Spiders

The Four Stages of a Butterfly's Life-cycle

Life cycle of a Butterfly

Butterflies

Fly Away

Monarch butterflies are amazing creatures! They've got beautiful, beautiful wings in colours of orange, white, and black. Can you imagine being a butterfly? It would be cool to fly and suck up nectar.

Butterfly life-cycles have four stages which are egg, larvae, pupa, and adult. When the monarch butterfly is ready to lay her eggs, she will lay them on a swan plant. When the eggs hatch, they will eat the leaves.

Out of the egg emerges a beautiful caterpillar coloured white and yellow. It eats until it gets fat like your pinky finger. It is now ready for the next stage.

A caterpillar spins silk around itself to make a chrysalis. The caterpillar begins it's pupa stage by transforming into a butterfly. If you see a chrysalis, don't take it off the swan plant because it won't get to be a butterfly.

When the butterfly comes out of the chrysalis, it waits for it's wings to dry. while waiting, it goes to suck up nectar and when it's wings are dry, it can fly away.

I think that butterflies are amazing insects. My favourite is the Monarch.

My Monarch Butterfly's Lifecycle

Do you know that butterflies have a fascinating life cycle? Butterflies have four parts to their life cycle.

Female butterflies lay eggs just like all other female insects. They lay their eggs on a swan plant so the baby can eat once they hatch.

When the egg hatches, a little baby comes out and the baby is called a caterpillar. Caterpillars wriggle and squiggle just like a worm but they come in different colours. The caterpillar eats the leaves from the swan plant and gets bigger and bigger.

When the caterpillar is fat, it spins silk around itself to make a chrysalis. It begins the pupa stage. In the chrysalis, the caterpillar evolves into a magnificent butterfly.

When the butterfly comes out of the chrysalis, it's wings are wet and it has to wait for them to dry. As soon as the wings are dry, the butterfly flies away to freedom and starts it's new life.

Butterflies do have a great life cycle. Don't you agree?

Creepy Spiders

Terrific Tarantulas

Butterflies on Swan Plants

Lifecycle of ...

Creatures of Beauty

Monarch Butterfly Lifecycle

Monarch Butterfly

Tarantula

Wonderful Weta

Beautiful Butterflies

Weta

Little Critters

My Life Would Suck Without You

The school year is almost finished and we'll miss each other. We thought it would be fun to make a little video to show how we feel about our friends. It is our first time experimenting with a green screen!

Jonita's Dig

What Will I find

Creepy Things

Oh My Gosh

Wyatt's Morning Diggin In Dirt

Tyla Digging In The Dirt

My Holiday

In the holiday, I went to my mum's house.

I stayed at my friend's home and then in the morning I had to go home. I had a great time. We played "Midnight" and watched movies with popcorn and chips.

It was my mum's birthday and I bought her a cup with lollies inside.

Then I stayed at my uncle's house.

Echoing Hissing Sounds

Assemblies are always fun but this one was different! It was an immersion assembly and this means it was a theme assembly.

As I sat down in the hall, a sound echoed in my ear. Then I saw Mr. Burt and I realized that the hissing sound was coming from him but his name was Mosquito Man.

Then there was Mr. J dressed up as Mega Moth. He got chased by Mr. Burt.

I hope we have another assembly like this.

Watch Out For Those Itchy Backs

Guess what happened yesterday at assembly? Mr. Burt was dressed up as a mosquito. Mr Barks was a queen bee and had 5 babies. Mr J was a slow snail. He told us how the shell got on his back. His back was itchy one night and when he woke up he had a shell.

Mr. Blood Sucking Burt

We waited so long for the hoidays to finish. At the start of the term, we went to our term assembly. I like immersion assembly because the teachers wear costumes.

Mr Burt came crawling up from the aisle and tried to suck people's blood because he was a mosquito.

After waiting so patiently, Mr. Barks' team finally did their act. They were funny because Mr. Barks was a queen bee and he was having babies!

After the assembly, I felt motivated for the day to learn more about our term topic - Little Critters.

In The Hall With A Bunch Of Bugs!

Excitedly, creeping into the hall, I sat down and everyone went quiet waiting for the immersion assembly to begin.

We heard a hissing sound coming from the aisle and a weird voice behind us. I turned around and Mr Burt was dressed as a mosquito. I got a really big fright from Mr Burt! He was crawling on his hands and feet down the middle of the all scaring all of the kids.

Entering the stage, Team 1 performed Eency Weency Spider. Ms. George had a spiderman mask on and Ms Wild was squirting water. Team 1 also performed Little miss Muffet. Ms Wild, who was Miss Muffet, looked weird jumping off the chair after the spider scared her. Their performance was cool.

As Team 4 entered the stage, Mr. Barks sat on a chair on a table on the stage. I just knew that they were going to perform a funny act. Mr. Barks was playing the queen bee. When he said, "Wait for it," he would pull a teddy bear wrapped in a sheet pretending to be a baby bee, from his abdomen. Team 4 performed a really funny act.

I liked watching all of the acts. They were all very funny!

Made Me Laugh

On the first day of term 4 we went to an immersion assembly to see what we are learning about. We saw the teachers dressed up as minibeasts and little critters.

Then I saw Mr. Burt dressed as Mr. Mosquito Man coming through the door. He was a scary mosquito looking for Mr. J.

Mr Barks was a fabulous queen bee and he had bee workers who fed him and cooled him down. He gave birth to baby bees with toilet paper wrapped around them. Then he had twins. I felt happy and I was laughing when he gave birth to twins!

Performing Insects

With excitement we went to the hall. I was happy because immersion assembly is always funny because the teachers dress up as the theme!

Out of no where, Mr Burt crawled into the hall and went up close to kids and pretended to suck their blood. Mr. Burt was a mosquito! He crawled and chased Mr. J as fast as he could but unfortunately he didn't catch him.

Finally, it was team 4's turn. Mr. Barks, dressed up as a queen bee, was funny because he was talking about himself and giving birth to baby bees.

I thought that the immersion assembly was the best because I love insects and I'm excited to learn more!

Performing Bees and Blood Sucking Mosquitos

Once room 12 got to the hall for immersion assembly, we saw teachers who were dressed like insects. Most of them were pretending to be a ladybug or a bee. only some of them were butterflies.

Crawling out of nowhere, a large mosquito was trying to suck other people's blood! Turns out that the mosquito was Mr. Burt!

When it was team 4's turn, I already knew their performance was about bees because they were dressed like bees. Their performance was my favourite because it was hilarious when Mr. Barks was pretending to have baby bees...but they were only just teddy bears.

I had a great time at immersion assembly. I thought it was fabulous!

Creepy, Crawly, Assembly

Immersion assemblies are the best because they are funny and we get to see the teachers dressed up to tell us the theme of the term.

Hearing a hissing sound, I gazed around me to see who that was crawling up on the stage. I saw Mr. Burt in a huge mosquito costume. I thought he suited it!

When team 1 and 2 finished, it was team 3's turn. They had a name for their performance and it was called New Zealand's Next Top Bug. it was funny because when my teacher, Mrs. Barks, finished her speech, her husband shouted out...I love you!

Team 4 was a hive of bees It was funny because the only boy teacher was the queen bee and the girl teachers were slaves. They had to dance and wait for Mr Barks to give birth to a baby bee, and then another, and finally...twins!

I had a feeling that it was going to be an interesting term!

Acting Like Insects

On Monday, the first day of term 4, all the teachers were acting like insects.

My favourite act was Mr. Burt. He was dressed like a mosquito. He was walking on his legs and arms. When he walked close to the children, they were scared.

Then it was the tall Mr. J. He had a big shell on his back. Then he told his story about how the shell grew.

Then it was the other teams turns.

Cracked Me Up

At immersion assembly at the beginning of term 4, Mr J looked like a super hero and the sign on his suit was MM. I said to my friend, "What does MM stand for?" He replied back, "I don't know." So I thought to myself that it was just a sign and I didn't care at all.

As soon as team 4 had their turn, they cracked me up for a while and then I calmed down. When Mr Barks got up on the stage, I saw that he was a queen bee with bee slaves. The bee slaves were the other teachers in the team. Then Mr. Barks gave birth to babies that were teddy bears wrapped in toilet paper.

Insect People

Excitedly walking to the immersion assembly, I couldn't wait to see the performances. Immersion assemblies are always exciting because teachers dress as the theme.

