There is certainly a lot of WOW happening in 4CW! Why not showcase excellent student work that happens in class? After initially displaying their artwork at the WOW wall in their classroom, students progressed to proudly showing off their writing skills. All students jointly agree which piece of writing is being posted on the wall. Cody, whose story can currently be read on the wall, stops and thinks when asked what makes a good narrative. ‘Being creative and showing lots of imagination’, is his answer. Class teacher Mrs Welfare kindly types up the stories and publishes them. ‘We still have to learn the publishing part,’ Alexandra says. Both students agree that all students feel proud to see their stories on the wall. ‘It encourages us, helps us find inspiration and is kind of an idea generator.’
I look around the ship and see starving people and extremely sad convicts chained up to the wall. There are crying people and babies screaming as loud as lions. I can see boys and girls starving in cages, but all they can eat is stale bread. The ship’s journey is six months long. The ship is as crowded as a parade. I can hear guards yelling and guns banging on the walls. It’s like someone is breaking in.
We have to wear a hot coat because it is as hot as a boiling oven. It is very bumpy as we navigate the seas. I can feel bugs sucking my flesh, while the sombre smoke rushes through my hair. I even have to lay my head on the wooden floor, which is very uncomfortable! I can smell people that haven’t been in the shower for six months. There are even buckets to do your business in! Now I am an orphan, and I have no money or proper clothes. I feel weak and strange in my head. I wonder to myself, "Will I survive or will die?" I just need to see what will happen. I am very scared!
Life on the Ship
By Seth
The vast ship is very uncomfortable. Scary cockroaches and terrifying rats swarm the ship that is as huge as sixty-five elephants. Salty waves angrily hit the ship as hard as canons firing. Bars and chains hold back the convicts’ anger. The smell of spew and sweat fill the thick sombre air. Guards bang their guns to shush the chattering convicts. The sweltering days boil the convicts’ skin, while at night it is as cold as ice, making the convicts shiver.
The ship is as dirty as the dump. Dim lights hang from above. My clothes make me itch like a dog with fleas. I can hardly see, but I can hear the squeaking rats crowding around the scraps on the floor. My mouth is bone dry. Sounds of whips going crack, crackle, crack make my body shiver silently. The uncontrollable wind howls as loud as lightning. I hope that this vast ship will land soon, and life will not be so terrible.
Bound for Botany Bay
By Dimity
As the boat drifts along, I hear convicts screaming in pain and fear. The stale sweat and body odour build up inside my sour mouth. I can feel the scars dinting my thin, flaky skin. There are pimples popping around my puffy, numb mouth from all of the salty sweat. This is the torture that I live with every single minute.
I can hear cracking whips landing down the convicts’ bare backs. I have been sent to Botany Bay for stealing a linen gown, silk bonnet and a bath cloth. My life is so different, and will never be the same again. I am on board the Lady Penrhyn.
The angry, crashing waves push into the sides of the ship. The taste of filthy dirt from bodies moving around my dirty body makes me sick. The vomit is as disgusting as slime. The convicts’ dark shadows bounce across the metal bars and come straight towards me. The salty air rolls up my nostrils and burns them. The floorboards are going creak and pop whilst the mean marines are stepping on them. The creaky floorboards are surrounded by chunks of disgusting vomit; it is everywhere. The taste of unpleasant food makes me sick.
The taste of creatures crawling into my mouth makes tingles flow throughout my tired body. The animals are also nibbling and biting my filthy flesh whilst I groan in pain. I could hear the creatures’ whispers making their way into my aching ear. The furry creatures are rubbing against my cheeks and spreading rashes throughout the ship. I’m so scared.
As the boat slowly sways along I hear convicts moaning from the severe starvation and isolation. The taste of disgusting food makes me lose my sanity. There is faeces and vomit floating uncontrollably on the wooden floorboards making me gulp up my vomit. The vomit is dripping from the unsealed wooden ceiling and falling on my mouldy feet.
I hope this ride is temporary and that I’ll be safe on land very soon.
Bound for Australia
By Xander
The ancient, wooden ship was giant in appearance on the outside, but small and confined on the inside. The heavy metal bars were as hard as stone. We kept hurting our hands by trying to squeeze our thinning arms through them. The furious marines were on guard in case we tried to escape from the tiny cells.
The boat was as cold as ice in winter, and as hot as a furnace in summer. It was massive, but very old. There were holes in the boat for mice to live in. It was splintering and strong. The boat had no leaks during the long journey.
