CTK Day by Max

CTK DAY 

On Friday at school it was CTK Day and the whole school attended a liturgy where some senior students told us about the history and the special character of our school. 
After the liturgy the whole school was treated to two free sausages and an ice block donated by the Parent Council and Board Of Trustees, I could only see smiles on everybody’s faces as all the ice blocks were being eaten. 
After lunch the school headed outside to do some activities with their buddy class. Some activities included Sack Races, Relays, Tug Of War and Cat And Mouse. 
I enjoyed CTK Day and hope other people did too.

Zealandia - from Auckland Museum

Kea - The Smartest Parrot

Student's Inquiry - Biodiversity

The children in Room 13 will be undertaking an inquiry to learn about biodiversity. The children have been looking at books and watching informative documentaries about New Zealand's animals, plants and invasive species. The children have now had a lesson to explore what they would like to learn about and present in class. These are some of the questions that students have chosen:

How has the environment changed the animals? (Davin)

How can we save New Zealand;s native species? (Max)

Why is biodiversity significant in New Zealand? (Claudia and Faith)

If Zealandia really sank, why are some of New Zealand's animals older than the land? (Max)

What is the most dominant invasive species and why? (Caleb)

What are the threats to biodiversity? (Sam)

What impact does humans have on biodiversity? (Jamie)

How does biodiversity benefit human health? (Ella)

How far can we trace back in New Zealand's history? (Meg)

How was New Zealand formed and what makes New Zealand unique? (Liam)

How did the animals of New Zealand arrive and survive Zealandia and its sinking? (Samuel)

Biodiversity NZ - https://www.biodiversity.govt.nz/picture/biodiversity/what/index.html

Biodiversity is shorthand for “biological diversity" - the number and variety of organisms found within a specified geographic region; and the variability among living organisms on the earth, including the variability within and between species and within and between ecosystems.
Elements of biodiversity include:

• Genetic diversity – the varied genetic make-up among individuals of a single species
• Species diversity – the variety of species within a particular geographic area, such as the birds, fish, insects, bacteria and plants that live within a wetland
• Ecological diversity – the variety of ecosystem types (such as forests, deserts, wetlands, grasslands, streams, lakes and oceans) and the communities within them. These communities interact with each other and with the non-living environment. For example, the mountain stone weta contains a form of anti-freeze in its tissue to avoid the damage caused by ice crystals in its body. This allows it to live in high alpine environments from Marlborough to Otago.

It is thought New Zealand has at least 80,000 native animals, plants and fungi. Only about 30,000 have been described, named and classified so far. Our number of native flowering plants and vertebrate animals (those with skeletons) is relatively small by tropical or continental standards.

Science: Biodiversity in New Zealand

New Zealand’s native biodiversity is unique, born of long isolation as small islands in a vast ocean. The high percentage of endemic species (those found nowhere else in the world), make New Zealand’s native biodiversity both special and highly vulnerable.

After splitting from other continents 80 million years ago, evolution on land took an eccentric course, leading to plants, animals and ecosystems so distinctive that New Zealand has been described as the closest scientists will come to studying life on another planet. From then, until the arrival of humans, it had the longest period of isolation of any non-polar landmass on earth.

The main reason is that, unlike other continents, New Zealand was almost mammal-free – the only native mammals were two species of bat, and marine mammals. For 65 million years, birds dominated the land. Some evolved into unique new forms – the world’s largest eagle, a flightless nocturnal parrot, the kiwi with nostrils at the end of its long beak, and the giant moa, taller than any other bird. Flightless birds and giant insects (such as the giant weta) filled roles small mammals filled elsewhere – foraging on the ground, living in burrows and hollows.

Around our shores, nearly 100 native species such as the threatened bluefinned butterfish live in rockpools, 60 per cent of them found only in New Zealand and nowhere else.

Mammals began to arrive in numbers about 1000 years ago in the form of human settlers who bought with them mammal predators such as rats and possums. Since then, New Zealand’s biodiversity has radically changed on land, in our rivers, lakes and streams, and in the sea.

https://www.biodiversity.govt.nz/picture/biodiversity/

Term 3 Summary

Term 3 Summary

Where do I start, it has been a fantastic term with many different experiences involved and this is some of my main highlights for term 3 2014.

It was exciting when the winter sport north-west zone kick into a thrilling start, i was very fortunate to explore a new sport, netball. coming from hockey it was an extreme change, i now decided to stick to hockey but i did learn so much while stepping up for success.

We were able to participate in the catholic sports tournament as well which was enjoyable and a great way to end our winter sports events.To conclude the sports season we did something for the first time in the history of Christ The King School, we held a sports ceremony awarding certain success' like most valuable and most improved player in the sports teams.