As everybody started to quiet down, I heard a weird noise coming from the back of the hall. It was Mr. Burt. He was dressed as a mosquito. He was walking down the middle of the hall scaring children.
After team 1 was called to the stage, I was wondering who miss Wild was meant to be. She was little Miss Muffet. When they performed little Miss Muffet, it was funny because when the spider frightened Miss Wild, she screamed and ran away.

Finally it was time for team 4's performance. I had a little feeling that Mr Barks was going to be a queen bee because of his costume. He had a girls wig, a queen's crown, and a rather large abdomen. Their performance was so hilarious because he was giving birth to baby bees.

This was the best immersion assembly I've ever seen. I hope there will be another one as funny as that!

Feeling Absolutely Great

As room 12 walked to the immersion assembly yesterday, they were very excited.

Suddenly Mr. Burt came crawling along with a mosquito mask and he was trying to suck Mr. Jacobson's blood.

Then Mr. J came up to the microphone. There was a huge snail shell on his back. So he told us it was very itchy.

Finally team 4 was on the stage and Mr Barks was dressed as a girl. He pretended to be a queen bee, plus he gave birth to baby bees.

After assembly, I felt absolutely great because of all the acts that the teachers did.

Sleep Over

During the holidays, I had a sleep over at my cousin's house and we played games and watched T.V.

My cousin and I were watching television and what we watched was Songs. It was totally cool as we were singing along.

After watching T.V., we went outside to play handball. As we were playing we wanted one more thing. We wanted more people to play with!

It was a totally boring day. I hoped that when I slept over it would be an exciting sleep over!

Water Safety

Wow! What a great way to end the school year...water safety lessons! The weather is warming up and soon we'll be begging our parents to take us to the beach to cool off in the refreshing ocean water, or maybe we'll be lucky enough to go kayaking and sailing. Either way, we'll need to know how to be safe. Today was our first lesson and we were taught how to find a life jacket that fits properly, and what to do if we fall into the cold waters and our bodies are starting to cool down too quickly. Crossing our arms and legs is the best thing to do if we are on our own, but if in a group, we should huddle together.

Slithering Up The Aisle

At the start of the term, we had an immersion assembly. We were excited because all the teachers were dressed up like insects.

I liked Mr. Burt because he was a mosquito and he was trying to suck student's blood as he was coming into the hall.

Out of nowhere, a slow snail slithered up the aisle and told us a story. The story was about his back because there was a shell on it. He got it on his back by itching it.

After the assembly, I felt happy.

Dancing Bees and Glamorous Lady Bugs

After a long holiday, we excitedly went to Immersion assembly.

Everybody was so shocked to see Mr. Burt being a mosquito chasing Mr. J. around the stage!

Team 1 started their show first. I enjoyed their show because it was exciting to see Ms. Wild being Miss Muffet. The other Team 1 teachers were spiders scaring Miss Muffet.

As Mr. Burt said team 3 was up on stage, my eyes went bright to see them. Mrs Barks was funny when she said, "I'm the prettiest bee in the world."

I liked the Immersion assembly. It was fun!

Snow Mountain Wipe-Out!

I went to Snow Mountain with my family because it was the holidays.

I was like a legend, but suddenly I fell. My board went one way and my leg went another way. I felt angry because I thought that I would never fall down.

My leg hurt a lot. I could not walk so they put me on the ski-doo and went down the hill.

When we got to the doctor, they took an x-ray of my knee. They put a cast over my leg and gave me crutches. I felt excited about using crutches!

Drills and Skills

A week ago, we had our Drills and Skills day. Players from the Auckland Rugby team came and helped with the event.

My favourite activity was the tackle bags. They are shaped like cylinders and are padded. We all tackled a tackling bag with each shoulder, then we could pick any shoulder to tackle the bags with.

After, we went and had some refreshing Milo because we were getting too hot. We sat down and drank it. The Milo was tasty.

I felt real worn out after tackling and runing around...although, it was a lot of fun getting tired!

Yummy In My Tummy

Do you enjoy eating insects? If you said -"no," you should have said - "yes"... because you eat them mixed in with your everyday food!! Yes it's true!! Take a look at this list...

Ketchup - 30 fruit fly eggs per 100 grams
Canned Corn - 2 insect larvae per 100 grams
Blueberries - 2 maggots per 100 berries
Peanut Butter - 50 insect fragments per 100 grams
Curry powder - 100 insect fragments per 100 grams
Wheat - 1% of grains infested
Sesame seed - 5% of seeds infested
Coffee - 10% of beans infested
*Some red food colouring such as cochineal and carmine are made from crushed beetles called Dactylopius coccus. This colour is used in some fruit drinks and lollies!!

Popping Out Baby Bees

On the first day of term 4, we went to Immersion assembly. The school went to see what topic we were learning about. We were learning about little little insects.

Wondering what will happen first, I thought it was going to be boring until I heard a scary voice. It was Mr. Burt dressed up in a scary mosquito costume. Mr. Mosquito was trying to sting the Mighty Moth.

Finally it was team 4's turn. They decided to be in a bee hive and Mr. Barks was the queen bee while all the other teachers were the workers. Every time he told us a fact... unexpectedly...out popped a baby bee!

I had lots of fun at assembly and I thought the funniest part was team 4!

She's A Lady....whoa whoa whoa She's A Lady

We are part of Team 3, and the following video clip shows the Team 3 teachers performing their immersion assembly act titled....New Zealand's Next Top Bug! Hope you enjoy it!

Ewwww Gross

We watched this video clip last week as part of our Minibeast topic. We hope that you enjoy it as much as we did!

My Birthday

On the last day of the holidays, it was my birthday. It was an exciting day for my family and I.

My auntie Blin, two annoying brothers, cousin Mia, and my mum came to my birthday. We went to Buffet King, which is a restaurant in Manukau. We ate for about two hours!

Getting tired of eating, I begged my mum to go home to watch two movies. One of the movies was about war, and the other movie was scary. In fact, the first time I watched it, I kept on screaming!

After watching the movies, I turned the t.v. off and went to sleep.

While I was getting ready for bed, I was thinking to myself and wondering if my birthday next year would be as exciting as this year.

Our Silly Teachers

On the first day of school, Pt. England walked to the Immersion assembly. Mr. Burt came inside the hall dressed as a little critter. Mr. J. was dressed as a moth.

Dressed As Insects

In the assembly I talked to my friend Uili.I told him, "This will be interesting because teachers are dressed up as insects."

All of a sudden Mr.Burt was a mosquito. He came crawling in pain tying to suck blood on the way to the stage.

Later on it was team 3's turn. They were ladybugs and all of them shared info. One said "Ladybugs have yellow blood."

Mr.J was a snail!!! He was telling us how he woke up with a shell on his back. He said that when he woke up his wife said, "Max, you've got a shell on your back."

I felt happy because I had laughter inside of me. I hope I have another assembly like this next year.

Immersion Assembly

We began our term with an immersion assembly on insects. All the teachers,as usual, dressed up and performed an item.

Entering the hall on his arms and knees, Mr Burt pretended to suck kids blood. He was dressed as a mosquito.

Later Mr.J told an interesting story about growing a shell on his back. He said that his back had been itching for days. He also said he started rocking back and forwards in bed.

The team four teachers acted as a colony of bees. Mr.barks was dressed with a crown and wig. He was a queen bee while the others were dressed as worker bees. Then he pretended to have baby bees. Lastly he gave birth to twins.

Still laughing to myself, I left the hall feeling happy because of the funny acts I could remember.

Milo Rugby Drills and Skills Day

What a special treat it was to participate in the Milo Rugby Drills and Skills day put on by the Auckland Rugby Union. Pro-Sport Rugby Academy & the Auckland ITM players came and played a variety of skill building games with us! We had so much fun!!

Rauf's Mighty Mariner Animation

Ashlee's Mighty Mariner Animation

Levi's Mighty Mariner Animation

mighty mariners Isara

Kaycee's Mighty Mariners Movie

Tylas Mighty Mariners Animations

Mighty Mariners-Jonita

My movie is about all kinds of pioneers,voyagers and explorers who traveled to find new lands!I hope you enjoy!!

Rocky's Mighty Mariner animation

My movie is about three brave vikings who where sent to find land and ended up finding new land.

