How Army Bay got its name. By Connor (Creative writing)

It was 1642, summertime, when the Europeans landed in there grand four mast galleons, they claimed the land there’s, but it was the horrible mistake, for the Maori folk owned the land when they discovered it 93 years ago but a child called Pakuera saw the Maori enemy and came to the village and warned everybody , nobody listened, ten minutes later they heard voices this could only mean one thing, battle.

Finally prepared for battle the war chiefs did a haka and sharpened there Tiaha and ran through the forest that they called home, shook there Tiaha and ran on to an unnamed beach, and took the attack side of the battle and after 3 bloody years the Maoris had overwhelmed the Europeans and the Europeans left battle worn galleon to tell the world how army bay got its name and that the Maoris should not be messed with.

Drysdale drives and gets the bronze. By Neil (newspaper report)

It was a dramatic scene today as rower, Mahe Drysdale grabbed bronze in the men’s single skulls final.

Drysdale had a tummy bug, the week before the race after a grueling semi-final race. He made a gigantic effort just to get to the race! Drysdale said “ It just felt hard getting up!”

For the first 1000 meters he said he felt great and put the hammer down to speed ahead. But at the last 500 meters he said his legs went to lead and slowed down, allowing Olaf Tufte of Norway to get gold and Ondrej Synek of the Czech Republic to grab silver.

A the end of the race Drysdale said “ The bronze medal- I highly value it because I know I put in a titanic effort”

From N.N.Z.P.A (Neil New Zealand Press Association)
Thanks to the I.O.C (InternatioNeil Olympic Committee)

Harry Vrooms to Third. by Neil (newspaper report)

It was a dramatic victory at the R B S Cross Country as Harry, 11 picked up 3rd in the Year 6 Cross Country event.

Harry of Room 11 started the race badly, barely getting past the rampage of other competitors. As soon as he got to Lucy Foster Lane he pulled the hammer down. “I gained a lot of places at that hill” he said.

He stayed with the leaders until he slowed down a bit allowing the leaders to round the corner onto Red Beach Road. After passing Red Beach Road and rounding onto the field he knew 1st and 2nd could not be taken. The race for 3rd was on.

On the final lap it was a very entertaining sprinting finish between best friends Harry and Alex W., also of Room 11, with Harry picking up the 3rd in dramatic style, Sam D. of Room 15 getting 2nd and Lewis G. of Room 9 grabbing 1st.

At the end of the race, Harry said “I did my best and that’s all I can ask for”.

-Neil Zealand Herald

Mahe Drysdale fights for a medal. By Maria (Newspaper Report)

Men’s flat water single sculler Mahe Drysdale had a very dramatic race before getting a bronze medal. Mahe needed medical service after passing out and vomiting on the water in the Beijing Olympics 2008…

A week before his race Mahe Drysdale got stomach illness, which really made him fight for a medal. As the rowers narrowed down to the finish line, Mahe Drysdale was leading, but then Norway and Czech Republic overtook him, and left him third.

At the end of the race, Mahe Drysdale needed emergency first aid on water after he vomited several times and passed out.
“I felt that I did the best I could do, but my illness is not an excuse for not doing better than bronze” Says Mahe Drysdale. After he got medical help, Drysdale could go and get his medal.

Alex’s amazing race. by Maria (Newspaper report)

Alex, a year six student from R B S ran an amazing cross country race on Tuesday 19th August 2008.
Alex had beaten his personal best, and was placed fourth.

At round about 12’o’ clock on Tuesday 19th August 2008, Alex ( a year six student from R B Primary) did an awesome race in his own school.
“At the start of the race I thought, I can do this, I believe I can do this” Said Alex

At the beginning it was so muddy it was almost impossible to sprint. “I decided to run barefoot so it wouldn’t be as easy for my feet to get stuck.”

The runners had to run one lap around the school field, run up Lucy Foster, up Bay Vister, across Albert hall, down Red Beach Road, into the gate and run another lap around the field and into the finish line, “The easiest part was probably running along Bay Vister and Albert Hall.” Said Alex.

Alex said that he never went into a walk, he just kept his pace.

Alex crossed the finish line fourth. “I felt brilliant, I felt that I had done something HUGE!” Said Alex. “ I definitely felt proud, because last year I came 6th”

Alex walked off the field with a broad smile on his face.

Twins go for Gold! by Maria (Newspaper report)

It was too close to tell whether Germany or New Zealand got gold. The twins Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell (from New Zealand) were a hundredth of a second in front of Germany as they took the gold…

Caroline and Georgina Ever-Swindell entered the women’s double sculls flat water Olympics 2008. At the start of the race the twins didn’t get the greatest start. For quite a while they were coming 4th. The twins were still coming 4th when they crossed the quarter mark until, things were looking a bit different. Caroline and Georgina overtook the Chinese and the Brits.

The twins were catching up to the leaders, Germany. They were coming closer to the finish line. New Zealand had drawn up beside the Germans. Who was it going to be? The finish line was right in front of the boats. The first boat to cross the line was Germany. Or so they thought. The judges watched the replay in slow motion and... New Zealand won by a hundredth of a second! So the twins Caroline and Georgina got gold for New Zealand, Germany got silver and Great Brittan got bronze.

