Camp
On the 8th of Febuary all of year 7 went on a camp in Wollongong. We stayed 3 days and 2 nights. If you have never been on a Reddam Camp before, you would think it is just an ordinary camp, but in reality, it is in a fact, freedom. Freedom to do all things you aren’t allowed to do at home. Oh and don’t let the teacher fool your parents or deceive you; early to bed, early to rise, well controlled groups, doing safely organised activities. All the things you don’t or can’t do at home, you can do at camp.
Just like any camp we had the usual tearful goodbyes as our mothers departed from school, leaving us with our travel bags and smiling faces. Once being released from their mother’s grips and tears, the boys clambered onto the 3 buses between all of Year 7. We all waved goodbye to our tearful mothers before settling into the serious matter of working out who was going to be in my cabin. The bus trip was approximately 2 hours and we arrived at camp by 11am. We had recess and lunch and set out for our first activity which was my personal favourite, caving.
We all had torches and a guide and we were lead through all the caving systems, some of which we had to crawl through on our stomach. A lot of the girls got scared in the caves and sadly some boys. Myself and three other guys got lost in the caves while we were by ourselves, but eventually we found our way out. We had seven other activities over the three days.
Night time consisted of snacks and staying up way past midnight and playing truth or dear. The meals were absolutely delicious and consisted of pancakes, cereal, chicken, potatoes, spaghetti bolognaise, toast and many other delicious foods; the list is endless.
On the last day of camp we had challenge valley and the giant swing. Challenge Valley was designed to stretch us to the limit. A physical and mental challenge not meant for the faint hearted. We had a leader who lead us through these dangerous tasks. If we were too slow we were left behind so we had to keep up a running pace.
The challenges included swimming through lakes, doing monkeys bars over crocodile infested waters,(in the girls heads) climbing over treacherous ropes, swimming through tunnels full of water were our lungs bursting for air. Fortunately this was followed by the luxuriant pleasure of having a shower.
Our last activity was giant swing which was the final and hardest challenge of them all, as it was all inside your head. Someone was strapped into a harness and the rest of the people were made to pull the rope until it could be pulled no more. The unlucky person would find themselves 20 metres up in the air and discover that the only way down was to pull the rope and come plummeting down to the ground.(Would your mother let you do that!) Just before we would hit the ground we would swing straight back up into the sky and down again until we stopped just as swings do.
The camp concluded with a teary ending as we departed on a bus back to Sydney however as one last thing, in spite of all the things the instructors had done for us, they came to see us off and one of them even did a back flip. With all the things we did we all left camp our life’s changed forever.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Task 1- Bryson Purcell
An Autobiography: Bryson Purcell
My first day back at school from summer holidays and soon as I walk in to the school everyone is standing around in the playground in our brand new white shirts and cream pants or skirts. I walk over to some of my friends I recognise and there are a few new kids mixed in to the circle. I am introduced to them and quickly get to like them and enjoy their company. I am also approached by some more familiar faces and some new ones and introduced to them as well and also, get to like them. A teacher, Mr Johnson, walks down on to the playground and beaconing for the attention of all the students and he told us to go to the gym where we would be addressed by the teachers. My friends and I (both new and old) followed him to the Gym and sat down with the rest of the kids. It took about 5 minutes to settle us down but once we had settled, we had to listen to the teachers for about 2 hours. Mr Johnson introduced himself and the other 3 teachers standing around the room, these teachers where to be our year co-ordinators and tutors. The teacher to the immediate left of Mr Johnson was a tall man covered with sweat, he was introduced as Mr Judston, one of the math teachers at Reddam House. The one just a few meters from Mr Judston was Mrs Boltstrige, she was the new drama teacher and was very funny. Finally, the teacher to the left of Mr Johnson was the new art teacher and head of the art department, Mr Conroy. After they were all introduced we received our personalised time tables and our Student Diaries and off we went to recess. For the rest of the day it was very hectic, children not knowing where they were going, learning names and realizing the fact that our workload was about to shoot through the roof. It is all a bit blurred and vague, but I do remember meeting Mr Mesimeris. He promised us that if we did not love English we could sue him, and to this day I am sure not one child who has ever had Mr Mesimeris as their English will ever dream of suing because since day one, he has been kind, funny, understanding and he has taught us a great deal.
