Are we nearly there yet?

Leadership activities at Fordell mean challenges, and this year's tramp was no exception. Four hours of tramping up hill and down, well, was there any downhill? The rest of the Wanganui East Cluster were with us, and after an hour in the van to get to the tracks past Bushy Park, we were into it. All the class did really well, no tears and no serious blisters. Lunch was by the dam and some bright teacher chose the hilly way back. Never mind, we all made it, and that's one challenge to tick off on our Tuia Challenge. The Mountain Biking and Ballroom Dancing sound a bit easier....

Windy Weather

Last Monday saw the third week of sailing for Room 1. It was so windy we were only supposed to use the top end of the lake. Good plan, except once the wind is in the sails and it's only your third lesson, there's not a lot you can do about it. Plenty of shrieks, a couple of capsizes and a deliberate bale out (Bridie, not the water) and we were done. Wet and  wind-beaten, but still great fun. Roll on next Monday and the regatta in a few weeks time....

Great Fun, Awful Jokes

Learning, playing and swimming! Room 1 has leapt into term 1, eager to start learning.  This year’s Yr 7’s are settling into the new environment of the senior room and getting used to Mr Reddish’s jokes (which trust me are not funny, but we all just laugh to make him feel good.)

This term we have two topics: ‘Inventors and Inventions’ and ‘The Great New Zealand Flag Debate’. We have thought about what we would like to learn and study around inventors and inventions; like creating our own inventions and writing reports on famous inventors. The great New Zealand flag debate has become a huge topic all over New Zealand and in schools. Fordell School has voted on which flag we like best now and we will vote again after we have discussed what each flag means to us and once the New Zealand public have all voted. Learning may seem like all we are doing this term but we actually have a lot of fun things to look forward to. This leads me to my next subject.

Being in the senior end of the school means that we get to enjoy a lot more activities outside the classroom. This term we are doing technology. Today the Yr 7s  made delicious scrambled eggs, so we can’t wait to go back each week! We also get to do sailing, which I am really looking forward to and so are the rest of the class! Leadership camps are great ways to make friends, push yourself to do new and exciting things and to get better at working in a team. This year we are doing the Tuia Challenge which will include tramps, camps and the activities like ballroom dancing (which we will be doing in term four.) One of the best parts of the year is our class camp, hopefully we are going somewhere that the whole class will enjoy, but for now the only thing on our minds is getting through the heat!

Summer is the perfect time for swimming and on hot days, the air conditioning sometimes just isn’t enough. We have already jumped into the calm, collected water of the Fordell pool. My swimming group has practised our technique for lengths and my favourite part of swimming - lifesaving! In partners, we have helped each other get to the side of the pool. The swimming sports are still to come, as well as more fun in the sun!

Learning, playing and swimming! Room 1 has been welcomed back to school and are all ready to get started. At this stage we are all going to survive (only if Mr Reddish’s jokes don’t get any more ridiculous though!)

Sailing by Georgina

On Monday Room 1 went to Pauri Lake to go sailing. The wind was fairly strong but was forecast to drop, so we quickly rigged up the boats and set sail, making the most of the wind while it lasted.
We had a great time, sailing up and down the lake like professionals. After a swim in the cool water and some morning tea, Terry (one of the commodores) called some of us over to try to teach us how to sail up and down the lake as quickly as possible. To do this he taught us how to identify where the wind was coming from, and how to use the front of the sail to tell if you were facing too high into the wind. If the front of the sail was starting to flap, you were pointing too high into the wind and you had to turn your boat until your sail was full. He also taught us when to pull our sail in and when to let it right out.
Room 1 had a great time at sailing and we are looking forward to next week when we will hopefully learn more about the sport and how to do it.

Sailing a big Success

Room 1 had their first sailing lesson of the year today, up at Pauri Lake, courtesy of Wanganui Sailing Club. Conditions were well nigh perfect, a steady breeze and a little overcast. Bob and Terry, the two instructors, gave a thorough demonstration on how to rig the boat and some basic instructors for the first-timers, and then the class were away. Capsizing was at a minimum, mercifully few children ended up in the reeds, and the early nerves soon vanished. The verdict by common consent was that a great morning was had by all and Room 1 cannot wait for next Monday to come around.