Wyatt's ship Animation.

This animation is about ships moving from home to discover new lands. I put some sound effects and a voiceover. Hope you like it!!!

Playing With My Cousins

Skipping with my cousins, I simply said, "Let's play another skipping game." After we finished, we went inside to look for something to eat. We were so hungry. After eating a wonderful meal, I was imagining four people skipping in the middle and one each on either side.

Later on, we went back outside to play dodge ball at the park which was the best game I played with my cousins.

After playing dodge ball, we stopped and went back home to play games on sky. We played scramble word. Playing sky games was cool.

As soon as we finished playing games my dad called me so we could go and pick up my mum. It was a fabulous day!

Terrible Pirates

This term we've been studying Mighty Mariners - and with a topic like this, you just know that we wanted to include Pirates!!

Here is our Term 3 class video. We've done it in the style of the old fashioned silent movie - so sit back and enjoy!!

Crazy Monkey

When I ripped the banana with my teeth, I felt like a crazy monkey chewing this yellow, horrible, skin. Once the skin was off, I was ready to eat the creamy, tasty banana. It was so fantastic that I drooled and stuffed the whole banana in my mouth.

My Kitten

A few days ago I was really bored so I decided to play with my pet kitten named Gumpey. When I first got him, he was very small and I said to myself, "He's shaped like a short sausage dog."

That night, Gumpey ran away. I still remember his fluffy black and white fur. I really miss Gumpey.

Using The Stars

A long time ago there were people who looked for new land to live in. They used big ships. They did not have maps so they used stars to help them find their way.

Matrix In The Water

When my mum asked what movie we were going to watch, I said Step Up 3. They were dancing using hip hop moves with the beat of the music.

After we watched Step Up, we went to the pools. Charlie and I were doing matrix in the water.

Every Second Saturday

On a bright, sun shiny day, my mother pulled my blanket off me, told me to get changed, and get into the car. So I did. I was so happy because every second Saturday, we have a healthy dinner which is lettuce with chow mein. For dessert we have chips, lollies, chocolate, and ice-cream. we call it "Sweet and Healthy Night."

When we arrived at Pak'n Save, my mum told me that I could get any sweet that I wanted. I chose to get some sour cream and chives chips instead.

Later on in the evening, my uncle gave me the Hannah Montanna movie because he knew that I liked Miley Cyrus. While we were watching the movie, we had some sweets.

Saying Goodbye

Oh Sunday at 4:30 in the morning, we had to wake up because my dad had to go to Australia so he could work to get money to pay our bills.

We had to wait at the airport for five and a half hours. Finally his plane arrived. We hugged him goodbye and my brother was crying. We drove home.

It is very hard to live without a dad for one year. It was a very special moment on Sunday and everyone was feeling the same emotion.

Invention of Boats

A long time ago, villagers invented boats. They put their heads together and decided to make a raft.

They grabbed some logs and rope. Then they lined up the logs and tied the ropes around the middle and the two ends. They called it the raft, but they realized that the raft wasn't good enough so they invented a bark canoe.

The people ripped off thick pieces of bark and shaped it into a canoe and that's how it got the name bark canoe.

Sky Diving Adventure

I was going sky diving and I was fine until I crashed into the middle of the Pacific Ocean. I was floating but I was not safe. Two hours later, I was hungry, thirsty, and tired.

During the night I was getting stung by jelly fish. I thought my life was going to end when I saw a shark...well I thought it was a dangerous shark. It was a log. I slept on it and it saved my life. I felt so lucky.

Finally in the distance, I saw a sailing boat. I called but they could not hear me. So I had to swim to them. When I reached them, they let me in and we sailed to shore.

Nana's Birthday

Two weeks ago I went to my nana's house for her birthday. She was turning fifty five.

At my nana's, while I was waiting for the birthday to start, I went into the kitchen to look at the delicious cake that they were baking. The cake was heart shaped. When it was finished baking, my auntie said that I could help decorate it.

After that we had to wait for the rest of the family to get there. I couldn't wait to eat because I couldn't stand the smell of the food - it was too tempting. Finally my uncle arrived.

As soon as he came, everybody ran to the table. Then my cousin Tom, from Australia, said the prayer, "Thank you God for this glorious day that my nana turns 21 and make sure that everybody has a good time, in Jesus name, amen."

For dessert, we had cake and ice cream. The cake was delicious because of the melted chocolate running down the sides. It was so chocolately, I couldn't even finish it!

A while later, we had a dancing battle. I had to dance for my nana, along with my little brother T.J. and my big sister Lata. My dance battle was with my uncle's girlfrined. She burned me out. So then I learned my lesson...I know now not to mess with her!!

Up At Sunrise

Saadiya is participating in Ramadan, and here is a recount of one of her mornings!


I woke up at sunrise because it was time to eat rice and meat. I ate the delicious food that my mum cooked for me.

I asked my mum if I could hold Ahmed, the baby. She said yes. When I held Ahmed and he cried, I gave him back to mum. My mum put him in the bouncer and told me to bounce it.

While my mum was eating, I had to bounce the baby. Then I went to drink some milo, brushed my teeth, and went back to sleep.

Celebrating an Anniversary

On the weekend, my papa, nana, brother Jayden, dad, mum, and I celebrated my nana and papa's anniversary. They have been married for 45 years! That is a very, very long time!

They had a sultana cake, but Jayden and I had chocolate cake. It was very yummy.

Early Boats

Before cars, trains, and buses, there were boats. Boats were very important for traveling on seas, rivers, streams, and lakes. Early boats were made from logs, wood, and bark.

The first boat that was made was called a raft. Rafts were made from many logs lashed together with rope. They were good for going on calm waters, but they were not so good for strong waters.

Another early boat was the bark canoe. People soon realized that they could make a boat from bark. The problem with it was that the sides kept on flopping in or out. So people put sticks, called spreaders, along the sides to hold them out.

Pirates Raiding The Village

Once there were two pirates, a captain, and a first mate. When they were at sea during sunset, they spotted a ship and decided to ambush it. as they got closer, the first mate realized that it was a group of ships and decided to sail back to land.

When they got there, they wanted to burgle the village. They decided to get cages from the ship and place them everywhere. As soon as they trapped most of the villagers, they took their jewels.

Later that evening, the Pirate Captain ordered, "Set the sail!" The friendly ship saw them and their captain decided to have a war. The pirates lost!!! Their ship was captured and the remaining crew were stuck in a dingy, pushed out to sea, and never heard from again.

Splashing in the Great Blue Sea

Saturday was a really sunny day, so my mum said, "Lets go for a walk after breakfast." We were supposed to go to Glenn Ines but it looked like it was going to rain so instead, we biked to the beach .

We parked our bikes by the stairs and went down to the water and played on the rocks. My brothers and I were throwing shells which splashed like rocks in the great blue sea.

When we finished, we rode our bikes back home and had lunch. We had a great day!

Angry Captain

An angry captain ordered his men to bury the loot because the ship got loose and floated away. Later on, the men built a raft and sailed away to find the missing ships. Finally after two days, they found their ships and sailed back to the other men.

Just Before Sunset

The captain required the men to bury the loot of silver and gold because the ships had drifted out into the open sea. The crew buried the treasure on an uninhabited part of the island so no one could steal it and sell it. Building the raft out of tree logs, the captain sailed out to find his ship. Just before sunset, they found the ships and sailed back to load the treasure on board.

Bellowing At His Crew

Angry because his boats were missing, Captain Drake took his anger out on the crew by bellowing at them to bury the treasure. He got some logs, found some vines, and started lashing them together to make a raft. Excited after discovering his ships, he sailed back and dug up his treasure and put it on board.

Digging Up Loot

Commanding the men to bury the forbidden loot, he realized that he needed to locate his ships. While the men were burying the loot, the captain was busy building a raft to find his ships. He took some men with him and after all their hard work, they eventually found the ship. Digging up the loot, they carried it on board.

Drifted Away

Realizing that the ship had drifted away, he commanded his crew to bury the gold and silver. Some of his mighty men chopped driftwood to build a strong raft so they could paddle out to find their ships. Digging out the treasure, they dragged it on to the ship.

Fantastic Re-crafted Paragraphs

Once again we have been re-crafting sentences within a given text of writing. We took sentences from a story about Pirate Frances Drake who had returned from robbing a mule train to find that his ships were missing.

