Manaiakalani Student Leaders Conference 2013

Last Friday I was lucky enough to attend the first ever Manaiakalani Student Leaders Conference at Tamaki College. I was one out of four people to represent my school at this years student conference.

When we entered the foyer people handed us schwag bags filled with different goodies. Tamaki College’s hall filled up quickly with different leaders from all the schools in the Manaiakalani cluster. After a quick introduction from Mrs Burt we had to mix and mingle with all the other students there at the conference.

Later, Andrew Patterson had a very inspiring talk about technology and our future. He introduced different websites including TED.com and khanacademy.com. Five students from Tamaki College advertised their business, ‘Geek Cafe’. After their talk we had a delicious morning tea  which was provided by Tamaki College’s Year 13 Catering and Hospitality students. Lunch was also catered by them.

We then did a design challenge provided with smartphones from two people from Telecom, Devon Stewart and Dion Keating. We worked with the students sitting with us at the table which were the leaders from Pt England School. The scavenger hunt was difficult because we had to download different aps and we had to text in our answers. We ended up coming in second place to Stonefields who came first.

Our second challenge was to make a video using the ap dropbox. In our little video we involved our highlight of the day which was how we needed three things to get to our dream job. They then showed all the videos on the big projector.

After a long day at the Manaiakalani Student Leaders Conference for 2013 I learnt about how important it is to have a plan B if your plan A doesn’t work out. Overall, the whole day was very inspiring. It made me think that if you have a goal you’ll need to have a strategy or a plan to get there.

Why Breakfast is Important

Breakfast is a very important meal for students to have daily. Having this meal gives you the strength and energy for the school day ahead of you. Without eating something for the start of the day it’s most likely you’ll slack off and get tired easily. I think that all students should have breakfast every morning because it’s good for their mental and physical health.

First, not having breakfast changes your mood and the way you think. Not having food in your stomach before the day starts makes you hungry which makes you feel different moods. Not a lot of people like others who are irritated so do yourself a favour for everyone, including yourself by having breakfast.

Second, without breakfast you lack energy and it’s harder for you to concentrate. People who skip breakfast usually can’t think straight and it’s harder for them to cope in class. By eating the most important meal of the day it’ll give you energy for your brain to think and pay attention in class.

Third, if not eating breakfast is in your routine it may cause diseases and sicknesses. If you don’t eat you may get sick and it’ll have a stronger effect on you compared to people who have breakfast. Having something to eat in the morning is good to have in your daily routine and it’s healthy for you and your body.

So, it is good for students to have breakfast in the morning. You’ll prevent the consequences like getting sick or having the urge to sleep during class. After all, it is the most important meal of the day so it’s time to do something about your health by eating breakfast.

The Penny Farthing Bicycle

WALHT: Use information skills to find information and combine it together using words and images to inform others.

Penny Farthings

The Penny Farthing is a type of bicycle that has two different sized wheels. One large front wheel and a much smaller wheel at the back. The front wheel can be up to 5 ft high which makes it harder to ride on. This bicycle was popular in the 1870’s till the 1890’s which was in the Victorian era.

Invention and Inspiration

It was invented in the 1870’s by James Starley and was given the name ‘Penny Farthing’ when the bicycle was nearly outdated. The name of this bike got it’s inspiration from the old British coins, pennies and farthings. When the penny is on the left and the farthing is on the right it forms the shape of the two wheels.

Getting on the Bicycle

The disadvantage of this bicycle is that it’s difficult to get on and off, and falling off of it is a serious hazard. To get onto the seat of the bike one foot would have to be placed on a peg behind the back wheel. The rider gets a hold onto the handlebar and lifts themselves onto the saddle. In most photos of people riding penny farthings they’re on clear roads since it’s most likely they’re avoiding potholes, stones and animals on the road.

Riding the Bicycle

Riding the penny farthing is similar to riding a normal bicycle. To avoid falling it’s important to pedal steadily and to keep balance. When people ride penny farthings their backs are always straight. If not it’s most likely they’ll fall off which can cause bad injuries.

The Penny Farthing Today

In the year 1888, John Dunlop re-invented his son’s tricycle which made it the new trend. Because of this it made the penny farthing obsolete (out of date). Five years later penny farthings were no longer being made. People who were interested in this bicycle adapted the design and built new penny farthings that are much more safe and easier to use.

Technicraft Term 1

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Technicraft Filpbook

Click on the photo above to read my FlipSnack Book.

Underwater Viewer Experiment

On May 10th, Room 8 went out on their very first scientific expedition to find out what sat at the bottom of the sea. Underwater viewers were designed and constructed to help with Room 8’s discovery. The purpose of the underwater viewers were to see things clearly beneath the water.

Our location was set at the Tamaki River. The seabed was muddy and surrounded with mangroves and mudflats. Some of the areas were easy to walk on while other surfaces were more difficult since there weren’t a lot of shells which meant it wasn’t as firm.

A lot of creatures were found on the mud including shrimp, crabs, sea slugs and sea snails which were mainly found underneath rocks. Some sea creatures left behind shells which were scattered along the areas we were examining in. Non-living items including tyres, pipes from drains, broken glass and rusty chains from the boats were also found.

The difficulty of this expedition was reaching the waters edge because at the time we experimented the tide was low. The closer we came to it, the mud became softer to a point where we got stuck. Our underwater viewers weren’t used during the expedition. If the tide wasn’t low that day, the area where we found things would have been under the water. Without the help of our device we still discovered what sat at the bottom of the sea.

♥ My Mum ♥

The first time I felt a special connection between my mum and I was when she first held me after I was born. When she held me in her arms she knew I was her daughter and I knew she was my mum.

I remember the evening of my first day of school she came home and straight away took a photo of me dead tired on the floor since my mum loves to capture moments on camera. Every now and then we have arguments but after every banter and every day I’ll always love her. She listens to me, understands my problems and trusts me. My mum means everything to me. I can talk to her like she’s my best friend and even though her job is something about ICT, she always says her first priority job is to be a mother to myself and my two older brothers.

I admire how strong and brave she is and how she can easily relate to me. She’s my inspiration, my role model and of course, my mum.