Bali Riverside Homeschool
February 2015 Newsletter
SPORTS
We are continuing with our badminton sessions at Canggu futsal. I have a slecion of badminton rackets, but you might want to invest in getting your child one of their own. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough interest in the capoiera for it to go ahead.
FIELD TRIPS
We are planning another trip to Clei Pottery in Sanur where the children will make some replica Ancient Egyptian artefacts. We have also been invited to join Bali One Love Homeschool on their 'glamping' trip to Bedugul. This will be in April.
HOLIDAYS
Just a reminder that our last day of term will be Friday 27th March. We will have a week off school and then come back for the last term on Monday 6th April. Finally, I'd like to wish everyone a happy and peaceful Nyepi.
Miss Janine
Story Time
The Visitors
By Putu (aged 11)
“No, this can’t be happening,” said Mark the inventor. He heard a beeping noise coming from his alien radar saying that the alien was coming and what time. He stayed up all night making sure it was not a false alarm, but it wasn’t a false alarm.
Aliens were actually coming to earth.
The next morning, Paul arrived to Mark’s house and mark told Paul what was happening. He told him to tell to tell everyone, so they went out to tell everyone but no one believed them and they just gave up and went home to prepare for war.
Two weeks passed. They started hearing swishing noises and it was the space ships and the aliens were roaring very loudly.
“They’re here! Prepare for war!” shouted Mark
They drove to town because the radar told them to go there. When they got there, buildings were knocked down on fire and people were screaming. They were getting chased by aliens with long fat tentacles with red and yellow eyes. Mark and Paul grabbed their guns and shot the black ship that was blacker than squid ink.
But that wasn’t all. Some of them came out in small red ships, some in small red and black jetpacks and some were cute and came out in hover boards.
They started shooting them, but the unthinkable happened.
Paul was shoot by one of the aliens and died. Mark got mad but sad at the same time. He just gave up and surrendered and dropped to his knees. He was sucked up a green tube and taken to space.
S.U.V. Rescue
By Jaka (age 9)
Part One: The Land
Long ago, on a far away planet called Noctavius, there was a cruel robot empire that forced miners to dig deeply. The Arkeyans ... the unkind empire took away people from their homes and made them work hard. The Arkeyans were greedy to find powerful Laxomiond, an element that had the power to terminate anything in its path.
Part Two: Meet the Rebels
However, there were four heroes that wouldn’t go without a fight. Captain Trex, general of the S.U.V. army, Doctor Joe, S.U.V.’s computer genius, Lance, S.U.V.’s best pilot and Layah, S.U.V.’s best soldier. The S.U.V. hideout was in Noctavius’s high mountains in the cold east. “Let’s plan the attack in the west to free the hopeless slaves,” commanded Trex. “We’ll send out seven military gunships to fight the greedy robot empire,” he said importantly.
Part Three: Attack on Noctavius
So the four heroes got on a ship. Wwooossshhhh! The shuttle’s engines blasted like fireworks and went as fast as lightning. Nineteen minutes later they got close to the mines. Then, the Arkeyan watch tower saw them come and alarmed the other Arkeyan soldiers, who grabbed their plasma guns and got inside their turrets. Zzzaaaappp! went the S.U.V. fighter ships’ blasters, as the green lasers shot the Arkeyan turrets in the glass.
Soon, the S.U.V. gunships landed and Captain Trex and his crew got out, armed with laser guns, armour and tracking devices so they wouldn’t get lost. Zap, zap! Two lasers shot the ground. “We’re under attack!” shouted Layah.
There was an Arkeyan sniper watching them, making a trap. He was sitting in the mine’s dusty hallway with a rifle a metre long. Boom! Lance threw a grenade at the mine’s cracked walls and the Arkeyan robot sniper was blown to tiny smithereens.
Part Four: Passages
The four rebel heroes continued until they found four passages that led to four parts of the wretched mine. One led to the king, one led to the king’s gold, another led to the drills and the last led to the Pit of Ultimate Doom. “Where to?” asked Lance.
“Let’s meet the king,” commanded Trex. “We’ll find and arrest him,” he said crossly.
Part Five: Killer – Monster!
