Homecoming Overview

Myself, Brittany, Veronika and Natalie

At Coronation, the Homecoming Royalty 

The week just gone was Homecoming and to say the least it was a whole lot of fun. The whole week hyped up the football game against the South O'Brien Wolverines, which followed the homecoming parade on Friday afternoon.

Concert Choir , I'm at the front on the left.

Although not many people dressed up on the dress up days, it was fun to see those that made the effort. 
My favorite day was superhero day, Veronika, Brittany, Natalie and I made up "The Optimistic Four" 
wearing our capes and happy shirts. I felt pretty super all day. Along with classes we were also given time to decorate the school, it looked fabulous! All the corridors had posters and the windows had drawings on them. Some students even went around town to draw on the windows. My favorite sign was at Mc Donalds that said "Would you like Fries with that McVictory".

On Thursday night we had Coronation, which was a ceremony where the Homecoming King and Queen were announced.

The Marching Band during the Parade.

There were two attendants from each grade, a boy and a girl, who had been voted by the rest of the grade; Freshman (grade / year 9), Sophomores (grade / year 10), Juniors (grade / year 11) and Seniors (grade / year 12) who had four boys and four girls elected for King and Queen that were announced on the night. All the attendants wore extremely formal suits and dresses and had their hair done. Everyone looked so nice! All of the attendants rode in the parade but the King and Queen were last (New Zealanders; think the Famers Santa parade, Santa always comes last because he's the most important). During the Coronation, the Concert Choir performed for the first time of the year. We sung "Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis to advertise the upcoming musical, it was really fun and I can't wait to sing in the Musical.

 We were given football jerseys to support the E-Hawks.

On Friday we had the Homecoming Parade. Each class (year level) in High School had a float in the parade, the coronation attendants rode in cars, the high school football team rode on a firetruck, the middle school football and volleyball teams walked, the cross country team rode on a truck, the cheerleaders rode in a truck and the marching band walked among other floats. To top it all off, Pete, Veronika and I got to ride in an "exchange students" convertible, we all felt pretty special. We rode down the main street and we were amazed at how many people were there! 
Both the High School and Middle Schools were there including many other town members. During the parade many shops and organizations gave out free food or things in support of the E-Hawks and it was all very fun. When the parade finished the Cheerleaders did some routines as a "Pep rally" (not sure what that is yet, hopefully will know by the next post, I think it just pumps people up for the game) and everyone else eagerly awaited the game. 

Exchange Kids with Mr Jurrens, the Principal after the Parade

Veronika, Pete, Allen, Hannah and I hung out before the game and went to the tailgating party where we got something to eat and could play some games and hang out with others. The Football game was pretty fun, though I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention but we won nevertheless. Anna came home for the weekend and surprised Jake which was nice and today we hung out at his place and played some Rock Band. For those that don't know it's a playstation game with a guitar (or two), drums and a microphone that you connect up and play songs, similar to singstar but a lot more fun.

The Poster I helped decorate for Homecoming.

This week's back to normal but soon we'll be going shopping for some winter clothes cause it's getting colder pretty fast, the temperatures here and in New Zealand are very similar and before long ours will be dropping faster and faster until it's bellow zero. Wish me luck! At the moment though the leaves are all changing pretty colors, nothing like New Zealand, there are pinks and oranges among dark purples and reds, it's amazing. We had a discussion in Psychology about the leaves changing colors and I was completely confused because I hadn't really noticed the colors of the leaves before then. Why do the leaves in New Zealand just turn brown and fall off, or stay the same green? We're definitely missing out! I'll take some photos and put them in the next post.

Until then, 

Keep Smiling, Live with no Regrets :)
Note: Click on the Picture to make them Larger

My ABT Movie

This is my latest project for Advanced Business Technology.. We used a progam called Stykz which you create animations with, you are able to draw straight lines and circles, like paint. We were instructed to create video clips on stykz to put together with life quotes.. I haven't got my mark back yet but the teacher really liked it.

Uneventful Doings

Pete, Myself, Brittany, Veronika and Chris..
All exchange students except Brittany.

The past week and a bit has been rather uneventful to be completely honest. So I'll explain a bit about school..


So far it's been really good. Most of my grades are really good, except Psychology where I got a couple of Ds in tests, so my overall grade is a C :( But other than that I have an A in Government, a B in US History and I haven't got any other grades yet. 


I got a B on my first US History test, and I have another on Monday, I just had another American Government test where I only got one wrong and on Monday also I have a psychology test that hopefully I'll do better in. Other than that everyone in my classes are really nice, P.E isn't even that bad. 

