SLJ Week 1: Activity 3 - Ice, Ice Baby

SLJ Week 1: Activity 2 - My hometown

My Hometown: Auckland

Auckland has much myths, legends and history that lurks around the city. The gift of culture is a proud emotion many Aucklanders show when dancing, speaking in their own language or representing their country in cultural events. Auckland is well known for its cultural events such as Poly Fest (Polynesian festival), but also things like the Sky Tower, One tree hill and much, much more. Being a citizen of this city makes me proud because of how beautiful and kind everything and everyone is. Respect is a given not an expectation or demand, when in this city. I am so grateful call it mine.

SLJ Week 1: Activity 1 - The legend of New Zealand

3 Fun Facts about New Zealand

- 30% of the country is forest

- The maori name for New Zealand which is Aotearoa, means the land of the long white cloud.

- New Zealand is one of the world’s least populated countries with over 4 million populations.

Blade Runner: Summer Learning Journey (Fake 2017)

In 80-90 yrs time New Zealand will have decreased in size due to sea levels rising. People will live in modern day houses with immediate food service and have access to a built in house voice recognition robot that services orders and has a defence mode and shut down mode, if ever a case of an emergency. People will drive smart cars, ran by electricity rather than fuel to decrease pollution. People will begin eating healthier to lessen the chance of obesity and over population is a problem. People have the choice to work from home or go to the building/store. Plastic has been banned. 

Task #4

Chile return flight

Budget: $3000

Cost: $2654.95
Airway Company: Latam
Travel Time: 18h 40m
Stop Overs: Non-Stop

Task #3

Chile
Capital City: Santiago

Population of:
The Country: 18.05 million
The Capital City: 5.614 million
Two other Cities: Arica: 230,000 // Talca: 200,000

Languages Spoken: Spanish, English

Regions in Chile: 16 States

Main Exports: Copper, Fruit, Fish products, paper and pulp, wine and chdmicals.

Task #2

To Mr Hadnett,
The country I have chosen has one of the longest coastlines in the world. It also has the driest place in the world, The Atacama Desert. I want to visit this country so that I can enjoy the beautiful wonders it has and experience what it's like in this country. Within the country of Chile I specifically want to go to Santiago. I will travel by bus or car.

Task #1

Chile (chill-ee)

I chose this country because ..
- I know nothing about it and would like to learn about it.
- It has a lot of tourist attractions.

Rower - Moment in Time

A sunlit, cloudless day, with a winking ocean and dimple-faced smiles. Kayaking through the clear, salty sea is a young man and what could be his friends, family or tourist. The island in the background is smothered with green, grassy pastures and high mountains. The searing sun stretches down, mixing with the cold summer breeze that flows across their face.

Abruptly, a fearsome seal ascends from the big blue blanket of water. WHACK!! With that, the water creature smacks the innocent kayaker in the face with a rather large, pink and slimy octopus. As its tentacles thrust across in fast motion, the man uses his oar to protect his face. Salty drops of water splatter across the beaming yellow kayak with blue rubber strips. As he slightly leans over his boat, the seal cheekily descends back into the water. He tries to usher the octopus away with his paddle as it swims near the boat with its annoyingly, long tentacles.

The man is in shock, as he and his friends laugh it off, capturing this “one in a million” occasion, all on camera. He is wearing a black shirt, that looks as if it is made of cotton. A large, black life jacket with a yellow seam down the middle is strapped around him to protect him from drowning if the boat ever tips over.

This is my moment in time where I had to describe the image above.

The day was cloudless, as the floating face of the sun glistened with liveliness. In the distance, was a hill of grassy fields fading to tiny grains of sand that lead to the ocean. The water was a dark blue colour, implying that it was very deep.

Kayaking through the ocean was a man, wearing a light blue hat, floating through the water in a yellow kayak. Strapped around his body was a black life jacket with a yellow seam down the middle. Along with him were a few other people, who could’ve been his friends, family or a group of tourist.  

He and other people were having a good time. Until suddenly, a fearsome seal pounced out of the water and slapped the young man with a medium sized octopus. The seal had a dark grey, fur coat, white whiskers and big, black, beady eyes. The octopus had eight long tentacles with suction cups on each one of them. It was a mixture of pink, orange and brown in colour.

This is my groups collaborative piece of writing where we all input ideas to form one moment in time, describing the same image above.

Haiku Poems - Christmas

Christmas Theme

Wake up excited

Christmas is here for the day

Jump and say hooray!

Religious Theme

They followed the star

Which lead them to the manger

Where Jesus was born

Today I have been learning to write a haiku poem. The structure goes like this:
5 syllables
7 syllables
5 syllables

Hope you enjoy!