Day two was almost as hectic as the first, us as year 7s, had our first annual high school swimming carnival and it was amazing. We all got lined up on the AstroTurf for roll call. When that was completed we were ushered on to a hot bus and took a 45 minute bus ride to a salt water pool in Drummoyne. We all entered the pool and went to the grand stands to put all our stuff down. 30 minutes later music was blaring, people where shouting and kids were swimming. I remember racing in the 50 meter freestyle and 50 meter breaststroke and came second in both races.
For the rest of the first 2 weeks at Reddam we went on a camp for 3 days, but it is tangential to the main story. The rest of the time we figured out our time tables and went to lessons as usual, got to like or dislike our new teachers and we fell in to a routine that would last us a year.
My first day back at school from summer holidays and soon as I walk in to the school everyone is standing around in the playground in our brand new white shirts and cream pants or skirts. I walk over to some of my friends I recognise and there are a few new kids mixed in to the circle. I am introduced to them and quickly get to like them and enjoy their company. I am also approached by some more familiar faces and some new ones and introduced to them as well and also, get to like them. A teacher, Mr Johnson, walks down on to the playground and beaconing for the attention of all the students and he told us to go to the gym where we would be addressed by the teachers. My friends and I (both new and old) followed him to the Gym and sat down with the rest of the kids. It took about 5 minutes to settle us down but once we had settled, we had to listen to the teachers for about 2 hours. Mr Johnson introduced himself and the other 3 teachers standing around the room, these teachers where to be our year co-ordinators and tutors. The teacher to the immediate left of Mr Johnson was a tall man covered with sweat, he was introduced as Mr Judston, one of the math teachers at Reddam House. The one just a few meters from Mr Judston was Mrs Boltstrige, she was the new drama teacher and was very funny. Finally, the teacher to the left of Mr Johnson was the new art teacher and head of the art department, Mr Conroy. After they were all introduced we received our personalised time tables and our Student Diaries and off we went to recess. For the rest of the day it was very hectic, children not knowing where they were going, learning names and realizing the fact that our workload was about to shoot through the roof. It is all a bit blurred and vague, but I do remember meeting Mr Mesimeris. He promised us that if we did not love English we could sue him, and to this day I am sure not one child who has ever had Mr Mesimeris as their English will ever dream of suing because since day one, he has been kind, funny, understanding and he has taught us a great deal.
Day two was almost as hectic as the first, us as year 7s, had our first annual high school swimming carnival and it was amazing. We all got lined up on the AstroTurf for roll call. When that was completed we were ushered on to a hot bus and took a 45 minute bus ride to a salt water pool in Drummoyne. We all entered the pool and went to the grand stands to put all our stuff down. 30 minutes later music was blaring, people where shouting and kids were swimming. I remember racing in the 50 meter freestyle and 50 meter breaststroke and came second in both races.
For the rest of the first 2 weeks at Reddam we went on a camp for 3 days, but it is tangential to the main story. The rest of the time we figured out our time tables and went to lessons as usual, got to like or dislike our new teachers and we fell in to a routine that would last us a year.
My First Day of School- Emma Styles
Task 1:
Everybody says high school is a nightmare. They say that you get a load of homework, meet really grumpy and tired teachers, make more enemies than friends, and do nothing but boring textbook work all the time. No one says high school is exciting with new challenges, the chance to do cool explosive experiments, to make new friends and feel stressed then relieved with yourself that you just remembered to do your homework last night. Well I’ve just found out high school’s not that bad, in fact it’s quite good.
On my first real day of school (real day meaning with real classes) I walked into the school knowing a few people, seeing them around at camp, 3 days before. I was scared, nervous and excited for this brand new adventure.
