Last Day PMI's

Today is the last day EVER at Enrich for the year 6's but luckily I'm a year 5 so this is only my last day for the year. This is a good time to do a reflection on my year here so in that case I am going to make a list of PMI's. P means the positives, M means the minuses and I means the interesting parts of my year.

P
Passion Time, I'm doing a book on Story Bird an online website where you make books.
Trapping at Seaward Bush
Wilson Games
Piggy bank painting and making
Chess

M
Must do's and picks
Typing
Key competency's
Habit of minds
Holding a possum! (Even though it was cool to trap one)

I

Eye dissection
Must do's and picks activities
Sea Shepard coming to discuss whaling with us

Eyeball Dissection And Piggy Bank Painting

EYE DISSECTION
Last week in the must do's and picks, there was animal rights, egg drop and eyeball dissection. I did, eye dissection which was so much fun! I learnt the parts of the eye like the aqueous, the sclera the iris, the retina and so much more! First we learnt about the eye itself which is the iris and the parts I just told you. Darryn told us that we all have a blind spot at the back of our eye! If you rub your fingers beside you eyes you really can't see them but you know that its there. When we were actually dissecting the eye itself we learnt more about the anatomy of the eye. Like, your cornea is actually very strong and tough so it is very hard to cut. Afterwards we had to fill out an anatomy of an eye.

PIGGY BANK PAINTING

A few weeks ago we made a piggy bank with Marie Washbourne. First we made two balls of clay and then we made then hollow and joined them together. Afterwards we decorated them with eyes and legs and that, Marie took them home and baked them in a special oven. When the piggy banks got back we painted them, I did a horse. I painted it brown with a black mane, tail and feet. I gave it light blue and dark blue eyes and a pink muzzle and ears. I also wrote Toby on the side without the mane because I made it look like my horse Toby so I wrote his name on the side with a white blaze down his face. It was super fun.

BYE!!!!!

Plant Dissection

Last week at Enrich I did a pick with Darryn it was plant dissecting and you had to rip apart a plant and take pictures on a dinoscope. I learned a whole boat load of stuff like, Darryn asked us if insects or plants came first. Everyone said that plants came first expect me. I said that insects came first because they were around when the dinosaurs were.  Darryn said that there were dragonflies with a 1 meter wing span. After we discussed how plants evolved we pulled plants apart and took pictures. 
Here are mine. :)

Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy is a very big storm in the USA. It has effected New Jersey and New York but New York had the biggest effect. We watched a clip when the storm first hit.  It had flooded out New York's subway and had taken away 11 lives at that stage. It has caused over 80 billion dollars worth of damage and has caused power out all around the city. We used De Bono's hats to talk about Hurricane Sandy.  There were 6 hats with different meanings. One for facts, here are some: a crane snapped in half and New York was prepared with a 1 meter flood wall. Feelings: Sadness is caused by death, Scared because they might die of lack of food and supplies. Problems: losing your house, insurance, the clean up, short on petrol. Solutions: Being ready and building stronger bottoms of buildings. Benefits: Getting ready if another storm comes and less power bills. Thinking: (these are my thoughts) Did it effect The Statue Of Liberty? So those are all the hats. It was a very interesting must do for my must do's and picks sheet.

Garden Design

Today at Enrich we did must do's and picks. One of the tasks were that we have to create a garden design on a website called Garden Planner Online. We had to do it for either a elderly couple, a community garden, a garden for a family with 3 kids or a rooftop garden on a apartment. I chose the 3 kids. In my garden I have 5 trees, a swimming pool with a bridge leading to a spa pool, a tree hut and a vegetable gardefn. It was really fun to do an I hope Katie likes it!!!

All Or Nothing

This morning at Enrich it was hailing and raining but at least it stopped now! Also this morning we played a fun Wilson game called all or nothing. There are 3 teams and each are coached by a teacher I was in a team with Darryn. There are 4 hoops, a beanbag and a bin involved. You have 4 hoops lined up and the bin is in the 1st one. You have to throw the beanbag in the bin and if you get it in you move the bin to (for example) the 2nd hoop and get a point. Then you stand behind it and throw it to the next team member and if they catch it you get 2 points and it carries on but if the team  member doesn't catch it you have to move the bin back to the start. You get 5 minutes and if no-one gets it to the 4th hoop in the time limit you win by points. My team won 3 times in a row by points. It was really fun.

Macgyver Challenge

Today we did a technology challenge called Macgyver. He was a T.V star in the olden days. He was a super hero type character who used his surroundings to get out of the villains traps. For this challenge we had to use 8 pieces of newspaper, scissors, string and 4 paper clips. We had to use those items to make a contraption to get a hammer and a chisel which he would use to break out of the concrete trap. We copied it from an episode but we didn't get trapped in real concrete. We had to stand in a taped square on the ground and the hammer and chisel were 2 and a half meters away behind a taped line on the floor. My group (including Tara Briana and myself) made a 2 newspaper rolls joined with string attached and a paper bag on the end but it sadly didn't work. The bag fell off and the strings were too short. Oh well at least it was fun.

