First Book Club Meeting

The first book club meeting was about explaining what we do in the meetings. We also had time to issue some books to members. We want to encourage members and non members to read our blog because on it you will find some really good books that you can get from us. We have even written out a bit about each book so it will make the choosing easier. We hope everyone will remember to bring their books in and to try and post comments on the Village 22's book club blog then others can see what you thought of the book. Thank you Sunny and Henry for already doing this.
Happy reading
from the Book Worms ( Ashleigh, Sophie, Olivia, Aoife and Anna)
PS- You can go directly to our blog by clicking on the link under the USEFUL LINK heading.

A Great Surprise at Fentalton School.

Today I can't believe what happened .

An Air-Force helicopter arrived at school.
It circled the field twice then while the helicopter was hovering in mid air an officer got lowered to the ground.
The helicopter's propeller blew my hair back and it scattered leaves into my eyes. The helicopter was dark green. When I went inside there were hundreds of buttons that would take years to learn which one is which.
They told me that the helicopter cost 5 million dollars but the new one they were getting was going to be 55 million.

It was a great experience and it was exciting too.

By Ashleigh.

Tree Climbing by Alice

Click.
I heard,"Belayer ready"
"Climber ready," I muttered.
Clenching my fists, I glanced upwards. My knees were shaking like mad. The tree was welcoming me into its branches. Slowly I stepped up to the silver ladder. My arm stretched for the first block of wood.The instructor slowly moved the ladder and I almost fell. My wide opened eyes were tied to the carabenna. I was getting closer and closer. "Sun bun," I said. My hands clenched the wood blocks.
"I had to let go", I said in my mind. "Ahhhhh", I screamed while being let down.

Tree climbing was my favourite activity at Hanmer camp.

Camp
Gazing up I saw the raging, charging waterfall flying down the mossy cliff, putting its freezing coat around everything that got in its way. Everyone who dared to go in was a victim. Cautiously I dipped my foot into the inviting water. Suddenly I froze, the water made me go numb.
It's going to be hard for the next camp to beat Hanmer Springs.

By Emma

I ran quickly and quietly up the the winding stairs away from the noisy crowd.
The sight that met my eyes froze me to the spot as I stared...

The Hydroslides were packed with people waiting to go twisting and turning all the way to the bottom. I slowly walked into a corner and stared down the slide. Eagerly watching, I saw someone jump into the slide and zoom away around a corner. I was still standing there, anxiety taking over as I joined the line to go down the terrifying slide. I slowly edged closer, realising it was not so bad after all. As I crouched and slid onto the platform, the light went green so I pushed off and zoomed away and into pitch black darkness. After a few minutes I saw light straight ahead, the end of the slide, the way to freedom.

My heart frantically beating as I was speeding faster and faster. The hill smiled and laughed at me and then five seconds later- ZOOM! Off I sped again, zooming down the hill. Then something curious happened, the atmosphere went silent. We had reached the bottom of the hill and everyone looked back to see where we had been.
"Holy Moly, " I thought as I looked at the near vertical slope I was having to go up. I nearly made it up but just as I got to gate- SPLAT- I fell to the ground. Embarrassingly I walked up the hill carrying my bike.
Mountain biking at Hanmer camp was my favourite activity.
by Oli

Olivia's Camp Snapshot

“Come on”, I heard in the distance. All I could see was a heap of  giant trees. My Mouth was dry, yelling for water inside me. I could feel a painful stitch inside my stomach. All I could smell was bark. I was so alone in a gigantic forest running with  an uncomfortable pain in my stomach and my heart was beating fast. When our time was up and we had all the flags we could get we ran back but we couldn’t go very fast because one girl in our group had hurt her ankle. When we got back all my water had gone warm. The Hanmer Forest was very big. Orienteering on camp was harder than I thought.

