I met Pesky Possum and Clara Kaka

I decided it was time to take off towards the mountains.

On the way there I met some cool mates. I was trying to sleep at the bottom of a tree when this noisy, scratchy, chattery and annoying thing kept me awake. His eyes lit up in the dark and he kept telling me to climb on up the tree to keep him company. I told him I don't need to climb because I have wings and I can fly up there. He introduced himself as Pesky and he said he was a possum thats why he was awake at night, because he was nocturnal a night time worker. He also said he had a cool school that he visited in Dunedin. When we got talking about our rooms and our teachers we realised they knew each other - how funny is that?

Pesky also told me about some of the things he use to do in the classroom. He did some of the same stuff I did before I realised it was naughty. He pulled stuff off the desks, ripped things up took peoples things and made lots of mess. I remember doing that but that was when I was younger and now I know better.

While we were chatting we met another friend, Clara. Clara looks a lot like me. She is beautiful, has green feathers and a strong beak and is related to me but she is not a Kea. She is a Kaka. Clara is a native bird like me but she is a bit smaller and lives in the forest.

Pesky and I told her about our classes and she said she wanted an adventure like we have had so she was going to come and visit you.

I wonder if she has been to see you yet? I told her which classroom and how to get in. I also told her she has to be good if she visits because Room 5 is the very best class in the Whole Wide World and we look after our things and each other.

Can you let me know if you see her and please look after her because she is very young and needs to learn a lot about the Pekerau Way.

Where is Mrs Mitchell?

I flew all around Christchurch and saw some amazing things. Did you know the buildings are different to the ones in Te Awamutu? I wonder why that is?

Some things are the same though. They both have a stream going through the town but in Christchurch people push long boats along them and under fancy bridges. I thought I saw Mrs Mitchell and Mrs Bredenbeck watching the boats but I was a bit far away to catch up to them. Ask them if they were watching the boats for me.

They have big fields and rose gardens but not a pretty as Te Awamutu rose gardens. Are all the roses out still? Do they look pretty? I wish I could see them and you guys but I am also enjoying my travels.

Lots of people were carrying their computers just like the teachers do so I followed some of them. They were all wearing red things around their necks. They went into a big building and I thought I saw Mrs Cole and Mr Cubitt so I tried to get in but the door got shut on me and I was too little to open it. Do you think it would have been them or not?

Have you met Clara yet?

I have been visiting some of Mrs Mitchells friends in the South Island. I have been to Nelson and looked at some of the amazing learning happening at some of the country schools there. One school is right near the sea and the children get to go to the beach a lot. What a cool school. I also visited some friends of Mrs Mitchells that I met when I went with her when she visited Nelson earlier in the year. They are so nice and they fed me lots. The only problem was their cat kept chasing me so I thought it was time to leave.
After I had caught up with my naughty cousins through the pass (I think thats what they called it) I kept on going towards a place called Hammer - it had pools that were steaming. I was careful there because I remembered Charysse using hammers at school and I didn't want to get in the way of hammers.
When I was a Hammener I heard some people talking and they were teachers. Can you believe they were not in the classroom but swimming. I heard them talking about the holidays and going to a big conference in Christchurch with lots of other teachers. I'm not sure what a conference is but I knew there were going to be lots of teachers so I thought I'd follow them and hoped to see Mrs Mitchell for a catch up.

If you want to check out my travels get the big map and follow where I have been.

My new friends!

The Southern Alps are beautiful. I have found my cousins and have been learning more about my natural habitat. I have also been having some fun with the cars on the roadside carparks. Do you remember some of the things Mia got up to and we thought she was naughty - well I tried really hard not to touch any of the shiny parts and I kept telling my cousins not to but they got bossy and pushed me closer to the cars. Man its hard to say no sometimes.
My bigger cousins said if I didn't have a go then I couldn't stay with them. I thought about what we said was bullying back at school and tried to remember what to do if it happened to me.
I really wanted to be part of my new family but then I remembered what we all thought about peer pressure and bullies. So just as I was about to grab the lovely bright, shiny part on the door of the car, I imagined room 5 and how you would be disappointed in me and I flew away. My cousins called out after me saying I was a chicken and I told them I was a responsible, respectful, wise, clever and smart Room 5 Kea and that behaviour is not the Pekerau Way.
I hope you are proud of me because I think I have become very strong and have learnt a lot this year from you all. Thank you for teaching the right things to do.

Hi Everyone
I've been having a great time flitting around the country. I've seen dolphins, whales, and funny things with spiny claws I think they are called crayfish.
I've also been visiting other birds. I met a really interesting Southern Falcon, Brian. He was big, strong, powerful and very fast. He can catch little pesky birds that eat the grapes on big vineyards in the South Island. I thought it wasn't really very nice to kill other birds when he is one. What do you think? I can understand why the little birds like the grapes. They are so juicy and yummy. I was eating some when I met Brian. He growled at me so I stopped but they were delicious.

Hi Tia

Hey Tia your not ment to be at Auckland school your ment to be at Te Awamutu Pekerau Primary School!!! Are you lost? Next time I'll draw you a map to get back.

hi tia

My travels

Hi everyone

I hope you have been really busy and doing more cool stuff in our class. I have been busy flitting around visiting new places and meeting new friends.

I came back on a big aeroplane that was coming back to New Zealand. I thought all aeroplanes landed in Auckland so I thought I would see that really tall place in Auckland when we were flying in to land.

I got a bit confused because I couldn't see it but I saw lots of blue water and some big mountains that had white stuff on it. It looked like ice cream - yum. I could also see some big things on the water and I heard someone call them boats and the ferry.

