Auckland Collage

 

Today I have finished creating a collage displaying the amazing things people can do in the City of Sails (Auckland). I have put photos of the city and also points of interests. Auckland has a great variety of things to do such as: amusement parks, nature activities, or just things to do with friends. There are things for people to do who might not like something else they have seen. Auckland is a city of opportunity and also showcases the life of a New Zealander.

Kiwi Invention

 

 Every country has made a contribution to the evolution of the world in many things and even New Zealand. To celebrate Kiwi ingenuity I have made a DLO explaining the contribution of the spring free trampoline. The idea of the spring free trampoline came from Dr Keith Vivian of the University of Cambridge. People believe it is a safer option for children to enjoy their time outside but even though it has not been proven. 15% of children that are admitted to hospital are there due to trampoline related incidents.

New Zealand Coat of Arms

This week we have been looking at the City of Sails. This DLO explains what the symbols of the New Zealand coat of arms mean. Everything on the shield represents a type of industry such as the sheep and the ships. I really enjoyed doing these activities as it really expand my knowledge of New Zealand and it also challenged me. The crown is my favourite part of the coat of arms as it represent the United Kingdom.

Sir Ernest Rutherford - Splitting the Atom

Today LS2 were put into groups of four and in those groups we were to research and then create a comic strip on a New Zealander that invented something, my group (Alex, Fraidoon, Miki and I) chose to research Sir Ernest Rutherford. Sir Ernest Rutherford was the first person to split an atom, although he himself didn't split an atom he developed the theory that lead to the first atom being split. Sir Ernest Rutherford was born in New Zealand but later moved to England.

Facts About Phil Goff (Mayor of Auckland)

 

Phil Goff has been the Mayor of Auckland since 2016 and is the second Mayor of Auckland 'Super City'. Phil Goff has had many up's and downs in his life as a public figure including losing to National by a huge gap but he has had an interesting life. On my digital learning object is a photo of Goff and also some interesting facts you may not know about him. For example, he held four ministerial positions including Minister of Defence. He was also offered a scholarship at the prestigious university of Oxford University, United Kingdom.

Welcome Sign - City of Sails

 

This week we were asked to complete tasks that could be found on a matrix created by Ms Kirkpatrick. The activities all linked to our home the City of Sails (Auckland). For my first activity I decided to create a welcome sign that displays elements of Kiwiana and things that Auckland are famous for including the city. I used a Kiwi as the spokesperson of my sign as they are a symbol of New Zealand's wildlife. In the background you can see sail boats as a representation of Auckland. I really enjoyed kicking off this by creating a sign to welcome tourists of New Zealand. as I was able to bring my vision to life. 

Victorian Era - Steampunk

 

Last week we have been focusing on the Victorian Era and how steampunk came to be. The Victorian Era was a time in history where Queen Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth nations. Mrs Anderson asked us to complete a DLO based on something from the Victorian times. Alex and I were both intrigued about the monarch so we chose to find out more about Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria was really short but she was a very determined and strong woman. Victoria showed unconditional love for her husband and when he passed she went into mourning for the rest of her life. After that I created a DLO defining steampunk art. Steampunk art is a blend of modern techniques of art and metallic elements that could be found in Victorian factories. Everyone in our classroom have all attempted to draw a piece of steampunk art and they all look amazing. I drew a baby fox with historical elements that defines it as steampunk art. I really enjoyed doing this because I do like history. It was a very interesting topic to look into and I hope I get the opportunity to broaden my knowledge relating to the Victorian times.

Panmure Bridge School Athletics

Last Friday we had our annual Panmure Bridge School athletics. During the day Learning Space Two were split into A and B so that Mrs Anderson and our reliever's job was easier. I was group a red which meant we started at rob the nest. All teams were determined to win but we were not good enough to beat yellow. After that we did long jump. We all had fun but yellow won. It was alright because we came second in long jump. After that we all partook in the sponge relay. This was my favourite because this was the first time we won. I was so happy. Then we did shot put. I am not that strong so I knew I would not be able to win. After everyone threw of course yellow won. After that we went and started practising our discus technique. This was a turn of events as blue won. We did have more events but the last two red won. At the end yellow came first in our pool but we did come second. For lunch we had sausage sizzles which gave me energy for the sprints. I came second which meant I qualified to go to athletics which will be held at Lloyd Elsmore.

