in a place one green far away balloon! … · mainly because they knew that the cyclops would eat...

The Laser/Spring 2013

IN A PLACE IN A PLACE IN A PLACE

FAR AWAY ...FAR AWAY ...FAR AWAY ...

Written for the children

by the children!

SPRING 2013

THE LASER/

by Ryan Nguyen, Yr5/ James

Keating, Yr5/ Kai Sen, Yr5

A long, long time ago in a place far, far

away there lived some villagers and Beano’s

Cyclops. The villagers didn’t dare leave their huts

mainly because they knew that the Cyclops would eat

them. For years and years they would fail one quest

after another to defeat Beano. But all of that was

about to change. A man called Sensei Wu said that he

could be the one to defeat Beano and his Cyclops.

Sensei Wu had an army of ninjas who were highly

trained in Kung-Fu. He also had four sons; Kai: the

Ninja of Fire; Jay: the Ninja of Lightening; Zane: the

Ninja of Ice and Cole: the Ninja of Earth. They were

all heroic ninjas who never stood down or gave up in

any fight.

The village leader packed food and drinks for the

heroes. There was fruit, vegetables, Sushi, prawn

crackers and noodles.

They set off at the crack of dawn. Everything was

quiet and peaceful. The mist-filled clouds emptied

themselves into the sky. They knew what they had to

do and they were ready to do it. Their mission was

clear: Defeat Beano and his tribe!

“How hard could this whole thing be?” asked Zane.

Cont’d on Page 2

ONE GREEN ONE GREEN ONE GREEN

BALLOON!BALLOON!BALLOON!

by Charde Jonsiah, Yr6/ Sydney

Lai, Yr6/ Kimberly Andrade Yr6

“Come here, little green balloon!” The

little girl beckoned. I crept out from be-

hind a curtain and started to float towards

her. “Come here,” she repeated again, still smiling.

I drifted into her arms and just as I was firmly in

her grasp, her smile vanished and a snarl replaced it

as she told me, “I’m not going to hurt you. I didn’t

hurt your parents.” Somehow I knew she was lying

and just then from behind her, she took out a

sharp pin and “Nooooooo….!”

I woke up, my string all sweaty. “Stop fretting, eve-

rything is going to be alright”. I reassured myself. I

wiped my string dry and looked in the mirror.

“It was only a dream, it won’t come true!” but deep

inside me, beneath all the helium, I knew that that

was the girl who had made my parents be no more

15 years ago.

The next day, feeling unusually cheerful, I woke up

and decided to visit the circus. Outside, the bright

city colours blinded me. I glanced around and saw

tall buildings surrounding me. Then, an old man

walked up to me and asked:

“Do you know where you are going?”

People stared at him as if her were crazy.

“Yes, thank you”, I replied, pleased to be noticed by

Cont’d on Page 2

WINNERS OF WINNERS OF WINNERS OF

THE WORLD THE WORLD THE WORLD

BOOK DAY BOOK DAY BOOK DAY

PROJECTPROJECTPROJECT


A GALAXY FAR AWAY A GALAXY FAR AWAY A GALAXY FAR AWAY

CONT’DCONT’DCONT’D

The Ninjas found the cave entrance to where Beano

and his men were known to live. They entered slowly,

whilst keeping alert in case of any sudden dangers.

They heard an echo, fainter than the quietest echo

ever heard.

Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, a huge axe came fly-

ing by narrowly missing their heads. It landed on the

ground with a big thud. And there was Beano’s army

coming out of the shadows like a Cheetah, ready to

pounce on its prey.

For a moment, it seemed that the ninja’s had no hope

of winning or even surviving. But then they charged

into battle slicing away at the Cyclops until none were

left.

Just at that moment, Beano stepped out of the

darkness. He was so powerful that he had managed

to kill all the ninjas but for the four brothers stand-

ing in front of him. He was badly injured but still de-

termined to fight the ninjas.

Kai stepped forward and with one blow of his sword,

the evil Beano was dead.

The ninjas had completed their mission and returned

home victorious.

someone. Fairground music filled the air.

In the tent a man wearing a top hat came into the cen-

tre of the stage. He introduced everyone to the acts

they were about to see and the show began. I watched

acrobats perform amazing stunts and flips, a fool with

a red nose try to conjure up a computer that could

dance ballet but my favourite act was definitely the

clown. He performed all sorts of tricks and he also did

the Gangnam dance.

At the end, the clown came back on stage and did an-

other performance. This time, he wanted a volunteer. I

squeaked my back against my chair as loud as I could.

Everyone turned and looked at me. “I think we’ve found

our volunteer!” the clown shouted.

I proudly made my way up to the stage. The clown

started charging around the stage like a maniac. I fol-

lowed and began rubbing my head against his head. His

hair started to go all funny from the static and the

crowds cheered and laughed. The clown laughed too

and I felt very happy and full of pride, though I could-

n’t see how that was possible as I was already full of

helium!

After the show, the clown came over and invited me to

his house. “I have a daughter who loves balloons. She

used to have two that looked just like you but some-

how they popped!” I felt a shiver of fear running

through my string but I didn’t know why.

Five minutes later, we arrived at his house. As the door

opened, the clown was greeted by his daughter with a

hug.

When she saw me she said “AAAHHH! What a sweet

little balloon you are!” I

took one look at her, real-

ized she was the girl in my

dream and screamed a big

giant “AAAAHHHHH!”

ONE GREEN BALLOON ONE GREEN BALLOON ONE GREEN BALLOON

CONT’DCONT’DCONT’D

A NA NA N

U N E X P E C T E DU N E X P E C T E DU N E X P E C T E D

V I S I T O RV I S I T O RV I S I T O R

by Felicie Lehmann, Yr3 & Zita Akande, Yr4

Once in a small town called Greenwich lived

a fifteen-year-old girl called Jessica and a

fourteen-year-old boy called Noah. A few

years ago their mum and dad had died. As

Jessica was the eldest, she thought they

should sell their pet bunny, Angelo, to their

neighbours Mr and Mrs Fantasy.

That night, something strange happened. There

was a knock at the door and so Jessica and Noah

opened it a crack to see who was there.

