Garden update: more visitors and more changes since yesterday

This is the caterpillar under the geranium leaf. Check his progress from yesterday. See below to see how it looked by the end of the day.

This caterpillar has started to turn into a chrysalis. It has gone into the J shape. Can you see the silk attachment?

Here is another bumble bee visiting our cuphea plant (also known as cigarette plant - can you see why?) We seem to have other little visitors, too. We need to find out what they are. Are they aphids?

Aphids on our swan plant.

We need to investigate to find out what this insect is visiting our swan plant. Is it helpful or is it dangerous for the caterpillars? It could be a young adult mayfly, although they live near water. Hmmm ... or it is more likely to be this kind of wasp.

Another bee visiting our cuphea plant.

Here's another caterpillar on a  geranium stalk. Can you see how it is joined to the stalk?

Compare this caterpillar's progress from yesterday.

On another plant on the other side of the garden, one caterpillar is getting ready to become a chrysalis, and one already has. Can you see what is going on inside the chrysalis?

This guy was going for a very long walk to find somewhere to turn into a chysalis...

Compare the progress this caterpillar has made over the day.

Can you see a tiny visitor at the bottom of the chrysalis? We wonder what it is?

Here are some  previous posts on caterpillars: 

March 2011 - Dangers to our caterpillars, and caterpillars in Spanish

April 2011 - the great caterpillar massacre and rescue

April 2011

March 2012

More March 2012  

March 2012 - Life and death in our garden 

Garden Update - more than just an overgrown patch of plants.

 

This caterpillar is about to turn into a chrysalis. Can you see how the caterpillar attaches itself to the leaf? Can you tell which end of the caterpillar is which? 

Here is a better view of the caterpillar attaching itself to a leaf.

I wonder what this little insect is?

This caterpillar wanted some peace and quiet and moved to underneath a geranium leaf to make its chrysalis.

Our first butterfly of the season?

This caterpillar moved off the swan plant and onto a succulent plant.

How many caterpillars can you count?

I wonder where this caterpillar is headed off to? I think it might get very hot feet after a while.

A wasp visits one of our garden plants.

A caterpillar has also moved onto this plant. Can you see a bee, too?

There is a bird here who does not want to be seen. We love having her in our garden, but it's probably not the smartest pace to build a nest.

We wonder what kind of bird lays eggs like these.

What's living, dying, and hatching in our garden?

 

The Intermediate Ball 2013

 Here are some of the thoughts about the ball by  some of our class:

I was a bit nervous before coming to the ball. When I entered, I was excited seeing that there was a magician and a photo booth, DJ, and best of all - the food. Then we had to dance. I got nervous, but then I just did it, and it was fun. After that, there was free-style dancing.  I went into the photo booth with Karmveer and Harshanth  and our photos were really funny. Then I ate lots. When we had to go, I didn't want to - I still wanted to stay.  My favourite dance was Cotton-Eye Joe. I couldn't believe that I got the grand march correct, and the Lady Diana waltz was the hardest out of them all. The magician was really good at confusing us with all of his tricks, and the best trick was when he transferred a ball to someone else's hand. I absolutely liked the food - it was delicious.
Sukhdev

When I arrived at the school hall (in a Jaguar), I felt scared about how it would be. But when it started, I felt like I was not scared any more. I thought that it would be a great night, and it was. I liked it when Mr Yates gave me the pink hat when we were doing the Maxina. I wondered why the magician started making balloons when he should be doing magic. After the ball, I felt like my fear was gone. We had such a great time. My favourite dance from the night was the Maxina. Another thing I enjoyed was the photo booth when Mrs Fowler and Miss  Murphy snuck into our photo.
Karmveer


After school, my mum wanted to take me to the hairdresser to straighten my hair  after we washed it at home. When I got home, she helped me put on my dress and accessories, then she took endless shots of photos of me. At school, I saw lots of Intermediates outside the hall talking to one another.. while their parents were taking photos of them. We to gave our tickets to the teachers and entered through the doors. The hall was filled with black sheets to cover the windows, and cardboard stars were hanging everywhere, with harmless lasers to brighten up the place, and best of all, a photo booth and magician.
Joanna

