THE NEW 7 WONDERS OF THE WORLD GAME

THE NEW 7 WONDERS OF THE WORLD GAME

A new innovative, fun-filled, family travel game - The New 7 Wonders of the World – has been designed by Michael Gifford of Auckland and developed by Metia Interactive. It is currently available as an app for iPads, and other gaming platforms are currently being investigated. CDs of the game are available. The New 7 Wonders of the World Game was released in late November 2012.

We all know about the original 7 wonders of the world. The new 7 wonders were ‘elected ‘ by more than 100 million voters throughout the world and were announced at the Official Declaration Ceremony in Lisbon on 7 July 2007. They are: The Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu, the Statue of Christ the Redeemer, the Taj Mahal, the Colosseum, Petra, Chichen Itza.

Features of the game are:

• Players choose to be James Cook, Marco Polo, Francis Drake or Christopher Columbus as they play the game.
• The goal of the game is to travel round the world and be the first player to reach all the New 7 Wonders, and gain the most points through accumulating assets (cash, bonus steps, wallet items and monument sites) during the game.
• Players start each quest from one of 6 starting cities – Sydney, London, Tokyo, New York, Moscow or Cape Town.
• As they travel round the world, players can learn about the history, culture and geography of cities and countries they pass through. It is both fun and educational.

• As players move around the board they answer questions, make decisions, earn money, and obtain free flights and other rewards.
• The game finishes when the first player has reached all 7 monuments, and the winner is the player who has accumulated the most points during the game.

• The game can be played by people of all ages, either singly or with up to 4 players at any one time.

Check the website – www.New7Wondersgame.com - and The New 7 Wonders of the World Game on Facebook. For more information, phone or text Michael direct on 021 613503 or send him an email: mgifford@xtra.co.nz.

Publications

1. Setting Your Sights - Series This three book study guide has been designed to support guidance or career counsellors and other teachers who are working alongside seniors to focus them on their end-of-school goals.

2. The Success Workbook - Series The Success Workbook provides a practical guide for supporting counsellors and other teachers who are working alongside those seniors who need help to focus them on their end-of-school and life goals.

3. The Recipe for Life Workbook - Series This two-book photocopiable series for seniors focuses on getting students to think about who they are, what they want to achieve, and how to get there.

4.  All that I can be An updated series based on The Success Workbooks. 5. Missions, Moons & Masterpieces - the Giffords of Oamaru Three men from one family contributed significantly to the social, educational, cultural, geographical and scientific life of pioneering and early 20th Century New Zealand. 6. Creativity Box  A collection of fun and challenging activities designed to stimulate imagination and creativity in both hypothetical and more practical situations.  The emphasis is on enjoyment and at the same time developing the logical, creative, artistic, musical and personal skills of students.

Parents: How to get your teenagers enthused and positive, motivated, setting academic, sporting and cultural goals, achieving and reaching their potentials

If you are concerned with the progress, motivation, confidence, effort or attitude of your sons and/or daughters, check the items listed on the Students page to see if some help in any of these areas might be worthwhile. If they realize they need some assistance, encourage them to write or speak to Michael Gifford themselves about their concerns. Alternatively, scroll down the list of topics below, check the Personal Values pages and consider the activities and discussion points under Family Creativity. Contact Michael yourself for any advice he might be able to offer. Email address:mgifford@xtra..co.nz or TXT or phone on +64 21 613 503.

Many parents have found that there are topics in the teenager list that they could very easily use for themselves. If so, it can be less threatening if all members of the family are working on the developing or improving the same skills (e.g. personal organization; achieving a balance in your life). Additional topics for parents which may prove to be helpful include:

• Make time for your children
• Family study techniques
• The parents’ charter
• Develop positive relationships with your children
  • Listening
  • Understanding
  • Compromising
  • Negotiating
  • Don’t sweat the small stuff
  • Build up a Trust Account
• Assisting young people prepare for the future
• Opening up new horizons
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
• Providing a wealth of opportunities
• Encouraging participation, passion, perseverance
• What makes an effective school
• 7 Habits for Effective Schools
• Some principles of accelerated learning
• The Entrepreneurial school

