Exploring The Unexplained

A Water Indicator: How Does It Work?

In this circuit the transistor is acting as a switch. In dry soil, the resistance between the probes is very high and the transistor receives little or no base current and the LED cannot turn on.
In moist soil, the resistance is much lower, and the transistor receives enough base current to enable it to turn on, lighting the LED.

Materials Tech

For materials tech, our goal was to create a wooden mechanical toy. We had to plan out every detail of our designs before we could start making it. When we had completed our design we had to write an evaluation for our design. This is my completed wooden mechanical toy.

Earthling Report

For inquiry we have been looking at stereotypes. We had a writing activity where we had to write a report as though we were an alien who came across a stack of magazines, and our opinions on humans can only be based on what we see in magazines. Here is my earthling report.

Hello my people, as I was taking a leisurely stroll through our universe I discovered a stack of something called ‘magazines’. These ‘magazines’ were a historical discovery for our population because they contained descriptions and images of another planet’s life. I have learnt that there are two kinds of ‘humans’ as they are referred to. Females and males. I shall begin with the females.

Most of the images in the ‘magazines’ show a lot of females with two big globes down the front of their chest. They are referred to as ‘boobs’, and to quote one of these books directly, “Nicki Minaj has recently gotten more implants,” which was accompanied by an image of her ‘boobs’. The females all have some sort of string on their heads which is styled to form fascinating patterns. A lot of the string is a blonde colour, and looks very smooth and silky. All females have differently coloured lips and each of them have some sort of colour on their eyelids. And each of them has something big sticking out of their lower back, some sort of pillow. The clothes they wear are all very fancy and show quite a bit of skin. They also wear very high things on their feet called ‘high heels’.

The males are all quite beefy. They have weird formations on their stomachs which they call ‘abs’. They do not wear any shirts for some reason, and have perfectly styled string on their head. They have weird lumps in their arms which apparently is attractive.

Something that is very recurrent in these magazines is the happiness and the smiles they have. Everyone looks fit and seems to be living a very happy life. The only downside is that there is never someone to take a picture of you, so everyone just takes photos of themselves. But they live in fantastic homes and have fantastic friends and families. They go to parties every night and have amazing social lives. I wish everyone on our planet could look like everyone on theirs. Perfect skin, perfect clothes, perfect lives.

My Speech

In TK we have all been writing speeches for the school speech competition. Our topic was 'Healthy Bodies, Strong Minds'. Mine was about impressing others.

Why We Shouldn't Try So Hard To Impress Others

Welcome to our world; where personality is based on appearance, where some people’s opinions matter more than others’, and beauty is skin deep. We live in a place where nobody can be anybody without being criticised. Where we can’t say, do or even think what we want without others saying it’s ‘lame’ or ‘pathetic’. And why do we do this? Because everyone else isn’t like us. What I’m trying to say, is that we shouldn’t wake up every morning to impress others. We shouldn’t change our personality because that is what others want. And the only person we should be trying to impress, is ourselves.

Imagine we are all the same. We looked the same, wore the same clothes, had the same ideas and the same taste in music. Every house, game, song, sport and shop were exactly the same. That world is boring. That is why we are different. To be interesting, to have a story to tell others without them having heard it before. To live our life the way we want it. But for some reason in our real world, difference is not accepted. We laugh at others for having opinions, we mock them for being themselves, and bully them because they don’t try to be like everyone else.

Honestly it doesn’t matter how attractive the photos on your social media account are. Or the price of your car, or the brand name of your clothing. Because there is always going to be someone out there who doesn’t like you. There is, no matter how hard you try, always going to be a group of people who think you are weird, awkward, or stupid. But no matter how many people hate you, there are also a lot of people who don’t. The people who like you for who you are, and not who you try to be for others. And if we stopped trying to impress those who don’t like us, and just be ourselves for those who do, then people would stop judging us for someone we’re not.

A lot of us have been in that situation where we have changed our opinion for other's’ sake. We tell them we liked something just because they did, and agree with them, even though you don’t. And then later people start bullying you because you try so hard to be like others, and you look stupid doing it. So you decide to gather your courage and share your own opinion. But later, people are laughing at you because you’re so weird and you always try to be different. It doesn’t matter what you do, because people will laugh at you anyway. So you might as well try to be yourself, because it won’t stop the bullying.

