It’s almost spooky time! Is it just me or have you noticed that each year this celebration seems to get bigger and bigger? When I was growing up it wasn’t such a big thing here in Australia but now, WOAH! Walk into Kmart and its EVERYWHERE! Our team have been looking forward to this day for a few weeks now and are looking forward to sharing their thoughts, experiences and research on this very interesting topic of Halloween.
 
Welcome to our blog today where I chat about all the kid-friendly Halloween movies available to watch with the family or loved ones.
 
Before I start telling you about some amazing flicks, I’m going to start with a joke. 
What do you call two witches sharing a apartment?
Broommates!
 
One of my favourite Halloween Movies is Monster House as I’ve watched it since I was a kid and that was a long time ago. Monster House is about two kids playing basketball at their house, a ball accidently rolls across the road to the neighbours garden, the neighbour gets angry when anybody goes into their yard and takes their stuff into their house. They don’t get it back until the end of the movie. 
 
Another one of my favorites is Coraline. Coraline is about a girl who moves house and gets “another mother”. She goes looking around the house and finds a doll that looks exactly like her with button eyes. This doll takes her on adventures at night making her scared of the new house and her “other mother” who wants to sew buttons onto her eyes. 
 
I also love the movie Hotel Transylvania they stay in a hotel for monsters ONLY, as monsters are scared of humans.
 
I also love Toy Story of Terror the movie as this movie brings back memories of watching Toy Story when I was younger. They stay in a hotel when one toy goes missing they try to find their gang to get them all back to the manager at the hotel he finds the toys and tries to sell them on eBay. 
 
Some of the other movies I would recommend are the Adams Family Movies, Casper, Ghostbusters and the Haunted Mansion movie. All these movies are amazing in my opinion. 
 
What is your favourite Halloween Movie ? There are so many to choose from.
 
Let’s finish with another joke to make you smile.
 
What do you call a witch that lives on the beach
A Sand Witch.  
 
Thank you for Reading this Spooky Halloween Blog 

Have Fun Trick And Treating! - Scarlett
 
 
Hello and come on an awesome story of trick or treat. Welcome to the tradition in my family of Halloween. My sister and her two little monkeys love Halloween and even decorate their house in full Halloween style. You’ll see witches, ghosts and more. My sister even decorates the front of her home with carvings of pumpkins, religious crosses and much more. 
 
When we go trick or treating, we make sure to look for houses with balloons on their letterbox and decorations or a front light on.  The kids love everything about Halloween especially the candy!  
 
Fun fact, Halloween has been celebrated in Australia for over 150 years, it isn’t just America. In fact the first recorded celebration was in 1858 in Castlemaine. Halloween had its origins in Scotland and Ireland thousands of years ago. 
 
How do you celebrate Halloween? Do you dress up? 
 
Happy toothless HALLOWEEN 
 
LOVE FROM JESS the Pumpkin,🎃   
 
 
 
This week we will be blogging about Halloween and it’s genre so I’ve decided to talk about one of my favorite tv shows related to the spooky season (but I watch it anytime). The show is called Ghost Adventures, It follows a group of paranormal investigators trying to show proof of the supernatural and abnormal entities in many locations famous for its hauntings.

The show is run by Zak Bagans, Aaron Goodwin and Nick Groff but he resigned after 2014. The ghost adventure team started in 2008 and is currently on its 25th season which is quite amazing for that long. I love this show because along with spooky findings the guys themselves are hilarious. One of their own especially Zak, loves investigating these ghost and findings but guess what? He is afraid of heights, snakes and clowns, surprising right?

They spend a full night locked up in these haunted places to investigate the following paranormal activity and yes literally they get locked up from going outside and running away from fears of the unknown, I would highly recommend watching this show as it is funny and interesting along with some goofy adult men screaming like pansies. – Holly
 
This year’s Halloween is held on Tuesday 31st of October 2023. 

 You might be asking when did we start celebrating Halloween and why? 

Halloween was first celebrated around 2,000 years ago, when Celtic people in Europe celebrated the end of the harvest and the start of a new year in a festival called Samhain, the Halloween origins which held on November 1. 

Do you celebrate or join in celebrating Halloween?  For me and my family we don’t celebrate Halloween but I do see other families trick or treating and dress up in costumes.  

I was asked if I dressed up what would I wear? I would wear Wednesday Adams from the Adams family because I have watched all season 1 episodes from Wednesday and all the movies from Adams family. It is a really good show and movies. 

Do you have a favourite character you would dress up as and why? 

