Zoo Recount

Zoo Recount

“It’s so foggy”, I told myself before hopping on the bus. “Is it going to rain?”. Today my whole school
travelled to the Auckland Zoo. This was a usual almost every year thing but this time it felt more
exciting!

As we parked on the side of the curb, I saw a woman with a microphone attached to the side of her
cheek and a circle shaped speaker strapped across her hips. As we got off the bus, we assembled
in two lines and began walking through the entrance of the zoo. At first I saw zoo staff wearing
daffodils for Daffodil Day. Then I saw schools in their uniform, and little kids with their parents. We
were then escorted to a closed off  area with a sign that said “Welcome, Christ the King College”. I
laughed and sarcastically said “Yep, we’re totally a college!”.

Firstly, we sat down. Another lady named Kirsty, then introduced herself and a few other educators
that were going to be teaching us things about the zoo. She also told us where toilets were and split
us off into different groups. Then we were separated. Basically, the year 7 & 8’s were in a group. We
then walked to a small pond enclosure which had otters. At first they were hard to find but then we
spotted small movement underneath some trees and we saw cute small otters. Across from that enclosure,
was a construction site for new enclosures. I wondered “What’s that for?”. As we walked around looking
at animals we always kept cautious of the time. We sat down and ate our morning tea at a grass bit near
the Band Rotunda. As we walked around a little more we made our way back to the meeting area.
Then we were introduced to Fraser.

Fraser took us into a classroom where we learned about animal cruelty and animal trophies which
linked to our inquiry on Justice. He then showed us some videos of the zoo and why zoo staff decided
to work for the zoo. All of them said for the animals.  We were then escorted to the NZCCM which stands
for: New Zealand Centre of Conservation Medicine. At first I thought “Are we going see any animals
being operated or something?”. My question was answered when we entered the room. No, it was empty.
When we went inside he told us to read words and explore. There were windows inside which showed
the inside of a animal hospital like place. In the other window, there was a room with plastic containers
facing the window. Inside were Chesterfield skinks, an endangered species. Then we went back to the tigers.
This time there was a show where two zookeepers gave a talk and planted food for the tigers. The lady
of the pair said that the mother likes to play with boxes and the son likes to play with bones which he is
very protective of.

In the end, this was a very great and exciting day! We learned heaps and saw many cool animals. I hope
the animals enjoy the new enclosures and I hope to see them again in the future!

DLO: Michael Jackson Case

For reading, my class was shown more unjust topics to choose from. A handful of us chose the topic "Doctor in the House". Along with that, we had to create a DLO (Digital Learning Object) on a doctor who was accused of something. I chose the story of Michael Jackson and Conrad Murray. Hope you enjoy!

Abortion

 

For inquiry, the senior hub were shown unjust topics were able to choose which one they wanted to talk about. Obviously, my group chose abortion. Abortion is a serious topic around the world and should not be talked out. It may be unjust but it all depends on the reason why. Read at your own risk.

Daffodil Art

This is my Daffodil Art. To make this, my class and a few yr 6's took 6 pieces of paper outside to the concrete with some newspaper on the ground. We then rubbed different colours of crayon against the paper to make an interesting texture. We dyed the daffodil flower itself, the stem, the trumpet, a vase for the flowers, and to border colours. They were to be dyed green for the stem, orange for the trumpet and yellow for the petals. For the last three, our 2 border colours and our vase, we got to choose what colours we did them. We had to cut out different stencils shapes to make them and then we assembled them together with glues. This process was really fun and I think you guys should give it a try!

Poupou Art Reflection

Poupou Art Reflection

I accomplished combining cool and warm colour contrast in my artworks so
that the colours don’t clash. I am very satisfied with my artwork because it is
very symmetrical, smooth and scary which was my goal during the process.
I found it easy to make too mirrored copies of my pou pou. In the process, I
found it challenging to work with a limited amount of colours on each side,
because of the warm coloured side and the cold coloured side. I need to work
on adding more details such as maori patterns and being able to think beyond
with my art. If I were to change anything, I would change the arms and head
as they are both much bigger than the body. I would change the design of my
pou pou.

Narrative: A boy named Timothy

A Boy Named Timothy

Last night, I couldn’t sleep. The room was cold and crowded and had a weird vibe. At first, it seemed pitch black inside, but the balcony door hidden by the curtains showed swaying shadows of light.

My breath caught in my throat; as silent tears ran down my face. I curled up towards myself, knees drawn to my chest, elbows close to my body as my hands tightly clenched the blankets. Until I heard the first knock. With that, I thought nothing of it wiped my eyes and sat up. I crept out of my bed and opened my bedroom door with the expectation of someone like my parents or little brother standing at the door, but no. There was no one. The sound of my parents fighting often kept me awake, so seeing my little brother was a frequent occasion. Then I heard another knock, this time I was sure it was behind me. I slowly turned around and looked around the room as I instantly locked eyes with a boy, standing at my balcony window, waving as if I knew him. I closed the door and curiously but gradually walked over to my balcony door. He looked friendly so I opened my window first with cautiousness and said “Hello”, he replied with “Hi, I’m Timothy Green, I’m new here”. “Naveen Dunne” I answered as I gazed down at what he was wearing. “Brown hair, blue eyes, green pyjamas, dinosaur socks and a teddy bear, what an odd combination” I thought. “What’s keeping you up?” he asked. “I don’t know, what’s keeping you up?” I quickly replied. “I don’t sleep” he jokingly said. With a questioned facial I trustingly opened the door. “My parents are fighting, it’s hard to fall asleep when you keep hearing your name” I said. “Oh” he added, “Well, what’s it about?”. “Who knows” I announced “They fight about anything and everything”. “Why don’t you talk to them?” he asked. “Me, talk to my parents.” I angrily said. “Yes, maybe if you talk to them they’ll stop fighting. You know kids can help adults too” he implied. Hesitatingly I walked over to the door and I listened to the constant bickering of my parents.

Looking back at Timothy, he signaled me to go. I opened the door and stepped foot outside my room. I tiptoed over to the kitchen as I peeked around the wall. I took a deep breath, and entered the kitchen. Nervous, I stared at my parents arguing. I stayed so quiet they didn’t even notice I was there. “STOP IT!” I yelled “That’s enough”. My parents and I talked for hours about solving what they were fighting about. My mum was pregnant and we couldn’t afford to buy things for the baby. They said that keeping the baby would have meant less things for my brother and I. We decided to let my Aunt who couldn’t have babies take care of it.

As I went back to my room tired, I ran over to my balcony and noticed Timothy was still there. “Thankyou” I told him as the sky turned red. “It’s okay, at least you helped your parents out”. As I walked back to my bed, I turned around and Timothy disappeared. I would have gotten up to go find him but being up for hours made me feel sleepy. I think its cool how I was able to help my parents, with a little bit of help from a boy named Timothy.

The End

Tongan Language Week: Discussions in Tongan

This week is Tongan week! Today me and Karla are showing you discussions in Tongan! Good Luck!