So we should stop now and look at ourselves. Are we seeing what we want to see, or what others want to see? Are people judging you on who you are, or what you have? And are the opinions you have really yours, or actually others? So welcome to our world; where personality is based on appearance, where some people’s opinions matter more than others’, and beauty is skin deep. I hope you like what you see.

Ad Busters

For inquiry we have been looking at stereotypes in adverts. We have been looking at magazine ads and identifying the qualities of the ultimate person. Then, we started to look at anti-ads, or ad-busters. That is where people take an advert and use reality and some irony to make it the opposite of what the ad originally was.  I used an advert for a range rover and turned it into a don't drink and drive ad.

Hauora

Hauora is a Maori word describing the well-being of people. There are four levels of Hauora. Spiritual, physical, mental & emotional, and social.

Social Well-being - taha whanua
going to visit a sick family member

encouraging someone

giving someone our opinion

texting a friend

helping some carry their things

telling someone your problems

Mental & Emotional Well-being - taha hinengaro
receiving a compliment

confidence to try new things

thinking positively

feeling good about yourself

walking away from conflict when angry



Spiritual Well-being - Taha Wairua

religious beliefs

appreciating nature

searching for meaning in life

Physical Well-being - Taha Tinana

improving fitness

growing taller

learning how to play hockey

brushing teeth

Literacy Advert Photobabble

Over the past few days I have been involved in a literacy workshop demonstrating different reading and writing techniques. One of the activities was to create an advert in 30 seconds using different speech techniques and create a photobabble. I worked together with Imogen & Hannah, and our item was the everlasting chewing gum. Please click on the link to view the results!

 http://www.fotobabble.com/m/SkZrejRZQzZkWTg9

Passion Sharing

Recently we have been sharing our passions with the class. And seeing as my passion is eating, I decided that I would share that with others. I presented this slide and brought ice-cream as a demonstration.

te reo, kei hea te?

In te reo we have been learning how to say where something is. We used the waitata lyrics, "Ke Hei Te Tuna?" to create our own original poem.

Maori

Kei hea te apareka?

Kei roto i te kihini,

Kei hea te apareka?

Kei runga i te pereti,

Kei hea te apareka?

Kei mua i te kukamo,

Kei hea te apareka?

Kei muri i te aporo,

Kei hea te apareka?

Kei raro i te kinaki,

Kei hea te apareka?

kei waho i te paopaohia.

English

Where is the asparagus?

In the kitchen,

Where is the asparagus?

On the plate,

Where is the asparagus?

Behind the cucumber,

Where is the asparagus?

In front of the apple,

Where is the asparagus?

Under the sauce,

Where is the asparagus?

Beside the steak.

Cyber Bullying

for inquiry we have revisited our understanding of cybersafety. Niamh and I have made a poster that shows what I think is most important.

Persuasive email

To Ms Vanderpump,

I am emailing you about your recent decision regarding school assembly seating.

We are currently discussing the topic in class and have listed a few of the many reasons why we have a right to disagree with your decision.

The year 7's are taking over the little privileges we had. Firstly, there is no longer a peak TV run by year 8's, assemblies and house leadership have changed in their favour, and we were excluded from doing the tough kid challenge. We feel slightly betrayed and punished. Having named only a few of the many, I hope that I have made my point clearly but haven't expressed too much anger or imposed an attack on the decision.

I hope you will change your mind soon,

Milou.

In room 15 we wrote letters to Ms Vanderpump regarding her decision to remove year 8's from the bleachers. She then came to talk to us and said she would look into it over the next two weeks.

Greatest Invention Of All Times Pursausive Writing

Moustache Guard Coffee Mug (MGCM)

Imagine this. You are a forty-year-old man, you live alone in a big grey house. One of your most prized features is the handlebar moustache that lives on your upper lip and you love coffee. Every morning you sit outside on your big porch sipping a latte. This morning you are ready to go out, wearing your best white suit. You finish your cup and want to put it on the table, but your beautiful moustache has inevitably been dipped in your coffee mug while you were drinking. Suddenly, a big drop of latte escapes the grasp of the hair on your lip and drips onto your suit, soaking it in coffee. Everything is ruined. Your suit, your coffee, and worst of all, your beautiful moustache.

Introducing the moustache guard coffee mug (or MGCM). A specially engineered cup designed to keep your moustache out of your drink. It will protect your clothing, keep your moustache clean and healthy, and is easy to use and portable. It is available in many different designs to suit your personality and style, and is useful on many occasions.