At the shops I see so much Halloween things and it doesn’t bother me because I’m just not into it but for those who are do you like seeing those kids dressed up trick or treating?  For me I like seeing kids happy and living life and doing something that they like to do.   

How do you feel about Halloween? 

Do you like Halloween or do you just not care? Angelina.
 
It's HALLOWEN!!

This week we are talking about Halloween and my family and friends have already had a party! We had a Halloween dinner and eyeball Halloween ice cream. We had spiders made of chocolate too. 

I dressed up in ghost face mask and Halloween clothes with a long black cloak and boots.  

We will have another party with red colour blood drink. My little brother loves Halloween and is dressing up as Sonic the Hedgehog. He loves the movies and the show and the blue outfit. 

I love to see the houses with Halloween decorations like spider webs, black bats and blood handprints. 

I am excited for trick or treating, and I have a trick ready to go in case you say "trick!" 
Happy Halloween everybody! TJ
 
Hello Friends,  
 
SPOOKY SEASON IS APON US!  
 
What does everyone do for Halloween?  
 
I usually watch Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas because I love that movie so much because it's so very different to the usual Disney movies and it can be a Halloween movie or a Christmas Movie. (Yes, I also watch it at Christmas time as well). 
 
This Halloween I have decided I am going to shake it up a bit and I'm going to watch Disney's new movie Haunted Mansion. It's come out on Disney Plus and I’m both excited and scared about it. Watching movies on Halloween is something I like to do because it makes me happy and hopefully this year's choice of movie doesn’t change that.  
 
I like to think that Halloween can be a great opportunity for some self-care! If you're not feeling like going out or joining the trick or treaters and their parents, then it’s a great time for some- you time!  
Do whatever makes you happiest, there is an abundance of spooky themed skin care products online, you could do some online shopping, hang out with your fur babies (or non-fur babies), there are also lots of pet costumes too, make some spooky drinks, have a self-care date and make yourself dinner. The ideas are endless honestly. You can get on Google and get some inspiration too! 

I will watch a movie as I said, make myself a treat bag, cuddle up with my bubble tea plush and my Minnie mouse weighted plush and just enjoy the night.  
 
 
HAPPY SPOOKY SEASON! 
 
Just as an extra bit here; I started this blog post with no idea what I was going to write and ended up with a great little writing piece so for anyone who might be struggling to get stuff done, take a breather, drink some water and try again. You are only human.  – Shan
 
 
 The true story of Halloween (Samhain).  Can you believe Halloween isn’t originally an American Pagan in heritage.  It is Irish Pagan.
Before you read this I need you to believe in something about the true meaning of Halloween. 
Samhain is the celebration between living and the dead (or, the undead) and before Dracula was born, there was an Irish vampire named Abhartach. A fun fact about Abhartach is his grave is real, it is at the very back of the Slaghtaverty Dolmen Cemetery, in Northern Ireland. It is referred to as the Giants Grave.  His character inspired Bram Stoker’s novel, Dracula. Another fact here is that Bram Stoker was Irish, as is Halloween itself.
 
You may have heard about Merlin who is a Celtic Druid. Druids were the people who started Samhain, which we refer to as Halloween. They started ancient Irish pagan ritual’s, such as Bonfire. These were used to help the dead Passover in to afterlife. You may have heard of Passover within Judaism, the Jewish celebrate this. 
 
That’s what I love about history, is that all times and places are interconnected.  – Phillip
 
 
Happy Halloween! Last week I chose to write about the Witch Trials of Salem.
 
The trials started between early 1692 and mid 1693, about 300 years ago now.  300 years  ago there were  two witches  who  were mother and  daughter.  Sarah Good and Sarah Orsborne were their names.  They were actual witches that were tortured, hanged, buried alive for witchcraft . 

They started because 200 women  were accused of doing witchcraft and magic  and the women were tortured at the stake for this. There is a movie based on the witch trials called Hocus Pocus.  In the movie The Sanderson sisters, one of them called Sarah tells us about Hallows Eve, a very special day.  When the black flamed candle would light, the three Sanderson  sisters would come back.  

Do you celebrate Halloween? – Charlotte
 
 
Halloween is a huge American celebration and is  also celebrated in a Australia but not as big as America, it is becoming bigger in Australia each year.
 
I really believe the meaning of Halloween is a spiritual cycle of death and rebirth where people release and let go of all negative and lower energies that hold them back and will celebrate new energies that take place.
 
My  belief of Halloween is where people feel a spiritual connection to the spiritual world they can feel real senses of their astral body, white shadows, glows, auras around them, the angels and the white witches. White witches are the good witches their meaning is good with the spiritual world heavens.
 
