Christmas Float

Float Movie from Pam Thomson on Vimeo.

Rock This Party

This morning, Room 4 and Room 3 went into the hall to do some dancing. Kate showed us parts of the dance, then we copied. When we were finished copying, we did it to the music. It was fun and exciting. 

You can see us on our class blog at stproom4.blogspot.co.nz

Saints

Pictures In The Mind

I have been practising using words that give readers pictures in their minds.

On Tuesday, the whole school competed in Athletics Day. Everyone was ready to give it their best shot that day.

The first event we did was high jump. I was as nervous as a fly trapped in a spider’s web when we walked to high jump. I was the second to last one in line.

First of all, we all had a practice jump. I scissor-kicked over the bar onto the warm plastic high jump mat that was on the other side. Everyone else also made it over. The mat looked like our blue mattress, except it was a bit harder. It was the real thing now.

We all made the first jump, but, on the next jump, Jahnyva knocked down the pole with her leg, but that did not really matter because she got another go and she made it over.

On the third jump, Paige, Emily W and I made it  over but Jahnyva knocked down the pole again. She was the first one out of the competition.

The next person to get out of the competition was Emily. It was just Paige and me left. Who was going to win? Paige and I jumped over and over the bar as neatly as ballerinas. At last, Paige knocked the pole down.

I meditated to calm myself down. It was now my turn again. I ran at top speed up to the pole and jumped right over it. Paige tried again and made it over, then Karla put it a bit higher. Paige did not make it over on the next jump and she did not make it over again. I had won. YAY! I got to jump over and over again. I can jump 97 cm, Paige can jump 83cm, Emily can jump 75cm and I do not know how high Jahnyva can jump.

Well done, Emily. You have used words which give me lots of pictures in my mind - Feeling like a fly trapped in a spider's web let me know how nervous you were. I can see you running at top speed to the pole, and I can see the pole being lifted higher and higher. I can feel your joy at winning. I can't see the mat though. You need to describe it for me, instead of telling me it was like our blue one. We don't all know what the blue one looks like.

Tau Ke Night

On Thursday night, the whole school came to school for Tau Ke night.

First, we did our Haere Mai song. When we first went up on stage, I was as nervous as a fly trapped in a spider's web but, when we started singing, I was lost in the music. I enjoyed that song and it was fun singing in front of all of the people but the next thing I am going to tell you about is my favourite thing we did.

We did E Papa Waiari. This was my favourite performance because we got to throw our sticks to each other. My partner was Madeline.  She and I had been practising very hard together. On the night of the concert, we only made one mistake because I dropped one of my sticks by accident but that was the only mistake we made.
Finally, the Kapa Haka group did their act. They were all in lines. The boys were at the back and the girls started in the front. I could not wait until they began because my best friend, Paige, was in it. After the girls had done three of their acts, the boys, who were in the back lines, came out to do the haka. The boys were as loud as thunder. They had no tops on but they all wore a sash and some shorts under their piupiu. The girls wore black skirts and tops with a white Maori design at the front. They also had black lipstick on. The girls were very pretty.
When the boys had done the haka, the girls came forward again and sang Ka Waiata, then they all went out and it was the end of Tau Ke Night.
I felt very happy and proud of what the class and I did that night and I was happy that Madeline and I made only one mistake in our E Papa Waiari.
You can see our performances at this link.

Athletics Day

On Tuesday, the whole school competed in athletics. We moved around in different age groups doing a variety of activities on the school field. I was shaking because I was nervous about where I would come in all of the activities.
First of all, the school went onto the courts. While we were on the court, we took turns yelling our chants, Saint Anthony House did their chant first. Next, Saint Francis did their chant then Saint Joseph and, last of all, Saint Anne. I thought Saint Anthony’s chant was the best . After we finished our chants, we had to march around the field like soldiers. While we were marching, I had the butterflies in my stomach because I was nervous.
Next, the 9 year olds went to high jump. First, we had to write our names down on a piece of paper so, at the end, we could know who the winner was. I was third in line to write my name down so I was the third person to jump. All of us got a practice jump then it was the real thing. We all made the first and second heights but then Jahnyva knocked down the pole. She had another go and knocked it down again, then again. She was then out of the competition.Emily W ran up to the pole, tried to jump over and  knocked it down. Paige ran up and jumped over, then it was my turn. I sprinted up to the pole and landed on the other side, then Emily had another go. This time, she made it over so they put it a bit higher. Emily  ran up to the pole and failed, then Paige ran up to the pole. She knocked it down but that did not matter because she could have another try. I ran up to the pole and jumped over. Paige and Emily  had another go. Paige made it but Emily did not make it. Emily was out of the competition then.

