Wednesday 18 September 2013

PIZZA PARTY MONDAY 23rd SEPTEMBER



We will be making pizzas on Monday to celebrate learning about fractions.
It would be great if you could bring a topping to put on your group's pizza. 
Examples: A can of pineapple, spaghetti, ham, tomato paste, vegetables.
You do not have to bring a topping to participate.
Any questions see Whaea Scarlett
Thanks

What an amazing learning day today! Looking forward to tomorrow with the family breakfast and sports in the afternoon.






Sunday 15 September 2013

Shonah's Inquiry


Morgan's Inquiry


Monrovia's Inquiry


Jason's Inquiry


Maya's Inquiry


Vince's Inquiry


Savanah's Inquiry


Tanya's Inquiry


Sharyn's Inquiry


Abraar's Inquiry


Nina's Inquiry


Keisha's Inquiry


Terry's Inquiry


Pornthipha's Inquiry


Luke's Inquiry


Taeho's Inquiry


Jack's Inquiry


Today we were lucky enough to have Barbara Kendall come and speak to us. She was very inspiring!

Tuesday 3 September 2013

Environment Inquiries


THE RAIN FOREST
*NIGHT LIFE:  for many jungle creatures, the sun going down is an alarm clock for them to get up.  Animals that wake up at night are called nocturnal creatures and have special features for survival in the dark.

*Hide and Seek:  A jaguarondi has large eyes which help it see in the dark.  These small cats are hard to find in the rain forest.  They are excellent climbers and speedy fast creatures.

*Toad in a hole:  for these toads, life is a safer underground or in the dark.  They spend the day in a forest floor burrow and come and come out to have dinner such as mice and insects.

*Jaguarondi: these jaguarondis hunt small birds, mice and lizards around trees, plants and bushes.

*Fly Fishing:  fishing bats don’t need to see well as they have outstanding hearing.  They can hear they hear the size and shape of fish in the river just by sensing the ripples on the surface.  They take fish out with their sharp dirty claws.

*BIG CATS PREY: A Indian tiger is a nocturnal hunter of forest deers and bush pigs.  Its long whiskers help it feel its way around and it can see in the dark five times better.

*Owl butterfly:  The spot on this butterflys wing fools nocturnal hunters shamely.
Sharyn

Plantation Forests
There are 4 major layers in the forest. These are the emergent layer, the canopy layer, the understory and the forest floor. There are different animals that live in the different layers of the forest.  In the emergent layer, which is the top layer of the forest birds, butterflies, small monkeys, bats, snakes and bugs can be found. In the canopy layer  

birds, monkeys, frogs, sloths, lizards, snakes and many insects can be found as well.  If you are like Whaea Scarlett and don't know what sloths are, they are medium sized animals. They have three fingers, they are extremely furry, they have long arms and long legs, they hang upside down on trees and they love to sleep all day.
Skye-Loren 

Africa
Africa has the longest river. It is called the Nile River. It is 6400km long. Lions, zebras, and many other animals live in eastern and southern Africa.
Terry

Wetlands
Wetlands are areas where standing water covers the soil or an area where the ground is very wet. Freshwater wetlands are not connected to the ocean. They can be found along the boundaries of streams, lakes, ponds or even in large shallow holes that fill up with rainwater. Freshwater wetlands may stay wet all year long, or the water may evaporate during the dry season.
Joseph

The New Zealand Forest
We have two main types of forest in New Zealand – Beech forest and Podocarp/Broadleaf forest.
The beech forests are the largest native forests remaining in New Zealand. Many were spared being burnt or cut down because the land they grow on is often steep and mountainous, so it is not good for farming or building houses on.
Podocarp/broadleaf forests have a wide variety of plants growing in them.
Jason

The Rainforest
The Amazon rainforest is the largest tropical rainforest in the world, covering over five and a half a million square kilometres (1.4 billion acres).
Over half of the Amazon rainforest is located in Brazil but it is also located in other South American countries including Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, Guyana, Bolivia, Suriname and French Guiana.
10% of the world’s known species live in the Amazon rainforest.
20% of the world’s bird species live in the Amazon rainforest.
It is home to around 2 and a half million different insect species as well as over 40000 plant species.
There are also a number of dangerous species living in the Amazon rainforest such as the cougar, jaguar and anaconda.
While the protection of the Amazon rainforest remains an issue, deforestation rates have been reducing while areas of conserved land have been increasing over the last 10 years.
In both 2005 and 2010 the Amazon rainforest suffered severe droughts that killed off large amounts of vegetation in the worst affected areas.
A recent study by climate change experts suggests that a 3 °C rise in world temperatures by the year 2010 would destroy around 75% of the Amazon.
Maya


