Monday, 30 July 2012
Homework
Here's this weeks work...enjoy. Let me know what you have decided. I'm looking forward to seeing the results.
Sunday, 29 July 2012
Steven Herrick
And now for something different...
Because you boys are very loyal to the authors you read I've include 3 brief synopses of novels by Steven Herrick; Australian author and poet, that I read this weekend. These are verse novels, so rather than a normal novel, they look like poems...a bit strange at first, but you'll love these three. Two of them are funny and revolve around sport and crazy characters. The other (Cold Skin) is for more mature readers.
Cold Skin in set Burruga, an Australian mining town, shortly after World War II. Eddie Holding and his brother Larry, live with their parents in a shabby cabin built in a rush after they were evicted from their home upon the death of their grandmother. The Holding’s are considered the town’s “trash”.
Their father returned from the war more stressed by the fact that he wasn’t allowed to fight than by the war itself; he considers himself a coward. He refuses to go down the mine and so has the low-status job of a farmhand. Eddie would like to leave school and work in the mine, but his father, Albert, won’t let him do that. Eddie’s brother, Larry, is planning to work hard at school until he can leave and get a good job somewhere other than Burruga, but meanwhile is spending a lot of time getting drunk on stolen beer and leering lustfully at Colleen, a schoolmate. Colleen is a bright girl, but her beauty gets her a lot of unwelcome attention from many of the town’s males.
When Colleen’s body is found near the river late one night, by the town’s sole policeman, he has to try to decide who the murderer is. Is it Larry Holding, who was seen drunk and having a go at Colleen and some friends the same night? Perhaps it’s the town’s mayor, who was also drunk on the night of the murder? Is it Mr. Butcher, the incompetent school teacher who hates his job and goes into town weekly because he can’t get any girls in Burruga? What about Mr. Holding?
Eddie has his own ideas about who the murderer is, but what he finds out is totally unexpected -- and will make a great difference to his life.
The Spangled Drongo is a story of football and friendships told in light hearted free verse. Sam Slater, a football mad 11-year old, lives with his Auntie Margaret/Amshara, his dog Ronaldo and his parrot named Parrot. Aunty Margaret/Amshara took in Sam when he was eight years old after his parents were killed in a motoring accident, hit by a speeding driver.
Sam and his best friend Goosebones (Goose for short-real name Herman, but don’t call him that) play for the local football team ‘the Brownies’. Soccer fanatic Jessica Bowles moves in next door and Sam slowly realises that there is more to life than just football. Sam’s summer is filled fill of rooftop parties, swimming, football, counting stars, art exhibitions and bird watching-all with his new friend. How will Goose handle it when Jessica becomes she becomes Sam’s best friend AND newly appointed captain of the team?
Tom Jones Saves the World a quirky adventure, about friendship, families and saving the world, told in comic free verse. Tom secretly wishes his parents were dead, because they are weird. His dad is an accountant who “Talks weird,”and mum, who according to dad is ‘The Minister for home affairs’, is secretly a belly dancer- “Dad would have a heart attack. Maybe I should tell him.”
Tom and his family move into Pacific Palms, a gated community, which Tom thinks is a prison. However it is here that Tom meets Cleo. Cleo lives with her Uncle and Aunty because her parents are archaeologists and are “digging up bits of rubbish from all over the world.” She longs for parents with noprmal jobs. Tom and Cleo meet when Cleo charms the angry snake that lives outside the boys toilets at Muttaborra primary school. Tom and Cleo become friends and hatch a plan to “go over the wall” and escape the gated community. Together they meet a bull that should have been a hamburger already and visit Tom’s Forbidden Grandfather who thinks there is nothing better than going to the dunny under a full moon.
All three novels deserve to be in any classroom. These novels are written in free verse rather than prose, to which the reader may find off-putting initially, encouragement and enthusiasm by the teacher would remedy this. These are good reads and are worthy of study in the classroom. Tom Jones saves the World and The spangled Drongo are light hearted looks at family and friendships, especially that first love/friendship easily suited to primary classroom. Cold Skin however is a fascinating, brooding whodunit suitable for a slightly old audience, perhaps a mature Year 8, but more likely the high School student.