Making a "The Foreign Exchange Students Love Me" shirt.
We made one for Brittany and Jake.

The overall grade here is completely different than in New Zealand, in most classes we have a test every other day that contributes to our overall grade. In US History and Psychology we have a test everyday, while in Human Relations, which is a much easier class, I've only had to hand in one essay. In Advanced Business Technology I've handed in one assignment, an about me video, and on Monday I have to hand in another assignment, an animation with quotes. We've done a couple of assignments in Critical Thinking but nothing has been put in the grade book (or online) yet.

Cille and I, an old photo from camp :)

Next week is Homecoming, which will be heaps of fun! Firstly during the week we have theme days, on Monday we have homeroom color day (our color is white which is quite easy), Tuesday is Cowboy and Cowgirl day, Wednesday is homeroom tshirt day (every homeroom gets tshirts printed, our homeroom is Fastert's Flames.. Our teachers name is Mrs Fastert), Thursday is Superhero day and Friday is black and gold day to support the E-Hawks. On Thursday evening there's a parade, Veronika, Pete and I are riding in a car because we're the exchange students. The football players ride on a firetruck and there are other floats. There's also a really pumped up game against the Wolverines, we'll all be decorating the windows and halls of the school to get into the school spirit. 


Tomorrow, Veronika and I are going with Brittany to the Spencer fair and then we're staying the night at her friends place in Spencer. We'll also go to Wal-Mart. I like Wal-Mart, it's just exciting. 

Musical and More

Today at 7pm we had the second musical practice for the full cast, but this time was a whole lot more fun than the last.. We started choreography! A whole 2 hour practice, with half an hour focused on singing and 1 and a half hours of constant, energetic dancing. It was a lot of fun, and everyone was pumped by the end of it, not to mention a little sweaty. 

Tomorrow evening is the first football home game of the season against Spencer which Veronika and I are going to watch, which'll be cool. 

This morning Anna left for college so it's just Veronika and I again. 

AND earlier in the week Cohen was born! Leisa and JT's son, and although he was two weeks early he's still as cute as a button. He's so adorable and I can't wait to meet him. I wish JT and Leisa the best of luck with their new arrival.

In unrelated sad news, my ipod broke :'( It turns on but none of the buttons work. I've tried everything, charging it, reseting it, restoring it, but nothing. Now my awesome new headphones have nothing to play but the sound out of my laptop. I'm so sad, I love my ipod. I might have to buy another, but the one I had was working perfectly last week! Argh. 

Other than that, school is good, finishing all my assignments on time. I need to study a bit more for psychology cause it's a bit more challenging but other than that my school subjects are great. I'm really enjoying school even though it's ridiculously long and tiring. There's auditions for the school dance team in two Wednesdays, that might be fun. I guess I'll go along the auditions / meetings and check it out as long as I'm not too busy with homework.

Go E-Hawks (:

Over and Out.

A week of school already..

What an eventful week that has just passed. 


Firstly, as you know I started school ! The first day felt so stressful, because there is so much jammed into a day. I have eight class periods, homeroom and lunch. Thankfully I was able to open my locker, but it took me quite a while so I didn't know how I was meant to go to it during class. When the day finally ended I was exhausted. I decided to move into Advanced Business Technology from Practical English and I wasn't put into American Literature, but it's okay, I've moved into American Government, as well as taking US History, Critical Thinking, Human Relations, P.E and Concert Choir. 


This week has been a lot better, I know where all my classes are and I can go to my locker in between classes too. I've also been getting quite a bit of homework too, it's extra hard in American History cause before now I had no idea about the history of America. It's good to know their government is reliable though. I'm also getting used to overusing z's. Seriously, way more z's are in words in "American English". 


On Saturday, Veronika and I went with Linda to the Western Iowa EF meeting. There were just under 30 exchange students there, along with other IECs and some of their host families. It was really fun. We went to the Grotto of Redemption. In short, it's a bunch of rocks and crystals making up a multilevel building-like structure. The largest in the world. It was exciting. 


In other news, there's another exchange student coming to EHS ! It's exciting. It all started when Jake asked his Mom if they could host an exchange student, since under 100 students still hadn't been found families and the cut off date was Sunday. And after a bit, they decided to become a host family ! So Pete, an exchange student from Thailand is coming to EHS in the next few days. 


That's about all for now, in the next few days hopefully I'll write some things about my subjects, but all are going well at the moment.


