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www.k12.com.au EDITORIAL- Preparing kids for the future Issue 1 January 2018 4 STRIVE, ACHIEVE, SUCCEED DEAR SHINING STARS By Laura Xerri 7 By Jayati WE ARE ON EDGE OF A ROBOTIC AGE • ARE YOU PREPAREd TO CONTRIBUTE? STUCK The fact is that we are now on the verge of another machine age but equipped with automation. It is not just powered by clanging factory THE RISE OF THE UNDERDOG equipment and human brains but by artificial intelligence, and robotics. 10 Self-driving cars and holograms are expected to become widespread in By Priya Mishra the coming decade. Virtual reality is already in everyone’s conversation. PLATE TECTONIC It will not be long before we start to talk about AI and Robotic 13 By Jay MIshra revolutions, just like the Industrial Revolution 200 years ago. 14 LA LINGUA DI ITALIANO THINK • PREPARE • AND ACT By Rachael Ferguson Thinking about the future and preparing yourself for it are not allways a naturally occurrung processes. It is never too late to start planning, 17 THE FORTUNE TELLER but we must start at some point if we ever want to achieve our goals. By Zara We need a desire to connect with our future and then to seek a path for COPYRIGHT future success. 18 By Cyrus Priyambada Mishra OBJECTIVE INSPIRATION OF EDITION This is our first edition and our vision is to provide opportunity for young writers to display their growing talents as writers, painters, poets, technologists or wherever else their creativity leads them. VISION To let our little stars to shine, by the fire of their own experience. To allow our birds to fly, by the strength of their own motivation. Priyambada DISCLAIMER STATEMENT We reserve the right to edit any work submitted to us if it could be offensive to our readers. Stories Whispered by K12

4 Issue 1 January 2018 www.k12.com.au STRIVE, ACHIEVE, SUCCEED THE Australian education system offers an array of Yes, there are circumstances where children may seem different learning styles and outcomes. However, the to endure more stress and pressure around these assessment portion of the curriculum leaves much to my examination periods, however the system is not own dismay. The form of testing that is conducting on all designed to torture students and make them feel like students of the NSW region is the Australian National anything less than extraordinary. Assessment Program for Literacy and Numeracy or No, that is not the case. The standardised testing aims to NAPLAN for short. The tests are taken by students of view the academic standard that we, as a nation, have Years 3, 5, 7 and 9, testing their abilities in the numerical procured through our educational system. there are both and literary disciplines. positives and negatives to the assessment standards, however we should be encouraging our students to do As of 2017, NAPLAN has introduced new benchmark their best without placing enormous amounts of stress challenges for year 9 students in an attempt to prepare and pressure onto them; because at the end of the day them for higher level HSC study. Year 9 students must they are only young adults at best and they still have their achieve a band 8 to be eligible to receive their HSC 3 whole lives ahead of them. And what marks they get do years later. If this standard is not met, students will only not define them or the greatness they are destined to receive a Record of School Achievement (ROSA). achieve. Not only are our young students tested in high capacities, they are now being forced to achieve the highest possible marks in order to attain their HSC level education. There are positives to this standard, however, including the raised level of expectations of young people in schools. In simple terms, the newly introduced minimums for the year 9 students effectively ‘weed out’ low achievers in a way that will not hinder high achievers in their future academic endeavours. This is not to say that low achievers should feel disheartened by this outcome, but rather, it should encourage and inspire them to work harder over the coming years to achieve the results that they may want. This mostly affects students who wish to acquire an ATAR. With the scaling system in place for HSC examinations, low marks effect higher marks and vice-versa. This is not a fair indication of the academic achievements of each individual student. Though, by introducing the Band 8 minimum, it is allowing students of higher levels to form a healthy competition with other People are capable of great things, regardless of their students of their intellectual standard. academic levels. Although there are many parents and students who are unhappy with this new implemented standard, as they believe it only rewards the academically inclined students, Strive, Achieve, Succeed. there are many people who believe that the minimum sets unachievable standards and are setting their children up for failure. This should not be the case; the new standards should Laura Xerri entice students to strive for higher grades and a more (K12 Teacher) well-rounded sense of knowledge and worldly views. Stories Whispered by K12