It was then Paige and me. Who was going to win? Paige ran up to the pole and jumped over, then I ran up to the pole and jumped over. It went on and on. At last, Paige did not make it and knocked the pole down. I was the winner!  I kept jumping as neatly as a ballerina. I  could jump 97 cm, Paige jumped 83 and Emily jumped 75, then the siren roared. I happily changed the event.

After that, we did long jump. The boys went first. Paige, Emily, Jahnyva and I had to help. I helped to measure and Paige and Emily raked. Finally, it was the girls' turn. I was second in line. On my first jump, I got 3 metres exactly. On my next go, I did 3.06 metres and, on my last go, I did not get marked because my toe went off the mat. After all the girls had three turns each, the boys had one last turn. I won for the girls, then the siren sounded, like a fire alarm.

Finally, we did sprints. First, we did the 80 metres. The lanes were as wide as straps of licorice. When we were all in a lane, Mr Emms said, “On your marks, get set," and then  the gun shot. We were off, Emily and I, head to head, darting to the finish line. She was only an inch in front of me and won. The gun was as loud as thunder. We started the 100 metre race. I won that race by an inch YAY!. Emily won all of the other races but I was so happy that I had won one of the races.

I thought that I would win high jump but not anything else. I was glad that I had won one of the races against Emily because I have never beaten her. I was very happy and tired when I went home.

Fuzzy's Big Adventure Disaster

In a big city, there lived a lovely family. They had two children. One was called Elizabeth and the other called Larry. Larry was 13 and Elizabeth was 11. They had a kitten called Daisy. The two children loved the kitten so much. The kitten was a little black and white kitten and had the sweetest face you could imagine.  

One day, the children were playing in their garden and had left the door open by mistake. Daisy  ran outside and climbed the tree, not realizing that the tree was quite tall. The two children caught a glimpse of Daisy’s tail so they ran to the tree hoping it was their imagination but, when they looked up, they saw their little black and white kitten up in the branches of the tree, frightened to death. The children were very worried because their parents might take Daisy away from them. They each tried to climb the tree. Larry almost got her but he slipped. 
Daisy tried climbing down but, when she looked down the tree, she didn’t dare to climb down. 
The two children thought and thought of a way to get Daisy down. Daisy went to sleep on a big strong branch while  the two children thought of a good idea. They went to get a ladder and lent the ladder against the tree. Elizabeth climbed up the ladder and picked up the kitten, took her inside and closed the door carefully  so the kitten wouldn’t get stuck in the tree again. 
After that day, they never left the door open again, so they lived happily ever after.
Well done, Emily. You have chosen some well-thought-out words for your story - a little black and white kitten with the sweetest face you could imagine, a glimpse of Daisy's tail, frightened to death, didn't dare and the big, strong branch. You could add some more eg their ______ garden, ran outside and climbed the ____ tree, They went to get the _____ ladder. Could you use a simile in your story?

Athletics

We are practising throwing the discus.

A Fishy Tale

One sunny day, I was fishing, when, suddenly, I caught a talking dolphin!! It said, "Hi. I am the princess of dolphins. Would you like to be my friend?"                                                                   I was frightened but, I said yes. The dolphin took me to meet her mother but as soon as she saw me, she turned me into a mermaid.                                       I was so frightened that I swam away. The dolphin swam after me. I swam until I was under the boat.     

Zero Waste

Cross Country

Book Character

My Speech

EmilyG from Pam Thomson on Vimeo.

My Dad is the Best

Do you want to hear about the best dad in the world? My dad is the best because he has suntan-coloured skin and he has brown eyes and he is big and tall.

My dad is the best because he is kind.  My dad is kind to me because he says nice things to me and lets me use the computer.  My dad is also kind when he gives me treats. 

My dad is the best because he likes to bike.  That is good because I like to bike too, so he takes me for bike rides and I get to go with him to some of his races, and once he got me into a race.

The Polka Dot Carrots - A Play

MAQ00001 from Pam Thomson on Vimeo.

My Wonderful Mother

My mum bakes for me. My mum bakes me cake cookies  and she makes me dinner and dessert. After she has finished, she lets me lick the spoon. When she has finished baking, we get to eat the yummy food she makes.

When I am sick, my mum stays at home with me. When I am sick, my mum makes me a hot chocolate. Sometimes I drink it and sometimes I don’t. If my mum really needs to go to work, I go to my nan’s and she looks after me. When I get hungry, my mum gets me something to eat. My mum takes my temperature.

When we go out, my mum buys me things. When we go out shopping, my mum always buys me something. Sometimes I get something small and sometimes I don’t. My mum buys me new clothes and pencils for school and sometimes gets me some new shoes if I need some. When I need new pencils and felts, she will get them for me.

Foxes

What Foxes Are

Foxes are wild animals that are like dogs.

