CHAMPIONS!

Just this week our school's Intermediate athletes were given the oppurtunity to compete with the best of the best in the Eastern zone. We did exceptionally well to break three records and many more placings. We won all of the running relays and broke a record for one of them! Check this clip out to see just a snippet of how well our school did on the day! http://player.vimeo.com/video/32886693?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0

PES shares with Tagata Pasifika - TVNZ TVone

Tagata Pasifika visited Pt England School and our Manaiakalani Film Festival.

Fighting to the very end......

This event that we were about to take part in was quite nerve racking yet exciting, our Yr 8 boys team had won the Eastern Zone title. And now they were headed for the Auckland Volleyball Championship next….

I was given the opportunity to go with them and film their matches. They always knew that this was not going to be easy, I mean of course it’s not! It was the Champions of Champions tournament! The boys were told that they needed to win at least two of their three pool games to make it into the semi final stages.

The team were determined to establish themselves as a real threat in this tournament in their first match, they had all the athletic skill and ability to go all the way, all they needed to do was use it. Really the key to volleyball is awareness and knowing what to do at the right time. In their first game they played with a lot of heart coming back from a 12 point deficit and only losing by six.

Though the score did not show their efforts their determination would show in their next game against the undefeated Block House Bay school. This game was do or die for the boys, if they lost it would be all over red rover. What made it quite emotional was that this would be the last time that the boys would be playing volleyball together as a school team.

I quickly ran to the corner of the huge court to get the camera out as I knew that the boys were ready to play this time round… The whistle went, there was a good passage of play going on between the two teams, the game was flowing quite well with both schools getting the ball over the net into their oppositions position.

The ball was then turned back into Point England’s territory and they were ready to counter the opponents front line defence. The ball went to the back line of attack with the game plan being to get it to the setter(Tamati) on the second hit. Raven set it up for Tamati, Tamati then gently layed up the ball for Ieremus to have a good shot at the ball. Ieremus leap up into the air like a Frog to a fly! WACK!!! The ball came flying to the ground like a meteorite crashing into Earth. One point to Point England! The team gained their confidence from that play, and from their nothing could stop them. The boys successfully kept their hopes alive winning comfortably by 8 points.

After the match boys sat down and talked about what they did well and what they could improve on, kind of like a PMI for Sports if you ask me! The team still needed to win this game to stay alive with the first game costing them dearly making them have to win all their other games. In this next game we found a team like us, 1 win 1 lost and they needed to win this game to stay alive. The boys were looking to carry their aggressive performance in their game earlier on. The game looked like it was slipping away from them at one point but inside they knew that they deserved to go through to the next stage. The boys did that and fought back from a a six point lead and one by 2 points.

The boys were pleased with their effort and went onto the next stage. Coming up against the fearsome Viscount school they were the underdogs. In the beginning of the battle they were leading by two points, but experience and composure for the Viscount side proved to strong for us with Viscount winning the game and going onto win the competition. The boys played to the very end and competed what was to be the last volleyball school team for them.

The boys did exceptionally well to get this far and I am very proud of them, and I'm sure that the school is and will be proud of them too! Well done boys……..

Space Objects Measurements..

I just witnessed one of the freakiest things I have ever seen. This term we are studying space and beyond, and just this morning we were looking at a clip of the scale of stars and planets. Watching the planets getting bigger through measurement. the planets got bigger and bigger...... Mercury,Mars,Venus,Earth, Neptune, Uranus. I was amazed by how big the planets of this universe really were. Then the Sun popped up my eyes widened. 1,392,000 Ks!!!

I read all of the facts about it, I was about to quit of the clip knowing that their was nothing bigger then the sun, and then I read this: But wait there’s more.... I couldn’t believe it! There was something bigger then the Sun! OMG I was quite scared and excited to find what was bigger then the this humongous the star! My eyes were about to pop out watching these massive stars go on and off the screen, Sirius, Vega, Pollux, Arcturus, Aldebaran, Rigel, and more...

I finally reached the biggest star, the VV Cephei. It has an enormous measurement of 2,644,800,000 KM as it’s diameter! This clip really got us thinking how tiny our home really is? It’s actually quite scary if you think about! But the main question is: Are there any life forms around the universe?

CHAAAAMPIONS!!!!!

The most important game in New Zealand Rugby history was about to begin. The game that would really show who was the the real number one team in the world. The All blacks were in the final showdown with the very fortunate French side. The All Blacks were heavy favourites with undeafeated streak, while France had already lost two pool games against New Zealand and Tonga!

I was watching the event on tv. The atmosphere was huge! Even I was getting nervous just watching the crowd build! The crowd roared before and throughout the game. The game was about to begin. The two teams were about to jogg onto the field. They came onto the field and sang their national athems (I stood up and sang it too!). The All Blacks performed their fearsome haka and the match was about to begin.

France came out flying quickly getting the ball into their possesion. Suprisingly the French were not kicking the ball away as they normally did intheir recent games. Instead they were using the ball spreading it quickly around the park trying to counter the might of the All Blacks defence. France were on the front foot in the first 20 minutes, dominating the set pieces with strong scrums and decisive line outs.

The All Blacks needed to establish themselves as the dominate team in this game. So they capitilized on a chance close to the Frech try line with a beautiful set piece move ending up with the prop Tony Woodcock cashing in for the first points. This was a big kick coming up, Weepu was given several chances to take the lead for the All Blacks but was denied both times. This kick would give the All Blacks a bit of breathing space but unfortunately Piri Weepu failed to convert. They went to halftime with the lead being 5-0.

The All Blacks were struck with yet another injury to young gun Aaron Cruden forcing Stephen Donald to come on and make his debut in the World Cup! Fortunatley Donald stepped up to the challenge and converted what would be the winning penalty! I was ready to faint in the dying minutes of the game with the clock ticking and the French behind by 1 but having the ball inside the All Blacks half. I nervously watched on as the clock ticked....... YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The All Blacks were given a penalty, all they needed to do was win the line and hold onto the ball. YEEEEAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!! THE PLAGUE IS FINALLY OVER!!!!!! 24 YEARS OF WAITING HAVE FINALLY COME TO AN END!!!!!!!!!

Auckland Rugby League Tournament

Just last week our school League team went down to Cornwall park to challenge for the best school in Auckland at Rugby League. I was very excited about this and couldn't wait to go. I was confident that our team could go all the way, we had the right mix of fitness, speed and strength.

We already knew that this tournament would be nowhere near easy for us. We would have to dig deep and give all of the matches our best effort. We were put into a tough pool, with the big guns and reigning champions De La Salle College, a big team in Wesley College and the unknown Rosmini College. We were in for a tough ride if we wanted to make the semi finals.

We played to our potential and won all three matches, we were quite excited to be in the Semis and were prepared to go one step further. We were up against a fast moving Kedgley Intermediate.
We were unfortunate to lose by a try in extra time. I was quite stunned by the result seeing as it was the last time that we would be playing together as brothers, other than that I had an awesome time competing against other school. I just can’t wait until next year...

Manu Samoa Did Us Proud

Though Samoa did not make the Quarter finals they did us proud by putting on a magnificent against the Mighty South Africans. They played with a lot of heart and dignity to keep the score board low. They showed that they should of had another chance by keeping the South Africans to one try.

The Samoans finished in 3rd place in pool D winning 2 games and losing 2. They were determined to make a statement that they were one of the better teams in the world. And though they didn't show it by making the qualifying, they showed with it by people wanting more of them in the World Cup. Congratulations for putting an enormous amount of effort into their performances. Our love and support will always be with you. MANU SAMOA!!!!