My Book Spines

These are all my book spines from term 2 and 3.

Current Events

World's Most Useful Drink Bottle

This is what I discovered:
Some Chicago based inventors have invented a drink bottle called the Golchi - it has 15 different features:

1. The bottle can be converted into a conventional bottle for the ease of carrying one liquid in larger volume or can be split into two standalone bottles. 
2. It can carry two liquids in any combination of hot and cold.
3. Vacuum insulation allows the liquids to be retained.
4. There are two different lids. One allows the drinker to sip slowly while the other allows the drinker to adjust the size of the spout. 
5. Temperature indicators on both of the lids help you remember if the section contains hot or cold liquid.
6. Top lid has a collapsible handle. 
7. The middle compartment allows you to hold things like pills, teabags, etc. 
8. You can buy a collapsible tea infuser to put in the middle compartment. The infuser goes in other cups as well. 
9. The magnetic lock mechanism in the bottom lid gives an un-obstructed drinking experience.
10. Hygiene covers at both ends always prevents the drinking area from touching the ground. 
11. The wide mouth at the lower compartment can be used as a food canister. 
12. The lower compartment is sized to fit a drink can.
13. All the components of the bottle are easy to clean and dishwasher safe. 
14. There's double layer protection for leak proof assembly - both for hot and cold drinks.
15. It fits into the majority of car cup holders and the sides of bags.

My Opinion:

I think this is a great idea. This is just like writing all of the things that would make drink bottles great and putting them together into one bottle.

My Wondering:

How much would this cost in NZ Dollars?

Answer: $70

Source: I found this information on Kiwi Kids News.

Words:

Function: Work or operate in a proper or particular way. 

Conventional: Based on or in accordance with what is generally done or believed.

Insulation: The action of insulating something.

Current Events

Kiwi Third In Big Brain Competition

This is what I discovered:
Matthew Fulton from Auckland Grammar School was placed third in the worldwide Brain Bee Competition. Students are quizzed on neuroscience. Some of the topics were memory, emotions stress, and addiction. The overall winner was Ana Ghenciulescu from Romania.

My Opinion:
At first from reading this title I thought that it meant that they literally had a large brain!

Source: I found this information on Kiwi Kids News.

My Wondering:
Who came second?
Answer:
Nooran AbuMazen from Canada.

Words:
Neuroscience: Any or all of the sciences, such as neurochemistry and experimental psychology, which deal with the structure or function of the nervous system and brain.
Neuroanatomy: The anatomy of the nervous system.
Diagnosis: The identification of an illness or other problem by examination of the symptoms.

Curiosities & Interests

There were lots of things laid out on tables; we had to find the things we were most interested in. I was most interested in the books about the history of fashion. These were the questions I came up with:

• Who says what fashion is? 
• Who says what is fashionable?
• Why does fashion keep changing?
• What are trends?
• What starts a trend?
• Who designs fashion?
• Why is fashion necessary?
• Who was the first fashion designer?
• What was the first fashion trend?
• Can people change fashion without "authority"?
• How has fashion changed?
• Who changes fashion?
• What was the first piece of clothing?

New Learning Teams

This term we got into new learning teams. We had to have our names in Maori. My team's name is the Taputapu Ke Tuis. That means Terrific Tuis. In my team I have Liam, Morgan, Hamish, Shakira, and Dante in my team. I think we work really well together and I think we will do really well for the rest of this year.

In our new learning teams we had two art projects to complete. The first one was that we had to paint a pineapple using our fingers. Then, using perler beads, we made our team logo.

Speech

I am writing my speech on the changes of technology. Here is my opening paragraph:

When I was three, my parents had an old computer. It was big, and it needed to be plugged into the wifi, and a power source ALL THE TIME. My dad had a flip phone, and I don’t think my mum had a phone at all. Our TV had aerials on the top, and it was pretty much impossible for me to find something to watch.

Then, when I was six, my mum got a laptop for her birthday. We didn’t have wireless wifi yet, but the laptop was so much different from the old computer. It was faster. Better. Sleeker. My parents both got Nokia phones. We got a satellite TV, and I got to have the old one in my room.

When I was eight, we still had the same computer, but I got one for school. My parents both got their first touch screen phones. And then we got another TV.

Now, at the age of eleven, we have two TVs, one of which are 3d, and can be connected to the internet. My dad has an iPhone 6s, and my mum has the Samsung Galaxy J5. I have an iPod Touch, and my mum also has a tablet. My dad has a new HP laptop.

Throughout the years of my life, the level of technology in my house has been growing. In the space of 8 years, we went from 3 “old fashioned” devices to 7 state of the art devices.

I think that my speech is going good so far. I still have to think about the way I present my speech, and I'm also not really sure where to go next.

Current Events

World's Oldest Twins Turn 103

Pieter and Paulus Langerock from Belgium are the oldest twins in the world, now aged 103. They both never married, and they have lived together for most of their lives. Now the brothers barely leave each other's side, sharing a room in a nursing home. They say they are each other's best friends, and celebrated their birthday with a glass of French red wine. They have another two years to go to beat the current record, twins that live to 105.

