Travis Wetlands Blogging Post.

On Monday the 30th of November the form classes 9my, 9st and 9dn went on a trip to Travis Wetland. 

We got onto a bus and set off to Travis Wetland. Once we got to Travis Wetland we stopped at the bench to divide into groups so we don't all bunch up. My group were with Mrs. Saunders and Dr. Borella aswell as Mrs. Mason. We first stopped at the bridge looking over to see some eels and ducks swimming across the water, Swans were resting on the bank and the harakeke was draping over for the native birds to come harvest. 

We had 15 stops to go to and we made it through looking at the scenery and the beautiful native plants and tress. The many houses guarded by a fence because some had predators to the native birds such as, cats and dogs. New buildings and houses were built since the last time the teachers went and it was an interesting experience. 

Once we stopped at number 11 we decided to have a rest and have some snacks to energize ourselves up again than afterwards we set on our walk again. The rain started to pour as our walk was nearly over and we hurried to the shelter but luckily some people brought their umbrellas so we were guarded from the rain for some time. 

I learned new things about what the native birds and animals eat and where they find their shelter from predators. I learnt that the wetlands was a place filled with all different species and animals. Harakeke and different plants were all around the place and workers cleaning out all the clutter in the fishes and birds habitats. 

By the end the teachers made the decision to call it off early otherwise we have been very sick and drenched in the cold. Mr. Carter had some peanuts that he gave to some people while we were waiting for the bus to arrive and once it did we all rushed onto the bus into the warmth of the bus. 

While on our trip home we began to recognize that this wasn't the way to our school infact the bus driver had drove us to the wrong school, Marshlands Primary School. We all joked about it than we were on the right path to our school, Mairehau High School. We all arrived back to school and rushed into the library to get a movie on but technical difficulties were an issue so we had talked in our groups. 

Summarising things we see and read.

In English, we have been working on summarising things we see and read. 

Moving to the next level of difficulty, we started looking for similarities or comparisons between texts and book covers, or between movie posters.  

Another level of difficulty, we started looking for differences, or contrasts, between texts and book covers, or between movie posters.

Here’s the example I did on the BEE MOVIE. 

Compare- what is the same? Firstly… The title uses the same font and colours as each other. Secondly… Barry is in both of the movie covers. Next… Yellow is the dominant colour in both of the movie covers. Lastly… Both have “BEE MOVIE” on the covers as the title on both of them. They both have the same production team obviously because they made and produced the movie. This poster was not my favourite because it didn't showcase enough colour and it didn't draw my attention like the other poster. Although the poster did draw the attention to Barry as the main character I wished they added something else in it.

Contrast- what is different? Firstly… The cast is different on each movie cover. Secondly… Barry is doing a different pose in each of the movie covers, one he's leaning. Next… The font colours are different in each of the movie covers. Lastly… In the last cover Barry sticks out more than the other movie cover. This poster was my favourite one out of the two because it showcases more than just Barry. It had lots of colours and just captures your eye once you look at it. Therefor this one is the best out of the two.

After all this I made my own cover about BEE MOVIE.

Here are both my covers side by side with and without the white background. I prefer the poster without the white background because it goes with the theme of yellow and black, the colour of a bee.

Summary in ENGLISH

Summarising

All Mairehau High School Year 9 English classes this year are part of the ALL Programme ( Accelerated Learning and Literacy.) We are practising the skill of being able to summarise what we read.

Firstly we highlight difficult words in YELLOW

Second we highlight keywords in PINK 

Lastly, we use firstly, next and lastly to summarise the paragraph. 

In English we have been summarising about animals and their ways to protect themselves from predators. We chose three animals to summarise about and here is one of mine. When high lighting the keywords we were only allowed to highlight 6-7 words so it would be easier to summarise it better. 

Firstly, Skunks are most known for their way of defending themselves from predators and other things that alarm them. If Skunks feel threatened they will spray a nasty smelling liquid beneath their tail. A skunk will carry out a threat by raising its tail when threatened or challenged. Skunks spend their days sleeping and are most active during the evening and night time. Skunks are in North and South of America and people tend to avoid them because of the smell they spray.  

Summary- Firstly, The skunk defends itself by spraying a nasty smelling liquid beneath their tail. Skunks are found in North and South of America.

23 words for final summary. 

Street Art.

Summarising Street Art 

What is your reaction to the art? 

I thought her face was serious and the moko on her chin was traditional as well as the head piece. The bird (huia) does not exist anymore and was last seen in December 28, 1907. The colours contrast each other and the clouds and leaves. I have not seen it in real life. 

What are the colours in the street art?

The colours used in this Street Art are orange, cyan and black and green with a little bit of white. The orange stands out the most because it's a dominant colour because all the other colours are cold and orange is a warm colour. 

What do you think the art represents?

The woman holding the bird looks like shes holding like she has to protect it. The bird is in danger or becoming in danger. The mood is serious because of her straight face showing no emotion apart from seriousness. It looks like she is Maori with a moko and the leaf headband on her head.

 

Artist name- Erika Pearce

Art location- Allen street, CBD Christchurch.

Street Art Vocab.

Street Art Vocab

Word-	My prediction-	Dictionary definition-
Gallery	A place where art is to be seen.	Display of art.
Mural	A big painting of things.	Directly on the wall.
Graffiti	Art on buildings.	Scribbles in public places.
Theme	A style.	A topic.
Commission	Get someone to do something for you.	Trusted by the government.
Illegal	Something that will get you in trouble.	Forbidden law.
Expression	Facial expressions, how you feel.	Thoughts and feelings.
Gesture	Hand movements.	A movement.
Contrasting	Bright colours.	Being different.

Magpies.

Magpies Poem and Summary. 

Summary of the Magpies Poem. We had to summarise the whole poem with just 60-70 words. We had to use words to summarise like, The text is about, This part is about, First, Next, Last.

This poem is about a couple called Tom and Elizabeth. The first stanza is about how they bought a farm and they were poor. Next we learn that the couple worked hard for many years (stanza 2 and 3). The next part is about them losing their crops to the mortgage man. Lastly it is mentioned that Elizabeth died and the farm is abandoned today (stanza 5 and 6). 69 words.

Some links about the Magpie Story.

The Magpies.

The Magpies.

Magpies and Superstition.

Magpies Poem.

Bird Mascot.

CRANE.

What bird did you choose to represent yourself?; The bird I chose is a Crane. I originally chose this because Kung Fu Panda inspired me because of the crane from Kung Fu Panda.    

Where does your bird live?; Cranes live on five out of the seven continents. Africa, Asia, Australia ,Europe, and North America. 

Why did you choose this bird to represent you?; I choose this bird because of the Kung Fu Panda reference but also because in Asia the Crane is a symbol of happiness which I like to think I am a happy person inside. 

What is the bird afraid of?  Humans do not count.; A Crane is a protected specie. Foil balloons or flashy objects will scare Cranes away as well as scarecrows and black flags. 

Is your bird smart?; A Crane is not that smart. They are easy to capture by their prey and sometimes cannot recognise their own species. 

Crane Sound Calls.

some photos of a crane.