Showing posts with label Kyla. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kyla. Show all posts

Monday, 11 March 2019

Kyla is a published author!

Kyla received her copy of Toitoi 14 (A Journal for Young Writers and Artists). 

Kyla's poem, Quiet Time published on page 95 was illustrated beautifully by 11 year old artist Heath Slater-Brown. 

It is a long process from when an author's work is first accepted, to finally seeing it in print. It is always really exciting to see the finished product, and the collaborative effort between students not only from different schools, but from different parts of the country.

Kyla's poem is extra special to me, as it is about one of my favourite things to do - writing a poem! Reading Kyla's piece takes me back to the day she wrote it, sitting under a tree, 'branches waving, swishing like butterfly wings... quiet birds whistling, cicadas screaming...' Kyla was still and quiet, using her senses to listen, see and feel the world around her. 

I especially love the tattoo-shaped leaf and an orange spider who crept into Kyla's poem. Congratulations Kyla!


Thursday, 15 November 2018

Summer is on it's way...

Sunny
by Kyla Holmes


I remember trees with leaves like pounamu

I remember Mum cutting up the juiciest watermelon
I remember playing What’s the Time Mr Wolfie with my family
under the sun.

I remember the sound of the birds chirping like flutes

I remember the pen writing in my book under the maple tree

I remember splashing in the river at Rai Valley

I miss wearing my blue jandals

Wednesday, 26 September 2018

Spring Inspired Poetry


Last week on a glorious Spring morning, some of our Team Awa Nui writers explored the Russley gardens for some inspiration.

We collected specific nouns, vibrant verbs, sights, smells and sounds...

We selected the best words and played around with them until we had them in the best order.


Check out the finished products below.






Buttery Daffodils and Freshly Mown Grass


Daffodils as buttery as the yolk of an egg
Blossom tree like a wedding
pink as candyfloss
petals stuck on a web like they’re floating


Trees shredding and growing back like sheep
Seeds like caterpillars
Sweet peas like beanstalks
Broccoli growing like trees


Grass freshly mown
Warm noise of bees
Blackbirds chirping like they’re in a choir
flying as low as the bright orange flags

by Cooper



Spring


thorns sharp like knives
pink ballerina flower dresses


sun growing lettuce
and other vegetables


snow-like flowers
everywhere I look

by Finn D

Spring is Back

stars in the garden
bees in hot pink blossom
creamy caterpillar sliding on the branch
smell of mown grass
freshly painted 100m track
I want to run in the sun

by Kyla


A Perfect Day for the Bees

song thrushes making melodies like a choir
daffodils bright like egg yolk
five layers blooming with joy

crocus yellow like lava
bees buzzing warm and tingly
blossoms perfectly pink

falling
into
my
book

by Leah


I Love Spring

broccoli, puffs of green
daffodils, yellow stars shining in the night sky
garlic, waving green tentacles
sparrows happily chirping

tree with tiny grape-like seeds
hanging from its branches
sakura, pink flowery foam
and a petal on my page

by Robbie



Tuesday, 11 September 2018

Kyla's Wild Dog

My Wild Dog

by Kyla Holmes


Floppy ears
fluffy fur like a mane
long tail
cute and wild.

He barks at everyone.

Thursday, 6 September 2018

Oral Poetry

Our Awa Nui (am) Writing Group has been having fun with oral poetry. We decided on a topic, then each came up with a word or group of words. We stood in a line and each person said their piece, which when strung together formed a very cool poem. We then experimented by re-shuffling our positions, putting the words and "lines" in a different order. Here are a few of our pieces, about various locations in Canterbury.


https://youtu.be/ffxUciyLO3g

The Margaret Mahy Playground - by Finn, Robbie, Cooper, Kyla & Leah

bouncy trampolines
soft sandpit
fast flying fox
slippery slide
climbing to the top

slippery slide
climbing to the top
fast flying fox
soft sandpit
bouncy trampolines

climbing to the top
slippery slide
soft sandpit
bouncy trampolines
fast flying fox


Here's one about the Canterbury Museum:

Museum - by Finn, Robbie, Cooper, Kyla & Leah

creepy mummies
   old rocks
      hairy cavemen
         strong snowplough


Taylor's Mistake by Finn D, Robbie & Cooper

lifeguard flags waving
pinchy crabs nibbling toes
cool-as surfers racing
                          down the waves



Monday, 13 August 2018

BREAKING NEWS...

