Estamos Cocinando Empanadas - We are making empanadas

On Friday a special group got to make empanadas. Empanadas are from Argentina and are pastry with filling. We had three different fillings for the empanadas, which were carne picada (mince), maiz de crema (sweet corn) and jamón y queso (ham and cheese). There were some students that couldn't have meat (beef or ham) or others who couldn't eat any meat or eggs because of religious reasons so we had to make maiz de crema and empanadas with just cheese.

Our Spanish teacher, Mrs Lee, taught us how to make the empanadas and she brought the ingredients. The ingredients for all the empandas are: flaky pastry, mince, carrot, ham, cheese, sweet corn, egg and milk. The empanadas were triangular in shape. They needed to be folded on the sides in a special way so it could go in the oven.

We made the empanadas during our lunch time but it was worth it. At the end of the day the students that helped make the empanadas got an extra empanada because of their hard work to make them.

We are making a video called "Aprender Español es Divertida" which means "Learning Spanish is Fun". We think that making empanadas was a good idea because we would learn how to make them and so we would get an extra cooking lesson for the year (Sambit's opinion).I think making empandas was a good idea because I never made empanadas before and it we have had our last session for cooking this year (Roneel's comment).

By Sambit and Roneel

Kenneth said: The empanadas were pretty nice and similar to the ones I used used to have at my home. I already knew about empanadas because there was a fast food place in my home country (Philipines) where I used to get them. My favourite fillings are mince with cheese. The ones we made were a bit bigger that the ones I used to have.

Rebekah said: It was really fun because I love cooking and I like learaning new recipes so I can try them at home with my family. I'm going to ask Mum to buy the ingredients next shopping day. I learned how to say the ingredients of the empanadas in Spanish- jamón y queso, huevos, zanahoria, carne picada y maiz de crema.

Daniel said: I think empanadas were yum. I tried only one flavour, sweet corn. I think sweet corn was the best. Learning Spanish is fun because it is quite easy. It is easier to learn Spanish more than English because my mind thinks it is. Soy de Korea.

Aminder said: Fue muy divertida. I think the best one was the mince one because it was healthy and I like mince. I would like to make empanadas at home and let my family taste them as well.

Te Ana said: Me gustan las empanadas. I think they are the best empanadas I have tried. I haven't tried any before. They kind of remind me of small pastry pies.

Mrs Vincent said: Me gustan las empanadas. Me recuerdan de la Argentina. I tried many types of empanadas when I was in Argentina.

Mrs Lee said: I learned how to make empanadas when I was staying with my friend Monica in Iguazu. Aprendi cocinar las empanadas cuando era en Iguzu con mi amiga Monica. When I was in Argentina I used to go to a take-away shop which sold only empanadas. You can buy special circles of empanada pastry in a pack - a bit like a pack of won ton pastry- so you can easily make your own at home too.

How to Make Empanadas by Mrs Lee

First you need puff pastry, beef mince, cream corn, ham, cheese,eggs and carrot. You also need milk or egg for glazing.

Heat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius.

Peel and grate a carrot.

Brown the mince and grated carrot in the pan. No oil is needed.

Hard boil an egg.

Cut the egg finely and add it to the cooked mince and carrot.

Grate the cheese and cut the ham into small pieces.

Open a tin of sweet corn.

Cut each of the pastry sheets into four.

Place a spoonful of a filling onto each quarter of pastry.

Wet the edges of the pastry with your fingers dipped in water (or use a pastry brush). Don't use too much water.

Fold the pastry square in half to make a triangle containing all the filling. Press down on the edges of pastry to stick them together.

Trim the end off the triangle to make the shape a bit more semicircular.

Roll the edges of pastry over to make a rope-like pattern. (Ask William for a demonstration - he is the best empanada folder we have ever seen).

Place the empanadas on baking paper on an oven tray.

Brush with beaten egg or milk.

Place in centre of oven and bake for about 15-20 minutes until golden.

Remove and leave for five minutes until cool enough to eat.

ENJOY!

These can be reheated but are best eaten straight away. (Why would there be any left over?)
Other fillings could include: chicken or smoked fish or anything you want.

Here are some photos of real empanadas in Argentina. These are photos Mrs Lee took of her friend Monica making empanadas. Can you follow the steps?