Procrastination - Busting Techniques

1. Do it NOW ! The harder and more distasteful a task is, the better it is to do it immediately. Dr. Michael Bernard calls this “The Knock-Out Technique”. Or as the author Ernest Hemingway said, “no matter what has happened the day or night before, get up and bite on the nail.” 2. The Salami Technique The author Edwin Bliss in Doing It Nowcompares thinking about a difficult task with looking at a large uncut salami. “It’s a huge, crusty, greasy, unappetising chunk; you don’t feel you can get your teeth into it. But when you cut it into thin slices, you transform it into something quite different. Those thin slices are inviting; they make your mouth water, and after you’ve sampled one slice you tend to reach for another.” An so it is with tasks. Break them down into smaller and manageable segments. Allison Roe, the New Zealand marathon runner, and winner of the 1981 Boston and New York marathons, has said: “I never thought of it as running 42 km. That would have been too daunting. I’d never have finished. I used to break it down into 10 km segments. Anyone can run 10 km. So I’d run one, then imagine I was starting again on another. Halfway was a major psychological point too. It’s always very heartening to be past halfway.” And once started, as with achieving goals, it is one step at a time until the task has been completed. 3. Be Canny Most procrastinators put off the hardest, most awkward, most unpleasant tasks – and leave them till last – secretly hoping that by doing so they won’t have to do them at all. BUT these won’t usually go away. Try the opposite technique – start them FIRST, when you’re freshest, and get them out of the way. When I am dining out and my hostess serves tomatoes on my plate, I eat them first (along with something else to help disguise the taste) because I do not enjoy eating tomatoes. However, once finished, I can tuck into the rest of the meal with relish and savour the tastes (meat, potatoes, beans and so one) because I’ve got the hardest part (eating tomatoes) out of the way. So: if you’ve got a fiendish essay topic or assignment to do, or an almost impossible economics problem – START your study session with it. By starting, you’re well along the way and even if you don’t finish in the one go, it will be easier to come back to later.

Use your eyes As if tomorrow You would be struck blind. Hear the music of voices, The song of the bird, As if tomorrow You would be struck deaf. Touch each object As if tomorrow Your sense of touch would fail. Smell the perfume of flowers, Taste with relish each morsel, As if tomorrow You could neither smell Nor taste again. Helen Keller  Develop a sense of urgency A bias for ACTION. And do it NOW ! Clement Stone

Students

Do you have concerns over your progress at school? Your motivation? Your ability to reach your potential? Is it hard to get enthused over your study, your sports, your activities? Do you have difficulty with any aspects of your learning? With setting goals? With organizing your time? With achieving a balance in your life?

If any of these are areas you would like to obtain some help or advice, let Michael Gifford assist you.

Scroll down the list of topics below and check the Sample Page

If you like what you have seen and read, and wish to make contact with Michael Gifford, use the email address: mgifford@xtra.co.nz or TXT or phone him on +64 21 613 503.  Topics include:

Motivation Techniques Being Positive – looking for success Becoming motivated Achieving Potential Have a passion in life Setting and achieving goals Effective Study Techniques Developing Memory techniques Listening skills Note taking skills Essay writing Speed reading Reading for meaning Examination skills Developing your creativity Life in the workforce Writing CVs Job applications and interviews What employers expect What you can expect from employers Employment visits Adaptability, flexibility and learning on the job, asking questions Leadership Teamwork Budgeting and money management Learning to speak in public

Time Management Personal organization Finding Balance in your life Coping with stress Tertiary education Importance of gaining qualifications as well as experience What universities and polytechnics expect of you What you can expect of a tertiary institute Importance of study and organizational techniques Finances – student loans Develop leadership qualities Involve yourself in organizations such as SADD, Canteen, youth councils Expand your interests History and heritage Sing in a choir Act in a play Visit art galleries Learn to cook General Parenting – are you ready for it? Travel – when? What? (GAP, exchange, working holiday)

Let Michael Gifford provide an extra spark to your children’s educational experiences

Michael Gifford has been a teacher, secondary school principal and university administrator for over 40 years. He has an MA (Honours) degree in History. For the past 15 years he has also presented workshops and run courses in which he has motivated students and set them on the road to achieving their potential and success in both academic and extra-curricular areas.

Easy-to-read guidelines, together with inspirational and humorous stories, and numerous activities form the basis of Michael Gifford’s educational and motivational programmes.

Personal programmes are also developed to meet any student’s particular needs.