Home Economics | One Pan Lemon Olive Moroccan Chicken | Term 2 Week Seven

This is the slide show containing my and Rheanna's final assessment. It shows us things about our country of study, Morocco, and a lot about their food and such. Our practical assessment was cooking a dish called One Pan Lemon Olive Moroccan Chicken, and details about it and how we found it are detailed closer to the end of the slide show.

The Crazy Burrito Business Evaluation

With our business, The Crazy Burrito, it went very well. We made a profit of $123.50 since we had a sponsorship/donation to create our business of $100, something we did not have to return. Something that went especially well was our cooking process, our three-ingredient combination turned out very well as it came through with flavour and was a simpler part of the market day. Another thing that went well was the packaging of our product later on within the day, we packaged it efficiently and it looked appealing. The combination of tinfoil wrapping and a paper plate made it look more professional. The third part of our day that went well was the set up of our stall. We had appealing signage that advertised our product clearly and the complete set up of the equipment was clean and organised.

There was a large portion of things that didn’t go well on market day and the day before when the ingredients for our product were bought. This went bad as we went wildly over the expected budget that had been organised in the financials. This didn’t matter as we had the sponsorship money however it was largely stressful-inducing. The second part of our day that didn’t go as planned was our advertisements for the burritos. We weren’t given the opportunity to print out our posters the day beforehand and it didn’t help us out with the earlier advertisement for our product. The final part of our day that went wrong was our communications between everyone as to their whereabouts. We lost Natasha multiple times on her adventures around the school to gather the ingredients, and while stressful at the time, the idea of her failing multiple times in a row to open the teacher’s car is very funny.

The biggest change that would’ve been when we got the advertisements out. We had none out before the market day and even then we had only ones on our actual stalls. This would’ve made a difference as it would’ve allowed people to know prices and what money to bring to purchase our product. Another thing we would’ve changed is a minor part but still matters, we bought an entire block of cheese that we didn’t even use a quarter of the cheese. If we had bought less cheese it could’ve saved us money, and although it didn’t matter, it would’ve made me feel better knowing that my financials weren’t too off proportion. The final part only remained for a small portion of the day as we soon improved upon it and it was our packaging. In the beginning, we felt as if we were being rushed by our customer and rushed our packaging, this didn’t leave our packaging looking the best and drove people away from our product.

Fuels and Climate

What is the greenhouse effect?

The atmosphere has the ability to trap the suns heat in it and keep the Earth warm is called the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect, of course, works like a greenhouse. The base of this effect is a good thing, however, the heat of the Earth is increasing due to the rising amount of unnatural gases entering the atmosphere. These are gases such as methane and carbon dioxide. The rising amount of gases traps more heat in the Earth and is causing the Earth to heat up. Although, without this effect, we would be dead. Without an atmosphere, our Earth would be as cold as -18 degrees Celcius during the day, and as cold as -160 degrees Celcius during the night. This effects even traps heat during winter seasons.

The process of the greenhouse effects includes the first solar radiation passing through the atmosphere. Some of this is then reflected by the atmosphere and the Earth's surface while a large amount still passes through. The solar radiation that reaches through the atmosphere is then absorbed by the surface and warms the Earth, the surface then radiates heat as infrared radiation. Some of the greenhouse gases are then reflected back onto the Earth due to the greenhouse gases, this increases the heat even more.

https://climatekids.nasa.gov/greenhouse-effect/

Effects of global warming?

The effects of global warming have become overwhelmingly more noticeable over time. Glaciers have largely shrunk, the ice in rivers and lakes is melting and rising heat. This seems a small change, however, there are larger and much more important future events that global warming will cause. Global warming will soon cause longer and more intense droughts, heavier and larger amounts of winter rainfall, more frequent wildfires, tropical bugs will soon be able to spread diseases to other countries as the climate becomes suitable to them, weather patterns will become more extreme and erratic and will largely cause more violent tropical storms and similar violent weather occurrences, and the melting of ice will cause a rising sea-level. So to all the idiots who think global warming doesn't exist, I hope your country rises in heat the most and causes you to catch a disease that is incurable. 

https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/greenhouse-effect/

Social Studies Assessment

We have two social studies assessments to be completed, one about an overseas treaty, I did the Treaty of Union which was uploaded earlier, and the other about the Treaty of Waitangi, which we wrote an essay about. There was an essay plan that it was based on posted earlier as well. The next part is the finished essay I have constructed. It includes an introduction, four paragraphs and a conclusion.

Essay

Before the Treaty of Waitangi, there was absolute chaos. The four major contributors to the desire to create the Treaty of Waitangi were the great number of sailors and whalers creating havoc in New Zealand, the Musket Wars between 1807 and 1837 that killed over twenty-thousand people, the missionaries who taught and endorsed the Māori people, and the Declaration of Independence that came only five years before the Treaty of Waitangi. Each and every reason provides new merit as to why New Zealand needed the Treaty of Waitangi to resolve many of the issues that surrounded the country.

Lawless behaviour was a larger reason as to why we needed the Treaty of Waitangi. Lawless behaviour contributed to violence, the spread of disease and prostitution. Proof of this was how when the British settlers - in particular, the whalers and sailors - they would cause a majority of the violence and death when they would return from trips out to sea. They would drink in bars and fight, as well as taking prostitutes as they wished. A second point again has to do with prostitutes, and how they would spread STI's. Dead bodies contributed too, with how a body left not taken care of properly would spread disease. This shows how the lawlessness took a toll on the health of the people. The final point greatly differs, however it serves as evidence of the effect the lawlessness had on the people. The main port of New Zealand, Kororāreka or Russel, after time earned the nickname 'The Hellhole of New Zealand,' because of the lawlessness. Each reason holds merit as evidence and facts to prove how the lawlessness of whalers and sailors contributed to the creation of the treaty over time. 

Twenty thousand people died in the conflict. They chose their own fate by turning on each other. Population and tribal boundaries greatly shifted between the Māori tribes. These are the three greatest pieces of evidence that prove to us how the Musket Wars were a great contributional factor to the development of the Treaty of Waitangi. These wars took a great toll on everyone. This largely matters because, with the Treaty of Waitangi, the Musket Wars could have been prevented, or at least prevented the wars from harming as many people as it did. Out of the twenty thousand people, who could've been saved with a simple formal agreement, so that everyone could get what they wanted? Out of the twenty thousand people, every single life was a price of the choices of those who wanted to go to war, for more than they already had. A treaty would have stopped this, a treaty would have saved lives. The Musket Wars served as evidence as to what would've continued to happen between the arguing people without the treaty.

The missionaries desire for the rights for the Māori people helped endorse the human welfare for the Māori people. The missionaries caring for the Māori matters as they were people of authority that could support them. Without their support, the Māori people wouldn't have had some of the knowledge and rights they do today. The missionaries taught the Māori about written language and their religion. The missionaries taught the Māori about new agricultural ways some they could improve their harvest. The missionaries gave them land and houses as gifts to support them through the British taking lands and the tribal boundary shifts caused by the Musket Wars. The missionaries endorsed the formal agreement of a treaty that supported the Māori peoples right to their land and trading.

How did the Declaration of Independence contribute to the Treaty of Waitangi? Fascinatingly, the Declaration of Independence only contributed in the right that it established a relationship with the British as a newly independent country. This was purely for trade as well, the British helped New Zealand create a flag so they could legally trade as a registered country. This shows us the main reason for the declaration was for trade. Evidence as to why the New Zealand people desired the declaration for the ability to trade comes from how they were continuously stopped by Australian ships for not flying a registered flag. The declaration was merely a starting point for the treaty, as it didn't encompass everything the treaty managed to, however, it began the trading process that greatly assisted the New Zealanders trade with other countries. The impact of all of this was important because the declaration while beginning it, did not provide the people with everything the treaty did. It was a basis for the development of the treaty. The treaty began with the declaration.

This essay has served as proof as to why the Treaty of Waitangi was required as a form of law enforcement and support for everyone involved as people of New Zealand. The treaty was needed because we needed to lower the rates of violence and prostitution that sailors and whalers caused. The treaty was needed because the Musket Wars could’ve continued or started again without it. The treaty was needed because the missionaries wanted to protect the rights of the Māori people. The treaty was needed because the declaration didn’t encompass everything that was needed to solidify a good country. The Treaty of Waitangi may not be as relevant or apparent without current society, however, it furthered the development of our society then, and that is what should matter.

Greta Thunberg Opinions

Although a controversial topic, we have moved onto political views, somewhat, and are analysing what we believe Greta Thunberg to be and what she stands for. 

I, personally, believe that she is brave and informed when she speaks. She speaks with confidence and she knows what facts will cause the older generation she does slightly target, to turn tail. While I can understand how the older generation may denounce Theta for being just a child who shouldn't be involved in such things, it doesn't mean they can't learn and move onto newer beginnings with new information. She proves her point not just with emotion but with scientific facts. I find her as a person to be an interesting character with a strong opinion. Whether she is the right or wrong I cannot speak.

After watching this video ---->

What does the presenter suggest?

He suggests that Greta Thunberg is a pawn in the political scheme to bring up the issue of Climate Change. He likely believes Climate Change is a hoax and he refers to Greta as a hysterical child. He leaves no room for other opinions as he forces the idea that his own bias opinion that Greta should not be speaking like this.

How are children constructed?

They are seen as hysterical and emotion-driven people, the bias watchers who believe the presenter's bias opinion that children should not be involving themselves in politics. They are not taken seriously as the facts that they do present are completely ignored for the intention of focussing on hormonal issues within teenagers so the older generations have something to blame on their strong opinions.

What is the viewer's position?

The likely position of the watcher of this program would likely be members of the older generations who do agree with the presenter's opinion. 

Men and Women in Music Videos

Recently in English, our student-teacher has been moving onto our topic of critical literacy. This lesson we looked at five different music videos and how they presented men and women.

The first music video was Cheerleader by OMI, a music video that can be labelled as controversial due to how it portrays the woman he sings about as his supporter. He also sings about how every other girl is tempting as he doesn't particularly deny that he would cheat on her. The video also shows the women as provocative through the revealing clothing that showed them as eye candy.

The second video we looked at was Blurred Lines, by Robin Thicke (I can't link a video because my account bans me from viewing it). This song was largely controversial by itself without the music video adding onto it, which features the three main singers in the song chasing after various women in revealing outfits and the men inappropriately touching them. The song mentions many other controversial portions such as the lyric that talks about domesticating women as if they are animals and many others.