Read Theory Progress

For the past two years I have been taught by Ms Kirkpatrick and Mrs Anderson. They are both great teachers and to help us broaden our knowledge they provide us websites such as read theory. While I have been in Learning Space Two I have been practising my reading by using Read Theory. Today the class have gathered information from our Read Theory accounts to create a statistical graph that shows our improvement between last year and this year. I have really improved although I did drop in November 2017 I regained my focus and propelled myself forward to achieve my highest grade. In my recent reading test you can see that read theory has helped me improve. The box underneath the graph is my hypothesis about why the graph looks like it does.   

Miki and Jeremiah - 'Wolves' Emily Gravett

 

Wolves is a book written by the amazing author Emily Gravett. The book wolves is about a rabbit who went to the library to read a book about wolves. While the rabbit read the book he learnt that: wolves can adapt to different climates, they have sharp claws, and they eat large animals like deer and bison. The thing that really caught his attention was that they also eat rabbits. In the book there are a range of amazing illustrations and the book is cleverly written. It is a new style of writing which is a signature technique used by Emily Gravett. For this book Miki and I wrote five things that people believe wolves do. e.g. wolves howl at the moon. On the other side of that chart is facts that either prove that the ideas are true or that they are false.

Meerkat Mail Animation - Emily Gravett

       

 Meerkat Mail is an amazing picture book written by a highly praised British author, whose name is Emily Gravett. To celebrate book week Mrs Anderson has read three of Emily Gravett's books and has asked us to complete three activities based on the books. The books that have read are: Wolves, Meerkat Mail, and the Big Book of Fears. All three books were written and illustrated by Emily Gravett. The book Meerkat Mail is about a Meerkat who is getting sick of living with his family and throughout the week he went and lived with relatives who live a different lifestyle he is used to. At the end of the book he finally understands why he has to live like he does so he returned home. For this activity Miki and I created an animation with information about meerkats.

Questions and Wonderings - World War One

 

As the year is slowly drawing to an end Mrs Anderson and Ms Kirkpatrick have left the classroom to start discussing our reports so Mrs Anderson has set us up to complete DLO's that would answer the questions we have chosen to answer. For this activity I have worked with Alex and we have decided to answer: 'Was the Language barrier a Problem' and 'How many people lost their lives due to firing squads.' We chose this by firstly writing questions that we thought would be interesting to answer, after that we chose the top two which one was chosen by Alex and one was chosen by me. The Language barrier was a problem because the opposition could easily understand what the other side is saying meaning they could counter their move. If it was not for the American colonel they would not be able to win WW1. Although this killed many people firing squads killed an accumulated total of 456. This was the punishment for people who defied commands or tried escaping. They were all shot and fell with dishonour. These men were later issued a pardon meaning the stain of dishonour was removed. We both worked collaboratively and our contribution to our work has been fair and equally. Working on this with Alex has proved to be equally productive and interesting. I would work with Alex again sometime.

Do Illustration Matters?

 

 This week is book week and to celebrate this occasion Mrs Anderson set up a bus stop activity which asked questions about books. Some people found doing the orientation confusing but it all went to plan at the end. After we answered the questions Mrs Anderson asked us to create a statistical analysis on one of the questions. For this activity I have created both a pie graph and bar graph to expand the knowledge of my global audience by sharing with them do illustrations in a book are popular among LS2. To answer the question the majority of people said yes and this could be for many reasons including: people not pushing themselves, or students are easily hooked in by amazing artwork. In my opinion I believe that it is not important because books should be able to make you imagine. Although I do believe illustrations are not necessary they are still an amazing thing to add to create

Commemoration Drawing

 

Mrs Anderson asked the class to create a google drawing that included the Armistice theme. The poster above is a visual representation of the unity between the British and the United States of America. This is why their is a crown (U.K.) and a man with a hat with stars (U.S.A.). During the war America and England were very close and both fought side by side. In the background there is a soldier paying his respect to the fallen soldiers of New Zealand (Reason for the silver fern). I did this to incorporate our nations fallen heroes.