“Hello!” said the form at the door who when

they looked really closely turned out to be a

sheep. Jessica pinched herself and Noah to

make sure they weren’t dreaming.

“Ouch!” said Noah with his teeth gritted.

“Who are you?” said Jessica talking to the sheep

and worriedly holding her brother back for pro-

tection.

“I’m Jamie,” replied the sheep. “You have to come

with me now.”

“But we barely know you,” whispered Jessica.

“Yes, that’s true but I knew you’re parents and

they told me to come and get you if something

should happened to them, so here I am.”

“Weelll, if you knew

our parents we trust

you I guess. Let’s go!”

There was a flash

from the computer

screen in the room

and then they were all

gone.


A B O U T ‘ T H E L A S E R ’ A B O U T ‘ T H E L A S E R ’ A B O U T ‘ T H E L A S E R ’

W O R L D B O O K D A Y W O R L D B O O K D A Y W O R L D B O O K D A Y

P R O J E C TP R O J E C TP R O J E C T

World Book Day took place

all around the world on

March 7. The Laser, de-

cided to run a competition

marking the event.

The members of the

Newspaper Club were

asked to offer up two

words which were then

written down in a list. Then the writers were

asked to produce a short story (with a begin-

ning, middle and an end) using the assigned

words. The members worked in groups of

three or four.

This project proved to be a lot of fun and al-

lowed the children to experiment with differ-

ent ideas and to come up with work that was

truly unique to each group.

The competition was a tight one and the final

stories were all really good. But only two piec-

es of work could be declared the winners. One

piece was chosen from the Thursday group and

the other from the Friday group. The winners

were promised the front page as well as each

walking away with a bag of chocolates just in

time for Easter!

However, all the work that the other children

produced was very good indeed and are spread

across the newspaper for all their friends and

family to enjoy. To identify which stories con-

tributed to World Book Day project, we have

labelled them with this logo:

WORLD WORLD WORLD


PRPRPROJECTOJECTOJECT

WORLD WORLD WORLD


PROJECTPROJECTPROJECT


SCHOOL NEWSSCHOOL NEWSSCHOOL NEWS

by Rasika Shrestha, Yr4

On Monday 28th January

2013, the Meridian Choir

went to the O2 to sing

with other schools. It

was a very long night but

a fun night as well.

The O2 arena was massive.

We were handed a little

torch key ring to light it

up when it was dark.

Some of the children

said that their favourite

part was singing the

songs and dancing to the

music. Someone from the

choir said their favourite

moment was when the

spotlight hit them.

There were a lot of famous

people like the African

Choir, Connie Talbot and

Randolph Mathews.

The next day all of the

Meridian Choir members

were tired and so were

the teachers who accom-

panied them to the event.

A big thank you to every-

one who made this event

special.

YOUNG YOUNG YOUNG

VOICES VOICES VOICES

2013!2013!2013!

Congratulations to the team of Oliver, Sydney, Katie from Year 6 and

James from Year 5 who represented the school at a quiz to mark World

Maths Day. It was a closely fought competition with Meridian coming

2nd overall (out of 8 teams) narrowly nipped at the post by St Joseph’s.

The competition was organised amongst the local cluster schools as an

enrichment opportunity for Exceptionally Skilled Learners. Each school

within the Trafalgar cluster has made a commitment to organising and

activity or event which gives children, with a talent or skill in specific

areas, an opportunity to use and develop it; So, there will be further

opportunities later this year for other children.

Sam Thomas is taking the lead on this for Meridian and plans to outline

our approach to supporting Exceptionally Skilled Learners at a meeting

for parents/carers after the Easter Holidays.

MERIDIAN’S BUDDING MERIDIAN’S BUDDING MERIDIAN’S BUDDING

MATHEMATICIANSMATHEMATICIANSMATHEMATICIANS

Th

e M

erid

ian

Fo

otb

all te

am

be

at

Ch

ristchu

rch S

cho

ol b

y a

score

of 6

-5 with

Ja

hm

el sco

ring

the

win

nin

g g

oa

l. We

ll do

ne

!


COMIC RELIEF 2013 AT MERIDIANCOMIC RELIEF 2013 AT MERIDIANCOMIC RELIEF 2013 AT MERIDIAN

by Kai Ring, Yr6

This year Comic Relief celebrated

its 25th year. Here are a few

facts about this charity:

Comic Relief is a

charity that was

founded by Alexander

Mendes and Richard

Curtis in 1985 in response to the

famine in Ethiopia. It was

launched on BBC1 in the same year

from a refugee camp in Sudan.

Red Nose Day is the

highlight of comic Re-

lief. It is a telethon

held every two years

in March.

The first Red Nose

Day raised £15million.

This money has bene-

fitted 70 countries

since its launch in 1985.

Comic Relief supports

work in the UK as well

as overseas. It has

funded 15,786 pro-

jects in the UK to date.

In 1986, singer Cliff

Richard and the cast

of BBC sitcom The

Young Ones teamed

up and released the first Comic

Relief Single which went straight

to #1.

The Meridian Choir at the school’s Red Nose Day Charity event. Meridian has raised £970 in total for Comic Relief this year.

Meridian sold £180 worth

of Red Noses this year!

them with rhinestones, buttons,

ribbon and sequins.

Once you are happy with your re-

sults, you can mount them onto a

card and finish off by decorating

any plain areas.

If your budget can’t stretch to

lots of different craft accesso-

ries, simply go for paint or pencils.

You will need a good sized cereal

box, decorations such as feathers,

felt, flowers, paint, glue.

Open the cereal box down the

‘joins’ then cut a 10-15cm strip

across the whole packet so you

get a rectangular strip long

enough to fit around your head.

Cut a zigzag or wavy edge along

the top of the strip (for the top

edge of the crown). Paint the grey

side (the side that has no writing)

of the packet in Easter colours.

Let the paint dry, and then stick

the edges of the packet together

to make the crown shape. Deco-

rate with tissue paper flowers,

sequins, eggs, or chicks.


EASTER BITS & EASTER BITS & EASTER BITS &

BOBS TO MAKE AT BOBS TO MAKE AT BOBS TO MAKE AT

HOMEHOMEHOME

by Ryan Andrade, Yr3 &

Hrishi Ajit, Yr3

Spend time with

your family.

