Last Day Of Term 3

 Wow, and just like that Term 3 is over. This term was so interesting and I've got some mixed feelings about it. We're only a couple of weeks away from Prize-Giving, Graduation, High-School. 

We had a lock-down this term and that didn't help our learning at all. But of course we recovered from it very well. However many of our main events we cancelled, Hopefully we won't have one next term!

This week, I was really stressed because, even though it was the last week of term we still got the normal amount of work. On Thursday especially I was all over the place just trying to get things done. I know this is just the beginning of it and next term will probably be worse. But a future reminder to myself and a message to all TAKE A BREAK FROM TIME TO TIME.

And that's it for now, have a happy holidays everyone and keep safe!

As I saw it!

 What is this item? ~MakoI~

Makoi are used to scrape the leaf waste and moisture of the harakeke to leave the muka. Muka is used to make kakahu and taniko.

Who has this item? Was it traded/ used for something? ~Kaiwhata~

Kaiwhatu had been using this item that she found on the beach. She used it to get the Muka from harakeke. 

Write a paragraph in the perspective of the item.

- Makoi POV -

Wow no isn’t this just fine and dandy. I’ve just gotten thrown around like a piece of trash. I’m not even being used anymore. This lady seems upset, something must be wrong. ARGH! These useless humans, can’t they just get along!?

Today in class we continued the as I see it task. This was the last part of it, we even got to see the items that we were looking at. But even so this task was really interesting as we got to see how people interpreted this event and there were so many different ways and stories about it.

South-America Research ~Extension Term 3~

Here is my extension research for this term. We had to choose a continent and then we had to research countries in that continent. I enjoyed this and even though we had a lockdown, I'm quite happy with the standard I finished this too!

New Zealand Sign Language

 New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) is strictly homegrown. The natural language of NZ’s deaf community, it expresses New Zealand culture by using Maori terminology. This includes terms like Whare, Marae and Whanau.

NZSL has been an official Language of New Zealand since 6th of April 2006. It's the 12 most frequently used languages in New Zealand. 24,000 people use sign language daily.

New Zealand Sign Language is a stand-out language used to communicate with people who are deaf or hard of hearing. It’s a series of Hand gestures, movements and facial expressions used to convey meaning. Of course it’s not to be mistaken as body language.

Hades and Persephone

This term in inquiry we covered myths and legends. We looked at different countries and how different cultures have different myths that are similar but have there own twists. We learnt that myths are completely made up to explain something illogical and a legend is just a deeply exaggerated story.

Persephone is the goddess of vegetation, and grain. One day Persephone was picking Flowers. 

Hades appeared and stole her to the underworld. There he fed her 6 pomegranate seeds. But the seeds were special as they were grown in the underworld, thus binding Persephone to the underworld.

Meanwhile, Demeter went looking for her, and it came to her attention that Hades probably had something to do with it.

She took off, and arrived in the underworld. She confronted Hades telling him that Persephone did not belong in the Underworld and demanded Persephone returned to Earth with her. But Hades had already thought about that and told Demeter it was too late as Persephone had been bound to the Underworld.

As stated before Persephone is the goddess of vegetation, and without her presence of Earth. Plant-life started to decrease and everything started to die. Hades and Demeter came to an agreement that Persephone would spend 6 months in the underworld for the 6 pomegranate seeds she ate and she’d the remainder 6 months on Earth. 

Thenceforward for 6 months a year the vegetation would thrive and for the 6 months it would die, preparing for new growth. Over time this became known as the 4 seasons of the year. 

Over time Persephone grew to love Hades who treated her with compassion and loved her as his Queen. She stayed young and beautiful as things don’t age in the underworld. The god and goddess ended up getting married and lived happily ever after.

My Name in Sign Language

Today we had to complete a Te Whare Tapa Wha. Each well being had it's own create task. I chose to learn how to sign my name in New Zealand Sign Language. In literacy this week we learnt the complete alphabet in Sign Language!

Ko wai ō hoa? ~Te Reo Maori~

Today like usual we had our Te Reo Maori it was the last Te Reo Class for this term. We learnt how to list our Friends Teachers and Parents names. We also had our usual create tasks and I really enjoyed it!

Mix Up

Today in maths we finally finished our last revision on Area Perimeter and Volume and Pythagoras. And we finally moved on to doing Algebra. It was really fun and surprisingly I remembered it from last year. This was something I actually found really hard last year. But this time after picking up from where we left off I really enjoyed. :))

Hinewehi Mohi A Reo Change-Maker ~Writing~

 Hinewehi Mohi had a father who was very passionate about being Maori. He taught his entire family to speak the Maori language. That is the reason behind Hinewehi Mohi having the ability to speak Te Reo Maori fluently.

