If I Were A Volcano

Lately Room 4's focus has been on mountains and volcano's because our camp is going to be in the central plateau. Mrs Bennett set us the task doing a piece of writing based on a poem called 'If I Were A Storm' by Katie Bloom, but because of our focus, we changed it to 'If I Were A Volcano'. We partially followed the template, using stuff like personification and lots of description. But we were also given free rein to use our poetic license so we could create something that we liked.
Here is my finished product...

If I Were A Volcano

If I were a volcano,

I would glower down upon the buildings, cities, and seas that stretch to the horizon.

I would thunder my portent out for all the lands to hear.

I would spit and splutter my molten saliva onto the shrieking citizens.

I would ravage the earth that trembles at my feet.

I would relish the fiery balls I let fly into the marble pillars below.

I would wreak havoc and destroy as much as I could, before my fury dissipates,

And I fall into my guilty slumber.

I would let the lava cascade down my rocky figure and demolish everything that lies in my path.

Preserving the terror in layers of ash for centuries to come.

Then I would become dormant, resting in the once halcyon plains of Pompeii. 

 

-Liana

The Great Zoo Debate/Zoo Art

This Term Room 4 have been focusing o persuasive writing. We've done a couple of pieces on things like uniforms and homework etc. But last week we had a proper focus on the zoos, doing research to back up our thoughts and learn about the positives and negatives. Once we had read several articles, we set to work on our actual writing. I decided to disagree with zoos being a thing. I actually am on the fence, because there is compelling evidence for and against zoos. But I decided that I would try to write a piece against it. We also did a piece of zoo art and  I decided to do a red panda. There is a photo of it below my writing. But anyway, here is my writing.

The Great Zoo Debate

Zoos are cruel and should be banned. This is a statement I strongly agree with. Here are some reasons why.

Reason 1
The enclosures are far too small for the animals. No matter how much zoos evolve to allow for more space, they will never be big enough, especially for large animals. We have all just come out of quarantine. A time when we were confined to our homes alone. Imaging that for your entire life! Many animals are constantly roaming over vast areas. A zoo can simply not cater for the required land.

Reason 2
Diet. It is far too costly for a zoo to fully mimic an animal's regular diet in the wild. But not only is it the food they eat, but also how they get it. Big animals aren’t able to hunt, therefore not getting normal exercise or expressing their natural instincts. They are able to do all this in the wild. Yet another thing the zoo can't accommodate.

Reason 3
Animals can get bored or lonely. Or can easily get stressed. For example, the expected lifespan of an elephant halves in captivity. This is because they are very social, and often have only 1 or 2 others in their enclosures, leading them to basically die of loneliness. The only word I can think of to explain this, is sick. We are basically killing them, for entertainment.

In conclusion they have the right to be free. They shouldn’t have to deal with confining enclosures, a diet that doesn’t fully suit them, or the general stress of zoo life. It is simply inhumane, and that is why I am obstinate that zoos have to be banned.

Red Panda

Writing- List Of 10

Today during writing with Mrs Allan we were given a photo of people cheering.

We then had to make a list of 10 places where that could be. I had things like at a rugby match, school cross-country etc. But in the end I decided that my writing would be based around a crowd welcoming soldiers back from war. We could either make a list of phrases about what they people would be doing and saying or could make a piece of writing. I ended up choosing the writing.

Here it is... 

A deafening roar reverberates through the large crowd. Beaming faces, thank and congratulate leering ones. Grimy men traipse down the street, looking utterly defeated. Some give weak smiles in response to the shouts, others stare fixedly at their mud caked boots. Various wounds and illnesses reach most men, making them stagger and splutter. Grey clouds roll over the surrounding mountain ranges. The sea thunders against the cliffs. Gradually the vessel empties. But it still haunts the crestfallen soldiers. Perilous seas and the conditions of war aren’t readily forgotten. Bitter air slices into numb cheeks like knives. The last slouching soldiers make their way off the boat, bundled in their thick, stained coats. A boy pushes through the hundreds of people and extends his arm to the last soldier. Bloodstained bandages wrap his head and he hobbles along, shrapnel dug too deeply into his leg to be removed safely. 

“Welcome back Sir,” he breathes softly, shaking the soldiers rough hands vigorously. The corners of the soldiers' worn mouth tug feebly.

