Hilary's Summer Learning Journey!

Day 3: Awesome Animals

Check out Hilary's competed activity below:

Activity 1: Fantastic Beasts

In New Zealand we have many unusual animals. One of the most unusual is the kiwi bird - a bird that does not have wings and can not fly. Pretty strange, eh?! J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter books, has recently written a new book about strange or unusual animals called ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.’

For this activity, please watch this cool book trailer. Year 7 and Year 8 students in South Auckland, New Zealand helped to make it. Once you have watched the video, use your imagination and create your very own beast. What does your beast look, smell, feel, and sound like?

On your blog, post a description of your beast. Use interesting adjectives (describing words) to tell us about your beast.

 

TASK DESCRIPTION: For this task i have had to watch a video about jk rowling book fantastic beast after that i have had to imagine and make up my own beast and describe it.
here is my beast known as the ALL ANIMAL BEAST.
thank for visiting and reading on my blog.

Naomi's summer learning journey!

This task was a part of the SLJ (summer learning journey) Programme. This week is about A PLACE TO STAND. this activity was about what i think about my hometown which is Auckland, New Zealand. This was really easy for me because I really life my hometown and it was really fun to share it with you guys.

Activity 2: North and South

The country of New Zealand is made up of two main islands – the North Island and the South Island. Approximately 77% of the New Zealand population live in the North Is

land. Many of these people (including our Summer Learning Journey design team) live in Auckland city. Auckland is a great place to live with lots of amazing parks, beautiful waterways and stunning scenery to enjoy. It is also a busy, vibrant city with many cafes, museums, galleries and theatres to visit. I feel lucky to call Auckland my ‘hometown.’

Now it is time to think about your hometown. What is special about where you live? On your blog, describe your hometown. Be sure to include lots of describing words (adjectives) in your post.

-----------

Auckland, New Zealand. What a wonderful place. All of the amazing suburbs within the city. All the many cafes, movie theaters, museums and also the great Sky tower. I am really happy to call Auckland, New Zealand my home because it is where I grew up and I just the community in Auckland and also the great scenery's. it is special to me because we were the first to let woman vote alongside with men, but also it is special to me because I feel safe in this environment and community. Last but not least, I love the people in Auckland Because the are really Nice and very helpful.

Marti

Check out "Marti" an episode from Creeped Out that is another example of a technological thriller. 

First write a short summary of the episode (without giving the ending away).

Second what is the main theme of this video and the text that we have been reading in class? What message is the author trying to convey?

Lamb to the Slaughter

In literacy we have been reading slightly longer and more complex texts to prepare for college. Check out what Venice created below - her story is linked on the last slide.

Lest We Forget

This year Room 4 created a movie in remembrance of the world wars. We found out that this November marks 100 years since Armistice day, which was the last day of WW1. Check out our movie 100 years:



We created this movie to show the difference between our expectation of war and the reality of war. In the beginning the students are playing a war game, but at the end they experiencing the war as real soldiers. Our writers put in a lot of thought to our story, so you might notice some symbolism and metaphor in our movie. What do you think the holi powder represents?

Expressing meaning through art

This morning at PES we attended our termly immersion assembly. In these assemblies, the teachers present something that will inspire the learners about the theme of the term. This terms them is te wa toi - art time!

The team 5 created a skit in which the 'students' of an art class created images that expressed different meanings. For example, the use of the colour blue represented sadness, while a square represented a confined space.

In response to this, Room 4 Literacy decided to create a piece of art that represented their holidays. This could be literal (e.g. I drew the beach I visited) or figurative (e.g. I drew the sun because my holiday was filled with joy).

Can you guess what the meaning of these images above could be? Bonus if you can write a story that accompanies the picture below - believe it or not, it's creator came up with a wonderful justification about the meaning of the piece.

Debating!

This morning Room 4 Literacy participated in a formal debate about Fortnite. We gathered some information about the game and wrote a clear paragraph that described one reason why we thought it should or should not be banned for children under 13.

            

We then staged a formal debate between members of the Dahl and Ihimaera reading groups, while the rest of the class judged the strength and clarity of each speakers arguments.

We found that the Dahl girls had written clear arguments that were backed up with a lot of facts - this made them harder to rebut and encouraged our audience to agree with what they were saying.

While the boys arguments contained less factual information, they spoke with great confidence and they constructed very strong rebuttals arguing the points the girls were making. This displayed the difference between oral and written language to us all - while the girls arguments were perhaps stronger on paper, the boys delivery and clever rebuttals made it a close debate!

Nelson Mandela

In literacy Hilary was researching famous upstanders. Check out her DLO with facts about Nelson Mandela.