5 www.k12.com.au Issue 1 January 2018 SHINING STAR: Jessica Fox \"Not even a back injury could stop her\" (I once made my sisters WeetBix with salt on rather than sugar - 3 times in a row). LIVING in Penrith, attending Blaxland High School and She's a girl that has suffered through the rigours of school, then the University of Sydney, with a borderline obsessive physical health and just life in general, like all of us. passion for dogs. At least one of these things is probably very familiar to you or someone you know. Though what Yet, her dedication to the mastery of her sport and of you may not know, is that I have just described the life of everything else under the sun is what makes her a Jessica Fox. Though there is so much more to it! Shining Star. Still only 23 years old, who knows what else her future will bring! In 1997, there were plans to remove whitewater canoeing from the Olympics due to monetary issues and lack of venues. Without Jessica's father (Richard) as the figurehead of a global campaign, this almost certainly would have occurred. However, his passion for the sport spurred him to move himself and his family from France to Australia and pour millions of dollars and endless hours into the construction of Penrith Whitewater Stadium. Jessica Fox was coached in canoeing by her mother from the age of 9. Yet, her dedication to the sport did not detract from her education: she went on to receive dux of Blaxland High School and first place in NSW for PDHPE (studies of health). Around this time at the age of 17, she suffered a back injury. Not even a back injury could stop her though; in this very same year she won her first silver Olympic medal! Not only that, but in the following 5 years she has won another silver medal, 3 bronze medals and 8 gold medals. Though these grandiose accomplishments portray her as almost superhuman, she also has flaws. In 2017 she appeared on Hell's Kitchen (Australia). Her reason for being there was to try to learn how to cook. In the past she had accidentally put salt into a cake rather than sugar and spiced her porridge with cumin rather than cinnamon. Mistakes, which, I'm sure most of us can sympathise with (I once made my sisters WeetBix with salt on Stories Whispered by K12

5 5 6 Issue 1 Januar w w www.k12.com.auww.k12.com.auww.k12.com.au Issue 1 Januar Issue 1 January 2018y 2018y 2018 HISTORY OF FLIGHT FLIGHT has fascinated man since the beginning of All of these achievements (and failures) were mere time, but it has been fraught with extreme danger as precursors to ambitious attempts by Wilbur and Orville experimental flight has often cost lives. Over 2000 years Wright. ago the Chinese invented the first kites using bamboo In 1903, after extensive research The Wright Brothers and silk. In the 15th Century Leonardo Da Vinci made history when their aircraft remained in the air for prepared drawings of a machine to be strapped to a 12 seconds-travelling almost 40 metres. Several attempts human to imitate the flapping action of a bird. later the Americans managed to fly 260 metres in just Modern understanding of aerodynamics proved under a minute, albeit in a straight line and with a bumpy Da Vinci’s Ornithopter design had serious flaws. landing. Their invention, dubbed the Wright Flyer, became Nonetheless, his work helped others in their quest to the first powered heavier-than-air machine to maintain design and build fully functional, reliable and safe aircraft. control with a pilot on board. It was driven by a 12 horsepower engine. In the 1890s, the German Otto Lilienthal showed the world that unpowered human flight was possible. His machine The Wright Flyer weighed approximately 275 kilograms, shared some similarities with Da Vinci’s design, however more than 400 times lighter than a Boeing 747! Lilienthal’s experimentation and testing was unrelenting. In the end The Wright brothers made history with their With his apparatus attached he made approximately 2000 invention and gained the respect of us and our future takeoffs, some from a 15 metre high artificially formed hill. generation, but in the history of flight figure like Da Vinci His final test flight ended in tragedy when a maneuver to and Lilienthal are also extremely important. gain altitude failed. He died from spinal injuries sustained when he and his glider struck the ground. His contribution earned him the title ‘The Father of Flight’ and he was widely known as the Glider King. Jay Mishra (Year 8) Stories Whispered by K12

