Digital Writing

Today our class had a change around in timetables with Mrs Wood teaching in the morning and Mrs Marshall teaching in the afternoon.  Mrs Marshall decided to do some writing using the computers.  The children had to design an animal by switching different animal body parts around to form a new animal and then the children had to describe their new animal and tell the reader what they could do.  These are some of their creations

By Katie and Brylie

By Kayla

Alien Map Game

How well do you know your way around the world???  Try this fun alien map game and find out.

Alien Map Game

Children Should be Allowed to Cook - By Marcel

Well I think it is a stupid idea not letting children cook because it is fun.  I can make toast because I am 8 and if you think that is a bad age to start cooking well I don't think so!  I have baked cookies with my mum and my sister and it is really fun!  Oh, I forgot to tell you we made some cookies and I didn't get hurt from anything.  It is really fun because I can and everybody can learn new skills.  It is fun having a good time with your family.  Me and my mum have fun in the kitchen making food and also making treats for my dad.  When he comes back from Wellington we make pancakes.  It is fun and we have a good time.  I really think it is a stupid idea and I really do not like it.  

All Aboard!! Listen to Our Fabulous Music

Our Butterfly Garden - By Sakina

Yesterday near room one, we were planting a butterfly garden.  It was exciting.  First we dug a big hole and then we put the flowers in the big hole.  It was very windy and cold; it was so icy cold. It was so icy cold that I was shivering.  We used digging tools to dig a hole.  Out garden was a butterfly shape.  

Planting a Butterfly on PhotoPeach

Planting in the Garden - By Zane

That swimming for one week twice a year is not enough for children to make large shifts in their swimming.  Also suggests that parents need to provide swimming opportunities for children if they really want their child to learn to swim.  For some children however, this is the only chance for instruction.  We believe this is a fabulous programme and see significant progress in terms of water confidence and swimming ability.  There appears to be a significant challenge for children transitioning from the junior programme run by different swimming providers – children appear to do better on their second set of swimming instruction because they are familiar with the programme. 

Dunedin Public Art Gallery Visit

Dunedin Public Art Gallery on PhotoPeach

Pop art is short for popular art which is cartoony.  Artists make things with their imagination.  They create things for us to make up a name for.  Today we made fruit.  We had some pictures of fruit that we had to copy.  When we were done we put black ink around them.  Then we took them to John and he dried them for us.  Afyer that a parent cut out the fruit while we did our backgrounds.  Then we glued them on and took them to school and put them on display.  

By Brylie

Pop Art - by Room 9

Pop Art by Room 9 on PhotoPeach

Our Knowledge of Colour Impacts Our World

By Katie

We did pop art of fruit in a fruit bowl on a tablecloth.

First, we drew some fruit and inked them to make them look more cartoony.

We cut out the fruit and started designing the background next. The background of was a tablecloth, so we designed the pattern of it. We used stencils and drew the pattern with a black vivid. I had a swirly shape coloured in red.

We dyed the rest of the background. I dyed mine green because red and green are contrasting colours. (That’s why Christmas colours are red and green).

Mr Neumegen hot-glue gunned the fruit onto the fruit bowl and we were done with our pop art.

Our knowledge of colour helped us to create an artwork that contrasted well and had colours that work together to make a bold, bright piece of art.

People Use Colour

By Samantha

People use colour in lots of ways, but today we used it for cartoon pop art. I learnt that the background needs to have bright colours so it stands out a lot, and it looks attractive. I also learnt that you need a different kind of dye over the background pattern otherwise it won’t stand out as much.

When I look at Room 9’s artwork, I think people will like to see the way we used colour.

People Use Colour

By Maddie

People use colour when they create pop art. Pop art stands for “popular art”.

When Room 9 went to the Art Gallery, we did a special type of art called pop art. We used colour on the tablecloth part by using one colour for the shapes and another colour for the background.

Some of us used complimentary colours and some of us used contrasting colours.  I think Room 9 used colour well to make our pop art stand out well. I enjoyed it.

People Respond to Colour

By Lil

Pop art paintings take things that are almost real looking, but then they make it look like cartoons. In pop art, you can do anything you want and make it look crazy. For example, you could make your skin orange or green or purple or blue.

Our paintings were about fruit. We drew all sorts of fruit and made patterns in our backgrounds. After that, we dyed over our patterns.

