Monday 30 March 2015

Pepeha

Here are some of our pepeha that we have been learning this term. 

Thursday 26 March 2015

Anansi and Turtle

The X-Men have been reading 'Anansi and Turtle' a traditional Nigerian moonlight story. After reading the story we selected the key words from the text then used these keywords to summarise the story. Enjoy



Key words:

Nigeria, Anansi, Turtle, Spider, Meal, Tricked, Dinner, Dirty hands, Feast, Invited, Floated, Coat, River, Sank

Anansi and Turtle retold by the X-Men

In Nigeria a long time ago there was a spider called Anansi and a turtle. One day Turtle saw Anansi with a delicious meal and wanted to join him. Anansi made Turtle wash his dirty hands before he could eat but Anansi had tricked Turtle because every time he went to wash his hands he got them dirty again. Anansi ate all the meal before Turtle had a chance to eat anything at all. The next day Turtle invited Anansi for dinner. Anansi’s eyes bulged as he saw the feast at the bottom of the river that Turtle had prepared. Anansi tried to swim down to the feast but he floated back to the top.  Anansi then put rocks in his coat pocket to weigh him down and immediately he sank to the bottom. Just before he was about to eat the feast Turtle asked Anansi to take his coat off. As he removed his coat Anansi floated back to the surface and never got to eat the feast.

The moral of this story is not to be selfish and to share.

Wednesday 25 March 2015

Horsemeat Sausages

The Justice League have been reading 'Horsemeat Sausages' by Jane Buxton. In the story a man makes a joke about Irish Moss the racehorse being turned into sausages. We thought about whether or not butchers should make sausages from horsemeat. You may be surprised by what some of the group thought. Do you agree with them?



Butchers should make sausages out of horses

I agree with this statement because we already eat pigs, cows, chickens and other animals so there is no difference eating a horse. Also there are lots of horses that could be used for food whereas the other animals we eat may run out in the future.

Some people may argue though that we shouldn't eat horses because some horses are very important such as Irish Moss who was a racehorse. Another reason why people may argue against eating horses is that horses are very tame animals and very beautiful so they shouldn’t be eaten.

Overall though I believe that we should eat horses because I think it would be adventurous to try something different, Horses do lots of exercise so it will be healthier because it will have less fat. Also people may get used to eating horsemeat sausages in the future.

by Sherlyn and Kalani

Butchers should make sausages out of horses

I disagree with this statement because horses are very important, such as Irish Moss who was a racehorse, and should not be eaten. Other horses are precious too, for example in the olden days they helped harvest crops and were used for transport. Also if you eat an unhealthy horse it might have a disease that could make you sick.

Some people may argue that people should eat horses because they do lots of exercise so they would have less fat and more meat. Also people may think it would be very adventurous to eat a horse.   

Overall though, I believe that we shouldn’t eat horses because in the future there may not be any left for us to enjoy. Also if you didn’t eat them they may be able to help us in the future, for example as transport meaning there would be no more pollution or loss of clean air.


By Chantelle

Butchers should make sausages out of horses

I agree with this statement because we have eaten cows, pigs, chickens and other animals so what’s the difference with horse meat. Also horses do a lot of exercise so they will have less fat and would probably be good for you.

Some people may argue though that we should not eat horsemeat because some horses may have diseases that could cause death if they are eaten.

Overall though I believe that we should eat horsemeat sausages because it would be healthier, it is no different from eating other animals and it would be adventurous to eat different kinds of meat.

by Israel and Anthony


Softball Batting

Today we practised our batting in softball. We needed to squash the bug, knock knuckles and do the chicken wing. Thanks coach Natasha.

3D Shapes I Know

As part of Geometry we are learning the names of 3D Shapes.

Monday 23 March 2015

Pepeha

The Polygon Song

In Maths today we were learning about polygons. A polygon is a 2-dimensional shape made of straight lines. We watched this video as a way to remember the names for some different polygons. Enjoy singing along

Friday 20 March 2015

Softball

Today was our first session of softball with coaches Sam and Steph. We learned to crouch like a monkey, snap it up like a crocodile and to scuttle like a crab! If this sounds a bit funny don't worry these are just actions needed to gather the softball. We also practised our throwing and catching.

Tuesday 17 March 2015

Nightmare at the Vet's

The Justice League read Nightmare at the Vet's by Michael Pryor. They then had to evaluate the text and make a decision on which pet they would prefer. Firstly they made for and against lists and then co-wrote a summary of their findings. Enjoy

Devil

For
Against
She can scare unwanted pests – Chantelle

She made friends with Bobby after their trip to the vets - Israel
Devil has claws like razors – Priscilla

Cats and dogs and even tigers are scared of her – Sherlyn

Devil scratched Matt when she was in his sweatshirt – Kalani

She is too old, about 427 years old – Anthony

She attacks vets – Dev

Devil went to slice Bobby’s nose off – Israel

Devil is old and mangy – Israel

Devil is huge – Arav


Bobby

For
Against
He is energetic and could keep you fit – Skye

He likes other animals – Skye

Bobby is playful and active – Sherlyn

He’s unique because he has one blue eye and one yellow eye – Dev

Bobby has fun at the vet – Skye

Bobby is friendly because he licks faces – Chantelle

He jumps in mud and rolls around on the carpet – Israel

He barks a lot – Chantelle

Bobby pulls on the lead and knocks things over - Priscilla



Bobby Vs Devil

If we had to choose between Bobby and Devil as our only pet we would choose Bobby the dog over Devil the Cat. We would choose Bobby because he is energetic, playful and likes other animals. He is also very friendly because he licks his owner’s face and is unique as he has one yellow eye and one blue eye.

Some people may argue though that Bobby would not make a good pet because he barks a lot, jumps in the mud and rolls around on the carpet. Bobby also pulls on the lead which causes him to knock things over.

Others may say that Devil would make a good pet because she can scare unwanted pests and she also made friends with Bobby after they went to the vet.

However there are many reasons why Devil would make a terrible pet including she has claws like razors, attacks the vet, cats and dogs are scared of her, she is too old, mangy and only has one eye.

As you can see from the reasons above Devil would make a much worse pet than Bobby.
Do you agree with our statement? Which pet would you choose?

Monday 16 March 2015

Becoming a Kiwi

The X-Men read ‘Becoming a Kiwi’ by Sun Lyoung Kim. They then had to use clues in the text to find the sights, sounds and
feelings Joshua experienced during his citizenship ceremony.

Sights
Sounds
Feelings
New Zealand Flag – Sebastian

Lots of people in good clothes – Kevin

A big wooden chair like a throne – Jolui

A mayor dressed in a red robe with a shiny necklace – Amelia

Like his mum was going to cry - Sativa

Lots of languages being spoken with people from Korea, Romania and South Africa – Kevin

Crying because people were getting upset - Sebastian
Nervous because his heart was pumping and his hands were wet – Kishan

Worried in case he couldn’t remember all the hard words – Sebastian

Mum felt sad because they would not be Korean citizens any more – Amelia

He felt proud to be a New Zealand citizen – Espen

  

Becoming a Kiwi

Joshua experienced different sights, sounds and feelings during his family’s citizenship ceremony.

As he entered the special room at Whangarei council he saw the New Zealand flag, a wooden chair like a throne and a lot of people in good clothes.

During the ceremony he heard a lot of languages being spoken all around him and he also heard crying.

Also during the ceremony Joshua felt nervous because his heart was pumping and his hands were wet. He was also worried about forgetting some of the words he had to say.

After the ceremony Joshua felt proud to be a New Zealand citizen, he was also excited because he got to wear the mayor’s robe. However his mum felt sad because they would not be Korean citizens anymore.


Overall we think Joshua’s experience was positive because he got to wear the mayor’s robe, didn't forget his words and was asked “Are you happy being a Kiwi?” which he replied, “Yes” with a big smile.