The Flamin' Heath Lives On!

This term in science we're focusing on forces and motions. To look at how forces work and the push-pull effect, we created land yachts. Below is how we created.

Aim
To build the fastest land yacht out of the materials we were supplied.
Personal Aim
Make the best sail out of the whole class

Equipment
Trolley (Cart chassis)
Cardboard
1 meter of giant paper
Scissors
2 meters of cellotape
Metal rod

Method 

1) Put the Metal rod into the trolley
2) Tape the strips of cardboard onto the base of the Metal rod so the base of the sail is formed.
3) Cut out a large triangle of paper and wrap it around the Metal Rod to form sails
4) Secure the sails onto the chassis with tape and tape any extra bits down.
5) Make sure it is all secure and stable
6) Use the leaf blower to see how far it travels and the speed it travels.
7) Divide the distance it traveled by the time it took in order to work out the speed it traveled at.

Results 
Our land yacht traveled at a whopping 1.18ms-1! Even though that doesn't sound too big, it's further than Nadia and I expected it to go. It managed to go a distance of 6.4m which is quite far and makes me proud of the Flamin' Heath. Now you may not know why we're calling it the Flamin' Heath. Well, that's when the sail design comes in. I didn't know what to decorate it with so Chloe suggested I draw Mr. Heath. I asked him if he wanted to pose and he said to just do whatever's natural. I was able to do it over the weekend so this is what I came up with.

Discussion
We were hoping that wind would catch the sail and push our yacht forward. Realistically we should've created a stronger base/structure for our sail to rest on. This would've allowed our sail to handle the force of the wind better and cause it not to turn or rip.

Conclusion
Our land yacht came out better than we expected which is good. We didn't win 1st place but we did win most creative

Everything but not actually everything I know about Japan

What I've learnt about Japan
One thing I learnt about Japan is the history of tea ceremonies. I always thought that they were a female-dominated field but, as it turns out, it actually started out as a male-only profession, was then later taken up by females, and now there is a re-accruing interest among men in the field of tea ceremonies.

I also learnt that tea ceremonies were also a social thing and would be used to welcome guests. Hosts would host a tea ceremony before a meal in a building known as a tea house which was a small building that was detached from the house. At one end of the building contained an alcove known as the tokonoma, inside a traditional scroll was on display along with some sort of flower arrangement. Tea was also a Zen ritual which is pretty cool. Zen Monks would actually drink tea after long periods of meditation in order to keep them going.

How does Japanese food and presentation compare to New Zealand?
Japanese food uses seafood and grains together more often than New Zealand. Japanese meals also taste lighter but are extremely filling. In New Zealand, we often have bigger meals, we have full roasts, have various side dishes, etc, while in Japan their meals are smaller but just as filling.

Presentation-wise, Japan varies depending on the mood they want to present or how practical it needs to be. Bentos are an easy compact way to store lots of food in one place for a long period of time, while in New Zealand we often re-use containers for lunch and various other things. Japanese food is also occasionally presented in a cute or "kawaii" way. In this case, they use various anime and cartoon characters on products or sometimes as a way to present food. In New Zealand, we just put it in there and hope it looks good. In a restaurant, it would be present nicely, but at home, we don't really put in the effort as our lunches are often pre-packed and all we're doing is putting them in a container. Maybe if you wanted the aesthetic then you would put in the effort but it's not the
most common thing to see here.

      

Three questions about Rice

1. Name three types of rice
2. Where does rice grow?
3. Name 5 countries in which rice is commonly found in dishes. 

Final Gymnastics Blog

We've finished our Gymnastics unit and have completed our sequences. The focus was to keep form throughout the sequence, it also needed to flow well.

Beam

The beam was one of the more simpler ones for me personally. I managed to complete the level two sequence which was pretty cool. I forgot the sequence but I know it had a straddle mount, dip walks, pivot, arabesque, straddle dismount, and something else that I don't remember.

Floor

 My floor work took a while because I couldn't do a backward roll. It always hurts a little when I do it/I'm scared I'll break my neck. With some help, I did, however, figure it out how to do it. I also learnt how to do a round-off which was cool. I think I got it looking right, the only problem I have with it is the way I landed my backward roll but the main part is that I managed to actually do a backward roll without breaking my neck. 

