Netball game

Today was the day of our last netball game for Term 2. I traveled to the courts at 3:30 because I needed to Umpire a netball game. I finished the game that I was umpiring and then went home to get my things.  I raced back, not getting a chance to look at the clock. I arrived at the courts and the time was 5:00. I darted to my court - 24 - because my game was at 5:05. I just reached the court on time. Our coach Timmi put on the first seven and then the buzzer rang. The first seven hopped on and waited for the umpire's whistle. The game began and the first score was ours.

The buzzer for the end of the first quarter. Our team made some swaps and jumped back on court. The second quarter started and we played very hard. The end buzzer for the quarter rang and the score was 11 - 6 to them. We talked and then played the next two quarters. We played super hard as we wanted to win the game. The final buzzer rang and we ran back to Timmi. We did our cheers for the other team and the umpire and then went and shook the other teams hands and said Good game. The scorers came and gave us the final score which was 20 - 12 to them.

The team walked over to the bathrooms to get dressed and gave our uniforms in too our manager Greg. I handed in the uniform and went home. I was so proud of how I played. I can't wait until next term netball.

Why Pandas have black patches around their eyes.

This is my story about why pandas have black patches around their eyes.

In a land far far away, was a forest that was full of bamboo. A panda and a grasshopper were playing in the tall bamboo shoots. The grasshopper said to the panda “ Hey Panda, why do you have those black patches around your eyes”. “Here let me tell you a short story that comes from generations back about why I have these black patches” said Panda.

“Once upon a time in a far away land a white snowy animal was sleeping in an open space. Only a few rocks and trees were around. The snowy looking animal woke up and turned around to find a grasshopper right next to him. He jumped back, in surprise and hid behind a close by rock. He peeked out and the grasshopper was right on top off the rock. He squealed and then said “What are you doing here?” “I am just looking for a new home. My last home got damaged really badly.”

The grasshopper and ‘Polar Bear’ discussed places that the grasshopper could stay because the ‘Polar Bear’ didn’t want the grasshopper to stay. He didn’t want the grasshopper to stay because the one grasshopper might attract a whole swarm of grasshoppers. The ‘Polar Bear’ suggested that the grasshopper should stay over in the grass, but the grasshopper declined that suggestion because he wanted to stay in open spaces like the ‘Polar Bear’.

The grasshopper and ‘Polar Bear’ argued for twenty minutes until the grasshopper said “ I don’t want anymore of your suggestions as I’ve already made up my mind. I am staying right here because this is where I want to stay.” The ‘Polar Bear’ declared that the ‘Polar Bears’ and grasshoppers would fight for the area. They stated that the fight will take place the next day at 12:00 sharp. The ‘Polar Bear’ gathered all the fighters that he could. He gathered birds and lizards with a few tigers. While the grasshopper gathered lots of tigers and Bears.

The clock hit 12:00 and an Owl started the fight. The fight went on for 1 hour and then a grasshopper jumped up from behind a tiger and punched the ‘Polar Bear’ in the eyes. The fight had finished and all the animals that participated had been badly hurt. The ‘Polar Bear’ stood up and the grasshopper saw that the panda had black patches around his eyes.

The next day the ‘Polar Bear’ was sleeping and two hunters came along and saw that the animal was not a Polar bear and named it a Panda. The hunters realized all the badly hurt animals and rang animal hospitals to come and help them. The animals were ok once they were treated.”

“That is why pandas have black patches around their eyes.” said the Panda. “Thanks Panda, that was such a cool story. I am so happy that we can be friends.”

Pandas then moved to places with more bamboo. The population is now 1300 in the world excluding the pandas in the zoo.

Area and Perimeter

This is my presentation that is about area and perimeter.
Area is the area inside the shape.
The perimeter is the outline of a shape.

Decimals Presenation

This is a presentation that is all about Decimals and Place Value.

Tiritiri Matangi Reflection

7:30am in the morning, freezing cold, and at school. What a great way to start the day! I went into the Creative Space room to find all the year 7 girls writing names on water bottles.  Ariana gave me one and I put it in my bag.  Once everybody had gathered into the Creative Space room, Mrs Lagitupu introduced a lady from D.O.C. ( Department Of Conservation ) and the two parent helpers that we were fortunate enough to have.

The lady that was from D.O.C. was Vanessa Whiu. The helpers were Mrs Samuels (Jordan’s Mum) and Mrs Hotu (Zane’s Mum). We talked about what will happen and when the shuttles will come to take us to the ferry terminal in Central Auckland. We had to wait for the shuttles which were coming at 8:00.

The clock hit 8:00 and the shuttles were here. We loaded into the shuttles and we headed for the ferry terminal so that we could board the ferry at 9:00. Once we hit the road we were off as fast a lion in hunting season. We had arrived at the ferry terminal and met some people from D.O.C. who were waiting for us.

We all hopped off the two shuttle buses and waited for Rebecca who was another lady from D.O.C. Rebecca came and we sang a himene which was all about love because when we are on the Island we need to be thoughtful and caring for not only the birds and creatures around us but our friends and other visitors that are on the island.  

Next we went to the boarding area and made sure that our shoes were clean because it you have seeds or soil and you take it on to Tiritiri Matangi Island it could ruin the ground and environment. Once we all checked that our shoes were clean we could board the ferry. We sat down and waited until we took off.

On the ferry I sat with Ariana, Khaia, Lucy and Lesieli. To pass the time we played games like Scattergories and the sentence game. The captain talked over the intercom to say that we will be stopping to pick up some people on Whangaparaoa. We stopped in Whangaparaoa and pick up the people and then we started making our way to Tiritiri Matangi Island.

