Podcast Directory

Episodes

Like most New Zealand school kids, Lepa and Matthew from Room 15 have read
"Lucky Feather" by Joy Cowley.
Have a listen as they discuss this well known story and see if you agree with the message they have identified from this book.

"Jellylegs" by Elizabeth Pulford
Leoden and Blessing talk about the book Leoden has read and tell us about the Pt England cross country event that they have been training for - along with the rest of the school. They get onto talking about the cross country because this story is about a girl who is training to run in her school marathon event.

"Hark the Herald Angel" by William Taylor was read by Sela from Room 18 and her classmate Paulitia is her DJ for this latest episode of KPE. This is another book in a series about a boy called Charlie Kenny and his entertaining nemesis, Alice Pepper. The subscribers to KPE may well have listened to the podcasts we published about "Knitwits" and "Numbskulls" in previous years.
This book was just as much fun to read and it is based around the school Christmas play. Alice gets to produce the play and Charlie has to be 'Hark', which is of course the name of the Herald Angel.

"A Present from the Past" by Jennifer Beck is the subject of this podcast by Toreka and Selena - two year 5 students from Room 15.
They tell us of a story about a young girl who is reluctantly waiting at the airport for a distant aunt to arive. But she is excited when she discovers that the aunt is carrying a special gift from the past.

In this episode of KPE Gaby and Maree from Room 17 discuss two books they have read by the same author, Ron Bacon. "Pania the Woman from the Sea" and "How Weaving Came".
These are both retellings of Maori legends and the girls discover a surprising number of similarities between the two stories. have a listen and see what you think.

The Refugees' by Janice Marriott. KPE Episode 230.
Two Year 5 students, Erene and Joshua from Room 15, bring us this book as their first podcast for KPE.
The boys give us a lot of detail about what happens when a family is torn apart during a war and the children are left to look after themselves when their parents are taken from them.

KPE Episode 229: "Evil Fred" by Kylie Begg
Matthew and Lepa who are both Year 5 students in Room 15 tell us about this book. They tell a story of a family who sound evil and a dog called Fred who doesn't sound evil - well not the way they tell the story. You had better check this out and see what you think.

"The Christmas...Hiccup...Play" by Elizabeth Pulford
Rachael interviews Shaniah in this episode of KPE about another book in the Kiwi Bites series. This book is about a girl called Abbey who was really excited because her wish had come true - she was going to be the Angel Gabriel in the school play.

"Akimbo and the Elephants" by Alexander McCall Smith.
TeRangi interviews Rachael about this book, which they say is a story about bravery, doing the right thing and looking after animals. In this book 10 year old Akimbo lives on a game preserve in Africa. His father is the head ranger, and Akimbo is keen to help him whenever he can—even if it means getting into some pretty dangerous situations.

"Grandma McGarvey Paints the Shed" by Jenny Hessell is podcast by Sylvia and Mubasshira from Room 15.
This is another cool story about that crazy granny, Grandma McGarvey and we know you'll love it. When Grandma McGarvey decides to paint the shed, she does it with her own distinctive style! You'll never see a shed quite like this one! We know you will love this story, and if you want to listen to another story about her, try Grandma McGarvey Joins the Scrum...

"The Immigrants" by Alan Bagnall
In this podcast Ala tells Angela about a book set in 1856. You will learn a lot about what it was like for the early settlers who came to New Zealand during the Gold Rush. We are sure you will enjoy this lively discussion and you may well be inspired by this book about people who never give up.

"The Day of the Snow" by Joy Cowley
Tanielu and Blessing review this very popular book by Joy Cowley. One of the reasons it is so popular with our students is because she wrote it about a school in Auckland, where we live.

KPE Episode 223 :" Storm" by Margaret Beames
Shontal and Victoria from Room 18 discuss this book by another New Zealand author. It is about a girl called Erin who has never had any doubt about what she wants to do when she leaves school. She wants to be a farmer like her father and mother. Erin loves being on her family farm for the school holidays. Trouble is, Erin gets stuck with the boring chores and her parents don't think she's capable of much else. Try as she will, Erin finds that the boring jobs around the farm don’t keep her from daydreaming and, as a result, neither of her parents has any confidence in her ability to concentrate and complete a job properly. Things, however, have a habit of changing and Erin has to call on all her concentration and resourcefulness to help her father after he has an accident on the farm.

