My Merrin Memories

2015 was my first year, I was year 0 at Merrin and my first friend was Edward Brown but he likes being called Eddie, I also made another friend called Georgia Simmonds my teacher was Ms Spica but I don’t remember much of year 0 but I remember in year 1 I made my first friend group with Eddie, Zong Heng, Zach, and I. We played a lot of tag during breaks, and since all of my friends in my friend group were pretty fast we would always have to be aware of who was in and where they were. Our teacher was Miss Abrahams and it was her first year of teaching but sadly at the end of that year, Zach left to go to Medbury.

In year 2 I was in Whaea Sam's class, and Eddie and Zong Heng were in Mrs Germon's class. Even though we were split up we still played a lot with each other. The only person I knew in my class was Georgia, she and I were pretty good friends so at the start of the year at class time I would sit with her because I knew no one else in the class. It’s ok though because later on in the year I got some more friends but I forgot their names. That’s all I remember about year 2.

In year 3. Firstly my teacher was Ms Carter and I was in room 18, we were in a pod with room 19 so I had basically all my friends with me. 2 new kids that joined Merrin that year were Sky and Ryan Hu. Ryan Hu was in our class that year but I didn’t really talk to him but he will join the story later. I remember that a new kid Ryan Tan had joined our friend group. I can remember in year 3 it felt very long when I was in it, year 3 was probably my 3rd best year at Merrin because I had all my friends together.

In year 4 my teacher was Ms. Harris and I was in room 7 the people in my class were Eddie, Zong, and Ryan Tan. A new kid called Tumu had just arrived at Merrin so he joined our friend group for this year. This year I remember less than year 3. So the only things I remember are the people in my class and that’s about it.

In year 5 Tumu was a year behind us so we didn’t play with him that much this year but another person had joined our friend group, his name was Isaac. My teacher was Ms. Della Bosca and I was in room 10 the people in my class were Eddie, Ryan Tan, Isaac, and Georgia S. Zong Heng was in Ms. Vicker's class room 11 and so was Locky but he joined our friend group a bit later. This year Rigved had just come to Merrin in Mr Wilton’s class. Sky and Ryan Hu were also in Mr Wilton’s class but they will join the story later. They were in a pod with us so we would hang out in class often still.

This year was very exciting because now we could go to zones for cross country and athletics. The year was great but COVID had started that year so we spent 2 months in lockdown from the 26th of March to the 27th of May. During that time we had around 2-4 meetings during the lockdown. In that year I went to zones for Sprints, High Jump, and Long Jump. This year we had camp. I was in a big cabin with around 16 other boys. It was really fun. We got to swim, climb, make rafts, stand-up paddle boards, kayak, and much more, we stayed there for 3 days and 2 nights. It was a very fun experience but that’s about all I remember from year 5.

In year 6 another person Werner had joined our friend group. This was one of our best friend groups before everyone went to intermediate, it consisted of Werner, Isaac, Ryan Tan, Zong Heng, Eddie, and I. I didn’t talk much to Georgia this year though because my friend group was really good and we would always play with each other. This year was probably my 2nd best year at Merrin. My teacher was Whaea Belinda and I was in room 14 with Eddie, Ryan Tan, Isaac, Werner, Locky, Samuel and I. Zong was the only one in Mrs Vickers' class again. Sky, Seif, and Rigved were in Mr Wilton’s class and so was Georgia S, but Seif and Rigved will join the story later. Sky and Ryan Hu were both in Ms Ridler's class but they will also join the story later. We were in a pod with Ms. Vickers so since Zong Heng had basically no friends in his class he would come to our class a lot to learn.

This year I was in the Winter Sport Football team. I don’t know if I was in the Football team last year but this year I definitely remember being in the team. This year Samuel just came to Merrin and he was in Whaea Belinda’s class too but we only started playing with him at the end of the year. This year for Novel Studies, the Novel we were reading was The Wahine Disaster, and for one of the activities we asked the teacher if we could reenact one of the things that happened. Since the book was about a boat, the boat’s rooms were very small and had 2 families in each room. To reenact the size of the boat rooms we made an outline with tape and everyone who was in that Novel Studies Group could choose to be in the “boat” or not. Since all of my friends were in that Novel Studies Group we all said yes, but there were some girls that didn’t want to go on the “boat” with us so the only people on the “boat” were my friends (Eddie, Zong Heng, Ryan Tan, Werner, Isaac and I) and some other boys I can’t remember. On that day we were very excited because we basically did no work. We had like no room though cause everyone’s bag was also in the “boat”. The experience was really cool though and it showed how little space people had on the boat.

In that year I got second place in sprints and Aston won (Aston was another student that started in year 0 but I didn’t really talk to him much, Eddie did though but I didn’t that much so I didn’t really include him in my story.) That year I also won High Jump but I got 3rd in Long Jump. Something major that year was COVID-19 because in term 3 we had to go into quarantine, during that time we had around 1-2 meetings online. This year they were starting to make renovations to make a new year 5/6 block. They were making the buildings right behind our classes. This year at my birthday party I invited all my friends and they all came to my house. We went to the shops a lot and Zong Heng, Ryan Tan, and Eddie had a sleepover. But sadly at the end of the year Werner, Isaac, Ryan Tan, and Zong Heng had to go to intermediate which was very sad for Eddie and me. Zong Heng, Werner, and Ryan Tan went to Cobham and Isaac went to Breens. But on the whole, this year was probably one of my favourites at Merrin.