What I really love about Halloween is all  the costumes and decorations. My favourite Halloween costumes is a witch’s because I like the style and it is a childhood memory and  it is a spiritual connection to me.

My favourite Halloween decorations in the stores are the witches and pumpkins. One day I would love to decorate my home inside and out.

What is your favourite part of Halloween - Gipsy

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FRIENDS

​Choose your own adventure – October 2023
 
Our participants decided they would like this week to choose their own adventure. If you’re new to reading our blogs this is when our team can write about anything they like! We do this once a month and we love it! This team of writers have so much to share so let’s sit back and read about it!
 
Welcome to our blog today I chat about an exciting adventure happening in November. 
 
This year I’m doing my first independent travel with my best friend Bridie we are traveling to Queensland, and we are even taking Jeff the Umbrella Bear with us.
We are staying on the Gold Coast which I love, especially the theme parks and the feel it brings.

We are planning to go visit Dreamworld, Movie World, Sea World, and Wet and Wild. All the parks are lots of fun and they have so much to offer.

We are catching taxis to get to all the destinations we want to go to and explore. I am so excited and a tiny bit nervous as this is my first holiday without Mum and Dad. To make me feel less nervous I’m going to message them each day. We are going to take many photos to remember this time. I’m looking forward to cooking dinner and paying for my own things while I'm away too.

On the days I’m not having a ball of fun I'm walking or going shopping. My favourite stores I have mentioned in a previous blog.

I’m going to have fun at the place we are staying too.
The reason I’m going to have fun at the resort is because they have a ropes course, jumping pillow , mini golf  and many swimming pools to choose from.
I can’t wait to go the beach as I love the beach especially because I love building sandcastles and jumping of a pier.
 
Thank you for reading our blog as you can see I’m so excited to enjoy this experience in Queensland. - Scarlett
 
 
I get to choose my own adventure today for the blog, and one of my favourite things is the Every 1 Cafe. I have learnt so much by being one of the Every 1 Cafe favorites. 
We make a team work no matter our disability. We have great teamwork skills together. We've learnt about what's a good greeting, we make sure to shake hands. And smiling is important to make people happy. It makes me happy.  I've learnt that in a cafe there are many jobs, and I am good at listening for instructions like “order up” when the coffee is ready. It's important to work well and get everything done in the time we have.
 
I use the term "watch out behind you" so my friends know I am behind them, we don't have any accidents. This is what teamwork means to me, watching out for each other. We are getting the job done together. 
No matter the weather we love to do the Every 1 Cafe, don't be afraid of the weather. We are indoors. It doesn't matter if it's cold or hot or wet or windy. At the end we close, we clean and we set up the room for dinner. When will you come and see us?  – TJ
 
 
This week the weather turned from sun shining to gloomy rainy weather and we all had a different topic to work on so we decided to use choose your own blog card for this month, I decided to talk about my roleplay journey online this week.
My roleplays are mostly always on VR or discord depending on the time and availability, I have worn my OC to my first Dinner with friends, let me tell you about my OC Maria the Kitsune.
She is part of a family of 9 sisters, each with their own color of the rainbow, My character has the purple hue in her hair and tails and has the ability to manipulate water and move it to her will she also has a rapier for fast and effective quick attack while slicing her enemies with it.
All of the sisters are kitsunes, a Yo-kai /spirit entity who often pulls pranks in Japanese folklore, each tail represents who’s the oldest and strongest, Maria is in the middle with 6 tails and Mikuru’s is the oldest with 9 white tails, then there is the second oldest named Arashi with 8 grey tails and so forth.
They were born just after the fall of the samurai era in Japan around the 1800s, the role play consists of flintlock firearms and katanas and other weapons used in that era. My character looked after the naval forces for the coast of her island they inhabited and owned.
My friend has been planning and making this roleplay since 2018 and we are almost finished with the main story line. – Holly
 
Hello happy readers! My name is Angelina and today I am going to talk to you about Friends the American TV sitcom because why not!  

Friends is an American television sitcom created by the talented David Crane and wonderful Marta Kauffman in 1994 on the 22nd of September. Friends' sitcom was officially the best series from all over the world after its debut from its first episode.

After 10 seasons they officially ended the series on the 6th of May 2004, saying that Monica and Chandler move to a suburban area in New York. (SPOILER).