Camp Experience

I couldn't see anything, darkness wrapped around me. My heart was beating as fast as the flap of a bird's wing. Suddenly I went past a flash of yellow light then another and another. I could just make out a picture it was an arrow pointing which way I was going. Suddenly a mountain of water came splashing in my face. Then I swam to the steps.
My journey down the waterslide was over in twenty seconds. I was definitely doing that again.

by Harry

Mountain Biking
The tracks were dangerous so I slowly started to peddle. I carefully rode the bike.
When I was thirsty I drunk my water slowly.
Then I started to peddle again quickly. After an hour we rode back to camp.
I thought mountain biking was fun because it was my first time riding in the Hanmer forest on a bike.
by Yoonsu

I carefully turned around the corner, my face dripping with sweat. I cautiously stepped back, what was that tremendous noise. I quickly looked up, "Holy cow". It was a colossal waterfall. I was so hot that I ripped my top off and ran under the ferocious waterfall. I stayed under it for what seemed like ten minutes but was actually ten seconds. I got so cold after that I felt like I had frost bite.

So far Hanmer Camp had been action packed. The waterfall walk would be hard to beat.
by Ben M

Camp Snippet

I stepped around the last corner and gaped. "Wow", I said under my breath. I gazed hard at it, blinked and looked again then tore off my top and bolted over to it.

I looked again at the massive waterfall that was thundering down the cliff onto the slimy ground. It made a swift flowing river rushing down the hillside. Suddenly I was under it with all the other kids from Room 9 and Village 22 . We were all sweating after the big climb up the hill.

The high pressure waterfall was slowly chipping away the flesh on my bare back.
Unfortunately it was soon time to walk back to the camping ground.

That was the best camp that I've been on and I hope Wainui is as good as hammer was!

by Ben H

Ashleigh's Camp Snap-Shot

Boom-Boom my heart was thumping fast as if it was trying to get away from me. My legs were wobbling like jelly. I stood with Olivia all alone. The trees whispered, hissing sounds as their branches reached to grab us. My scorched mouth was begging for water.

I had no idea which way to go. Olivia pointed in one direction. But I wasn’t sure.

We were in the Hanmer Springs, right near our camp. We were orienteering in a forest looking for points. It had been our second day my class had been on camp.

I had a hurting stitch that was boxing my ears in. I was pushing myself to run further to get back to where my group was waiting. We reached them and I looked cautiously at my watch. What!? Only 10 minutes we had to run at the speed of light to finish this activity in time.

By Ashleigh.

Sunny's camp snippit

Squeaaaak, I opened the door very slowly, I was shaking in my shoes. The door swung open. It was horrible! Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Snap! I smacked my arm and saw a mozzie. Ouuuu. I looked left , I looked right, they were everywhere in my bunk room. My partner screamed. The Hanmer Springs' camp supervisor came in. Uh oh, I mumbled.

By Sunny.

Jordyn's Camp Snap Shot

I slowly looked around. Everything was still. Finally we heard shouting voices in the distance. They had found one of the orienteering markers. Racing to the tree we casually and excitedly looked up and saw number 22 looking sadly down at us.

Hammer Springs camp was the best place in the world to be with your class. It was like a dream come true. Now that the forest had showed 22 we were done having collected a total of 569 points. Only one more day to become champions of school camp!

Bugs Bugs Bugs

BUZZ!!! BUZZ!!! “Oh, not again”, I softly whispered to myself.
The light switch flicked!!!
“What’s that noise?” I heard someone mumble with frustration.
“A -MOTH,” I quietly yelled. I lept out of bed and quickly opened the bunkroom door then killed the light. The moth slowly flew out and in to the Hanmer Forest.
“Peace at last,” I muttered to myself. I crept over to shut the door hoping no bugs were still inside.
I was so tired, soon my eyes were shut. I was finally fast asleep, dreaming of tomorrow’s cool activities !!

by Sarah

Tree Climbing

I stepped on to that first rackety step of the glowing ladder. I felt emotion running through my veins like water rushing through a hydroslide. I was doing it, getting higher and higher up the tree. I took a few more steps and could see the carrabena glimmering above. I reached as high as I could but then the next step was just too high. Disappointed, I slowly came back down the tree. I hoped I wasn't the only person on camp that didn't reach the top. That was the most disappointing day of camp.
by Flynn

Swish! I came running down, almost tumbling down the mountain, trying to stop.
There I stood staring up at the giagantic river that crossed the waterfall track. SPLASH! Water flipped out of the river and landed on my shoes. Just then I realised I had to cross. BANG!
I jumped. I stood on the rock halfway through the river thinking, the water sounded as if it were thunder. I cautiously stepped to the next rock, then the next.

When I got to the other side I could tell you one thing, I wasn’t looking forward
to the next stream.

