Thursday, April 17, 2008

Art Gallery Trip

On Wednesday, our class went to the Dunedin Public Art Gallery to work with John. We began by going for a short tour of the gallery and looking at artwork which featured the ocean. we then watched some short videos including "Little Toot" which everyone enjoyed.

Next, we went into the education room where we were given a small bit of paper and a BIG bit of paper. We got a chose a picture of a sea creature which we had to draw and then colour with dye. We went to one of the parents and they dried them. Then we cut them out and we ruled a stage on the BIG bit of paper. Then we dyed the stage. We went to a tray and chose 5 pictures which were the art work for our gallery. We stuck them on our BIG piece of paper and drew a frame around the picture and used pastel to colour the frame. We then dyed the background.

Finally chose another picture of a animal or person that had their back to us. John used the hot glue gun and glued stuff to the back of our dyed sea creature and the animal (or person) and glued them to our big piece of paper. WE HAD A FUN TIME !!!
By Joe and Nicholas

You can see our pictures below. You can start the slideshow by pressing play.


Dunedin Public Art Gallery Website

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Friday, April 11, 2008

Podcasts

Today we have added a new feature to our blog. On the right hand side you will see a "podomatic" podcast player. This lists our podcasts (or audio files) that we have created.

At present there are three podcasts listed; two book reviews and a weekend sports review. They took a bit of time but we really enjoyed making them. We used "Garageband" (a "mac" application) to record and edit them. Then we posted them to "Podomatic" an online podcasting host.

We have learnt so far that the class needs to be very quiet, because the microphone picks up everything (even doors shutting!). We need to practice a few times before hand, try not to say "um", and above all we need to speak clearly and not mumble! This is great for our oral language and we are looking forward to see our progress over the year.

You can go straight to our podcast homepage through the following link...

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Cameo Writing - Two Word Poems

This week our inspiration was the "Two word" poem. Here are a few for you to read ...

"Creatures of the Ocean"

The fish looked like a stone
it was a stonefish.

The horse galloped through the sea
it was a seahorse.

The fish wobbled like jelly
it was a jellyfish.

I saw a fish blow up like a bubble
it was a blowfish.

I saw a sail flying on a fish
it was a sailfish.

By Harry


"Fish"

I saw a fish it was as fat as a bubble
it was a bubble fish.

There was a fish that was eating jelly
it was a jellyfish

There was a fish it looked like a cat
it was a catfish

I saw a fish as grumpy as a dog
it was a dogfish

I saw a fish it looked like a star
it was a starfish

By Josh

More to follow shortly...

Enviro Group Hui

On Tuesday, we went to Otago Marae as representatives of our school Enviro group. We did three activities; they were Living Landscapes, Marine, and Precious Energy.

In living landscapes, we planted cabbage and lettuce and got to try some of the other vegetables in the garden. This is where the local paper took our photo! (see Otago Daily Times article above, which you can click on to enlarge).

In Marine, we learned about the Hector dolphin with Jenny Upton and played a game. The game involved four people that were hector dolphins and the other people chose something from a pile and had to say how it affects the Hector dolphin.

Finally, in Precious Energy, we found out the 5 sources of energy. They were growth, travel, electricity, light, and sound.

At the end a storyteller called Kat Anna Fiddle came and told us two stories.



By Katie and Dylan

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Cameo Writing

Here are a selection of last weeks cameo writing on our favourite place...

"Cairns"
The crackle snap of wood, newspaper burning to ash.
The smoke rushing away.
People chatting away.
But I just sit there.
I hear the horse galloping away with its owner.
I smell mince pies and chicken pies.
It makes me feel hungry.
But I still have to sit there.
Then I hear it my mum calling me in.
FINALLY! I get to go. I’m in bed now.
It is silent.
I’m the only person awake.
I want to make noise but I don’t.
By Oli


"Camping"

Wonderful sounds.
Camp fires boiling like the sun.
Crackling in the coldness.
Trees waving like people - it is scary!
Then morning comes and the sounds come again.
Ash of the fire as black as coal.
Then we pack.
By Brad


"Night"