Paikea's Exercise Song!

Paikea had to edit an existing song (Don't give up by six60) so that it had a message about exercise and used technical vocabulary. Check out the lyrics here:

Stop Giving Up. yeah
I'm telling you
Telling you
Telling you, Why
Don’t give it up
No, no, no
It’s good for you 
to ex-er-ciiiiiiise


Losing Weight
Keeps you fit and en-errr-giiiised
Aerobic
Healthy Brains
Pushing through all the time


Don’t you complain.
Just run, bike, swim and train…
train
Keep pushing hard, yeah

I'm telling you
Telling you
Telling you, Why
Don’t give it up
No, no, no
It’s good for you 
to ex-er-ciiiiiiise, yeah

Te Whare Tapa Wha

This term, we have been learning about looking after our health, particularly through exercise. We looked at Te Whare Tapa Wha and considered ways that we could look after our physical, mental, social and spiritual health. Check out the video we made for the Pt England News Network about our learning so far!

Procedural Writing

We have been learning about procedural writing and the importance of writing clearly this week.
We started by reading three different sets of instructions for popular card games. The first set had really unclear instructions and we became a little frustrated trying to work out what the author meant.

The second set contained a little more detail and it was slightly easier to read, but we found the structure a little confusing. We much preferred the third set, which had a clear layout and easy to read instructions.

We then wrote our own instructions for a really simple task - making a sandwich! We realised how easy it is to be vague in our writing, but that our instructions need to be clear for people to know what they are doing! When researching sandwich fillings we also learned more about making a healthy sandwich. Did you know a serving of a spread like butter or mayo tends to be about 2 teaspoons?
Check out Hilary's instructions below:


1.Put two slices of bread on a plate. Get your butter knife and spread butter on one slice of bread then spread butter on the other slice.

2. Put two pieces of lettuce on to a slice of bread than add the ham. You should have 30g or 2 slices of ham

3. Then get your tomato and slice it. You should then put two slices of tomato on your slice of bread.

4. Start to slice the cheese. After that’s done put 2 slices of cheese on your sandwich.

5. Now its time to use mayo. Grab a teaspoon and scoop some mayo in to it and put it on top
of the bread.

6. Last but not least put your other slice of bread on top and you are finished

Statistics!

This week Room 4 Maths have been conducting a whole class statistical investigation. We wanted to find out whether a persons fitness affects how fast their heart rate returns to normal after exercise.

First we planned our investigation and considered the data that we would need and our methods of data collection and analysis. We decided to measure our heart rate before, during and every two minutes immediately following exercise. We used the beep test as a form of exercise that was guaranteed to get our heart rates up and it gave us an idea of who the fittest students in our class were.

We recorded our initial results in a table and straight away we identified some outliers in our data and mistakes in our data collection. For example, one of our fittest students was unwell, so her resting heart rate was extremely fast! Some of the students repeated the data collection process to ensure that they had gathered accurate results.

The students then used line graphs to illustrate the changes in their heart rate over time. Check out Atareita's line graph where she compares two sets of data:

From this graph she concluded that her heart rate decreased at a greater rate than the other students. This is why the gradient or slope of the grey line is steeper than the gradient of the yellow line. She also noticed that she and the other student had similar resting heart rates, but her heart rate was higher during exercise.

Warriors visit Pt England!

Wow what a great way to spend our Monday afternoon!   The team sent to teach us all about healthy living were awesome!

We had a team of 4 Vodafone Warriors lead us through a very informative session.  The headings of the 3 areas they covered were: Nutrition, Sleep and Hydration.  Three very important parts of our daily life.  If we do a good job looking after what and when we eat, drink and sleep we will be in top shape for our learning and more!

The style of teaching used quick fun quizzes after every short talk on these areas.  Chanting our team names was the way we identified which group would answer first.  'Warriors' and 'Nate is the best' were the two chants.

No doubt Team 5 will swing into gear to tell you more detail about our great afternoon with the Vodafone Warriors here at Pt England School.

Special thanks to Tohu Harris, Nathaniel Roache and...can you name the rest of the team.  Leave their names in the comments section to win a prize!

Inspire Me

Covenant Events - Brings 'INSPIRE TOUR' to Point England!

It was an awesome time for all our year 7 and 8 students.  Learning valuable lessons for life right now and into the future!

Here are some gems from the show:
How can we achieve the goals we set ourselves?  Have you set yourself a goal?  Do it!
ASK - don't be afraid to ask for help.  It's the best thing to do when you're stuck.   People WANT to help you!   BELIEVE IN YOURSELF - having the confidence to give things a go is another key to achieving our goals!