“At first I didn’t know that we had won, because I looked over and I saw the Germans were looking happy so, I thought they had got it” Says Georgina Ever-Swindell.
“All we did was that we tried our best and tried to improve by pushing a little bit harder every time” Says Caroline Evers-Swindell.

So that closes the amazing story to an end, about how the twins got gold in a hundredth of a second.

Great Girls Grab Gold by Neil (Newspaper Report)

It was a great day for New Zealand today, as Caroline and Georgina Ever-Swindell grabbed gold through a incredibly close photo finish.

For the first 500 meters the terrific twins weren’t doing so well, coming last up to the 500m mark. The next 500 meters got a bit better, cruising past most of the boats including champions China, but not the leaders Germany who lead for most of the race. The next 500 meters was a sort of a neck-to-neck race between the German and Kiwi crews.

The finish was a spectacular event as Germany and New Zealand arrived at the finish almost together, with Great Britain arriving as a definite third. It then went into a photo finish with New Zealand grabbing the gold with 1 millisecond to spare.

After the race the exhausted twins said “We didn’t know who won but as soon as we heard the word ‘new’ we knew we were Olympic Champions”

-N.Z.H (Neil Zealand Herald)
Thanks to the I.O.C (InternatioNeil Olympic Committee)

Twins take New Zealand’s first gold in the Beijing Olympics 2008 by James (newspaper report)

Two twins Caroline and Georgina fought to take 1st place in double sculls final. Germany just about took 1st place but the twins got there before them. Germany was gutted when they found out that the twins had taken gold. They were still happy that they had got silver. At the end of the race the judges didn’t know who won. As they looked at the finishing photo they announced that New Zealand had won. The sweating twins called out woo. Then they got interviewed they didn’t know how they won. At last New Zealand had finally got a medal.

Awesome writing this week Rm 11!

It's great to see some accurate newspaper reports about our experience on Tuesday. We'll talk about success criteria on Monday and our next learning steps.

Congratulations to Alex and Neil who have been prolific writers this week. They've been producing newspaper reports, persuasive writing as well as personal recounts.
Also to Alesha who has been copying and pasting the Success Criteria for personal recounts when she's been commenting on other people's work. This means she's really making valuable comments. If you haven't had a go at this, give it a go!

Finally, well done to Aimee, whose mum became the first parent to comment on our blog.

Looking forward to more tremendous writing next week. The Olympics make a great theme for your newspaper reports.

If you haven't got any of your work here yet, then maybe next week it's time to take a risk!

Mr B

The Iron Man by Neil (creative writing)

The Iron Man.
He came from nowhere. His head. It would have broken the record for the world’s biggest basketball if it had not been mounted on that silvery tin can.
His ears. As sharp as swords in the still, silent night.
His nose. Like a nose ring, without the nose.
His eyes. So Lifelike. Exactly like a pair of human eyes. Except huge.
His mouth. Like a huge semi-circle girder, made up with bolts, stuck on with paste.
But that was just his head.
His body was incredible, or let’s say invincible. It was an iron tin can illuminated in the dark night.
His arms. Like strong steel pipes destroying everything in the Iron Man’s path.
And his legs. Short and stubby. They looked out of place on the terrifying Iron Man.
He had a guitar for some strange reason.
No one knows why.
We don’t know anything about him
At that point he was just a monster. Just a monster. Posing as a giant threat to Earth.
Something that could destroy the world.

We should have a school pool by Neil (Persuasive Writing)

Kids have fun in pools. I believe that Red Beach School should have a pool.

Firstly, It’s well known that kids are quite unhealthy. Swimming around for 30 minutes is actually quite a lot of fitness.

Secondly, adults save money. Having to pay $3. 50 to go on a bus to the pool is a lot. Those bus drivers must be desperate. $3.50! Rip off.

Thirdly, and most important, kids have fun. Playing about in wobbly water with noodles and rings is a heap of fun.

In conclusion I believe R.B.S. should have a pool.

How The Nose Works by Neil (Explanation)

As a food or anything gets nearer your body, your nose sucks up the smell into the nose.

The nose has series of rigged passageways, so the smell goes haywire around the nose. As soon as the smell enters the nose, the process begins to happen.

When you breathe a smell gets sucked in through holes called the nostrils, past thousands, maybe millions of tiny hairs called cilia. The smell then passes through a giant space called the nasal cavity, passing the snot-making mucos membrence. The smell then gets sucked into a processor called the olfactory epithelium, which is where smells are sorted and gets turned into signals. Then the smell travels down the olfactory nerve, which connects to the olfactory bulb. It stays in the olfactory bulb for a few milli- milli seconds before it shoots of to the brain.

The brain can now identify the smells and see if they are good or bad!

Why I Think Homework Should Be Banned!!! by Yasmin (Persuasive Writing)

Most children get was too much homework. Hears four reasons why I think homework should be band.

Firstly, I think homework should be band because kids need to exercise not sit down after school doing homework.

