The Secret Lives of Teachers

The students weren't the only ones to enter a film into the "Halseywood" Film Festival. Check out the late entry from the year 5/6 teachers. A big thank you must go to our visionary director, editor and composer Mr "Spielberg" Tomokino.

Halseywood 2016 Finalists

Here are the three finalists for the first ever Halseywood film festival. Enjoy watching.

Halseywood 2016 Runners Up

Here are the three runners up for the Halseywood film festival. It was a very tough decision and each team made a fantastic movie. Enjoy watching.

Balloon Tower Challenge

For this challenge we had to construct the tallest structure with just balloons and some masking tape

Straw Challenge

Challenge week continued with a straws challenge. We had to build a structure from straws that could hold the most weight. 

Outlook for Someday Awards

Kristy and Samarah received the 'Auckland Council Film-Maker Award' at the Outlook for Someday film awards for their film 'The Juice Box Bandit'. We are all so proud of you girls. The award ceremony can be seen on the video below. (Forward to 1:49 to see the girls accept their award)

Fashion Challenge

To kick off our week of challenges we were tasked to create a fashionable outfit from only newspaper, tape and scissors. Watch out New York fashion week!

Podcast #18

A big thank you to Samarah for her outstanding work on writing, recording and producing our podcasts. Enjoy our last podcast for 2016!

What would happen if there was no gravity?

To conclude our inquiry into 'Natural Systems" the students in Room 3 carried out their own investigations. Samarah, Rhea and Krish asked "What would happen if there was no gravity?"

What might happen if the polar ice caps melted?

To conclude our inquiry into 'Natural Systems" the students in Room 3 carried out their own investigations. Kristy and Heila asked "What might happen if the polar ice caps melted?"

What would happen if plants stopped reproducing?

To conclude our inquiry into 'Natural Systems" the students in Room 3 carried out their own investigations. Kalani and Caleb asked "What would happen if plants stopped reproducing?"

Creature From The Deep

Read Gabrielle's amazing narrative inspired by the image below

W.A.L.T: Write a satisfying ending to a narrative

It came from the sea, calmly at first. An enormous, slithering tentacle slowly oozing its way over the top of the sea wall, exploring the metal and concrete shapes with suckers the size of your front door.

Then, as more and more people came, and shrieks and cries of alarm filled the air, the creature became angry. All hell broke loose…

In an almighty tangle of limbs and water and buildings and people, the beast came violently exploding out of the frothing water. The normally sturdy metal supports of the buildings groaned under the extreme weight of the gigantic tentacles crushing them. Panic. Complete panic set in.

But where had the creature come from? What did it want? How could anybody stop it?

With all the whacking and splashing soon the whole city would be gone. There were barely any of the navy left. The sea monster was an intruder, a murderer. Salty sea water splashed everywhere as he rose up and thumped himself down again. I could not believe what was happening. Screams of devastation came from every direction. The kraken's eye appeared to be spying on us all. His arms tried to squash people everywhere they went. Navy boats sped in as fast as they could. Gun’s, spear’s, dagger’s! all of this was so overwhelming with all the banging and rampaging it was a total nightmare   

The planes in the sky came crashing down like they were boy’s toys being thrown around. Ships in the sea were being capsized under the weight of enormous waves. Car alarms and sirens were going off as the cars were washed clean off the roads and bridges. People were pulling and pushing to make their way out of the chaos. With all the pushing and shoving people kept on falling into the water, drowning, suffering.

There were life boats surrounding the broken city, life savers were handing out life jackets and loading people on to the boats. Soon all that was left of the city was rocks and glass, lifeless bodies lay still on the broken and tattered ground. Was this the end?...  

The Ozone Hole

The Justice League investigated the possible causes and effects of the ozone hole after reading "The Ozone Hole' by Dr Dave Lowe

The Ozone layer is a layer of gases that protect planet Earth from the damage caused by the sun’s harmful UV rays. In 1985, scientists discovered an “Ozone hole” over Antarctica. Since then governments from around the world signed an agreement to do what they can to cause no further damage to the Ozone hole. The damage to the Ozone layer was caused predominantly by the increased use of CFC’s (Chlorofluorocarbons).