Kitchen Chemistry: Milk, Food Colouring & Detergent

Bio Poem

Ferah

Is a risk taker, hopeful at heart, caring and protective,

Daughter of Ula and Michael,

Little sister of Julio, Jacoda, Vesta, Stella and Faith

Who loves music, gaming and sports

Who hates dry unseasoned popcorn, unreliable people and when people are behind me

Who dreams of being successful, travelling around the world and world peace

Who fears huge spiders, being abandoned & getting hurt by loved ones

Who would like to see Kendrick Lamar, Tupac and  Disneyland

Who is determined to go scuba diving with sea animals, swimming in waterfalls, and walking up the eiffel tower

Who values friendship, happiness and humility

Who is proud of being sporty, loud and emotive

Who is a resident of Mt Roskill, Auckland, New Zealand

Siofele - Toilolo

Science: Popping Candy

Last week, my class were working on the topic, Science. Our Science subject was "What makes popping candy pop?". We grabbed a handle full of different liquids and recorded the reaction on here.

Saint Augustine of Hippo

For RE, my year level and I were doing research on a Saint of our choice. We were given the task to answer certain question about the Saint of our choice. This is the Saint I chose, his name is Saint Augustine of Hippo.

Zoo Recount

Zoo Recount

“It’s so foggy”, I told myself before hopping on the bus. “Is it going to rain?”. Today my whole school
travelled to the Auckland Zoo. This was a usual almost every year thing but this time it felt more
exciting!

As we parked on the side of the curb, I saw a woman with a microphone attached to the side of her
cheek and a circle shaped speaker strapped across her hips. As we got off the bus, we assembled
in two lines and began walking through the entrance of the zoo. At first I saw zoo staff wearing
daffodils for Daffodil Day. Then I saw schools in their uniform, and little kids with their parents. We
were then escorted to a closed off  area with a sign that said “Welcome, Christ the King College”. I
laughed and sarcastically said “Yep, we’re totally a college!”.

Firstly, we sat down. Another lady named Kirsty, then introduced herself and a few other educators
that were going to be teaching us things about the zoo. She also told us where toilets were and split
us off into different groups. Then we were separated. Basically, the year 7 & 8’s were in a group. We
then walked to a small pond enclosure which had otters. At first they were hard to find but then we
spotted small movement underneath some trees and we saw cute small otters. Across from that enclosure,
was a construction site for new enclosures. I wondered “What’s that for?”. As we walked around looking
at animals we always kept cautious of the time. We sat down and ate our morning tea at a grass bit near
the Band Rotunda. As we walked around a little more we made our way back to the meeting area.
Then we were introduced to Fraser.

Fraser took us into a classroom where we learned about animal cruelty and animal trophies which
linked to our inquiry on Justice. He then showed us some videos of the zoo and why zoo staff decided
to work for the zoo. All of them said for the animals.  We were then escorted to the NZCCM which stands
for: New Zealand Centre of Conservation Medicine. At first I thought “Are we going see any animals
being operated or something?”. My question was answered when we entered the room. No, it was empty.
When we went inside he told us to read words and explore. There were windows inside which showed
the inside of a animal hospital like place. In the other window, there was a room with plastic containers
facing the window. Inside were Chesterfield skinks, an endangered species. Then we went back to the tigers.
This time there was a show where two zookeepers gave a talk and planted food for the tigers. The lady
of the pair said that the mother likes to play with boxes and the son likes to play with bones which he is
very protective of.

In the end, this was a very great and exciting day! We learned heaps and saw many cool animals. I hope
the animals enjoy the new enclosures and I hope to see them again in the future!

DLO: Michael Jackson Case

For reading, my class was shown more unjust topics to choose from. A handful of us chose the topic "Doctor in the House". Along with that, we had to create a DLO (Digital Learning Object) on a doctor who was accused of something. I chose the story of Michael Jackson and Conrad Murray. Hope you enjoy!

Abortion

 

For inquiry, the senior hub were shown unjust topics were able to choose which one they wanted to talk about. Obviously, my group chose abortion. Abortion is a serious topic around the world and should not be talked out. It may be unjust but it all depends on the reason why. Read at your own risk.

Daffodil Art

This is my Daffodil Art. To make this, my class and a few yr 6's took 6 pieces of paper outside to the concrete with some newspaper on the ground. We then rubbed different colours of crayon against the paper to make an interesting texture. We dyed the daffodil flower itself, the stem, the trumpet, a vase for the flowers, and to border colours. They were to be dyed green for the stem, orange for the trumpet and yellow for the petals. For the last three, our 2 border colours and our vase, we got to choose what colours we did them. We had to cut out different stencils shapes to make them and then we assembled them together with glues. This process was really fun and I think you guys should give it a try!

Poupou Art Reflection

Poupou Art Reflection

I accomplished combining cool and warm colour contrast in my artworks so
that the colours don’t clash. I am very satisfied with my artwork because it is
very symmetrical, smooth and scary which was my goal during the process.
I found it easy to make too mirrored copies of my pou pou. In the process, I
found it challenging to work with a limited amount of colours on each side,
because of the warm coloured side and the cold coloured side. I need to work
on adding more details such as maori patterns and being able to think beyond
with my art. If I were to change anything, I would change the arms and head
as they are both much bigger than the body. I would change the design of my
pou pou.

Narrative: A boy named Timothy

A Boy Named Timothy

Last night, I couldn’t sleep. The room was cold and crowded and had a weird vibe. At first, it seemed pitch black inside, but the balcony door hidden by the curtains showed swaying shadows of light.

My breath caught in my throat; as silent tears ran down my face. I curled up towards myself, knees drawn to my chest, elbows close to my body as my hands tightly clenched the blankets. Until I heard the first knock. With that, I thought nothing of it wiped my eyes and sat up. I crept out of my bed and opened my bedroom door with the expectation of someone like my parents or little brother standing at the door, but no. There was no one. The sound of my parents fighting often kept me awake, so seeing my little brother was a frequent occasion. Then I heard another knock, this time I was sure it was behind me. I slowly turned around and looked around the room as I instantly locked eyes with a boy, standing at my balcony window, waving as if I knew him. I closed the door and curiously but gradually walked over to my balcony door. He looked friendly so I opened my window first with cautiousness and said “Hello”, he replied with “Hi, I’m Timothy Green, I’m new here”. “Naveen Dunne” I answered as I gazed down at what he was wearing. “Brown hair, blue eyes, green pyjamas, dinosaur socks and a teddy bear, what an odd combination” I thought. “What’s keeping you up?” he asked. “I don’t know, what’s keeping you up?” I quickly replied. “I don’t sleep” he jokingly said. With a questioned facial I trustingly opened the door. “My parents are fighting, it’s hard to fall asleep when you keep hearing your name” I said. “Oh” he added, “Well, what’s it about?”. “Who knows” I announced “They fight about anything and everything”. “Why don’t you talk to them?” he asked. “Me, talk to my parents.” I angrily said. “Yes, maybe if you talk to them they’ll stop fighting. You know kids can help adults too” he implied. Hesitatingly I walked over to the door and I listened to the constant bickering of my parents.

Looking back at Timothy, he signaled me to go. I opened the door and stepped foot outside my room. I tiptoed over to the kitchen as I peeked around the wall. I took a deep breath, and entered the kitchen. Nervous, I stared at my parents arguing. I stayed so quiet they didn’t even notice I was there. “STOP IT!” I yelled “That’s enough”. My parents and I talked for hours about solving what they were fighting about. My mum was pregnant and we couldn’t afford to buy things for the baby. They said that keeping the baby would have meant less things for my brother and I. We decided to let my Aunt who couldn’t have babies take care of it.

As I went back to my room tired, I ran over to my balcony and noticed Timothy was still there. “Thankyou” I told him as the sky turned red. “It’s okay, at least you helped your parents out”. As I walked back to my bed, I turned around and Timothy disappeared. I would have gotten up to go find him but being up for hours made me feel sleepy. I think its cool how I was able to help my parents, with a little bit of help from a boy named Timothy.

The End

Tongan Language Week: Discussions in Tongan

This week is Tongan week! Today me and Karla are showing you discussions in Tongan! Good Luck!

Elephants DLO

This is my Elephant DLO. It shows many facts about elephants and their endangerment. Here are some ways you can help:

- Adopt an elephant (It's legal)
- Spread awareness of Elephant crualty

- Don't buy tusk or Ivory

Values Prayers

In Christ the King, our four values are Respect, Justice, Peace and Joy and Love and Service. Today we had to create prayers linked for each value. These are the prayers I created.

Elephant Report

Elephants: Information Report

Known as the largest mammal of our time, the elephantidae family is home to both the African and
Indian/Asian species. The majestic and spectacular creatures are known to live in the continents of
Africa and Asia.

