My Chromebook

Having a Chromebook connected to the internet is the best stationary EVER!! Using my Chromebook for my work has made me get better in lots of my work especially writing and what we were learning during the years. I've had my netbook for 2 years now.

On my netbook there is a lot of sites that I can go on or use to help me with my school work like Xtra-Math, MathWhizz, Google Drive,IXL, Study ladder and many other sites!

Using a Chromebook is way easier than pencil and paper.  I say that because my Chromebook has the whole package! Like, dictionary/thesaurus, Calculator, note pad, etc..and...on my Chromebook I can go on this site called ‘Google Drive’, and its where I can do all my writing. It is better than using pencil and paper because when we are using our Netbooks we can use Google when we connect to the internet and instead of using a writing book to write in we open Google Doc to do our writing in.

Te Tuhi Trip

This morning class 2 went on a class trip to Te Tuhi. Te Tuhi is an art gallery, dance studio and a cafe, in Pakuranga. The reason why our class went there was because our focus is Art and we went to look at some amazing art pieces and also made some Tapa Cloths.

When we got to Te Tuhi we a person named Jeremy talked to us about the Art Gallery and what types of stuff they do here. Once he finished talking we went to the art room to make Tapa Cloths.

First we had a piece of paper, then we scrunched the piece of paper up. Once we did that we got pastel and rubbed the pastel in each square, so all the squares could be coloured. Then once we did that we dyed our piece of paper so there is no white spots. Once that was done we put our papers on the stairs to dry.

Then we got a piece of paper that was already dried and used that one. Then we drawed on our piece of paper, 4 main things. Which were family, culture, home and interest.

Athletics.

Every year Pt England School has Athletics Day, when it is nearly the end of the year. We always have Athletics on the field, and before Athletics starts we always have to line up on the courts so that we know what our activities are.

When it is athletics kids come in the colors Blue, Red, Yellow and Green. The reason which is because those are our haue colors. At this school we have 4 houses and each house has a name which are colors. Takitimu for yellow, Te Arawa for Red, Mataatua for green and Tainui for blue. When we have events like this we’re allowed to come in our house colors!

On Friday we had Athletics. When we did athletics it was  hot day, with a little bit of rain before it started. I enjoy athletics because of all the fun, challenging activities that we do.

Here at Pt England School we do all kinds of activities like….Shot Put, High Jump, Sprints, Javelin, discus and some relays which were fun activities. I enjoy doing the activities because sometimes I win house points for my house, which is Te Arawa!

So, on athletics day the year 8 girls first activity was Javelin. Javelin is when you have this stick looking thing that has one pointy end which points to the way you’re aiming. Then when you are ready to throw the javelin you have to hold it like you’re holding a pencil, then when you let go the pointy and has to touch the ground first so that it can count. Also you have to try your best and try and get it as far as you can throw it.  In that activity my throw didn't count because the pointy end didn't touch first AHAHAHA.

Then it was relays I really enjoyed it because it was a fun activity with my friends and my house groups. I also enjoyed challenging the other houses in running races and the tugger war.

After that it was another relay which where we had to get into our house groups again and then do relays with skipping ropes. I enjoyed that one as well because because I raced some of my friends and they were really fast and challenging.

Then we had to finish the rest of our athletics off on Tuesday. Tuesday was a better day because of the weather and my favorite activities were we on that day. I enjoyed the sprints because I came 1st in the 75 meter and then I had  really sore leg because I pulled a muscle. So I couldn't run properly in my second race and came fourth :) Then I went sik bay. AHAH.

Handsketball (modified sport)

Handsketball ( Modified sport)

Handsketball from Team 5 PES on Vimeo.

Term 3 reflection

“Yaaay, the term is nearly over!” It is the last week of Term 3 and I am very excited for the holidays! This term we had a lot of stuff on at our school like Cross Country, we had The New Zealand Manager of Samsung come to our school, her name was Ms Kenny Yeon. Then we had prizegiving for sport teams and sports and also we had a very tough netball tournament for the year 7&8 netball girls.

When Samsung visited our school the Year 6 Ambassadors and the Intermediate students did a Powhiri to welcome them to our school. We sang a song called he honore, and then the manager handed over a gift for our school. When Ms Kenny Yeon (the manager) was doing that we sang a song called ‘Powhiri Mai’. Then Tyla-Marie handed over a traditional maori necklace to the manager of Samsung we sang ‘Powhiri Mai’ again.