I’m sitting just sitting and then it happens...
"BOOM!" The music starts, the dance of the flame begins.
The crack-snap of possums breaking the wood.
The magic happens and the possums stop,
the flames stop dancing,
You hear that voice.
It sounds like a motor bike on full blast.
It smell’s like smoke, and then the screaming of mother begins
"DYLAN" I don’t move, the fire's out, no sign of possums.
Next minute, I’m lying in bed.
By Dylan


"The Fire"

I am sitting in the living room watching the fire.
It is crackling and snapping,
flickering and turning like a spinning top.
It is going up and down up and down.
My mum tells me to go to bed.
I can still hear the fire.
I am asleep when I wake up I run into the living room but its gone!
By Juliette


"The Beach"

The burning warmth on my feet of soft and welcoming sand.
The salty waves booming, crashing , and tumbling across the beach
until they melt into nothingness.
Sea gulls screech searching for something tasty to eat.
The sun is sparkling leaving warmth in every corner of the beach.
By Katie


"Lake Ruataniwha"

Sparkling blue like the sky on a summers day.
Boats racing across the lake leaving sparkling ripples carrying on for miles on end.
The water is as warm as an oven when you’ve just baked a cake.
Hours of swimming but I’m not tired at all!
Dozens of peopie on boats and shore.
My favourite place Lake Ruataniwha.
By Jody






Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Visitor - Jim Fyfe


Today we had a visit from Jim Fyfe from the Department of Conservation. Jim came to talk to us about the Hooker Sea lion which is endangered.

In early NZ, Maori hunted seals and sea lions for food, their skins and fur. NZ sea lions were fully protected 130 years ago which suggests that they were endangered then.

Three quarters of pups are born on the Auckland Islands. They are starting to breed more on the mainland. There is concern about the state of the population on the Auckland Islands as the number of pups being born has declined over the last 10 - 12 years which suggests they are dying.

They start breeding at about 4 years old. They only have 9 breeding females at present. They are weaned from their mothers at about 10 months old.

The sea lions are tagged so that they can monitor how old they are and where they go. They have a different colour for each year.

Estimated total around the Otago Coastline (Allens Beach, Pilots Beach, Sandfly Bay, Aramoana, the Catlins) is about 130 - 150. This year there were 5 pups (3 females) born around Otago ( including one in Aramoana.

Sea lions have been found in strange places - Camp ground toilet, by the road, inn a garden, and on a farm.

They like to interact and are very social animals. If confronted don't look them in the eye. Be boring and keep calm as they just come to investigate you. They are just like a dog, they will run up to you and after you if you run. just back off and get out of their space they will move on after 5 or so minutes.

Don't get in between a fur seal and the water because they will get scared and try and head towards the water.

Call DOC if :
  • People are persisting in harassing a sea lion
  • The sea lion is clearly injured or tangled
  • There is a mother and a new born pup
  • If you have information about someone harming a pup
For more information click on this link - Sea Lion Facts

New Zealand Sea Lion

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

New Zealand Sea Lion
New Zealand (Hooker's) Sea Lion
New Zealand (Hooker's) Sea Lion
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Pinnipedia
Family: Otariidae
Subfamily: Otariinae
Genus: Phocarctos
Peters, 1866
Species: P. hookeri
Binomial name
Phocarctos hookeri
(Gray, 1844)
New Zealand (Hooker's) Sea Lions on an Enderby Island beach.
New Zealand (Hooker's) Sea Lions on an Enderby Island beach.

The New Zealand Sea Lion or Hooker's Sea Lion (Phocarctos hookeri) is a species of sea lion that breeds around the coast of New Zealand's South Island and Stewart Island/Rakiura to some extent, and to a greater extent around New Zealand's sub-antarctic islands, especially the Auckland Islands. As one of the larger New Zealand animals, it has been a protected species since the 1890s.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

The Local Coastguard


Today we had a local coastguard visit called Ma Severne. She told us a lot about saving lives. She showed us some cool stuff like some lifejackets. We looked at a dry suit that coastguards have to wear and it felt like a sponge. They cost lots! by Nick and Rowan