Have fun with

your friends.

Relax so that

you are rested

when you come

back to school.

Play outside or

card games and

board games.

Eat healthy

f o o d a n d

snacks.

M a k e t h e

crafts shown

in The Laser.

WHAT

TO DO

THIS

EASTER

BREAK

by Katie Tomlinson, Yr6

Get some yellow paint

(spray paint works best)

and colour some big balls of

fluffy white wool.

Once the wool is dried, glue

it onto some card and shape

it to look like a big chunky

chick.

Use black felt for legs and

head or simply draw them

on with black pen, paint or

crayons.

Use some paper or card to

cut out some Easter egg

shapes and then decorate

FLUFFY FLUFFY FLUFFY

EASTER EASTER EASTER

CHICK CARDCHICK CARDCHICK CARD

DECORATIVEDECORATIVEDECORATIVE

EASTEREASTEREASTER

EGG CARDSEGG CARDSEGG CARDS

HOMEMADE HOMEMADE HOMEMADE

EASTER EASTER EASTER

CROWNCROWNCROWN


EGGS AT EASTEREGGS AT EASTEREGGS AT EASTER

by Katelyn Lai, Yr4

The custom of exchanging

decorative eggs was prevalent

in many of the World’s an-

cient civilizations. Eggs were

regarded as a symbol of the

universe or a creation of God.

They also represented fertili-

ty, resurrection and new life.

The first eggs given at Easter

were birds’ eggs painted in

bright colors to give them

further meaning as a gift. We

still paint bird eggs today but

we usually use hens’ eggs now.

An Anglo-Saxon legend tells

how the Saxon goddess Eostre

found a wounded bird and

transformed it into a hare, so that it

could survive the winter. The hare

found it could lay eggs, so it decorated

these eggs each spring and left them as

an offering to the goddess.

Pace eggs are hard boiled eggs with

patterned shells. They are traditional in

northern parts of England at Easter,

with local variants in the name, such as

Paste Eggs. The background colour is

provided by onion skins with designs

created by leaves and flowers placed

next to the shell.

Research carried out in the UK in 2009

showed that although 38% of kids are

unaware of the traditional reason for

eating eggs at Easter, they enjoyed

decorating them at Easter. More

than half (56%) of parents get

their children to paint eggs.

Pace-egging is a traditional

Easter game dating back hun-

dreds of years. In the UK, it is

usually played by rolling hard-

boiled, decorated eggs down

grassy hills. Pace-egging compe-

titions are held across the

country during Easter.

The hop-egg is an Easter game

in which the goal is to dance

among eggs laid out on the floor

without damaging them. The

game is said to have been

brought to England by the Sax-

ons in the 5th Century.

by Sidonie Crow-Haidar, Yr4

I used to do this with my

grandma when I was little

and hope you enjoy doing it

too.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

Food Colouring, hot water,

Wight vinegar, wax crayons,

a cloth and cooking oil.

EGG EGG EGG

DECORATINGDECORATINGDECORATING

1. Place some eggs in some hot water

and boil until they are hard.

2. When the eggs are finished put them

aside and wait for them to cool down

and dry off on some newspaper.

3. To make the dye choose which colour

food colouring you want. Use ¼ Tsp. of

this food colouring and add ¾ cup of hot

water and add 1 Tbsp. of Wight Vine-

gar. Give it a little stir.

4. Take your wax crayons and draw

whatever you like. Let your imagination

go wild. Leave some spaces clear

so that the dye can change the

background colour. Don’t worry

about your design because the

wax crayons resist the dye.

5.Add the eggs to the food

colouring and wait until your

eggs change colour then

polish them off with cooking

oil and a soft cloth. Now all

you need to do is hide them

and have a hunt.


SHORT STORY: SHORT STORY: SHORT STORY:

HOPPY THE EASTER BUNHOPPY THE EASTER BUNHOPPY THE EASTER BUNNYNYNY

by Sydney Lai, Yr6/

Charde Jonsiah, Yr6/

Kimberly Andrade, Yr6

Once upon a time there was

a bunny called Hoppy. She

lived very peacefully in her

home in Easter Island until

the day of the ‘Competition

For The Next Easter Bunny’

arrived.

That sunny morning, Hoppy

(along with 1000 other bun-

nies) went to the bunny are-

na to find out what they

had to do to become the

next Easter bunny. Hopping

and skipping, she made her

way excitedly to the front

of the crowd. Loud cheers

erupted as the old, wise

bunny appeared on stage.

“Attention all bunnies of

Easter Island,” said the old,

wise bunny, “The day of the

competition has arrived.

The day you have all been

waiting for. Your first task

is to find the hidden golden

egg. Riddles are hidden

within the island; each rid-

dle will help you get one

step closer to glory.”

The wise old bunny paused

and held out a golden timer

which glinted in the sun.

“Your time starts now!” she

yelled.

All the bunnies rushed towards

the exit. After searching around

the island for many hours, Hoppy

got tired and leaned against a

tree. She felt something prickle

her back and she turned around

and saw a note attached by a pin

to the tree. The note congratu-

lated the reader for getting this

far and it said that to get to the

next clue, the reader must an-

swer the riddle:

What looks like a rabbit but isn’t alive and can be found in the town

square?

Hoppy read the clue over and

over again. What could the an-

swer be she wondered. A dead

rabbit? Suddenly Hoppy rushed

towards the Town Square hoping

the riddle would make sense once

she got there.

At the square, she looked around

and saw a water fountain bub-

bling and the huge statue of Bob

Bunny The Brilliant towering over

her. “Yes, it must be the statue”

she thought since it looked like a

rabbit but it definitely wasn’t

alive.

She clambered up the

statue and peered into

its mouth. There resting

against its tongue was

another note. It read:

The golden egg can be found in the hand of one

bunny on this land!

“In the hand of a bun-

ny?” she wondered.

“Who could be holding

the golden egg? It can’t

be someone competing”

she thought. Then she

had an idea: it must be a

judge! She gasped. The

wise old bunny! She had

been holding a golden

egg timer. It must be

her.

