"The Secret of Kiribu Tapu Lagoon" by Tandi Jackson.This book is reviewed by Caprice and Simone. They explain to us about the meaning of 'Tapu' and about the setting of this book, beautiful Vanuatu. As well as describing an exciting adventure story the girls talk about some of the cultural ideas in this story. They are well qualified to do this as their movie about 'Preserving Culture' won them the best primary school movie award in the KWN film making competition in 2008.Have a listen to their podcast, check out their KWN movie, and let them know what you think.
And best wishes to Simone and Caprice as they leave Pt England School and head to other schools for Year 7 in 2009.
"Piano Rock" by Gavin BishopXeneqe interviews Simone as she tells us about the latest book by Gavin Bishop that she has read. We have podcast lots of Gavin Bishop's fiction stories in the past (eg Stay Awake Bear, Bidibidi, Kiwi Moon, Chicken Licken) but this book is non-fiction. It is the story of Gavin Bishop's childhood in Invercargill. As well as finding out interesting things about one of our favourite authors the girls also learned lots of fascinating things about life in New Zealand in the 1950's.Have a listen to their podcast and if you have any memories or ideas about the things they discover why don't you tell us about them in the comments below. Oh, and from Pt England School to all of you, we wish you a VERY happy new year in 2009.
The students in Room 18 have a very cool movie to share with you. Mrs Lagitupu and her class of Year 6 students have been working on this for some time and they are very proud to publish their finished movie. They have not only written, filmed and edited the movie themselves but as you will see when you watch it, they have been all over Auckland in the filming process. You will see the markets in Otara, the Museum in Auckland, a Niuean hair cutting ceremony, Samoan tatooing, visit a Kohanga Reo and much much more. Prepare to be amazed.....
"The Supertastic Marvelistic Storiez and Poemz" 4 kidz by kidz! John, Tinei, Jaydn and Simone went to Auckland's North Shore to track down the authors of this book. This book is a collection of short stories and poems that have been written by students from Stanley Bay School. We had enjoyed hosting them at Pt England School last year when they came to learn about podcasting from our Year 6 students.
Their goal is to raise money for a local cancer charity, Kenzie's Gift. We read this book and chose our favourite stories before we set out to interview the authors of the stories. It was a treat to meet the students from the 2 classes involved in this project, to hear all about how they set about writing and publishing a book, and to make a podcast for KPE with them. This podcast is different from our usual format because we are actually interviewing the authors and we have a number of people contributing to it. We have really enjoyed making the podcast and we recommend this book as an excellent read. You should go to their website and order copies of the book for yourself (- or for your school library if you are an adult). Let us know what you think of this collaborative episode in the comments below....
"Freaky Fish" by Feana Tu'akoi is brought to you by Simone and Kathleen from Room 18. In this latest book from the Kiwi Bites series they tell us about Richard and Braden who have to enter a Wearable Arts competition and come up with an idea that is a little bit strange. They really want to win this competition because they want to beat Candi and her mates AND Braden's famous dad will be there with a television crew. Braden is desperate to show him that he can be a winner too. They create a Freaky Fish and enter it in the Oceania section of the competition. In the podcast Simone doesn't tell us whether they win or not - but if you have read this book you could give us some clues in the comments!
And FYI (for your information) don't forget to keep checking out some of our first podcasts because you would be surprised how many people visit older ones and still leave us comments- including this author who visited today...
"The Short Division of the World Secret Service - Case Two: Stolen Children" by Robin Kerr. This is the second book in the series and Tinei read it during the school holidays and Simone is interviewing her about it. We hope all our blog readers have listened to the podcast before this and have caught on that this is a series we are talking about here. And if you are following the comments you will see that the author has told us a bit more about it too.
In this book Lucie and Rodney are back on the case. Lucie and her best friend, Rodney, have been officially made agents for the Short Division of the World Secret Service. The World Secret Service resolves dangerous situations threatening the world. The Short Division is responsible for solving the Service’s cases that involve young people.
During Case One: Bobblings, they discovered Lucie’s mother hadn’t died in a car accident years ago, but had been kept as a prisoner all that time. She is undergoing counseling to help her recover from her her terrible experience. Lucie and her family are waiting anxiously for their mother’s return.
Meanwhile, toy company’s websites are being attacked with a virus that paralyzes them. At each attack, a code is left behind. Lucie and Rodney are assigned the case. They have to discover if the virus author is teasing his victims by leaving behind a calling card—or whether the codes are a call for help. At the same time, homeless aid organizations are reporting street children are disappearing. Is it possible the two events are related?
Using their many talents Lucie and Rodney discover where the attacks are coming from. They have to do international travel, rock climbing and a carry out a terrifying underground race before a wicked man’s plans can be stopped.
At Pt England School we really appreciate both the talent and the support of Robin Kerr. First she writes stories we enjoy reading. Second she actually listens to our podcasts and reads our blog! You should read these books too - they are cool!
"The Short Division of the World Secret Service - Case One: Bobblings" by Robin Kerr.
This is a podcast we have all been waiting for. Robin Kerr sent us her books just before the Xmas break and some of our students took them away for a read while on their long Summer holiday. Simone read this book and tells Ramona all about it. They also drew a few pictures in Photoshop to enhance this podcast.
There are three books in this exciting series, and in Case One Lucie Lakewood and her best friend Rodney Keino start a new life as agents for the World Secret Service when a secret code arrives in the mail. They use cyber-tracking, wit, fast running and huge brains to discover the lure of the ugly Bobblings. Like all good secret agent stories they have to save the world from a mad villain.
Simone says it is a really exciting story to read and also has a message for the readers; even if you're young, you can still do the right thing and make a difference. At Pt England School we talk a lot about 'doing the right thing', so it is pretty cool to think that Robin Kerr seems to think it is important too.
There are two more books in this series, so keep visiting this blog because we'll be podcasting the next one soon.
KPE Podcasters 2008
"Jam - A True Story" by Margaret Mahy. Simone from Room 15 has been reading this story and Tinei interviews her for this podcast. In this funny, but true, story the father stays at home and runs the house while the mother goes to work as an important scientist. Father solves the problem of having too many plums on the tree by making jam... lots of jam... Simone says, "I enjoyed reading it. I thought it was a great story. I liked it when he made lots of things out of the jam...."
Tinei says, " I want to read it myself now coz there was a part where they had a nightmare about jam and it made me want to read it..."
"The Secret of Kiribu Tapu Lagoon" by Tandi Jackson.
