Berlin 1936 – The Nazi Olympics

Berlin was chosen to host the 1936 Olympic Games in 1931, but by the year of 1933, the Nazi were now in power in Berlin. Hitler saw these games as an opportunity to promote his racial beliefs and propaganda. Boycotts arose from various countries, which were quickly dismayed by Germany’s policies. Fortunately, the German government allowed qualified Jewish athletes in their team. This resulted in Helene Mayer representing Germany in fencing. Only 49 countries attended those games, and Germany won the most medals with a whopping 92 total medals.

London 1948 – Germany and Japan Banned

At the first Olympics after WWII, Germany and Japan weren’t invited, because of their rivalry during the war. During these Olympic Games in London, London was still recovering from the battle wounds, and so they used already ready and prepared equipment and accommodation, like Wembley Stadium being the Center of most events including the opening ceremony.

Melbourne 1956 – Two Protests

Two protests led to less than 67 counties participating. Egypt, Lebanon, and Iraq boycotted the games to protest the invasion from Israel and their allies into the Sinai Peninsula in October 1956.

Then the Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland protested against the Soviet Army invading Budapest and Hungary, by pulling out of the games.

Mexico City 1968 – Tlateblco Massacre and Civil Rights Protest

Ten days before the Olympics, Mexican students were protesting against the use of government funding for the Olympic Games instead of social programs. Then the Mexican army opened fire killing over 200 protesters and injuring over 1000 people. This atrocity was later to be known as the Tlateblco Massacre.

Additionally, the U.S. sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos protested the “Black Lives Matter” campaign by raising a sing black gloved fist during their national anthem while on the podium. The Australian sprinter who came 2nd supported them by wearing a “Black Lives Matter” pin on his uniform. In result both U.S. sprinters were banned by the IOC and the U.S. Olympics Committee. Instead of coming home to a proud country, they were welcomed by crowds and police officers attacking them.

Munich 1972 – Munich Massacre

The 1972 Olympic Games were sadly ruined by an atrocity, led by Palestinian terrorists. On September 5th 1972, eight terrorists sneaked into the Olympic Village and killed two members of the Israeli team, while also taking eleven hostages. They tried to convince a trade of 200 Palestinian prisoners to be released, in return of those hostages returned back to safety. While the terrorists tried to escape with the hostages at the airport, German officers attempted to rescue the hostages and ended up in a shootout. Unfortunately their attempt was unsuccessful and a German officer and the hostages were killed. That day will forever be remembered throughout the world.

Rio De Janeiro 2016 – Refugee Olympics Team

The first ever Refugee Olympic Team (ROT) was created with ten refugee athletes from all around the world. This team was born to raise awareness to the refugee crisis, and changed all their athletes’ lives.

You may know of J.R.R. Tolkien. If you don’t then you have probably heard of some of his famous books: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. His magical imagination, and his ability to paint a reader’s mind with words on a page had built a whole community of fans and a legacy that continues to remind people about all his achievements and skills.

J.R.R. Tolkien had shown an interest in writing from an early stage in his life, but he started venturing deeper into writing from his University years in Oxford. Tolkien started University In 1911. In Oxford Tolkien studied English Language and Literature. Three years into University, Tolkien started his first fragment ‘The Voyage of Éarendle the Evening Star’. From this point Tolkien continued to write many more books and poems: The story of Kullervo; The Horns of Ylmir; A Song for Aryador, and many more. In 1915 J.R.R. Tolkien finished studying at Oxford, with first class honours.

Another well known author is C.S. Lewis. You may know his from reading The Chronicles of Narnia. Well C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien were friends, and first met each other in 1926, at a Merton English Faculty meeting. Throughout Tolkien’s career, Tolkien would always look to C.S. Lewis for him to critique Tolkien’s work.

One of J.R.R. Tolkien’s most famous series of books was The Hobbit. Avery fun fact to know is how Tolkien started to write The Hobbit. One day Tolkien was marking some school certificates and felt bored. He saw a blank page, and suddenly, inspired, he started to write ‘In a hole on the ground there lived a hobbit’. The Hobbit was originally written for his children, but ended up being his second best-selling book, and over 100 million copies have been sold. The Hobbit was first published in 1937 and after the publication this was when Tolkien started to peak and was famous around the world.

J.R.R. Tolkien started writing the first book of The Lord of the Rings as a sequel to one of his previous books: The Hobbit. The Lord of the Rings (also known as LOTR) was J.R.R. Tolkien’s best selling book, with over 150 million copies sold. Tolkien started writing the first book of LOTR in 1942, then was published in 1954, taking Tolkien twelve years to write. As much as Tolkien loved his books he had to sell his rights of ownership over his books for the money. In 1969 Tolkien sold the rights to United Artists for £10,000 (which is valued at more than £200,000 today). Then in 1976 United Artists sold the right to Middle-Earth Enterprises. Tolkien’s estate at this time is at a value of £2,911,000.

