Sam the Trap Man - Rat/Stoat Trap & Possum Trap Update

We have been having trouble with our traps - they aren't catching anything! So we asked Sam Gibson who has worked with DoC and Goodnature to come and talk to us about trapping. He was full of information and helped us relocate our traps. 
Sam lowered the rat trap. It was originally 12 cm off the ground but is now only a shaka (a term he discovered when he was in Hawaii - it's a handshake) from the ground. He also put the possum trap in a willow tree because possums will only climb for two reasons; either to be soclal or to eat. The willow tree serves both purposes. 
He also told us lots of other interesting information. Some we had learnt from our research at the beginning of the year (but we had forgotten lots) and some we had never heard of before. We will post our top 5 facts on our individual blogs soon.
We also now have the Goodnature dashboard so we can see where our traps are and any hotspots. What do you think a hotspot is?
Sam also gave us two more traps for the sheds we have seen rats in at school. We were so excited because it took us ages to get the ones we already have.

The shaka

The A12 possum trap being

installed on a willow tree.

Here's what we can see on our Goodnature dashboard. We can zoom in and out on the laptop. It will also collate all our information so we can study the graphs.

Stolen Artifact - Carmen Sandiego Strikes Again!

We got such a shock when we arrived at school this morning to see crime scene tape on the windows and door, and our classroom was trashed. Desks had been tipped over, books and unfix blocks were scattered everywhere and our art work had been dumped on the floor. 
Then, in our Drive, was a message from A.C.M.E. It seems the villainous Carmen Sandiego has stolen something from school and the detective agency need new recruits to help solve the crime. So today, we started our spy training. We need to complete a course that includes code breaking, memory training, target practice, laser beam avoidance, bomb squad training, evidence destroying and an agility course. Failure to pass will result in expulsion from Spy School and a possible short-term memory wipe.
We have put our fingerprints into the A.C.M.E computer data base system, made up our code names, talked about the Spy Code of Ethics (you can see these on our individual blogs) and passed the agility and stealth tests.
When we pass the training, we will be able to work out what has been stolen.
Here's the letter we received today:

Greetings Room 1

You have been invited to a Spy Training Camp (during class time) where you will sign up to be ‘Agents in Training’ and complete our initiation programme involving code cracking, fitness and stealth activities, disguises and Code Names. Then, The Chief (your teacher!) will assign you to a case. We will be chasing Carmen Sandiego, a criminal mastermind, across the globe.

The scenario so far...
A.C.M.E. Detective Agency has issued an all-points bulletin. Carmen Sandiego has turned rogue again and has escaped. She has made contact with her V.I.L.E. (the Villains' International League of Evil) henchpeople. They are on the loose and ready to spread more mayhem around the world!

A.C.M.E. Detective Agency requires more agents which is where Room 1 steps in.
Who is she? Our target! Carmen Sandiego, a criminal mastermind and the elusive nemesis of A.C.M.E.  Detective Agency. She is a former A.C.M.E. agent and ringleader of V.I.L.E. (Villains’ International League of Evil). Sandiego often stole rare works of art that were iconic to a particular locale, then meandered on a path through various cities and countries in order to throw the detectives off of her trail. Agents piece together clues related to those locations, thereby furthering our progress and learning in the process. Henchmen, by such names as “Ruth Less,” “Joy Ryder,” “Yul B. Sorry”, and “M. T. Pockets,” will be captured by detectives along the way, each of them leading us closer and closer to capturing Sandiego.

The Chief will drop clues that you will take home to research. The clues will lead Agents to locations all around the world. At each new destination, students will place a marker on their Google My Maps and are encouraged to write a ‘fun fact’ about the country, name it’s capital city, currency or official languages.

The chase is on!

Kind regards,

A.C.M.E. (no real names will EVER be revealed!)

Making Movies with Kieran

Room 1 were in Room 8 learning how to make movies.

Kieran made this movie in Explain Everything.

Parihaka

We have been learning about Parihaka...

One hundred and fifty years ago there was a village in Taranaki called Parihaka. It lay between the Taranaki coast and Taranaki mountain. 
This village was special because people from many different Māori tribes had come to live there. Many had had their land confiscated and needed a safe place to live – to grow their food and raise their families. Parihaka was also a special place because it was a place of peace. 
The leaders of the village were Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu Kākahi. They didn’t believe in fighting. They had heard the words of Jesus in the bible which said, “If anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him the other as well”. They told the people to put away their weapons. They told them that if government soldiers came to take their land, they should greet them with gifts. 
One early morning in Parihaka an important event occurred. The people were just beginning to move around the village when a large albatross came down to land on Tohu’s marae and left a feather there. The people believed that the albatross was a chiefly bird with much mana. By landing on Tohu’s marae, the albatross was indicating that Tohu was a great chief and the people should listen to him. The people began to follow the ways that Tohu taught them. And the albatross feather (or raukura) became an important sign for the people of Parihaka. 
The children of Parihaka were called tātarakihi which means ‘cicadas’. The older people said they sounded like cicadas because they chattered so much. The children had jobs to do at Parihaka. They helped to 
feed the hens and the pigs, and they helped to grow food in the gardens. They also played together and learned to dance and sing. 
One day Tohu and Te Whiti called the people to the marae, and told them: 
“Kua rere mai te kōrero ki ō mātou tāringa, āpōpō ka tae mai ngā hōia ki konei ki te raupatu i ō tātou whenua. Me noho tātou ki konei, ki runga i te marae ātea, tatari ai ki a rātou. Ka tunu ngā wāhine i te parāoa mā rātou , ka waiata hoki ngā tamariki ki te ope hōia.”  
“We have heard that the soldiers are coming tomorrow to try to make us leave our land. We will sit here on the marae and wait for them. The women will bake bread for them and the children will sing and dance.” 
So, late into the night the people of Parihaka prepared for the soldiers to come. Just before the sun rose the children went out onto the road leading into the village. When the soldiers arrived with their guns they saw the children of Parihaka singing and dancing in the road with albatross feathers in their hair. 
The children couldn’t stop the soldiers from entering the village and taking the men to prison, but they made the soldiers ashamed of their swords and their guns. No-one was killed in Parihaka that day because the people refused to fight the soldiers with weapons. Instead they stood up to them with courage and mana. Sometimes the descendants of the people of Parihaka wear albatross feathers to remember the dignity of their tūpuna and how they resisted giving up their land without using violence.

(from the Caritas resource)

We created a google drawing showing the values the people of Parihaka showed. You can see these on our individual blogs.