The colour I picked for my dye was yellow, because I had only used that colour once, so I thought it would make it stand out. People said my art looks good, and I think the yellow helps them think that.

People Use Colour

By Nancy

Room 9 went to the Art Gallery and we made a very popular kind of art called pop art.

I used different colours for my fruit. My background was green because I thought it might stand out…and it did!

Co-operative Sports Day - by Samantha

Yesterday we had co-operative sports day. It was totally awesome. Before we left to go and line up on the court we had to get numbers on our hands so we knew what number to line up on. Mrs Munro had number 14’s group which was the winner. I was in number 14. Mrs Munro’s activity was the water race. The water was in one bucket and you had to transfer the water to another bucket without spilling it. The next activity was the long jump and Mrs Stevenson was running it. Last year when I did it, I did smaller jumps but this time I did humungous jumps. It was totally awesome. I loved being with my friends.
Co-operative Sports Day on PhotoPeach

Our class is beginning to set up a very small garden as part of our learning about colour.  The Grasshoppers writing group have written some lovely recounts about it.  Please feel free to give them lots of positive comments!
The Garden - By Jimmy
Yesterday room 9 went to look at the garden.  The garden is near the juniors play ground.  We didn't see many bulbs.  There was only 1 bulb.  We dug weeds out of the garden.  After that we saw stinging nettle.  If we touch the stinging nettle we will feel our arm bubble.  The white part is the stinging part of it.  Also we will put some new flowers in.  The thing that we used to dig was a trowel and we took a turn of using it.  We used a digging stick which is my favourite.  


Our Garden on PhotoPeach

Colour My World - By Katie

Our class has been learning about colour as part of our inquiry. We have gathered lots information along the way and have sorted this information to align with our key understandings about colour and our world.  We decided to present what we have learnt by making Powerpoint presentations.  

Colour

View more presentations from robynwood.

All Children Between 7 & 9 Years Old Should Not Be In Bed By 6.30 p.m. By Shanaye

Our class has been learning how to write an argument.  Mrs Wood has posed some statements and we have had to decide if we agree or disagree.  These are our first efforts at this genre.  


Children should not go to bed at 6.30 p.m. because if they did I wouldn't get to watch t.v. or eat dinner.  I have to watch t.v. because I can't get to sleep without it.  When I go to bed it would be too light.  if I went to bed I couldn't get to sleep and would be able to hear my friends next door.  My friends would probably call me and my mum would tell them that I was in bed.  Mr friends would laugh and that would be embarrassing.  If I went to bed at 6.30 p.m. I would probably wake up in the middle of the night not tired.  My mum would tell me to go back to sleep and I would cry.  When my mum is in bed I'll have to pretend I'm asleep.  My mum wouldn't see me if I slid on my tummy across to the lounge.  I would have to put my headphone on if I went on the computer.  If I wanted to watch t.v. the t.v. would have to be down quiet.  I think children aged 7 and 9 years old shouldn't be in bed at 6.30 p.m. because it sounds silly.
By Shanaye

Our Sunflower Diary - by Room 9 Writers

Sunflower Diary Day 6 on PhotoPeach



Awesome Sunflowers on PhotoPeach



Day 1:  Room 9 were planting sunflowers and we talked about not to put our head over the soil mis so we do not get sick.  We also have to put the soil in some egg containers.  When we finished that, we put our seeds over by the sink.  The sunflowers should grow bigger than our class.  After all those steps we put newspaper over it and then we have to wait for them to grow.  We really have to wait for 5 or 10 days.  It is sad because they will only last for a year.  But well that's okay because we will have them right now.  - photos and writing by Kayla and Hamish

How to plant a Sunflower - by Wesley

Our class arrived back at school on Monday after a lovely 2 week holiday.  As part of our Inquiry learning about 'colour', we planted sunflower seeds.  We will tell you more later as to why we did this, but in the meantime here are some instructions on how to plant a sunflower in case you would like to do it.


What you will need:

• a section of an egg carton by cutting is with scissors
• seed mixture
• gloves (plastic)
• water in a spray bottle
• one sheet of newspaper

Instructions:

1. Put plastic gloves on your hands
2. Cut a section of the egg carton
3. Fill the egg carton with seed mixture
4. Poke a shallow hole in the seed mixture and put the seed in
5. Cover the hole with seed mixture - just enough to cover the seed
6. Water the seed with spray bottle with water inside
7. Cover the egg carton with the seed mixture and with newspaper.

