Character DescriptionsCamp PoetrySecret life of a staff memberAnd much more within…

Look out for

our Earthquake

Recounts

inside...

CSI Z NE

What a computer is to me is the most remarkable tool that we have ever

come up with. It’s the equivalent of a bicycle for our minds.

Steve Jobs

Creative Story Investigation™ISSUE: 3 - 2010

MOTHER NATUREHer hair steaming past at no end. Clear as crystal with a gleam of sun shimmering across. Highlighting her ever changing but never ending beauty. Her feet, the planted boulders locked into the earth, her toenails the lively green moss growing, never cut back, wild. Her legs the curvy round hills that stretch as long as Aotearoa, chiseled as the cliff facing our neighboring sea.

Her stomach the soft clouds floating above our heads and her arms the soft, glorious rain trickling down and across earth. She embraces the sun, her lover in the day but hides away with moon her love at night. Her fingers the greatest trees in our land, mother to all that pass by. Her neck the mightiest mountain of them all Mt Aoraki protruding from the land. The climax of all that dwell. Her heart is the life of all beings large and small, all that is is so because of her. Her eyes are light houses where only she can see past all darkness with her pure with light. Others have seen it before, the graceful, majestic beam of light that parts through clouds and across our world.

You will hear her voice many a time, some it may pass by without them noticing, but others it will touch in the deepest parts of their hearts. The call of nature, the song of no word, mother natures voice, the call of the bird.

Oscar Deans 8B

CSI ZONE

Camp PoetryIt is dark, but not too dark. The forest is lit by a dim, blueish light coming from the moon. It is cold, but not too cold. Some heat is trapped in the thin layers of my sleeping bay. It is silent. Silent apart from the gentle rush of the stream rolling down from the hills and the faint rustle of leaves blown by the soft breeze.

I look up into a clear, starry sky through the forest canopy and a s t range fee l i ng runs through my body. There are other boys near me but they are sound asleep. The eerie buzz of an unseen insect passes occasionally keeping me awake, but after along exhausting day I will soon fall asleep again.

Charles Howard 8B

This is Not a SchoolThis is not a school it is a gateway to success.

This is not a school it is a battlefield of destruction.

This is not a school it is a wall we have to pass to reach our goals.

This is not a school it is hell pushing us to the limit.

This is not a school it is a gold mine full of educational treasures.

This is not a school it is a pathway to achieve our dreams.

This is not a school it is a piece of land where boys become men.

This is not a school it is a place where boys are trained to conquer their dreams.

Jake Jang 8B

CSI ZONE

THIS IS NOT A COMPUTERThis is not a computer, it is the finest piece of engineering mankind has ever produced.

This is not a computer, it is an explosion of power, passion and performance.

This is not a computer, it is an income source for more then one million people.

This is not a computer, it is a mind boggling experience.

This is not a computer, it is the product of more then ten thousand hours of work.

This is not a computer, it is a three dimensional gaming experience that amazes the world.

William Habgood 8H

This Is Not a TestThis is not a test, this is a game that decides the best.

This is not a test, this is where people contest.

This is not a test, this is paper that allows success.

This is not a test, this is where nerves are pushed to the limit.

This is not a test, this is a tree killing pest.

This is not a test, this is paper that makes stress.

This is not a test, this is an apple in which the bowl holds.

This is not a test, this is one page in the book of life.