Another highlight is our school hip hop teams success. Ella, Maigen, Izzy, Claudia, Aniela, Catherine and Orianna,  with dedication and hard work the results showed a fantastic outcome. The team came second in the Canterbury schools hip hop open competition, year 7 & 8.

We had originally planned to have a ski trip to mutt hut, but it was extremely unfortunate that it had to be cancelled due to weather conditions.


We explored many different subjects as a class...

~we continue in technology on a Thursday morning each week. This term I was in the art room, there are 4 different subjects which are all great skills to come across. The subjects we have are: Cooking, Workshop, Art and Textiles.

~for narratives we used videos and pictures to spark imagination to be carried away into several narratives, i think we wrote about maybe 12, but there were so many different limits and challenges we conquered.

~in topic we look into crafty consumers and money as well as business plans, comparing products and brands and much more.

~we were introduce to nitty gritty novel which involved worksheets, relating to characters, illustrations, and yet again much more.

~last but not least are speeches, we were required to choose any topic at all, which means there was an extreme variety of different topics. First there were inter-class competitions then syndicate finals after that it leads to the top 2 or 3 being able to travel to Isleworth School to compete for the finals.
I was fortunate to make it Isleworth School.

Overall it was a term to remember, I cannot wait until we can wear the summer uniforms again!
I hope that term 4 lives up to its standards, also the end of year productions ought to be a blast!!!

I hope everyone has a safe and also an amazing holiday!

Meg

Francis by Sam

Francis

Francis Report by Max

Francis Brandywine (Prequel)

The Quetico Park Monster

Francic Brandywine by Jess

Francis’ family never stopped looking for her, they searched high and low, they searched with police and detectives they tried to find out what had happened after that last diary entry.  Her family were told to stay away from where the action took place Bottlenose Forest. But do you think they listened? No they didn’t. They travelled out to Bottlenose forest. They place was buzzing with police and detectives, the entry was cordoned off with neon yellow tape with read “ police do not enter” The entrance was swarmed with demanding media wanting more information on what was going on.




Campers were being evacuated from the crime zone and family members were demanding to start there own search party. Francis’ family had come from all around the world, some of them even quit there jobs because they were so determined to find her and figure out what was going on. The whole entire family walked up to the entry where many security guards were standing, they told the security guards that they were helping wether they liked it or not. After several hours of debating the Brandywine family were allowed to enter the forest.



They walked around and soon found the police had ruined the place, spray paint sprayed on natures floor, police gear scattered everywhere. If you hadn’t been to Bottlenose Forest you would think it was a police base. But they decided to start right away, so off they went deep into the woods. Every step Francis parents and sibling took even more grief, sadness    and most of all horror was swept over them. But they had to find out what happened to there 17 year ild daughter. After a few hours of walking they arrived at their final destination, where all the action took place. Police and detectives were surrounding the lake and the little cottage in which they stayed in.



They were immediately meet by rude interviewers wanting more information for the world to know. “How did they manage to get in here” they asked themselves, but they family wasn’t focused on the media they were in fact focussed to find Francis and the person or thing that took her. They gathered together in groups of 2 and started to search all around the woods. They were equipped with food, water, walkie talkies and life supplies no one wants to take anymore risks. Since they were searching the whole of the woods they would be gone for days but it had to be done. Francis parents were filled with sadness but they were determined to find out what happened.


Francis father Riley was looking everywhere, high and low near and far he was looking everywhere. When Greg looked under a ordinary flax he found a envelope, it was the same writing that was on the last page of Francis‘ diary. The envelope said “ clue 1” Riley (the Father) and Catherine (the Mother) opened the envelope the envelope with eager and determination, the note was written in Francis‘ distinctive handwriting, it read “ row out to the middle of the lake were the flag is make sure you are quick, I am scared. Her parents reacted quickly, they told all of the people who were searching including the police and the detectives. They all returned back to base everyone wanted to know what was going on and what was going to happen. Police and detectives equipped them with this  undercover security system and then they were sent on there way. The family saw Riley and Catherine  row into the cystel blue lake but after a while they were out of vision. Francis parents were never seen again, the rest of the family hope that they are with there daughter but police and detectives say it is highly unlikely.

Quetico Park by Max

Quetico Park

When I was young, a city kid growing up in Chicago, in the summer it was nice to escape the city life and go to Quetico Park. A place for fishing and camping, watching bears traveling through the forest and seeing stars shine as bright as they can in the cool, fresh air. But I wont be going to Quetico any time soon. Not after what happened to Francis Brandywine.

She was only seventeen at the time when she was camping with her family near the deepest lake in Quetico Park. Rumour has it that it is three hundred feet deep and Francis, being the brave person she was, snuck out of her tent so she could stare into the night sky and write in her journal.

