Tamaki College Science Prizegiving

For the past four weeks, we have been taking science sessions at Tamaki College. We have been creating our own moon rover based design with only cardboard, glue, straws, and skewer sticks. The rover was only allowed to be powered by rubber bands. We had been split into two classes since there were so many of us, and at the end we all came together and had a competition to see who's rover would go the furthest. 

Inspiration Quotes

This is a movie that me and my classmate collaborated on together. We made a movie that focuses on inspirational quotes that've motivated and inspired us to do something. 

Blog Commenting

 

These are screenshots of four comments that I've published on four blogs. One blog was my classroom blog : Digital Footsteps, another was Linda (A Panmure Bridge  Student) : Linda's Blog, another was Willy's blog ( A Tamaki Primary student) : Willy's Blog and the last comment was to Latham (A Pamure Bridge Student, in the same classroom as myself) : Latham's blog.

Room 5 has been commented on people's blog, experimenting with the new Manaiakalani way of being cyber smart while commenting. This is what the poster looks like:

Why maths is important

This is a video that some of my classmates and I collaborated on. We made this video about why Maths is important. We went for a relaxed and funny comedy video, since more students went for a serious approach. 

Choosing a new flag

All the pupils in Panmure Bridge School voted for which ever flag they liked best, in the options above. We had 4 minutes to read each flag's meaning behind it independently, 3 minutes to get with a partner and talk about your reasons for why you like the flag you're going to chose, 2 minutes to find a new buddy and talk with them about it, and then 1 minute to find a group of 4 to discuss your own perspectives on each flag. We did this because we work better together. 3 of the people in our group chose the last flag in the picture, for reasons such as: I made personal connections to it, It represents multiple cultures and also because it is instantly recognized as New Zealand's. 2 of the people in our group chose the first flag for reasons such as:  I liked the design and because it's easily recognized as ours due to the Silver Fern. Although they are very alike, we still had reasons for choosing the other flag. The 3 of who chose the red flag, liked it because it represented blood, yet some of us chose the black flag because it represents our history and the night.

The flags we chose are above. The first flag is the flag that 2 of the people in our group voted for and the last flag is the one that 3 of the people in our group voted for. 

T1 Letter: T4 Reply

Dear Term 4 Fine,    

You should’ve had a great year and hopefully prizegiving has passed. If yes, then hopefully you received the Dux award for 2015. I know it will have been a lot of work, but it definitely will be worth it. By achieving this, you should’ve paid attention in class, challenged yourself with subjects you are not confident in and studied hard in order for you to do well in your assessments. Are you happy with the outcome of your assessments? Did you focus? Did you overwork yourself? If you did not receive the Dux award, I hope that you put in the same amount of effort into your studies as the student who received Dux. Hopefully you had a great last year at Panmure Bridge School!

From,

Term 1 Fine

Learning Intention:

To reflect on personal goals set in Term 1

Dear Term 1 Fine,

Was that a year or what? Prize giving hasn't passed but I've tried to stick to your morals throughout this year. Hopefully I get DUX at prize giving but if not, I’d still be really happy for the student who receives it. It would be awesome to see my mums reaction. I really wish I had taken more time to study before assessments because my results didn't really turn out the way I want to! Although, I'm still really happy with the outcome. I can’t wait to open the next chapter of my life, making new friends and taking old friends with me. I really can’t wait until prize giving night!

From,

Term 4 Fine

CARE Awards: Respect

I researched about the very well known song ‘Respect”by Aretha Franklin as a CARE Award about Respect. I found out that the song was originally by artist, Otis Redding. Aretha Franklin's song won two grammys as it was said to be one of the best R&B songs of the era. Franklin’s song focuses on female empowerment and is about a strong confident woman, wanting respect from her partner.

The Lyrics to the song can be found at this link: RESPECT LYRICS

And the song can be found at this link: RESPECT SONG

Working with my Critical Friend

Today, Room 5 and Room 6 students collaborated together, to alter and edit copied documents of their writing samples from Term 4. I worked with Tamin on this, and first we worked on my document. We used the rubric to help us see what stage our text was at, and the next steps in order to move our writing to the next level. Our critical friends help us by seeing the mistakes in our writing that we don't see ourselves. I'm really grateful for participating in this because I've seen alot of the mistakes that I've kept making in my writing.

