Our soon-to-be-beautiful garden . . .

This is our soon-to-be beautiful garden. It has a lot of beautiful flowers and an apple tree. We've found lots of junk and even a soccer ball in our garden! We plan on cleaning it and making it a wonderful garden again.

 

Garden management is done by Karmveer, Aaron, and Cameron W.
(Photos by Mwaniki)

Last week we made a lot of progress. The year 8s are preparing to get ready for camp. We've had loads of fun playing team sports and going to Spanish, art and maths.

Today, Mrs Fowler announced something amazing. . . There is going to be a water slide at school tomorrow! So don't forget your togs and towels.

Mrs Bull also revealed a linguists club for all the people in our school who speak a different language other than English. Congratulations to everyone who got a badge.

Everyone also seems to be enjoying some of their classroom jobs.

Mr Fowler, with the year 8s, is building a playground for the small kids. 

Sports
Last week The Gardens School participated in water polo. We won by 8 points! In the boys' cricket team, we won by 89 runs. For the girls' cricket they won their first match but unfortunately,  they lost their second.

Weekly Opinions
"It was really cool because we got to do lots of gardening." Karmveer
"It was cool last week because I got a certificate for 3000 Mathletics points." Aaron
"It was pretty good last week because I got selected to represent the school for inter-school cricket against Remuera." Sukhdev

Written and Published by Karmveer and Mwaniki.

Three Weeks of Fun

Year 7s are writing another blog while the Year 8s are in Poutama, making a new junior playground with Mr Fowler. 

~ o O 0 O o  ~

Things we have discovered about being an Intermediate:

- I have to be a role model to the younger children (Sukhdev)
- I am lucky to learn Spanish at this school because some schools don't learn Spanish (Karmveer)
- I have to take responsibility for sports gear, even if the little kids leave it lying around (Tara)
- I still have to respect the Year 8s (Aaron)
- I have to take on more responsibilities (Corbin)
- I have hard work - but fair (Amber)
- I get to use electronic devices more, and with more freedom (Mwaniki)
- I have different classses for maths, technology, Spanish and art (Syvannah)
- I have a "to do" list to help me remember all my homework and other tasks (Lili)

Things we have learnt:

Some Spanish:  

¡Hola!, ¿Cómo estas?  ¡Gracias! ¡Fantastico!

Capital letters are used for people's names and initials,  and for headings and titles in our work,  and  forholidays or festivals - such as Valentine's Day. We also learnt that Valentine's Day ALWAYS has an apostrophe.

In PE we are doing ultra-rip and are learning how to defend our tags and how to attack.

In social studies we have learnt about how to make Cool Choices: we can choose between cool, ugly and weak choices, but making cool choices is obviously the best choice.

We are also learning about what happened in New Zealand leading up to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi:

Once it was discovered the kauri trees made very good spars for ships, a lot of ships came to New Zealand to  cut down kauri trees to sell in England. (Corbin)

Kauri trees were up to 30 metres high before the branches started, so this made kauri very good for round spars.(Amber)

Photo of young kauri

Thomas Fyshe Palmer was a released convict who came to New Zealand to look for kauri spars. He was a convict because it was illegal to publically campaign for the right for everyone to vote (universal suffrage). (Karmveer) 
In England, you could get jailed for trapping someone else's rabbits. (Syvannah)

Some explorers never returned to England. (Tara)

Governor King, from New South Wales, gave Maori from the Bay of Islands some potatoes and pigs when two kidnapped Maori were returned to New Zealand in the 1790s. (Tara)

In the late 1700s and early 1800s, people in England could get a seven-year jail sentence in Australia for something as petty as stealing a loaf of bread. (Mwaniki)

People could be hanged for stealing food; for example, in Sydney, in 1805, 2 men were condemned to be hanged because they stole some pork. (Aaron)

 The Maori rangatira, Te Pahi, was visiting Governor King. He begged for a reprieve for the condemned convicts because, in New Zealand, everyone was entitled to eat, and all food was shared; there was no such thing as stealing food. (Sukhdev)

Te Pahi

Seven years was the shortest sentence convicts had to serve in  Australia. (Lili)

Hone Heke and Kawiti were competitive; Hone Heke signed the treaty first, but Kawiti later wrote his name above Heke's. (Karmveer)

Huia 1 Year 7, 2013

Year 7s have had an awesome start to the year, and we hope that this will carry on.

Already we have learnt that Hone Heke was the first to sign the Treaty of Waitangi,  and the Queen of England at the time was Queen Victoria.

We have learned how to count up to 25 in Spanish because there are 25 students in the class - not counting the one who is still away.

We are all in different art classes and Spanish classes on Fridays.

Huia 1 has  five students  new to our school this year: Mwaniki, Syvannah, Joanna, Tara and Sukhdev.


When we asked them what they liked about The Gardens School, this is what they said:

Mwaniki: "I like the size the school. It's bigger than other schools. It means there will be more places to play and bigger places to explore."

 

Syvannah: "I like having friends. My new friends are LiLi, Brylee and Amber."

Tara: "I like that it's clean and it hasn't got rubbish in it. There are two drop off and pick up zones for parents. It's got lots of sports gear."

Joanna: "I like that it's bigger and there's more electronic devices - computers and iPads."

 Sukhdev: "I like that the school has more technology. It's bigger and there are more people to be friends with."

Today, in technology, we looked at the Huia 1 blog and learnt how to use the chatbox.

The chatbox rules are:
-  Use correct spelling and punctuation, for example, use a comma before someone's name if you are talking to them - such as:  "Nice comment, Aaron. ".
-  Use correct English - no text language  (you not u, for not 4).
-  Be polite.
-  Write about things that are relevant.
-  Double check before you press "Enter" because you cannot delete anything or undo a post. (Mrs Vincent can.)
-  If you find any inappropriate use of the chat box, enter enough happy face symbols to make the ugly comment scroll out of sight.
- We use first names only.

- Our blog is a friendly, happy, interesting place. 

Aaron 

Lili

Amber

Absent: Shehjadpreet and Karmveer.

Huia 1 2013

Add caption

Here's what Huia 1 looks like this year:

Welcome to Huia 1: Corbin, Alex, Mason, DC, Sukhdev, Jason, Cameron W, Kylah, Karmveer, Aiden, Dominic, Cameron M, Mwaniki, Aaron, Jamarl, Alisha, Amber-Lee, LiLi, Vanshika, Ramandeep, Jupman, Tara, Joanna, Syvannah and Brylee.

End of Year Alphabet

Here is an alphabet of words which have significant memories for Year 8 students in Huia 1 this year: 

A - anthology, ANZAC Day, acrostic poems, assembly, assonance, Awhitu, apostrophes,
B - box, beach, ball, butterflies, biology, basic facts, badminton, bowling
C - cooking, choir, camp, Castaways, current events, Capulets, caterpillars, capital letters,
D - daffodils, dental nurse, dancing, drama, drop-cover-hold, doona,
E - eggs. egg nog, education, energy, eels, Espanol, empanadas,
F - fish pie, friendship, Ferdinand the Bull,
G - guitar, garden, Gangnam Style, Grand March, Gay Gordons, Miss Griffin
H - hospice, Huia 1, hobo stoves
I - invertebrates, Intermediates, interesting, invierno, Mrs Irwin
J - Juliet, jump jam, James Bond,
K - keyboard, Kidz Cafe, knowledge,
L - languages, learning, La Boca, Mrs Lee, lighthouse
M - Mount Tongariro, monarch butterfly, mufti, Matakawau, mud slide, Maxina
N - numbers, narratives, nonsense
O - Olympics, options
P - Poutama, PE, poetry, portfolio
Q - Queen Victoria, quizzes
R - R.S.A., rockets, Romeo
S - Shakespeare, Spanish, sewing, sausage sizzle, speeches, singing, Speed your Journey
T - tests, Treaty of Waitang, Totara Park 
U - ukulele, Uno, Dos, Tres, uniform,
V - vocabulary, visitors from Australia, video competition, Mrs Vincent
W - White Island, winter wonderland, Wodonga, Mrs Whitehead, waltz, Wai Care
X - Xmas,  exchange students,  expression in drama
Y - year, Mr Yates
Z - zeal 

Cinquains by Huia 1

 A cinquain is a poem of  five lines and 22 syllables.   

This first line has 2 syllables

The second line has 4

The third line has 6

The fourth line has 8 

and the fifth line has 2 syllables

or

Line 1:  one word (usually noun)

Line 2: description of noun

Line 3: action 

Line 4: feeling or effect

Line 5: synonym of initial noun 

Here are some of our cinquains. Can you find the poetic devices and figure of speech we used?

Rainbows

vibrant colours

arcs lurking in the sky

a vivid sight of happiness

bright streaks

Caitlin - I used assonance, rhyme, personification, metaphor

Mornings

sleeping, sleeping

sunshine's seeking my eyes

my hand lands hard on my face. Smack!

Awake. 

Tonu - I used assonance, alliteration and repetition

Earthquake

is newsworthy

rumbling belly

anxious for  deadly destruction

Beware!

Karnjeet - I used a metaphor, personification  and alliteration

Water

dazzling di'monds

evaporates skywards

a satisfying crystal drink

sky-blue

Karnjeet - I used a metaphor, alliteration, imagery

Night

silver plate

lurking behind clouds

stars dancing like fairies

Blanket

Lauren - I used metaphors and a simile

The Ball

winter wardrobe

spinning, twirling, whirling,

sweets, treats and pastries to savour

Narnia

Shayla - I used alliteration, rhyme and repetition,

Apple

crunchy, crispy

red like a fighter's blood,

exploding juices into my mouth

spit pips

Flynn  -  I used alliteration, simile, assonance  and  imagery

Moonshine

blooms light through night

gleaming reflecting

silver steps ripple the harbour

glist'ning

Hoani - I used a metaphor, alliteration, imagery, assonance and rhyme

The Moon

icy cold ball

glist'ning on calm water

arriving slowly and slowly

solid

Jupman  - I used repetition, metaphor and  alliteration

Soccer

need energy

need to pass

running, jumping and shooting

football

Akjot - I used repetition and assonance

Fireworks

blare vividly

ignite the inky sky

like gaudy clouds raining

vibrant

Alisha: I used - a simile, assonance and alliteration

Autumn

swimming in leaves

leaves falling like soft snow

leaves golden like the sandy beach

Dive in!

Jackie - I used an extended metaphor, repetition and  a simile

Summer

multi-coloured

well-illuminated

exuberant joy ev'rywhere

blazing

Renae - I used assonance and consonance

Cyclone

the end is near

time has come for mercy

serial killer on the loose

Prepare!

Rudadiso - I used imagery and personification 


Red Rose
petals bursting 
raindrops splash and settle
fresh, fragrant, soon fading away
ruby
Ramandeep - I used assonance, metaphor and alliteration


Ice-Cream
wrinkly snow hill 
slip sliding down my chin  
avalanche of cookies and cream
lick it

Cameron White - I used metaphors,  alliteration, assonance and imagery 





 
 

Intermediate Ball Part 2 - After the Ball is Over . . .

More before and after stories from Huia 1:

(Before)  . . .I am most nervous about the dance after the grand march. I don't want to ask a girl to dance with me, but other than that stuff, I'm very excited to go to the ball because it's my first ball I have ever been to.

Hopefully, I don't sweat too much. I do not know what to bring to the ball for food. I am wearing something I bought this morning. I think it looks good because it looks original for me. The reason I got it was it is different. Hopefully nobody has the same idea as me.

I wish I can still dance next to my friends. I don't want to mess my new clothes, but to have fun you have to get dirty, right?

(After) . . . I was very nervous in the car. We were nearly there until Fili reminded me that we forgot our tickets, so we did a U-turn and got our tickets . Thankfully that was our first and last mistake that I made that night.

I was relieved when I saw Karwyn and he just got out of the car. Yes, I wasn't late. The grand march flew by quickly. One of my favourite bits was the statue waltz. I was partnered with Julienne. We were going fine until we got muddled up on the One Direction pose. I said to her to be the singer and I would be the fan, but she dis a pose of a fan and  I did too. So I quickly did a pose of a singer stroking my hair, but I was too slow and Miss Griffin caught me moving. I was gutted, but it was fun, so I didn't mind.

Also, one of my favourites was eating, of course. I was so lucky to be in Tawa because Miss Griffin was handing out napkins and asked, "Who was in the marathon?" I put my hand up, and she looked away. Then she said, "Who's in Tawa?" I put my hand up and she gave me one. I didn't care if any one was looking. I got some food from the table, tested it, then grabbed some more. I was on thirds when it was time to ask someone to dance with me.

I didn't bother asking someone, so I sat down, put my legs on another chair and started kicking back. Some of my friends were getting up to dance, so I dance with Alex. I noticed I was the girl because it felt weird in the position, or was it because I was dancing with a boy? I don't know. Then we got split up and I danced with Kylah. Tonu


(Before)  . . . I am nervous to ask someone to dance or to get asked. I love all the dances so I am going to have a great night. I'm bringing strawberries dipped in chocolate.

(After) . . . What was cool was just the Year 7 and 8s there - and the teachers. It was awesome because the parents could stay and watch, then  came early at watch the dances at the end - which I liked. . .Tegan Year 8

(After) . . . My favourite dancer was probably Divya because she had soft hands. We started with the grand march then we did the opening waltz. My favourite dances were Cotton Eye Joe and The Gay Gordons. In the statue waltz, my partner was Karwyn. We were professional until Karwyn mucked it up for us. We could have taken that competition. The night was young, the songs were boring, but being with my boys was what made my night.
Hoani.

(After) Last night was quite exciting. When I first arrived, they had started. The music was pumping and it was an amazing atmosphere. At first, I was really anxious and I was wondering how I was going to dance with my right ankle injured and strapped. I really felt like I was in a scene from Narnia, and that I had walked into a wardrobe and entered an unknown world. Then I saw a couple of my friends and we started talking.

We did a range of dances  we had learnt throughout the year. I thought that the best dancer of the night was Hoani, and he looked very elegant.  All of a sudden, the music went silent and a familiar song came on  - Gangnam Style. Everyone in the hall went off and started to dance to it. Rudadiso 

(Before)  . . . I am wearing my adidas shoes, my dark blue jeans, my square striped shirt and my black jacket. Zaid and I are coming together. We are getting dropped off close to the school and will walk the rest of the way. I am confident about the snowball waltz and I know who I am going to ask.

(After) . . . The ball last night was really good because of the freestyle dancing. To start the snowball waltz, Mr Yates picked some people and he put me with two girls, then he put Te Amo with the second girl. I  thought the best dancers I danced with were Kristina, Jessica, Madison and Lisa.  My favourite dances were Cotton Eye Joe and The Gay Gordons.  Trent 

(Before) . . . I'm really nervous about dancing in heels. I'm still pretty nervous about askingf boys to dance. I can't wait to freestyle dance with my friends. I have really improved i confidence this year. I think the teacher have noticed too.

(After) . . . The girls looked great in dresses and their shoes. Parents and teachers took photos of us. We had to smile a lot. I was so scared about dancing in heels becasue they were pretty tall. Miss Murphy asked me how I danced in them.


We had freestyle dancing, starting with Gangnam Style by Psy. Everyone started screaming when the song came on. People danced in groups of friends. After a few dances we had supper. I love the strawberries with rich chocolate dipping sauce. There were so many sausage roll, samosa and spring rolls and chicken nibbles. Some of the fudge brownies were really nice. The punch was absolutely divine.

After supper we had some more dancing. Now I have the song "I'm Elmo and I know it" stuck in my head because it's really catch. .  . Lauren

Having a Ball - 2012 Part 1

It's Intermediate Ball time again:

Here's some pre- and post-ball thoughts from Huia 1:

 (Before) . . . At first I didn't want to go, but then Shayla, Renae, Tegan and Kylah wanted me to go, so I am going now. For my sweets plate I am bringing rainbow cookies. I am looking forward to the waltz and Cotton-Eye Joe . . .

(After) OMG, last night was amazing and good. At first I was nervous, but once I saw everyone enjoying themeselves I enjoyed the ball too. My dress was black poker dot. My hair was out and straightened but I made little twirls on both sides. 

First we did the grand march, then we did Neville's Waltz as the opening waltz. My favourite dance was the grand march  because it was just awesome. My most favourite one was All Around My Hat - I just love that dance. The hardest one was the Maxina because I didn't remember some of it.  

After that we had some punch and then went into freestyle dancing. My favourite song was Gangnam Style because I just love that song, and everyone was jumping up and down when they played it. Renae and I were really tired but we still danced. After the dance we ate some food. I ate one chicken wing and one kebab that had marshmallows and strawberries and grapes. then we did freestyle again. 

Overall, I can't wait until next year, and I'm so excited for that. I'm just so happy, and I loved it. But, the time went so quickly - I wish it will be longer next year. 
Ramandeep Year 7. 

(Before) ... It is the first ball I have been to in my life. I am going to wear a yellow dress with a black cardigan, I am going to bring a plate of lamington cakes. I am going to get my mum to braid my hair just for tonight. . . . 

(After) When I entered the hall, I thought the decorations were amazing; for example, the white snow flakes we made were on the wall, the white, turquoise and silver balloons that we blew up and tied with string were in a net, and there was a cupboard like the one in Narnia. 

I felt nervous and excited at the same time because this was my first ball, but I also thought it would be enjoyable for us to dance and have a lot of fun. 

When we started the dancing, I liked all of them, but the ones I liked the most were Gay Gordons, Cotton-Eye Joe and Mueve la Colita. I liked them better than the rest because they were the first dances I learnt to do.  

The best food I had was the sushi, cakes, sausage rolls and these skewers that had grapes, marshmallows and strawberries. 

Mr Yates chose some good dancers to start the snowball waltz. I was a bit surprised that he chose me as well as other good dancers. I was partnered with Matthew from Huia 2. We started doing a waltz then we had different partners so more people could dance too. 

We also had free dances with music that Kyran and Harrison chose. The most popular song, I think, was Gangnam Style. I liked that style as well as Turn up the Music. 

We finished off with the best dances to show our parents. They were the grand march, the circle waltz, All Around My Hat, Maxina and Mueve la Colita.  Bridget Year 7.


(Before) . . . I am excited for the ball because I had so much fun last year . . . I am inviting two friends over, Ramandeep and Georgina, to get ready for the ball. . . 

(After) . . . The ball yesterday was really awesome because all my friends were there laughing and dancing. My favourite dance was Cotton-Eye Joe because it was a jumpy dance, and if you didn;t have enough energy you could get tired. For the snowball waltz, I danced with Alisha, It was funny because there weren't enough boys. Renae, Year 8.


(After) . . . I think Karwyn had the best style and Trent and Bridget were the best dancers because Mr Yates chose them for the snowball waltz. . . Kyran, Year 7. 

(After) . . . The decorations were really cool. We had a balloon net, and on the left there was a wardrobe. At the front there was a white background as snow. I remember walking in with Georgina and we were amazed at some of the decorations. There were also lots of tables for people to sit at, and on every table there were three helium balloons. They  were held down  by something but it was wrapped in wrapping paper  with a ribbon on it. The whole room looked very pretty. . . Jessica Year 8 

(After)  . . . It was a really enjoyable night. I wish we just danced and didn't stop. That's how awesome it was. . . My favourite dance was the snowball waltz. I was nervous. I waited until the dancers finished, and then the boys that were dancing had to ask another partner to dance. Devaan asked me, and I resistantly said, "O.K." I was really nervous, but after a while I got used to the dance, and then we had to ask another partner. . . I danced wth Nadya until Mrs Vincent said we had to dance with a boy. . .  Kylah Year 7
   
(Before) I am really excited about the ball because I am way more confident than last year. One of my favourite dances is the grand march because it is well practised and will look good with dresses and suits. I am nervous about the waltz because I can't get my feet right. 

(After) . . . When most people arrived we did the grand march, which was a great start because everyone did it in time and looked proud. After that we did Neville's Waltz (from Harry Potter). I was proud because I got my footwork right. . . The funniest part was when we all went different ways for Mueve la Colita, but we laughed  and carried on anyway. . . I was excited to show the parents our dancing. My mum said it looked very good. 

In conclusion, I thought the ball was excellent because we all had fun and we improved our social skills greatly from last year. (Caitlin, Year 8) 

(Before) . . . Tonight is going to be really cool. I'm going to wear blue skinny jeans and a blue shirt. My favourite dances are Cotton-Eye Joe, Maxina and my new favourite, the snowball waltz. I am really confident enough to do it.  . . 

(After) Last night was really cool because I got to dance the snowball waltz and Cotton Eye Joe. I thought the best girls I danced with were Kristina, Abbie, Paige, Tori, Tanya and Julienne. The best dancer, I thought, was Julienne because she knew all of the dances and she didn't make any mistakes. . .  I changed what I wanted to look like and I wore a tuxedo. . .  I wish there was anther ball this year.  It was the best night out at the ball. . .Next year I'm going to come to the ball to see my sister dance.  Jackie Year 8.   

(Before) . . . I am very excited about the ball tonight. At first, I didn't want to go, but then Mrs Vincent convinced me  to go, and now I'm very excited. 

 (After) . . . Man, I was nervous. When we arrived at the ball with Steve and Jasmeet, we saw a crowd outside the hall entrance. . . Before we know it, the ball was about to start, so we ran inside. We were relieved that we were right on time. 

To kick things off, our first dance was the grand march. I was partnered with Tegan. I got squashed up when we joined up to make a line of eight at the end. When I  did the statue waltz (with Jordan or Ineen), we were doing great until Miss Griffin's iPhone flash bugged my eye, making me wiggle, and then I was disqualified from the game.  Karnjeet, Year 8. 

 

Year 7 and 8 art work

These sunset pastels were done by the Year 7 and 8 Art options classes last term. 

First, old pastels - the sort that are covered in all sorts of other pastel colours - were used to cover the paper in mixed  and overlapping colours. The skill was to choose colours which could be seen in the sky at sunset. 

Then, we spent time sketching what we could see on the horizon from the top floor of the Poutama building at school. We could see across the Manukau Harbour to the Awhitu Peninsula - where we went for camp in Term 2. 

Finally, we transferred those ideas, in black crayon, onto the pastel sunset background. We also researched images of sunsets in different places around the world and used these for ideas as well.  

This artwork is  currently on display in the computer area of the Poutama building. 

Letters from Romeo and Juliet characters to each other

 If the characters of Romeo and Juliet sent each other letters or notes, this is what they might say . . .

Dear Romeo,
I'm worried about you. You are always in your room  with your windows shut and curtains closed. I may have to send Benvolio to get through to you. I wish you would tell me what's wrong. If I knew, maybe I could help.

From your mother, Lady Montague.

Dear Paris,
Would you marry my fair daughter Juliet? If so, meet me tomorrow and we will discuss it further. But only if your intentions are honourable will I let thee marry Juliet. 
From Lord Capulet (Lauren)   

Dear Romeo,

Cheer up mate. Let's go and gate-crash the Capulets' party. I will show you all the beauties of Verona. Compare her with some that I shall show you, and I will make thee think thy swan a crow.

From Benvolio (Tonu) 

Dear Benvolio, 
I know Romeo has been sad because he loves Rosliane. Tell him that there will be a party at the house of Capulet, and we'll gate-crash it and catch the Capulets by surprise. They will never know it was us. 

Sincerely, 
Mercutio (Jackie) 


Dear Rosaline, 
You are the sweet icing on the cake. You are a bright burning light and I am a mosquito  attracted to your flame. Would you meet me at the dance tonight? I would be honoured.
Love Romeo (Lauren)  

Dear Father Lawrence,
I saw a  girl so divine I fell in love with her at first sight at the Capulets' party. She is like a dove and better than Rosaline. I hope you can marry us today. 
From Romeo (Jupman)  

Dear Romeo,
Oh, why did you have to be a Montague! Couldn't you be a Capulet? For goodness sake, these family feuds are killing me. There's no reason for them,is there? If you can organise a priest we can get married as soon as possible. 
From Juliet (Alisha)  

 Dear Romeo, 
You made a fool of me last night at the Capulet party! Get ready to face my fury. I will kill you the next time I see you. I won't forget this, you vile worm!

Tybalt. (Trent) 

Romeo,
Get thee to the town square on Tuesday and you will wish you were never born. 

Tybalt.(Cameron W) 

Dear Lady Capulet,
Your cousin Tybalt killed my best friend Mercutio so I killed your cousin Tybalt. Tybalt and Mercutio did not like each other, and while my friends and I were in the street, your cousin Tybalt came, and they both started fighting. When they stopped, Tybalt killed Mercutio and after that I killed Tybalt. 
From Romeo (Akjot)   

Dear Romeo,
Why did you kill my cousin Tybalt?  Now you have to be exiled forever and we can never see each other. My parents are making me marry the Count Paris. So, I went to the friar and got a potion that will make it appear as if I am dead for two and forty hours.

 Love from Juliet.  (Kylah) 

Dear Romeo,
O, you were my love, but you slew  my cousin. Can I still trust you? Inside me there's love for Tybalt, but I still love you. But I have got other things on my mind. My parents are forcing me to marry Paris. What should I do? 

From Juliet (Cameron W)  

Dear Romeo,
Why did you have to kill Tybalt? We are never going to see each other again. I can't believe you are going to Mantua. I'm going to miss you so much. We need a plan. We can't be separated. My heart is broken. 
From Juliet (Jessica).   

Dear Romeo,
This is an official letter saying that you are now banished from Verona. If you enter Verona again, you will be slain. 

From Prince Escalus (Kyran) 

Dear Romeo,
 I bring news of Juliet. She has taken a potion, leaving her lifeless for two and forty hours. She will awake after that time. You must sneak into the Capulet tomb, checking for others that may be grieving. Ensure you are alone. 

I will be there when she awakes, and you will both escape to Mantua. I will take care of the families, as her parents will find her body gone. 

From your friend,
Friar Lawrence (Caitlin)


Dear Romeo, 
Your wife drank one of my potions and is now lying in the Capulet tomb. Come tonight and be there when she awakes. You both will escape to Mantua, and I'll sort things out. 

From Friar Lawrence

Check out our Romeo and Juliet "Dear Diary" blog.