What Foxes Look Like

Foxes have gingered coloured  fur and long tails. They have small legs and long bodies. They have small fluffy ears and a short necks.

Where Foxes Live

Foxes live in countries, such as  Australia, Philippines, China, America, Greenland and Japan.

What Foxes Eat

Foxes eat birds, rabbit, mice, earthworms, insects, eggs and fruit. They eat chickens too. Foxes will sometimes chase their food, like a rabbit or a mouse. Whichever one it  chooses to chase, it will lie down and wait for it to come. When it spots one, it will sneak up behind it then it will pounce on it.

Cubs

When it is time for the vixen to have her cubs, she will spread leaves and bits of hair all around the floor of the den to make a warm bed. When the cubs are born, they keep their eyes closed for ten days then they will open their eyes.

Foxes' Dangers

Some of the foxes' dangers are a golden eagle, bobcat, snakes, bears, the red tail hawk, wolves, the rough legged hawk and, the worst one of all, humans.

What I Found About Breakfast Cereals.

I learnt that you shouldn’t have cereal with a lot of sugar in it and that you should add fruit to cereals that are not that healthy. You should always look on the back or the side of the cereal box and see if the fibre/dietary fibre is more than 5 grams, and that the sugar is less than 15 grams and that the fat is less than 10 grams. So, next time you have to buy cereal, make sure to look on the side or the back of the cereal box and look for those limits. You should have these cereals for breakfast every day -  Weetbix or Porridge (with fruit or not with fruit). You can have spaghetti if you have wholemeal toast with it. You can add fruit to Cornflakes and Ricies to give them more fibre. Some things that you should never have for breakfast are Coke and Cookie Time. They are only treats but you can have them just don’t have too much, but you should never have Cocopops or Nutrigrain for an every day breakfast.    

Matariki

The Amazing Magic Show

Yesterday, we went in the hall to watch Elgrego do magic.

When we were ready, Elgrego began his magic, by making birds appear and disappear. The first bird he made appear, was a small yellow bird. He put it in a cage then made a blue bird appear and put that one in the cage, then he  made a green bird appear. He put a blanket over the cage, spun it around and, when he lifted the blanket, the birds were gone, but there was a fat rabbit. Everyone was amazed, then he went over to an empty box and said, "It better work. It better work." He opened the lid and there was a big bird,  
then he got a book and opened it. There was nothing in it, then he closed it and said, "It better work. It better work," and he opened the book and there was a colourful bird.

Next, he performed a magic trick with a fizzy raspberry drink. First, he poured raspberry fizzy into a plastic cup, then put it into a box. He turned it to the right and then to the left, then upside down, then the right way. He opened the box and took the raspberry fizzy out and it hadn't spilt one drop. We were all fascinated, so we clapped.

After the drink trick, we watched Elgrego talk with See More, the baby green dinosour. Seemore was sad because everyone teased him at school because he was green. Elgrego, the ventriloquist, said, "Why don't you talk to someone about it?"
Seemore said, "That's a great idea."
Elgrego asked, "Who could you talk to?"
Seemore said, "The teacher, his mum or dad and his friends."
A ventriloquist is a person who talks for puppets, then Seemore sang The Rainbow Song from the Muppets to make him feel happy. 

Next, Elgrego did a trick with his wife Sue. Sue got in a box. Elgrego put a lid on and got some bamboo. He got one piece of bamboo and put it in the side then another and put that one in the other side. He got the next one and put that in the back side and got another one and  put that in the other back side then he got another one and put that in the very middle. He took  all the bamboo out and opened the lid. Sue was alive! She jumped out. Everyone clapped.

Finally,  Elgrego performed the brick wall trick. When  the show was nearly finished, Elgrego pulled out the brick wall. He told us a story about a magician who went through a brick wall. Elgrego said the magician made it through the brick wall.  Elgrego said he would try to go through the brick wall. He got a soft red blanket and went behind the brick wall and held up the blanket and said, "It better work. It better work." He dropped the blanket. He had made it through the brick wall. Everyone clapped.

Mother's Day

On Mother's Day, my family and I went to Joe's Garage for Lunch. When we got there, a lady came to take our order. I ordered tomato soup and a hot chocolate. My sister, Charlotte, ordered a lamb burger and a hot chocolate and Olivia ordered Macaroni and Cheese and a hot chocolate. We had to wait two hours for our food. When our  food came, I ate some tomato soup but I didn't like it because it was too spicy, so Mum asked me if I wanted some of her chicken burger. I said, "Yes, thank you." I liked the chicken burger because it didn't have anything spicy in it.

Fishing

The Wellington Cable Cars

Holy Week

Palm Sunday is the beginning of Holy Week. On Palm Sunday, we remember that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. The people laid their cloaks on the ground and shouted, "Hosanna to the the King!"   