Why Pandas are Black and White - by Bee

In Australia there was a zoo with a bright orange panda.  A zoo keeper came to feed the panda some food.  Then the zookeeper walked out.  The zoo keeper forgot to close the cate. The panda walked out of the cage.  The orange panda travelled 50 metres to the chocolate factory.  The panda thought that it was a bamboo factory but it wasn’t.  It was a chocolate factory.  He wandered in.  The orange panda saw a humungous pot of chocolate.  It was 4 metres tall and the panda was only 2 metres tall.  He reached up and jumped up.  Splash!  He fell in as chocolate went all over the walls and floor.  He quickly jumped out.  Chocolate dropped onto the floor.  He ran all the way back to the zoo and he was a happy black and white panda. 

Nowadays when you visit a zoo, you might see a black and white panda.  

Birds Up the Trees by Sakina

It is the school holidays at the moment but it's great to see that Sakina is still writing.  She was at home looking at the birds and then decided to write a poem about what she saw.  If you get a chance, please write a comment to encourage Sakina in her writing.


Birds up the trees - a poem by Sakina 

Birds birds up in the trees flying everywhere

Wish you can make me fly

If you did I can be up in the sky

And see houses and grass and trees from up the sky

When I’m up in the sky it would make my day wonderful.

                       

Irish Rugby Team Visit - By Nick

On Friday Room 9 went to the hall very quietly.  We waited and waited for the Irish team to come.  Finally they came but only four of them came.  “Hey look!  There’s Obrien!  Wow he’s my favourite player in the Irish team.”  When they sat on the chairs some of the boys did the haka.  I was in the haka.  Crash-boom the boys went crazy.  Argh!!  The haka was finally finished.  Yay.  A miracle – I just did the haka to the Irish team.  When they left the bell rang for 3 p.m.  

Middle Team Production by Billy

Yesterday room 9 went to the PAC centre to practice for the middle team production.  We had to put our costumes on at our houses.  We had to get our face painted in the green room.  Then it was time to go to the stage and start.  When I got on the stage, I went, “wow, look at all of the people in the PAC centre.”  I was paranoid of the audience.  The whole middle team had to sing three songs.  They were Sunbeams Black and White, Mellow Yellow and I Like the Greens.  When it was finished we had to show Mrs Wood our mum so we could get a lollipop and go.

Strike Percussion Group - By Katie

The noise was ear piercing but on the other hand sensational.  “thump, thumpty, thump,” crashed the drums.  Vibrations rattled through my ears as the band ‘Strike’ crashed on the drums.  I was sure that soon the drums would give way and fall to pieces.  Phew, they stopped.  “This is the world’s best rock band,” I whispered to Maddie.

Colour My World - Middle Team Production 2011

Colour My World Show on PhotoPeach

Rugby World Cup - Irish Rugby Team

Rugby World Cup 2011 - Irish Rugby Team – By Marcel

Today the Irish team came to our school.  It was really exciting.  All the boys got to do the haka for them and there were T.V. cameras there.  It was so cool.  I was quivering when we did the haka as I was nervous because it was frightening to do it in front of the Irish team.  They gave St Clair School a Gilbert rugby ball that they used to play rugby with.  One of the Irish players gave a speech about what they do and about their tour around the schools in Dunedin.  It was good to see them because some people won’t get to the game that the Irish team are going to play!  They played it against the Italians.  It was a good match. 

Click on the link below to see Channel 9 News coverage of the Irish Team's visit to St Clair School.  

Irish Rugby Team Visit

Fun Writing Idea!

We had the first performance of our show Colour My World today and we had a fabulous time!  Because we were all a bit tired, Mrs Wood thought it would be fun if we tried a fun activity for writing.  We went to a website called Piclits and chose some photos to add captions to them.  These are some of our better captions.  Click on the pictures to make them bigger so you can see the writing.

Pacific Island Drumming Lessons

Untitled from Robyn Wood on Vimeo.

