Akomanga Kaihanga Project Rotation One

Project question: 

How might we make our school more vibrant?

The process to answering our project question:

Step 1. Identifying the problem: Our school is very dull.

Step 2. Ideate different solutions: Create art competitions, paint etc.

Step 3. Design a prototype: Paint four benches, each bench will be one house colour.

Step 4. Test and get feedback: Paint the benches and get feedback from staff and students.

Step 5. Refine and test again: Reflect on the process, look at the feedback and create and test an improved version.

Personally, I think our process started off slow but gradually got better towards the end. We were only able to paint two benches during the time we were given, so we are working on a time to paint the other two.

Showcase night:

My experience from the showcase night was okay. I think my team and I were a little unprepared and shy when we spoke. I enjoyed listening to the other teams present and loved to see their progress with their projects.

Is there anything I would do differently?

Yes, I would come more prepared and finish our project before the day of the showcase.

Overall, what did you learn from the first rotation of project-based learning in term 2?

I learnt to try and test our prototype as soon as we can so we have time to refine and reflect.

Number Study Notes

Multiples = 3, 6, 9, 12 ... 

Factors = 15 = 1, 3, 5, 15

Prime numbers = 2, 3, 5, 7, 11 ... so 

HCF = the highest number that can be divided exactly into each of two or more numbers.

LCM = the lowest quantity that is a multiple of two or more given numbers e.g. 12 is the lowest common multiple of 2, 3, and 4

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Order of operations

B brackets
E exponents
D division
M multiplication
A addition
S subtraction

Te Tiriti o Waitangi

On the 6th of February 1840, The Treaty of Waitangi was signed at Waitangi located in the Bay of Islands.

About 500 chiefs, including 13 women had signed the treaty that day. A few of the people who signed the treaty were William Hobson who signed on behalf of Queen Victoria, and Hone Heke, who was an influential Maori speaker and was the first chief to sign the treaty.

Due to mistranslation between the Maori and English text, a few years later, the British began confiscating land from the Maori people. This has had a significant influence on Pakeha and Maori relations and has shaped the way we live today.

For some people, it's just a public holiday, for others it may be a day of celebration, and for many, especially Maori, it is a day to reflect on the treaty.

I think it is important to learn about the treaty, so that people are informed about the history of our country and to also acknowledge the hardships that the indigenous people of Aotearoa had to face.

Te Whare Hapa Wha - Hauora Health

Over the past few weeks, during health, we have been learning about the four dimensions of Hauora.
We’ve learnt about the four main walls that make up Te Whare Tapa Wha.

Taha Hinengaro - Mental/Emotional

Feelings and thoughts.

Taha Hinengaro is all about our mental and emotional well-being. Some things that could affect our mental
well-being is bottling up emotions and not sharing your feelings and thoughts with people you trust.

Taha Wairua - Spiritual

Sense of achievement, Purpose in life, Personal identity, Values, Beliefs, Religion, Self-awareness, Self-esteem,
Cultural practises.

Taha Wairua is our spiritual well-being. Things that could affect our spiritual well-being are our beliefs or
the beliefs of others. 

Taha Whānau - Social

Relationships, Family, Friends, Social support, Community, Sense of belonging, Compassion and care.

Things like isolating yourself and being distant could affect your social well-being negatively. Staying
in contact and meeting new people will improve your social well-being positively.

Taha Tinana - Physical

Body growth, Body care, Body development, The ability to move, Balance, Nutrition, Exercise, Sleep.

Things like jumping, running, exercise etc. can improve your physical well-being. Sometimes too much
exercise can affect your body negatively.

Recently my physical and mental well-being has improved quite a lot. A few weeks ago I started attending
a fitness programme that my cousin runs called Iron Up. I’ve seen small improvements here and there
and I can’t wait to see the final results.

The fitness programme has enhanced my physical well-being as well as my mental, spiritual and
social well-being. It has affected my mental well-being positively in a way that I’ve started being
more positive about the way that I view my appearance. When I first started, I knew none of the other children
that attended my sessions, now I am friends with all of them, they are great to work alongside with because
they are very encouraging nonjudgmental about the way that I look. It affects me spiritually because
after each session I feel enlightened. In one of my sessions I overworked myself and took a small break, that
really affected my mental well-being negatively because I felt like I didn’t do enough and I wanted to push
myself more.

Overall, I think it is good to know about the four dimensions of Hauora because it brings awareness
to the topic of people’s well-being especially if they aren’t in a good place. It’s a great way to open up
and reflect on your feelings in a positive way!

I think it was a great idea to introduce us to Hauora because it would definitely help me in the future.

Island Skittles - Water Safety Project

Hey there! My name is Leanah. I am a Year 9 student attending Tamaki College, I am part of a project based learning class with 29 other students. We are Akomanga Kaihanga.

In Akomanga Kaihanga, we have five separate teams, Team Renegade, Team Polys, DonkCorn, Team Jax and Island Skittles! I am part of Island Skittles, my team consists of six hard working students, Mary-Ruth as a note taker, Paikea as our team spokesperson, Cherry-Anne, Mathew, David and I as their leader and one of the students on the student council.. Our team is trying to raise awareness about how important it is to know how to swim and what to do in dangerous situations surrounding water.

In our current project we are trying to extend Year 10 water safety lessons to Year 9 and we are also trying to build a pool at Tamaki College. I hope that our project will help students become wiser and more educated in and around water. I also hope that building a pool at Tamaki College would make it easier not only for teachers, but for students to receive their lessons.

At the moment, my team is doing well in being able to focus on their tasks and get their work done. We have each been assigned 1-2 tasks that we are aiming to complete in the next two days. When we complete our tasks, I hope that we'll be able to action our project by talking to staff and students about whether they support our project or not. When our project is completed, our team hopes to have made a positive impact on a child's life.

Summer Learning Journey 2016-2017

Smart Learners!

When it comes to being smart online it is important to know what you are doing. It is good to interact and engage with other students while online. Always remember to be positive and kind while talking to other people online.

It is crucial that you are on the right site at the right time, being in the wrong place could result in you getting your chrome book taken away from you. Remember to use images that relate to the work you are doing and make sure that they are reusable.