Throughout Tolkien’s life, he has achieved many accomplishments. It is estimated that over 600 million copies of Tolkien’s books have been sold. Tolkien was nominated for an award, and won award too during his lifetime, but after his passing he has won many more awards: 20 nominations and 12 awards won.

J.R.R. Tolkien’s writing has brought so much joy to people through books, plays, and films. Although he is gone, his legacy of books will stay and continue to live on.

How do you believe in something you can’t see?

well by my faith I believe in thee,

land a feeling of rejuvenation flows through me,

 

His spirit is my glue,

this I know is true,

 

Why do you pray?

to thank him for my blessings everyday,

and washing my sins away,

 

I had a choice of wrong or right,

but I choose his holy light,

 

Why do you have a strong passion?

because he gave us his only son,

and valleys he helps me overcome,

 

When we are in the palm of his hand,

there isn’t anything we can’t withstand,

 

How isn’t god just plain,

because our saviour died and rose again,

and he can do things we can’t explain,

 

In me where pain once sat,

is now happiness from our morning chat,

 

Show me the facts,

Scientist deny, religions they attack,

God is supernatural that knowledge they lack,

 

Confused they don’t know,

With tragedy, doubt starts to grow,

 

But I believe in his perfect design,

and a mighty glory so divine,

 

Does he still love me

He will forever love and let your be free,

But he still wants your integrity,

For god gives me strength,

and love of infinite length,

ASB Polyfest is held by ASB generous funding and support. ASB Polyfest is a four day festival full of different cultural dances, speeches and food. Polyfest provides opportunities for people to keep in touch with their ancestral roots and opportunities for people to experience and learn more about diverse cultures. Polyfest is also an awesome place for people to share heritage, pride and cultural identity. All the amazing speeches and performances are performed through schools

Polyfest was created by the students, Micheal Rollo, Mata (te kii) Raela, and staff Mr Bill Tawhai, Mr Hone, Mrs Heni Green from Hillary Collage. The first ever Polyfest was held at Hillary Collage only involving 4 schools.

Polyfest has grown so much and continues to grow each year. In only 5 years they went from 4 schools to 38 schools and they had added an Asian contingent. The hosting responsibilities have shifted through many places and schools. Because of the massive growth in Polyfest, since 1996 Polyfest has been held at the Manakau Sports Bowl with the Sports Bowl providing much more space

Despite all the positives, there have been a few setbacks through the journey of Polyfest. Some of the setbacks are like in 2019 where the final day of Polyfest was cancelled due to the Christchurch tragedy, or like the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic leading to another cancellation in Polyfest and also leading to empty audiences in 2022.

Polyfest is still known to the community of Tāmaki Makaurau to be an amazing cultural festival open to everyone

Once the horizon engulfs the ball of fire, what do you see?

Do the specs of glitter twinkle through the black night?

Do the radiant jewels pirouette in your sight?

Or does the actual star of the show catch your attention?

Her beautiful majesty I should mention,

 

The moon, whose face hid behind the shadows of night,

Now shows her full face sharing a symphony of light, 

The moon, singing gospels from angels in the heavens above,

She bathes the world in her ethical love,

The moon, a spotlight illuminating a pitch black page,

And all the twinkling stars telling stories of ancient age,

 

But what if the dazzling night was more than meets the eye,

What if the stars were just golden tears from the angels’ cry,

What if the stars were trapped souls frozen in prisons,

Or, a flock of doves caught on fire in the heavens,

Whatever they are,

They will always hold etching tales from realms afar.

 

Once the horizon engulfs the ball of fire, our source of natural light, what do you see? Do the specs of glitter twinkle in your eyes? Do the radiant jewels pirouette in your sight? Every night someone lifts their head to encounter darkness lay out his velvet tarp, Divulging an illustration, embellished with marbles, marbles of celestial passion and love, Is it more than a dazzling stage? Are they frozen souls trapped in a dark prison? Or, a flock of doves caught on fire in the heavens? Maybe, the sky is just a tapestry showered with golden tears of lonely angels, No matter what they are, they will always be there shimmering down on us ants, Forever, they will hold secrets and etching tales of ancient age, The moon, the sister of Earth, the Mother of night, emerges once her opposite dipps back behind the mountains and seas, The moon, whom face hid behind shadows of the night,  Now shows her full face of beauty, The moon, singing sweeter than heavenly angel gospels,  Sharing a symphony of light, Her gentle glow bathes the world in an ethical shine, And she breaths silver clouds of cotton casting shade when the sun boils over, The moon, time to time, feels alone, Time to time you can catch her platinum tears and cold breath, All she wants is someone to love, Someone to hold, Someone to care, Someone to share her glow with, You might catch yourself one night reaching out into the sky, trying to hold the giant pearl, She seems so close but, yeah so far.