When they got through the dark passage they met the unkind robot king. “Freeze!” shouted Trex as the heroes pointed their plasma guns at the king. Suddenly, the Arkeyan king pushed a dusty button. The rebels fell through a dark and cobwebby hole and ended up in a pit filled with bones and dust. Then a gate opened and Joe realised that he and the crew had fallen into the Pit of Ultimate Doom! Something came out of the pitch darkness of the gates. It had two fangs the size of a human head and an abdomen the size of a car. It had eight giant legs as pointy as knives and six green eyes the size of light bulbs. It was a killer giant spider that devoured anything that would attack the king.
“Fire at will!” shouted Trex.
Zap! Zap! Zap! went the guns, shooting green lasers at the horrifying beast.
“Let me throw a grenade at it!” shouted Joe. “That will send it back to its hole.” Boom! Joe’s grenade exploded in front of the spider and made it run back into the darkness of its home.
Part Six: Victory Time
Soon, Layah found a way out. “This way,” she said. It was an old trap door, covered in cobwebs. They opened the trap door and found themselves behind the Arkeyan robo-king. However, he was alone. There were no guards. He was just alone on his throne.
“Freeze!” shouted Trex. He pointed his plasma gun at the king and arrested him with Level 9 technology handcuffs. Soon a black and white S.U.V. gunship blasted the rooftop with powerful green lasers and landed on the blue floor. The pilot of the ship was Lance’s brother.
“Let’s get out of here,” said Joe. So the four heroes flew back to base with all the miners and the miners gave their strong thanks.
Invasion
By Meran (age 13)
Dusk fell fast upon the gravel. The sky was a spectrum of oranges and dark pinks and blues, like a fresh bruise hovering above our heads. A cold sprinkle of crystalline rain dotted the pavement, and a moist heat was heavy in the breeze.
I didn’t notice at first, it took me a few momentary seconds to hear the loud crack of the pavement jolting beneath my feet. I lurched sideways, sprawling across the ground. Another loud strike of the whip shuddered below me, sending my heart to fly right out of my chest. Silence rung in my ears, but as the third bang struck the crowd fell into chaos.
Leather shoes and pink-bowed heels cluttered around my head, screams and shouts and cries of children emerged into one great wall of sound ringing in the core of my ears. Stumbling, I found way to my feet, panting and pulsing in a moment of complete and utter terror. My eyes bulged from my skull, and my knees attempted to buckle at every given chance, my throat pulsing and twisting into a tight knot, my blood coursing through my veins in skipping hiccups and squeezing tight ropes around my body.
There was a piercing scream over the chaos from behind me, and my eyes found the location of the central uproar of mayhem. Through the bustling crowd, a silhouette of darkness stood still against the vermillion sky.
I pushed my way through the masses of scrambling people, fright and curiosity pulling me closer and closer. Elbowed and shouldered people raged behind me, as I approached the black shadow. My eyes widened with excitement, uncontrollable fear trembling my bones.
The crowd stood a few feet away from the edge, bustling and fighting, impatient to take a glimpse of the mysterious thing. In the middle of the dented asphalt, a pod like object eight meters tall and four meters long, shone like the toe of a squeaky polished shoe. It reflected the mandarin and purple sky, and our crowd of terrified faces.
The wind whirled around us, rolling in waves around our feet. Drops of sweat spotted my nose from the moist air, a lump of phlegm swelling in the back of my throat. The clouds thundered in a monstrous rage, colliding in rumbling shakes. The rain drummed the wet sticky ground, and from behind a purple cloud, the bloody sun cackled in a thundering laughter.
All of a sudden, a gust of wind shoved us sideways, our clothes forced down onto our skin and out faces tight against our skulls. Everyone screamed as the sky sobbed in loud moans and unfathomable cries. I could hear my heart pounding against my chest, my blood clogging in my veins.
Above the noise of the rumbling sky, a series of metallic clicks and low bubbling ascended from the wall of sound. From inside the leather pod, a large grey tentacle squirmed and coiled in the air, flopping over the edge like the falling impact of a mass of leather. Black liquid poured onto the pavement as the pod tipped sideways, and from the darkness, black leathery eyes blinked as it rose from its slumber.
Its pupils darted back and forth, glaring at us one by one. An electronic groan rumbled deep inside the creature’s body, and it writhed and wriggled in exhaustion as it tried to crawl from the pod. The pavement fell from beneath me and I lurched sideways, sprawling onto the feet of the crowd. The alien’s long spidery legs crept out of the pod, and its tentacles dragged behind it as it rose to a stand, its large oversized head bobbing atop its towering twig-like and spidery body. Its large glassy looking eyes and black leathery legs looked like it was pulled out of a 1950’s B movie, dipped into a modern day horror movie, and brought to life. As much as it looked like it would be completely hilarious and over exaggerated on the small screen, in the flesh it was more terrifying than anything imaginable.
