Kitiona Tells How Happy He Is To Be A Year 4

A Letter To The Remuera Rotary Club

Dear Remuera Rotary Club
I feel happy and lucky that I was a year 4 because
I got to get a dictionary. I read it at home every
night and I find facts about interesting things.
I turn the facts into my own words and write
information sentences that start with a hook.
A hook makes the facts more interesting when
you are reading them. I have found out that bees
live in little holes and I found out that olden day
ships were made from wood and had sails like
the voyaging waka. My Mum is really happy that
I am practising my writing at home. I bring my
writing to school and show it to my teacher. She
thinks I am clever. Thank you for my dictionary.
I will look after it carefully.

From Kitiona

Seilina Tells Us About Tapa Cloth

Information Sentences about Early Polynesian Sailors

Did you know waka hulls were made from breadfruit wood.

Are you aware the big waka could carry 50 people.

As strange as it may seem they find the land by the stars, moon, sun and birds.

Did you know that early pacific sailors made ropes out of coconut fibres.

Not many people know that waka sails were made from pandanus leaves.

Did you know sailors tied themselves to waka to stay safe in bad weather.

By Karimullah

Information Report: Early Pacific Sailors

Early Pacific sailors travelled the sea on the large voyaging waka. The sailors came from places like Samoa and Tonga to NZ. This was the start of pacific migration. Its when you leave one country to live in another country.

The boat was large. It could take 50 people at a time. The hull was made from breadfruit wood and the sail from Pandanus Leaves. The ropes were made from the brown hairs on the outside of the coconut and it helped the sailors stay tied to the boat in bad, stormy weather.

The sailors ate banana and taro and the Polynesian explorers went on long trips. They knew they had to find food and water on the way there. Water was carried in large gourds with wooden plugs. Sailors put the gourds behind the boats in the water, to keep the water cool.

When they were close to land, the Tahuna would see changes in wave patterns, water colour, fish, birds and seaweed. As well as this they could smell the land.

The early sailors were brave because they travelled a long way without a map.
By Kitiona

Looking After Our Garden

For the last two weeks Room 7 have been looking after the garden. Mrs Kelly has helped us to learn all about how to look after our school garden. We have had to water the plants, take out any weeds and be responsible leaders in the garden at lunchtime and playtime. Some of our plants have grown really tall so we had to tie then to bamboo stakes so that they don’t fall over. We took out the celery and planted beetroot, cabbage, lettuce, tree tomatoes and passionfruit in its place. The kids in our school are lucky because they get to take home some of the vegetables that we have grown. We learnt to take off the lateral branches on the tomato plants so that more tomatoes will grow on the plants. A few days this week it was raining so we didn’t water the garden but we did still have to water the plants in the hot house. To remove plants you need to squeeze the sides and take the vegetable out gently. Part of our job is to put the fruit scraps in the worm farm and then once a week we put the worm juice on the plants that are inside our school so they get stronger.

By Tyson, Emmeline, Sharon and Brandon

Look at what we found out about Vincent Van Gogh

Did you know…
Are you aware…
Not many people know…
As strange as it may seem…
Have you ever heard…

These are all ‘hooks’ that help to capture the reader’s interest by making our writing more exciting. We learnt about the life of the famous painter Vincent Van Gogh and have used some hooks to retell facts we learnt.

This is what Kylie found out:

• Not many people know that Vincent Van Gogh had two brothers and three sisters.

• Are you aware Vincent Van Gogh was 15 when he left school.

• Did you know Vincent Van Gogh only signed his paintings as Vincent because he thought people would find it hard to say his last name.


This is what Cisco found out:

• Are you aware that Vincent Van Gogh painted 879 paintings in 10 years.

• As strange as it may seem Vincent Van Gogh cut off his left earlobe.

• Did you know that Vincent Van Gogh’s first famous painting was the “Potato Eaters’.


This is what Codey found out:

• Not many people know that Vincent Van Gogh didn’t wake up for 3 days after he cut his earlobe.

• Did you know that Vincent Van Gogh died after he shot himself.

• Are you aware that Vincent Van Gogh’s favourite painting was called ‘Starry Night’.


This is what Amir found out:

• Are you aware that Vincent Van Gogh was born in 1853 in Holland on March 30.

• As strange as it may seem Vincent Van Gogh cut off his left earlobe.

• Not many people know that Vincent Van Gogh grew up in a village.

The Great Fire of London by Jayde

On September 2nd 1666 there was a great big fire in London. It started after a little spark from the oven in a bakery in Pudding Lane landed on some straw and the firewood near by went up in flames. London was ‘tinder dry’ as it had been a long hot summer.

The fire was huge and very, very hot. It travelled though Pudding Lane and grew higher and higher until it spread to all of London. Did you know there where no fire engines in 1666. The trained bands who were like firemen had to use leather buckets, fire hooks, squirts to try to stop the fire.

King Charles ii gave the people of London hope. He helped fight the fire for 30 hours with no sleep and gave gold coins [guineas] to the people who he saw helping.

Four days later when the city had burnt down, the new homeless people set up tents like a camping ground at Moorfields. Are you aware that 100,000 homes and 87 churches were destroyed. Families, who before slept in beds in houses, now slept in the tents while they helped rebuild their city.