So back to the forty-year-old man and his suit. Every year the average person goes through $2400 worth of clothing. A good suit costs around a shocking $2000, which means you only have enough money to buy, perhaps, one suit, two pairs of pants and four t-shirts.

Or if you are a female, imagine the unlikely but plausible situation in which you are a young bride-to-be who happens to be sporting a magnificent artificial moustache. To celebrate your wedding in advance you drink a glass of red wine. The wine sticks to the moustache and destroys the wedding dress. A dress like that costs on average $3500, which is way over the yearly budget you have for clothes.

With the moustache protecting cup you can have a wardrobe full of clothes all year round, and not have to spend any extra money!

Alright, so now lets say that you were stubborn enough to ignore the offer on the MGCM and change into your only pair of pants and a grubby t-shirt. You confidently stride out the door and onto the street. But something’s wrong with the people. They are all pointing and laughing. The moustache, which was once beautiful, now hangs limply on your face like a dead fish. The MGCM has a special block which protects your moustache from the disastrous liquids in this world.

Lets predict that by that time in the story you had given up being so hapless and gone to a store to buy the MGCM. To paint a picture, let’s say that on your way in the store you saw a convincing advert for the Moustache Mug, and were completely convinced that the Mug was the best invention in history. It stated the facts that it was portable, saved a lot of money, helped maintain the health and quality of your moustache, and was stylishly designed to suit your personality. So imagine that you bought one for the very little money it costs, and used it every day at your leisure. And feel free to imagine that you and the moustache lived happily every after.

Extension Maths Scale Drawing

In extension maths we had to draw up and measure scale drawings. I did 4 by 2 grid, 5 centimetres squared each.

Extension Maths Graphs

In extension maths we are learning about analysing different types of graphs. We were given an advertisement from the newspaper which contained graphs and had to turn them into different types of graphs on the computer.

Treemendous

Free Writing

We used a picture as a prompt and wrote about it.

five minutes to go before half past three

one small test and I’ll be free

I swing open the door and yell out “Hello!”

but the class is empty, where did they all go?

I had run real fast and wanted to cry

it was getting dark and I wondered why

I look at the clock and I get a fright,

why can’t I do just one thing thing right?

Now I know where everyone went,

because of course it’s half past ten.

My Goals

Anzac Thinglink

We created thing links in Room 15 with our new understandings of war. Hover your cursor over the buttons to find links to websites, videos and images.

My Whakapapa/Pepeha

For te reo Maori we have been writing our whakapapa/pepeha. It is a maori introduction to you and your family's history.


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Science Experiment

Today in science we learned about acids and bases. We tested some substance we use everyday at home to fing out how strong they are.

Ruud Kleinpaste - The Bugman

Today Ruud Kleinpaste - The Bugman came to our school to talk to us about how insects rule this world. Here are some interesting facts that I learnt.

-Researchers say that there is only around one million species of bugs discovered, while it is estimated that there is up to twelve to thirteen million.

-Pollinators contribute to making a third of our diet. (e.g: Steak comes from cows, cows eat grass, grass needs the pollinators to grow.)

-People actually eat bugs. Literally. They sometimes crush it up as a substitute for some meats. They are apparently quite nutritious. Gross.

-Hummingbirds are really tiny pollinators. On average they are 8.5 cm (Adult, from bill to tail)

-Poison dart frogs kill poisonous ants to extract their poison to use as their own.

5 Things You Didn't Need To Know About Me

For writing, we had to make a slideshow about five things you really didn't need to know about me.


     

Turangawaewae Video

In Room 15 we have been learning about turangawaewae, the place where we stand. For homework we had to make a video about what kiwis think of New Zealand. I did it together with Charlotte. Enjoy!

Where I'm From Poem

In room 15 we have written a poem that symbolizes where we are from. It is based around a famous poem by George Elle Lyons called Where I'm From.

Where I’m From

I am from differences

no mind to think alike

from the streets embracing alleyways and passages

and the endless labyrinths

I am from a place that never sleeps

hearing the car horn lullaby every night

from pushing through crowds

the cigarette smoke creating wreaths in the sky

I am from cycling through the city

sometimes in a wake of sad relations

from the satisfying pattern of bicycle wheels

uprooting the gravel in the country

I am from our balcony

and the days I spent looking down

to the road far below

from the chance of snow in winter

my brother the wandering snowman

I am from encouragement and faith

my parents leaving no doubt

my home city with my home people

I am from reality