"He ordered his men to bury the looted gold and silver. Then he made a raft, paddled out to find his ships, and brought them back. That night, his men dug up the treasure and put it on board."

Check out our versions of this paragraph and let us know what you think!

The Treasure Of Tortuga!

We read a story called "The Treasure of Tortuga!" After identifying the main idea of some sentences in one of the paragraphs, we got together in groups of 5 or 6 and re-crafted the paragraph. Check out the 5 paragraphs that we came up with...you'll be amazed!

Boy on the Beach

At sunset, a boy on the west coast beach tripped over a black leather wallet. As he tore open the wallet, he saw that it contained a map and some strange instructions on paper that was brown because of it's age.

The Leather Wallet

Skipping around the shore, a boy noticed a leather wallet sitting on the sand near his home. As soon as he picked up the wallet, he opened it and found two folded pieces of paper. When he unfolded them, he discovered that one was a map, and the other had instructions.

An Ancient Wallet

Strolling along the shore, a boy discovered an ancient wallet sticking out of the golden sand. As he opened it up, he noticed two pieces of fragile paper. They contained a treasure map and strange instructions. The boy was very surprised.

Mysterious Parchment

Along the golden, sandy beach, a boy was walking his dog when he discovered a leather wallet peeking out of the sand. Anxiously opening the wallet, he found two pieces of folded parchment.

Soggy Wallet

One sunny afternoon, a boy was digging in the sand when he suddenly noticed a soggy, old, leather wallet. Carefully, he opened it, searched through it, and discovered two odd papers.

Shook Off His Fright

Kupe and his friends went out to sea to hunt down the great octopus that had taken all their fish. Kupe saw the great octopus starting to come and eat them so he jumped up, shook off his fright, and killed the beast.

Tricking the Octopus

Kupe packed some food for a long journey to hunt the octopus down. He got the waka's ready for the long, tiring trip. Then they sailed out to sea.

One sunny, hot afternoon, an octopus emerged from the depths of the sea and wrapped his tentacles around the waka. Kupe had a good idea. He remembered he had packed some containers so they could get some water. His crew threw containers overboard and the octopus thought it was a person so he dived down to get it. Kupe had enough time to slay it.

No Fish Today

The people of the village were going fishing and didn't catch any fish. Kupe went to catch fish and he did not get any either. He noticed some slime on the hooks and he knew it was an octopus.

They chased the octopus into the dark ocean and slayed it.

Unfortunately for the Octopus...

Kupe took several villagers on his waka to catch a wheke - also known as an octopus because he was stealing their bait. Kupe went out to sea to kill the octopus.

A while later, the big octopus emerged from the sea and tried to attack Kupe. Unfortunately for the octopus, Kupe stabbed him until he died.

I think Kupe is really amazing.

Hunting In A Waka

Long ago, Kupe went hunting in his waka for an octopus. One evening he saw the octopus and he grabbed his knife. Suddenly Kupe tried to kill the octopus.

When he was finished killing the giant octopus, he went back to his land.

Shiny Creature

On a sunshiney day, Kupe along with several friends, and his wife headed to sea. They went out to sea because they were hunting for a white, shiny octopus who had been stealing their fish.

As they were journeying Kupe noticed a slimy creature which was the octopus. It burst out of the murky sea and crashed into the boat. Then Kupe simply grabbed the knife and stabbed the octopus.

When it was done, the crew and Kupe were so tired, they didn't want to do something like that ever again!

Slithering Tentacles

The Hunt

Kupe and his crew set off to find the giant octopus.

Before long, they saw a dark shadow under the water so they went closer. The crew watched in horror as the tentacles slowly slithered up the side of the waka. Kupe struck at the tentacle and sliced off a chunk of flesh. He slayed the octopus.

Kupe and the crew were relieved that the octopus was killed. As they were cheering, Kupe's wife said, "Look...land!" So they headed to the new island and she called it Aotearoa.



***With a little editing help from the teacher, Jacob has used some good words to describe what happened when Kupe was at sea.

Slaying the Beast

Kupe and others were trying to hunt down the great octopus in the depths of the sea. Kupe looked for it and saw a shadow in the water. It was the giant octopus trying to find some food.

As soon as the octopus saw Kupe and some of the others, he wrapped his gooey arms around the waka. All the people let out a tremendous scream, so Kupe got his axe and slayed the beast.

Jouan has done a great job describing part of Kupe's story where he hunts and kills the octopus.



Emerging from the depths of the sea, the octopus burst out of the water like a silky snake trying to devour it's prey. Kupe shook off his blanket of fear, got his weapon, and slayed the beast one tentacle at a time.

Once Kupe killed the great beast, everyone cheered and screamed, "Yay, Woohoo!" After their little party, they continued on their journey.

Journey to Sea

Kupe went on a journey to catch an octopus. The village was hungry because they had no fish. Why was he stealing all of the fish.

Kupe Slays the Octopus

Long, long ago, there was a man called Kupe. Kupe lived in Hawaiki. One day Kupe said, "The huge octopus is eating our fish." They wanted to kill the octopus. Kupe got his boat, his axe, and his knife. On their way Kupe saw the octopus under the boat and it saw them. Suddenly it jumped out of the water like a dolphin. The octopus was cutting the people with it's tentacles throwing them in the water. Kupe picked his axe up and jumped on the octopus and stabbed it.

Dark, Murky, Shadow

Long, long ago there was a man called Kupe. Kupe and his wife got some men for a battle against an octopus because it was eating all their fish and bait. They got prepared and Kupe set up the waka. They were off to the sea.

As they were going, they saw a murky, dark, shadow coming up from the bottom of the sea. Kupe said, "Can it be?" He got his knife and tried to stab the octopus but it was too fast. After that, Kupe jumped on the sea creature and killed the it.

Kupe was glad the battle was over. They sailed on to a new country which they called Aotearoa.




***With just a little editing help from his teacher, Antonio put together a great summary of Kupe's legendary hunt for a giant octopus. Hope you enjoyed it!

Stealing Fish

A long time ago, Kupe went on a journey on his waka. He slayed an octopus because the octopus stole the bait and fish.

Kupe and the Octopus

Kupe noticed a slimy orange soft thing. He called out to his crew and said, "Come with me because I notice a slimy orange thing."

Out of the blue water came an octopus. It's tentacles grabbed the boat as Kupe's crew started to be afraid. He grabbed the knife and stabbed the octopus.

Tremendous Screams

Long, long ago, there lived some great fishermen who were unable to catch any fish because something was stealing their bait. So they set off to the sea to hunt it down.

Bursting out of the water, the octopus clung to the waka tossing the people everywhere. So Kupe bolted out of his seat and slashed at it as everyone on this waka let out tremendous screams. The final slash at it killed it.

He hoped it would never happen again.

Kupe Discovers New Zealand...or did He?

Long ago, Kupe along with his wife and some of his friends, went hunting for an octopus who kept stealing their fish. Ascending up from the turbulent waters, Kupe and the others saw a black shadow rising faster and faster. A slimy, ugly body emerged and the passengers on the waka were frightened. It was the octopus.

Suddenly Kupe burst from his seat with a knife tightly gripped in his hand. He threw some containers into the water. Then the octopus dived down because he thought the containers were people! Kupe jumped on the octopus's back and stabbed it to death. It sank down into the salty depths of the sea. I think Kupe, his friends, and his wife were relieved to know that they would have some food again.

Shortly after the battle with the octopus, Kupe's wife looked out and saw new land and this is how Kupe discovered New Zealand.

By Jonita

Jorja's Coded Message

India-november tango-echo-romeo-mike 3 whiskey-echo alpha-romeo-echo lima-echo-alpha-romeo-november-india-november-golf alpha-bravo-oscar-uniform-tango papa-india-romeo-alpha-tango-echo-sierra. chalie-alpha-papa-tango-alpha-india-november juliet-alpha-mike-echo-sierra charlie-oscar-oscar-kilo whiskey-alpha-sierra bravo-oscar-romeo-november india-november 1728. hotel-echo whiskey-alpha-sierra kilo-india-lima-lima-echo-delta bravo-yankee tango-hotel-echo whiskey-alpha-romeo-romeo-india-oscar-sierra india-november hotel-alpha-whiskey-alpha-india-india.

