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.

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.