Shell | by Sofia

It's small like a ring.
It's got a touch of pink glitter, and
all around it is white.
It's like a white feather
all around the pink.
It feels flat and then
it goes up
and flat again.

What am I...? by Cody

1.

I am oval-shaped.
I have seeds.
I have a green outside
and a green and red inside.
What am I...?!

2.

I am a circle shape.
I have seeds.
I have a red floppy outside
and dark red juice inside.
What am I...?!

1.

red kiwifruit!

2.

dragonfruit!

The Dark Crystal | by Harry

The rock is shining
in the sun
is it a rock
or a crystal?

It has black shiny bits
all over it
they are cold and sharp
and this is all connected
to a rock.

The Shell | By Brendan

As the sea goes swish

and the air goes whoooo,

sea goes up

then drops down

giving sand gifts

any size

big or small

but the sand always wants more.

Our writers' circle

Every Wednesday we start the day by writing observations in our Writer's Journals.  Today, at Tama's suggestion, we sat in a circle outside afterwards to share our writing with each other.  We always give each other feedback at the end - today we really liked each other's descriptive writing.

Spiky

The spiky feeling you get when you touch it...

You look closely 
it's a nut
spiky and crumbled, 
sharp.

It tastes like vanilla
and feels like a knife
poking you hard

and it looks like a spiky brush!

By Cody

The nut

It looks like a hedgehog
but it is a nut.

It's got razor-sharp spikes
to protect it from getting eaten.

It feels rough.
It tastes like vanilla.
It smells like toast.

By Quinn



Tree sap

Glowing in the sun
see through 
once golden-brown
with bubbles of goo
shining in the sun

By Eve



It flows off the pohutukawa tree
it fades and loses its colour
then lies still like sand
but it can still travel the world

By Meline



A knot tied of prickles
they're the colour of corn
burnt on fire
black streaks

By Peta



Lumpy crusty shell:
it tastes like paint
it has a gloomy shadow
pink green blue orange and silver
it brings the sea with it.

by Peta



Freezing white shell
sitting on the sand.
The wind swaying 
from side to side
forcing the waves to crash 
and wash the rocks.
The shell still sits there.

By Jamie




In the city 
a poster of a shell
shines in the light
glistening till night-time

By Jamie

The Storm | By Dot

Icicles drip down the window
as lightning strikes
and thunder roars.
Rain pours on the roof
like boulders.
The fire burns
and cinders shake.
Stars are sewn
on to a blanket
that's black
and covers the sky above.

Can you guess what this is...? | By Francesca

Sharp spiky rocks form up
from the hard surface.
A dark black path
leads beneath the hill.
At the front it looks like
a giant snail shell
crawling across the rocky sand.
A slim pokey stick
sneaks out the back.
It's like a mini
microphone!

Laying down the hangi at Tapu Te Ranga Marae

Tomorrow we're laying down the hangi at Tapu Te Ranga Marae.  Some of us will prepare the fire while others prepare vegetables. It'll be cool to see how our local marae is different from the wharenui we saw at Te Papa last week.

Reminder for parents: we are meeting at the marae (not at school) at 8.55am tomorrow, then walking back to school after lunch, so you can pick up your kids as usual from school at 3pm.

Here we are sketching the wharenui at Te Papa last week:

a crusty shell

Every Wednesday morning we start the day by writing observations in our writers' journal.  Today Sofia was observing a crusty shell:

A broken shell

It feels crusty. On the back it's shiny and colourful. It looks like a broken shell. It smells like a washed-up shell on the beach.

Here's her picture:

When she read it to the class we noticed that she described the senses: what she could feel, see, and smell.  Laila suggested that she describe the taste but Sofia wasn't so sure!

We're going to try and spend time during the week noticing what we see, hear, feel, taste, and smell so that we're ready to write our observations in our writers' journals on Wednesdays.  Then we can use these ideas to spark our writing.

New Zealand/ Nature’s Omelette | poem by Avie

Yesterday Lola and Kate found a strange nest-like object on the way to school.  It sort of looked like a kina, mixed with a hedgehog, mixed with a nest (without the hollow in the middle).  We wrote some observations in our writers' journals about it which we'll use as inspiration for a poem next week.

By coincidence, today Avie came and showed us a poem he'd written after seeing a bunch of pohutukawa blossoms stuck together.  He's a poet as well as a musician and a fabulous caretaker!

New Zealand/ Nature's Omelette

Fallen pohutukawa flowers

saffron on the fried earth.

The sun is the egg

a yellow circumference…

A pinch of black seed

and a tablespoon of light rain.

The lemons fall from the tree

with a sprinkle of parsley…

Nature’s blossom weaves a fabric

together like whitebait patties

cooking slowly.

The wind whisks together

all summer day long

turning once white/golden

when the sun is beaten and left to run

too late in the scorching heat.

Flipped over underneath the folds

the crimson blossom burns

towards the end of season…

By Avie