Portobello Aquarium

On Friday the 16th September, the whole school went to the Portobello Aquarium. We left taking two buses and first stopped at Macandrew Bay. We got to play on the play ground and eat our morning tea first. After this time we crossed the road and climbed down the rocks down to the beach to see what we could find. With our guides in our hands we began to discover many different creatures. Shelly found a octopus that had died. You could see its eyes and beak. It was amazing to look at. Here we were able to find Chitons,Crabs Neptunes Necklace and many more before it was time to drive off to Portobello to have our lunch.

We had our lunch not far from Aquarium. Back on the bus and after a short,windy trip we were there. As we got into the Aquarium we were greeted by some baby salmon swimming around in a tank. After getting into different groups we all had 4 different activities to complete. Out on the beach we got to identify the different zones and the animals and plants that lived within these. Next little sharks were enjoying their dinner of crab. We learnt to identify a girl crab and a boy crab. Inside we got to see a crab close up having its dinner and finally the touch tank. After all of that excitement it was time to get back on the bus were it was a long trip home.

Ani

Connor K

S.O.S

On Thursday the 25th of August, the senior children of North East Valley Normal participated in Stars on Stage. First they met up at the school on the night and got their costumes on. When the bus arrived they all lined up and walked on the bus. Some were excited and some were nervous. Finally they arrive at the Regent Theatre . They waited a while and finally it was their turn to go on stage. They waited for the curtain to rise. The first people on stage were the Auckland monsoons. They were a bit nervous but had a really good performance. Next up were the Wellington tornadoes. They had a lot more enthusiaism with their dance. Now for the pennguins. Splish, splash, shshsh. The smoke machine went off. Next up were the gumboots. Everyone was cheering for them as they did their their dance. They were a bit nervous but did a great job at their dance. After the performances of Stars on Stage, the kids met their parents outside the Regent Theatre.

Meihana

Kapahaka festival

The senior children from North East Valley Normal took part in the Maori and Pacific Island festival. They were very happy and nervous. They heard clapping and cheering for the group before us. "Right, everyone is quiet"' said the teachers. It was dead silent. It was our turn. Butterflies were in tummies and people were getting stage fright. The 1st line went on then it was the next few lines. Mrs K-E was tuning her guitar as the children were looking out to the audience people watching. Here goes the first song, then the next and then our final item. "Well done everyone. You all sang,danced and looked amazing", said the teachers. We still had to be quiet because the other schools were performing. They were as good as us but it was about having fun and enjoying yourself. We had to hop back on the bus and back to school we went. When we got back we had to change out of our costumes. It was a great time and we can't wait until next year.

Tarryn

Kahurangi Dance Group

This week were lucky to have the Kahurangi Dance Group perform at school. They presented the story of the Pacific. How people travelled from Hawaii , through the pacific and ending up in New Zealand. As they travelled through the islands different dances were shared. Some of the dances used a lot of energy and used some difficult moves.

Finally they arrived in New Zealand. They shared the taiaha with us all and then asked for some warriors to come and show us some of us their moves. Our school warriors were great. They had their own moves that they got to share with the audience.

Time had gone fast and the show was over. The show inspired our own practice that we had been doing getting ready for the Kapahaka and Polynesian festival.

Stars on Stage

On Thursday the 25th of August, North East Valley Normal School performed at Stars On Stage held at the Regent Theatre. We have been practicing f'or many weeks and it had paid off. Our costumes looked great and we were all very enthusiastic. On the night all the kids got dropped off at the school and got into their costumes. There were penguines,reporters,rainbows and much more. RUSH,RUSH,RUSH! We are missing one person from the penguines! Finally ,everyone got on the bus and off we went. When we arrived at the Regent Theater we went straight to our dressing room and took our shoes off and put them in our bags. We had to wait half an hour before we could go to the next waiting room. We had to be silent. Finally we were in the wings. It was very dark. Now we were on stage doing our dance. We loved every minuite of it. After we did our performance we went back down to the dressing room and got our shoes on. Then we went back up and watched the rest of the show. After the show we got picked up by our parents. 'That was awesome,' we all said.
Celeste had a great time but she was tired. Her favourite part was dancing on stage with her friends.

Celeste