Kete 2017 | Think Globally, Act Locally

Deforestation

Kaitiakitanga

Forests are an important part in our environment. They are home to millions of different species, produce oxygen, store carbon dioxide, and help control the climate. They also provide food, shelter, medicine, and other things we use them for. They purify the air that we breathe, and water that drink.

What is Deforestation?

Deforestation is when humans remove or clear a large area of trees and related eco ecosystems for non- forest use or urban use.  In these cases, trees are never replanted. The trees that are cut down are used for building other things, fuel, palm oil, and to make space on land to build other buildings/houses. Deforestation causes massive problems to our environment, and we need to raise awareness about it.  

It is estimated that if we don’t do anything about Deforestation now,  within 100 years, there will be no more rainforests.

One and a half acres of forest is cut down every second.

What are the issues that are caused due to Deforestation?

There are many negative impacts that deforestation brings to our environment. Problems such as impact on climate change, habitat loss, greenhouse gases, changes in water cycle, and others. Deforestation is causing all these problems to our environment, and damaging our home.

Climate Change - Trees play a huge part in our environment, absorbing greenhouse gases, and purifying oxygen. The greenhouse gases that are in our atmosphere play a huge part in climate change. A problem we are dealing with to protect our environment is the level of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. Trees help breathe in the the greenhouse effect gases, balance out the level of the gases, and breathe out oxygen for us to breathe in. When humans cut trees down, they release the gases that are stored in the trees, which results in climate change.

Habitat Loss - The trees that we humans cut, aren’t only trees, but are homes to millions of different species. 70% of Earth’s land animals and plants live in forests. When we cut down their homes, it is difficult for them to survive, and they could potentially become extinct. Not only do we lose the species we know about, but we may also lose species we have not discovered yet.

What has been done to fix the problem so far?

In New Zealand,  the government has proposed to plant 100 million trees per year around NZ to help with the environment. New Zealand is also aiming to be a carbon neutral economy, along with other countries around the world. Companies have also stopped using palm oil from trees in their products.

People are also raising awareness about deforestation through social media, videos, and articles.

What simple things can we do to help fix this problem?

• Plant a tree in your backyard
• Use less paper
• Use cloths instead of napkins and paper towels
• Recycle as much as possible!
• Eat less meat
• Don’t buy products that contain palm oil
• Tell other people about deforestation!

“Nature doesn’t need people. People need nature.” - Conservation International

Biosecurity Posters

For our last kete, Kaitiakitanga, we got a task to research about Biosecurity, and it's staff. My group, Deianira, Loishane, and I made there posters to inform others about it.

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!

Bullying Poster

Link to Bullying Poster

Taha Wairua

Taha Wairua

What is Taha Wairua?

Taha Wairua is one of the four dimensions in Hauora. In English, it translates to, spiritual well-being. It mainly revolves around beliefs, belonging, culture, purpose, etc. Some people often think that Taha Wairua only revolves around spiritual beliefs, but there is more to it.

How do I keep my Taha Wairua healthy?
There are many ways to keep your Taha Wairua healthy. In order to be healthy, you have to respect yourself, believe in what you believe, take time for yourself to connect with others, places, or things.

Examples -

- Yoga or Meditation.
- Your Morals.
- Beliefs, such as religion, morals, culture, etc.
- Religion (Christianity, Muslim, Catholic, etc.)
- Go somewhere where you feel a sense of belonging.
- Take time to connect with nature.
- Go somewhere that is special to you.
- Respect your culture.
- Love yourself.
- Find yourself, and your purpose.
- Accept other people's point of view in life.
- Accept other people's opinions.

How is Taha Wairua demonstrated in real life?
Taha Wairua is demonstrated in many places in real life. It is demonstrated in church, when we learn about our beliefs. It is demonstrated in school, when we learn about the maori culture by doing Kapa Haka, singing maori songs, learning about history, etc. It can also be seen in school when someone is using the CARR values (Commitment, Achievement, Resilience, and Respect)

*This is a picture I drew of a church.

Taha Whanau

Taha Whanau

What is Taha Whanau?

Taha Whanau is one of the four dimensions of Hauora, a maori philosophy. In English, it translates to family, or social well-being. Taha Whanau revolves around socialising, having friends, spending time with family, etc. If is important to take care of Taha Whanau because if we don't, it would be difficult to find someone to lean on when we need help, we wouldn't have many friends, we wouldn't have as much fun as others, etc.

How do I keep my Taha Whanau healthy?
There are many ways to take care of our Taha Whanau, but we should always spend time with our family, and never take them for granted.

Examples -

- Socialise (Spend time with family, friends)
- Talk to other people (Not just small talk, but get to know each other better)
- Work together with others.
- Show love to others.
- Get involved in events.
- Join a club that does something that you are interested in.
- Be nice to others.
- Stick together with friends/family.

