Current Events

America's Favourite Giant Panda Celebrates First Birthday

Every animal turns one so why was Bao Bao's first birthday so special? 

While first birthdays are always special, this one was even more so, given that only one other giant panda born at the National Zoo, Bao Bao's brother Tai Shan, has survived to celebrate this all-important milestone.

How did the zookeepers celebrate it?

In keeping with ancient Chinese tradition, the party commenced with the young panda being offered a choice of three honey-dipped bamboo shoots. Next to each, was a colorful hand-painted poster labeled 'Long Life,' 'Good Health' and 'Many Cubs'. Given that the panda's first choice is believed to predict its future, it was fortunate that Bao Bao immediately gravitated to the 'Long Life' bamboo.

They also made her a cake that was crafted from frozen diluted apple juice and dyed various shades of pink, with beet juice. Frozen in between, were slices of Bao Bao's favorite fruits - apples and pears. Flower appliques carved from carrots and sweet potatoes adorned the top and a large number '1', carved from frozen apple juice, completed the perfect treat. 

What are some of the things Bao Bao has learnt during his first year? 

The smart panda who now weighs a healthy 44lbs, has even learnt to respond to her name and stand tall on the scale, during her monthly weigh-ins.

What are some of the things in store for her before she turns two?

As the year progresses, she will gradually stop drinking her mother's milk and then just like pandas in the wild, move away from 'home', which in Bao Bao's case means shifting to a separate enclosure. Of course, this will only be a temporary home

Rimu Homework

Improve your swimming skills: Swim a total of 1000m Non-stop

On Saturday 30th August I went to Baywave and swam 1000m, My mum took photo's of me swimming and she also timed me. I took 19 minutes and 7 seconds to swim 1000 meters; Here are some photos.

Current Events

Mining Cavern Transforms Into World's Largest Underground Trampoline Park

How is Bounce Below different from other trampoline parks?

Trampoline parks are sprouting up all across the world However, they all pale in comparison to Bounce Below - the world's biggest underground trampoline park that opened in the historic slate mining town of Blaenau Ffestiniog Nestled in a massive cave that is located inside a 100ft deep and 60ft wide former slate mine, it provides visitors with a bouncing experience like none other. They have to wear overalls and safety helmets and embark on an old mine train for the short ride into the mountain.

What are some of the things visitors will experience at Bounce Below?
A series of trampolines spanning a whopping 10,000 square feet

What are the two ziplines called?
Velocity
Titan

What is special about each one?

Velocity: The mile-long Velocity, which stands 500 feet above the ground is not just Northern Hemisphere's longest zipline, but also, its fastest, allowing daredevils to fly across at speeds exceeding 100mph.

Titan: Titan is no slouch either. Besides being the largest of its kind in Europe, it is also the first in the world to feature four lines, side-by-side. This means that families and friends can experience the thrill of flying across at 70mph, simultaneously.

Dangerous Decibels

Dangerous Decibels

25.8.14

Today my class went to Dangerous Decibels, Dangerous Decibels is a class that teaches you about sound and what is too loud to be around and what is safe. These are some of the things we learnt, up to 85 dB is safe to be around, 90-120 dB may result to hearing loss, 125 dB + pain can begin and 130dB + can cause instant hearing loss. In your ears are little hairs you have about 80,000 to 100,000 of them, they should be standing up straight for your hearing to be good, the only way that they could fold down is if you are listening to something really loud.

We used a thing called a tuning fork, you whack it against the ground then if you hold it up to your ear you could become deaf straight away. We got given a tuning fork and a ping pong ball on a string, first we whacked the tuning fork on the ground then we put it against the ping pong ball then it bounces off the tuning fork like you were hitting it like you were.

Rimu Homework

Excellence in the Arts

Perform (at Rimu Hui) a dance that you have learnt

I have performed my Aims hip hop dance at in front of the whole house (not at house hui). I performed with the whole of the aims group, our hip hop teachers name is Eru he has just been to worlds for hip hop and he got back last week and came 2nd in the world.

Rimu Homework

Compete in a sport for an entire season

I have competed in netball for the entire season, I have had player of the day and I got a certificate and a free voucher for Mcdonald's. We have been in 1 tournament but I could not make it because I went up to Auckland to see my family but we won 5/5 games. 

Rimu Homework

Join a dance school/team during the year

I have made it into the Aims hip hop team and so far we have competed in 2 competitions and I still have Impact which is a hip hop competition on Friday 8th August then we have Aims which is a big competition with the whole of BOP.

I also do the after school hip hop and we learn a dance then at the end of the year we perform at Bethlehem Collage which is also very big, every school and every dance group performs there. There is also a thing called the performance group which performs at a lot of things including competitions, openings... and I have been picked to be in the Performance group for 2 years in a row.