Europe

Europe

                       

Have you ever visited or been to Rome, Paris, Barcelona or even Venice? Do you know what continent all those fascinating places are part of? Well, all these places are part of Europe.

Europe is the sixth largest continent in area, 3,930,000 square miles and the third largest and third populous continent in population. Europe is made up of 46 different countries and the population is 738,199,000. The population seems a lot but there is five times of the number of people living in Asia today. Not only that, Europe is a very wealthy country. This continent has been the main point of the disastrous wars, World War I and World War II. Not long before, Europe has been united to a common union called the European Union.

Most europeans use Euro as money. There are more than 200 various languages spoken in Europe. Some languages are Danish, Dutch, English, German, Swedish and many more. Europe’s major biomes are the temporary forest and the grasslands. There are many capital cities in Europe, for example, London, Madrid, Budapest. In Spain, there is a tomato fight called La Tomatina every year in Bunol.

Europe’s largest and tallest mountain is Mount Elbrus and the largest and tallest mountain in the West Europe is Mount Blanc measuring 4800m above sea level. Lake Ladoga is the largest lake with an area of 17,670 square kilometers. It is located in north-western Russia, next to the second largest lake, Lake Onega.

A place you should visit is Florence because it has stunning architectures and delicious cuisines. You can also see the beautiful sun set and you might even come across some fashionable Italians.

By Amy

Recycling glass bottles

Recycling Glass Bottles

by Amy

I wonder where all the old bottles and crushed bottles go? What are the recycled glass bottles used for after the cycle when it is recycled and melted? What are the new glass bottles made from?

New glass bottles are made from silica sand. The silica sand is melted in a high temperature furnace. Recycled glass bottles can be made very similar but costing less and using up less natural resources.

The process starts when people take all their used glass bottles, containers and jars to a bottle bank. Then the glass bottles, containers and jars are all taken by a truck or lorry to the recycling plant. At the ‘recycling plant’, all the bottle caps or lids are detached. After all the bottle caps have been detached, the glass of the bottles, containers and jars, are crushed into fragments.

Have you wondered where the crushed glass goes? The crushed glass is then taken to the bottle factory by a lorry or truck. Then the crushed glass is mixed with a small amount of silica sand. When the silica sand and the crushed glass is mixed, it is then melted in a lower temperature than the new glass in a furnace.

Out of the furnace, is the hot liquid glass. Then the hot liquid glass is transferred into a machinery that make the hot liquid glass into bottles. Recycled glass is as strong as new glass. Glass can be recycled a lot of times without losing its quality.  

Contamination of water

Contamination of water-good or bad

By Amy

Have you ever thought if water contamination is good or bad? Did you know what will happen to the marine animals when the streams, lakes and oceans are all contaminated? Did you think of what will the world be like when all the seas and oceans are contaminated? Do you know what actually causes water contamination?

Litter that has been thrown in the drain causes water contamination. Then the litter, that was thrown in the drain goes straight into the sea. Some marine animals mistaken the litter as food and gulps it down. If the marine animal’s stomach is full of litter, the marine animal can fall ill and die. If this keeps happening, and the marine animals are still continually mistaking the litter as food and eats it, some marine animals can lead to extinction. Thus, it affects our food chain. If the food chain is affected, some other animals that depend on the certain animal that is near to extinction can be pushed the other animals that depend on the certain animal into extinction too. What will happen to us, humans, then?

Pesticides can also cause water contamination. Gardeners and farmers spray pesticides their fruits and vegetables to prevent insects to damage your fruits and vegetables. When it rains, the pesticides get washed away and flows in the seas and oceans. The marine animals living the the sea or ocean can be affected by the pesticide that has flowed into the seas or oceans because pesticides can be poisonous to marine animals.

Not only pesticides and litter causes water contamination, however cattle waste does. The cattle waste can be on the ground any time. When it rains, the cattle waste gets carried away in the rain and flows straight into the seas and oceans. As a result of this, our lakes, streams, seas and oceans can be polluted.

How do you like it when the lakes, streams, seas, and oceans are all contaminated? You can stop throwing litter on the ground and instead put it in the right bins. Gardeners and farmers should be more careful about pesticides.

Fruit flies

Fruit Flies

By Amy         

As I stride past Grey Lynn, there is a tall sign saying ‘Beware, you are now entering a fruit fly area’. I wonder why other countries fear fruit flies. I wonder why fruit flies are such trouble makers in New Zealand.