Intrepid Journey for Room 1 Boys

Welcome back to a hectic-as-ever term in Room One. Activities this term include Leadership Camp, Tongariro Crossing, Technology, Swimming Sports, Cluster Swimming, Sailing, Duathlon, Army Museum and Wanganui Museum Visits, House Challenges and much more. Phew!

In the classroom our Inquiry Topic is 'Intrepid Journeys', where we will be learning about early settlers, James Cook, Antarctic Explorers (successful and otherwise), famous aviators and sailors, and trying to answer the eternal question 'Did the Americans really land on the Moon?'

An Intrepid Journey of a different kind is that being undertaken by Room One boys, who, for the first time in several years, are outnumbered in the classroom by girls by 2 to 1. Who will cope with the more fragrant atmosphere? Who will talk more? Who will work harder? Who will be more organised? Who has the funnier jokes? For the sake of all us males, boys, make sure by the end of the year the answer to all of these is you!

Have a great year, Room One

Mr Reddish

Leadership Camp

Last month the Room 1 students departed from school for a fun 2 days at Green Pastures. To start the day off we did kayaking, classroom work, and team building with the other cluster schools. But you cant forget the mud run. Waist deep in mud, the wet brown liquid finding places you didn't even know existed. It was great. Soon after that the other schools left leaving us with the entire camp to ourselves. To finish the day off we had a great game of spotlight and got the kayaks out again. The next day we were onto raft building with ours failing miserably. But we still had a good time. Overall we had a fantastic camp.

Just a Myth

Just a Myth?

Is Global warming just a myth, or is it really happening. In my point of view, I am completely and utterly against it. I strongly and wholeheartedly do not believe that Global warming is a real phenomenon.

Firstly, climate change has always occurred and nothing unusual has affected our planet. It’s gone from freezing to boiling in just weeks, and according to the skeptical science site, climate change is 100% natural.

Secondly, the IPPCA Organization states that, 31000 scientists all signed a potation which claims there is not enough evidence for global warming. Many scientists use computers instead of history facts, computers are not always feeding you correct facts. They give information, which is not always true.

In addition, few studies have been abandoned as there is nothing transpiring or any progress. A recent study was deserted because sea levels did not modify, and scientists and many websites and books declare that sea levels rising is a major sign of Global warming.

In Conclusion, climate changes are natural and will always proceed, information has been given, not hard strong facts, and too many studies have been vacated. So therefore I am clearly against Global warming.

By Cheyann.

It won’t happen?

 Is global warming real or wont it happen at all? I think utterly and wholeheartedly that it won’t happen; therefore I’m against Global warming.

Firstly the climate has always changed and nothing unusual has happened. We all know that we have earthquakes, heavy rain and hot summers days but that is normal. ‘Climate change is normal,” that’s according to Skeptical Science. Boiling hot days to freezing winter nights has never affected our planet.

Secondly, according to IPPCA Organization 31000 Scientists signed a petition that stated that there is not enough evidence for Global Warming to be true. A recent study on ‘Sea Levels Rising’ was abandoned because no sea change has occurred. Nowadays most scientists use computers to find out information, but it’s not always true, so therefore you could be receiving false information.

Lastly, Warmer weather is a good thing. People have been saying that the sun is getting hotter, that’s because there are more sun spots, which is what is warming the planet. Every 11,500 years we are supposed to be heading for an ice age but according to Skeptical Science we were due to have the ice age days ago.

In conclusion, I believe that Global warming is not in existence as there is more evidence against it than for it!

By Nikita Hopewell.    

City College Day

Today Room 1 were lucky enough to be invited to City College, along with the other schools in our cluster. We played guitars, designed our own computer games, burnt metallic salts using a Bunsen Burner and even managed to fit in some technology and P.E. On top of that there was a free sausage sizzle, so all in all, a pretty cool day all round.