Hoppy sprung to action

and began charging to-

wards the arena. Panting

and puffing, she arrived

at the entrance where

she found the wise old

bunny sitting on the

stage, holding the timer.

The wise bunny looked

up and smiled. “Aha! The

new Easter Bunny has

arrived!”

The crowd cheered with joy

and Hoppy was declared the

new Easter Bunny; a job she

holds to this day.


THE QUEST FOR THE THE QUEST FOR THE THE QUEST FOR THE

GOLDEN PUFFLE!GOLDEN PUFFLE!GOLDEN PUFFLE!

by Ella Leppanen, Yr5 & Amy

Jenkins, Yr5

Once upon a time in an igloo

where ten penguin Puffles lived,

Agent Cocopuf582 was getting

ready for the biggest mission of

her life; A dangerous mission that

could only be completed by her

and her cool intelligent friend

Clonk123.

A knocking at the door and there

was Agent Clonk123.

“Hi! Are you ready to go to the

lost temple to find the Golden

Puffle? Gary the gadget guy has

already given us permission!” she

gabbled.

“Okay, I’ll just get my backpack,”

Cocopuf582 replied waddling to

her room.

3 hours later…

Agent Cocopuf582 and Clonk123

were busy waddling through the

musty, dark corridors of the lost

temple. When they entered the

big hall they found a note left on

a stool! Cocopuf582 picked it up

and read with her eyes widening.

In despair she handed it over to

Clonk123. Clonk read it in a flash.

“O no! Somebody has stolen the

Golden Puffle. We’re in such trou-

ble agent Cocopuf582!”

“We have to find out who stole

it!” Clonk cried out.

“Ok first we have to find some

clues to this disaster!” Co-

copuf582 muttered walking back

and forth.

Clonk123 looked thoughtful and said: “Did

you see that paw print on the floor?! It

looked like a bear’s. I think a Polar bear’s

paw print even!”

“Hmmm, I only know one polar bear and

that’s Herbert! It has to be him! He’s

probably going to do something bad with

it. We have got to find him!” Cocopuf582

exclaimed.

Clonk nodded and they started to waddle

north to the area where Herbert’s lair

was known to be.

1 hour later…

Creeping through the shadows, agent Co-

copuf582 and Clonk123 have reached the

familiar lair. They tiptoe nearer and near-

er until they are right in front of the

mouth of Herbert’s cave.

“Ok, you go in Herbert’s lair wearing this

rock disguise and get the golden Puffle

and I will phone Gary and jetpack guy to

come here!” Cocopuf582 whispered.

“Yes sir man sir!” Clonk123 whispered

while she dressed into the rock disguise

and then started to climb up onto the top

of the cave to slide down the chimney.

In the meantime, Cocopuf582 got her

phone out and dialed Gary’s number to ask

him to teleport a large net with which to

catch Herbert.

Inside the cave Herbert was holding the

Golden Puffle while scribbling on a piece

of paper. It seemed like he was hatching

up a plan. He was so busy with his plan

that he put down the Golden Puffle.

Clonk123 who had, by now, reached the

room where Herbert was in quietly

snatched the Puffle, hid it in the

rock costume and started creep-

ing out.

“HEY!” a thundering, deep voice

yelled. “WHAT ARE YOU DO-

ING IN MY LAIR?” Herbert

started to chase after Clonk123.

After a while, Clonk123 started

to feel very tired. She was begin-

ning to worry that Herbert was

going to get her. She reached the

door, opened it and was outside

but Herbert was still running af-

ter her.

“OH NO! All my hope is lost. Her-

bert is going to get me!” Clonk123

thought miserably.

But luckily for Clonk123, the mo-

ment Herbert stepped outside

the cave, a huge net fell over him.

“AAAAARRRRRRGGGGHHHHHH

!” Herbert screamed.

Cocopuf582 clapped her flippers

together and waddled over to

help clonk123 and the Golden

Puffle out of the costume.

“Well done my good penguins,”

said Gary. “You have brought

back the Golden Puffle and cap-

tured Herbert. Club penguin can

now live in peace thanks to the

two of you!”

The Puffles smiled at each other

and lived happily penguin after!


WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT

CHINESE NEW YEAR?

by Katelyn Lai, Yr4

The Chinese New Year is the

longest and most important

celebration in the Chinese

calendar. The Chinese year

4711 began on February 10,

2013.

Chinese New Year is a 15-

day holiday beginning on the

first day of a new moon and

ending with the full moon on

the day of the Lantern Fes-

tival.

The Chinese calendar is

based on the lunar year, so

the date of Chinese New

Year changes every year.

The Chinese calendar follows

a 12-year pattern with each

year named after an animal.

There are various stories

which explain this. The sim-

plest is that Buddha (or the

Jade Emperor) invited all of

the animals to join him for a

New Year celebration, but

only 12 animals turned up.

To reward the animals that

did come, Buddha named a

year after each of them in

the order that they arrived,

starting with the Rat, fol-

lowed by the Ox, Tiger, Rab-

bit, Dragon, Snake, Horse,

Goat (or Sheep), Monkey,

Rooster, Dog and Pig. This

year (2013) is the year of the

Snake.

At Chinese New Year celebra-

tions people wear red clothes,

and give children "lucky money" in

red envelopes. Red symbolizes

fire, which according to legend

can drive away bad luck. The

fireworks are believed to fright-

en away the evil spirits.

In China, the New Year is a time

of family reunion. Family mem-

bers gather at each other's

homes for visits and shared

meals.

The lantern festival is held

on the fifteenth day of the

first lunar month. In many

areas the highlight of the

lantern festival is the dragon

dance. The dragon—which

might stretch a hundred feet

long—is typically made of

silk, paper, and bamboo.

EASTER

TIME

by Zita Akande, Yr4

Easter time,

Easter time,

When Children play,

And hunt for eggs everyday.

Some people laugh and

Others play in grass

Just hope this Easter

Lasts so long.

WHY YOU

SHOULD GO TO

SCHOOL!

by Marta da Silva, Yr4

Going to school is very

important so you learn

about everything you

need for a good future.

In the future you will

need a job that gives you

money enough to live well

and to get a good job, you

need an education.