I can’t remember what my first or second class was but my third was Science. Usually I’m not crazy about Science but I felt something special was going to happen just from walking into the classroom. Our class sat down and we began introducing ourselves to our new teacher. We told our name and what we liked about science and the second someone said the word explosions Ms Pelosi (the science teacher) jumped off her chair with excitement and flew into the storeroom before you could say explosions again. She came back out of the room carrying a beaker and filled it up with water from the tap.
She pulled out a block which read SODIUM METAL on the front of the packet. Before I continue I must say that I haven’t encountered much science in my life so I had no idea what I was about to witness. She told everyone to come up to the front but not too close. She cut a really small bit off the corner off the block and put it into the beaker. It sped around the top of the water like a jet boat causing smoke to rise out of the beaker. Eventually it died down and Ms Pelosi looked disappointed.
“It was supposed to make an explosion,” she said “but I don’t think I put enough sodium metal in the water. I’m a little hesitant to put in too much more because a previous science teacher put in a lot of Sodium Metal and it flew around the classroom, causing it to blow up the room and an ambulance was called.” All at once the whole class took a step back.
On her third attempt the jet boat began to spark and made a large bang and spat bits of hot ash out onto the desk the beaker was sitting on. We all applauded excitedly but nervous she was going to do it again but with a bigger bit of sodium metal!
I understand that this doesn’t sound very exciting but believe me it was. I have never seen a real explosion and having the opportunity of seeing one on my first day of science was really something special to me.
Everybody says high school is a nightmare. They say that you get a load of homework, meet really grumpy and tired teachers, make more enemies than friends, and do nothing but boring textbook work all the time. No one says high school is exciting with new challenges, the chance to do cool explosive experiments, to make new friends and feel stressed then relieved with yourself that you just remembered to do your homework last night. Well I’ve just found out high school’s not that bad, in fact it’s quite good.
On my first real day of school (real day meaning with real classes) I walked into the school knowing a few people, seeing them around at camp, 3 days before. I was scared, nervous and excited for this brand new adventure.
I can’t remember what my first or second class was but my third was Science. Usually I’m not crazy about Science but I felt something special was going to happen just from walking into the classroom. Our class sat down and we began introducing ourselves to our new teacher. We told our name and what we liked about science and the second someone said the word explosions Ms Pelosi (the science teacher) jumped off her chair with excitement and flew into the storeroom before you could say explosions again. She came back out of the room carrying a beaker and filled it up with water from the tap.
She pulled out a block which read SODIUM METAL on the front of the packet. Before I continue I must say that I haven’t encountered much science in my life so I had no idea what I was about to witness. She told everyone to come up to the front but not too close. She cut a really small bit off the corner off the block and put it into the beaker. It sped around the top of the water like a jet boat causing smoke to rise out of the beaker. Eventually it died down and Ms Pelosi looked disappointed.
“It was supposed to make an explosion,” she said “but I don’t think I put enough sodium metal in the water. I’m a little hesitant to put in too much more because a previous science teacher put in a lot of Sodium Metal and it flew around the classroom, causing it to blow up the room and an ambulance was called.” All at once the whole class took a step back.
On her third attempt the jet boat began to spark and made a large bang and spat bits of hot ash out onto the desk the beaker was sitting on. We all applauded excitedly but nervous she was going to do it again but with a bigger bit of sodium metal!
I understand that this doesn’t sound very exciting but believe me it was. I have never seen a real explosion and having the opportunity of seeing one on my first day of science was really something special to me.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Task 1 Jordan Domingues
An Autobiography: Jordan Domingues
Before I say anything else, an autobiography is usually a boring recount of some guy’s boring life. This is not your typical autobiography. It may be a story about my life but it won’t be hideously annoying to read, it will be about my fun adventures during my first week at school. Yes, school is a pain in the backside for some kids but for me the first week was about making new friends and having fun at camp.
I am not a popular kid who hangs with the cool guys and I am not particularly strong-in an arm wrestle, my friends can finish me off in a second! I’m not saying I’m a nerd. Actually I’m the funniest guy in my group (well I think anyway). I just think I can do with a little bit of extra muscle so I was determined to get a good workout at camp.
