Wombat, Kangaroo, & Koala Bears!

Here are three of the animal species that I was able to have a close encounter with! Did you know that these three species can only be found on the continent of Australia? If you are interested, click on the links to learn more about these amazing creatures.

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/wombat/

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/red-kangaroo/?source=A-to-ZZ

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/koala/?source=A-to-Z

Hobbit & Mt. Doom: Lord of the Rings & Hobbit Movies

Have you read the trilogy of books by J.R.R. Tolken: "The Fellowship of the Ring", "The Two Towers" and "The Return of the King?" Have you seen the blockbuster films named after the books?!

These books/movies are fantasy adventures set in a mythical place called "Middle-Earth." A small sheep farm in the center region of New Zealand was selected as one of the main sites to film this blockbuster trilogy. Sadly, the movie set was deconstructed at the conclusion of filming with the trilogy. The people of New Zealand wanted the "Hobbitville" to stay and were sad to see it go. However, news broke over the past year that "Hobbitville" would be again! The movie "Hobbit" and a sequel to follow will begin filming next year and through 2011 on the same sheep farm.

Here are a few pictures of the movie set. There will be 44 Hobbit homes when the set is completely finished with a village that overlooks a pond. The first picture is of one of the Hobbit homes and the second picture is of the "Party Tree" that was so famous in the trilogy. The last picture is of Mt. Doom. Here is some more information about Mt. Doom!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Doom

I am looking forward to rereading the books and watching the films again! Are you interested in the series? Ask the library specialists for more information if you are!

Marine Life of Southern Ocean

Are you able to identify any of these species? The one commonality all of these particular species share is they are all residents of the Southern Ocean!

These photographs were taken as I toured the Melbourne Aquarium. These are only a few snapshots of the dozens of species I saw on this morning!

Parade of the Penguins: Phillip Island

This afternoon I was able to take a tour to the southern coast of Australia to an island known as Phillip Island. The tour departed from the city centre of Melbourne near 1:00 pm and returned quite late near 11:00 pm. There is a reason why the tour runs on these odd hours: The Parade of the Penguins. It was a spectacular experience and one I will never forget.

Each evening as the sun is setting colonies of Little Penguins (smallest penguin in the world) cross Summerland Beaches to go to their nests just off the shore. The Little Penguins have done this for thousands of years and is an amazing ritual in nature. As the Little Penguins near the shoreline they gather in rafts(groups) for protection against predators and go to their boroughs after a day fishing in the seas.

We were not allowed to take photographs of any kind as the flash could disrupt or scare the Little Penguins. This was one of my favorite moments on the trip so far!

If you are interested in learning more about this amazing species: check out the links below!!!

http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/parks/pdfs/PARKS_PDFS_LITTLE_PENGUINS.PDF

http://www.penguins.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9&Itemid=54&mytabsmenu=1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Penguin

Culture of Australia

Do you know what are the most popular sports in Australia? Can you guess which sport is played in this stadium with the lights? Christmas in summer! Here is a picture of a picture of a popular downtown street preparing for the upcoming winter celebrations. Does this look similar to streets in Denver?! I walked past a strip mall and here were some of the stores signs. Do you recognize any?!

I have had some technical issues with my camera and will blog about the land and marine species of the Southern Ocean when it is available!

~Ms. Donahue :)

School Uniforms?!

What is your opinion about students having to wear uniforms to public schools? In Australia and New Zealand this is the situation for most students that attend public and private schools! How would you feel? Can you list some of the positive benefits of wearing school uniforms for the whole school culture and yourself? Can you list some of the negative points of having to wear a required uniform each day for the whole school culture and yourself? How do you come out on this debate?!

The students in the pictures are in grade 3 and grade 7 and live in Auckland, New Zealand. These uniforms reminded me of Hogwarts, do you see the resemblance too!?

G'day! Gloria Jean's vs. Starbucks

G'day as they say in Australia! First of all, good luck on your DCA this week and read the questions and work on the maps carefully!

The long flight (20 hours) is a story of the past. Australia is 18 hours ahead of Denver time and I am writing this blog during Tuesday afternoon which is late in the evening on Monday for you.
Summer is almost here! (That is not an error in Ms. Donahue's typing) Be sure to ask Mr. Gerber why the northern hemisphere is in winter and why Australia is heading into the summer.

The first stop on my journey is to a southeastern coastal city, Melbourne, a city of approximately 3 million people. The population is slightly larger than Denver's. Do you know which Australian state Melbourne is in? Do you know what type of animal and marine species live in and around Melbourne? Do you know what culture is like for residents of this populated Australian city? Do you know what physical features make up this region? I will be discovering some of these answers over the next few days! What new information did you learn last Friday about Australia? Be sure to email a friend or me what you found interesting.

I wanted to share some of happenings during my first two days that made me think about our classes. Since we have been learning about culture in LA & SS classes, I find myself wanting to learn more about culture too! My first culture quest was to compare coffee. I began this morning with a latte from Gloria Jean's (The Australian version of Starbucks). Coffee/Tea beverages mostly certainly fall under the universal of culture, food, as you know. The cost for the coffee drink was slightly more expensive that what someone would pay for the same coffee drink in America. As for the taste, I would give a slight edge to Gloria Jean's, but not by much!

As you learn more about Australia, do you think the culture and life of Melbourne looks more similar or different than Denver? Why?

** I am unable to upload photographs or videos from my personal camera and hope to be able to tomorrow - **

Next Blog: Grey Nurse shark, King Penguins, Gentoo Penguins, fresh water eels, Southern Ocean marine life, Globe Fish, coral atoll, Giant Pacific Octopus- stay tuned for the story!

Mini Tours: Australia & New Zealand!

Ms. Donahue's Class: 11/12
CW: Australia & New Zealand -
HW: Enjoy your weekend!

* Check the blog next week for updates from Australia & New Zealand! *

1.) "All The Write Type" - 10 minutes
2.) EarthBuzz.Donahue - Please read for today's assignment!
3.) Open NetTrekker: Ask a neighbor if you do not remember the username & password OR check one of the blog entries from a few weeks ago - there are instructions!
4.) Please get a pair of headphones
5.) Please go to NetTrekker > My Portfolio > Shadow Ridge > 6th Grade > Torrey's Peak > Social Studies > Australia & New Zealand
6.) Please open the websites and learn more about Australia & New Zealand!
(I do not expect you to look at every website, choose at least 2-3 sites to look at to learn more about both countries) ** TAKE YOUR TIME READING & LEARNING**
7.) Open Microsoft Word or Microsoft PowerPoint
8.) Write Ms. Donahue a letter in Microsoft Word about what you learned from both countries OR
Create a 10 slide PowerPoint presentation about what you learned from both countries
9.) Save your work to your "H" drive!
10.) Extra Credit - You can email me your assignment from gaggle if you know how!

PS. Stewie & Champ wanted to say hello :)

Universals of Culture: Preteen Colorado Culture

With 6 billion people on Earth, it is impossible to count the number of cultures people identify with. Despite all the differences in how people live, for the past two weeks we have studied the common stands of culture known as "Universals of Culture." Such as food, clothing, shelter, government, recreation, arts, etc...

Students investigated their own culture(s) and created posters to display the information. Next, students took the most important key words and phrases from their culture posters to create a worldle. What in the world is a wordle?! Ask the students to see their copy!

PS. Here is an example of one poster!

Mexico City: Spatial Inequality