Strike Percussion Group Visits St Clair

Strike Percussion on PhotoPeach

More Kapa Haka Photos

Kapa Haka 2011 on PhotoPeach

Why the Pukeko is Blue - by Oliver

One day Pukeko was admiring the bright blue sky thinking about how nice it would be to be blue and not orange, when the ground started to rumble and split in two.  Then smoke drifted out of the hole.  A few seconds later a rocket emerged from the hole in the earth and a door opened slowly.  An alien stepped out and said, “are ya’ coming or what?”  Pukeko spluttered back, “where are you taking me?”  “Ah, well, to outer space,’ he said finally.  “So why do I need to come?”  “To turn blue,” said the alien.

So the Pukeko stumbled into the rocket.  The alien fumbled around with some buttons and “three, two, one… lift off!” boomed a deep voice.  Whoof went the engines, roar went the boosters and zing, they were off!  They zipped past comets, shooting stars and planets.  The pukeko hadn’t noticed what the alien was doing behind his back.  When he turned around, “wow,” he exclaimed for he had a jetpack on his back.  “Stand over there,” said the alien, so he did… then the floor fell open and pukeko dropped into orbit.  Pukeko circled around for a few hours then he started to change blue.  “Wow,” shouted pukeko.  If he got too close to the sun he went red.  He went red on the beak, legs and feet.  Then pukeko hit the sun with his tail and blasted back to Earth.  When he broke through Earth’s atmosphere, his tail cooled off then went out.  Falling, falling the world was spinning and finally he landed with a thud.  Everything stopped spinning.  When he looked at his tail it was burnt white and that’s how pukeko turned blue.

Why Dogs Chase Cats - By Kayla

WHY DOGS CHASE CATS

One day there was a dog and cat.  They were at the pool.  Dog was in the pool and cat was lying in the sun.  Their names were called Pup and Puss.  One day dog said, “get in, it’s great!”  But cat said, “no!  I do not like water!”  So he lay back down.  Cat did not know that dog was getting out of the pool.  Dog picked her up and threw her in the pool.  Dog started laughing and laughing until cat came out grumpily.  Then cat pushed dog into the water.  Then… dog got out and that’s why dogs chase cats!

Why Pukekos are Blue - by Kohen

Once upon a time there was a bird called Pukeko.  Pukeko was red but one day he turned a different colour.  Pukeko was disgusted with his swamp so he wanted to get out of his very, very stinky swamp so he ran as fast as he could out of his stinky swamp.  He looked and looked for a clean forest and eventually he found one.  Pukeko saw some bees and touched one of them.  They were so angry at Pukeko that they stung him until he squawked very loudly.  The bees buzzed away buzz, buzz back home.  Pukeko started to run back to his musty swamp.  While Pukeko was running, Pukeko ran into loads and loads of blueberries and turned blue.  When he returned to his swamp, nobody recognised him because he was a different colour thanks to the blueberries. 

By Kohen 

Why Seals Bark - By Victoria

A long time ago, Tesha the seal was all lonely in a shipwreck.  She wanted a friend because she was very lonely and wanted another seal to play with.  Then she saw a dog.  She really like the dog’s barking.  So she decided to eat the dog.  She ate the dog and every time she spoke she barked.  The dog like living inside the seals tummy and barking every time she spoke.  “I like talking because the dog barks when I speak,” said Tesha the seal.  Tesha really liked her new friend and why she is barking.  That’s why seals bark, because Tesha ate a dog because she liked the dog’s barking.

Why Monkeys Eat Bananas - By Ben

One day a monkey named Nick was looking for some food when he found a strawberry and took a bite.  He spat it out because it was so foul and the he kept on walking.  Next he found a plum and took a bite and it was tremendously yucky and so he kept on walking.  He was getting sleepy however, so he lay under a tree to rest.  But… a huge banana toppled out of the tree above him and donked him on the head!  He tried the banana for the first time and it was sensational.   Next he told the rest of the monkeys in the jungle and they all loved them too so that is why monkeys eat bananas. 

Colour Wheel Art - By Maddie

Room 9 has been making colour wheels.  In a colour wheel there are primary, secondary and tertiary colours.  We put an inner core on it.  An inner core is a shape inside it and you put complementary colours on it.  Complimentary colours are the opposite colours on a colour wheel e.g. yellow’s opposite is purple.  Blue’s opposite is orange.  Primary colours are yellow, blue and red.  Primary colours cannot be made.  Secondary colour are orange, purle and green.  The secondary colours ca be made e.g. yellow + red = orange, yellow + blue = green, blue + red = purple.  There are also tertiary colours in the colour wheels. 

I think colour wheels are fun.  Why don’t you give it a try?

Why Pukekos are Blue - by Isabel

A long time ago in a swamp, a pukeko was asleep.  In the morning Pukeko was just about frozen because it was so cold, so Pukeko decided to find a new home.  He went into the forest.  Suddenly he saw a painter painting the fence in the forest.  He took a step back and he stood on a stick.  “Crack,” said the stick.  The painter looked back at the Pukeko and he ran up to the Pukeko shouting, “shoo, shoo, shoo, shoo.”  The Pukeko ran and got away from the painter.  Pukeko was shaking.  He went over to the beach.  He fell into some water.   It had blue paint in it.  When he hopped out he was covered in blue paint.  Pukeko liked it.  He thought he was beautiful, as beautiful as a parrot but he was cold so he went back into the forest to find a home.  He flew to a tree that had a hole in it.  Pukeko loved it so he decided to live there.  One day when Pukeko set out to find some food, he noticed that all the birds were looking at him.  When Pukeko went home he saw a bird in his home.  It was a girl bird.  The bird woke up.  She was surprised to see a pukeko in her house  The birds were just about to start a fight then “stomp, stomp, stomp” a man was coming to cut the trees.  The man cut one, then two, then three trees, then he was going to cut the tree that Pukeko and the bird were in.  The Pukeko jumped out of the tree and the bird flew out of the tree.  The Pukeko and bird flew out of the forest.  The Pukeko was sad that he didn’t have a home so the bird and Pukeko walked and walked and walked and walked until they were in a different forest but it wasn’t a different forest it was the same one they were at before.  So they kept walking, then they stopped and took a step back and their eyes just about popped out since they were open so wide.  They they saw a beautiful forest and decided to go and live in there.  So they went into the forest to get a home.  When they went to the end of the forest, there standing right in front of them was a bird house, so the bird and pukeko decided to live there.  Some other birds and pukekos wanted to live there so the pukeko and bird said they could live there with them.

Why Pukekos are Blue - a Myth By Marcel

One day pukeko set off from his swamp. He was walking. A plane landed about five metres away from him. He said, “I will go there”, so he ran to the airport (he didn’t know what that was). He went inside. There was lots of colour. There was lot of boards and shops so he decided to blend in because he was white. He tried to get into a shop. He got inside. It was amazing. He hid under a soap tray then tried to eat some. “Bah! That’s disgusting,” he said, “I’ll try something else”. It was a supermarket, so he went to the apple stand. He tried a rosy red one. “That,” he said, “was amazing.” It was so yummy he took lots of them and snuck out. He hid in a back pack. It was dark in there. He said “who turned the lights off?” Someone heard him talking. “Is it me or is your bag talking?” The pukeko saw blue hairspray in there. He pushed the button. The blue hair spray wen on him except his tail and his feet that were still red. He hopped out of the back pack and looked in a mirror. He was so shocked he ran back to the swamp.. And that is why pukekos are blue!

Rugby World Cup Celebrations

Why Pukekos are Blue - a Myth By Katie

Long before now, Pukekos were black.  They waded through the swamp like specks of crest fallen shadows. 

Pukeko was once a gloomy black coloured bird and as you all know he is now an alluring sapphire blue bird.  He lived in the murky, stench-filled swamp with its polluted water making his day dull and lifeless.

Pukeko hated his home so much, he desperately wanted to leave, but then he would think, “where would I go?”  One day he just couldn’t wait any longer, so he set off West. 

He was still walking when he caught a glimpse of flaming red swooping in and out of the sky.  He ran forward, he couldn’t believe his eyes.   Pukeko began to feel jealous.  “Oh,” he moped, “if only I looked like that”.  He kept on ambling on and on until he reached sand.  He was now far out of the forest.  He gazed longingly at the swirling current.  The cerulean blue waves looked so phenomenal, maybe he would just take a bit of that colour he thought.  He sprinted happily down to the aqua blue waves lapping on the shore.  He then grabbed a feather and began to paint himself blue.  “Oh bother,” he muttered.  His arm stretched out behind out behind him but he could not reach his bottom.  He promenaded back to the forest proudly.  “Wow,” the birds sighed as pukeko paraded past, “aren’t his feathers beautiful?”  “Who is that?” other birds would say.  “Ah, who needs a better home when you’ve got beautiful feathers?” he muttered to himself as he padded back to the swamp. 