Passion Time and Bullseye

Today is the last day of the term!!!! We worked on our passion time. I do writing for mine. I am writing a story about two super heros who have powers which is ice and fire. Today I reached my 4th page and 1,156 words. It was really fun and I hope we do it a a lot next term as well.

We also played a Wilson Game called bullseye and it was my first time doing it. You have 4 hoops and 4 beanbags and you have to throw the beanbag into the hoop. The first hoop is worth three points, the second is six, the third is nine and the fourth is twelve. So it's counting in three times tables. There are two versions the second one is  where you have to do them in order. So the first the second and so on and the first team who gets all four in wins. It was a really fun last day of term.

Chess

Today I versed Tara at chess. First we played the small version I was black and Tara was white. Then in the middle of the game we went to the big version. Again I was black. Tara totally bet me!  It was a bit hard to see where to go because it was so big!

We also did a Wilson game which was Piccadilly Circus again. We were trying to beat 58 seconds from yesterday's group, our first attempt was 1:11min so we tried again and it was 1:11 again and the third attempt, yep you guessed it, 1:11. Then we tried a final time and we got...  38 seconds!!! What a great 4th attempt! And later on this afternoon Katie said we might try it with 4 balls.

Air Pollution

Today we watched a important video about air pollution. It showed the top 10 most polluted cities in the world and had some effecting music to go with it. Number 1 was Ahvaz in Iran. They showed you some photos to go with it and you couldn't even see buildings in the back. The air was yellow and when people drive around they have to have their car lights on in day time!! The problem is that people are putting factories in poorer countries and cities. Then they just leave them and don't look after them and then the smoke makes air pollution. Then we visited a website that said the cleanest city's in the world and Wellington New Zealand was number 1!!! Go the Kiwis!!!!!!

Our First Possum

Today we went back to Seaward Bush to investigate our possum traps and pull out the wax tabs. We also checked our ferret and stoat trap. But our trap didn't have anything in it. We walked on to get some more wax tabs then came across a possum trap but it didn't have anything in it either. Our second one wasn't a hit either but our third one had a big furry possum! We had caught our first possum! Our other possum traps had nothing in them which was disappointing but we had fun anyway. Next week we'll check our possum traps again and hopefully we'll get a few more possums. 

Teacher comment

Well done on your 3D drawing today Emily you did a really good job of listening and following some pretty complicated instructions, but you managed and you ended up creating a very cool 3D picture.
It is also good to see you getting out and making a real difference with your Environment project, Seaward Bush will be a much better place for native birds without those introduced marsupials, mustelids and rodents. Keep up the good work!
Darryn

Another day at Seaward Bush

Today we visited Seaward bush again to see if we had any luck catching anything in the trap we set last week and also seeing if any rodents bit the wax tabs. This time Tim brought his friend Alfredo and 6 possum traps. We hiked around the bush looking at the wax tabs and setting possum traps. To set the possum traps you have to nail it to a tree on a flat bit or else the possum will come to the side of the trap and grab the bait instead of going through it. For bait we used apples. And we hope next week we find some possums in the traps. For the wax tabs we didn't have much luck. The first 15 were not bitten but as we approached the centre of Seaward Bush we found some bitten ones.We also didn't have much luck for the trap we set last week. Nothing was in it but next week we will have a better chance because rodents have to get used to anything thats new in their habitat. It was really fun and I'm looking forward to next week. 

Seaward Bush

Today we visited Seaward Bush to help Tim Riding. Firstly Tim put out a trap which will hopefully catch a possum, rat, mouse or stoat. He then handed us a bag full of wax tabs with 10 in it and you had to share it with a buddy mine was Tara. Then he hammered the wax tabs in trees. The reason for the wax tabs was to find bite marks in the wax to find what infestation there is with the rodents. Later on Tim said we had to spread some orange paste called Possum Paste on the wax tabs to attract more possums. Next week we will go back to see if we caught anything in the trap or if there is any bite marks. It was a really fun to help out!

Biology

Today we picked new high interest stations. Cartooning with Katie, Chemistry with Jenni and Biology with Darryn. I chose biology. We worked with dinoscopes and we looked at dead flies and moths! If you get a close look at the flies head, you can see its eye. And if you get a close up of it's wing it's actually really pretty. It has blue and purple along with a shimmery white.
Here's a picture of a flies eye.

Light Bulb & Kakapo

Today for science we made a light bulb. We tied eight batteries together really tight and got alligator clips and clipped them on a paper roll. We got the alligator clips and put them on the ends of the batteries but our graphite pencil lead didn't light up. But others did! Well smoked, it was really fun!

For our environment project Tara and I are going to help save the endangered Kakapo. We will get Environment Southland to come into Enrich and give us a hand. We will help save their habitat!!!

Mural

Today Tara and I did a mural of Oreti Beach in New Zealand.  But it was just a drawing.  We put sand, the ocean, rocks, whale tails, a forest and some mountains in the back.  It was really fun and some day we might paint it up on a wall!! We also did the Technology Challenge and you had to launch a shuttlecock out of a cup.

