GORILLAS - PUBLISHED WRITING

Today Mrs White came to work in Piako Rua while Mrs Ruawai was away sick.  She read us a cool book all about Gorillas.  We wrote about gorillas today.  Have a read of our reports...

Apes are herbivores.  Gorillas are clever because they leave their family when they are 11 years old.  Then they build houses and they live in them.

By Mason P

They are in the ape family.  Gorillas are just like us.  Males are called Silverbacks.  They live in Africa.
By Jed

Gorillas are clever because they can build shelters fast when it is raining heavily and they are strong.
By Lukas

Gorillas have long arms and short legs.  Gorillas are apes.  They can pick food from trees and from the ground.  They are good at camouflaging into the trees.  Gorillas are clever.  Males are called Silverbacks. They are very strong.  Silverbacks are bigger.  They can climb from tree to tree.
By Geordie

Gorillas are strong.  Gorillas can climb.  Gorillas are clever.  Gorillas have hands.  Gorillas can pick up things.
By April

Gorillas have fingers and toes.  They also are very strong.  They are herbivores.  Gorillas live in the jungle.  They bang their chest.
By Reuben

Gorillas are strong.  They fight their predators.  They can break logs.  They are herbivores.
By Liam

Gorillas are strong.  Apes have no tails.  Apes do not eat meat. They live in Africa.  When the predators try and get the baby gorillas, the Mummy gorillas roar and hit their chest.
By Jacob N

Gorillas are apes.  They are just like humans.   They don't eat meat because they are herbivores.  Gorillas live with their mums for a long time, until they are mums.  They go in the trees to camouflage.  They live in the jungle.
By Ruby

Gorillas are herbivores.  They don't eat meat.  They males are called Silverbacks. 
By Jack

Gorillas don't have tails because they are apes.  Gorillas are black so they can camouflage.  Gorilla mums have one baby at a time.  Gorillas eat berries so they can be healthy.  Male gorillas are called Silverbacks.
By Ava

Gorillas are clever.  They also have a lot of things in common with humans.  Gorillas have long arms to hang from tree branches.
By Maelee

Gorillas are extra special because other animals don't have toes and fingers.  Gorillas are super heavy and when they hide behind the trees they look like the forest.  Their fur is black.
By Alyssa

Gorillas are apes.  They are strong and they are heavy.
By Tryton

Gorillas love to eat bananas.  They fur keeps them warm.  Gorillas are like humans. They like berries too.
By Neva

They are strong.  They don't have tails.  Gorillas are part of the ape family.  Gorillas are clever because they can build huts really fast.
By Kruz

A gorilla is part of the ape family.  Gorillas are just like us.  Males are called Silverbacks.  They live in Africa.
By Oliver S

Gorillas live in the jungle.  They are strong. They don't eat meat.  They are called apes.  They don't have a tail. Gorillas are black.
By Brooke

Gorillas have fur to keep them warm.  They don't need umbrellas.  Some are black so they camouflage.
By Bonnie

Gorillas are apes.  They live in the jungle and they live in Africa too.  They are like humans. Gorillas are clever and strong.  Gorillas are humongous and make their own homes.  Gorillas eat leaves.
By Elliot

Gorillas are apes.  They are just like humans and people.  They walk, run and swim.  The baby gorilla lives with its mum and dad.  Sometimes the babies go on it's mum or dad's back.  They don't eat meat because they eat leaves.
By Amelia

They don't eat meat.  The males are called Silverbacks.
By Oliver W

MAKING CIRCUITS

Today some of us were lucky enough to work with Ian from Digital Circus. His company is helping our school to develop our Digital Technology Curriculum. We discussed what we know about electricity, and learned that electricity can be stored in batteries. We also learnt that the circuit must be complete for the electricity to flow through. Then we were let loose to create circuits, using batteries to make LEDs light up. It was lots of fun and we hope we get to do more of this work soon! 

Challenge 1: using playdough to complete the circuit, make the LED light up. Things to remember: use the long 'leg' of the LED on the positive side, or it won't work!

Challenge 2: add a second LED and see if you can make them both light up! 

Challenge 3: make the playdough into 'rocket' and 'flame' shapes and make three LEDs light up.

Challenge 4 (for fast finishers): make a shape of your choice and add extra batteries/LEDs to complete more circuits.

Beau and Cooper getting very excited that their two LEDs are working









  Such concentration!

Braxton and Jayden feeling very proud after making their rocket light up!

 Extra challenge: make a different shape and see how many parts you can make light up! This flower was made by Madison and Isalei. 

DANCING STICK FIGURES

Ms Udy showed us a science experiment on Friday that was very tricky to master, but lots of fun! We started by drawing a simple stick figure with a whiteboard marker. We drew them on a shiny surface, like a ceramic or glass plate. Then we carefully poured water over the stick figures, and some of them lifted off the plate and 'danced' on the water! It was really cool!

We learnt that it works because of three properties of the special ink in whiteboard markers:
1. The ink is designed to not stick very hard to a surface (so it can be erased)
2. The ink is lighter than water
3. The ink doesn't dissolve in water (it is insoluble)

We loved blowing on the figures, or jiggling the plate, to make them dance.

CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS - PUBLISHED WRITING

 

One day, a young Captain Underpants built his house.  Suddenly a villain was on his roof. The he broke the wall.  Captain Underpants punched the villain.  He was dead.  "Three cheers for Captain Underpants!"

By Jed

Captain underpants just saved the World from a taco.  A walking taco!  It had arms.  Captain Underpants loved saving the World.  He ate the taco.  The taco was never seen again.  Everyone cheered for Captain Underpants... still saving the World.
By Kate

One day a villain broke out of jail.  Then... Captain Underpants came to the rescue.  Everyone clapped but the villain had powers.  "Nooo!" said Captain Underpants. "Stop!" he said.  Suddenly the villain stopped.  Captain Underpants said, "Tra-la-la!"
By Brooke

There was a kid in his underpants.  He just defeated a villain's lazar beam.  He found his lab and destroyed everything.  He saved the day.
By Liam

COMPUTATIONAL THINKING - CRAZY GAMES

We have been exploring Computational Thinking.  Today Mrs Lunn's kids had a go with the Crazy Games.  These games are CRAZY and so TRICKY!  You have to get all the pieces to match and JUST when you think you've got it right, you find a bug (a mistake) in the puzzle and you have to re organise the pieces!

LOST TEDDY - PUBLISHED WRITING

 

Once my family went to Wellington on a train.  My little sister loved her stuffed bear.  She looked out of the window, with her favourite bear but she suddenly dropped it.  She said, "nooooooo!!!"  She cried for hours and hours.  When we got there, she said "Dad, please can you get it for me,"

Me and my Dad and my sister searched.  After a while, we found it on the train track.  She said, "yay!"
By Bower

Annabell was looking out the window.  Suddenly the teddy fell out the window.  Then she shouted, "nooooo!"  She... told Dad.  He said, "We can get it when we get there."
Annabell and her Dad eventually got to the station and went back to find it.  She was happy.  She cuddled the ted.
by Sophia