Story of Kupe

Kupe and his friends went on a lengthy journey to find the threatening octopus who had been taking their bait. As they headed out to sea, they got caught in turbulent and dangerous waters. When Kupe looked into the water he saw a dark shadow. It was the octopus.

Emerging out of the water,the octopus grabbed onto the waka and started shaking it. A blanket of fear suddenly fell on the men. Kupe shook off his fear and told the men to throw gourds overboard. The octopus was fooled into thinking they were men long enough for Kupe to stab it and kill it.

Kupe's wife hoped that they didn't have to solve another problem like this again.


**Tyla used her terrific ideas, and with a little editing help from her teacher, was able to write a portion of Kupe's story. Hope you enjoyed it!

Kupe Versus The Mad Beast

Kupe headed out to the turbulent and dangerous waters in a waka to kill the octopus who kept stealing their bait. He and his crew were on the sea for days. They were hungry,tired,and scared.

Suddenly "Boom!" a tentacle flopped onto the waka. The mad beast kept on chucking and throwing people into the sea! Kupe bolted up, grabbed his sword and axe, and started to fight. After slaying the octopus, he raised his weapon in a sign of victory!

Kupe's wife saw an island in the distance so they sailed towards it. They were very happy and called their new land Aotearoa.

Brave Man Named Kupe

A man named Kupe had enough of an octopus who had been stealing their fish. So he went with his wife and some men on a journey to sea to search for it and slay it.

Suddenly out of nowhere, the octopus burst out of the dark blue sea and grabbed hold of the waka. Kupe jumped out of his seat and sliced the tentacles with an axe. It took a long time for Kupe to kill the octopus.

Kupe and his crew felt tired and hoped that they would never ever have to face a battle like that ever again.


**Laita had excellent ideas and worked hard with her teacher to edit her work.

Kupe and the Great Beast

Kupe, his wife, and friends sailed out to sea to slay a nasty octopus who had been stealing their bait. Several days later something terrible happened...

The great beast from the murky depths of the sea rose and gripped the waka theatening to capsize them. But wait...Kupe had an idea. He cried out "Throw the gourds at the octopus." The octopus thought it was a person and attacked it. Trembling in fear, Kupe sreamed, "ARGHH!" and stabbed it to death.

After the furious battle, and Kupe and the others had there revenge, they all yelled "yeah!" They set off for the new found land in the distance.


***With a little editing help from the teacher, Wyatt came up with a great little summary of the legend of Kupe. Hope you enjoyed it!

Marine Radio Communication

This term, room 12 is studying "The Mighty Mariners." We have been learning about the Phonetic Alphabet for Marine Radio Communication, and some of us have posted some coded messages for you to decipher. In order to read them, you'll have to use the first letter of each word. Leave us a comment telling us what our messages say!!

Laita's coded message

india-november tango-hotel-echo hotel-oscar-lime-india-dealta-alpha-yankee mike-yankee bravo-romeo-oscar-tango-hotel-echo-romeo wisky-echo-november-tango tango-oscar tango-hotel-echo sierra-hotel-oscar-papa.

Wyatt's coded messages

delta-india-delta yankee-oscar-uniform kilo-november-oscar-whiskey, juliet-alpha-mike-echo-sierra charlie-oscar-oscar-kilo delta-india-echo-delta india-november hotel-alpha-whiskey-alpha-india-india?

Bravo-yankee whiskey-yankee-alpha-tango-tango.

Jonita's coded message

Tango-hotel-india-sierra tango-echo-romeo-mike,whiskey-echo alpha-romeo-echo lima-echo-alpha-romeo-november-india-november-golf alpha-bravo-oscar-uniform-tango echo-x-ray-papa-lima-oscar-romeo-echo-romeo-sierra whiskey-hotel-oscar tango-romeo-alpha-victor-echo-lima-echo-delta bravo-yankee mike-alpha-romeo-india-november-echo victor-echo-sierra-sierra-echo-lima-sierra.

Bravo-yankee Juliet-oscar-november-india-tango-alpha

Tyla's coded message

India lima-echo-alpha-romeo-november-tango tango-hotel-alpha-tango Julliet-alpha-mike-echo-sierra Charlie-oscar-oscar-kilo delta-india-echo-delta india-november Hotel-alpha-whiskey-alpha-india-india.

Antonio's Disaster Animation

Volcanoes can be a dangerous thing!

Helen's Disaster Animation

Robert's Disaster Animation

I hope you enjoy my animation of Active Earth!

Jabez's Disaster Animation

Erupting volcanoes, destructive earthquakes, and wild tsunamis.....all the stuff disasters are made of.

Gianna's Disaster Animation

Check out Gianna's version of an erupting volcano, earthquake and tsunami.

Jacob's Disaster Animation

Volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis ... the power of the earth's pressure!

s

Rocky's Disaster Animation

Levi's Disaster Animation

This term, we studied volcanoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis. Check out Levi's animation of their destructive power!

Saadiya's Disater Animation

Jesse's Disaster Animation

Uili's Disaster Animation

Beautiful View Of Auckland

After waiting for a long time to go on the trip, we finally went. We went to Maungakiekie (One Tree Hill).

Arriving early at One Tree Hill, we looked around the place. We took photos on the wall that said Cornwall Park.

Mrs. Jarman said, "It's time to come into the little cottage and sit down." There was a young lady called Nadia. She was a person that was going to tell us all about volcanoes

As soon as it was finished I was so glad because we could get started climbing the volcano. Walking up the side paths, I thought to myself that I was not going to make it! Half way up the mountain I could see the side crater - it looked like a u shape.

Struggling and thirsty, I finally made it up the mountain. As I walked up to the summit, I saw the beautiful view of Auckland and some volcanoes. I counted 5. The volcanoes looked like a lighter painting of volcanoes.

We visited the main crater. Once I saw it, I could see cooled lava rocks from the eruption. It was funny because the rocks spelled out "Will you marry me?" "I love you," or just names.

After looking at it, we took a short cut down the mountain and had lunch!

Esrah's Disaster Animation

Asena's Disaster Animation

Volcano Cake

After an exciting term learning about "Active Earth," we made a volcano cake! As you can see in the photos - it was quite a cake. Mrs. Barks told us that we could decorate it and eat it just before our morning tea break....that way we could get all sugared up and then run around outside and wear it all off. Oh, by the way, we are wearing our Canadian flags because it was Canada Day - check out our "Oh Canada" video under "Videos and Pics Rm 12."

Excited About Our Trip

After a long time, we went to Mt. Maungakiekie (One Tree Hill). As I arrived at school, I was so excited that I ran outside and waited to go. When we got on the bus, off we went to One Tree Hill.

As we arrived, we all were excited. When we finished morning tea, we climbed the mountain. Half way up we saw the west crater. When we were climbing, I saw heaps of freshly shorned sheep grazing peacefully in the sun.

When we reached the top of One Tree Hill, I counted how many volcanoes there were and as I was counting, I asked myself, "What would it be like to be a volcano?"

A Beautiful Day For A Trip

As I woke up with the sun shining into my eyes, I knew that it was a beautiful day for team three's trip. we were going to One Tree hill to learn about volcanoes.

When I was walking on the volcano I saw houses and cars, all around Auckland. As we were walking on the side of the road there were volcanic rocks. I picked them up and I saw that they were bubbly and fat.

When I first saw the crater I said to myself, "Maybe I will get muddy pants." But I didn't get my pants muddy because I followed the path down the side of the crater.

After our long, exciting day, I pulled myself into the bus. When we got back to school, we had a little sleep but I tried to not fall asleep.

Siding Down The Crater

On Wednesday it was a sunny day for our field trip to One Tree Hill.

While we were going up the hill we saw sheep. At the top of the mountain we looked out over Auckland. We looked down at team 3.

When we went to the gate, we climbed down the side of the mountain. We started to make stuff like walls with the volcanic rocks.

Later we climbed the side of the mountain and slid down the side again and again and again.

Sights From The Summit

When we got to One Tree Hill, we had our delicious morning tea and played for a while with leaves. Then we went and saw a lady named Nadia who knew a lot about different kinds of volcanoes. She showed us a variety of scoria rocks and I think she was a terrific science lady.

We all walked up One Tree Hill and found the west crater that had the side pushed away by lava and looked like the letter u. Further up, we saw grassy terraced slopes covered in freshly shorn sheep.

