KPE - Celebrating 100 Episodes

KPE Episode 100 - "Down in the Dump With Dinsmore" by Margaret Mahy

This is a big day for KPE because we have come a long way since August 2005 - and we have read a lot of books! When we first started out we hardly knew what podcasting was and now we are experts! Go Pt England!
In this episode Lorenz tells us about "Down in the Dump With Dinsmore" and Rakai has his first venture into podcasting as the DJ. Dinsmore, the hero of this story, loves exploring the great merry-go-round of the world. It is such an interesting place! But his parents don't agree and his school principal complains. Nobody, it seems, wants to know about the dump. Except Dinsmore - and he discovers some interesting things at the dump - including things his principal didn't want discovered...
Lorenz says; "I really enjoyed reading it because just like my moral says (in the podcast) it doesn't matter what you are like on the outside, it's what's on the inside that counts. I also learnt that when you explore lots of different places you find things that are interesting."
Today was also a big day for the school community because there was an article in the NZ Herald about our podcasters and Lorenz had his photo there, with Braxton, and he was interviewed by the reporter.
This is what he writes about that experience; " My Mum and Dad will be very proud of me for being in the paper. Just from telling people about podcasting got me into this! And by doing podcasts I'm not shy anymore to go in front of the school to do something..."

Check out what the NZ Herald had to say by clicking here....

KPE Episode 99 - " The Day I Met a Princess"

" The Day I Met a Princess" by Tommy Wilson and Michele A'Court
Tamika from Room 16 read this book and her DJ for the podcast was Sarah from Room 18. This book is based on the true experience of Susan Tane. As a young girl she met Princess Diana during the Royal Tour of New Zealand in 1983. The story shares her excitement as she prepares to meet a real princess, the thrill of the moment and the lasting gift it leaves her with.
Tamika says " I enjoyed reading this book because I learnt how nice Princess Diana was and that everyone missed her when she died..."

KPE Episode 98 - "The Dentist's Promise" by Margaret Mahy

"The Dentist's Promise" by Margaret Mahy
Crystal brings us this episode of KPE as her final podcast before she leaves us to return to live in the Solomon Islands with her family. Falealoa interviews her about the story and farewells her from Room 17 and Pt England School.
This highly entertaining story sounds like a romance for young girls, but is far too silly to be part of that genre. The girls really enjoyed reading this book and chatting about it while creating this podcast. They are sure you will like it too!

Falealoa and Crystal

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KPE Episode 97 -"Evil Fred" by Kylie Begg

"Evil Fred" by Kylie Begg
Elizabeth from Room 18 has read this story about the truly awful Rancid family and Sharon Rose is her DJ. The Rancid family are awful.They are probably the meanest, most disgusting bunch of people you are ever likely to meet. One of their favourite pastimes is to lean out their upstairs window and pelt unwary passers-by with mouldy sardines and snotballs. When a grubby bundle of rags is left on their doormat it turns out to be a tiny, sleeping puppy. Immediately, the Rancids plan a future of violence, havoc and destruction for the little dog they name Evil Fred. Will Evil Fred live up to his name, or will his doggy nature lead him in another direction?
Tell us what you think of this story.

The Pt England Podcasters
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KPE Episode 96 - "The Banjo Man" by Ron Bacon

"The Banjo Man"

Pheonix from Room 16 has been reading this book and he asked Folau to be his DJ. This beautifully illustrated picture book tells the story of the music played by a travelling minstrel. In it we are introduced to the sounds of the banjo woven through the pages. Both boys are in Year 5. Pheonix is becoming quite the professional podcaster and it is good to see him encouraging a classmate to collaborate with him for the first time.

Pt England Podcasters

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KPE Episode 95 -"Possums2U" by Vince Ford

Mele V from Room 17 has been reading this book and Mele T, another Year 6 student, interviews her. The stories of Vince Ford are great favourites and in this episode we see some familiar characters back again. This time they are making money in the holidays trapping possums. And this couldn't possibly happen without a lot of adventures and excitement along the way.... When Davin hears about earning money trapping possums, the gang organise a camp way out on the boundary beside the river, where they can set their traps. In spite of their planning, the possum trapping venture doesn't go the way they hoped. They're told a 1080 poison drop will take place across the river from their camp. Then the rain starts, and becomes a downpour causing a landslide that blocks their way out. That's when they meet up with Oil Harnett and his brother, Scuz.