The Colour Wheel

Yesterday room 9 had to finish some art.  It was of a colour wheel.  A colour wheel is when you mix colours and you make dark blue or dark purple.  To make a colour wheel you need some primary colours.  They are red, blue and yellow.  We painted it and we chose a shape.  I chose a wiggly shape.  I also got to choose my background.  I chose pink paper.  We used vivd.  For the outside, we mixed a lot of colours.  We mixed yellow and red to make orange, and yellow and red to make green.  My favourite colour is pink and purple. 

By Mackenzie 

Maori Haka Stirs Powerful Emotions - By Wesley

KAPA HAKA

Last week on Wednesday, all the Kapa Haka kids went into the hall to have a final dress rehearsal for the real performance.  In the heall they tried their best.  As the girls were twirling and twirling the pois at the back, the boys sand loud and strong.  As they were finishing off the song all the boys stamped their way to the front to do the haka.  Tai was standing in front of all the boys.  Tai and all the strong boys stomped hard on the ground.  As the boys were stomping on the ground, Tai started the song, then all the boys slapped themselves like they’ve never done it before.  When the boys were singing  the song to the haka, most of the boys had red faces.  All the boys had a powerful emotion because of their strong moves.  At the end of the performance I was so proud of them that I had to clap like someone going mad. 

By Wesley

Colour Wheel Art

Kapa Haka Dress Rehearsal - By Victoria

KAPA HAKA DRESS REHEARSAL

As I sat down on the carpet to watch something in the hall, I was extremely excited to watch the dress rehearsal of the Kapa Haka.  I couldn’t stand it any more.  It started and I was so, so excited.  The girls were so pretty in their blue dresses.  The boys were really loud when they did the haka and I couldn’t really hear the girls singing.  They swapped places and I didn’t know what they were doing.  They got into their places and boys were in front and the girls were at the very back against the chairs.  The boys were screaming across the room.  I nearly had to put my hands over my ears.  Their moves were big and really strong. 

Stars on Stage - by Shanaye

I stepped outside and waited for the bus.  I was thinking about when the bus was going to be here.  I had make-up on that made my eyes itchy.  “Yay,” I said, “the bus is here.”  I slowly went on the bus.  I was shivering.  Okay I’m at the Regent Theatre.  “Oh no!  I can’t see my mum.  Oh there she is.  Now I’m on.  Yay”, I said.  Okay it is my turn.  I was embarrassed.  Time for the other group to come on.  Now everybody comes on.  Done.  “Mum!  Mum!” I said.  “Oh,” mum said.  There you are.  Then we went home.

Kapa Haka Performance

Kapa Haka - Polyfest Dunedin 2011 on PhotoPeach

Kapa Haka by Kayla

Going to the hall, I do not know what is going on.  I saw people in costumes, now I know it’s… Kapa Haka.  I started to smile.  I saw the dance and I thought that I should have done Kapa Haka too.  I got out of that moment of thinking about being in Kapa Haka.  When Kapa Haka was done I was proud.  Then walking out, I remembered back to last year and when I was doing it.  Then I said to myself, “I’ll do it next year.”  I now know that Kapa Haka is so much fun to people that are in it, and by their faces that they were very, very happy with what they did.  I think they did too because I loved what they did. 

Kapa Haka by Mackenzie

Last Friday was Kapa Haka, the real performance.  I was so excited when I walked on stage.  I saw heaps of people.  I saw my Mum and Dad.  I started to sing and dance.  A shiver crept up my spine.  I felt so nervous I nearly fell off the stage.  I swung my poi up and down.  I got hit in the head.

Can you write the funniest caption for this one?

I was surfing around on the net and found this hilarious picture.  I'm sure some one can think of a funny caption to go with this photo!  Just post a comment and at the end of the week we will review them in class and vote on who came up with the funniest one.