5 5 7 Issue 1 January 2018y 2018y 2018 www.k12.com.auww.k12.com.auww.k12.com.au w w Issue 1 Januar Issue 1 Januar STUCK My search, however, was fairly fruitless, as I had only found a map, an odd vial with liquid as red as blood, and Jayati (Year 9) a dagger that was almost laughable in this torrent of bullets. “Now we will be providing the audience with updates “WAKE UP SOLDIER!”, some subtle noises pierced from the war, down at East Village.” my subconscious, jerking me back to reality. A part of me For some odd reason, the name ‘East Village’, sounded wished it hadn’t. I could suddenly feel the jagged rocks familiar to me. I desperately looked to the map with burning into my back, like hot coals. hopes to find the name in there, and there it was. The discomfort of the rocks was more than enough for Suddenly, I realised where I had heard this name before, me to decide to pick myself up. but it couldn’t possibly be true. It was too terrifying to be true. As soon as I stood on my feet, I encountered a horrifying I could barely form the words… surprise. The air was so full of bullets, it was like I was ”I am inside a comic book.” swimming. Pure terror lent strength to my feet as I ran The thought of this electrified every bone in my body with behind a tank to escape the chaos. The most peculiar terror. I had so many unanswered questions bouncing part about this terrible situation, was how I had no idea around my skull. how I got here. How can I escape? Is it even possible for me to escape? Now that I had found temporary refuge, I decided to Am I stuck here forever? How did I even get here? check my pockets to see if there were any clues that The panic was taking over me. I was stuck, and all I could assist me. wanted was to go home. Stories Whispered by K12

5 5 8 Issue 1 Januar w w www.k12.com.auww.k12.com.auww.k12.com.au Issue 1 January 2018y 2018y 2018 Issue 1 Januar HEROES OF THE MONTH Martin Luther King (January 15th 1929 – 1968) Reportedly, he was an unmotivated, precocious student The legacy we leave is the legacy our children follow. during his school years. During this time there was a point while watching people marching against the rights YOU may have heard the inspirational speech of of black people that he was informed of the death of his Martin Luther King and seen the impact that he was able grandmother by heart attack and jumped off a second to make on the world, however his years prior to this story building in attempted suicide. He had lost faith in event only add to his empowering story. education, in religion and in the world. The Martin Luther King that the world later saw was the result of his tenacity in clinging to whatever faith he had left. He formed dreams of a career in ministry and followed them with brilliant grades, becoming valedictorian and student body president of his school. By the age of 25 he had a wife, kids, Ph.D and a career as Pastor of a struggling Baptist church. Before Martin took it on, the church had a mere 13 members. Within years it was thriving. Following the bus segregation scandals of Claudette Colvin and Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King became a force for civil rights by instigating the first non-violent bus boycott with his church. He then led many more non-violent protests and presented the famous speech \"I Have a Dream\". Martin Luther was born as Michael King Jr., named after The Civil Rights Act was consequentially legislated in his father. His father lovingly supplied discipline and his 1964. His legacy lives on even though he was mother's gentleness served to mitigate any harshness. assassinated 4 years later. They both tried hard to shield him from the world around The teachings of his parents enabled him to see the world him. His father constantly fought against racism or any for what it was and dream of what it could be. sort of class segregation, as a matter of principal and He had a dream, he had determination, he left a legacy. because he perceived it to be his duty to God. When his father changed his own name to Martin Luther, his son followed suit. The respect that he had for his father led him to follow his footsteps in much more to come. However, despite his upbringing, he could not be entirely sheltered by his parents. Stories Whispered by K12

9 Issue 1 January 2018 www.k12.com.au Joan of Arc (January 6th 1412-1431) Apparently on instruction of Saint Michael and Saint Catherine in Joan's visions, she was told that she would JOAN of Arc was born into a family of farmers in France, be the savior of France and that she would achieve this with little money to their name. She became a master through the installation of Charles as the rightful king. She cropped her hair, dressed in men's clothes and set seamstress and took care of the animals around the farm. off to meet Charles. In 1415, when Joan was 3 years old, King Henry V of England invaded Northern France. Charles was doubtful of this lower-class girl who was Through this he gained the victory and support that claiming she had seen visions. However, after she was positioned him as heir to the throne upon King Charles' able to identify him out of a crowd while he was disguised death. However, in 1422, both Charles and Henry died – amongst them, he allowed her a private audience with him. During this private conversation it is said that Joan thus leaving Henry's son as the heir of both the French was able to recount exact words from a prayer Charles and English thrones, even though he was merely an had made for help. English infant. Charles' son, also named Charles, therefore seemed to be a more beneficial heir to the Charles' then allowed her, still a 17-year-old at the time, throne due to his French heritage (and also because he to be given armour and ride into battle. She rode on the was able to string together more than infantile burbles). frontlines of the Battle of Orleans and after their victory, stood by his side when he was crowned king of France. Unfortunately, during a later battle against the Burgundians, she was thrown off her horse and captured by the enemy, who ransomed her to the English for 10,000 francs. Charles was unwilling to pay the price to have her returned to France because he was still doubtful of her claims. Thus, she was left in the hands of the enemy. They put her on public trial for 70 counts, including heresy, witchcraft and dressing like a man. However, her blameless humility made it difficult to publicly condemn her and they were forced to switch to private trials. She protected herself in military prison by tying soldier's clothes around herself, tying them with dozens of knots. Grasping at straws, they finally decided that this protection method qualified as dressing like a man and charged her to be executed. She was 19. Charles successfully retained his kingship through the remainder of the war and ordered an investigation into Joan's charges, revealing her to be innocent. He declared her a martyr and she is now known as the patron saint of France. Priyambada Mishra (K12 Co-founder) Stories Whispered by K12