I felt really nervous when I entered the hall; however, I found my friends and walked wuickly over to them. They were really nervous looking too. Then we did the grand march to start off.
Sheffy

I loved the ball because I got to dance with people that I didn't really hang out with. I really liked dancing with Kiana, Maddy, Tara and Bree. I also enjoyed to food. My favourite dishes were the chocolate eclairs  and the cocktail sausages.
Kylah

I felt so excited when I got there. I thought the ball was going to be lame but OMG, it was awesome. I loved the ball from then on. Moreover, I loved the food. But I wondered how the dancing would go; however, it turned out OK. The people were all smiles and the photo booth was a big hit.
Tara

While I was getting ready for the school ball I was feeling really nervous. While we were waiting to be allowed to go inside the hall, people were taking photos in groups.  I thought that the magician was very talented. The two tricks I saw him do were amazing. I thought that the balloon flower that he made was cool. It was nice that he let me make a balloon poodle to prove to him that I could make them, even though the poodle turned out to be a sausage dog.  I loved using the photo booth because it was easy to use, but it was sad because Diyah was so short that she was only in one photo properly.
Syvannah

An Important Message to Boys

Mwaniki wanted to do his Comic Life poster presentation on cancer, and he decided that to be more specific, he would target his message at the boys.

"I decided to use humour because  not many people are interested in talking about men's bits. (We are all growing up ...)"

Look who hopped (literally) into our school today

Mrs Whitehead in Kea 1 - ever ready with her camera and her clever eye for an excellent photo - took these shots ( and not with a gun ) this morning outside her classroom.

We wonder if Peter Rabbit was on his way to the Poutama vegetable garden.

Can you understand this story about the rabbit - in Spanish? 

¿Qué está haciendo el conejo?
El conejo está corriendo.

¿Dónde está el conejo?
El conejo es debajo del banco.
 
¿Qué tiempo hace?
Está lloviendo. 



Where is the rabbit?
The rabbit is under the bench.

What is the rabbit doing?
The rabbit is running.

What is the weather?
It is raining.


What is the same between questions in Spanish and English? What is different?

(Improvements or corrections  to our Spanish are welcome)

Holes by Louis Sacher - Characters update up to Chapter 20

 It's now Term 4 and we are continuing with our Holes novel study - often making comparisons with our previous novel Private Peaceful. 

As we read more, we are finding out more about the characters we met last term. Here's what we have found out extra  about the characters up to Chapter 20.


Stanley – is Stanley Yelnats IV, is named after his ancestors, his last name is Stanley spelt backwards, he is in the wrong place wrong time, he has been found guilty of a crime, thinks he is 'defective', shrugs one shoulder,  given nickname "Caveman" by X- ray, biggesgt boy in D Group, used to want to work for the FBI, 

Father – is an inventor, he perseveres, he is trying to invent a way to recycle old sneakers, he doesn’t eat when he is working hard on new idea, he sang the song If only to Stanley

Guard – sleeps on the job, wears sun glasses, carries rifle,

Bus driver

Judge – gave Stanely a choice jail or Camp Greenlake

Mother – is optimistic and positive – looks at how lucky they are whenever they seem to strike bad luck, believed in telling the truth,

Warden – is selfish – “owns the shade” and the hammock, makes them dig hole; is a woman, tall, red-haired, black cowboy hat, black boots studded with turquoise stones, has freckles on arms and face,  says,"Excuse me?" doesn't like to be argued with or questioned,  knows all the boys' nicknames, can be nice and nasty,  wears red nail polish made from snake venom,

Kissin' Kate Barlow – (Character from the past), famous outlaw, kisses people after she killed them; she didn't kiss Stanley's great-great grandfather

Great-Great Grandfather : (Character from the past) Stanley's father's 'dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-grandfather, he made a fortune on the stock market, he was robbed by Kissin Kate Barlow and left stranded in the desert - but she never killed him; he stole a pig from a one-legged gypsy who put a curse on him,  named Elya Yenats,  born in Latvia, fell in love with Myra Menke when he was 15,  became very strong carrying the pig up the mountain every day, didn't believe in the curse, felt terrible for forgetting to take Madame Zeroni up the mountain, moved to America, married Sarah Miller,  lived happily but dogged by bad luck, was always looking for Madame Zeroni's son,