Through play, song and dance Maio and Levi entertained and taught us.  Likely a message we've heard from our own families, teachers and friends.  However it's always good to hear again.  Maybe for some of us we haven't had it said enough.

Our boys had the privilege of spending some up front - close and personal time with these two talented young men.  They got to have some real talk about being Pasifika, Maori and Kiwi boys who CAN achieve what they want to.

Thank you  Covenant Events - Levi and Maio for this wonderful experience.   No doubt other Manaiakalani schools will be keen to have you visit them too!

Malo lava le faasoa ma taumafai auā fanau a le Pasifika ma Aotearoa.

Statistics!

This week we have been learning about statistics in maths. Check out Leilani's learning below!

Delicious Description!

Check out Venice's description of her favourite food below:

Since 1896, this scrumptious chocolate has been making you happy by it’s
aroma, taste and texture that’s why it’s New Zealand’s finest chocolate.

The moment it gets into your mouth, you can taste how phenomenal the sweetness is.
It is really creamy and soft, the feeling of relaxation while taking a bite from it is one of
the best things about this chocolate.

The enticing aroma of the chocolate will make you unwind from work or school, the
smell that will make you calm and take a bite from it.

When you see it in the stores you will look twice because of it’s very elegant
packaging, the gold represents how high-standard this chocolate is.

Identity

This week Dahl have been reading Mata I Pusi, a book about a girl who is struggling with her appearance and cultural identity. We have been discussing the things that make up our identities. Check out Sheena's learning below.

A Picture with a Message

Room 4 literacy have been learning about making inferences. Check out some of these images and see what message you think they hold!

Year 8 Camp

Last week the year eights headed to Kauaeranga Christian Camp in Thames for three days. It was an amazing opportunity and we all experienced so many new things, from shooting to archery!

 Watch this video to see some of the highlights from our trip.

Fortnite Battle Royale

Check out Josh's essay about Fortnite. Does it really live up to the hype?

I play Fortnite Battle Royale at least once everyday. The thing I like about this game is how it is open world and you can build.

What is Fortnite? Fortnite is a free-to-play battle royale game developed and published by Epic games. It is a early access video game which means it hasn’t fully been developed yet and is still in development. So far the game has done very good. The update in february 2018 the developers reported they have 3.4 million players.

How well did Fortnite do? Well for starters Fortnite has earned 126 million dollars beating their rival game PUBG, With over 178,000 viewers on twitch and there rival game with 84,000 viewers. While Fortnite is still free on xbox one, ps4, pc, and mobile. PUBG is still charging there fans. $29.99 to buy the game on xbox one, pc, the game has not yet released on ps4.

How do you play Fortnite? Once you start a game in fortnite you load into a place called Spawn Island. After that you hop on the battle bus which will take you above the main island were the war begins. You jump out and land at a location of your choice. After that you find a weapon which will help you knock your enemies down to win the game and get a victory royale. It doesn't sound very exciting but it really is a accomplishment for many people. And it is still doing amazing to this day.

To conclude I want to explain how much I enjoyed making this review. My favorite part about writing this is researching the facts about Fortnite.

Homelessness

This week we have been writing about issues that are

important to us. This is Lucy's issue.

Did you Know? 40% of homeless
people are Employed. Shouldn’t work be
an escape from poverty?

How did you become homeless ? You can get

homeless By you havingno money and you can be

homeless from you parents Because if your parents

were homeless then you might be homeless too.

Why is Homelessness a problem? I think it is a big
problem because if you have kids how can you
buy food for your kids. And if you are homeless
you don’t have a house and you don’t have any
money.

How can we help? we can help by giving them
some money like when you walk past a homeless
person the you can give them some money in there
hat or there money bag and you can help by giving
some food to eat.

Why is homelessness a bad thing? It is bad because if

you have kids then how can you look after you kids

they are going to be starving how can you buy food

for them.

Ramadan

Nasibah is currently fasting for Ramadan. She wrote this summary to explain more about it:

Fraction of a set!

Today Room 4 maths were practicing finding the fraction of a set. We noticed that there never seems to be an even amount of each colour MnM in a pack of MnMs.

First we had to find out how many MnMs are in a pack. This told us what the 'whole' is; how many MnMs make up one whole. Then we found out how many MnMs were of each colour.



Kelly noticed that 4/16 is the same as 1/4 as 4 x 4 = 16.  That meant 1 quarter of the pack were orange.

Tread Lightly

Today Dominique from Tread Lightly visited our school to teach us about recycling. We have introduced new recycling bins in our school to help us be more tidy kiwis. This production reminded us why it is important to recycle and how litter affects our environment.

