Reading Activities - Letter & Important Moment

Important Moment - When Hetty meets her proper father

Letter to the Author of the book

Pick A Path - The Water

Choose which path that you want, and see what ending you end up with.

Superstition - Inquiry

PE Game Idea - Shmaggle Dash

PE game - Shmaggle Dash

How to set up:
You would want to set it up like capture the rugby ball but , put some cones along the middle (About 8), then on each end make a semi circle out of cones. Then you will need to make the boundary area which you will see in the diagram.

Rules:
1: Be honest if the ball hits you.
2: Don't grab the Dragger really hard, just make sure you stay by the Dragger.
2: The Dragger must stay by the people who are dragging them. Then again, the people who are Dragging the person carefully must be at a pace that the Dragger can stay with.
3: Two  people maximum must get the Dragger, no more or they will all get tagged.
4: The dragger cannot move while being carried , or try to tug away.
5: if you are at least half a meter of the circle.

Instructions:
1: The teams are split into two. Half the class for each side. One team should wear bands to make it easier for who's on who's team. Team A and B.
2: Each team has one “Dragger.” That Dragger must cross the opposite side to the opposite goal, where the Dragger is kept.
3: Once the Dragger is obtained, (Let’s say B captured Dragger A,) team B must take that Dragger to team B’s goal.
4: When team B has team A’s Dragger, team A is allowed to get the balls across the  middle, and hit the people who obtain team A’s Dragger.
5:If the balls misses and team B manages to capture team A’s Dragger, that’s one point for team B. First team to reach Seven points wins.
6: If the ball hits the people dragging the Dragger, the Dragger returns to their spot, and the people who dragged the Dragger must return to their spot.
The diagram:

Always Use A Lead - Narrative

Always Use A Lead - Catherine

The snow shimmered and began to melt in the seven o'clock burning sun. The sun’s beams struck Fleur’s window and landed on her old bed, warming the sheets ever so slightly and earning a quiet hum of approval from the girl herself. Having just a bit of sunlight in the morning was extremely rare because of the cold weather, you’d be lucky to get a bit of sun anywhere from seven am to nine. So Fleur was definitely enjoying herself.. Until now..

‘FLEUR! You better be up right now or I’m coming to shove ice down your pyjamas again!’

‘Cameron..’

Fleur’s eyes darted open with no hesitation after hearing her father's warning. She kicked off the covers and rolled out of bed, her feet creating a loud thump on the wooden floor below. She raced over to her wardrobe and picked out the semi warmest outfit she could find. After chucking on her clothes she ran to the kitchen and found her parents waiting for her at the table.

‘About time.’ Fleur’s dad mumbled while taking a bite of his french toast.

‘Don’t listen to him Fleur. Have some breakfast instead.’ Fleur’s mother insisted as she gave Cameron a death glare.

Fleur shuffled to the chair and plopped herself down. Her breakfast was all ready made and in front of her. It was toast with butter and jam. Simple, but delicious to Fleur. She picked up the piece of toast and crammed it into her mouth.

‘Don’t forget to walk Milo yeah? He’s been running around the house lots lately, and needs some fresh air. To be honest, so do you!’ Fleur’s dad reminded, taking another bite of his french toast.

Fleur finished her toast and groaned in complaint. She slid off the chair and passed her plate to her mother.

‘But wasn’t there a huge.. uhh.. storm the other night? Winds and all wasn’t there?’ Fleur spoke for once, with a mouth full of toast, hoping she could escape walking the dog.

Her mother nodded in agreement and looked over at her father. Her father showed no mercy and shooed her off with a straight face. Fleur groaned once more as she walked over to Milo, the Canadian eskimo dog who was panting, and his tail wagging furiously. Fleur smiled slightly and ruffled his fur, as she walked out the door, Milo following proudly behind.


Fleur’s wooly boots crushed the snow underneath, as Milo followed behind closely. Small snowflakes were falling from the sky, and the trees were covered head to toe in snow from the previous storm a night ago. The forest was quiet apart from the odd birds communicating to one another, and Milo’s panting.
-
They were walking throughout the forest, when Milo stopped a meter behind. Fleur heard the sudden change and glanced behind to see Milo running to what it seemed to be a frozen lake.

‘Milo? Where are you— come back boy!’ Fleur called.

Milo listened, but ran ahead anyway. Fleur had no choice and ran after him, brushing past the sudden brunches that would stick in her way. Milo ran a meter more before stopping right in his tracks, barking quite loudly. Fleur bumped into Milo with a loud “Oomph!” and she landed on her behind.

