Blog Action Day 2015

Hi there,

I think that the issue of shark finning needs to be addressed.

What is shark finning?

Shark finning is the practice of removinf of shark fins after being caught. The 3% of the sharks body weight are the high valued shark fins and then the other 97% is the lower value of the body. Often the body of the shark still alive is thrown back into the ocean but without being able to swim or pass water through the gills dies a slow painful death of suffacation, bloodloss, or predatation from other species.

Why is it a problem?

It is a highly unstable fishery. Targeting any species, sex or size. There has even been testing to prove that the most protected shark species in the world the great whit has been shark finned.

What is being done?

There are many websites where you caan donate to or sing a petition against shark finning. But something that has recently been shown to me is Yao Ming former basketball star who has dropped sales in shark finning by up to 70%. Read this interesting article to find out more.

Sources of information:
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/chinas-choice/2014/aug/08/sales-of-shark-fin-china-drop-70
http://www.sharksavers.org/en/education/sharks-are-in-trouble/finning-and-the-fin-trade/

Child Poverty in NZ

Last term we had Exhibition there was about eight weeks leading up to the day and a lot of work and effort went into the final products. My group's topic was child poverty in NZ after researching we found that this was a huge problem in New Zealand so we decided to take two actions our first one was to collect cans from the school and then donate them to a school who needed help with supplying food for their children and the second one was to create awareness by showing the community our videos and pamphlets.

Here are some photos from the day:

Thank you to Mrs Hogg for these wonderful photos.

Food Tech Academy

Hi there,

Over the past month a group of students from my class have been working on a video to be entered in the vegetarian society film contest. The category winners will be announced on the first of September and the overall winner on the first of October.

We created this film I hope you like it:

Science Fair

On Friday most of my class and some others from Berkley went to the  NIWA Waikato Science Fair. About 22 of us entered projects, including me and the others came to help us and have a look at the other boards. All of the contestants were interviewed and judged and then we had some fun walking around the gardens.

There are prizes up for grabs in hard cash so that would be cool to win but there is a lot of competition so that would be rather hard to do. So far there are 17 prize winners from Berkley but none of us knows what those winners get so it's a waiting game for them till Tomorrow night when prize giving takes place.

Here are some photos Brooke took from the gardens:

Perspective Photos

In Media we have been taking perspective photos and how to look at life through the other end of a telescope. Some of our end products I really like but there not all that good. Here they are.
We took these over two blocks.

Appearance

Do you judge a book by it's cover?

Watch these two videos that show the reality is that we do judge people for what they look like.

What do you think about these two videos?
Why do you think we do this?
Comment you responses in the comments section.

UOI 3 and UOI 4

These are three powtoons showing my learning of theses two UOI's

Dove - Good or Bad

Is dove an all round good company?


Watch this video:

Think about these questions:

How does this apply to you?
Will you take one of dove's workshops?
Do you think dove is a good company for boosting women's confidence?

Tell me what you like about this video in the comment section and then scroll down to watch the next video on the next post.

Ratios

Ratios Game

My Ballad - Before the Treaty

In class we have been learning about why the treaty of Waitangi
Was written and signed. We have been writing ballads about this.

Before the Treaty

Trading wood, flax and food were the chief,
Of many tribes to save them the grief,
Of their tribe numbers dropping to one and then none,
You see they were trading for muskets; a gun
Tribes fired on tribes within their range,
As their tribe boundaries were starting to change.

Next on the traders list were the whales,
Who got slaughtered then traded when a ship rose their sails,
They were a way for a while,
Out further than a mile,
So when land was in sight,
They would party and fight.

The Missionaries came,
With one big aim,
To change the customs that were tribal,
So that Maori could read the bible,
They then bought some land,
With a shake of a hand.

There were many changes to Maori ways of life,
Including Pakiha and Maori becoming husband and Wife,
In 1835 NZ got an independence,
Signed by 34 chiefs in attendance
We signed the treat in sync and afterward had a friendly drink.