“I don’t believe I’ll ever be welcome after what I’ve seen” he replies sorrowfully. 

He limps along the winding street and vanishes. But the boy was sure he saw a thick tear winding its way down his bristly cheeks before he was swallowed by the darkness.

 -Liana

Fungi Slow Writing

To incorporate our study on fungi, lately we did some slow writing on fungi. We chose one photo that had been taken from around the school of our abundance of fungi. Then using our creative juices we constructed a piece of writing. There was a structure we all followed to help enrichen our writing using  thing like similes, metaphors, questions etc.
Here is my writing...

Genius Hour- Roman Mythology

Over the past 2 weeks for Genius Hour I have been focusing on Roman mythology to follow up my study on Greek mythology. I have found this very fascinating. I have learnt the 12 Olympians (the 12 main gods) names, powers and how they all link in as a family. When I did Greek mythology I learnt a lot more as it turned into a form of passion project for me. For example I learnt about many of the minor gods and some of the monsters. But I still find Roman mythology very interesting.
Here is the poster I created on the 12 Olympians...

My Favourite Bubble Moments

Today to reflect on our recent lockdown, we did a quick activity on google drawings for 'Our Favourite Bubble Moments'. We all tried to make them effective, using boarders, nice fonts, backgrounds etc.  I enjoyed remembering all the way back to the start of lockdown and to some of my favourite moments.
Here is my work...

 

Usain Bolt

Today for writing Mrs Allan we were focusing on Usain Bolt or Yohan Blake. We could write either an interview, commentate over a video of them running in the Olympics, a newspaper article about them, or a creative writing piece. I chose to write a creative writing piece because obviously I'm boring. Here is my writing...

I take a deep breath. The crowd is a blur. A deafening roar erupts around me. Cameras blink in bright flashes. A shake out my arms and legs. All my training leading to this one race, which will last for less than 20 seconds. I picture my family and friends at home. This is for them. The night air is still warm and humid. The camera man comes over and takes a close up of my face. Everyone shouts unheard encouragement. I wave a couple of times to thank the people. My head is in the game.

Crouching I position my hands behind the line and await the start. “Set” the voice echoes around the stadium. Instant silence.  I concentrate on my arching back. “CRACK” the starting blocks smack together. Quick as a strike of lightning I launch myself forwards. Legs like a windmill. I breath in rattling breaths as I bolt along the track. I extend my legs and raise my head. Arms pumping madly. Blake stretches ahead of me and I grit my teeth as I push myself. I no longer feel my legs, I only see the line. I gain on Blake and am just in front of him. The line nears and I struggle to maintain my pace. But I do. I pass the line and sprint a couple more metres before slowing. I had won. I become aware of the racket of the crowd. A smile stretches across my face as I sit, breathing hard. “Gold Medal To Usain Bolt!!”

-Liana

What Is In My Room-Writing Poem

Today Mrs Bennett gave us some ideas for what to write about. I chose the 'What's In My Room' idea, and because I seem to be addicted to writing in poems these days, I of course wrote in a poem. And because poems sound much better when rhyming in my opinion, I chose to make the challenge harder for myself (because it's me and why not) and rhyme.
So here is my poem...

What Is In My Room

If you were to go into my room for a peek,

Past the door with a very loud ‘CREAK’,

Perhaps half the things you would not understand,

But to me, all the items are very grand.

Step in, and you would see,

Many books that cause me glee,

To pore over with much of my time,

Because in my mind, not reading is a crime.

Go in further and more books than you guessed!

Because over books, I am obsessed,

Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Percy Jackson and Divergent,

Those are some in many to give you a hint.

Pictures of animals, pets and friends,

A desk littered with pencils and pens,

Drawings and sketches from some of the stories,

Of different genres and odd categories.

A comfy bed, to give a good sleep,

And a big window to watch my beautiful sheep, 

A drawer crowded with arts and crafts,

And birthday cards filled with many laughs.

A nice, white, functional ceiling,

Because having rain on your head isn’t appealing,

Although in winter there are sometimes rats,

Who wont stop scratching, the little brats.

There is not need to critique,

My obsession with the ancient Greek,

As shown all around my room,

Because that information I happily consume.