Trampoline

I've enjoyed the trampoline so I always want to do my best on it. In the video, I messed up my turntable but I managed to land my backdrop fairly decently though. I probably should've spent more time on it or going for the second level instead of the third. Otherwise, I'm pretty proud of how I did though. The hardest part was doing the one bounce in-between cause if you mess up one of the moves then it sort of throws you off completely. 

Gymnastics....again

So for the last week of term, we're just making sure we have sequences and stuff like that down and good. I re-filmed the trampoline sequence and I still have to work on my backdrop.

Because I couldn't quite get the backdrop, I decided to focus on my floor work. I wasn't sure how to do a backward roll but, with some help, I finally go it, thank god. I completed my sequence but I forgot one move, I'll probably try to remember it and possibly re-film it. Learning the backward roll wasn't that hard

Gymnastics

In PE we're working on learning gymnastic sequences. My friend Chloe and I are working on the horizontal bar and we want to get it before the end of the term. We've gotten really invested in it and are pretty determined to do it. However, we can only do it for a certain amount of time cause it really does hurt your guts and hands after doing it for 10 mins straight. So far I know the trampoline sequence and I just need to memorize it. I also need to memorize the balancing beam one as well. Here are videos of me doing them and then failing miserably

For the trampoline, I've just got to remember the sequence and work on my backdrop. For the beam, I think I've gotta work on my jump-off, jump, and the pivot cause I stumbled a bit when I did it.

Changing technology essay

Technology has dramatically changed over time. What the Ancient Egyptians, The Ancient Greeks, and Cavemen once found new and interesting, are now everyday technology that we don’t give a second thought to. These technologies include papyrus paper, baths for relaxation, and visual communication. All of these technologies were able to advance the world in the right direction.

One of the most notable technologies invented was papyrus paper. Invented in Egypt around 3000 BCE, papyrus paper was a flexible writing material that was able to hold ink for a long time. This invention revolutionized the world as before most people drew and wrote upon cave walls, stone, and animal hides, among other things. This allowed for the transportation of information to be much easier. It also allowed for the creation of technologies such as books, letters, legal documents, and many other things. The papyrus paper was created from papyrus plants, therefore not many other countries could replicate it. This allowed the Ancient Egyptians to export papyrus paper around the world, hence changing the way people write and share information.

We wouldn’t be able to share information if we didn’t have a way to communicate, this is where the Cavemen come in. During the Paleolithic and Neolithic ages, Cavemen would communicate through visual art pieces commonly drawn on caves. This form of communication would later be known as Cave art. Cave art was used to tell stories, warn others of predators, and share various bits of information. Cave art would later influence modern language, most notably hieroglyphics. Cave art was able to be used all around the world but, much like modern-day language, different symbols represented different words, similar to how the Japanese have one way to write the word ball that’s different from how New Zealanders write ball. Cave art was the beginning of both language and visual arts.

While the Paleolithic and Neolithic age introduced language and visual arts, the age of the Roman Empire introduced the concept of relaxation. The Romans introduced bathhouses once the invented aqueducts. Aqueducts were used to transport freshwater over large bridges, would then run through an underground sewage system, and into the city of Rome. Baths would be heated by an underground heating system the Romans called using the hypocaust system. This system worked by building the baths on pillars, leaving enough space for furnaces, the heat from the furnaces would float up and heat the water without the smoke touching the water. Think of it as a plate on top of a pot of boiling water. Bathhouses introduced the concept of relaxation for many as the fee to enter was kept small enough that anyone, whether poor or rich, could come in and relax after a long week or day. It also served the purpose of being a popular social spot. Men and Women would be able to socialize (in separate baths of course) while being able to relax and just, chill out. Social bathing is still common today, places like public pools, Hamner springs, onsens, hamams, and various other places around the world.

Technology has changed over the past decades and will continue to change as new inventions come out every other week. Inventions such as phones, electric scooters, and wireless headphones will be looked back in a way similar to how we look back on inventions of the ancient world; nothing special.

Home Economics - Slavanka? Shlavanka? Shlovanka? I don't know

Last practical in Home Economics, we made wraps that I don't remember the name of. However, I do know that they have shredded beef and various veggies. You also put that tzatziki sauce in it and it tastes good.

Team aspect

There were only three of us in the group present but, luckily, there wasn't much to do and we could easily split the tasks. There isn't much to say except I we worked really effectively this practical and we worked well as a team. We got everything done and we all got to make our own wrap thing. We had to wrap them up in the foil which was a bit tricky as we loaded ours up, but it was definitely worth struggling through cause it tasted and looked delicious. 