Fruit flies are causing a lot of trouble in New Zealand. They have been to New Zealand twelve times. Firstly, they seriously damage our fruits and vegetables. Since our fruits are damaged, we will not be able to sell  to the other countries. The Ministry of Primary industries are trying to eradicate these fruit flies by using an insecticide called Bifenthrin.

Due to our damaged fruits, our economy will go down. When the economy goes down, our health will be also affected because we won’t have enough vitamins in our body.

To eradicate these horrible pest from damaging our high-quality fruits, you must stop dumping the fruit’s remaining onto the ground after you finished the flesh from the fruit.

Deforestation explanation

Deforestation

Do you know what it will be like if there was a lot of deforestation happening on earth? Have you ever thought about the animals that live in the rain forests? Did you know what will happen to the animals if they keep doing this? There is much more things that will happen which will cause problems.

Firstly, it will affect the habitat of an animal. Sometimes, most of the animals can’t adapt to a new environment and are pushed to extinction. Not only that, it will also affect our food chain.

Secondly, it causes flooding. It is because when it rains, there is plants to absorb the water from the roots, but when there are no plants to do that, it leads to flooding or sometimes droughts.

Deforestation also operates climate change. The soil in forest are moist, but without the trees to cover the sunlight, the soil will become dry. It is called soil erosion. Due to soil erosion, fruits and vegetables won’t grow.

You can utilise all these problems with one single way, when you want to cut down a tree, make sure to plant another seed to replace it.

Fossil Discovery

A Fossil Discovery

by Amy

The scientists, Paleontologists, have long suspected that hippos evolved from a family of plant-eaters. They could not confirm it because the fossils of ancient hippos were found way back 15 million years ago.

Lihoreau and his research team searched for hippo fossils, they found a jaw from an anthracotheres mammal.  They wanted to find additional remains belonging to the ancient mammals. Finding the teeth was so helpful because when they figured out it was an ancient animal and other remains in the same area.

The ancient hippo weigh no more than 220 pounds. The scientists believed that the animal was related to the whales. Lihoreau called the hippo the real African mammal because it was originally from Africa.

Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone book review

By Amy

This story is about a boy named Harry Potter. His father and mother used to study in ‘Hogwarts’. There also was a family called the ‘Dursleys’. They hated the Potters. One day, Voldemort planned to kill Harry Potter when he was a baby. First, he killed Harry’s father but when Mrs. Potter tried to protect Harry, she got killed too. When it was Harry’s turn to face death, Voldemort suddenly lost his powers so he ran away. A giant named Hagrid brought Harry to the Dursleys. That was why he had to live with them. He wasn't treated fairly and usually got punched by their son, Dudley and his friends. One unusual day, a giant who brought him to safety appeared, he came to take Harry to Hogwarts, where his parent used to study. When he arrived at Hogwarts, he was grouped in Gryffindor. He made a new friend named Ron Weasley. Soon he settled in.

The author wanted to give a message of being brave and alert. If you don’t be brave, you won’t be able to overcome your fears.I recommend this book to 11+ because it is about a boy trying to defeat evil. The story is nicely described and told. I also recommend this to people that likes wizardry stories.

Nikau trees

Nikau

By Amy

Most palm trees grow in warm tropics, unlike the nikau tree. It grows in a cold climate. Nikau trees are the only native palm trees in New Zealand and the only palm that grow so far south.

The early settlers, the Maoris and Pakeha eat the round-shaped part of the nikau. When you want to get the food, you cut and destroy the whole tree. It is because the round-shaped part of the nikau is near to the top of the tree. The tree grows up to fifteen metres tall. If people keep doing this, the nikau tree will soon die out or become extinct.

Nikau trees have certain parts that is very useful. The fronds are used for building roofs and they use the leaves for making clothings and baskets.

My Biopoem

3rd February 2015

Amy,

who has two siblings

whose favourite sport is swimming,

who is awesome, sporty and sleepy,

who lives with her mum and dad,

who likes to eat donuts,

who wants a giant-sized ice cream, an Xbox and a parrot,

who feels good when it is lunch time,

who loves to eat ice cream cakes on a hot, sunny day,

who hates the feelings of felines,

who hopes to go to America one day,

who is afraid of heights,

who enjoys playing on computer games, drawing cartoon and watch television,

who likes to wear cool shirts, Nike shoes and jandals,

who wonders why it is so hot today,

who knows for sure she have parents.