"Weaving Together" by Dawn McMillan
Selena and Angela are Year 5 students who have made a great job of their very first podcast. They have chosen to share this wonderful New Zealand book about Jamie and her grandmother who are making a woven memory of all the wonderful and sad things that have happened in their lives. They choose colours that will remind them of special events. Soon it becomes more than a piece of art and Jamie realises that both her past and her future are part of the weaving.

KPE Episode 221: "A Can of Worms" by Peter Bromhead
Cruz and Blessing talk to us about this incredible story about a boy called Angus who discovers something moving in a can of spaghetti he opens. He believes the spaghetti is alive but nobody else seems concerned at his amazing discovery! His mother is too busy to look and his sister thinks it’s just another practical joke. So Angus takes the spaghetti to school and tries to get help from the teachers. They can’t help so Angus consults rocket scientist Dr Von Brawn, who even rings up NASA, but no luck! An Italian chef and a worm farmer have a part in this story too.The book seems to have some pretty 'yuck' things in it from what we hear, but they really enjoyed reading it.
We wonder how many of you like eating spaghetti out of a can? Or do you prefer real spaghetti?

KPE Episode 220: "Tom Thumb" by Gavin Bishop
Ala and Toreka are publishing their very first podcast. These girls are Year 5 students and they are in Room 15. This book is a collection of stories that Gavin Bishop has made up about "Tom Thumb'.

KPE Episode 219: "A Very Wicked Headmistress" by Margaret Mahy
Helen and Destiney from Room 18 bring us another crazy story from Margaret Mahy.

KPE Episode 218: "Fish Tale" by Lorraine Orman Victoria interviews Rachael from Room 18 for this episode of KPE. This book is very popular at Pt England School and is another in the Kiwi Bites series.

"Kathleen is worried about her Great-Grandfather. Ever since Great-Gran died, and since he's been living with Kathleen and her Mum, Gramps has been very quiet and sad-looking all the time. And on top of that, Kathleen s Mum has been working long hours now that Gramps is around to look after her. It's easy to get bored that is, until Kathleen realises Gramps funny-looking garden gnome can actually talk! What follows is a crazy adventure as Kathleen sets out to give the gnome what he most desires, in exchange for making her Gramps happy again."

The girls tell us that the author is reminding the readers that everyone needs good friends, no matter what age you are.

KPE Episode 217: "Rugby for Rosie" by Frances Adlam
Shaniah interviews Helen about a book they have read which really appeals to them because it is about a girl who wants to play rugby - and both of these girls like playing rugby at Pt England School.

KPE Episode 216: "30 Weird and Wonderful NZ Stories" edited by Barbara Else.
Maree and Gabrielle from Room 17 discuss several stories in this collection of New Zealand tales for this latest episode of KPE. You will want to read the book after you have listened to the podcast and you will find out something very interesting about where Maree gets to go for her family holidays.

KPE Episode 215: "Fern of Maru Bay" by Lindy Kelly.
The KPE podcasters have brought you all kinds of unusual stories written for kids by New Zealand authors and Sela and Paulitia from Room 18 have found another one!
This book is about a girl who has had a pretty alternative upbringing; she was home-schooled for a start, she lives on an island, her parents are arrested for breaking the law and she can talk to animals. Quite a strange mixture!

KPE Episode 214: "Bit Scream" by Richard Gunther
Tyler and Jacob from Room 18 tell us about a book with a most unusual title and a pretty unusual plot. The main character, Michael loves it when his father drives fast in his car. One wintery night when they are driving home, with the headlights lighting up the snaking, twisting road, they take the corners at dangerous speed. The car whistles like a bullet towards a sharp bend .... suddenly Michael knows they're not going to make it.
"Dad! Dad! Stop!"