As we went further up, we could see the monument at the top. At the summit we could see all of Auckland.

Finally we got to go down the sides of the crater and at the bottom were scoria rocks. People wrote messages with the volcanic rocks and built castles.

Oh Canada

Our teacher and her husband, who teaches in room 18, are from Canada. July 1 was Canada's birthday, and to celebrate they put together a little slide presentation to show us their country. We were amazed by the scenery and the variety of animals. We were also surprised to find out that some of our favourite celebrities were Canadian!!

Surprise - There's Sheep

After several long weeks we finally got to go on our field trip to One Tree Hill to learn more about volcanoes. The other reason we went is because we had to learn about the people who lived on One Tree Hill 600 years ago.

Shortly after we got to One Tree Hill, we had a long walk up the mountain. We could see the whole of Auckland and six other vocanoes. Furhter up the mountain we could see sheep dotting the slopes. It was a surprise to see sheep and some cows.

During the walk up, I noticed two of the three craters. One was formed from the lava pushing out the side and it looked like a letter u, and the other one had lots of scoria rock in it which people had made messages with.

After a long day, I felt so hungry and tired, and dirty because of all the mud I had slipped on as I was playing.

Esrah Asleep On The Bus

When I arrived at school, I was so excited because team 3 had waited two whole weeks for their trip to One Tree Hill. Outside the bus was waiting out on the road so we hopped on and off we went.

When we got there, Mrs Jarman told us the rules and then we had morning tea.

After that we climbed the hill, and half way up I was exhausted.

We reached the summit, Mrs. Jarman said, "Let's go to the main crater." When we got there we had to go carefully down the sides because it was so deep. I got down and made stuff out of the schoria rocks which are hard, cold magma rocks.

When Mrs. Jarman said, "Time to go and eat!" we ate. We played with our mates and then it was time to go.

I felt so exhausted that I fell asleep on the bus half way back.

An Amazing Volcano

On a beautiful, sunny morning, all of team three lined up in their classes and hopped on the bus to go to One Tree Hill. We went there to learn more about volcanoes. Tyla, Kaycee, Ashlee, and I comfortable sat together on the way. Out the buss window, we saw the Sky Tower and the big statue on One Tree Hill.

We walked up the road to the volcano which was boring and tiring but we saw lots of sheep and sheep poo.

When we finally got up, we saw a spectacular view of seven volcanoes and Auckland city. We saw farm land and animals, but the best view was Rangitoto because it looked like a beautiful volcano island.

The statue at the summit was really tall and one side had information written in Maori with the other side written in English. Right next to the humongous statue was Sir John Logan Campbell's grave stone!

After we enjoyed the view, Mrs. Barks thought it was time to go inside one of the craters which had thousands of scoria volcanic rocks. We carefully walked down the terraces, which were really steep.

Suddenly Out Of Nowhere

On a beautiful day, I woke up and it was quiet. Suddenly out of nowhere, my family came out and sang happy birthday to me. I said to myself, "That's right, it's my birthday." I was so happy because my uncle said, "Hey darling, how would you like it if I gave you $100?" I said, "OK!"

A couple hours later, my mum and I got my birthday ready. Twenty minutes later, my birthday cake was ready. My mum got a text from my aunties and uncles saying, "Hey, I'll be there in 10 minutes."

It was so exciting when my cousins, uncles, and aunties arrived. Parties are the best because we had nuggets, hot chips, banana cake, super cake, and really rich fudge. We played Sing Star and then Monopoly.

After that, we mad our beds. We watched movies all night. Later on, we ate some popcorn to go with the movie. My tummy was very full after all the food that day!

Kaycee's Disaster Animation

Isara - Tired At The End Of A Terrific Trip

After several weeks, Mrs. Jarman said to the teachers, "We are finally go ing on our trip to One Tree Hill (Mt. Maungakiekie)." When Mrs. Barks told room 12, we danced around full of joy and laughter. So on Wednesday we got into the bus as quick as a wink and so happy!

Getting out of the bus, I skipped along the path. We met by a little park with a big tree which is as tall as a giraffe. The tree was apparently 100 years old. We had a little play at the park and my friends and i rolled down a little slope.

Happily we got up and started to walk up the hill. On the way, we saw freshly shorn sheep grazing on the landscape. When we reached the summit, we could see a spectacular view of Auckland.

We all said to Mrs. Barks, "Can we go to the crater?" Finally we got to go into a real crater with volcanic rocks that had been used to spell names. My friends and I made a castle with the scoria rocks.

I felt so tired when it came to the end of the day. I felt so lucky because I got to go on a trip.

Wyatt's Great Day At Mt. Maungakiekie

Have you been on a trip to Mt. Maungakiekie (One Tree Hill)? We went with our teacher Mrs. Barks, my friend Rauf's mother Penny, Levi's mum Shannon, and my pop Graham to learn about volcanoes.

When we arrived, we started to walk to the summit. As we reached the top we gazed down and noticed the rest of our team. Looking into the crater we saw "I love you" messages written with scoria rocks by other travelers who came here before us. We then saw Mrs. Jarman and Mrs. Slade on their way to the summit.

After lunch we came to the crater. I should not have slid down because my pants were muddy. I noticed a girl that was completely covered head to toe in mud.

I was exhausted and tired, but I was so lucky that my pop said he and I could go home early. I loved this day and I would like to go on another trip to Mt. Wellington or Rangitoto.

Exhausted

Before team 3 could explore the beauty of One Tree Hill, we had time to play on the green grassy field. We went to learn more about volcanoes and what to do if a volcano explodes.

Walking up the steep sides of the volcano, I was incredibly exhausted! In fact I was so tired that I wanted to crawl on my knees. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw how high I had walked. While I was looking down, I saw freshly shorn sheep grazing peacefully in the sun light.

Seeing The Whole Of Auckland

After several long weeks, we finally got to go on our field trip to One Tree Hill to learn more about volcanoes. The other reason we went, is because we had to learn about the people who lived on One Tree Hill.

We had a long walk up the huge mountain. We all could see the whole of Auckland and six other volcanoes. Further up the mountain it was a suprise to see sheep and cows.

During the walk up, I noticed some of the craters that were formed from the lava. One of the craters was shaped like the letter u, but the other crater had lots of scoria rock which people had made messges with.

After a long day, I felt tired and hungry. I had felt so dirty because of all the mud that I had slipped on.

Assembly

At assembly, we stood up to sing the National Anthem. After good singing, Mr. Burt put on a movie for the school. It was one of the old movies we've already seen. Suddenly Mr. Burt said, "Go" and some kids put up their hands really fast. Then Matthew went up.

Then we did sports awards and all of them went to girls. Next were the Bin It certificates and Mr. Jacobson came out to the front with his special envelope. Some classes were hoping they got an award. Mr Jacobson called rooms 23, 2, 1, 20, and 11. Last but not least, Lunch Box Heroes were called. Selena and Esrah went to call the people to come and get a healthy snack and take a picture.

Up To The Top of One Tree Hill

One sunny morning team 3 went on a field trip to One Tree Hill. When we arrived at Cornwall Park, we had a little assembly and in that little assembly Mrs. Jarman told us where to go. After she told us where to go we went there. When room 9, 10, and half of room 11 went to the cottage, the other half of room 11 went to have their morning tea and so did rooms 12 and 13.

As soon as the half of room 11 came back and room 9 and 10 did, it was our turn to have lessons with Nadia. She had a map of Auckland and fifty volcanoes. she told us all about One Tree Hill and when it erupted. After that we watched two short videos. The first one was about when One Tree Hill erupted.

After we finished with Nadia, we walked up One Tree Hill. On the way up I saw Rangitoto. Later on I saw Mt. Wellington and then I saw the west crater. Then I saw the main crater and finally I made it to the top. I saw Rangitoto, Mt. Wllington, Mt Roskill, and Mt. Eden. I saw four volcanoes.

Later on we walked down the crater. I saw "I love you' messages and all sorts of writings with scoria rock.

Tired, I dragged myself to the bus.

One Tree Hill

On Wednesday we went to One Tree Hill. We had to go in the bus because it is far away. When we got there, Miss Jarman told us that a tree was more than 100 years old. Then we went to eat morning tea. After tea, it was our turn to go to the volcano. We went up past the sheep and we saw a crater. We went up and we saw another crater. We did not see the three craters. Then we got to the top of the volcano and we saw room 11 coming. Some of us went into the crater and we went the easy way. Some went the hard way. After the crater, we had lunch and came back to school.

