Fun fox

 Kia ora,

Today I have been learning how to draw to create a fox out of geometric shapes

The first thing I did was watch a video that taught me about three different types of triangles scalene, isosceles and an equilateral. A scalene is a triangle with no equal sides. An isosceles is a triangle with only two equal sides and an equilateral has all equal sides.

I enjoyed doing this activity because I enjoyed learning about the different types of triangles.

I found it difficult to choose the right shapes to make it look like a fox 

Ma te wa 

Irelyn

Forced perspective

 Kia ora,

Today I have been learning about a forced perspective. A forced perspective is when you make something look what it is not.

The first step you need to do is get an object that can be a toy, a pet or even your hand. Then you need to line the camera up perfectly where you want it so it looks like you are holding something or running away from something. Then you can take the photo.

I enjoyed collecting bits and being creative for my photo

I found it challenging to line up the camera with the object 

Ma te wa 

Irelyn 

 Kia ora,

Today i have been writing poems

To write a poem the first thing you need to do is choose a topic it can be about yourself, your favourite food or even a place or a season.

Once you have chosen your topic you need to think of some word to describe your topic like if it was a dog you might say furry or loyal.

Now you can start writing your poem. You could do a limerick, a haiku, an acrostic poem or even a concrete and those are just some types of poems.

I enjoyed writing poems because I think that it's really fun finding heaps of new words that you can use.

I found it challenging to find a topic for the poem.

Ma te wa 

Irelyn

Cool coding

 Kia ora, 

Today i have been learning how to code with minecraft hour of code. 

I think hour of code is a fun game on minecraft that teaches kids how to code. When you enter the map you are greeted by a person who will help you along the way. I liked playing hours of code because I think it is really fun and I like how many things you get to choose from. Once you have chosen your agent you are given a set of places in time that have been messed up like instead of people trying to domesticate they try to domesticate bears. Then  you have to code your agent by giving step by step instructions. I found it challenging to give the right code to my agent. If i could travel to any time in the world I would go to when the Mona Lisa was painted or when ice cream was made.

If you haven't played an hour of code yet why not give it a go.

Ma te wa
Irelyn

Stick figure fun

Kia ora

It’s the holidays!

So, today for the summer learning journey I have been drawing stick figures doing loads of different activities. 

This is how to draw a  stick figure: 

1.Draw an oval for the head

2. Draw a straight line coming down from the bottom   

of the head

3. Draw a straight line coming from one side of the  

body

4. Repeat on the other side 

5.Draw a leg on the bottom 

6. Repeat on the other side 

And in about a minute you have got your very own simple stick figure

The stick figure is a simple way to draw a person using ovals,

curves and lines. Stick figures are also often the way that babies learn to draw people. Today stick figures are used to

o create comics, animations, games, film storyboards and also visual media. 

One of the more popular stick figures is the one and only Pak'n’save masco Stickman! You can see him in any p

ak’n’save ad and you might even see him in store too!

Another interesting fact about stick figures is that the first stick figure ever recorded dates back to 1964 WOW!

That was a long time ago.

I enjoy drawing the stick figures and thinking of cool activities that they can do. I found it challenging to get the position of it  body right

Have a awesome holiday 

Ma te wa

Irelyn

Kia ora,


Today because it is coming to the season of summer 

we have been learning how to be sunsmart.

For this task we had to create a set of slides showing you 

some things you can do to be sunsmart.

I enjoyed doing this task because I found heaps of new 

things that you can do to be sunsmart.I found it challenging choosing a colour theme.

If you would like to find out more click on this video.

Self portrait

Kia ora,

This week we have been doing self portraits.
Well making this art i learnt how to mix colours out of basic colours.

To make this art we got a photo of yourself and went round the outside onto a laminating pocket with a sharpie. Then we mixed the colours and started to paint. Then we put a piece of card in the middle and we got a beautiful self portrait.

I enjoyed mixing colours and painting my self portrait.
I found it challenging to not let the paint smudge

What is service?

