Birthday Bash

Today, it was my birthday. I was sooo excited! When I reached school, everyone kept on screaming ''Happy Birthday, Renitta!''. From that moment on, I knew this day could get better and better.
I was supposed to give out chocolates for everybody, but then a mistake occurred, so now I have to deliver all the chocolates tomorrow. I got lots of presents,though. After lunchtime, my principal, Mrs Ogden, told me she had to talk to me. And when I followed her into her office, she started taking out my presents! I was absolutely flabbergasted! She gave me a box of calenders with cute puppy pictures, and requested me to take one. After that, she started taking High School Musical books out. I suddenly realised that they were for me! I was so surprised, I did not know what to say! She gave me High School Musical books. I was so astonished. I kept on muttering,
" Thank you, Mrs Ogden."
At the end, when she gave me all the presents, I said to her, "Thank you, Mrs Ogden,for such wonderful presents. That was soo sweet of you."
And when I went out the door, I shouted my last 'Thank you'.
When I returned to class, everybody started packing up, and in the end, Mr Walker chose one wacky, but sweet birthday song on youtube. I was really laughing, and my stomach stills aches.

When I reached home, I cut the birthday cake and shared it around. I am going to get my birthday presents tomorrow. So, this birthday may be the best birthday ever!

 Thank you to:
Mr Walker
Mr Cartwright
Mrs Ogden
for making this a special birthday. :)

Buttercake Galore!

Today, Mr Walker surprised us all by giving us Vanilla Buttercake. It was soooo delicious! He baked it with Mrs Walker. I think he is a FANTASTIC baker.
We each got a reasonably large slice. I realised at that moment it was because we had achieved in getting 10,000 hits for our class blog. I was so happy because I put a great effort into commenting and visiting the blog everyday. So, I think a delicious buttercake is a great reward. We ALL put in a fairly large amount of work and effort into it, and it has finally paid off.

                                                      THANK YOU MR WALKER!!! :)

Netball Article

I am in the netball team, and my coach gave me the opportunity to write a little article for my school newsletter, so this is the article I wrote:

On Saturday, Henderson North Diamonds played an excellent game.But it seemed strange, we had played Gladstone All Stars before, yet their team played really good. They must have improved by some kind of method. Maybe, they had decided to use a different technique. The reason is not really clear. Well, when we played them, I was very surprised and impressed! They were awesome! By the third quarter, they were WAY ahead of us. It turns out, they won. It was unbelievable! I was so sure we would win. After the game, when we all did our cheers, my coach announced that we were all players of the day! I was soooo exhilarated! At the end of the day, I went home with a pleasant feeling in my heart.

Cameron Rota

Today, Mrs Ogden surprised us all by calling Cameron Rota. I was so keyed up! I felt like every muscle in my body suddenly came alive. Do you know who Cameron is? Cameron Rota is one of the contestants in The X-factor New Zealand. He came up to the Judges Retreats and got eliminated there. But, his career is not over yet. He is now going to Jamaica with Daniel Beddingfield to record some songs. Anyway, today, he sang to us five, amazing songs. His voice was awesome! I think he deserved to go to the finals. But, that was the judges decision. Back to reality, some kids in my class video-taped him. I wish I could see it. At the end of his performance, some kids wanted to get his autograph. My friend and I got the permission from Mr Walker to get Cameron's autograph as well. Sadly, he wasn't giving out autographs. The reason lays unknown. But, at the bright side, one girl says she got his autograph. My friend talked to her teacher personally, and she said she would photocopy the autograph for us. So, that made me pleased. Interesting as it may be, a girl in my class is actually related to him! So, that is great as well. And the best part is, he really made my day :)

Adventure Learning

This year, Mr Walker got introduced about Adventure Learning. Everyone of us in class is doing Adventure Learning. Adventure Learning is about choosing a specific subject and trying to go deeper into it. 

Here are the steps:
1. Choose a subject to work on
2. Write down some questions you would like to find out
3. Try to get the answers. You could:
Surf the internet
Skim and scan in books
Ask your friends/family
4. Make it into something interesting, like a powerpoint, speech, poster, etc

I am doing my on Music. I have written down some questions like:
1. What was the first instrument ever created?
2. What is an instrument?
3. Who created singing?

I have found a lot of answers. Mr Walker gave me an idea of making my own instrument. I am thinking of making a Fitness Instrument. It is sort of like the game, Twister. It includes singing, dancing, and playing an instrument.  The problem is, I have to do some wire connecting and that is too hard for me. I will take my time to make the 'real deal'. I am just going to make a miniature clay sculpture and show it in class. Now I am wondering, what kind of clay should I use......

You should have locked all your doors and windows

You may be wondering why the heading was called ' You should have locked your doors and windows'. Let me guess, the label caught your attention. Well, let me warn you now, this narrative is NOT for younger audiences. And, if you get petrified straight away, you better not read this. But enough of me blabbering, let us just begin the story.

