Year 6 Ourspace 2010

The Study Tour to Canberra we had been waiting for finally arrived. After 10 long hours on the bus, year six enjoyed a lovely swim at the AIS olympic swimming pool. We went to bed excited of what was to come of the next four days.

We woke up with enthusiasm the next day, and we hired bikes from Mr Spokes Bike Hire and went on one of the most beautiful bike rides some of the year six children had ever experienced. By the edge of Lake Burleigh Griffin, we had a delicious lunch and while the teachers relaxed, the children enjoyed cricket games and enjoyed some games in the grass.

At night time, we all had a fantastic bowling session at the AMF Bowling Centre. We were all exhsausted by bedtime and fell asleep easily.

We all woke up today full of energy ready for what was ahead. Firstly we visited the Black Mountain Tower which provided magnificent views of our National Capital. After that, we were impressed with some historical presentations of our Nation’s involvement in war at the War Memorial. The National Gallery presented outsanding artworks of many great artists.

Tomorrow we are off to Parliament House to see Parliament in action and hopefully we will meet Tim Mathieson and Julia Gillard. We hope to see Parliament debating Australia’s role in afghanistan. T

When you hear about the construction industry, you think of gross, hairy men laying down cement and building, but recently girls have been getting involved.

We  need girls in construction sites. Boys are starting to lose interest in building because they want an education. Population is increasing. More people- more shops needed, more schools needed, more builders needed.

However, some think that a construction site is definitely not a place for girls. Construction sites are hazardous places. People also think that girls are not strong enough and when they have newborn babies, they need a long time off work.

To conclude, I think that it is good that girls are getting into the construction industry and they should incourage it at schools.

Ceres is an environmental community park in East Brunswick.

On the 29th of July 2010, the year sixes were all able to share a fantastic experience at Ceres. There were four activities to do, and we learned heaps of things in every one. My favourite activity was the Organic Garden. In the organic garden, our class got into small groups and did various activities around the Ceres Organic Garden. The  thing I liked about the activity was that they didn’t spray any poisons or any artificial sprays onto the plants. Some of the things that I learned in the Organic Garden were

• Soil is good soil if you dig a small hole and pour some water in and it stays there for about 15-30 seconds.
• Before the fruit and vegetables from some supermarkets and fruit shops gets to you, they are often sprayed with at least four different poisons & other sprays
• Weeds are good for vegetable gardens- most people get rid of all the weeds

The Ceres Organic Garden is involved in a market every Wednesday and Saturday. At the market, they sell their fresh vegetables. I thoroughly enjoyed the Ceres excursion and I would love to go back there one day.

Join Stanley & Zero at Camp Greenlake on their way to God’s Thumb.

Stanley Yelnats The 3rd was sent to Camp Greenlake for a crime that he didn’t even commit. Stanley and Zero run into all kinds of problems while Stanley is figuring out connections and breaking curses that his dirty rotten,pig stealing Great Great Grandfather set.

I have felt how Stanley felt when I got in trouble for something that my sister did. In a similar situation, when Stanley Yelnats was blamed for stealing Clyde Livingston’s shoes, he took the blame and didn’t worry about it- the reason the situations are similar is because I took the blame when I was in trouble.

I think Holes was a really good book because some parts of it could definitely be true, e.g- Camp Greenlake. My favourite character was Zero because he was shy and he didn’t talk much. Sometimes I felt sorry for him.

I would recommend Holes to ages 10 and up because if you are younger than 10 you may not understand it and you may not find all the connections.

Finally, Holes was a fantastic book and I would definitely read it again.

 

Think It, Make It, Market It has been a fantastic unit. It all started when we arrived at school on the first day of term 2. -Deciding what product to make, starting our powerpoints,making products, putting up posters and so much more. It has all gone so quickly! We have fitted in so much in such a small amount of time, but there is still more to come!

Think It, Make It, Market It was a unit on learning about marketing, Innovation & Enterprise and Producers & Consumers.

100 kids organising stalls, laying out tablecloths, organising products on their tables & blowing up balloons to stick on tables. Market Day.

Year 6 Market Day was the main part of the unit-and, the best part! From honeycomb to biscuits and even handcrafts, Market day was fantastic!

Everyone got to choose the charity that their money goes to. Fortunately, most people had a reasonable donation to give to the charity.

Market day was a great experience, and none of the year 6′s will ever forget it.

By Cecilia

People have been donating blood for years, and now dogs have started.

Donating blood is going to a hospital and getting blood removed and saved for use later on when it is needed. You can save lives when you donate blood. Donating blood is a good thing to do, and I think it is good that dogs are doing it, because every person is sad when their dog dies, and if a dog donates blood, then that might save the life of another dog.

Here are a some reasons why dogs need blood transfusions

• If a dog gets injured e.g- hit by a car, it loses a lot of blood, therefore, it needs a blood transfusion to survive.
• When a dog gives birth, it can lose a lot of blood and reqire a blood transfusion
• If it had a disease in its blood.

There are certain requirements for dogs who want to donate blood. If an owner wants their dog to donate blood, their dog has to be from 1-7 years of age. The dog has to weigh soething between 20.5kg-33.7kg. The dog has to be calm and friendly and it has to be able to manage without its owner. It also has to be healthy.

The ideal dog to donate blood is a large, easy-going dog. There are over 12 blood types in dogs. The only dogs that can donate blood are dogs with a universal blood type. That’s about 45% of dogs. For Greyhounds, that’s about 60%. But, believe it or not, dogs can actually donate blood to cats but cats can’t donate to dogs.

The blood is kept for a month. It can’t be kept for any longer beacuse it loses nutrients.