Antarctica
Antarctica is located at the South Pole and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean. Over 98% of Antarctica is covered by ice. It is the driest and coldest continent on earth. Antarctica is the fifth largest continent based on size, but it is the smallest in population with an official population of 0 (although some people do visit for scientific research).

Some animals do manage to survive in the cold and dry climate of Antarctica. These animals include penguins, seals, and the snow petrel (a bird).

Antarctica has no countries and no portions of the continent are owned by any country.
Luke

 Africa
Building houses on stilts to raise the floor above ground level had
many advantages. houses can be built on mountainous slopes
or over water air circulates easily and the stilts are a protection
from dangerous  mammals  and snakes. Many tow in morocco
reflect the Muslim or european communities in the ways.
Logan

The Ocean
Did you know some birds travel 71,000 kilometres each year to get food . Did you know there are close to 3million seabirds nesting on rangatira . Did you know about 97percent of earths water is salt water. Tooth fish can live for more than 40 years their average weight is 30  to 40 kilograms  but some weigh more than 100 kilograms. Did you know wedell seals live on the antartic ice all year around. Did you know the earliest lighthouse were fire built on hillsides to guide ships. Did you know a blue whale can eat four tons of  krill a day . Did you know the Orca is the largest member of the dolphin family . When measured from the ocean floor Hawaiis mauna kea rises more than 9145 metres making it the tallest mountain on earth . Did you know the tallest wave ever measured was 500 metres high in July 1958 at litu bay Alaska.
Utterance

Antarctica
Antarctica is the highest, driest, windiest, emptiest, coldest place on earth. 
An ice sheet covers all but 2.4 percent of Antarctica's 14 million square kilometers.
At its thickest point the ice sheet is 4,776 meters deep and averages 2, 160 meters thick. This is 90 percent of all the world's ice and it is 70 percent of all the world's fresh water. 
There are lots of penguins, whales, seals, krill (the main food for whales), and even fish in Antarctica's waters, but there are no land mammals and, as far as scientists know, no native peoples. 
Eskimos and polar bears are found in the ARCTIC, not the Antarctic.

Milly

Wetlands
Nile crocodiles live in the wetlands because they blend in with the grass
Wetlands also act like sponges by holding flood water and keeping rivers at normal levels
American crocodiles are well armord with scaly skin
There are more than 1,000 American crocodiles not including hatch lings in Florida
An American crocodiles diet consist mainly of small fish invertabrates  reptiles birds and mammals
American crocodiles are grey and green or olive green with long slenders snouts witch distinguish them from their cousin the alligator
American crocodiles are found in southern Florida ,the Carrabein south Mexico and along the central American coast south to venzuela
South Florida is only place where you can find both crocodiles and alligator
BY SALVANNI

Arctic Ocean
Each fortnight about seven new speicies are discovered in the ocean surrounding New Zealand.
There can be so many phytoplankton in the water they discolour it creating a “red tide”.
Toothfish can live for more than forty years.
Blue penguins are  1-1.3 m tall and weigh 30 kg.
Scientists call dead whale that has fallen to the seafloor a “whale fall”.
Sealions hunt for fish and squid.
A blue what can eat up to 4 tons of krills every day.
About 97% of earths water is salt water.
Sea turtles live in the sunlit zone.
Abraar

Lake Taupo
Lake Taupo dwarf’s the neighbouring  volcanoes of Ruapehu.
Taupo‘s eruption of 30,000 and 1800 year’s ago were some of
The world’s largest eruptions. They covered most of the North Island in ash and left behind a huge caldera that has since filled with water to form
Lake Taupo. Lake Taupo The north island heart according to Maori legend is the largest fresh water lake in New Zealand.
The Lake was created in an accident volcanic eruption and the region is full of natural thermal springs and bubbling mud pools on the lake’s edge with mountain views. 
Taupo township is base for visitor wanting to explore the regional highlights.
Keisha

