Being a tourist

It is always interesting to hear from a tourist point of view about New Zealand.

My parents came for a visit about a couple of weeks ago and they loved Wellington. In particular, the museum (Te PaPa)......and among many other things. Surprisingly, they have not commented much on the weather! I asked them what they like about NZ..and the first thing they said was the People. Although they could not speak English so well, they really appreciate the kindness of the people who were trying to help them through immigration, luggage, checking in etc.

what is the one thing you remember about when you first came to New Zealand?

Here is a picture of Petone. Beautiful, isn't it? We went to the Winter Festival on Saturday.

Let's sing!

Last Friday we had our usual assembly but we add a little more to it towards the end. What did we do? We were SINGING!  Check us out in the video below for a sneak peak! .....we sound good don't we? 

This was a practice for the Marae that will be held next September.

Watch this space, we will come to explaining more about what this is about. Until then, we hope you like our singing!

What do you want to learn?

Did you always want to know what it is like to learn computer science? or...be a mathematician? or...get a glimpse of what academic study is like? What if I tell you there is a way you can explore and expand your knowledge in the field you always wanted to learn? Well there is!

I recently came across this website, where it enables anyone..and I mean it, ANYONE to pursue higher education. Here's the catch, it does not cost anything!  The requirement for the course is the motivation, the willingness to learn, self discipline, access to the Internet and that's it, you are enroll!

The courses are offered online that partners with TOP Universities from all around the world. The courses and subjects offered are such as Humanities, Biology, Social Sciences, Mathematics, Business and many others. Whatever your interest is, you can find it here.

The website is  https://www.coursera.org

so tell me, what subject would you like to explore?

Motivation

 I often get asked, ‘Why did you choose New Zealand?’ Well I could start by saying that my parents think it is a safe place to be in, people are friendly and also how beautiful this place is. All those facts are true but I would just like to add more facts into it.

New Zealand certainly has contributed a lot to my life experience and I would like to share one factor with you. If anything, NZ has made me ‘motivated’.  I remembered my first part time job started in Palmerston North as a kitchen hand in a food court.  I also remembered the feeling of earning, the first NZ$28.50 in my bank account. I was very motivated to earn, learn and experience what NZ has got to offer me.  Six years ago, I could not even imagine myself working in the office environment because I did not believe I could do it but because I was feeling very motivated that I set a goal where I want to see myself in 6 years time. Well, now I am here where I want to be and I have definitely proven myself wrong. 

So what am I trying to say? It’s hard to feel motivated or to even maintain that feeling but you got to have a starting point and a goal. Once you start, you are already motivated. While you are feeling motivated, remember to write down your goals and what you want to achieve in your life. Even if it is short term, long term, be in 2 days...whatever it is, just write it down 

 

First Friday of August

Last Friday, we had our usual assembly with a few announcements. 

Marty, who is the school manager opened the assembly by talking about the use of English and how there is a difference in language proficiency for people who lived in New Zealand for 3 years and 10 years. Sometimes you meet someone who has been here for over 10 years and cannot speak English as well compared to someone who has been here for 3 years or less.

His question was, how can you practice English outside school? Refering to my post several weeks ago, it takes effort and motivation to improve your English. Speaking English fluently won't come naturally to you without practicing or doing anything about it. The suggestion Marty made was to join a club after school or extra curriculum activities. Therefore, I have also encourage the students to join the activities I have organized. This will also give them a chance to meet other students.

Chances are that when you go home to your family, you are most likely to be speaking your own language. I tried that with my sister and we just ended up speaking in Thai. It's more of a habit and it's always hard to change the habit. 

Try changing your habit. Not entirely, but slowly. Instead of going home at the usual time, why not try going home a little later? Stay back after school, meet some more people. 

                                                                        Give it a go :)

Go for Gold!

If you watch the news this morning, Rowers Nathan Cohen and Joseph Sullivan have won NZ's first GOLD MEDAL in the Olympics Games. Congratulations!

The timing couldn't get any better! We went to the NZ Olympics Museum yesterday afternoon at the waterfront. Not many people know about this museum because the respond I get from my colleagues was 'I didn't even know there was one in Wellington!' 

 Well there is and we went to it :) We also send a message from ETC Wellington on a big screen! 

                                                     Sending message to the team!