Secondly, kids are doing school work all day, and then have to go home and do more work . . . . . HOMEWORK!!!!!

Thirdly, some kids are really busy in the week, and when its Thursday night and kids have not done there homework, mums and kids get really really stressed.

Most kids dislike it.

That’s my four reasons why I think horrible, hard and silly homework should be banned.

Beads put children in hospital by James (Newspaper report)

Tuesday 12th August 15, 2008

Jean Batten School were welcoming Red Beach School when all of all sudden we were evacuated from the hall. 3 kids, 2 girls and one boy had got swollen eyes. The schools deputy principle called the paramedics and the fire brigade to come. The fire brigade checked for gas leaks while the paramedics took the 3 kids to hospital.
As it turns out they had an allergic reaction to the lei beads that they were wearing. They were discharged the next day and were back at school.

Toxic beads from a Lei send emergency services to school by Connor (Newspaper report)

On Tuesday 12th August 2008, a set of beads from a Lei sent one boy and two girls to hospital with red, swollen eyes to Middle More hospital. When there the three children went through a decontamination shower and took pain relievers, and are now in a stable condition

Emergency services were sent to the school, the Hazard man made his search and found the source on a set of beads from a Lei.

The three children are going to be discharged from hospital on the 13th of august, 2008.

Schools Evacuate After Toxic Scare by Neil (Newspaper Report)

Newspaper Report, Tuesday 12 August 2008
Page 18A

Schools Evacuate After Toxic Scare

Some beads on a traditional Samoan lei presented at a powhiri at Jean Batten Primary School classified as toxic.

At a primary school in Mangere, one girl and two boys were taken to Middlemore hospital after touching beads on a lei.

After discovering that the children had rashes and swollen eyes, Jean Batten School and their visitors Red Beach Primary School evacuated the hall before the special services arrived.

The children are now in a safe condition after a decamanation shower and some pain relief. They will be sent back to school later today.

Mr. Bruce, the principal said “The school was disrupted for about 30 minutes but the school should be back to normal anytime now”

-N.N.Z.P.A Neil, New, Zealand, Press, Association

Bead Lei sends three kids to hospital by Maria (Newspaper Report)

Tuesday 12th August 2008
Jean Batten School were welcoming Red Beach to their school when a disaster hit…

One girl and two boys from Jean Batten School in Mangere were immediately sent to Middlemore Hospital at 11: am for getting swollen eyes and rashes. The three kids went through a decontamination shower and were discharged later that day.


“We believe the three students were touching a bead lei, that may have irritated their allergies” says principle of Jean Batten, Mr. Jeff Bruce. For safety, all of the teachers and the kids were evacuated from the incident scene, the hall. The Powhiri, (welcome) was cancelled. The fire brigade came to check the hall was safe and said that the bead lei was committed guilty.

Later that day, the hall was safe to be in and everything went back to normal.

Contagious Beads attack students by Alex (Newspaper report)

On the 12th of August 3 of Jean Battens students (1 girl, 2 boys) were poisoned from beads from a lei.

The three students were immediately sent to Middlemore hospital after getting swollen eyes and rashes at about 11am while taking part in a cultural exchange.

At the hospital the bead reacted students had been given a decontamination shower and pain relief and were expected to recharge later that day.

Ambulances and fire engines came quickly to the scene to investigate and everyone (Jean Batten students and their visitors Red Beach School) had to evacuate the hall and into the school.

In the end the contagious kids went to hospital and everything went back to normal.

Cigarettes should be destroyed by Alex (persuasive writing)

Cigarettes should be destroyed because…

Firstly because nicotine is very, very bad for the heart because it blocks breathing space and also leaves less room for your blood to pump throughout your body.

Secondly because smoking can damage the health of your kids and also kids just absolutely hate the smell of smoke.

Thirdly because all your really doing is breathing smoke and getting closer and closer to an earlier death so I think it’s pretty dumb and it wastes money.


Fourthly because it makes heaps and heaps of pollution and I think in 500 years it could destroy the earth!

In conclusion I think cigarettes can kill families and can damage people’s lives so they shouldn’t be sold and destroyed forever!

Sick Kids by Harry (Newspaper report)

At Jean Batten primary school in mangere two boys and one girl got affected by toxic beads.

The kid soon after got sent to middle more hospital .the three kid had swollen eyes and bad rashes round about 11am.

Later the fire brigade arrived inspecting the area mean while the ambulance came and they gave the three kids got given some pain relief and a shower.

Later that after noon the there kids went home and they were all better that after noon.

Animals shouldn’t be kept in Zoos by Alex (Persuasive Writing)

I think animals shouldn’t be kept in zoos because it’s cruelty to animals.

Firstly they need to be in the natural habitats because they need to feel happy and not feeling watched.

Secondly they need the fresh air and the wind in their face because it’s sad to keep animals in cages for their whole lives.

Thirdly they need to be in wide open spaces because they need the stretch their legs and run around because they need a lot of exercise.

In conclusion, I think that animals should not be kept in zoos because they need to be happy and not being held in captivity for their whole lives.