 Kia ora,

What is service?
Service is helping someone who needs a hand or it can be something as simple as giving a smile to make someone's day. Service is a little thing that can make a big difference.
To show you what you can do to show service I have made a poster on canva. My poster includes bright colours, fun pictures and five things that you can do.
I enjoyed creating a poster because I like using canva because there are so many cool colours and themes you can choose from.

The Kowhai tree

Kia ora,


This week we have been learning about rongoa, the healing power of plants.
Ronga is passed down orally from one generation to another.

The kowhai tree was a real treasure to the maori because of its special healing powers.
So to showcase my knowledge about the kowhai tree I have created a sign to tell you all about this special tree.

I enjoyed designing my slide and I especially enjoyed painting my sign.
Next time I would change the colour theme of my slide to make it look different.

Ma te wa

Irelyn

Geometry

 Kia ora,

this week we have been learning about 3D shapes.                                                                                            So today for maths we have made a poster showing difrent 3D shapes.

I enjoyed doing this activity because i realy l;iked shading in the shapes.                                                          I found this really fun and found nothing challenging.

Ma te wa,

Irelyn

Bees

Kia ora,

today we have been learning about bees. Did you know that there are over 20,000 difrent types of bees thats alot of bees.

Today for reading we had to read a book about bees and pick 12 words then out of those 12 words we had to pick the six most inportent and then we had to make a short summury about bees including those six words.

I enjoyed learning about bees because there very intresting to learn about, I found it hard to pick 12 key word out of the storey.

Ma te wa,

Irelyn

 

2021 Speech Cmpetition

Kia ora,

The time has come for the Saint Mary's 2021 speech competition. All of the school had to write a speech, the juniors had to write a report and the seniors had to write a persuasive speech.
The topic of my speech is horse vs electric vehicles.

Doing school Speeches is a great way to build students' confidence.
This year i achieved first for the year five speeches

I enjoyed doing this because I think it is really fun when you get into the finals and if you do you feel really good.I found it challenging to choses a topic because there are so many things you can do.


Ma te wa,

Irelyn

      Horses vs Electric vehicles

Are you worried about running out of fossil fuels in the world? Are you fed up with the government telling you to buy an electric car to save the world? Well I've got the solution for you. 
Why don't we just take a step back and start using horses to travel. In this speech I will state three reasons why horse are the way to go to solve our pollution problems in the world and make a better world to live in

Firstly, These days we are very concerned about the amount of pollution that fossil fuels are putting into the world. The government believes it will save the world if we all change to electric vehicles. All of this may be true but to make an electric vehicle some of the equipment you need comes from a machine which most probably uses oil to power it. At this stage we are becoming too reliant on these fuels and are starting to use them too much so we're running out and it will take about another million years for it to form. About 80% of the appliances we use today use fossil fuels. And worst of all when these fuels are burned they release nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere  which causes global warming. It is extremely important that we cut down on the use of these fuels. But are electric cars the answer?
I think not. There is a far simpler way that is also one that is nice to pat. Yes, you’re right. It’s the loveable horse.

Secondly, Let’s compare and soon you will agree with me. While horses and electric vehicles can go about the same distance,  and sure they are making electric cars be able to  travel farther one day, covid 19 may mean that we are not likely to get a bunch of cars shipped in from another countries any time soon, or even maybe not even able to move outside our city. Well with horses there are already thousands of them. Imagine if you're going on a trip and your electric car starts to go flat. you're most likely to not find a charging station and if you do it will take forever to charge. Not everyone has time to wait around for  up to 24 hours Sure with a horse you have to give it a rest every now and then and maybe give it an apple or two but that's not that much to ask is it. 

Thirdly, There is a horse for everyone as there are 200 different breeds but there are only 3 different types of electric cars you're bound to find  a horse of your liking.  That will be different from your neighbours. You can have a really nice relationship with a horse and they're really soft and cuddly too, I don't think you would want to cuddle an electric car. Horses have a nice nature and are very kind to the disabled people. Cars will just run over anyone. They don’t care. The only pollution that horses make is very good for the garden. Well, I could go on and on about horses but I must give it a kick and move on. No doubt horses are the best option for the future.