My room mates were awesome to hang out with: Jonathon, Ben and Sam. As this is a autobiography I won’t get into too much detail about them but in short, Jonathon is big (as in tall and strong), Ben is trying to improve his strength (a bit like me) and Sam is a bit random. We were so happy to be here rather than sitting in a classroom listening to a teacher go on and on and on and… about rocket science or the square root of some number.
We sat in the lunch room masticating our lunches when our camp leader said exactly these words, “Group four, you will be going caving and …” I forgot the rest of what he said as I was stunned and paralyzed with excitement. I got ready for the activity in a flash - as quick as a German Sheppard trying to catch a man running away with sausages in his hand. The walk to site took ages probably because it felt like the ground was as steep as Mount Everest and the grass was so overgrown it reached my knees. Finally, we did get there and I was as ready as ever for the adventure ahead because I, Jordan Domingues am a courageous caver and I was in the company of macho men and wonder women.
Lucky for me I as fourth in line so didn’t have long to wait. We got the activity started with safety equipment and torches in hand. The odour of the cave was not as excruciating as I expected, in fact, it was kind of sweet a bit like cinnamon.
I was walking down a steep path when l slipped. It was quite funny because when I dropped my flash light it managed to turn itself off, so for a while it was pitch black and I was desperately trying to find the ‘on’ switch. When there was light again I spotted my favourite animal a gecko. To be precise it was a leafed tail gecko looking for food, he was green and had a leafed shaped tail. I also noticed his alien-like feet as he trotted over the rocks.
Soon we were off again in a different direction. This time the path was a tight squeeze, I worried that some of the bigger guys might not get through. Our instructor told us that the stairway of rocks would lead us to the blackout room. No crap Sherlock it was dark as, when we switched off our torches!!!
On the way out we saw some frogs and escaped having to swim through pools of water due to a heat wave, but we didn’t get out of one last ‘squeeze’-We literally had to lie flat on our stomach’s to get through. Finally I saw some sun light and the exit was near! Just when I was about to declare victory I banged my head on the way out BUT I lived to tell the tale.
Camp couldn’t have been any better. I made some great friends and experienced things I may never experience again. I know it’s corny to finish with a happy ending but…
THE END
Before I say anything else, an autobiography is usually a boring recount of some guy’s boring life. This is not your typical autobiography. It may be a story about my life but it won’t be hideously annoying to read, it will be about my fun adventures during my first week at school. Yes, school is a pain in the backside for some kids but for me the first week was about making new friends and having fun at camp.
I am not a popular kid who hangs with the cool guys and I am not particularly strong-in an arm wrestle, my friends can finish me off in a second! I’m not saying I’m a nerd. Actually I’m the funniest guy in my group (well I think anyway). I just think I can do with a little bit of extra muscle so I was determined to get a good workout at camp.
My room mates were awesome to hang out with: Jonathon, Ben and Sam. As this is a autobiography I won’t get into too much detail about them but in short, Jonathon is big (as in tall and strong), Ben is trying to improve his strength (a bit like me) and Sam is a bit random. We were so happy to be here rather than sitting in a classroom listening to a teacher go on and on and on and… about rocket science or the square root of some number.
We sat in the lunch room masticating our lunches when our camp leader said exactly these words, “Group four, you will be going caving and …” I forgot the rest of what he said as I was stunned and paralyzed with excitement. I got ready for the activity in a flash - as quick as a German Sheppard trying to catch a man running away with sausages in his hand. The walk to site took ages probably because it felt like the ground was as steep as Mount Everest and the grass was so overgrown it reached my knees. Finally, we did get there and I was as ready as ever for the adventure ahead because I, Jordan Domingues am a courageous caver and I was in the company of macho men and wonder women.
Lucky for me I as fourth in line so didn’t have long to wait. We got the activity started with safety equipment and torches in hand. The odour of the cave was not as excruciating as I expected, in fact, it was kind of sweet a bit like cinnamon.