There is now an amazing friend's experience dedicated to the show down in Docklands. It's still open up until the 26th of November so get going if you are a HUGE Friends fan!
​ 
You might be wondering what the point of Friends the American sitcom and the point of the show is is because it’s all about friendship and living solo in a world where you need your friends around if your family aren’t there beside you on your journey.  – Angelina
 
Hello all for those who are new my name Jess. I am a great Aunty to 4 nephews and 3 nieces.  I also have two amazing sisters. I belong in the middle. I love cooking up a storm, yummy foods such as tim tam balls. 
 
I also enjoy crafts especially my diamond dots, I have done one based off a family photo of myself and my two sisters. I do lots of different crafts and am working on a special one for my great friend. I have other box’s is my garden. I have planter boxes that have flowers and herbs which have grown and are so beautiful. 
 
I am also a national bowler for Victoria and absolutely love bowling. I have lots of friends from other organisations were I do different programs. I have also been engaged for 21 months and love my family and extended family, I do not drive so I get round by taxi, thank you Chan!
Happy reading all my fans love from Jess 
 
 
What you need know about England not just only the Royal’s but includes mythology and folklore’s. My ties with England is it’s goes back to my English SC times grand- grandfather on my grandpa’s side.

II  Now that I picked up my English traditions this includes perfect traditional food as well

III A British profession named William Shakespeare most famous with story wright theatre is the Macbeth’s witch hunt.

IV have strong British ties with both sides of from British ancestry to William Shakespeare and British traditional foods/traditions. - Phillip
 
 
Last week it was “Choose your own adventure” and I chose Harry Potter as my topic. The main character is Harry Potter and he is played by Daniel Radciffe. He started out as a child actor and he's a very good actor. 

Interesting facts about Harry himself, is he was cursed as a child in movies and the books by a very powerful and evil wizard, Lord Voldemort.  He now has a lighting scar on his forehead. Harry’s middle name is James. His parents went to Hogwarts and his mum was a witch, her name is Lily and his dad’s name is James.

Harry is in Gryffindor house, however if I was in Harry Potter I would go into Gryffindor house also because it’s my favourite house. 
​
There are 7 movie series’ and even a musical called Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.  I’ve seen it and it is very good. I loved it because I love Harry Potter.
Have you seen any of the Harry Potter movies or read any of the books? - Charlotte 
 
Hello Friends, 
Today I’m going to be talking about some other friends; SHARKS!! 

Why you ask? Because it’s a CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE BLOG! 

So, I have some random facts about sharks just to start us off,  
There are over 500 different species of sharks swimming in the world's oceans, with the biggest living shark being my favourite The Whale Shark (18m - 20m) and the smallest being The Dwarf Lantern Shark (6.3 - 7.9 inches).  

The most common shark species is the Dogfish there's 119 different kinds of dogfish, I won't name them all here. However, in Australia the most common shark is the wobbegong shark. There are 4 different species of wobbegong shark; Ornate Wobbegong, Spotted Wobbegong, Tasseled Wobbegong and the Dwarf Ornate Wobbegong.  

Now to deep dive into whatever I want to say about my shark friends;  
Whale sharks or Rhincodon typus which is their scientific name are my absolute Favourite shark, they are so beautiful, and I love watching them slowly swim in videos taken by experienced divers. They are just the gentle giants of the ocean. They can live to about 150 though very few whale sharks survive to adulthood. They are in fact sharks not whales even though they have whale in their name. Their markings are also like human fingerprints! One of a kind to each individual shark.  

 Sharks like me really enjoy personal space from humans, they just want to live out their days being happy shark friends and living their best shark lives. I think they need a little more respect than what they get from us. We enter their habitat and thrash around swimming, attracting their attention and then get upset when we get attacked. Imagine if I came into your home unannounced, uninvited and started trying to swim in your dining room? I bet you’d be pretty upset too!  
​
Shark attacks are rarer than you might think just as a side note.  
Have a wonderful week everyone! - Shan 

​UF0S’S Aliens
I am a real big believer into UFO’S Aliens it is my most favourite subject in the world, and when I start talking about UFO’s aliens, I don’t stop because I find it so very fascinating.

There have been so many UFO sightings all around the world.

UFO sightings have been seen in America, Australia ,Europe and Asian Countries. They say that in America Alaska is notorious for UFO sightings and unexplained things going on.

My beliefs are pretty out there and these are my believes into UfO Aliens. I really feel that I have had many UFO Alien experiences since I was a little girl and I would like to talk about one of these experiences.

I remember when I was a little girl in my sleep I was hearing a very loud helicopter sounds and I saw all these weird faces looking down on me and this would happen a lot to me has a child.