Pt England Podcasters
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KPE Episode 94 - "Kiwi Moon" by Gavin Bishop

"Kiwi Moon" by Gavin Bishop

Caleb and Mokani from Room 16 present this episode of KPE. We are great fans of Gavin Bishop at Pt England School and these Year 5 boys bring to life another one of his books for children.
Kiwi Moon is the story of a little white kiwi. When he is born his mother doesn’t recognise him because he’s not brown. Little Kiwi looks to the moon as his mother instead because it is white and bright and round.

Pt England Podcasters

KPE Episode 93 - "Chicken Licken" by Gavin Bishop

"Chicken Licken" by Gavin Bishop

Hawea and Lanivia present this podcast about a book written by Hawea's favourite author and illustrator. This well known classic children's story is retold by Gavin and the boys enjoy the retelling and the art work on the book. Both boys are Year 6 students from Room 17.
In keeping with the fact that in this version of the story it is an acorn that falls on Chicken Licken's head, Gavin Bishop has used an autumn setting for his story. Rich red, brown and gold oak leaves cover the front and back of the book. The animals are beautiful with Henny Penny and Cocky Lockey being particularly resplendent in their plumage.

Pt England Podcasters

KPE Episode 92 - "Tulevai and the Sea" by Joy Cowley

"Tulevai and the Sea" by Joy Cowley

Thomas has read this legend which is retold by one of New Zealand's best known children's authors. Folau acts as DJ in his first podcast. Both boys are Year 5 students from Room 16. Tulevai and the Sea, was written by Joy Cowley and illustrated by Manu Smith, (English and Maori editions). In this story a mother's love is greater than the sea. The sea wants the strong young boy who is fishing in his boat for itself; unable to lure him the sea enlists the help of the wind to sink his canoe. His mother's love is strong enough to push back the sea, revealing terrible monsters, before finding her son crying in a coral forest.
We know you will love the pictures in this story. Tell us what you think.

Pt England Podcasters

KPE Episode 91 -"Barry and Bitsa" by Sandy McKay.

"Barry and Bitsa" by Sandy McKay.

Crystal has been reading this book and Kayla is her DJ. Both girls are Year 6 students from Room 17. "Barry and Bitsa" was published as part of the Kiwi Bites series in 2005. Sandy tells stories that children enjoy reading and this book is no exception. Barry brings home a dog from the pet shop, and as the name suggests, he is a 'bitsa'.
In this story both the boy and the dog need to gain acceptance, and by the end they both do. Barry is accepted by the local boys and Bitsa overcomes Mum's reluctance to become part of the family.

Pt England Podcasters

KPE Episode 90 - "Horeta and the Waka" by Gordon Campbell

"Horeta and the Waka" by Gordon Campbell

Rasil and Latisha are both in Room 18 and this is a first podcast for both of them. These Year 6 girls have worked on this podcast together in their reading group and share this interesting tale of early New Zealand with us. The story describes how Horeta and his friends view their first siting of a European ship and their fascination with the 'thunder-stick' that shoots birds.

The first sighting of Captain James Cook and his crew is told through the eyes of a young Maori boy. These strange European people were seen as tupua (foreign demons) by the Maori because of their colouring. And this fear was reinforced by their strange behaviour — sitting backwards in a rowboat must surely mean they could see through the back of their heads! A fascinating look at first contact between Maori and European, based on true events.

Pt England Podcasters

KPE Episode 89 - "Gladys the Goat" by William Taylor

"Gladys the Goat" by William Taylor

Lani and Leauma are both Year 6 students from Room 17 and they present another humourous book from the Kiwi Bites series. When Dad comes home with an orphaned goat, Johnny knows there will be trouble – his Mum is no fan of pets. The goat gets up to all sorts of mischief and it has a very interesting ending.
This is the third podcast of books featuring goats from Pt England school this term. We are beginning to wonder what is it about New Zealanders and goats? Have people around the world who always link us with sheep really got it wrong? What do you think?

Pt England Podcasters

KPE Episode 88 -"The Three-Legged Cat" by Margaret Mahy

"The Three-Legged Cat" by Margaret Mahy

Lanivia from Room 17 presents his first podcast in this episode with Sam acting as his DJ. The boys really enjoyed this quirky story and the tale of the adventure seeking cat.
What happens?
The widow Daisy Gimble is glad that she has a gimpy cat, as his three-leggedness prevents him from wandering, and she approves of staying put. Tom, however, wants nothing more than to see the wide world. Respectable Daisy can't help but dread the visits of her drifter brother, Danny, who always wears a "revolting, molting Russian hat" on top of his bald head. One day he comes for tea, and when he leaves, he mistakes her sleeping cat for his hat. Tom finally gets to see the world, Danny finds that a cat is warmer and better company than a hat, and Daisy is satisfied as can be with her new pet.
You should read this book and tell us what you think of it.

