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. 

Technicraft With Mr Grundy

Last week at Tech I started working on my saw cuts so I can start chiseling. I'm creating a mirror! I have to saw and chisel to make joints and connect it to another piece of wood. The process of sawing is quite long, but you get there in the end. I'll have to work a bit faster because we only have a few sessions left and then tech is finished.

Constellation Cup 2019

Yesterday the Silver Ferns played their first test match against Australia. They are going to play three more games to determine the winner of the Constellation Cup. At the end of the third quarter they were down by five points but won 53-52. It was a a close game and the tension between the two teams were high. The next game is being played in Auckland and then the rest in Australia. In my opinion I think that New Zealand did well to fight back and win that game.

Chop Chop!

At Tech on Wednesday my group was with Mr Grundy. I've drawn out my plan for what I'm going to make. I've decided that I want to build a mirror. The mirror will have two sides, on the other side of the mirror there will be little sleeves to showcase my photos. I've already measured out my piece of wood and will start cutting it next term.

Ruapotaka on 3...1, 2, 3 RUAPOTAKA!

Yesterday Tristan, Leaaepeni, Konzay, Nataaliyah, Mary-Ruth, Kate, Agueer, Madisyn, Kotipi and I went to the inter-school netball tournament at the Auckland Netball Centre in St. Johns. Our first game wasn't until 10:20 because we had a BYE. We played 6 games in total, lost 3 games, won 2 and drew 1. We placed 13th out of 20. We played against St. Pius, Pt. England, Glen Innes and Sylvia Park in our pool, Glenbrae in the Semi Finals and Panmure Bridge in the Finals. I enjoyed playing beside my teammates and I am proud of how well they did.

Antique Flag Returned Home

A rare and antique flag has been returned to the Kingitanga by the Anglican Church. It first surfaced in the Anglican Church in England and has officially been signed over to Kingitanga after forgetting they had it. Ross Bay, the Anglican Bishop of Auckland said that it was finally time for the taonga to return home. The flag will be welcomed back to the Turangawaewae marae formally next week.

Kayaking Is Fun!

Today my class and I returned to the Vector Wero Whitewater Park for a second session. This time we went kayaking instead of rafting. After getting changed we put on our wet suits, boots, life jackets and helmets. Next we went over to our instructor Josh. We listened as he told us what to do if we fall out of the kayak, how to paddle and how to be safe. It was funny because many people, including me, fell out of our kayaks! Over all I really enjoyed kayaking with my classmates and I appreciate having the opportunity to experience kayaking.

New Zealand Attempting To Save The Hoiho

A plan has been revealed that New Zealand is attempting to save the Yellow-Eyed (Hoiho) penguin.
The announcement was made by the Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage. Following the announcement, she released a draft strategy to restore the yellow-eyed population. The penguins have had a series of poor breeding seasons which have affected the numbers. The new plan focuses on the pressure the penguins are facing, such as humans activities, climate change and predators.

Silver Ferns For The Win!

New Zealand now holds the title of 2019 Netball World Champions when they defeated Australia in the Netball World Cup. It was a very close game, the final score was 52-51.

The Silver Ferns led 28-25 by the end of the second quarter but by the third they led by 4. Australia fought back in the last quarter and managed to get ahead, luckily the Silver Ferns fought hard and won by 1. I'm so proud of the Silver Ferns, after all, they were the role models that inspired me to play netball! 

Our Trip To The Tamaki Estuary

On Monday 1st July my school and I went and cleaned up the Tamaki Estuary. We split off into groups and cleaned the Estuary. Sadly, we didn't get to pick up all the rubbish we saw but we managed to clean up most of it. All the trash that we found were put into green buckets. When we finished we tipped all the rubbish into bags. We managed to collect three big bags full of rubbish. We then washed and sanitised our hands, had lunch, and as a reward, played on the playground!

Don't Fall Out!

On Friday 21 June my class and I went to the Wero Whitewater Park.

After watching the safety video we got changed into our togs and put our gear on. We had to wear a wet suit, a life jacket, a helmet and wet boots.
Before getting into our rafts, we learnt about how to cross a river. First we went individually, then in pairs and finally in a triangle formation.

Then we got into our rafts! There were six of us in one raft. It was thrilling and got my heart racing! When we finished whitewater rafting we had the opportunity to jump in the water and have a swim! There were two separate groups, one for the big jump, one for the little jump.

Overall I really enjoyed it. It was an amazing experience.

Tech Was Exciting

Today my group and I had to design games with our own twist. For my first design I drew a game of checkers where the checkers would look like Deku and Todoroki (two anime characters). I also drew a few other designs. When we select our final design we will use the 3D printer to create it!

Whitewater Rafting 😊

On Friday 21st June my class and I have been given the opportunity to go whitewater rafting at the Vector Wero Whitewater Rafting Park. We have waited for 3 weeks, and we can't wait to get on the water and have some fun! But of course, we will have to go through the safety lessons first. We have to pack togs, a towel and a few other things. Although we are getting into wet-suits we still have to wear our own togs for hygiene reasons. We will be leaving at 11:00 am and arriving back at school around 2:30 - 2:45 pm.

Graphics

A few weeks ago our Tech groups moved, my group went to graphics with Ms Ferguson. Last week we worked on this cool site called tinkercad.com, it's a site where we can work with 3 dimensional objects and create different things. In a couple of weeks Ms Fergison said that we may be able to use her 3D printer and print out out creations. So far I'm loving graphics, I can't wait to see what we are going to do in the future!