Grant Romeril

I am awoken by a sharp rolling bed, and a mesmerizing roar. I am scared. I lay awake, taking refuge in my comfortable bunker. I hear my name called out. Who is it? How does this voice know my name? I hear a bash. I hope it’s not my laptop. My dad bursts in, screaming at me to abscond my room, and join him in the hallway. I quickly get out of my bed, then instantaneously fall backwards. The quake is too powerful. I make the life-death decision to stay in my bed, and battle this invisible monster. My dad keeps screaming at me, but I stay in bed, unable to leave the only place that I feel truly safe.The shaking stops, and so does my anxiety. I get out of bed, with the toilet as my next checkpoint. I quickly make sure that everyone is okay, and close the bathroom door. As I leave the bathroom, I feel the first aftershock. I fall to my knees and hold my arms over my head like a turtle. It stops within seconds, and I am once again relieved. I head out to the kitchen, to meet my dad and sister. My sister is shaking, my dad is inspecting the damage and I am searching for my phone to post it on Facebook. Another aftershock, bigger this time. Easily comparable to turbulence in an airplane. It ends, and I sit down on the couch. Nothing seems broken at this point, but we are still wary of aftershocks. Somehow, out of all this madness, I remember that there's a rugby game about to start.

Jamie Street, 8B

Earthquake Experience

I woke up to find the house shaking on its hinges. Only an earthquake, I thought and tried to get back to sleep. I was too sleepy to realise that there were things falling around me and there was smashing g lass . Then it abruptly stopped.My grandparents dragged me out of bed to take a look at the damage. The TV fell over and so did the computer. Many ornaments were also broken which really annoyed my grandparents. The TV and the computer actually survived!Then we went to my house. The walls were cracked and the lounge floor was uneven. My room was one big bomb site of books, stationery and two spilled pot plants. There is a big job ahead of me.

Anthony Goh, 8B

CSI ZONEMY EARTHQUAKE EXPERIENCE

CSI ZONE

I was shaken awake by a terrible trembling feeling and the roar of a vicious lion. Seconds later it hit me. It rocked me about like a cranky old car bumping down a rutty road. After the shaking stopped I realized the power had gone off.

We all huddled as a family under the kitchen table and listened to a battery radio we had handy. I was a m a z e d t o h e r e j u s t h o w devastating the earthquake was and how close we were to the epicenter.

As soon as day dawned, and I saw the full extent, I knew it was going to be a big job to tidy up. We started by tidying the kitchen and dining rooms so we had a place to sit down in.

It took us another two days to tidy the house. Later on Sunday, when I looked around the Farm, I found it was in a mess. Water had flooded all over bunks and sand volcanoes were sprouting up everywhere. We definitely were shaken.

EARTHQUAKE!

My eyes jolt open. My light flickers on and off. Loud banging noises fill the room. My heart is racing, thoughts flying through my head. I try to get my mind around what is happening. It feels like I’m being tossed around in a tumble dryer.

Suddenly my door bursts open and my big brother storms through, “Hurry up and get your ass off that bed!” I get out of bed trying not to fall over. The house is still shaking violently. I run from door to door, trying to make my way to the safety of the lounge room. Finally I make it to safety and the shaking stops. I slowly lie down and try not to think about it and as my heart stops pounding I fall asleep... all we can do now is wait until day-light.

When day finally arrived I think all the Cantabrians affected by the 7.1 magnitude quake realized the damage this beast had really done. But what shocked me the most is that a sewing machine had landed of the pillow of my bed. So, I think we can come to a conclusion... this surely was a rude awakening.

RUDE AWAKENINGBy Finn Cameron

Shaken By Jack Power

SHIPWRECKEDBlue skies with patches of sheepy clouds were already breath-taking just to look at. Furthermore a day sailing at Lake Rua, a place far a w a y f r o m t h e c l a s s r o o m environment, a place for the day to relax and set your mind at ease. This was 100% pure victory, pure satisfaction.

Mini-dust particles ricocheted off the walls as our V8 bus driver accelerated with the utmost care. Finally, after many minutes of admiring the window screen, my nose and my body was glad ti greet the morning breeze.

What followed immediately after we jumped off the bus was a view that would leave even the most eco-unfriendly awestricken... Standing before us was a most typical summer day and a crystal-clear lake. The sun’s rays shimmered almost delightfully over the lake as we as walked towards the ever-popular optimist boats. I soon found out that rigging and setting out the boats was constantly proving to be a difficult task.