These emapandas were cooked in a hot frying pan.

These are Mrs Vincent's photos of empanadas...

Empanadas can come in other shapes as well.

So, when are you going to make empanadas?

Pizza Chicos

Today the boys made pizzas. We had to choose between pizza or garlic bread. Andy did the research on pizza and Daniel did the research for garlic bread and most people ended up voting for pizza. We had to research a recipe with ingredients that would cost less than $6.00 for four people. The dough was made using yeast, flour, salt, sugar, warm water and oil. Some people made mistakes and had to redo it. We weren't supposed to add the flour until the yeast had frothed. We learned that we had to read the recipe properly for ourselves and not to rely on others to do it for us. Me gusta pizza!It was fun and the pizza tasted good.

By Sambit and William.

What We Are Doing at School

In Poutama, (technology) all the girls in Huia 1 (our class) are doing cooking technology and we are making two of the recipes which are crepes and bean nachos.

The boys are doing computer technology with Mrs Vincent. Last week the girls were with Mrs Vincent in the technology room on Mathletics and doing some homework .

Everyone in the whole school has got a Mathletics account and we can play with it at home and at school. It has live Mathletics competitions which you play with kids all around the world.

Science is one of our topics for this term. Huia 1 students are doing some homework on science that has 50 questions less than the last homework research we had on New Zealand General Knowledge.

Huia 1 Science Research Homework Project. Term 4 2009

1. What is the scientific name for water?
2. At what temperature does water boil and freeze?
3. Why does the moon shine?
4. What is a blue moon?
5. What metal is liquid at room temperature?
6. What are the two main elements which make up the air we breathe?
7. What is the circumference of the earth, at the equator, rounded to the nearest 1000km?
8. Where could you find snow at the equator?
9. Put these in order from smallest to largest: gigabyte (Gb), bite, megabyte (Mb), kilobyte (Kb)
10. Who was the New Zealand scientist who first split the atom?
11. What bird lays the largest egg in proportion to its body weight?
12. What is the nearest star to the earth?
13. Which planet is closet to the sun?
14. What is the name of the comet that is visible from earth every 76 years?
15. Who was the first person to set foot on the moon?
16. How long does it take the earth to orbit once around the sun?
17. How long does it take the earth to rotate once on its axis?
18. What is the difference between volcanic rock and plutonic rock.
19. What is the name of the force that acts on all objects pulling them to the centre of the earth?
20. Who was the person who discovered this?
21. What are the five senses of the human body?
22. Explain why a spider is not an insect. What type of creature is it?
23. Give a definition and 2 examples of a herbivore.
24. Give a definition and 2 examples of a carnivore.
25. Give a definition and 2 examples of an omnivore.
26. What is the only rock that can float in water and why is it able to float on water?
27. What are the three states of matter?
28. What animals belong to the canine and feline families?
29. Which organ of the human body has a “drum” in it? What is its purpose?
30. Which travels faster, light or sound?
31. What is the imaginary line that passes around the centre of the Earth.
32. What is the antipodes of New Zealand?
33. What is the ozone layer?
34. A leap year occurs every __________ years?
35. The planets furthest away from the sun are made of__________________.
36. What is the name of the process where a gas changes into a liquid?
37. What is the name of the process where a liquid changes into a gas?
38. What is the name of the process where water changes into a solid?
39. Are the particles in a gas spaced further apart or closer than the particles of a solid?
40. Are the particles of a liquid spaced further a part or closer than the particles of gas?
41. Can gases be compressed? Give an example.
42. What two colours does a colour blind person have difficulty distinguishing between?
43. What are the colours of the rainbow – in order.
44. What is the main ingredient is glass?
45. What is the nucleus of an atom made of ? What orbits the nucleus of an atom?
46. Explain the Doppler Effect. Give examples of it.
47. What would you use a Geiger counter for?
48. What is the earth’s main source of energy?
49. What is the scientific name for salt?
50. What is the softest mineral found on earth?

In school some of the students that signed up to do Radio Station are now experiencing what it's like and have radio meetings every Tuesday. Students get to create jingles which is like short music for approximately 6-7 seconds. Some students will possibly be on the radio from week 2-3.

This week we had a spelling test as well. They were pretty basic words although it did have some tricks in it. Check out Spelling City for more of our daily words. We have also got a new list of " 100 Need To Know Words" which we hope to get them all correct.

