Last night, (Wednesday), the school council held a disco. They had been organising it for a few weeks, and the outcome was great! The theme was “dancing with the stars”, so everybody had to dress up as their favourite star. This part was a little disappointing, because half of the people that attended had gone as themselves! I did as well, so I can’t say much. But, the people that did dress up as stars did a good job of it! There was a James Bond, a Johnny Depp, a Paris Hilton, and a Nicole Richie to name a few. James Bond won a prize for best dressed. The night included dance competitions, food and drinks, and singing competitions. The disco went from 7:00 pm until 9:00 pm. Nobody was allowed to leave the hall until their parents arrived, for safety reasons. Which was fair enough, I suppose.

Although I didn’t win a prize, (my dancing was pretty crazy), I still had a great time!

Academic:

~ To not get distracted when doing my work, and to manage my time effectively.

I can do this by ignoring distractions around me, and getting my work completed early.

~ To work hard in Maths and try to get into the top group.

I can do this by concentrating hard, and asking for help when I don’t understand something.

~ To make the most of my time in each Tech Art

I can do this by putting my all into the different subjects, and trying hard.

Social/Cultural:

~ To help more with the T.V. show with my role as a producer.

I can do this by helping the rest of the group when we do filming, and offering ideas and suggestions.

~ To get into the class softball team and try my hardest.

I can do this by learning all of the rules of the game, and remembering to bring my P.E. gear! 

~ To put more effort into helping my group in the ICT club.

I can do this by getting more involved, and putting my ideas in.

Personal:

~ To perform well with my part in The Elves and the Shoemaker. (See below)

I can do this by remembering all of the script and songs, and practising them.

~ To get into the Senior Band with my instrument. (Trombone)

I can do this by practising every day, and trying my best.

Sorry Mrs Crowe, I kept forgetting to put this on!

The house was old, abandoned, and dusty, as if the occupants had deserted the house a long time ago. The floor she was standing on creaked as she walked. Then the front door loomed up. It was marked with brutal stains of the past. The moonlight gleamed through the cracks, and through the window panes on either side of the door. The burgundy paint was peeling, giving off the sense of neglect. The brass keyhole was situated in the dead centre of the wooden door. Her eyes gazed around the room she once knew. Photos of happy memories littered the moth eaten shelves. There he was, with his wife, laughing on the beach with the wind in his hair. Those days were gone. It was unfair of them to take him like that. Her eyes flicked back to the door. Did she imagine it, or did she just hear something outside on the gravel? She could hear faint, ghostly, footsteps coming up the stairs. There was a silhouette of a broad shouldered man now blocking the light of the half moon. The shrill doorbell pierced the silence. Her heart beat with the excitement and anxiousness that had been bottled up for years. She threw open the door and saw him. He was standing there in his camouflage uniform, which was never to be used again. He had crinkly eyes that portrayed sights he should never had seen. His hair was speckled with grey, and he had walked with a limp. But all of that didn’t matter. He was there, and that was what counted. She shrieked and ran towards her son, with a hug that should have followed many before it. The door swung beside them, and squeaked on its rusting hinges, as though it too, was laughing with joy.

Okay, so this is how the story goes: (Skip this part if you like)

