“Why do birds have feathers?” is a common question asked by people who wonder a lot about birds. They are the only animals that have feathers. Other animals have fur or scales, but why?

  Feathers are made of a lightweight material called “keratin”. Which is the same material that our fingernails and hair are made out of. The keratin helps make the feathers not too heavy, so the bird doesn’t have trouble flying. If feathers were made out of a different material, birds would most likely have trouble flying and flapping their wings.   

  In the base of every feather, there is a muscle attached to help the bird move. If a bird moves its wings down during flight, the feathers move together in one place. If they flap their wings upward during flight, the feathers separate and move apart to let air pass through. 

  Besides being able to fly, feathers allow birds to keep warm during cold days or winter. They can capture pockets of air to keep close to their bodies. They have the ability to rearrange their feathers to capture either more or less air depending on the weather. During cold times, you might even see a bird fluffing and moving its feathers around. This helps them to stay warm and prevent freezing. 

  In addition to body temperature regulation, feathers are water resistant, meaning they are waterproof. It doesn’t trap water. During the rainy season, their water resistant wings help them to stay warm. So they can keep dry while flying in the rain and while in water. Feathers don’t just protect birds from being cold, but also in the heat. Bird feathers help as protection against the sun, dark feathers work even better.

  The colors of a bird’s feathers are sometimes used to attract a mate. They are a part of a bird’s identity and are what makes them different from each other. While some birds use their feathers to stand out, others use them to blend in. Some birds blend to branches of trees, as their feathers are similarly colored. 

  Surprisingly, birds can also shed their feathers. Just like our hair, birds feathers fall out then are replaced with newly grown ones. This process is called “molting”. Small birds molt one to two times a year. While bigger ones molt less frequently, about once every two years.

  So, that is why birds have feathers. They are very useful to them and help them to survive. Feathers are a big part of a bird’s life.

The sisters made kites for a special occasion called “Matariki”. The seven sisters used pipi shells and mussels for their kites.  There was a pink and orange kite. They were making kites because they were celebrating something really special. They added eyes to their kits. One of the kites was a Manuka. 

They were celebrating Matariki, which is New years in Maori. All the girls were excited to find out the results of their kites. The sisters made such colourful kites. One of the girls used wilk shells and another one of the sisters used grass. Ururangi had a multicolored kite. They all wore their thick cloaks and went to the forest.There were a lot of plants i n the forest. They all slept in the forest. 

There was  a river nearby. They saw the moon and pointed at the stars. The girls were sleeping under the tree and their kites were hanging on it. All the girls were all asleep; they were sleeping on the grass.  Ururangi was imagining things. The kites were flying in the sky while the seven girls were asleep.

Naruto was the first character in Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow and was now to create the beast could the slash beast, and the warrior beast to of the strongest beasts. Naruto was also known by being the world’s fastest anime character that Masashi Kishimoto has made.Naruto was the first character in Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow and was now to create the beast could the slash beast, and the warrior beast to of the strongest beasts. Naruto was also known by being the world’s fastest anime character that Masashi Kishimoto has made.

1. The first youngest sister made a Matariki kite. Orange and brown strings even use shells for the eyes. The second youngest sister made a pink kite. They made them out of paper but very big. She had a human-like body. They both love what they did. The sisters fly it together so they can remember the memories. They used shells for the eyes.

2. Ururangi was playing with her rainbow Matariki kite outside. She was wearing a thick coat because it was cold. There was a lot of grass around her. Tall trees walking high in the sky. She went up the hill where the river was. Ururangi had long hair and a pretty smile. The plants were very colorful when the sun shines brightly.

3. Ururangi had a dream about something. They were sleeping on the hill where the river was. The seven sisters loved to bond together every day. Ururangi had her thick coat around her body because it was very cold. Then Ururangi saw her kite flying in the sky.

The Seven Kites Of Matariki

Matariki

The New year celebration was coming soon, so seven sisters decided to make different types of kites, they tried hard so they could make it unique and neat. The sisters used different materials to create their kites.

The sisters were done with creating their cool kites, they got their thickest cloaks  and put their kites into the cloaks. After that they put it under their armpits, the sisters walked through the grass, forest and valley.