Mr Sir – quit smoking, eats sunflower seeds instead, irritable, not fond of campers, has a tattoo of rattle snake, looks tough – wears a cowboy hat, is strict – like Horrible Hanley in PP? Makes sure everyone knows the rules and boundaries, is sarcastic – cruel?scared of the warden, reminds boys that they are not Girl Scouts,

Mr Pendanski – Stanley’s counsellor, seems to be nice – not as scary as Mr Sir, nose badly sun burnt, called Mom by the boys, acts like most American parents (evidence from Conor), gets boys to set goals, realise that they are there because of their own choices, is quite mean to Zero, is scared of the warden,

X Ray - Rex - nicknamed , wears glasses, chooses shortest shovel so doesn't have to dog as big a hole, stands first in line for water, bullies Stanley into giving him anything interesting he finds, next smallest after Zero, says,"Am I right or am I right?", black,

Squid  - Alan – white kid –laughs at Stanley for writing to mother, third in line for water, denied crying in the night - said he had allergies, threatened to break Stanley's jaw if he opened his mouth,

Barf Bag – Lewis – in hospital (Did he get bitten by a scorpion, rattlesnake - or yellow-spotted lizard - on purpose?)

Magnet - Jose - nicknamed, fifth in line for water, likes animals, Hispanic, stole sunflower seeds from Mr Sir,

Armpit - Theodore -  spits, is rough with Stanley - pushes him over, second in line for drinks, biggest boy in D Group after Stanley, black,

Zig Zag - Ricky - long skinny neck, big round head, wild frizzy blond hair sticking out in all directions, head bobbed up and down like it was on a spring, fourth in line for water, cut Stanley's neck with shovel, wouldn't move dirt because Stanley's dirt was on top of it, white,

Zero - has no real name, stands last in line for water, smallest kid in Group D, first to finish digging holes, digs perfect holes, says very little, usually has angry expression, big smile,  like a jack o' lantern, likes to dig holes, can't read, doesn't know any nursery rhymes or TV programmes, black,

Clyde "Sweet Feet" Livingstone -  famous basketball player, donated sneakers to auction for homeless people, once lived in a homeless shelter,

Derrick Dunne - school bully, much smaller than Stanley,
 
Myra Menke - nearly 15, head as empty as a flower pot, beautiful, delicate, spoiled, doesn't really know who Elya is,

Myra's father - doesn't care who marries his daughter - just wants the biggest pig,  spoils his daughter,

Igor Barkov - wanted to marry Myra,  57 years old,  red nose, fat puffy cheeks, pig farmer,  offered to trade fattest pig for Myra's hand in marriage,

Madame Zeroni - old Egyptian woman, told Elya stories, dark skin, very wide mouth, had no left foot, spits, advised Elya to go to America, gave Elya a pig to raise, made Elya keep a promise to carry her up the mountain to drink the water, taught Elya  a special song to sing to the pig,  threatened to curse Elya's family if he didn't fulfill his promise, 

Sarah Miller  - married Elyua,  could push a plow and milk a goat, could think for herself, intelligent, asked Elya to teach her Madame Zeroni's song, had son called Stanley,

Looking back: Term 3

 This term, we have had Mrs Irwin share teaching the class since Week 5.
 Here's a selection of comments written about Term 3 - on the last day of the term:

I'm learning artwork with Mrs Irwin because she teaches me a lot of different styles and methods. I'm getting quite confident speaking in front of the whole class. I am also liking Holes  as well. I like making up pictures in my head because I like to have my own imagination about things.
Alisha

This term has been a good term for me because I have learnt a lot. We finished the book Private Peaceful which is my favourite book. The story had a sad ending, but it was written so well. We also had Mrs Irwin in the class for half of the term and we learnt a lot about the America's Cup with her. We have just started ab book called Holes.
Mason

We started by working on Vincent van Gogh and we learnt a lot about him. We also learnt about the longfin eel, New Zealand artists, the America's Cup, and Maori patterns.
Cameron