Pt England Podcasters

KPE Episode 87 -"Wild Goat Hunt" by Frank Saxton

"Wild Goat Hunt" by Frank Saxton

Coltrane is a Year 5 student from Room 16 and this is his first podcast. He asked John to be his DJ and together they tell a tale of Blair who goes goat hunting with his father. This is pretty unfamiliar territory for city boys from Auckland as the story takes place in Nelson in the South Island. The boys discuss goat hunting, guns laws and why adults call them kids on this podcast....
In this podcast they also mention the podcasters from Appleby School in Nelson.
We wonder if anyone from Nelson has heard this podcast and can tell us about goat hunting?

The Pt England Podcasters

KPE Episode 86 - "By Jingo"

KPE Episode 86 - "By Jingo" - A Tale of Old New Zealand, by Dorothy Butler

Kayla from Room 17 presents her first podcast for KPE and Crystal, another Year 6 student is her DJ. This book is based upon a true story of what took place in Thames in 1905 and features the Brown Family. The oldest son John is returning from a two year sojourn in Australia - and his gift for his sister Emily is a monkey!
Have any of you ever been to Thames? Tell us about it...

Pt England Podcasters

KPE Episode 85 -"The Clay Boy" by Ron Bacon and Chris Gaskin

KPE Episode 85 -"The Clay Boy" by Ron Bacon and Chris Gaskin

Jordan from Room 16 has been reading this book and John from Room 15 compares the show. This book is adapted from a legend about a boy who prefers drawing to the usual pass times of his village and becomes an outcast because of it.
Jordan and John are both Year 5 boys. Let them know what you think of this podcast.

KPE Episode 84 - "Stay Awake, Bear" by Gavin Bishop

Hawea from Room 17 read this book and Sam acts as his DJ for this podcast. This delighful story was beautifully illustrated by the author.
This is a delightful story about Old Bear who doesn't want to go to sleep for the winter so he and his neighbour stay awake together. When it comes to their summer holday, however, guess what they both do!
During this podcast you will hear Hawea ask the author to respond to a question they have if he is listening to this podcast. We are pleased to share with you the answer from the email Gavin Bishop sent Hawea in reply. How cool is that!!

"It is interesting that you asked me why I wrote a book about bears when I am a kiwi and we don't have bears in New Zealand. Well, the answer is simple. My wife and I lived in Boston, near New York for a few months about 10 years ago. It was winter time and it snowed every two weeks. There was so much snow that they had to bring big trucks into the city to collect some of the snow and dump it into the sea. The rest of it was scooped up into big piles
that sat on the corners of each city block where it slowly melted until it snowed again. And the whole business of getting rid of the snow started once more. I had never seen so much snow and for the first time I realised how difficult it must be for big animals like bears to get through the winter. With everything covered in snow, there would be nothing to eat so the logical thing to do would be to hibernate. That's where I got the idea to write my story, STAY AWAKE, BEAR.

I am glad you enjoyed reading it. I wonder though, if you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed listening to your korero about my book?"

Thanks VERY much Gavin Bishop for listening to us and sending us an email.

Pt England School Podcasters

KPE Episode 83 - "Portable Ghosts" by Margaret Mahy

KPE Episode 83 - "Portable Ghosts" by Margaret Mahy

KeeVin from Room 18 has read this book and he is interviewed by his classmate Lorenz. They are both in Year 6. This is another delightfully original story from Margaret Mahy, one of the world’s best-loved authors.
In Portable Ghosts, Margaret Mahy skilfully blends modern technology, humour, suspense, human values, sibling relationships, boy-girl friendship, and mystery, into a fast-paced adventure story. The idea that ghosts can be carried around and actually become portable is a novel, very clever, and slightly zany addition to the ghost story genre. We don't think this story will give students nightmares, but it is cool to see how computer technology is a major part of the plot. What do you think?

This is what happens in the plot:
Ditta is a twelve-year-old girl who likes to get things sorted out in her mind. She is curious, logical and believes that sitting down in front of a computer forces you to apply logic to a problem. She has, in fact, the best characteristics of a detective and just loves a good mystery.