She jumped into the family boat and rowed to where she thought the middle of the lake was. it was peaceful. Then a small tap broke the silence in the water. Francis looked up from her journal to see if she had hit the shore but she was still in the middle of the lake under the shining stars. she then dismissed it for a fish or a turtle knocking the bottom of the boat and she relaxed back into the boat writing in her journal.

Then again a tap but this time it was louder like knocking on a wooden door. She jumped searching the water for anything she had hit like a rock. She relaxed but then again this time as loud as a base drum, she had to leave it was a calm night so she would have made quick process rowing back to shore. After twenty intense minutes of rowing she had not moved at all it was like she was being held back by something under the boat. She tried pushing away from the hidden being but the oar were pulled under with a sharp tug. The knocking went on all night and all she could do was sit and wait.

The next day the boat was found floating just off the shore but Francis wasn’t there. She was never seen again. The only thing left in the boat was her journal. It had her frantic writing filling the last pages but the only reason we know what happened to her is because of the last page, it was written with what looked like a muddy finger and it said...

I DID KNOCK FIRST

Francis by Liam M

Francis (Horror Story)

 P 1 - I was sure of it, my parents must be asleep by now. I jumped out of my tent onto the bark that started cracking beneath my feet and grabbed a torch. I sneaked through the path to find my wooden boat floating in the deep blue river. I hopped in the boat and set off for the deepest part of the river where i could look at the stars and write in my journal.

P 2 - I had been paddling for around 20 minutes when i realised I had reached my destination. I lay down and looked at the stars. Hours went past and then I heard something weird. Knock! Knock!, I gasped, “What was that”? I thought to myself. I was confused for a while, but then i realised it was probably just an animal. Another twenty minutes went past and I had started to forget about the strange knocking. Suddenly, KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! It was even louder than before. Now I was getting scared. I realised I had to get back to my family so I started paddling as hard and as fast as I could. I wasn’t moving, what was happening!

P 3 - I lowered my oar into the water to see if anything was there. Splash! My oar had got sucked into the water. I jumped back and had now knocked my other oar into the water. I stopped and tried thinking about how i could fix this problem. I knew now what I had to do. I was going to sit it out, wait for the morning to come. My boredom was overwhelming and I had resorted to drawing monsters in my journal. I looked at my watch to find that it was almost morning. Excitement was flowing through my body, but doubt was fighting its way in. Again it was the knocking, but this time it had turned into three loud bangs.

P 4 - I felt my body sink slowly in the water, I tried holding my breath but it was no use. Nothing was going to stop this boat from sinking. I went down, down into the deep blue river, and never came back. 

By Liam M

Quetico Park by Shianne

Quetico Park

 As I came out of my tent the wind nearly pushed me over. When I look up at the sky the new moon gleamed over the park. My family and I were camping in Quetico Park near a lake. I couldn’t get to sleep, so I went to the row boat, to relax in the middle of the lake. It took me twenty minutes to row out to the middle of the lake. As I started to relax I could hear the rustling of the leafs in the forest, probably just a fox or bear or something else.

Then the sharp sound of someone or something knocking on the bottom of the boat echoed through the air. I thought I had hit land but when I looked over the boat we were still miles away. Maybe it was just a stick that had drifted under the boat. As I started to relax the sound of someone or something knocking echoed through the air again, maybe it was just an animal, I thought. I started writing in my journal but the sound of someone or something echoed again, that time I was scared. No animal could knock like that. I started rowing furiously to get back to land but the boat wouldn’t move, I was stuck in the middle of the lake. I put the end of one of the oars in the water but as soon as it touched the waters surface the oar was pulled under. I feel backwards but when I did I knocked the other oar in the water.

There was no other options, I was stuck, unless I tried swimming back to land. No, I thought, that is way to dangerous, but I guess I will have to try anyway, unless I want to be stuck on this boat till morning. I jumped into the cold water, leaving my journal behind because i couldn’t swim with it. I thought I could make it to land but just as I was half way there, big muddy hands stretched out of the water towards me, grabbed me and pulled me under, never to be seen again....... The end