This term we had Kiwisports. Kiwisports is once a week for each class. We learnt how to play different kinds of sports like AFL, Soccer (football) and  Netball.

This term we had a couple of adults that inspired us to do what we want to in the future. They were part of a future aspiration group. A future aspiration group is a group of people that come to our school and inspire children to do there best in school and their studies so they can get a good job when they grow up.

Also this term some of the year 8 students enrolled to their college for next year. I was one of those people and I enrolled at Auckland Girls’ Grammar. I was very happy because I got accepted into that school. That means I need to focus really hard on my school work to get into a good class.

Yes, a very busy term it has been for everyone! That is why I am very excited to have a two week break from school!

What is Cross Country?

What is cross country???

Cross country is an annual event for a lot of schools, but not only schools, it is an event that anyone can feel free to do, with either friends, family or even a team. Before this event happens they would usually train very hard everyday to get fit for the event. Cross country is an exciting event that you can either run by yourself or with a group of friends.

Cross country is an event that you need to be fit and healthy also have a lot of stamina to stay in a good pace for the race. Cross country is a race run over mountains, hills, grass, mud and all sorts of tracks. It is also not about coming first, it is about you trying your best and doing your best.

I love doing cross country because this event keeps me fit and healthy for when I play sports. Cross country is an event that we have every year at Pt England School. It is held for our whole school to attend. Usually I would attend this event but I couldn't be bothered this year.

Here at Pt England School, Cross country is an whole day event, because we have a large school. So, usually the first group of kids to run are usually the little Year 1’s. Then it goes To Year 2’s, 3’s 4’s and all the way up to our older students.

When you start Pt England School Mrs Flavell, our office lady, would put you into a house color. Those house colors are for The events that we have in school, like Cross Country, Athletics or even team assemblies. Here at Pt England School some teachers are very kind because usually in team assemblies they give house points out to children that sit up nicely, or do some kind of ‘Random Act Of Kindness’.

In our school we have 4 house colors for 4 teams. Those colors Takitimu (Yellow), Tainui (Blue), Te Arawa (Red) and Mataatua (Green). Each of these houses have about 100 kids in each team, and that is all of our school students split up. These houses are the houses that you need to line up in when our school has Cross Country.

When it is the day of Cross Country, our whole school meets on the court. Usually there are lines that you have to line up in. Those lines are, Year 1 girls, Year 1 boys and it keeps on going until you get up to the Year 8 boys. Once you are lined up Ms Va'afusuaga would ask our house captains to lead their house into their chants. Oh did I mention, each house has their own chants too!

This is a good event for maintaining body strength, losing weight or becoming fit and healthy. If you've never did cross country before then I recommend this is a good event for you or your team!!

Film festival

Filming for Manaiakalani film festival

This week our teacher, Mrs Lagitupu, came up with an awesome idea for our film festival movie. But first....the other week she gave us a task that was for the Film festival and that was to come up with ideas for our class movie to share.

We all came up with different ideas and Mrs Lagitupu didn't know who to choose. So, she came up with and idea and that was to put all our ideas together and add a little twist.

Me, Chloe, Sarona and Martha's scene is all of us on a MTV channel dancing to a song by Jason Derulo called Bubble Gum. That scene is only part of the movie, so if you want to know what happens in the rest of the movie, then you will have to wait and see! :)

Argument Writing

Dear Prime Minister John Key

I am writing this letter to say that I think we need to reduce the amount (or even ban) of plastic bags in New Zealand. Other countries around the world have already done this so I think that it is a good idea that we do it to, to save our animals and sea creatures that are eating this plastic.

The reason why is because too many people don’t care about our animals, lands and sea. Instead of putting their plastic bags in the rubbish they throw it elsewhere. That is dangerous for our animals and nature because too many plastics and fragments are going into our seas and the animals are eating them. Animals can die because people are littering their plastic bags and animals can easily mistake it for food and they end up eating the plastic bags.

Already 30 other countries have banned plastic bags because of the issue and if New Zealand wants a clean green country like how other people from around the world see it as, I think we need to ban plastic bags.

Did you know that New Zealand goes through 1 billion plastic bags a year? A lot of all that plastic ends up in the sea and many sea creatures eat it and die.