Armistice Day Commemoration

This Sunday will mark 100 years since World War 1 came to an end and to celebrate this occasion at school we held a special memorial which Mr Johnston led. We had the whole school attend, representatives of our Board of Trustees, and a representative of the New Zealand Defence force. To open the memorial, Ofa started by saying the prayer which was followed by He Honore. After that Tiava and I recited the Ode of remembrance both in English and te reo maori. This was very special as it was to remember the fallen soldiers. Ms Kirkpatrick read out the famous poem In Flanders Field by the Canadian Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae. We then listened to the last post and lowered the flag. It was then raised again to the playing of Reveille. To remember this event poppies with the signature of the students will be placed on the fence in our school. There will also be olive plants planted next to the fence. To conclude the ceremony God Defend New Zealand (national anthem) played. It was a great a service and everyone did an amazing job at speaking and by respecting the fallen soldiers. Lest we forget.

Armistice Day Collage

On the 11th of November at 11:00am all the countries who fought in World War 1 signed a treaty which would eventually bring WW1 to an end. This treaty forced the Germans to surrender most of their military weaponry and it sealed the Central powers defeat. The soldiers were delighted to hear the news and the people who live in the allied nations celebrated by doing many things like marching. Families were happy to get confirmation that they will not lose any of their loved ones. The Armistice was signed in a secluded area in Compiègne, France. WW1 was a deadly conflict resulting in 16 million deaths. Due to the many lives lost many were not identified. To commemorate the unidentified fallen soldiers there are Unknown Warrior tombs around the world which people can go to and show respect. It has nearly been 100 years since the end of World War 1. To mark the special occasion, the New Zealand Reserve bank brought out a 50 cent coin which has details that represents World War 1. Interestingly the first ever Armistice Commemoration was held in Buckingham Palace in 1919 and World War 1 was started through an unfortunate assassination of the Austrian Archduke, Franz Ferdinand.  For this activity I have worked with Sanujan.   

Dallas and Jeremiah - The Battle of the Somme

  

The Battle of the Somme was a battle which was fought in France near the Somme river. This is where the lost generation of Britain died. This war occurred between 1st of July 1916 and 18th of November 1916 (World War 1). During those days the soldiers had to dig out trenches as a way to protect themselves from enemy fire. Although soldiers could not get shot at, the trenches became damp during winter and the fields where the men battled were also muddy. This caused the war to be postponed. The war was set to resume but the Germans retreated. On the presentation we were asked to answer questions backed up by evidence that can be found in the text. This activity has relates to our current inquiry topic which is peace. This war ended with quite a bit of casualties and people were not informed about what was happening during this period of time. For this activity I have worked with Dallas. Next time I do a collaborative challenge I will make sure Dallas contributes more.

The Highwayman - Simile and Metaphors

This week for reading one of our tasks was to create a DLO explaining the differences between a simile and a metaphor. I worked with Alex and together we wrote our own definition for what a simile and metaphor are, the definition of a simile (In simple terms) is a comparison of two things using the words like and as. The (Simple) definition of a metaphor is a comparison of two objects with out using like or as. We also needed to use a simile and a metaphor from the poem The Highwayman as examples.

Trapped - 5-7-10 Writing

Today I really enjoyed writing a narrative because it gave our group a break from writing explanations. I have written a story about a woman who lives in an asylum because she is mentally ill. I wrote about what is causing her all the pain and what she has to live in everyday. I chose the photo 'Trapped' because I found that I could change the story by saying she was trapped in her own mind. It also gave me flexibility as I could choose how the characters will resolve problems and how the story will end up being like. Click here for my explanation 'the Trapped.'

