Argument writing about the sea

People shouldn’t throw rubbish in the sea

I think people should stop throwing rubbish inside the sea because the sea can get polluted and on the 3 News I saw a sea that got polluted and no one could catch any fish and we will have nothing to eat like fish and other sea creatures and the sea will turn into green water

and it’s not good to swim in.

The other reason why rubbish is bad for the sea is because it can also affect other animals like birds because when there is a can or a bottle in the sea the birds will think it’s fish and they will land on that can and they will stick their beak inside the hole on top of the can or the bottle and the birds head will get stuck and they will suffocate and die.

People will not be able to swim in the sea because the sea will be full of rubbish and the rubbish will get stuck on people which is disgusting. The environment around the sea will be lost to the rubbish and it will be a very sad look.

By Shannon

Argument writing

People should be able to take the size of 60cm long of fish

People should only be able fish which are 60 cm or more. If people take fish which are 30 cm, they are not giving fish enough time to be in the sea and produce other fish.

Fish also help other parts of the sea grow and if they stay in the sea for longer then they will be able to help the sea.

The law should be changed to help the fish in the sea grow and spend longer in the sea before being caught by humans for eating.

By Aaliyahna

Argument writing

1 metre is a good size for fish to take home

The current size for fish such as snapper to be taken home is 30 centimetres. I think a good size is 1 metre or more. I will explain why I think this in this argument.

If people take 30 cm fish then they need a lot of fish to feed their family. If they take a big size fish then they will be able to feed their family with the bigger fish and don't need to catch too many fish to feed everyone. 

Leaving the fish to grow will also allow the fish to produce more fish in the sea. There will many more fish in the sea. 

By Luisa

Inquiry presentations

On Thursday 8 of May 2014, Room 7 students joined our school to view the inquiry presentations of classes around the school.

Our first class to visit was Room 1. Mrs Greenham and her class presented their art work of bird sketches and we also had a worksheet to complete. It was a good chance to find out about the learning of Room 1. When the bell rang we had to move to the next room which was Mrs Ripata’s room.

Mrs Ripata and her students created a powerpoint for us to watch and read. It was about the native plants of New Zealand. The next room we visited was Mrs Kumar’s room and she kept us busy by making us do a obstacle course, making bugs using lollies and also doing an online quiz. The lolly part was fun because we got to eat our bugs.

In the senior block, we went to room 10 first and they taught us about first aid and what to do when we are going camping. I learnt we must tell someone where we are going and how long we will go for.

The inquiry presentations were fun but ours was good too because we had our own camping tents inside the classroom.

by Inoke

Mrs Tofa achieves another milestone

On Monday 5th May. The streets of downtown Auckland were filled with University of Auckland students graduating to celebrate the successful completion of their studies. Among them was Mrs Tofa. Mrs Tofa graduated with a Postgraduate Diploma in Education. 

Note from from Mrs Tofa - Keep going there is no stop to learning. Education is a ladder as you achieve one step, start looking towards the next. 

A response from an author

Our Hurricanes reading group were learning about the author's purpose for writing a story. The story they read is called Needling an Elephant and it was written by John Parker found in School Journal 1995 Part 3 Number 1.

One of the response activities was to find out about the author's background and if he had a special interest in animals. During the research the Hurricanes group found a website which belongs to the NZ Book Council and it had information about John Parker including his e-mail address. The group decided to send him an e-mail to ask about his reasons for writing this story.

On 15/04/2014, at 9:34 AM, Dora Masua wrote:

Hello John Parker we are a group of students in Room 7 at Glenbrae School. This week we are reading Needling an Elephant. We just wanted to ask you if you have a special interest in animals. What inspired you to write a story about this elephant?

We would appreciate your response. 

Thank you

Hurricanes Reading Group Room 7

That was the e-mail the group sent from Dora's e-mail address. The following day we were all surprised to find a response from John Parker. 

From: John Parker <jparker@ihug.co.nz>
Date: 15 April 2014 08:13
Subject: Re: To understand the author's purpose for writing a story.
To: Dora Masua <dora7ndstcs@glenbrae.school.nz>

Hi, Dora

Nice to get your email. 

I wrote this story for a number of reasons. Yes, I am interested in animals and feel we have a grave responsibility to treat them well. How we look after our flora and fauna defines us as human beings. I thought that Auckland Zoo was caring and compassionate in its treatment. 

Secondly, my daughter's a vet, so that made me interested as well. 

And, thirdly, I thought it would be good to read for school children such as yourselves. After all, here's this huge animal being treated by a a comparatively small needle. It seemed new and novel. It felt like someone trying to deflect a tank with a little finger - but it worked!

And, of course, I'm a professional writer, so I wanted to earn some money as well. Nothing wrong with that, is there! 

All the best

John Parker

It was really great to communicate with John Parker and find out why he wrote the story. Thank you John Parker for your response.

Long Bay recount

Long Bay,survival skills trip.

First thing on Tuesday morning we got ready to go up north for our Long Bay trip,we were learning survival skills on the trip. We had to go in the hall and sit down in certain lines so they could put us in groups,there were 3 groups,and I was in the second group. Mrs Raj did a prayer before we went on the bus.

When we were ready to go we had to line up outside the bus then walk inside while being counted by our teacher. I guess its good to count so none of us are left behind when the school comes back. On the way there I was talking to Hemi about what Long Bay would look like.

When we arrived there, we first went to the wrong spot and we were redirected to the right area. The bus driver then reversed the bus and we entered the park area. Along the way inside the park, we saw cars, playgrounds, camping areas, shelter and some people walking around. We finally found where we were suppose to be and we started to come out of the bus.

We then met the three Park Rangers who were going to be our teachers for the day. We were told about the activities we had to do and our first activity was putting up tents. I was in a group with Mafoa and Mateaki. We quickly started putting our tent up directed by Mateaki who had the instructions.

After that we cooked our own sausages on a mini portable stove using methylated spirits,and a spatula,a frying pan,and a blow torch. After cooking, we ate it.Then we had our lunch.

The next activity we had was a race, but first we had a checklist of belongings we need to take camping.The first person in the group had to run to get the first thing on the checklist and the next person gets the next thing on the checklist, but we weren't supposed to get the things with a cross on like coca cola.

Our final activity was the hike. We had to choose a spot on the map where we wanted to walk to. A student was the leader of the group and we also had a Charlie tail and a counter. We walked towards Site 5 and decided it was too far then we decided to walk to Site 4 instead. After we found Site 4 we returned to where everyone was.
At the end of our trip, we said goodbye to the Park Rangers and thanked them for teaching us. We then hopped inside the bus and started our travel back to school. It was a fun and hot day. We learnt a lot and heaps of fun.