Talofa Lava from New York City!

Talofa Potu 5!
O a mai outou?  I'm so sorry it's taken a long time to post on our class blog, but I get back from sightseeing all day and am very tired.  So I only have time to post to my traveller's blog which you can find on weymouth2theusa.blogspot.com.

Hope you all had a great final week of term, and that your holidays are off to an amazing start!  We have done so much since we've been here.  Things like catching the subway to all over the place, going to Harlem, the Bronx, seeing the New York Yankees (baseball team) stadium in the Bronx.  Alosina has been very tired because of the time difference.  When it is night time here, it is early morning over there in NZ.  So during the day when he should be sleeping, we are out and about catching trains and looking at different things all over New York City.

Unfortunately I was unable to visit the World Trade Memorial Centre, but I did see the twisted wreck of one of the towers.  It still stands in its' place today and there will be a new centre built around the twisted wreck. 

New York is a very busy place.  It is full of people, cars, bikes and dogs.  Seriously, so many dogs yet there is not much grass area for the dogs to play in.  So they have parks for dogs where owners can bring their dogs to the park to run around and play. When Americans say goodbye to somebody they always say, "Take care."  They are generally friendly people and very helpful.

The Statue of Liberty had to be a huge highlight for me.  I really do hope that one day you all make it a goal to get to New York city and see the Statue of Liberty for yourselves.  It is a story about freedom for all people from all over the world.  I took a photo of the original torch that was taken down in 1986, it is on display in the museum.

Central Park is a great big park in the middle of Manhattan.  It has several playgrounds and there are plenty of things to do in the park.  There are horse and carriage rides, bike rides, activities for kids and other fun things to do.  I just loved taking photos of all the things that were available.  So many tourists come to Central Park to have a good look around or just to relax. 

Tomorrow we are heading off to the Empire State Building.  We look forward to going up to the top of that too.

Anyway I'd better sign off and post some photos.  Hope Hannah and Anna had a great birthday, and hope that you all had a great Good Friday service today, remembering the death of Jesus Christ our Saviour.

Ia manuia le malologa.  Take care. God bless.
Ms. Fa'avale & Alosina. xx

The original torch from the Statue of Liberty.

My first sign for Hannah and Anna.  Hope you had a great day girls!

Taken from the Top of the Rock observation deck.

Malo, Alosina & I at the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.

An Amazing Trip to the Zoo

Do you remember singing, "The wheels on the bus go round and round?"  We didn't actually sing that on the bus, but the wheels were going round and round, all the way to the Auckland Zoo.  Upon our arrival, we were greeted by two zoo educators (Laura and Richard), who were assigned to educate us further about endangered species. 

Prior to our visit, room 5 learnt about Maui's dolphin and how it is becoming endangered because the water is getting polluted.  We also developed new vocabulary about animals in general.  For example, a mammal is a warm-blooded animal that gives birth to live babies.  A reptile is a cold-blooded animal that lays eggs.  Amphibians can live on both land and on water, like frogs and salamanders.  We also learnt about their natural habitats and how animals are able to camouflage themselves so they don't get attacked.

Anyway...back to the zoo.  Inside the Rakau Room with Richard, we were taught about how stoats eat and kill kiwis.  We learnt how to stroke a bearded dragon - you must use two fingers (second and third fingers) to gently stroke the lizard's back.  The lizard's name was Banjo and his skin felt hard and scaley.  Did you know, that Kiwis have the shortest beak in the world?  Scientists measure beaks from a bird's nostril to the tip of their beaks.  However, a kiwi's nostril is right at the tip of the beak, that is why they have the shortest beak.  Wow!  That's amazing information.

We also watched a kiwi hatch from its' egg.  A baby kiwi finds it difficult because their beaks are in between their legs.  They wriggle themselves out until the shell of the egg breaks.  Sometimes, if they are hatching in a lab, the zookeeper helps them, but just a little bit.  The baby kiwi is very strong to break itself out of the egg.

Walking around the Auckland zoo was exciting!  We visited Pridelands first, where we saw a tall giraffe, an ostrich, a rhinocerous, zebras and a springbok.  Here's some interesting facts about a giraffe:  a giraffe is a mammal; a giraffe has a long neck which helps them eat from a tall tree; a giraffe gallops by springing forward on its' two hindlegs, this makes a giraffe faster than a lion; they are born in Africa; a giraffe has the same amount of neck bones as a human; a baby giraffe is as tall as a man. 

So much information, but little space to write it.  Room 5 learnt so much from their visit to the Auckland Zoo.  Thank you to our parent helpers:  Mata (Hope Betham's Mum) and Vaiola (Ms Fa'avale's friend).  Tired and sunburnt (oh no!), we boarded the bus, but nobody had any energy to sing "The wheels on the bus go round and round."  The End.

 

This is Banjo the bearded dragon, or a lizard.

Room 5 under the corrugated iron elephant.

Stopped by the police for racing around the zoo in our white ute.