Ice Blocks

Food Tech - Ice Blocks

At our school we are fortunate enough to have a food tech room, where my group trialed a quick pop maker, called Zoku. Here is a list of pros and cons.

Pros:

• It was really fast and efficient
• Really easy to use
• Clear instructions, with eye catching booklet

Cons: 

• Quite hard to remove quick pop from product/machine
• Breaks fairly easily

This product was really easy to use, there were only a few steps and it was undeniably efficient. One flaw though, was that the orange tool you use to remove the quick pop broke with minimum use. Overall I think that our experience with this product was quite enjoyable and I recommend you try out the Zoku Quick Pop Maker.

We also trialed the old way of doing it using molds. This way wasn't as efficient and takes longer but is more reliable.

We made a smoothie for this with berries milk and yogurt, and then put the mixture in the molds. We then left the ice blocks in the freezer overnight to freeze.

Review by: Danielle and Renee

Energy

This is My ThingLink

In class we have been learning about types of energy. My ThingLink shows 5 different types of energy.

Food Technology

Today in Food Tech we melted chocolate with a chocolate fountain and moulded it with shapes:

How has the chocolate fountain evolved over time?

They have become bigger, more complex and more common. The first chocolate fountain was invented by Ben Brisbane and were popularized in 1991.

Evaluation of the chocolate fountain and our method:

The chocolate fountain was easy to use. But our method of moulding it takes a while for the chocolate to set. This could be improved by freezing the moulds before hand.

I Was Blobbed

My Favorite's at New Horizons

My favorite activity at New Horizons was the blob. Here is a memoir about the blob.

I'm ready I tell myself I have done one blob with someone my size. Now Dad can blob me. I listen to the instructor and his instructions, I need to lean forward on the blob before he jumps and keep a pin drop when I'm in the air. I can hear the countdown 3... 2.... 1... jump. I listen for the slap as dad lands on the Blob. Up. Up. And up. I'm flying.

My favorite venue on New Horizons was Waimarino because of all the activities for offer. Here is a poem setting the scene of Waimarino :

Rust clings to the aged ladders,
Hens run to and fro around each activity
The blob, water trampolines and hydro slide,
decorate the water with their fun.
White paint cracks on the wooden diving boards
Blinding sun brings hands to children's eyes
The blob bounces kids high
Kayaks paint colors over the glistening river,
dancing into a raft up,
in a near perfect circle.
Phones clicking rapidly,
capturing a memory that will always be remembered.

My favorite walk on New Horizons was the walk up the mount because of the view at the top of Mount Maunganui. Here is a piece of writing about the view at the top.

A stretch of land on your right painted in buildings
The sea on your left a clear deep blue

The greenery is beautiful a dark healthy green
Hefty waves crash in to the beach
Endeavor to get to the top of Mount Maunganui to see this view. ( make an effort to get to the top)

The roads full of traffic
On the water on the right of the buildings there are yachts 

Persevere and get to the top to see Tauranga as a whole.

This is a photo of the view from the Mount:

Photo By: Christoph Strässler
View from Mount Maunganui
Creative Commons License

Here is a link to the place where we went so if you are interested you can have a look

http://www.waimarino.com/

Do you think you would try the blob if you ever went to Waimarino?

Waimarino

Last week on Wednesday my school went on New Horizons. My New Horizon was Waimarino Kayak Adventures. Here is a piece of writing that I have written about it:

We climbed up Mt Mounganui
Activities weren't limited and ranged from the blob to high diving boards, rock climbing and kayaking.
I went flying on the blob
My favorite activities were the rock hopping day, the blob and the kayak slide.
A challenge for me to do was back flip off the high diving board
River challenges were set in place for us to participate in
In the river we floated under waterfalls
Never would we give up trying
Optimistic children had great fun at waimarino