If you want your dog to donate blood, there are some vets that allow you to donate blood and also, some animal hospitals  have their own blood donation programs.

Finally, I think it is good that dogs are donating blood because it helps other dogs who are sick or injured.

 

By Cecilia

A  few weeks ago, a ship leaked oil all over the Great Barrier Reef. Now, if you think that is bad, you are right- but something has happened in America that is much worse.

On the 22nd of April 2010, an oil rig called the Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig exploded near the coastline of Lousiana in the Gulf of Mexico. Unfortunately, 11 workeres were killed during the explosion and the whole oil rig collapsed into the ocean.

You may think it is all fine now that the fire is out, but think again. Oil is pouring out of the pipe like water coming out of a hose on high pressure. 800,000 litres of oil are gushing out of the pipe every day.

This is very serious because it is not an environmental disaster, but also a waste of a precious resource. We need oil to drive, fly, operate machinery, to make many products, to travel on a motor boat, and to do many other things in every day life. Oil is not going to last for ever you know?

 The oil rig that exploded was owned by BP, the petrol company. BP will not be very happy about this because they will lose money and some of their workers were killed.

They are trying to stop the oil leaking any more by capturing it in big cones but the oil is still coming out under pressure like when you squeeze a blown up balloon and the air needs somewhere to get out so it all comes out of the whole.

To clean up the oil, they have tried burning the oil that has floated to the top of the water, but they are still trying to think of a way to clean up this oil. The oil has spreaded a lot and it is very messy. It is going to be hard for them to clean up this oil leakage. It is so much oil that you can see it from space! I think they should get big boats to scoop up the oil to clean it up a bit, but that wouldnt solve the problem. What do you think they should do?

 

By Cecilia

Join Jamal and Bibi escape the taliban rules on their adventurous journey around Afghanistan and to Australia- well, nearly.

I think the writer wrote this book because he wanted children to understand about refugees and when we see them we can think about how they got here and  we can think of Bibi and Jamal. The writer left the book in a way that was a bit sad. It made me think about how I would feel if I was Jamal or Bibi and how much I wished they could make it to Australia.

 My favourite part of the story was when Andrew was telling Jamal about the great things in Australia.

I admire Jamal because he looked after Bibi and calmed her down in bad situations.

I enjoyed Boy Overboard a lot. It was one of the best books I have ever read.

The Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett has recently had a fantastic idea to cut down on greenhouse gases. Air conditioners and heaters have been destroying our planet so Mr Garrett has decided to offer everyone in Australia free insulation. Insulation is like a blanket in the roof, that keeps your house cool in summer and warm in winter. The government has spent 2.5 billion dollars on insulation, and by the looks of things, that was a very bad decision.

Up in the roof, things can be very dangerous. There are many electrical wires and connections to power and lights.  When metal staples are put through power cables, they can connect with foil insulation. The whole roof is then likely to be electrified and when you touch it you can get electrocuted. Already, the insulation had lead to four deaths and there has already been more than 90 house fires.

Due to the damage, the program will most likely be scrapped or altered, and  there will be a safety inspection in all the houses that have insulation.

This is very bad news for all the insulation companies and workers that still have all their stock. And it’s bad news for the workers being sacked.

Late last week the Prime Minister decided that the Environment Minister, Peter Garrett will not be looking after the insulation scheme any more.

In conclusion, the government has spent 2.5 billion dollars on insulation, the Environmental Minister will no longer look after the insulation scheme, 4 lives have been lost, and over 90 houses have been majorly damaged. While many houses have been successfully insulated, it came at too high a cost. Safety measures should have been put in place before the scheme started and maybe lives would have been saved.

I knew Wilsons Prom would be a great camp but it was more than just great!

As soon as the bus departed, there was nothing but fun. After 3 hours, we arrived at Wilsons Prom. Ninety-nine students set up their tents.

Dinner was great and we all got ready for a fantastic and scenic walk up Mt. Oberon. The view was amazing from the top. We could see all of Wilsons Prom. That night, most children were glad to get to bed.

The next morning, I woke up to, ” Wakey wakey girls.” We did fitness which was a run along a beach called Norman Bay. It was a very nice run and the beach was beautiful. When we got back we had breakfast. We all went to our tents.

We got ready for a great walk to Squeaky Beach. At Squeaky Beach we made sandcastles, jumped off rocks and went in the water in our clothes.

We also went for a bike ride to the Wilsons Prom shop. We bought Postcards and sent them to our families.

Next we had lunch and went to the river for a canoe.   After that, we went for a swim in the river. We made our legs into mermaid tails then we covered a rock in mud and slid down it.

That night we went on a haunting walk. We walked along the beach and path listening for Biddie’s ghost. I didn’t hear her.

The next morning we did fitness again. After that we went orienteering and surfing. Surfing was really fun and I caught the first 3 waves in a row but fell on my fourth. We also visited the Education Centre. We made animal paws that looked real. Mine was a wombat’s paw.

The afternoon was really fun. We had a mud fight  and there was mud on everyone.  That night was trivia night. We answered a lot of different questions. I think my group came sixth or fifth.

The next day we did the Lily Pily Gully walk and we also did boogie boarding. Boogie boarding was a bit cold so I was glad I had a wetsuit. We stayed and did beach flags and activities on the beach. That night was the finals of beach flags. We sat on the wet sand and watched the finalists. That evening, we had a dissapointing red faces.  Annie, Jess, Annabel and I did an unrehearsed dance to an unrehearsed song. We did pretty well though, and ended up coming second. There was a storm that night and most tents were flooded. Red faces was held in the rain.

Luckily, everything turned out well in the morning and we all got packed and ready, we finally got home. Wilsons Prom was a fantastic experience and I would love to go back there.