Khan Academy

Khan Academy is a maths learning website that can teach you 

things in a wide range of areas and strategies.

Everything from volume to area to long multiplication.

For this task, we found a word and created an image based off of the word. I chose the word abstract. In the art sense, abstract means an image that conveys a picture using just shapes, colours or textures.

Should Universities be Free to Attend?

Universities have a reason they’re expensive. Another ‘pre-uni’ school will cost you money, so why would a university be different? If universities were free, then schools would get crowded, teachers would barely get paid and students wouldn’t take it as seriously.

If universities were free, then there would not be enough space to fit all of the students. This could push schools into having a waiting list or broadening the one they already had. In the classes, the student cap will most likely be exceeded. This can put a lot of stress on the teachers, who would have to help students with  and discuss an assignment to such a large crowd. The student to teacher ratio would be vastly out of proportion compared to what it is now with universities costing money.

To add on to this, teachers wouldn’t get paid as much as they do now. When a student pays their fees, the money goes towards the government and the school, which goes towards the teachers. Only a small portion of money comes from other places. This can make teachers want to quit their job, thus making the teacher to student ratio even worse. The schools wouldn’t get as much money for learning, either. They wouldn’t be able to sell books because they would barely have enough money to buy them. Of course, they would be able to get some books.

The students in the universities would probably find the free schooling as an easy pass for education. This could make the students not value their education as it would come so easily. The students who do become something like a doctor wouldn’t get as much credit because of the fact that the amount of people who could get into the profession would vastly increase. On the other side of the spectrum, there will be a lower percent of students who graduate. This is due to students not valuing their education and dropping out of university.

So in conclusion, universities should not be free to attend because the schools would get crowded, the teachers wouldn’t get paid as much and students wouldn’t take university as seriously.

Our objective for this task was to create a piece of writing on if we were sharks. We were to make it creative, interesting and entertaining, but not too long.

Shark Writing

I am a shark. There’s nothing to it really. All I do each day is swim; that and eat. I eat to survive, so I don’t see why everybody is scared of being eaten by me.

I was taking a stroll, and while chewing on a couple of measly fish I saw that there was a big grey fish. I think to myself ‘I bet I could beat it in a duel’. I charge at it full speed, which turns out worse than what I’d imagined. From above my aquatic confinements, I hear multiple cries of terror. Although big and juicy, its hard exterior brings me away from the battle.

I didn’t realise this was a squid, because when I hit it, the fish, or squid, started leaching out black ink into the water. I accidentally inhale some of its ink and start to feel a bit tired. A small school of fish seem to be surrounded by the squid’s odourous concoction. Easy prey. The small fish barely move before I snag them into my grasp.

I try to swim away but the evil black liquid prevents me from doing so. I slow to the speed of a sea snail. Now I understand the problem with those fish; they inhaled oil. I look up to see that I wasn’t battling a large fish or a colossal squid, it was a boat. The boat leaked oil when I hit it. The screams were from humans. Now it’s my fault I’m dying.

I can’t move a single fin. I’m stiff, but slowly relax my muscles. I hope I don’t meet any of the fish I’ve slaughtered in Fish-Heaven. At least I’m dying with a full stomach.

If I was Prime Minister

Our task was to create a piece of writing about if we were Prime Minister. We were to list some perks, some struggles and some thing we would do to help our country.

If I was Prime Minister

If I were Prime Minister, the first thing I would do is be surprised over the fact that I actually made it into the position. Then I would immediately tackle helping people in impoverished conditions.

People who would need help finding a job or struggling to keep up with our current economy would definitely be my first order of business. Where we are now, most of us have stable jobs, access to food and water, great homes, and education etc, but many people around the country may not have access to any of those things. To increase education, I would radically increase funding to libraries so people can have a wider selection of free books. Things like having more accessibility to food through things like the Food Bank are important, so obviously, more funding towards those sources. Making bad decisions is sometimes not  even a certain person’s fault; they could have been forced into doing so. Some bad choices make life a lot harder than it needs to be.

It would be hard to be Prime Minister. It would be difficult to leave the role of Prime Minister with the country the same as it was when you came into the role, let alone better. Helping out smaller communities while still focusing on the bigger ones is a lot to handle. Asking people how we could help in itself be challenging. If I were to promise that, finding the time to do so might be complicated to do. If the country was unhappy, I would probably give everyone a day off, run a poll to see what the communities would want.

Being Prime Minister would definitely be tiring. I really wouldn’t know what to do in that position, but giving people respect is what I know is the right thing.

How Many People are on Earth?

For this task, we were to pick out a task from:              Wonderopolis Planet Earth and summarise the text.

I chose: How Many people are on Earth?

The Earth is covered in humans. We're everywhere from the Americas to Africa to Oceania. If you wanted to know how many humans are on planet Earth, you may be surprised to hear the population of the planet is over 7 billion!