The third video we looked into was Marina and the Diamonds' 'How to be a heartbreaker.' This song flipped the switch as it was now the female being portrayed as a player character that is usually given to the male. As well as the fact that the eye candy that was similarly portrayed by women in the previous two videos were now males in the background barely wearing anything. This was seen as more of a funny take on the videos that use women in their shots purely as eye candy and to attract male attention towards the song.

The fourth video, Boys, by Charli XCX was a much more wholesome take on the usual music video created to purely attract male and female viewers. This video features a variety of celebrities each participating in separate activities, some paired together, smiling and having fun. This differs from a music video such as Blurred Lines because of how the men are portrayed. The men are having fun and smiling while the women in Blurred Lines don't seem to happy and are wearing provocative clothing to attract male attention.

The final video, Bad Girls, by M.I.A, was a much more controversial topic as it featured many women in their traditional clothing and men standing to the side. This video was less about the eye candy topic and more to do with how women in the Saudi Arabia region and other places alike cannot do anything without a partner, husbands or fathers permission, this includes driving. The main feature of the video is showing the women driving while the men walk alongside the cars. It gives a powerful and controversial message.

Essay Draft for Social Studies

As always with social studies, we have moved on. For our assessment, we are writing an essay about the purpose of the treaty of Waitangi and why it was desired. For now, the essay does not contain an introduction or a conclusion and only contains the main body paragraphs.

Lawless behaviour - 

State your point - 

Lawless behaviour was a larger reason as to why we needed the treaty of Waitangi.

Why it matters - 

Lawless behaviour contributed to violence, the spread of disease and prostitution. 

Evidence/facts - 

Proof of this was how when some of the British settlers - in particular, the whalers and sailors - they would cause a majority of the violence and death when they would return from trips out to sea. They would drink in bars and fight as they wished, as well as taking prostitutes as they wished. A second point again has to do with prostitutes, and how they would spread STI's, as well as dead bodies too and how they would spread disease. This shows how the lawlessness took a toll on the health of the people. The final point greatly differs, however it serves as evidence of the effect the lawlessness had on the people. The main port of New Zealand, Kororareka or Russel, after time earned the nickname 'The Hellhole of New Zealand,' because of the lawlessness.

Sum up your point - 

Each reason holds merit as evidence and facts to prove how the lawlessness of whalers and sailors contributed to the creation of the treaty over time.

Musket Wars - 

Evidence/facts - 

Twenty thousand people died in the conflict. They chose their own fate by turning on each other. Population and tribal boundaries greatly shifted between the Maori tribes.

State your point - 

These are the three greatest pieces of evidence that prove to us how the Musket Wars were a great contributional factor to the development of the treaty of Waitangi. These wars took a great toll on everyone.

Why it matters - 

This largely matters because with the treaty of Waitangi, the Musket Wars could have been prevented, or at least prevented the wars from harming as many people as it did. Out of the twenty thousand people, who could've been saved with a simple formal agreement, so that everyone could get what they wanted?

Sum up your point - 

Out of the twenty thousand people, every single life was a price of the choices of those who wanted to go to war, for more than they already had. A treaty would have stopped this, a treaty would have saved lives. The Musket Wars served as evidence as to what would've continued to happen between the arguing people without the treaty.

Maori Rights & the Missionaries

State your point - 

The missionaries desire for the rights for the Maori people helped endorse the human welfare for the Maori people.

Why it matters - 

The missionaries caring for the Maori matters as they were people of authority that could support them. Without their support, the Maori people wouldn't have had some of the knowledge and rights they do today.

Evidence/facts - 

The missionaries taught the Maori about written language and their religion. The missionaries taught the Maori about new agricultural ways some they could improve their harvest. The missionaries gave them land and houses as gifts to support them through the British taking lands and the tribal boundary shifts caused by the Musket Wars. 

Sum up your point - 

The missionaries endorsed the formal agreement of a treaty that supported the Maori peoples right to their land and trading.

Declaration of Independence - 

Question - 

How did the Declaration of Independence contribute to the treaty of Waitangi?

Answer - 

Fascinatingly, the Declaration of Independence only contributed in the right that it established a relationship with the British as an independent country from the British. This was purely for trade as well, the British helped New Zealand create a flag so they could legally trade as a registered country. 

Evidence/facts - 

This shows us the main reason for the declaration was for trade. Evidence as to why the New Zealand people desired the declaration for the ability to trade comes from how they were continously stopped by Australian ships for not flying a registered flag. The declaration was merely a starting point for the treaty as it didn't encompass everything the treaty managed to, however, it began the trading process that greatly assisted the New Zealanders trade with other countries.

Why it matters - 

The impact of all of this was important because the declaration while beginning it, did not provide the people with everything the treaty did. It was a basis for the development of the treaty.

Sum up your point - 

The treaty began with the declaration.

Home Economics | Couscous Salad | Term 2 Week Four

   - Teamwork Aspects -

Tasks

This weeks recipe was very simplistic and because of that, it left most of us with nothing to do. Besides cutting vegetables, cooking the couscous and making the dressing the most of the period was simply chatting with one another about the recipe.

Skills

As with most lessons, not many skills were required to complete the recipe. The only difficult part was convincing one of the group members to do the dishes again, even though they do them every week and shouldn't be complaining.