When we arrived at Tiritiri Matangi Island we hopped onto the dock where a trailer was waiting. We walked down the path and saw a truck with another trailer on the back which was going to take our bags so that when we go on a tour we won’t have to carry our bags. I put my bag in the trailer and went in front of the Island ranger and sat down.

The ranger  talked about what the island was like 25 years ago and how special it was to them. We then split into our groups and was told that a lady named Glennys will take us on our tour of the island. We started by looking at the map of Tiritiri and talked about the history of the island. We then went on a track which was called the Wattle track. While walking up we saw a bird called a fantail. The fantail was near a pond which looked very old and dirty. As we moved on we noticed that the fantail was following us.

We then stopped to look at a tree called the Puriri Tree. We learnt that the Vitex Lucens can grow upto 20m high and the branches produce bright shiny green leaves and fruit. We continued and then we heard a Tui calling. We then saw the Tui eating the fruit of the tree. We noticed that the Tui had two white patches underneath its chin.

We had walked all the way through the Wattle track and then met at the main area by the souvenir shop. We looked at the lighthouse and went into the watchtower.

Things that I learnt on Tiritiri Matangi Island.

• That there are female and male trees
• That the Bellbird drinks sugar and water together so that it can restore its energy.
• Tui are bossy and like to take everything.
• The lighthouse has been on the island for over 60 years and is now the oldest working lighthouse in New Zealand.
• The lighthouse used to have lighthouse keepers until solar panels were installed to make it an automatic.

Tiritiri is an amazing island and I really want to go again. When I grow up I want to help on the Island.

Tiritiri Matangi Island

Tiritiri Matangi Island

Tiritiri Matangi Island also known as Tiri is a wildlife sanctuary managed by company named D.o.c. (Department Of Conservation). Tiri is located 30 km North East of Central Auckland and just 4 km from Whangaparaoa Peninsula.  A hundred and twenty years of farming had seen this 220-hectare island stripped of 94% of its native bush but between 1984 and 1994, volunteers planted between 250,000 and 300,000 trees. The Island is now 60% forested with the remaining 40% left as grassland for species preferring open habitat.

Tiri is a home to many endangered species such as the flightless Takahe, bellbird and the little spotted Kiwi. Tiri is mainly known for its birdlife it also has reptiles such as the tuatara and the Moko Skink. The Takahe is a very special bird. The island also has many different types of plants and native bushes. Some native bushes are the Makaka, Rewarewa and Annual Hibiscus.   

In the past the island had a couple of pests like the Kiore (Polynesian Rat) and the Argentine Ant. They had no choice but to get rid of them due to them eating the bird's eggs and taking over. The Kiore was known to be a threat for New Zealand's native birds. At one point there was 200 Kiore in the grass per hectare. When it was realised that kiore were having a major effect on the environment and with advances in technology eradication became possible. People checked the amount of bird losses and realised that there was way to many. This is was because of the pest Kiore.  A drop of an anticoagulant brodifacoum ( poison ) from a helicopter was carried out in 1993. Ninety percent of pukeko were killed after the poison drop and some ground feeding birds brown quail, blackbirds, sparrows and mynas were also killed. The Kiore that was hiding in the grass also got killed due to the poison.  

The other pest that has been eradicated from Tiritiri Matangi Island was the Argentine Ant. The vigilance of a DOC entomologist lead to the discovery of Argentine ants near the wharf in 2000. These ants arrived here from the wharf building material and the whole swarm was moved, not just one or two ants. They are one of the world’s most invasive species overtaking our native ants and so a 5 year eradication programme was set up. They eat a wide variety of foods, have been reported to attack nesting birds and kill nestlings, and invade native ecosystems and displace native ant species. They can also produce multiple queens and can form huge super-colonies that extend for thousands of kilometres. Luckily the ants were only discovered at two locations near the wharf and at Northwest Bay. The eradication involved hand laying bait at 2-3 m intervals on a grid.  This involved the help of many volunteers and favourable weather. By 2004 only two nests remained and these were spot treated to ensure their total eradication. This is the first time a total eradication of ants has been achieved in such a large area of New Zealand.

Tiritiri Matangi Island is a very special and safe place and I can’t wait to get the opportunity to see a flightless Takahe up close.

Technology With Mr Buys

This is a presenatation that Mr Buys made for us. It is all about Form and Functions of things.

Perimeter and Area Presentation

 This is my presentation that is all about perimeter and area.The perimeter is the outline of a shape.The area is the area inside the shape.

Haunted Or Fake?

Haunted Or Fake?

$1 for a historic mansion may sound like a pretty good deal, but there is a catch…there are speculations that it may be haunted. The Ouerbacker-Clement House in Louisville Kentucky was built in the 1860s by Samuel Ouerbacker and was a magnificent building admired by many because the materials and the structure of the mansion. This mansion has been vacant for over 70 years because of the death of the owner . It has been used as a tax office before however  they decided to put the mansion up for sale.  It was then purchased by an architect, Scott Kremer. Ditching his plans to make this mansion  famous again he decided to leave it in ruins because it was to much work for him to do.

The real estate company were hoping that whoever was wanting to purchase the mansion would take the time and spend the money to restore its old features with the help of the tax company.  The Ouerbacker-Clement House is very ancient and was falling apart. There are speculations about the mansion and how it looks haunted because of the broken windows and parts of the floors are breaking and making holes.

Scott Kremer sold the mansion which was purchased by a company by the name of Oracle Design.  This company also bought many other properties from the neighborhood.  Oracle Design have had a plan for a while and when the mansion was getting auctioned they were hoping that they could get the mansion because it was a big part of their plan. Part of the plan is to tear down the mansion and make new apartment complex.   

They are still trying to figure out how they are going to make this mansion into an apartment complex and they still need to figure out the date and the length that this procedure will take.

~ Paige Te Tai