Kakariki by Katie

A long time ago, in the bush there were two birds, Kaka and Kakariki.  Kaka was jealous of Kakariki’s twinkling red feathers.  “If only I had Kakariki’s feathers,” grumbled Kaka.  Kaka’s feathers were a grotesque brown colour.  All the birds longed to have Kakariki’s feathers.  Kakariki wasn’t a show off but he often saw eyes gazing at him and day dreaming that they had hid feathers.  Kaka had an evil plan to get Kakariki’s feathers wash over him.  “Now,” he said slyly, “where is that Kakariki?”  Searching for Kakariki was easy, he just had to look for a flashing red blur flapping in the sky.  He soon caught up with Kakariki.  “You know everyone dislikes your feathers,” exclaimed Kaka.  “Really?” cried Kakariki.  “As a matter of fact they hate your feathers,” lied Kaka.  “What should I do?” wailed Kakariki.  “Well… you could take all your feathers off,” whistled Kaka happily.  “Where should I put them?” asked Kakariki.  “Tell you what, if you give me your feathers I’ll hide them under my wings where no one will see them,” Kaka sang.  “Thank you, oh thank you,” cried Kakariki and he happily gave away his feathers.  He then hid in the bush for he was naked.  Kaka tucked away Kakariki’s feathers and flapped off to find the other birds.  When he found them he lifted his wings showing the shiny red feathers that lay within.  “Hey look at me, I’m so beautiful,” twittered Kaka.  “Wow,” tweeted the other birds, “they’re beautiful”.  “Aren’t they just?” sang Kaka walking away.  “Hey those are my feathers,” cried Kakariki.  “You gave them to me,” whistled Kaka strutting away.  “But you lied,” said Kakariki, “you were just jealous of me.”  “Whatever,” mumbled Kaka flying away.  “Oh well,” sighed Kakariki, “at least I’ll grow the red feathers back again.”  But Kakariki was wrong.  He grew jade green feathers.  Kakariki liked these feathers but nothing could replace his beautiful red feathers.  Even now when you see him he’s still singing, “Kaka, give me back my feathers!”

Dancing at Its Best - Sparkles, Glitter and Glamour!

Stars on Stage 2011 on PhotoPeach

Stars on Stage Photos

Stars on Stage 2011 on PhotoPeach

1920's Dance Through to 2011 - What a Week!

Wow - what a week we have had at school this week!  We began by having two days off due to the snow and then with Stars on Stage on at the Regent Theatre in town next week, we have had lots of extra practices and rehearsals.  Today we put on our dress rehearsal for the whole school to watch and they were suitably impressed.  A number of room 9 children comprise the 97 dancers who perform dance from the 1920's flapper style, 1970's psychedelic hippie era, to modern day crumping!  It was a wonderful spectacular to watch and both the dancing and the costumes were fabulous.  Keep your eyes on our blog to see some photos posted up in the next day or so.

SNOW DAYS!

Glitter Graphics

If you live in Dunedin you will know that we are now on our second day off school due to snow.  While it's very exciting, I'm sure some of the class are beginning to wonder what they can do today.  If you are getting bored, why not try clicking on the following links and having a play at making up your own narrative.  These two links are great and fairly easy to use.  If you are able to, copy the html code and email it to me (rwood@stclair.school.nz) and I will publish it on our blog.

http://www.storyjumper.com/

http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=story+bird&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

Another fun website for writing is Pic Lit.  This is where you can write a caption, phrase, word or poem to go with super cool photos.

http://piclits.com/compose_dragdrop.aspx

Have fun writing and fingers crossed I will see you all tomorrow.

Mrs Wood :)

Kakariki by Maddie

A long time ago there were two birds who lived in the trees and bushes of New Zealand.  Their names were Kaka and Kakariki.  Kaka had dull, dusty, old, brown feathers but Kakariki had beautiful bright red feathers.  Kaka was jealous of his beautiful feathers so Kaka played a trick on Kakariki.  Kaka said to Kakariki that everyone was laughing at his feathers but they weren’t.   Kaka said, “here give the feathers to me.  I will hide them under my wings.”  “Okay,” said Kakariki and he gave them to Kaka.  So then he started to show off the feathers but Kakariki said to himself, “he tricked me.”  So Kakariki felt gloomy and he went off to the bushes and he grew some green feathers.  He did not feel special anymore.  He wanted his red feathers back but it was too late.  

Kakariki by Oliver

A long time ago there were two parts.  Their names were Kaka and Kakariki.  Kaka had dusty brown feathers and Kakariki had shiny red feathers.  One day, Kaka started to tease Kakariki about his feathers because he was jealous.  Kaka started to tease Kakariki so much that Kakariki thought that his feathers were ugly and he said, “where can I hide my feathers?”  Kaka said, “ I’ll hide them under my wings.”  Then Kakariki gave his feathers to Kaka to hide under his wings.  Kakariki then flew featherlessly into a clump of bushes and hid while Kaka started to show off his feathers.  Immediately Kakariki regretted it.  Some weeks later, Kakariki grew some green feathers and if you find Kakariki now, he will have green feathers.  

