Month: April 2022

The story of Yusra Mudini

Once upon a time there was a girl. She loved to swim and became her hobby and her dreams. But before that, she went through difficult times. This is the story of Yusra Madini.
Yusra was like any other girl who grew up in Damascus, Syria, and went to school there. Despite what happened later in her life, Yusra did not swim. While the other children were swimming, she was standing by the pool. Arranged in the mysterious water in the background. Yusra could barely see the ground and even if she could, a slight nervousness would overwhelm her. The water bothered her, but the fear was still under control.
One day, when Yusra looked at the water, he decided to do something unexpected. Yusra jumped into the pool and dived into the water. For a second, she gasped. Before she realized, Yusra was swimming. Yusra has become a very talented and competitive swimmer. And exceeded all expectations.
A problem arose a few years later because part of the population was not satisfied with the government. The government has shot dead brave people and protests that have expressed their opinions. It was an important problem that Yusra initially did not care about. But at the age of 13, the conflict became so severe that it became a civil war. Large groups of protesters gathered around Syria and fought against the government to conquer cities.
Yusra and her family were initially safe. As they lived in a quiet area of ​​Damascus, the capital of Syria. But soon the fight is over. Bad news was heard every day and it got worse. One day, Yusra and her father went to the pools to exercise. They saw that the pool was in ruins before the bombing and shooting. Yusra could no longer train, her dreams were ruined. After a while, it couldn’t get worse, it got worse. The house of the Yusra was also destroyed. They had nothing left and could not go anywhere. Innocent people have been killed and lives have been destroyed!
Yusra’s family we were forced to go into hiding and each day they lived in fear. No knowing if they’ll be able to live to see the next day. At age 14 Yusra, saw only 1 way out. They had to leave Syria, in search for a better life. Yusra’s parents said no to the idea of leaving, as it would be too difficult. Especially with a Yusra’s little sister who was no older than a toddler. After a while Yusra’s mother made a plan to send Yusra and her older sister, with her 2 cousins on a risky trip to Europe. They had no other choice, it was unclear if the rest of the family would make it, but for now it was the best path.
Yusra would travel to where many other Syrian refugees had fled, Berlin Germany. There they could start a better life, and Yusra might be able to start swimming again. In Germany, she’d be able to train better and along-side many other great swimmers. Yusra left Syria, with some clothes a cell phone, and a small amount of money. The money was going to be used to pay the smugglers, as most countries don’t allow refugees. Yusra left one her dangerous journey to Europe.
They first traveled to Lebanon then Istanbul Turkey. As they went on their journey they dreaded the fact that they may get caught by the police. The police would surely send them back to Syria, where the war was still happening. From Istanbul, they went south to a coast in Turkey, which was close to a Greek Island called Lesbos. At the coast, the smugglers awaited, for the right time to get them on board a dingy, which would then take them to the island. It took 2 tries before they finally pushed the dingy out to sea at nightfall.
They landscape shrank as they quickly speed away into the darkness of the Mediterranean sea. Less than 20 minutes after they had left the coast. The dingy’s engine started to clang louder and they started to slow down, until finally they came to a halt. The dingy started to sink, It was only supposed to carry 6 people but the smugglers had fit 20 people on instead. Everyone panicked and started throwing any belongings overboard desperate to keep afloat. None of it helped, as they continued to sink in the middle of the Mediterranean sea.
Out of the 20 people on the dingy only 4 knew how to swim. They tried many other ways to save the dingy, but nothing worked. The four swimmers including Yusra and her older sister, jumped into the water and started pulling the dingy. Yusra was at the front using one arm to hold the rope and the other to help her swim. They started moving slowly but surely. They continued swimming the dinghy was heavy and Yusra was tired numb, and her eyes burned from the salt water. She continued to swim, she knew that if she didn’t do her and the rest of the refugees would die without a doubt. Yusra was determined!
After 3 and a half hour Yusra and the other swimmers sighted land and gained a burst of determination. There was no way they were giving up now, especially with the finish line in sight. Yusra and the refuges finally made it too land, the two other swimmers pulled the dinghy onto land. Yusra and the refuges hid in the cornfield where they waited for nightfall to make their move.
As they started they were sadly caught by the police. The police took them to a refugee camp not far from where they had arrived. As they were being transported Yusra and her sister started laughing. The police demanded to know what they found so funny. Yusra stated in her head” we were going to die in the sea, and now the police think we should be afraid of them”.
Yusra and her sister escaped the refuge camp, the first chance they got. Yes they had made it to the island, but they hadn’t reached their destination. They continued on their journey and crossed 9 more countries. Yusra and her sister arrived in Berlin Germany after a month. Things weren’t the best, and Yusra had to work hard.
She slept on the floor at the refuge camp, but she did join a swimming club. When she first tried out she was out of shape and didn’t do her best. But the Coach saw some good potential in her. Yusra’s technique was good and with some training Yusra could be amazing. So she started. She is training she’d wake up at 6:00 am so she could train before school, and then go back after her classes. Yusra was determined to reach her goal.
In the 2016 Olympics Yusra was asked to join the first refugee Olympics team. She competed in the 100 meter butterfly race and she won. Yusra is now training for the 2020 Olympics an at this rate, there is nothing stopping this girl from achieving her goals.
This is the story of Yusra Mudini, The End!