Unity - Values

 

 Mrs Anderson has started teaching Learning Space Two about values that are missing in our class. To expand our knowledge on values, Mrs Anderson has asked us to choose a value that will inspire our DLO. Miki and I both contributed to the DLO fairly and we both agreed to do unity. We did this because we believe it is a big role in the functionality of a classroom and it is something that I definitely need to work on. I am not good at working with others because I tend to be a bit controlling and I like things to be done a certain way. I will now listen to the idea of my team mates so that it does not make them feel like I do not value their ideas.

Week 2 Technology - Graphics

In the absence of Mr Pineda I was able to complete my set task and was also able to complete a DLO I needed to complete from school. My set task was to complete my charity box and the charities I chose were: Ronald McDonald House, Kauri Dieback charity, Temperance Union, and Read Around the World. Two of them I made up and the other two are charities that I felt have made a positive impact on the communities around New Zealand. Read Around the World is a charity that helps children who find reading difficult and Kauri dieback is a charity that will help protect the brittle kauri trees of New Zealand. Today Mr Mckenzie-Brown was the substitute teacher. He usually works as a senior teacher in English.

Highwayman Summary - Alfred Noyes

As the year is coming to an end Mrs Anderson has been preparing us by giving us a poem that the year 8's will be seeing in secondary school. This week we have been reading the poem the Highwayman by Alfred Noyes. It was written in 1913 but is set a long time before. The Highwayman was a British outlaw who would steal gold from people who were in carriages. His bonny sweetheart Bess would later in the poem take her life to warn her loved one about the soldiers who camped in her bedroom. When he found out about Bess taking her life he charged towards her residence where he was shot. Legend has it that when the moon is a ghostly galleon upon the cloudy seas he rides towards Bess's residence (an old inn) where he talks to her while she plaits a love knot in her hair.

KiwiCan Clean Up

The student leaders of Panmure Bridge School partook in the KiwiCan clean up alongside: Glenbrae primary school, Glen Taylor School, and Tamaki Primary School. Us taking part in this event will have a positive effect on New Zealand wildlife and the way people perceive the Tamaki area. Today Jordan (SWIS) and Miss Paige (KiwCan Leader) supervised us as we walked from our school to Point England Reserve. While we walked, we picked up rubbish to ensure that our area looked clean but to make it fun we said that the group that does not pick up the most rubbish will have to do what the winning team says. When we arrived at Pt England we collected six full bags of rubbish and recycling so it was hard to tell who won. When we got their we were given lunch and bottles of water. As Tiava and I are the head students of our school we were ask to comment on the event. After that, we finished the day playing games against the other schools. I would like to than the Graeme Dingle Foundation for letting us take part and to the Lion Foundation for providing us with lunch.

How To Stand Up To Bullies

 

 Bullying is a problem that is faced by schools in New Zealand and around the world. Bullies are usually trying to show off to their friends or their home life is currently not the best. Reacting to the situation can make matters worst like adding gasoline to fire. There are many ways to avoid the situation. For example, if it is cyber bullying you can block them and report them. If it is physical try talking to an adult who you trust or try avoiding the person until the tension dies down. If you try and get revenge it could just end you up in trouble so it is for the best you make sure someone is aware of the difficulties you are facing.

Presenting At Assembly With Photos

Every assembly Tiava and I are asked to speak at assembly. Our job is to inform other students what will be happening next week and talk about highlights of the week. The photo above is a photo of us presenting at the official opening of the first Medicube in New Zealand. We were joined by members of our Board of Trustees and also some important people from Starship Hospital. I was asked to speak in Te Reo Maori which I found easy because I have been speaking Maori at other assemblies. The photos on the screen were taken during the morning at the blessing of the Medicube. As I am a part of the Kapa Haka group I also joined people for the special blessing of the new building. This was an initiative between Panmure Bridge School and the District Health Board. It has taken three years for this idea to become a reality but it is now situated at our school.

Charity Box Vocab Sayings

 

Today Mr Pineda got us to familiarise our selves with vocabulary relating to topics that we will come across later in this orientation. The topics were: slogans, shape, topic, and donate. Some of the phrases that we had to match I have not heard of for example fork out. This slowed down the time for me completing the set task. Other than that I found this activity relatively easy and surprisingly fun. So far graphics with Mr Pineda is going great and I can not wait to start doing more advanced things.