Francis Brandywine by Matt

Francis. B Quetico Park. My favourite time of year is when we travel to the park in the middle of summer. The birds sing all year round, the crickets chirp in the trees and we always go canoeing on the crystal clear lake. Fun times. I always look forward to going each year. But this year Tom Johnson wasn’t going, Max Lillie from next door wasn’t going, and even my family wasn’t going. I never want to back there, at least not any time soon, not after what happened to a girl named Francis Brandywine. Francis Brandywine was a bit of a rebel. One of those people who likes to be left alone, and always ventures away from the well trodden path. Francis was 17 year old with jet black hair. Her family was staying in Quetico Park, in the remote part of the park, not far from the lake. The lake was clear and almost had a blue ting to it. The lake had a deepest point of arounf 300 feet. One dark night, on a full moon, Francis went out and did yet another of her rebel tricks. Once she was sure that her parents and little sister were sound asleep, see crept down to the waters edge. The waters edge rose and fell on the sandy shore shore. Francis wanted to be alone. She put her journal into a row boat along with a pack of cigarettes. She then jumped into the boat herself and rowed out across the large lake and once she was sure she was over the deepest point she stopped. She lit her cigarette, lay down and looked up at the star soaked sky and the aurora lights looked like a colourful lasso. The rainbow of colours danced across the sky and all was peaceful in the park. All was peaceful until a strange noise came from beneath the boat. KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK. Three knocks came from the boat in which Francis lay in. She sat up and looked over the side of the boat. She was expecting to have seen the shore but she was still in the middle of the lake. What if it was a stick or an animal? There’s nothing to worry about, is there? Francis was sure that there was nothing to be worried about and lay her down on the wooden planks and closed her eyes. Francis was now close to sleep and was slowly relaxing again but then KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK. The three knocks came again but even louder and crisper. Francis was now sure that there was an animal in the water. “Only an animal could make a sound like that, can’t it”? said Francis, thinking out loud. She sat in the boat, smoking, thinking in scared silence. The quiet atmosphere continued for ten minutes then then twenty. Francis was now thinking that she was dreaming and none of the knocking was true. But just as she had lead her to thinking it was all a dream. KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK. Francis then panicked, her mouth went dry. The knocks sounded like a knock on the door. Something or someone was below her. She lunged for the oars, she had to get of the lake ASAP. All she wanted now was to be in her own bed, on dry land. She threw the oars into place and started rowing hard out. Once she’d stopped rowing feverishly to catch here breath, she realized that she was still in the exact same place. The lake was calm and she should’ve made it near the shore by now, but the something or someone was holding her in place. She took the oars in and sat in the boat, gripping each side with white knuckles. She sat for what felt like forever then, BANG, BANG, BANG. The three knocks returned but were more like a bang. The floor boards rattled and the boat swayed from side to side. She breathed heavily and cried and cried. She then realized that she might be able to fish the creature out with one of the oars. She picked up one of the oars that lay beside her and dipped the handle end into the black water. There was a silent tug on the other end and it was pulled from her grasp and into the depths of the lake. All she could do now was wait, wait for what was going to happen to happen. She realized that if she was to die she would have to try and tell her story. The only way to tell the story was to write down the night’s events in her journal. She wrote it all down hastily and listened intently. Sadly, Francis had to rely on her journal to tell her story. She was never seen again. All the page in her journal were full of her distinctive hand writing. All but the last two pages which were damp when the journal was found the next morning. On these pages there were four words written down. These words were written quickly and in a muddy finger. they read “I DID KNOCK FIRST”.

Meg's Reading Activity

Caleb's Narrative Writing

Isabella's Narrative Writing

Shianne's Narrative Writing

Sam's Narrative Writing

Writing:

The children in Room 13 have been exploring Narrative Writing. We have used various video clips and images to inspire our writing. The Literacy Shed is a website that provides fantastic clips and thought provoking questions to enhance the children's writing. One reason I like the video clips is that they provided a lot of description with no words encouraging the children to think about how they can express what they see. This is one of the clips I used for writing.

This video is from Literacy Shed. I do not own any rights to the clip. Please go to www.literacyshed.com if you would like to watch any other video clips or look at resources for literacy.

Ski Notice #2

Senior Syndicate Speech Competition

Term 3 Week 5 Planning

Term 3 Week 4 Planning

Term 3 Planning

Term 3 Week 2 Planning

CANTAMATH NOTICE

Ski Trip Notice

Welcome Back to Term 3

Jean-Luc's Reading - No Audio.

Discussion Writing: Sarah

Should Zoos be Banned?

There are many different types of animals in the world, big or small, tall or short. Zoos are a place that is safe to learn about the animals and what kind of things they eat and what they need to be taking care with. There is also a risk of the animals causing a stampede if their enclosure isn't strong enough.

Keeping animals in an area is taking the animal away from it’s natural habitat and also taking them away from family. If zoos are teaching children and students anything, they are saying imprisoning animals can be justified. Some zoo keepers might want to send the animals back to the wild but the animals might not remember their home in the wild and they probably won't remember the family they lived with.

If people want the animals to be in the wild, it will mean animals might get eaten, however in a zoo they are safe and protected. Depending on the zoo, the animals never get bored and they are well cared for and get healthy food to eat. Zoos hep endangered animals that are hurt, almost being eaten or just help prevent extinction.

