The clock tower

In Petone there is a humongous clock tower, which bangs loudly on the hour. Petone is a beautiful coloured place which relies on a girl called Ginny to keep turning and spinning to keep Petone working right. Every day was the same for Ginny; she loved ballet, but longed to see the world. One day (Saturday the 24 of November) was the town fair and everyone had left Petone and gone into town. Ginny so wanted to get out of the clock tower. Ginny couldn’t resist it anymore and got out, but when she did everything froze and went dull.  Ginny raced to the clock tower and continued dancing. She only got out for about a minute but Ginny was okay she had seen the world.

Grandparents

Grandparents are important to me because they are always looking out and caring for me. My granny and granddad spoil me by taking me out on exciting trips around town and buying me lollies mum would never get me. My grandparents tell me funny stories about when my mum and dad were little. Also on Christmas, birthdays and whenever there is a special occasion my grandparents are there. For retired people my grandparents are really busy and so it means a lot to me when they come to visit. When the whole family is together, granddad will calm everyone down and get everything sorted. 

School Fair

Yesterday I went to the school fair. The first thing that caught my eye
was the bungy rope thing where you have to run to a lollie while being
pulled back by the rope and a couple of adults. When it was my turn I ran
as fast as my legs would go in order to get to the chocolate. I succeeded
and it was really fun. 

The next thing I went to was the triage and Zara, Georgia Ciara and we all
got fake injuries. I had a big cut on my face with lots of fake blood and
looked real for about 30 minutes before it got smudged.

After the fair I had to stay and help pack up and Michaela,  Anahera,
Zara, Thomas, James and I got to bounce on the bouncy castle while it was
deflating. We were going down with the castle so we had to get off really
fast. We also got to go on this other ride before it had to go down.  The
fair was really fun. 

Mia's learning space

Stray

Sometimes I feel more abandoned, hungry and alone, more than other days. On those rare occasions when I feel less lost I almost feel more dog like as if I have something to live for. I don’t have a home or food or a family that hasn’t left me stranded. My family left me to face the world by myself ever since I was a little puppy. Now I have to fend for myself eating scraps and living in dumps. Who knows why they left me, I probably wasn’t good enough for them. Heck even the pound doesn’t want a pathetic little dog like me. This was all before Emily found me.  She was like my guardian angel. This is how she found me. There I was in a new found dump, I had just discovered. It was a typical night as a stranded dog when Emily walked my way… She picked me up, gave me half of her McDonald’s cheese burger and took me to her house. It took me a while to trust her after all I have been through but I soon did because she bathed me, fed me right and kept me warm at night. Over the next few weeks I grew fatter and could be recognized as a dog. Emily called me Stray! What a perfect name for a dog whose neglected and stray. So there you have it a story of how a homeless little dog found her happy ending after all. 

In Court with Valerie Adams and Nadzeya Ostupchuck

This morning we had Mrs Farquhar and after we did marking math mate we set up a judge court trialling Nadzeya Ostupchuck and Valerie Adams. We were talking about if Nadzeya should compete in the next Olympic Games after taking drugs. I was the Judge and we had trainers and Valerie and Nadzeya and witness, Jury and lawyers.  Being the Judge, I got to use a case for hammering at my Judge table. In the end we decided to let Ostupchuck compete in 8 years. Do you think that’s fair?

I could hear someone coming...

I could hear someone coming creeping up behind me. I think it was the girl whose birds I killed. Don't get me wrong I’m not a murderer; I'm just hungry; starving in fact. I had to be slinky and speedy to get away from the girl but I was so scared I could barley move a muscle. Suddenly a wave of courage swept over me like a Tsunami and I ran like lightning. But the girl wasn't going to give up that easy. She followed me deep into the woods. I was still running when she finally caught me. She pinned me down to the ground with her dagger at the ready. She was going to kill me for killing her birds; when her expression changed into regret maybe even forgiveness or sorrow. She loosened her grip on the dagger and on me and I finally had a chance to escape. Just as I escaped snow started to fall thick and deep, quickly covering the ground. Of course being a fox I was used to the snow and having to sleep outside during bad weather, but the girl wasn't. I was very worried about her so I changed my path. It wasn’t hard finding her and I soon caught up. I lead her away from the snow and into the forest where the trees are thicker. We soon came to an okay shelter. The girl settled down and was almost instantly asleep and I soon followed her actions. 