Wet And Slippery Grass

Jonathan is continuing to improve his English and to independently write strong sentences. I think he is doing an amazing job!! What do you think?


After assembly we went outside for a run. We did one run around the field. When I was running the grass was wet and slippery. After we came back to class.

Mt. Maungakiekie

Have you been on a trip to Maungakiekie (One Tree Hill)? We went with our teacher Mrs. Barks, Rauf's mother, Levi's mum, and my pop, to learn more about volcanoes.

When we arrived, we walked to the summit. As we reached the top, we gazed down and saw the rest of our team. We also saw "I Love You" messages written with scoria rocks in the crater - from the travelers who came here before us. We then found Mrs. Jarman and Mrs. Slade.

After lunch, we then came to the crater. I should not have slid down because my pants got muddy. I noticed that a girl from another room was completely covered from head to toe in mud.

I was exhausted and tired after this long, long day, but I still enjoyed it. I was so lucky that my pop said that he and I could go home early. I loved this day. I would like to go on another beautiful trip to Mount Wellington or Rangitoto.

Waiting For Our Trip

We waited and waited a long time to go to One Tree Hill. When I heard that we were finally going on our trip, I was excited because I wanted to learn about volcanoes.

We saw grazing sheep on the land around the volcano. In the crater we read some writings made with lava rocks. Asena Jouan, and I wrote Mrs. Barks's name with the scoria rocks.

Calvin's Active Earth Animation

...And Some More...

Just when you thought that you'd seen all our field trip photos...we dug up a few more!

Jouan's Active Earth Animation

Some More Pic's Of Our Field Trip To Mt. Maungakiekie

The Long Walk To School Video

Today was "Travel Wise" day where all the students and staff members were encouraged to walk to school. Here is a little video of Mr. and Mrs. Barks's walk all the way from Bucklands Beach!!!

Ashlee's Active Earth Animation

Layers Of The Earth - Yum!

A while ago, we were learning about the layers of the earth. To help us understand, we boiled up some eggs - pretending they were the earth, cut them open, labelled the inside layers after the layers of the earth, and then ate them. As the pressure inside the egg built, as a result of the heat, it forced the outside shell to crack and we were able to see mini egg volcanoes and earthquakes.

Some Pictures From One Tree Hill

Zyrin's Disaster Animation

Aliens and Zombies

My family and I watched Alliens In The Attic. It was the funniest movie I've ever seen. The funniest bit was when Jake met the Alien because he said, "ahhhh ahhhh" like when people think it's cute. Then he said, "I mean auhk." I also liked the bad Alien who shot a human zombie device that made their parents human zombies. It was really cool and I enjoyed it so much.

I thought that the meanist part was when Sparky got cut and when Ricky threw his girlfriend in the lake because he was a human zombie. Luckily at the end, he got dumped by a different girl.

Video Clips From Mt. Maungakiekie

Our entire team of year 3 and 4 students went on a field trip to Mt. Maungakiekie (One Tree Hill). Here is some video footage of our journey to the top of the volcano. Keep checking our blog over the next couple of weeks for our written recounts of our day.

Walking Up Volcanoes

I went on a trip to see volcanoes and we had to walk up a big one.

Video Clips of Mount Maungakiekie

Every single day, our school gets free fruit from the kitchen.

The fruit bucket that we have is coloured green and has writing that says Rm 12 on it.

Yesterday when the alarm came and Mr. Jacobson called for the fruit people, I jumped up and got the bucket. Running to the kitchen, I got the fruit and brought it back to class.

Dinner With Cousins

Last night I ate pasta and it was delicious.

Then my cousins came. Their names are Moonisah and Mohammed. They just came to eat at our house.

At last, we watched Dill Milly Gaya on the t.v. When we watched it, I fell asleep by the time it finished.

On the weekend, I was so happy I couldn't stop jumping up and down because my cousin, Tom-lee, who came from Australia, was staying here in New Zealand for good! Every Saturday, my cousin plays on a rugby team, and when someone gets injured, he goes in and plays that person's spot.

After my cousin's game, we were just in time for my cousin's baby's birthday - his name is Tarangi. His birthday was the coolest birthday ever because we got heaps of lollies and chips. I got 125 lollies in my gift bag and from the lollie scramble.

Isara's Disaster Animation

Playing Games With My Brother

When my dad called me and my brother to come down and eat dinner, we came and sat down at the table. Our mum told us, "Please set the table." We saw the food and it was sausages and rice soup.

After we finished eating, we were excited because dad said we could play on the playstation 3 for two hours. We played Casket Match on our Wrestlling 2010 game.

At the end of our playtime, my dad said, "It's time for bed." I sved the game and turned the t.v. off. "Goodnight dad!" I said, and went to bed.

Electrical Sparks

Isara is learning to add more detail to the beginning of his sentences...he has written one here that describes a scene shortly after an earthquake.

Minutes after an earthquake, buildings are crashing to the ground while power lines are snapping and electricity is sparking.

Wyatt's Disaster Animation

At My Cousin's House

Jesse has been learning to add more details to the beginning of his sentences. Check out his great work!


In a car, I went on a trip to Wellington to see my cousins. At my cousin's we played PS2.

Going Up In Flames

Zyrin is learning to add more detail to his sentences. Check out his awesome sentences about a fire caused from an earthquake.


There are power lines crashing down on the house, and it's going up in flames. There is a man covering his head from the smoke while he is running down the street.

Up in Flames

Rauf is learning to add more detail to sentences to make them more interesting for an audience....let him know what you think about this one which describes a fire that started shortly after an earthquake.


Powerful flames were shooting thick glass from windows onto the streets while billowing clouds of black smoke darkened the bright sky.

Tyla's Disaster Animation

Passport Photos

Here is another great example of a paragraph with a group of sentences that are related to one main idea.

At seven p.m., my mum and auntie told my brother, cousin, and me to get in the car. We were going to St. Lukes to get our passport photos done. When we arrived at St. Lukes and got to the shop, I was the first to have my photo taken.

Jabez Plays Rugby

Yesterday I went to play rubgy at the back of my house. When we started, the other team kicked the ball. I caught the ball and ran and got tackled at the sideline. Then Daniel got a try. John kicked the ball for the goal post and my friend caught it and passed it to me. My position is center which is next to the winger.

Rauf's Disaster Animation

Class Movie - The Power Of Pressure

Doggie Walking

Last night when I was watching T.V., mum said, "Let's go doggie walking." So I jumped up and got my gum boots on because it was raining. Leashing the dog, we met our auntie outside her house with her dog Nike.

It wasn't the best walk because I had to pick up the disgusting poo. I have never had to pick it up before so I blocked my nose - otherwise I would have fainted. I chucked it in the bin.

Arriving at the League Club very late with the dogs wagging their tails faster and faster, pulling harder and harder, jumping as high as they could, we let them off their leashes. I was so suprised at how fast Nike was and I got thrashed by a puppy!!

Collapsed Buildings

Read what Jonita had to say about a fire that started after an earthquake occured.

Collapsed buildings were consumed by huge, red hot flames started by the severed, live power lines. Using his t-shirt, a man shielded himself from the billowing clouds of smoke and the searing heat of the fire.

Poor Helen

Suddenly out of no where, Mr. Jacobson called for the fruit monitors to please come to the hall foyer. Helen jumped up and sprinted to get the fruit bucket, which sits on a spare desk near the computers. She ran for her life because it was raining. With sadness, Helen came back soaking wet, but at least we got the fruit and it was ok!

I hoped that next time Mr Jacobson has my favourite fruit - strawberries!

Laita's Disaster Animation

Hanging With My Cousins

My grandpa came to pick me up to go to my nana's house to have dinner. When we got there, my uncle and cousin were cooking or food to eat. They were done an hour or two after and then it was time to eat some sausages, potato salad, and other yummy food!

My cousins came over 30 minutes before we ate. My 9 year old aunty and I took tunrs with my cousin's touch ipod because I thought it would have been fair. I kept on listening to "Never Let You Go."

My aunty and I happily skipped to my uncle's laptop to play a really fun computer game called Poptropica! We sat in one big chair and logged into my account for the game. I clocked four islands, which my brothers helped me with. We played Nabooti, Big Nate, Super power, and Spy, but we needed six more to clock!

Destructive Fire

Jouan was to write two sentences describing part of a picture that we had used to study earthquakes. She remembered to add detail to the beginning of her sentences.


As the burning fire destroys buildings and homes, it also destroys living things like people. Protecting himself, a man hurries away from danger.

Jonita's Disaster Animation

Fountain of Lava

Bursting out of this huge crack in the earth, lava flew and spat everywhere destroying everything in sight.

As lava spread over the land, it looked as though it was a jar of syrup that had tipped over.

As it gushed over a cliff, it looked like a thick fountain of lava.

I Love Food

Asena is working hard to improve her sentences and paragraphs by adding more detail.


As quickly as I could, I rushed to the shops to buy my hot crunchy chips. I hurried home to watch my favourite t.v. show which is the Erin Simpson show. Foods that people on the show cook, make me hungry!

I quickly jumped out of the seat, went and got some noodles with corn beef, and gobbled it all up. It was so, so delicious!

As soon as my dad got back from work, we went to pick up my mum and straight away we went to choir.

Red Hot Embers

Helen is learning to add more details to her sentences. I think she did really well with this one. It describes part of a picture about a fire caused from an earthquake.


As red hot embers where falling on the man, he covered his face and ran down to a safe place.

School Assembly

Wyatt is improving his ability to write paragraphs with sentences that stick to one topic. I think he did really well....what do you think?


In the cold morning, the bell rang and room 12 lined up at the door. Unfortunately it was raining a little, so we quickly marched to the hall and sat in our spots.

The whole school sang the National Anthem. We had to learn the words "tau to" so we went over it with Miss Tito. All of us had fun singing it all together.

Mr. Burt gave out the Duff awards. Levi got it from our class because he wrote some good paragraphs.

Hot Lava

Jesse has been working hard to write a paragraph - read it and let Jesse know what you think!

Volcanoes erupt during the day and night. The lava is very, very hot. Lava comes from volcanoes.

Games, Dancing, And Pillowfights!!!

Running with joy and excitement, I followed my friend to the door. As I got closer and closer, I heard the music getting louder and louder. I said to myself, "I hope I am not late for the games." Pushing the doors, I saw that I was just in time for the games.

After we finished playing, it was time for the dance. While the kids, including me, were dancing, all the adults wee eating. When it was time for all the adults to dance, it was time for the kids to sleep.

All the families have their own room, but me, Babish and Hannah slept side to side. We also played some games before we slept and we had a pillowfight too.

I had fun the whole day. I had a good nights sleep too so that tomorrow would be a great day!

Severed Power Lines

Kaycee's detailed sentence about fires that start after an earthquake.

As severed power lines sway side to side in the breeze, they touch buildings, shops, and houses - starting fires.

Moving and shaking

My movie is about a volcano erupting, an earthquake and a tsunami. They destroy land and some volcanoes make land. I've been learning about the tectonic plates, how they rub together and make earthquakes.

I used hyperstudio to draw my pictures.

Wyatt's three disasters

My movie is about three natural disasters. They are a volcano erupting, an earthquake and a tsunami. I've learnt about how they happen and what they do to people.

Mum in a Rush

We have been working on adding details to the beginning of our sentences, and to make sure that our paragraph sticks to one main idea or topic. Read Kaycee's and let her know what you think of her work.

In a hurry, my mum jumped in the car trying to get us to school on time. Unfortunately we got caught up in traffic, so we listened to Michael Jackson. When we arrived in Onehunga, we had a little snack.

Levi - Don't Get Burned

Robert - Rivers of Lava

Kaycee - Lava

Tyla - Flowing Lava

Wyatt - Oozing Into The Sea

Esrah - Errupting Volcano

Saadiya - Lava Fireworks

Jonita's Lava Fireworks

Isara's Goey Jelly Lava

Frankie's Exploding Volcano

Asena and the Sticky Lava

Listen as Asena reads her paragraph about lava shooting into the air and moving towards the sea.

Laita and the Flowing Lava

Laita has been working hard to write a good paragraph about lava - have a listen.

Jouan and the Fiery Waterfall

Listen as Jouan reads her paragraph about what lava looks like when it moves.

Answer for Digikidz

Do you help younger children on the computer? Here's our answer.

Visit the Digikidz here...

The Iron Brian Show

The Iron Brian show came to our school to teach us about balanced nutrition and the importance of getting enough iron in our diet. At the end, we all enjoyed a barbequed hamburger!

Experimenting with Dry Ice

Mr. Barks and the students in room 18 joined room 12 for a morning of expermenting with dry ice. We experienced the "Power of Pressure" by accelerating the evaporation process causing carbon dioxide vapour to blow up balloons and pop bottles!

Bubbly Lava

Sweet and Sour

Hot as an Oven

Wyatt is looking forward to Term 2

Answer for Digikidz

Question from our friends - the 'Digikidz'.
'How do you feel when you receive comments on your blog posts?'

Dry Ice Experiments

I wonder...

In term two, we are learning about 'Active Earth.' I wonder which volcano is the oldest volcano? I wonder what would happen if Mt. Wellington erupted? One thing I know, is that Rangitoto is the youngest volcano. I feel good about learning about volcanoes.

Lolly? Candy?

Did you know that yesterday we got a Warhead? It was extremely sour! A Warhead is a lolly, but in Canada they are called candy. It was shaped like an oval. I thought that it was nice.

Click here to listen to Rocky's story.

No More For Me!!

Have you tasted the extremely sour Warhead candies from Canada? I bet you haven't but I have a story for you. Warheads, the extreme sour ones that we had, are round as a ball and hard as a nut. If you tasted the sour Warhead, you would have tears in your eyes and you would be amazed from this terrible taste. I'm shocked and I will not have anymore unless I run it under water first.

Spitting Magma

Guess what Point England is learning this term?...volcanoes! Yes, that's what we're learning about! Do you know how a volcano erupts? It all starts when these plates move apart from each other and makes magma spit out because of the pressure. Volcanoes are a natural disaster when they blow their top. I feel happy about having volcanoes for our topic this term and I hope we learn something cool next term.

Click here to listen to Wyatt's story.

Too Sour!

Candy Warheads From Canada

On the first day of Term 2, Mrs. Barks opened a bag that said 'Warheads.' Everyone in the class got one each and we had to describe them. The candy was as soft as chewy bubblegum and tasted like Thumb Suckers. The shape of the candy was a small cube like a dice. I liked eating Warheads!

The next day, Mrs. Barks opened another bag of Warheads except these ones were extremely sour! It tasted like my mum had just poured 12 lemons into my mouth! The shape of the Warhead looked like an egg or a marble squashed a little. When I put the candy in my mouth, my face just went puckered! These were too sour!

Click here to listen to Kaycee's story.

Sour Bananas

Have you ever tasted Warhead candies from Canada? They taste like bananas and they taste sour too. They are small as a cube. They're soft and chewy in my mouth.


Click here to listen to Jonathan's story.

Wondering about Warheads

Would you like a Warhead? I was wondering what Warheads were and then Mrs Barks explained, "A Warhead is a kind of lollie." It tasted interesting when I bit into it, like blueberry bubblegum. I would like to try them again.

Not as Sour as I Thought

Yesterday Mrs. Barks gave us some Warhead candies. They were smooth and shaped like an oval.I thought they were going to be sour but they weren't. They were weak but mostly everyone else thought they were sour. They felt like mini sweet and sour volcanoes erupting in my mouth.

My Cousin's Wedding

Do you know what I did in my break? Well, half of my family went to this wedding. It was my cousin's wedding and it was at Manurewa near a Tongan church. It was a fun day and the food was delicious!

One More

I was excited when Mrs. Barks walked over to me with a packet of Warheads and gave me one. They tasted like Thumb Suckers but a little more sour. The sugary coating looked as though it was ash from a volcano and the Warhead looked like a small cube. When I finished eating it, I felt like having one more.

Levi and Jorja in Term 1

Wow term 1 has come to an end already. This is Jorja and Levi sharing our reflections with you. Our first highlight is reading and also swimming. Reading was a highlight because we enjoyed the reading activities we had. We also liked swimming because we got to learn how to float so we don’t die in the water.

Our goal for next term is to get better at drawing and listening to the teacher.Our guess for next terms subject is cooking.