In conclusion,
I am absolutely certain that horses are the way to the future. In this speech I have explained why we should make a change, why horses are better than electric cars and the benefits of horses. This is vital as fossil fuels are polluting the world and with this change it will make us and the world happier and healther. It's your time to take action and buy a horse.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

2021 calendar art

Kia ora,


Once every year the whole school creates a piece of artwork to be made into a calendar for us and are whanau. This year my class have all sketched new zealand birds and filled them with geometric shapes.

The first thing we did was we watched a video with all the New Zealand birds and we had to pick one.
I chose one of the classics, the famous kereru.

Secondly, we had to find an image on the web of a bird so we could trace the outline on the window. Next it was time to add geometric shapes.
You can use a range of different shapes from an octagon to a triangle. Then you just have to color in the bird.

Lastly, we got something round and used it to trace a circle in the middle. To make the background not so plan we got dyed and blended to colours to make the background and to make the background really pop we added little squares cut out of tissue paper and put them around the sun.

I enjoyed doing this activity because I got to choose my favorite NZ bird, the Kereru.
I found it challenging to not get die in the wight circle
Next time I would change the background colour to a light blue and green.

I hope you enjoyed reading my blog post today


Ma te wa

Irelyn

lego

Kia ora

Today we had a fun task, it was to learn about and create something out of lego.

I liked this task because we got to make something out of lego, but also because I found the history of lego very cool. I found it especially interesting that the first lego toy was a wooden duck, how crazy is that!

After reading, it was time to create!

I chose to make a lego temple using the colours brown, yellow, pink and green. I used a heap of different textured bricks to make it come to life.

I enjoyed doing this task because I like creating things out of lego, but I also found the history really fascinating.  

I found it challenging to decide what to make because there are some many things you can create with lego.

I hope you like me and my sister's creations.


Ma te wa

lrelyn

    My temple

    My sisters pet shop

Sea turtles

Kia ora,

Have you ever seen a sea turtle?
Well I have created a poster to tell you five fun facts about sea turtles.

To get some facts about them the first thing I did was watch a video about sea turtles predators.
In this video it explained to me a sea turtle's main predator like tiger shark  and showed me how baby sea turtles survive in the wild.

Then I watched a cool video that showed me how to draw a sea turtle. This was good to do because it tells you how to color the turtle as well as draw it.

Next it was time to make the poster. I got a piece of paper and collected all my information and then my poster was complete.

I enjoyed learning about Sea turtles. I really liked drawing the turtle on my poster. I found it hard to collect all of my five pieces of information.


Do you like my poster?


Ma te wa

Irelyn

Cats vs Dogs

Kia ora,

Which is your favorite pet, cats or dogs?
I like dogs the best. I think dogs are the best because they love to play and run around with you.


For reading I have been learning how to apply prior knowledge and opinions. I read a book about cats and then started to work on my slide.

I enjoyed learning heaps of facts from watching this video.
I found it challenging to find out facts about cats.

Did you enjoy reading my blog post?


Ma te wa

Irelyn

Lockdown letter

Kia ora,


Do you know what a pen pal is?
A pen pal is a friend or a family member who lives far away that you can write letters to.


For reading we have been learning about the awesome pen pals students have at Arataki school.
To read the book pen pals click here.
For this task we had to write a letter to a friend or a family member.


Although traditionally pen pals are supposed to live far away, during lockdown we have been writing  letters to a friend that lives close by because we havent been able to see them because we cant leave our home's.


I enjoyed writing a letter to my friends to see what they have been doing.

I found it challenging to think of what cool thing I have been doing this lockdown.


I hope you like my letter


Ma te wa

Irelyn

The amazing race

Kia ora,



To get Active we are doing a challenge called the amazing race. The amazing race is where we have to do different challenges all around japan. There are individual, duo and whanau team challenges you have to complete.


The individual challenges were to create an origami cup and a spot the difference.


The duo challenge was to draw three hills with a blindfold on and the other person had to tell you the steps to draw it.


The whanau team challenge was to create a outfit out of newspaper. For this challenge we made a top, a hat and a skirt.  We did this by folding, cutting and curling the newspaper, we secured it together using staples.  To make the flower on the hat I used skills that I had been taught during the school holiday art programme at the museum.  If you would like to have a go at making a newspaper hat click on this link.


