Dear Diary,
If I could be anyone in the would I would be… Michael Jordan! I want to be him because he is an amazing basketball player and I love everything about basketball.
I like Michael Jordan because he can do great passes, wonderful dribbling, fantastic kicks woops not kicks… and MAGNIFECENT SLAM DUNKS!!!
I like Michael Jordan because he is very popular and he is very cool.
Sorry Diary got 2 go…
FROM HS
On Saturday 12th April 5 students from Room 21 and Miss Adamson went to One Tree Hill to represent Elm Park School in the summits climb in memory of Sir Edmund Hillary.
The climb to the top of One Tree Hill was the 29th climb in memory of Sir Ed. Climbs are taking place all over the North and the South Island. It was New Zealand’s way of remembering a great man who was extraordinary in lots of different ways. He had a passion for walking so this remembarance for him would have been one that would have made him smile.
At 4pm students, teachers and family members from all over Auckland gathered to pay their final respect to Sir Edmund Hillary. Each school who participated also brought a stone with them that had their school name on it. All these stones from all the summit climbs from all over New Zealand will be gathered together and made into a cairn in memory of Sir Ed at the foot of Mount Ruapehu . This will be an everlasting memory at a place where Sir Edmund Hillary first fell in love with mountains.
At the beginning of the walk there was a speech about Sir Edmund Hillary from the organisers of the Summits for Sir Ed Trust. He spoke about his achievements and why these walks were such a great idea.
It was a challenging walk for us and fun at the same time. Some of the parents found the walk difficult as it wasn’t in their habit to walk up so high and far. When we made it to the summit of One Tree Hill we listened to a few people from the Nepalese community talk about Sir Edmund Hillary and then we held a one minute silence for him.
Walking down the hill was much easier and quicker. We also took a short cut which meant we reached the bottom in record time. Some of us were tired after the walk so we couldn’t imagine how Sir Edmund Hillary felt after climbing Mount Everest.
We are glad that we all took part in this walk and that we have remembered such a wonderful man. This will be an everlasting memory for all of us. We have learned a lot about him this Term and we all really appreciate what an EXTRAORDINARY MAN HE REALLY WAS!!
By MH, JW, JM, PK, LA & MM Room 21
We have been talking about extraordinary New Zealanders.
Sir Edmund Hillary is one of the people that we most admire. We found four of our favourite pictures of Sir Edmund Hillary and then asked each person in the class four questions about him. They were….
1. Tell us one interesting fact about Sir Edmund Hillary.
2. What Habits of Mind did Sir Edmund Hillary use in his life?
3. What do you most admire about Sir Edmund Hillary?
4. What are your dreams for your future?
By MH & MHH
In Reading we are learning about Extraordinary New Zealanders that have made a difference.This week we have been reading about the living legend Jonah Lomu.
Background Information
Jonah Lomu was born on the 12th May 1975. He was born in South Auckland, New Zealand. He is 32 years old. His parents are Tongan. When Jonah Lomu was 9 years old he had to run behind his parents car every Sunday to go to church because he was too tall to fit into the car!
Jonah’s Dream
Jonah Lomu’s dream was to wear the black jersey of the New Zealand, All Blacks. The All Blacks are the best rugby team in the world. Jonah Lomu became the youngest ever All Black in history.
He was only 19 years and 45 days old when he had his first match.
Match History
Jonah Lomu’s first Provincial side was Counties Manukau. He played 28 games for them between 1994 and 1999. He played his first World Cup against France and then he was selected in 1995 to play in his second World Cup. In 1996 he played against the Barbarians in England.
Jonah Lomu was once described as being like a Boeing 747 because he was big, fast and made the ground shake like an earthquake. When he played he was also described as brushing off the other players as if they were flies meaning that they weren’t strong and they didn’t really challenge Jonah Lomu.
Life changing illness
After Jonah played against the Barbarians in England he had to stay in bed for 3 days because he couldn’t move. He was told he had a serious liver disease and that he would not be able to play rugby again and he would spend most of his life in a wheelchair chained to a machine that was going to clean his blood.