‘Milo you little—‘

She paused and looked at the lake ahead. It looked beautiful, the way it was icy blue and the little sun reflecting off it, glistening ever so slightly. A couple birds even decided to perch there for a bit. Fleur slowly stood up, and looked around. She couldn’t see the path she was on before, and the only way to continue was going over the frozen lake itself. Fleur shook her head and grabbed Milo by the collar.

‘Milo it’s not safe, let’s just turn around.’ She whispered while kneeling down to his level.

Milo refused to turn into and suddenly ran  ahead across the lake, chasing after the birds that were sitting there in the center of the lake. Fleur fell forward slightly and watched it happen. She jumped up and shouted to Milo worriedly,

‘Come here right now! Their just birds!’

Instead Milo ran right across to the other side and sat there, patiently waiting for her to slide across. Fleur stood there with a unimpressed look on her face. She looked down at the lake below, and then back at Milo. There was no way to get Milo, expect crossing the lake. She sighed and took a small step onto the ice, her eyes clenched shut. The ice didn’t make a sound, not one bit. She sighed and took another step forward, expect this one was a bit bigger step. Still no sound. She then began to trust herself and the ice, so she carried on across the lake. Once she made it across, she scooped Milo up and turned back around. Except when she went to the center, there was a problem.. A loud crack echoed throughout the forest. Fleur’s heartbeat quickened as she looked down and saw a crack in the ice, and it was expanding by the second. She immediately ran across with Milo in her arms when she felt the ground underneath her collapsed. She gasped as Milo clawed his way out of Fleur’s grasp, and swum to safety.

‘Milo! H—‘ She shouted but ended up underwater, her clothes being soaked right through, and weighing her down.

She tried to get out, but the water and the ice were a problem. She couldn’t open her eyes underwater either so that didn’t help. She pulled herself up, until she felt something grip her jacket hoodie. It was held on tight, but it was pulling her up, out of water. She gasped for air, as the water left her mouth with ease. Her vision was blurry, but focusing slowly. Soon she found herself on the snowy land that she had previously been on. She slowly got up, (continuously coughing) and she turned around. Being greeted by a smiling puppy, looking up at her. It was Milo. Milo had jumped in and swam after Fleur straight away and had pulled her out with his teeth, after hooking on Fleur’s hoodie. Fleur knelt down and gave Milo a big bear hug as the water from Fleur’s clothes, and fur from Milo dropped onto the snow below them both.
-
‘Fleur? Fleur! What happened?! You were gone for so long! Wewereworriedandwethoughtyouwerelostsowecalledthe—‘ Rambled mum, as Fleur and Milo walked through the front door.

‘Mum. I'm fine. I just got involved in an accident, that’s all.’ Fleur interrupted.

Her mother smiled and gave Fleur a big bear hug, as her dad exposed a smile of thankfulness. Fleur hugged back and looked down at Milo who was sitting behind her mum. Fleur smiled at Milo, and Milo smiled back…

‘Now how did you both get soaking wet..?’

END

Maths - Probability snail race

Today in maths time, we played a snail race game. It involves a lot of probability. On the board there are 12 snails. Everyone has to choose at least one or two snails. We had to take turns rolling the dice, and whatever number that both dice add up to, we moved the snail foward. We had to continue doing that until three snails past the finish line. There were also points for the places. First got five points, second got three points, and third got one point.

In the first game Ben came first. He got five points and raced with snail number five. Matthew came second with three points and raced with snail number seven. I then came third with one point with snail number eight.

In the second game Matthew came first with five points with snail number seven. Luukas came second with three points with snail number nine. Lulu then came third with one point with snail number six.

Five, seven, eight, nine, and six are the numbers that placed in the races. Five and seven got a placing two times, while nine six and eight placed once.

The snails that are the best snails are any snails between one and twelve. Because you actually have a chance to get that number while you don't have a very good chance of getting one and twelve.
The snails that are the worst snails are one, and twelve. One is bad because your rolling two dice, not one. And the lowest number you can get is two. Twelve is also quite bad because you have to get six and six. You can't get five and six because that is eleven and that's the closest number to twelve. So it has to be six and six both ways.

I think the best one to get is seven because you have three chances of getting seven. One and six, five and two, and three and four.