Decorative Letters - Name

We are three weeks into our new orientation at Tamaki College and we have finished our name art. They are different because we did them in decorative letters for example instead of writing an 'I' I did a candle. Mr Pineda (Tech teacher) has laminated it for us and they look great. After I wrote my name I drew: a British tea pot because I am British by blood, a kiwi because I am Maori, and sushi because it is my favourite food.

Leading a Special Assembly

For 2018 Tiava and I are the head students of Panmure Bridge School. Apart from the duties that are carried out by head students we also present at assemblies that are of some importance. We have done Duffy this year but never in front of a Member of Parliament. The Duffy assembly I have chosen was important because Priyanca Radhakrishnan ( a Labour M.P.) was at our school to share her passion for reading. Her story behind her passion of reading was inspiring and it had everyone captivated. Like always we sang the National Anthem and the Duffy song. This assembly was definitely a highlight  in my opinion because I could relate to her passion for reading. I find reading pleasurable and it is a great thing to do when you want time to pass.

Spaghetti Bridge Testing

For the past few weeks Ms Kirkpatrick's inquiry group have been constructing their bridges out of spaghetti pasta. In the beginning everything was pretty easy until the weeks started flying by and the assignment was nearly due. It was also difficult because of the limited supplies. The limited supplies forced all the groups to trade with one and other to get the project done. Ofa, Christopher, Te Pounamu and I built a cantilever bridge that was only able to hold one brick. The original design was to difficult to execute so we simplified it. If we had added more triangles or cross braces our bridge would have been able to hold more bricks. The total span of our bridge was 42 centimetres making it the second longest bridge. Sanujan, Jack, and Jericho had constructed a bridge that was able to hold six bricks in total. It was hilarious to see the bridges break and some of the designs were amazing. Personally I think that we had the best looking bridge and was only rivalled by Nyjah's. This has taught me that we should always look at strengthening the deck and to never become an architect.

Duffy Assembly - Michel Mulipola

All the classes attended this week attended the Duffy assembly to hear about the passion and the drive that has helped Michel Mulipola become a successful comic book artist. He is a: professional wrestler, an illustrator, and also a semi professional gamer who also partook in a gaming convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. Above is photos of some of the artwork that Michel had the honour to create. It is the illustration to a book dedicated to a former Canadian wrestler who is Dwayne Johnson's dad, Rocky Johnson. Michel also was able to illustrates some of the most popular wrestlers for W.W.E. He spoke well and his story about reading was inspiring. He was the most diverse speaker we had ever at Panmure Bridge School.  

Order Of Operations

                     

Today's maths session was spent revising and teaching people about BEDMAS or BODMAS. It stands for: brackets, exponents, division, multiplications, addition, and subtraction. This session I have worked with Fraidoon and Ofa. For this activity we were asked to choose three of the questions that we answered to explain how we got our answers. We have chosen questions that require us to abide by the BEDMAS rules. On our DLO there is an answer sheet that will give you the answers to the other questions. Also an explanation explaining how we got our answers.

Presenting My Overall Review - A Winters Day in 1939

Today we were asked to get into our READ groups to present our overall review of the novels we have read. Everyone did a great job on getting their work done and it was cool to see peoples creativity in action. I personally enjoyed looking at Mataio's work because it was original and it was very creative. The ratings of some of the books were really low and I think I was the only person to think highly of my novel. I enjoyed doing novel studies because it gives us a bit more freedom when we execute the learning. I hope we get the opportunity to do another novel study next study.

Redesign The Cover - A Winters Day in 1939

Sanujan and I have worked very hard to complete all the set tasks for this years novel study. We have completed all the tasks and we have finished the last one which was the overall review. We have chosen this because we were out of time and it let us be more creative. Our cover has a Soviet soldier and a German soldier on opposite sides of the barbed fence because ti represents the crumbled alliance between the two nations. We also have a plane as they were used during this war. The fence can also relate to the narrators family getting moved into a Soviet concentration camp.