I was never frightened by it, I just always thought they were my little friends and they continue to visit me through my adult life up until today and when every time I close eyes I can see their faces very clearly.
​
Have you or anyone you know experienced a UFO Alien experience.
I  hope enjoyed reading my 2nd blog - Gipsy 

My favourite TV show or Movie…
 
We warmly welcomed Gipsy to our blogging team this week. Gipsy shared with us that she loves writing and was keen to get started so that’s exactly what we did!
Get comfy, grab some popcorn and pour yourself a big glass of your favourite soft drink as we settle in and “view” this weeks blog all about TV shows, series or movies… 
 
The favourite movie of Charlotte and Tyson. 
 
This is a big coincidence this week, Tyson and Charlotte share the SAME favourite movie, Scream!!  So this week we are teaming up to tell you all about it.
 
Tyson:-
“I love a good horror, this is for sure.
We really like murder mysteries, because they keep you guessing and the sound effects are the best! I love the killer. I love his boots, his long black cloak and the ghost face mask is very interesting to me.
 
Charlotte:-
“I like mysteries and definitely the killer too, he has a great outfit.
We both love the jump scares, you have to watch the movies at night. 
I first got into Scream after a breakup, it was comforting and enjoyable, and kept me busy. My big sister also made me watch it with her because she was scared”
 
Tyson:-
“You may have seen a sneak peak of my Halloween outfit last week, well you may have seen it last Tuesday at Dinner with Friends. I first saw Scream on the TV, and thought wow this is good.  I have since watched them all and have been scared each and every time”
 
Charlotte-  What is your favourite movie or horror movie?
 
Tyson- Dinner with Friends was on Tuesday!  It’s almost Halloween time!! Charlotte and TJ
 
 
Most people who watch TV shows watch on either on TV or Netflix but for me I use a different form to watch my Favorite show.
And that art form is called Anime and I will be talking about my first official Anime I watched, the show isn’t what you may think, it isn’t Dragonball Z or Sailor Moon, and the other ones that were on Saturday morning TV. The one Anime that got me into the Genre. It’s called Fruits Basket and I will be talking about why this Anime made me a fan of the genre to this day.
Published in 1998, this Japanese Manga was made into an Anime in 5 July 2001 to 27 December 2001 with 26 episodes, with only covering about a quarter of the manga. The story is about a Highschool girl Named Tohru Honda, a selfless and optimistic girl who loses her mother in a car accident, she tries to live by herself, but gets welcomed into a home by the most popular boy in her school, she desperately refuses as she doesn’t want to burden him and his family. But when she discovers a big secret, she stays with them to keep the secret safe from everyone.
 
In 2019 they did a revamp of the entire Anime with updated graphics and original voice acting from the original 2001 Anime and decided to include almost everything from the manga, this show is targeted at shoujo, an editorial category of Japanese comics targeting an audience of adolescent females and young adults. It is very funny and has a lot of drama and sad scenes mixed with heartwarming lessons about forgiveness and moving on.
I cried along with my boyfriend when the finale came around. The 3 seasons of this Anime have been uploaded to Crunchyroll. I even brought the 26 original copies back from Japan as a set and have all the newer DVD’s that came out and much more, needless to say I am a massive fan and would recommend this Anime if you haven’t already tried, this Anime’s genre is supernatural, romance, drama and comedy. Holly
 
Welcome to our blog today I chat about my favourite TV show called iCarly.
The Story behind iCarly is a girl named Carly Shay who films in a spare room in her apartment where she lives with her older brother Spencer . The first episode is called “Pilot”. They originally filmed because they wanted to showcase the talents of students and their school.  They posted it online and had heaps of views, the fans wanted more. Eventually, they started the show and called it iCarly.  
 
The reason it was my favourite tv show is because it makes me laugh and I always enjoy my time while watching. It has brought me lots of joy and happiness and given me an interest in media. I don’t really like the new version as there are different actors and it’s not as funny as it used to be.  
 
My favourite episode of iCarly is “I spy a mean teacher”.  There was a mean teacher at the school, and so they would hide in her wardrobe and check out her stuff.  Carly and Freddie are the only ones there as they think it will be cool and Sam was watching from the outside to try and distract the teacher. In the end though, they all get caught as the teacher sees them. Carly and Freddie get caught in the wardrobe and Sam in the garden.  
 
My second favourite episode is “Look A-like “and its my second favourite because this episode reminds me of my twin friend Charlotte.  We often get called the “Arlotte’s” like a band! 

