Status bubbles

I don't think that this would affect me greatly. Yes my mood does change but I don't mind too much. Most people can tell my moods anyway so this wouldn't make a difference. 

This is a good idea, but I would make changes. For the name section I would only put my first name and thats it. I would not have my entire name, my age, the suburb/town/country I live in or the amount of friends I have. The stuff I would have would be my first name, my mood and my relationship status. That way no one could search my name and find me easily.

This idea would make introductions easier as you would know others who has the same interests as you and who has the opposite interests. It could also help with people who are really shy, or sad or left out quite a lot as people would recognize it and then either include them or cheer them up.

This would make my day to day life more exposed. Like, I wouldn't be able to hide my emotions out in public. Sometimes you go for a walk or something to clear your head but with this, you're going to have people (who actually care) coming up to you and asking if you're okay and stuff like that.

Taking and making notes

When the administrators of the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island, adopted six 'therapy' cats from an animal shelter, they had no idea that among them was one that possessed an uncanny sixth sense to predict the impending death of terminally ill patients.

Oscar the tabby cat's story begins in 2005, when the newly born kitten was placed on third floor of the nursing center, home to patients that are in the last stages of illnesses like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and cancer. The kitten spent the first year lazing around and watching the bustling activity around him. Then, just before his first birthday, Oscar began visiting each of the 41-patients on the floor regularly, just like the doctors and nurses did.

Initially, the hospital staff did not pay much attention to the feline's behavior. However, after some of the people that Oscar was snuggled next to passed away, they began to notice a pattern - the cat only went close to those that were a few hours away from dying. Otherwise, he would curl up on a desk and spend the day sleeping.

To test if it was just a coincidence, the staff tried to place Oscar next to a patient they believed was close to dying. But the paranormal cat refused to stay put and decided to snuggle next to someone else. Turns out he was right because 'his' patient died that same evening, while the one whose death the nurses had thought was imminent, lived on for another two days.

Among the biggest believers in Oscar's paranormal powers is Dr. David Dosa, a geriatrician and Assistant Professor at Brown University. He is so convinced of Oscar's unusual 'gift' that he not only published a paper about him in the New England Journal of Medicine, but also wrote a book. Entitled "Making rounds with Oscar: The extraordinary gift of an ordinary cat’, the 2010 publication outlines the various pieces of evidence he has been able to gather about the cat's predicting powers. Also convinced is the hospital staff who has been using Oscar's foretelling abilities to inform family members so they can bid farewell to their loved ones before it's too late.

Of course, not everyone believes that Oscar has a sixth sense. Some feline experts think that his perfect timing may have to do with a certain smell that the cat has come to associate with death. Others speculate it may have to do with the lack of movement in people that are about to die.

Then there are the skeptics who maintain that Oscar's record is not as perfect as it has been made out to be. They think that the hospital staff and Dr. Dosa have simply 'cherry-picked' the occasions when Oscar has been accurate and ignored the ones when he has not. Fortunately, none of this negative chatter has affected nine-year-old Oscar who continues to provide comfort to sick people in their final hours!

My notes:

Tauranga Girls College Orientation

Today, most of the year 8 girls went to Tauranga Girls College for our orientation. It wasn't much of a orientation, but a tour of the school.

Once we got there, we were escorted in to the hall so that we could meet the head girls and have a small brief of how the day will go. After we finished the briefing, we were put into groups based on the rows we sat in. With our groups we met up with an ambassador of the school and we were to be shown around. First off we walked to a classroom. In the classroom we were given a pack by the teacher: Mrs Potter. The pack included a piece of paper that was to be put into a time capsule, a pen, a booklet with a map and other information, a uniform list,  a list of the classes and fees. After she had told us our optional classes we started to tour the school. We started off in A block and moved to J block. After the tour was done we moved back into the hall to say a karakia.

I didn't learn anything new as I learnt most of it on the open night. It wasn't much different, but only int he day time. At TGC I saw some girls I recognised but I didn't wave or anything. Nothing really impressed me as it is kinda the same as our school, just a bit more sophisticated. I didn't ask any questions. As the day went on I got more and more excited to go to TGC as it is a new experience for me and a new stage in my life.

Movie Challenge

Movie Challenge reflection

What did your group do well?

