What's Been Up at Extension?

Extension has been taking closer looks at tattoos and symbolism. Specifically polynesian tattoos. We researched about it and even created our own designs but we had never really seen the real thing. Although a bunch of us had already seen a pe'a before due to someone in their family having one. Anyway, Mr Tele'a was invited to come to one of our extension sessions to show us his traditional samoan tattoo. Whether we had already seen one or not, it was still a really good way to expand our knowledge.

He came to give us a personal view on what's it like to get a pe'a (samoan tattoo). Not only that but to give us a closer look at the intricate designs.

Mr Tele'a was a really good model and teacher. We all prepared questions to ask him and he answered them with great detail.  The questions varied from: 'What did your parents think when you wanted to get a tatau?' to 'What did you do to get your mind off the pain?' and many others. He explained and showed us what parts were meaningful to him and the reasons behind them.

For example, there was a 20-30 cm wide black strip that started underneath his armpit and wrapped itself around his back to the other side of his body under the opposite armpit. To an uninformed person, it would look like a patch of green on his backside but it actually held a big amount of meaning. This part of the full pe'a is supposed to be a canoe or va'a. The va'a represents the family who the wearer of the tattoo has to always protect. (Click image underneath for an actual look)

Because the extension group have been looking at tattoos and symbolism, we were given mini project that we had to complete. This task was to create our very OWN tattoo. There were two crucial things we had to include in our tattoos. One was to use or make a symbol of any part of our culture or heritage and the other was to create a symbol to represent yourself. Currently, I have nearly finished my work. I have already completed the cultural side of this project and am still working on my own symbol.

Year 8 Camp

Camp was full of so many fun activities! I had so much fun, I wish it lasted longer than it did. Going on the Year 8 Camp gave me the opportunity to get to know my peers outside my usual group of friends which was really awesome.

Out of the four days, I least enjoyed day 1 of the camp. After, taking a 1-2 hour bus ride, we arrived at Langs Beach where we began a tramp towards Waipu Cove. Ms Squires had planned for it to be a nice elegant walk but thanks to the weather, the track had become slippery and muddy. This lead to a number of falls.

Not only was it a very long walk but it was also a pretty dangerous one. We traveled up hills and jagged rocks that were rather narrow and some of us were very close to plunging to our deaths. Thankfully, we all survived. I, myself got a few battle scars but overall, I was fine.

When Day 3 came along, I was extremely excited. It was - for me - the most anticipated day. We were scheduled to do a bunch of activities varying from archery to toasting marshmallows to kayaking. Plus, that night was when had a campfire where we sang some songs.

Toasting marshmallows was my highlight of that day. I had never eaten roasted marshmallows prior to that experience so it was pretty special. My teammates and I gathered around the fire as we stuck our marshmallows on the tips of our sticks. One by one, we set them above the fire. Mine caught a blaze a few times but I didn’t really mind. In fact, I ended up really liking the burnt taste.

Colour Wheel

This is the colour wheel. It has the primary colours, secondary and tertiary colours. I created this because it was a task that was given to us by our teacher, Ms Pagdet. I tried to interpret all the colours that are in the actual colour wheel and this is the final outcome.

Tangled Artwork Explanation

A tangle art piece is exactly how it sounds. They are pieces that intertwine together to create a celtic knot. Producing this tangled artwork makes a great team project as each person is able to incorporate themselves in their designs. Being that now Class 1 and Class 5 are conjoined (Panuba), this is the activity that was attempted.

Initially, it’s important to plan. Look up patterns, symbols and different designs. However, do include elements that represent you. A less busy pattern look the finest, due to how they are not full of details. They tend to look broader and stick out more to the eye than a more intricate design. I constructed myself a template to follow so that could be an ideal thing you could use when drawing.

Limiting yourself to just one colour will produce the best result. Too many can ruin the repetition of the pattern. When the final product came out, I noticed that the pieces with warm colours looked the best. So preferably, use a distinct hue that will make your designs pop.

When putting everything together, label your pieces so you will know where each is placed. Labels such as Yellow for the corners, Green for the middle pieces etc etc. When the final product comes out, it looks awesome. Especially with all the different designs intertwining together.