White Sticks Whitewash by George

Yesterday Fordell Force played the White Sticks at hockey. We played at the Gonville stadium and we got absolutely thrashed. Letting in 2 goals in the first 5 minutes without a goalie we were off to a rough start. Cheyann was our substitute goalie for half the match. Unfortunately we conceded another 2 goals. Finally, Clive got his pads on and took his place in goal. It made no difference. The end score was 8-0 to them. We were lucky to get nil.

Mosaic Making by Joe

Today Room 1 started our mosaics. We had to design a personal logo for them and eventually they are going to be teapot stands or hot plate stands. They really started to take shape and are coming together nicely. Luckily we got the help of Ronan's mum, Kirsty, who has done mosaic work in the past. We all had a great time and can't wait till we complete them.

Brass Band A Big Hit!



The Wanganui Opera Houses roof was blown off as the Royal Navy Brass Band performed a free concert for Wanganui Schools on the 28th of May.

The concert began with a speedy xylophone act which quickly engaged the audience. Next up was a medley of film themes, James Bond, Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Wars, and Sponge Bob, which got all of the audience on their feet clapping and dancing away.

The music was from all different years from 200 years ago, to the Can-Can, YMCA and a well known Kiwi pop star, Stan Walker 'Easy'. Children volunteered to conduct the band and to show the audience the Cancan dance.

In my opinion the concert was well-performed, as it kept all ages entairtained. Everyone learned about different types of instruments and had a blast dancing to pop songs. In conclusion I thought the performance was entairtaining and educational.

By Cheyann.

Magic Matches!

Roll up! Roll up! Have any of you ever heard of jet powered matches? Well you have now!

YOU WILL NEED.

·        A container half filled of water. A washing up bowl is best.

·        Around six or seven matches.

·        Some dish washing liquid.

Instructions 

·        Put the matches in the container of water in a circle

·        Do not light the matches

·        Pour a little drop of dish washing liquid into the container in the centre of the matches.

·        Then boom! The matches fly off to the sides!

And now for the boring part:

The reason that the matches pull away is because the surface tension (top layer) of the water is tense and tight and when the detergent touches the top layer it breaks the surface tension and causes the matches to pull to the sides.

 

By Xavier Mohr.  

Egg-cellent Egg-speriments

Heard of ships in a bottle and ever wondered how they fit them? Well, have you ever heard of an egg in a bottle? With four simple steps you can conquer the egg in the bottle!

THINGS YOU NEED:

Bottle big enough to hold an egg on the top
An egg
Matches
Small piece of paper
Pan
Water
STEP 1: Put the water in the pan, put an egg in the water and wait until boiled. Peel the egg.
STEP 2: Get the paper, match, bottle and hard boiled egg out.
STEP 3: You need to do this fast so light the paper then put it in the bottle, blow the match out not the paper and put the boiled egg on the top of the rim.
STEP 4: Now watch and wait for the magic to happen.
And now for the boring part: The only reason this trick works is because the burning paper burns up all the oxygen inside the bottle making the air pressure outside the bottle much larger causing the egg to get sucked into the bottle.

By George Reddish

                                                                  Balloon Blowing

Do you go dizzy when you blow balloons up? Well if you do follow my simple steps and you will be on your way to be having a scientifically blown up balloon.

You will need
A balloon
A 600ml soft drink bottle
A tall round container
Warm nearly hot water

Instructions

1. Take the lid off the bottle.
2. Grab your balloon and place it over the top of the bottle.
3. Fill the container half way with the warm nearly hot water.
4. Place the bottle inside the container.
5. Hold the bottle near the top and wait.
6. Take  the balloon off, shutting the air in and tie up.

Now the science bit

Since the bottle has been placed in hot water, it makes the air inside warm which makes it expand. It then fills the balloon with the expanded air.

By Cheyann.