10 Issue 1 January 2018 www.k12.com.au THE RISE OF THE UNDERDOG Henry Lawson (1867-1922) \"The first, the only chance I got\" THOUGH he is often called \"Australia's greatest writer\" Here he faced the daily grind, which was still inherent to this title was certainly not given freely. central Sydney all those years ago. From his early years Henry Lawson faced challenges. He On top of that, he was continually persecuted by his found himself in a family that unintentionally cohort. forbade him from having a normal childhood; instead forcing him to take a mature role in the family even in his youth. Money was hard to come by for the Lawsons. Henry's father, Peter Lawson was forced to take a job as a miner during the gold rush in order to provide for his family. This meant that he was absent from them for longer and longer periods of time, leaving his wife Louisa to raise their 4 children herself. Henry therefore inevitably had a large role to play in caring for the family. This isn't to say that they were bad parents, when they were able, Peter would entertain his family with music and Louisa was an incredible story teller. It's just that unfortunately, this good was heavily outweighed by the more normative pressures of his early life and this imbalance caused him to become reclusive and It made it very evident to Henry that he needed to make independent. a conscious effort to change his life. Thus, in 1987 he Louisa managed to coordinate efforts to have a school decided to travel all the way to Melbourne's Eye and Ear established in their rural area, but by this stage Henry hospital to find a cure for his deafness. was already 9 years old. In this same year, he was Though this would be the point in his story in which you suddenly afflicted with an earache and woke up partially would expect a happily ever after, unfortunately they deaf. were unable to help Henry and consequentially he had to resign himself to his differences. At age 14 his hearing rapidly deteriorated further and He had to use his own determination and work ethic to became 'major' hearing loss. All in all, Henry Lawson succeed where his ears had failed. was only able to complete 3 years of schooling in total. During this time of conscious improvement, Henry had His differences also led him into ridicule by those outside also begun to pursue writing. Prose, poetry, stories, of his family. Opportunities for positive social interactions journalism, multiple books, a short story collection, and connections hardly arose and when they did he marriage, kids. He accomplished it all. It began with “the first, the last and the only chance I [Henry] got in hardly had the social experience or temperament to journalism.” follow through with them. From there he consistently worked with a passion for This social separation continued throughout his older life. writing and this single, fortunate opportunity spread into every other kind of literature he could dream of. On his mother's request, he moved to Sydney to become an apprentice as a coachpainter and take up night Again and again and again the world had shut him out, but he found his own way through. schooling. Stories Whispered by K12

11 Issue 1 January 2018 www.k12.com.au Trouble on the Selection By Henry Lawson (based on his childhood memories) You lazy boy, you’re here at last, You must be wooden-legged; Now, are you sure the gate is fast And all the sliprails pegged And all the milkers at the yard, The calves all in the pen? We don’t want Poley’s calf to suck His mother dry again. And did you mend the broken rail And make it firm and neat? I s’pose you want that brindle steer All night among the wheat. And if he finds the lucerne patch, He’ll stuff his belly full; He’ll eat till he gets ‘blown’ on that And busts like Ryan’s bull. Old Spot is lost? You’ll drive me mad, You will, upon my soul! She might be in the boggy swamps Or down a digger’s hole. You needn’t talk, you never looked You’d find her if you’d choose, Instead of poking ’possum logs And hunting kangaroos. How came your boots as wet as muck? You tried to drown the ants! Why don’t you take your bluchers off, Good Lord, he’s tore his pants! Your father’s coming home to-night; You’ll catch it hot, you’ll see. Now go and wash your filthy face And come and get your tea. Priyambada Mishra (K12 Co-founder) Stories Whispered by K12