Zookeepers do not have the right to breed animals even though they are almost extinct. Baby animals bring in visitors and money but this could lead to over population. Surplus animals are not only sold to other zoos they are sold to anyone who can care for them. Otherwise surplus animals are just killed.

By Sarah

Discussion Writing: Chiara

Should Zoos be Banned?

By Chiara

I’m sure everyone reading this will have been to the zoo. When the first zoos with created enclosures were small and zoos were used for entertainment. But now zoos have large enclosures and they are used for education and to breed endangered animals. Zoos also provide surgery and medical help to animals found in the wild. On the other hand, there are fewer animals in their natural habitat.

 Zoos help to educate the public. This helps people to understand how animals act around humans and which ones to be careful around in the world. It also brings people and animals closer together. Educating people about what animals you could have as a pet and ones you should leave in the wild is also very important, just to add to the list of things zoos can educate you about. 

Breeding endangered animals is one of the most important things zoos do, it can stop species of animals from becoming extinct.  All over the world there are lots of breeding programs that make small populations larger. 

It is a family tradition to go to the zoo. You would be stopping some people and families from doing what they like to do. Family fun is now done, that is if you said no to zoos. 

There are less animals living in the wild. An example is in America 5,000 tigers live in captivity, in the whole world 10,000 tigers don't live in their natural habitat, only 2,500 tigers live in their natural habitat.  This is kind of sad when you think about it .

Zoos can get full of animals very quickly so if animals breed with each other they might not have enough space to keep it safe and if no other zoos want the animal, it will have to be killed.

Humans are taking away animals natural behaviour, the poor animals that have been put in a zoo can’t be put back in the wild. The number of animals in the wild is  dropping, more and more animals are going into captivity we need to do something!

I say we keep zoos, but that doesn't mean people should have wild animals as pets that's just not right. Stick to normal pets like dogs, cats or maybe a bird. By the way have fun at the zoo, I might see you there.

Persuasive Writing: Isabella's Writing

Alcohol Ban Lifted in Brazil Stadiums.

Alcohol plays a big part in riots at Brazil stadiums. It can cause serious injuries or can even kill. Their has been cases where someone has been killed by a beer bottle or by a drunk person.

Many people agree that alcohol is the cause of riots and violence. When a team looses to another team the fans of the loosing team, can break into riots. They can also break things of the stadium and use them as weapons against other people, that may have been not doing anything wrong. This then costs people to pay for the damage that has been caused.

It can be a child’s dream to go to a football game. But when alcohol is served to an older person, things can get out of hand. This will then make parents rethink about taking their child to a game.

In different sports there has been reports of people, doing the Mexican wave and throwing beer bottles into the air, which then hits another person.

To concluded in all sports there has been problems that relate back to alcohol. So I think that alcohol should be and stay banned at stadiums.

Persuasive Writing: Claudia's Writing

DON’T BAN THE HAKA!!!

The haka is an All Black, Maori tradition. Composed by the Maori tribe Nagti Toa’s warrior chief Te Rauparaha, to celebrate the fiery warrior’s escape from  death in battle, made famous by the All Blacks, performing this cultural war dance before matches. Now, people want to take it away from us.

Kiwi-fruit, marmite, and jandals are some of our kiwi icons, along with the haka. Without this special part of our culture, New-Zealand wouldn't be complete! Taking away the haka is like taking the Eifle Tower away from Paris, taking the ink out of a pen. It just isn’t going to work!

There is no decent reason why the All Blacks shouldn’t perform the haka, and there is no reason why other rugby teams shouldn't perform something cultural before a match either. Should the All Blacks really be punished for celebrating their culture?

Other countries are complaining that having the haka is an unfair advantage, because it physically and mentally prepares All Blacks for battle. But only one of those points are technically correct. It isn't an unfair advantage, there is nothing stopping another team from doing something cultural before a game. Maybe the haka even makes the All Blacks lose energy!

The haka has been around for over 100 years. Why make a big deal of it now? Without it, New Zealand wouldn't be complete. Do NOT take away the haka!!!

Persuasive Writing: Jess

Keep The Alcohol Ban

Alcohol! Should the Brazilian government let these fans drink alcoholic beverages at The Fifa World Cup? Will it cause trouble or will it be controlled?

Should the Brazilian government let these fans have alcohol? Well if they do it may turn into an unsafe place for children to go and there maybe big fights before games. It could lead to serious injures or even deaths.

The Brazilian government has set this rule for over a decade and why should they withdraw this just because of the Fifa World Cup. The Fifa World Cup is not as powerful as a countries government.