Your sincerely

Gianna

Pt England School

Why taking care of your mind and body is so important

Why is it important to look after our bodies?

It is really important you look after your body because some young people decide they want to put some kinds of drugs in their body and that is really dangerous because it can damage your brain and also your brain can stop functioning they way it is supposed to be.

Looking after you body means taking extra care of what you put into your body, like, the kinds of food, alcohols, and drugs you put into it. You need to make sure that if you are at a party or any occasion you don’t drink too much alcohol because you may end up drunk and that alcohol will actually stay in your body!

Taking care of your mind

Taking care of your mind is making the right choices and decisions. Like, if you’re still in school and you have a dream for what you want to be when you grow up, it is important that you don’t make any bad choices like wagging school, taking drugs in school etc.

Why, is because some of those bad choices can ruin your whole chance of succeeding and having a great future, also you can get kicked out of school and you may not be able to get the job that you want and the right money to pay your bills and stuff. So.... making the right choices when you’re young can get you to where you want to work and what you want to be when you grow up.

Commonwealth Countries- Canada

Location:

Canada is a country in North America. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean. In the northern part of the continent. The capital language of Canada is Ottawa. Canada is a country that

Population:

Which has a population of 34.88 million people, who some speak english and french. Canadas most popular sport is hockey.

The Flag:

As you can see the flag has two red square shapes on each side of the flag, that represents hardiness, bravery, strength and valour and the white square in the middle of the flag which has a red maple leaf in the centre of it represents peace and honesty.

Culture & language:

In Canada english and french is known as the most preferred language there, or spoken most there. Canada is a home for the

Immersion Assembly

Immersion Assembly.

To start off each term we usually have an Immersion Assembly on the first day back at school like every other term. I wasn't excited to come back to school because I was having an awesome holiday, but I was excited to find out our topic for the term and see my friends!

When the 8:30 bell rang I walked into class having a fair idea of what our topic was about  from the world map and the pictures on the wall. Once I found out that our topic for this term is “Game On” I straight away knew why that was, it was because the commonwealth games are on...

When we walked into the hall there were bikes on the stage and on the floor, I thought it was because bike riding is one of the events happening in the commonwealth games. Then assembly started and we listened to Mr Jacobson talk about our topic and why is was that.

Once he finished talking Team 1 was first up showed their Item, it was about some of the countries participating in the commonwealth games. They showed us a video of the the team 1 teachers supporting a few countries that are representing their countries in the commonwealth games.

Then it was Team 2’s turn to share, their item was about two sports that are in the commonwealth games, Netball and rugby. We watched a video of them playing those sports. Then after that they went on the stage and showed played those sports.

Next up was Team 3, They showed us some videos of some competitors doing gymnastics, then they demonstrated gymnastics themselves. Then they demonstrated gymnastics to us on the stage..

After that was Team 4, then Team 5…...

Sound movie

Gianna Sound-Animation from Team 5 PES on Vimeo.
This is a movie that I have made hope you enjoy!

Echolocation

What is echolocation?

Echolocation is sound waves or echoes that one famous person called Ben Underwood and animals use to go from place to place. Whales use echolocation to find their prey, bats use it to navigate and find food in the dark and humans use it to find their way around if they are blind.

Echolocation is using sound to locate something. Echolocation (or Bio Sonar) is a sonar used by some humans and different kinds of animals, particularly bats and whales. They use these echoes to locate and identify objects. Echolocation is used for navigation and hunting. If a blind person was to use echolocation, they would use their hearing senses to sense the echoes that reflect off near objects in their environment.

To echolocate something you would have to create sound from an object or your mouth to make sound waves, so when they reflect off an object it will turn into a echo that will navigate you to a destination.

Ben Underwood:

Ben Underwood, the person who never let his blindness stop him from skating, biking, playing video games and other stuff that no other blind human could do. Ben Underwood is really unique because he can do stuff that no other person human could do. When Ben Underwood was alive he was blind, both of his eyes were removed because he had eye cancer when he was three, leaving him with no eye vision at all, Unbelievably he taught himself to see using sound. When he was using echolocation he taught himself how to ride roller skates play video games and ride a bike perfectly, he also can tell where things are that no other blind person can see.

He realised that when he was clicking with his tongue the sound reflected off things around him giving him an idea what was there. When he started was blind he could get around to his destination without seeing anything, people telling him where to go and without using a guide dog or those stick things, isn't that incredible! Ben Underwood learnt how to find his way around by sensing the sound waves that reflect off objects in his environment around him.