Within the classroom, these literary features make these novels worthy of interest and study.
Because you boys are very loyal to the authors you read I've include 3 brief synopses of novels by Steven Herrick; Australian author and poet, that I read this weekend. These are verse novels, so rather than a normal novel, they look like poems...a bit strange at first, but you'll love these three. Two of them are funny and revolve around sport and crazy characters. The other (Cold Skin) is for more mature readers.
Cold Skin by Steven Herrick
Cold Skin in set Burruga, an Australian mining town, shortly after World War II. Eddie Holding and his brother Larry, live with their parents in a shabby cabin built in a rush after they were evicted from their home upon the death of their grandmother. The Holding’s are considered the town’s “trash”.
Their father returned from the war more stressed by the fact that he wasn’t allowed to fight than by the war itself; he considers himself a coward. He refuses to go down the mine and so has the low-status job of a farmhand. Eddie would like to leave school and work in the mine, but his father, Albert, won’t let him do that. Eddie’s brother, Larry, is planning to work hard at school until he can leave and get a good job somewhere other than Burruga, but meanwhile is spending a lot of time getting drunk on stolen beer and leering lustfully at Colleen, a schoolmate. Colleen is a bright girl, but her beauty gets her a lot of unwelcome attention from many of the town’s males.
When Colleen’s body is found near the river late one night, by the town’s sole policeman, he has to try to decide who the murderer is. Is it Larry Holding, who was seen drunk and having a go at Colleen and some friends the same night? Perhaps it’s the town’s mayor, who was also drunk on the night of the murder? Is it Mr. Butcher, the incompetent school teacher who hates his job and goes into town weekly because he can’t get any girls in Burruga? What about Mr. Holding?
Eddie has his own ideas about who the murderer is, but what he finds out is totally unexpected -- and will make a great difference to his life.
The Spangled Drongo by Steven Herrick
The Spangled Drongo is a story of football and friendships told in light hearted free verse. Sam Slater, a football mad 11-year old, lives with his Auntie Margaret/Amshara, his dog Ronaldo and his parrot named Parrot. Aunty Margaret/Amshara took in Sam when he was eight years old after his parents were killed in a motoring accident, hit by a speeding driver.
Sam and his best friend Goosebones (Goose for short-real name Herman, but don’t call him that) play for the local football team ‘the Brownies’. Soccer fanatic Jessica Bowles moves in next door and Sam slowly realises that there is more to life than just football. Sam’s summer is filled fill of rooftop parties, swimming, football, counting stars, art exhibitions and bird watching-all with his new friend. How will Goose handle it when Jessica becomes she becomes Sam’s best friend AND newly appointed captain of the team?
Tom Jones Saves the World by Steven Herrick
Tom Jones Saves the World a quirky adventure, about friendship, families and saving the world, told in comic free verse. Tom secretly wishes his parents were dead, because they are weird. His dad is an accountant who “Talks weird,”and mum, who according to dad is ‘The Minister for home affairs’, is secretly a belly dancer- “Dad would have a heart attack. Maybe I should tell him.”
Tom and his family move into Pacific Palms, a gated community, which Tom thinks is a prison. However it is here that Tom meets Cleo. Cleo lives with her Uncle and Aunty because her parents are archaeologists and are “digging up bits of rubbish from all over the world.” She longs for parents with noprmal jobs. Tom and Cleo meet when Cleo charms the angry snake that lives outside the boys toilets at Muttaborra primary school. Tom and Cleo become friends and hatch a plan to “go over the wall” and escape the gated community. Together they meet a bull that should have been a hamburger already and visit Tom’s Forbidden Grandfather who thinks there is nothing better than going to the dunny under a full moon.
Teachery stuff. If you aren't a teacher you may as well not bother reading on... honest!
All three novels deserve to be in any classroom. These novels are written in free verse rather than prose, to which the reader may find off-putting initially, encouragement and enthusiasm by the teacher would remedy this. These are good reads and are worthy of study in the classroom. Tom Jones saves the World and The spangled Drongo are light hearted looks at family and friendships, especially that first love/friendship easily suited to primary classroom. Cold Skin however is a fascinating, brooding whodunit suitable for a slightly old audience, perhaps a mature Year 8, but more likely the high School student.
