KPE 218: "Fish Tale"

"Fish Tale" by Lorraine Orman
Victoria interviews Rachael from Room 18 for this episode of KPE. This book is very popular at Pt England School and is another in the Kiwi Bites series.

"Kathleen is worried about her Great-Grandfather. Ever since Great-Gran died, and since he's been living with Kathleen and her Mum, Gramps has been very quiet and sad-looking all the time. And on top of that, Kathleen s Mum has been working long hours now that Gramps is around to look after her. It's easy to get bored that is, until Kathleen realises Gramps funny-looking garden gnome can actually talk! What follows is a crazy adventure as Kathleen sets out to give the gnome what he most desires, in exchange for making her Gramps happy again."

The girls tell us that the author is reminding the readers that everyone needs good friends, no matter what age you are.

The book has been reviewed by KPE in the past so part of the challenge for these girls was to give a different perspective on the book. You might like to click here and listen to the first podcast of "Fish Tales" after you have listened to Victoria and Rachael and leave both sets of podcasters some feedback.

KPE Episode 217: "Rugby for Rosie"

"Rugby for Rosie" by Frances Adlam
Shaniah interviews Helen about a book they have read which really appeals to them because it is about a girl who wants to play rugby - and both of these girls like playing rugby at Pt England School.
The story goes like this....
"Rosie wants to play rugby for the school team. And she's good too. The only thing is that Rosie is the only girl who wants to play, and the team need three girls to qualify. So to do what she loves she has to convince the pink-loving, doll-bearing girls at her school that rugby is the sport for them. Things seem impossible until a celebrity the girly girls know very well turns up to give Rosie a hand!"
They tell us that the theme of this story is that you should be yourself, nothing good ever comes from trying to pretend you are someone else.
Have a listen and tell them what you think.

KPE 216: "30 Weird and Wonderful NZ Stories"

"30 Weird and Wonderful NZ Stories" edited by Barbara Else.
Maree and Gabrielle from Room 17 discuss several stories in this collection of New Zealand tales for this latest episode of KPE. You will want to read the book after you have listened to the podcast and you will find out something very interesting about where Maree gets to go for her family holidays.
When you figure out where that is, why don't you tell us if you have ever been there too?

KPE 215: "Fern of Maru Bay"

"Fern of Maru Bay" by Lindy Kelly
The KPE podcasters have brought you all kinds of unusual stories written for kids by New Zealand authors and Sela and Paulitia from Room 18 have found another one!
This book is about a girl who has had a pretty alternative upbringing; she was home-schooled for a start, she lives on an island, her parents are arrested for breaking the law and she can talk to animals. Quite a strange mixture! Have a listen and tell us what you think - especially if you have read this book yourself!
Oh, and don't forget that if you click on either of the girls' names you will be directed to their own blogs and you will be able to read some of their other thoughts from this year...

KPE 214: "Bit Scream"

"Bit Scream" by Richard Gunther
Tyler and Jacob from Room 18 tell us about a book with a most unusual title and a pretty unusual plot. The main character, Michael loves it when his father drives fast in his car. One wintery night when they are driving home, with the headlights lighting up the snaking, twisting road, they take the corners at dangerous speed. The car whistles like a bullet towards a sharp bend .... suddenly Michael knows they're not going to make it.
"Dad! Dad! Stop!"
Michael wakes up in hospital, at the beginning of an unfolding nightmare. Why does his voice seem distant, his body unreal? Why do the nurses all look the same? Why has the old scar disappeared from his hand?
Gradually things begin to be explained and Micheal learns what is real and what is not in this 'Virtual Reality'. Have a listen and tell them what you think....

KPE Episode 213: "Charlie the Cheeky Kea"

"Charlie the Cheeky Kea" by Jack Lasenby

Hossanah and Tina present their first podcast for KPE. They are Year 5 students from Room 14 and they have been reading a cool picture book about one of New Zealand's native birds, Charlie the Kea. From what they tell us, not only will you hear a really good story, but you will also find out a lot about New Zealand. Tell the girls what you think of their podcast and if you have ever seen a Kea, let us know where you saw it.

KPE Episode 212: "Knitwits"

Knitwits by William Taylor
Tanielu and Paulitia have recorded a podcast about a book they read at the end of last year when they were in Year 5 with Ms Squires. They never quite got their podcast organised in all the end of year excitement, so Mrs Lagitupu (their teacher this year) suggested they take another look at Knitwits and publish their podcast now.
So you are about to enjoy a very polished podcast by two talented presenters.
This is what happens in the story:

" On the worst day of 9-year-old Chas Kenny's life, his cat dies, he is kicked off the hockey team, and his mother announces that she is pregnant. Although he is unhappy about being a brother, Chas doesn't like it when Alice Pepper, his next-door neighbor and best friend, says bad things about the baby. In response, Chas skites that he is so excited he intends to knit a jersey for the baby! Sneaky Alice bets him $5. a day for life against her skull collection that he will not be able to make such a gift in time. As events happen during the following months, Chas grows really excited about the new arrival while he struggles to win his bet and prove to Alice that he is not a 'knitwit.' "

Tanielu and Paulitia tell us about the story and talk about achieving your goals, which is the theme of this story. Their advice for us is not to take any notice of people who try to put you off achieving your goals because they don't have faith in you.

KPE on TV One "Close Up" programme

Last post we told you that TV One had sent people out to film our students and that they had talked to Leoden, Sela and Tanielu as they recorded the last episode of KPE. Well, on Friday night, 28th February 209, it was finally on "Close Up" and if you click here you can view the segment online.
This is what they wrote about our school:

"Today we have seen the adults brain trust getting together to work out ways to keep people in work and create jobs. We have been to a school where the children have plenty ideas of their own. They are at the forefront of learning, using hi-tech media like blogging, cloud computing and pod casting every day. While the how-to aspects of those concepts are still a mystery to many of us, to the students of Point England primary in Auckland, it's second nature. Robyn Janes reports on a small school boxing well above its weight in the world of technology. "

If the link above stops working after a while (when it becomes old news!) then we hope this one will be around for longer - choose chapter two.
Did you watch the programme? Tell us what you thought when you saw it.....

KPE Episode 211: "The Curse of Being Pharoah"

"The Curse of Being Pharoah" by Janice Marriott
Leoden and Sela from Room 18 have been reading this book and they give us an excellent recount of what the story is all about. You will find out their thoughts on bullies and you may agree with them after you have listened to the podcast that "what goes around, comes around".
As well as enjoying the book and having fun making the podcast these two presenters had a special thing happen while they were recording the podcast. Robyn Janes, a reporter from TVNZ "Close Up", was in the school with a camera person and she filmed them creating this podcast. We are still waiting for the interview to appear on television, but you can be sure that when it does we will provide a link to the programme from here to. So keep checking back.

And let us know what you think of this book....

KPE Episode 210: "Midnight Lightning"

"Midnight Lightning" by John Parsons
Beni and Jacob welcome back our subscribers to our 4th year of podcasting with another exciting kids' book to tell us about. These boys have started their final year at Pt England School and are Year 6 students in Room 18. We have realised that our original KPE podcasters are now in Year 10! Wow, time flies!
This book is very timely for us at Pt England because it is about a go-kart race and we are getting very excited about kart racing here because we are entering the soap box derby on March 22. This will be heaps of fun and we have an amazing prize to aim for. The winners get to go to America to race in the finals in Akron, Ohio.
To give you an idea of what this book is about from the blurb:

"Nicky's dad is convinced that he is great at building and repairing things. But Nicky and his mother know better. Everything Dad touches is a disaster. So when a go-kart race is announced,Nicky is sure he is going to die of embarrassment in the kart he and his father will build. At first, everything seems to be going well, but a disasterous test run means that another plan is needed and quickly!"

We know you will enjoy the podcast below, and if you want to read more, get hold of the book or click this link to see it on Google Books.