Inside Life

New Zealand's Darkest Day

2012-06-28T15:29:00.000+12:00

Each term for Social Studies, Shane has to do a project on any subject of his choice, and can submit this project in any form he wants. For Term 2 he has chosen to do a poster about the Christchurch earthquakes.

{Click photo to enlarge}

A Catch-up

2012-06-03T11:35:00.000+12:00

It’s been a while since we updated Shane’s blog. Sorry for the slackness, it’s been a busy time. Shane’s been busy too, with lots happening at school. Here are a few of the highlights:

~ He was awarded merits for his Rhys Darby project in Social Studies, and also in Latin.

~ His merit for guitar was upgraded to Excellence after he learned to play a new song without looking. When the guitar module ended for his music class he decided he would like to continue with it and so he signed up for beginner guitar lessons. Shiloh loves listening to him play.

~ The family was given a new Xbox 360. Shane had been praying for one for quite a while, so he was absolutely stoked with the new games to play. His favourite game is Assassin’s Creed (as you can tell by the theme of his blog) so he is really happy to have the Xbox so now he can play it at home.

~ Shane participated in the Language Olympics on Language Perfect. It was a ten day online event, with students earning as many points as they can by learning new words in their chosen language to achieve Gold, Silver or Bronze medals. Shane joined in with his Latin class and earned a silver medal. He came 2^nd in his class (he was a little disappointed because it was a very close second) with a score of 2875.

~ Shane has discovered PicMonkey in the last few days and has been having fun editing photos. Here are a few of his favourites so far{click to enlarge}:

A Merit for Music

2012-05-11T08:30:00.000+12:00

It can be difficult to get a decent photo of Shane.

Especially with all that hair.

He tends to hide from the camera, or pull silly faces, or just walk away, refusing to have his picture taken.

But he and Shiloh, they have a special bond

and when left alone, they have these special moments.

Shane has been learning guitar at school for the last few weeks.

It’s the first time in his life he’s ever picked up a guitar, and he’s taken to it so naturally he’s surprised even himself.

He’s learned to play Mary had a little lamb and Twinkle twinkle little star, by heart, in just 2 weeks.

Shiloh is absolutely overjoyed with his playing.

Yesterday he played for his teacher, and earned a merit. His first merit so far at high school.

And he’s earned the admiration of his devoted baby brother.

Photo A Day - Day 7 - Shadow

2012-04-07T18:44:00.001+12:00

Click here to see all of my #photoadayApril posts.

A good start

2012-04-05T17:16:00.000+12:00

Shane made this necklace and the box for it in Design Technology. He has been working on it for most of the term. He completed it in class today and was pleased with the result, especially because he got a merit for it. It’s the first merit he has received for something at high school.

He also brought home his graduation report today. At his school they are updated each term on where they stand in terms of passing or failing. They evaluate each of his classes by grading them with a percentage, and then their overall average percentage indicates whether they will graduate the year or not. Minimum level of achievement for graduation is 65%. Shane is currently sitting at 95% and is achieving at 100% for all his subjects except English and Maths (94% so still excellent), and Social Studies (75% - and we had only just discussed this class last night and come up with a plan to improve for next term).

So he is doing well, and has made a good start to the school year.

My Term One Project - Rhys Darby

2012-04-05T09:14:00.002+12:00

{Click photo to enlarge}

Each term for Social Studies, Shane has to do a project on any subject of his choice, and can submit this project in any form he wants. For Term 1 he has chosen to do an informational poster on one of his favourite people - Rhys Darby. Shane wants to be a comedian when he grows up, so he has really enjoyed learning about Rhys Darby's journey to fame. He said many times "We're so similar!"

Photo A Day - Day 4 - Someone who makes me happy

2012-04-04T23:05:00.002+12:00

Click here to see all of my #photoadayApril posts.

Photo A Day - Day 3 - Mail

2012-04-03T19:29:00.001+12:00

Click here to see all of my #photoadayApril posts.

Christchurch Trip

2012-04-03T08:30:00.000+12:00

The day after Shane got back from School Camp we were off to Christchurch for a week for Aunty Karla and Uncle Iain’s wedding. We had a great time and the trip was filled to the brim with heaps of fun and great memories.

