Easter by Jessica Pollard

---

Easter

At Easter we go to the beach

My family and I

Mum tells me of when she

did the cold plunge in Antarctica

I wonder if the sea in

New Brighton is as cold as Antarctica

---

Jessica Pollard is 10 years old and is a student at Te Paritō Kōwhai Russley School in Ōtautahi Christchurch.

Visiting the beach sounds like such a fun and unique Easter tradition! Why does your family choose to celebrate the holiday this way? What kinds of things do you do at the beach together? How cold is the sea in New Brighton?!

Easter in New Zealand is in Autumn heading into winter and the water is very cold! It’s a challenge my family has to run in together, dunk your head under and stay in as long as possible. If it is a very cold day we will visit the hot pools afterwards.

In summer we go boogie boarding, swimming and sometimes hunt for crabs.

Christmas in New Zealand is in summer too so we also have our family Christmas photo on the beach with Santa. Our dog comes for a photo too!

What are some other traditions you have with family or friends that are unique and special in your life?

A couple of days before school starts we always go and get a special drink, it might be a monster shake which is a milkshake topped with delicious ice cream, sweets, popcorn and cocktail umbrellas on top, or sometimes a bubble tea.

One of my friends and I always get ready for our school discos together. Sometimes our whole friend group can come. We help with each other's outfits and do our make up and hair, sometimes we also have a mini disco to get our dancing skills ready before the real thing.

What is your favorite topic to study in school?

Writing is my favourite topic because I get to let my imagination run wild. I also love researching in books for the information reports we do in school. Preparing speeches about a topic we get to pick is super fun.

What is the most interesting thing you recently learned?

The most interesting thing I learned is that ancient people in Peru ate popcorn, and that archaeologists have found popcorn cobs they think could be up to 6,000 years old.

What book are you currently reading or read most recently? Would you recommend this book to other readers?

I am reading Factopia by Kate Hale. There are 400 really interesting facts in the book and there are three books to collect. I would definitely recommend this to other readers, it teaches you stuff you probably didn’t know.