Improvements

With our teamwork, there was not much to improve upon. We worked well together and had fun.

 - Product Outcome - 

We had no mishaps and overall the outcome was good besides a slight imbalance in taste with the lemon juice.

Feedback

The feedback from ourselves we should not have had as much lemon juice as we did. While I am sure there were less than two tablespoons, the salad came out with an overpowering lemon taste

Modifications

Like mentioned in the feedback, it was especially lemony. There wasn't much we could do afterwards but that was something I would've greatly altered had there been a chance that I knew what I was doing.

- Next Steps - 

As mentioned we worked well together as a group and feel that there are not many steps we could take to further our cooking's development.

Treaty Project

As always in Social Studies, our new topic has come apparent as we move on from the last. This term our focus is the Treaty of Waitangi and what it means. Within this topic, we were tasked to pick to other treaties from somewhere else in the world and do a short study on what they are and some other information. Out of the two, I picked the Treaty of Union that Scotland and England established in 1707.

Rock Cycle

Home Economics | Chop Sui | Term 2 Week Three

   - Teamwork Aspects -

Tasks

With this week's food, there were very few tasks. The main tasks were chopping vegetables, doing the rice noodles, cutting the meat and cooking it all. This meant it was actually a very boring lesson since there was so little to do, however it did mean that we got everything done in time.

Skills

As with most lessons, not many skills were required to complete the recipe. The only difficult part was convincing one of the group members to do the dishes, even though they do them every week.

Improvements

With our teamwork, there was not much to improve upon. We worked well together and had fun.

 - Product Outcome - 

Our product came out as expected. We had no mishaps and overall the outcome was good.

Feedback

We didn't have much feedback from outside the group, however we noticed that it was bland. We feel as if some spices or herbs would've greatly improved the recipe. This was especially noticed when we added sweet chilli sauce to it, which made it much more tasty and enjoyable.

Modifications

Like mentioned in the feedback, it was especially bland. Spices, herbs, or some form of sauce would've greatly improved the taste of the recipe. When we added more soy sauce and some sweet chilli to the product it tasted much better. I also would've added other vegetables to it, such as corn or bean sprouts. I feel as if it would've improved the appeal of the recipe to others who wanted a healthier meal.

- Next Steps - 

As mentioned we worked well together as a group and feel that there are not many steps we could take to further our cooking's development.

Volcanoes & Mount Vesuvius

How do volcanoes form?

Volcanoes form when an oceanic plate subducts underneath a continental plate. This occurs because of the denser oceanic plate being forced underneath the continental plate. While this is occurring, the oceanic plate melts as it is pushed down further towards the mantle, becoming less dense. This liquid rock -- called magma -- rises to the surface and causes a pressure build-up inside of the Earths crust. It eventually breaks through the cracks in the continental plate, causing a volcano. Now coming out as lava, the liquid rock creates a new crust, and after several volcanic eruptions, it forms the well-known volcano shape. Volcanoes are most commonly found in the ring of fire, an area of the Earth where the Pacific plate resides. This oceanic plate is one of the largest and due to being an oceanic plate will subduct around all the surrounding continental plates. This causes the many volcanoes that surround the Pacific plates edges.  

Mount Vesuvius

Located on Italy's west coast, Mount Vesuvius was only 8 kilometres away from Pompeii. The city this volcano famously destroyed in 79 AD. Mount Vesuvius' last eruption occurred only 75 years ago in the March of 1944, beginning on the 17th, it was said to have lasted a fortnight. The eruption killed a reported 26 Italian citizens and another three were killed in Terzigno by volcanic rocks falling from the volcanoes explosion. This is a lucky escape for most as the volcanoes destruction was large, the lava bombs that came from the sky were said to be the size of a basketball. This is especially impressive when we look into the 1998 incident, where 150 people were killed by a large amount of ash rain, debris flows and ash deposits. 

Are there and stories or myths surrounding it?

The mythological significance surrounding Mount Vesuvius spawns from the Ancient Romans beliefs in their gods. The stories have to do with the stories of Jupiter, the god of sky and lightning, and his son, Hercules. So much so, they considered the mountain devoted to the demigod Hercules. This is because while completing his labours, he crossed a 'plain of fire,' or 'from a hill which anciently vomited out fire ... now called Vesuvius.' The destructions of Pompeii notably was thought to be Jupiter's doing, and that he was attempting to remind humanity of who is in charge. 

Volcano Model

After researching volcanoes we were given the task to create a model of one of the volcanoes that one of the members in our group had chosen. My group's volcano was modelled after my volcano, Mount Vesuvius. Using paper mache, we created the structure of the volcano and later painted it. As any class would've done with many volcano models, we made them erupt, however, it was not the typical baking soda and vinegar mixture. Instead, we used 20mls of 35% hydrogen peroxide, 4 small scoops of potassium iodide, 20mls of water and a squirt of dishwashing liquid to create Elephants Toothpaste. Food colouring and glitter was also added for colour and effect. 

First, we mixed the potassium iodide and the water together in a small beaker until it was clear. While I was doing this my team members created the mixture of all the other ingredients and tipped them into the bottle inside of the volcano.  To create the final explosion we added the iodide mixture into the bottle and watched the magic.

