Rhododendron Dell

by Room 1, Year 7 -8

Tall, towering trees, decades old
Bushy low shrubs
Glossy green grass
Dell Dell Dell

Buds about to explode
Bright blooming flowers
Sweet smelling perfume
Dell Dell Dell

Ferns with curly fronds
Camelias, agapanthas, daisies
Pungas and flax
Dell Dell Dell

River quietly whispering
Train tooting in the distance
Birds chirping, sandflies hovering
Dell Dell Dell

'Dreams of Gold' - Production

by Hannah Rohe, Room 1, Year 8

The blinding spotlight shone in my eyes,
And the hairs on my neck were beginning to rise,
The audience clapped, their applause was resounding,
Across the theatre walls their echos were bounding.

My friends make-up and costumes were bursting with colour,
While I felt like my legs were turning to rubber.

I danced on the stage, I was belting it out,
But on the inside I wanted to shout;
To run off the stage, to hide my shamed face
But my legs wouldn't move. They kept me in place!

And then it was over. As quick as begun
And believe it or not...
IT HAD REALLY BEEN FUN!!!

River Study Trip

by Greer McQuay, Year 4, Room 18

We went to the Patea beside the Scout Den to study macroinvertibrates. The water was clear and bubbly over the rapids. The rocks were slippery with greeny brown moss. The water was cold and fast flowing. When we went into the riverbed we looked for macroinvertibrates in a runnel of the river.
The river creatures
We scrubbed the rocks with our fingers and caught the bugs in a sieve. The we tipped the stuff out of the sieve into a tray with water in it. We studied the creatures in a tray to identify them. We picked them up with tweezers and put them in a specimen box.
Macroinvertibrates
The river creatures are called macroinvertibrates. Macroinvertibrates are small river creatures you can see with your own eyes. We found Mayflies, Caddis flies, beetles, Stoneflies, Sand flies, Crane flies, Roundworms, and Dobson flies.
Floating our rafts
Some rafts sank, some rafts crashed into rocks, some rafts successfully floated down the runnel without crashing or getting stuck.

S.P.S Idol

by Savarna Wilton Aldridge, Room 20, Aged 9

S.P.S. Idol was a singing competition. The first song I sang was "Take me Back to Sweet Lavender". My second song was by Lizzie McGuire called "This is what dreams are made of". My third song was "What took you so long". With my last song from Lizzie McGuire again. When Cheyenne finished singing I got up on stage. I was so embarrassed. My family was there. When it was my turn to sing 312 people were watching me. I thought that I had done well but Janaya and Cheyenne won. When I told my Mum she said that I had done very well and she was proud of me. When Mum told me that I had done well I started crying. My Nana and Poppa were upset too. I got two tickets for five CD's. My sister was sorry for me and sad for me. I am still upset because the two sisters won. My voice matches Lizzie McGuire. The judges names were Jessie, Alana, Grace, Tyler's brother, Jessica and the Host was Corey. I think S.P.S Idol was cooler than the other Idols. I still can't believe that Ben Lummis won NZ Idol. The Microphone was a bit heavy. I liked being in the Idol.

SPS Idols get to meet NZ Idol Ben Lummis on a Video Conference!

Anzac Day

by Benjamin Glocking, Room 20, Aged 7

My Uncle Tom was in the First World War. Anzac biscuits were important. Anzac Poppies are to remember the people who fell in the war. The NZ flag goes up and down on Anzac Day. People are still fighting in Israel. The Malone Gates are big. This is what Anzac Day means to me.

Our Production

by Owen Gordon, Room 9, Year 2

Last night at seven o'clock all of Stratford Primary School did a production. It was called 'Dreams of Gold'. It was based on the Olympic Games. Millions of parents came to watch us at the King's Theatre. The junior block did the Opening Ceremony. I was a dancer and wore red clothes. When I was dancing I said, "This is not bad! There's Mum!" Kids were up from seven till eight forty-five. It was really late and I was really tired.

Athletics

by Dayna Kivell, Room 9, Year 1

On Tuesday we had Athletics Day. We had sack races. The sacks felt slippery. I got third in the sack race. I felt happy. We had egg and spoon races. I kept on dropping the egg. The obstacle course was fun because I skipped and bounced the ball.

Photo: Domain www.flickr.com

Winter

by Nic Schumacher, Room 9, Year 2

Winter is chilly cold. There are no leaves on the trees. Lots of snow is on the mountain. Jack Frost bites! Hail stings us! The wind blows the empty trees. The trees are skeletons.