The Wolf is he a Criminal or a Victim?

In Amua Hub we have been learning about persuasive writing and how to write a piece of writing with impact. Our latest moot has been "Is the Wolf a Criminal or a Victim" in the Three Little Pigs. Below are some thoughts from a group of students.

The Three Little Pigs Are The Victims.

I completely believe the 3 pigs are the victims and I have countless reasons that will satisfy you to know the truth.

Obviously pigs will be frightened when a carnivore shows up at their doorstep. I believe the pigs were trying to defend themselves from death. Wouldn't you?

Expert vegetarians tell us pigs shouldn't be murdered and used for food. Especially for cuts of pork chops, ham steaks, crispy bacon and packed luncheon.  Would you like it if you were eaten in that many ways by carnivorous beasts like the wolf?.

Why hurt such innocent pigs? They are just living their lives who are smart and are clever carpenters knowing how to build a house and survive the harshness of life.

Remember when the wolf specifically said,

“What juicy tender meat you will make?” He definitely does not mean ‘making it by hand’. Its obvious that he wasn't trying to be nice at all!

Surely you can sympathise with me and notice how the 3 sweet juicy piggies are the victims. The wolf is a predator who is only thinking of his stomach and how delicious the 3 pigs would taste. He hunts for prey and he will do it for any price, even innocent lives!

SO BEWARE OF THE BIG BAD WOLF!!

Sweet Innocent Pigs

The wolf is the real victim? Are you mad? How on earth can anyone feel sorry for this sharp tooth, saliva dripping, evil grinning hairy murderer?

I disagree.

How could Three Little Pigs ever hope to survive when their mean old neighbour, Mr Wolf continues to blow their house’s down? I strongly believe that they have every right to be terrified with this vicious vandal at their doorstep.

These sweet little pigs are so frightened! All they want to do all day is dance and play around. They should be allowed to live how they want to. They are hard workers! They have built 3 houses in one day. Then suddenly without any warning, just a knock at the door and not a please or thank you, the wolf just feels like blowing down a house.

Surely you have heard that wolves are carnivores. The pigs could not defend themselves to this vicious wolf. This wolf will do whatever it takes to get an easy meal.

It is a fact that wolves eat pigs, it is a fact that pigs are on the food chain for any predators such as wolves. It was just luck that these three little pigs got out of this situation alive.

Equity - Sharing with our Community.

One of the key learning areas we have been working on is developing a sense of community. The Highwire Year 7 Leadership Group has been looking at Equality. They spent the day with a group of adults who were able to share their life experiences with them and they took part in some activities together.

The Cross Fit Session

The Highwire Group took part in a crossfit session with a focus on determination. They all persevered and worked through each of the activities. We tried our best and that was the most important lesson.

Our Reflective Statements about the North Counties Cross Country.

Wednesday 24th August 2016.

Out of School Cross Country.

My highlight was to watch the Redhill boys and one of our girls push their way through the course. Some of them came last and one pulled out of the race. My thoughts were, at least they gave it their best shot. Toward the end of the race it was cool to watch them all finish. Plus I was helping Koa out when he was very ill and cold. He looked very red in the face when I caught up with him. He was coughing so much he could hardly breathe properly.

My low light was when I had this feeling that Koa had to stop running the race because it took him forever to come around the corner. Once Steven finished I turned around and saw Koa bending over and coughing. It looked like he was cold and sick. So I decided to take my kathmandu jacket off and put it around him so it could keep warm. I took him upstairs and sat him a on a chair to have a rest.

Isitolo.

Cross Country

Today, we went to Strathallan to take part in the Cross Country. At Strathallan there were heaps of schools we had to race.

They were hard to race. When we were pushing through the course I was trying my best to pass a boy who came from St Mary's. He kept on running past me. It was quite annoying to see. I waited till he began walking then I took the moment to sprint past him!

At the end I felt so proud of the Year 8 boys from my school.

So my next step is to make sure I get fitter. My highlight for the day was when we were trying our best to get to the top ten runners. My lowlight was we never quite make it to the top ten.  

Regan. 

The North Counties Year 7 and 8 Cross Country.

Today a group of students attended the North Counties Cross Country. The event was very successful with our students putting in their very best effort.

We were very proud of their hard work.

The Red Hill School Cross Country Event 2016

The Students, Staff and Community had a fabulous time at the school Cross Country this year. We all took part with a positive, fair play attitude and pride in our House teams. We are proud of the effort put in by everyone. Come and look at our awesome athletes young and older.

