Thinking Hats Reflection on Netbooks 2012

At Pt England school everyone from year 5 to 8 know about netbooks.

Having a netbook makes everyone's learning a lot faster. We don’t just work at school, we can also continue on our work at home and on the weekends too.

Sharing our work is now a lot easier with our blogs and netbook. We can share our anything with the world. Sometimes they even give us ideas of how we can improve our work.

Something not so good about the netbooks is that it is quite hard to draw. Also many people think that the screens are too small and I agree.

One thing that the netbook should have is a movie editor. It would be good to have one so that we could make movies at home and at school without going on the Imacs. It should also have a mouse so that we can draw things quicker and easier.
Kaycee

Synchronized Swimming - by Kaycee

Here is my olympics animation.

Interview with Valerie Adams - by Kaycee

Thanks to Olympic.org.nz for this image.

Interviewer: Hello, my name is Kaycee and I am really excited to be having the well known tongan, 2 time gold medalist currently living in Auckland, fabulous world champion Shot putter, Give a round of applause for.... Valerie Adams. Hello Valerie!

Valerie Adams: Hello Kaycee

Interviewer: Now Valerie, I’ve heard that there are different spin styles to put the metal ball. Do you use more than one and if you do which ones?

Valerie Adams: I only use one and it is called the glide. It is very common for someone like me. It is not one that would be used for beginners though. Another well known style used by professional men, is the ‘spin’.

Interviewer: Thanks for that. So if you're a beginner don’t use this one. I wonder?...Are there many ways to get disqualified?

Valerie Adams: Yes there are. At the olympics once your name is called out you have to get started on the throw before 60 secs is up, otherwise you're out. Also you must step out from the back and you aren’t allowed to step out of the circle before the push is finished.

Interviewer: Wow. This event has some very strict rules. What do you need to do to train?

Valerie Adams: I probably spend most of the week I have to lift weights to get my strength up. I also have to eat special and the right foods to be able to get stronger.

Interviewer: You must spend a lot of your time with weights. Tell us about your  family?

Valerie Adams: Well, I have 1 brother who is Steven Adams, the basketball player. My mum is tongan and her name is Lilika Ngauamo. My dad is english and his name is Sydney Adams.

Interviewer: THANK-YOU Valerie for this amazing talk and we hope to see you at the next olympics!

Olympic Symbols

This image is curtesy of explow.com

Baron Pierre De Coubertin invented the Olympic symbol and also the flag. All the rings are interlocking. Did you know that the rings are these colours because every flag had at least 1 of them?


The Olympic flag has 5 rings which are on a white background. At the opening ceremony the flag is hoisted up the pole. It shall stay there the whole time of the games, but when the games end it is brought down at the closing ceremony.

This image is curtesy of alarabiya.net

Do you know what the motto is for the Olympic Games? It has 3 words and 2 of them start with ‘s’. It is swifter, higher, stronger. The motto encourages the competitors to do their very best, but the most important thing is not to win, but to take part.


The flame is one of the best known features of the Olympic games and it is also a memory of the origins. It can only be lit by the sun's rays in Olympia, Greece. Then by relay it gets carried from Olympia to the host city.


On the first day of the Olympic Games the flame is carried into the stadium. It is then transferred from the torch to the cauldron where it stays for the whole of the games. It is extinguished on the final day of the Olympics.
Kaycee

Olympic Symbols

This image is curtisy of explow.com

Baron Pierre De Coubertin invented the Olympic symbol and also the flag. All the rings are interlocking. Did you know that the rings are these colours because every flag had at least 1 of them?


The Olympic flag has 5 rings which are on a white background. At the opening ceremony the flag is hoisted up the pole. It shall stay there the whole time of the games, but when the games end it is brought down at the closing ceremony.
Kaycee

Pointalism Artwork

For a reading activity, our group had to create a pointillism painting. It doesn't look very good up close but once you see it faraway it looks pretty good. It took me a while to finish this though. Here is my finishing product.


Pointillism is where you dab little dots to make up a painting. 

Kaycee

                                                   Here is the original painting.

PEPA is Awesome - by Kaycee

In case you didn't know PEPA stands for Pt England Performing Arts. On Wednesday we had the chance to watch them perform and they were amazing! I guess all that hard work payed off them and I have to say my favourite act was hip hop. But in 2nd place would be my friend Jonita playing her violin. 


Looking through the group, I tried to find Tyla and Jonita ( some of my friends). Finally spotting them I watch as they bust out their moves to the song. As Tyla walks to the front of the catwalk, I wonder "OOo! This is going to be great!"


As the lights fade away, one of my best friends Jonita made her way onto the stage. Holding her violin in one hand and her bow in the other, she quietly sat down and began to play. As the bow went up and down across the violin, her fingers moved quickly. The last bit sounded faster then all the other bits, but it still sounded great. I remembered her saying she needed to learn this song. Can’t remembering what the song was called, I furiously started to clap. I think Jonita did a very good job. I know I wouldn’t be able to do that.


It was a great show and I never wanted it to end. It was really fun watching it and I can't wait until our next school concert.

Almond Bloom

I have painted Blossoming Almonds by Vincent Van Gogh. We sketched then painted. Here is my finishing product!

