Triassic and Jurassic | Plants and Animals

Jurassic

 Animals

Brachiosaurus

Stegosaurus

Allosaurus

Plants

Gingkos

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Triassic

Animals

Therapsids

Archosaurs

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Conifers

Writing - My Experience on Baking Brownies

My Experience of Baking Brownies

I am certain that approximately everyone in the whole world would probably spend their school holidays, a whole 16 days, with fully booked schedules, hanging out with friends, going to the movies, or whatever cool people do. Sadly, I am not one of those people, and I live an intensely mundane life.

Wake up, eat food, sit on the couch, take a shower, sleep, and repeat. This was basically the whole first week of my holidays. Well, if we are being honest, it is basically my daily life. As I sat on my couch on a Saturday afternoon, I said to myself, “I have to do something advantageous, I can’t just stay here on the couch acting like a potato.” I contemplated about what I could do to make my holidays revolutionize into an astonishing and breathtaking life. On a spur of moment, a lightbulb popped into my head! I could do some baking!

I promptly got on youtube, and looked at some Tasty, a professional youtube channel that shows how to make food in a simple but delicious way, videos. I saw that they had a video titled, “The Best Fudgy Brownies Ever!”. The thumbnail showcased the brownies stacked on top of each other, with chocolate melting down the sides, and insides of the brownies. Incredibly aesthetically pleasing, how could I not watch it? I clicked on the video, waiting for it to load. The ingredients and recipe were simple, but the end result looked exquisite. I had to make it.

I got out all the tools and ingredients I needed for the brownies, and looked at the recipe over and over again, just to make sure I knew what I was doing. Just before I mixed any ingredients together, I said to myself, "Once one ingredient is mixed with another, there is no going back. Should I really do this?" After all, this was the first time making brownies by myself.  Despite the chance of failing, I was bored and needed something to fill my hunger up, so I carried on.

First, I filled a pot up with water and put a heatproof bowl on top of it to create a double boiler. I then added the dark chocolate and butter to the bowl. As I waited for the chocolate and butter to melt, I whisked some sugar and eggs together in another bowl. Once the chocolate and butter were incorporated, it turned into a silky, smooth, and shiny texture. I mixed it into the sugar and egg mixture, and it turned from a pale yellow to a nice dark chocolate colour. I then sifted the flour, cocoa powder, and salt into the mixture, trying not to get it on the bench and make a mess. Who knew sifting flour looked so satisfying? The next thing I did was fold the batter ever so gently, trying not to overmix it. After folding delicately, I got a square baking pan and lined it with baking paper. The batter got super thick, and I tried to evenly spread it out onto the pan. After the struggle of spreading it out and trying to resist the temptation of eating it before baking it, I put it into the oven.

After around 30 minutes, I opened the oven door and turned only to find my life flashing before my eyes. The smoke came out like a shark and I was blinded for a few seconds. I quickly ran to the sink and splashed myself with cold water. After my recovery, I got the brownies out of the oven, trying not to get smoke in my face again. The smell of the brownies was incredible!

I put the brownies on a cooling rack to cool down completely. I decided to take a nap while waiting. An hour went by, and I woke up to check the brownies. I cut the brownies into squares. They looked really fudgy in the inside. I couldn't believe I made them! I took a small bite, not expecting anything. The brownies melted in my mouth, and it was very sweet, but not too sweet. Not only did they look amazing, but they also tasted amazing! I was really proud of myself, and I gave them to my family to try. They loved it, and after a few minutes, it all disappeared!

Cybersmart Game - Tasks

Task Card 3

Video 4

Task Card 8

Task Card 9

Link to the Game

Try it!

Uru Manuka Logo Design Entry!

Uru Mānuka is a cluster in Hornby. It is made up of schools around Hornby, including Hornby High School. The Uru Mānuka Cluster is looking for a new logo, and has held a logo competition. The picture above is my entry for the competition. I created it using sketch.io.

I kept it simple, and drew a manuka flower. I added some colour and detail to spice things up a little bit. I then added the name of the organisation, and the slogan, 'Inspiring Futures'. I tried to make it simple, easy to read, and attractive. 

To me, the logo represents growth. The Mānuka flower here is growing into a beautiful flower.  Growth is a big part of what Uru Mānuka focuses on. Uru Mānuka helps learners in the cluster, such as my school, Hornby High School,  and teach them new things that will benefit us even as we get older. Uru Mānuka helps and inspires us to grow into passionate people that we will become in the future, as the slogan suggests. In my view, I think that the Uru Mānuka cluster is the Manuka Tree, and that the beautiful manuka flowers growing on the tree, are us.

We are the mānuka flowers that will soon grow into beautiful people in the future.

Trip to Quail Island | 2017

Trip to Quail Island | 2017

On Wednesday, 25th of October, for the Kaitiakitanga Kete, the Year 8 students and teachers went on a trip to Quail Island. We learnt all about the history of Quail Island, and saw the beauty of it. We took a bus to Lyttelton Harbour at around 9am. We got there at around 9:30am, and went on the black cat ferry to the island. We stayed there the whole day, learning about the island. We split up into class groups and took 2 tours on the day. We did a lot of walking! We learnt many new things and it was awesome to see the beauty of the island. 