How is Taha Whanau demonstrated in real life?
Taha Whanau is seen everywhere. Talking, bonding, loving. We see it when we talk to others, when we be nice to someone, when we show love to people, etc. It can also be seen when we join a sports club or team, socialise with others, hang out with friends, do something that you are passionate about with others, and many other ways.

*This is a picture I drew of two best friends sharing their love for each other :D

Taha Hinengaro

Taha Hinengaro

What is Taha Hinengaro?

Taha Hinengaro is one of the four dimensions of Hauora, a maori philosophy. In English, it translates to Social/Mental well-being. Taha Hinengaro revolves around your mental and social health. It is about taking care of your thinking, and feeling. It is important to take care of Taha Hinengaro, because if we don't, it could make us mentally sick, we wouldn't feel a sense of belonging, it would be hard to find purpose, etc.

How do I keep my Taha Hinengaro healthy?

There are many ways to take care of your Taha Hinengaro. One important thing that relates to everything, is to take time for yourself. 

Examples -

- Accept who you are as a person.

- Control your feelings, but feel whatever you need to feel.

- Seek help when feeling lost or confused.

- Have a growth mindset.

- Relax, and take time for yourself.

- Accept that things will not always go your way, but it will get better.

- Go somewhere where you feel safe.

- Let your feelings out. (Talking to someone, journalling, etc)

- Play some brain games.

- Spend time with others; don't be alone all the time.

How is Taha Hinengaro demonstrated in real life?

Taha Hinengaro is demonstrated all the time. We think, we feel, but we may not notice it. In school, we may feel a little pressured or stressed out with our work, but we should learn to relax, have a growth mindset, and turn that pressure or stress into determination. Taha Hinengaro can also relate to bullying, feeling left out, not feeling good enough, etc. If you are being bullied, or feel any of these things that have a negative impact on your health, you should try some of the examples shown above. People with a balanced Taha Hinengaro are more likely to be happier in life.

*This picture I drew is of someone helping out someone else when they are going through a hard time.

Taha Tinana

Taha Tinana

What is Taha Tinana? 

Taha Tinana is one of the four dimensions of Hauora, a maori philosophy. In English, it is physical well-being. Taha Tinana revolves around your health, hygiene, and body. We need to take care of our Taha Tinana, and keep it healthy in order to have a healthy body.

How do I keep my Taha Tinana healthy?

There are many ways to take care of your Taha Tinana. It mostly revolves around taking care of your body and health.

  

Diet and body -

- Exercise everyday to keep help oxygen flow to your brain and keep you healthy.

- Eat healthy food to keep a healthy diet and help your body function properly and healthy.

- When buying food, look at the nutritional information before buying and see if it is healthy.

- Sleep at least 8 hours a day.

 Hygiene -

- Keep yourself clean and tidy, so that bacteria will not get you sick.

- Brush your teeth everyday to keep them clean.

- Shower daily and wash your hair.

How is Taha Tinana demonstrated in real life?

Taha Tinana is demonstrated everywhere in life. Taha Tinana can be demonstrated in school in PE class, exercising, washing your hands before having a meal, showering everyday, brushing your teeth in the morning and night, going grocery shopping and reading the nutritional info, eating our food, etc. 

*Taha Tinana is very important, as it covers a HUGE part of our life.

*These pictures I drew are of someone looking at the nutritional information, someone washing their hands, and someone exercising.

Hauora

Hauora

What is Hauora?

Hauora is a concept of well-being in New Zealand created by the Maori people. Hauora is about our health, and our well-being. It teaches us how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The four dimensions of Hauora are; 

Taha Tinana - Physical well-being

Taha Wairua - Spiritual well-being

Taha Hinengaro - Emotional and Mental well-being

Taha Whanau - Social and relationship well-being

Why is Hauora important?

Hauora is important in our lives because it teaches us how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. It shows us and teaches us that if we are lacking in one of our dimensions, then we are unhealthy. It doesn't matter whether you are healthy in one dimension, but not healthy in another one, because once we are healthy in one place, it has an impact on our whole body. 

The concept uses a whare to show hauora. The four walls represent the four dimensions, and if one of them falls or breaks, then it affects the whole whare, and it can even make the whole whare collapse. The whare represents our bodies, and if we don't take care of any of the dimensions, then the whare will collapse, meaning that we will become sick.

*This is a DLO drawing a created using an online drawing tool.

Business and Enterprise - Making the slime

At first, making the slime was really messy, but as we added the borax, it started to come together!

Business and Enterprise - Come Along!

My favourite part of Term 2 is finally here! Business and Enterprise time!