When the sisters arrived at the grandpa’s tree, the wind stopped, so the sisters tied their kites to one of the branches. They were falling fast asleep, then it turned nighttime, there was a crescent moon. The youngest child began to dream. The crescent moon became silver and the kite said. “Come on, let’s play!” So the youngest child said to herself. “Why is my kite trying to escape?

1 July 2026

 The Seven Sisters

1. The sisters used pipi shells. One sister used mussel shells. The other sister had an orange kite. But the fourth younger sister had a pink kite. They are celebrating Matariki. The oldest sister knows how to make it herself.

1. The youngest sister made a coloured kite. The youngest sister named Ururangi had a thick kite that is made out of rainbow paper. When the girls were ready to walk up the hill. The youngest sister Ururangi brought her kite with her. When the sisters were going there were trees with thick branches, a hill and a river.

1. While the sisters were sleeping. The kites were flying to the dark sky. There was a moon and an enormous tree. The sisters were sleeping in front of the tree.  But the youngest sister Ururangi was sleeping all by herself. The sisters were sleeping on the dry grass. The sisters had fun together. They lived happily ever after.

This week we made a Matariki star movie and I made one too. It was so much fun making all the new slides with only a tiny bit of change on each one.

Earlier this term we did Folk tale plays in Room 6. My group did the Three Billy Goats Gruff. I was the BIG, BIG goat  in the play. There was a troll under the bridge and the troll was mean. The little goat came but the troll didn’t let him cross the bridge so the little goat went for a swim. Next the middle goat came and the troll said you can come to my bridge at 4 pm but the middle goat jumped so far that he landed on the grassland.  Then the big goat came to the bridge the following day and explained to the troll that the bridge belongs to them and that they owned it for hundreds of years. The troll said that he only moved there two days ago. In the end, they became friends. 

Earlier this Term we were looking forward to Fairy and folks tales plays. We were going to act. My group had Goldilocks and the three bears. The fun thing was that we got to make masks, and I made a hat because I was the reader.

 We made our masks out of paper plates that my teacher bought. Then we painted them after we had designed the outline. I started to make my hat out of paper. Then I noticed that the paper was too wobbly so I did cardboard instead.

I made the base of my hat first. I also noticed that it hasn’t been colored yet so I colored it. I wanted to be black but I changed my mind to blue but there was no more time so I took my hat home to complete.

Me and my group practiced very hard then we got it then we performed Our play and it turned out good and it was funny. And my friends started laughing while acting.

Earlier this term we were making some masks for our fairy tale story. We were using plastic plates for our faces. I was Goldie locks in Goldie locks and the 3 bears. My 3 friends were bears. My friend Nonga was the mother bear, my friend Caseyl was the baby bear,and my friend Avey was the father bear. We had fun making the masks and my favourite part was making the masks because we were painting and colouring them.

The hardest part was painting because it got on my clean white t – shirt.

25 June 2026

I think Dogs are way better than cats because Cats can ruin your house and will make your clothes dirty with  their wet paws when they dig in the muddy dirt outside. Dogs can  be very loyal to their owners and dogs don’t make a mess in your house or ruin your clothes with their dirty paw, and dogs can smell cancer with  their nose also when they become  cubs, cubs can be known as baby animals. Baby dogs are cute and cannot harm you.

Why Dogs Are Better Than Cats.

Dogs are cuter than cats with dogs having 100+ breeds. Dogs can protect owners if an intruder breaks in your house. The feeling of the dog’s fur feels amazing, fascinating and soft. Dogs quickly learn how to use the toilet outside, not inside. Dogs can be used as a service dog for people who are in need. Dogs have an incredible sense of smell. Dogs can cheer you up when you’re lonely or depressed.

Dogs can be heavily used as a K9 protecting civilians and attacking harmful people. When dogs are young they can look very fluffy depending on the dog breed. Dogs can possibly change your life. Also can possibly (low chance) save lives if changed. Dogs can live up to 14-17 years. Cats are harsh and can scratch you for no reason while dogs protect you almost all the time if a bad person tries to hit you.

Dogs are loyal to their owners while cats aren’t. Dogs are important because if you’re homeless it might find food. Dogs are better because they don’t ruin your important belongings and your furniture. Cats go into secret places you don’t want them to be. While dogs don’t go into secret places. Dogs are much more caring and think about their owner. Dogs play so much while cats almost ignore you.

Dogs are one of the most popular pets to have in the whole entire world. Dogs are barely aggressive (except for chihuahua) depending on their dog breed. While most cats get aggressive if they see anyone. Dogs look more funnier than cats because of how they look.

Dog’s are way much better than cat’s. Because they have way better hearing  and whenever dog hears a brake throw they will attack the robber, Dog’s can also be smart with their sense of their smell like they can smell meat or ham an mile away. Dog’s are also faster and  stronger then cat’s because they can run 3 miles in 2 hours, and they hold a 3 kg by using their super strong teeth.

Why I think Cats are better than Dogs

Jack thinks that dogs are better than cats.Dogs are easy to take care of.However i strongly disagree.I think that cats are better than dogs because,cats don’t make a mess like some dogs do. Dogs are loud and hard to take care of and cats are easy to take care of.Cats are calm and peaceful unlike some dogs.Cats aren’t loud and don’t bark. Cats don’t bark at people and make them scared.Cats are fluffy and cute.

I like cats better than dogs because cats are cute and they are not loud.You also need to take dogs out for a walk but cats don’t need to go on a walk.Dogs always run around the house but cats just stay in one place or just walk around the house slowly.

Cats are calm and tidy but some dogs make more mess,Cats are chill and not hard to clean.Dogs are also cute but cats are better in my opinion.Cats dont need a leash because they dont attack other people,Cats have their own litter box for peeing and pooping but dogs dont they poo and pee everywhere.So i think that cats are better than dogs.

Dogs are way better than cats because they don’t leave as much fur as cats do. Dogs can smell cancer. Dogs can protect you from bad people. Dogs will always listen to you when they start to bark.

Dogs will scare bad people away and they are more dangerous . Dogs are more useful because they can be used as a service dog to help the special people. Dogs can hear Low sound, so they hear sounds that you can’t hear.Dogs can save people that are in a fire.

Dogs have multiple types of dog breeds. Some dogs are fierce and bark at other dogs. This is cool because dogs are useful to the police and the  swat team. Some dogs can cling to random people.

My haiku about frogs

Small silent lives

Quiet mini creatures

Camouflage frogs

This is my origami Frog that I made

I chose the Archeys frog because it is mini and tiny. We have been learning about frogs and it is really fun. There are different kinds of frog species there: the Hochstetter’s frog and the Archeys also the Hamilton frog.

My Haiku Poem about Frogs:

Three Species of frogs.

Tiny jumpy new froglets.

Eating flies for lunch.

This term we learned about different kinds of frogs – one was Archey’s  frog, Hamilton’s Frog and also Hochstetter’s frog. The Hochstetter’s frog was found in someone’s garden where these frogs were born when the dinosaurs were here on planet earth.  Also these frogs haven’t changed in so many years. When they hatch they are so tiny they are like the size of a coin.

My haiku poem about Frogs:

Secret silent lives

Ancient  frogs that never croak

Shadows by the creek.

This term we were learning about Pepeketua which means Frogs in Te reo Maori. I learned that there are three frogs that only live in New Zealand. They are Archey’s Frogs, Hochstetter Frogs and Hamilton’s Frogs. The Hochstetter frog is so tiny, only the size of a thumb. It lives in damp, dark places and the frog lets ride on the dad’s back when they hatch.

The reason why I like baby penguins is because they are adorable and nice. also can be petted.  They are black, brown, white, and are very playful and eat fish.

Baby penguins are shy, and when they see you, they think you’re an intruder. I like them because their small legs and wings also waddle . They’re so cute with these eyes it even has a grey torso and wings. Because they are very young and they are very small. Because they use their legs for walking and use their wings for putting them up and down. And you can play with the baby penguin and walk with it. Also if  you pet it, it will be happy.

I like cows because they are very big. You can hug cows and feed them with grass. Cows can lick you and it can try to bite you if you smell like grass. I really love feeding  grass to the cows and I want to get one as a pet.

Cows can give you milk, butter and beef and you can make cheese and yogurt. It’s very useful if you don’t have ingredients for food. You should get a cow because you’ll have an endless supply of milk. If you’re lazy you can let your cow eat the grass in your lawn instead of mowing it.

Cows are really good to have if you don’t have ingredients for your food and you can have milk for eternity.