" Annabelle, I am leaving chicken with potato salad and coleslaw for dinner." Annabelle's mom yelled up the stairs, " Your dad and I have to got to an important business meeting. We will be back approximately around half-past eleven. Do not open the doors for anyone. We have a key, so we will come in by ourselves. Eat you dinner and watch some television", Annabelle's mom stopped, hesitated, and then spoke firmly, " And remember, before you go to sleep, lock ALL the doors and windows."

Annabelle came sprinting down the staircase.
She took a deep breath and spoke in a very grown-up manner, "Mom, how many times do I have to tell you to call me 'Ann'? You know I hate that name. It is too girly."
Her mom just ignored her. She just said, in a very concerned way, "Okay honey, be safe."

After her parents left her, she made a mad dash to the kitchen, grabbed her some dinner, and sat herself down to wacth her desired paranormal program, The Supernatrural Suspects.

Annabelle woke up in a cold sweat. I must have fallen asleep, she thought. Annabelle snatched a glance towards the clock in the hallway. Half -past twelve. Way past my bedtime; but then again, I slept all this while, Annabelle talked to herself. She brushed past her unfinished dinner and flickering television and wandered towards the hallway. " Where is Mom and Dad?", Annabelle wondered aloud, " They said they would be here about an hour ago. Where could they be?"

She wandered aimlessly around her residence. " Oh my Gosh!" Annabelle stopped with a screech and exclaimed, " I forgot to lock all the doors and windows!"

Annabelle started running around the house like a maniac, closing everything. When she came to the last window, she heard a devillish laugh. She stopped, and strained her ears to listen. Suddenly, a note came floating in through the window. 
It said:
You better run, I am coming for you!

Annabelle started running. She ran like never before. She ran towards her bedroom and hid in the closet. All of a sudden, she heard heavy footsteps. It thudded into her room and stopped by her closet. The last thing she remembered was a blurred person opening her closet door and in a deep voice, whispered in her ears:
" You know, you really should have locked all your doors and windows."

                                                                                                                                            By Renitta

Didymo

Didymo, or Rock Snot, is a disease known to affect humans and underwater creatures.

Didymo was first found in Europe. It was then passed down to Asia, then North America, and it is now found in New Zealand.

Didymo clings to rocks and riverbanks. It is a dangerous pest because:
1. It spreads diseases

1. If eaten, can cause serious illness
2. It is deadly to sea creatures everywhere

Didymo can clog up spaces in rocks and holes in riverbanks. It forms like a thick mat over them, blocking important sources.

Through the rocks, there could be:

1. Freshwater
2. Small fishes and food

If fishes cannot get their food, they would either starve and die, or they would have to abandon their homes and move somewhere else.

This sort of pest can only be destroyed if dried up. Didymo multiplies, because it has a lot of cells. Next thing you know, it will be all over creation! If it is dried, that piece of Didymo will no longer multiply and spread anymore.

Did you know?

1. If one cell of Didymo is still alive, it will multiply
2. It can spread by just one drop of water
3. It sticks to equipment and boats, but not human hands
4. Didymo is often call ‘Rock Snot’
5. Didmo is really called Didymosphenia Geminata

If you have Didymo attached to some of your cherished belongings, you need to:

1. Check: Check your belongings
2. Clean: Clean it appropriately
3. Dry: Dry it properly

It will take about a week to do all this.

So next time you see Didymo, you know what to do.

                                                                                    By Renitta 

                                                                                   

My Favourite Song

Hello everybody! This is my favourite song for the time-being. It is her first song. And it is a huge hit. This song is from the person who won X-factor New Zealand! Yes, you're right. It's....... Jackie Thomas! It is called It's Worth It. This amazing  piece of work is now on I-tunes. I hope you like it!

Red-Vented Bulbul

The Red- Vented Bulbul is identified to be one of the most aggressive birds in the world. It is known to only attack birds.

 The Ministry of Primary Industries( MPI ) has found out that this species of bird is living in Auckland. They are trying to protect Auckland and it's agriculture by holding out posters. These posters contain the information to try to help them capture these birds. It is a great threat to the native birds and the environment. And, if they are too late, some of the native species could become extinct.  

They are a threat because:
1. They are taking away all the food sources
2. They are causing extinction to many native birds and trees
3. They are very deadly to birds all around

Fortunately, they are not a threat to humans. They do not attack humans unnecessarily, unless you disturb them.

They are effortless to identify. They have a lot of bright features, which causes them to be easily spotted.

Their description:

1. The are about the same size as a starling ( 20 cms )
2. White abdomen
3. Black head
4. Clear red spot under the tail
5. Tip of beak curved
6. Light brown chest
7. Dark brown wings

So, keep a sharp eye for this immature bird. Who knows, you might just find it on your lawn.....