Smart Media - Real of Fake?

Room 1 created some images to show us how images can be altered.

Take a look - are they real or fake?

Ghost

Term 4 has started with a hiss and a roar and we have jumped right back into learning. On our Reading taskboard, we have a new rotation that links to the book Mrs Naden is reading to us every day.
This term we are reading Ghost by Jason Reynolds. It is about a boy called Ghost (his real name is Castle Cranshaw) who impulsively challenges an elite sprinter to a race..and wins! An Olympic medalist track coach sees he has natural talent. The thing is, Ghost has something else too: a lot of anger, and a past that he tries to outrun. We are only up to Chapter 4 so far and it is intense!
Our Reading tasks vary; some are drawing, some are Minecraft, some are research, some are Lego, some are word meanings, plus lots more. You might see these tasks on our individual blogs throughout the term.

Hatching Chickens

In our class we have borrowed an incubator from Mrs Wagner's son because over the Christmas holidays last year our school chickens were stolen. We have school chickens, so we can sell the eggs in the office. We use the money for our Enviroschool projects. The money also pays for the chicken feed.
Anyway, in Term 1 we borrowed an incubator but couldn't get any fertilised eggs. We had to wait until spring time to try again. We now have 8 eggs that are being kept warm inside the incubator. But it isn't just a matter of waiting for them to hatch. There are certain things we have to do. Here's what we have found out:
1. Fill the base completely with water. Place the thermometer end into the lid. Place the lid back on and let the incubator reach 37.5 degrees Celsius and 40-50% humidity.
2. Mark the eggs on one side with an X and the other side an O - so when we turn the eggs we will have an X facing the top and then next time we turn them there will be an O on top.
3. Once the incubator is at 37.5 degrees Celsius, place the eggs into the incubator in the centre all facing X upwards then cover with the lid again.
4. Turn the eggs at least 4 times a day for the first 18 days. Each time the eggs are turned, make sure it goes from X to O to X to O etc.
5. Keep filling the small water tray part to keep the humidity at 40-50% for the first 18 days.
6. On about day 10-12, carefully shine a small torch or phone light against the shell. You will be able to see the veins and the new chick forming. If there is nothing, the egg is infertile and no chicken will hatch.
7. Follow all these instructions till day 18 with humidity and turning daily.
8. Day 18 don't turn the eggs, just fill the larger outside water tray and inner so the whole bottom is full with water and bring the humidity to between 70-80%. Cover with the lid again and do not disturb the incubator again.
9. By day 21 our eggs should be pipping and hatching. Try not to disturb the incubator and let the chicks sort themselves. If cracked, but still stuck in the egg shell, we can give them a slight bit of help getting out of the eggs but we have to be careful. Try not to open the lid while the eggs are hatching as this disturbs the humidity and each time the incubator has to build the humidity up again.
10. Once a few or all of the chicks have hatched and fluffed up in the incubator, remove them into a box with a heat lamp, shallow water container and chick crumbles for the first day or two. If any eggs remain unhatched, replace the lid quickly and leave for a couple more days. If they still don't hatch, turn off the incubator and dispose of the eggs.
11. Once chicks are in a brooder box - if they are all huddled together they are cold so the light needs to be lowered. If they are all spread out, the light is too low and needs to be higher. Always have fresh, clean water and keep chick crumbles available all the time. After 3 months, change to a pellet for another 2-3 months then at 6 months when they begin to lay, they can have layer pellets, grains and food scraps.

Things we are having trouble with;

• keeping the temperature at 37.5 degrees Celsius
• keeping the humidity between 40-50%
• turning the eggs 4 times a day when we leave school at 2.30pm.

October - the Month of the Rosary

October is the month of the Rosary. We are learning about the different prayers we say for the different beads. Our task is to write a set of instructions so we know which prayers to say. Check out our individual blogs at the end of the week as we will post them when we have finished.

Silver Reflection Day - Enviroschools

We are aiming to be a Silver Enviroschool. For this to happen, the students of our school need to be able to explain a lot of things that have been happening. This week, Kirsty and Kauri from Tairāwhiti Enviroschools will be coming to our school. We will welcome them with a whakatau, then show them around the school telling them about what we have been doing and why. Then  each class will tell them about the 5 guiding principles (empowered students, respect for diversity of people and cultures, Māori perspectives, learning for sustainability, and sustainable communities).
Room 1 will also be telling them about our rat trap journey so far. The video we have made for them to watch is here.

Rat/Stoat Trap and now a Possum Trap: Update

If you have been reading our blog then you will know we are passionate about the native reserve we have been planting and looking after for a few years. One of the main problems we found when we set tracking tunnels is that the rats, stoats and possums have been eating the native seeds, berries and insects. We originally borrowed some traps from DOC and caught some massive rats. Unfortunately one trap was stolen. We knew we had to buy our own ones so we researched what traps we wanted to buy for our school. We finally decided to buy Goodnature’s A24 rat/stoat trap and the A12 possum trap. One of the reasons we thought these were the best was because they reset themselves and we were having trouble looking after the traps over the holidays or when the wet weather meant we couldn't get down there. The next problem was funding it. We applied for some grants but were unsuccessful. We didn’t give up. We decided to apply for a grant from the Tairāwhiti Enviroschools and Eastland Port and we were successful! So we bought the traps. Once they were delivered, we set up the A24 last week and the A12 this week. The A24 has a chirp in it which we have synced to Mrs Naden’s phone. When we catch a rat or stoat it will send her a notification. We tested it out and it works. Now the problem is, whenever we hear her phone ping we all jump up and shout “WE’VE GOT ONE!” and head for the door. But Mrs Naden’s checks it and says, “Sorry guys, it’s just a text!” She’s thinking about putting her phone on silent!



Next time we will video landscape!

Advertisements

In Reading, we have been learning to identify the author’s purpose. It’s as easy as PIE (persuade, inform or entertain). We have been creating advertisements to persuade you to either buy Sploosh or a foot odour cure. These two ideas came from the novel we are reading in class called Holes by Louis Sachar.

We thought carefully about what our adverts needed:

• The price
• Persuasive language to entice customers
• An eye-catching image
• A catchy slogan
• Where this item can be purchased
• A celebrity endorsement

Check out our individual blogs to see them. Here's Catalina's: