Final Blog Post 2013: Behind The Scenes of Room 17

Room 17 can be a good class sometimes.  Here is a walk thought at what Room 17 is really like. Normally at the start of the day after the roll we have Math. Math, A time that Mrs Roil teach's skills and when we go of  we talk a bucket full of rubbish. Sometimes I'm not in Room 17 because I go to extension maths. It is kinda the same there but we have Miss Hill.

Writing is up next. A subject that I like and get stuck into it well. No matter what we are writing I enjoy it. 40%  of the class talks and the other 60% gets on with there work. after that we do Reading. We use this website called Actively Learn. It has heaps of stories that Mrs Roil can monitor and marks us as we answer some questions.

So that is a day in Room 17 but it is not always like this. Sometimes it is a wonderful classroom.

Balloon in a Bottle

Balloon in a Bottle

Can you blow up a Balloon in a bottle? Is it possible. Maybe. In this experiment you will find how to do this.

Materials

1. 2 bottles
2. 2 balloons
3. 1 pin

What to do

1. First. Get a balloon inside 1 bottle and blow it up
2. Take the other bottle and put a hole in it with the pin. Just a small one
3. Noe do step 1 with the second bottle.
4. What Happened

What Happened????????

With the first bottle the balloon couldn’t work properly but the second one did because the air is been pushing. The big secret is that there is a hole in the bottom so the air is coming out. If you put your finger over the hole the balloon will stay up. This can work on any type of bottle just as long you have a hole in it.

ALWAYS HAVE ADULT SUPERVISION.    

Tragic

Tragic

Warning: This contains some Gross scenes.

It was a while ago (January 3rd 2011 to be precise) and there were 5 people biking along the Napier bike way. Their names were myself Ethin, my sister Sage, Justin my step brother and Mum and my step Dad Blair. We all just got new bikes for Christmas and we went to go try them out. We planned a 5 hour day of cycling excitement. We were going to bike down to Hot Chick for lunch.

It was a busy day and there were people everywhere. I was going to lead since I was the smallest. Everyone had to go at my pace. Justin hated it. Sage didn’t like biking so she wasn’t that bothered. Me and Mum always bike so I went fast. Justin and Sage didn’t see it coming. Sage was already puffing and  Blair didn’t know I was this good.

It was like a hurricane of people coming to me. I had to weave my way through them.  It was like I was making a bag out of wool and I was the needle. Suddenly, there was a lady the wasn’t looking anywhere  but back at her friend. BANG. She hit me. I was trapped in under my bike. I was screaming for help. I was in so much pain. Luckily, I was wearing a helmet. Blair pulled my bike off me. There was people going slow for me. The hurricane suddenly stopped. Mum walked me back to the car and Blair took Justin and Sage to bike down to the aquarium and bike back.  

Finally, we got back to the car and Mum had a proper look at my knee. It was oozing blood and plasma. “EWW”, screamed Mum. She put a plaster over it. That didn't do anything. The blood and plasma was oozing down my leg. Blair, Sage and Justin came back from their bike ride to the aquarium and they thought it was disgusting. Blair found a little cloth a wiped off all of the disgusting liquid. We waited for a little bit and then the liquid stopped pouring out.

So did you get the catastrophe? I fell off my bike and hurt myself. It was bad. Today I still have the scar on my right leg. The good thing was I was wearing a helmet like every cyclist should. I hope this changes your mind on how to cycle properly. Remember to wear a helmet at all times.  

The Force

The Force

Today at school. I did an experiment that makes a Ping pong ball float in the air. Why. In here it will tell you how to do the experiment and how it works.

What you will need: 

A Hairdryer

3 ping pong balls. 

How to do the experiment

1. Hold your hairdryer in midair turned on. It will need to be on a high setting. 
2. Put a ping pong ball on top of the hairdryer and it will float. 
3. If you will like to you can add on another ball and another

How and Why does it work. 

This works because the air that the dryer is making is pushing it up. Why cant it go high. The invisible force called Gravity is battling against the wind to pull it down. If you add another ball. They will bobble up and down and one of them will fall off. This is because the wind field if not wide enough to hold both balls inside its field. 

 

Can you blow up a balloon without your mouth? (Explanation)

How to blow up a balloon without your breath?

What you Need:

• 2 soda bottles
• 2 balloons
• 2 containers. 1 hot water, 1 cold water.
• An Adult or Tongs for hot water.

Preparation

1. Put one balloon on the Mouth of a bottle.
2. Repeat step 1 with the others.  
3. Get your water ready.
4. Get your parent on Standby or tongs right next to you.

How to do it

1. First put your one of your bottles in your cold water. Then the other in the hot water
2. Immerse the bottle in water and make sure that most of it is under.
3. Just sit and watch and see what happens to the two balloons. HINT After a while the balloon will go down because the water got cold.

What actually Happened???

All of the particles in the hotter bottle were whizzing around in the bottle and the hot air (That Rises) went into the balloon because the air has already taken up the room in the bottle.  While the other balloon was staying at the same rate as it was at the start because the water was cold.  It was in a state on an inertia while the other bottle was heating up.  As for the particles, after a while they will stop  and make the balloon go down because the water has gone cold and the air has come down from the balloon. From here you can tip out your water and pack up your experiment. 

Here is a Diagram on what happened.

Hot Water Cold Water
 

Can you blow up a balloon without your mouth?

Can you blow up a Balloon without blowing the air in? Maybe. In this you will find the instructions to do it and you can do it yourself to see if this works.  Be careful, You may  need an adult to help you with some parts.

To start your experiment you will need some things. 2 Plastic Bottles (Coca Cola, Lemonade etc) 2 ordinary balloons, hot and cold water and an adult or tongs. For starters put the balloons on the bottles. On where the lid was. Prepare the water to hot water and cold water in separated containers. Once you have done this you can get your adult to help you put the bottle into the hot water. If you have tongs, just hold it around the neck and dunk it in. With the cold  water one you can  just put it in slightly. You do not need some tongs or an adult to help you with this part.

Once you have put the bottles in the water, you need to press the bottle right down into the water. Make sure the whole entire bottle is underwater. This is called immersing. You are Immersing the bottle in water. Why do you have to do this? So the hot air can heat up to bottle in water. That is why you have  to do this. The heat that the hot water has is going around the bottle that is heating the air that is in the bottle and that is what creates hot air. You still have to do the same with the cold water.

The next step is really easy. All you do is sit and wait. This is called observing. This is the scientific word for sitting and watching. As you observe. Have a look at the two different boxes. You might see one of them moving. Why is this. It is because the air is becoming hotter and thinking that it can escape through the balloon si the balloon is expanding and blowing up. As you Observe you might want to take some notes to see if there are any changes in your time of doing this.

Now I am going to explain what actually happened. As the air heated, all of the particles was whizzing around in the bottle and being heated up. Hot air rises, so the air would want to get out the balloon thinking that is the open world. As the balloon expands because the hot air is going in the balloon, blowing it up. But after a short while, The balloon will go down because the water will get to cold and the hot air will turn into the other bottle in the cold water. The particles will get cold as well and the other bottle. This is because the water in the container is colder that it was 30 minutes ago.

So, can a balloon blow up without blowing in to it. Yes you can. After a while it will go down by itself. This has proven that balloons will go up by itself with the right gear. I hoped you have been careful and if it did not work for you. Maybe you did it wrong.  

Down below there is a diagram that explains how it works:

Hot Water Cold Water

Flexibility Test

On Monday. It was the first day of Term 4 and Mrs Roil thought that it was a good idea that we make a Flexibility Machine. We put our self's in groups of 5 and made our own machine. Yay it was time to test. I got 13 negative. Not to shabby for a boy like me. The other 4 people in my group got resealable results for them as well.

Over, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we have being doing some Flexibility stretches to improve. Over those days we did over 20 stretches to improve. It Worked. We could feel  it with all of the muscles in our body's.  Our teacher was doing these for fitness and we improved.

It came the day that we were doing the test that we did on Monday was here. We needed to bet our score. I got negative 10. I improved 3 centimeters. Most of the class improved  but some dropped. We know that it worked because a boy in our class improved by 20 centimeters. It was really fun doing this and I want to do it again next week.

Egg Drop Experiment

On Thursday My class did an science experiment and we wanted to know if it works and why. Here is the details.

It worked because when you pull it quick it goes straight down into the water but if you go slowly  it will go down into the cup slow and break. The motion of the plate and the toilet roll that goes under the egg is the reason that the egg can go into the cup when it is pulled.  It could also become unsteady and smash on your plate if you pull it slowly. The force of Gravity will pull down the egg but because there is not the much gravity in water the egg will go slower and not break. It also has to do with the speed of the egg  as well as Gravity has force to do with speed.   


Here is some pictures.

Basic Optimist Sailing

If you are wondering about sailing over these school holidays this just might be the report for you. I’m going to tell all about Optimist Sailing and all of the basics you need to know in order to make this trip as memorable as you want it.

The very first thing that you need is a safety check. You need to make sure that you are wearing the right clothing like warm thermals and togs. Make sure that you have a life jacket on and good, hard shoes so your feet don't get glass in them. You will also need to make sure that your tiller and rudder are on properly and your sail is completely on the top pole and on the bottom pole. They need as tight as they can be. There are two bungs in the side’s and front of the boat. Make sure they are in tightly. If you have too much water in your boat there is a bucket at the front of the boat. Scoop the water out with it.

Once you have done the safety check make sure that your boat has been put together correctly. There needs to be a sail on the top pole. There needs to be 2 ropes hanging from it . On to hold it in place and the other to tighten and loosen the sail This is called the mainsheet rope. On the back there will the the rudder. The handle attached to the rudder is called  the tiller. On the sides there will be  two bungs. If there is any major water unplugged the bungees and you boat will not sink. If the water is  not so major you can use the bucket at the front.

Now this is the real deal. This is how to sail the boat. First of all you need to hop in the boat the correct way. If you have one person (Adult) in the boat they need to be lying down and be able to reach the mainsheet rope and the tiller. If you are a child just make sure that you are balancing the boat properly.  If you have two people in the boat. (One for each job) you both need to be sitting up if you are a child. Two adults can not fit. If you want to go faster pull on the rope to get  more wind in your sail and if you would like less speed loosen the rope. You always need to hold on to the rope so your sail doesn't fly away and the Boom will turn so make sure that you duck down so you don’t get a sore head. How to steer your boat is quite easy. If you would like to go left turn the tiller right and if you want to go right turn the tiller left. As easy as that. You will need some simple commands. To duck say Boom because some people get confused if you are pointing to a Duck. If you are at the front and you see something that you could hit say left or right to tell the other person to steer out of the way.

Capsizing can be a fun thing if done on purpose but when it comes out of nowhere it can be freaky. If you would like to capsize you need to lean to one side of the boat and take your centreboard out. Then you can tip. To recover capsizing you need to lean on on your centreboard and try to lean to the other side of boat. Also you need to have some hand signals. If none of these techniques has worked you need to yell “Help” and wave your hand so they see where you are and what they can do to rescue you. Once you are up right sail slowly back to shore or get someone to tow you back if anyone else is in the water with you.

My overall experience of yacht was very exciting and challenging because I have never done it before. I had a really great time and thought it was fun to try something I have never done before. My favorite part was going in around the buoy that they out out. You need the right regulation of speed to get through and around right. The water that you sail in can't be that choppy so Pandora Pond can be the best place to go Optimist Yachting because on a slightly windy day the water is fine and you can go in a yacht with no problems at all. My overall rating is 10/10 the boats didn’t have holes in them and you just cruise around the pond and enjoy the pond waters as you sail away from shore.

I hope this guide helped you plan your trip for Optimist Sailing. This activity can be fun and you can also learn how to even become a pro sailer by starting on these. They are also very good for kids to learn how to sail a boat or even the first time in a boat.  I hope this guide will help you to have the most memorable boating trip of your life.          

       

Yachting Reflection 2013

Yachting

Over the past week I have been Optimist Yachting and Kayaking. This is my reflection. Something I was pleased with was Yachting because I liked going round the sharp corners and flying round on the water. It was exciting because I have never been optimist yachting before and I thought it was really cool.

Something that I got scared about was going out far in the Kayak because I panicked a little and I couldn’t row left enough and I kept going the other direction. I got a little stressed with the kayak and I think I should go in a double next time so I won't get stuck and if I do the other person can come with me.

Something I need to improve is how to use a kayak oar properly and figuring out how to steer the kayak properly so I don’t go out where I was last time. That was freaky so that is my goal for next time.  

