Ocean

Hi,

All students at the North Ainslie Primary School planned to have an excursion to the Tomakin beach. However, the trip was cancelled twice due to weather. The weather was not good and the wave was very high. Now I am on holiday, semester break, for two weeks.

We learnt about ocean at school. OK, I am going to tell you about the ocean. There are many beautiful animals live in the ocean. Based on the sunlight penetration, there are three zones in the ocean: sunlight zone, twilight zone and midnight zone.

Dolphins, my favorite animal, live in the sunlight zone, at the very top of the ocean. Whales and jelly fish live in the twilight zone. Sparkly things and dumbo octopus live in the midnight zone.

Corals are plants that grow in the ocean. There are lots of different types and colors of corals. Corals live in twilight zone and midnight zone. Some of them grow very fast, but some do not.

Now I am going to tell you about sea horse. Sea horses are found mainly in warm, shallow coastal seas. They live among seagrass, mangroves, corals and kelp. In these places they are protected against strong currents and storms. Some sea horses live in estuaries, the sheltered places where rivers meet the sea.



About 25 species of sea horses are found in Australian waters. Some species are widespread and others are found only in certain areas, for example the Pygmy sea horses are found along the coast of Queensland and Japan. The Southern potbelly sea horses live along the Victorian and Tasmanian coasts. There are about 35 known species of sea horses in the world. They are secretive animals, more species might yet be discovered.

Soon after hatching, the young sea horses are ejected from the pouch. The male pumps and pushes for hours to empty his pouch. This usually happens at night. Small sea horse species might produce just five young, but larger species might produce 1,500 young.

We have done growing salt crystal experiment, too!



How do we make it?
We boil about 1 cup (250 ml) of water, add 1/4 cup of salt. The solution will be supersaturated when salt crystals begin to collect on the bottom of the pan.

Then, we pour the solution in a plastic glass. We soak a piece of straw in the solution until it is saturated and sinks to the bottom of the glass. The straw will act as a template or base for crystal growth. We put the glass in a sunny location. Crystals will form as the water evaporates.

Science is fun!

Floriade 2

Hello,

This afternoon I went to Floriade again with om and tante, without my mom. She is busy. She has so many works to do. She gave me water, rock melon, a pink pocket camera, a big hug, a kiss and a prayer.

Here are some of the pictures that I took. These are for you, mom.

Canberra Nara Candle Festival

こんにちは Kon'nichiwa,

This evening we went to the Canberra Nara Candle Festival.

Nara is located around 450 kilometres south-west of Tokyo. This year it is celebrating its 1,300th anniversary as Japan's first capital, when the Silk Road developed as a trading route between the east and west. In 1994 Nara Mayor Mr Yasunori Okawa and ACT chief minister Rosemary Follett signed the agreement to form a sister city relationship to exchange culture, education and trade. A couple of years later, the ACT government launched the Canberra Nara Candle Festival, which was called the Tokae Festival of Candlelight in Nara.


The lighting of candles culturally promotes peace and happiness.
Source of picture: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/09/18/3014789.htm


This is a wishing tree.


Many people write their wish on a sheet of paper and hang it on the tree. I have a secret wish .... ^_^ Well, a girl wrote: I wish I could be the smartest girl in the class. Other girl wrote: I wish I could go to Paris.


Some children learn to write Hiragana.


Some children learn to make origami. I wanted to make a bird origami, but it was too late. It is almost close. I have to do it at home.


Some musician play Japanese traditional musical instruments.

さようなら Sayonara
私はろうそく祭り好き Watashi wa rōsoku matsuri-suki

Floriade 1

Hello,

This morning we went to Floriade, the biggest flower festival in Australia and an Australia's celebration of spring at the Commonwealth Park. Floriade began in 1988 and since that year it has become an annual event. We saw thousands of beautiful flowers there.






Majority of flowers in the Floriade are tulips. They look like tulip festival in Ottawa, Canada; or tulips in Keukenhof garden in Netherland.


The empress flower also entertains guests at the Floriade.






















There was a student orchestra playing many High School Musical songs.


There are many "hanging umbrellas" at the other side of Floriade. There are so many bats hanging and sleeping in the bare trees. They are bigger than bats in Indonesia. Many guests that are coming to see the flower festival may disturb the bats. The umbrellas are hung in many places so the bats won't be afraid of many guests.


"Flying charm!"

I am lucky that I can see Floriade this year. I really like it!