Science at Tamaki College

Today the year 7 and 8 syndicate stayed at Tamaki College after technology in the morning. We were introduced to 'Mission: Moon Rover'. The year 7 and 8's split into the two classrooms while in groups of 4. The aim of our mission for the next 4 weeks, is to build and make a moon rover made form materials in a mystery box given at the time, that will scramble at least 3 metres long. The next session will be on Friday afternoon.

Jaffa Rolling Challenge: DLO

This prezi includes the purpose of the Jaffa experiment, the steps we followed, our prediction of what would've happened in the experiment, what happened, the reasons we think this happened, and the alterations we would make next time. 

Photo Collage: Jaffa Experiment

This is a photo collage that my group created, using pictures from the Jaffa Experiment. Our group collaborated together to create a simple machine made form cardboard, using scissors and tape. We created this machines as a path to roll the Jaffa on. The aim of the experiment was to see how far the Jaffa would roll. This collage displays people lining up to roll the Jaffa, our group building our machine and a paper of how we built it. 

Comparison between Womens rugby in Iran and New Zealand

This picture displays comparison towards women's rugby in Iran and New Zealand. I completed this task as part of the Rugby World Cup tasks. I used Lucidchart to complete this diagram. 

RWC 2015: Highlights

This presentation displays some Highlights that my classmate and I, found really amazing during the Grand Final of the Rugby World Cup 2015. I collaborated on this with Yvette.

6 Hats: Consequences

This is presentation that displays the Six Thinking Hats, towards the events of a child getting hurt during Guy Fawks. I worked on this task independently. 

Fireworks Safety

This is my presentation that a few classmates and I collaborated on. We created this, to show a 5-year old audience how to be safe around fireworks. We shared this presentation so that our top 5 safety instructions towards fireworks would be noticed.

DARE DLO

This is my DARE DLO. This DLO was created using the application Prezi. It displays how I would react in a situation where a friend has offered me to smoke some cigarettes. It also includes why you shouldn't cave into Peer pressure.

NSW educational Assessment: Mathematics

This is a picture of the students in my classroom who participated in the Maths UNSW Global educational assessment. We received our certificates today at Assembly. It was really hard but I think I did well overall. 

CARE Awards: Personal Passion

This task is for my CARE awards. This is a DLO displaying my personal Passion which is focused on the art of Poetry. 

Music

As Mrs Eeles is away due to her being ill, Room 5 decided to take it upon themselves to learn music. Last week we did Ukulele with 3 students from the school ukulele group, leading the lesson, one of those 3 included myself. Today we played When the Saints come marching in, on xylophones. Mrs Anderson directed the whole lesson and made sure everything was running smoothly. At first, we tried to do the song all in as one but didn't succeed. We then went into groups of four which was much more easier for us students. Each group went one by one, presenting what they'd learnt so far. My group consisted of students Paige, Raymond and San Tat. I think we did very well although we did have a few clear mistakes. I can't wait to see what we'll be doing next week. 

CARE Awards: Create a collage showcasing life at PBS

This my collage I created that showcases life at PBS. It displays some of my favourite things and most memorable times at Pamnure Bridge School. The picture in the middle is during camp, while doing High Ropes. I did this as the main picture because it was extremely difficult to over come but I my group encouraged me throughout the whole way. I did this collage for a CARE Award. 

Problem Solving: 7 multiplication and division

This presentation shows my 7 times tables and division knowledge. I solved these equations independently. 

Understanding 7x Multiplication

This is my poster that displays some different ways to show my 7x knowledge. I think all these ways are really fun and interesting. 

Problem Solving Revision

This is how I solved one of the equations from the Problem Solving Revision Presentation. On my poster is shows how I worked the answer out and the question is at the top of the poster.  

Music: Ukulele Lessons

Yesterday, Yvette, Tim and I taught Room 5 some basic chords and plucking to a few songs. Because Mrs Eeles is unwell, we took it upon ourselves to teach our classroom some new things they didn't know. We played Islands and Kiwi Ukulele. I think the lesson went well and a lot of people learnt some new things such as chords or how to read the plucking on a piece of paper. I had an interesting time. 

Shake Out!

This is my presentation that I collaborated on with a classmate. We participated in the New Zealand Earthquake Drill, Shake out! This DLO contains information about what we did and more information about the Shake out. 