KPE Episode 213: "Charlie the Cheeky Kea" by Jack Lasenby
Hossanah and Tina present their first podcast for KPE. They are Year 5 students from Room 14 and they have been reading a cool picture book about one of New Zealand's native birds, Charlie the Kea. From what they tell us, not only will you hear a really good story, but you will also find out a lot about New Zealand.

KPE Episode 212: Knitwits by William Taylor
Tanielu and Paulitia have recorded a podcast about a book they read at the end of last year when they were in Year 5 with Ms Squires. They tell us about the story and talk about achieving your goals, which is the theme of this story. Their advice for us is not to take any notice of people who try to put you off achieving your goals because they don't have faith in you.

KPE Episode 211: "The Curse of Being Pharoah" by Janice Marriott
Leoden and Sela from Room 18 have been reading this book and they give us an excellent recount of what the story is all about. You will find out their thoughts on bullies and you may agree with them after you have listened to the podcast that "what goes around, comes around".

"The Secret of Kiribu Tapu Lagoon" by Tandi Jackson.
This book is reviewed by Caprice and Simone. They explain to us about the meaning of 'Tapu' and about the setting of this book, beautiful Vanuatu. As well as describing an exciting adventure story the girls talk about some of the cultural ideas in this story.

"Lucky for Some" by Fleur Beale
Tinei interviews Leilani in this podcast about the second book in a series by Fleur Beale. Leilani told us about the first book, Lacey and the Drama Queens, a few months ago and we have been waiting to hear what Lacey gets up to next.

"Piano Rock" by Gavin Bishop
Xeneqe interviews Simone as she tells us about the latest book by Gavin Bishop that she has read. It is the story of Gavin Bishop's childhood in Invercargill. As well as finding out interesting things about one of our favourite authors the girls also learned lots of fascinating things about life in New Zealand in the 1950's.

"Brave As" by Janice Marriott
Uani and Xeneqe bring you their final podcast before they leave Pt Engand School and head off to Intermediate School in 2009.
This book is about a boy called Matt who has a lot of fears. In this story Matt begins to confront and resolve each problem, and as he does this his life doesn’t seem so bad after all. Some of them the girls can identify with, like when he has to give a speech in class. And during the podcast the girls talk about some of the fears they have confronted.

"Junkyard Dogs" by Margaret Balderson
Moses and Etta introduce this funny rhyming picture book in our latest podcast from KPE. It tells the story of four spoilt dogs called Billy, Bolly, Bella and Blue who live in a flash house. They have everything a dog could want, but they are bored. On the other side of town, two mutts called Molly and Moo live in a junkyard and spend their days having fun and being clowns. One day Molly and Moo cross town and visit their pampered friends.

"Grandpa's Cat" by Joy Watson
Isara and Wyatt are our newest two podcasters from Year 2. You will love this podcast. They talk about another wonderful book about Grandpa and his ever-patient wife. This time, the family cat is missing. Grandma insists that the cat will turn up but Grandpa is determined to find his precious moggy and searches house and garden before discovering the cat high up a tree. How ever will he get it down?

"Seadog" by Dorothy Butler
Taiapa and Mokani have really enjoyed reading Seadog and recommend this tale of Old New Zealand to us. Dorothy Butler seems to like writing stories set in New Zealand over a 100 years ago and we learn lots about life for the early settlers from these books. Last year Kayla and Crystal entertained us with another one of her old tales, "By Jingo".
"Seadog" is set in the wild west coast of Waitakere in 1890. It tells the story of a 10 year old boy called Joseph who is disabled and what happens when a dog comes from the sea and befriends him.

"The Boy Who Bounced Around Aotearoa New Zealand" by Christine Hurst
This is another special podcast made by two members of the same family. We love it when older family members help the younger ones with their reading and in this podcast you will hear Jordan, who is in Year 6, help his young brother Kingston produce his first podcast for KPE. Kingston has chosen a funny book to share with us (you probably guessed that already from the title) about a boy called Zac who does a lot of bouncing - including bouncing on the bed.