THE GIRL WHO LOVED BALLET

by Rosie Delap, Yr5/

Titiana Varca, Yr3/

Portia Van de Saar,

Yr5

I didn't’ see her today.

That was odd. I wonder

where she is. Maybe she

ran away. I’m really fret-

ting about her. I’ve seen

her everyday for the past

five years. She must have

been about seven when I

first saw her. She was

dancing ballet, beside her

mum. Suddenly, she

stopped and pointed to

the metal-painted ring in

my window. A tacky thing

really. It had a green

rhinestone embedded in

the metal. Her mum, not

noticing what she was

pointing at, grabbed her arm

roughly and pulled her away.

Soon, she was wearing the uni-

form of the primary school

around the corner. Whenever

she danced past with her mum,

she would al-

ways glance at

the ring in my

window. I think she wanted

to buy it. Soon, she began

walking to school on her

own. She was only eight.

A few years later, her uni-

form changed. She was al-

ready in Secondary school.

I saw her in a ballet uniform

once, probably joined the

free ballet school. I even

saw her wearing a gold med-

al she’d won for her dancing.

The next day though, she

didn’t come past at all. Or

the day after. Maybe she

ran away to the circus.

She’d make a good tight-

rope walker.

WORLD WORLD WORLD



THE MAGNIFICENT LEMUR

by Helen Taylor, Yr4

The ring-tailed lemur is

only found in the south-

ern part of Madagascar

in the dry forest and

bush.

Male and female lemurs

measure about the same

size. They are about

1.4ft from head to rump

and they weigh about 5lb.

Highly social creatures, ring-

tailed lemurs live in groups aver-

aging 17 members. Their society is

female-dominant. They give birth

to one baby a year.

Ring-tailed lemurs are a near-

threatened species. The main

threat to their population is habi-

tat destruction. Much of their

habitat is being converted to

farmland or burned for the

production of charcoal .

DID YOU

KNOW?

The earliest railway in

Great Britain was built

between October 1603

and October 1604!

by Hrishi Ajit, Yr3


AN UNFINISHED ADVENTURE

by Poppy Trevithick, Yr4/

Morgen, Yr4/ Helen Taylor,

Yr4

In the fantasy land of

Beano, that had loads of big

pink, blue and purple fish;

inside a cave sitting on

chairs was a boy and a girl.

The boy was eating pie and

the girl, who was wearing a

dress made with roses on

it, had lots of sausages.

Their dad was a Cyclops,

the girl was a shape-shifter

and the boy was a ninja.

They had a pet sheep.

One day, a nearby volcano

erupted and the fire lit up

the sky with the brightest

light. As the lava oozed

everywhere, it melted the

metal bars of the cages

where in one they had cap-

tured a hippo. Unfortunate-

ly the hippo upon its re-

lease ate their sheep.

Lucky for everyone, the

island was on the Pacific Ocean,

so the flames were quickly put

out. But their land and home

were destroyed and all they had

left was to make a boat out of a

pipe. Sobbing, they all left in

search of a new home.

WORLD WORLD WORLD



They sailed and sailed and

then moored into a marina

for a rest. They soon met

a white bunny and noticed

a small cottage with a

thatched roof. They

carefully went inside won-

dering if anyone was at

home. There was a com-

puter on a table and that

was the only thing in the

room. Suddenly, the com-

puter with a boom and a

bang sucked them in.

There were flashing

brightly coloured lights

everywhere. They landed

with a bump on a wooden

floor.

“Ahoy there!” boomed a

voice. They peered behind

them and couldn’t believe

their eyes!

Poppy, Morgen and Helen

have left you with a cliff-

hanger! What do you think

they saw and how would you

finish the story? Can you color in the volcano with

its red lava?

by Katelyn Lai, Yr4

Beautiful Bunnies,

Delicious chocolate,

Nibbling carrots!

THE LOVELY BUNNIES


GET YOUR by Laura Nicholls, Yr3/

Nicole Nicholls, Yr6/

Alanis Hodge, Yr6

Q: Why did the

chicken cross the

road?

A: To get to the other

side.

Q: What is a

cow’s favourite

day?

A: Moo-years

day!

Knock, Knock

Who’s there?

Leaf

Leaf who?

Leaf me alone!

Knock, knock

Who’s there?

Lettuce

Lettuce who?

Lettuce in and I’ll let you know!

Q: What do elves learn

in school?

A: the Elf-abet!

Q: Why did the cat

cross the road?

A: Because there was a

can of tuna on the other side!

Q:What is the world’s

tallest building?

A: The library because it

has the most stories!

COLOUR ME

IN!

Illustrated by Alanis Hodge, Yr6

BUTTERFLY FACTS

by Rasika Shrestha, Yr4

The wings of a

butterfly are cov-

ered in many tiny

scales.

The thorax is the

middle part be-

tween the insect’s

head and abdomen.

Butterflies can see red,

green, and yellow.

Butterflies cannot fly if

their body temperature is

less than 86 degrees.

Representations of butter-

flies are seen in Egyptian

frescoes at Thebes, which

are 3,500 years old.

Some moths never eat any-

thing as adults because they

don't have mouths.

They must live on the

energy they stored as

caterpillars.

Butterflies and in-

sects have their skel-

etons on the outside

of their bodies, called

the exoskeleton. This

protects the insect

and keeps water inside

their bodies so they

don’t dry out.


BOOKS &

AUTHORS

‘STORMBREAKER’ BY ANTHONY HOROWITZ

Reviewed by Giulia Heaton, Yr6

‘Stormbreaker’ is a novel

written by Anthony Horowitz

for the over 8s. It is about a

boy, Alex Rider, who is four-

teen. Alex leads a normal and

ordinary life.

Alex’s parents are dead and

he is cared for by his uncle,

Ian Rider. That is until Ian

mysteriously dies, and Alex is

left alone in the world.

One day Alex is introduced to

a world of adventure, action

and thrills. Trying to stop a

sinister billionaire, Alex

meets friends, makes enemies

and finds out some truths

along the way.

The Guardian newspaper de-

scribed it as moving, lively and

thrilling. This is one of my fa-

vourite books so I am going to

agree and say you must all

read it this Easter!