---

Believe it or not, my guess was true. Thanks to a table we had created. Seven is actually the best snail to get because you have 6 possible combinations. Not three. One and six, six and one, two and five, five and two, three and four, four and three are all the possible combinations. We have 6 chances out of 36 for getting seven. Unlike eight, you have five chances. Because four and four are doubles and either way their going to be four and four.

Mandarin Lesson - Zodiac & Numbers

In yesterday's lesson in Mandarin, we learnt about the big race, and our Zodiac animals. Most of the people in room 20 are Ji, chickens. A few are dogs as they were born in 2006.

The big race was a completion, and the animals that competed and finished the race would get their own special year. The order of the placings are the order of the years.

Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig.

There was a Cat who competed, but they didnt cross the finish line.

Also in last week's lesson, we learned all about numbers. The numbers to ten have their own hand actions aswell to go with the words.

Yoga - First Lesson

Yesterday we had our first Yoga lesson for our topic, healthy bodies strong minds. We chose yoga as it releases stress and makes you relax easier.

The instructor pretended that we were on a jungle adventure, by saving the animals from an erupting volcano. (Keep in mind that she made this to make it more fun for us.)

We first started by rowing our boats to the jungle from across the water.
Next, we went on our bycicle and traveled through the dense forest to a clearing where we could place our tent.
We placed our tent but got our clothes pretty dirty, so we had to wash and dry them.
After they were clean, we went to bed and rested. (It's called Savasna.)
In the morning we got up and saw a volcano about to errupt, so we decided to save the animals.
Quickly, we went up a tree and gave our jungle call to get all the animals.
First the snakes slithered in and joined us.
Then it was the monkeys that swung in.
After that we found a den, so we crawled in an found lions, so they then joined us.
Then we returned home with all the animals.

After we had finished our adventure, we had more Savasna time. Savasna is like relaxing. Just letting all your body go loose and rest. Did you know that Savasna is the hardest thing to do in yoga?

Funny enough, mostly everyone felt extrememy tired and wanted to sleep all because of Savasna.

Mandarin Lesson - Family Tree

In today's Mandarin lesson we learnt all about family and how to say people in our family. We also had to create our own family tree with the new Mandarin words we learnt. Here are some of the new words that we learnt today:

Nainai - Grandmother
Yeye - Grandad
Baba - Papa (Dad)
Mama - Mother (Mum)
Gege - Big Brother
Didi - Little Brother
Meimei - Little Sister
Jiejie - Big Sister

Here is my family tree. The Mandarin names are underneath the boxes, while their actual names are inside the boxes.

Persuasive Writing - Number 1 Pet

Room 20 were assigned with an uncommon animal. Either Skunk, Snake, Starfish, Grizzly Bear, Piranha or Fly. With our team, we had to write a persuasive piece to say why we think our pet was the best pet to have. I worked with Zoe, Caitlin and Bridget, and we did the Snake. Here is what we wrote :)

The Number 1 Pet




Intro: Snakes are evil, wild beasts. No one wants one of them. They are poisonous and deadly! Well what if I told you that most snakes aren't deadly or poisonous and that snakes are actually a common pet to have? Hear us out and you will like snakes after all.

Reason 1: Did you know if you go to special places overseas you can hold snakes? When they are tamed of course! Once they are tamed you could play with them and even dress up your snake. (If your snake likes being dressed up.) Heaps of people hold snakes all the time without having the snake's mouth taped or strapped incase of it biting. Believe it or not people even try teaching snakes tricks. So snakes aren't actually as vicious as you think they are.

Reason 2: Small snakes like the Thread Snake eats the eggs of ants and centipedes. A medium snake like the Tree Boa, eats mostly all insects. Yellow Rat snakes eat rats and mice. All snakes swallow their food whole so forget seeing half a rat left in your house by cat or dog, and say hello to a snake.

 Reason 3: Surely you understand the slight annoyance of having chew toys around the place, animal fur over clothing or furniture, but Snakes don't make messes. Snakes are really neat. All you need to do is leave them in their cages or tanks.

Reason 4: Sure snakes need special heating and other things to keep them alive and all, but after you have those things you don't need to worry about them. Just make sure they have water and food - and the cage door shut - and then you're fine.

Conclusion:  You don’t want to spend heaps of money on food, or clean up after your pets when they are finished eating. You want a nice animal that you can dress up and pat, if you don’t wanna mess around your house you need a snake. There is no other animal like a snake on earth so go buy a snake now!!!

