Waikato Science Fair

Last week on Friday, the people from my school, including me, went to Hamilton Gardens for the Waikato Science Fair. We got interviewed about our projects, and were free to wonder around and look at everyone else's exhibits.

At our school, to got into the Waikato Science Fair, you had to get through the Berkley one. I was extremely surprised and grateful to get through, as everyone did a really good job. Completing a Science Fair project, especially if it's your first is a really big achievement.


As well people who entered a board, there were also some really amazing Scientific Drawings and Photography from Berkley as well.

I think our whole school did an amazing job, and we should all be really proud.


While I'm here, I would like to say a few thank yous. Mrs Hogg, for keeping track of my work, proof-reading, and getting the guillotine for everyone in the class.

Mrs Dromgool, for helping me develop my initial idea, and letting me borrow some equipment.


My mum, for using your highlighting skills when proof-reading my work, and helping me with presenting my board.

And finally, my dad, with out you, my Science Fair would have been reduced to a baking soda and vinegar volcano. You helped me with all things technical, proof-read and proof-read again my work, and put up with hundreds upon thousands of questions, most of them repeated, because I had forgotten the answer.

Thank you to you all, I couldn't have done it without you!

Orchestra Festival

At Berkley, we have a school Orchestra, which I play flute in. Last week on Thursday, we travelled to Te Awamutu Intermediate School, to be a part of the Primary and Intermediate Orchestra Festival, which was also a competition.

We played first, at around 10:00am, and we played five songs, which were:

- Indian Chant and Dance
- Royals by Lorde
- Raiders March  From Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones
- Thinking Out Loud  by Ed Sheeran
- Pirates of the Caribbean  A medley of the Black Pearl and The Medallion Calls.

Berkley went well, we got a Silver Award. The judge for the Intermediate competition was the conductor of the Waikato Symphonic Orchestra, Rupert D'Cruze.

Overall, it was a nice day out, and I definitely enjoyed it.

If You Were a....

I decided to do a post on if I was an animal or bird or plant, what would I be? If you would like to say what you would like to be, please comment.



If I was a bird....
I would be barn owl because they have amazing hearing, can see really well and are formidable predators. To me, they look elegant and graceful when they are flying.
I would also want to be an hawk because I would love to be able to fly high, and just glide. I also love the colours on there feathers, and they look fierce, like warriors.

a Barn owl

A hawk

                      











If I was a an animal....
I would be a panda. I love there fur, and although they are slow, the way they move.  I know they are capable of attacking ferociously, which is another reason they have always been one of my favourite animals.

If I was a sea creature...
I would be a dolphin. They are clever and playful, and are fast swimmers. I love the way they swim. I would either want to be a Spinner dolphin, or a Fraser's as they both look sleek, fast and powerful. 

If I was a plant...

I would be Lady Anne's lace, which is a flower. It is a weed, but I have always found it graceful, and I love it's smell. We have a lot around our house, which is why I have learnt to appreciate it.

If I was a mythical creature...

I would be a fairy. Once again, I have always wanted to fly, and doing magic would be a bonus.

I would also want to be a dragon, like the one from the Eragon series. Christopher Paolini's drawings of them are exactly what I would I would imagine a dragon to look like.

1000 cranes

At school recently, as the 70th anniversary has recently been, we read a story about a young active girl living in Japan, who got leukaemia from the radiation 9 years after the bombing. Her friend folded her a golden crane, and told her how when a sick person folds a thousand cranes, they get a wish. She then proceeded to fold a thousand, before she died. She unfortunately only got to 694 before she passed away. But, her legacy lived on. Her friends and family folded the remaining cranes, and she got buried with 1000 cranes. They then set up a fundraiser, and made a statue with the girl holding a golden crane in her hand. In scripted into the base of the statue is the words,
" This is our prayer, this is our cry; peace to the world."
Which our whole class found touching. There is now a origami folding class by the statue, and there are now thousands of cranes under the statue.

So, we decided to fold a thousand cranes. By the first day we had almost 200, so we were pretty determined! We have now 999 and Mrs Hogg is folding the thousandth this evening in gold paper.

Click here for more information on Mrs Hogg's blog.