Here is what the blurb on

the back of the book reads:

When his guardian dies in sus-

picious circumstances, four-

teen-year-old Alex Rider finds

his world turned upside down.

Forcibly recruited into MI6,

Alex has to take part in gruel-

ling SAS training exercises.

Then, armed with his own spe-

cial set of secret gadgets,

he's off on his first mission to

Cornwall, where Middle-

Eastern multi-billionaire Her-

od Sayle is producing his

state-of-the-art Stormbreak-

er computers.

Sayle has offered to give one

free to every school in the

country - but there's more to

the gift than meets the eye.

Auggie wants to be an ordinary

ten-year-old. He does ordinary

things - eating ice cream, play-

i n g o n h i s X b o x .

He feels ordinary - inside. But

ordinary kids don't make other

ordinary kids run away scream-

ing in playgrounds. Ordinary

kids aren't stared at wherever

they go.

Born with a terrible facial ab-

normality, Auggie has been

home-schooled by his parents

his whole life. Now, for the

first time, he's being sent to a

real school - and he's dreading

it. All he wants is to be accept-

ed - but can he convince his new

classmates that he's just like

them, underneath it all?

WONDER is a funny, frank,

astonishingly moving debut to

read in one sitting, pass on to

others, and remember long af-

ter the final page.

Check out the entire Alex

Rider series by Anthony

Horowitz at:

www.anthonyhorowitz.com

‘WONDER’


BOOKS &

AUTHORS

‘DELPHIE AND THE MAGIC BALLET SHOES’

Reviewed by Katelyn Lai, Yr4

This book is about a girl called

Delphie. She really wants to go

to a new ballet school down the

road from her house. Her mum

and dad would also like to send

her to that school but they just

can’t afford the fees.

One day, while on her way back

from school, she sees two girls

entering the ballet school. Just

before the gate shuts she slips

in unseen.

All of a sudden, the headteacher

Madam ZaZa spots Delphi and

after an initial scare ends up of-

fering her some magic ballet

shoes.

Want to know what happens next?

Well, you'll just have to read the

book yourself.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

D a r c e y A n d r e a B u s -

sell (born Darcey Andrea Crit-

tle on 27 April 1969) is an

English retired ballerina.

Trained at the Arts Educational

School and the Royal Ballet School,

she was later employed by

the Royal Ballet, where she be-

came principal dancer, and ac-

claimed as one of the greatest

British ballerinas of all time.

Darcey Bussell has modelled

clothes for Mulberry, Bruce Old-

field and Marks & Spencer.

EASTER READING

It's Easter

t i m e a n d

Grandpa Pig

has organized a

special Easter

Egg hunt. But Peppa Pig and

her friends find more than

chocolate eggs at the end

of the garden...This brand

new board storybook fea-

turing Peppa and George is

perfect for sharing with

little Peppa Pig fans and

makes the ideal gift this

Easter. Based on the hit

p r e - s c h o o l a n i m a t i o n ,

"Peppa Pig", shown daily on

Five's milkshake and Nick

Jnr.

E m m a t h e

Easter Fairy

works alongside

the Easter Bunny

to make sure that

this special time

of year is a happy

and fun-filled

time for everyone! But

when the pesky goblins

steal Emma's magical East-

er Eggs, chaos reigns! Can

Rachel and Kirsty help Em-

ma to save Easter before

it's ruined forever...?

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

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

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

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

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

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulberry_(company)

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

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

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marks_%26_Spencer


BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE

by Portia Van de Saar, Yr5

British Sign Language is the

most helpful skill to learn.

Using sign means you can

communicate with deaf peo-

ple whether they are kids or

adults.

Obviously a deaf person

cannot talk on the phone or

even hear the phone ring.

These days it has becomes

so easy for deaf to use

phones because they can

text and send a direct mes-

sage to anyone they want to

talk to. They can also use

Skype and Face Time.

You might think sign is quite

difficult seeing as you have

to move your hands around

and try to get it right, but

it is not as hard as it looks.

All you need to do is prac-

tice, practice, practice!

WHAT IS

SIGN LANGUAGE?

Sign Language is a visual

means of communicating us-

ing gestures, facial expres-

sion, and body language.

Sign Language is used mainly

by people who are Deaf or

have hearing impairments .

Within Britain the most

common form of Sign Lan-

guage is called British Sign

Language (BSL).

WHAT IS

FINGERSPELLING?

Fingerspelling is a method of

spelling words using hand move-

ments. Fingerspelling is used in

sign language to spell out names of

people and places for which there

is not a sign. Fingerspelling can

also be used to spell words for

signs that the signer does not

know the sign for, or to clarify a

sign that is not known by the per-

son reading the signer.

LEFT-HANDED SIGNING

Left handed people who have just

started to learn Sign Language

often get a little bit

confused about which

hand they should be

using as their domi-

nant hand. The answer

is that you should use

which ever hand you

feel most comfortable

using, but you must

remember to always

use the same hand as

your dominant hand,

by swapping hands you

can cause much confu-

sion with those trying

to read you.


FASHION TIPS

FOR SRPING

Prepared by Myrtille

Lehmann, Yr6

Spring is known to many as

an unpredictable season.

Sometimes, spring is very

rainy, hot or cold. This ar-

ticle will help you how to

dress this Spring.

COLOURS TO WEAR

FOR GIRLS

Dusk blue, tender shoots,

lemon zests, linen, poppy

red, nectarine, Monaco

blue.

COLOURS FOR BOYS

Red, rust, Spearmint, Ink

THE FASHION

1. Halter dresses are in

(they are long dress-

es that reach up to

the neck).

2. Silver sandals or

shoes are in.

3. White and black are

really in this Spring.

And it is great to

wear them together

(called the Mono-

chrome Look).

4. Mix colours togeth-

er: So wear a dark

Color in this halter dress illustrated by Myrtille Lehmann, Yr6

purple baggy top with a long

red skirt, green sunglasses

and blue shoes.

5. White is always great. Clean

and fresh.

6. Make sure you feel comfort-

able in your outfit.