Maori Language Week Assembly

As it is Maori Language Week this week The student leaders and the presenters spoke in te reo maori. It was great to see the student leaders and the presenters try and incorporate the maori culture with the school assembly. I enjoy speaking in different languages but it is not easy. As I do not have the ability to speak fluent in maori I found it difficult and I did not have much time to practise. To add to the stressful day the head girl was not there so I had to speak by myself. I tried my best and I am very proud of my efforts.

A Winters Day in 1939 - Overall Review

                

 For the past two weeks Sanujan and I have been reading the stunning novel 'A Winters Day in 1939'. Reading this book we have been able to infer themes that can be found in the book and have developed the skill to understand the different vocabulary used in different pieces of writing. Our book was written to inform us as it is based on real events and it is explained thoroughly by a real persons point of view. To showcase our knowledge about Melinda Szymanik's book, we have told the story in another characters point of view, explain the reason for the writing of the book, and talked about two of the themes that are conveyed by characters in the book. I will give this book a 5/5 because I thoroughly enjoyed the book and the powerful messages the author has put into the book. She was also able to stay away from the political point of view during that time.

DVC Technology

Today Mr Pineda had us carrying on our work from last week which was doing our decorated names. Today I have finished the letters and I also finished colouring in my letters. I have received an excellence grade on my work and I have been enjoying my time inside Mr Pineda's classroom. I now need to finish off my toondoo that explains why graphics can turn out to be an amazing career.

Vector Wero Whitewater Park Trip

Today Miss Morris came with us to the Vector Whitewater Park which was funded. We were lucky enough to receive funding and we paid $5 to take part. When we arrived we watched two videos which taught us about how to be safe while we were there and a short introduction video. Before we were allowed in the water we needed the right gear. We needed: a helmet, swimming shoes, a life vest, a blue jacket, and a wet suit. We were then put into groups of six where the groups were given all a raft and an instructor. My partners and I received Mac as our instructor. While we were there we learnt how to cross the rivers and what to look for, how to go down a river safely in a raft, and to end a great day; we went floating down the river. We all enjoyed ourselves and it has taught us how to be safe when we are faced with a rushing river and we need to get across. I was lucky enough to save someone from the river. Thank you to the people who funded the amazing experience and to the instructors for ensuring a safe and fun time.

Pau Te Hau - Evaluation

 

 For 15 weeks half of Learning Space Two have collaborated with the Auckland University of Technology with a project they think will help boost students around Auckland's fitness. Every week we have been doing two of these sessions. In my personal opinion it has definitely boosted my fitness levels and it is now difficult to get puffed. Before HIIT, I was easily worn out by doing physical education but now I have more energy and I now look forward to doing sport. When looking at our first HIIT session we know that we are fitter and way more energetic towards the programme. It has also created a place where everyone can enjoy themselves and friendships have been made along the way. For this HIIT session we have chosen to do: tap steps, push ups, star jumps, and sit ups. Unfortunately everyone had a turn of being in the red area this week but most of us were unable to keep that going until the end. Over the 15 weeks I have learnt to enjoy exercise and it has helped my fitness levels improve. My favourite exercise for the entirety of this programme was sit ups. I like sit ups because it is not to physically demanding nor is it easy. The worst exercise in my opinion is push ups. I personally don't like doing them because I find them hard and it makes my arms sore the next day. Overall it was a great experience and we hope that other schools around Auckland are able to partake in such a great programme.

How to Convert Mixed Numerals into Improper Fractions

Today Ms Kirkpatrick has asked Alex, Miki and I to create a DLO that would teach others how to convert mixed numerals to improper fractions. I find converting fractions easy but many might find it difficult. To convert mixed numerals into improper fractions you need to start by multiplying the whole number by the denominator. After you get your answer add the numerator to the answer. When you have done that it is now the numerator and you keep the denominator the same. If you would like to practise this click here for the game.

