ANZAC Day - unlocking the secrets of my family history

I learned a lot today, so a huge thank you to all the kids in Room 2.  

             The memorial plaque my great great grandmother received is colloquially known as the 'death penny', and was sent out after World War I. It was given to the next of kin of deceased servicemen and women.   Thanks for providing that interesting information, Fiona, Carol and Nadia.

 BaiLin, Jake, Jacob and Nicholas explained some of the symbolism. I thought the most interesting part was that there is a lion (the symbol of England), tearing apart an eagle (the symbol of Germany).  The anger the allies felt must've run deep after the war.  I also learned the design was chosen after a competition, and that the winning designer was named Carter Preston.  Thank you boys for your thorough research.

My great grandfather's hat caused great excitement.  Lots of my boys wanted to have their photo taken wearing it.  Naturally, I obliged.  The hat is known as a 'lemon squeezer'.  This was news to me.

Courtesy of Tandia, Jasmine and Ruby, I learned my great grandfather, David Honore was a rifleman and trained in Wellington

David's brother Fritz was killed in action on 26 October, 1918.  He was also a rifleman, was in the New Zealand Rifle Brigade, and fought in the 4th Battalion.  Thank you to Ruby, Jasmine and Tandia for researching this.  It was sad to consider he was so young when he died, and also that the war ended only weeks after he had made the ultimate sacrifice. 

It was a game of two halves but, at the end of the day, research was the winner

What a day!

As the kids dug up the soil in the name of science, no-one could have anticipated that the estuary beach would bite back, but it did!

Marine Metre2 is a longitudinal survey of the health of our foreshore.  The kids had to take core samples and record the animal life they found.  Ruby, Samuel, Brayden and Nicholas found mud crabs, turret shells, large horn snails, clams and even a polychaete worm.  This information will be put into a database that will be used by the University of Otago.

Most of us felt the weather was the main threat (as we recorded our observations), but we were wrong.  No one was prepared for the battle (and hilarity) that ensued when the Sunnyhills Kids and Parents ended up versing the Gloopy Mud in the match up of the decade.

Nicholas did the hard yards when he took on the mud. Sadly the mud won.  Poor Ruby came up short when she tried to tackle a seemingly innocuous seawater puddle.  Tandia had to go to plan B when she ended up sitting in the mud. BaiLin backed himself but also came up short against the mighty power of the mud bath.  Mrs Foster really put her body of the line, but, alas, also ended up with a wet bottom. Man of the match went to Mr Raman, who, in his attempt to do the heroic thing and save a mud swamped group member, very nearly ended up needing some saving himself.

A big shout out to all the parents who helped today; I am very grateful.
It was a game of two halves but, at the end of the day, research was the winner.
Mrs Nicole Wallace

An Island is born ...

Whereas Maui pulled the North Island from the sea, and volcanoes erupt (creating new land), in Room 2 we are crafting our island the old fashioned way - using papier mache and elbow grease.
            The islands we are constructing represent the ones we were marooned on in our Robinson Crusoe Challenge.  Now saved (probably as a consequence of those essential items we packed), we have returned to our islands as guardians.  We can use the land for tourism, but we cannot abuse it, or damage it in any way.
            We want visitors to come on over, but we also want to ensure that sustainable practices are adopted in the management of our island. We want to protect our island, so, it'll be eco-friendly initiatives all round!
         We are currently researching world-wide problems like pollution, and then providing solutions that will ensure our islands remain healthy. Many of us are currently researching alternative energy and power sources; most have decided to ban plastics completely, and some groups have even set up marine reserves, and breeding programmes (for endangered tropical species) as they want to give back to the world that looks after them.
           In terms of learning, we are having to do a lot of  research on the negative impact of pollution, but then we need to think about how we can use this information in making critical choices that will ensure our islands remain clean and green.  This exercise is about the application of knowledge, and making learning purposeful; this is not learning for learning's sake.

Watch this space as our mission to build our islands continues.

Our islands are currently under construction, so watch this space.  We are also using the Cornell Method to take notes on sustainability and eco-friendly practice.

Just Sayin'

You guys rock!

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

In Room 2 we look to positive role models to inspire us. Romero Britto is an artist who has a story that is worth exploring.

"I believe that every human being should try to do good for someone else.  There are so many different ways to do it.  My art can be an instrument for helping people... What a good feeling - that I can do that with my art ..."  Romero Britto

Romero Britto was born in Brazil.  He did not have a privileged upbringing but what he did have was an amazing imagination.  When life was tough he escaped into the world of his imagination where everything was bright and cheerful. Having an optimistic outlook led him to move to Miami where he established himself as artist (in spite of the fact he had no formal training).

His artworks bring happiness to many, and that's one of the reasons Mrs Wallace chose him to inspire our self-portraits.

Romero Britto has a very distinctive style. His work is child-like, with a bold bright colour palette that communicates joy and hope.  He often incorporates ‘happy’ words like ‘smile’, ‘dream’ and ‘laugh’ into his works.

Our aim was to channel our ‘inner Britto’ and imbue our portraits with a positive spirit.

Nadia

Success Criteria

Our portrait incorporates some of the symbols commonly found in Britto’s work

We use colour boldy

Our work has a childlike, almost cartoonish feel

We have taken pride in our work

Tandia and Joseph

Who am I?

I am considered the greatest poet of all time.  I was born a long time ago (well before anyone even conceived of the idea of a camera), in a place called Stratford-upon-Avon.  I wrote the plays Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth and King Lear.  They call me The Bard because, seriously, I am that good at writing.  Just sayin'.

If you think you know who I am, please email your answers through to Mrs Wallace by Monday morning.

By the way, we are going to be working on writing good poetry this term.  We will learn about tone and tension.  We will also practise using simile and metaphor effectively.

Here is a poem I wrote to help people understand about poetry and poets.

About the Poet

she had an artist's mind

but not an artist's hand,

and as a consequence,

it's true,

she often
wrote

but never drew.

(Yes, the lower case 's' is on purpose!)  (Yes, I know it's not that good, but it only took a couple of minutes!)