In year 7 it was only Eddie and I from our previous friend group so we could either play with each other or find new friends, we decided to find new friends. Eddie and I were in room 11 with Mr A. Now most of the people that I previously mentioned will now join the story, Locky, Sky, Zack, Samuel, and Ryan Hu will all join our friend group this year. Ms Revell was in room 10. She was in the pod with us, we didn’t have any friends in Ms Revell's class, but I know there were some cool year 8s in her class though. Anyway, I can remember at the start of the year we had to wear masks because of COVID-19, which lasted for around 2-3 terms. This year we started in the year 7/8 block but further into the year, we had to go back to our classes from the previous year because this year they were renovating the year 7/8 block, the year 5/6 block was finished so the year 5/6s went into those classrooms since we were occupying their space. This year we had a lot of out-of-school trips because COVID-19 made it so we didn’t have camp. Eddie and I also got COVID-19 at the same time! We got it because we went to the Launch Pad because it was a new trampoline park in our area. It was also a long weekend so we went there for fun. But unfortunately the day after we got COVID and could go to school. It was Mr A’s first year teaching at Merrin so it was cool to see a new teacher. Mr A is a pretty cool teacher because unintentionally funny. Ms Revell was in our pod and that was really fun because she was the drama teacher for Merrin. After school we would play games with a ball, it’s called, Silent Ball. Here’s how to play. First, you need a ball, preferably a small round ball, then get a small group of people, and then pass the ball around while being quiet. You can add extra rules while the game progresses though to make more people get out. We would play that game a few times after pack-up time if we had enough time. Anyway, this year most of my friends were in the same class which was good. Locky, Sky, Zack, Samuel, and Ryan Hu joined our friend group early on in the year so we played with each other a lot. We would play after school sometimes too so that was really fun. I invited them to my birthday party at my house and we all had a sleepover. It was really fun. We went to the shops and played a lot of basketball at the nearby school. This year we went to Orton Bradley Park for an adventure day where we went abseiling or BMX biking and climbed stuff. In general year 7 was probably my favourite year at Merrin.

In year 8, all my friends from last year were here this year but they were in different classes. At this point, they changed the old classes into new ones by conjoining them all. It is now called Wheriko. I was in Wheriko 1 with Ms Burt and I had Locky and Seif in my class. Eddie, Sky, Samuel, and Ryan Hu were in Wheriko 2 with Mr A and lastly, Rigved was in Wheriko 4 with Mr. Hong, a new teacher. He started this year. This year was my and my friends' last year at Merrin. It started with M Burt’s and Mr A’s classes together as a pod. Mr Hong’s and Ms Green’s classes together as a pod. For the first 2 terms, these were the pods but in terms 3 and 4 we have swapped by having Ms Burt’s and Mr Hong’s classes together as a pod. Ms Green’s and Mr A’s classes together as a pod. During the first 2 terms, we had Math in different classes to separate everyone. We also did a lot of only class stuff so only your class would be in that lesson. All my friends are going to Burnside so we will probably still be friends there. At the end of the year, we have Star Week which will be super fun. It is a week where the year 8s do fun stuff for their last week at Merrin. This year has had its ups and downs but in general, it has been very fun.

My Heroes

My hero is Luffy because he’s the embodiment of joy and freedom. He is the main character of the anime I watch. Anime is a style of animation originating in Japan that has stark colourful graphics, action-filled plots, and often fantastic or futuristic themes. One Piece is the anime I watch and it can also be read because it’s also a manga, manga is a style of Japanese comic books and graphic novels. I have never personally read the One Piece manga but I have been watching it for the past year or so. I haven’t been watching it for the whole time though cause I have stopped watching it and continued watching it a few times. But the anime is really good. One Piece is the 10th Anime in terms of longest-running because it has been running for 26 years! And 16th in terms of episodes because it has 1081 episodes which is a lot and it’s still going up!

My Jams

I have many favourite songs so I can’t just choose one. My favourite genre of music though would probably be Pop and I also like music from the 80s, 90s, and 2000s. Every day on the way to school I would listen to music in the car. My brother and I have a playlist of our favourite songs that we play on the way to school and back.

My Ultimate Future Self

In 5 years I would just be finishing High School and hopefully going to university. I might have a part-time job by then and I also might have a car. Hopefully, I can still have some of my friends that I have now, I will probably also have some new friends too.

In 10 years I might still be living in my parent's house but I don’t know. By then I also might have a girlfriend and I would hopefully still be in touch with some of my friends. I will also hopefully have a job and be living a happy life.

In 50 years I will definitely be living in my own house and I also might be retired. I might have a wife and a couple of children. I might not have any of my current friends but I still could have a few. I would probably still play some games from time to time. Since my mum and all her siblings went to Merrin, if I have kids I would want them to go to Merrin too. But by 50 years I would hopefully be living my best life.

My Favourite Quote

A quote that is important to me would probably be, “Treat people how you want to be treated” by Jesus (Luke 6:31) Luke was the book, 6 was the chapter and 31 is the verse. I feel like that is very important. Cause whenever you are mean to someone or if someone is mean to you, you shouldn’t be mad if they do something back.

My Wrap-Up...

I hope people at Merrin remember me for being funny, kind, smart, and energetic. I feel like Merrin has really impacted my life and made me a better person because of the values they teach and the friends I’ve made. I hope the year 1/2s and 3/4s remember me very well because every time I walk past them I would give them a high five! My brother is going to Cobham next year so at the end of this year there will be no one from my family still here. My mum and her siblings all went to Merrin and my aunt's teacher Ms. Bargh has been teaching there the whole time! Hopefully, if I have kids they also go to Merrin!