National Schools Triathlon Champs 2015

by Bella Ives

Day One – Aquathon – Yacht Club – Taupo
I felt so nervous. It was my first time swimming in open water. Lots of kids were from places with surf lifesaving clubs so they would have had lots of experience. Dad said just give it your best.
We were called to the edge of the lake then allowed to swim out to the start line. It was hard even just swimming out there with so many girls crowed around me. I was getting kicked and punched!
We had to tread water for what felt like ages before the start gun went off.
The water felt verrry cold. The official temperature was announced as 18.3 degrees. Lucky for me this meant that wetsuits were optional. If under 18 degrees they would have been compulsory and I have never worn one before.
I came out of the swim numb and a bit dizzy. I fumbled putting my shoes on a bit but at last it was out for the run. There was a quick scramble up a steep hill then onto the main lakefront road and back down to the finish shute. I felt strong and managed to pass quite a few on the run.
The run was the best part. I really enjoyed it. I finsished 10th out of 20 competitors.

Day Two – Triathlon – Wharewaka Point – Taupo
The day began so foggy that the organisers were going to make it a duathlon because you could not even see the buoys for the swim. After a while the fog wore off to a stunning day and the triathlon was on!
We had another deep water start today but this time there was more room between the start buoys so we could spread out heaps more. The lake drops off to deep very quckly there was even a diver underneath us to make sure all of the swimmers were safe.
The bike and we did two 4km laps of the bike section adding up to a total of 8km. There were lots of small hills to go up and down so that made it really tricky because you have to change the gears a lot to make sure that the bike is moving forward and that you aren't pushing it too hard in a high gear because you will end up getting really tired but mose of that comes down to fitness and experience. I had one wobbly moment when I touched my brakes before coming down a sharp turn and my back wheel slipped from side to side on a bit of loose gravel.
The run was fast and short - one lap of 1.5km I did really well in this it is my favourite/strongest leg of the triathlon.
I can't wait for next year, it might be in the South Island! 

What a win!

Wow! Did you stay up to watch the Black Caps play South Africa in the semi final of the Cricket World Cup? What an AMAZING game of cricket! 

Towards the end of the game, when it was SO tense and I didn't know who would win, I couldn't help but think about how calm Grant Elliott and Daniel Vettori seemed to be. It made me wonder about their mindset - do you think they had a fixed mindset or a growth mindset? What do you think they were saying to themselves and to each other when they were under SO much pressure?  Leave a comment with your ideas!  

I can't wait for the final!  Bring on Sunday!  #BacktheBlackCaps  

Marae Trip- What a Success!

Last week all of Poutama went to Te Ahu a Turanga marae in Woodville for an overnight stay. It was heaps of fun, lots of learning and a new experience for most. On the first day we were with our buddy class and did a range of activities from weaving, Ti Rakau, Ki o Rahi, string games and learning about carvings. After our buddies went home we started getting organised for dinner and sleeping.

On the way home the next day we did the Gorge walk which was a great challenge.

Thanks to all the parents who gave up their time to come along. And thanks to Rosie and the team for organising such a fun trip away.

Parts of the Wharenui

During E T Reo time we looked at the parts of the Wharenui for us to identify when we went to the Te Ahu A Turanga Marae. This picture below is not of the marae that we went to, but we will use labels in Maori to help us learn the parts to include in our own.

Growth MIndset vs Fixed Mindset in Poutama

Today we experienced what it is like to be in the learning pit by making a 'Flick-Flack'. It was hard, it was frustrating, it was plain annoying. It was the type of task that made you want to explode!

We knew that giving up was NOT an option. We showed a growth mindset and kept up the hard work, making mistakes, giving it another try and eventually we did it.

The feeling was overwhelming. We felt success, accomplishment and proud of our achievement. We never would have felt these things if we had just been given the answer at the beginning or given up!

Through grit, determination and hard work we did it, and on our own.

Here is a photo of Zac's 'Flick-Flack' that we wrote some of our feelings on.

Check out this story called The Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spiers. It is a great example of how having a growth mindset attitude can help you achieve your goals

We came up with some statements that turned a 'Fixed Mindset Statement' into a 'Growth Mindset Statement'. Check them out...


We look forward to practicing a Growth Mindset attitude in our learning from now on!

Tween3 off to Ross Intermediate for S2T

Today Tween3 are at Ross in the cooking room. In the menu is shepards pie and eat n'mess pudding. Yum yum!

Noho Marae Koha

Last week, I was approached by Zara's Dad Julian Hardy, who has a company called We Cut Shapes and asked if he would like us to make a koha for us to take to Te Ahu A Turanga Marae next week when we go there for our overnight stay. I put the challenge out to my whanau class to come up with something and Rileigh-Kaye crafted her own design and Julian has crafted it using coloured perspex. Here is the proof, we can't wait to see the real deal when it is 'blown out'

Crazy Science!

Wow! We are excited after the first 30seconds! I can't wait to see what is to come!

Geometry with Eb- position and orientation

We learned the difference between direction and position. 

Face north-east is different to go north-east!

We practiced this by using the beebots and scratch jnr. 

What a cool way to check how well we give instructions too!