Oh and remember to never overlook,

My piles and piles of beautiful books,

I know I’ve already touched on this subject,

But books in my eyes are the definition of perfect.

You see this is what makes us all unique,

Maybe you wouldn’t like my door that creaks,

Or in winter, the ceiling rats that squeak.

Perhaps you’d even think me a freak,

My books a bit weird, so to speak,

Or find my belongings mild and bleak,

But this is what you’d find wrapped in all it’s mystique,

This is what you’d find if you gave my room a peek.

Random Word- Writing

For writing today Mrs Allan shared us a challenge to do a 'random words' piece of writing. I highly recommend this fun and quick writing challenge. We had to choose a book, pick a number between 1 and the number of pages were in the book, and turn to that page. Then pick a number for the line to go to. And finally pick a number for which word in that line to choose. I chose one of the books I'm currently reading- Little Women by L.M Alcott, page 119, line 10, word 12, and got ornament. We also had to pick 2 or more language features from the the following list to include...

I am still apparently on the whole 'slightly somber' writing theme at the moment so please excuse the fact that it's a bit dark. I blame the fact that all my favourite characters are dying in the books I'm reading. It's also find that for me, the best writing is ones using raw emotions as it makes it realistic to a certain extent.  So here is my writing...

Random Words Writing

What is left of the living room makes my nose tingle from the mixture of ash and lingering dust. The right side of the room is a smouldering mess. Instinctively I stride to the fireplace to search for clues. Singed ornamental books lie on the shelf, forgotten photographs capture families which have long since been broken by time and tragedies. My full eyes spill tears like falling rain as the memories flood back to me. I will find her, if it's the last thing I do.

Tech From Home-Invention Test

Yesterday Mrs Bennett gave us the task of an invention test which is often seen in Master Chef. You get given ingredients to cook with and have to make a dish out of it. Of course because none of us are professionals we were given 4 ingredients and had to pick two of them to include in the baking. These four ingredients were...

• Eggs
• Fruit
• Cheese
• Chocolate

I figured that most people would use the chocolate, so I set out to make something savoury using the cheese and eggs. But as I was going through my mothers recipe book in the savoury section, there was a misplaced recipe for swirly biscuits, which just so happened to use eggs and chocolate. Call it what you want, I call it fate. So of course my resolution to make something healthier got thrown out the window and died. Swirly biscuits have long been a favourite in my family, and my cousin is practically in love with them. But without a further a do here is the recipe I used and a picture of my creation...

Swirly Biscuits

Ingredients:

125g butter, softened

2/3 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 1/2 cups flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

30g melted dark chocolate

1/2 tablespoon cocoa, sifted

Makes 20 biscuits

Method:

• Line 2 oven trays with baking paper.
• Cream the butter and sugar with an electric beater until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat well.
• Fold in the vanilla essence. Sift in the flour and baking powder and mix until a soft dough forms (add a little more flour if necessary).
• Divide the dough into 2 bowls. Add the melted chocolate and cocoa to one batch and mix well.
• Place the vanilla dough between 2 sheets of baking paper. Roll out to a rectangle about 20x22cm
• Roll out the chocolate dough between 2 sheets of baking paper until it's exactly the same size and shape as the vanilla dough.
• Lift the top layer of baking paper off both dough's and place the vanilla directly on top of the chocolate. Remove the top baking paper and, using the bottom piece, roll up the dough as firmly as possible into a log shape. Place in the freezer for an hour.
•   When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 180℃. Slice the dough into 1cm rounds and place them onto the prepared oven trays. Bake for about 15 minutes until firm. Leave to cool for 2-3 minutes before transferring onto a cooling rack.

Here is a photo of my biscuits...

Untitled Novel Writing-Introduction

So today I wrote the introduction to a novel that I am making. It is based around the writing I did a little while ago I named 'The Quest'. So I suppose here is a teaser of sorts for the novel I will be writing. If you have any ideas for titles or plots I would be happy to hear them, because I have a general idea but am partially in the dark as to where to go with this. If you would like to read 'The Quest' first here is the link right here. Without a further a do, here is my introduction...


