August Puzzle
Find all the words and send a picture of your word-search to: dearkatkats@gmail.com by August 14 to win a $20 Sun Bookshop voucher! Hurry. The first correct entry wins!
Congratulations to Denison from St Margaret’s in Maribyrnong who has won two tickets to the Sun Theatre! Denison was the first to complete last month’s Moana crossword correctly – well done!
Poems performed as part of the Williamstown Literary Festival
Sisters
By Dylan, George and Lu Kang – St Mary’s P.S.
Sisters, Sisters, annoying bats,
Look like cats and eat like rats.
Mum’s always on her side and believes everything she says, and when I get in trouble I lose my rizz.
They’re just so annoying you just can’t see.
So let us tell you our POV!
Firstly bro they don’t let you go into their room
And then they lock the door on you,
Don’t you get it they’re such poos,
Using mascara even more than food.
Her toys on the floor, Boys I’ve known before, she hides my phone in the Drawer.
It’s all out war!
Sisters, Sisters, annoying bats,
Look like cats and eat like rats.
Dobbing and getting us in trouble so much.
While they somehow stay untouched.
Yo this is not cool they push you in the pool, and drool on your tools just Like a fool, they won’t even stop when you’re at school, they’re not even Cool just so “CRUEL.”
But there’s another side to this, they can sometimes be kind,
So after thinking about what we said, I think I’m blind
Sisters can actually help you and be kind to you,
And all that stuff was a lie, well some of it was true!
Sometimes, my sister shows strength and support,
Cheers for me when I’m playing sport.
So they can be annoying and very mean too,
But they’re our sisters, we love them too and that is true.
They can annoy us, everyday but they sometimes don’t,
For example our birthdays they just won’t
Sisters are like a roller coaster. They have their ups and downs,
But it’s sometimes nice to have them around!
So thank you for giving us your time today,
And listening to what we have to say.
Oh judges, have a nice day.
Don’t Be a Bully
By Aria and Addie – St Mary’s PS
Bully, bully ,bully, don’t be a bully!
Listen to us,
OH YEA
I’m a bully
I’m a person
You’re so weird
That’s not nice
Push, shove, they have no love, let’s go together and go above.
Sad, sad, sad am I that bad?
Bully, bully, bully, don’t be a bully
Listen to us!
Mental health are you okay?
Bullying is not okay!
It hurts my feelings, it hurts my mind.
It’s so bad it even makes me rhyme.
RAP TIME
People who are bullies are as sour as a lime…
Dayum we wasted so much time…
They waste their time on bullying when really they should be studying.
Go to a parent or a guardian for help,
Who can I trust? Yelp.
Someone that you trust or even a website, kids help line wont waste your time.
YES my bully will pay!
HEY that’s not okay!
Bully, bully, bully! Don’t be a bully.
Listen to us
OH YEA.
Dave
By Harrison and Noah, St Mary’s PS
Roses are red, my name is not Dave this makes no sense, MICROWAVE!!
Dave does daily dreams doing dances, dancing Daves across the stage backflipping on the verge of rage.
Roses are red, my name is not Dave this makes no sense, MICROWAVE!!
Dave is in a haste of rage because his fuel gauge broke on the highway so he had to sway the man to not make him pay today or he will throw away every tray.
Roses are red, my name is not Dave this makes no sense, MICROWAVE!!
Microwaves just like TV’s it tricked you and it tricked Dave too, he gets the Microwaves thinks there TV’s, gets them from deja vu avenue.
Roses are red, my name is not Dave this makes no sense, MICROWAVE!!
Making a Mikado set
By Jonquille from Yarraville West Primary School
Photo by Elvira from Yarraville West Primary School
When we were on holiday in a big Airbnb we discovered a mysterious wooden box we opened it and we saw 41 coloured sticks. We read the instructions and we realised it was a game like pick up sticks. It was called Mikado. We loved it so very much we decided to get a set for home. When we got home we figured out that we could make our own set out of bamboo skewers and I’d like to show you how we made them. First, I’ll tell you how to play the game.
HOW TO PLAY
Gather the sticks in your hand twist then drop then on a hard surface. The players then try to pick up a stick without moving any other stick. If any other stick moves, they will have to drop it back on the pile.
On your turn, you can only touch one stick with one hand.
If you get the stick without moving another one, you take that stick and get another turn.
When all of the sticks are gone, the players count up their points. The different colours on the sticks mean different points. The sticks are named after Japanese titles. Their names and points are below, as well as how many you need.
Mikado means Emperor in Japanese and the Mikado stick is very special. If you get the Mikado stick you can use it to move other sticks.
STICKS:
1 X Mikado – 20 pts
5 X Mandarin – 10 pts
5 X Bonsens – 5 pts
15 X Samurai – 3 pts
15 X Kulis – 2 pts
TIPS:
The Mikado can be used to flick other sticks in the air.
Pressing on the pointy end of the bamboo stick makes the rest pop into the air.
When the sticks drop at the start you can always move the sticks around after they fall to make it a better game
The amount of bands on the stick is how many points it is (except for the mandarin) – it makes it easier to score because you can count the bands.
If you have a young player, you may make different rules. We let Elvie use both hands.
HOW TO MAKE YOUR MIKADO
You will need:
- bamboo skewers
- coloured textas – Black, yellow, orange, green and dark red
- cardboard tube for the box
- glue, sticky tape and other craft things to decorate your box
- gloves if you don’t like getting dirty hands
Steps:
1.On a table put a big piece of newspaper down. It can get messy.
2.Take a bamboo skewer and decorate it with the texta – the colours and design of each stick is below:
1 X Mikado – thin black lines in three sections
5 X Mandarin – single yellow band in middle of stick
5 X Bonsen – 5 orange bands
15 X Samurai – 3 green bands
15 X Kulis – 2 dark red bands
3.Let them dry out.
4. Make a box for your sticks out of carboard roll and any other cardboard you have. I made it out of a kitchen roll and then made the lid to go over it.
TIPS:
You can colour in the sticks by rolling them on the newspaper and holding the texta as they roll – it gets less texta on your hands!
Pick the straight skewers.
Square lids are easier to make, I made a square lid to go on my cylinder. it looks cool and was easier to make and put writing on.
Colour it with tape. We coloured the cylinder box in with blue masking tape.
We put the stick types and points written on the box to remember them.
It was really fun making the Mikado set. I made mine exactly like the real thing. But my little sister Elvie she made her own set with all different colours and designs with different points.
Join Elvie and Jonquille for a Mikado Making Workshop on Tuesday the 11th of August from 4–5pm! The workshop will be held at Seddon Book Alley, 107 Victoria St, Seddon. $10. Materials and snacks provided.
Email: dearkatkats@gmail.com to book your place!
Listen up!
To celebrate 81 years of Book Week, tune in to Westsider Radio at 11am and 5pm every day from the 22–28th of August. We’re airing 81 stories from kids from the west – what a symphony!
To submit to the Kids of the West page email dearkatkats@gmail.com.