Keep Smiling (:

Results from Home

I passed my Level 2 Media Studies Short Film.
Super yay ! 


Even though I thought the final project was totally lame, I had my fingers and toes crossed that all the work I had done would pay off. And it did! I got Achieved for both parts, which is fine because it's a pass. 


For those interested, my teacher emailed me my feedback which is bellow in Italics. 


That's all for now, 
School tomorrow (:


You've got achieved for both standards - well done, you. Pretty impressive when you had to go it alone with such a small time-frame.

AS90765 Achievement - 6 credits 

Clearly structured storyline with a kick at the end. You maintain appropriate tone and angle throughout. Cutting some of the repetitions out would have been useful because it tends to lag a bit and this would have made it more snappy. Design is thoroughly planned to brief and storyboard adjusted to reflect changes. Shots are limited in range and there is a problem with gaps/unevenness in sound, which needed more work. Lighting generally effective. A solid piece of work, Nicole, held back from being polished through the sound and repetition - but it is impressive that you got it done in the timeframe you had.

AS90282 Achievement- 3 credits

Camerawork is steady, well focused. Shots are straightforward in composition. Dialogue is clear but there are problems with the sound which further editing could have eliminated. Sound is straightforward - some effects but not complex mixing. Pace and rhythm is maintained - tighter editing would have lifted mark. Definitely competent use of technology and could have been lifted had you had more time. You did well in the time you had, Nicole.

It's all fun and games until someone throws up.

With only two days left until I start school, I'm enjoying the last of my holidays. 

Ready to enter the fair complete with our excited faces.

So as I'd previously said I went to Des Moines to do some shopping and go to the fair. It was very nice. I bought a pair of jeans, a couple of t-shirts, sunglasses (mine went walk abouts at camp) and a belt. Although short timed, the shopping trip was nice. I can now say I'm well set for school. 

The next day, we went to the Iowa State Fair, which apparently is the largest fair in America. That's exciting ! There were so many different food stalls, selling things from Corn Dogs to Cotton Candy and Funnel Cake. Veronika and I halved a funnel cake, it was batter funneled onto a plate with icing sugar on top. It was so yum, but I definitely couldn't have eaten it by myself ! We explored the fair for a while and went on a ride, though it was pretty tame. It was way too hot though, and since we arrived at 9.30am it felt like we'd been there all day when infact we were home by 2pm.

Showing some pre-season football spirit.

Friday was also an exciting day. A couple of Anna's friends came over and all seven of us went to the Mexican restaurant for lunch which was fun and very entertaining. That evening, Veronika, Anna and I went to the football scrimmage at school which was where our school teams played each other as an introduction to the season. Though there were mosquitos everywhere, it was extremely humid and I don't understand the smallest bit about football, it was fun. There's so much school spirit, and apparently there was a bad turnout compared to normal football games. Most of the crowd was wearing an Emmetsburg t-shirt or our school colours; black and yellow.

Aaron, Zach, Maddie, Myself, Jacob, Anna, Veronika &  Elizabeth
As you can see, I'm not very impressed.

Other than that, yesterday (Sunday) we went to Jake's (Anna's boyfriends) church in Mallard for a youth group where we had Tacos for dinner and then had a "crud war". Basically, they poured a whole lot of mushy food onto a slip-n-slide and we were to slide down it. This didn't appeal to me, but I wore older clothes nevertheless. Even though I didn't go on the slip-n-slide, Anna, Jake and Veronika were kind enough to smother me with hugs so I got covered in condiments such as Salad Dressing and food similar to creamed corn. Disgusting. They tried to convince me to slide but I was definatly not going to slide, unless they wanted me to puke on it. Just the smell made me gag a little. I know, I'm a charmer.

After being hosed off and changing clothes, the four of us older kids (Anna, Jake, Veronika and I) went across the road back to Jakes where we watched Kick-Ass. Hilariously violent. Yes, I was watching it legally cause the rating is only R15+ in America. Unfortunately I had a stinging headache and something in my tummy wasn't feeling quite good and I ended up puking after the movie and on the way home. But all is okay now, I'm recovered and happy thanks to a good nights sleep.

All eager to start school sporting my attractive new P.E gear.

Not much is planned for tomorrow and then on Wednesday school is finally starting, I can't wait. Of the people I had lunch with, Mara is a senior and she's going to be in my Physchology class and Critical Thinking class, and both Natalie, who is a Sophmore and Mara are in Concert Choir with me which is good. At least I know some people. 

Over and Out (: