....
26th of October - Gardens - Picnic...
2nd of November - Scheming for the fair!
9th of November - Not sure yet...
16th of November - No FRIDGE! As exam time!
23rd of November - No FRIDGE! As exam time!
30th of November - PARTY! ... Bbq at the beach! - It would be sweet if parents came also!


Summer! Yusssssss....

YES, it's spring! Earlier in September Hannah, Sarah, Matt and I took trip to the Botanic Gardens (but didn't find any ducklings) and played some soccer in the sunshine. Another Sunday we did some positive "graffiti" along Highgate, using chalk to spread some love in our neighbourhood.
On the 21st of September Catherine came and helped us learn to cook a healthy and delicious meal. We made fresh spinach salad with balsamic dressing, roast vegetables, pan-fried chicken, and had my apple crumble for dessert. It was really awesome for all of us to sit down to our dinner together in the lounge. Thanks Cat for your excellent menu!
Samstock Festival was held on September 26th to 28th at the Mosgiel A&P Showgrounds. Sam, Hannah and Nick and I went, and stayed with Flagstaff Youth Group (Anna was with her mates from Leith Valley, and busy being an organiser/performer). Sam was really busy helping the Samstock crew, organising the drums for the bands and lots more, but the rest of us got to chill out and soak up the fun. There were tons of bands from New Zealand and beyond at this awesome youth event, including Matt's band Native who played a wicked set on Saturday night. We survived a very cold and rainy Saturday morning, passing the wet hours with cups of tea and a fun chapel service run by members of Student Soul. Highlights for us all included: the sun finally coming out on Saturday (!), seeing Matt play, seeing Mephymology and Anna Macdonald play on Friday night, watching the Getaways (A.K.A. Anna and Mackenna) play some beautiful original songs in the afternoon on Saturday, and Rapture Ruckus on Saturday night was HEAPS of fun! On Sunday morning the sun was shining and we had church with worship led by Dunedin musician Malcolm Gordon. Andy from the band Calling Elijah spoke about listening to God, and doing something instead of waiting for something to happen to you. It was awesome to catch up with friends from lots of other schools and youth groups in such an inspiring place. Samstock raised about $2000 for their main sponsor Tearfund to buy pigs for villages in rural China. Thanks to Flagstaff (especially Trudy, Sarah, Andrew, Sue and Tom) for giving us canvas rooves over our heads and being our friends, and to Kirstin for being the organiser of such a cool event!
October looks to be a quieter month for us as we have lots of school/uni/polytech assessments looming, but we'll still have time to meet and make fun!
Aroha, Helen.

Hello!

Wee plan for next couple of weeks!

This Sunday night (21st of Sep) we are having a cook-up! We have a guest cheif coming in to show us her moves in the kitchen...Should be entertaining, fun, satisfying (both intellectually and stomachally). Good opportunity to learn how to cook!

Next weekend is SAMSTOCK! See (www.samstock.org.nz) for more details.

Then the next Sunday we are doing more exciting cooking....

Catch you there!