Personal Project

Last Term (Term 3), we made Personal Projects. We had to choose any subject, and spend the whole term making or doing our project. I chose to do Cake Decorating. Another part of our projects were the Process Journals. It was a folder or book that had all of the information about our projects in it. Just a few of the pages in the journals were ‘Changes I made’, ‘What I enjoyed the most’, ‘What I found most challenging’, and ‘Step by Step instructions’. We also had a Unit Question, and had a seperate page for that. We needed to have a Bibliography, Appendices, Title page and Contents page as well. There were a lot of other pages to do, but I won’t describe them now.

 

On the first Wednesday of this term we had the Expo Night, where all of the projects were put on display in the gym. During the day kids could come with their classes to see the projects, read through the jounrals (although the little kids didn’t do that very much!) and ask questions. In the evening from 6-7 o’clock the adults could come to see them as well, and they asked a lot of questions!

 

By Sascha♪

“I Know” Poem

In Week 2 and 3 we have read a poem called Things I Know by Joyce Sutphen. We then wrote our own poem about experiences that we have had. Mine is about Bali. Here it is-

 

I know

I know how the sun warms my body as I sit by a peaceful infinity pool.

 

I know how the water is as still as glass other than the ripples my swinging legs create.

 

How the water is cool and refreshing as I dive in, and how the world seems to fade away as all of my senses go into the water.

 

How I hear the monkeys screech and chatter, calling to and communicating with each other.

 

I know the excitement of hearing the pilot say that we are landing, and how I look eagerly out of the window to see this amazing country.

 

How the first glimpse is always the best, staring down at the lush forests and sunny beaches.

 

I know the breathtaking scenery, beaches to forests, forests to mountains, mountains to towns, towns to villages, and villages back to beaches.

 

How the sea gently laps over itself as if each wave competes to finish on top when it reaches the warm, golden coloured sand.

 

I know the steady, smooth rhythm of an elephant’s footsteps beneath me as I sit in a seat on its back.

 

How the feeling of knowing that you are going home is almost a sad thing, this is what I know.

 

By Sascha                           

 

Bali-

 

 

(Picture from Wikimedia Commons, Source- NASA World Wind)

Year 6/7 Plays!

On Thursday 26th June we had our Year 6/7 Plays! During the day there was a matinee concert for the students who were too old for the one on the Friday the week before. In the evening we put on the same concert but for the parents and friends. My mum, dad and sister came with my sister’s friend Bianca, Bianca’s mum and her brother. I liked watching the plays that weren’t ours, and it was fun being backstage. I played a judge and I had 7 lines. I liked walking behind the curtain at the back of the stage because it felt like I was on the stage but nobody could see me. I think our play went pretty well. Here are some pictures from our play-

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Australian Girls Choir

On Saturday 15th of June we had our mid-year concert for Australian Girls choir. It was great fun but I was there from 9:45 in the morning until about 9:00 at night! The performing choir girls were there since 7:30 until almost ten o’clock! I got an OPA (Outstanding Potential Award) at the concert. For Canto we did a song called Gallop which is completely in do rey me far so la ti. For Prelude I did Life’s a Happy Song from The Muppets and I see The Light from Tangled. The opening song was called Sing a Song in Celebration and the finale was called Don’t Stop Me Now.

 

Sascha♪

Inanimate Object Narrative

For the last few weeks in English we have been writing a story with an inanimate object as the narrator. I think my story was a bit too long, but it was a lot of fun. Here is what I wrote-

 

Dot

Races are hard. There’s the preparation, the training, the starting day, the actual race, and of course, the finish line. The girl used to take part in these races with me. The biggest race we ever did was the ‘Great Australian Cross’ which went right across Australia.

 

The morning was new, dewdrops glistening on the freshly mown grass. Sparrows twittered and magpies sat in their nests with their young. Everybody gathered on the starting line, side by side. There were many people in this race, all preparing for the starting gun shot. A man raised his hand straight above his head. Everything and everyone fell silent. The girl stood right next to me, her face unreadable. She waited. One second passed. Two…three…BANG!

 

A flurry of activity broke out. Everybody climbed into their crafts, the girl climbed into me. There was the sound of the people on the sidelines yelling and cheering on their favourite racers. The girl knew what she was doing. We soon rose up into the air.