My Chocolate Treat Design

Task description: This week during the school holidays I decided to make my own Whittakers chocolate packet design. I enjoyed this task very much and I hope to do more like this soon. After that I completed the task, I posted it on my blog. Please leave a comment; thank you for visiting my blog. BYEEE! ;P

ANZAC Poster

Task description: This week during the school holidays I decided to make a poster for ANZAC Day because ANZAC Day was yesterday, the 25 of April (25/04/22). I enjoyed this task very much and I hope to do more like this soon. After that I completed the task, I posted it on my blog. Please leave a comment; thank you for visiting my blog. BYEEE! ;P

ANZAC Poem

Task description: This week during the school holidays I decided to make an acrostic poem for ANZAC Day because ANZAC Day was yesterday, the 25 of April (25/04/22). I enjoyed this task very much and I hope to do more like this soon. After that I completed the task, I posted it on my blog. Please leave a comment; thank you for visiting my blog. BYEEE! ;P

The Anzac Day Ceremony

The Ceremony

The Anzac Day ceremony of 25 April is rich in tradition and ritual. It is a form of military funeral and follows a particular pattern. The day’s ceremonies have two major parts: one at dawn and another, more public event, later in the morning. Thousands turned out for the Dawn ANZAC Service, Pukeahu Memorial Park, Wellington, New Zealand, Saturday, April 25, 2015. Credit:SNPA / Ross Setford

 

A typical commemoration begins with a march by returned service personnel before dawn to the local war memorial. Military personnel and returned servicemen and women form up about the memorial, joined by other members of the community. Pride of place goes to war veterans.

 

A short service follows with a prayer, hymns (including Kipling’s ‘Recessional’ or ‘Lest we forget’) and a dedication that concludes with the fourth verse of Laurence Binyon’s For the Fallen, They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old, Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning. We will remember them.

 

The last post is then played, and this is followed by a minute’s silence and the reveille. A brief address follows, after which the hymn ‘Recessional’ is sung. The service concludes with a prayer and the singing of the national anthem.

 

The Anzac Parade

Another ceremony takes place later on the morning of 25 April. Returned service personnel wear their medals and march behind banners and standards. The veterans are joined by other community groups, including members of the armed forces, the Red Cross, cadets, and veterans of other countries’ forces.

 

The march proceeds to the local war memorial. Another service takes place there, and various organisations and members of the public lay wreaths. This service is a more public commemoration than the dawn service. It is less intimate and less emotional. The speech, usually by a dignitary, serviceman or returned serviceman or woman, can stress nationhood and remembrance.

 

After these services, many of the veterans retire to the local Returned and Services’ Association (RSA) club or hotel, where they enjoy coffee and rum (in the case of the dawn service) and unwind after an emotionally and, for elderly veterans, physically exhausting event. At the end of the day, the ceremony of the retreat is performed.

Article from: https://www.kiwikidsnews.co.nz/anzac-day/

ANZAC Day

Task description: This week during the school holidays I decided to share my knowledge about ANZAC Day because ANZAC Day is today, the 25 of April (25/04/22). I enjoyed this task very much and I hope to do more like this soon. After that I completed the task, I posted it on my blog. Please leave a comment; thank you for visiting my blog. BYEEE! ;P

Making ANZAC Biscuits

Task description: This week during the school holidays I decided to share my recipe on how to make ANZAC Day because ANZAC Day is coming up soon. I enjoyed this task very much and I hope to do more like this soon. After that I completed the task, I posted it on my blog. Please leave a comment; thank you for visiting my blog. BYEEE! ;P

The ANZAC Poppy

The ANZAC Poppy

The red poppy has become a symbol of war remembrance the world over. People in many countries wear the poppy to remember those who died in war or who still serve. In many countries, the poppy is worn around Armistice Day (11 November), but in New Zealand it is most commonly seen around Anzac Day, 25 April.

 

The red or Flanders poppy has been linked with battlefield deaths since the time of the Great War (1914–18). The plant was one of the first to grow and bloom in the mud and soil of Flanders. The connection was made, most famously, by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae in his poem ‘In Flanders fields’. ‘In Flanders fields’.

 

In Flanders fields, the poppies blow Between the crosses row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.