In this episode they ask if you know anybody who looks like them and to send an image to the website during this episode.  They find random people who look very similar to the stars of the show Carly, Sam and Freddie.  They invite them to come and be on a live show but little did they know they were just going to chill in the studio and watch movies.
 
Have you ever seen iCarly? I have seen it loads of times and highly recommend you watch if you have not seen it. Thank you for reading this blog I hope you learned something about my favourite tv show. – Scarlett

This week while we talk about favourite TV shows or movies, I’m going to explain how celebrity look a likes have been a part of my life too.
 
There are many look-a-likes amongst the normal people and actors and actresses. Firstly, Danny Zuko from Greece, who is played by John Travolta. I have been compared to him quite a lot as I’ve performed many Danny Zuko’s solo songs.  I may even perform one on Tuesday at Dinner with Friends, if you’re lucky.
 
Secondly, Nick Jonas, he is one of the three Jonas Brothers.  Here is fun fact:-  Funny thing about me and him is that we both are the same age and we both grew up in a Christian home (both our dads are a pastor of the church).  Nick Jonas has been in Camp Rock, and the remake of Jumanji.  I love both these movie too.
 
Lastly, I have discovered that Louis Tomlinson from one Direction and I are the same age, born in the same month and the same year!  We are both in boybands as I created my boy band when I was at a Day Service. 
 
Did you know the word Doppelgänger is German and it means someone who is almost identical to someone else. I have seen lots of doppelgängers in my time, including myself and those I have mentioned today. – Phillip
 
 
Home and Away the Australian soap opera commenced on the 18th January 1988 and the original characters Alf  Stewart and Irene are still in the series.
 
The original story line is about a foster home with children from the city coming to live in the country. The original show was going to be called Refuge but was changed to Home and Away or H&A.
 
It commenced each week from Monday to Thursday at 7pm and for me 7pm is and has always been a block out time for me. Family and friends know not to contact me during that time. The main characters were a family with five foster children who moved to “Summer Bay” to run the caravan park and the fun began. 
 
The show has been sold to over eighty countries, making it one of the most popular Australian soap operas.
 
Myself and a close friend are crazy  about the show because of the interesting story lines, nothing is off limits - e.g. drug abuse, weddings, funerals you name it they have had it on.
 
I don’t have a favourite character now but Sally a foster child was my favourite until she moved away from the bay
 
I have been lucky to go to “Summer Bay” which is filmed in NSW at Palm Beach. I have some sand as a souvenir.
 
Do you like H&A and do you still watch it?
Do you have a favourite character? 
Have you been to Summer Bay?
 
Jess - A dedicated fan as well as my good friend Britt.
 
 
Hello Friends! 
After a short discussion about what we would write about in our blogs today we settled on favourite T.V. shows, fits perfectly with what I had hoped to write about today... BLUEY!  
 
Bluey is an Australian cartoon about an adorable six-year-old blue heeler puppy who loves adventures with her friends and family Mum Chilli, Dad Bandit and Sister Bingo. I think it’s a great show that anyone can watch and enjoy. It's also fantastic that it is an Australian show (Screen Queensland and Screen Australia), being an Australian myself this makes me extremely happy and proud that we have created such a good kids show. The fun part about it being a kids' show is it's not just the young people who love it. Adults are on board the Bluey train too!  
 
I am one of those adults who love Bluey, nothing makes me happier than putting my AirPods in and diving into the world of Bluey. I have the Bluey music in a playlist on my phone because why not right? I love the Grannie's episode I'm pretty sure it’s in season 1, episode 28. I could watch it over and over again. I recently got to go see my 1-year-old niece who loves Bluey also, it was great to watch it with her. I’m pretty sure she’s mostly a fan of the intro music the most. She does also have a favourite episode though, Cricket which is in season 3, Episode 47.  

Random fun fact for you Chloe Hayden (Actress, Author, disability advocate, motivational speaker and social media influencer.) Loves Bluey too!  
 
My favourite characters are Bluey, Rusty (Red Kelpie) and Unicorse (Unicorn Puppet). 
I love Bluey because she's the main character but also because she's always going off learning new things in her adventures and she's great fun. Rusty is so imaginative, he's being a handyman fixing fence's one minute, showing off his awesome cricket skills the next and loves playing army! He’s a great character! Another reason to love Bluey is there is a Unicorn that appears in a couple of episodes and that brings me to my next favourite character; Obviously I love Unicorse Because he’s a unicorn and unicorns RULE! (Unicorns are my favourite) he is a bit cheeky though and seems to love spoiling story times.  
 
So there we are I LOVE BLUEY and that’s something that makes me happy. What TV shows or movies do you love? Maybe give Bluey a go?  