Corey was 13 years old, when he first opened his jewellery business. At first he would buy jewellery then sell it through a website, but as time went on his business grew. His business was so successful that he opened a store, then his business was so popular that he started to sell his own products. And at the age of 29 Corey had become a wealthy businessman. 7 years later… Corey was just about to close his store when he heard the bell at the top of the entrance ring. He turned around to the most majestic and beautiful woman he has ever seen. Her hair was like the roots of an oak tree and her bright hazel eyes dazzled in the sunlight. “Hey there, I know that you are about to close, but I really need a necklace for my sister’s birthday tomorrow” Said the gorgeous woman. Corey laid the broom he was holding against the wall and said. “Of course you can look at the necklace selection.” Corey stuttered trying to figure out the woman’s name. “Oh, my name is Hemi,” The woman responded.  Corey helped Hemi find a necklace she liked for her sister then secretly wrote his phone number on the receipt, hoping they would find each other again one day. Hemi also had an interest in Corey then they started dating. Then Corey proposed with a stunning diamond ring, then three years later Corey and Hemi were happily married.  After four years of living with Hemi happily, Corey suddenly started to gamble. Corey started playing poker with some of his friends and he would always win. Corey then thought he could spend more money and get more money back, then soon Corey was addicted to gambling. Corey would always win until he risked half of his millions on a football game and then lost. Corey thought he would get his money back by gambling even more money to make more money but he just kept losing. Meanwhile, Hemi started to get sick but both Hemi and Corey hid their secrets from each other. One day Corey got a call from the hospital. “Hemi Lawrenson, your wife, is in hospital from a minor stroke and we need you to come so we can talk with you.” Corey rushed over to the hospital just to find out Hemi had developed a sickness, which if not treated it becomes lethal. Corey was devastated by this news but was even more devastated when he found out the price of the treatment. Corey had to sell his jewellery business just to afford the treatment. Slowly Hemi did not improve but just started to get worse. The treatment had only slowed Hemi’s progression down temporarily and then Hemi slowly died.  Corey spent the last of his money burying Hemi. Corey had nowhere to go and no money left, but just before Corey was homeless he saw a gambling opportunity that he knew he could win. Corey just needed something to gamble with. That’s when he had a great but savage idea. When Hemi was buried she was still wearing the jaw dropping diamond ring Corey proposed with, Corey knew it was enough to get him into the bet. Late that night, once the sun was on the brink of going down, Corey went to the grave where Hemi was buried. This time was perfect because there was just enough light to see but it was too dark for people to visit. Corey dug until he found his wife’s cold, deep blue lifeless body. CRUNCH! CRUNCH! Corey heard a pair of footsteps crunching through the leaves, then heard the giggle of a sweet little girl. Corey frantically tried to pull the ring off Hemi but her finger was too swollen the ring wouldn’t budge. Corey hated what he was about to do. Corey reluctantly twisted Hemi’s fourth finger with the ring. The sound horrified Corey so he closed his eyes. “I am so sorry love” RRRRRRIP! Corey slowly opened his eyes to see his wife’s finger in his hand.  With tears in his eyes he ran to the place where he could place his bet. A few days passed and Corey was trying so hard not to think about the thing he had done. Corey walked back to the place where he had placed his bet. COREY HAD WON 2.5 BILLION DOLLARS.  Corey walked into the office homeless, with no money at all, then walked out richer than he had ever been! Corey bought his business back and bought a gigantic retro old looking mansion. Corey had finally got all his money back and swore to never gamble in his life. KNOCK! KNOCK! Corey rushed to the door thinking it was the Big Mac he ordered. Corey swung the door open to a small girl looking up at him. The girl looked around seven years old with two blonde pigtails and a stained white shirt paired with a black cottage skirt. “Hello sweetie,” Corey said. The little girl put her identical doll up in Corey’s face. “Me and Looloo are lost and cold,” The little girl replied Corey saw the tears in her eyes and brought her in.  “My name is Emi,” The little girl said. Corey thought of how similar her name was to his wife’s but just ignored it. “I’ll go bring some cookies and milk for you Emi and you Looloo” As Corey was pouring the glasses of milk he heard a familiar melody playing from the piano. As Corey walked over to the lounge room he remembered the song, it was his wedding song. “Who taught you that song Emi? You’re astonishingly amazing!” “My mummy taught me,” Emi said, looking a little sad. Corey thought Emi missed her mum. As Corey looked down he noticed Emi was missing her fourth finger. “Goodness me, What happened to your finger?!” Corey said in shock. Emi turned at Corey with raging fireballs in her eyes and screamed in the voice of a screeching voice… “YOOOOOOUUUUUUUUU!” To this day, no one has seen Corey… To this day, you can hear the wedding song play from the mansion… To this day, the little girl walks around taking revenge on the deserving people… You never know where she might be or who she might be…

The first few days as a year 8 have been hectic but extremely fun!