On Sunday 12th of May 32 runners from Fordell School were up before eight (how did I manage that?) and were at Kowhai Park at 9:30am for the five kilometre Round the Bridges Run. The race was due to start at 9:55 and everyone was frolicking around like lambs in a field. At 9:45am my friend Stephanie and I went around to a tent that had lots of free stuff. We each grabbed a handful of lollies, stuffed them in our pockets and ran to the start line. My goal was to beat my brother.

"5...4...3...2...1...GO!" The loudspeaker crackled and we were off!

I stayed with John for the first kilometre and a half but then, as I got more and more tired, he quickly disappeared from view. Suddenly Steph appeared and we got talking. We pulled the lollies out of our pockets and our stash quickly disappeared.

"Stuff this," Steph grumbled, "as long as we keep John in view we should be able to walk and then catch him up!" I was hot and bothered so I agreed to it. But as John got further and further away we still didn't start running. Out of the blue Mr. Walker (my principal) appeared behind us.

"Come on girls!" he cried. So we were back to running. We managed to keep going for a while but we were out of breath. Still we were able to find enough breath to talk to each other though. Finally we clip clopped off the bridge and were through the finish line. We had done it!

I didn't manage to beat John though but that is okay. We left before the prizes were drawn but Fordell School still managed to win a printer, ink cartridges and paper. But for the children who ran there was also a pass for 30 people to have a free swim and a pass for 30 people to have a free game of mini putt.

Although I didn't beat John I was still proud of my effort. Dad shouted everyone an ice cream on the way home. It was a great day and well done to Fordell School!

Puking Patrick

It was a bright sunny evening in Ashley Park, birds were chirping, kids were chatting and Patrick was cramming gherkins into his pie hole. He shuddered in revulsion as he picked up his second tasty treat, another gherkin! " Oh not again," Patrick muttered under his breath, simultainiuosly stuffing the gherkin down his throat. He could hear the chomping of the other competitors eating the delicious delicacies they had been served. Patrick risked a glance to his right and was suprised to find Jimi struggling to choke down his meal. That gave Patrick a strengthenig of will, but it wasn't enough. Jimi swallowed down the last of his gherkin and sprinted off. Eventually Patrick managed to finish his, now, not so tasty treat and sprint back towards his team causing them to win Fear Factor.





By Joe Reddish

'Orrible Onions

Jourdan!

The rules of fear factor were simple. Run. Spin. Eat. Only it wasn't as simple as it sounded. You could have been lucky and eaten chocolate. Some received some even tastier treats such as celery, wasabi peas, gherkins, sardines, raw egg or dry weet-bix. But in Jourdan's unfortunate case, it was  'Orrible  Onions.

Now here's Jourdan! In fear factor he had to eat half an 'Orrible Onion.
In this photo you can well and truly see the similarities between Jourdan and the onion. I was a bit luckier because I had to eat a gross gherkin. I still had trouble holding it down!

By Patrick Tobin.

Intermediate Swimming

The tyres of Mrs Tobin's car schreeched as they stopped at the Wanganui Splash Centre's carpark. We rushed out of the car and headed towards the Splash Centre. I ran straight to the changing room, got changed and sat down ready for our warm up.

After warming up we sat down awaiting the first race. Joe, my younger twin, stood at the diving board. 3, 2, 1, GO! He set of with a bang switching places from 4th to 2nd. Finally he was first with only half a length to go. 10 meters, five metres he won.

Time for my race the 200m backstroke. The shrill sound of the starting whistle filled my ears. 1 length gone,  2, 3. the last length was awaiting me. We were going at an amazing pace. Suddenly I heard the sound of the WIS swimmer screaming "Yes I won the backstroke final". I knew it was a race between us two in the pool. My hand hit the back wall with a crash, I looked behind my and instantly I knew I had come second.

all the other races went by like a flash with Cheyann winning her races and Patrick winning his 4 length medley. We won the medley relay and the freestyle relay.

At the end of the day we were all proud with our efforts.

By George Reddish