This experiment worked because Hydrogen peroxide is water and oxygen and slowly separates into these two things, the potassium iodide was added to the hydrogen peroxide to speed up the process of the separation. This created the illusion of an eruption. The glitter we had added into the mixture gave a stunning effect afterwards that the lava was made of pure glittering gold.

Home Economics | Tomato Pasta | Term 2 Week One

   - Teamwork Aspects -

Tasks

During this recipe, we had different jobs that were assigned, such as cooking the pasta, heating the sauce, cutting ingredients and gathering. I can't exactly remember how they were given to each person, however, our recipe turned out good.

Skills

There weren't many skills involved with this recipe, as it was fairly simple. This led to us all being able to complete the required jobs that were given to us. The only task that had any difficulty was cutting the garlic to the correct size.

Improvements

There weren't improvements I would have liked to make to this recipe. It was good how it was but it may have been improved with adding some form of spice to it.

 - Product Outcome - 

Our food turned out well, it was to our own satisfaction and nothing went wrong with the recipe. The product tasted good and had no faults.

Feedback

There wasn't much feedback given as we were in a rushed period. The teacher only told us about our groups own responsibility as we were able to complete the recipe with the least amount of help.

Modifications

Like mentioned, the only modifications I would have made personally would have been to add some spice to it or add more flavourful ingredients to make the recipe more interesting.

- Next Steps - 

The next steps for my group would be to recognise the challenge of fewer members and overcome it by putting in more work to make up for the lack of contribution. This shouldn't be a problem again though, as we don't have another practical until next term, and at most the likelihood of more than two people away is extreme.

E-asTTle Practice Writing - Persuasive

I am aiming to improve my writing in the following 3 areas: ideas, organisations, and structure and language.

I will do this by further demonstrating ideas in a clearer form, as well as using ones that sufficiently relate to the topic and largely sympathise with the readers to create a clear vision. I have noticed on multiple occasions how my writing often has the advice that I should relate to the wider world on a larger scale. I plan to further research topics instead and find situations that relate to my own writings. I aim to improve my organisation in my writing by planning further beforehand.

With this task, we were given no opportunity to plan, much less research the topic, however, this provides no excuse to the lack of organisation my writing has. Because of this, I plan to at least further plan my writing before starting it so I can have an elaborated outline before beginning. An example of how I could have done this at the beginning was to write down ideas of what to write about in each paragraph. In my next writing, I plan to have an outline of what to mention or say in the introduction and conclusion, as well as the paragraphs.

I plan to improve the structure and language within my writing by using more unique language features. These can include rhetorical questions, metaphors, or personification. The recent writing in this blog post only provides only one notable language feature, a singular rhetorical question -- So why is this not applicable for all children? -- I plan to change this by providing another rhetorical question within my introduction. I plan to do this because it is a commonly used trick to allow writers to convince their reader into reading their own writing.

The next four paragraphs detail the persuasive writing I wrote. It was on the topic of whether children should be taught to swim in schools or not. The yellow highlight shows what changes I have rewritten since its original draft.

School’s have been exposing children to swimming pools for many years, teaching them how to swim and so on, so why are teachers leaving the teaching of water safety behind? Because of this development, many children and adults have grown up without having the ability to swim. This lack of ability only holds people back! This life skill is a necessity to be taught to students because water covers more of our Earth than land does, and over half of the people who drown per year are children and this is out of the 1.2 million. Every landmass is surrounded by water and people should know how to at very least stay afloat in a worst-case situation where they cannot easily get to shore. This is not how we as humans should be progressing as we expose children to the wider world earlier within their lives. 

Many people often do have access to larger masses of water --such as a lake or a nearby ocean-- and this means they will often know how to swim. A large amount of danger that comes with living in that area is why. Children and adults in the area are taught to swim for their own safety. So why is this not applicable for every child? In 2017 alone ninety-two deaths were caused by drowning and most would’ve been prevented if the appropriate water safety training was given to them. This does not mean all though, as harsh waters cannot be avoided by simply knowing how to stay afloat or swim in calm currents. This is why students need to be taught how to swim in harsher environments. If a storm were to hit the coast when someone without water safety training is visiting, and they’re playing down on the beach, they could not reach safe land before the storm pulled them into the water. This is merely an example, but it does happen, especially to those who know nothing about water safety. The danger is relevant to everyone when there is no avoiding it.

Simple statistics can prove that water safety is not only applicable to those who live near masses of water. Seventeen of the mentioned ninety-two deaths were in a home pool, public pool, or another controlled water body. This shows us how water safety should be taught to not only those who live near water but those who live further away from it as well. These statistics demonstrate it’s important to those anywhere and any age group-- as the statistics looked at also showed us the largest number of drowned citizens, these people were either from ages fifteen to twenty-four or sixty-five and over, and this is only in New Zealand. These two age groups accounted for thirty-two of the ninety-two mentioned who drowned. This is another portion of statistics that demonstrates water safety’s importance to children and adults alike.

In conclusion, the importance of water safety is still applicable. Even as people progress onto bigger and better things, they are still in danger when something out of there control can affect them and their lives! This is especially relevant to those who have no other means of learning and is why swimming lessons should be compulsory. Students at very least should have the opportunity to learn as it is of the most importance when lives are at stake. Without the ability to swim, they are put in great danger in even of the smallest of situations. In a swimming pool at home, they could drown simply because their feet can’t reach the bottom. Eight out of the ninety-two people that drowned in 2017 drowned in a home pool. Without the knowledge of how to swim, children, teenagers, and adults are all at risk.