12 Issue 1 January 2018 www.k12.com.au HOW TO SUPERCOOL WATER AT HOME Sophie Lucic-Fisher (K12 Teacher) Have you seen the videos like the one below when water appears to freeze instantaneously? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEWQRJ49CPo In only a few steps you can supercool your own water 1. Fill a buck with ice. 2. Place two refrigerated plastic water bottles into the ice until the lid is just visible. How does it work? 3. Sprinkle rock salt all over the ice. • You used salt and water to drop the temperature of the water below freezing point. 4. Keep bottles in the ice for 30-40 minutes • When water is frozen, water molecules line up in an (don’t let them freeze). orderly fashion, which isn’t the case in its liquid form. 5. Once the water is cold (around 17C) remove bottle • The orderly fashion in frozen water means that ice has from ice. less energy than liquid water. 6. Gently strike one bottle on a table and ice should • Meaning when water goes from liquid to frozen it has to appear. lose heat energy. • This means that when you tap the bottle, part of the 7. Open the lid of the other bottle and watch the ice water freezes but the rest of the water heats up making appear! a slushy consistency. Stories Whispered by K12

13 Issue 1 January 2018 www.k12.com.au Stories Whispered by K12

14 Issue 1 January 2018 www.k12.com.au WE'RE ONLY HUMAN Homo sapien means wise man in Latin, I can see why. So much knowledge based on research; and hard Sofya Tsygankova (Year 6) evidence (the best part), there’s thousands of years of it! Even so, we have humans believing in falsehoods, lies or twisted truths. I’m walking on eggshells whenever I state a fact in case it offends someone. WE are convinced that we, as Homo sapiens, are a ‘successful’ species. I mean we did make it to the moon and back and, yet, hardly did anything with it. ‘But, but, but… we made machines and the power sources necessary to power them!’’ Right! Random stranger that looks suspiciously like myself, but may I say something? Where. Does. It. Come. From. We have this endless history of stupidity. By stupid, I mean denying progressive learning from past mistakes. Do you know what the mainstream Western media thinks of Russia? Most politicians think of global warming? How to reduce prison rates? Oh and “Flat Earthers” - don’t think you slip under the radar. The point is, we are inclined to be naïve. Our brains are wired to be like that, to be “efficient”. Wuy con yeu raed tihs ip’s slpet wnorg? Congratulations, you got the ‘learnt how optical illusion and mind tricks work’ achievement. The human brain can every easily be tricked because of the shortcut it takes. For example, pair lots of blue dots with red dots then look down or up really quickly and you get purple dots. Or at school we have a bunch of students. We have mousetraps. We show the students thick straws instantly cut in half by said mousetraps. Then we move the rigged mousetrap near the students and as expected fight or flight kicks in and they run not noticing the mousetrap was obviously superglued shut. (How they got deadly mousetraps in a public primary school is beyond me. Test conducted with 11 to 13 year-olds, no participants were harmed.) Even though our brains take these shortcuts, we can still learn from mistakes, use logic and compile data to get a near or accurate answer. Using the scientific method, I can find out how much Shiratamako rice flour to put in In my opinion, don't be afraid to say something just my dango, how far apart I need to draw the eyes for a because someone is scared of it and don’t let dumb natural look on a humans face, how to get a probe ancient brain short cuts takeover just because it's easier. successfully to mars and so on. It’s not worth it if people die as a result. Stories Whispered by K12