We did art work with Mrs Irwin that represented our family, and we also did posters about NZ artists. I did Timo Rannali and I was given an A- for it. I've finished reading the Percy Jackson series and finished two of the Roman series books. And I went to the Highwire course - it was fun.
Alex

I have learnt about the different unique patterns used in Maori art. We were watching the America's Cup with suspense until the very end. We lost, Oracle won; however, we are still proud of them.
Vanshika

My favourite part about learning about Vincent van Gogh was also the saddest part for me as well. It was that he was mental and couldn't cope with life so he shot himself - and it took him two days until he actually died.  We finished Private Peaceful, and in the end I didn't get it because it finished too quickly.  I learnt that there are different ways to present information. We have been practising our dancing for the school ball. I learnt that dancing with boys may seem hard at first, but the more you dance with boys the more confident you get.
Syvannah

Mrs Vincent is reading Holes and we've been looking at flashbacks in a story, foreshadowing and conflict with self, others, technology and nature. For homework, I chose the NZ artist Rei Hamon.
Sheffy

I have learnt a lot of things such as how to draw art on the computer on Art Rage because normally it's on paper with a sketching pencil.  I have also learnt many maths strategies such as rounding and compensating.
Aaron

This term I had so much fun. We learnt about Vincent van Gogh's art, and I've learnt about longfin eels which is very interesting; however, I really liked dancing - it was so much fun. Cotton Eye Joe and the Circle Waltz are my two favourites.
Amber-Lee

With Mrs Irwin we did a lot of word study and reading and understanding poems. We got to do art with her; however, her standards are high.
Tara 

The best project I have done was the NZ art project. My artist was Rei Hamon who is famous for his landscape art. The reason I chose this artist is because I was inspired by his realistic art.
Joanna 

I have learnt this term how to draw - like smudging, whisper, e's, x's, and shading. I really like how I have learnt about maths this term, like algebra and geometry, and that was very helpful. I have learnt about the longfin eel as well, like how it has sharp teeth and sensitive skin.
Sukhdev

This term has been short and fun. During the start of the term we continued reading Private Peaceful. It had a very sad ending that I wasn't expecting.
Mwaniki

Last week I had to present my poster in front of the class and I was very nervous, and I don't think I will be ready for speeches in Term 4. We also did our first book review with Mrs Irwin, and I think I did well.
DC

In the America's Cup we were soooooo close to winning the cup. I enjoyed dancing with many students and teachers. I am so pleased with coming 46th in Cross Country. My goal for next term would be to learn my vocabulary. I am not enjoying my maths because I am finding perimeter and area difficult.
Brylee

This term we learnt about Vincent van Gogh and how he changed his paintings from dull colours to vibrant colours. We also have been researching New Zealand artists and do a project about one. I chose Richard John Frizzell- he does cartoon art. He is famous for his Four Square man and his Micky to Tiki. We have learnt vocabulary about the America's Cup, such as regatta, catamaran and yachting. We have had the privilege of Mrs Irwin in our class for three weeks. We learnt a lot of vocabulary and we also had to design our own kowhaiwhai patterns.
Kylah

I learnt that the yachts they used for the America's Cup were called catamarans. We had to choose a New Zealand artist for our homework, and I chose Don Binney. I learnt that he was best known for his striking, crisp paintings - plus I got an A+ for presentation, and an A+ for information. We did some koru patterns for our art. The pattern had to represent our family, and we had to blend the colours. When I finished my art work, Mrs Irwin said it looked amazing, and I was pleased.
Jupman

Today is the last day of term and we are having a celebratory mufti day and sausage sizzle. I also wrote a book review on The Lost Hero. 
Jamarl 

The ball is coming up and the Year 7s have been practising their skills every opportunity they get. This year, the America's Cup was up for grabs, but Team Oracle won it this year. Team New Zealand looked like they were going to win with a score of 8 - 2, but Oracle got 6 in a row and won.
Aiden

In maths we have learnt algebra and how to use a compass and protractor. We have been full on learning dancing and about the America's Cup. Sadly, we lost it, but we still had fun learning all about it. In Spanish we have learnt lots of things, especially songs. And we did art that represents our families.
Karmveer 

