Thursday, April 17, 2008
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
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
"Creatures of the Ocean"
The fish looked like a stone
it was a stonefish.
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
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
New Zealand Sea Lion
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
|New Zealand Sea Lion|
New Zealand (Hooker's) Sea Lion
|Phocarctos hookeri |
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
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