Something I could have done better was using the mainsheet the first time and not chicken out and sail back to shore and go back to the tiller prostitution  because I was too scared and made the rope very loose. I didn’t like it when the boat tipped when I was in control.

My plan next time I would like to go in a yacht by myself and be in charge so I can go by myself and I know when I want to steer and use the mainsheet so I know what to do it. I would also go on a single kayak so I can go at my own pace and not get a sore back anymore

Allround Day 1 (Monday)

It was really fun because it was my very first time in a yacht. I liked doing the tiller best and I went in a boat with Milly and in the kayak I was by myself and I got drifted out to sea.  It was terrible.  I liked rowing and sailing around the lake because it was fun and peaceful. I thought that this was really fun and I wanted to go again.

Allround Day 2 (Thursday)

Thursday was fun. We went yachting first and my buddy was Alex. She was a good buddy and I went on Mainsheet first and It was fun. Alex wanted to go on tiller and  I was fine with that.  It turned out that I was good at doing Mainsheet and I was just a (chicken thee first time.) For kayaking I was with Milly and we went under the bridge and around the harbour. It was fun. Milly took us around most of the harbour and I could just  sit back and relax. It was an amazing exprienice.  

Titanic Story

Back in 1912 when the Titanic was sailing along the voyage of New York, high winds were blowing which were making the boat go faster than it should be going and forcing it to fly at a whopping speed of 34 kilometers an hour. 1500 passengers onboard and flying at that speed meant a lot to slow down. People were yelling: “We have hit an Iceberg!” Lifeboats were traveling down the side to find another boat for help. “Help. Our boat hit an Iceberg” They all yelled as they were rowing away.

The next day the world woke up to the catastrophe of the unsinkable Titanic had sunk into an iceberg that popped out of the water by 1 meter while the boat was 14 meters in the air.  Heaps were saying that the boat that sunk was its sister Olympic but no one believed them.

People were going crazy when they heard their family members died. They discovered that the wind was blowing starboard and that is what blew it over into the water. The wind was blowing the boat fast and that was the catastrophe of the Titanic.

Trains: Question Writing

Trains

1.What type of train would you prefer steam trains or electric trains Paige

3..What do you know about trains Hayden

4.What kind of trains do you like and what is your favorite train.Crystal.

5. Why did you choose the train. Zayde

2.How many times have you been on a train. Ethan

=====================================================================

Psssssssss, goes the steam engine on my computer as I am watching it of previous Art Deco weekends. JA1271 coming through from paekakariki.  I have never been on a big Steam Locomotive like this one before and really want to go on one. I have been on one at Silverstream Railway and been in the cab but not one with a tender.  I want to go on one this Art Deco. weekend.  I have been on heaps of small and little ones millions of times. I know how to build them, drive them and look after them. I am one of the youngest members of Keirunga Park Railway. My Dad introduced me to the railway when I was 4 and  I went up almost every month. I would personally go with the steam engine and chug around the countryside and blow lose branches off trees with the whistle.  I have been down that line before and it was terrible as you would get  hit with branches everywhere.

Steam trains were first made in the 18th century and it was called Rocket. It is also known as Stephensons Rocket. It was a slow loco and the track took ages to build without all of the machinery that we have know to transport it. Every Labour Weekend and Easter Weekend Keirunga Park Railway(KPR) has a 4 day weekend when steam locomotives can come to the railway from all around the North Island.  Easter weekend KPR’s Open weekend as it celebrates its birthday and last year it had its 20th Birthday. They had up to 50 different locomotives from the North Island and even a loco from the South Locomotive. My favorite train from KPR is a locomotive from Levin and it has a named called: Aspen Southern RR. It is numbered 500 and it survived the crash the the railway had in 2011. Since then it has been fixed and runs around the railway like there is no tomorrow.

My Dad has made an deisel locomotive that is an 0-6-0 and it is an shunter in England. Now he is in the process of making a steam locomotive that is a hudson. 4-6-4 wheel alignment and I have helped him with main parts on both locomotives.  Dads locomotives have lots of problems. The governour always plays up and kills the motor whenever we want to start. KPR has a range of points and signals and I know how they work. I learnt when I was five and it is still in my head. The Railway has 3 tunnels that around the 842 meter track as it goes around Havelock Hill at Keirunga Gardens. I choose trains because they are my passion.