Three Exponents Questions - Maths

 

Our maths session today was used to revise our knowledge of exponents and to introduce it to some students who were previously in Learning Space One. Exponents or powers is a shortened version of writing a whole equation. For example, 4 x 4 x 4 = 64 but to simplify it you can write 4 with a little three in the top right corner. I found this activity easy as it was really easy to get used to and I did it last year. I completed the question sheet relatively fast and I really enjoyed doing this work. For this activity we put a DLO together to explain how we answered three of the exponent questions. For this activity I worked with Miki and Alex.  

Why Do People Build Bridges?

For centuries around the world, bridges have improved the operation of society and have also benefited the transportation of necessities. To answer the question 'Why do people build bridges?' I have written an explanation which will hopefully tell people about the importance of bridges and how it has contributed to the shaping of modern society. Click here form the explanation.

Suffrage Movement - 125th Anniversary

                 

125 years ago women from all over New Zealand believed it was time for a change in the way men perceived them and it was time to address the rights of men that differed from women rights. This movement was powered by the Temperance Union and was led by Kate Sheppard and Mary Ann Muller. On our DLO Avalon and I have written about: Helen Clark and Elizabeth McCombs. We also listed when certain countries gave women the right to vote and also countries who either do not allow women to vote or it is difficult to do so. We wrote about a tweet about the movement and explained if the rights of both men and women were equal.

Kiwi Certificate - Literacy & Mathematics

A couple of weeks ago students from LS2 and LS1 partook in a Kiwi competition. This competition revolved around our capability of literacy and mathematics. Everyone who partook in the mathematics test would agree that it was difficult. I found this personally difficult because there were algebra questions which I haven't learnt about nor did I understand. Everyone who took part in the maths test received a participation certificate. For literacy I received excellence which was great. I found doing the literacy test quite simple but when it came down to the last couple of tests, I started losing focus. I am still proud of my achievement and it was fun to take part in something that is something I enjoy doing.

Tongan Language Week - Fake I Phone text

This week is Tongan Language week and to embrace the unique culture of Tonga, we have been doing activities with Mrs Anderson that helped us learn how to say basic things in Tongan. To show our understanding of the language of Tonga, we created a conversation between Ofa and Joseph. I found speaking Tongan a bit difficult as I could not get my head around how they pronounce their t's. The t is pronounced as a 'd' which I found a bit weird.

Orchestra Trip - Auckland Phillharmonia Orchestra

Students from Learning Space Two all enjoyed three pieces of classical music. I enjoyed all of the sounds of the musical instruments as the sounds were melodic. We all travelled by bus to the town hall in Auckland City. Mid way through the performance they introduced an opera singer who sang a Spanish song from the musical, Carmen. He was not very loud as the opera singer's back faced us as he sang to the people on the ground floor. Their were many instruments, including the harp, the tuba, the viola, and the triangle. All the people were colour coded by a certain colour. The percussion instruments were played by a person in green, while the strings were red. the woodwinds were blue, and the brass were yellow. To top of an amazing trip, a group of students from Saint Kentigern's and Ngatapawae performed a dance with the backing of a song from the ballet Romeo and Juliet. I felt that the dance did not have any relations to the love story of Romeo and Juliet. I believe the dance could have been a bit softer to work well with the song.

Illustration of Sentence - Colon

 

 This writing session is based around the correct use of colons. Colons are used when you are listing reasons or if the second part of the sentence is an explanation of the first part. For this activity I have chosen the sentence, 'You can come pick me up now: I am feeling much better.' My illustration has a car that is driving to the hospital. It also gives reasons for the placement of the colon in the sentence. I think my illustration clearly explains the meaning behind the sentence I have chosen.

Sensory Verbs

In writing we have been asked to complete a test that will reflect our knowledge on the use of sensory verbs. I found the test quite easy and that is why I got all of them correct. Sensory verbs are used when you are talking about an event that has words such as: taste, hear, smell, touch, and see. For example, I heard a dog bark. This sentence consists of the word 'heard' which means it is used in the context a sensory verb would be used in.