If they take away the ban families won’t be able to go to these games because the intoxicated fans aren’t safe. People will start to take there anger out on innocent people and also innocent players, this is also not safe for other people.

The solution could be that all fans from both sides can wear wristbands and every time they purchase a drink they could get a hole punch, once they reach a certain amount of drinks or they are intoxicated they can get it cut off.

 To conclude I think alcohol should be banned because it is much more safer option and no one will get hurt. Quote- “ you can have fun without alcohol”.

Reading Activities: Paradise Tree Snakes

Discussion Writing by Ella

Should Social Networking Be Banned? 

Social networking is a dedicated website or application which enables users to interact or communicate with others by posting photos, information, comments, messages, etc.… 

Many people each year get cyber bullied on social networks from people they don’t know & people they do know. Cyber bullying can lead to harming yourself & even death. 

Most people don’t know what social networks will lead to for example you don’t who is that person really is or if you put something inappropriate or unnecessary it can be screen shotted & sent to someone else. 

Social networking is good for contacting people who live overseas & not near where you live. This means that you can message anyone anywhere as long as there is wifi. 

Social networking is good for people who are sensible & appropriate. 

Social networking has been around for many years & a lot of people still use it nowadays because of its ability to interact with people on technology & meet new people through it even though it is dangerous & harmful. 

By Ella 

Topic - Weather

This term we have been focusing on careers up until now. The class has now started a new topic, weather.

We have watched a video on some of the worst weather to roam the earth such as wild fires, cyclones etc. We hope to learn a lot about the weather patterns and different ways some of the freak weather systems start.

Here is an information weather web from what I know so far...

  

Max Q: Snakes

Snakes by Claudia

George's Discussion Writing

Samuel's Reading Work

Isabella's Writing

Armadillos (Reading Activity) by Isabella

Armadillos 

Armadillos are insectivores. This means they eat insects like ants, beetles, termites, worms and grubs. Using their long snout armadillos push their nose into the ground to dig up insects. 

Armadillos can smell food up to 20cm below the surface. When an armadillo is foraging for food they make lots of noise. They put their snout close to the ground, that way they can sniff out an insect. 

By Isabella

Eli's Reading Activity about Snakes

Snakes by Ella K (Reading Activities)

Sloths By Claudia

Vampire Bats: Matt H

Topic - Careers

In Room 13, for Topic this term; we have been learning about "My Career Plan". Below are some of the examples we have completed to help us in our studies. We have learnt that almost all jobs in this world require certain standards that must be met, such as if you want to become a professional athlete, performance on the day is key and keeping fit is essential.

Most people are attracted to jobs they have an interest in for example: drawing/creative art therefore, you might become an artist, a fashion designer or an interior/exterior designer. We found that all of us in the class have different hobbies and therefore we will all have a different life plan and occupation. But as it is only the start of the of Term 2, our class has a whole lot more to learn about and experience, which I am sure will benefit us all when choosing topics in high school and most importantly what line of work we'll go into in the future.

CAREER EXAMPLES:

Design

• Architect
• Fashion designer
• Interior and Exterior designer
• Scientific

Job Requirements:

• Specific courses for area of design
• On the job learning
• Possibly both Polytechnic and University; diploma/degree

Lawyer

• Criminal
• Child, Youth and Family
• Legislative
• Conveyance

Job Requirements:

• NCEA 3
• University
• Undergraduate Degree

Wellington Camp

On the rainy morning of April the 8th, Christ the King's Senior Syndicate were buzzing with excitement; today was the day they all went to Wellington. After a long awaited morning we all boarded a bus, and headed to the Christchurch Airport, ready to leave Christchurch for the week and head to Wellington aboard flight NZ352. Some of us had been to Wellington before, others had never before been on a plane! We finally left Christchurch behind us and departed at ten past three. It was a quick 45 minute flight, but arrived to an average wet and windy Wellington day.

Lucky for us we then went on to the local pool for a relaxing swim. Then we travelled to the Wellington Zoo for a sleepover with the animals, and a night walk around the spectacular zoo. Then we all went to our sleeping quarters. The girls slept with the lizards, the boys with the gibbons. We all tried to get a good nights sleep but that was hard to come by. That morning some us stayed with the animals at the zoo, and then went to Capital E where we learnt how to make apps and made our own news broadcast, others went off to visit Te Papa and then have a tour of Parliament. That night was the best. We first went to the food court for dinner and then all went Ten pin bowling at "The Lanes".

The next day, all the groups completed the activities they hadn't yet visited, some of us packed bags for the trip home the next day. Friday morning came and we all packed up and got ready to leave, BUT all of us would never forget the experience we had just had. 