Have A Wonderful Day Friends! – Shan
 
 
My favourite TV Show - Home and Away
Home and Away is on week nights from Monday to Thursday at 7pm. My favourite characters are Leah, Justin, Theo, Cash,  Kirby, Mackenzie, Harper, Diana and Felicity.

The reason why I love Home and Away so much is because I really love all the drama and how all the actors present in their acting. They are very good at it, all of the actors! 
In Home and Away they really know how to act and I really love that Home and Away is filmed on the beach and I really love where Home and Away is set in Summer Bay.
 
Recently what’s been happening in Home and Away is Justin and Leah were kidnaped and taken to an isolated building with no food or drink fluids and Justin tried climbing up onto the roof so they could find a way out to get help, then parts of the roof collapsed and Justin fell and parts the roof fell on him. Justin was seriously injured, both Leah and Justin needed medical attention but what happens to Justin? Will Justin survive? If Justin does not survive, then Home and Away will never be the same but I will still love Home and Away. Justin is really cool! I really hope Lyric make their album and it gets really big and everything works out for Lyric, I hope Felicity has a child with Tane her husband. 
I really wish Home and Away could go for 1 hour and a half or 2 hours from Monday to Friday because there never anything on TV - Gipsy

​What does history mean to you? Is it the years before we were born that you’re interested in or is it something that happened last weekend? Technically both are classified as history if we think about it as it happened in the past! So, here we go…

My Recent American History
I'm so excited to tell you about MY American history, it is short, and very recent. I only got home last week!
 
I went on a long flight from Melbourne to San Francisco, and drove a wicked BMW convertible to the Golden Gate Bridge. It was so much fun. I was also nervous because it was the first time on a big big plane. And I was nervous to be on the other side of the road!

We went on another flight to Phoenix and we visited my family. My sister and her husband, and their two children. I was so excited to see them, but it was night time and I was tired. 

We got to see a pre season NBA game, the baseball and the NFL. My sisters puppy slept in my bed, so comfy under my blankets. It was very strange to be living and be awake at the different time to everyone at home. 

We had huge crabs and massive burgers and chips. Their soft drinks are too big. 
Many cars in many colours were really fast and low to the ground. 
It was the most awesome almost 2 weeks, ever!! – TJ
 
Welcome to our blog today. I chat about the history of the AFL. For those who don't know AFL is Australian rules footy. It is a well known game. Loads of people love it; some don’t like sport in general, but others seem to enjoy it.
 
There are 18 teams in the AFL, including the Sydney Swans known as South Melbourne, Richmond Tigers, Melbourne Demons, Gold Coast Suns, North Melbourne, and Collingwood Football Club. They are all great teams I barrack for the Sydney Swans as my grandparents chose this team for me before I was born. 
 
Did you Know Thomas Wentworth Wills believed that a football club should be formed to keep his teammates fit I didn’t know this but now I do.
 
Before AFL our game was known as VFL Victorian Football League as teams were only Victorian. In 1982 VFL South Melbourne relocated to Sydney to become the Sydney Swans. In 1987, 14 teams were now playing and they included West Coast Eagles and Brisbane Bears (now called Lions).  In 1990 the VFL became the AFL and Adelaide Crows, Fremantle, and Port Adelaide joined. In 1996 the Brisbane Bears merged with Fitzroy to become the Brisbane Lions.
 
Currently, in the AFL, there are clubs in all different states around Australia. It's good how the game includes all states around the country so every club gets a chance to show the talent of emerging players. Players go through a draft and the clubs have picks to get the player of their choice and some of these players can come from the team's academy and the father’s sons.
 
Sometimes teams swap picks so teams can have players they would love. The players get ranked according to their talent from number 1 to like number 20 and picks are numbered so people know which clubs have which picks.
 
The AFL holds a grand final each year in September and each year the grand final parade is on. It gives the fans of the game a chance to see their favourite players before the grand final. Only the teams competing are at the parade as well as the rising star player and the Brownlow medallist.
 
At each game teams have merchandise stands were people buy their footy gear and player badges to wear. You can buy footy jumpers scarfs and many more other types. – Scarlett
 
 
Hello Friends, 
I'm just going to start off this blog with a quote: 
 
“Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” - George Santayana  
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This quote fits in so very well with what I'm going to talk about today.  
At some point or another you would have learnt about some form of history in school, the history of events of the world, your country and your state. You might have taken it upon yourself to learn about some history on your own. Good on you if you have!  