By Catherine, Zoe, Caitlin & Bridget

Mandarin - Names

Today we had another Mandarin lesson. Here are some new sentences that are put in a conversation that we can use:

Jiāmíng: Nǐ hǎo! (Hello!)
Bǐdé/Peter:Nǐ hǎo! Nǐ jiào shén me. (Hello! What is your name?)
Jiāmíng: Wǒ jiào Wáng Jiāming. Nǐ ne? (My name is)
Bǐdé/Peter:Wǒ jiào Bǐdé. Wǒ shì xīn xī lán rén.

I also know how to say and spell my name in 2 ways in Chinese.

Catherine 凯特琳 (Kǎi tè lín)

Catherine 凯瑟琳 (Kǎi sè lín)

Also, to say New Zealand in Chinese is:

xīn xī lan.

Mandarin - Fun Facts

Today, room 20 were lucky enough to have our first Mandarin session. We have learned simple greetings, and about China. Here are some things that Molly and I have learned:

Population: 1.379 Billion (2016)
Area: 9.597 Million Km2
Food: Chinese cabbage, Cooked rice, Pork belly, Bok Choy, Chinese Noodles, Sweet Potato, Lomo saltado. (Etc, etc)

China's Top Tourist Cities:

-Beijing
-Xi'an
-Shanghai
-Gulin
-Huangshan
-Hangzhou
-Chengdu
-Hong Kong
-Lijiang
-Suzhou
-Guangzhou

My Passion Project - Art

The whole classroom for our 3 part Inquiry had to write an information report about their passion. If it's hockey, puppies. Anything. I chose to do Art. I love art, and I find it very entertaining. Here is my Passion project report.

My Passion - Art

Art is a very popular skill all over the world. With many techniques and styles. Used to express emotions and creativity. With population expanding, and art being created everywhere.

There are many types of art styles artists use for many things. Cartoon. Cartoon is a commonly used types of style. Cartoon is commonly used for Animations, Comics, Kids Books and so on. Realistic. Realistic is really different from cartoon. Realistic is hard to draw. It's when you draw something very life like. Every feature is precise, proportion is perfect, and it looked like a photo sometimes. Realistic is used for portraits, paintings, and sometimes used for merch stores for adverts or something. Apomorphic and normal animal. Apomorphic is commonly used for “Furry” Artists. They like to draw Animals, that are human like, and/or have human features. Normal animal, is just normal animal. Some artists draw animals that are on all fours too.

There are 2 types of art. Traditional and Digital. Traditional is normally on paper. Not on any devices, or any technology. Created by hand, with basic tools such as Pencils and Rubbers. Digital however, is on technology. Such as computers, tablets, IPads and many more devices. Used normally with a touch screen pen, or a mouse. 

There are many tools used for art. There are common used tools such as, Pencils or Pens, Eraser, Coloured Pencils, Paintbrushes, so on. Pencils can be many shades. Some can be dark, for outlining. Or light, for shading. Pens can be for outlining too. Eraser can be used for rubbing out slight mistakes, or lightly making your masterpiece not so dark. Coloured pencils are for colouring in traditional art. Last of all, paintbrushes are for painting things. Some paintbrushes are thin, for small spaces. Some of them are big, for making backgrounds, or filling huge spaces.

There are very many famous Artists who are well known all over the world. Let me list these talented people. Leonardo Da Vinci. A man who has created the popular, “Mona Lisa.” A famous painting, that has got a lot of questions. The painting is very well known for the smile. No one knows what type of smile it is. If it's a happy smile, a anxious smile, or a nervous smile. That's what makes it so amazing. The Mona Lisa is a portrait, and was painted. Also, Piet Mondrian, for creating the “Mondrian.” The Mondrian is a Painting made out of many squares with multiple colours. Such as Red, Blue, Yellow, White, and Black. Can't forget Vincent Van Gogh, a talented man who created beautiful paintings such as, The Starry Night, Irises, and Café Terrace at night. 

You might think Artists are all easy, fine and dandy, but sometimes Artists can have struggles like art blocks. An annoying problem in the community. An art block is where an artist had trouble being motivated to draw. No matter how many times Artists try, they can't get past art blocks. They happen regularly and are really annoying. Sometimes Artists may be inspired, but when they get home, they can't draw because they have an art block. Also, thinking of what to draw. Really simple. Sometimes it can be very hard to make a piece of art when you can't think of something to draw. It's easy to lose motivation when you don't know what to draw as well.

Art is free to do, and very fun. Anyone can learn how to draw, and it's free. All you need is a pencil and paper. Who knows? Maybe you could be a famous artist like Leonardo Da Vinci...