Within the classroom, these literary features make these novels worthy of interest and study.
1. Maximum storyline with minimum word.
Free verse novels are language stripped down. The author is able to engage and entertain us with minimum use of word.2. Fragmentary Narration
Free verse novel require the reader to make meaning through what is implied within the verse and across verses.3. Intertextually
Between Tom Jones saves the World and The spangled Drongo there are many allusions that could be part of any reading program.4. Multiple viewpoints
Within the typical prose novel we see from only one point of view. The reader is positioned to believe the narrator. In free verse novels however, it is common to have multiple viewpoints all with their own subjectivity. Characters either compliment or critique each other’s thoughts.5. Performance
The free verse novel lends itself perfectly to performance. Whether a powerful read aloud or narration with performance.Old Boy
Welcome goes out to our first Room 17 Old Boy follower, Cameron Urban. Cam has just joined the blog. Welcome Cam.
Wednesday, 25 July 2012
Bring back the canteen?
We are writing expositions during writing this term (you may have read Alex's). To strengthen our arguements we are putting in data to support our evidence. Just as well we are doing statistics for Maths then!
One of the possible topics for writing the boys decided on was the bringing back of the canteen. Could you please click on the link below and fill out the quick survey.
Do you want a healthy canteen at GMS
One of the possible topics for writing the boys decided on was the bringing back of the canteen. Could you please click on the link below and fill out the quick survey.
Do you want a healthy canteen at GMS
First Crossings
Wow! Did you see "First Crossings" on TV1 last night. 2 Kiwi fellas reinacted the first east-west crossing via the Whitcombe
Fitzgerald and Biggar were the two fellas. They were the first Kiwis to walk to the South Pole unaided (Fitzgerald even trekked the last half of the 1200km journey with a torn hamstring) and they also set a new world record for rowing across the Atlantic in 2003.
Click her for the newspaper article for the Wellington Dominion Stuff article
Here's some extra bits from EP1 Episode 1 extras
Fitzgerald and Biggar were the two fellas. They were the first Kiwis to walk to the South Pole unaided (Fitzgerald even trekked the last half of the 1200km journey with a torn hamstring) and they also set a new world record for rowing across the Atlantic in 2003.
Click her for the newspaper article for the Wellington Dominion Stuff article
Here's some extra bits from EP1 Episode 1 extras
Tuesday, 24 July 2012
Syndicate 4 PrEP Currency Competition
Below is the best of the possible PrEP currencies from Syndicate Four. Can you please vote within your classes and post the scores below. We also need to decide on a name for our currency. if you don't like any of the names of these ones you can add that below as well.
Well done to the artists of these 5 entries. After we have had a tally up I'll change the 'Option' tag to the artists' names.
When you want to post. Add your Room number but for the URL put in your class email address but WITHOUT the @, just use a . (dot) eg; room17.greymain.school.nz
Well done to the artists of these 5 entries. After we have had a tally up I'll change the 'Option' tag to the artists' names.
 | |||
| Option 1 |
 |
| Option 2 |
 |
| Option 3 |
 |
| Option 4 |
 |
| Option 5 |
When you want to post. Add your Room number but for the URL put in your class email address but WITHOUT the @, just use a . (dot) eg; room17.greymain.school.nz
Sunday, 22 July 2012
OLYMPICO!
With the Olympics only a few days away (starts on Friday) fellas, we are going to need a dedicated sports channel that will give us all the right sort of coverage...I just may have found it!
Outlook for Someday
I think what with all the great stuff that's happening in the garden and our Te Awa Haurora, we need to seriously enter into this competition. Alex? I think you need to assemble a crew! I have signed us up and I can give you the user name and password so that you go online and read the threads in the forum.
Outlook for Someday Website
Outlook for Someday Website
Friday, 20 July 2012
PrEP Currency Competition
This week at GMS every student gets the chance to design a bank note and name the currency, for PrEP. In Syndicate 4 we have to design our version of the $10 note. We'll decide on Monday our classroom winners, then decide our supreme winner. The winner gets $10 extra in their pay packet for market day.