I was walking down a steep path when l slipped. It was quite funny because when I dropped my flash light it managed to turn itself off, so for a while it was pitch black and I was desperately trying to find the ‘on’ switch. When there was light again I spotted my favourite animal a gecko. To be precise it was a leafed tail gecko looking for food, he was green and had a leafed shaped tail. I also noticed his alien-like feet as he trotted over the rocks.
Soon we were off again in a different direction. This time the path was a tight squeeze, I worried that some of the bigger guys might not get through. Our instructor told us that the stairway of rocks would lead us to the blackout room. No crap Sherlock it was dark as, when we switched off our torches!!!
On the way out we saw some frogs and escaped having to swim through pools of water due to a heat wave, but we didn’t get out of one last ‘squeeze’-We literally had to lie flat on our stomach’s to get through. Finally I saw some sun light and the exit was near! Just when I was about to declare victory I banged my head on the way out BUT I lived to tell the tale.
Camp couldn’t have been any better. I made some great friends and experienced things I may never experience again. I know it’s corny to finish with a happy ending but…
THE END
Task 1 Julian Michelsen
My First Week in year seven
It was the first day of year seven. I woke up with a mixture of feelings, some of excitement, some of fear, some I could not name. When I reached the school gates, I did not know what to expect. As I went in, I felt anxious about not knowing anybody and not knowing where to go. All those feelings churning up inside me as I walked through the gate. I knew however that everyone was talking about a fantastic new building that had been built. I did not recognise anybody that I saw, as I started walking up some stairs. I saw a gathering of people near the basketball court. I knew where the basketball court was from orienteering day. Orienteering day was kind of fun, we found out a lot of new things and that was one of them. The bag I was carrying was as light as a feather, all it had in it was a pencil and a notepad. How would I ever have known how heavy my bag would become in the next few days! When a teacher finally came, he split us into groups of four, and gave each group a timetable.
The first day was good and I had a lot of fun. After school I had to pack heaps of stuff for the day, the swimming carnival. When I arrived at school, I noticed everyone wearing their house tops. Slowly a feeling of dread came over me, as I realised that we had to wear them. Everyone was sitting down on the Astroturf and the teachers were taking the roll. I quickly sat down just as my name was called, I thought it was lucky that I had come right on time. We started boarding the bus, it was noisy and it was crammed with kids from year seven. When we got there I thought about the many times that I had come to a swimming carnival, how the water was cold, and how loud the bang of the pistol was. We sat down amongst our house groups, and waited for the races to start. The first race was the participation race, I did not want to waste my energy on that, so I didn't go in it. Next was my race in the 50 m freestyle, there were not many students racing. So I thought I could have a good chance of winning. Just before the pistol shot I felt nervous and anxious. Boom! The pistol shot and we took off, the sensation of the cold water on my half sunburnt back was like having ice cubes on my back. In what felt like a moment the race was over! I looked around the other lanes to see if there was anybody but there wasn't, I had won. After I had won the other races I thought it had been a very exciting day.
The night before camp I stayed up quite late because of my dad, he wanted everything to be perfect. He made sure I had extra everything, T-shirts, shorts, socks you name it! When I woke up the next morning I felt a little bit groggy from lack of sleep but not deterred! I went and put on anything I could find in my wardrobe. I flew down the stairs ate my breakfast and decided to test out how heavy my bag was. It weighed a catastrophic amount, I had no idea of how I could carry it around. Finally the time came and we left for school. I went in and sat down amongst my friends and peers. We finally got on the bus, it was a long bus trip it almost took one hour and 45 min. When we arrived we were all excited about how good the camp would be and what the next two days would bring. We all put our bags down near a campfire, and we all got led to a place which looked like a dining hall. After being informed of how our cabins were going to work we set off to choose our cabin mates. In my cabin there was Noah, Fion, Jardin, and Daniel. My favourite activity of that day was the waterslide. The days at camp were very exciting and fun.
By Julian Michelsen
It was the first day of year seven. I woke up with a mixture of feelings, some of excitement, some of fear, some I could not name. When I reached the school gates, I did not know what to expect. As I went in, I felt anxious about not knowing anybody and not knowing where to go. All those feelings churning up inside me as I walked through the gate. I knew however that everyone was talking about a fantastic new building that had been built. I did not recognise anybody that I saw, as I started walking up some stairs. I saw a gathering of people near the basketball court. I knew where the basketball court was from orienteering day. Orienteering day was kind of fun, we found out a lot of new things and that was one of them. The bag I was carrying was as light as a feather, all it had in it was a pencil and a notepad. How would I ever have known how heavy my bag would become in the next few days! When a teacher finally came, he split us into groups of four, and gave each group a timetable.
The first day was good and I had a lot of fun. After school I had to pack heaps of stuff for the day, the swimming carnival. When I arrived at school, I noticed everyone wearing their house tops. Slowly a feeling of dread came over me, as I realised that we had to wear them. Everyone was sitting down on the Astroturf and the teachers were taking the roll. I quickly sat down just as my name was called, I thought it was lucky that I had come right on time. We started boarding the bus, it was noisy and it was crammed with kids from year seven. When we got there I thought about the many times that I had come to a swimming carnival, how the water was cold, and how loud the bang of the pistol was. We sat down amongst our house groups, and waited for the races to start. The first race was the participation race, I did not want to waste my energy on that, so I didn't go in it. Next was my race in the 50 m freestyle, there were not many students racing. So I thought I could have a good chance of winning. Just before the pistol shot I felt nervous and anxious. Boom! The pistol shot and we took off, the sensation of the cold water on my half sunburnt back was like having ice cubes on my back. In what felt like a moment the race was over! I looked around the other lanes to see if there was anybody but there wasn't, I had won. After I had won the other races I thought it had been a very exciting day.
The night before camp I stayed up quite late because of my dad, he wanted everything to be perfect. He made sure I had extra everything, T-shirts, shorts, socks you name it! When I woke up the next morning I felt a little bit groggy from lack of sleep but not deterred! I went and put on anything I could find in my wardrobe. I flew down the stairs ate my breakfast and decided to test out how heavy my bag was. It weighed a catastrophic amount, I had no idea of how I could carry it around. Finally the time came and we left for school. I went in and sat down amongst my friends and peers. We finally got on the bus, it was a long bus trip it almost took one hour and 45 min. When we arrived we were all excited about how good the camp would be and what the next two days would bring. We all put our bags down near a campfire, and we all got led to a place which looked like a dining hall. After being informed of how our cabins were going to work we set off to choose our cabin mates. In my cabin there was Noah, Fion, Jardin, and Daniel. My favourite activity of that day was the waterslide. The days at camp were very exciting and fun.
By Julian Michelsen
Jamie Reisin Task 1
English- Autobiographical Recount
I walked through the lush green rainforest on a bumpy, uneven track. The thick canopy towered over me providing me with a bit of shade from the hot Aussie sun. I proceeded down the trail until in the distance I noticed a difference in the terrain. Suddenly, the dense rainforest turned into large rocks and I could just make out clear water peacefully trickling down them. There were manmade brown objects scattered around the area. I approached the new landscape and then saw what it really was..... It was The Challenge Valley.
I embarked on a journey that I would never forget. The first obstacle was very challenging. It was a brown plank of wood on a slant angling upwards and then continuing to a ladder going down made out of tyres. It doesn’t seem that hard, but I can tell you now, when it has just been hosed, it is extremely slippery. Therefore, when I began the ascent I climbed with a lot of caution making sure I didn’t fall off. I arrived at the top and then started climbing down. My method brought back fond memories of when I was little. I used to go into the hallway of my house and start climbing up it like a spider. I made it near the bottom and then... I fell. The amount of time that I was in the air was so miniscule, however, I still remember the feeling. It was like I was just floating - a feeling of absolute nothingness. I hit the ground, surprisingly a soft landing into brown, gooey mud. Then I army crawled through the murky water onto dry land.