My Smart Goals

Last term my goals were to:

-Get a solo part on the year 7 choir.

-To learn my 6, 7, 8, and 9s times tables by the Easter holidays.

So far I have:

-Tried to write down the times tables and repeat them again and get a friend to give me some questions of that tabel. To be honest, haven't done much practise. But now I am fully determined to try and get in the habit of learning them.

-Got into the choir and have done a little part with other soloists for some songs. I have been singing more often now that I've been got into the choir.

This Term my smart goals are:

-To try and get a solo part in the choir.

-To learn my 6-9 times tables by the end of the year.

I am going to achieve this by:

-To get my Parents to help me recall my times tables whenever possible.

-To practise them after school before going on any devices.

-Go onto Maths buddy more often and try and find Maths buddy multiplication Tasks.

Movie Catastrophe Recount

Movie Catastrophe

It was earlier that day when I was invited to go with Marissa to Cinema Gold to see Pete’s Dragon. A Disney film with lots of Feels, (Thankfully I didn't cry… I almost did...) Though, here is how the silly movie Catastrophe went down.

Shivers sent down my spine, as the cold afternoon’s breeze blew on my back. Marissa and I pushed open the door as we strolled inside. The wind stopping, but the smell striking me right in the face, as Buttered Popcorn, Sweets, and many other types of Foods floated underneath my nose. My Stomach growled, and rumbled with starvation, as I strolled closer to the counter, gripping tightly onto the money in my right hand.

By now we were sitting on the comfortable seats, watching the beginning of the movie. A wide smile spread across my face as I watched with wide eyes. I was currently stuffing my face with the buttery, sunflower yellow treats, as the movie continued to play. Marissa was watching and eating aswell by now, as we had a competition of whoever would eat their popcorn first would lose the bet until the movie started. Before, Me and Marissa were starving, so when the movie started, we weren't hesitating to eat the popcorn at all. Anyway, the movie was getting interesting and I was about to take a handful of popcorn, when suddenly my grip loosened, the packet slowly tipping towards the floor, as the Popcorn rolled around on the carpet. Spreading around my legs and under the seats. Then Thump, the packet dropped on the floor. My jaw dropped with annoyance, my eyes widening at the same time. Marissa glanced over and began to chuckle. I couldn't but chuckle at myself too. I was always so clumsy. It's just me, and always will be me.

Marissa had let me have most of her Popcorn, as she knew that she couldn't finish it by herself and that I was starving. After a while, the movie was getting close to the end. It was up to a “Feely” part. (I won't spoil it for you.) Marissa was finishing her last handful, when she tried to re-grab the packet of Popcorn, suddenly tipping it all over the floor and under her seats. I looked down, and up again. Laughing ever so quietly to myself. Marissa was laughing too, doing little snorts here and there. Soon we were both Red in the face from laughing over the Accident. It was just perfect timing, and just the right moment too.

‘Coincidence?’ I giggled, trying to contain myself but failing miserably.

After the whole movie ended, With my hands stuffed in my pockets, I slouched my way back to the Car. Marissa’s Mother was waiting for us.

‘How was the Movie?’ She asked.

‘Great.’ Marissa and I coincidently responded together. Continuing to smile...

It's funny how something so simple, like tipping your popcorn first, and then your friend tipping her/his popcorn later, is so funny. It may not seem funny if you don't imagine it, or think it isn't funny, but trust me. In real life, it's quite hilarious if you experience it yourself. But in the end I learned that accidents happen, and it's important to hold onto your Popcorn boxes more tighter so they don't fall out of your hands, and spill over the floor spreading popcorn everywhere.

A Slice Of Life - Swimming Sport

I Heard:
The sound of the starter gun, echo through the pool walls. The loud splash, as a Competitors dived or jumped into the cool water.

I Saw:
Hillary house students making their way to the other side quickly to set the best time. And The Water go still after all of Hillary leave the water.

I felt:
A wave of excitement travel down my spine as I waited for the host to say who one. Then my Mouth spread across my face with happiness, as I heard that Hillary had won.

I wondered:
How gutted the other houses felt when they heard that they lost.

This Is Me Presentation

Welcome!

Hola mi nombres es Catherine! (Spanish for, Hello my name is Catherine!)

Welcome to my Personal Blog! This is where I will post work I am proud of and willing to share.

My goals I am trying to achieve are;

-To Learn My 9s, 8s, 7s, timestables by the Start of the holidays

-To Join the Choir and get a solo.

Happy Reading!