No skyping tonight

Dear Parents,

We are not Skyping tonight since the kids are busying packing and we're going back to Singapore tomorrow.

Regards

Orchard Glory Farm - 2 (by Yu Xi)

Do you know what happens in a farm?

At the Orchard Glory Farm, we went around the farm to do some fun activities. A farmer, Mr Keith, brought us around the farm. First, we fed two ponies and a horse. The two Shetland ponies were much smaller than the horse. We fed them chunks of carrots.

Next, we fed the Alpacas. At first, I thought they were Llamas! They ate the seeds of some plants and some oats. One or two of them even had the cheek to sneeze on one of our teachers and a classmate! It was quite unpleasant for them. After a few minutes, a truck pulled up next to us. There were three sheep and two dogs in the truck.. We got to witness the sheep shearing up close.

Then, Mr Keith brought us to a winery and explained to us the process of making wine. All of us even had the opportunity to complete the last stage – bottling the wine and labelling it. We filled the bottle up, put the cork in, placed the label on the bottle and took a group photo with the wine bottle. It was such a fun experience. Although we were not allowed to taste the wine, I really wished that we could each take a bottle of wine home!

Lastly, we went to a field full of orange trees. Mr Keith allowed us to pick two oranges each. Then, he brought us to a place where they waxed and sorted the oranges to prepare them for sale. The oranges were put into a long machine with a few conveyor belts. The oranges were cleaned and then waxed. A small sticker was then put on each orange and a conveyor belt would transport the oranges to the final destination. Each orange on the conveyor belt would be sorted based on its size. The smaller oranges would pass through the gap first and drop into the first few slots while the bigger oranges would travel further and pass through a larger gap.

Finally, Keith allowed us to pick mandarin oranges from another part of the farm and we could eat them on the spot. I really feel glad that I am on this trip and I hope to have more of such experiences in the near future.

Orchard Glory Farm (by Yu Xi)

We are now staying at Orchard Glory Farm. Instead of a hotel room which can only hold 3 people, the chalet here can hold 6 people. I feel really excited staying at a chalet with my friends. I looked forward to a fun-filled day at the farm tomorrow.

Moore River Sand Boarding (by Tricia)

Wow! What a great day! Today we went to the Moore River and took a cruise to a sand bar. The sand was soft and comfortable. We used sand boards to slide down a steep slope. Before we slide down, the guide rub some candle on the underside of the sand board. We took turns to slide down the slope. Many of us went down the slope more than once. The teachers a;lso had a go. Ms Er went down first and accidently dropped her camera and the sand damaged it.

Fremantle Market (by Huegus and Reagan)

The Fremantle Market was a great place to do some shopping. For people who have never been to the market, it is located at Fremantle. We bought many things for our family members in Singapore eg. I (Huegus) bought a couple of small bears and an ash-tray in a shape of a toilet bowl. I (Reagan) bought a reusable bag for my dearest mother and a Y-shaped boomerang which was made of foam for myself. At first glance, Fremantle Market looks like Bugis Village in Singapore. There were so many things to see and buy like sovenieurs, boomerangs, birdcallers and food. It was truly a wonderful experience.

Perth Hills Centre Part 2 (by Clayten)

After lunch, we went to see a water dam and a water  catchment area. It was a very long trek. We saw many great scenaries too.

Along the way, we saw a 2m wide metal box when Ms Fiona opened it. It  turned out that it was a model of a mountain range and the water catchment area. It also showed some rivers. Ms Fiona handed out some containers with a few holes on the lid. We then emptied our containers on the models and the water flowed down to simulate rainfall.

We continued our journey to the dam. Along the jouney, Ms Fiona explained the 5 factors that can affect quality of a water catchment: dieback disease, logging, soil erosion, fire, salinity. She used interesting experiments to show us the effects of these factors on the environment. Ms Fiona also shared that we needed special permission to enter the area near the water catchment. So, we felt very privileged.

When we got to the dam, we realised the dam was very big! It was quite cool as one side was filled with water while the other side was dry! The dam took 5 years to build and it was a source of water for Western Australia.