My group did well in keeping to the script. We did well in becoming the character and talking like they would.

What would you do differently next time?

Next time I would make our transitions better and make the movie more fluent. We jumped from one place to another pretty quickly and it looked like they teleported to the destinations.

Based on criteria, how would you improve your movie if we have you time?

Well, I would make our videoing more stable, I would change the places we filmed as sometimes the lighting blacked out everyones faces.


Criteria:

1. Teamwork

Able to work collaboratively as a team to produce a movie

I think my team did good on the team aspect. We did have a few issues with people walking off, but after a while we started to work together. We managed to get the movie finished in time and

2. Quality of message -

Life Ed theme. Shows understanding or learning from Life Ed programme

Our message was that the most unexpected people can take drugs, and I think we portrayed that very well. The main character did not look like the kind of girl to get into drugs.

3. Able to use film making conventions

Camera angles, dramatic intention

We didn't really do many things with angles or drama, we just filmed it until we got a good shot and just went with that.

4. Sound quality

Ability to ensure all dialogue is heard

You could hear our voices pretty clearly. In our first scene the wind was really loud, but it died down when they started talking.

Waimarino- A blade of Grass

I sat there, the wind making me move. My fellow blades sat there with me, as we watch the many kids flood the area. Small drops of rain landed on my dark green skin. The feet of many people trampled me, causing me to fall over. I tried standing back up only to be shoved back down like I was nothing to them. More and more rain pelted down, making me slippery. Still they walked on me. After I thought that the torture was over, to be stood on again until I was left on the ground. I feared getting up as I would just get pushed down again. But soon the kids left. I looked around to see the end kids walked into the changing rooms. There were people coming out happily and there was people coming out glumly like they didn't want to be here. This time as they flooded back out, they avoided me, in fear of what was surrounding us. I heard things like "There might be prickles." This was our only defence, to hurt them. It tended to work, most times. Still I get trampled over and over again until they went somewhere else. I couldn't see where they went but I knew they were coming back. I heard chattering teeth and the sound of water hitting the concrete. Before long they came back, walking to the many places. Most of them went to the warm pool. I couldn't blame them. As more and more people emerged from the cold lake, the more that came near me. I braced myself for more pain of being stood on. It came in small amounts, but it still happened. This is what happened to me daily. You think that I would be used to it by now, but no. I see these things around me jumping into the lake, and then them heaving themselves up. But there were this group of people that just sat in the warm pool for a while, then got out. Watching them intently made me forget about the others. They slowly made their way the white tent shivering from the cold. After like 5 minutes it started to rain, the girls squealed and complained. I turned my head to the tent, two girls sat there shivering from the cold. A lady left to go somewhere, she had money in her hand. Soon after another girl got out, this one had ginger hair. As she walked back to the tent, the other lady came back, two cups of something in her hands. The three girls sat in a circle, huddled in their towels, trying to preserve body heat. The rain was getting harder and harder, more and more people got out. I heard everything. 3 of them were leaving, people telling them they were lucky. Once they left, it was their school that went kayaking. The sun came out. Oh the warmth! They kayaked and kayaked but they soon had to leave. I was dreaded this moment. I would be trampled again. I wish I could be free, I wish I could join them. But no, I am stuck in the ground, as a hopeless piece of grass.

Life Education- Methamphetamine

Methamphetamine is an illegal drug that is in the same category as Cocaine and other powerful drugs. This drug goes by many names such as: Meth, Crank, Chalk and Speed which is the most commonly used. Meth is called a 'club drug' because it is often used at clubs.

Some of the short term effects are:

• Loss of appetite.
• Increase of heart rate, blood pressure and body temperature.
• Dilation of Pupils.
• Disturbed sleep patterns.
• Nausea.
•  Bizarre, erratic, sometimes violent behaviour.
• Hallucinations, hyper excitability, irritability.
• Panic and psychosis.
• Convulsions, seizures and death form high dosages.

The long term effects are:

• Permanent damage to blood vessels of heart and brain, high blood pressure leading to heart attacks, strokes and death.
• Liver, kidney and lung damage.
• Destruction of tissue in nose if sniffed.
• Breathing problems.
• Infectious diseases and abscesses if injected.  
• Malnutrition and weight loss
• Severe tooth decay
• Disorientation, apathy, confused and exhausted.
• Strong psychological dependence.  
• Psychosis.
• Depression.
• Damage to the brain similar to Alzheimer's disease, strokes and epilepsy. 