                                                                                                                                                                                          

Why you should go to Alaska for your Holiday.

Why Mrs Roil Should go to Alaska.   

If you have just entered your school holidays and you want to go to Alaska. I am going to tell you all about it. Alaska is an ice wonderland with all of its sea creatures and penguins that help and relate. They also have the Northen Lights to see over the sea on the mountains. In here you will see what animals they have,fun things to do and a little bit of history.

Here are some general facts of Alaska. It was owned by Russia for many of years and the United States brought it from Russia for 7.2 million dollars. It is the 49th state and became a part of the USA in 1959. Since then they have made a state motto: North to the future. There state flag was made in a competition back in 1927 and they had over 700 entries. Alaska got its name from the Russians . It is short for Alakshak. They have a governor called Sean Parnell and he has been the governor of Alaska since 2007.

Alaska has many things to pick and do all around the state but here are some that are famous and that you and  your kids might enjoy. Alaska Zoo, The zoo is in Anchorage Alaska and spread over 25 acres. They have 200,000 people every year over there bit of land and have a wide range of animals. The next one is Alaska Sealife Center. It is mainly an aquarium hut with heaps of Seals swimming around in extra large tanks and rated 3 stars. Last but  not least is White Pass. It is on the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains and they have excursions through the valley  on a steam locomotive  going through tight gaps.

Alaska has millions of animals. Has a wide range with even 13 hard to get animals. Some belong to the Ice Wonderland and some belong in the wide open jungle of Alaska. Heaps like to hibernate in the winter. First of there is the bear family:  Black Bear, Brown Bear and Polar Bear. They all like to hibernate in the winter. Next is the lovely orca that likes to splash and get away from another Alaskan animal the Bald Eagle as it tries to take fresh flesh.  Out in the mountain you will see the goat of the cliffs the wonderful Mountain goat. He will have his friends the Dav Sheep and Moose. If you are running a Muskox, Wolverine or Wolf might be behind you.

This is all why you should go to the ice wonderland of Alaska because as you can see that Alaska is a good place to go to and you will love it for sure. You might even see some of these wonderful animals or even the governor Sean Parnell. They also have the northen lights what is very exciting.           

The Wolf In The Wardrobe Book Report

The Wolf In The Wardrobe

The Wolf In The Wardrobe is a book by Susan Brocker. This is about a boy named Finn.  He lives with his mother and he goes and  visits his Dad and sees a circus and the act is a clown with 2 wolves. Lupas and Lupa. He goes back and comes back from school and there is his coo coo Nana Eva  and she has put the remote in the microwave. He goes out for his paper run and he sees a hit wolf in a car accident and he immediately helps out. Finn looks carefully and finds out that it is the wolf from the circus Lupa. He takes her to the vet and they operate on her. He takes Lupa home and what will happen then? You will have to find out!!!

I would give this book 4-1/2 stars because it had really great detail and structure but not really good because she did make some parts that didn’t make sense when she jumped to conclusion and went to fast. Susan Brocker is a good writer and all but I would still give this an 4.5!

This is a Childs Fiction book so if you want to get it out you will have to go there.  It does have some scary part in it so I wouldn’t read it to 5 year olds. I would go to 8+

Other books from Susan Brocker:

• Saving Sam
• Restless Spirit
• Brave Bess
• ANZAC Horses
• Dream of Warriors.

They will be under Childrens Fiction also.

  

Orca Report

Math Show Me

Orca, By Ethin Prezi

This is my Draft to my Orca Report.

My Term 3 Holidays: My Birthday

My Term 3 Holidays: My Birthday.

Yes finally, we get to the  laserforce arena and we have to wait for half an hour. That was a long time. Waiting made it go longer.  We play games in the arcade. Heith, Elijah, Breaden and I . We play some table hockey and I lose. That wasn’t fear. I gave the other player some free shots so I guess that kinda let him win . Slowly we get to have our turn. We went against little kids and they were easy. Heith, Breaden, Elijah, Sage my sister, Justin, my step brother and I. We line up getting our suits on and ready to go. Then we go in. The battle starts. I shot left, shot right. Getting people out left, right and center.  Then I get out. “Stupid little kid,” I say.

