We’ve always wanted a class pet and the closest we have come is having a ‘school’ cat. Now we not only have a cat but four kittens as well!

Earlier in the year, Sybil arrived. It took a little while to earn her trust and she wasn’t that keen on kids. Only people who arrived at school early when it was quiet met her before she raced off and hid under our classroom for the day. Our global pal Snappy had a happy ‘snap’ with her whilst she ate breakfast.

Snappy and Sybil

Sybil went off to the vets to be scanned for a microchip. Unfortunately she did not have one so it was off to the pound for eight days. No owner could be found and Sybil was adopted by Miss Crowther.

Sybil

Just when we thought we were cat free, another cat was spotted in the yard. It looked a lot like Sybil and to begin with, people thought that it was the same cat! Mrs Lewis nicknamed the new cat Stevie – short for Stephanie or Stephan. Today we discovered that Stevie is definitely short for Stephanie!

On Monday Stevie and her large tummy arrived for breakfast. We suspected she was full of kittens.

Stevie pre kittens

Today she appeared looking much thinner and extremely hungry. She also only wanted to eat in one spot. Surprisingly she was extra friendly and didn’t run away when everyone arrived at school.

The mystery of where the kittens were hiding was solved at recess. Stevie’s kittens were waiting patiently for their mum under a blackberry bush. It wasn’t a very safe place – they would get wet and cold when the evening’s predicted storm arrived and they would make a delicious snack for Fantastic Mr Fox.

A plan was hatched to first catch Stevie (as she was going to be the hardest) and then move her kittens to be with her. It was a team effort and we probably won’t ever have another recess like it! Games were abandoned as we embarked on our mission.

Stevie and her kittens were soon scooped up (more easily than we imagined) and spent the rest of the day in Mrs Lewis’ quiet office getting to know each other. We all wanted to visit, but had to leave her in peace and make do with photos.

Stevie and her kittens

It’s too early to know if the kittens are boys or girls. Stevie and her kittens will be heading off to the vets for a check up and then a foster home until the kittens are big enough to be rehomed. Stevie will also be looking for a home.  The RSPCA have some tips for adopting cats.

Did you know…

*Over the past 10 years the RSPCA have adopted out or reunited with their owners 222,916 cats/kittens.

* 1 in 4 Australian households are home to cats. (Source: Animal Australia)

* One homeless cat can have up to 41 kittens a year. (Click Here for the source)

* The average pet cat will live for 12 to 15 years.

* On average, cats spend two thirds of their day sleeping. That means, if a cat is nine years old, it has only been awake for three years!

* A group of cats is called a ‘clowder’.

* There is an expression ‘Having kittens’. It means that you are freaking out or panicking about something.

Do you have a cat? What is it like?

What interesting facts can you share about cats?

If you were Stevie, what would you say about the day’s events?

Have you ever ‘Had kittens’ over something?

* Guest Post by Cam & Dylan *

This post is going to be about where William Tyrell is at the moment. William, aged three at the time, went missing on Friday 12^th September, 2014 at 10:30am from his nana’s backyard in Kendall, NSW. He was wearing a Spiderman costume at the time.

The police and William’s family believe that he may still be alive. They have launched a massive campaign to raise awareness for William’s disappearance in the hope someone will come forward with information so that William can be found. If anyone has any information about William, they should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Merchandise is being sold from the Where’s William Foundation to help to raise money. They sell caps, t-shirts, ribbons and much more. Our school is running a fundraiser tomorrow for the ‘Where’s William?’ fundraiser.

Photo from Where’s William? website

What fundraisers have you been involved with?

Guest Post by Ebony & Olivia

Young William Tyrrell disappeared from his Nana’s home on the NSW Mid-North coast at around 10:30am on Friday 12th September 2014. He was 3 years old at the time and wearing a Spider-Man costume.

Photo from Where’s William? website

William’s family and friends are heartbroken not knowing what has happened to their little boy. If you know anything that might help the police to find William please don’t keep it a secret. Ring Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Even the smallest piece of information that someone may think is insignificant could help police find William and bring him home.

Everyone in William’s family loves him and cares about him and are desperate to find him and bring him home. There is a special fundraising campaign that people all around Australia can donate to. Our school is doing a fundraiser on Friday for William. We will be dressing in red and blue or Spiderman costumes. It will be a gold coin donation to dress up and all money raised will go to the ‘Where’s William?’ foundation.

Photo from Where’s William? website

Click Here if you want to find out more about William. We used information from this website to help us write our post.

Have you been involved in any fundraisers?

 If you have, what are they?

Last week we headed off to Wallan Secondary College for a ‘Taster Day’. The day was so named because it was designed to give us all a ‘taste’ of Secondary School life as we pretended to be Year 7s for a day.

After meeting some real Year 7s, we had a quick tour of the school before our first lesson which was followed by lunch and another lesson. Throughout the day we participated in Indonesian and food technology or music and woodwork.

Photo courtesy of Mrs Gurney, WSC

Photo courtesy of Mrs Gurney, WSC

We enjoyed meeting different teachers, trying new subjects and catching up with our 2014 Grade 6 friends who are now in Year 7.

At the very end of the day we were lucky enough to have a Question and Answer session with a group of Year 7 students.

Thank you to Ms Lasslett, Mrs Gurney and Mr Ellis for inviting us and organising a great day of learning and fun.

What did you like most about the Taster Day?

If you already go (or have already been) to Secondary School, what are/were your favourite subjects? Why?

Today, April 25th, is ANZAC Day. This year, it is extra special because it is 100 years ago that Australian and New Zealand troops landed on the shores of Gallipoli. Their aim was to capture Constantinople (now Istanbul in Turkey) and open the Dardanelles to their navies. They did not expect soldiers from Turkey to be there. The battle dragged on for eight months and thousands of soldiers were killed.

Over the past week we have been learning more about ANZAC Day and its many traditions. Today there were ceremonies right across Australia and also in Gallipoli.

During our research we discovered:

– Poppies were among the first plants to grow on the battlefields in northern France and Belgium.

– In soldiers’ folklore (what they believe) the red of the poppy came from the blood of the soldiers.

– The sight of poppies on a battlefield gave Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae the idea for a poem. It is called Flanders Fields.

– People wear rosemary sprigs on ANZAC Day. It grows in the wild on the Gallipoli peninsula.

– The Last Post is a bugle call that tells everyone the day’s activities are finished. It is also played at military funerals to say that the soldier is at his last resting place.
 

– Some people think the Dawn Service started because soldiers liked to launch attacks just before dawn.

– An man named Jack Simpson Kirkpatrick, better known as Simpson, was one of the men who landed at Anzac Cove in Gallipoli. Together with his donkey, he collected wounded soldiers from the beach.

We also learnt that soldiers wrote messages on leaves when there was no paper.
 

Some of us went to other classes in the school to teach younger students about poppies and why people wear them on ANZAC Day. We also helped them to make poppies.

We ran a special assembly at school to remember the men and women who fought for Australia.
 

Click HERE to learn even more about ANZAC Day.

Last year, BTN ran the segment below on ANZAC Day.
 

 

Lest We Forget

What special days do you celebrate in your country?

What does ANZAC Day make you think about?