The RSA murders:

In 2001 there was a murder in the RSA. A man that worked there got told to leave. He went back with another person and shot three of them and severely injured the fourth. She is now permanently damaged. The man that did this is called William Dwane Bell. He had been in prison before this incident and got let out, without parole. He then got a job at the RSA without telling his probation officer. Once he got told to leave, he came back and killed 3 of the 4 people he worked with. After that Bell was admitted into Auckland hospital with a puncture wound above his eye. His co-offender admitted to attacking Bell after Bell bad mouthed him. Bell was arrested 7 days after the murders.   

Photos of meth addict before and after:

Homework Challenge- ICAS

For homework we also had the option to do 3 ICAS tests. I did the Spelling, Reading and Maths. I got my spelling results back on monday. Out of 50 I got a 32. I got a merit. My correction was not very good at all. That was my downfall. Out of 10 I got 3. I was not very happy about that, but all of the other ones I got reasonably good scores.

Homework challenge- Squash

For our homework we had to compete in a sport for a season. I don't really like sport, nor am I that sporty, but I took up squash. I started squash not knowing what it really was. I then came to love the game and have continued to have training sessions. I have been playing since term 2 last year. This is the only sport I play, but it has improved my stamina and speed dramatically. I really enjoy this sport and wish to continue it.

Current events monday 1 September

Article comprehension. 

1. Every anime turns one so why was Bao Bao's first birthday so special?

Bao Bao's parents got shipped to America so that they could be put into a zoo so that they can save the giant panda from extinction. There were other older pandas there, Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing. They had 5 cubs, all of which perished in the first couple of days. Bao Bao and her brother are the only cubs in the zoo.

2. How did zoo keepers celebrate it?

The zoo keepers did many things, but they were similar. First the panda was offered 3 honey covered bamboo stalks, then they painted a poster that had different sentences on them. What eer on that the panda would pick would be it's fortune. The three labels were: 'Long life' 'Many cubs' 'Good health' Luckily Bao Bao chose the 'long life' poster. These posters were pinned onto a stalk of bamboo. The person in the nutrition department made Bao Bao a cake that consisted of ingredients she could eat. A '1' was carved out of frozen apple juice and placed on the top. Bao Bao attacked the cake, but embraced it for the rest of the cakes life.

3. What are some of the things Bao Bao learned during his first year? What are some things that are in store for her before she turns two?

Bao Bao has learnt to respond to her name and stand up on the scales when getting her monthly weigh in.

Article

Dangerous Decibels

Today, room 41 went to the wharekai to be taught about decibels. Decibels are the measurement of sound. The higher the sound level the worse it is for you. Toni, the instructor told us about the safe and dangerous levels of sound.

She had us doing some experiments like hitting a tuning fork and then feeling and hearing the vibrations and she showed us how the hair in our ears can bend and become useless. She also showed us that they can not become straight, so that means that they can not be repaired. In the first experiment we used a tuning fork and hit the floor with it, then we moved it to a safe distance away from our ear and listened to the vibrations. The next one still involved the toner, but this time when we hit it, we touched it with our hand so that we can feel the vibration. After that we used the toner and a ping pong ball. When we touched the toner to the ball, it started to bounce. This is because it created energy which then moved the ball. We did a bit more with the toner, such as hitting the toner 5 times then comparing the movement. Another experiment involved pipe cleaners. She got some volunteers and gave them a bundle of pipe cleaners. She then told them to hit the pipe cleaners semi soft. This was the show the safe level of sound, which is 85 db. Then she went beyond that and went to a heavy metal concert level which is 150 db. The pipe cleaners bent and were not able to straighten because of the severity of the bend.

Toni also explained what things were safe and what were dangerous. Here are te examples she used:
1. Washing machine.
2. Power tools.
3. Fireworks.
4. Rock/heavy metal concerts.

Once all of this was done we had a conversation about ways to protect our hearing. Here are the ways to protect your hearing:
1.Walk away.
2.Turn it down.
3.Use protection e.g use ear muffs.

One thing that I learnt was that sound waves create energy.  