However, we manage to overcome that. I was encouraged to go first

so I shot my hand straight up. Five minutes later and I could feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins as I approached the infamous ‘turn’. The boat was starting to tip and a moment if sheer panic hijacked my mind. In a spilt second the boat started to leak then I disappeared. I had capsize on my first attempt and my fellow classmates were laughing at me. As I prepared to land, to my surprise, everyone s t a r t e d t o ‘ h i - f i v e ’ a n d congratulate me. it seemed I had become and icon-success!

It was midday and the fresh breeze brought a scent of mowed grass and foul smelling sunscreen bodies. We quickly vacuumed our l unch boxes , a l l eage r t o commence the relays. Jake, Sean and I... We made a pretty lousy team. Shards of crystal-clear water glimmered in the sun as they splashed gently on my face as I desperately tried to make up for the time we lost.

We arrived back at school, tired, wet, battered but still happy. 1st March 2010, will be a memory I will cherish for the rest of my life.

By Euwin Tan, 8B

THE DAY THAT SHOCKED CANTERBURY

The floor rumbled the walls squeaked, my heart pounded . It took me a few seconds to realize that it was an earthquake. Tired and frightened I got out of bed walking over everything in my room that was hanging on cracked walls .I soon got reached my destination (under the kitchen table) and as soon as I got there the rumbling commenced. If anything we were more terrified of aftershocks well at least my brother was.

Startled and confused my family went to my Grandparents house to congregate with the rest of the family. Incredibly there house didn’t lose power.

Phillipo Georgiou, 8B

CSI ZONE

2C DESCRIPTIONSCSI ZONE

SIMILESThe leaf is as veiny as an old man’s hand.The sofa is as soft as a marshmallow.The flower drops its head like an old lady sleeping.The swimming pool is as blue as the sea.

By Fergus Beadel 4R

CSI ZONE

Personification

The waves pushed me all the way to mars

The sunshine toasted my back

The frost nipped my toes in a funny way

The grass pushed the wind with speed

The clouds slid over my back as I parachuted down to earth.

By Ollie Brakenridge 4R

CATSCats kind, cats mean cats that pull on the book seamcats fat, cats thincats that climb in the rubbish tin.Cats that run, cats that leapcats that are happy cats, cats that weep.cats normal, cats crazy, cats that are lazy!

By Sam Gordon 4R

MR MOORHEADMr Moorhead is our caretaker at Medbury School. His clothes vary depending on the weather but he always wears a grey hat to protect him from the sun. He is 67 and has winkles but he doesn't wear glasses, strangely to me. In Mr Moorhead's spare time he plays golf. Mr Moorhead loves morning tea because he doesn't like the spicy food at lunch. A few of his jobs are getting the balls out of the river, driving a Massey Harrison tractor and taking the cover on and off the sandpit. When Mr Moorhead mows the field he wears earmuffs to protect him f r o m t h e noisy noise the lawn mower makes. He’s been married for 41 years (Halloween Day) and has two kids. His favourite job is painting the cricket pitch. Mr Moorhead's former job was working as a farmer. I like him for all the things he does for us at Medbury.

By Elliott Kim 3F

HOMEWORK BLUESPut your hands up if you like homework. Well, I don’t and today my speech is about exactly that. So listen up people who like homework and you will agree with me once I have finished.

Firstly, when you get home don't you just want to sit back relax and watch TV or play outside? Instead you have to sit down and do some pointless homework or you get a dumb detention. This can make your whole life seem boring and tedious. I mean think about it, if you spend 20 Min's doing a worksheet, 15 minutes doing some reading, 15 more minutes doing mathletics and as well as that 15 minutes doing a musical instrument (if you learn one) that's 70 Min’s or 1hr and 10 minutes. All of that time is doing homework.