Here is a slide of a few photos we took!

Changes in Nature - Geologic Time Periods

Changes in Nature

What are Geologic Time Periods?

What happened in each period?

Precambrian - Earliest

First organisms, all single cell. Some oxygen is present in this period. 

Later - Multicelled organisms form.

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Cambrian - 540 Million Years Ago

The Cambrian period is where the first examples of ancient life were found. The climate of the Earth at the start of this period was cold, but over time grew warmer. In this period, continents were still forming. Lots of different organisms. Some of the earliest animals in this period had a backbone. There were lots of carbon dioxide.

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Ordovician - 490 Million Years Ago

There were lots of animals without skeletons. Early shellfish, trilobites, nautilus, starfish, and fish were present during this time. The first green plants and fungi were formed. It was also the end of The First Ice Age at this time. 

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Silurian - 443 Million Years Ago

First advanced plants were formed. Jawed fish were present with armour. More shellfish were present too.

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Devonian - 416 Million Years Ago

The first ferns were formed. The first fir trees with seeds were formed too. The first wingless insects were present during this time. The first amphibians were present too. Some animals from earlier periods die out, due to the climate changes. It was a cool climate during this time.

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Carboniferous - 354 Million Years Ago

During this time, the land was swampy. The first "coal" forest was formed. (Trees --> coal over millions of years). Early sharks started to develop too. Large trees also developed, along with reptiles and vertebrates. Trilobites start to disappear during this time. Glaciers start to form. Winged insects are present in this time too.

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Permian - 290 Million Years Ago

Land masses have formed 1 continent 'Pangaea'. Glaciers disappeared since the climate started to warm up. Lots of reptiles were present. The first cone bearing trees were present. Beetles and flies appear. There was plenty of life in the oceans. 

251% of life became extinct due to the climate changes, and other reasons.

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Triassic - 248 Million Years Ago
In this time, dinosaurs, first mammals, and crocodiles appear. Modern corals and fish also appear.
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Jurassic - 206 Million Years Ago
In this time, there were many different types of dinosaurs roaming the Earth. Big dinosaurs, little dinosaurs. Ferns and cone bearing plants appear at this time. Mammals are common, but were small. First birds and lizards were appearing. Land mass - Pangea breaks up into Gondwanaland and Laurasia. High Carbon Dioxide levels.
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Cretaceous - 144 Million Years Ago

There were many dinosaurs in this time, including the famous Tyrannosaurus. New types of insects appear. Flowering plants appear and become plentiful. Modern crocodiles and sharks appear. Early birds appear. Gondwanaland breaks up. Rocky mountains appear. Carbon dioxide decreases into a similar level to today.

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Paleogene - 65 Million Years Ago

Modern plants developing at this time. Lots of different mammals are on Earth. Dinosaurs have become extinct at this time. Primitive whales appear. Grass starts to appear. Rapid changes in Mammals. Climate cools down. Ice age begins and ends during this period.

Fact - At this time, the Sahara Desert was covered in grass.
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Neogene - 23 Million Years Ago

Modern climate. Modern mammals and birds. Horses evolve from dog like animals. Lots of grass is on Earth. First apes appear. Southern Alps of NZ appear.
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Quaternary - 1.8 Million Years Ago ---> Present
- Anatomically modern humans
- Human stone age culture
- Ice age comes and goes
- Sahara forms from grassland
- Humans become agriculture
- Industrial revolution leads to rise in carbon dioxide levels

Stone age ---> Bronze Age ---> Iron Age
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Endangered Species

Saving the Whales

http://www.greenpeace.org/new-zealand/Global/new-zealand/image/2006/12/there-are-more-economic-benefi.jpg

Why do we need to protect them?

Whales are an important animal in NZ. They play a big part to the food chain. 

What is the cause of the animal population decreasing in number?

The population of the whales are decreasing mainly because of humans. Some examples of human impact are, whaling, whales colliding with ships, and entanglement in fishing gear. There has been an estimated 40,000 whales that have been killed in NZ. Ocean pollution plays a part in this too. Plastic and other materials get into the whales, as they think that it's food. 
Remember to always put your rubbish in the bin, and recycle as much as you can.

What is being done to help them?

DOC (Department of Conservation) have set up whale watching operations. DOC have also set up a hotline you can call to report sightings of whales.

How successful is this help?

Effect of 1080

What is it?

1080 is a chemical compound (a poison) that is mixed into baits and is used to control pests in NZ such as rats, stoats, possums, etc.

FACTS

1. 

There has been an estimated 40,000 whales that have been killed in NZ since 1827

2. 
In 1986, commercial whaling was banned and made illegal. The only countries it is not banned in are Japan, Norway, and Ireland.

3.
Ocean pollution plays a part in killing whales too. Plastic that gets into oceans lead to the whales mistakenly eating it, thinking it is food.

4.
 Humans killed at least 2.8 million whales in the 20th century.
5.

A blue whale is larger than a basketball court.

Whales breed every 1-2 years.