The scraps of food attracted warm-blooded animals. They nibbled my bare feet when I left crunchy crumbs on the floorboards. The mice burned my feet when they nibbled them. The vomit I leave attracts rodents and flies. Sharks surround the boat patiently waiting for a feed.
The weather changed rapidly. Rain splashes down loudly onto the ship’s deck. You could hear the angry, wet waves bashing against The Scarborough. Rain poured down very heavily. The weather sometimes flooded the ship’s deck. Lightning sometimes struck the water in fear.
The food we had was mostly rice. The marines had to stop at cities along the way to purchase food. The food was rotten when I ate it. I could taste the rice crunching in my mouth. I screwed my face up when I ate my food.
Soon I will be on the magnificent land and free from this horrendous ship.
Bound for Botany Bay
By Kaleb
Everyone could hear waves crashing on the side of the boat. All of the convicts wished they were as free as a bird. I could smell vomit and human faeces. It was a dark and dismal ship. I could taste salty, sweet sweat sliding into my numb throat. My boat was called The Alexander. All of the convicts felt splinters in their feet. This journey was not pleasant.
The marines have the cat o' nine tails whipping the convicts on their bare skin. They are yelling in pain. You could hear the bang and pop! You could also hear the marines laughing at the convicts because of their crying.
The food we were fed when we got on The Alexander was disgusting, totally different to the almost free food I was once used to in England.
The furry creatures on the ship nibbled on my filthy skin. All of the spiders have come down from the roof. A spider is eating a convict’s flesh. Cockroaches are looking at me weirdly. It’s like they’re sizing me up. I feel so very alone.
The convicts are trapped in a small cell of the boat. The vomit is uncontrollable, it is leaking from the roof of the boat. The human faeces is floating on the water.
I hope that wherever we’re going, we get there soon!
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At Glenmore our students learn vital Information Literacy skills. These allow them to research a range of topics, correctly reference their sources and present their findings using a range of techniques. Year Four students may research an animal and organise the information gathered under sub-headings:
Great White Sharks
By Rylee
Great white sharks live around the coast of Australia. Great white sharks are cold blooded and can swim very fast. They are a fearsome predator.
Appearance
They weigh 2 268kg and can grow up to 4.9m long. This predator is black, white and grey and can reach speeds of 69km per hour. Great white sharks have a tail, fins, gills and several rows of teeth.
Habitat
Great white sharks live in oceans and seas around the world where they can find food. Smaller sharks hunt around shallow reefs and larger sharks often spend time near seal and sea lion colonies.
Diet
Great white sharks eat a variety of food and larger prey. Small great white sharks feed near reefs where there are lots of fish, squid and small rays for it to feed on. Bigger great white sharks feed on larger prey like dolphins, seals and sea lions.
Reproduction
Great white sharks give birth to live young. Great white shark babies are called pups. The pup can grow up to 1.5m in length. A great white shark can have 2-10 pups at a time. When the pups are born they swim away immediately from their mother or they may get eaten by her.
Survival
Younger great white sharks have a variety of predators like killer whales and larger great white sharks. Humans are the biggest threat to great white sharks. Millions of sharks are killed every year by people.
Leopard
By Angelina
Introduction
Leopards are mysterious, wild and strong. They are part of the cat family. Leopards are very sneaky and good at being camouflaged.
Appearance
Leopards are one of the most amazing, beautiful and mysterious animals. They can be half a metre long. Leopards weigh between thirty-five and sixty-five kilograms. The leopard's coat is yellow to deep gold with dark black spots. The leopard’s coat is excellent for camouflage. Leopards have long whiskers and they live in different types of habitats. Female leopards are smaller than males, and their spots are called rosettes.
Habitat
Adult leopards have their own territory. They live alone and they are found in Africa, East Africa and Asia. It is very hot and sunny in their habitat. They sleep in thick forests, grassy plains and even deserts.
Diet
Leopards are carnivores and they eat raw food and they do not eat in a special way. They can eat one zebra a day, which are three times heavier. Leopards are diurnal which means they sleep at night.
Reproduction
Leopards give birth to between one and four cubs. The mother looks after the cubs and hides them in a den for six weeks and feeds them milk. They stay with their parents for two years.
Survival
Leopards protect themselves by marking their territory. They escape by running away. Leopards’ enemies are mostly man, and sometimes lions and tigers. There are 250 000 leopards left in the world. Leopards live up to 12 to 17 years. Leopards are endangered and they are protected by being kept in zoos.
Special features
Leopards communicate by smell and by roaring. They travel on their own and climb up trees for protection.
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In The Arts students learn how to use line and colour to depict traditional Aboriginal stories.