Guatemala volcano erupts

WALT: Reflect on what we have read

Sixty-two people have been killed and hundreds injured after Guatemala’s Fuego volcano erupted on Sunday. It was the Guatemala’s most violent volcanic eruption in more than a century. The volcano was about 40 km heading to the Capital city.In Guatemala City, La Aurora airport has been closed due to ash.Thousands have been evacuated. Officials have advised citizens to wear masks due to falling ash. A total of about 1.7 million people have been affected by the eruption, the Guatemalan government says.

New Zealand Celebrates Maori Language Week

IALA:The Maori language week

Te Reo is Being Celebrated in New Zealand.The theme for this year is Kia ora te reo Māori which means, “Let the Māori Language live”.I've learnt lots about the Maori Language and it has helped me to learn new Languages.Ko Te whanau He tonu which means family is forever.Maori Language Week is about raising awareness about te reo in New Zealand and promoting the language.

According to Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori – the Māori Language Commission 130,000 people have conversational fluency, 300,000 are learning at school and 10,000 are learning in tertiary education.This Thursday, September 14, marks the day in 1972 that the Māori Language Petition was delivered to Parliament. The petition, initiated by activist group Nga Tamatoa, contained more than 30,000 signatures, and paved the way for Māori language to be taught in schools.

Hurricane Irma hits Caribbean

IALA:The Hurricane that happened in Caribbean

Hurricane Irma has caused a very big destruction in Caribbean. More than half of the island’s three million residents were without power as Irma caused heavy strong winds. People have said that power could be cut off for more than 3 weeks.

The most Atlantic powerful storm in a decade had wind speeds of 295 km h.The small island of Barbuda is said to be “barely habitable” while officials warn that the French territory of St Martin is almost destroyed.

Throughout this article I Felt very sad that some people can die.The part I felt happy is that not that much people died.Next time I can check the weather if there's a storm heading this way.

Massive dinosaur skeleton found

IALA:A massive dinosaur

It’s official: an Argentine dinosaur as heavy as a Boeing 737 is the biggest ever discovered.

The dinosaur weighed more than 65,000kg a new study says. I think it was 37 metres long. That makes the animal not just the biggest dinosaur but also the biggest known animal ever.and this dinosaur’s bones show it was still growing.

Scientists have made fossils of six different Patagotitan Mayo family farm. The 150 bones include examples of 30% of the animal’s skeleton, which to scientists is almost as mind-boggling as the animal’s weight.

This made me think that dinosaurs are still alive.Reading this article surprised me a lot.The challenge for me today was believing that the dinosaurs bones are still growing.The part I like the most was when I heard the dinosaurs got 150 bones.

Why do storms have names?

IALA:Storms

Huge storms are often in the news but have you ever wondered why they have names and how they are decided?

Why do they need names?
Tropical storms like hurricanes, cyclones or typhoons are given names so scientists can keep track of them.
In some places there can be over 100 storms in just 12 months, so names make them much easier for experts to tell them apart.

Who makes the name decisions?
There are regular meetings of weather scientists around the world to decide on new names for the next year.
Names of storms which cause a lot of damage are never used again.

Storms are named in alphabetical order.
The first storm of a year will have an A name, like Hurricane Alice or Typhoon Andrew, the next one gets a B name and so on.
There is a name for each letter of the alphabet – but Q, U, X, Y and Z are not included.

Who decides if they’re named after girls or boys?
Storms take it in turns to have girls’ or boys’ names.
Originally storms were only named after girls. In 1979, men’s names were introduced.

Worlds Funniest Joke

The funniest one-liner from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival has been announced.

A panel of comedy critics spent a week watching shows at the largest arts festival in the world which runs for most of August.

They compiled a shortlist of the 15 best one-liners which were then voted on by the public to determine the winner.

The winner was Ken Cheng because of his joke about A coin...

“I’m not a fan of the new pound coin, but then again, I hate all change.”

The other jokes that made it onto the shortlist were:

• “I’ve given up asking rhetorical questions. What’s the point?” – Alexei Sayle

• “I like to imagine the guy who invented the umbrella was going to call it the ‘brella’. But he hesitated.” – Andy Field

• “I’m rubbish with names. It’s not my fault, it’s a condition. There’s a name for it…” – Jimeoin

• “I have two boys, 5 and 6. We’re no good at naming things in our house.” – Ed Byrne

• “I wasn’t particularly close to my dad before he died … which was lucky, because he trod on a landmine.” – Olaf Falafel

• “As a vegan, I think people who sell meat are disgusting; but apparently people who sell fruit and veg are grocer.” – Adele Cliff

The competition has now been running for 10 years. Here are some of the previous winners:

• “My dad has suggested that I register for a donor card. He’s a man after my own heart.” – Masai Graham

• “I’ve decided to sell my Hoover … well, it was just collecting dust.” – Tim Vine

• “I needed a password eight characters long so I picked Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.” – Nick Helm

• “Hedgehogs – why can’t they just share the hedge?” – Dan Antolpolski

Blue dogs

IALA:Blue dogs

Dogs in the Indian city of Mumbai are turning blue.