Here’s a few photos {click to enlarge}:

Stopped for a break in driving | Throwing stones across the river

Auryn became Shane's wee shadow

Carving it up on the dance floor with Josh

A special dance with Nana

First time on a scooter | Waiau

Hanmer Springs

Hanmer Springs hot pools

Ahhhh soooo chillaxxxed

Shane writes:

My favourite part of all will have to be us going to Hanmer Springs. Although I felt bad for Mum and Aunty Nellie that they couldn’t go in I still had so much fun. The thing that I will never forget there would be when Neihana almost threw up in the sulphur pools. The thing I enjoyed most would be the diving with Neihana and trying to convince some random that we spoke a different language. (It worked.) the thing I was most disappointed about was not being able to eat all my fish ‘n’ chips. I don’t know why I was but yeah. The thing I hated was losing Neihana’s necklace because he went mad at me and once I found it he wouldn’t stop going on. The thing I hated most about going to Hanmer Springs was having to leave because I had so much fun there.

Thank you Uncle Charlie and Aunty Nellie for paying for us. I can’t believe you spent that much on us.

Photo A Day - Day 2 - Colour

2012-04-02T21:28:00.001+12:00

Click here to see all of my #photoadayApril posts.

School Camp

2012-04-02T11:16:00.000+12:00

From the 19^th – 21^st March, just before we went on our family trip to Christchurch, Shane went with his class to Mavora Lakes. He had an awesome time and they had three days of fantastic weather, which was great because they were camping in tents.

Building up to the camp, other students who had gone before him had told him it was a boring camp, so he wasn’t really looking forward to it all that much. But he came home on Wednesday saying that he’d had a great time. He thinks the kids who found it boring were probably not into tramping. Shane’s always loved tramping. He was born in the right country, because NZ has so many amazing bush walks, and Mavora did not let him down.

One of the highlights of the trip that he talks about was the walk that some of them did around the lakes and up to the peak of the mountain. It took 6 hours to get to the top, and only about 15 minutes “Scree-running” back down again! Shane said it was tough and exhausting, but he was glad that when he was given the choice to go on the walk or stay back at camp, he chose to do the walk. And the views from the top were breathtaking (as you’ll see in the photos below) and well worth the effort. I was proud of him for choosing to go on the walk. He came home covered in scrapes and bruises from the scree-running, but he also had a sense of achievement, and the way he talked about the climb I just knew he’d experienced something truly special. The kids who chose to stay back at camp went rafting, which he got to do anyway.

During the trip, Shane used some of the photography skills he learned in a course he did last year. He came home with so many amazing photos it was impossible to choose which ones to share, so we have put them together in a slideshow.

Enjoy J

Photo A Day - Day 1 - Your Reflection

2012-04-01T19:19:00.001+12:00

Click here to see all of my #photoadayApril posts.

April Photo Challenge

2012-04-01T19:04:00.000+12:00

Shane has decided that just for fun, he is going to participate in Fat Mum Slim's Photo A Day Challenge for the month of April.

Here is the list of prompts for April:

Feel free to join in via facebook, twitter or wherever else you feel like sharing! And if you do join in, leave a comment with the link to your photos so we can have a look.

Click here to see all of my #photoadayApril posts.

Hard at Work

2012-03-14T18:23:00.000+13:00

{Click to enlarge photos}

Art

2012-03-13T08:54:00.001+13:00

Shane's homework for art class - practicing shading techniques.

Click to enlarge

RIP Sophie

2012-03-10T10:21:00.000+13:00

On Thursday night our lovely cat Sophie was killed when she was run over by a car.

She had been in our family for over 3 years and we are very sorry to lose her.

RIP Sophie

Identity

2012-03-02T16:26:00.000+13:00

This morning Shane came to me with a notice from school, and said “Here Mum, I have to show you this.” From the tone of his voice I thought it had to be something bad, maybe a letter sent home about bad behaviour – clearly he didn’t want to show it to me but had been told he had to.

It was only this:

I looked at him, a little confused, and asked “Do you want to go to this?” I was confused because he was standing there, teeth gritted, jaw clenched, with a look of irritation on his face, and he’d flicked the paper at me in a way that showed he really felt there was no point in showing it to me at all. Maybe it was something he wanted to go to but he thought we would say no?