Well now, it has gone on for at least 5 minutes. The little kids are saying “I'm in your team so don’t shoot me”  I can see heaps of green around me so I shoot fast. I see that they are running. I don't really get far.  I can see also that steam in hiding the front entrance and the little kids are getting their gun reset. I think They don't listen to the man out front. Then out of nowhere shouts “game over man, game over” It was in a silly cartoon voice.

We go out. Not long until our next game. We finally get in and it is just us. All on all. Not long until us little ones team up. Sage and Justin team up and go hard on us. 4-2.  They are just shooting at nothing but they knew where we were.  We kept moving location so the would have to look hard.   I got Sage 2 times and Justin 5 times. They both got me 10 times.  The game kept going on and on for ever. I thought that it was the everlasting game of laserforce. It took for ages. Sometimes Elijah would shoot me and then blame it on Breaden. It was annoying. Then here comes that silly cartoon voice again. I was glad to be out of there.

Term 2 Reflection

Term 2 Reflection: Buddy Class.

My Term 2 Reflection is my Buddy Class, Room Nine. We go and help them with math and writing. Sometimes they come and sing songs with us.  Recently  we have helped them with their Dream Bedroom.  All term they have been saving up money to make up their bedroom so  they can put whatever they want as long they can afford it.  The highest amount someone got in their class was $4,500. That was a lot. The rest of the class of in the 3,000 mark.  Still that is a lot of money.

We had to add up want the wanted and tell them what they can get rid of and what  they can keep.  Then we had to say to them  what they want. They don’t need a 52 inch flat screen TV.  A 32 inch will be alright. There were kids that wanted a computer and an IPod. I had to ask them to change to a Laptop. It is better because it is portable. You can take it wherever you want.

Then we needed to make a running total.  Mrs Roil was there to help. I like it when she comes to help. She is the best teacher yet.    We had different buddies everyday so we got to met a different child every time we went to our buddy class.   All of them are good children. They all listen sometimes and they can be a pain but we still cooperate.  Some kids just get involved into their work and some talk and talk. Luckily we got the job done. Finally. All of them do their work and stay on task sometimes. It is hard to get them back on task.             

Blair (My Step Dad) Character Description

Blair is my step dad and he has  a kind heart. My Step Dad Blair has dirty, shadowy hair with a silver goatee. His goatee is really prickly with the silver color mixed with black and grey. It is 5 cm long. Although it is really prickly I still like to run my fingers through it. He has a tanned olive skin and hazelnut eyes.  He wears a blue shirt with blue jeans as his work uniform because he works as a gas man.  He also wears a  gas jacket.  It has the Twin City Gas logo on it. That is where he works.    He stinks of coffee and sweat because he goes under floors and in roofs. The house stinks of it.   In the weekends he wears black tracksuit pants and an Ozzy Osbourne or Metallica T-Shirt.

You can see Blair around the house doing fix up jobs and doing the gardens. If he is not inside watching tv he is around the house doing jobs or sorting out the dog.  That dog is a pain on the but.  I see him watching tv and when you ask him a question he won’t answer you because he is too busy focused on the news or sport.  I like the way he will always say good morning to me and tell me where Mum is about the house.  When he walks in from coming home from work he will say Hi and ask me how my day was. He cuts up the roast and evenly cuts through the meat. Not to fat, Not too slim.  It is delicious.

If you don’t see Blair without a cup of coffee in his hand it is properly at the table. He always drinks coffee not another drink.  He will barely drink another type of drink but coke. Blair will always talk and you can’t stop him. When you talk to him and say “Blair, Guess What”. He will go “ Guess what is  a pair of a lightbulb”. It is really annoying. The same with “Hey Blair” Blair will go: “Hay makes a bull fat”.  Even Mum gets annoyed.  Mum loves him dearly but even she gets annoyed   

Blair has a dog called Sandy. Sandy runs around Blair and they cuddle  together.  Blair always has his Ac Dc albums around the house.  His china cabinet is full from stuff  his grandparents. All of them are really ancient. He has stuff from overseas and New Zealand.  He will always tell me a little history about each little piece in the cabinet.  It is fun learning about history from his China Cabinet.  He also has his coffee table that he has had for ages.  It has little holes everywhere in it that I lost my $2 in one hole once. Lucky Blair fished it out for me. I couldn’t try to get it out of the hole because my fingers were too small.   My Step Dad Blair is kind hearted.