I have learnt a lot in dancing, like the Maxina - even though it was confusing at the start. In Spanish, I learnt a lot of new songs with Mrs Lee. My favourite is ¿Qué hora es? (What's the time?) 
Lili

 

Holes by Louis Sacher: Chapters 4 and 5

 On Friday, we read the next two chapters of Holes. We are learning to recognise how information about characters can be given in a story to build our knowledge of them: from what they say and how they say it, and from their actions and reactions. Here's what we have learnt about the characters by the end of Chapter 5 (note: we inferred some of this. See previous Holes post):

Stanley –  is Stanley Yelnats IV,  is named after his ancestors,  his last name is Stanley spelt backwards, he is in the wrong place wrong time, he has been found guilty of a crime  

Father – is an inventor,  he perseveres, he is trying to invent a way to recycle old sneakers, he doesn’t eat when he is working hard on new idea, he sang the song If only  to Stanley

Guard – sleeps on the job, wears sun glasses, carries rifle, 

Bus driver

 

Judge – gave Stanely a choice jail or Camp Greenlake 

Mother – is optimistic and positive – looks at how lucky they are whenever they seem to strike bad luck

Warden – is selfish – “owns the shade” and the hammock, makes them dig holes 

Kissin' Kate Barlow –  (Character from the past), famous outlaw, kisses people after she killed them; she didn't kiss Stanley's great-great grandfather

Great-Great Grandfather : (Character from the past) Stanley's father's 'dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-grandfather, he made a fortune on the stock market,  he was robbed by Kissin Kate Barlow and left stranded in the desert - but she never killed him; he stole a pig from a one-legged gypsy who put a curse on him

Mr Sir – quit smoking, eats sunflower seeds instead, irritable, not fond of campers, has a tattoo of rattle snake, looks tough – wears a cowboy hat, is  strict – like Horrible Hanley in PP? Makes sure everyone knows the rules and boundaries, is  sarcastic – cruel? 

Mr Pendanski – Stanley’s counsellor, seems to be nice – not as scary as Mr Sir, nose badly sun burnt,  called Mom by the boys, acts like  most American parents (evidence from Conor) 

Rex - nicknamed X  Ray, wears glasses

Alan –  white kid – nicknamed Squid 

Barf Bag – Lewis – in hospital (Did he get bitten by a scorpion, rattlesnake - or yellow-spotted lizard - on  purpose?) 

Jose - nicknamed  Magnet

Theodore - nicknamed  Armpit, spits, is rough with Stanley - pushes him over 

Ricky  - nicknamed Zig Zag 

Zero  - has no real name

 Things we want to know:

- Are nick names based on their personalities? 

- How did Zero get his name? Is it because he doesn't talk? Does he have zero personality?

- What will Stanley's nick name be?

Here's some vocabulary to research for Chapter 6:
scarcity          prospect          testify          collapse          torment          mere          destiny          coincidence           humiliating          auction          schedule           despicable          souvenir

Chapter 7:
shaft          impression     defective          scooped     lukewarm      assigned     pried     unearthed        perimeter           forlorn       shallow       runt          doomed       eternity      horizon          deftly     excavated         compacted       preposterous       summoned        dawdle     pier      clod     grimaced              

Watching the America's Cup Live - in the classroom

This morning, we started the day proofreading and editing our Holes novel study blog, but we decided to watch Race 7 of the America's Cup live instead.

Mrs Vincent said we had to listen for new or interesting words from the commentary. Here are some of them:

Note from Mrs Vincent: How many ways could you group these words? sailing terms? verbs? adjectives? alphabetically?

relieved     comprehensively     nose dive      hydraulic     leeway    safely    refining     decade     system     mark     faultless   potentially      smacked     permanent fixture       pressure    knots    classified    grinders    compelling      technique     skimming     tacking   volunteer    pivot    foil    exciting    complex    optimise    foredeck    colleagues    starboard     raising     timing    success    illustration    leading    interview    design    positioning      engineer       generating     stability     mainsail    control     element    leading edge     bid    unload    norm    gybe    dominating    integrity      package    properties    bow    overlap    separation    amazing    fascinating    differential    down wind   


Emirates Team New Zealand won, by the way.