Outer Space
Venus is about the same size of earth. It is also the hottest planet in the outer space.
Pluto is the smallest planet of all. It has 1 moon called Charon, which is half its side.
Uranus is four times bigger than earth it is circled by 15 Moons.
Shooting stars or falling stars are not really stars at all.
Meteors can travel into our atmosphere at about 5 to 40 miles per second.
Jupiter has 16 moons one of them are called IO which has active volcanos.
The moon is the closest thing to us in space.
Saturn is a spinning ball of gas and liquid circled by 16 Moons.
Morgan

Lake Taupo
Lake Taupo is the largest lake, source of spectacular Huka Falls, and center of an active volcanic region where geothermal energy bursts through the earth’s thin crust.
The paradise, and destination for holiday adventures and relaxation.
Taupo is fresh water and these are the manes of the fish’s 1. Rudd 2 Catfish 3 Gambusia 4 Koi Carp.
The average length of a catfish is 75 cm and found mainly in Waikato river or lake Taupo, the koi carp average length Is 25 cm and found mainly in Auckland and Waikato, average length of Gambusia is 3.5cm if was a male and if was female 6cm and found mainly in top half of north island, and the last fish called Rudd is 25cm found mainly in Waikato or Auckland.
Pornthipha

Africa - Cape buffalo
The cape buffalo also known as the African cook, is a powerful animal that has few enemies buffalos, rhinoceroses, and leopards. animals in Africa.
Their power and sized means that they are very able to defend themselves.
They have taken their place in the African big five elephants, lions, cape The Tigers roar can be herd 2 big five are known to be some of the most dangerous and aggressive.
 Jack

The Rainforest
Did you know that earthworms  are very different to elephants and sharks but did you know that worm are female and male at the same time. Some male sperm cells to the worm . The female egg cells in it own baby. This happen in side both worm . Finally the baby worm has came out.
Shonah. 

ALL About The Rainforest

Forest facts: did you know that owl butterflies are the size of dinner plates. A tigers roar can be herd 2.5km away and it is very noisy.And did you also know that owl butterflies can trick people in to thinking that they are real owls. The rainforest has very colourful animals and plants. Biologists think there are still more animals that live in the rainforest that they don’t know about yet. Some forest species are extinct because people are clearing some of the rainforests. These are some of the animals and plants that are still alive. Jaguars, and are wild orchid.
Nina

All about the Antarctica
The ice in Antarctic is about 2 kilometres thick and no trees grow in Antarctic
The winds in the southern ocean around Antarctica can reach the speed of 300 kilometres and hour. Antarctic is the direst and the highest and windiest  place on earth and the ice its thickes point was when the ice was covering Antarctica
Is almost 5 kilometres .the coldest temperature ever recorded was at vostok research station in 1983 it was 89.2c.no rain falls on the land only around the edge of the coast. Antarctica contains 70 per cent of the world’s fresh waterin the form of ice. The biggest iceberg ever seen was larger then Belgium it covered about 30.000square kilometre.  Scientist have found fossils in Antarctica this means that the continent was once warm and trees and other plants lived.
Tane

All About The Ocean
On the sea bed there are 7 kind of fish living there called hatchet fish ,lantern fish,viperfish, fangtoothfish , and gulper eel also anglerfish and crabs.
Giant tube worm lives above a bubbling sea volcano.
Star fishcan live on land and sea.
Hammerhead fish is the wriedest shark .
A blue whale can eat four tons a day .
Too much planktons make red water(very harmful).
Sea lion hunt for tasty fish and giant squid.
Large fish like tuna use their speed to catch and eat smaller fish.
Coral reefs grow in the sunlit zone.
When the ocean gets deeper it gets colder and darker.
Vince

All about Antarctica
Antarctica is the driest highest and windiest place on earth.
At its thickest point the ice covering Antarctica is almost 5 kilometres deep.
The biggest iceberg ever seen was larger than belium. it covered about 30.000 square kilometres.
In Antarctica penguins eat fish.
Summer

Today Vince brought his dove James to visit for the morning. We all were curious investigators and asked Vince lots of questions about his pet bird. Thanks Vince :)