New Year's Resolutions

So the time has come for the year to roll over.  For most of you it seems to be a time to enjoy and have a great time with your mates, and this is great.  Hopefully you will make some new resolutions for 2010.  If you have not yet thought about it, it could well be worth the effort.  Now is a time to make new goals for the year, goals that are all about you.

Some ideas about what these resolutions could include are:

• Gaining the 80-60 credits for NCEA 1-2-3 (whichever is applicable)
• Getting to know all the people in my formclass
• Aiming to do my best in every class this year
• Try a new sport or school activity
• Get a Learners/Restricted/Full drivers license
• Do something that is scary and challenging
• To get to know an exchange student
• Learn an instrument

The main thing about New Years Resolutions is that you are choosing what is important to you.   They generally look at ways of improving yourself or the way in which you do something.  They are always worded positively, and generally involve big, lofty goals that will take a long time to get right.

I would like to implore you to think about what you want to achieve and do in this coming year.  I guarentee the New Years Resolutions will be handy for when we start writing goals in class.

Stationery stuff

Right, you need to be as prepared as possible for next year to make a success of your education.  This includes having all the "stuff" to learn.

Below is a link that will take you to the college website.  Under Mr Shepherd's face is a link to download the stationery requirements for your classes.  You should read this through.

Soon Stationery will be on special at places like the Warehouse, Paper Plus, Warehouse Stationery and all those awesome stores that I spend too much of my paycheck at.  I would recommend going through the classes you want to take and make a list of what you need.  Most classes seem to want refil..... just get one or two LARGE blocks of refill.

Seriously, take a look at the sales, not just as I love to drool over stationery, but the pens and all that are soooooooooo unbelievably cheap, make sure you have some!  You should also get a couple of highlighters and some paper or a visual diary so that you can get set up for revision early on.  Post-its are also a giant help, and post-it pens and highlighters are the best thing ever..... Drool.

If you are taking English or another heavy reading subject like History, you should seriously think of getting something like post-it flags or bookdarts.  These can highlight or lable the important parts of a text, without damaging it.  And if you walked away with bookvochures from prizegiving or Christmas, you should think about asking your teachers which novels (etc) you are studying.  Most novels are around $15... if you had your own copy, well, you don't have to worry about returning it, you have it all year, and you can draw on it!  Also, you can sell it to those studying it in next year!

The big cheats are if you have internet and even better, the itouch or iphone.  Here you can go to www.sparknotes.com and get free summaries of books, including all the stuff on characters, symbols, motifs etc.... (you can download a pdf or kindle version for like $5, but it is free online).  With the idevices, you can download timetable programmes, study tools, organising thingies, and all sorts of useful stuff like dictionaries, thesauruseseseses and atlaseseseseseses.  Or talking books for the perenially lazy.  I will give you loads of advice and suggestions over the course of the year, but I would recommend idevices from here to Africa.  If you get one for Christmas, bring it to school and Ms Owens can configure it to use over the school network, and you will be online, for free, during your school days.

Anywho, the purpose of this blog was STATIONERY!  Remember that.  Below is the link.  Make sure you have your lists.  Or else.  I will not be coming over to your parentseseses houses with a paper copy because you lost yours at the end of school!  Be cool people, be cool.

College stationery lists

Welcome to the Flog!

So.... other classes have a blog, we have an official Flog (form-blog).

Here we will stay up to date with things happening around class and the school.  A web-portal into the form class if you will.  Firstly, the important dates to note for Term 1 2010 at Kuranui College:

Term 1 dates:  Official Tuesday 2 February - Thursday 1 April

Jan 29 - Senior re-enrolement.  Come in for course confirmation, getting your timetables and making sure you have the requirements for all your classes.  This is really important, because it will be when the class sizes are determined and all that jazz.  Don't just wait around til you are in officially, sort it out.  AND, let's face it, you lost your stationery lists, and you can get a new copy, and even negotiate which classes you are in.

Monday 1 Feb- Get your stuff sorted out for school.  Only teachers are in school this day.

Tuesday 2 February:  Seniors only (11's-13's).  We will probably have an extended form-time.  Ours is an Hawaiian Luau theme.  Expect to be issued a costume, given tropical punch, and a timetable. Photos will be mandatory.  And limbo.

Wednesday 3 Feb- Juniors and senior buddies only.  You probably need a day of rest after the luau.

From February 4, it is school as usual for everyone.  So make sure that you are ready to learn with pens and pencils and all that.

Important dates to remember:
6 Feb- Waitangi Day (and MBA fair day)
14 Feb - Valentines Day and the start of Chinese New Year (Year of the Tiger)
6 March- MBA Fair
17 March- St Patrick's Day (He scared the snakes out of Ireland you know)
1 April- April Fools Day
2 April- Good Friday and the first day of the holidays


Basically, have a great holiday, but remember that you will need to have a brain ready for 2010 and a fabulous year of learning.  During term 1 there will also be Swimming Sports, Athletic Sports and the first of your Family Learning Conferences, so we have a lot to pack into a small period of time.

Happy Holidays!