Botanical Gardens

The Trip to the Botanical Gardens

My sister shouted deafeningly,  ”Hurry up, or else you will miss the bus!”   I realised it was already 7.45am!  I quickly jumped out of bed and got dressed before she shouted again. It was really loud that she woke up the whole neighbourhood.

As soon as I got to school, we took our bags and hopped into the bus. It was not just an ordinary bus but it was a double-decker bus! When the bus moved, everybody turned into a chitty-chatty mood. It didn’t take long till we arrived.

We left the bus and headed into the Auckland Botanical Garden’s courtyard to have morning tea.

After morning tea, an instructress named Caroline lead us into a cosy classroom. We learnt about native, endemic and exotic plants. We also learnt about weeds. We played a little game too. It was when you picked a picture that represented New Zealand.

Next we headed to the Children’s Garden. Caroline read us a story about Tui. We put on mossy spray so we wouldn’t have itchy bites. After we had a magic moment to calm us down and to listen to the forest. We heard the cicadas rubbing its legs together to make melodious sounds. Later we got laminated cards and we had to identify the plant in the garden.

After that, we went near a creek to gather Kowhai seed pods. Caroline taught us how to make sure the seeds inside the seed pods were healthy. Next we went to the Garden Centre. She taught us how to plant Harakeke, putting the seeds in the yoghurt pots, or pruning or prickling. You have to choose two ways we wanted to do.

After, we went back to the courtyard and had lunch. The tables were very fascinating, they looked liked the tables in Narnia. We had a rest for a little while and soon we planned a bushwalk. It was very tiring. We went through the Edible Garden and the Rose Garden. With our cameras, we took photos. We also saw a wedding happening. Finally we had to go back into the courtyard and to get back to school. So we hopped back into the bus and off we went.

By Amy

Bees

Bees and flowers are important companions, they need each other

Bees need food from flowers and the flowers need the bees to fertilise seeds.

Each bee can pollinate 50-100 flowers a day.

Bees are mostly attracted to the orange, yellow blue and purple flowers.

If there is no pollination, the plants will not produce fruit because the plants will be damaged and not grow. We will not enjoy fruits and vegetables.

To pollinate a square meter of plants, it takes 15 bees to do so.

Bees prefer plants like clover, alfalfa and dandelions.

Mostly young female bees pollinate bright flowers.

Bees usually pollinates in the daytime.

My Business Card

Digital Learning

Digital Learning

I learnt to use a chromebook as well as other applications to publish my work. I also learnt how to put my work into my blog.

Miss Payton helped me to set up my work into my blog and Mrs Cochrane helped me with the other applications.

In the future, I could put my work into my blog without any help and that I could experience more applications for publishing my work.

I am pleased that I could use some applications for research and publishing online and sharing this with the world.

I enjoyed putting my work into my blog and publishing my work into Google Draw and Google Docs.

I could work anywhere, anytime and I could work on my own pace.

I want to learn to use more application and learn more information about my future projects.

All about me

Matariki

                                          Matariki  

I look up,  I can already see the dark sky with a million stars. I can feel the cold, open air blowing into me. The fire is already lit. I am at Cook’s beach. My family and my friends are nearly at the camp-fire with Uncle Bob. Then Uncle Bob says to me ‘Hurry up or we will have to wait another year to see those stars.’ I am at the beach to celebrate Matariki.

The moment I reach the fire, I can already feel the warmth of the bright, burning flames. I stare at the sky to find the unique seven stars or the matariki. My shoes sink into the sand , I feel like the wind is actually whispering to me. The sea is like the beautiful reflection from a magic mirror. The sea is calm but i can hear the waves swishing and whistling.

But when I gaze at the dark greyish night, I think about why so many different cultures talk about stars and tell stories about them. I also wonder why the stars are so important to them too.

My Saint

St Bernadette

Hello my name is Bernadette Soubirous. I was born 170 years ago, 17 January 1844. I live in Lourdes, France and my family is very poor. My health is very poor,  because I am suffering from asthma.

One day I am sent to go out to gather firewood with my sister and a friend. But when I pass a rose bush, a beautiful lady dressed in blue and white appears to me and makes the sign of the cross, so I take out my rosary and begin to pray it with her. She is actually the Blessed Virgin Mary. She appears to me 17 more times. I tell my companions but they don’t believe me, so the police question me. I have to undergo medical testing to prove that I don’t need to go to a mental asylum.