I enjoyed doing this challenge with my whanau and I especially enjoyed making an outfit out of newspaper. I found it challenging to make the origami cup because three were some tricky parts.

Ma te wa 

Irelyn

Outside art

Kia ora,


Today I have been learning how to create artwork from the things you have in your garden.

The inspiration for my art was a man called Andy Goldsworthy. Andy Goldsworthy is a world famous sculptor who uses things like stones, leaves, sticks and ice to create a stunning pieces of art.

If you would like to see some of Andy’s creations click here.

My sister and I have created our own pieces of natural art work. We included rocks, sticks, flowers and leaves to create our sculptures.

The jumping Kereru game

Kia ora

Today for reading, I have been learning about Cicadas.

Did you know Cicadas only live for 2-5 years?  Most of these years are spent as a nymph living underground, once they emerge they only live for  4 to 6 weeks.


So for reading today I read a book called  Olly's Cicadas and read the Cicada fact sheet on National Geographic kids.  Here is the link if you would link if you would like to take a look at it youself.

I have made a jumping game on scratch. Unfortunately there were no cicadas so instead I made a Jumping Kereru game.

I found it hard to program the possum to glide across the screen because I kept accidentally deleting the character. I enjoyed doing this activity because I love using scratch to create things.



Ma te wa

Irelyn

Stop motion

Kia ora,

Today my online task was to create a stop motion.
A stop motion is when you take a series of  photos and put them altogether to create a video.

Inbetween each photo you move your object an inch so that when all the photos are played together it  looks like the obect is moving.

I think stop motion is a really fun way to make a video.

I found it challenging to not get my hands in the photo’s. I really enjoyed seeing the how it turned out
I hope you enjoy watching it.

Ma te wa
Irelyn

The paralympic games

Kia ora


Today my online task was to learn about the Paralympics. Did you know that the first paralympics was held in Rome in the 1960s.


For this task I have created a side that tells you about the paralympics. The Paralympics is a great way for people with disabilities to show that they can do anything that they work hard for.


I enjoyed learning about this topic because I enjoyed finding out about why they began
I found It challenging to collect enough facts for my slide.

I hope you enjoyed reading my blog post


Ma te wa

Irelyn

plastic pollution

Kia ora,


For my reading task I have created a slideshow that explains the impact plastic has on the environment.

Did you know since the 1950s around 8.3 billion tons of plastic has been produced world wide, that's a lot of plastic!


Seeing the damage that this is doing to our world makes me thinks we need to make some chnages, because it is the little things that help make the world a better place.


While doing this task I learnt a bunch of facts from watching this video.


I enjoyed learning the simple things we can do to help, like recycling or bring your own bag when you go shopping. I found it challenging to create my set of slides because it was difficukt to get the layout right.


Ma te wa
Irelyn

Fizz inflator

 Kia ora,

Have you ever made a fizz inflator?

This is a fun experiment for you to do at home. 

How does it work?

The baking soda and vinegar create an acid-base reaction wich makes a gas called carbon dioxide. beceuse gases need a lot of room to expand the bottle fill fills up and goes into the balloon making it blow up.

if you dont know what that is watch this video

Here are the instructions to try this experiment at home

First you need to collect your ingredients and supplies:

• One empty bottle
• ½ A cup of vinegar
• A balloon
• Baking soda
• A funnel or a piece of paper

1. Pour the vinegar into the bottle

2. This is the tricky part: Loosen up the balloon by stretching it a few times and then use the funnel to fill it a bit more than half way with baking soda. If you don’t have a funnel you can make one using the paper and some tape.

3. Now carefully put the neck of the balloon all the way over the neck of the bottle without letting any baking soda into the bottle

4. Now carefully put the neck of the balloon all the way over the neck of the bottle without letting any baking soda into the bottle

During the experiement I noticed that the more vinegar you add the bigger your balloon grows.

I found it challenging to pour the baking powder into the balloon because the baking soda was quite chunky and keept getting stuck in the funnel. My favorite bit was watching the balloon blow up.

Ma te wa 

Irelyn

Composting

 Kia ora,

Today for writing our challenge was to write a information report on composting.

