ESOL Information Report

The Kea

The kea is a type of parrot that lives in the alpine regions of South Island in New Zealand and they are known as the 'Clown of the Alps'. The kea is currently smartest bird in the world.

Keas are big birds and they are great at flying. Their feathers are greenish and brownish in color but underneath their wings, they have their feathers in scarlet color. They have sharp curvy and black bills. They also have dark brown eyes. A female kea usually weighs in about 800 grams and a male kea weighs in about 920 grams.

Kea birds feed off plants, insects and some animals. This means keas are omnivores. They commonly search for food on trees and sometimes they also make a hole in rotten logs using their strong feet with their sharp toes to scoop for huhu grubs. Some keas feed themselves by eating the remains of dead animals like deers, tahr, chamois, and sheep. In rare cases, there were keas who sit on top of sheeps' back and prod forcefully through the inner of the sheep to obtain their fat.

There have been conflicts between keas and human since then. But the current conflicts that people have on keas are: keas still target high country sheep and keas being ruinous on people's property. The Kea Conservation in New Zealand manages conflicts like these and help people for solutions.

Term 2 Reflection

I am supposed to do this on my journal but since it's about academic and school stuff, might as well share to you my reflection in finishing the 2nd term of this year.

How was term 2?

It was tough and stressful. Actually, it was tough not only in my school life but also in my personal life. I realized that senior year is really different from the junior years that I've had here. I started to face the hardship and difficulties in this first year of my senior years. It is a gratitude that I was able to overcome all of the challenges that term 2 gave me. And it is really a challenge when my chosen subjects were giving assessments at the same time. My brain was really burnt out. But I did my best. I worked hard and everything pays off.

Ya'll I can relate to this HAHAHAHAHA

For those who are reading this especially those upcoming year 11's, I want to say that you should prepare yourselves. Being a year 11 student isn't a joke and it's going to be hard but you shouldn't forget about your well-being. It was one of my mistakes that I did for the past 2 terms. I've told you that my subjects gave me loads of tasks at the same time and that overwhelmed me. I have had a lot of breakdowns to the point where I couldn't reach my laptop anymore because I have nothing to type for my assessments. But the point here is that you shouldn't give up and be persistent. I have goals to achieve and so I need to work hard for those.

Is there anything you want to tell yourself?

There is a lot. The most important thing is a good job and well done. Two more terms to go and you're done wohooooo. I am proud of myself and keep working hard. Continue to get excellences and if you don't get excellences then resubmit. There are lots of opportunities to grab and so don't waste it. If you are getting tired and worn out then rest. You should always keep an eye to your well-being okay?. Always make time for your happiness, family, friends and most especially your services to God. I love you!.

What are the highlights of your term 2?

• Casio Calculator Competition 3rd place (yayyyy!)
• Polyfest 2019
• Musical Theatre Night Performances
• Biology Internal ( of course )
• Linear Algebra Assessment ( not easy but not too hard tho )
• Lots of credits getting in (owyesssss)

What are your goals next term?

• More credits to come ( ehemm excellences)
• Find an effective study strategy.
• More sleep than the last term.
• To study more with my friends ( cause it helps for me)
• Read more ( despite the busy schedule )
• Build good study habits.
• To track my progress ( on whatever like tracking habits, sleep, studying and etc.)
• Enjoy the term.
• Reduce procrastination ( most important)

ESOL RECOUNT

Trip to Willowbank

                    On Tuesday this week, 4th of June, our class in Year 11 ESOL went to Willowbank Wildlife Reserve mainly to learn about the kea. 

It was period 2 at 9:40 am when we gathered together at the ESOL room to prepare for the trip. We rode the bus Ms. Briggs rented and I was seated beside Devie. Behind our back was Roswell and Jhade who were really funny and loud.

When we arrived at the place, we were separated into three groups. Our group started in the river section where the eels are. The eels we saw were so big, bigger than my thighs!. Then we saw different types of ducks roaming around the place. The white swan was so graceful though. After that, we fed the deers that were so kind and friendly. Together with the deers was the cute little rabbit which I think was lost. We also saw the emu, wallabies, silver pheasant, scarlet macaw, lemur and many more. 

When it was 11 am, we went to the kea enclosure. A woman had given us a discussion about the behavior of the keas. I learned a piece of interesting information about the keas -the hierarchy between the keas. Keas have this kind of system where someone has either high or low ranking. I think it was Katie who is a female kea that has the highest ranking in the group of keas there.

After the kea session, we were able to go around the zoo. While we were roaming around, we were answering the booklet. There were lots of interesting animals. I can still remember the horse named Sam that I think was the one that Ms. Briggs told us about. I patted her in the head and she was lovely. At 1 pm, we went back to school and we went to our own subjects for the last period.

Overall, my experience for this trip was really amazing and cool. Like what Ms. Briggs said, it is really different when you get to see the animals than just sitting in the room and learning about them.

Year 11 ESOL Class