7. Try short necklaces or

bracelets. Do not wear long

necklaces during spring. Long

necklaces can get tangled on

a hot day and make you feel

uncomfortable.

ANIMAL

Q&A

by Giacomo Heaton, Yr3/

Charlie Keating Yr3/ Lewis

Gibbs, Yr3

Q: How many kilometres

can a Cheetah run in 1

hour?

A: A Cheetah can run at

speeds of 110 to 120 km per

hour, but it only does this in

short bursts of less than

half a kilometer before it

stops, and the usual distance

is closer to one or two hun-

dred meters.

Running at such speed needs

a lot of energy over a short

period of time, and tires the

animal out. After that, it

rests for quite a while.

Q: What is the only primate

found on Madagascar?

A: The ring-tailed lemur.

Q: How many species of

birds are now extinct?

A: Since 1500, over 190

species of birds have be-

come extinct, and this rate

of extinction seems to be

increasing. Currently there

are approximately 10,000

species of birds, with an es-

timated 1,200 cons idered

to be under threat of

extinction .

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

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


BIRDS... by Nola Kershaw, Yr3

Birds are animals that

fly. Birds live all over

the world.

Birds eat seeds, plants,

worms, nectar, fish and

insects.

Birds are the only ani-

mals that have feath-

ers.

Birds are believed to

have evolved from the-

ropod dinosaurs.

Humming birds can fly

backwards.

The Chicken is the most

common species of bird

found in the world.

The Tailorbird lives in

southern China, India

and southeast Asia.

Swallows often return

to the same place each

year.

The colour of the

feathers can be used to

hide the bird or to help

the bird find a boy-

friend or a girlfriend.

Feathers do many jobs

for birds. Soft down

keeps them warm, wing

feathers allow flight

and tail feathers are

used for steering.

There are around 10000 dif-

ferent species of birds

worldwide.

The Ostrich is the largest bird in

the world. It also lays the largest

eggs and has the fastest maxi-

mum running speed (97 kph).

Birds have hollow bones which

help them fly.

Some bird species are intelligent

enough to create and use tools.

Kiwis are endangered, flightless

birds that live in New Zealand.

They lay the largest eggs relative

to their body size of any bird in

the world.

The Bee Humming-

bird is the smallest

living bird in the

world, with a length

of just 5 cm (2 in).

Around 20% of

bird species mi-

grate long distanc-

es every year

Homing pigeons are

bred to find their

way home from long

distances away and

have been used for

thousands of years.

to carry messages.


AN UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIP

by Ryan Andrade, Yr3/

Trusus Cardona, Yr3/

Alihan Karatas, Yr3

Once upon a time there

lived a dancing green drag-

on and a break-dancing

wizard.

The dancing dragon was

practicing steps to the lat-

est hit song ‘Gangnam

Style’. A lot of people were

mean to him and laughed at

his moves.

The dancing wizard on the

other hand was a humong-

ous fan of the bands 1D

and JLS. He practiced for

hours and hours each day.

One day the dancing wizard

and the dancing dragon

joined the same dancing

competition. They both

wanted to be a win-

ner and they both

wanted the prize no mat-

ter what it took.

They needed ideas very fast to

help them win. They checked out

dancing websites to find new

moves that they could practice and

the dancing wizard even got help

from ‘The fantastic book of

breakdancing called ‘Breaky Dancy’.

By the semi-finals of the competi-

tion the dragon was first and the

wizard a close second and this

meant that they had both made it

to the final.

In the final competition the

breakdancing wizard wins and

takes home a precious medal. He

also congratulates the dragon for

all his hard work. The dragon says

thank you and they become

friends.

PANCAKE

SURVEY!

by Giulia Heaton, Yr6/

Katie Tomlinson, Yr6

Shrove Tuesday is the day

preceding Ash Wednesday,

the first day of lent.

Shrove Tuesday is linked to

Easter, so its date changes

on an annual basis.

Shrove Tuesday is also

known as Pancake Day. So

we asked some children

around the playground what

their favourite pancake fill-

ing/topping was.

Here are the top 5 most

popular answers in descend-

ing order:

5. Banana & Chocolate: “It

makes you go bananas!”

4. Strawberry & Cream:

“Nice and fresh!”

3. Maple Syrup: “Sweet and

sticky!”

2. Nutella and Ice Cream:

“You’ll go nuts over it!”

1. Lemon and Sugar:

“Traditional is always best!”

WORLD WORLD WORLD



What’s your favourite

topping/filling?


Reviewed by Yousef

Bouran, Yr5

Minecraft is a game about

breaking and placing blocks.

At first, people built struc-

tures to protect against

nocturnal monsters, but as

the game grew players

worked together to create

wonderful, imaginative

things.

It can also be about adven-

turing with friends or

watching the sun rise over a

blocky ocean. It’s pretty.

Brave players battle terri-

ble things in The Nether,

which is more scary than

pretty. You can also visit a

land of mushrooms.

Minecraft was created by

Markus Persson (aka Notch)

and Jens Bergensten (aka

Jeb).

There are different mobs

(monsters) in Minecraft.

There are basic things like

spiders, skeletons and zom-

bies.

There are many different

complicated ones as well.

None of them are scary

though since everything is

made of blocks.

Some mobs will attack you on

sight. They are: spiders, zombies,

skeletons, creepers, cave spiders,

ghasts, silverfish, Wither skele-

ton, magma cube, slime, blaze,

zombie villagers, spider jockeys

and witches.

Other mobs will only attack if you

attack them or look at them: En-

derman, Zombie pigman, and

wolves, Boss mobs (Ender dragon

and the Wither), unused (giant

Zombie).

Creepers are one of the most

popular mobs. They are also the

mob which is on the Minecraft

title.

The end is where the Ender drag-

on and the Wither will be able to

fight. The only mob there is En-

GAME REVIEW: MINECRAFT

derman. (Tip: never play

on hard difficulty in the

end).

The nether is a bit like

the underworld with a

lot of lava and Neth-

erack and netherbrick.

The mobs there are

Blaze’s, Zombie pigmen

and Ghasts.