 

All of the racers were trying to bump everyone else. The girl used all of her skill and expertise to avoid us getting hit ourselves. I saw many of my kind and their owners being knocked down, plummeting towards the ground. The owners would always parachute out just in time, but my kind hit the ground going fast enough to kill a human. However, the girl managed to get through the worst of it unharmed.

 

Almost two weeks later, we were in open sky as far as the eye could see. We had been this way for three days, too far behind the person coming first to see her, and too far in front of anyone else to be able to see them. This was the way the girl liked it. Completely alone, reading a book in peace. We had almost made it halfway across Australia, therefore almost halfway through the race.

 

At the end of the first two weeks, right overhead of one of the driest and most isolated places in Australia, disaster struck. There had been something worrying her slightly from the beginning, and it had happened. Anybody of my kind would agree it was the worst thing that could happen to us. We would almost always be sold or thrown out after this had happened. I had gotten a puncture.

 

Weak Stitches. My worst nightmare. We plummeted towards the ground, and without the girl slowing me down just in time, she would have died. The girl checked her map. She was forty miles south from the nearest town. The repair kit had fallen out when she fell. “Let’s go, Dot.” The girl said to me, and began to drag me as she started walking North in the direction of the town.

 

The next day, the girl started dragging me and walking again. I had to admire her strength. I mean, I don’t have a weight problem, but I’m not the lightest either. The girl had only eaten a little of the food in her bag the night before, partly because she was worried and wasn’t very hungry, and partly because there wasn’t much to get through the forty mile walk, which would take another day after this one.

 

The girl kept dragging me, and by the end of that day she looked exhausted and starving. She saved enough food for breakfast, but none for lunch. Her water bottle was almost empty, so she had nothing to drink that night, and sucked the moisture out of a cucumber until there was barely any fluid left in it. The girl laid in her sleeping bag, tossing and turning, not getting to sleep until midnight.

 

The next day was her last day of walking, and she looked excited. She ate the last of her food. She drank a sip of water, and then started the final walk, me in tow as usual. There was a little more spring in her step, now. She needed only to walk or another couple of hours, and the town was almost in sight.

 

Almost two hours later, the girl had the town in sight. In five minutes, she was there. She soon found the local store and bought a repair kit for five dollars. The girl fixed my puncture, and we once again rose up into the sky. The girl was back to her usual self now, and busily fiddled around, getting me going faster than ever.

 

Ten days later, we inexplicably made it back to second, with the racer coming third only 10 metres behind us. It was our third week, and the sixth day of that week. My owner would reach the finish line the next day. The other racers were too far behind to be seen. The girl almost got in front of the person coming first, but then something terrible happened. She was bumped.

 

The girl fell over the side of me, but just managed to hold onto my ladder. I couldn’t stop moving forward, so I desperately hoped the girl wouldn’t be unbalanced because of it. Thankfully, she wasn’t. The girl slowly, but steadily managed to climb up the ladder and swing her leg over. She swung the other leg over and hopped back into me. We were back in the race.

 

The next day we managed to overtake the person coming first. The finish line was in view and we were heading steadily. The person coming second was right behind us. We got closer and closer to the finish line, but we kept being overtaking, and then overtaking the person right behind us. There were only a few metres between us and the finish line. Closer…closer…and we won!

 

The awards ceremony was brief. The girl was awarded a check for 10,000 dollars and the deeds to a 100 acre farm, already with animals, equipment, crops, and a farmhouse. The girl stepped off of the podium, only to be pulled aside and whispered to by her mother. “Dot has to be sold?” she asked sadly. I was to be sent to my new home the very next day. But what say could I have in it? I was just a hot air balloon.

Lightning Writing!