Māori God Tangaroa Poster

In Social Studies, we have moved onto the Treaty of Waitangi unit. We have begun this unit by looked into Māori gods, I chose to look into the god of the sea, Tangaroa. Tangaroa is the Māori god of the sea, and one of the many children who attempted in breaking his parents --Papatuanuku, the Earth Mother and Ranginui, the Sky Father -- apart.  

Part of the objective of this small project is to help understand how different cultures and religions can relate to each other. This is shown with one of the most common examples, Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman gods. These gods were greatly similar as most of the Ancient Roman gods were based on the Greek ones. An example of this would be the god, Poseidon (who happens to correspond with Tangaroa) and Neptune, the Roman counterpart. Both were gods of the Sea. 

Home Economics | Souvlaki | Week Eight

   - Teamwork Aspects -

Tasks

During this lesson, it was a much more difficult task to create and execute the recipe. This was due to one of our members not being able to cook, and another had been assigned the task to create tzatziki for the entire class. This meant me and another teammate to cook the meat, cut all the salads and put together the souvlakis with great difficulty.

Skills

Not many skills were needed for this recipe, and neither were they put to the test as much as our ability to work as two people as hard as a four-person team. 

Improvements

Despite the lack of members, our souvlaki turned out very good. The meat was cooked thoroughly, the salad wasn't chunky, and the tzatziki was perfect.

 - Product Outcome - 

Feedback

The small amount of feedback we got during the hectic lesson was about how we cut the lettuce, and how it should have been thinner than previously cut, however, this did not affect the recipe.

Modifications

I don't believe there were any modifications I would've like to make to the recipe.

- Next Steps - 

The next steps for my group would be to recognise the challenge of fewer members and overcome it by putting in more work to make up for the lack of contribution. This shouldn't be a problem again though, as we don't have another practical until next term, and at most the likelihood of more than two people away is extreme.

PE Gymnastics Sequences

In PE we have recently begun our gymnastics topic as we move on from the different sports we were looking over. Within this topic, we will have to complete three different displays of our ability on the different sets of equipment. I have been able to record my performance on the floor, trampoline, and the beam. The displays are certain sequences of different moves to complete on each apparatus.

 On the floor the level two performance I completed an arabesque, a cartwheel, a forward roll, a full turn and a backwards roll in a smooth continuous form. The video should show the completed performance.

The second display I was able to complete was on the trampoline. On this apparatus, I was able to complete a sequence of ten controlled bounces, swivel hips, half turn, straddle jump and a front drop. This was a level two performance. 

The third display I was able to complete was on the beam. On this apparatus, I completed the level one sequence of mounting the beam, four dip walks, cat leap, a pivot turn and a tuck jump. 

Tomorrow, When The War Began | Chapter 22 Final Questions

1. What do Ellie and the others see in Ellie’s shed when they ride up her driveway?

They see the others in there.

2. What does Ellie compare this scene with? Why do you think she does this?

Ellie compares the scene before her with a Christmas tableau with figures such as Mary, Joseph and the shepherds, standing the positions, life-like, but still. I don't quite know why she does this, it could have been something about them all that reminded her of the scene, or it could have a deeper meaning. Authors don't have intention behind every word, only most of them.

3. What does Homer suggest the group does?

Homer suggests that they leave Corrie in the car outside the hospital, ring the bell (ding dong) and ditch her there so she can get treatment for the bullet wound.

4. What does Kevin decide to do? What does this reveal about him?

Kevin decides that Homer's suggestion is out of the question, and instead drives her there himself so she can receive medical treatment. This would mean that they would likely be taken to the concentration camp with the others in the town after Corrie has been treated. This reveals something very important about Kevin's character. As we have not had much interaction with him as a character, compared to others such as Fi and Homer, we do learn a lot about him through this. Kevin is seen as argumentitive, partially rude, and pessimistic. We know this is not always the case, and likely was happening because of the sheer pressure surrounding the situation they were in. When Kevin chooses to do this, he, in another way, is sacrificing himself. The eight of them had freedom, they were not kept within the camp. But they could've left Corrie there, alone, but safe and treated. Instead, Kevin chooses to go with her. It shows us how brave he is.

SEEL Paragraph

As our technology topic continues we are working towards a test to do with how technology has developed in the world over time. We have studied Cavemen, the Egyptians, and the Ancient Romans. Each of these has contributed to the world today, including Ancient Rome, one of the greatest influences in the world today. In the test, I believe we will be going over mapping, graphing, a timeline and a SEEL paragraph, which is what I 'm writing now.

Throughout time, technology has greatly improved, this has led to a great improvement in medical treatment, and other advancements that have allowed us as people to live much easier. But, as people live easier, they live longer. A greater life expectancy means more people as the birth rate rises as well. An example of this is the expectancy of a global population of 9 billion by the end of 2020, compared to the current 7.7 billion we are at now. This creates a certain concern at to both how technology will grow at such a rate and not give people time to process the development. However, the rate at which technology is improving, I do believe that the rate at which people have children may decrease. This can be due to the developments in contraception, as well as the medical developments in things such as abortions. 