Did you know that compost is a type of garden fetiliser which is made from rotten plants and food scraps? The food scraps and plants are layered into a big bin where they can rot down over time.

The first compost bin was created by Sir Albert Howard In early 1900s? That's a long time ago. 

I enjoyed researching facts and information about this topic because I found it very instresting learning about the cycle.  I found it challenging to make my key words into sentences.

Read my information report below and you will become an expert on composting.

Watch this video to find out more.

composting

Have you got a compost bin at your house?

The first compost bin was made in the early 1900’s by a man called Sir Albert Howard. In this information report I will explain to you what compost is, how it is made and the benefits of composting.

What is it?

Compost is a substance that is made from a mixture of things like broken down leaves, food scraps and other garden waste which is put into a bin and left to decompose.   Compost bins can be made from wood, plastic or metal as long as they have holes to let oxygen in. It is important that the compost bin does not contain dairy products or meat because that will attract animals such as rats and mice. 

How is it made?

Compost is made by making a layer of kitchen scraps and green waste on top of each other. You should place your compost bin partly in the sun. It should be somewhere convenient to add to and to take care of. Try not to include weed seeds or plants with any diseases because they can spread to the garden when you use the compost. Bugs, worms, nematodes, and bacteria help decompose the vitamin packed scraps into some nice  and rich compost.

         The benefits of

I think composting is a great way to reduce waste and provide nutrients for our gardens. Making our own compost at home compost is free and reduces our need to use other fertilisers which may have chemicals in them. Using compost enriches the soil helping it keep it’s moisture.

In this information report I have explained to you what compost is, how it is made and the benefits of composting. Overall I think composting is a great way to reuse scraps and create our own fertiliser for free.

How Maui found his hook and the magic jawbone

 Kia ora

Have you heard the story of how Maui found his hook and the magic jawbone?

The storey  tells us  how Maui, the trirckster  creates a plan to find out who his father is and where his mother  secretly goes in the day. He watches his mum dive into a deep hole, he follows her in and uses his shapeshifting powers to disguise himself as a Kereru. Maui finds his mother sitting under a tree talking to a strange man.  Maui, the Kereru, flies to the top of the tree and starts throwing berries at them.  This frustrates the man, so he gets up and throws a stone at the Kereru which lands right on its chest causing it to plummate to the ground. Maui is transformed back into himself and he realises that the strange man with his mother is actually his father.

  

I have sketched out the Kereru that Maui the shape shifter transformed into. I used a mixture of coloured pencil and water colour paints which I think make the colours come to life. I have included the colours

Red, green, gray and blue to make the Kereru pop.

I enjoyed coloring in my drawing and reading the storey of how Maui found his hook and the magic jawbone. I found it challenging to find the right colours for my Kereru.

Click here to listen to how Maui found his hook and the magic jawbone.

Faith & trust

Kia ora,


Faith Is like that light at the end of the tunnel.
But what does it mean to you?

Today our RE task was to go on a word cloud and make a list of words that explains faith and trust.
If you don't know what word cloud is, it is a site where you can make words into shapes.

I liked doing this activity because on word cloud there are so many cool colours and shapes to make your words into.

Here is what faith means to me.

Ma te wa

Irelyn

The Kereru

Kia ora,

Did you know that the Kereru, also known as the wood pigeon, is endemic to NZ midland. Endemic means that a thing is regularly found in a certain area.


The Kereru is very important because they can swallow big seeds that most birds can't, which help's spread the native trees.


The Kereru has a variety of different colours ranging from metallic green to bronze. They have a big white chest which is a cool feature to their colourful feathers.


I also learnt that a Kereru can live up to 21 years but lately they have been living only for five years.  This is due to an increase in hazards  such as flying into car windows and pests.

The main pests for the Kereru are Rats, Stoats, Cats and Possums because they eat the Kereru’s eggs.   Stoats and Cats will  also attack and kill the Kereru itself.


Doing this research has made me think more about the threat Cats pose to Kereru. My next steps would be to investigate what kinds of threats Cats pose.


Ma te wa

New zealand native bush scavenger hunt

can you find all 11 things