Last week at Paihia School, we had a Duffy Show! This year’s show was about Duffy and Scruffy being detectives and helping to solve Krysta Kea’s (a rugby player) problem. Personally, I found the show really fun and inspiring. It was fascinating how they were able to change and act out different personalities, switching between them in just minutes.
My favorite parts were when the rats jumped out of nowhere and surprised everyone. It was very entertaining to watch their reactions! I wonder what play they’ll perform next year. What do you think?

Music! 

Lately, we have been learning to make music using quarter, eighth, and sixteenth notes but in takadimi syllables (Ta, Ta-di, and Ta-ka-di-mi). We also had to perform the music. First, we watched a video performance done by a group called Stomp. They gave us an amazing inspiration, and our minds instantly popped with ideas. We got into groups of 3 and came up with a small piece of music to perform together. For awhile, we only clapped, then we added stomping. With every lesson we learnt a little bit. Soon, we started to use different instruments, but not the super fancy ones, like violins or harps. Instead, we used everyday items like plastic bags, bottles, and even paper! 

Our task was to make a final piece of music to perform as a group. The instruction included use different instruments, include everything we learned in music, and having some members play different pieces of music at the same time. 

One thing I learned was that we must use different types of instruments to avoid sounding bland. For instance, rather than having everyone hit an item, we could have one person scrunching up plastic to add texture. Next time, my group needs to work on making a more catchy rhythm. A challenge we faced was having a member absent from our group on the day of recording, so we needed to change our plan. In end we just got a member to take her place and give up their part.

Here’s my groups performance:

For the last few weeks we have been making movies for the Film Festival. This year’s topic was to tell a story, so my group decided to do Masha and the Bear with a twist. We chose that to avoid making the same movies (e.g.,“Little Red Riding Hood”), yet still choosing something original.

I personally think that my group did really well with not arguing with each other. Every time someone suggested something instead of not listening or argued about it, we just went ahead and tried it. Next time, I think my group needs to think more about the shots, to ensure we capture what is important, and to make sure that people can understand what’s happening in that shot. 

Something that I found difficult was adapting different personalities for different characters. Have you made a movie before? If you have what was it about? 

Here’s my movie:

This week and last week for reading we had to use inference skills to understand how characters’ words and actions affect each other in the poem. We also had to make connections to the text and our own experiences. We had to answer some quick question, and do the create actively. For create activity we had to write the characters thoughts/feelings, and actions that they did in the poem.

This week and last week we have been learning to identify/explain the author’s purpose. We read a poem called Plastic Planet, it was poem with lots of irony. We also had to answer some questions and make a comic. 

I learnt about a new language feature called: irony. Irony is a language feature where the person actually means the opposite of what they’re saying. 

At the end we had an extra discussion about a statement. The statement was: plastic is an essential part of modern life, and we can’t live without it. This time our discussion was different, we had roles. The people with the roles had a specific job, and not everyone got one, but it didn’t stop you from contributing to the conversation as well. We also did an reflection after, here’s my reflection: 

For this week and last week we have been learning about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.  If you didn’t know they Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a collection of marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean. 

One thing I learnt was that when plastic is exposed to the sun its breaks down to small pieces microplastics. But they don’t biodegrade, they only get smaller and smaller. 

I enjoyed learning about the meaning of bias. We had to learn the meaning of bias for a question, and we had some examples of bias. Such as: A book fair features books from all genres, but most of the featured authors are from the same country. 

What do you know about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?

What did you learn? 

I learnt to make amazing art on Silk. 

What was fun?

It was fun drawing random things on Silk, and they actually turned out pretty cool. 

What challenges were there?

One challenge I had was making sure the Olympic rings are the same size. 

Where might this tool be useful?

This tool might be useful if you were bored and you wanted to draw something! 

How did the presenters help you learn?

The presenters helped me learn by making the instructions clear. 

If you were running this toolkit what would you change?

If I was running this toolkit I wouldn’t change anything because the instructions are already perfect. 

Here’s my Olympic rings and my name that I drew: 

What did you learn?

I learnt to make a mystery picture on Google Sheets. 

What was fun?

It was fun to make up the questions for the quiz. 

What challenges were there?

The challenges that I had was putting the pictures on Google Sheet so it can be revealed. 

Where might this tool be useful?

This tool might be very helpful if you wanted to make a quiz. 

How did the presenters help you learn?

The presenters helped me learn by putting some videos up on the slide so I can go back and watch them when I’m stuck. 

If you were running this toolkit what would you change?

If I was running this toolkit I wouldn’t change a thing because it’s already amazing. 

I had some recording problems so here’s a screenshot:

What did you learn?

I learnt how to make a poster using Canva. 

What was fun?

I was fun playing with the tools on Canva. 

What challenges were there?

There wasn’t any challenges for me. 

Where might this tool be useful?

This tool might be useful if you wanted to make a poster, edit a video, ect… Also you can use it to make a poster that tells people what you have learnt lately. 

How did the presenters help you learn?

The presenters helped me learn by showing me how to do it step by step. 

If you were running this toolkit what would you change? 

If I was running this toolkit I wouldn’t change a thing.

Here’s my amazing poster:

What did you learn? 

I learnt how to make a 3D house using SketchUp.

What was fun?

It was fun watching them make the 3D house. 

What challenges were there?

There was no challenges because I haven’t tried it yet. I couldn’t access the app, but I’m looking forward to using it. 

Where might this tool be useful?

This tool might be helpful if you are bored and you wanted to make your dream house. 

How did the presenters help you learn?

The presenters helped me learn by showing me how the tools work on the app. 

If you were running this toolkit what would you change?

If I was running this toolkit I wouldn’t change anything.