Through his clenched teeth he said “No. Not. At. All.”

I was even more confused then, and it must have shown on my face when I looked at him, because he said “We’re not individuals. We’re just maori.”

I could absolutely feel his frustration as he stood there, and I explained to him that the school were just trying to be culturally sensitive and allow maori families to be connected to each other and to the school, and that this is important to a lot of maori families. He said “Oh yeah, that’s right, because we’re all stupid. And we can’t read. We probably just want to get drunk and go off the rails.” He continued mumbling sarcastic remarks about how he hates maori food and doesn’t need a stupid dinner, while Neihana acted out getting drunk and falling over and not being able to read. I sat there having flashbacks to my own high school years and trying to find the right words to say to him.

Shane’s not ashamed of being maori. It’s just that he doesn’t want that to identify him entirely. He’s also part Scottish, English and Irish. He’s also a Christian. He’s a student, he’s a teenager, he’s a boy, he’s a Cantabrian, he lives in Southland, he comes from a two-parent home. All those things play a part in who he is and he’s at a stage of his life right now where identity is everything. He doesn’t want to be boxed into any particular label, or have any assumptions made about who he is, based on something like the colour of his skin. It’s incredibly dissatisfying. I know because I had the same sort of experience when I was his age, and I think he has a point.

He’s 13. He doesn’t want to go to school and feel like he’s ‘different’ or ‘special needs’. And because of an invitation to a pot luck dinner, that’s how he feels. As though the teachers have said “Hey, we’ve noticed you’re different from the mainstream and so you need special treatment. Come to dinner with your family and all the other kids just like you.”

To me, it was just another school notice. To Shane, it was an attack on his individuality. Ahh the teenage years.

Action - A Poem by Shane

2012-02-29T12:28:00.000+13:00

Car chases, strong guys

Burglars with lots of guns

Good guys always win

Explosions make it fun.

Goodies and baddies get bloody

Always fighting crime

Murderous killers on the loose

The bad guys are just wasting their time..

Prayer/Praise Points

2012-02-20T11:36:00.002+13:00

From time to time I’ll be posting about the things we’re praying for with Shane, so that if any of you want to join us you’ll know what challenges he’s facing and can pray with him too.

Although Shane has made a good start to the year at school there have been a few issues with...um...organisation... Yea, he’s been pretty unorganised, some would even say a little ‘lost’ at times, and I think a lot of it is to do with him being a bit overwhelmed with the new high school routine. He’s doing ok, but we’re praying that he will continue to do well, settle in quickly, enjoy school, not be distracted by things (such as friends/girls!) and really just find his place at school and...I don’t wanna say “blossom”, but whatever the boy equivalent of that is. J

School camp is coming up in a few weeks. We’re praying for the funds to pay for it. Also praying that it will be a fun and memorable experience for Shane, and that he will be safe and healthy during this trip to Mavora Lakes Reserve.

Shane’s phone is broken. Devastating to a teenager, but also pretty annoying for his parents, since he’s out and about so often and his phone is important to his safety (and our sanity, if we’re going to give him any freedom at all). We’re praying for the funds to get him a new one. Money’s pretty tight at the moment with school fees, camp and a wedding in a few weeks in Christchurch, so we’re really looking for God’s help with providing these extra things!

We’re praying for good influences around Shane at a time when friendships are hugely important to him. He makes pretty good choices with friends, but he tends to only really see the good in people, and overlook the bad – we don’t want that to change, but we also don’t want him to find himself in negative situations that he doesn’t know how to get himself out of. So we’re praying for God to place good friends in his life, who will not drag Shane down, and who will influence him positively as he goes through his teen years.

Praise

***Thanks God for keeping Shane healthy and strong.

***Thanks God for the awesome weather we’ve been having. We’ve been able to do so many cool things.

***Thanks God for the boy who found Shane’s wallet on the bus, and kindly returned it to him.

***Thanks God for the good relationship between Shane and Neihana at the moment. As Neihana gets older, they are becoming really good friends, and it’s so good to see.

Surf to City 2012

2012-02-12T23:35:00.000+13:00

Today Shane participated in the Surf to City 12km bike race from Oreti Beach to Queens Park.

