Gravity Database

During our Science time we conducted experiments that would test how gravity affects objects . We tested various objects to see which would fall first. Then we compared these objects by dropping them at the same height to find how gravity would affect light and heavy items. We had to hypothesize which object we thought would fall first and some of our results were surprising these were our results.

We used marbles, rubbers, ping pong balls, paper flat and crumbled ,paper clips and even a feather!

Object Dropped		Which hit the ground first?	Which actually hit the ground first?
Marble	Ping pong ball	Marble	Marble
Rubber	Paper Clip	Rubber	Rubber
Marble	Pencil	Marble	Pencil
Flat Paper	Feather	Paper	Feather
Crumbled Paper	Feather	Paper	Paper
Feather	Paper Clip	PaperClip	Paper Clip

I Know What It Is!

Interpreting and expressing visual ideas to match text.

I Know What It Was!

They said it was just

an owl in the tree

but they didn’t

fool me !

I saw teeth

not a beak

red eyes

not gold

and I won’t be told

it was only fluff and feathers

round it’s throat;

it was a collar

and they weren’t wings

but silky folds

of a black, black cloak

That was no

Two wot, too woo

I heard it was

I’ll get you - ou!

Patricia Leighton

Where do you stand?

We are learning how to write a persuasive text that makes the audience think.

Is the possible change of school hours positive or negative ?

My teacher thinks that intermediate students should start ten minutes earlier than other students in our full primary school.  But as an intermediate student I believe that an extra ten minutes a day would not make a difference. Think about it, ten minutes everyday for what? To muck around or to learn, what child would what to wake up earlier  for school than they are used to?

If this preposterous change were to occur how would parents react to this? I think they would react to this the same way the students would because this not only affects the students but also the  parents that bring them to school. They too,  would have to wake earlier to drop their children at school .

This change in routine would lead to stressed  parents, students and teachers as they will have to change their daily routines also!. Some students at our school catch a bus.  This change in daily timetable would require that  they catch an earlier bus  to arrive  at school for this new time.  Has anyone considered whether or not there buses are actually available!

Consideration should surely also be given to those students who may have younger siblings at the same school. In the primary school, these children could range from five years old through to 11 years!  They would have to wait 10 minutes for their lessons to start. And of course having to arrive ten minutes earlier also means that ten minutes of sleep is lost and this of course could result in teachers facing  yawning faces and drowsy children.  The idea of beginning school earlier is  in my opinion is unfair!  If as in our case students attend the same school then surely the times they start school be the same.

Is the possible change of school hours positive or negative ? Where do you stand?

My Last Cultural Festival - A night to remember!

Cultural Festival ... It started like this...

The soles of my shoes touched the damp, cold and uneven path of concrete leading up to the stage where our group performances would be held. There was a mixture of ecstasy and fear detained inside my little body which was playing with my nerves.  This was my last year which motivated me to do my best and leave with a ‘blaze’.

The Kapa Haka group entered the stage with girls’ wearing traditional costumes, pupu’s and black tops while the boys were also wearing pupu’s and no tops. The performance started off with Ms.Bullot setting an introduction and us starting off the festival with the National Anthem and Pacific Greetings Song.  

After the official start of the festival we started off with Hai Re Mai then Poi E and our finale, the HAKA! We ended we a big pukana which the crowd which made the crowd cheer and after what seemed to me a long pause, we left the stage. The Chinese group came after us then the Samoan then half time started.

During half time some groups had gotten changed and people were getting out of their seats to buy food and beverages which caused a big crowding in the doorway of the hall. When halftime ended more groups performed and the prize drawing was taken.the first draw was not there or left or lost their ticket and these unfortunate people (my parents) had lost their chance and another draw was taken which gave the prize to Mrs. Oldham.

The hip hop group  was last which I would be in and this was not only scary because there were people watching but I was scared because we had to perform the best because all the other groups had given the audience a standard to judge on. The walk to the stage left my knees  trembling, heart pumping and nerves playing up but this was my last year and I was determined to have something to remember it by.

Our dance was set like a dance battle groups of either four or five would perform than leave the stage then come back at the big finale which would hype the crowd up. The performance left me feeling good and the crowd wild but most of all my parents proud.

Looking to join a new sport... Try Basketball!

Why should you start playing basketball? This was a question that I was asked recently and I might add it when it came to responding, I realised it was indeed a good question’.

Basketball is an excellent sports code to take up  because first of all it is a fun and competitive sport which allows each participant to play and socialize with other who have the same interest. This active and competitive  sport also helps to exercise your body and improve not only ball handling skills, but also hand and eye coordination.

As a player myself, I recommend playing basketball because it is good exercise and if you haven't played yet it is something new to do because it will give you something to do other than sitting in front of the t.v. playing Minecraft (said from personal experience).

When playing basketball you need to have good endurance and stamina to keep up with other players in the game as you will often need to sprint across the court to the oppositions to guard your hoop. Training is an essential part of this sport to build endurance which is necessary for your role in the team and to support other team players.

While playing basketball is definitely fun, and increases opportunities to be part of a group with similar if not the same interests, one of the benefits I have noticed apart from keeping fit and healthy is the improvement in my breathing.   Through the training programme I have found it most beneficial in making me more conscious of the way I breathe and using my diaphragm properly when breathing,  which is particularly important because I am an asthmatic.

Playing basketball can be fun playing because it improves social skills and can let you get to know other people. As fun as basketball it is also beneficial for keeping fit and healthy, as an asthmatic it has helped my body and lungs to breathe prior to the training given to me through basketball. So really what i’m trying to say is that if you already haven't you should try playing basketball and you never really know, maybe you’ll like it.

Basketball, I highly recommend you give it a go!

My Speech 2013

Electronic learning is research done through usage of electronic devices like laptops, desktops and ipads etc. With electronic devices we can access the internet and other services like Google and Wikipedia. With e-learning we use them to publish our stories to our blogs and give feedback to other's blogs.

I think electronic learning will enhance the way students can learn and should be used by not only New Zealand Students but also students around the world. E-learning will enable students with more resources which I believe will benefit their academic skill.

As students I think we personally prefer using the netbooks our e-learning devices to using paper and pen, this maybe because when we use paper and pen we are disadvantaged because there are more resources that we can use when we are working on our netbooks.

Since we started using the netbooks I think that students in the school were really having fun learning maybe it was because we were finally able to use something to write on other than paper and pen or maybe because we were using brand new netbooks but I think we were happy because we would be able to use the services that the netbook had to offer to not only learn new things but to also extend the learning that we had already done.

Using the netbook is like writing a story and you have all the things you need to make a good story having essential resources can really affect the way you present your work. Using netbooks has given me and all of us the assets we need to make my writing better.

If schools around the world were to use e-learning they would make their classroom a better and happier place to learn and will motivate them to use their devices to it’s fullest potential. Using an e-device has offered me assets that has made my work and academic skill better. I in a students  perspective would gladly use what the netbook has to offer to make my work the best it could be. Using electronic devices we can help students to reach the academic standard and make learning a more fun and favorable thing to do.