Another thing to consider is that you have better things to do with your time. I bet that everybody here has better things to do than boring, tedious, homework. I mean seriously I could list the things that are better to do than homework,but obviously that would go on for hours and hours on end. Some of the things that I would do, however, are playing on my Wii, playing outside in this nice earth. Well, nice with no homework at least.

I also do not like homework because it gives you heaps and heaps of stress and if you stay up all night doing your homework you will have to go to bed late. Then you arrive at school all tired and grumpy, which is not good for school and working hard,is it? We

would all be happier if we didn’t need to do homework. This would make the world seem a nicer place with a stress free community and everybody will be relaxed.

Anyway we have nearly seven hours of school and then to come home and do another 70 minutes is just ridiculous. There are only so many hours in the day and doing homework should be low on your list of things to do. We still have a life other than homework and school like I have a social life with friends. We still need to spend time with our family, don't we?

Also did you know that academic studies have shown that homework does very little to improve your learning and that it is better to work in a group or have a buddy teach you something. So next if you get the time and have the choice, I would work with a buddy. When you do homework you won’t be in the happiest state possible,and you learn more when you are happy and with your friends at school.

So after this speech if you still like homework then do what you like, but just remind yourself it does nothing for you. If you don’t like homework then you have been listening to my speech and you are completely right. Homework is boring.

By Zachary Cran, 5S

CSI ZONE

SUPER POWERS!If I could change one thing I would have super powers!!!!!!Da da da da H MAN!!!!!!!!!Have you ever been able to make a difference in the world?Well if I could change one thing I would have superpowers!!!!I would be so powerful that all the superheroes themselves would be my sidekicks!!!!! Spider-man would be my left hand man, Batman would be my right hand man and Superman would fly above me even though I would be able to fly as well.I would have a utility belt that would tell me what disasters are happening at that moment.I would also have a visor that would tell me if people were lying and special H Man underwear.My duties would be to solve mysteries and save peoples lives.I would fly to Pakistan, suck up all the flooding water and then fly to Africa and release it there. I would use the flower power to stop global warming. I would use the force to stop earthquakes and tsunamis. It really would make a difference.I would stop the threat of poaching in Africa. There are even wildlife reserves to stop poaching but it still goes on. That’s when I would come in. Whenever I would see someone unauthorized running or ( sneaking ) into the reserve I would use my laser eyes to stop them. But sadly it still goes on. Some poachers keep the skins, some poachers stuff the animals and others keep the tusks of certain animals. As I said earlier on Spider-man would be my left hand man. He would get the poachers on the left, Batman would get the ones on the right, Superman would cover the South and I would cover the North. On the way to Kenya and a few other countries, I would knock Mugabe on the head because he is a dictator. I just can’t believe it, it is the

complete opposite to Robin Hood. He steals from the poor and gives to the rich which is just not right. Mandela is wonderful though. He doesn’t around killing people does he? Anyway, back to my speech. Um-mm... Err..... Well there is nothing much left to say. Being a superhero would be great though.But come to think of it. That would be a lot of hard work. Maybe that wouldn’t be such a good idea. Come on you would be risking your life. So that’s all I’ve got to say folks. Oh, and if you ever want to know where to find Spiderman check the World Wide Web.By Harrison Voice, 5S

CSI ZONE

THE FIGHT OF THE YEARAnd there goes the bell for the second to last meal of the day and dinner comes out of the corner looking groggy. Desert wins with a left to the head followed by a sharp right to the body.

McDonaldsBurger King

K.F.CCurry

Spare ribsPizza

Dinner can’t take more punishment and lunch shows no sign of tiring.