News From School Newspapers:

On Friday 4th December Our school is having a Year 8 Ball which is like a partner dance. In Huia 2 students were studying about Diwali that is the Indian Festival of Lights and in Diwali you make some delicious sweets like barfi. This is usually celebrated on a Saturday and is a time where all Hindus become vegetarians for a week.

By Nikeeta

Las Vacaciones en Nueve Zelanda

We have just had two weeks of holiday and are now back at school for the last term of the year.
Here is what some of us did in the holidays:

Te Ana: I went to the movies to see G Force with my little brother but I wanted to see Fame. I went shopping, played on the computer and watched t.v

Gulnoza: I went to a Japanese restaurant for my my parents' 20th anniversary and the next day was my birthday.

So Yeon: I visited Georgia for a sleep-over and we played and watched Shrek II.

Rebekah: I went to a children's camp. I went swimming, kayaking and I went on the flying-fox and down the water slide. I also went to see the movie Up.

Jenna: I went tramping in the Pinnacles near Thames. We climbed to the very top and we could see the ocean. We stayed there for a night. Katelyn came with us. It was supposed to be a three hour walk but we took a different track on the way down and it took longer.

Ameleigh: I went to the movies to see Up.

Mikayla: I went to the movies to see Aliens in the Attic. I went on a swimming camp in Rotorua to prepare for a swimming meet in Henderson soon.

Georgia: I went to Kids in Cars which raises money for Kidz First Hospital and for Camp Quality which is a camp for kids with cancer. You go for rides in cars and helicopters and there was also fairground rides, the Wild Car stunt racing team and celebrity drivers.

Katelyn: I went to Waihi Beach to visit my grandparents. We went fishing and I caught a fish. I went tramping with Jenna and then after that my family went to Whangamata.

Brittany: I went to America with my Mum, Dad, brother and sister. We went for 15 days and visited Universal Studios, Disneyland, Californialand and Las Vegas. It was boiling hot and I had a great time.

Nikeeta: I went to the Cook Islands. See my posting a few blogs back. It was a fantastic time and boiling hot.

As you may have heard in my email, there was a special Island Night. There was a special feast with different spices and different meats named umo. When we had special Cook Island events we had a special place to meet and greet new members. It was next to the ocean. Sometimes if you are lucky, you can see the fish. Sometimes some people are a bit naughty and start feeding the fish normal bread which is not allowed. You need special feeding bread. However it doesn't really have any effect on the fish. I tried feeding the fish normal bread when I went snorkelling and the fish started to fight over bread. I had a wonderful stay at Cook Islands. Everyone was polite and I hope to go back to Cook Islands again.

Hemant: In Huia 1 we have a new student named Hemant. His friends are Aminder, Roneel and Sambit so far. He thinks our school is a good place and still looking forward into making new friends. Hemant went to the movies and watched G-Force. His rating for the movie was 3/5 and he says that it is an awesome film compared to other action movies. When Hermant first came to the school he felt nervous because he didn't know anyone in our school.

Sambit: Sambit just stayed at home and played Play Station 2 which is an interactive game. He says his holiday was boring.

Kumiko: Kumiko had fantastico! holiday she went to the museum with her cousins where she saw old aged clothes,desks and old aged treasures. She says it was really interesting when she was reading some of the old aged history. Kumiko says Holidays are Fantastico!!!

Stanley: Stanley played XBOX 360 (which also is an interactive game like the Play Station 2 also known as PS2) in the holidays with Nathan, Mark, Jesse, Joshua, Garick and Adryan. Also Stanley played moshi monsters alot (which is a interactive game on the internet.)

Daniel: Daniel is from Korea and he lives in a Home Stay. He we to Rainbows End which is a kind of playground where you can go on rides. He went on the roller coaster and "Gold Rush" which is a kind of go-kart. It was dangerous because it stops suddenly and it pushed his stomach in.

Mighael: went to a holiday programme during the day times from 9.00 to 3pm. Every day is different. One day he went ice-skating and mini golf. On Friday he went to Parakai hot pools. The next week he went to his friend's house for two days and they played a survival game.

Kenneth: stayed at home. He went to Sylvia Park, a very large mall, but he goes there every week anyway. He went skate boarding around the Gardens area and he went to a skate park in Manuakau with his friends.