Sprinting on to the next obstacle, I tripped a few times but luckily didn’t fall. We arrived at the next obstacle which was quite tough. It was a ropes course shaped like a mountain. It was a race against the other team and we were ahead by a tiny margin. Third in line and I was ready for a struggle. I stretched out my leg using all my flexibility to make a great start. I found a rung with the edge of my shoe and heaved myself up. I had skipped 4 rungs on the chequered rope mountain! After a speedy start I was way in front of my opponent. I reached the peak of the rope system which was a metal cylinder. My whole body was over except my leg which was caught on one of the many ropes. I tried a number of times to free my leg but nothing was working. The other team was catching up- step by step they were getting closer. When I thought all was lost, I made one last sudden jerk. The good news was that my leg was free. However, during the struggle I had smashed my knee on the metal pole. It hurt immensely but that was not going to make me give up. When foot touched the ground, I knew that I had reached my destination.
Challenge Valley was a great memory of my time at camp in my first few weeks at Reddam House.
I walked through the lush green rainforest on a bumpy, uneven track. The thick canopy towered over me providing me with a bit of shade from the hot Aussie sun. I proceeded down the trail until in the distance I noticed a difference in the terrain. Suddenly, the dense rainforest turned into large rocks and I could just make out clear water peacefully trickling down them. There were manmade brown objects scattered around the area. I approached the new landscape and then saw what it really was..... It was The Challenge Valley.
I embarked on a journey that I would never forget. The first obstacle was very challenging. It was a brown plank of wood on a slant angling upwards and then continuing to a ladder going down made out of tyres. It doesn’t seem that hard, but I can tell you now, when it has just been hosed, it is extremely slippery. Therefore, when I began the ascent I climbed with a lot of caution making sure I didn’t fall off. I arrived at the top and then started climbing down. My method brought back fond memories of when I was little. I used to go into the hallway of my house and start climbing up it like a spider. I made it near the bottom and then... I fell. The amount of time that I was in the air was so miniscule, however, I still remember the feeling. It was like I was just floating - a feeling of absolute nothingness. I hit the ground, surprisingly a soft landing into brown, gooey mud. Then I army crawled through the murky water onto dry land.
Sprinting on to the next obstacle, I tripped a few times but luckily didn’t fall. We arrived at the next obstacle which was quite tough. It was a ropes course shaped like a mountain. It was a race against the other team and we were ahead by a tiny margin. Third in line and I was ready for a struggle. I stretched out my leg using all my flexibility to make a great start. I found a rung with the edge of my shoe and heaved myself up. I had skipped 4 rungs on the chequered rope mountain! After a speedy start I was way in front of my opponent. I reached the peak of the rope system which was a metal cylinder. My whole body was over except my leg which was caught on one of the many ropes. I tried a number of times to free my leg but nothing was working. The other team was catching up- step by step they were getting closer. When I thought all was lost, I made one last sudden jerk. The good news was that my leg was free. However, during the struggle I had smashed my knee on the metal pole. It hurt immensely but that was not going to make me give up. When foot touched the ground, I knew that I had reached my destination.
Challenge Valley was a great memory of my time at camp in my first few weeks at Reddam House.
Creative Writing Task 2 - Nora Moore
Creative Writing Task 2
It all started off with a family living in Florida, United States of America. They were the Ferrior family. There was a dad, a mum and a little girl called Ashlee, who was 5 years old. Ashlee’s parents originated from Los Angeles while Ashlee was born in Miami.
Ashlee was finishing her last year of pre-school and she was very excited about going to primary school the following year.
One day, after pre-school, Ashlee learnt that her mum is pregnant. Ashlee cheered with excitement, jumping up and down! She had so many thoughts of what it would be like to have a baby sister or brother. Ashlee preferred to have a sister, so she could have a girl to talk to and for company.