GIANT THIEF ROBS BANK
by Cooper MacMillan

Breaking news! There is a giant wrecking Christchurch.
“The giant was really big. The giant was green, like a troll. You could hear screaming. He smelt like rotten eggs.”
The giant made shock waves through the city. There were cracks in the ground and bank alarms going off. The giant has been in schools and banks. Everyone is evacuating Christchurch.
“Evacuate now!” the mayor said.
Police called the Army for back-up. The military got a big net to capture the giant, but the next day he escaped from prison.
But, the police and army had put a tracker on the giant, so they could see where the giant was. A couple of hours later, the giant was seen at the school putting rooms in a giant sack. Kids were screaming and running from the giant.
All the shops and schools are now closed.


DESTRUCTIVE GIANT

by Finn Davie

Lyttelton Harbour has been attacked by a destructive giant stepping on trucks and buildings. People are running up and down telling other people to get the heck out of their houses and run.
It smells as disgusting as one hundred farts mixed with gasoline. His legs are as big as trees. His toes are thumpy like rocks.
The Prime Minister said, “We should make peace with the giant.” But, the General of Defence said, “We should use nuclear weapons!” But the government said no, so they decided to build a wall.
But that won’t stop him ever. He just breaks through it, like nothing is in his way. Nothing will stop this destructive giant.


RUNAWAY GIANT
by Kyla Holmes

Everyone evacuate the city now! A giant entered Christchurch yesterday morning.
She smells like stinky socks. The girl wears an ugly dress, shoes, ugly hair. She has hair in her ears and nose. When you see the giant and you scream the giant grows bigger.
Last night the giant was seen down Mrs Koster’s street and Mrs Levings screamed, “A giant! Run and save yourselves!”
In Christchurch, everyone is frightened. The giant had been at Russley School. The giant tore the school up and rooms 1 through to 9 were destroyed. Rooms 10 to 19 are still standing.
The police said for everyone to hide until the giant has been jailed.


GIANT ESCAPED PRISON
by Leah Falconer

A giant escaped prison on Thursday at 2pm, letting out villains everywhere. People are running for their lives. The giant has big hairy ears. When people scream, the giant grows. She is very big, twice the size of the Eiffel Tower.
First, she began to take down the city, roaring houses down with her smelly breath. It smells like turned milk.
She went through Russley School and flattened it. Police were getting people into cars but she chased them down.
But then a baby laughed, and the giant shrunk to normal size.


GIANT CAUSES HAVOC IN CHRISTCHURCH
by Robbie de Groot-Tsuji

A giant has been causing havoc for the past 20 minutes in Christchurch. The giant started its course at the tourist spot, the Gondola, in the Port Hills. It reached Ferrymead and is slowly travelling to the city centre.
Eye witness Sera Jones, resident of Ferrymead said, “First we thought it was some aftershocks from the earthquakes. It was about a magnitude 2.5. But then we saw IT looming in the distance - a giant. It was picking up buildings and cars and putting them in his sack. He was picking up people and eating them. He smelt bad, what a horrible sight.”
The giant has moved through the industrial zone by Lyttelton tunnel. Civil Defence is saying to keep calm and evacuate. The city is slowly evacuating and the mayor is saying that it is good progress. The giant has rapidly sped up and made the halfway mark to the city centre. Scientists estimate that it will take the giant half an hour to get to the city centre.
The police has called in the NZ Army and the giant has been slowing down since. Wanted posters have been sent out.






Thanks to Connor Turner, for inspiring these articles. Connor's description of a giant, 'All Raged', was published in Toitoi 12.

Thursday, 5 July 2018

Narwhal

His tooth is long,
he uses it to fight like a wrestler.

His neck is flexible and stretchy
like a gymnast.

His tail is thick and flaps
like a mermaid.

His breath is disgusting and smelly
like a dog’s.