Māori Myths and Legends- Tāwhirmātea

This is my animation about Tāwhirimātea.

Homework challenge- 40 hour famine

In term one I did the 40 hour famine. I did the no eating one with my friend Hayley. Hayley stayed the night at my house and we managed to finish the famine.  Whilst doing this, I got more confident it going around fundraising. My dad kept teasing my friend and I with food, and my step mum made a soup. I was just about ready to give up but I didn't. Every time we had a barley sugar it made us more hungry.  I raised $55 in total.

Homework challenge- Assembly box

Another one of the challenges was to do the box in assembly. I was lucky enough to get chosen for the box. I started out as a reserve, but then my teacher decided to make me a part of the people who do it. There is three of us, we swap each week.  This job is a very high pressured job and requires you to think fast and/or ahead. You also have to be responsible and trustworthy. When under pressure you must be able to think about what is going wrong whilst you have everyone staring at you. While we were in the box we took some photos.

Homework challenge- Class leader

For our homework we have to do these challenges and one of them is to be a class leader. I am a deputy class leader in my class. To become the class leader we had to send our teacher an email saying why we would be a good class leader and why we want to be a class leader. Then after that the teacher made a survey of which the people in my class had to vote for a male class leader, a female class leader and a male deputy class leader and a female deputy class leader. This was the email that I sent my teacher :I would like to apply for the role of being a class leader. Think that I would make a suitable leader because I am responsible, I know when to be serious and when to have a laugh and I have so far completed all of the set tasks you have given me. I hope that you choose to select me as the class leader. 

Current events reading 25 July

Article comprehension

1. What are androids?

Androids are human like robots that act and think like humans. With the correct programming and features they could talk and interact with humans accordingly. 

2. Name the three robots Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro created the android: What is human exhibition? What is their respected roles? 

Otonaroid- Her role is to have one on one conversations with the visitors. 

Kodomoid- Kodomoid is the first android newscaster. She can recite the news that is feed to her through the internet flawlessly. She can even speak in several languages and says tongue twisters without a hitch. 

Telenoid- Telenoid really has no purpose apart from being a cute, cuddly toddler that visitors can pick up and have a conversation with. 

Human exhibition is the showcasing of these androids. 

3. Why are androids more difficult to build than normal robots? 

They are more difficult to build because the have to be able to interact with humans and have to have an understanding of what to do in certain circumstances. They also need complicated machinery that makes them able to interact. They also use gestures, and they have to know what gestures in a situation. 

Critical thinking.

Some people believe android robots are cool. Others think they are a little creepy. What side are you on? Why? 

I think that these are creepy because they look strange and they act like humans. If I came across one I would slowly move away. I don't want to interact with one. 

Article

Current events reading 23rd July

Article comprehension.

1. Who was responsible for making Nathan's hot dog contest famous? How many hot dogs did he eat?

The person responsible for making this contest famous was Takeru Kobayashi who ate 50 hot dog in 12 minutes. He made this contest famous in the year 2001.

2. How many years had Joey Chestnut won the contest prior to this year. What significant event occurred before the contest began?

Joey Chestnut has won seven times before this year. This year he ate 61 hot dogs, which fell short of his 69 hot dogs last year. Before the contest Joey proposed to his girlfriend.

3. What happened in the women's contest. 

In the women's contest the three time winner Sonya 'Black widow' Thomas lost against Miki Sudo. Miki managed 34 frankfurters and Sonya ate 27.

Critical thinking

What in your opinion makes food eating contests like these so popular a) with contestants b) With viewers. 

I think the reason these contest are so popular because it is a hard contest to beat someone in because you have to learn how to expand your stomach size so you could fit more food. In my opinion I think that the contestants are what draws the crowd and why it is so popular, because it is funny to see peoples reaction when they lose or when they win.

Article

Bali inquriy

These are used as offerings. They are called Canagi Sair. This is a ritual that is giving back to the gods. It is purely based on gratitude to the richness of life.

Kids in Bali start school at the age of 7 and leave at the age of 15. Children are grouped and stay in their classrooms during the school hours. The school fee is free at elementary school level. Parents can also chose for their children to go to a private school, but has to pay a fee. The kinds of private schools include, religion based schools, international schools and national plus. Since parents don't have to pay a school fee, they have to supply stationery, books and pay the additional funds for school trips and outings.

