What Christmas Means to me

 We wrote to the Gisborne Herald for a competition for children to writes 2 or more sentences about what Christmas means to them.

We wrote how its about when Jesus was born and how its better to give than receive.

What Christmas Means to Me…

Christmas is the celebration of Jesus Christ the Son of God when he was born on the 25th of December around 4 BC.  God sent Jesus down, His only son so he could teach everybody that by loving one another here on earth you would have eternal life in heaven with God forever and ever. Christmas also is a time for giving. When you get presents on Christmas, sure you get new things! But you get an even better feeling inside when you give presents. When I give my family presents I think of how happy it makes them. Merry Christmas!

Catalina 

St Mary’s School

Catalina's Goal Setting Term 1 Update

 We updated our goals from Term 1 in Term 4.

I have achieved my Religious, Social, and Learning disposition goals. I need to work on my academic goal which using maths in everyday life.

Ice Candles

 Yesterday we made ice candles. You can make ice candles too. 

All you need is:

Old candles that you don't need to use anymore.

Ice

Empty cardboard milk cartons

Oil

Tall candle

Firstly, we cut open the top of the milk cartons. Next we rubbed oil all over inside of it so it would be easy to get the candle out.

Secondly, we placed the tall candle in the middle of the milk carton. Around it we filled it up with ice.

Next we poured melted wax into our milk carton. Then we waited overnight for the wax to dry.

Lastly, we ripped the carton around the candle and the  melted ice poured out of the crevases and holes.

Tips

*Make sure you rub the oil all around the carton.

*Double check you have enough wax to make the candle.

Room 1s November Student Reflection Newsletter

 Here is my Room 1s November Student Reflection Newsletter.

I found it easy to do the November selfies because I just needed to find a photo from November.

I found it tricky to find a math word problem.

Celebrations in Different Countries

We are learning about Celebrations in Different Countries like Diwali, Chinese new year, and Matariki.

We had to compare and think if we wanted it to be a public holiday in New Zealand.

Do you think Matariki, Diwali, or Chinese new year should be a public holiday in New Zealand? Why?

Real or Fake?

 Another tool I explored was "Which face is Real?".

You try to guess which face is real.

It was so hard and I only got it correct 2 times.

Do you know how to spot the difference?

Do you know how its fake?

Photoshop or wax figure maybe?

The Great Wave of Kanagawa

 In Cybersmart we explored a new tool called Google Experiment- Colouring book Digital.

Basically, you choose a painting or colouring to do then you can colour it.

I chose the The Great Wave of Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai, a famous Japanese painting of a huge wave that resembles crashes into the oceans and tsunamis.

I learnt that it was called The Great Wave of Kanagawa.

I really like this painting and I found it tricky to recall the colours of each detail.

I found it easy to choose a painting.

You can do it too here.

This is mine

This is the original.

Rat Island: Language Features

 In Rat Island they use language feature we learning use in our writing like similes, metaphors, aliteration, and personification. 

We had to find in the book similes, metaphors, and personification. 

I only found a few simlies because I've only read chapter 1 & 2.

Here are the examples and the ones I found.

Simlie: His black moustache was as sharp as a stingray's tail. His single eye would burn into your soul like a fiery cannonball.

Metaphor: Captain Tombs was seated in the corner of his cabin. A black spider in the web.

Personification: Through stroms and seas that'd make a cannonball weep.

Rat Island Prediction

 We predicted what would happen in the new book for the week:Rat Island by Stu Duval.

This is the Blurb:

Scary right?!

Here is my Prediction:

I think the captain asked Tam to spy on his ship mates because he suspects they will turn against them and take the treasure for themselves. I wonder who the person on the cover is. I think it is the  Captain Ezekiel Tombs or one of the shipmates that might be leading the rebellion. I think maybe Rat Island (if I haven't read the chapter one) it would be where the treasure is. Maybe the book might be set somewhere between the 1920-1940s. The clothes to me look old fashioned but  pirates are usually like that so I'm not sure. 

Camp Thank you Letter #2

 Here is my second camp letter.

This time I am writing to Jane, the High Ropes instructor.

Dear Jane ,

I am writing to you to thank you for all of your hard work in making our Year 5 & 6 camp go ahead. Thank you for showing us how to keep safe on the high ropes.

The High Ropes were one of my favourite Tui Ridge Activities along with rock climbing. Before I was really scared of heights but now I find it easier to cope with them now that I went on the high ropes. At first I wasn’t sure if I could get up the rickety bridge but I did! 

So thank you Jane, for your perseverance, time, and energy to help keep us safe on the high ropes.

Nga Mihi

Catalina

Catalina's October Student Reflection Newsletter

 Here is my reflection for October.

I was excited to write in it because so many things happened in October like Camp, the council cutting the blackberry, and the recruit!

I found it easy to fill it in because I am comfortable doing it now.

I found it tricky to take a photo with a cybersmart background.

Parihaka

 Parihaka, a place in the North island by Mount Taranaki of New Zealand, was a peaceful place where families could live. Maori children sang and danced, women baked and boys brought in the crops. But when the Pakeha came they moved in and wanted to take the Maori land. They warned the Maori to go out and move somewhere else. As more pakeha moved in, the other English sold the Maori’s land without their permission. They put pegs in the land to mark where they were going to sell the land. But it was the Maori’s land! The Maori didn't understand that so the Maori pulled up the pegs but the pakeha didn't understand so they shot the Maori. Then on the 5th of November 1881 the pakeha came and the Maori children sang and danced with their pois. The women baked loaves of bread for the pakeha. Te Whiti and Tohu, the Chiefs welcomed them with open arms but the pakeha army just went past them and ignored them, burning down their village. 

Our task was to think, do you really think all of more than fifteen hundred pakeha soldiers would really want to walk past the children singing and the women greeting them? How do we think they felt? Guy Fawkes is also on today but it happened in England. Parihaka is today but it happened in New Zealand. What do you think we should celebrate and how do you think we could celebrate Parihaka.

Thank You Camp Letter

 We are writing thank you letters to the people who made this camp possible.
I chose Shaun, our group adult and Francesca's dad. 
He did belaying for the Rock climbing and high ropes. Belaying, is the person who moves the rope when you are in a harness high up.
Rock climbing was my favourite, and though I was really scared that I would fall, I knew I wouldn't hurt myself. It took a lot upper and lower body strength.

Catalina C
40 Campion Rd
Gisborne

5 November 2020

Dear Shaun,
I am writing to you to thank you for your help and work to make the Year 5 and 6 camp possible, just like every single adult that helped. This camp was one of my favourite memories out of my time at St Mary’s School. You looked out for everyone, including our group (Fran, Ciara, Selina, Elena, Jorja, and I), our buddy Group (Jason, Corin, Noe, Arcangela, Mikaela, and Unaise), and even people who weren’t in our group. It wouldn’t be the same without you!

I enjoyed the rock climbing the most out of the Tui Ridge activities. You were the best at belaying! Thank you so much for encouraging me to go further even though I really didn’t want to. Flying fox was hilarious when you zoomed down. 

So thank you Shaun, for taking your time to do this, look after us, and help the teachers cope with all of us 69 kids, which they probably couldn’t keep an eye on for 4 days all on their own! I hope you keep the St Mary’s Year 5 and 6 camp in your memories.
THANK YOU!

Ngā mihi
Catalina

Tui Ridge Camp 2020 GIF

 I got back from Camp on Friday and it was AMAZING because all the activities were definitely not what you could experience everyday.
We did loads of activities at Tui Ridge (which you can see below) then we went to Paradise Valley, Kuirau Park, and the Aquatic Centre separately.
I used Tall Tweets for my GIF by converting it from Google Slides.
I found it tricky to download all the Photos because there were so many of them!
I found it easy to use tall tweets because I have used it before.

Can you guess where I went?

The Crystal Crescent Book Review

We finished the Crystal Cresent today. Raki got the Crystal crescent and freed Tando.

I did my review on slides.

I found it tricky to find a label to reuse cresent png.

I found it easy to use special characters for the stars.

 Next time i would an image for the star rating so I could crop it for a half star.

Camp Goals and Rules 2020

 Next week we are going to camp at a place called Tui Ridge. Our activities are slingshot paintball, abseiling, high ropes, rope maze, and laser tag.

On my camp goals I have to reflect when I come back from camp.

The Crystal Cresent #2

This is like my prediction except this is from the middle of the book.

Mysterious blue yak creatures took over Tando's mind leading her to the telotion.

Its like something's in the pool. We had to guess what was in the telotion pool.

This is my prediction and drawing.

when telotion stays in one place for about 100 years it forms powerful crystals. When you touch them they disintegrate, you absorb them and you have the power of the Blue Mist and can mind control anyone the only way to protect yourself from the blue mist is the White Mist, which can be sourced like the Blue Mist.

Here the crystals and the blue mist around it.

A Letter to the Editor

 Today for writing we did a letter to the editor.
There is a newspaper column in the Gisborne Herald where people can get their say.
We wrote about how the council isn't responding when we ask them to do their part and mow and spray the bushes at our rerenga awa so we can plant more native trees.
I found it tricky to start it.
I found it easy to give reasons why the should help us.
Here is my letter:
Dear Editor, 
I am a student at St Mary’s Catholic Primary School. Our School is a Green Gold Enviro School so we plant New Zealand’s native trees in our Rerenga Awa, River Garden. Rerenga means garden and awa means river. We want to encourage native birds and insects, freshwater creatures, and create a clean, clear river. But the blackberry bushes are stopping us from planting more. We can’t have a clean river or freshwater creatures because we can’t plant any more trees, and can’t provide shade. It is the council’s job to spray and mow those bushes. We have been to see the council, emailed them, and used their app, but we haven’t got a response. Surely, the council can do their part of looking after the environment.
Yours sincerely,
Catalina, Room 1 st Mary's

Service Poster

 This term's value is Service. Last term it was Faith. 
My success criteria was to 
*use a bible quote
*use a synonym 
*use a definition
*show what service looks like
*make it eye-catchy
*let my imagination run wild.
The best posters get 25 blessing beads and fingers crossed I get those beads!