It was thought stray dogs were turning blue after wading into the Kasadi River, near the Taloja industrial area, to get food.

Concerns were raised by Arati Chauhan, head of the Navi Mumbai Animal Protection Cell, who posted pictures online of one dog whose fur had been dyed blue.

A complaint has been laid with the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, which said the dogs that turned blue had gone into the river near the site of a company that used blue dye for a range of purposes.

The company had also been told to immediately remove the dye it was discharging.

I find this article very funny because blue is one of my favourite coulors and I never knew there can be blue dogs.

Gold found in Paeroa

IALA:An Article

This article made me really jealous because I wanted the gold.I feel very happy for the people who found it.

A mining company has found a large quality of gold near Paeroa.

New Talisman Gold Mines has been looking for gold in Karangahake Gorge and has found over 300,000 ounces of high quality gold at one of its sites called Dubbo.

The company said they wanted to begin extracting small amounts of gold early next year.

Protect Karangahake, a group formed against New Talisman Gold Mines, has been protesting against all mining in the area since the company gained the green light for bulk sampling.

Pero Cameron named in basketball hall of fame

WALA:BasketBall
Pero Cameron, the Tall Blacks and Kiwi hoops legend has become the first New Zealander to be inducted into international governing body Fiba’s Hall of Fame.

The achievement was announced by Fiba who confirmed he would be inducted at a ceremony in Geneva in late September.

Cameron is a nine-time New Zealand NBL winner as a player, two-time champion coach, two-time Olympian, and attended three world championships with the Tall Blacks.

He was also a 2006 Commonwealth Games silver medallist and appeared in hundreds upon hundreds of games in the black singlet over an illustrious 17-year international career.

He is arguably New Zealand’s finest ever player.

White koala born at Australian zoo

IALA:A White Koala

A rare white koala has been born at Australia Zoo in Queensland.

She is not albino. Keepers at the zoo say her fur is due to a recessive gene inherited from her mother Tia, who has given birth to other pale joeys – baby koalas – in the past.

In science it’s often referred to as the ‘silvering gene’ where animals are born with white or very pale fur.  Just like baby teeth, they eventually shed their baby fur and the regular adult colour comes through.

At this stage the zoo is looking for a name. So far social media has come up with suggestions including Snowflake, Pearl, Sugar, Lily, Snow White and Baringa, which means “dawn” or “light” in the aboriginal language, for a name.

Koalas have been under increasing threat across the Southern Hemisphere nation in recent decades due to bushfires, disease, dog attacks and loss of habitat.

She is one of 12 joeys born at the zoo this season.

Typhoon Hato hits Hong Kong

IALA: The Typhoon Hato that hits Hong Kong

The worst typhoon in five years has slammed into Hong Kong, hitting it with hurricane force winds and heavy rain.

The devastating storm caused more than 400 flights to be cancelled and most businesses have been closed.

Nearly 200 trees have been uprooted, blocking roads, and cars have been left under water and roads flooded.

Metre-high waves crashed onto the shores and construction cranes swayed on skyscrapers in Hong Kong.

Many people have been injured, and the same typhoon, Hato, has killed three people in the neighbouring region of Macau.

The storm has since moved on to the southern Chinese mainland.

Google hit with $3.7 billion fine

Internet giant Google has been fined a record €2.42 billion (NZ$3.7 billion) by the European Union after a seven-year investigation into allegations it was abusing its monopoly over internet searches.

The huge fine has been handed out over the company’s breaking of an EU competition law. Prosecutors argued that Google was using its dominant search engine force to promote its online shopping service ahead of others.

It now has 90 days to stop breaking the rules, or face further fines – which could cost billions more.

“What Google has done is illegal under EU antitrust rules. It denied other companies the chance to compete on the merits and to innovate,” EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said.

“And most importantly, it denied European consumers a genuine choice of services and the full benefits of innovation.”

The fine is twice as much as the previous largest fine, which was handed down to Intel in 2009.

Matariki Stars in New Zealand

WALA:MATARIKI
This week is known as Matariki and marks the beginning of the Maori New Year.

Matariki is the name of the Pleiades star cluster and the season of its first rising in late May or early June, which is taken as the beginning of the Maori new year.

Traditionally, it was a time for remembering the dead, and celebrating new life. In the 21st century, observing Matariki has become popular again. Heaven-bound kites, hot-air balloons and fireworks help mark the occasion.

My feelings about this article is happy because I've been learning lots about matariki. I felt happy that I get to learn more.The challenge for me today was trying to learn more and more about matariki.The part I like the most about this article is how many facts there was in it.

Sea Pickles hit US coast

A rare, tiny marine creature known as the “unicorn of the sea” has swarmed in its millions on the west coast of America, ruining fishermen’s nets.