Kakariki by Ben

A long time ago in the bush there were two parrots named Kaka and Kakariki.  Kakariki was teary because he thought his feathers were ugly but there weren’t ugly, they were beautiful red feathers.  On the other hand, Kaka had brown, dusty and dull feathers.  Then Kaka tricked Kakariki and said, “everybody is laughing at you.” And then said, “your feathers are horrible.  I will have them and then I will hide them under my wings and then no one will notice.”  Kakariki went away feeling glum that he had know feathers any more.  Next he grew some brand new few green feathers but he still wished he had his red feathers back.  

Kakariki - by Alex

*We are learning to write a 'narrative' and read a Maori legend that explained the colour of the Kaka parrot's feathers under his wings.  We then had a go at re-writing it in our own words.  We have learnt heaps about the features of a successful narrative.  Alex has got lots of these in his story...

Long ago in the bus there was a bird named Kakariki.  He had red feathers.  He liked them a lot and he showed off his feathers to the other birds.  Kaka, another bird in the bush, was jealous of Kakariki’s feathers because he had dusty brown feathers.  So Kaka tricked Kakariki into thinking that the other birds hated the red feathers on Kakariki’s body.  Kakariki believed Kaka and asked how to get them off.  “Ah,: said Kaia, “I will hide them under my wings so nobody will see them.”  “Thank you Kaka,” said Kakariki.  “What would I do without you?” said Kakariki.  So Kakariki gave Kaka the feathers and Kaka hid them under his wings.  Kakariki scuttled into the bus.. As he did, he peeked out of the bush and saw Kaka showing off his feathers.  Later bright green feathers replaced the red feathers but Kakariki still said to Kaka, “Kaka give back my feathers!” Still today, he flies through the bush chanting, “Kaka give back my feathers!”  But still he doesn’t have them. 

CREATIVE CAPTION CHALLENGE - Look at these funny pets!

Ms Kerr at school sent me some funny pet photos and I thought it would be fun to see who could come up with the funniest caption to go with it.  Post a comment with your caption and at the end of the week we will have a vote to choose the funniest one.

                                                                    Photo A

                                                          
                                                                        Photo B

Can you guess what this image is?

I found this picture and wondered if you can work out what it is?  A wee hint... it is magnified and is something we eat.  Post your comment and I will let you know at the end of the week just what it is.

What is this???

Hi Room 9
I am so excited to be coming back to teach you this term.  We are continuing our inquiry learning this term about colour.  To help you start thinking about it, and to get you back into the habit of using the blog, I thought I would post an unusual picture for you to look at.  Can you guess what it is?  
A wee hint - colour has been added to this photo - so it would normally be black and white.  Post your guess with your name - I wonder if anyone will guess it correctly.  

Some of room 9's art

Room 9's Art on PhotoPeach

Study Ladder

Hi everyone! There is now a link to Study Ladder on both the Literacy and Numeracy Games pages. We have added a whole lot of new games, too, so have fun while you learn!

Final Term 1 Assembly

We had our final school assembly for term 1.  Our junior school sang a lovely kiwi song about colour called Colours of Aotearoa.  The middle team performed Old MacDonald on their recorders and the senior team performed with their ukuleles and voices.  It was a fabulous way to celebrate our musical abilities thanks to the great teaching of Mrs Caldwell. It was also a beautiful way to celebrate Mr Newton's final assembly before he heads away on his sabbatical for term 2.

Assembly, Term One from Super7Scoopers on Vimeo.

PINK by Samantha

Pink looks like a blooming rose in the sunlight
Pink feels like a soft new t-shirt in my drawer
Pink tastes like a birthday cake for the birthday girl
Pink smells like a heart rubber sitting on my desk
Pink sounds like someone screaming when they are sunburnt

GOLD - by Devon

Gold looks like a sparkling star shining
Gold smells like paint dripping down the wall
Fold tastes like hot honey melting in my mouth
Gold feels like a silky pillow rubbing against my 
   face
Gold sounds like the sea splashing on the sand