I wake to the glistening rays of sunlight making my curtains luminescent as they struggle to withhold the intense light. Groggily I sit up, mornings aren’t my thing. My hair, wild and knotted, straightens itself as if an invisible hair brush just swept through it. I still don’t understand how it does it. I wipe the sleep out of my eyes, as I stumble my way through to the pristine kitchen. Car horns honk noisily many floors below. A still warm plate of waffles and blueberries waits for me on the long dining table. Our butler always knows how to cheer me up on a Monday.

As I contentedly munch on my breakfast, I gaze down upon the city.  Miniature figures stride purposefully on the sidewalk below. Others commute to work in the long traffic jams. I wonder what each of their stories are. After all everyone has stories. Big or small. Isn’t it interesting how you might be a chapter in someone else's and yet they might be a mere sentence in yours? I find it that way at least. Sometimes I think that I would trade everything to just have someone else’s story, no matter how big. Because my story isn’t quite so simple or straightforward. I suppose it never could be in the life of a mind reader.

How To Make A DIY Rain Gauge In 5 Easy Steps

Today for lock down Mrs Bennett set us a challenge to make a DIY Rain Gauge and record how much water is falling averagely at your place each day, for a week. So I decided to do a 'how to' writing to show you how to make one. Of course these kinds of rain gauges aren't particularly accurate because the bottles that you use differ in size and width. But I figured I'd try it anyway.

     What you'll need

• a  plastic bottle (not including cap)
• craft knife (or scissors if you don't have one)
• sellotape 
• something to fix it in place (I used duct tape)
• and some vivids/pens to decorate (optional)

1. Remove the label from your bottle, and draw a line around your bottle about 3 to 5 cm from the top, as a vague line of where to cut. 

 
        2.  Cut around the line using your craft knife.

          3. Next flip the top bit upside down and using the sellotape, stick it to the top of the bottle,                  creating a funnel of sorts.

           4. Then  you can decorate your funnel to your hearts content using vivids or pens.

            5.  Finally using your duct tape (or whatever your using to fix it into it's place) stick it to a                   fence post or something similar outside, where you'll catch some rain.

And There You Have It!!

Your Very Own Rain Gauge In Only 5 Simple Steps!

And Of Course I Had Some Help On This Project With My Faithful Little Helper Gus

The Quest- Writing

For today's writing my insane mind seems to have taken a break from the rhyming poems and instead moved onto a form of writing which I would describe as slightly dark. It is sort of like a passage of writing that you would possibly expect to find around halfway through a  novel. Perhaps this sprouted from the fact I'm not having to do spelling sentences anymore (which in my case always seem to grow into more paragraphs or mini stories), which I always kind of fit into a wider scenario, so it kind of sounds like it could have come out of a novel. Do you think that I should create a novel sort of thing around this piece of writing?
Here is my dark and slightly depressing writing...

The Quest

I sit. Knees huddled up to my chest. my steady heartbeat a mournful song. Hot, thick tears spilling down my smooth cheeks. Tall grass tickling against my hunched back. The mountainside, a  good vantage point to spy on the entire valley. Sun sending out soft colours of orange and pink as it sets behind the opposite hill of the gully. A necklace clenched tightly in my hands. My hair hiding my face as I struggle to contain a wave of sobs. I know that it's dangerous to stay here.

A small sensible voice in my head tells me I must continue on my quest, that I must retrieve the stone of quartz. But I don't care. I don't care anymore. The world could crumble apart and I wouldn't try to stop it. For now that my best friend is gone, nothing matters. But it is the thought of her face when she told us we must get to the stone first that jolts me back to reality. After all, if perhaps she is not dead, she'll be near the quartz, in desperate need of help.

Where The Wind Goes Poem

Ok, so of late I seem to enjoy making rhyming poems. Perhaps it is because I am reading Little Women, which uses older fashioned ways of speaking, of which I think of as quite poetic, and I am slightly absorbing the old way of speaking. So in writing maybe my brain is trying to combine the older more flowery poetic way of speaking with more modern words. And for some reason when mixing that in the blender of craziness that is my brain, it seems to result in a rhyming poem (don't read to much into it, it doesn't make sense to me either). 

So I suppose here is the result of the crazy blender, in a poem...

Where The Wind Goes

When the wind is not in the clouds,

And comes down into the human crowds.

I wonder to myself "oh where does it go?"

The answer is here, there, and all over the show.