"Recycled" by Sandy MacKay
Korero Pt England has published 200 episodes. Well done KPE podcasters past and present! What an achievement! Jaydn and Elijah are proud to be podcasting the 200th book for KPE. They have chosen a book that fits with the school-wide Inquiry for term 4 -"Go For Green" The book is called "Recycled" by Sandy MacKay and as you can guess by the title it is a story based around the theme that is very important at Pt England School at the moment; reduce, reuse and recycle. We enjoy reading books by Sandy Mackay as she is one of our favourite authors. She came to Pt England School a couple of years ago and published a podcast herself with Alosina, one of our past pupils.

"Ratso" by Lorraine Orman
Uani and Mele share another New Zealand story that takes place at the beach. You should be able to tell that Summer is coming here! This book is the exciting adventures of a boy and his pet rat! We have some people at Pt England School who quite like pet mice and you can find out about that on the Room 12 and 13 webpages.
We are sure you will enjoy this podcast, so let us know what you think about keeping rats for pets!

"The Cindy Limpics" by Michael Wilson
Caleb and Ibyss review a story from the School Journals. This was a story inspired by the Sydney Olympics in September 2000 and their class had been reading lots of books and stories about the Olympics in Term 3 because of the Beijing Olympics.
In this story Cindy Baxter is determined to do well at her class Olympic Games. But Cindy is accident-prone and her training sessions always seem to end in disaster.
This funny story tells us about a series of incidents that eventually wind up with Cindy (who is injured) having an Olympic event made up especially for her. We think you will like this story.

"Brodie" by Joy Cowley
Karen and Robin chose to podcast this book because they really liked it when their teacher read it to the class. In this book everyone in the class knew that Brodie was sick, but they thought he'd get better. Maybe it was because he talked a lot about being a chopper pilot. Brodie was a really talented artist as well and he shared a lot of his dreams with them through his artwork. This book is a happy, funny, sad book that talks about how the class support a very sick friend when he is in hospital and how they cope when he passes away. We are sure you will enjoy their podcast and their discussion about how Karen felt last year when she was sick in the Starship.

"Strange Tales From the Mall" by Bobb Kerr
Portia and Tamika have produced this podcast and created the graphics to accompany it. This book is a collection of 6 stories centered on the mall where Rusty and his friends meet to eat and shop, but there's something strange about the mall.

"Schnitzel Von Krumm's Basketwork" by Lynley Dodd
It is great to see Leander and Brennah from Room 17 back with another podcast. This time they have chosen to talk about a book from one of New Zealand's favourite authors - Lynley Dodd. No kiwi kid grows up without having lots of her books read to them. This is another story from the famous band of dog friends.

"Splatter" by Janice Marriott
Mokani and Colin have been reading another book by one of our favourite New Zealand authors - Janice Marriott. When you listen to this podcast you will be able to tell that the boys really enjoyed this story. It is about a boy called Darryl who joins Greg and Sam for the ride of his life. He goes on a quad-bike tour that involves lots of mud.

"Not Nice Stories" by John Parker
Xeneqe and Tanisha are both in Year 6 and they bring us a very entertaining podcast about a book with 4 short stories. By the sounds of it each of the stories is pretty wacky and very funny. They are the kinds of stories created around 'What if..?" situations. They tell us about one of the stories in great detail - "Superbrain". In this story, Barney Jordan, who is an impressive speller, decides that always eating sheep’s brains is the reason why he always achieves top marks in school tests. Things start to happen though, and his behaviour starts to demonstrate some very scarily sheep-like characteristics.

"Selafina" by Catherine Hannken. Portia and Uani podcast Episode 188 of KPE and bring us a delighful picture book about a Samoan family and the young heroine, Selafina.
It is Selafina's 10th birthday and Nana is coming from back from Samoa especially for it. Nana used to live in New Zealand but she went back to live in Samoa some time ago. Selafina is very excited and, as a special welcome, wants to dance the siva for her Nana. She has never been brave enough to dance the siva before and so she asks her cousin to help her learn it.