Appearrence

The African elephant is the larger species and has wrinkly grey skin, a swayed back and 2 tips at
the end of its trunk to pick things up. As for the Indian (or Asian) species, the elephants have much
less wrinkles and more of a humped back. They are quite small and only have 1 tip at the end of their
trunks. For any elephant, they can weigh upto 13,000 pounds when fully matured. They can grow upto
11 ft tall and their feet can grow to the size of 9: 30cm rulers.  Elephants are truly gigantic creatures
with long and large tusk. For baby elephants, much known as calfs, their height can be 2-3 ft tall. Male
elephants are called bulls and they leave their families when they reach puberty and may live alone or
with other males. Females (cows) travel in tight group and are lead by the eldest female called the
matriarch.

Diet

These mammals eat much more than their appetite. Nearly 80% of an elephants day is spent feeding.
On average, these peculiar creatures eat upto 400 pounds of food a day. They are herbivores so their
diet consist of things like leaves, roots, twigs, branches and fruit. Elephants can drink upto 30,000 gallons
of water a day which is how much the average person drinks in a week!

Special Features

Elephants are a very intelligent species. When they are hot, they tend to flap their ears to cool off and
lower their temperature. An elephants tusk continue to grow throughout its whole life - which means they
don’t grow to a particular size. Although they may have poor eyesight, they have a distinct sense of
smell and very good hearing.

Endangerment

Since 1978, the elephantidae family have been an endangered species due to people killing them for
parts. Upto 100 elephants are being killed a day. This is because of poachers taking part in illegal ivory
trade killing them for their ivory and tusk. These animals are practically used for human entertainment.
Elephants are prey to lions, tigers and many other meat eating creatures. To this day there is on 450,000
- 700,000 African elephants and between 35,000 - 40,000 of the Asian elephants which is a dramatic
difference.

Conclusion

Overall, it’s sad to think that one of our largest and long living creatures - that have been around for 55
million years - are quickly decreasing. We should not have to live in a world where one species can kill
another. It is crucial that we stop killing elephants and find better ways to entertain ourselves.

DLO: Refugees and Asylum Seekers

For the past 2 - 3 weeks, a handful of other children and myself have been reading a book called: Being Kiwi. It was about refugees from around the world and their experience coming to NZ and what they found difficult. During that we had task like creating a DLO.  This is my DLO on Refugees and Asylum Seekers.

Sphynx Pig: Hybrid Animal

This Hybrid animal has pricked ears like a bat and a long whip like tail. It has a snout like a pig and is
hairless like a muscular sphinx cat. It’s flabby and skin folded body is bald, pink all over and almost
transparent like. It has thick paws and sharp claws and its boney body is very skinny and bumpy. It’s
face resembles a pig and if I were to touch this animal it would feel like an elderly persons skin.

ANZAC Argument

Should stores on ANZAC DAY be closed - For

ANZAC Day is a national day of remembrance for New Zealand and Australia, so why must we
continue to work? This day is set for us to remind and reflect on those who have sacrificed their
lives in World War 1 and 2 protecting our countries. These wars have caused enough grief. ANZAC Day takes place on the 25 April each and every year. Beneath the trading laws, stores must legally
close on only 3 days of the year. These 3 days include: Easter, Christmas and Good Friday. Which
to me is specifically unfair. Therefore, I zealously believe all stores should be closed on ANZAC Day.

War Research

World War 1 commenced on July 28th, 1914 and ended on the 11th November, 1918. Originally, over
14,000 men volunteered to represent and fight for our country in this war. Then, near the end of that
year the numbers increased to about 23,000 men volunteering. This shocks me knowing, men were
willingly to risk their lives for our country. Sadly, around 18,000 New Zealanders died in or because
of the war, and about 41,000 men were badly wounded. More than 2,700 died at Gallipoli and almost
12,500 on the Western Front. 550 Nurses served with NZ expeditionary force while others were recruited
in the UK.

Parades and Dawns Services

ANZAC Day itself marks the anniversary of the landing of New Zealand and Australian soldiers, on the
Gallipoli Peninsula in 1915. It is a day that is loaded with parades, festivities and more. A dawn service
begins with a simple march by military personnel who have returned from war or confidential training. They
then along with returned servicemen and women, and a few other members of the community, form up about
the memorial. Short services follow along with a prayer and hymns.  Sadly, store workers must miss out on
these activities and return to work at 1pm, being absent for parades, services and family grieving time for old
family members who died in the war.

Other Countries

In Victoria, Australia, retailers cannot trade between the hours of 12am to 1pm on ANZAC Day, unless they
fall under the category of “Exempt Shops”. Exempt shops include - chemist, gas stations, cafes, restaurants,
takeaways and a variety of different stores. In the US, on 11th November it is their Veterans Day. It, for them,
is a day to remember past veterans that represented their country.