Sadly in 2009 this famous person died of retinal cancer (eye cancer) at age 16.

Smart footprint

How to play netball.

I am going to tell you how to play netball.

Netball is a ball sport for two teams of seven players. There are seven positions for each team which are C (centre), WA (wing attack), WD (wing defence), GA (goal attack), GD (goal defence), GS (goal shoot) and GK (goal keeper).

Each of those positions have their own job to do on the court. The court is divided into thirds and each of those thirds have names. The two thirds on the end of the court are called the goal thirds and the middle third is called the centre third.

Centre

Centres are able to move in the whole court except the two semi circles. They have to help out in defence and in attack. Centres mainly have to get the ball from the defensive side to the attack side. If a team has scored a goal the centre also restarts the game. They do this by making a pass from the centre circle.

Attacking

It is their job to create as many goal scoring chances as possible by passing the ball to the shooters. Wing attacks can move in the attacking and the centre third but not the defensive third.

Defending

Defences job is to try stop the oppositions Attacks from getting the ball off the centre or any other position from the other team . They do this by getting in front of the Attacks but you can not hit them. If you are caught hitting a player or even accidentally bumping into them when they have the ball, the umpire will blow the whistle and say “contact” which means you have to stand beside the player and you will not be able to defend them.

If the WA caught the ball from the centre you job as the  Defender is to defend the ball by standing three feet away from the opposition and defend using your hands. If you defend too close to the other player the umpire will blow the whistle and say “ stand down obstruction” which means you will have to stand down.

Homemade instrument.

Homemade Instrument

Task: Create instructions on how you will make your instrument including the materials needed, step by step instructions on what to do, and explanation as to how the sound is made.

This doc is a really rough outline for setting out your writing. You should use images and even video where appropriate.

Materials Needed:

you need a cylinder container.

A flat balloon or tape.

sticks for drumming.

Instructions for Homemade Instrument:

1. 2 paper towel rolls
2. hole punch
3. 4 jingle bells
4. string or yarn

Explanation of how sound is created:

Introduction:

I’m going to explain how to make a homemade drum.

Punch a hole in each end of the paper towel rolls. Tie two jingle bells to each side of the paper towel rolls by running string or yarn through the holes and carefully tying off.

When you shake it you will hear jingle bell sounds.

The main reason I am making this instrument is because it is quite easy.

Conclusion:

Now you can see how to make jingle bells.

Science Roadshow.

On friday morning class 2 and 5 went to the science roadshow at Tamaki College. We left to go there at 8:45 because we needed to get there early. As soon as we got to school we started to get ready to leave.

When we got there we lined up outside the hall to listen to this really tall man that welcomed us there and he was telling us what we are going to do when we go in there and the types of things that are in the hall.

As soon as I walked in I could already see these experiments set up for us. I sat on the chair and there was a table in front of us and a projector thing. There were three people that introduced themselves, there were two men and one lady.

Once they introduced themselves we did our first experiment. The lady got three people to do the experiment. The experiment was about your senses. Iisa had to try and guess something.

The second experiment was to see how much oxygen in our lungs. Emmanuelle blowed into this machine looking thing and the blue water turned light brown and then her oxygen went into the machine and it showed us that she had 2 litres of oxygen.

After that there was another experiment for us to see and it was to see how tall you will be when you’re 20 years old. Anthony stood next to the tape measure and he was 150cm tall and it showed that he would be 180cm when he’s 20 years old.

When we finished that we headed off to do our own experiments. Out of all those experiments my favourite was the big explosion. That was my favourite because it was really loud and booming, it sounded like a big thunder bomb.

How does a musical instrument create sound?

Do you think that a guitar is probably one of the easiest instruments to play, because I do. I think that because I see many people playing this instrument around the school, also I’ve played it myself and it is quite easy. A guitar to me means calming sounds when you strum.

Do you know the parts of a guitar. Well, there is the head, theres tuning pegs, the strings, frets, sound hole, rib, body and bridge and many other stuff.

Sound is produced when you strum the strings. When you strum the guitar the sound comes out of the sound hole which turns into sound waves and moves into our ears.

First put your left hand fingers on the neck of the guitar and use your right fingers to strum on the body part of the guitar. Once you start strumming there will be sounds coming out of the sound hole on the guitar.