Elephant Toothpaste

Today with Jenny we did an experiment - Elephant Toothpaste. The equipment are beakers, dishwashing liquid, spoons to mix,  hydrogen peroxide, food colouring, yeast and gloves to put on your hands. After mixing it frothed up and continuously kept on coming out of the beaker. It was really fun!

Reflection

Hi it's me again. Today at Enrich we did a reflection on term 2 for our learning and our goals for next term. It is called sentence starters and you get 10 of them. We sat on the mat and went over them together with Katie and Alana. We write our thoughts down and my one is down there, if you click on it you can read it.

CLICK!!!

Knots and Crosses

Today for the Wilson game which is called Knots and Crosses. We had 6 teams, bands and no bands. There were 9 chairs and you were numbered to 5. Someone calls out a number and then those people go and race to the chair they want. Our team lost though but it was still fun.

Wilson Game and Drama

Today we did a Wilson game. It's when you get a balloon, a partner and a hoop you have to hold the hoop and tap the balloon to your partner and get to the end before the other team.

We also did talent development which is drama for me. We recorded  around a microphone at Enrich in Darryn's office. We did the true story of the three little pigs and it took longer then we thought because we messed around a lot. Some people laughed so hard they had tears coming out of their eyes!

Tapi Cloth

Today at Enrich we did Tapi Cloths. We first drew our patterns on a hard piece of paper then went over them with vivid. Then we scrunched them up and lastly dyed them.

Radio Station

Today the drama people went to a radio station to record two plays- Little Red Riding Hood and The True Story Of The Three Little Pigs. We were around a big microphone, saying our lines with Kim as the audio person. It was fun and afterwards we went to the art gallery. A famous painter was there and we got to talk to him and look at the art exhibit.

Talent Development

Today we had 2 hours of talent development and I did drama. We had scripts and we recorded our lines into garage band. It took forever and we had lots of bloopers! We kept going off guard and getting distracted. And next week we are going to go to a radio station to do it live so listen to the radio  next Thursday!

Passion Time

Today we had our first passion time! Tabbitha, Violet and I were doing cooking! It was so much fun. We were experimenting making pancakes that were gluten free. We tried it with normal flour and cornmeal flour. First we used the normal one. After we cooked it and added eggs and milk we ate it and saved some for Darryn, Alana and Katie. They said it was nice and we said it was nice too, well better then the other one. It was almost sandy, yuck! The next one we made of cornmeal flour we added sugar and it tasted much tastier. 

Field Trip

Today we went to the Invercargill Museum to look at the Wearable Arts. There was a dark room which was my favourite room. There were four costumes which were glow in the dark. I liked a butterfly dress the most. Tabbitha and I walked around the room and we looked at one which had forever written on it and had fruit on it too but then we looked closely at it and it  looked like its head moved! It was freaky so we went out and looked at many different costumes.

Teacher Comment

Hi Emily.

I was really impressed with your effort during the SCAMPER task on Thursday afternoon.  You, Tabbitha and Tara worked really well together - each of you brainstorming some great ideas, but even more importantly, you listened to each other's ideas, and thought of how you could combine several ideas together to improve your everyday item - the rubbish bin.  It was great to see you so focussed on this task, and actually not even wanting to pack up at the end of the day because you were keen to continue with the activity!  Keep up the great work Emily!  Katie.

P4C With Alana

In P4C today at Enrich we talked about lying and how it is good or not. We had 4 questions to discuss. The first one was  You had a cookie before tea and your mum asks you did you have one. would you lie or not? I said  no because it is just a cookie so you would have no desert after tea. The second one was your best friend has a horrible outfit on and she asked you do I look nice? Would you lie? I said yes because it would protect her feelings. 3rd - you had an opportunity to be wealthy by lying would you? I wouldn't cause the police would catch you and possibly put you in jail. Last one - you had a chance to save someones life by lying would y

Learning Wheel

Today is the last day of the term.We filled out a learning wheel after a game of dodgeball. A learning wheel is a wheel with five different sections we fill out.  We wrote how we felt, wondered, learnt, used and tried this term.  At Enrich we do lots of things like that.

Theatre Sports

Hi!!! It's week 5 here at Enrich. Today we did some really cool stuff but I liked Theatre Sports the most. Darryn got the class to come to the front of the classroom. First he put on 2 videos on the interactive whiteboard and showed us them. They were called " Who's Line Is It Anyway? " It is a T.V show when you get two people and give them a prop. Then with their prop they have to make up as many ideas as you can with the prop and their partner. Afterwards, Darryn chose 2 pairs and gave us really unusual props. Everyone had a turn while acting out with their partner with the prop. It was really fun and I hope we do it again.

Alice 2.2

Today at Enrich, Alana showed the Thursday class how to use Alice 2.2, an application on the laptops. First she read us a book called, "There Once Was An Old Lady That Swallowed A Fly", so that we knew what story we were going to tell on Alice.  Afterwards we used Alice 2.2, on that we all chose a character and three animals. I chose a girl that looked like Alice from "Alice In Wonderland", Then I chose a cow,  a bunny and a turtle for my animals. There was a lot of clicking and dragging in this workshop and after fiddling and having a play with Alice 2.2 it was time to pack up.