The Highwire Leadership Year 7 Group - Session Four.

The Highwire Leadership Team took part in a tramp and bush survival programme this week. The focus was on Success and we were all very successful in the achievements for this session. We are all looking forward to next week.

Our Highwire Leadership Experience - Session Three

There are currently seven Year 7 students who are continuing to work with the Highwire team to develop further their leadership qualities.

This week the focus was on Encouragement. The group took part in a series of High Ropes Experiences to assist in understanding the concept of encouragement.

They did fabulously!

The South Auckland Chess Competition - Our Super Star Team.

Today the Year 8 boys team went to Everglade School in Manukau with Gran to take part in the South Auckland Chess Competition and came 5th. This is an excellent result for our team given that it is the first competition that we have ever taken part in.

Now that we have had this experience we are feeling better prepared for the next competition in a fortnights time.

Persuasive Writing - Bending the Truth!

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Bending the Truth!

Is it ok to bend the truth? I think it is, because imagine what it would be like if you told the truth to someone close to you and it hurt their feelings and made them mad or dislike you.

Everyone knows that if you are to bend the truth you can sometimes save yourself from seeming like a bad person, like this scenario for instance: I took some money from your wallet because I wanted to do this. You could say I borrowed some money for that school trip I wanted to go on. I am sure you would have wanted me to have the experience.

It is a well known fact that if you bend the truth and feel bad about how that person reacted just remember, don’t let it get out of hand so try to gently bring them down instead of ripping them out.

You tell your friend that they were good at stunting and end up trying to do an impossible stunt off a tall platform in front of a lot of people, he ends up failing, humiliating and hurting himself then ends up being a joke at school. You could’ve stopped him before he started. So in the end just let them know how good they are gently instead of lying to their face.

I strongly believe that if you manage to get into a tricky situation try not to lie your way out either prove it wasn’t you if it was then just take it. E.g: Your brother ate the last cake that was for your dad and he blames it on you so you say that you don’t, the look mum gives you shows she doesn’t believe you so you find ways you prove it was him. You start by saying you had a small piece and say your brother had the rest. After hearing this mum questions your brother and he cracks and says he had all of it and you had none. So see how bending the truth to shows that if you look into it you might just be able to save yourself from taking a hit from someone who pins the blame on you.

       

Surely you know that in telling the direct truth you can hurt a lot of people but when you bend the truth or fib as it’s more commonly known you’ll tell the truth but in a nicer way. Take this for example: You don’t enjoy the cakes your dad bakes you and don’t want him to be upset about it so instead of saying they are terrible you tell him they are ok but they need some more work.

So after hearing all of this and seeing the facts do you still think it is a bad thing to bend the truth?. If still then I guess you have to stay with you beliefs but if I managed to change your mind about this, then my job here is done.

By Matthew.

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Persuasive Writing - Should Animals be kept in a Circus?

Why animals should not be kept in a circus.

I believe that animals should NOT be kept in a circus. They are being tortured, hurt and stressed.

Ahh, the Circus!

A place where animals do awesome tricks, stunts. This is a place where you would forget about your worries and let the people/animals entertain you!

But... Behind the curtains, bad things happen to animals... and I’ll tell you what happens.

Animals are being trained, but tortured. Animals are locked up in cages, but not fed. Animals give birth, but their babies are taken away. (That’s just sad! What horrible people.) Click this link, to see an image of a bullhook (A weapon used for elephants.)

In 2015. About 80 elephants were killed just because of the circus men. Torturing elephants with these, Sharp, Metal, Heavy sticks called “Bullhooks” (Wow, poor elephants.)

They are endangering poor, poor animals… I think they should at least feed, train, and care for the animals being in circuses.

I hope circus men/woman would care for the animals soon enough.

Shayden.

The Red Hill School Olympic Games Event.

The Year 7 Highwire Leadership Group Experiences.

There are ten students who are actively involved in a Leadership Programme with Highwire. They have been looking at resilience and the qualities that they need to show. All students are keeping a reflective journal and will share it on their individual blogs. We are very proud of positive attitude and perseverance of the group.

 

The Smokefree Challenge.

What does it mean to be Smokefree?

We have been working on what it is to be smokefree. Now we are sharing all of the new learning that we have found. Each of us are posting onto our blog using different formats, devices and ideas. This is an example of how we have shared our learning.