2008 has been one of the greatest years I’ve had so far, I think! I have been involved in so much, and everything has been very rewarding. Some of my highlights were speeches, Wearable Arts, ski trip, and the Shoemaker and the Elves. This year feels like it has gone so fast, but I can’t wait for 2009 to start. Because next year I will be a year 8, so everything will be twice as busy! I’m not complaining though, everything is rewarding in the end. (By the way, I’m sorry I haven’t updated my blog in a while, I have just been so busy this term with athletics, my dance production, Christmas preparation, lip sync and magazine work).

Some of my goals next year are…

Getting a role in the school production,
hopefully achieving class councillor, then head student (or maybe house captain),
going on the Ski Trip again,
making the school magazine twice as good as this year (if that’s possible),
being a good role model to all the new year 7’s,
continuing my music lessons with the trombone,
continuing participating in school drama,
and maybe joining another cultural option like Jump Jam or dance.

Wish me luck!

This last term has been very busy, with Cross Country, speeches, schoolwork, Wearabe Arts, Ski Trip, dancing exams, and trombone competitions, so I am very glad to finally have a chance to put my feet up. But I’m not saying that the last 10 weeks haven’t been rewarding! I managed to scrape 14th in Cross Country, 2nd in the Speech Finals, 2nd in trombone competitions, and 2nd in the Wearable Arts finals for my category! I have also particpated in jazz dancing and essay competitions which have results yet to come. The Ski Trip was very fun too. A group of us went up and stayed on a lodge at Mount Ruapehu for a week, and went skiing every day. But unfortunately, I came back with no voice, and a bad cold.

Which is why I am pretty grateful for our two week school holidays. They haven’t been too eventful so far- I was lying on the couch with a box of Strepsils, a book, and a box of tissues for most of the first week. And, despite the resulting cold from my first try, I bravely went skiing again for a day on my way to Taupo! (Bad idea- there was a terrible blizzard. But at least I managed to thaw out my frostbitten fingers and toes on the remaining car ride to the resort!) We stayed in Taupo with my auntie, uncle, and two little cousins for about 5 days. I made sure to pack a lot of tissues! In our time there, we went swimming in the hot pools, we had a look around the shops, and we went bike riding a lot. (Which, by the way, resulted in me getting lost in the backyard of a marae, and almost skidding into the Huka Falls!!)

We arrived back from Taupo a few days ago. In the days that have followed, I went to the movies with a friend, went to my best friends house and went to the movies again, and picked up the phonebooks that we have to deliver sometime this week. I don’t know how I managed to come back from Taupo with no cold, but I am definitely not complaining! And plus, my voice is back! (I can scream again!)

You all probably know about the show I am in at our local town theatre (The Woolshed- owned by Te Awamutu Light Operatic Society- TALOS), The Shoemaker and the Elves. I wrote a post about it earlier. Well, now we are almost at the end of our season. The shows started the first Saturday of the school holidays and have been going ever since -the last one is tomorrow. The whole cast has had a lot of fun performing. There have been many jokes, from the elves chant, to the Shoemaker and the Elves after party!

The group of us has gone from nerve racking auditions, to time consuming rehearsals (two hours, three times a week for two months!), to the great shows. All of the shows have been great fun. The feeling when you step out onto the stage with all the lights on you is amazing. I am definitely going to miss the cast and backstage crew when we end. But I can’t wait to do it all again next time I’m involved with a production!

P.S: If you wanted to know, my part in the production is an elf.

It was interval, and my friends and I were sitting around talking and eating. One of my friends said that she had seen a dead ginger cat on our street. The words hit me like a bomb. I pestered her for more information, and the description she gave me sounded just like my cat. She said that it was after I had left to go on the bus. I could picture my cat chasing a stray pet across the road without checking for cars. All day these horrible thoughts ran through my mind and I found it hard to concentrate on any of my school work. All I wanted to do was go home and check if it was my cat who had been hit by a car. On the bus ride home, I started to feel sick. We were nearing my house and I would be getting off soon. The girls next to me started talking about their pet cats, and I felt like crying. We turned on to my road, and I scanned the ground outside my house for a trace of ginger fur. There was nothing. I got off the bus and looked down the whole street – there was no fur or anything. I couldn’t find any cat at all! I walked up our driveway and went into our house. I looked around, and I found my cat, alive and well, outside on the deck! I gave her a huge hug, and texted my best friend; ‘SHES ALIVE!!!’

This just goes to show that you shouldn’t believe everything you hear, and that you shouldn’t take anything for granted. After this happened, I gave my cat, Jaffa, so much attention that she ended up getting a bit frustrated with me. So when your mum, or dad, or dog, or someone, gives you a hug in the morning before school, don’t brush it off, hug them back because it just might be the last time you see them.

Today I finally got my trombone! It’s kind of big, and coloured gold. I can make a horrible sound on it. (Yay?!) Lessons start next week, so I’ll probably get better. I also had my first hip-hop lesson today after school. It was fun, and half of the moves were almost the same as my jazz ones, so I picked up on it quickly.

Last week, I had my first dance class of the term. I do jazz dancing, and I am starting hip-hop this Thursday. When I was 9, I did tap dancing as well as jazz, but I stopped after a bit. The lessons in jazz get tougher and tougher as you move up in grades. I am in grade 5 now, and the classes are pretty disciplined. My thighs hurt for two days after one particular lesson! (A very challenging stretch). But I have improved a lot in my opinion.

Jazz dancing is sort of a cross between ballet and hip-hop. It starts out easy, but doesn’t stay that way forever! This photo was taken at my dance show two years ago. We were cowgirls/boys. (It wasn’t exactly my favourite show!)