These fish are called the Garrarufa fish. The other name they go by is the doctor fish. What the Garrarufa fish are doing, is eating the dead skin off your feet, leaving them really smooth. The warm water soften the skin and then the fish come and eat it off. 

This kind of art is called Batik. People use a piece of fabric and decorate it with waxes, copper stamp and dye. It is a tradition in a village of Bali that everyone learns this kind of art. 

The Saraswati Temple is dedicated to the Hindu goddess, Saraswati. She is the goddess of learning, literature and art. 

Current events reading 3rd July

Article

Questions

1. How long ago were the Nethanderals alive?

2. Where were the Neanderthals found?

3. What did the researchers find traces of?

4. What foods did they find in their poo?

5. Who was one of the researchers?

6. What kind of species teeth were they?

7. What is the scientific name for humans. 

Answers.




1. 50,000




2. Southern Spain




3. Traces of meat




4. Plants, such as tubers, berries, and nuts.




5. Anaira Sistiaga




6. Neanderthal teeth




7. Homo sapiens




SC:

- Use at least 3 of the 7 servants

- Questions must make sense



- Question MUST have a question mark.

Current Events reading 30 June

Article comprehension

1. How many years has the 'Worlds Ugliest Dog' contest been around? How many contestants did it attract this year? 

The 'world ugliest dog' competition has been around for 26 years. It started in the year 1988. The competition is held in Santa Rosa, California. This year the competition attracted 29 dogs.

2. How did this year's winner Peanut get his 'ugly' looks? 


This years winner Peanut was severely burnt, causing him to lose his eyelids, lips and most of his body hair. As a result his eyes constantly water. With his lips being burnt off, you can see his teeth, which gives you an ominous looking dog.

3. What is the  organisers main purpose for organising this unusual competition?

The organiser thinks that this is a good way to honour the dogs and most of them are the aftermath of human abuse. This is a good way to make us see what we do to the dogs. This also raises the awareness for their adoption by showing that physical damage does not mean that they will not be loving and loyal.  Before the competition they vet the dog to ensure they are healthy enough to take part. There is the best looking dog competition, so why not have the opposite?

Critical thinking.

Do you think this is an appropriate title for this competition? What would you change it to?

I think that the name is appropriate for the competition, but they could change it. The reason is that, some of the dogs in these competitions aren't that ugly or deformed. I don't know what I would name it, but it wouldn't be the worlds ugliest dogs. Maybe something like 'Worlds Unusual Dogs' as that is not offensive, but still has an appropriate name.

Word search:

Article

Current Events reading 25th June

Article comprehension.

1. What is so special about Migaloo?

Migaloo is a white humpback whale. The people of Australia have given him an aboriginal name. The called him Migaloo which means "White Fella." Migloo was given his own status as "a special interest whale" The means that people can not get too close to Migaloo. Migaloo's skin condition is not seen very often and they still don't know why it is caused or what causes it. They think that it has something to do with a genetic condition. Migaloo is also the first documented white whale. Scientist say that Migaloo is 26 as Migaloo was first notified in 1988.  Migaloo is precious because Migaloo is the first documented white whale. They protect him because a white whale is unusual and to have spotted one so close to the coast of Australia. Migaloo has many fans who have created Facebook pages and Twitter accounts. If you go beyond 500 meters within Migaloo you will have a large fine of $12,500 AUD.

2. Cite a few facts from the article that tell you how precious Migaloo is to the people of Australia.

"On the 19th June, a group of animal lovers on a whale watching cruise off of the coast of Sydney, were treated to a rare sight- a pod of whales that included Migaloo, the world first documented white humpback whale."

"Over the years, Migaloo's fans  have also built several websites dedicated to his every move and even set up Facebook pages and Twitter account in his honour."

"Even though fans keep their eyes peeled for this white whale every year, they are not always successful in spotting the elusive mammal."

"Migaloo, which means "White Fella" in the indigenous Australian language."

"Not surprisingly he became an instant local darling and was immediately elevated to to the status of "special whale" which means that boast and jet skis have to keep a distance of 500 meters, while aeroplanes have to be more than 2000 meters away from the mammal.