However it did not stop there, She also went to a St Joseph's Maori Girls School. This allowed her to use Te Reo Maori everyday and have it normalized. She then went to Te Whare Wanaga o Waikato (Waikato University), from there she started her career.

Hinewehi went on to become a professional singer. She Sang duet with Peter Urlich and was in London advertising an album. While in London she was given the opportunity to sing the national Anthem at the Rugby League match. She was hesitant at first but then saw it as an opportunity to share her culture and the proud Te Reo language of Aotearoa.

~Taha Tinana!~

Today in class, we looked at another section of Te Whare Tapa Wha. We got the choice to choose one of the many and complete the task under that subject. I chose Taha Tinana, for this task we had to come up with a workout with at least 5 different exercises.

Box Math

Today in maths we had did a dmic like problem. Basically we had to use a square piece of paper to create a box without a lie to do this we had to cut off a specific amount of square on each side of the paper. We then have to fold up the flaps and 2 we got flaps. Along with that we had to find out the volume of the square. Mine was 507cm3

Height= 3cm
Length=13cm
Width= 13cm

I had the most volume in my box. We found that the answer mostly relied on the length and the width but it also relied on how big the height was.

Hinewehi Mohi~ Reo Changemaker

This week we learnt about a Women named  Hinewehi Mohi, who was brave enough to sing the national anthem completely in Maori despite what other people would've have thought. But the worst thing about it was people reacted to her with negative backlash. If Hinewehi Mohi hadn't done that we probably, would not be singing out National anthem in Maori and English today!

For this task we had to look at metaphors used in a text, we had to place words with their definitions and we had to make a create task. I chose to orally record myself explaining the significance of Hinewehi Mohi's stance. :))

Kei te pehea te ahua o te rangi? ~Te Reo Maori~

Today we had our weekly Te Reo Maori class. It was a lot of fun and seeming that it was Maori Language week this class was really special. I enjoyed it and the phrase is something we'll often use! Can't wait to do more!

He aha te tae Makawe ~Te Reo Maori~

Today in Te Reo we learnt how to ask and tell people our hair color. I enjoyed this as it was fun and easy to learn. We also got to chose between doing a comic strip of video recording for our create task!

The Moment...

Today our whole school sang a maori waiata to celebrate Maori language. Today is a special day because in 1972 30,000 signatures were delivered to parliament saying that people wanted to preserve the dying Maori Language.

Because long ago people weren't allowed speak te reo. In schools it was said that speaking te reo was looked down upon and punished. The language then started to die. And quite recently it was turned into an official language of New Zealand.

Now we celebrate Maori language every year. We sang 2 moari waiata at 12pm to celebrate the delivery of that petition and that amazing day!

Being Stressed

Being stressed is very common and in some cases unhealthy. But there are ways to cope with stress.

Personal
Find an emotional outlet. This could be things like, cleaning, sports, drawing or just something you enjoy in general. Just find something you enjoy doing and would take your mind off the busy stuff happening in your life.

Interpersonal
If you're in the mood and you just need to share it with someone you can find someone like a family member or friend that you trust enough to share your thoughts and feelings with. And if one person seems like they can't handle it find someone else. There will always be someone willing to listen!

Societal 
After your stress has been going on for a while and non of the other things are working you could try and see a professional. Maybe a therapist or even the school counselor. Teachers aren't a bad Idea either!

As I Saw it...

For this task we had to research things about life on Captain James Cook's ship 'The Endeavour' and life Maori people had on land. We looked at how there was more information about the British settlers than there were of the Maori people in NZ. It's Maori language week and this influenced this task we completed in buddies today!

Practice makes perfect

Today in maths, our group did a recap on the things we've learnt so far. I struggled a lot on the last question but it wasn't to long till I worked it out!

Modern Tongan Heroes and Heroines!

This week in literacy we had a really short and easy task for reading. In Writing we wrote an country profile about Tonga to celebrate Tongan language week. For reading we kept with the theme of Tongan language week. We had to create a personal profile for a Tongan Hero or Heroine. Valerie Adams is an Amazing athlete, some say she is the most dominant athletes ever. I enjoyed this task because it was quick and easy but I still learnt quite a bit about Valerie Adams.

Cross Country! ;))

Today a really big event took place at school. Everyone at Pt England school came together for our annual cross country day. I was really excited as a lot has happened this year and being able to do things like this because it's really fun. Also its my last year at Pt England it's also my LAST CROSS COUNTRY!