Funnel Ears Experiment

Science experiment:

Question: What will happen to the sound if I change the shape of a piece of paper? (e.g. from a flat shape to a funnel shape)

Links to research about Sound:

http://www.thetech.org/exhibits/online/robotzoo/guide/bats_and_echoes.html

Hypothesis: (What do you think will happen?) e.g. I think that….

Materials needed:

Paper, tissue, tape.

Experiment (procedure):

e.g. Step 1 - First hold a flat piece of paper against your ear. Block your other ear with your hand. Get your partner to speak to you. What is the sound like? Can you hear clearly?

Step 2 - Next, roll the piece of paper into a funnel shape. Put the funnel against your ear. Face the funnel towards your partner and listen to them speak. What does it sound like? Can you hear clearly?

Step 3 - Next, face the funnel to the side while your partner speaks to you. Does it make a difference to the sound that you can hear?

Step 4 - Put some cotton balls or tissue paper into the funnel to block one end. Does it make a difference to the sound you hear? Is the sound quality the same?

Step 5 - Next, roll the piece of paper up and face one end of the paper roll towards your partner. Listen to your partner speak. Is there a difference to the sound you hear?

Step 6 - Finally, turn to the side with your paper roll and listen to your partner speak. What is the sound like?

Data (What happened?)

	Shape/object/materials	Results:
1	flat piece of paper	Didn’t make any difference.
2	funnel facing to the front	it made a little echo sound.
3	funnel facing to the side	My partner has a Clearer voice.
4	cotton ball or tissue  blocking the narrow end of the funnel
5	rolled up piece of paper (facing to the front)	sounds normal.
6	rolled up piece of paper (facing to the side)	Voice sounds clearer and louder.

Observations: (This is your description of what happened)

So, When I used the flat piece of paper it didn't make any difference. When the funnel faced the front it made an echo sound. When I put the cotton ball into the funnel my friends voice sounded like a baby voice. When I rolled it up facing the froont it sounded normal. And when I rolled it up facing the side their voice sounded louder and clearer

Conclusion: (Was your hypothesis correct? This is your summary of the experiment)

We put the piece of paper and face it in different directions to test out the sound when our friend talks into the paper.

Science experiment.

Science experiment:

Question: What will happen to the sound if I cut the straw shorter?

The sound would go higher.

Links to research about Sound:

Hypothesis:  I think that it will make a funny sound.

Materials needed:

Straw & Scissors

Experiment (procedure):

Step 1 - Organise what you need  

Step 2 -  cut the end of the straw into a triangle

Step 3 - cutting it to 3 or 2 centimetres

Step 4 -  then blow into the straw

Step 5 - you will hear a noise

Data (What happened?)

I blew threw the straw and it made a low pitched 

sound.

Sound. What Can I hear?

Sound: What can I hear?

Team 5’s Inquiry focus this term is about Physics and the Science of ‘Sound’.

	Home	School	Outside	Other
What types of sounds can you hear?	e.g. phone ringing, siblings, t.v, talking, music.	e.g. people talking, music, jokes, laughing.	e.g. children laughing, screaming, crying.	e.g. cars whizzing past. Thunder, rain, wind.
Which sounds do you like listening to? Why?	music. because I like listening to music.	Laughing. friends. Because..	Friends ,Laughing, jokes, because it makes me happy	The sound of thunder because it is like a gunshot to your ears.
Why sounds are annoying? Why?	My brother, my other brother. Because they’re loud.	teachers growling. because when i hear them growling they sound angry	Construction.	Babies crying. People screaming . I get really sore ears.

Finally, think about what your world would be like if you didn’t have sound. What would it be like if you couldn’t hear a single thing, or if you had to live in absolute silence? What do you think it would be like?

At home, school or anywhere else you would hear many sounds like music, laughter, joking around, people, screaming, talking etc. Imagine if you weren't able to hear anything. It would be difficult  because you would have  to find other ways of communicating with others, using sign language would be one of the ways of communicating.

Hearing can keep you safe in many ways. When you’re crossing the road and you thought it was clear, so you cross but then out of no where a car comes. But you wouldn’t be able to hear it and then you get hit by the car.

If you were deaf you won’t be able to hear the smoke alarm when it’s going off, and  before you know it your house will be burnt. Thats is why it is really important that we can hear and have sound.