3. Why is Migaloo known as "Hypo-Pigmented" humpback? Is he the only one?

Migaloo is known as the "Hypo-Pigmented" humpback because scientist have been unable to confirm what the cause of Migaloo's colouring. So they call him the "Hypo-Pigmented" humpback whale.

Migaloo is not the only white whale. In September 2011, Alan Fewings and his family spotted a white calf among a migrating pod. They spotted the white whale calf near Cid Harbour, near the coast of North Queensland. Experts think that the two whales are related but given that Migaloo junior has not been since that day, and so they can't confirm it.

Critical Thinking

Do you think that Migaloo's colour helps or hurts him from human predators? Why?

I think that his colouring helps him as if he get harmed or someone gets too close to him they will get a large fine. If they kill him they will get an even larger fine. People will be able to identify him as he is a rare find and the other white whale has not been seen. His colour could also make him more of a target as he will be easier to see and more and more people are attracted to him. He has many fans, but he will also have people that want to harm or kill him. His popularity has it's disadvantages and it's advantages.


Word search:

Article

Current Events reading 19th June

Article Comprehension

What cereal does Rosado use to create her portraits?

Rosado uses cornflakes. She thought of using corn flakes whilst eating breakfast and listening to oldies R&B music.

Why does it take so long to create each masterpiece?

First Rosado sketches the design, then she painstakingly crushes all of the cornflakes to the perfect size. She then uses a pin to shape and design the eyes, nose and mouth.

Name some celebrities that have featured in her cereal art series. What kind of art did Rosado unveil in 2013?

Rosado has done many masterpieces of Michael Jackson the king of pop, Bob Marley Reggae legend, Alicia Keys R&B singer and former Beatle band member John Lennon. In 2013 Rosado unveiled a masterpiece made out dirt. The picture was of a girl on a swing, hanging off a tree.

Critical thinking.

Why do you think the artist picked Cornflakes and not any other cereal? Can you think of any other everyday food that could be used to create art? 

I think Rosado picked cornflakes because it is easy to use, you can break the pieces up. Rosado might have also used Cornflakes because no one else has and she was aiming to be different, and come up with something new. I think a good food to use for art would be almond nuts because you can break them, and they have a good shape.

Word search:

Article

Current Events Wednesday 18th June

Article comprehension

1. Where was the most recent tallest lego structure built? Who built it?

The lego tower was built in Budapest by official lego builders from Denmark and an elementary school.

2. What were the two requirements imposed by the Guinness World Records before a lego tower can be eligible for inclusion. 

The first one was that it had to be standing still, without wires. The other one is there is to be no adhesive on any of the bricks, they must be on their own, and able to pull apart.

3. Why does the author believe that a new lego tower world record will be broken soon?

Lego is an easy thing to get your hands on, so anyone can attempt this. All they need is a couple thousand lego blocks, a crane and patience. Many people attempt world records and ones that they can access easily they will try. The lego tower records have been broken 3 times in 2012 alone.

Critical thinking

What in your opinion make building "the world's tallest lego structure" so important.  

In my opinion building the world tallest lego structure is not important. It is cool that they managed to make a lego structure this big, I have tried to make a semi-tall lego tower and have never been able to make it over 5 cm. It would have taken a lot of dedication and I am inspired by the amount of effort they put in.


Word search:

Article 

Current Events reading Tuesday 17th June

Article comprehension 

What is unusual about the reptiles at Nyanyana Farm?

The crocodiles at Nyanyana farm are vegetarians, which is unusual because crocodiles in the wild are carnivorous, but the crocodiles in Nyanana farm are herbivorous. They don't attack other animals, as they are not interested. Another thing that makes them unusual is that they sleep most of day. This makes them mellower and cost a lot less. Them being vegetarian also made their skin softer, which is better to sell. They also sleep a large portion of the day, which makes it easier than clean and maintain the enclosure. The crocodile skin also goes to company such as Gucci and Hermes.

How did they turn this way?

The crocodiles becoming vegetarian was a mistake. The company found it impossible to find food for the 164,000 crocodiles as Zimbabwe had a food crises, so they turned to pellets that had vegetables and meat. They observed the crocodiles and found out that the change in diet did not seem to harm the growth and health of the crocodiles. They then completely cut out the meat, and raised the crocodiles on vegetable pellets. 

What are the crocodiles being bred for? 