My ears pricked up and I awoke with a start because I could hear footsteps. I quickly hid in the bushes my bushy tail just behind me leaving the girl asleep. It was an oldish man and woman coming. They seemed to know the girl picking her up and carrying her away. I followed some distance behind my moves like shadows. The girl woke up and smiled at me. I knew it wouldn’t be long till I saw her again.

Belarusian Public views on the events...

Nadzeya Ostapuuck was looking worse and worse as the Olympics were drawing close. Many say the stress was getting to her. Nadzeya was seen training way after hours at the local gym. She doesn’t think she has even a shot a winning, Against Valerie Adams. Her family is so proud of her, I can hear them cheering and boasting about how she is sooo going to win and that Valerie Adams has no chance. As if! I may live in Russia, but I still think Valerie will win, I have seen her throw on the T.V. I am getting slightly suspicious because Nadzeya looks like she is hiding something and she looks surprisingly as if she isn’t worried about her throw but about something else… 

After the shot put we saw Nadzeya Ostapuuck standing on the top of the podium! Wow! Her coach must have been training her a lot for the Olympics! Wow! We are so proud of Nadzeya Ostapuuck! We cannot wait until she scores another gold medal for shot put! Our country is very excited to be bringing a gold medal home! What will her family say! They will be very amazed! Our country cannot wait to celebrate what you have been awarded! We have finally beaten New Zealand! Once and for all!      

We were so proud when we won gold. Hearing our national anthem when we throw 21.3m.  Beating NZ was a big achievement for us.  It is good to get gold in the Olympic Games. To be the best this year is very good.  

OH NO our gold medal shot putter cheated. This news is such a disgrace to our country. There are so many disappointing words to describe our cheater I can’t keep count of how many I have; some of the words I have to describe this are ashamed, angry, disappointed, disgraced, annoyed, let down, disgusted, dishonored, stressed and embarrassed. Nadzeya Ostapuuck has disgusted everyone in our country.  How will her coach forgive her? I wish she did not take those drugs because now we have been disqualified from shot put and our athlete is coming home. I hope she is embarrassed because we are. This Nadzeya Ostapuuck does not deserve any respect from anyone after what she has done. If only she won without taking drugs.  

The Bottle Bivy Re-Re-Re build

When the Ulrich Aluminum Ute pulled up the bottle bivy re-re-re build was officially starting. Zach’s dad Corey had agreed to help us re-build the bottle bivy and not only that but build us a frame and give us heaps of double sided tape as well! The frame is shaped like the octagon in town. Yesterday we started re-building the bottle bivy and we got about half way through the process and we are doing some more building to day. Mrs K reckons it will last WAY longer because we are using double sided tape instead of hot glue guns. Also the new bottle bivy is tall instead of wide.

Thank-you so much Corey.

Day in the life of a Panda

I was slowly slouching my way through a bamboo tree eating sloppily as I went. This is fun, I thought, when suddenly I saw something that made my eyes water.  It was so sad. A mother Panda was attacking her baby. Now usually I would have backed away due to the fact that I am a coward, but there was an exception this time. I jumped out and growled ferociously at the mum. She backed away slowly and left the baby Panda with me.

Three years later…

My baby Panda has grown so much since I found him. Honestly I think he is perfect I’m so glad I faced my fears.

Learning challenge

My teacher set us a blog challenge to show what we love about learning.I tried to make a voki so fingers crossed it works!

Sharks - friend or foe?

These are the pictures of my posters from my animal inquiry.

The Transit of Venus

Today at 11:15 Venus passed the sun. This only happens once every 105 years! Venus looked like a tiny little black dot on the right hand side of the sun. The Transit will end at 4:44 today. When we were looking at the sun we used solar viewers like sunglasses, every-thing was black except the sun which was bright orange. I don’t think any astronauts will be able to visit Venus for it least  200 years because even if they work out a way to survive the heat Venus’s atmosphere will crush them the minute they step foot on Venus! We are really lucky to have experienced this! 

Confirmation

Last night was Confirmation and Chelsea and Mia were ready! At the front of the church we got a pretty necklace and the boys got a badge each. Before the service the choir were singing beautiful hymns and we were standing with the alter severs and the priest waiting to go in. Each family had a row to themselves with a dove on it. When we were seated the priest  started telling us about the Holy Spirit. Then we had a blessing with the laying on of the hands and said our promises. After the blessing we went up with our family and sponsor one by one. The Bishop said our saint names and we had to say something after him. We read a prayer and the confirmation was over. We cant wait till our first communion. 

