Dissection  by Lily

Racing softly in my ear, I hear the frantic beat of my heart. Wondering, I ask if I am capable of handling the organs. As the blood pumps through my brain, I walk up to the table thinking of my final decision.  Watching them explain and cut open the organs, I find it’s not that bad… It’s actually really fascinating.

Surprisingly, we got told we get a heart for each group to dissect. Shaking, trying to hold myself, I hop up wanting to be first with the scalpel.

I take my first cut through, being glad I was first. As the heart became two, I saw the valves connected to the inside of it. There was a lot of good fats around it, which was surprisingly quite hard.

Next, it was Isabella’s turn with the scalpel. Cutting through, I see more of the organs parts. With blood everywhere, we now get a photo with our group.

We now finish up with a few people trying out the ultrasound to see if they're alive. We say our thanks with all our happiness and say our goodbyes.

My Speech

Are we doing enough to save our oceans and beaches?

You take a stroll down the beach, you look up and all you can see is dreadfulness. A turtle starving to death with a plastic bag in his stomach he thought was a jellyfish, fish bobbing in the water trying to survive from an oil spill and seagulls strangled by plastic on the beach. I’m going to explain why oil spills, plastic and overfishing are bad or our seas.

Oil spills are one thing but there is over 706 million each year. Only 5% of them are big spills like the Rena off the Tauranga coast which was New Zealand’s worst marine disaster. When sea otters swim into oil their body temperature drops, they get hypothermia before slowly dying. Oil spills are sadly killing our marine life but plastic is just as disastrous.

Plastic destroys the environment but did you also know that beauty products contain tiny plastic particles called micro beads which go into the ocean when you wash them down the drain. In 2015 one man started a remarkable cleanup effort o Versova Beach in India which was one of the dirtiest beaches in the world. People started to join in and after 85 weeks of cleaning, 5.3 million kilogrammes of rubbish, they had a beach everyone could enjoy.

Another way we can save our marine life is by limiting our fishing because we are losing species as well as entire ecosystems. Fish have been on this planet for about 500 million years and there are over 25,000 known species of fish. Some countries aren’t limiting their fishing so there are barely any fish left for future generations.

What can you and I do to protect our beaches and oceans? We can pick up rubbish off the beach, buy products without microbeads, throw back small fish and not get more than our quota.

And maybe when we grow up we can join “Green Peace” and help clean up after oil spills!

↓Here’s my speech video I had heaps of fun doing it so I hope you enjoy↓

 My Speech Video

Treaty Of Waitangi

Treaty Of Waitangi 

Last term our inquiry learning was about the Treaty Of Waitangi. I was in a group of three with Isabella Lylah and me. It was a really good experience going through Pirongia and seeing the readout where they watch over the Waipa River. overall, I think we did quite well.
↓Heres our slide on the Treaty Of Waitangi↓

Treaty of Waitangi Presentation

Complex Sentences

In term 1 we learnt about how to do complex sentences. I really loved learning another way in writing. Here are some of my ↓sentences.↓

Gazing, the astonishing leopards stare out at the savannah sun on the horizon.

Creeping, the tiny spider delicately crawled across my leg.

Gazing, the silent moon stared longingly at the cats on the fence.

Flinging through thin air, the ball gets sent down the court.
Flying like a bird, the ball leaps magnificently into the hoop.

Koru Art

Koru Art Reflection

Last term we did koru art. We had to blend colours from dark to light. We had to do our house colour. I'm in Kiwi house so mine was yellow. It was a bit hard since yellow was already a very light colour. Once my Koru was finished we had to do the background. I did purple around the edge so mine would look like a star, we had to also blend with the purple. Finally, it was done, it looked amazing, it looked like a star floating above me in the pitch black sky.
↓↓Here's my finished project ↓↓

Look at it sideways with my name at the bottom

Integrity Games

Integrity Games 

In term 1 we did integrity games and I was in a group of three with Isabella, Gracie and me. Our game was called obstacle status which is a game where you freeze when the music stops while going through an obstacle cause. It was a really fun way to end the week. I think the rata kids were really good learners. 
                                                                        
                                                                     

My Learning Conference 

My learning went really well this term. I loved sharing my learning slide with my family. I now know what to work on for next term. ↓Here's a link to my learning conference slide, hope you enjoy it↓

My Learning Conference Term 1

Green

Lily McPherson

Green is a strong expression of sour skittles

It is the seaweed wrapping around your salmon sushi

It is the salad on my plate at the dinner table

Green is the enchanted trees swaying in the wind

It is the grassy field where the majestic horses gallop in

It is the fern knocking at your window in the rain

Green is the noisy grasshoppers keeping you awake during the night

It is the frogs springing through the trees

It is the preymantis prancing through the woods

And that’s why green is my favourite colour

Swimming Sports

It was the best swimming sports I had ever done I came 1st in freestyle, 3rd in breaststroke and 3rd in two lengths freestyle!

I had never come to any thing in any swimming sports before. When the water hit my finger tips in the first length I felt so fast and happy, I reach the end of the pool. Just then I get handed a block feeling butterfly jiggling in my tummy. I go up to the desk and I find out I came first! I was shocked because I had never come first in school race before! I excitedly scramble back to kiwi house feeling so happy.

I waited a while for when brushstroke was going. Suddenly the loudspeaker says that it’s breaststroke. I quickly dart out to the line feeling very nervous at the beat of my heart. Suddenly I get put in a lane. ON YOUR MARKS! GET SET! BANG! The clapper goes and I’m off! Shaking nervously I reach the end. I get handed another block! WHAT HOW IS POSSIBLE! I’ve never gotten two blocks in a row, I go up to the table and I find out that I come 2ND PLACE!!!!! I was so excited I dawdled back to my seat feeling so excited.

Later on, it’s backstroke, I go up again wondering how well I will do. I step up and go join the line. Nervously I dawdle up and stand on the side of the pool...I wait...Suddenly I hear it ON YOUR MARKS! GET SET! BANG!! The clapper goes again and I’m off again sailing through the water with confidence riding on my back, I race to the end. H H H I’m puffed and I get handed another block! I race to the table again and this time I came 3RD! I am so pleased, I can’t wait to tell my family! It’s now the end of the day and it’s time to go home and I can’t wait for next swimming sports.

Bike Reflection

I was very excited to be going on our bikes. We started and I was off I think I did good better than what I thought I would at the box game. It was quite easy to say in a straight line.

The next week I found the turtle race was quite challenging because I always came first when your supposed to come last!

I also found the box game was still a bit challenging but I did better than last time.

It now came to the last week and this week was a bit more challenging we had to take one hand off the bike and high five the other person, but the most challenging of all was passing them a cone with one hand on the bike!

Here's me↓