The crocodiles are being bred for their skin, to sell off to well known fashion companies to be crafted into belts, handbags and shoes. The skin is also sent to european Tanneries where it is changed into leather, then shipped off to companies that use leather.

Critical thinking.

How do you feel about the crocodiles being bred for their skin? Is it different from breeding cows or chickens that are killed for their meat? Why?

I feel that this is both a bad idea and a good idea. The reason I think that this is a bad idea is, humans don't need leather, but we still take it. The good part of this is that at least we are waiting for them to reproduce and grow older. If we were that mean to just kill them, without them reproducing then that is when a problem forms. The way they are doing it is fine (not saying I hate the idea of killing them just for looks) as they are waiting for them to grow old. I do hate idea that humans are taking a life for fashion, for looks.

Article

Current Events reading Monday 16th June

1. What did Malavath do? Why does the author believe it is so admirable? Because she is the youngest person to scale Mount Everest. 
2. What did she have to do to get selected for the Mount Everest climb?Malavath had to take pass a training course.  What happened when Malavath reached the advanced base camp? She hoisted the flag of India. 
3. How long did it take the team to get to the summit?It took 52 days to get to the top.  What does Malavath hope her achievement will do to help other people? Malavath hopes that her achievements inspire unprivileged girls. 

Aticle

Ramona and Robo

I looked at my creation. Happiness spread over me. He lived. I thought he had not, I thought I had failed. But no. I got up, using the hand at support. I walked over to my old station, the controls broken to bits. I picked up my tools and walked back to the robot. I undid the bolts and re did them up, tightening them. When I had done this to all of the bolts, the robot looked at me. I turned, heard a noise that startled me. I dismissed the noise and went to the controls. I looked up, my robot slowly collapsing. I ran over to my robot grabbing it’s hand, tears streaming down my face.

I tried to save him, but he shook his head every time I went near him. I ran up to it, hugging him. I worked so hard for nothing. The lightbulb eyes screamed into life. I looked up, His hands picked me up and I jumped on top of his head. He opened his mouth, like her was trying to say something. That is the one thing I forgot about. I climbed back down, he opened up the door to his controls. I scrambled inside. I changed a few things around, and made an incision for his mouth. As I was working on him, the thought of him saving me had finally hit me. I had just furthered robot engineering. I was an inventor, my name will be on plagues, and so will his. Ramona and Robo are going to be the most famous names in history.

Khan Academy

For homework we had to get another 10,000 points. 

Gate Pa Commemoration inquiry

The first person is Willie Apiata. He is a former corporal in the New Zealand air service.  He was the first Victoria Cross recipient for New Zealand. He got the award for bravery under fire during the afghanistan war in 2004. He carried a gravely wounded comrade across the battlefield. He is also the only Victoria Cross recipient from New Zealand.

Jerry Mateparae is the governor general of New Zealand. He was chief of the New Zealand defence force between the years of 2006 and 2011 and is the second māori person to hold the office and the director of New Zealand government communications security bureau.

Science Fair

For term two we are starting a science fair. This term we had to choose our topic.

Here is the Link to my science fair page.

Khan Academy

Jack the Ripper art

For inquiry we had to do some art for our topic and my topic is Jack the Ripper

Kara Kia

Khan academy

For homework we had to go on a site called Khan academy and had to get 10 thousand points. 

Maths homework week 9

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Negative Operation.

Crossword

BEDMAS

The Water Expo

On the 20th of March 5 other people and I went to paengaroa to a water expo. It took us an hour and a half. We left school at 8:10 and went to go pick up two other schools. First we went to the edge of Te Puke to pick up Te Ranga school. It was 15km down the road! So that meant we went 30km to pick them up. After that we went to a māori school (sorry can;t remember name) and picked them up. When we got there I was so glad, but there was a long drop and a portaloo. On the long drop there was painted on barbed wire. When I first went in there I was so scared to sit down because at first glance it looks real. They didn't warn us about the mosquitos and I got bitten to death. My favourite activity was the lab, which is where you had to get into the water with Ritchy and test the water on it's clarity and bugs. I was the one that got to do that. When you first get in it hurts then it goes numb. Then you get out and your legs burn. Overall the day was good and enjoyable. We even got a magnet, a sticker and 2 drink bottles.  I am glad I went, even though I was glad to be home again.