This year, I have joined a company named Slimey Sensation. We are a company that makes all sorts of slime for only $3.50 per container! The types of slimes we will be making are - Glossy Slime, Fluffy Slime, Emoji Slime, Unicorn Swirl Slime!

Come along and see our market day!

High Impact - The Forces #3

High Impact - Potential Energy, Kinetic Energy, Balanced Force, Unbalanced Force

Potential Energy - 
What is potential energy? - Potential energy is the stored energy an object has from its position or state. 

http://www.wikihow.com/images/4/44/Shoot-a-Bow-Accurately-Step-4.jpg

The more the arrow is pulled back, the more potential energy is created. 
Kinetic Energy -
What is kinetic energy? - Kinetic energy is energy that is collected while an object or person is in motion. 

Balanced Force -
What are balanced forces? - It is when two forces are acting in opposite directions of an object or person, and are equal in size. 

Unbalanced Force -
What are unbalanced forces? - Unbalanced force is when two forces acting on an object are not equal in size. If there is a balanced force on an object, the object either stays still or continues moving in the same speed and direction. 

High Impact - The Forces #2

High Impact - Gravity, Air Resistance, Accelerate, Motion

Gravity -
What is Gravity? - Gravity is the force that is pulling things towards the centre of the Earth, and keeping us on it. Heres a story - While Sir Newton was sitting down under an apple tree, an apple fell down on him. He wondered, why did the apple fall downwards. Why didn't it go up, or any other direction? This thought led him to discover gravity, 
Why do we need gravity? - Without gravity, we wouldn't be pulled into Earth's core, instead, we would be flying off into space. For example, if you jump, you would come back right down onto the surface, because the gravity is pulling you into the Earth's core. 

Deep Thought : Looking at this drawing, if you think about it, down and up basically mean in and out. Into the core, and out to space. 

Air Resistance -
What is Air Resistance? - Air resistance is air moving against a moving object, and slowing it down. It is basically friction from air.
Why do we need air resistance? - It's beneficial in some activities, and dangerous in others. It forces us to use considerable energy in travel. Air resistance is needed in parachuting, skydiving, cars, and others. 

Acceleration - 
What is acceleration? - Acceleration is a force that makes objects increase in speed or rate. While objects move they gain acceleration, and acceleration makes them go faster. We use the single term acceleration to mean any change in velocity.
Why do we need acceleration? - So that things and/or people can go faster as they move forward. 

Motion -
What is motion? - Motion is when a person or object moves. 
Why do we need motion? - Because without motion, nothing would move! Everything will be immobile.

Newton's cradle is a device that demonstrates conservation of momentum and energy using a series of swinging spheres. Newton's cradle is named after Sir Isaac Newton

High Impact - The Forces #1

High Impact - Force, Push, Pull, Friction 

Force -
What is a force? - A force is an interaction, push or pull, that changes the motion of an object.
Why do need forces in our life?  -  As said before in the definition, force is basically just a fancy word for push and pull. If we didn't have forces, the world wouldn't spin, and nothing would move. Our entire life is motion, all motion is caused by forces. It's a force that causes everything to happen. Imagine a life where we couldn't move anything?
Force is everywhere, as said before, it makes it possible for things to be moved. The world is able to spin with force!

Newton's Laws of Motion -

First Law -
Objects that are at rest, stay at rest, and objects in motion, stay in motion, unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. 

Second Law -
Force = Mass x Acceleration (f = ma)

Third Law -
Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
Push - 
What is push? - A force that works when you apply pressure against something, and move it away from you.
Why do we need push in our? - Push is basically force, as said before, if we didn't have push, nothing would move. Push is used around us all the time, for example, we push buttons, doors, and other objects.

Pull - 
What is pull? - Pull is the opposite of push. As said before, its a force that works when you grip onto something and put force on it to make it go towards you.
Why do we need pull? - As said before, we need pull to move things around. Without pull, it would be very difficult to move things around. Pull is used around us all the time, for example, we pull doors all the time! 

Friction - 
What is friction? - Friction is a force between two surfaces that are sliding, or trying to slide across one another. Friction always works in the direction opposite from the direction the object is moving, or trying to move. It always slows a moving object down. The lower the friction, the easier/faster the object will move, if there is a force moving it, of course. For example, if you are trying to pull/push a box over some grass, it will be difficult to move. If you try pull/push a box over some ice, it would be much easier, because ice has lower friction than grass. 
Why do we need friction? - Well, friction is one of the things that keep things in place. By in place, I mean still, and not moving when there is no force acting on it. If we didn't have friction, once an object is moved, it will not stop moving until another force stops it. For example, if you kicked a ball, it would eventually stop right? If there were no friction on Earth, and you were to kick that ball, it would keep going forever until a force stops it.