Unlike last year we got the choice to either run 1.5km or 3km. The 1.5km would be one lap of the reserve and 3km would be 2 laps. I'm not very good at running nor do I take it seriously, but it's all for the fun of it. I did the 3km run I ended up running with a lot of people, I'm actually pretty proud of myself as I finished in 15 mins and I managed to not completely die running!

My friends however they did really well and were the place winners so I'm really happy for them. I'm also happy for myself because I can now say that I've run 3km 2 years in the row, I finished it off properly. Anyways I really hope we keep doing this and covid-19 didn't ruin this event. And for the students that will be doing this race in the future, Good job, keep going and you can do it! :))

Tongan Language Week!

Today in class we learnt about Tonga. We had to choose a specific part of the tongan culture we wanted to research and I decided to research their flag and seal. We also had to answer 2 questions about why it's important to share our culture and how we can do this. This was all apart of our Te Whare Tapa Wha learning but like our other work it incorporated Tongan Language week!

The Kingdom of Tonga

This week in writing we focused on writing a country profile. Since its Tongan Language week we did our country profiles on Tonga. I tried really hard to make this look professional, but I did struggle finding good sources of valid information, but I did try to find the earliest pieces of data. I also put in a screencastify on the bottom left corner of the last slide. I really enjoyed doing this but, it honestly did take a lot of effort and I was really busy this week so I had to try really hard to finish it this week!

"The Best Day Ever"

 In July my mom had her 40th Birthday. My dad took it upon himself to make sure it was the best birthday ever! It’s almost impossible to make something amazing when it seems like the world is against it.

On the Tuesday of my mum's Birthday we woke up extremely early, the sun wasn’t even up. We got to  work cooking her breakfast. We’d brought the ingredients beforehand. Since I was the only one capable of using the stove without burning down the house I was put incharge of cooking. My little sister Zaria, insisted on being the one to mix the batter for the pancakes but I mixed in all the chunks when she wasn’t looking. Alisha sliced the kiwifruits, apples, strawberries, mangos and bananas for the fruit salad. 

We had just started preparing breakfast when my dad pulled into our driveway with a brand new car. The writing on the windshield read ‘HAPPY 40th BIRTHDAY’ so we knew right away what it was for. My dad put the finishing touches on the car while we cooked breakfast.

When I came back inside, the pancake batter was burning on the stove. Alisha was yelling at me, with a bleeding finger and it started to rain. The rain washed off the marker on the windshield and it ruined the outdoor setting we had set up. Everything was falling apart. My dad yelled at us to clean things up and with all the commotion MY MOTHER WOKE UP!

She woke up on her 40th Birthday so see, a completely messed up kitchen. Her eldest daughter's finger cut up. An expensive Mitsubishi CX-5 parked in her driveway and her husband yelling. What an amazing birthday it was!

Measurement Mathletes!

Today we did a couple of maths recaps. We practiced multiplying decimals. We practiced finding the area of different shapes to. I quite enjoyed this as it was really easy and quick. I am however really ready to move on from measurement!

Tapa Cloth Maths

This task is about working out the perimeter and area of a tapa cloth.

Elisaia is measuring his tapa cloth.

Each small section is about 20cm by 15cm. 

Today we did this maths question it was really easy and I enjoyed it! The Area of this shape is 126 meters squared and perimeter is 4.5m. We did a question related to tapa cloths as its tongan language week.

What's My Culture to Me?

I am Fiji-indian; Though I was born in here in New Zealand my family dates back generations in Fiji. My culture to me is following my religion. This can be things like fasting in Ramadan and Celebrating Eid, reading the quran. I am proud to be who I am!

Tongan Travel ~MATHS~

Today in maths we solved this question about Tongan travel. It was an algebraic question in which everyone thought it was going to be really hard. But it turned out that all we had to do was read the questions properly. I enjoy this and hope we do more later!

Answer- The first dot was Aunty Anna the second was Uncle Loni the third was Uncle Pita and the fourth was Aunty Kuini.

Measurement Mathletes

Today Ms Stone said that we were the yr 8's were moving into level 5 work. As the yr 8's are soon going to be preparing to head in high-school. We are finally going to be moving on from measurement and this was our final recap! I enjoyed this task, but I do hope we continue to do work at this level. As it was helpful and I'm feeling better about next year!

Tongan language week!

This week we are celebrating tongan language week. Tongan language week is a week in which we celebrate tongan language and culture. This is something that is quite present in our community. The theme for this term is Fake Koloa 'o Aotearoa 'aki 'a e Lotu Mo'oni. This means Enriching Aotearoa New Zealand through Prayer and Faith.

Tonga is a kingdom in the south pacific ocean. It's made up of more than 170 islands. Most of them are untouched and home to no people. Tonga's population 103,197 and the main island is called Tongatapu. 