15 Issue 1 January 2018 www.k12.com.au PLATE TECTONICS FROM sea trenches over 10 kilometres below sea level While the Earth is 4.54 billion years old, since maritime to the mountains 8.8 kilometres tall, evidence of plate the outside layer has always been reused. The most tectonics reveals a clear example of the majesty of established ocean floor is only around 200 million years Earth's surface in the present and the past. of age. The oldest sea rocks are found in the north-western Plate tectonics is the hypothesis that Earth's external Pacific Ocean and the eastern Mediterranean Sea. shell is partitioned into multiple plates that coast over its Through the rocks and fossils that have been left behind mantle (the rough inward layer between the outer core from previous activity, geoscientists can recreate the and the crust). These plates are located in the Earth's previous history of Earth's mainland. Most specialists lithosphere – the layer of hard crust and upper mantle. think present day plate tectonics started around 3 billion years back, in light of antiquated magmas and minerals saved in rocks from that period. As the major masses of land collide around the Earth, they infrequently meet up to shape mammoth supercontinents. One of the most significant supercontinents, called Rodinia, formed around 1 billion years back. When Rodinia separated it caused what s now known as the Ice Age, wherein the whole planet froze. Created from the 1950s through the 1970s, the conceptual idea behind plate tectonics was initially proposed by researcher Alfred Wegener in 1912. Wegener didn't have a clarification for how landmasses could move around the planet but he suggested that it was the case nonetheless. The main impetus behind plate tectonics is the process of convection within the mantle. Hot material close to the A supercontinent called Pangaea formed around 300 Earth's centre ascends, and colder mantle sinks. million years later. Africa, South America, North America This convection drives plates through a mix of pushing and Europe settled firmly together, leaving an impressive and spreading at mid-sea edges as well as pulling and array of fossils and rocks for geologists to interpret once sinking at subduction zones. Pangaea fell apart. Many of these pieces along the Mid-sea edges are holes between structural plates that Atlantic Ocean-shoreline provided insight into the path mottle the Earth's surface. Hot magma springs up at the of this land mass. edges, turning to rock and composing new frames for bodies of water on the external layers and pushing the plates apart. At subduction zones, two structural plates Jay Mishra (Year 8) meet and one slides underneath the other, into the mantle. This process is the cause of earthquakes and tsunamis. Stories Whispered by K12

16 Issue 1 January 2018 www.k12.com.au LA LINGUA DI ITALIANO CIAO! In the 1800s the language finally became spoken widely When you hear the word \"Italian\" the first thing that enough to be classified as the official language of Italy. springs to mind is the food (at least for me!), but somehow, After its implementation in schools, most of the population the culture and history of the country are quite possibly on abandoned their own dialects, instead favouring the utility par with the beauty of its delectable lasagna (which of standard Italian. means it's amaaazing). Italian is not restricted to a single country though! Most of Italy is often called the birthplace of Western Society, due us have spoken Italian words in our lives without realising to the many integral historical events that took place there: it. For example, the word 'fiasco' which in English refers The Roman Empire, Roman Catholic Church, to some kind of chaotic catastrophe. In Italian, 'fiasco' Renaissance, and much more. These events are still instead refers to a 'bottle'. So, I suppose at some point reflected today in the stunning old buildings and within an English person must have encountered a severe the language itself. catastrophe involving a bottle and consequently linked the words together! We have also taken 'balcony', 'graffiti', 'apartment', 'novel' and 'umbrella' from the Italian words 'balcone', 'graffito', 'appartamento', 'novello' and 'ombrello'. Oh, and be careful if you're ever ordering your coffee in Italy, 'latte' just means 'milk' - so you might get some strange looks ordering it in a fancy café. Like all romance languages, Italian descended from Latin. However, Italian was not always as unified as it is today, and even today it cannot be grouped completely under one banner. As a humourous example, the word \"pollo\" (literal translation: chicken) in some regions of Northern Italy can be used to jokingly call someone an idiot, whereas if you attempted to use this word in Rome, they'd just wonder why you were calling them a \"chicken\". Whereas this is only a slight difference between speakers, the dialects that ranged across the region to begin with vastly varied (nowadays Italian speakers can at least The fact that you've just read so much about Italy and understand each other!). there is still so much more to talk about is indicative of just how rich this culture is. I haven't even gotten to During the 1400s and 1500s many linguists endeavoured telling you about the Carnevale (in which they dress in to establish a unified language between all these dialects masks and perform improvisational theatre), the strange by setting prescribed articulatory, grammatical and lexical customs surrounding Halloween and Christmas (vocabulary) rules. Although this was meant as a (Coccalu di Muortu and Krampusnacht to name a few), unification, in practice it acted as an exclusion of many the architecture and art (the Colosseum, the Statue of dialectal usages and these language rules had to be David)... broadened to include these groups and avoid the There's just too much! extinction of the language. Mamma mia! Stories Whispered by K12

17 Issue 1 January 2018 www.k12.com.au Old Macdonald Had a Farm: Italian Version Try singing along! It's in the same tune as the English version Nella vecchia fattoria On the old farm Ia ia oo E-I-E-I-O Gli animali son contenti The animals are happy Nella vecchia fattoria Ia ia oo On the old farm E-I-E-I-O Ia ia oo La capra baa, capra baa E-I-E-I-O The goat baa, goat baa Gli animali son contenti Ca, ca, capra baa The animals are happy Go-, go-, goat baa Ia ia oo Nella vecchia fattoria E-I-E-I-O On the old farm La mucca moo, mucca moo Ia ia oo. The cow, moo! Cow, moo! E-I-E-I-O Mu, mu, mucca moo Co-, co-, cow, moo! Nella vecchia fattoria On the old farm Ia ia oo. E-I-E-I-O Rachael Ferguson (K12 Teacher) Stories Whispered by K12

18 Issue 1 January 2018 www.k12.com.au THE LIFE OF A GLADIATOR Rebecca (Year 7) Stories Whispered by K12

19 Issue 1 January 2018 www.k12.com.au THE FORTUNE TELLER Then Susan went back home and told everyone what had happened. Zara (Year 6) They reacted in a wide range of ways, though they were mainly glum and disbelieving. However, Susan resiliently decided to pick up her bag and do everything she had ever wanted to do. ONCE upon a time a lady named Susan was diagnosed She had an amazing day, filled with laughter and joy. with cancer. The doctors weren’t sure when she would The next day, Susan went to the hospital for a check-up. It was a frivolous effort, in her opinion, but she went die. anyway – just in case. She decided to go to a fortune teller. This fortune teller The doctors examined her. was apparently the best in the city. Susan walked into a “The cancer is cured!” small dark room. Susan jubilantly skipped over to Naomi’s place and told Suddenly, a lady appeared. her the good news. Naomi clasped her hands together “Hi, my name is Naomi. What is your question?” in glee. “Yay! The prank worked, I pranked you!” “I’m Susan. I would like to know when I will die.” “Oh! I had no idea!” Susan exclaimed. Naomi looked into her mottled crystal ball. Susan told all her friends and family. Suddenly she looked up. There was a big party. “You will die tomorrow.” “Oh, thanks.” Susan said begrudgingly. “I’m so sorry” whispered Naomi somberly. Stories Whispered by K12

20 Issue 1 January 2018 www.k12.com.au COPYRIGHT ONCE upon a time, a mysterious portal came to Earth. He was knighted by Snail Man, the king, for saving the When they activated it, it revealed a door. If you enter this copyright mistakes. The US army found out who had doorway, you accidentally copyright people. An attack created the copyright door. It was Snail Man! Snail Man force put smoke into the door to see if it was real, but was poor and made the magic door so that he could sue they accidentally copyrighted people’s smoke. people for copyright and make money. The US army fired 82,488 bullets into the door, but they The attack force and the US army threatened to throw the accidentally ended up copyrighting Germany’s bullets. Big Ben at him if he didn’t give them their smoke and Poopman heard of these accidents and tried putting poop 82,488 bullets back. So, he did. The people paraded in the door. He saved the day because you can’t down the streets in happiness and thanked Poopman copyright poop. with many diamonds. Cyrus (Year 2) Stories Whispered by K12

21 Issue 1 Januar w w www.k12.com.auww.k12.com.auww.k12.com.au Issue 1 Januar Issue 1 January 2018y 2018y 2018 HOLIDAYS Sarosh Khan (Year 7) This is a holiday, Now is the time to play. It is very sunny, Go out and be funny. Holidays are so fun. I enjoy them a ton. The holidays are long, Like a very long song. The holidays are here. That means Christmas is near! Stories Whispered by K12

22 Issue 1 January 2018y 2018y 2018 www.k12.com.auww.k12.com.auww.k12.com.au w w Issue 1 Januar Issue 1 Januar FUN PAGES TURN ON YOUR BRAIN Please send your answers to [email protected] Stories Whispered by K12

23 Issue 1 Januar www.k12.com.auww.k12.com.auww.k12.com.au w w Issue 1 January 2018y 2018y 2018 Issue 1 Januar DID YOU KNOW? 10 Random Facts 1. If you trace your family tree back 25 generations, you will have 33,554,432 direct ancestors 2.The average distance between the stars in the sky is 20 million miles. 3. Facetious and abstemious contain all the vowels in their correct order. 4. Domitian, a Roman emperor, had a suspicion that he was to be assassinated. He covered his gym area with mirrors so that he could not be surprised. Unfortunately, he forgot to do the same for his bedroom. 5. Sugar cane originated in New Guinea, other countries used to rely solely on honey. 6. The word 'clock' originated from the French word 'cloche' which means bell. 7. Men, children, even women would shave their entire heads in Ancient Egypt! The only time a wig was used was to represent status in front of house visitors. 8. The Hebrew and Arabic alphabets only contain consonants. The Hawaiian alphabet only contains 12 letters in total! 9. In the Middle Ages, people would offer candles as heavy and tall as themselves if their prayers were answered. 10. It is near impossible to smelt metal with plain wood. The wood must be slowly burnt so as to turn into charcoal, which burns at a much higher temperature. Your turn! (Reward: 10 points) 1. Who invented the first battery as well as the words 'volt' and 'voltage' in 1791? 2. The earliest model of the bicycle was invented by a Scottish blacksmith in 1839 and had many names: velocipede (meaning \"fast foot\") and boneshaker (referring to the bumpiness that riding this first bicycle involved). Who was the inventor? Stories Whispered by K12