Theo: went to Australia with his parents. He went to Dream World and Wet and Wild. It was exciting. He also played in a water polo competition.

Shane: played water polo in a competition at North Harbour.

Adryan: played games on Playstation and went shopping at Manukau City.

William: went to cinemas, ice-skating, his cousin's birthday, more movies and another birthday party.

Nathan: went to a birthday party then stayed at home.

Mrs Vincent and Mrs Lee both went to a two day Spanish Course Immersion Weekend and "Sleep Over" with other teachers of Spanish. They showed other teachers how they teach Spanish at The Gardens School and learned lots of new ideas. They played Trivial Pursuits and Pictionary in Spanish. Mrs Lee has been studying for a Spanish exam she is doing at university. We wish her buena suerte.

Our School's Wearable Arts Performance

Last Thursday night we had our Wearable Arts Extravaganza at our school. Our class created costumes that represented individual New Zealanders who have had an impact on the world. Our topics were: Medicine, Science, Movie Making, Motor Sports and Military.

We were very impatient to be on stage and we had to wait for a very long time for our turn. When we were finally lining up to go into the hall, everyone was nervous. When it was over and done with and we had finished our performance, a wave of relief washed over us as we headed back to our classroom.

The winner in our class competition was the Military Group. They also won the runner-up award of the night. The judges said that you usually only saw a small Victoria Cross and it was good to see all the detail on it.

The Movie-Maker group won the award for the best hat and the Science group won the award for the best use of hula hoops and test tubes.


Military Theme:

Our voice-over was read by Mikayla:

"Our theme is New Zealanders who have contributed to military achievements in the world. We studied Willie Apiata, Nancy Wake, Sir Keith Park and Charles Upham. We decided to create a Victoria Cross because Willy Apiata received one in July 2007.The cross is made from card and paint, the chain is made from card, gold wire and paint. The under-piece is made from two sheets of woven flax, representing the Maori Battalion. The beret is made from an old towel and represents Nancy Wake because she helped the French and was the most decorated woman from the Second World War. The shoes are made from leather and cotton to represent boots."

Mikayla's Dad teaches us how to put army paint on our faces.


Maria wearing camo paint.


The Military group. Jenna and Katelyn in front, Mikayla, Maria, Juliana and Te Ana standing.

" The music for the Military group is supposed to set the mood and to make people feel how other people do about sacrifices for their country. The camouflage paint on our faces is to make us all look the same. I got it from my Dad who is the army and navy. It's an honour to be able to play the Last Post so we know that we had to stand still for the remembrance, " said Mikayla.

Science Theme:

Our voice over was read by Georgia:

Our wearable art represents New Zealanders’ contributions to scientific discoveries and advancements in the world. We studied Ernest Rutherford, William Pickering, Alan McDiarmid and Beatrice Tinsley. Our artwork represents Ernest Rutherford splitting the atom. It is made of hoola-hoops attached with rivets and glue. Polystyrene balls represent molecules.

The art also represents us because, don’t we all make an impact on the world?

Did you know that 1971 was the centennial of Rutherford’s birth? In that year, Professor Peter Fowler, who was Rutherford's eldest grandchild, was appointed the Rutherford Lecturer to New Zealand.

The Science group. Ameleigh, Sheena, Georgia, Pooja - and So Yeon- the model.


So Yeon models the Science creation.

Medical Theme:

Our voice over was read by Sambit:

" Our wearable art represents New Zealanders who have contributed to medical achievements in the world. We studied Fred Hollows, Brian Barrett Boyes, Archie McIndoe and Harold Gillies. Our art was inspired by who was a pioneer plastic surgeon in World War One, and his nephew, Sir Archie McIndoe, who was a plastic surgeon in World War 2. The front is a face before the plane crash and the back is a burnt face after the plane crash. The faces were made out of cardboard and papier mache. The cast is made out of a cardboard tube.The crutch was made out of piping and the bandages are recycled bubblewrap."

The Medical team: William, Daniel, Aminder, Sambit, Roneel and Kenneth- the model.

The pilot's face before he crashed his plane.


The pilot's face after surgery.


Kenneth models the Medicine group's costume.