We are also learning about the America's Cup with Mrs Irwin and we have learnt:
- the skipper of Emirates Team New Zealand  is Dean Barker
- the skipper of Oracle is Jimmy Spithill - he is from Australia
- the NZ team manager is Grant Dalton
- the Oracle team manager is Russell Coutts
- there are cameras everywhere on the boats
- the sailors carry knives in case they get stuck on the ropes
- NZ tax payers paid $35 million towards the campaign
- each catamaran costs about $100 million
- the wing of the catamaran is 40 metres
- the hull of the catamaran is 24 metres

- NZ won the Louis Vuiton Cup against Luna Rossa from Italy

The next race is Sunday 15th September at 8:10 am NZ time, and 9:10 am.

We want NZ to win so we can have the next America's Cup in New Zealand. We think this would be a good thing because it would bring a lot of money to New Zealand.

Everyone should wear red socks when the race is on to remember Sir Peter Blake who wore his good luck red socks when he won the America's Cup for New Zealand.




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Our New Novel Study: Holes by Louis Sacher

Because  we enjoyed reading Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo, so much we decided we wanted to do another novel study and compare it with Private Peaceful. We also wanted to see if another novel would have some of the same features as Private Peaceful, such as foreshadowing; conflict with self, others, and technology; parallels between  the first and second parts of a novel; and interesting features such as changing between the past and the present.

We started reading Holes by Louis Sacher today.

We discussed if we had ever felt we had been blamed for something we didn't do. Everyone had an experience of this. 

We looked at the cover of the book and decided that the story would have something to do with lizards, the desert or dirt, blue skies, and maybe  some clouds.  Jason wondered if the clouds would be important, and Mrs Vincent said that the clouds would be something to watch out for in the story, and would be symbolic, as the birds were in Private Peaceful, and that it would be a good idea to note when clouds were mentioned. ("Foreshadowing!" commented Cameron.)

We researched some vocabulary:
shrivelled          hover      crammed      stranded   neglected    barren    desolate
stifling          slumped     descendants      vast      gruff      melody       perseverance     

Which word from the list above means:

grumpy      dried up        hunched over       very hot       float above       packed tightly     stickability  children and grandchildren, for example    tune      stuck somewhere      infertile        lonely      huge  forgotten

We looked at images of these nouns:
rattlesnakes    scorpions     yellow-spotted lizard        log cabin      hammock 


On Thursday we read Chapters 1, 2 and 3 (They are short chapters.) 

We discussed the setting: Camp Greenlake - somewhere in Texas, and Stanley's own home, but there's no lake and nothing is green. ("Ironic!" said Brylee - and we were impressed with her.)

We discussed inference, and we inferred that Camp Greenlake was not a good place for people to be because there was no shade and no lake.   There was also a  chance that you could get killed by a yellow-spotted lizard. We also worked out that it must be an awful place because some people preferred to be bitten by a rattle snake or a scorpion to digging a hole on the lake. ("Blighty!" said Jamarl - and we were impressed that he found the first parallel with Private Peaceful.)

We discussed the theme of perseverance and how Stanley's father persevered with his inventions. We also thought that luck could be one of the themes as Stanley's family had a lot of bad luck - even though the mother reminded them of some good luck that happened. 

We noticed that Holes is also like Private Peaceful (PP) because the story changes between the past  and the present, although only the past tense is used.  PP had a recurring motif of the song "Oranges and Lemons". Conor was the first to recognise that Holes has a recurring motif* of a song "If Only".

*a recurring subject, theme, idea, etc., especially in a literary, artistic, or musical work.

 

Some of the class have read the story before but they are not allowed to tell anyone what happens. 

We are already enjoying the book and we are only up to page 10.

Vocabulary For Chapter 4: dazed, juvenile, premises, violation, facility,  burlap. holster, buzzard,

Vocabulary for Chapter 5: assigned, shovel, cot, saliva, sanitary,

Vocabulary for Chapter 6: scarcity, prospect, testify, collapse, torment, mere, destiny, coincidence humiliating, auction, schedule, despicable, souvenir