Scientists are baffled as little is known about these creatures.

Fishers along the west coast have told researchers that in some places they are unable to catch anything because the creatures are forming clusters that are so dense and tightly packed. Their hooks, when pulled from the ocean, wriggle with the odd-looking creatures, which are sometimes referred to as “sea pickles” or “fire bodies”.

The distinctive animals – only a few millimetres long – have washed up on popular beaches.

Hilarie Sorensen, who is part of a new research team set up to study the bloom, said: “Right now we are scrambling to learn as much as possible while we have the opportunity.

“If we continue to see this many, what impact will it have on the ecosystems here, and what economic impact on the fisheries?”

Earthquake on Greek Island

WALT:Reflect on a article I read
A powerful 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck the western coast of Turkey and the Greek island of Lesbos, killing one woman.

Buildings were shaken from the Turkish province of Izmir to the Greek capital Athens.

The epicentre of the quake on Monday (Tuesday NZ Time) was about 84 km northwest of the Turkish coastal city of Izmir and 15km south of Lesbos.

Extensive damage was reported at a village on Lesbos.

“Tens of buildings have collapsed and roads are blocked off,” said Marios Apostolides, the divisional commander of the fire brigade.

Lesbos Island was at the forefront of a migration crisis two years ago when hundreds of thousands of war refugees landed there seeking a gateway into Europe.

This article made me feel very sad because it was a very powerful earthquake that can kill people on Greek Island.The part I felt sad the most is there buildings and houses collapsing.The part I found challenging is trying to think of a way us New Zealanders can help them.

What is the Government Budget?

On Thursday the 25th of May the Government will deliver our annual budget.

Yes, that’s right. Just like your family, your school and hopefully you with any money you might have – the Government has a budget to account for all income we receive and money we will spend in any given year.

Every dollar that the Government spends is a dollar that we have taken from hard working Kiwi households and our budget makes us accountable to those whose tax dollars we are spending. It also offers the Government an opportunity to highlight our priorities moving forward whether that be health, education, policing .

In 2016 we budgeted to have $31,205,000,000 income. We used this money to fund things like your school that educates you, the roads we drive on, rail networks that transport our goods around the country, and the hospitals that care for us when we are sick.

This year we are expecting that we will end up with around $700 million surplus. This means we have brought in more revenue than we had expected, or spent less. If we had brought in less money than we expected or spent more this would likely have delivered a deficit.

I would highly encourage any young person with an interest in our Government to watch closely on budget day to try and see how it all works. I’ll be back writing in two weeks to break down just what we spent our money on in an easy to understand way.

Team NZ beat Artemis to win challenger series

Team New Zealand has beaten Artemis 5-2 to win the America’s Cup challenger series.

They now have the right to challenge for an America’s Cup rematch with Oracle.

Racing was delayed at the start of the day because of a lack of wind.

However, when the wind did arrive Team New Zealand managed to comfortably beat the Swedish team by 56 seconds. That result ensured a relatively comfortable 5-2 scoreline.

The America’s Cup series between Team New Zealand and holders Oracle Team USA starts on Sunday.

118-year old painting discovered in Antarctic hut

An “almost perfectly preserved” watercolour painting has been discovered in an historic hut in Antarctica, dating back more than 118 years.

The painting, dated 1889, is of a ‘Tree Creeper’ bird. It was painted by scientist Dr Edward Wilson who died alongside Captain Robert Falcon Scott and three others on their return from the South Pole in 1912.

It was found at Cape Adare and was originally discovered in September last year among dust, mould and penguin excrement.

The find was kept confidential until now to allow the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust to preserve more than 1500 other artefacts.

The Antarctic conditions were the perfect way to preserve the painting.

Water colour paintings are particularly susceptible to light so the fact this work has spent more than a hundred years tightly packed between other sheets of paper in completely dark and cold conditions is an ideal way to store it.

Trust general manager Francesca Eathorne says it is a poignant reminder of the legacy the early explorers left behind.

Artists sing for Grenfell Tower

IALT:Reflect on a news article

Many of the largest names in British music joined together to pay tribute to the victims of the Grenfell tower fire.

Artists including Stormzy, Robbie Williams and The Who, released the charity single to raise funds for people affected by the fire at a tower block in west London.

The song is a cover of Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel.

The single is an initiative of TV talent show judge Simon Cowell.

All proceeds from the song are to go to the London Community Foundation.

News Article

Cricket introduces 'Red Card'.

Cricket has been told that there will be red card for the bad behavior.From October the umpires will be able to send players off for bad behavior.The Marylebone Cricket Club, which governs the laws of cricket, has also announced the size of a bat will be reduced.The new maximum permitted dimensions of a cricket bat will be 108mm in width, 67mm in depth with 40mm edges.

My thoughts about this article is a bit funny because we are just gonna have a cricket tournament next week.My feelings for this article is sad for those who get send off.