"Uncle Tease" by Ellen Javernick
This book was podcast by Uani and Tamika from Room 18. In this book about friends and friendships a pair of twins are pretty upset over the fact that their uncle is going to get married, because "married people aren't much fun." They try to come up with ways to destroy the romance, and then have second thoughts about it.

"The Smallest Trolley Racer" by Phillip Simpson
Last year, Tom and Mikaere came last in the annual school trolley race. Not second, or third, or sixth but dead last! But this year, they've got a secret weapon.... John and Colin from Room 18 have been reading this book from the Kiwi Bites series and they let us know all about the story. You need to listen to this podcast because NEXT year Pt England School is entering a crew in the Soap Box Derby.

"Rough, Tough and Had Enough" by Mary Barrow.
Leilani has been reading this exciting adventure story and Alisi interviews her about the book. These girls are both Year 6 students at Pt England School.
Michael, the main character in this book, is a real city boy and he likes playing play station and watching television way more than going outside. Michael’s father is a real outdoors man and he decides to take Michael tramping - which he is not happy about! They stay in a hut in the bush and have a lot of experiences that Michael doesn’t really enjoy at first. And you will have guessed that they end up having some pretty exciting adventures together.

"Pandora's Box" by Pauline Cartwright
This book is reviewed by John from Room 18 and his classmate Ramona is his DJ for the podcast.If you know anything about myths and legends you might be thinking that this book is a retelling of the story of Pandora' Box. You would be wrong. It is about a boy called Aidan who lives alone with this father and they have some fun times together. They paint the words "Pandora's Box" on a shed outside because they keep bees in there.

"Duffy's Search for the Pohutakawa Seeds" by Alan Duff.
Tinei and Leilani talk about a book that was written by the man who founded the Books in Homes foundation. At Pt England School we all get given wonderful books by Books in Homes. We get to pick them from a catalogue and when they come we take them home to keep. So it is really good that we can tell you about one of Alan Duff's books.

"The Magic Noodle Show" by Janice Marriott
Leoden and Campbell are in Room 15, a Year 5 class, and they have written and recorded this podcast. They tell us about a book by an author who has taken time out to visit Pt England School because she heard about our podcasts. This story is about a boy called Hong. Hong's class is having a careers afternoon, and his grandfather is coming to talk about his job.

" First Flight" by Wendy Macdonald
Colin and Elijah from Room 18 have branched out in this episode of KPE and bring us a book written by an Australian author. They say they chose the story because they were learning about flight in class when the whole school was doing an exciting theme called "Up, up and away!".

"Tahi: One Lucky Kiwi" by Melanie Drewery was podcast for KPE by Caprice and John. This wonderful book was the winner of the Picture Book category in the 2008 New Zealand Post Book Awards.
It’s the story of a boy who for his news item at school tells the class about coming across a kiwi caught in a possum trap, and how the kiwi lost his leg in the trap and had an artificial one made for it. Anyone who knows how to count in Maori will understand why the kiwi was named Tahi!

"Mouse Opera" by Richard and Pamela Wolfe
has been podcast for KPE by Jaydn and John from Room 18.
They tell us about this picture book where all the mice are preparing for a grand opera show. From conductor to cleaner, all are busy preparing as they count down to their opening night. It is a race to see if they can get everything done- from learning their lines to making sure the toilets are clean- before opening night.

"Matatuhi" by Robyn Kahukiwa is presented by Sela and Destiney from Room 15. It is the story of Mata, a young Maori girl, who has been adopted into a Pakeha family. She knows very little about her Maori heritage.
A long time ago, Matatuhi, a fabulous weaver and a woman with special powers, dreamed of making a special cloak, and of meeting a young girl with fair hair and green eyes....

"Family Secrets" by Margaret Mahy
This podcast is of another book in the Kiwi Bites series. We really love the Kiwi Bites books here at Pt England School! Pheonix and Jaydn present this story by one of New Zealand's most famous authors, Margaret Mahy. We always expect to see unexpected characters in her books and this one has them all. A dragon who is different from the rest of her family who becomes friends with a boy who is different from the rest of his family. Together they show their families that they are pretty cool kids (or should that be dragon and kids?) and have some fun and adventures along the way.