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.