I wonder if you know where I might be?

photos please

Hi there everyone
Can you give Mrs Mitchell some of our photos from all of our trips around. It would be good to show what I have been doing with you and where I have been.
Thanks

Hello everyone

Hi Room 5
I am okay. I am having lots of fun travelling around to new places. Sorry Ashton I wandered away to look at some sparkly things at the airport and forgot where you were.
Thank you to Ashton and her family for taking me to America. I loved it. It was exciting, interesting and lots of fun.
Did you know that American people speak differently to us in New Zealand? They also drive on the other side of the road. That was really freaky because I thought we were going the wrong way. I covered my eyes with my wing so I didn't see the cars coming toward me. The driver is also on the wrong side of the car - how strange.
I saw some birds at a zoo and they were very colourful and friendly.

At the moment I am flitting around catching up with my new friends. I heard some people talking about a place called Adalaide - and I remembered Hayley was going there to watch Josh and Rebecca at the BMX World Championships. I figured it would be great to watch them so I follow this lovely family and have been enjoying the sunshine and talking to some really chatty birds. They talk more than me - can you imagine that!
I watched Rebecca's final race - man she can ride. She was great. Did you know that Rebecca got second. So she is the World number 2.

Photos please

Can you ask Mrs Mitchell to put some photos of the class cars on our blog. Would videos be able to go on the blog?

Tia

You are busy

Hi everyone

I have been really busy trying to read all of your stories. I can't believe how they have changed and some are really really exciting. Some are also very spooky and scary. I wish I could have written one but I think my beak might have got too sore.
Thank you to everyone who has taken me to their houses for the weekend or on a school night. I liked the way you have been making changes to your cars and have been really discussing the problems with your cars with your dads or grandparents. Very cool. Your families have lots of great ideas for you to try.

I liked the way you could tell the Room 6 people what you were doing and that I had to be safe in it. I heard Mrs Mitchell say that I won't be at school for the big final test in week 10. I was sad because I thought I wouldn't get a chance to test drive everyones cars - I like being the crash test dummy (I mean bird). After all I am courageous, brave and inquisitive.
I am not too sure if my friend in Room 6 will be as brave as I am but It would be cool with me if he wants to give the driving a go while I am away in America. I'm going to Disneyland - I wonder what I will see there? It sounds exciting.

I will try and send a message from America if I get near a computer. I know Ashton will take lots of photos of us.

Hey did you know that the bikes are coming on Tuesday - exciting eh. I can just about hear the noise already. I hope the riders have all of the safety gear on. I wonder if they will be wearing the same sort of clothing as Scotts gear! I wonder what type of bikes they will be.

I have been looking at your stories on Our Stories page. Some of them are becoming really cool stories and you are really making some good changes to make them more interesting.
I like the way I can go and read them anytime and I can comment on them if I want to. I also like the way the settings have changed from your first drafts which means you are listening to the people giving you ideas.
I heard about one story but I can't find it yet. It was about a strange creature called the mukawhy (I think thats how you spell it cos thats what it sounded like). I can't wait to read more about it.

We've been having a very inquisitive time in Room 5. I am really enjoying watching my clever classmates planning, designing and making cars. They are beginning to take shape. I wonder what materials you will use for the real one.
It is very exciting to know that I am going to be sitting in the cars when we test them. That must mean I am a test driver - very cool.
I have been looking at lots of inventions lately. We know that inventions are things that are made for a purpose.I went to a farm the other day and went on a tractor, a huge trailer that carries food for the cows, and saw lots of machinery which I now know were originally inventions to help make farming easier. Man they get up early when they go milking.
I have also been to the rugby - did you know things like the big screen tv and the scoreboard all had to be invented. In the olden days the scoreboard had to have the numbers changed by a person - now its done by a computer or something electronic. I wonder if the rugby ball has changed over time? Same with the uniforms are they different I wonder?

Your car

Hi Tia, Haley here. Thanks for helping us work out how big, and how you would keep safe and fit in our cars that we are working on. I hope that when we are finished the cars you will find them very comfortable. When you try the cars out I hope they feel as comfy as your bed. I will make you some special mirrors, I have an idea how I am going to make them but I am not going to tell you yet. Have a look at these cool cars Tia.

go speed racer go

balloon powered car

rubber band car race

I watched these with Mum and decided they were pretty cool, maybe it might give some of the clever kea kids some ideas to make your car Tia.
But if you used Matt's mousetrap car Tia, I wonder how long it would take you to get to the other side of the school? Take a look.

Matt's mousetrap car

Wow your writing work is really starting to become a lot of amazing stories. i like the way most of you are really thinking about the setting. I know I can picture the places now and I haven't even been to the places you are describing.
I keep wondering what your evil characters are going to do to make the stories really exciting, scary and interesting.

Keep writing them and uploading them

Hi there Room 5
I have been really excited to see all of the amazing inventions around the school, in your homes, and from the really cool visitors that have brought along different types of transport.
I liked looking at the different ways you could make a self-propelled car for me. I am getting really excited watching you make some models for me. It is fun hopping in them to make sure I fit. Thank you for thinking about the best way for me to be safe in the cars.

I really liked going in the ministock. I think it would be fun but hard work to be a racing car driver. I guess I would have to get lots of practise.

Kaleb-Lee

A man came to school and brought Ella's stockcar. Cairo, Aidan and Abbey went inside the stock car and got to sit in it. Some of room 6 and Brandon came into the stockcar too. We are learning about inventions and the stockcar was an invention. Do you want to be a stockcar racer Tia?

Deon

Dear Tia guess what the special vistors are bringing? They are bringing two racing cars. I know because Mrs Mitchell told the class. If you are sneaky you could get to go for a ride. I will take you so you dont miss out. Was it scary in the helicopter? I have a photo for you.