Maths Homework week 7

This week we had to do more prototec maths. Here are my results.

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Music Tech last day

Today was our last day and also assessment day. Everyone got assessed on the guitar, ukulele and piano. In the guitar I needed help with my fingers. Ukulele went a bit better, I was able to play a chord the involved 3 fingers. Piano was my favourite thing to be assessed on because I knew how to play the chords and used the correct fingers to do so. Last but not least we had to do a reading comprehension thing about Beethoven. We had to do it in groups of 4. My group got to the second to last question when we ended. It was the best session yet.

Music tech day three (Day two I was Sick)

So today we wen tot music and we used garage band. Garage band is an application that you can use to create a jingle or a song. Our challenge today was to create a jingle for crunchie. It was challenging. My group did an ad that told you about the bar. Our one took the longest because we lent a headset to someone then they wouldn't give them back and then people kept interrupting us. In the end we finished. This session was very fun.

Maths-Homework

For homework we have to do this maths thing online that basically gives us a sheet and we have to complete it. We get 2 weeks to do this and we have to do 6 of them. 3 untimed and 3 timed.

Results 1.

Results 2

Results 3

Results 4

Results 5

Results 6

Music Technology day one

Today my tech group and I went to music. We started to learn 3 different instruments such as the piano, the guitar and the ukulele. I was much better at the piano than the guitar. We got split into 2 groups. I was with Daniel, Josh, Peter, Zach, Rachel, Keelin and Sophia. We played the guitar first. On the piano we had to learn chords like C, CM, G and GM. Also for Ukulele we learnt the chords for that. I was not very good at it. At the end of the lesson we played "guess the celebrity." It was fun. All of the people we chose were animated and more for kids like Diego from Dora, Patrick and many more. By the end of tech I want to be able to play the chords on the ukulele easier and be able to swap from one to the other.

Here is a photo of me at tech.

45 minute inquiry Possums

Did you know that possums are a danger to our native birds and that the reason that they were brought is for the fur industry.

Basically these creatures came to New Zealand in the year of 1837 for the fur industry. People didn't realise that they would eat our native birds and trees. They are nocturnal creatures, so they only come out at night. They are threats to our wildlife and trees.

More about them.
They are less likely to get rabies. They also have opposable thumbs which means that they have 1 more thumb than others. If they open their mouths you can see that they have 50 teeth! I would not like to be bitten by them. When threatened they act dead so that animals walk by them. Although this tactic will not always work because if an animal is hungry then they will eat them. In Australia they protect these animals!

The reason that they are here is because NZ wanted a fur industry. We managed to kill 20 million in one year, not that this had an effect because a female will have 1 baby a year.  

Te Whare Wananga o Te Maro

Matua Grant came to visit us (Rimu) about our Whare. Well really to tell the year 7's about it. 

The Whare, also known as Te Whare Wananga o Te Maro rests at the back of the field. On the front it has 3 carvings and rope going through the hands of the carvings. It also has a head the faces the north. They always face the north because the sun rises over the head of the Whare.

The Whare itself represents an ancestor. It has a head, ribs, a backbone, two arms and two legs, just like a human. The backbone is called Tahuhu and the Ribs are Heke.

On to carvers now use nails as hair. There are three carvings holding a rope. They represent the three tribes or iwi in Tauranga. The top one is Ngati Ranginui. He is from the Takitumu waka. The next one is Ngati Pukenga. And the bottom one is Ngai Te Rangi from Matatua. They together are holding a rope that has each house in the school. Each fortnight Rimu go to the Whare for our Hui. When we step inside we have to take off our shoes. On the front of Matai there are 4 animals. There is the Tuna, the Crab, the Mako Shark and the Tuatara.

Valentines Day

St Valentines was a Roman priest who was secretly organising weddings for soldiers. He was jailed then sentenced to death by the King on February 14th AD 270. We exchange cards, candy, gifts or flowers, with our special valentines. A special valentine is someone that you love.


American spend up to 3.6 billion dollars on Valentines gift each year. 50 million roses are sold each year on Valentines Day. 73% of people who buy flowers for Valentines day are men and 27% are women.15% of the US women send themselves flowers on Valentines day. Eros is the greek god of love and his roman form is Cupid.