Mrs Vincent said, "Just before Kenneth, the Medical model, was about to go on stage, he noticed that the bandage around his leg was unravelling. Luckily, I was nearby and could wrap it back up and tuck it in again. I hoped that it wouldn't come undone on stage. I was impressed with the way the groups presented their creations on stage."

Kenneth said, "I was scared because because Mrs Vincent might not see it was unravelling."


Movie Makers Theme:
Our voice over was read by Adryan:

"Our wearable art represents New Zealanders' contributions to the movie industry. We studied Peter Jackson, Nicki Caro, Andrew Adamson and Jane Campion. The giant camera is made from recycled materials including rubbish bags and a cardboard box with a tinfoil-covered plastic container.

Our clapper-board hat was made from papier mache on a balloon. Our model is wearing a rubbish bag dress with a belt made from a rubbish bag strip woven with sparkly elastic. The necklace is an old fashioned film reel which was the most sophisticated item to make, which was made with some trial and error.

An interesting fact we learned was that Peter Jackson made his first version of King Kong at nine years old.

Who knows, maybe soon a movie stars will be wearing our awesome design on the red carpet at the next Oscars. "

Movie-Makers team: Rebekah, Gulnoza, Kumiko, Caitlin and Adryan.


Caitlin models the Movie-Makers' costume as Rebekah, Kumiko, Adryan and Gulnoza stand in the background.


"When the group before us was about to finish, I was getting very nervous. I was quite surprised to win the best hat because some people, (not in our group) had joked about it," said Caitlin, the group's model.

Kumiko said, "I had a lot of fun, but I was really nervous. I couldn't move before our turn. Everyone was looking at our team. I thought that we did well and I was really happy that we won the best hat. I would like to do it again."

"I was so excited when I was at home, before the show, and I was jumping around waiting to go. When I got to school, I almost ran a hundred miles an hour to the classroom because I thought I was late," said Rebekah.

Motor Sports Theme:

Our voice over was read by Mighael:

" Our wearable art represents New Zealand motorsport successes in the world. On the helmet are the names of Burt Munro and John Britten to acknowledge motorbikes and Chris Amon and Bruce McLaren to acknowledge achievements in car racing.

The blue jacket, made from rubber carpet underlay, represents the rubber of tyres and the bubble wrap represents safety and protection. The chequered cape represents the finishing flag. The shoes, made from plastic milk containers, represent movement and cars overtaking each other on a racing circuit.

One interesting fact we learned is that Bruce McLaren died in a crash while he was test driving a car."

Mighael - Motorsport team's model.


Mighael models the Motor Sport group's costume as Shane stands in the background.


Shane, Theo, Nathan, Elliot and Mighael, the model.

News From Nikeeta on Holiday in the Cook Islands

Huia 1 student, Nikeeta, is currently on holiday in The Cook Islands. She sent us this email for our blog. Notice the red dot in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on our world map - that's Nikeeta.

DAY 1

Wondering...?
I am wondering what it's going to be like there, and all the different things that I am not quite sure of, although I am still extremely excited. However, I'm scared too about going on the plane... (if you know what I mean...)

I don't know, although I do wonder how the roads and people are going to be like. I heard that there is an interesting kids' club and you go at least for a day, and they give you lots of interesting thing to do, as in learning how to weave, snorkelling, looking and discovering new fishes and lastly feeding the fish. I hope the water is a bit shallow.

How the flight went...
The flight went well when it took off, although it was a bumpy ride. We had a good meal. I had
crumble chicken, pasta rice, and ice cream which was delicious. Everything went great and we landed 1.40 a.m. (Cook Island time). I noticed that people put some flowers around people's neck to great new people which I found really cool! I found it really surprising that we didn't have to wear seatbelts while we were in the car - a bit dangerous, I must say.

This was really funny. When we came from the airport, this man took our luggage
and loaded it on the bus. We thought it was stolen although he did put the luggage (with our permission)but didn't take us and then this really kind lady managed to get us a van to take us to the hotel and our luggage was in our room before us. We are in Room 502. It is a bit small in there, all we have is a toilet bathroom and t.v, bedroom and a connecting door to the other room.

