Summer Learning Journey//National Treasure//Week 1//Day 5//Against the Odds

Sophie Pascoe is a New Zealand para-swimmer. This means she is a competitive swimmer with a physical disability. Very sadly, Sophie was run over by a lawn mower when she was only 2 years old. She had to have the bottom of her left leg amputated. However, despite this terrible accident, she was determined to become a competitive swimmer.

Sophie has won numerous New Zealand and world para-swimming titles, including nine Olympic gold medals. She has also won the Halberg Award for Disabled Sportsperson of the Year three times. Sophie is a great example of a New Zealander who did not let her disability stop her from achieving her dreams. She is truly a ‘National Treasure’. A national treasure is someone or something that is very important to a country.

For this activity, we would like to learn more about the things that are important to you.

On your blog, please share three things that you treasure and say why they are treasures to you.

One of my treasures are my skills to make Tongan Fans it's mean apart of my family since my great great grandma.  

Another thing is a old Neckless from My Dad he says that his mother gave to him as a neckless that was passed down from his great great grandpa.  

Another thing is the house I live in Tonga it's a house that my family has owned for a long time. 

Activity 2: Swimming to Safety [4 points]

Yusra Mardini is a teenage girl who was born in Syria, a war-torn country in the Middle East. She left Syria in 2015 to get away from the constant fighting and became a refugee. During her journey to reach safety in a new country, the engine on the boat she was travelling in broke down and Yusra, her sister and two others jumped out of the boat and swam to get help. Her heroic actions saved twenty people’s lives.


Yusra now lives in Germany. In 2016 she was named as part of the Refugee Olympic Team and she swam for this team in the last summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She is now training for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

For this activity, listen to the podcast of Yusra Mardini, or read her story on her personal website.

On your blog, retell the story of this amazing young woman from Syria.

So Yusra was a child from Syria she wanted to get out of war so she had to run away from her country so got into a boat with twento or many other people but then a couple of minutes later there ship broke down so then Yusra and her sisters swam to get some help it took three and a half hours to get help.
Activity 3: Own Choice [6 points]

You have now made it to the end of Week 1 and have the chance to choose your very own sportsperson or explorer who you think has changed the world. There are no right or wrong choices for this activity, so find someone who interests you and tell us about them on your blog. It could be someone from your family, church, community or someone famous who you admire.

For this activity, please choose one person (a changemaker) and read all about them.

On your blog, provide us with:

The name of the person
A description of the work they do/have done

An explanation of how they/their work has had an impact on the lives of others

Leonardo Dicaprio I think he can change the world because he used most of his money to save whales from dying cause we need whales to stay alive. If whales go extinct humans won't be able to stay alive. What Leonardo is doing is a good example for what humans should do.