Pumpkin Beans

Brussel SproutsLettuce

StrawberriesPears

Desert is merciless. Dinner won’t go a whole twelve rounds.By George Lacey Metcalfe

The SoundsPack the carhurry before we are late crash, bash, flash, dash, mash the waves said

Broom goes the boatas it floats over the watercrash, bash, flash, dash, mash the waves said

On the biscuit we go quicklyas the motor pushes fastcrash, bash, flash, dash, mash the waves said

When weʼre fishingthe fish are pullingcrash, bash, flash, dash, mash the waves said

At night the stars shineas we lie in our bedscrash, bash, flash, dash, mash the waves said

By Matthew cox & Charlie Horncastle

Winning At SoccerOn a Saturday morning I was getting ready to play soccer versing the Rolleston Tuis at Avonhead park. First we did some skills and warm-ups. We had thirty minutes to do the skills and warm-ups.Soon the game started and the first goal was in the first 3 minutes and we scored it. The ball was kicked up to the goal and Thomas shot but it hit the post but he kicked it again and he scored. Later in the first half we scored another. I ran down the sideline and I did a centre cross and Jonathan scored.At half time we were all gathered around to here more tips from our coach. We were told our new positions and I was a midfielder.Eventually the second half started. The only goal was from the opposition. They kicked the ball and it went in.Finally the game finished and we won two points to one. I really enjoyed play that fantastic soccer game.By William Dorrence

COMPOUND POEMSThe fly landed in the butter.It was a butterfly.The radio ran around. It was very active. It was radioactive.The dog went out gazing at birds in the scorching hot summer heat.It was a hotdog.The boy went on his bike and did a jump over a motor. It was a motorbike.The man was covered in snow. He was a snowman.By Ben Charteris, 5S

The book fell on the worm.It was a bookworm.I was walking with a candle and tripped on a stick. It was a candlestick.Someone threw a pine at my apples. They were pineapples.The fly was flying away from the human and went in to the fire.It was a firefly. A grandpa tripped on a stick and fell in a hole.It was a graveyardBy Henry Foster, 5S

Hamner SpringsWhen we got in the carfor a one hour drive to Hanmer Springschatter, matter, batter, catter, hatter, Arthur and Jisu said.

Get out of the carto the motel to unpackchatter, matter, batter, catter, hatter, Arthur and Jisu said.

Wear your board shortsbe prepared for the hot poolschatter, matter, batter, catter, hatter, Arthur and Jisu said.

Put your Pjʼs on itʼs already late for bedchatter, matter, batter, catter, hatter, Arthur and Jisu said.

By Jisu Kim and Arthur Alenn

CSI ZONE

CSI ZONE

THIS MAGAZINE PRODUCED BY:

HEAD DESKTOP PUBLISHING DESIGNER: MARTIN BELLSUPPORT CREW: WILLIAM HABGOOD, CAMERON STEVENSON, CHRIS JUNG, OSCAR DEANS, JACK CROSSLAND, SAM VERDALLEN WITH ASSISTANCE FROM MR GRIEVE

UNLIMITED POWERIt was a very peaceful scene indeed. The view before us was like an image taken from the heavens. My eyes were enjoying a feast of mountainous terrain with trees as green as my friend’s eyes. It was complimented with the grace of a pristine river running through this barren land.

The Sun scorched the back of my neck, turning it into the fires of hell. Its brilliance was unmatched and I could sense that every boy in our group was anticipating a break to seek shelter from this uncontrollable monstrosity and spare whatever water was left.

Sweat was bleeding off my brow and I could feel my water bottle’s life force slowly declining. In fact our group was so dehydrated that we would almost fight through the U.S Naval Base for a glass of Christchurch spring water. We were desperate, and our thirst was shown with every faltering step.

I found myself praying for little specks of rain. Little specks that would nourish the planet and feed a nation. Water is God’s kindest gift to mankind. Yet it is one of god’s cruelest and destructive things he has ever given us. Water was what I desperately desired.

The lodge was now a little dot in the horizon and our new home was anticipated with ecstasy from all the boys. It was unknown how much longer we would have to trudge through this forest, dehydrated, tired and cold for some.

Euwin Tan 8B