There was once an old shoemaker, that made good shoes, but they took him a long time to make, and he sold them for very little money. So he and his wife were pretty poor. One night, the shoemaker left the next day’s leather on the bench, and went to bed. The next morning, he woke up and discovered a ready made pair of shoes, beautifully crafted down to the last stitch, where the scraps of leather had been. A customer walked in, and paid well over the usual price for the leather shoes. With the money, the shoemaker bought twice as much leather, and put the leather on the bench for the following night. The next morning, two pairs of top quality leather shoes sat where the leather had been. The shoemaker was delighted! He and his wife sold the shoes for top dollar, and bought twice as much leather to lay out on the bench. This pattern continued, until one day, the shoemaker’s wife decided to find out who was making these shoes, that were bringing customers in from around the country. So that night, she set out the leather, as usual, and hid behind a curtain in the corner with her husband. They stayed there until the clock struck midnight. Then, a window above the working bench creaked open, and in climbed two of the tiniest people the shoemaker and his wife had ever seen, crept in. The sat down in front of the leather, and set to work. They crafted every pair of shoes with great care, as if by magic. When the elves had finished and left, the shoemaker and his wife crept back to bed, but only to lay awake pondering about their little friends. The following morning, the shoemaker’s wife set about sewing together some little clothes for the elves, to replace their ting rags. She left these clothes on the workbench, instead of leather, and waited for nightfall. That night, instead of finding leather, the elves spotted the clothes. They looked at them in amazement, and cautiously put them on. The smiled at each other, and hopped out the window. That was the last time the shoemaker and his wife ever saw the elves. But good luck remained with them. They became very rich, sold every single pair of shoes everyday, and lived happily ever after. 

This fairytale, you might already know this, is being made into a musical. (Showing in August) The auditions were last Saturday, and I was one of the nervous people that tried out. But I made it through! I got a part as one of the elves. I thought I was just going to be acting but it turns out, singing and tap dancing are a part of the deal as well! It was very nerve-racking, (auditioning) but I’m glad I did it. I used to do tap when I was 6, up until I was 9. So I know the basics. Apparently there are 9 other elves, unlike the story. I hope it will be fun!

I got this version of the fairytale from ‘A Lothian Book’ titled ’The Elves and the Shoemaker’

Publishers: Oyster Books Ltd 

Do you like my new theme? It’s a photo of my 16 year old cat, Jaffa, that I took this morning. I was getting bored with my old theme, so I wanted to change. Many thanks to Milly for showing me how to make the header into a photo. And vice versa! Oh, and sorry the photo’s a little pixelated. It came up really huge when I downloaded it, so I had to shrink it to fit.

When I leave high school, I am going to have a gap year before I go to university. I might go to an underdeveloped country and help build houses or something. When I come back, I’ll probably go to a performing arts university/college somewhere, because I love acting and dancing. So they might play a part in my career. But I’m not really sure. When I retire, I’ll probably own a farm. But all of this isn’t exactly definite, so I’ll just have to wait and see what happens!

Let the Circle Be Unbroken

By opening up this book, you will be entering an emotional story of love, courage, and hope. When the
Logan family’s teenage friend T.J., is wrongly accused of brutally murdering a shop owner by a white jury completely biased against black people, 11 year old Cassie is left with confused thoughts and feelings. This book is set in 1935 in
Mississippi, following Cassie as she begins to understand the unjust life she leads with her black, cotton farming family. She makes some enemies, black and white, and befriends a special person named Wordell who saves his words for only the people he cares about most. Cassie also aids an elderly friend, Mrs Lee Annie Lees in her quest to stand for what she believes in. Cassie goes through some heartbreaking hardships as well, but manages to pull through for the sake of one of her much loved family member’s life.

‘Let The Circle Be Unbroken’ is the sequel to a book called ‘Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry’, another bestseller by Mildred D. Taylor. Let The Circle Be Unbroken has significant pros and cons, and explains the characters moves in great detail. I enjoyed the parts of the book where dramatic things happened, and when new things or people were introduced. But there were a few things that I didn’t enjoy. There were parts in the plotline that left me feeling confused. For instance, there were big gaps in the storyline where nothing was happening, and those parts were pretty boring. This was partly why I enjoyed the dramatic parts. The wording of this story is very detailed and specific, and the characters speak in a way that makes the book seem very authentic. They use words such as ‘y’all’ and ‘’bout’, and talk to each other in such a polite manner that is rarely seen or heard in today’s world. This book made me feel very privileged and lucky to live in a world where racism is rare in most countries. This story gets pretty emotional in some parts, but also very uneventful in others. I think this book would appeal to kids in their late teens, and maybe young adults. Also to people studying the hard, confusing, and unjust life of black children in earlier years.

By Hayley