We have started the year by setting our selves up for success, like organising our P.A.L (Portfolio of Assessment & Learning), setting up our google drive and learning about the book standards and the expectations as a year 8.

We have also started to apply for jobs around Kahu. I have applied for the Foodtastic team and to become a Hospice Ambassador. Last year I signed up to be a Road patroller, so I have been helping at the school crossing on Monday and Wednesday afternoons. I was also chosen to be Head Girl for this year and I got to run my first assembly this year. I was feeling a bit nervous but excited at the same time.

We also did a writing test where we had to write a recount about Whānau time. Now we are working on independently marking our test and identifying our next steps.

We are also practicing our SDL tasks with the teachers then taking evidence and putting it into our evidence folders on Google Drive.

To celebrate the Lunar New Year we’re all working on making our Lunar New Year lanterns. First we made our prototypes in a group and now we’re  making our final lanterns independently. When I made my lantern I used a can and wrapped it with gold sticker and then used red to make the other bits of my lantern.

Soon there is a Softball tournament in school which I am a part of. My team and I have been practicing a lot for the tournament. Because our school field (the place we would usually practice) is in construction, we have to walk down further past our school to a patch of grass to train. Sometimes we would drive down to Totara park to train instead.

I also trialed for the school swimming team. We  all drove down to Manurewa Highschool and trialled in their pool. I really enjoyed that day and it was lots of fun.

It has been an AMAZING start to the year, from making our lanterns to finally being able to see my friends again (and dominating them in volleyball).

In the depths of darkness, night unfurls its cloak,

Revealing a canvas adorned with celestial stroke.

A tapestry  of wonder, a jewel-lit sky,

Above us all, constellations sparkle up high.

 

Each glimmering jewel, a radiant star,

Etching tales of beauty in realms afar.

Their twinkling dance, a symphony of light,

Guiding lost souls through the velvet night.

 

The moon, a guardian, casting its gentle glow,

Bathing the world in an ethereal show.

A spotlight, illuminating a pitch black page,

As constellations, tell stories of ancient age.

 

The Mātariki constellation, full of 9 sisters,

This constellation represents Māori new year with its tale full of new beginnings and twisters.

 

Pōhutukawa, a star full of love for the ones who have passed,

As their souls leave the earth and rise up in the heavens at last.

 

Tupuānuku, helps us grow crops on the ground,

Where all the winter vegetables can be found.

 

Tupuārangi, is connected to all the soaring creatures in the sky,

And also provides us with berries and elevated kai.

 

Waitī connects us with our rivers, lakes and streams,

And all the fresh water  that makes all our awa gleam.

 

Waitā, the twin of Waitī  looks after salt water lakes,

And all the salt water creatures, like our fish, with the shiniest of flakes.

 

Waipuna-ā-rangi, waters our crops with her rain,

So thank her when you see a blossomed flower across the terrain.

 

Ururangi, is the reason there is wind in the sky,

And helps all the birds glide, flutter and fly.

 

Hiwai-i-te-rāngi, to Māori was their fixing magician,

Who they would tell all their problems and New Years Resolutions.

 

And finally Mātariki, the eldest of them all,

She means health, and well-being while looking after us during summer, winter, spring and fall.

Our oceans and seas are precious especially to this world, as it shines a bright blue treasuring majestic pearls.
But our poor creatures are dying in an environment of pollution, luckily people have a solution.
To help start choosing re-usable over single use plastic, then maybe our seas would go back to fantastic.
Or you could live your normal day cycle, we just ask for you to recycle.
Another great thing to do to help your peers, is to go to a polluted beach and help be a clean up volunteer.
We should stop this pollution so our fishies don’t die, or the sea would only be the tears that I cry.

It’s not just plastic that hurts the sea, overfishing is something else we really don’t need.
Overfishing can cause endangered species or unbalance the food chain, which for a lot of sea creatures and I is a real big pain.
Tiritiri Matangi used to be one of the jewels in Hauraki Gulf, before it got overfished and by Kina it was engulfed.
Now it has no seaweed and fishes, and the Kina is unhealthy.
When going fishing only take what you need, if it’s just for you take one, no need to have greed.

So be aware to take care of our planet or else it’ll end up all twisted and swirled, and remember there is only one of this world.