His mouth is powerful and sucks
like a vacuum cleaner.

I hear Narwhal calling his Mum
like a flute.

The salt water swishes and splashes
in my face.

My smile is as wide as a crab.

by Kyla H

Wednesday, 27 June 2018

Remembering Spring


Inspired by a poem in the NZ School Journal by Sharon Holt, Remembering Summer, our writers recalled the sights, sounds, smells, tastes and feel of Spring.

REMEMBERING SPRING - by Kyla

My eyes remember the blue sky shining
My nose remembers the smell of fresh air and new grown daffodils
My feet remember the fresh sand
My hands remember the soft, green leaves
My mouth remembers the taste of fresh strawberries
My feet remember walking at Willowbank with Mum
My legs remember bouncing on the trampoline like a butterfly


REMEMBERING SPRING - by Leah F

On cold, winter days I remember Spring.
My eyes remember the trees with green clothes on.
My nose remembers the scent of cherry blossom and hyacinths.
My feet remember the prickly grass.
My hands remember my smooth horse’s neck, as we ride through the river.
My body remembers my cousin and I feeding newborn calves and lambs.
My mind remembers that Spring will come again.

(Poem inspired by Sharon Holt’s ‘Remembering Summer’, School Journal Part 1, 2, 2004)

Wednesday, 20 June 2018

Kyla's Unusual Rain Storm


I love the last line in Kyla's winter poem!


FREEZING COLD WINTER

It’s raining cats and dogs

Warm jacket zipping
pushing, freezing wind

trees sleepy
clouds white like fridges

puddles splashing, umbrella twirling
I wear purple boots

I run to school
dodging puddles like a giraffe

It’s raining elephants and whales

by Kyla H


Sunday, 17 June 2018

Kyla writes about Mrs K


Mrs Koster

Mrs Koster’s hair is straight like a pencil case. Her eyes are brown like coffee, her teeth are white like a seagull. Mrs Koster’s legs are fit like a swimmer. She wears glasses, rings and necklaces.

She loves to write poems. She doesn’t like ball games. She turns into a turtle when someone throws a ball at her. Once, she told me she was in Indonesia on an elephant and it got a fright and stampeded down the hill.

by Kyla H
Year 6

Thursday, 31 May 2018

Beautiful Kaikoura - by Kyla H


BEAUTIFUL KAIKOURA

The hills are green
like lettuce
tall like the Eiffel Tower

The sea is blue
like my eyes
and as shiny as glitter

The ocean is splashing
onto cold, wet rocks
it sounds like glass smashing
and spitting lava

The dolphins are flying
out of the water
like gymnasts into the cold air

On the way out
of Kaikoura we stop
at a small, white cross

Rest in Peace, Uncle Hoani




Saturday, 19 May 2018

Back-flipping Autumn Leaves

Some of our Russley Writers made the most of the beautiful Autumnal weather in the last couple of weeks, and went on a poetry walk. We collected some Autumnal leaves and words to help us create some little poems.

Hope you enjoy the Autumn poetry from Robbie, Finn and Kyla:


Autumn Leaves
Sunset-gold, crunchy, pointy
wine-red, holey, pale
shivering in the light breeze

A Little Leaf
White, small, sunset-gold
floats like a tiny boat
drips down from a tree

Autumn Leaves
dotty like chicken pox
curly, sick green
back-flipping, twisting
like butterfly wings

Tuesday, 26 September 2017

More fabulous poetry from Kyla

Elephant Rain


Splash! Splash! Drips the rain
like elephants stomping on the roof

I’m comfy in my bed
I snuggle in my warm
fluffy throw

Uh oh!
The alarm is going!
I’m tired, I don’t want to get up.

It is Monday.

I get ready for school
zip my jacket
stroll up Fovant Streeet
soaking and cold.

Splash! Splash! Drips the rain.


Nelson


Noisy cousins shout
Water-fights at the stream
Swimming like fish

Freezing like a cold tap
Trees swishing
in the breeze

Uncle Rangi works on boats
He has a big smile
Makes jokes

Aunty Jo is fun
Me and Jade help her feed the horses
Aunty Jo has crazy curly hair
like a sheep