Conclusion

Its saddens me, knowing that on a day like this people are thinking of money. However, I do understand
people have needs such as feeding their families. Still, this excuse can not be used by all but for the people
who truly mean it. Everybody has different situations and opinions, this is mine.

Cybersmart

For Cybersmart learning, we had to make a DLO (Digital Learning Object) on what you can and shouldn't share online. This slideshow displays what you can and what you shouldn't.

Elmer the elephant

This is my version of "Elmer the Elephant", base on the book. We used 3 Litre Milk Bottles, glue and cut up tissue paper. The process for me took about 1 hour, every day, for 2-3 days. The colours I chose were red, green and blue but for no exact reason except the contrast between them. We also cut ears out of cardboard and used builders tape to put them on either side of the elephants head. 

Inquiry Reflection - Global Warming

Inquiry Reflection

I am satisfied with my presentation as it displays the gif (animated/moving) images at the correct time I placed it and also has valuable information showcasing how to get rid of Global Warming.

During the process of creating my presentation I discovered more about the app I used (Powtoon) and even through typing information down that I didn't know about, I learned more about things such as the greenhouse gas, C02 and more.

Throughout creating my inquiry project I fell upon challenges like summarising information I found, placing images at the right time and also figuring out how to use Powtoon.

If I were to change anything at this moment I would chose an easier app and go more in depth with the information by explaining what some things were.

My partners Neesha and Zariah helped and provided good sites with valuable information that we were able to display and simplify in kid language.

To modify this I would use a more serious or fast music to encourage emotions of cautiousness for Global warming.

Overall, I am most proud of how the presentation came out with no doubt.

Tapa Cloth

Tapa Cloth Reflection

I am proud of my accomplishment because to it represents my culture and ended up looking better than I expected.

A part of the process was scrunching the paper to make it look old and when Miss Paton (my teacher) did mine
I thought it strange and unusual. However, even with a few rips it looked better than I would have thought. Another
interesting discovery I made about the task itself was that bleach could be used to whiten dark coloured paper.  

A challenging moment was creating a perfectly symmetrical and identical pattern on either side of the paper.

If I were to create this differently I think I would have tried a different pattern that was less detailed and easier to
draw, dye and bleach in small places.

A few things that inspired me to do this pattern were on google images. I also had help from my friends suggesting
where I could dye or bleach. My teacher was also a large help as she provided instructions on how to create this
artwork.

To modify these patterns, I could of chosen a more authentic and less easy pattern to go around the centre or bolden
the lines so they were more seeable from a distance.

The aspect of my tapa cloth that I am most proud of is the colour contrast and the pattern I chose to draw in the centre
and the borders.

Cadbury Chocolate - Should They Keep It?

Cadbury Chocolate

The history of Cadbury Chocolate in New Zealand ended on Thursday March 29th. Located in Dunedin, a man named Richard Hudson opened his first Biscuit Bake House in the year 1868.  He was the creative mind behind the Hudson’s Chocolate Chip Cookies and the Hudson Cookie Bear. Later on in 1884, Richard Hudson first opened his chocolate and cocoa manufacturing plant. This was where New Zealand chocolate originated from. Then in 1930, Richard Hudson started collaborating with Cadbury to create their first Dairy Milk Bar. The foundation has been made here for 150 years.

Theoretically, a change in the recipe could possibly create an interesting flavour and something better. The new twist could be suitable and more delicious for the consumer and it could make new history for the Cadbury name. However it could also turn out to be a embarrassing failure that could make New Zealand wonder why they even tried. Cadbury original chocolate blocks consist of Fruit & Nut, Milk Chocolate, Crunchie, Picnic, Jelly Crunchie Bits, Jelly popping candy, Energy, Turkish, Top deck and Snack but, what if they added a new flavour that consisted of popcorn or cotton candy. These add ins could add an interesting flavour.

To some it doesn’t make a difference and to others like me, it is sad and aggravating to know that another one of New Zealand’s product is to be imported rather then exported.  Items like clothing, tinned food, household items, cars and more has previously been taken from us. It is deeply crucial that our successful companies and delicious foods made in this country remain here so that our creativity is not credited to another country. This could also contribute to a possible price raise. This has an unfortunate effect on our society, by which people are losing their jobs and are not able to pay for things like taxes, bills and payments for shopping, gas and much more.

To conclude, the now Australian company is a depressing reminder of what New Zealand has lost. However, maybe this new change could bring a brighter and more successful future for the Cadbury Company. We must accept this change because who knows, maybe we’ll bring it back or create something better.