It was his first time entering and he has been really looking forward to it. He had a great time, and really can’t wait to do it again next year.

By the time he got to the finish line, he was exhausted and starving! It took a while to find Mum and Dad but when we finally all got together Mum had packed a huge lunch for everyone. Shane also enjoyed the free sausage sizzle (I think he had 3!) and we spent some time hanging out at the park. Then it was time for the Kids in the City fun run, which Faith had entered, so Shane decided to jump in and run it with her so she wouldn’t get lost along the way. (Dad was really stoked about this. He was quietly freaking out about his little girl running off on her own, but with Mum’s hip playing up she couldn’t do it this year L)

Who knows where he got the energy from but Shane ran the 2km course with Faith. After that was the prizegiving, and then the boys biked home!

Noone can say they’re unfit!

Well done Shane, we are proud of you for stepping out and doing something new today, and we look forward to the next one.

Waitangi Day

2012-02-07T00:04:00.000+13:00

Today was Waitangi today so the kids and Chris all had the day off. We went for a walk along the Forest Hill track this morning.

Forest Hill track; Neihana looking up at a wood pigeon.

Shane spent most of the time complaining that it was boring and refusing to let me take any pictures of him.

Avoiding obstacles.

The only picture I got of Shane - and I had to be sneaky just to get this!

He did seem to enjoy throwing sticks in the weta cave though. We also spotted a wood pigeon, and a cute little fantail that followed us for a while.

weta cave

wood piegon

Ham & salad rolls for lunch, and some chips in front of a movie afterwards.

Shiloh feeling the moss on the trees.

Then Shane mowed the lawns (his first time) with Dad. What a legend.

First Day of High School

2012-01-31T20:21:00.001+13:00

Today was Shane’s first day of high school.

It started with a walk down Layard Street from the Junior Campus to the Senior campus, with their Year 8 teachers handing them over to their Year 9 teachers.

It’s a symbolic thing, they call it ‘Ka Hikitea – The Step Up.’ Parents line the streets and watch them , some get a bit emotional. (I didn’t cry – I may have got something in my eye though.)

Shane came home from school saying he’d had a good day. He was tired and hungry, but obviously feeling good about his new school and the years ahead. He liked his teacher (said she reminded him of the drama teacher from High School Musical) and was looking forward to starting his classes tomorrow.

Old Friends

2012-01-12T19:21:00.001+13:00

Today was a good day.

Years ago, when Shane was 5, he started school at Shirley Primary School in Christchurch. On his very first day of school he sat next to a little boy named Harrison. It was Harrison’s first day of school too, and they quickly became best friends as they learned together and became familiar with the new school routines. They knew each other a little as they had both had a couple of school visits together before their big first day. Shane and Harrison were best friends right up until we left Christchurch four years ago to move down here, and then unfortunately with time and space between them, they lost touch.

It turns out Facebook can actually be good for something, as a few months ago, Shane and Harrison found each other on Facebook. They started chatting and catching up on each others lives. Then this week, Harrison’s cricket team came down to Invercargill for a tournament.

Today, Shane went to watch Harrison’s cricket team play at Southland Boys High School. It was great to see him with a big smile on his face, talking about how comfortable he was with Harrison and his teammates, as though time and distance had done nothing to change their relationship. He was stoked to spend time with him and find that he still had lots in common with his friend, and that he had not changed so much, like other friends who he’d recently caught up with through Facebook who appear to have changed quite drastically.

It was a good day for him, and he’s looking forward to seeing him again in march when we all head up to Christchurch for Aunty Karla’s wedding.

A special treat that came in the mail today

First Post

2012-01-09T23:59:00.001+13:00

As sort of a New Year's resolution, I've decided to keep a detailed record of the kid's daily happenings this year. 2012 is a big year for us, and for Shane in particular it's his first year of high school. So this right here, is to be something like an online scrapbook for friends and family to keep in the loop of what he's up to (instead of just getting grunts, or one-syllable replies when you ask what he's been up to lately!)

I've sort of got a bit of an idea how it'll look, but as I play around with it, and as the year progresses, I'm sure it'll shape itself. Hopefully those of you interested enough to come this far will enjoy watching Shane's journey unfold on the pages throughout this year.

Happy 2012 everyone!