Rhea and Heila:

A possible cause for the hole in the Ozone layer are CFC’s. CFC’s can cause the hole in the Ozone layer to gradually grow larger. CFC’s are a mixture of harmful gases like chlorine and fluorine. This harmful mixture of gases was used in spray cans. The Ozone layer protects us by absorbing 99% of the UV radiation in sunlight and without it those harmful UV rays can cause serious sunburns and skin cancer.

Caleb and Kaelem:

CFC’s were also used in many refrigerators and air conditioners. CFC’s were used because they didn’t cost as much as the older more harmful gasses, were not poisonous and did not cause any explosions. CFCs are understood to cause the hole in the ozone layer to gradually grow larger during springtime. The effect of this is that more damaging UV rays can slip through the hole causing plankton reduction. If the number of plankton is reduced dramatically many of the ocean’s food webs and food chains will be negatively affected, as plankton is a primary producer.

Joshua G and Sara:

Another possible cause of damage to the ozone layer is the release of chlorine from Polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs). The sun’s energy activates the release of chlorine from PSCs. PSCs are made of tiny crystals of acid (chlorine) mixed with ice. In springtime the ice melts releasing the chlorine gas into the air to mix with other chemicals. Without the ozone layer harmful UV rays will come through which could cause blindness because of the radiation, the heat and the brightness.

In the future to help protect and limit further damage to the ozone layer we need to limit the use of CFC’s in production of items such as spray cans, refrigerators and air conditioners. Other causes of damage are very hard for us to control such as the release of chlorine from PSC’s. Although many steps have been taken to protect the ozone, we need to continue to monitor the hole for many years to come.

It's Snowing Again!

The Avengers compared the weather in North Dakota and Auckland after reading "It's Snowing Again" by Jan Pye Marry.

How would you like to have snow around your house for almost half the year? This happens in North Dakota in the USA. The snow usually falls in October and doesn’t melt until April. In Auckland we never get snow, however there are some similarities between North Dakota and Auckland.

Clothing - Samarah

Both Auckland and North Dakota’s residents wear clothing to match the conditions outside but we don’t necessarily wear the same things. In Auckland for Winter we wear Jumpers, trousers, closed shoes, socks and a beanie/hat. All the way in North Dakota they have to wear bulky boots, mittens/gloves, scarves, snow pants, jackets, hats with ear flaps and a fur lining to stop their face from getting frostbitten. The weather in Auckland is very easy to adapt to but on the other hand in North Dakota they have to be very organised and plan carefully for the weather.

Playing Outside - Joshua L

In North Dakota, once children are dressed, they go out to play. Since the snow covers most of the ground, the children hop on sleds and have sled races. The snow is too hard to be used for snow balls and can’t be used for snowmen either. Building snow forts is also a popular thing to do. You dig a hole in the ground, then pile the snow up into walls. However, in Auckland, snow does not fall often, thus no snow activities are played outside. Instead, we play variety of different sports such as cricket, soccer and netball. We also play on playgrounds and in parks.

Heating Homes - Michael

The homes found in Auckland and North Dakota are heated during the colder months, but they’re heated differently. In North Dakota they have central heating. Central heating means that warm air or water is sent through pipes or vents to warm the whole building so everyone inside doesn't freeze. In Auckland we have heat pumps, fires and insulation to keep our homes at the right temperature.

Travelling - Kristy

In both Auckland and North Dakota it can be very hard to travel when the weather is not too good. In North Dakota when it snows people have to shovel snow off driveways and paths. People have to sometimes drive on slippery ice. If there is too much snow on the side of the road huge trucks get filled with the snow and taken away. On the other hand in Auckland weather can also make it very hard to drive. When it rains heavily the water makes everything blurry so you can’t see much. Heavy rain also causes more people to be on the road which causes traffic jams.

Conclusion

Overall we believe that life in Auckland is much easier compared to the harsh, wintry conditions of North Dakota. We are able to easily dress for the weather, go outside to play, heat our homes in a variety of different ways and travel to work, school or other places without too much hassle.

Outlook for Someday Film Competition

Today is your last chance to vote for Samarah and Kristy's 'The Juice Box Bandit' for the audience favourite award in the Outlook for Someday Sustainability Film Competition. 

View Film Here

Alien Art Work

Inspired by the animation "The Planets" we created our own aliens.