Where do all the 7 billion people live? The 10 most populated countries include China, India, U.S.A, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Russia, Japan. Surprisingly, China and India together account for about two and a half billion people! Today, the world's population continues to increase. This due to the fact that more babies are being born than people are dying out. Scientists believe that the population reached 1,000,000,000 (1 billion) around 1804. It did not reach 2 billion until 1927 - a period of over 120 years.  With advancements in technology, less people will be dying, which means a higher birth - death ratio. Scientists estimate that the population will reach around 11 billion around 2100.

Even though the Earth is covered 70% in water, there's plenty of room for people. Scientists estimate that if all 7 billion people stood shoulder - to - shoulder, they would only fit in a space as big as Los Angeles. If you wanted the same 7 billion people to be able to roam freely, they would only fill an area as big as Rhode Island. If space isn't the problem, then what is? The problem is the fact that the Earth may not have enough natural resources to sustain all those people. Every new person needs food, water, shelter, and much more, not to mention the waste

An Idea for a Matariki Poem

Limerick Poem
W.A.L.T: Create a Limerick poem on Matariki.

In class today, we had to create a limerick poem.
A limerick poem is a poem with five lines: the first and second rhyme, the third and fourth rhyme, and the fifth rhymes with the first.
Each of us had to start with the same first line.

The Matariki stars shine, way up above.

Shining down on the land, filling it with love.

The people rejoice every time it appears.

All because it signifies the start of a new year.

All of it's light is white like a dove.

3D Bird

For consevation week, one of our tasks was to create 3D birds. This was our process:

Select one of these birds from this link: http://doc.org.nz/get-involved/conservation-activities/fun-things-to-make/

We could pick out of:
Fairy Tern
New Zealand Pidgeon
Kokako
Taiko
Blue Duck
Tui

We printed out one of these, coloured it, and put it together. Eventually, it will come to something like this:

Lunchtime Should be Longer

Lunchtime Should be Longer

When lunchtime is mentioned in schools, people normally talk about the quality or nutritional value of food. Although, the length of the lunchtime may also have an effect on the health and academics of the students.

Why are lunch periods shortened?

Lunch periods are usually shortened because schools need to shorten their overall time, while still fitting the academic time. Therefore, lunchtime is the first to go.

Sometimes, administrators are afraid that more free time could put students into danger. Some schools are overwhelmed with students so they need to alternate the students’ lunchtime into 2 or more periods.

Healthier Meals

Often, the longer it takes to make a healthy meal, the healthier it is. When students have more time to eat, obviously, they are going to eat more. Even if students start with unhealthy things, they will still have time for healthy food like fruit or vegetables. It is especially important for parents without the money to send their children to school with proper lunches, who depend on the school for half of their lunch.

Time to relax

Rushing to eat doesn’t give students enough time to properly enjoy the food, sense fullness, or how food makes them feel so they know when to stop. Allowing students to socialize at lunchtime is important for their focus on academics in the afternoon. Although some adults worry about students wandering off in play time, most children use this time to socialize, catch up on homework, or get help from teachers.

So in conclusion, lunchtime should be longer because there are healthier meals and there is more time to relax.

Don’t reuse disposable Water Bottles!

___________

By Andrew and Scott

INTRODUCTION

You bought a disposable bottle of water, it’s not really eco-friendly. But you think to yourself, I can just refill it after I am done with it! Pretty nice, it’s eco-friendly! But wait, multiple studies show that refilling your disposable water bottles is a health risk.

Why do we need to do this?

This is for your own health’s benefit. You will be much more healthier if you do follow what we are saying.                                                                                                                                                                   These are some facts that show that disposable water bottles are dangerous.

It is not the chemicals you should be worrying about, it’s actually bacteria. If left unwashed, disposable water bottles can hold microbes.

So it’s OK to just use plastic bottles that are designed to be reused! Right? No. There is still a chemical in the bottles which is called Bisphenol A. Bisphenol A is a chemical in reusable plastic water bottles.  Bisphenol A interferes with the way that hormones behave in our bodies. A study has found that 65 percent of an elementary (primary) school student’s water bottles have bacteria.

Disposable water bottles are very welcoming to bacteria. This is because reusable water bottles are made for refillings, whereas disposable water bottles break down, leaving room for bacteria to come in.

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences points out that a 2008 review expressed "some concern for effects on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and children at current human exposures to bisphenol A." There is more research needed, but you should definitely stay away from it.

Learning about blogs

Today, we learnt more about blogs and cyber safety.

We leave a digital footprint in whatever we do online.

We have used padlets,  google slides, and more.

Here is what I wrote on the padlet:

Blogs can be used for many different uses; the are posts so that you can share learning and ideas, links so that you can see important things and other blogs, and even post information about yourself.

Cyber safety is an important thing in all computer things; ranging from social media to online games.