24 Issue 1 January 2018y 2018y 2018 www.k12.com.auww.k12.com.auww.k12.com.au w w Issue 1 Januar Issue 1 Januar PUZZLES For Primary School Kids (Reward: 20 points) ACROSS DOWN 2. The length of the outside of a shape 1. Shape with 7 sides 4. Evaporation and condensation are parts of the _____ 3. When tectonic plates slide over each other it causes cycle this. 8. In poems they aren't called paragraphs, they're called 5. Amount of metres in a kilometre _______ 6. Lasagne is a food from _____ 9. An essay has an introduction, ____ and conclusion 7. The words beautiful, tall and cool are all _________ 10. 3.14159... 10. Shape with 5 sides 12. What this mark is known as ! 11. The words jump, eat and play are all _____ 15. What this mark is known as ; 13. 25 times 4 16. When water is heated it becomes this 14. 90 degrees is a(n) _____ angle Stories Whispered by K12

25 Issue 1 Januar w w www.k12.com.auww.k12.com.auww.k12.com.au Issue 1 January 2018y 2018y 2018 Issue 1 Januar PUZZLES For Grown-ups DOWN 2. 5 times 12. ACROSS 3. A small, bright sounding, guitar-like instrument. 4. The difference between the highest and lowest score. 1. Like shooting fish in a barrel. 5. A language technique wherein one contrasts 6. A purple gemstone. two things against each other. 9. ____ wasn't built in a day. 7. Stubborn. (4,5) 10. A small angle; sharp. 8. One or more parts of a unit or whole number. 12. A saying. 11. Burned at a high temperature for smelting. 17. A Shakespearean play about the dangers of ambition. 13. Unable to be conquered. 19. The protein responsible for the red colour of blood. 14. The origins of Italian. 21. Clear as mud. 15. Silver-tongued. 24. An electrically charged atom, radical or molecule, 16. A great scientist. Stephen _______. formed by the loss or gain of electrons. 18. An artificial gem, made of glass. 25. Tentative. 20. Vowels of the English alphabet. 26. The Father of Flight. 22. A unit of distance in the Imperial system. Just over 28. Yellow-bellied. 200m long. 29. A flock of geese. 23. Martin Luther King Jrs's birth name. 30. Tenacious. 27. The realisation of results; the attainment of goals. 31. Friendly. 31. Joan of ___. Stories Whispered by K12

26 Issue 1 January 2018y 2018y 2018 w w www.k12.com.auww.k12.com.auww.k12.com.au Issue 1 Januar Issue 1 Januar SUDOKU Easy (reward points: 20) Hard (reward points: 30) Stories Whispered by K12

27 Issue 1 Januar w w www.k12.com.auww.k12.com.auww.k12.com.au Issue 1 Januar Issue 1 January 2018y 2018y 2018 WRITING COMPETITION HAND IN SUBMISSIONS IN RESPONSE TO THE FOLLOWING AND WE WILL ANNOUNCE THE WINNERS AND GIVE REWARD POINTS TO ALL PARTICIPANTS Primary School Entrants (reward points: 50) Select a fairytale and write a parody of it (a humorous adaptation of the original). E.g. The story of the 3 little pigs but the pigs are children and the wolf is their mother, trying to ask them to clean their rooms Stories Whispered by K12

28 Issue 1 January 2018y 2018y 2018 www.k12.com.auww.k12.com.auww.k12.com.au w w Issue 1 Januar Issue 1 Januar WRITING COMPETITION HAND IN SUBMISSIONS IN RESPONSE TO THE FOLLOWING AND WE WILL ANNOUNCE THE WINNERS AND GIVE REWARD POINTS TO ALL PARTICIPANTS High School Entrants (reward points: 50) Use the image above as inspiration for your own short story. Stories Whispered by K12



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