Something that Ashlee was always curious about was how her life would change if she had a sibling. Would her house change into a baby dream world or would it stay how it is now with few toys? Would she have to share a room with her sibling or would her family move into a new house as they only have two bedrooms? Ashlee was curious about all those things, but she had to wait and see.
Nine months had passed very quickly. One sunny day Ashlee was at her pre-school playing around with her baby set. Suddenly, her dad came sprinting up to her to tell Ashlee that they had to leave in a hurry as they were late for the hospital. Ashlee was so confused as she didn’t know what was happening. She had a thought that maybe someone in her family got hurt, but she was definitely wrong! The truth was - her mother was in hospital, because she had given birth!
When Ashlee learnt that her mum had given birth, she was extremely excited and a bit nervous about finding out if it was a girl or a boy. Her dad knew, but he wanted to surprise her. As they arrived at the Belmond Hospital, they ran as fast as they possibly could until they reached the door of the room where the mum was resting. The father and daughter both looked at each other in silence, and then counted to three. One, two and thhhrrrreeeee! As they opened the door they saw a little baby resting on the mum’s lap and stared with excitement… especially Ashlee.
Ashlee made her way towards her sibling and the first thing she asked was ’Is it a boy or a girl?’ ‘What do you think?’ asked her mum. ‘Ummmm ….. well, I think it’s a girl and hope it is, but if it isn’t - I am still happy’. ‘Well, you’re correct; it’s a lovely baby girl!’ Ashlee started jumping up and down because she was so happy to have a baby sister!
The mum and the baby came home soon after and they all lived a happy family. Ashlee’s sister was named Stella, they all thought it was a lovely name. There was now four of them – mum, dad, Ashlee and a beautiful baby Stella!
THE END!!!!!
By Nora Moore
It all started off with a family living in Florida, United States of America. They were the Ferrior family. There was a dad, a mum and a little girl called Ashlee, who was 5 years old. Ashlee’s parents originated from Los Angeles while Ashlee was born in Miami.
Ashlee was finishing her last year of pre-school and she was very excited about going to primary school the following year.
One day, after pre-school, Ashlee learnt that her mum is pregnant. Ashlee cheered with excitement, jumping up and down! She had so many thoughts of what it would be like to have a baby sister or brother. Ashlee preferred to have a sister, so she could have a girl to talk to and for company.
Something that Ashlee was always curious about was how her life would change if she had a sibling. Would her house change into a baby dream world or would it stay how it is now with few toys? Would she have to share a room with her sibling or would her family move into a new house as they only have two bedrooms? Ashlee was curious about all those things, but she had to wait and see.
Nine months had passed very quickly. One sunny day Ashlee was at her pre-school playing around with her baby set. Suddenly, her dad came sprinting up to her to tell Ashlee that they had to leave in a hurry as they were late for the hospital. Ashlee was so confused as she didn’t know what was happening. She had a thought that maybe someone in her family got hurt, but she was definitely wrong! The truth was - her mother was in hospital, because she had given birth!
When Ashlee learnt that her mum had given birth, she was extremely excited and a bit nervous about finding out if it was a girl or a boy. Her dad knew, but he wanted to surprise her. As they arrived at the Belmond Hospital, they ran as fast as they possibly could until they reached the door of the room where the mum was resting. The father and daughter both looked at each other in silence, and then counted to three. One, two and thhhrrrreeeee! As they opened the door they saw a little baby resting on the mum’s lap and stared with excitement… especially Ashlee.
Ashlee made her way towards her sibling and the first thing she asked was ’Is it a boy or a girl?’ ‘What do you think?’ asked her mum. ‘Ummmm ….. well, I think it’s a girl and hope it is, but if it isn’t - I am still happy’. ‘Well, you’re correct; it’s a lovely baby girl!’ Ashlee started jumping up and down because she was so happy to have a baby sister!
The mum and the baby came home soon after and they all lived a happy family. Ashlee’s sister was named Stella, they all thought it was a lovely name. There was now four of them – mum, dad, Ashlee and a beautiful baby Stella!
THE END!!!!!
By Nora Moore
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)