Story Swap

Today in Writing we did a 'story swap' in pairs to write a collaborative recount that made sense. It was a bit challenging because we could only write one sentence at a time, we weren't able to talk to each other and we had to make sure our ideas flowed even though we weren't thinking the same thing. I learned that if you read your story out loud you can hear if the tense is wrong.

I stared into the cracked windows of the abandoned house trying to discover its secrets. I had to walk in. I felt scared but I still had to do it. The house had stuff I hadn’t ever seen before. I was at least five steps away from the broken door when it slammed behind me. I went into a room and all I could see was an empty space. everything looked shut down. I felt someone watching me as I looked out a window. I turned around but there only the sound of a piano being played to trace. I followed the sound and it took me somewhere where there was a picture of an old scary looking lady. I walked up to it, examining her. Was the music coming from a place behind the picture. I lifted the picture up and took a little look. I saw who was playing the piano. The lady in the picture sat on the seat playing a fast rhythm. When I lifted the picture up more she stopped and focused her action on me. I had this feeling that she was going to come closer but she just sat there and looked at me. I heard breathing. I quickly turned around and saw her there. Confused at why I was here but i just kept staring back. I didn’t know what to do. I blanked out. When I woke up I was outside on the grass.

Subtraction Quiz

This is a screenshot from the subtraction quiz and a picture of how I answered the questions. I used algorithms as my main strategy to solve these questions. The aim of the questions was to borrow from the previous column. After we had completed the questions, Mrs Anderson came over and made sure we understood what we'd learnt. I think I just need to practise a few more times then I'll be good to go. 

The Grid Challenge

 

This is a few pictures from the Grid Challenge that we tried out this morning. We had to get into pairs and grab a pencil. Each pair was given one paper. The paper displayed a large grid that had a clear line down the middle. This line showed the separation from each partners grid. We were also given two dice. Each time we rolled the dice, we used the numbers to look for arrays on our grid. The aim of the game was to fill out our grid as much as possible. When the time was up, we counted the left over squares of the grid. My partner Yvette had 8 squares left and I had 6. That meant I won because I had the least squares left over. I think that this game is very useful for when practising arrays or multiplication. The Grid Challenge was a lot of fun to play, and a really interesting way to learn maths. 

Problem Solving Revision

This is my strategy to the Problem Solving Revision equation I solved today. I noticed that I struggled to use an algorithm when trying to subtract large numbers. My goal is to try and practise solving large subtraction equations by using algorithms, so it's easier/faster for me to solve. 

C.A.R.E Awards: 3/3 Inspirational Quotes

For our care awards we had to choose at least 3 inspirational quotes and put them onto DLO's. I choose this quote as my final one, because it shows patience and perseverance. It's metaphorical, and means that even though we may get to our goal slowly, we never go backwards. I will definitely use this quote to inspire me when I feel as if I'm going nowhere and stuck in a rut.  

C.A.R.E Awards: Respected Leader

For our CARE Awards, we could make a DLO on a Respected Leader. I chose to complete my DLO focused on Malala Yousafzai, this was because she truly inspires me to stand up for my rights and be the voice for others who share the same opinion as me. You can check out my presentation to understand why I respect her, and why she's well known around the world.

Holiday Reading Challenge: Make A Recommendation

Make A Recommendation

Title: Winston Chuchill and His Great Wars

Author: Alan Macdonald

Genre: Fiction

Recommendation: I would suggest this book to people 12+ since some of the lanugage used in this book, would be difficult to understand for younger readers. This book includes a lot of information you would've never known about Winston Churchill. It starts right from the beginning at his early childhood, right until the end where he retires and passes away. Throughout the book, it keeps you hooked with funny illustrations and jokes! I recommend for people who love to read Horrible Histories to read this book because they're actually quite similair!

Holiday Reading Challenge: Soundtrack

Soundtrack

Title: Winston Churchill and His Great Wars

Author: Alan MacDonald

Genre: Fiction

Soundtrack: Rule Britianna

I chose this soundtrack because it was Winston Churchills favourite song. This fits the book I read, because the story is focused all about Winston Churchill and the things you didn't know about him! I never knew this was his favourite song before reading the book, so it fits perfectly with what the author was trying to get across to the reader.