On Holy Thursday, Jesus and his friends had a meal that was called the last supper. Jesus gave them bread and wine and washed their feet.

The day after Holy Thursday is Good Friday. On Good Friday, Jesus died on the cross and, on Holy Saturday, Jesus was taken to a tomb and stayed there all night. The next morning, he rose from the dead and that day is called Easter Sunday because Easter eggs represent new life.

The Best Birthday Ever!!!

Last year was my 8th birthday and I had the longest slumber party ever!!! Lara, Madeline, Paige, Stevie and my cousins came to my house with presents and sleeping bags. My friends and I were lucky because they could come on my actual birthday.
For my presents, Lara got me a baby Sylvanian Deer and a ‘My Room’ label I could paint. Madeline bought me a hoop game and a jewellery box, and Paige got me a clock that says ‘Love’.
After we opened the presents, we set our beds out. Paige and Madeline were sleeping next to me.
After dinner, we played with my presents. The first present we played with was Madeline’s present that she bought me then my cousins left and Mum said that we had to get ready for bed.
For our midnight snack, we had marshmallows, chocolate, lollies and some juice, then we played Barbies.
Next, Madeline thought Jazz (my dog) was a pillow and put her head on her. When she moved, Madeline got a big fright!
After everyone else had gone to sleep except me and Lara, we played a marshmallow game. I threw marshmallows into Lara’s mouth and she tried to catch them in her mouth. Lara and I didn’t know that Paige was awake!!

St Patrick's Day

Swimming Sports

Yesterday, our school went to Ngaruawahia pools for swimming sports.
After lunch, we had the Flying Squadron relay. Mr Emms put us in our places and told us what to do. When I was waiting for Quinn to tag my hand, I had to wait a while and, when she did, I jumped in and started to swim. The water felt like silk. People were cheering me on and saying, “Go faster,” so I kicked my legs as fast as I could, then when I came to the end, I tagged Serenity’s hand then she started zooming through the water.
After the relays, was the adult race. When the whistle blew, Mrs Death dived in and started to swim like a bullet. When she got to the end, she tagged Scot’s hand. He zoomed through the water to the other side to tap Rory’s mum’s hand then she swam to tap Mr Brown. He swam to tap Morgan then he swam like a rocket to tap Guy.  He dived in and splashed Regan and me.     

Proper Nouns

This morning, we learnt how to do Proper Nouns. Proper Nouns are special names that have been given to nouns. They start with capital letters. Here are some examples:
1 the name of a girl - Emily
2 the name of a boy - Regan
3 the name of a dog - Jasmine
4 the name of a cat - Nina
5 the name of the the street  our school is in - Belt Street
6 the name of your town - Ngaruawahia
7 the name of the place where you swim - Ngaruawahia Town Pools
8 the name of today - Tuesday
9 the name of this month - March
10 the name of your favourite eating place - Valentines
11 the name given to our school - St Paul's
12 the name given to your school parish - St Paul's Parish

Model House

Life in NZ Compared to Life on Kapo Island

Our donations to Caritas are used to help people on Kapo Island in Papua New Guinea.

Bio Poem

Emily Elizabeth
Kind, pretty, giggly, good friend
Daughter of Cassandra and Dale
Lover of dancing, my family and animals
Who feels tired, bored and excited
Who needs a family, friends and kind words
Who gives presents, ice packs to people who are hurt and good manners
Who fears ducks, sharks and roller coasters
Who would like a pet bunny,a palace and a unicorn
Who comes from Huntly, New Zealand
Gilchrist

Shrove Tuesday

Today is Shrove Tuesday. This morning we burnt last year's palms into ash so that Father Keane can use them on Ash Wednesday when he makes the Sign of the Cross on our foreheads and reminds us to follow Jesus. 
After swimming, Olivina, from Tonga, came to say thank you St Paul's Catholic School for the donations. In Tonga, people raise pigs to eat them for food and sell them for money so they can buy school uniforms and buy school books and school fees so that they can go to school. People in Tonga also cut down mulberry trees so that they can weave them into tapa cloth.

Waitangi Day

Waitangi Day is a national holiday to celebrate when the Treaty of Waitangi was signed and NZ became known as a nation called New Zealand. 
The Treaty of Waitangi was signed on February 6, 1840,  at Waitangi in the Bay of Islands. 500 Maori Chiefs and the representatives of the Queen signed the Treaty.
This year, on Waitangi Day, I went to Flynn and Regan’s. They had set up the waterslide. When we were going down the waterslide, we were like a train.

After that, we went on the flying fox to dry off then we went on the waterslide again. When I went down I twisted my ankle.