The production involved Hone, Bobby and David who acted as characters. David was a turtle who was affected when he ate a plastic bag (Hone) which he mistook for a octopus. This reminded us that our litter often ends up in the sea where it can potentially kill sea animals.

Connecting Maths and Physics

This morning Room 4 maths explored the connection between maths and physics for our new inquiry topic on Force and Motion. We completed several activities and we had to guess what maths and science theories they might be connected to.

First we completed a challenge where we had to hit a domino from the bottom of the stack. This demonstrated the law of inertia; An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. This meant that the bottom domino moved when we hit it with a ruler, but the other dominoes would not move unless we hit them as well.

We then used our dominoes to make a domino run. We realised that this activity is linked to the law of inertia as well; as soon as the dominoes begin to fall they continue to knock each other over. We tried some different configurations of dominoes and attempted to use some obstacles as well.

We then considered the different forces involved in this activity and we identified one of them as gravity. Our next challenge was to attempt to build the tallest tower that we could with our cups. We started this with our small groups and then realised that we could build an even taller tower if we combined all of our cups.

Hank Zipzer Part 3

We are learning to justify our ideas.

BBC Hank Zipzer Season 1, Episode 2

In the episode Hank miraculously seems to play better when he is wearing the 'lucky socks'. Do you believe in the power of a good luck charm?

Why or why not?

Hank Zipzer Part 2

We are learning to justify our ideas.

BBC Hank Zipzer Season 1, Episode 2

Do you think that the yellow and blue house are sorted fairly? Why/ why not?

Hank Zipzer part 1

We are learning to justify our ideas.

BBC Hank Zipzer Season 1, Episode 2

Some people, like Hanks Dad, believe that people should focus on winning sports games and competitions. Others, like Hanks mum, believe that it is important to participate in a range of games and that it is the taking part and the learning that matters the most.

Which character do you agree with - Hanks mum or his dad?

AND

Why do you hold this opinion?

Garage Sale

As part of our fundraising for Year 8 camp, Team 5 have their annual garage sale and this year we had it on Saturday 24th March. What a beautiful day it turned out to be with students turning up at 7.30am to help put their stalls together.

We had a long table filled with deliciously home made cakes, pineapple pies, cup cakes, muffins, cookies and some wonderfully made otai to quench the thirst. A candy floss stand was also a favourite for the kids. Parents got to enjoy some yummy seafood chowder made by Roz while our students were being great sales reps at the cheese toasties and hot dogs dogs.

It was great to see Josephine Bartley and Mrs Tele'a join us along with our Pt England babies.

We could go on and on but take a look at our video below to see more of our fun filled day.

A huge THANK YOU to our Pt England families and the wider community for coming down and supporting our students in their fundraising efforts.

We raised $1700!!! This is absolutely fantastic and will go towards our Year 8 Camp in Thames Valley.


Attachments area

Charles' Animation

This is my animation about what actually happens when someone litters 

and what happens to the litter. Check out my animation I made

and see what happens (:

Should we stop using plastic bags? By David K

There have been many debate over plastic bags whether we should keep them or stop using them for the sake saving our environment. Grocery stores like countdown are planning to completely stop using plastic bags by the end of this year, and there are going to be encouraging customers to bring their own bag while shopping. I disagree with this because if you shop with your own bag for example a school bag it will look like you are shoplifting

 

However plastic bags harm our environment because they end up in our creeks and it can lead to pollution and death of our sea animals but overall I think we should keep plastic bags but enforce strict laws on littering.

Should we ban the bag?

Today our literacy class attempted our first ever debate using the topic: Should plastic bags be banned?

After reading texts about the topic, we had to gather a range of facts that supported our view regarding the ban. Although almost all of us agreed that a ban would be a good idea in the beginning, some students decided to argue against a ban to support the debate.


The affirmative side (the students who agreed with the ban) brought up lots of environmental issues that are caused due to plastic bags. They also noted that people have been told countless times what to do with plastic bags, but they are still being littered and only used once, so it would be safer to ban them.

The opposition noted that it is cheaper to manufacture plastic bags than it is to create bags out of other materials. They also made the rebuttal that perhaps people should be fined for littering and forced to take accountability for their actions rather than placing a blanket ban on just one environmentally unfriendly item.


We still have a little work to do on using the structure of a debate, but it was a great first attempt with strong arguments being made from both sides.

Kiwisport

Our Kiwisport this term is Ki-O-Rahi! We wanted to teach others a little more about this fantastic game, so we decided to make a video about it:

We hope you learn something new!

Current Events!

We have been reading about the SpaceX launch for our current event in reading. Check out Leiite's article which summarises the event.