 

McCrae was a Canadian medical officer who, in May 1915, had conducted the funeral service of a friend, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, who died in the Second Battle of Ypres (Ieper). Distressed at the death and suffering around him, McCrae scribbled the verse in his notebook. In a cemetery nearby, red poppies blew gently in the breeze – a symbol of regeneration and growth in a landscape of blood and destruction.

 

McCrae threw away the poem, but a fellow officer rescued it and sent it on to the English magazine Punch; ‘In Flanders fields’ was published on 8 December 1915. Three years later, on 28 January 1918, McCrae was dead. As he lay dying, he is reported to have said ‘Tell them this, if ye break faith with us who die, we shall not sleep’.

Kaimoana – Seafood

Kaimoana – Seafood

 

What is kaimona? Kaimoana refers to food which has been gathered from the sea. For many people, including Māori, kai is a very important part of culture because gathering, preparing and sharing kai shows hospitality and respect for visitors. Food and culture and customs around it create a sense of community. The word for beach in Māori is kahitua. Below is a list of some of the kaimoana we find in New Zealand:

  • Pāua – abalone
  • Ika – fish
  • Kōura – crayfish
  • Kina – sea eggs
  • Karengo – seaweed
  • Wheke – octopus
  • Pipi Tuangi – cockle

Pāua 

Pāua is the Māori name given to three New Zealand species of large edible sea snails and marine gastropod molluscs known in the United States and Australia as abalone. The three species of pāua in New Zealand are, blackfoot pāua (pāua), silver pāua (queen pāua) and marapeka (virgin pāua). New Zealand’s best known pāua species and the most common species can grow up to 18cm in width, they are simply known as pāua.  Pāua are commonly found in shallow coastal waters along rocky shorelines in depths of 1 to 10 metres. These large sea snails survive the strong tidal surges by clinging to rocks using their large muscular foot. They consume seaweed. Pāua are gathered recreationally and commercially but there are strict catch limits set for both. For those fishing recreationally they are only able to catch up to 10 pāua per person per day and they have to be over 125 mm in length for pāua and 80 mm for the queen pāua.

 

Ika

New Zealand has a diverse array of marine fish with over 1,000 known species. Around 11% of these species are endemic meaning that they are only found in New Zealand. Many of these are inshore species such as triplefines common in rock pools. Of the 270 species found inshore about 25% of them are endemic to New Zealand. Some of the key species that you will know of that are used at fish and chip shops or sold in stores are the blue cod, kahawai, kingfish, snapper and trevally. Like pāua there are limits to how much people can fish at one particular time and they must be a certain size. This differs on the type of fish so it is important to check regulations before you go fishing.

 

Kōura 

Kōura is the Māori name for crayfish. Crayfish are also known as crawfish, crawdads, freshwater lobsters, mountain lobsters, mudbugs or yabbies in other parts of the world. They are freshwater crustaceans that resemble small lobsters hence the name that they are given. Popularly known as crays, crayfish resemble lobsters but lack the lobster’s large crushing pincers on their first pair of walking legs. They inhabit rocky reefs at depths of 5 to 275 metres. Overseas, New Zealand crayfish have been marketed as rock lobster, and this name now has official status. The red crayfish species are found around the coast, they are more common although there is also the larger green packhorse crayfish that are widespread throughout New Zealand. Red crayfish grow to about 45–50 centimetres long and typically weigh around 2–3 kilograms, although 8-kilogram individuals have been caught. Packhorse crayfish grow up to 60 centimetres long and reach weights of 15 kilograms. Crayfish are a common delicacy on seafood platters in New Zealand with people loving to get their hands on.

 

Kina

Kina is a sea urchin that is endemic to New Zealand. They can reach a maximum diameter of 16-17cm. Kina have been a traditional component of Māori diet since pre-European times and have been fish commercially since 1986 in small quantities under the quota system. Kina is found all around New Zealand in shallow waters around 12-14 metres deep. There are also intertidal populations of kina found in the north of both the North and South Islands. Kina is mainly herbivorous, feeding on large brown algae and red algae. If kins populations become out of control kelp forests can be entirely eaten away, learning the rocks completely bare. Kina are often eaten by starfish and other fish in the ocean which keeps them from taking over kelp forests.

 

Wheke

Octopus and squid belong to a group known as cephalopods meaning head-footed, the arms and tentacles are attached to the head. Their closest relatives include snails, slugs and shellfish. Octopuses have a mantle, head and eight arms. The mantle is the sac that contains the animal’s organs. The head has a brian, eyes and a beak like a parrots. They have succkes on thier arms. There are 42 species of octopus in the waters around New Zealand. They are not often seen, as most of them live on the seafloor. New Zealand is home to two of the world’s largest types of octopus. The giant gelatinous octopus grows to 4 metres and the giant South Pacific octopus reaches 3 metres.