You have to pay for Mine-

craft if you want the full

version. If you want the

free version you get about

3-5 days of playing Mine-

craft. It costs £17.95 for

the full version. If you

download the default skin

(the way you look) from the

Minecraft website you can

create a skin from

scratch.


21st May—20th April

You are a very funny person

and make lots of people

laugh. I am sure you will learn

many more jokes this Spring.

21st April—21st May

You are very generous

and you share lots of

things. This Spring, you

may even get an award.

22nd May—21st June

You have great taste in

clothes. This Spring, your

favourite shop will have

what you’re looking for.

22nd June—23rd July

You are very intelligent and

clever. You might be in the

Silver Book after Easter

break. Be extra good!

23rd July—22nd Aug

You are beautiful inside

and out. You might get

something special this

Spring for being so kind

and helpful to others. Be

sure to tell us if you do!

23rd Aug—21st Sept

You always have a

sparkle in your heart.

You are going to

charm lots of people

this Spring. Lucky

you!

22nd Sept—22nd Oct

You have a beautiful voice.

Why not join the choir

this Spring or sign up for

a concert. Who knows?

You might be famous one

day!

23rd Oct—21st Nov

You are so kind to ani-

mals and you know how

to deal with them.

Why not teach your

friends a few things

about that.

22nd Nov—21st Dec

This Spring all your

hard work is going to

pay off and you’ll be

so happy and popular.

You’ll even make new

friends with your new

confidence.

22nd Dec—20th Jan

You are such a lucky

person and this Spring

it seems like you might

win a lot of things.

Maybe the lottery? If

you do, remember we

told you first.

21st Jan—19th Feb

You are a friendly

person and this

Spring if you carry on

being so friendly, you

are going to make a

lot of friends and go

to many parties.

20th Feb—20th Mar

You always make very

good choices and peo-

ple look up to you.

Why not join the

school council after

Easter and help make

a difference!

Prepared by Siddy Crow Haidar, Yr5


by James Keating, Yr5/

Ryan Nguyen, Yr5

How good are you at

geography? Take our

test and find out!

1. What is the longest

river in the UK?

2. How many miles is the

Great Wall of China?

3. Where would you say

“Aloha!”?

4. Where is the Yellow

Sea?

5. Which country has

‘THE LASER” GEOGRAPHY QUIZ

the Mississippi River?

6. Where was Mo Farah born?

7. Which city elected a new

Pope?

8. Which country has the best

selling chocolate?

9. What is the longest river in

South America?

ANSWERS:

1. The river Severn/ 2. It is 5500 miles/ 3. Hawaii/ 4. The Yel-

low Sea is located between the mainland of China and the Korean

peninsula/ 5. USA:The Mississippi River of the U.S and of North

America, flows south from Lake Itasca, in Northern Minnesota,

to the Gulf of Mexico, in Louisiana/ 6. Somalia/ 7. The Vatican in

Italy/ 8. Belgium/ 9. The Amazon. It runs through ten countries.

COLOUR ME IN !

Illustrated by Poppy Trevithick, Yr4

Colour in this picture illustrated by Ella Leppanen, Yr5 and check out the story of Coco and

Clonk123 on p.9


COLOUR-IN FUN!

Illustrated by Amy Jenkins, Yr5 & Ella Leppanen, Yr5


EASTER BUNNY BISCUITS

by Kai Ring, Yr6

INGREDIENTS:

100g caster sugar

100g butter

1 egg, separated

225g plain flour

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

50g currants

25g candied peel

3 Tbsp. milk

450g royal icing sugar (optional)

HOW TO MAKE IT:

1. Pre-heat oven to 170 degrees

Celsius, gas mark 3

2. Cream the sugar and butter until

light and fluffy. Beat in the egg

yolk.

3. Sieve the flour and fold into mix-

ture with the ginger, cinnamon,

currants and candied peel. Add

just enough milk to make a stiff

dough.

4. Roll out the dough and cut out

the biscuits using Easter themed

cutters. Place on a greased or non

-stick baking sheet and bake for

about 15 minutes.

5. Remove the biscuits

from the oven and

brush with the egg

white. Sprinkle with

sugar and bake for a

further 5-10 minutes.

6. The biscuits can be

iced and decorated

using icing prepared

from royal icing sugar

and food colouring.

YUMMY BROWNIES IN 3 EASY STEPS!

by Giulia Heaton, Yr6 &

Myrtille Lehmann, Yr6

INGREDIENTS:

400g caster sugar

225g melted butter

60g cocoa powder

1 tsp. vanilla extract

4 eggs

225g plain flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

60g walnut halves (optional)

HOW TO MAKE IT:

1. Mix all the ingredients together.

2. Bake at 180 de-

grees Celsius/gas

mark 4 for 20-25

minutes in a rectan-

gular 23x33 baking

tin.

3. Cool, slice into

squares.


HOW TO

DRAW A CAT...

by Alanis Hodge, Yr6

EASTER

EGG FUN!

by Rico Sen, Yr2


Created by Giacomo Heaton, Yr3 & Charlie Keating, Yr3


SOLVE THE MAZE

Created by Lewis Gibbs, Yr3


COMIC CREATED BY

ALIHAN KARATAS, YR3

&

TRUSUS CARDONA, YR3

COMIC CREATED BY

LULU PENNICOTT BANKS, YR5

&

KAI SEN, YR5


Meridian Primary School, Old Woolwich Road,

Greenwich, London, SE10 9NY

We’re on the web!

www.meridian.greenwich.sch.uk

Thank you to

everyone who

helped make

‘The Laser’ possible!

SPORT


SURESH RAINA

by Paarth Maheshwari, Yr4

Suresh Kumar Raina is an Indian cricketer who was

born on 27th November, 1986 in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pra-

desh in India.

Raina’s nickname is Sonu and he is a left-handed bats-

man. His bowling style is right-arm off bread and his

role is an all-rounder.

He plays for Uttar Pradesh in all forms of domestic

cricket and is the vice-captain of Chennai Super

Kings in the Indian Premier League.He played the

World Cup with India in 2011 and won. He is the only

Indian player to have scored a century in all formats of

International cricket.

He has three brothers a sister.

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

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

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

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

in a place one green far away balloon! … · mainly because they knew that the cyclops would eat...

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