Fathers Day!

Kia Ora readers. WOW it's already September this years has gone by so quickly.Today is a special day as it's the first Sunday of September. This means that its FATHERS DAY!

Me and my siblings are lucky enough to have our father with us for this day. My family celebrates fathers, and this year we made a special fathers day breakfast, and we got him presents. Later today we're also planning on going on a picnic if the whether turns nice and we have a chocolate cake!

FATHERS DAY, is pretty cool as it allows us to show appreciation for those in our lives that we care for. Many people who don't have fathers, like to appreciate those who are father like figures in their lives. 

 I's that amazing!? So what are you doing this fathers day?

HAPPY FATHERS DAY, AND REMEMBER TO WASH YOUR HANDS!

FUN FRIDAY!!!

Today the whole school had a mufti, wacky hair and wheels day. It was really cool and HEAPS OF FUN! I didn't have anywheels to bring but even so I still had wacky hair and mufti.

My outfit, had something to do with some of my favourite tv shows. I wore a stranger things hoodie, a f.r.i.e.n.d.s t-shirt and blue jeans. My hair looked like twilights from my little pony.

I think having days like this is really fun, and can really brighten up our school days. Because of social distancing and being limited to things you do throughout the day, school can become quite boring. So that's why we should have more days like this!

Eyelash Seaweed

Name

Eyelash Seaweed is the common name of this plant species. Its scientific name is Dione Arcuata.

Status
Eyelash seaweed is critically endangered. More research is needed as it is unclear whether or not this species exists and it may already be extinct.

Physical description
Eyelash Seaweed commonly gets its name from it’s size. This microscopic seaweed is the size and shape of an eyelash.

Reproduction
Eyelash Seaweed is an asexual organisms, which reproduces by forming tiny spores. It creates spores for many things, including the ability to survive in its storm-lashed environment.

Habitat/Location
This seaweed is so rare that in the whole of New Zealand it’s found in Kaikoura beach in the South Island of New Zealand.  It lives on 2 boulders located on opposite sides of the beach. It’s only found on summer rocks at extremely low tides.

Reasons species is endangered
This species is in danger of going extinct because of an earthquake that took place in 2016. It shifted the sea bed leaving the 2 different boulder sites under the sites (where the seaweed breeds) undersea level. It also has not been found in any other beach in New Zealand. However there are many other reasons it is endangered including coastal subdivision, pollution, flood sediments, and erosion.

Conservation Measures

Nothing has been done to conserve this species of seaweed, as very little is known about seaweed itself. Only 45% of seaweed is shown in museums and only 5 or less species. As Eyelash seaweed is only a minimum amount and is rarely sighted, little is known about this species. 

Future outlook

Because there is nothing done about conserving this seaweed and the species only is found on 2 boulders. It is highly likely that this species will soon be going extinct sometime soon, unless serious measures are taken immediately.

Taha Hinengaro

For this task we had to insert a picture of ourselves and then, put things we are good at around it. I enjoyed this task as I was pretty mind racking. But I also disliked it, because I felt pretty narcissistic whilst doing it.

In the News

This week in literacy this week we looked at a special event that took place not too long ago. It was something to do with a rare species of baby rhino. We read the text, put them into word groups to help us read fluently we also used chose a word group and used them in 4 sentences. Along with that we had a usual choice to make a movie review or record a voice over for it. I chose the movie review as it was quick and easy and I really wanted to share my opinion on the clip!

Measurement Mathletes

Today we had another maths lesson we learnt about  measurement again. We looked at how to find the area and volume of different shapes like triangles, square, cylinders cubes and so on. I enjoyed this task and it was really easy being able to recap!

He Hakete Kikorangi ~Te Reo Maori~

Today we had our Te Reo Class, while the yr 7's went to tech. Today we learnt colors which we had also learnt from a song when we were young. Along with that we learnt how to name the color of an object and use it in a sentence together. I enjoyed this and can't wait to do more!

Taha Whanau

Taha Whanau is based on your social wellbeing. Our social well being refers to our ability to create and maintain optimistic bonds and relationships with people in our life. This includes things like our regular contact with friends, family and even people you see on a daily basis.

Lock-down affects our social health in positive and negative ways. This is because during lockdown many of us have been stuck at home with our family. That allowed us to work on and create stronger bonds with the people in our bubble. However many of us were stuck at home alone which means that there was less social interaction and maybe even non!

Supporting relationships can be really easy. Putting in the time, trust and effort has never failed. You can create a powerful bond with people in your life by finding the time to talk. Having a short conversation and taking it one step at time; can lead you to one of the happiest relationships in the world!