There are some schools who allegedly can not teach about some historical events, books or people. This makes me sad because like the quote says if you don’t learn about history, it could be something that happens again. It would be like Groundhog Day, just being stuck in a loop of repeating history over and over again. 

Yes, history is a big topic to talk about, it's uncomfortable and dark. Remember though that this is the history that is ingrained in the land, it's a part of family trees, it has brought people together as well as violently torn people apart.  

Now to what I think about not teaching certain history in schools, I think it is for lack of a better word crap! I don’t care if you don’t believe it happened, it goes against your beliefs, or you don’t feel it's important. That’s a bit of a you problem. If the topics taught are taught in an age-appropriate way and it's factual I see no issue with it. It’s apart of the important part of education. Don’t get you knickers in a twist over it.  

Without being taught history w e will have a whole generation of people who won't know about history, without that knowledge and understanding we will have people who, as the quote says, be doomed to repeat history.

Don’t you think that puts them at a disadvantage because I do, how are they supposed to grow as people if they don’t have the opportunity to learn from the past.  
Some want to forget the past when it should be remembered, it's our warning sign for the future.  

So go out and learn something about history or teach someone else about history.  – Shan
 
 
Today’s topic is history and as of last week we got a new Premier Jacinta Allen. I would like to talk about some interesting facts of  Melbourne’s Premiers 
 
Melbourne was founded in 1835 and our 1st Premier was William Haines on the 30 November 1855.
 
Did you know one of our longest serving Premiers was Sir Henry Bolte for 17 consecutive years and our shortest was Frank Forde in 1945 for only 7 days
 
Jacinta Allen is our 49th Premier, she replaces Dan Andrews our longest serving Premier from 2014 to the 27th September 2023. She is our 2nd female premier, the first was Joan Kirner who served. She was our 42nd Premier from 1990 - 1992. A fun fact is she was called the” polka dot Premier”
 
Another of our Premiers was Jeff Kennett who was our 43rd Premier serving between 1992 and 1999. Apart from his love of Hawthorn he is the founder of Beyond Blue a amazing organisation.
 
Another fun  fact is Premiers can run as many times as their party votes them in.
 
The year I was born John Cain Jnr was our 41st Premier. Jacinta Allen will be the 8th premier I have seen.

How many Premiers has there been in your life time?
 
Happy reading love Jess.  
 

My family has deep history set in the early Australia’s war.

Firstly, my Great Grandfather has a memorial plaque in Chelsea VIC at the Courthouse Museum. He was one of three policeman who firstly served in WWI, and later rescued over 100 people in a devastating flood, in 1934 in Chelsea.  I am very proud of this family history, as it proves to show how much care the family brings to helping others. It’s in our blood.

 My surname Gilding has rich Global history, originating in England and migrating to the United States and Australia.  Gilding is a derivative of the term Gold, and was often given to those who either worked with Gold in an artistic manner, or who had gold blonde hair.  The earliest mention of the surname Gilding comes from The Great Survey of 1086 in England, much like the modern day Census.

 I feel proud to be a Gilding, and would like to keep that surname forever as it holds a special place in meaning to me. It is a rare surname as you don’t see it often, as there is limited information on its history. – Holly
 
My family history is really, very important and interesting to me.
 
If you need to know more about your family history there is an app called Ancestry. I love this app as it has taught me so much. It is one of the best sources to find out more on family history.

When you look back though and beyond my Australian family history I have English, Northwestern European and Scottish. This makes me feel proud to have such a mix in my heritage.
 
Researching into my ancestry has shown I might be related to someone that is infamous. King James the VI and I of Scotland and England. He was around in Shakespeare days writing Macbeth and during the witch trials.
 
Another way you can trace your family history, is through World War records. I have found family history through past occupations and personality traits. I found out that most strange job is being a “Gentlemen” I found this out on my dads side.  Can I just say that I am a gentleman, so it is no surprise to you and me, as it must be in my blood and brain! – Phillip
 
 
I have chosen the topic of the history of the Eiffel Tower because I love the history of it.

Here are some things that I found interesting

Here are some interesting  facts Eiffel Tower:
 
Did you know it took 2 years, 2 months and 5 days to finish building the Eiffel Tower the people  who started building the tower in late January 1887 until  March 31st  1889 and took lots  of technology and architectural materials such as iron and steel .
 
The tower was built by Gustave Eiffel and the Eiffel tower is located in Paris, France. The Eiffel Tower is a dream destination of mine because I've never been and I’d love to go and see it light up at night as well as it being a romantic destination .
 
What is an interesting part of history, do you know? – Charlotte