People say that the waterfall track in Hanmer Springs takes 2 and 1/2 hours to walk. It only took us 1 and 1/2 hours. The 1/2 hour was probably because it took ages to cross the river one by one.

Sophie's Camp Snapshot

I looked cautiously up , then stepped briskly back, then I looked slowly up again .“Wow”, I said under my breath, it was giant, so colossal. “Click”, I heard the carrabena attach to my harness. “Belayer ready”, I hear. “Climber ready”, I said trembling with fear. I heard the words, ”Climb away". I took my first step, the tree welcomed me onto it. I felt like the queen of the jungle . The sun was shining in my eyes and the breeze moved my hair.

This was one of the best experiences I had on camp at Hanmer,

Now every time I look at a tree I think of my life changing experience of getting to the top.

Flossie's Camp Snap-Shot.

Cautiously one by one each toe slipped
into the water. As the water flowed into
my blood I heard the water calling and
dragging me nearer to a fast flowing
water fall.

Our class had just been on a tiring long
walk from the Hanmer forest camp and
was sitting round an icy-cold water-fall.
That was the most memorable task at
Hanmer camp.

Brainteaser 2 - Suspicious Circumstances

A man lived all by himself. He never went out and no one ever visited him. One day he watered all his plants, turned off all the lights and left the building, never to return again. His action resulted in the death of six men. Why?

Put your answers to this brainteaser as comments on this blog post...

Hydro Slides

Waiting for the green light, my heart was beating as fast as a dribbling basketball. My blood was pumping through my veins like petrol through pistons. My hands gripped onto the slide as I pushed heavily away from the waiting queue. My body felt excited as the water splashed on my face. Finally at the bottom, a gush of water burst in to my face. The Hammer pool was the best activity out of everything on camp.

By Josh

Orienteering

“We found number 11”We heard as we listened as carefully as foxes.We were watching cautiously for a marker.We saw one other group, they looked at us crazily.We were running back as we saw the class getting ready to go to school camp.Orienteering was my 2nd favorite activity on Hanmer camp. My 1st was the bivy blind trail.But Orienteering is still pretty hard to beat.
By Jack M

Tree Climbing

Ahhhhhhh I anxiously looked down. I was so high up
I could just see Bridget. I took a step. WOE! I almost slipped. Carefully I looked down, shaking.
"One more step", I said under my breath.
YAY I was at the top waiting to be lowered down.
That was the scariest thing I did on camp.
Now when I look at trees I remember the time I climbed the massive trees at Hamner camp.

Delicious Hamburgers

,Crunch the sound of a tooth munching on a scrumptious hamburger. My mouth kept on asking for another humongous bite like a dog barking at dinnertime. It was so delicious it made my tongue tingle like a butterfly with every bite. It was so delicious because it had cucumber, lettuce, meat and mayonnaise. This dinner was a wonderful end to my first day at Hammer Camp 2009.

Waterfall Walk

Water was streaming down the damp rocky cliff soaking any children in it’s
path then crashing to the ground like a thunderstorm and sloshing away into the dark unwelcoming trees.
Flabbergasted my class and teacher watched the beautiful sight. I could see the tempted looks on my classmates faces wondering if they had the guts to go under the raging icy water
.This was our first activity on school camp. How could any camp be better than Hanmer?

My Camp

I could feel my tummy slowly dispatching from my body, my nerves were slowly hyping up as I suddenly reached for the next block on the tree. The tree felt like it was dancing and walking as the wind blew through its branches. I felt dizzy and I was very tired because I didn't get enough rest after the waterfall walk. I'm just hoped my harness would hold me while I dangled in space. SUNBUN!!! This is what we yelled, once we gasped to the top of the tallest tree I had ever climbed. I made it!!! I was so proud of myself. Helen assisted me down safely.

Man I would be keen to do that again!!!

by John

Our buddies

Our Buddy class is room 14.

How to use Picasa Web Albums in iPhoto

Everyone should check out this video which shows you how to use picasa web albums in iPhoto:

Camp Slideshow

Check out these cool photos from Hanmer Springs camp:

Village 22's Top Shots

Here is John's first slideshow:

Every fortnight Village 22 have a fortnightly forum. We discuss class issues and share cares, concerns and celebrations. During this time some children like to 'Share their Talent.' Here are photos of Alice and Sophie sharing their science experiment. Can you guess what they are making?