Home Economics | Mix & Match Activity

Something that we learnt from the Mix & Match activity - 

When the settlers came they brought their own hunting methods and cooking methods, as well as animals of course. However, not only did they bring iron pots and pans, they introduced the newest hunting method of using a gun instead of trapping. This was not something new to the world though, only to New Zealand, where for generations, the Maori people had been using traps, spears, and other sharp weapons to gather their meat.


What can you see happening to our food fifty years into the future?

It will become more health-focused, rather than taste-focused. There will always be a delicious taste to the food we eat here in New Zealand, however, I believe we will see a new focus come onto the nutrients as the scientific research develops and reveals what certain foods do to our bodies. Most will likely sacrifice taste for a healthier diet.

What could you invent, change or directly effect relating to how food is produced at a cheaper rate?

Throughout time, humans have greatly affected the world. We cause pollution, extinction, and a great deal of pain. Without the right technological advancements, we will begin to cave in on ourselves and take the world with us. Solar panels provide an efficient way of gathering the electricity we need to develop ourselves as a people, and through the right technology, we could use that to impact how we eat. Land space in New Zealand is now being overcome by housing as our population rises quickly, this means the amount of land farming has is being cut down to nothing. This will soon greatly affect the country as we begin to import the country as we import fruits, vegetables, and with time we will be the ones who import meat. Something I have thought of that could prevent this from happening is instead of expanding how far the land plants are grown on is, going on to expand the height instead. Through the use of artificial light gathered by solar panels, we can generate light so plants no longer have to be exposed to the outdoors. Air can be filtered in through air ducts. Water and nutrients can be placed into the soil for a maximum growth rate. But how can we expand upwards? Think of apartments buildings, if you take an apartment building, the actual size of the ground it sits on is not nearly as large as it would be if each apartment was on the ground. If we were to take each apartment floor, filter air in, have sprinklers for water and create artificial light, we would be capable of growing much more vegetation than we would with just one level. I don't have the full science behind whether it would be able to be recreated in this manner, however, with the exceptional rate we are gaining knowledge on the subject of agriculture, we will know in no time.

Home Economics | Pad Thai | Week Seven

   - Teamwork Aspects -

Tasks

When we made the pad thai we were lucky enough that our teacher assigned roles to each of us. For, example, two of us combined the jobs of collecting ingredients and making the pad thai sauce so each did as the others, who were doing the chicken and noodles, needed.

Skills

Once again we were given a simple recipe that did not require many skills. However, we put what skills we had into making sure that the chicken was cooked evenly and that the noodles did not stick to the bottom of the pot.

Improvements

I don't think there were any improvements we could've made. Each of us shared the load, got on well, and cooked a good dish.

 - Product Outcome - 

Feedback

We weren't given much feedback from others, however, the others in my group have said that they would've prefered less pepper in the recipe.

Modifications

Like said, we believe we cooked a good dish, the only thing I would have wanted was thicker noodles and more bean sprouts in the recipe.

- Next Steps - 

I believe the group of us need to take as a whole would be to work this well together in the time frame with a more complicated dish. We were lucky to have our roles assigned and I think if we were to do this between ourselves at the start of the lesson we would be as good as we were this lesson.

Land Yacht

Aim: To make a wind racer that will travel a set distance the fastest.

Equipment:

1. Wooden trolley
2. 1 metre of paper
3. Cardboard
4. Tape
5. Metal rod

Method:

1. Screw the pole onto the trolley.
2. Tape strips of cardboard onto the base of the pole to form the base of the sail.
3. Cut out a large piece of paper and fold it over the pole to form the sail.
4. Tape it all together and ensure that it's stable and secure.
5. Decorate the sail and name the sail.
6. Use a leaf blower to blow the vessel as far as possible.
7. Measure the distance and speed the vessel travels.

Results:

During the racing of our land yacht, we achieved a distance of 1.9 metres in 13.5 seconds. This means that the yacht had a velocity of 0.14m/s-1.

Discussion:

While we raced the yacht itself, we did not keep it at a constant speed, because of the lack of support in our sail, it blew forward and didn't catch the necessary wind to propel it forward at the desired velocity. The unbalanced forces that constantly acted upon the yacht did not assist, had it gone any further, it would have likely tipped forward. This would've happened due to the heavyweight of the metal pole. As said, we did not have enough support in our sail, this would have been solved by putting more cardboard into the sail to prevent it from blowing in every direction and instead, staying in place.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, many of the problems we found with the sail we created had to do with the design of it and how much time we spent on artistic developments. We focused rather on the creative award that was being given, instead of the distance and time award.

Essay Pre-Planning Continued Further...

Describe a relationship between 2 or more characters in the text. Explain how this relationship helped you to understand at least 1 of the characters.

Through the first paragraph, we plan to utilize our abilities to describe the relationships between each of them and all three in-depth. The connections that will be described will show how each character feels about one another at first, further along in the story, and by the end of the novel.

The second paragraph will continue on to explain how the relationship between Fi and Homer affects Ellie. The relationship affects her in a way where she realises the purpose of her newfound feelings for Homer.

The third paragraph goes into depth about how the relationship affects the plotline of the novel itself.