I jumped with a start and kicked my way through the hypnotized crowd. A scream broke out, snapping everyone out of their trance. Before I knew it, I was on the ground again, being trampled and stomped over, while everyone shouted and cried in terror. Somehow I found way to my feet once again and I looked back, eager to take another glimpse at the monster. The sight burnt holes in my eyes and I looked away. Then there were hundreds.
Five, ten, twenty, a hundred blood curdling aliens were rising from the ground, squishing and throwing people around with their sticky tentacles. A slight breeze of soft wind brushed the back of my sweaty shirt, and from the marrow of my bones, a cold icy chill began to grow. That’s when I began screaming at the top of my lungs, running to go anywhere, anywhere away from the aliens.
Portal to the Planet of Doom
by Cuba (age 10)
There were two friends called Mark and Billy. Billy was a scientist and Mark was an explorer. They were best friends.
One day they met each other at the beach to search for rocks from a meteor shower. Suddenly, they saw something strange. It was blue and a blackish colour. So they got closer and it made a funny noise like zzzzzzz!
It was a portal.
Suddenly, the portal was pulling them in. They felt like there was no gravity. Then they landed somewhere where it was very dark and quiet. All they could see to the north were very dark black rocks, like the colour of a black cat. To the south, the sky was dark blue mixed with deathly yellow and the strange plants were as yellow as the sky. They felt like they were in a freezer and with the smell of rotten eggs mixed with rotten apples.
They kept on walking and walking, but then they heard a very unusual noise like a growl. Then they heard footsteps. Suddenly, they saw a weird looking monster with red eyes and a small snout. It also looked very hairy and had teeth as sharp as knives. They hid behind a rock, but the creature saw a bit of Billy’s hair. The thing smelled human blood and then it found Billy, but Mark ran just in time.
The monster took Billy to a cave. It was very dark and, if there was light, it was from the lava. It took Billy to a very small cage made out of rock and bricks.
Now back to Mark. Mark followed them very secretly, so that the creature didn’t hear or notice anything. He thought about the place. It was very suspicious. Then he saw the monster eating something. “Oh no!” he thought. “What if that is Billy?”
Then, luckily, Mark saw Billy in the cage made out of brick and rock. Billy didn’t see Mark yet, so Mark got closer and closer. Then he saw it needed keys to open it, but he was very lucky because he saw a small monster with keys and stuff. He looked scary because he was sleeping with his mouth open and you could see his teeth. Then Mark had an idea. Maybe he could get the key. So he slowly took the keys. He tried the first one and it worked.
“Yes!” they both screamed. Oh no! The monster saw them. “Run! Run!” said Billy. They got out of the cave. Mark dropped the key and the portal came back. They went back in just as the monsters were going to grab them.
Billy and Mark were back on Earth. The two friends looked at each other and agreed that they would not look for meteor rocks any more - in case they were from that planet.
Field Trip to Saraswati Papers
By Océane
Have you ever wondered how to make recycled paper? In February our class went to Saraswati papers to see this process and also to make cards and flowered patterned paper.
When we arrived at Saraswati Papers there was a lady who was going to guide us around the factory.
First, we went to a garage. That is where they recycle the paper. The people who worked there ripped all the unused papers into strips. Most of the papers were from the immigration or other offices and embassies. They put the strips of paper in a big pot to boil. This is to remove the ink from the paper.
When it’s finished boiling, they put the boiled paper in a big basin to leave over night. The next day they put it in a big blender and add more water. Then they pour that in a big square metal place. The people each have these square shapers, they take the liquid and put it in the square shapers and plop it on big painting paper and leave it to dry.
In the next room there were people making cards for Valentine’s Day. We got to try to make flower patterns - with real fresh flowers - and painted cards with shimmery colours.
Then the lady showed us where they keep their storage, because they have a shop. They also had books that were made out of elephant poop! I had a wonderful time being crafty!
Art Gallery
What we did this month
Science
This month in Science, the theme has been Earth and Beyond. Year 5 and 6 have been learning about the day and night, the seasons and the solar system, while Year 8 have been looking at gravity and space.
Here the students are making a scale model of the distance in the solar system - using toilet paper!