SLJ- 5!

Hello Bloggers, I'm back and at it again!

Today is the 5th day of the Summer Learning Journey and also the holidays! That means there is only 3 weeks left or 15 days because it doesn't include the weekend, that's why! If you don't know what the Summer Learning Journey is then keep reading, otherwise, skip to the next paragraph! So the Summer Learning Journey happens through out the summer holidays and the reason why we should do it is because we spend all that time in school learning but when we have the holidays, we forget about everything because we are having so much fun! Then we have what is called a Summer Slump which kind of shows how your learning was, before and after the holidays. The reason why we should do it is so we don't forget everything we learnt but we also learn new things! If you come 1st, 2nd or 3rd, out of your school, then you win awesome prizes but if you come 1st out of your cluster you win a Chromebook or many other cool prizes! I think its worth it! 

Each day, there are 2 main activities which are both worth 4 points and then there is a main activitiy which is worth 6 points. If you complete all of them, then you get 14 points in total! Each comment or reply you do as well is 2 points each! Okay, lets get started! This is what I have to do for the first activity! 

Sophie Pascoe is a New Zealand para-swimmer. This means she is a competitive swimmer with a physical disability. Very sadly, Sophie was run over by a lawn mower when she was only 2 years old. She had to have the bottom of her left leg amputated. However, despite this terrible accident, she was determined to become a competitive swimmer.

Sophie has won numerous New Zealand and world para-swimming titles, including nine Olympic gold medals. She has also won the Halberg Award for Disabled Sportsperson of the Year three times. Sophie is a great example of a New Zealander who did not let her disability stop her from achieving her dreams. She is truly a ‘National Treasure’. A national treasure is someone or something that is very important to a country.

For this activity, we would like to learn more about the things that are important to you.

On your blog, please share three things that you treasure and say why they are treasures to you.

Personally, I treasure an old piano because it has family history for me. My dad bought the piano when he was a teenager and played it a lot as a young man. When I was little I learnt to play on the same piano and now my daughter Laila loves to play it too! It has brought a lot of joy and music to our family.

Here is what I have done!

Here is what I have to do for the second activity!

Yusra Mardini is a teenage girl who was born in Syria, a war-torn country in the Middle East. She left Syria in 2015 to get away from the constant fighting and became a refugee. During her journey to reach safety in a new country, the engine on the boat she was travelling in broke down and Yusra, her sister and two others jumped out of the boat and swam to get help. Her heroic actions saved twenty people’s lives.

Yusra now lives in Germany. In 2016 she was named as part of the Refugee Olympic Team and she swam for this team in the last summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She is now training for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

For this activity, listen to the podcast of Yusra Mardini, or read her story on her personal website.

On your blog, retell the story of this amazing young woman from Syria.

*Remember to attribute any images that you borrow from the internet or from other people.

*Please check out the Eye-Catching Blog Posts page for ideas!

 I am going to b writing the story in first person so I will be using I and my but that doesn't mean this happened to me. I am trying to imagine myself being Yusra Mardini. Here is my story! It might be a bit short but I tried!

I was so happy. I had escaped Syria, a country where bombing was just a daily routine. I was ready to forget about everything and move on. I wanted to complete my dreams and make my wishes come true. We had just departed from Turkey and we were heading towards Greece. We were in a small dingy and it was cramped with people, some young and some old. The waves were calm but the dingy was shaking from side to side. The wind was helping us and the engine. I was feeling happy, but not for long. I then hear a loud sound. It came from the engine and as quick as it started, it stopped. But our boat did too. We were stuck in the middle of now where. We couldn't go back. Terror filled everyone's faces including mine. We had to do something, we couldn't just stay there until someone saved us. So I decided that my sister and I, will tow the dingy. That meant swimming and pushing the dingy that was full of people. I was a strong swimmer and for me, just to stay there and wait, was not an option. The water was cold and I didn't want to get in, but I had to. We got in and we pushed as hard as we could. This went on forever. I didn't know how long it took us, but finally, we saw Greece. As we got closer, people came and helped us. I thought we would have never made it. My legs and my hands were really tired, but at least, we made it out alive.

Here is the bonus activity! 

Activity 3: Own Choice [6 points]

You have now made it to the end of Week 1 and have the chance to choose your very own sportsperson or explorer who you think has changed the world. There are no right or wrong choices for this activity, so find someone who interests you and tell us about them on your blog. It could be someone from your family, church, community or someone famous who you admire.

Here are some starting points in case you get stuck:

Jessica Watson

Tanielu Tele’a

Sachin Tendulkar

Ann Bancroft

Kelly Slater

Tamatea

Laura Dekker

For this activity, please choose one person (a change maker) and read all about them.

On your blog, provide us with:The name of the person

A description of the work they do/have done

An explanation of how they/their work has had an impact on the lives of others

*Remember to attribute any images that you borrow from the internet or from other people.

*Please check out the Eye-Catching Blog Posts page for ideas!

Here is what I have done! 

That's it for today! I hope you enjoyed! If you have any questions then please ask! Otherwise, until next time, goodbye!