The Place...
The place is great and the people are so kind. They say "hello" to people and also we have breakfast for free and even dinner. There are special activities you get to do daily which I find really interesting. We have got the kids' club - thinking I should go today (Day 2).
I will be going and feeding the fish at 1.30 (Cook Island time). The safety people say that you shouldn't really touch the fish because they don't like it although you can feed them as soon as you get those fish feeds, which are a type of food for the fish. They come up to you and, oh boy! They love their food and especially who feeds them it. There is also a big swimming pool next to the sandy beach which is awesome. We haven't tried it yet although we will get a chance.

My Day...
My day went great. As soon as I woke up I felt a bit tired because we didn't have that much sleep because we landed just that morning. Although, after a while this really nice lady named Mairah, at least I think that's how you spell it, gave us the orientation about this whole hotel. She helped me make a tiaras with some leaves that you weave with. Mine was the best!!! It was soo awesome. I enjoyed my day.

There is a special Cook Island night and that is the night were you get really into Cook Island traditions. It is great because there are lots of Cook Island dances which really fascinate me and lovely food which is known as lovo in our culture and Cook Island. What lovo is, is that
there are pork,beef,lamb and chicken and those are really nice types of meat cooked underground with some spinach cooked.

I am looking forward feeding the fish today.
Catch ya later!

Say Hi to all Huia 1 students.

End of Term Update.

This week is the last week of Term Three. We have two weeks of holidays before we come back for the last term of the year.

This week has been very busy (muy ocupado). We have been finishing last minute touches on our wearable arts ready for tomorrow night's show. Our class has five different themes relating to New Zealanders' contributions to the world. We are covering the themes of military, science, motorsport, medicine and movie-making. Hopefully we will have some photos to add after tomorrow night.

We have also had lots of tests. In our "100 Need to Know Basic Facts NZ General Knowledge" test, Gulnoza, Mikayla and Sambit achieved 100%. (That's the 100 questions in the previous post.) Test yourself and see what you get.

In the "100 Need to Know Spelling Words " test Maria, Gulnoza, Mikayla, Ameleigh, Daniel, Nikeeta, Sambit and Aminder achieved 100%.

We also had a test on the correct usage of: to, too or two; I or me; there, they're or their; it's or its, whose or who's ; and theirs and there's. We have been learning about these this term. Gulnoza, Ameleigh, Georgia, Mighael and Maria got 100% - including putting every capital letter in the correct place - there were 22 of them. Jenna got 100% of her words correct...

We also did a 100 Mixed Maths Basic Facts Test (multiplication, division, subtraction and addition.)We had five minutes to get all the answers written and correct. The people who got 100% were Gulnoza, Theo, Caitlin, Andy, Mikayla, Ameleigh, Nikeeta, Sambit, Pooja, Jenna, Te Ana and Maria. Sheena, Daniel and William didn't need to do the test because they have already achieved 100% in over five consecutive months. In fact, Theo and Mikayla have also achieved 5 consecutive 100% results before, but they wanted to improve their time so they did the test again. Mrs Vincent is astonished that her class are so keen to do these tests - especially Shane, Caitlin and Nathan who had already done the test earlier in the day in the maths swap class and asked to do the test again to improve their scores.

All the Intermediate classes have been writing about themselves in Spanish for their portfolio samples. Some students are able to complete a whole page of information in Spanish. We have been looking at SpongeBob Square pants (Bob Esponja) episodes in Spanish on Youtube and have had fun working out what is being said. We also looked at a news video clip about a teacher in Parana. We looked at similarities and differences between our school in NZ and this school in Argentina.

News from Mrs Irwin about Daffodil:
Daffodil the lamb is getting nice and big. Her tail has nearly dropped off so there is no chance of fly-strike. She has also moved in to the big paddock and made a new friend called Snowdrop who is another lamb.

News from the past two weeks:
Miss Gifford came to visit us to show us her wee baby daughter, Imogen, who was born in June. Miss Gifford will be returning to teach in Kea 1 again next term. We are looking forward to having her back again.

Miss Gifford and her baby daughter, Imogen, visit our class.

We have been able to use Skype to speak to some students and their teacher, Gabriela, at the Step English School in Paraná, Argentina, where where Mrs Vincent was in March and April. We were able to talk a little bit and use some of our Spanish. It will be good to do this again soon.

We wish our Principal, Miss Fowler, a good recovery from her operation and look forward to having her back at school again next term.


By Maria and Mrs Vincent