Museum Sleepover Tagxedo

The Museum Sleepover

Yesterday and today our class has been VERY busy at the museum! Our first stop was the police station; we got to go in the cells. Mr. Scott and Mr. Ellwood showed us around which was very good because we would have got lost without them! After that we went to Baldwin street which incase you didn’t know is the steepest street in the world. Our challenge was to walk up and down the street twice but some people did 3 or 4 or 5 laps. By then we were quite hungry so we had morning tea. Our next stop was the SPCA. A lady who worked there told us about what the SPCA does and how they protect animals in Otago. Then we got to go and see the animals. There are; cats, dogs, rabbits, kittens and puppies. It was hard not to adopt them! After that we went to the art gallery and played with Dominos. The class all joined their domino lines and we watched them all fall down. Next we went to the museum…

Glee Debate...

GLEE DEBATE
Michaela and Mia wanted to find out exactly why people like/dislike Glee (A Television show).

Reporter Mia
Answers, Michaela

Reporter: Why do you dislike Glee Michaela when it is so Awesome!
Answer: To be honest I don't like series/episodes because they are bad to watch and isn't suitable for all ages so it may put bad thoughts in your head or teach younger children bad words.
Reporter: Well than maybe younger children shouldn't watch it.
Answers:may I just say that only about 20% of their songs are their own
Reporter:that is not true
Reporter: have you ever actually watched it?
Answers:yes I have but after I watched it I found it inappropriate for our age
Reporter:what is your rating out of ten
Answers:probably a one it is boring and has rude scenes!


Reporter: Michaela
Answers: Mia

Reporter: What is so good about Glee?
Answer: It's funny and entertaining and gives you something to look foward to at the end of the week.
Reporter: But that something is TELEVISION! Don't you play sports? It is better to be outside than stuck inside on a beautiful day watching an episode that is on once every week and do others look forward to seeing A T.V PROGRAM!?
Answer: Well Michaela your'e right it is better to be outside playing sport but in case you haven't noticed all kids watch T.V.
Reporter: But what about those kids who don't have t.v's they won't be able to watch ANYTHING will they? And you probably watch a lot of other T.V shows during the week. More kids are inside watching Television or on the computer even on their play stations than being outside. It is healthy to be outside in the fresh air. Playing sport and being outdoors is good for your body. I recommend cricket, a great outdoor sport that gets you fit and healthy, you should try it.
Reporter: Out of ten where would you rate Glee? And why?
Answer: 10 out of 10 because GLEE IS AWESOME!


Comment and tell us who you think should win and why?
Thanks, Mia and Michaela. :)
I vote glee is awsome
Mia

I vote glee is awsome
Mia

ANZAC biscuits

Today I learnt how to make ANZAC biscuits that they ate a lot in the war because they last a long time. I also learnt about the trenches they had to live in. Imagine having to live in a hole you dug. How horrible! Yesterday we learnt about the young man, Simpson, who went to war as one of those people who carried the dead or injured to the nurses. Simpson kept on doing his duty even when he was in grave danger. In the end Simpson got shot. Now people from Australia and New Zealand go and visit his grave. Today we also went to the RSA who have lots of ANZAC helmets and medals and ANZAC memorabilia. We also talked to people that were either on the war or know lots about it. We asked lots of questions and they were happy to give us answers to our questions.

The Lorax

Yesterday I went to see the Lorax with Anahera and it was really good!
It had a important message about trees. In some parts it was really sad but it ended happily.
The 3D was quite good and it was really funny.The moral of the story is unless somewone like you cares nothing is going to get better.
I totaly reccomend it to all ages! 
rating 8/10

Metalica

(This story is set in the future 1,000,000 years from now )
Metalica is a very usefull robot from Saturn. He has legs like springs, a baked bean body and a head shaped like a rugby ball.
Metalica now lives on neptune and his body has adapted to the wind. The species Metalics is very, very rare, so humans have separated them around the planets beacause of their amazing powers. They can jump to the moon, fly, read minds.  They are also incredibly strong and they have the ability to control and calm people down. Despite their brilliant powers and...