I found it easy to made it eye catching.

Brownie Batter

 This week for writing we are learning how to use imagery using similes, alliteration, and juicy verbs.

Our cameo was an excerpt from "Joey Pigza Swallowed the key" by Jake Gantos.

I found it easy to use juicy verbs.

I found it tricky to use alliteration.

Sucking and licking the orange rubber spatula, my mouth watered and shook as the full oozing of sugar and chocolate took over my flavourless mouth.  Blissful brownie batter slid down my throat like a wet paint slithering down a wall. I savoured  every single drop. I scraped the bowl  with my finger because that spatula just can't reach the rest. What were fingers made for? I shielded my bowl from my desperate siblings. I looked back at the bowl wondering why it was now so sparkling clean. Then my eyes widened. I was ready to cartwheel 100 times.

Pop Art Andy Warhol #2

 Instead of using Lunapic this I used Artnet. 

Instead of doing separate filters it does it for you.

You can choose Andy Warhol Original, Andy Warhol Variation, Andy Warhol Variation #2, the one I used.

Next time I want to do it with paint instead of digitally.

Pop Art-Andy Warhol

 For Cybersmart/ art we did Pop Art. A man called Andy Warhol invented this, a new type of abstract and mordern art.
I found it hard to get all of the photos to have an equal size.
I found it easy to upload my photos.
If you want to do Pop art too you can do it using google drawings and Lunapic.

The second one is an effect called Warhol x9 in Lunapic. Its similar to the Artnet Pop art.

The Crystal Cresent

Our new book for reading for Fantastic 4 we have a book called The Crystal Cresent by John Lockyer.

Our task is to predict what its about. Here's the blurb:

'We can't avoid the moon. We're inside the atmosphere! We're going all the way down!'

The ozone layer has been destroyed and Earth is at risk. The only hope for human survival is to find the precious liquid telotion. When heated, telotion creates huge amounts of ozone. Raki and Tando are on a mission to find a source of the rare substance when they crash land on an unknown planet. What are the mysterious blue creatures they discover there? And why have they taken over Tando’s mind? Raki will face the biggest challenge of his life in his quest to find out and save them both."

I'm guessing that the "mysterious blue creatures" are aliens. I think that aliens are going to take Tando and hold her hostage and threaten Raki to give them something in exchange for Tando and telotion. 

Catalina's Room 1 September Student Reflection Newsletter

 Here is my September Student Reflection Newsletter.
I found it easy to fill it in since I've done it a lot. 
I found it tricky to explain Maara Kai.
If you want to learn about biosecurity click here.

Free Holiday things to do in Gisborne

In cybersmart, we have used a lot of websites for our media. 

This time, we tried to not use google slides and try something else.

I chose google sites. I've used google site for Call Catalina Company, where I make screencastify tutorials.

I found it tricky to think of what tool to use.

I found it easy to use google sites. Check out my site here.

Didymo Ad

 For reading we have been learning about biosecurity.
Have you ever been asked to put food in a bin after/before a flight?
Thats because of biosecurity. 
Food can contain bugs that we dont want to introduce to our country.
Didymo (also known as rock snot) is a slimy substance that spreads in large mats all over bodies of water.
Just one droplet of didymo can affect lots of waterways.
Our task was to create an ad that would encourage people to wash and check their gear after leaving the forest/country.
I used wevideo for my ad.
I found it easy to use wevideo because I am familiar with it.
I found it tricky to make it attract attention.

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori - Book Creator

Last week for Maori Language week we used Book Creator.
For my topic I chose school subjects since everyday we read "What's on today?" in te reo Maori.
I found it easy to find how to add media.
I found it tricky to find where adjust media.

(Click Image to read.)

What I can do to promote Social Justice

 Last week was social justice week, and we created a slide asking ourselves, what can I do to promote social justice?

I found it tricky to finish it on time. 

I found it easy to create the slides.

Why you should be Vaccinated

 In class we are writing our speeches.

Our success criteria was to 

*use a rhetorical question

*use persuasive language

*use emotive language

I found it easy to think of my topic.

I found it hard to use emotive language.

Listen to my speech here.

Catalina 's August Student Reflection Newsletter

 Here is my Student Reflection for August.

I found it hard to recall what I did for enviroschools because I've been away.

I found it easy to come up with history trivia.

Marketing to Kids

 WALT: Identify the main idea.

Did you know ads and commercials are directed to 11/12 year olds?

Our task was to find ads and show how it makes you want to buy the product (it also gave me an excuse to watch tv!)

I found it hard to think of what kind of ads to choose.

I found it easy to recreate an ad that I've seen.