Huia 1 Choir Sings Christmas Songs for Totara Hospice

On Thursday 12th September,  fourteen Huia 1 students  (our class choir) went to the Totara Hospice across the road from school to sing Christmas songs for their volunteers' morning tea. Tara and Syvannah interviewed some of the choir members to see what they thought of the performance.

We performed for the office staff before we left for the hospice.

Huia 1's choir was getting ready for a moment that everyone was going to remember. When we got to the front desk of Totara Hospice, we found that we would have to wait for another ten minutes before we could go in and do our singing,  so while we were waiting we were humming the tunes so we could warm up our voices.

We finally got called up for our turn. We lined up in two lines and got ready to perform for the staff and all of the volunteers who were there.

While we were singing the nervousness in the room seemed to disappear. The first song, introduced by Mason, was Put a Sausage on the Barbie. It was really fun singing the song, and it looked like all the other people were having a lot of fun listening to us singing.

Kylah said that her favourite part of the whole thing was the volunteers singing along with us  because it looked like the people were having a lot of fun. She said that her favourite song was Rudolph the Red- nosed Reindeer  because it's a joyful song,  and Sheffy put on a funny nose on that flashed. She said that she liked the day because was it was a different group from last year when she did it.

I talked to Sheffy and he said that his favourite part was wearing his reindeer things when we were singing Rudolph because everyone was laughing and having a great time.  His favourite song was Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer because he got to put on a Rudolph nose and reindeer antlers. He enjoyed the day because everyone was having a great time.

Cameron's favourite part was being able to make the people in the hospice have a good laugh. I asked him why he thought that and he said that it was good to give the people in the hospice a good time. His favourite song was the medley because it had three different songs and people were singing. He liked the day because we made elderly people happy.

Brylee's favourite part was when we had finished The Hat I got for Christmas because she could see everyone smiling. This was her favourite song because when she did the hat part everyone laughed and smiled and she thought it was really special, too.  She liked it because we were singing for people who look after elderly people and that's very special to her.

  

Mrs Vincent: I think all our practising paid off; we were a happy and confident choir. I was pleased we were able to do rehearsal performances for Mrs Steele and the other Mrs Vincent's classses, and the office staff. I liked the way we hummed all the songs quietly while we were waiting in the admin area before we were called to go inside to perform at the hospice. I think our harmonies in Silent Night were beautiful.

Mwaniki: I like singing The Hat I got for Christmas because it was humorous and made people smile. I liked how everybody was friendly  because of their general attitude. I enjoyed singing with my Huia 1 choir group.

Sukhdev: I liked singing Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer because it was fun and  funky, and there were no high notes, and people were laughing. It was a nice a feeling to have, and it was enjoyable watching people smile.

Aiden: I enjoyed singing Jingle Bell Rock because it was joyful and bouncy. I liked how the hospice smelt, and it was nice to sing to volunteers and helpers. I enjoyed watching Mrs Vincent have a good time while singing with us. I improved by being louder. 

Lili:I loved singing the Silent Night medley because it was soft and peaceful for the people at the hospice to listen to. I liked how the audience looked happy and they were also singing with us.

Mason: I enjoyed The Hat I got for Christmas is too Big because it was really funny, and it pleased the audience.The hospice people appreciated what we were doing for them. I liked how Mrs Vincent can have fun and not be too serious.

Ramandeep: I loved Jingle Bell Rock because it was fun and enjoyable. I liked how the audience was singing along with us, and they were cheerful and occupied. It made me happy that Mrs Vincent was calm and joyful.  I  improved by the way  I was singing a lot this time.  Last time I was really quiet

"The Hat I got for Christmas is too Big"

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Garden update: appearances and disappearances - the circle of life

 This is a belated post. We got a bit behind, what with busy end of year activities.

An update on the bird's nest in our garden:
- the eggs hatched
- we think the mother is a blackbird
- there were at least three eggs
- at least two of them hatched
- they grew quite quickly
- the mother bird was very busy goingf to and from the nest, delivering worms and other bugs
- the mother made many trips and always seemed nearby to keep a watch on her babies
- we were a bit concerned the night of our school garden competition, as there were many people around - and the book stall was right beside our garden - but the mother bird remained fine and well-protected by the increasing leaves of the apple tree
- then, last week, the mother and babies all disappeared - without a trace
- some people have said that the neighbouring cats were seen around - but there's no sign of attack, or dead birds
- someone could have harmed them, but there is no other damage to our garden or nest
- we are pretty sure the birds were too young to leave the nest
- it remains a mystery

This is as close as we dared to get with the camera. Can you see the baby birds in the nest?