Every Monday, we have been doing Lightning Writing for 20 minutes. Normally Pam will give us a starter or a picture, and we have 20 minutes to start writing a story about it. The first week we did it we had 8 starters to choose from(although we didn’t have to put them right at the start). Last week we got some different starters, and they were all for a horror or mystery story. Today (6-5-13) Pam gave us the same starters we had in the first week. We could either pick a different one or not use one if we were confident. Here is what I wrote last week (for the horror/mystery theme)-

 

I turned the page of the book I was reading, called “The ghost of Greenhouse Lane”. I had picked up this story from the library, because our road was called Greenhouse Lane. Little did I know how true this story was. It was a strange night, there seemed to be a chill the air. It was quiet, too quiet. The neighbourhood stray began his mournful howling as I looked over at the clock. 3…2…1…Midnight. There was no moon tonight, and the only light outside was a flickering street lamp. Even the stars seemed to be covered by heavy grey clouds. I watched as a tree swayed dangerously in the silent but strong wind, looking like an ancient man bending over, almost falling. I shivered and closed the curtains. Strangely, my nightdress moved with the wind, even though the curtains blocked it. I heard a snap, the sound of splintering wood, and something heavy falling onto the hard ground. I opened the curtains and looked outside to try and find the source of the commotion. The tree, once swaying somewhat gracefully, now lay dead still on the ground, like a corpse. That was it. I threw off the quilt and sat up, my feet on the cold floorboards.

 

I haven’t finished yet, because we only had 20 minutes. Thank you for reading it! I might write more, but I don’t know yet.

 

Sascha ♪

End of Term 1 Reflection!

At Week 11 of school this year, we are finally in our last week of school for the term! This term has pretty good. Year 6 is definitely not the same as Year 5. There are a lot of things you get to do, like Aquatics and Year 6/7 plays(which are next term).

We’ve also been doing Persuasive Writing and Seasons/Eclipses with Pam, and Migration/Refugees with Mrs. Shepherdson.

With each teacher we’ve been reading a class novel- “Don’t Call Me Ishmael!” with Pam and “A Long Walk to Water” with Mrs Shepherdson.

In Art we’ve been learning about the Picture Plane and how to draw 3D object.

 In Performing Arts we have been doing a lot of different things, especially Pod-casts using Garage Band.

I’ve also been in the school choir, and have auditioned for NZ Choir and solos.

 In Japanese we have been watching and learning about Totoro. We’ve also worked on our Hiragana and words/phrases we need to know. (e.g. My ___ hurts would be “___ ga itai”)

 With Mrs Hudgenson, Mr Mac, and Pam/Mrs Shep we have been doing our math groups, and I was in Mr Mac’s group, called The Rockets. I’ve really enjoyed the Maths groups.

I’ve learned quite a bit in problem solving from doing the maths groups and Algebra in math with Mrs Shep.

 I’ve been doing four leadership positions- RAP Team(which we haven’t done much in yet), YST(I have my shift at Monday Half-Lunch with Sarah each week), Creche'(I haven’t gotten to do any shifts yet), and Library Asisstant(I have that with Rose every Friday this term).

 Last week(week 10) we were meant to have Sports Day on Wednesday but it was cancelled because of the wet weather forecast.

 My goal for Term 2 is to be better at my time-management, because sometimes I don’t get things finished.

 

From Sascha ♪

SRC Assembly

Remember the post about our beach assembly? Where I said we would have a special assembly for the SRCs to be introduced? That’s what we had today. There are two SRCs in each class, and the SRCs in Mr Mac and Mrs Shep/Pam’s classes are the SRC Executives for the school. The SRC Executives go to cluster meetings with SRC Execs from other schools. They also lead the school SRC meetings. AT the assembly all of the new SRCs got a certificate and their badge that says their name and SRC Representitive 2013 at the bottom. The SRC Execs for our school are Annie and Kahlia from Mr Macs class, and Lizzie and Louis for our class(Mrs Shepherdson and Pam).

 

Sascha♪

Should Room 13 have homework?

In English with Pam at the moment, we are doing persuasive writing. First our subject was ‘Should real animals have to work in circuses?’, then we had a reading comprehension with a letter to the editor of Somerset Park Gazette against removing two large, old gum trees. At the moment most of us are trying to convince Pam we shouldn’t have homework. We’ve done arguments on a Padlet, we’ve done a bit on emotive language, and after that we had a week to draft our essay on it.

 

Sascha

Tie Dye

Yeserday on Thurday 7th of March, Mrs Shep, Mr Mac, and Mr Berry all went away to a Math convention and we all had Fill-in teachers. Our class had Mrs Evans, who did some Tie Dying Art with us. We used baby wipes, special water-based textas, and rubber bands.  I can’t show them to you because there aren’t any pictures, but we have some of them hung  up in our clasroom, so come and take a look before or after school!