. But I still felt a sense of accomplishment.

The choppy waves smashed into the side of the small barge. The rain pelted the surrounding area of sea. There I sat, on the small barge, thinking, 'wow what a wonderful first catch!'

By Xemos

Matariki

Matariki, Subaru,Pleiades's, Krittikas, all are different names given to the constellation 450 light years from our planet Earth and all are part of the rich task Room 5 has been learning about this term. In our wonderful class we have been celebrating the rising of the seven stars in many different ways, like making Poi and creating Kowhaiwhai patterns with Indian ink. Traditionally Matariki for Maori was about the start of the hunting and planting season, they would trap birds in trees and fill fields with hundreds of seeds to grow into luscious vegetables and the rising of seven stars. Room 5 comments:"Matariki is pretty cool and I liked learning about the Greek version of it", Andrew. "I've learnt heaps and discovered new things", Madie. "I liked learning about how other cultures celebrate the seven sisters and it is fascinating", Albert. Pleiades, or as Albert put it, "the seven sisters" is about celebrating the new year, which is different from our normal one.

Descriptive Writing - Bringing Nature Alive

The wind cackled and whipped through the leaf-bare trees. Rain fell down mercilessly, weeping and flooding the streets and earth with water. Depressing grey clouds hovered in the endless black sky. The only light in the never-ending night was the angry, flashing lightening that filled the skies with fear and threatened to danger the environment. Rain pattered on rooftops, sounding like mourning music. The power was off, and the frightened screams of young children could hardly be heard as the raging storm triumphantly blasted a tree from its roots, blocking the traffic and pathway. Hope faded slowly, along with sunshine.

By Yong Shi Lin

Kia orana and welcome to Room 5 "5N8A's" blog!

There are a few rules to remember though ... here are our blog guidelines.

In working with this blog and any other web spaces, all students need to ensure that they follow these important guidelines. They are designed to make sure that you enjoy these spaces.

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Use this first post as a way to introduce yourself and your family. Include - your first name only, the suburb you live in, your year level, your interests and hobbies, what makes you unique and special, your family information - how many brothers and sisters you have, maybe even something interesting about your mum and dad, and of course tell us what goals you want to achieve this year in the wonderful Room 5!

Have fun and welcome to Room 5, 2011!!