 And then, we have had a lot of butterfly hatchings - all within a day.
Check out the amazing photos of the butterfly coming out of its chrysalis.

Kevin Biggar - our Year 8 graduation speaker

On Monday night, we had the Year 8 graduation ceremony.  Our special guest speaker was explorer an adventurer Kevin Biggar. You may know him from First Crossings tv programme. 

We found his speech very funny, inspiring, lively and enjoyable. Here are some of the ways in which Huia 1 students were inspired: 


I would love to go on a trip with him because he likes to explore around New Zealand.  If I went with him I would learn survival techniques, such as how to stay healthy when you are walking to the South Pole. I learnt that you need to follow your dreams if there is something that you really, really want to do. 
Jason

I learnt  to be determined always and to  focus on what you are doing.   Chase your dreams.   Everything will happen in the future will be because of decisions you make in the present. 
Cameron

Don't let anything take energy away from the job that needs to be done. 
Mrs Vincent 

I learnt to "keep on rowing". When ever you fail at something  - try again
Vanshika

I learnt to set challenges.
Kylah 

 I learnt to never stop.  Put your mind to achieving your goal, but know your limits, and know when it's time to adjust your goal.
Mason


 He inspired me to want to go to Europe and Egypt and look at the history there. Always look on the bright side.
Alexander the Great (formerly known as Alex)

 I learnt to know your limits. If you have been persevering for too long and can't keep going, such as when they were in the South Pole and they could go half way, know when to stop and change your goal. 
Jamarl

I learnt that if you put your mind to something, you can do it.
Dominic 

Update on changes in our garden

Can you see the caterpillar skin? This is a chrysalis we found on a stalk of lavender. 

We wonder what the black marks on the chrysalis are and if they will affect the butterfly.

The paper wasp is after nectar. Look at the segments on its legs.

The other end of the paper wasp.

Another butterfly hatches.

Can you see how its wings are crumpled up to start with? It takes a while for the fluid to spread to all parts of the wings, so they are strong enough to fly.

Too many aphids!

Watch out aphids! Here comes a ladybird.

Two lady birds. Are they herding aphids?

We had to rescue this chrysalis because the caterpillar attached itself to a dead leaf - which then fell off the plant. Can you see the butterfly forming?

Jason watched the garden for a long time and took many photos. He discovered that the bees pierce the base of the flower to get the nectar. can you see this happening here?  Look for marks on the flowers where the bees have done this.

Can you see the bee piercing the flower to get the nectar?

Just because we like the look of this flower.

The next day: The butterfly is clearly visible inside the chysalis. We watched this for a long time.  The chrysalis has a visitor. We wondered why the snail would want to crawl all the way up the plant to this leaf? 

Another lady bird on the look out for aphids.

The snail moves along.

It must be very cramped in here!

Jason took a fantastic photo of a bee piercing the flower to get the nectar. Maybe the flower is too long for the bee to get the nectar any other way?

This is a fantastic photo, Jason.  You could be a nature photographer.

Can you see the hole the bee left?

Mi casa es tu casa: our garden update

 For our school garden art competition, we wanted to make a garden to invite birds, bugs, animals and insects  into our school - and share the environment with them. It was certainly happening already in the garden outside our room, but we also needed to create another one.

We didn't want to draw attention to our mother bird, in case someone disturbed her  but,  in the end, we needed to protect her.  It's a risk we take.

Here is our new garden. Everyone has participated in some aspect of it. We are very grateful to Mr and Mrs Kesby for all their help.

We got plants from Dominic's family, Mrs Bradshaw (cabbage tree) and Mrs Vincent's family.

Mrs Irwin  and students worked on the painting and signs.

 Back in our other garden ... What is the difference between this bee and the bumble bee?

 Can you see the bird?

What do you think the lines on the bee's wings are for?

Up close with an aphid.

Look back through past blogs. Can you find a photo of the caterpillar before it became a chrysalis?

Where does the gold come from?

How many aphids can fit on a branch? And what is that black lump...?

We know that a chrysalis is water-proof.  But is it aphid-proof?

Huia 1 investigate the changes in our garden.

Progress of the chrysalis. Can you see the remains of the outside of the caterpillar's skin?

Close up of a fly.

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