         

Reviews

Personal Review

I absolutely loaded mine up with food and multiple sauces such as tzatziki, sweet chili, and this really nice bbq relish. The meat was also very good and Conner did a great job at cooking it. All in all, I really enjoyed it and found it extremely good. 

Team Review

Everyone in the team seemed to enjoy theirs too. We all had a variety of things each but everyone seemed to enjoy theirs.

Notes

Tzatziki -  We made the tzatziki sauce by using greek yogurt which had a slight tang to it. We added juice from cucumber by cutting it open and letting it sit in the air. Afterward, we squeezed the juice from the cucumbers into the sauce. We also added fresh mint leaves and fresh parsley. 

Veggies - We prepared the veggies in a variety ways, we chiffonade the lettuce, finely diced the onion, and scooped the seeds and juices from the tomatoes so it was just the flesh of the tomato. This was so the juice wouldn't make the rest of the wrap soggy. 

SEEL paragraph planning - Social Studies

Our social studies assessment is coming up, so we've begun looking at things that'll help us in the test. So far we've done timelines and mapping, but now we have to practice writing a SEEL paragraph about our findings from a map, timeline, and graph. First we talked as a class about what these three things tell us and then began working on a paragraph. 

The information on the graph, map, and timeline tell us that as technology advanced, the human population increased. If you compare the technological advancements marked in the time line and compare it with the population increase on the graph, they line up and can tell us various things about how the world has developed from the beginning of time to now. Most technological advancements made life easier for humans and allowed more relaxation. This is proven through the invention of Rome's aqueducts which moved water into hot baths, or how the printing press was created which allowed less time creating exact copies of written text. Because there is more time for relaxation, more humans were reproducing which meant there was a significant increase in population. As time goes on, the reproduction rate has gone down. This can possibly be because the societal pressure to have kids has decreased, this along with medical advancements can possibly be the reason for a decrease in reproduction rates. However we can't confirm this with the information that we have been given as the graph, map, and timeline only tell us of the human reproduction and technological advancements.

Home Economics - Pad Thai

The goal of last weeks practical was to create a Pad Thai and Pad Thai sauce that had the sweet yet tangy flavor that Pad Thai is known for.

Team Aspect

I forgot to take a picture of ours so here is my
friend's (Meagan).

Our group worked pretty well as a team but one person was away. Because the recipe was designed for four people to be doing their own job (i.e preparing noodles, making sauce, etc), it caused a little bit of chaos as we were trying to keep up with the class while trying to create a quality meal. Luckily, we pulled through in the end and managed to create an extremely tasty Pad Thai that apparently has a "good fragrance" which I think is a good thing.

When it came to jobs, I was tasked with preparing the ingredients and garnishes. The problem was that preparing the peanuts was a task within itself as it took nearly half the lesson to prepare. Memory was tasked with two of the shorter jobs that turned out not to be that short, preparing the noodles and creating the sauce. Realistically we probably should've gotten Jordan to create the sauce and prepare the chicken as she finished first out of all of us. 

Review

Friend Reviews

I let two of my friends try our Pad Thai and apparently it was very good. She said it smelled extremely sweet but was also tangy. 

Personal Review

Personally I absolutely loved it. I really like Pad Thai and rice noodles are my favorite type of noodles. The sauce was delicious and as I said above, it was sweet but also tangy. If I made it at home, I would probably add some more veggies but otherwise I enjoyed it greatly. 

Essay Planning

As we get closer to writing the actual written text essay, we've began planning an essay without help. The hypothetical essay question for today is Describe a relationship in the book and how it helps us understand one of the characters. Our original plan was to write one paragraph about the relationship between the three characters, the second about how Fi affects Homer and Ellie's relationship, and the final one about how this affects the story overall. However, Miss Johnson advised that we instead do a paragraph dedicated to each relationship. We had to write a few quick paragraphs based off these ideas.

Paragraph 1 Example

Ellie and Homer's relationship is the most clear one in the story. Ellie describes their relationship 'As I didn't have a brother and he didn't have a sister, we'd sort of adopted each other." which tells us that they've grown close to each other and consider themselves practically related. This relationship causes Ellie to be confused as she talks about how she's jealous of Fi and Homer's relationship, which is romantic. This helps us understand Ellie as it tells us about her experience with romantic feelings and how she doesn't fully understand her feelings in general. As she grows and develops throughout the story, she also becomes more mature which allows her to understand what she's feeling and why. 