After 13 years, I become a nun and I am now called   Sister Marie Bernarde. During my time as a nun, I suffer from ill health, from ailments and afflictions, but I do not complain. It becomes worse so I am confined to bed. After a few moment, I begin to make the Sign of the Cross, and drink a few drops of water. Then I leave my mortal body.

Why snakes don't have legs?

                   Why Snakes don't have legs?

Once upon a time, there lived a monkey named James. Her friend was a snake named Daniel. They lived in a 3 storey house with a healthy garden full of bright green beans and rich red beetroot. They had a lot of books and didn't know where to store them.

So one day, they decided to make a book-shelf out of wood so they could store books in the there. Off they went to the shop called Bunnings warehouse to buy the wood. When they started, Jordan the elephant strolled by and greeted them and soon they went back to work.

In the afternoon, they stopped to have a rest and to eat lunch. Soon they started to finish it. When suddenly Daniel’s legs got stuck in the gravel. James tried pulling Daniel out but he was not strong enough. So James quickly called Jordan the elephant to get Daniel out of the gravel. Jordan puffed and huffed, pulling so hard that stretched Daniel and even pulled his legs off. So now onwards Snakes are long and they don’t have legs.

Mary Mackillop Centre

A loud voice booms across the chapel. I can hear Father Peter consecrating the wine. It is the morning and we are having mass in the chapel. A soft draught is blowing through the holes between my toes. I can see the bright red and light pink flowers. The candles beside Father Peter are unlit and are very nicely designed.

Father Peter is wearing a clean, white cassock and a black watch as dark as midnight. I can smell the new painted wall and I can see a smooth wooden tabernacle on the painted wall with something carved on it. On the other table there is a little flask of wine. The sun is beaming through the windows brightly. I turn around and I can see the nuns behind me.

I stop and wonder how people become nuns and why they want to become nuns. Do they have to wear habits even today? I am glad that we have nuns even today because I think they are very caring and generous.

By Amy

The morioris

The Law of Nunuku

More than a hundred years ago, there was severe fighting among the tribes of Rekohu. After the fighting, a chief named Nunuku wanted fighting to stop. The other chiefs agreed and made it a law. If two people started to fight, they were able to hit each other with a tupuari (wooden staff), if somebody drew blood, the fight would have to stop immediately.

In 1835,  the morioris was going to be invaded by tribes of New zealand because the tribes of New Zealand wanted to take over the land. When the Chiefs realised, they quickly met together and decided what they should do because they made a law not to fight.

After a long conversation, the chief didn’t want to disobey the law that Nunuku made, so they did not fight against the invasions.

So, more than 100 people died and some were enslaved. Nowadays,the descendants proudly showed memorials  for those who died.

                             The Treaty of Waitangi

The statue of Tame Horomona 

In 1870, 58,516 hectares (97.3% of Rekohu) was awarded to the tribes of New Zealand and sadly 1,640 hectares (2.7% of Rekohu) was for the morioris.

In 1933, the last moriori died, Tame Horomona (known as Tommy Solomon). After 53 years, David Lange announced a statue of Tame Horomona on the 29th December.

But, in 1988 the morioris wanted their return of land, fishing rights and their recognise of their culture and their identity.

In 2004, the morioris happily won back their fishing rights from the treaty of waitangi fisheries commision.

In 2005 on 21st January, the kopinga marae was opened by Helen Clark, Prime minister of New Zealand.   

BY AMY ZHANG

 

                                                   

Beauty and the beast prodution

           BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

Have you ever been to a live theater to see the Beauty and the Beast in the disney version? Christ the king did. On Friday 9th May at 12pm Christ the king went to the Manukau Vodafone event centre to see the production of the BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. It was performed by a school called Sancta Maria College. There were also two other schools. The characters are Belle, beast, Gaston, Le fou, Maurice, Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs Potts, Chip,  Barbette, wardrobe, Monsieur D'Arque and the silly girls.

There was a young prince, he was mean, selfish and cruel. But one day a old begging women was on the doorstep of the young prince’s house. When the young prince open the door, he shooed the women away. The women said she will give him the rose if he will give her shelter. He refused because she was really ugly Just when he was still shooing her away she turned into a beautiful women because she disguised herself as a old women. When he saw her, he tried to say sorry, but the women put a curse on him and turned him into a beast. To break the cast somebody has to love him.  At the end, Belle loved him so he turned into a prince again.

I thought Mrs Potts was excellent because her voice was totally amazing, no doubt.  I also liked the explosion because it was so loud. i liked the different scenes too.

I recommend this show for all ages to watch this because it is funny and it has lots of music.