Ditta has a mystery on her hands. Recently, every time she visits the school library she sees a flickering image of a boy reading a book in the corner of the room but no one else can see him. She confronts the ghost and to her surprise it answers her question before disappearing. Ditta is determined to get to the bottom of this. Her research determines that the school library is a converted old house where many years ago, a young boy – Hilly Saffron – slipped and fell to his death while reading a book on the roof.

Further conversations with the ghost reveal that he haunts the book he was reading at the time of his death. With the ghost’s help, Ditta locates the book in an old library cupboard and by slipping the book into her backpack, she is able to carry the ghost around with her – a portable ghost.

Ditta is worried about the uncharacteristic brooding behaviour of her friend Max and discovers that he is absolutely terrified by twisting floorboards in his bedroom and an angry ghost who tries to escape from his computer screen whenever he turns it on. Ditta immediately sees that this is another ghost needing to come to terms with its past. She enlists the help of her portable ghost to help solve the mystery of this ghost’s violent behaviour. Her young computer geek sister, Mirabel, manages to capture the ghost on a floppy disk and with both Portable Ghosts in tow, they enlist the help of an eccentric local identity to research the history of the angry ghost. It transpires the ghost was a harsh and cruel ship’s officer called Blake who was killed by some of his shipmates and buried with a tree planted over him. Over the years he became part of the tree, which generations later was cut down and used for the floorboards in Max’s bedroom.

Both ghosts exchange stories and realise they are part of history. Max and Ditta tell their stories as part of a homework project, which allows the ghosts to rest more easily. Hilly and Blake even agree to help Ditta, Max and Mirabel with a new detective agency venture to help people who are haunted by ghosts, and help ghosts come to terms with history.

KPE Episode 82 - "Oscar in Danger" by Joy Cowley

KPE Episode 82 - "Oscar in Danger" by Joy Cowley. Tanisha and Matthew from Room 15 have both read this book and they share the story in this episode. They are both in Year 5 and this is their first podcast.

In this book the cat family has a visit from their friend Mr M Gull who has his wing in a sling. He needs a kindly paw and asks Oscar to go back to the city to help him for a few days. But what is Mr Gull's secret mission? What is his secret name? Little does Oscar know that there is something terrible waiting for him and all small animals who believe in Santa Claws...

KPE Episode 81 - "The Cat With No Tail" by Benjamin Brown

KPE Episode 81 - "The Cat With No Tail" by Benjamin Brown

Caleb from Room 16 has been reading this book and Elijah from Room 15 is his DJ. Caleb has illustrated some of this podcast himself. The story is written in rhyme and the boys bring out some of the highlights of this fun book.

KPE Episode 80 - "Jive's Pipi Diggers" by Phillippa King

KPE Episode 80 - "Jive's Pipi Diggers" by Phillippa King
Kaiser from Room 17 teams up with Leauma for his first podcast. This book for young children has gorgeous illustrations by Gabriella Kreplatski.
It is the story of a little boy called Jive who, "once upon an island," goes digging for pipis with his Mum. Then his Dad cooks the pipis up on the barbie, and then they eat them. The beach scenes are particularly well drawn. Leauma and Kaiser share some of their experiences with kaimoana as they discuss the book. Tell them what you like eating when you go to the beach.

KPE is starting a blog

Hi there to everyone who listens to KPE.
We have had requests to start up a blog so that our listeners can leave us comments and tell us what they think of our podcasts, our podcasters and the books they have reviewed.

So here we are, on blogspot. Unfortunately we couldn't get the name KPE as someone else has already grabbed that, but fortunately we also podcast with kpeTV, our video podcast. You may need to bookmark this page to make sure you can find us easily.

Our first question was, where to start with posting summaries of our podcasts as we have done so many. Who would have thought when we started out in August 2005 that we would be still going strong 100 podcasts later! Well done to all you fantastic podcasters. We have decided to start our posts at Episode 80. If you want to make comments about earlier podcasts, perhaps you could do it under this post.

We know that lots of kids listen to KPE as part of their Reading activities in class. We are suggesting that instead of writing your reflections in a book, why not post them here so that everyone can enjoy them - especially the podcasters.

Don't forget that you can subscibe to KPE on iTunes and you will have all our new episodes download automatically to your iTunes account.

We look forward to hearing what YOU have to say!

The Pt England Podcasters