My Opinion:
I think that this is pretty cool! Sometimes I wish I had a twin...

Source:
I found this information on Kiwi Kids News.

My Wondering:
What is the oldest age ever lived to?
Answer:
The oldest person ever was 123 year old Bolivian man.

Words:
Celebrated: Greatly admired; renowned.
Regret: Feel sad, repentant, or disappointed over (something that one has done or failed to do).
Neither: Not the one nor the other of two people or things; not either.

Current Events

New Zealand Plans To Be Pest Free By 2050

New Zealand set a goal to be free of rats, stoats and possums by 2050 in order to protect our wildlife. John Key says that the pests kill 25 million native birds each year. The government is going to invest 28 million dollars to a new company, Predator Free New Zealand Ltd. Poison will be the main way to kill these predators but some other technical advances will be used.

My Opinion:
I think that this is a pretty far-fetched goal for New Zealand!

Source: I found this information on Kiwi Kids News.

My Wondering:
When there is a new Prime Minister, will they change this goal?

Words:
Wildlife: Wild animals collectively; the native fauna (and sometimes flora) of a region.
Invest: Put (money) into financial schemes, shares, property, or a commercial venture with the expectation on receiving a profit.
Advances: Make or cause to make progress.

Mural Artwork

In Marama we did our mural art work. It was a long process, and a really fun one. On my mural I had these things:

• The New Zealand Flag - Because I am from New Zealand.
• The Irish Flag - Because I am partly Irish.
• The Ocean - Because I like to swim.
• Flowers - Because I like flowers.
• Camera - Because my great great great grandmother might have been the first female photographer in New Zealand.
• The Sun - Because I like Summer.
• Diamonds - Because diamonds are my birthstone.
• Piano - Because I play piano.
• Music Notes - Because I like music.

Everything in my mural has a meaning. 

Here is what we had to do to make the mural:

1. First we had to fill out a sheet of different symbols we might have on our mural.
2. Then we drew out our mural in our books, and coloured it in.
3. After that, we drew our murals onto our good piece of paper.
4. Then we had to do a watercolour practise. 
5. Now, we painted our mural.

I think that the thing I did best in this art project was painting the mural. It took me a long time, but it really was worth it. I think that if I did something different in this project I would most likely have spent more time on it because I think I really over-estimated our time. The hardest part for me was probably painting my ocean. It consists of lots of wavy lines, and took quite a while, about two hours.

The learning powers I used in this project were these:

• Resilience

I used Resilience because it took a very long time, and every time I drew something wrong, I had to try again, which eventually got quite frustrating.

• Creativity

I used Creativity because I had to be very creative so I could find ways to make different things pop, and make sure that it looked good with the colours and patterns I chose. 

• Being Me

I had to be myself during this task because I had to design it to do with ME, and my family and history.

I really enjoyed this project, and I hope to do something like it again. 

News Report: Kaelum's Holiday

Kaelum hung out with his friends Liam, Jemma and Jemma's friend on the streets. They went to get some food at the bakery, and Kaelum nearly lost his phone. Someone threw Liam's ball in the river, and they all had to get it. They were all jumping in, trying to retrieve the ball. The ball kept going further down the river and then it reached a wider part of the river that didn't look deep, but when you got in it sunk.

Raiden was there with Kaelum, and they were daring each other to do stupid things. They dared each other to run into the fence as fast as they could, and they both got covered in scratches. They all continued playing around the water, and sometimes they fell in. Liam got his new shoes soaked.

Maori Language Week

This week was Maori Language week! Here are four things we did to celebrate it.

We made pois, which was very hard. I really enjoyed making pois, and the challenge was cool.
We also did some art about native birds. My bird was the fantail. In maori fantail is Piwakawaka.
Our house team challenge was also based around maori language week. There were four different activities we could choose to specialise in. There were objects, faces, numbers, and rako sticks. I specialised in numbers, and my group got all the questions right.
We even wrote our own Maori legend about a NZ native bird. My bird was the kiwi, and how it lost it's flight.

Fried Bread

On Tuesday I made fried bread with my learning team. I was buddied up with Lara. We made the dough, and then we got half each. We kneaded the dough and then left it to rise while we did the dishes. When we came back we flattened out the dough and cut it into two pieces. After that we fried the dough in oil. Then... We ate it!!

My Pepeha

Ko Te Aroha toku mounga
Ko Piako toku awa
Ko Firth Of Thames toku moana
No Hauraki Plains
Ko Ngatea Primary toku kura
Ko Graeme toku matua
Ko Christine toku whaea
Ko Elaina toku ingoa
No reira tena koutou tena koutou tena tatou katoa

Translation:
My mountain is Mt Te Aroha.
My river is the Piako River.
My sea is the Firth Of Thames.
I am from the Hauraki Plains.
My father is Graeme.
My mother is Christine.
My name is Elaina.
Therefore greetings to you, greetings to you, greetings to us all.