Holiday Reading Challenge: Make A Recommendation

Make A Recommendation

Title: ChinaTown Girl

Author: Eva Wong Ng

Genre: Fiction

Recommendation: I would suggest this book to people 10+ since it's easy to understand and relate to since the main character is near the same age. I would recommend for students who like to read war books, to take a try at reading this book! When Silvey's teacher sets her a project, to find out about her ancestors and how they migrated to New Zealand, she found out the poverty, shame and hardships, her ancestors had to go through. This book is a really good read!

C.A.R.E Awards: 2/3 Inspirational Quotes

For our care awards we had to choose at least 3 inspirational quotes and put them onto DLO's. I choose this quote because it  displays inspiration and motivation. It motivates you to do the things you wish there were in the world for the better. I really love this quote, and find it extremely inspiring. 

C.A.R.E Awards: 1/3 Inspirational Quotes

For our care awards we had to choose at least 3 inspirational quotes and put them onto DLO's. I choose this quote from Malala Yousafzai, because it really does speak to me. These words coming from someone who had education stolen from her hands, inspired me to have more appreciation of the education I'm taught, more importantly, education I'm taught in a safe environment. This quote truly inspires people all around the world, to use their education for the greater good and helps them realise how powerful knowledge can be. 

Holiday Reading Challenge: Read the Next Book in the Series

Read the Next Book in the Series

Title: Chinatown Girl

Author: Eva Wong Ng

Genre: Fiction

I really liked these books because the language used in the stories are simple enough for students my age to read and understand properly. It also has events, that keep the reader interested throughout the story.  

This is a comparision of two books I read from the same series. I actually read 'Chinatown girl' after 'Here comes the Marines' even though 'Chinatown girl' was one of the first books that kicked off the series. 

Holiday Reading Challenge: Retell in 25 words or less

Retell in 25 words or less

Title – Here comes the Marines

Author – Lorraine Orman

Genre – Fiction

Retell: It's 1943. A war is on. Lillian was a normal city girl, until she moved in with her grandparents. Life took unexpected turns from there...

Holiday Reading Challenge: Casting Choices

Casting Choices

Thomas	Joyce	Lillian	Grandpa
Ed Westwick	Stefanie Scott	Willow Shields	Kurtwood Smith
Westwick suits the description of Thomas perfectly. He would play the character of Thomas astonishing!	Stefanie Scott does like look the pretty, good looking older sister that the book has made the readers believe. Scott would make this character come to life.	Being a reader of this book, you imagine Lillian having the looks of someone like Willow Shields. She would suit the e role of Lillian extremely well.	Smiths previous roles from other movies/tv series have a similar personality to Granpa's in the story. He would suit this role perfectly.

These are some of people I would choose to cast if the book I read were to become a movie. I included a picture of the actor/actress, their names and why they would suit playing the character. My book was:

Title - Here comes the Marines

Author - Lorraine Orman

Genre - Fiction

Holiday Reading Challenge: Make a Recommendation

Make A Recommendation

Title - Here comes the Marines

Author - Lorraine Orman

Genre - Fiction

I would recommend 'Here comes the Marines' to people who are interested in diaries during war. (Acknowledge that this diary is taken from the perspective of a girl at home during the second world war) Some of the events that took place in this story included the arrival of the American Marines coming to New Zealand, the arrival of a father that was away fighting for 3 years and the unbearable loss of some very close friends.  I would recommend this book for ages 10+ because it is written in  language that is simple.  

What we learnt at the Supermarket

This is our presentation on what we learnt at Pak N Save for our trip. I worked on this with some other students. We included information about the nutrition guidelines, and even a fruit and vegetables rainbow. 

My Speech

Good Morning students and teachers,

Think about a time where you’ve been in public. Alone. Vulnerable. Prey to the many spectators that are quick to assume the flaws you possess. Strangers, expecting you to be someone you are not. You've done absolutely nothing, yet the only thing that fills their minds are the assumptions of the terrible person you are. These thoughts, purely fueled by your appearance.

Why can’t they tell us the thoughts they have in their heads, about our culture, about our heritage, about the flaws our people have.  Just because I am brown, it does not mean I am violent. Just because I am brown,  it does not mean I don’t eat breakfast in the mornings. Just because I am brown, it does not give you the right to act like I am any different from you.  After all we're different races not a different species. And yet, the uncertainty in their voices, proves the lack of understanding, they have when they attempt to belittle our people and our ways.  

So tell me. When will we ever become more than a label?  