The catered food was magnificent, the pizzas were delicious and the subway at every lunch breaks were sublime. The accommodation at the Y.H.A Wellington was wonderful and great to know we had warm beds to sleep in after our rainy activities. All our activities at the Zoo, Te Papa, Capital E, and Parliament were well planned.

Thank You teachers and parent helpers for making this years Wellington Camp so enjoyable! This camp and overall experience was the best I've had so far, it was enjoyable, entertaining, pleasant and had lots of fun and laughs along the way.

Written By Matt Hill

Wellington

On Tuesday the 8th of April all the year 7 and 8 students arrived at school bursting with excitement, we were finally going to Wellington.  After a long morning we boarded NZ352 bound for Wellington it was a short 45 minute flight.  Wellington welcomed us with cold wind, and heavy showers, we gathered up our suitcases and walked to the bus ready for a relaxing swim at the local pool. Then our evening was spent exploring the Wellington Zoo and sleeping over, the boys with the Gibbons and girls with the Lizards. The next two days we did multiple activates such as ten pin bowling, Parliament tour, Captial E, Te Papa, etc. On Wednesday and Thursday our lunch was made and delivered by subway with a cookie and drink of our choice and for dinner Wednesday we went to the food court and on Thursday a home cooked meal. Our accommodation for Wednesday and Thursday was at the YHA Wellington. On Friday we departed Wellington and came back to our families in Christchurch. To conclude Wellington was an amazing camp that we all enjoyed, a big thank you to
our wonderful teachers at CTK for organising this trip.

By J Watkins

Vampire Bats by Claudia

Wellington Camp: Capital E Zoo Noos

Camp Gear List!

Explanation Writing: Abolition of Slavery by Ella K

Abolition Of Slavery

In the 1780’s slavery was thought of cheap, normal, employment.

The pro-slavery lobby tried to get rid of Africans by saying that they had no native society, lived like savages, were grateful for the chance to escape Africa, enjoyed the crossing & benefited from a good life on the plantations.

In 1791, thousands of pamphlets were printed which encouraged humans to boycott  sugar produced by slaves. Estimates suggest some 300,000 people abandoned sugar, with sales dropping by a third to a half. Some stores advertised products which had been made by ‘freeman’ & sales of sugar from India, where slavery was not used, increased tenfold over two years.

Thomas Clarkson documented the brutal treatment of the slave ships’ crews by demonstrating that, on average 20% of each crew died from disease or ill treatment before the ship returned. This proved that the trade was horrid for sailors as well as Africans.

This long-term impact of the campaign was highly remarkable, because it thoroughly established anti-slavery sentiment in the national consciousness therefore slavery was finally abolished in 1838!

Abolishing slavery was a long & meaningful process & slavery in Africa is not missed.

By Ella K

Abolition of Slavery: Jess W

Abolition of Slavery

Abolition movement was carried out by people with the goal of ending all slavery. This movement believed strongly that slavery was deeply wrong.

In 1787 the society for the Abolition of the slave trade was founded in Britain. And was lead by founding members William Wilberforce and Thomas Clarkson.

Slavery was officially abolished in most of the British Empire on 1 August 1833 however abolitionists would continue campaigning against the international trade of slaves after this date.

The act bans the employment of children under the age of nine and limits the workday for children between the ages of 13 and 18 to 12 hours. The laws provides inspection of working conditions.

Unfortunately all these years on there is still modern day slavery in our world today.

By Jessica W   

Room 13 Parliament: Debate on Reduction Of Plastic Packaging

Debate on Reduction Of Plastic Packaging

On the 2^nd of April, Room 13 was dramatically into a parliament debating chamber. It experienced an intense debate between the government side ( Youth, Pumped and Merrangitans parties ) and the opposition ( #, Brighter Future and Cookie jar parties ). The bill being discussed was the reduction of plastic packaging, and whether this should be put in place. The government fully supported the idea but the opposition thought otherwise.

The procession began as Izzy the Sergeant of Arms led James the Speaker and Kieran the Clerk into the Debate Chamber ( also known as room 13). The Speaker began by saying a prayer and calling the Clerk to state the rules. After that it was a political warzone as both sides constantly bombarded each other with powerful statements. Leading the Government was the P.M Ella K and her party explained how animals are dying because of us and our plastic packaging as well as there being so much plastic being thrown around that plastic islands were being formed out at sea. Leading the opposition was George and his party explained how would be much so inconvenient as the country would have to resort to 60’s style paper bag lunchboxes. During the debate, Speaker James felt many violated the rules and asked many to exit the building to secure order. Although at the end around half the class had had to leave.

In the end the Clerk counted the votes and passed them to the Speaker. The Speaker declared the Bill not to be passed as the votes against had outweighed those for reduction of plastic packaging.  