Nothing is Impossible
Jonah Lomu never gave up. After 9 months Jonah Lomu was back on the rugby field ready to play. He found the power within himself to get better and get back up there to achieve his dreams of being a rugby player.
Jonah Lomu is an extraordinary because he made a difference with the All Blacks by helping them to become the best team in the World.
We admire him because he is one of the best players in the history of the All Blacks and because he believed in himself and never gave up his dreams.
Facts about Jonah Lomu
Full Name : Jonah Tali Lomu
Height : 1 metre 96 centimetres
Weight : 116 kilograms
Speed : Can run 100 meters in 10.8 seconds
Size : Wears size 13 boots
College : Studied at Wesley College, Pukekohe
Eye Colour : Dark Brown
Favourite Colours : Yellow & Blue
Chest : 116 centimetres
Hips : 125 centimetres
Research and writing by
The White & Yellow Reading Group
Sir Edmund Hillary, also known as “The Man Behind The Mountain” was born on 20th of July 1919. H e started off life as an ordinary beekeeper but his life was about to change as he achieved the impossible.
Sir Edmund Hillary joined the Everest Reconnaissance in 1951 and again in 1952. He started his expedition to the summit of Mount Everest in 1953. On the way up, he met a man called Tenzing Norgay who was going to help him make an assault to the top.
The climb to the summit was full of harsh blizzards and slopes that seemed unclimbable but Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay didn’t give up. Most volunteers who also joined up either gave up or passed away. The Journey took several weeks.
Finally on the 29th of May 1953 at half past eleven. There were no more slopes and nowhere else to climb. They made it!! They were the first people on top of the so-called “unclimbable” mountain.
Over the next 50 years, Sir Ed was to have many more adventures. He jet-boated up the mouth of the fierce Ganges River, a river that is 1,560 miles long stretching from the mouth of the Himalayan Mountains and also led an expedition of tractors to the South Pole. He also became New Zealand’s High Commissioner in India.
Sir Edmund Hillary also helped the Sherpas in Nepal to build twenty-seven schools, two hospitals, twelve clinics, several bridges and an airstrip.
I think that Sir Edmund Hillary used all of the Habits of Minds. He used Applying Past Knowledge to New Situations because he used his past experience from climbing previous mountains to climb Mount Everest and to complete other challenging expeditions. I also think he responded with Wonderment and Awe because he always wanted to learn more about his world and he achieved what he dreamt of doing.
Despite everything he has done. Sir Edmund Hillary will mostly be remembered for that day when he and Tenzing Norgay stood on the summit of Mount Everest.
He was an extraordinary New Zealander and shall never be forgotten.
By MHH
On the 29th May 1953 Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of the highest mountain in the world. They were the first people to climb the highest mountain.
On the Top of the World
Sir Edmund Hillary used to be a beekeeper. He then climbed Mount Everest and became an extraordinary person. He liked adventures. He jet boated up the Ganges River and led expeditions to the South Pole.
The Ganges River is a sacred river known as Ganga Ma – Mother Ganges. The Ganges River is 1,560 miles long and it is in Northern India. It starts from the Himalayan mountains and ends up in the Indian Ocean.
Map of the River Ganges
Sherpas are a group of people who live in the Himalayan Mountains of Nepal. The word sherpa is also used to describe the local men who are experts in carrying heavy packs and guiding people who want to climb the mountains.
Sir Edmund Hillary set up The Himalayan Trust which built schools and hospitals for the sherpas. He built 27 schools and 2 hospitals. He also built an airstrip which was important as it meant that the planes could carry equipment and food to the sherpas. Before it took the sherpas 17 days to carry the equipment from Kathmandu to their village. Kathmandu is the capital city of Nepal.
Sir Edmund Hillary was an extraordinary New Zealander because he never gave up when his wife and daughter was killed in a plane crash. He helped the Sherpas and changed their lives. Sir Edmund Hillary was a helpful and caring man who loved his family, his friends and the rest of the world.
By The White Group
Photos from Sir Edmund Hillary Photo Gallery – Academy of Achievement
