Animators Apprentice

As most of you might already know our school enters the I AM MAKING MOVIES competition the Auckland Museum runs.  This year they have arranged three animators from the studios of ‘BroTown’ to visit all the participating schools, and teach them the art of ‘Animation'. The three kind artists that taught us were ‘Maka, Nils and Ali.’  Ali was the one who started off the 3 hour session. We were first taught a brief lesson on the history of animation.  We played a little game of ‘Guess Who’ where you had to guess the silhouette of the character or cartoon.  We also learnt about Bertie The Dinosaur, the very first moving animation.  And also about Walt Disney, and when the Warner Brothers tied in to the timeline of animating.

Olympic Message

“The most important thing about the Olympic Games is not to win, but to take part... just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph, but the struggle”.  Those are the  words of wisdom of Baron Pierre de Coubertin. He is the reason why the Modern Olympics are still running right now, and he is also the designer of the Olympic Flag.  I think this message is very inspiring and motivational towards others.

Personally, I think this is a very good message, and very encouraging to many athletes. The message conveys that you must learn from your mistakes, and keep on moving.  Your struggle leads to your success.  Pierre de Coubertin’s words have helped many athletes.  Even our very own Nicholas Willis conveys the Olympic message during an interview.

Olympic Update : Men's Rowing Pairs

Eric Murray and Hamish Bond have JUST won gold for New Zealand in Men's Rowing Pairs.  My family is SOOOOOOO happy, and I'm sure the rest of Aotearoa is too!  WOOHOO!! Another gold medal for the kiwis!! For a second there it looked like they weren't even trying! And yet they were a good 20 metres in front of the next boat.  Although France managed to hold them at second for the 1st 500 metres, New Zealand smashed back and it was all over.  With France in second and Great Britain in third.  This gives us 2 Golds, and 1 Bronze. All I really do care about though, is we won. And I've never been more proud to be a kiwi.

Olympic Update : Men's Archery - Individual Elimination

The arena is silent.  There is tension in the air, followed by the sound of an arrow whizzing towards the target...THUD! The arrow hits the bullseye gaining the archer the maximum ten points.  The crowd goes wild, applauding in appreciation of the great skill on display.  This is Men's Archery.  These are the individual elimination rounds, the knock out phase.  It's great for spectators to watch, but can you imagine the pressure on the archers?  The fate of their country's hope in their hands.  Well the bow in this case.  I've just witnessed 2 matches, both of them SO SO close.  The smallest movement while aiming, could cost you a medal.  The concentration in this sport is sooooo important.  The emotions on the face of the archer, you can almost see how much they want to win.  Right now I'm watching a match between Ukraine's Ruban  and France's Prevost.  The score is 26 - 25 to Ukraine.  We're now on to a different match between China's Dai X  and Australia's Taylor Worth.  At the moment Taylor Worth is leading at a score of 19 to 18.

Thank you Duffy Books in Homes!!

Earlier on this morning I received a package with my name and school address.  The package was small, square, and soft.  I carefully ripped it open, trying so hard not to wreck it.  As I slipped my hand in and felt the soft bubble wrap, I smiled and pulled the object out and found a book. I turned the package to have another look and saw it was from Duffy Books in Homes.

This wasn't just any book. This was BEN CARSON'S GIFTED HANDS!  I was so overwhelmed!! I saw a small letter, read as fast as I could and grabbed the bubble-wrapped book and and saw that Ben Carson himself had signed: 'Best Wishes, Ben Carson'.  I shrieked with excitement.  The reason I had received this book, was because earlier on this year I entered a writing competition about reading, and why and how it would help me in the future with want I want to do.  It turns out I was one of the five winners of the competition!!!  And now I have the honour of reading his journey to greatness.  Thank you SO SO SO MUCH DUFFY BOOKS IN HOMES!!!!!!!!