Kaycee's Holiday

“I’m bored!” I complained to my nana and aunty. We had nothing to do. Suddenly my cousin brang up Mini golf. We thought it was a good idea so, my nana, my 2 cousins, my aunty and I hoped in the car and off we went.

Arriving at the Pirate’s mini golf near the airport, I rapidly hopped out of the car and grabbed my little cousin, Tahu. While I was grabbing my ball, I remembered that there were 2 courses. The Pirate Ship and the Cave.

Anxiously holding my golf club, it was now my turn. Hitting my ball, it skimmed along the course aiming for the hole. It took 2 tries before I got it in. This course was a par 2.

Placing the ball down onto the bright green felt, I softly hit it towards the middle of 2 bumps. When it didn’t go through I felt annoyed. After about 3 tries, I finally got it in.

One of the next courses after that was one with a big hole in the middle. If you got your ball in the hole then it would go down the waterfall. Luckily there was a opening at the bottom so we could grab the ball. First on this course was my nana. She hit hers into the hole after we had just told her not too! I scurried down to the opening where the ball should have come out. I was sitting there for ages! THEN they told me it was stuck at the top on a rock. TuAriki (my cousin) laughed at me. When it was my turn I took a while to actually get it in. First I got it around the hole then after a few shots I finally got it in.

On our last course, I really didn’t want to hit it because we wouldn’t get the ball back. But I did. Guess what... it only took 2 tries before I got it in.

It was really fun. I also hadn’t been to a mini golf place in ages! So I really enjoyed it.

Anzac Biscuits

"Finally!" I whispered to myself as we started heading outside. Our class were going to make ANZAC biscuits! We got split into 2 groups, boys and girls.

We carried our ingredients out to the picnic table. Ingredient after ingredient, we poured in sugar, flour and the rest. Some of the parts we had to melt things, like the butter. So one of the teachers, Flora and Cheyanne. Soon we finished the dough. Next was to create the balls.

As I lowered my hand into the dough, my hand felt something squishy! I grabbed a handful and rolled it in my hand. It felt squishy and weird. Again when I grabbed another handful, it just felt very different and funny. As I washed my hands under the water, again it felt different and funny! After a while we had FINISHED! 

Tyla, our teacher and I went to the kitchen to put the biscuits in the stove. We waited for about 10 minutes for the biscuits to cook. When they were golden brown we pulled them out. They smelled DELICIOUS! As we carried them back to the class, I could smell the lovely smell. When we got back Tyla and I ate a biscuit. It was mouthwatering. We also helped to hand them to the class while they were watching PENN. 

RECIPIE:

You will need:

1/2 cup white flour

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup rolled oats

3/4 cup coconut

100 grams of butter

1 tbsp golden syrup

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 tbsp boiling water

1: Mix the flour, sugar, rolled oats and coconut into a bowl.

2: Melt the butter and golden syrup over a low heat.

3: Put the baking soda in a cup. Add the boiling water. The mixture will foam up. Add this mixture to the butter and golden syrup.

4: Pour the liquid mixture into the flour and other dry ingredients. Stir.

5: Grease a baking tray. Put tbspfuls of the mixture onto the tray, about 4 centimetres apart.

6: Bake at 180 C for about 15 minutes or until the biscuits are a golden colour.

Enjoy - by Kaycee

Frog Report by Kaycee

How much do you know about frogs? Well firstly a frog is an amphibian. If you want to know more keep reading.

Amphibians are animals that live on land and in water and they are also cold blooded. Most frogs return to the water to lay eggs except for the Maud Island frog.

Amphibians live in wet places like under mossy rocks, wet leaves and damp areas. Most of them live near water because frogs can easily dry out and die. Only one particular frog doesn’t live near water, this is the Maud Island frog.

These amphibians have a short stubby body with smooth moist skin, bulging eyes and no neck. Different frogs can be all sorts of colours like brown or green. Their long hind legs hemp them for jumping. Did you know that they can jump 20 times their length!

A frog’s eye is very interesting because they can see upwards, sidewards and forwards all at the same time. To catch their prey, they use their sticky long tongue. While in its mouth, their tongue is rolled up.

At their juvenile age they are herbivores, so they eat the plants and algae. But when they grow up and turn into frogs they become carnivores. Then they eat things like flies, earthworms, slugs and snails. To hold onto their prey they use their teeth.

The seasons change and when it turns to winter frogs do something called hibernation. This is when they go to sleep for the whole season. Burrows, cracks, holes, logs or in rocky areas is sometimes where they sleep. When they awaken it is Spring time.

In the life cycle the first stage is the frog's spawn next they hatch, the next step is where they become froglets. Next they start developing legs, then they look more like a frog. It is then nearly ready to hop onto land.

All animals have enemies. Snakes, lizards, birds and hedgehogs are all considered as enemies to the frog. However, they lay so many eggs that their species hasn’t died out.

Frogs have very weird lives. I mean, they mate at the age of 3! CRAZY.

Ambassadors speak at MIT University

Teaching teachers from SchoolTV on Vimeo.

On Thursday the Year 6 Ambassadors went to MIT. It is a university. We presented to some student teachers about what we do at school and how we learn. If you want to know more about what we did there watch this movie!

Sea Turtles - by Kaycee

I have been reading a story called Plight Of The Sea Turtle. On our reading activity we had to create a presentation that tells people a fact or 2 about each species of sea turtle. If you want to know more then click through my presentation.