Yes, we see the outer shell of one's character but have we thought about the content inside? We assume the truth, just because that is what we've learnt. The opinions of one’s race is taught to a child like the rules of a classroom, handed down like the clothes of a sibling, and is as common as a mother's love for her child.  

Now, I can not just let this problem be overlooked, like it has been! This is more important than a lot of the things we claim as “Relevant” in the lives we live today. How does this not come up in a conversation you have with a friend, yet the most pointless things do?

Because of stereotypical labels, believe it or not people have died. How many times on the news have you heard of the innocent person who ended up dead on the street? The policeman who thought he had a weapon on him, just because the colour of his skin was a sign that he was threatening. Is it a coincidence that 94% of these victims are coloured?

“I love you too” Sean Bell’s last words before he died. Shot 50 times on his wedding day. Police thought he had a firearm yet the weapon is still not found. They thought. They assumed. They used the colour of his skin to back up their assumptions. Because of this his fiance is unwed, his to be child unborn, his life that was once planned out, now abandoned , like the rest of them.

I am Tired, disgusted, hurt and angry, yet prepared, committed, dedicated and impatient for a change.

We can't stop the thoughts we have about people. We can't stop ourselves from having an opinion. What we can stop, is assuming who people are. Expecting them to be one thing, when they are the other. We should ask not assume. Start a conversation not a rumor. Be normal not sympathetic. For then, and only then, will our true individuality reach its full meaning.

Stop closing your eyes to the things that matter. We must at least make an effort to see beyond race, because if we don’t, who will?

Tongan DLO

This is my Tongan DLO that was completed last week as a celebration for Tongan Language Week. I worked on this with a classmate. We included a lot of cool things! 

Cross Country

Cross Country

Today we had cross country. Since I'm a school leader, I helped with setting everything up. There was this cool Arch that was kinda like a bouncy castle, that we used as a finish line! I had to run in front of the year 1's to show them where to run just in case they get lost. When the time finally came to my run, there were only a small amount of girls compared to the other year groups. We were year 8. We made sure that we were calm and ready. When the clappers made its sound we ran off! I was in the lead , my best friend right behind me. When we were nearing to the end of the race, I looked around me and there was only one girl I could see. I stopped and she caught up to me. We ran together until the end and sprinted to see who was the best. I came first and she finished second. I fell onto the grass and stayed there for at least 10 minutes, puffed out, exhausted! When everyone had finally had their races, we went back to school and celebrated a little! I can not wait until Inter school Cross Country!

Kiwisport: Run, Jump Throw

Athletics Skills

For Kiwisport, we've been practising and improving our athletics skills. This week we learnt how to improve our long jump and high jump techniques. For long jump we have to make sure that our arms are swinging, we have bent knees when landing and starting, to look up and to make sure we're landing on two feet. For high jump  we learnt that we have to slightly bend our knees, run from an angle (J-Shape), put our leading arm and leg up in the air first, jump from the side and that the scissor high jump technique is a quick action. 

Reading: Dihydrogen Monoxide Hoax

This is a poster that displays the cautions of Dihydrogen Monoxide. Dihydrogen monoxide is a hoax that believes chemicals are coming out of the same taps our clean fresh water come out from. We had to make this to put it above the tap in our classroom.

Creating Word Problems

This is my poster on Creating Word Problems. We had to create a problem and solve it by using the strategy we recently learnt to use. I created this with my classmate Samantha. 

Maths Strategy: Multiplication with alogrithms

This is my Maths Strategy Poster that I created with my classmate Samantha. The poster is self explanatory when it comes to the maths strategy we used an why we used it.  A picture on the side may help you understand the strategy I used.

Fast Factors: 8 Times tables

This is a screenshot from Fast Factors. I completed the 8 times tables, because I think I need to work on this more. If I continue with practising these times tables, I'm pretty sure I'll be a pro in no time.

Online Division Games

This is screenshots of some of the activites I completed when we were learning about Division. I think this is a great game and others should really play this if they are struggling in division. 

Home Learning: Pay it forward

Home Learning

Last night, as part of our home learning we were asked to do something with or something for another person. I choose to help make dinner for my family. My mum really enjoyed the help since we had a family friend from overseas visiting.

Rubbish Type Comparison

This is my DLO of the Rubbish Comparison completed in Room 5 from last week. The poster is self explanatory of what we did last week. I completed this poster with my classmate Paige.