Even though I'm not allowed to enter, this is my effort. What do you think?
Room 8 have just commented (below) and wanted to know why I have called my currency 'Old Biddy'. An old biddy is a slang term for an old lady. However, I need to make it clear, that the old lady in question, IS NOT the lady in the picture above. The old biddy I refer to is Bridget Godwin (right). You may have seen her picture at Shantytown. She was known as 'Biddy of the Buller'. If you remember, the name of our currency needs to relate to GMS, Greymouth, West Coast. If you want to find out more about her click on the link below.
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/1g14/1
Once I gather in all our efforts I'll post the ones we like the best and you can vote on them here. Oh, by the way, Barrytown school are joining us this year. I already have their entries.
UPDATE!UPDATE!UPDATE!UPDATE! UPDATE!
Even though I'm not allowed to enter, this is my effort. What do you think?
 |
| Biddy of the Buller |
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/1g14/1
Once I gather in all our efforts I'll post the ones we like the best and you can vote on them here. Oh, by the way, Barrytown school are joining us this year. I already have their entries.
UPDATE!UPDATE!UPDATE!UPDATE! UPDATE!
Here's Dakaya's cracker of an effort. He's named his 'joules'-which is a link to our science last term where we looked at joules being a measurement of 'work'.Nice one Dakaya. I reckon it's chicken dinner time, surely. What does everyone think?
 |
| Dakaya's 10 Joules Note. |
Thursday, 19 July 2012
Term 3 Art. Simple Block
You will hopefully have seen the DP1 artwork I've knocked out. To get there we need to learn a couple of skills and ideas. This first one involves just simply transferring our image onto a cardboard block (We'll extend on this in the next piece of work). Since we have an image on this block we may as well use it like a printmaking block. I've used ink, but you could simply do this with crayon-rubbing as well.
First we drew a 15 x 15 cm square onto a piece of paper (this is because we got 15 of these out of a sheet of cardboard). Then we drew over our image with the cardboard underneath so that we could see the indentations on the card. This is almost like a linocut/wood block so thats why we might as well use it to make a print.
I didn't go over my image again with pen, but I would recommend it. That's because in the photos you can see that the image isn't very clear in my blue ones towards the end. Going over it again as it would make your image deeper, therefore clearer.
Once the image is ready, we inked up the block and then used a CLEAN, DRY roller to go over the back of it. Sometimes I didn't ink up the image again, as there was enough ink.
WALT: create a simple single-layered block
 |
| Drawn image and print block-with indentations just visible |
 |
| Various prints. I had a few goes. |
Once the image is ready, we inked up the block and then used a CLEAN, DRY roller to go over the back of it. Sometimes I didn't ink up the image again, as there was enough ink.
 |
| Note the words around the right way now |
 |
| Print block inked up. Note the indentations |
Wednesday, 18 July 2012
So..? What are you reading?
What are we reading? Is it any good?
Two questions. Easy. 28 posts coming up surely! (As you post, I'll put it into this blog.)
Me? I'm reading 'Tamar', by Mal Peet. Is it any good? Yes, yes it is, thank you for asking!
Tamar: A Novel of Espionage, Passion, and Betrayal
When her grandfather dies, Tamar inherits a box containing a series of clues and coded messages. Out of the past, another Tamar emerges, a man involved in the terrifying world of resistance fighters in Nazi-occupied Holland half a century before. His story is one of passionate love, jealousy, and tragedy set against the daily fear and casual horror of the Second World War -- and unraveling it is about to transform Tamar’s life forever.Quinn is reading...
'We Will Not Cease', by Archibald Baxter
We Will Not Cease is the record of New Zealander Archibald Baxter's brutal treatment as a conscientious objector. In 1915, when he was 33, Baxter was arrested, sent to prison, then shipped under guard to Europe, where he was forced to the front line against his will. Punished to the limits of his physical and mental endurance, Baxter was stripped of all dignity, beaten, starved, and left for dead. In a final attempt to discredit him, authorities consigned him to a mental institution, an experience that would haunt him for the rest of his life. This is a true story of extreme bravery and ultimate resolve.
Here's Aidan's graph that shows our current reading habits.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)