Home Economics | Map of Diversity

For Home Economics, we created a map comprising of different pieces of information we have learnt and researched. I worked with two others and we each contributed to four separate maps that were used to make up the main map. 

The first had to do with simply naming some places and locating them, this is done with Key #1. These places are contributional to the vegetables and fruits that are grown in New Zealand.

The second key has to do with different settlers and why they came to New Zealand. For example, we have the Scottish down as settling in Dunedin for similar land to their own.

The next part goes without a key, and instead uses labels. These labels show where certain produce is grown. An example of this would be how wheat and barley is labelled to grow near Canterbury.

Essay Pre-Planning Continued...

Describe an incident which changes the course of events in the text. Explain how this helped you to understand an important idea in the text.

The incident of the bridge blowing up helped me to understand the idea of rebellion against old values and what you know because of how it demonstrates the rebellion of the teenagers against the invaders. We see this in the text when Fi tells Ellie 'I've always wanted to break a window.' This helps prove to me how all of them are learning that rebellion is the way to fight against them, instead of the more main characters, such as Ellie and Homer. We finally get characters like Fi to fully demonstrate how they have changed throughout the experience.

Another way it assisted me in my understanding of this idea is how it showed Lee rebelling through his disabilities. In most cases, he would be told to stay back and rest, however in this situation we see him go against those ideas. When Ellie asks him about his bleeding through his bandages, during Lee's rescue, he tells Ellie 'Only a little. I'd say a couple stitches came apart.' In this scene, Lee does not prioritize himself, instead, he makes sure they pay less attention to him and more towards what they are going to do. This shows us how, even though all the pain, he wants to make sure that they rebel against everything they have learnt, as well as everything the invaders are attempting to enforce.

Pyramids of Egypt | SEEL Paragraphs

Long ago, the pyramids were built with the newest technology of Ancient Egypt. Since those times, the technologies to build the pyramids have been lost to time. The pyramids, used as burials for pharaohs, were complicated structures with tombs and pathways. Each tomb contained a sarcophagus, riches, a mummified pharaoh, and any close family they had. Animals they owned and any wives would be killed and mummified and laid to rest to pass into the afterlife with the pharaoh. I am unable to identify whether husbands were buried were female pharaohs or not. An example of one of these Pyramids would be the Great Pyramid of Giza. This particular pyramid was made for the pharaoh Khufu and was so complicated and detailed it took thirty years to create, maybe even longer. However, we still know nothing about how they were created, as they have long lost the knowledge to time.

The advancements that occurred during the time of Ancient Egypt were major. The advancements that were seen in Egypt at this time were things we know very well today, such as mathematics, writing, construction, time-telling and agriculture. For example, we knew how the Ancient Egyptians were known for the mummification of their dead, however, what most don't know is how this attributed to the Ancient Egyptians knowledge of medicine. Through mummification, they were able to learn about anatomy and cures for illnesses. Though some of their methods were questionable. Throughout this, however, the advancements they made were necessary for the development into the world we have now.

Essay Pre-Planning

In my essay about 'Tomorrow, When The War Began' I will go over a key event and how this event changes the character within the story. The key event is closer to the end and describes how the characters Homer, Lee, Ellie, and Fi blow up an important bridge. This bridge is important to their invaders because it is used to transport supplies from and to Wirrawee. Through blowing up the bridge they have cut off an important supply route and started a small revolution they hope to spread throughout the people, country, and world. The important character that changes after this event, or is evidently shown before and during is Fi. This character changes in a way where at the beginning of the story she is described as shy, non-confrontational, and reserved. Since the beginning of the book and throughout this event we see the changes she has made to herself and how she treats others. During this event we see her become more involved in the group, whereas at the beginning it is told about how she avoided chores while taking their trip in Hell. Another change she's been through is how much more confident than the shyer girl we meet at the start of the story. The third change we see is how she no longer desires the reserved life she grew up with. Instead, she wants to leave that life behind, and go into farming with her boyfriend, Homer. This represents a major change because at the beginning we see her as such a reserved girl she doesn't even know what two-minute noodles are.

Home Economics | Mini Pizza | Week Six

                                              - Teamwork Aspects -

Tasks

We were able to assign tasks today, with only the four of us in the group instead of five. Two of my teammates took care of cutting the vegetables, another took care of the little meat were given to work with, and I worked with the dough for the pizza base. This allowed us to work much faster and more efficiently.

Skills

This recipe didn't require many skills from us all. The thing that required the most skill was likely the dough, and even that was simple enough. This means that not many skills were needed for each job or put to the test in any form.

Improvements

There wasn't much I could've improved upon with my group. The pizza tasted good and looked good. Every group finished early as well, meaning we got time to cool it down. 

 - Product Outcome - 

Feedback

Something we got feedback for was how we did the dough. It was the only thing that took much time and was definitely difficult. It was critiqued in how we were meant to almost cut the dough when mixing it. As well as how I pressed it down straight onto the bench instead of the tray.

Modifications

Like said, there weren't many more modifications I would've like to have made to it. Some chilli sauce may have been nice to add to it, but it was perfectly fine without it as well.

- Next Steps - 

The next steps my group needs to take is to look and listen. We seem to understand what we hear and process that, however, I would've gone uncritiqued with how I worked with the dough had I looked at how my teacher cut it while mixing.