It roars in the chasms and in the rifts,

And whips into the caves on the cliffs.

It whispers gently by the seaside,

And follows you with every stride.

It tickles you in the flowery meadows,

And plays with your hair as it snows.

It whistles along the shallow creeks,

And lives in the mountains where it shrieks.

It's dense and humid in the Peruvian jungles,

And swift in Antarctica where heat it bungles.

"But what would we do without wind?" I ponder

What would we do if it did not wander?

If it would prefer to stay up in the clouds,

Away from the many human crowds.

My Dream Superpower

While I've been stuck at home, doing work for the last week of my term, I decided to write a poem for my writing, about my dream superpower. It isn't exactly what you'd expect, for it's not exactly mainstream. But perhaps that is why it is a logical one, of which the only limits are your imagination.
What would your dream superpower be?
Stay safe everyone.

Here is my poem...

My Dream Superpower

If  people could have any superpower they dream,

from your imagination, or fitting a theme,

many upon many would choose to fly,

go higher than the clouds, up in the sky.

Others would pick invisibility,

they could do good, or bad, with great agility.

Perhaps some would select knowledge,

to be smarter than Athena, who created the olive.

Furthermore there is witchery,

to win almost any battle, with great victory.

Or maybe to see ahead in time,

to stop, or avoid, any crime.

Possibly the power to read the mind,

to manipulate, or leave, betrayers behind.

You could choose to run with great speed,

to enter the Olympics and succeed.

However I would not choose any of these powers,

nor to be super strong, or control the hours.

I would pick the talent to change probability,

with which anything is in your capability.

Zero percent chance or breathing underwater?

Well with this power, those numbers I would slaughter.

I could change it to one hundred percent,

I would dive under, and to my health there'd be no dent.

With this ability I could do ANYTHING!

Converse with animals, or become the king.

Why only one power would you steal?

If you could simply get them ALL in a package deal!

Making Ice Cream!

Room 4 have tech every Wednesday, we have 3 different techs: woodwork, sewing and cooking. This term the year 8's are in cooking tech and we got to make ice cream. Just the twist was that we got to design our own flavour as long as it wasn't too crazy and had a fresh element like fruit included in it. Every week we pair with someone different to make our various foods. I made the ice cream with my classmate John. We came up with the flavour of cinnamon peach with a dash of marshmallows. I really enjoyed making this even though our arm starts to ache after a while of whisking. Afterwards we were allowed to make posters using Poster My Wall to showcase our work like it was a new flavour coming to stores. Poster my wall provides various templates which helps to make an awesome poster and I would definitely recommend using this.

Here is the poster that I created to showcase my ice cream...

Sunflower Poem

Currently at Matawai School there are sunflowers so Room 4 are basing some of our work on it.
We were told to make a poem using personification and metaphors.
Here is my poem

Sunflower, 

innocent sunflower,

dancing as the tendrils of air nuzzle her.

Sunflower,

shy sunflower,

following the celebrity of the sky from a distance.

Sunflower,

bright sunflower,

with golden flames engulfing the centre.

Sunflower, 

regal sunflower,

wearing a crown of petals, the queen of flowers.

Sunflower,

Innocent, shy, bright and regal,

the one who stands tall and searches for
the sunlight even on the darkest of days.

-Liana

Lorde

This week Room 4 made a small inquiry into the famous NZ singer-songwriter Lorde as a teaser week for summer learning journey.
Our learning was to use image attribution which can be vaguely seen in small print underneath both the photos I have used.

Here is my work on Lorde...

Anaura Bay: Where We Went Tour

During week 7 Room 4 went on camp.
My biggest highlight would have been the surfing on the first day.
My downlight would have been when 'Crazy Bird Lady' started shouting at us (you need to watch the video to understand)
I had a lot of fun and look forwards to next years camp.
Here is my video, I hope you enjoy seeing and reading about where we went. Hope you have a great holidays whenever you start your holidays...
-Liana

2019 Highlights

Lately Room 4 have been working on our highlights videos or for the year 8's their leavers videos.
I really enjoyed making this because you were able to be really creative and make yours a lot unique from everyone elses (apart from the music).
I found it challenging to find all the photos because most of my photos are at home so I was basically working off the photos I could find from school.
With out a further ado here is my video...