Because my group have all finished Tomorrow, When the War Began, Miss Johnson has allowed us to write an essay about any book we want. I've decided to do either Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, or The Deathly Hallows.

Tomorrow, when the war began essay plan - cont.

We are continuing with essay planning in English at the moment. Today, we looked at breaking down a question and planning our essay. The question for today was to 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 group blowing up the bridge helped me to understand the idea of rebellion against old values/what they were raised to believe as it showcases the group going against what they believe in small ways. It helps me understand that the way you were raised and how you act can change depending on the situation. We see this in the text when Fi, who we know as someone who is proper, well-off, rule follower, asks Ellie "Can I do it? I've always wanted to break a window.". Although this doesn't seem like something huge, for Fi's character it shows her going against how she was brought up.

The incident of the group blowing up the bridge also helps us understand this idea of rebelling against old beliefs because the group decides to break into a oil trucking company. This is shown again through Fi and how this is her rebelling against what she was brought up to know. We see this again when, at the end of the scene where her and Ellie begin doing wheelies on the dirt bikes. This is the last thing we would expect from someone such as shy, conservative Fi to begin "wild war whoops" while they rode away. This helps us understand that the way someone is raised can be different to who they really are.

Home Economics - Pizza

Last week in Home Economics we created mini pizzas with a three ingredient dough. This took most likely from Italian influence (because we're doing cultural foods) but we weren't explicitly. We also got to choose our toppings and each person in the group had their own mini pizza.

Team work

   This week we finally had everyone in our group present which was really cool. I think we've improved  a lot as a group and everyone is starting to take part in some way or form. It's also really fun being in a group with the people I'm with. We did accidentally grate too much cheese so we ended up dumping it all on one person pizza and it ended up spilling over. I also accidentally over-mixed the batter but Miss said it was a easy fix. In total I think we all worked pretty well together. 

 Reviews

Team 

It seems that everyone in the group enjoyed the pizza which is good. We did have a bit of confusion of whose was who but we did end up getting it sorted. At least we think we did. But, all in all, everyone in our group seemed to enjoy the pizzas which is good. 

Personal

I really enjoyed my pizza. I've made pizza before but never with a 3 ingredient base (the three ingredient's being yogurt, flour, and something else I can't remember). I also grabbed too much pineapple but I don't mind too much. I've also never had olive oil on a home-made pizza and I don't think it changed the taste that much.

Aliens built the Pyramids of Giza (jokes)

The pyramids of Giza are well known for their square-based pyramid stature, but many wonder how they were actually built. Because it was so long ago many theories are just educated guesses made by Scientists, Egyptologists, Geologists, and Archaeologists.

It's believed that the pyramids started as flat monuments but, as the years went on and more tombs were being buried, the pyramids started to look like stepped structures. Eventually these pyramids started to look more and more like the pyramids we see today with the first smoothed sided pyramid being built between 2680 B.C.E - 2560 B.C.E. Plenty of planning went into building a pyramids such as the Giza ones. This was due to the fact that if a brick was placed just a few centimeters off or wasn't the right size, it would mean the whole pyramid has a chance of collapsing. The method of moving these precisely cut bricks is theorized by Egyptologists to have been with wooden logs. Along with supposedly being used to move bricks, wooden logs was also how the Egyptians most likely split the stone. It's theorized that they would stuff a wooden log in a crack and proceeded to pour water down the log causing the log to expand, hence splitting the stone in half.

Many people believe that the Pyramids were built by slaves when in fact they were built by local Egyptians. This is proven by the small towns that archaeologists discovered near the pyramids. These towns often had small houses, butchers, bakeries, and enough food to feed everyone. It was discovered that workers were buried there, further proving that local Egyptians must've worked on the pyramids.

English Essay Pre Plan

in English we're getting ready to write our critical literacy essay. My group is doing a study on Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden. Our essay question is Describe a key event and how it changed an important character.

Spoilers from here on down

We started by making a list of important events that happen throughout the story. These events included Corrie being shot, the group blowing up the bridge, lawnmower explosion, etc. We then had to chose a event to study, we chose the scene where they blow up the bridge.

We then had to list the some of the main characters from most important to least important. Our least important character was Chris and most important was Ellie.  We went for the middle and chose Fi. Below is a picture of our work. We changed our even and main character a few times so it's a bit messy.