By Kieran

Sports/PE: North West Zones Swimming Sports

Zone Swimming by M Hill. 

CTK sent a strong team to the recent North West Swimming Zones competitions on Friday the 21^st of March, this event was held at Jellie Park Swimming Pool.  The CTK team are fortunate to be closely located to the pool and able to walk some of their pre-event nerves off on the way to the competition.

The overall team performed extremely well and received first place in many of the races; there were a lot successes to report but to name just a couple - second in all relay events and first place in the nine year old relay event.    

At CTK we can be proud of our  team that gave their all, performed at their best, and one of the most successful teams on the day which showed in their results…truly stepping up for success!

NZ Government by M Hill

NZ Government & Parliament

Our Parliamentary and Government learning over the last 2 weeks has been intriguing as we learnt about how the House of Representatives works, and how Bills are passed and made into Law (e.g. NZ Nuclear Free Zone).  We learnt that the “House” has 120 seats, and 2 “sides” (for and against). We also found that the House of Representatives has a Speaker (David Carter). Our class also had the chance to create our own parties and policies and had a few debates over many of our policies. Many of the students  strongly debated their opinions and we enjoyed many laughs about the comments made.

These are all the Parties names created:

Ø  The Hashtag Party

Ø  Brighter Future

Ø  Youth Party

Ø  The Meraingatangs

Ø  Pumped

Ø  The Cookie Jar

Sherbet Fizz by G DeMarco

SHERBERT FIZZ G DeMarco

 On Wednesday afternoon with Mrs Crowe we started our “Kitchen Chemistry” topic for Science.

We tasted all the ingredients using our senses etc. taste, smell, feel. Some tasted very good such as the Jelly crystals and for some people the Citric Acid (which was very sour) and some things just left a bad taste in your mouth such as the Baking Soda.
A lot of the ingredients felt like powder or crystallised and some felt like a mix of the two. After the taste testing we made our SHERBET. We chose our flavours; raspberry, lime and strawberry (jelly crystals/jelly flavours) and had a taste, smell and feel of our delicious creation.
We put our sherbet in individual cups and put it on the back table to save for after school. The bell rang and it was a frenzy to get to the back table and grab the sherbet. As I tasted it I quickly figured out it was worth the wait. Its flavour was sour with a punch of strawberry (that was the flavour my group had chosen).
When you put it on your tongue it fizzed just like our class had hoped. Over all the making of sherbet fizz was a fun and exciting experience which came with well delicious results.

ANAYLISATION: We created an acid-base reaction in our mouth by combining an acid (citric acid) and an alkaline (bicarbonate soda) with saliva. They mix together to create a gas in the form of lots of tiny bubbles

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN SHERBERT: 1 Tea Spoon of Citric Acid 1 Tea Spoon of Bicarbonate 2 Table Spoons of Icing Sugar 1 Table Spoon of Flavoured Jelly Crystals Mix and Get Out All Lumps Then EAT

New Zealand Government: What about the Room 13 Government?

This the children in Room 13 have been writing various policies of what they would want to do if they were in government. Some of the children needed to learn that you can not bribe people to vote for you and also, you can not give too much away as this is tax payers money. The children were creative and delivered their policies to the class. Here is one groups policies and I will post more in the next few days.

Air Jaws: Explanation Writing

Last week the children in Room 13 learnt about why the sharks in the waters around False Bay breach the water. The children were amazed at how fast the sharks could strike the seal and the height the shark could breach. Here are a few examples of the children's writing.

Our Governor General and House of Representatives - Information Webs

Explanation Writing: Air Jaws

Religious Education: A Pilgrim People

This week the children have been exploring in the Church Strand, 'A Pilgrim People'. The students began looking at your faith journey and how this journey may also have obstacles and detours. The children then drew a journey and some of the obstacles that may occur.

Explanation Writing

This week the children have been writing about bird migration. The students firstly watched a few clips on YouTube to see how and why birds migrate. After we talked about the topic, the children began to write an explanation. Some children found this difficult, however most children experimented with their use of language and made progress as the week progressed.

New Zealand Government

This term our topic is learning about our 'New Zealand Government' and how it works. The children have been exposed to the history of the Treaty of Waitangi and were given the task of firstly reading the information and then creating an information web. The children were surprised with the quickness that the treaty was drafted and signed - the children in Room 13 created many fantastic information webs.

Here is the work of some of the children:

Meet the Teacher

Dear Room 13 and Parents,

Below is the link for my presentation for the Meet the Teacher evening. If you are unable to attend but would like to either have a discussion or just a quick meeting, please email me and I will be in touch.

The best way to communicate with me is via email. I will endeavour to answer your email on the same day, however if unforeseen events come up please give another day.

Meet the teacher from Atherton81