Wellbeing

 For the past few weeks in Wananga, we have been doing reflections on the three factors in our life that we want to improve. The three factors that I chose were Friendships, School, and Culture. The factor that has improved the most in my opinion was school. I was able to achieve accomplishments that I wasn't able to do. I also feel proud since I can now focus on my work better and not get easily distracted.   

Shark Finning - Social Studies

 What is Shark Finning?

Shark Finning is a terrible act of removing fins from sharks which are then sold. After removing the fins, the shark will then be thrown back into the water. Being unable to swim due to losing their fins, they would then eventually descend onto the bottom of the ocean, dying slowly and painfully. 

Shark Finning is not only a horrendous act but it also makes a big impact on the economy and environment. It is also one of the main reason why shark's population decrease over time. With that being said, it will be hard for them to also reproduce since sharks have a really low reproductive system. Adding into that information, 73 million sharks are being killed each year just for their fins which is very wrong. 

What is "Shark Fin Soup"? 

Shark fin soup is a Chinese delicacy that was stated to be made 1000 years ago. The ability to be able to eat this rare delicacy can change the privileges you have and also your social standings. If being honest, this dish does not have any taste in it nor any nutritional value. Beef stock or chicken stock are added to the dish to make it have flavor and actually taste like something. 

Book Reflection - Wananga

 The book that I decided to reflect on is the book that we are currently reading in ESOL. The name of the book is Skink Gully. The story is about 3 boys going on a holiday. In the first chapter, it stated that they have just finished school and were ready to go on their summer holiday. Dylan and his dad decided to go to a farm and spend time together. Dylan invited Nimish, his friend, to go with them. In the second chapter, it just stated that they found some evidence from right outside their cabin that someone has been close to them, even go as far as to watch them. Zeb the dog has been sensing that someone has been out there all night, but Dylan and the others just decided to ignore it. This chapter was also called "Bodies" because that was where they found a lot of dead bodies of animals. The first one that they found was brought by Zeb. It was a dead feral cat, which mainly means that it was a wild cat. The next dead body that they found was a body of a dead sheep. The latest chapter that we read was, of course, chapter 3. Not that many things happened in chapter 3 than in chapter 2. All that happened was they found a tail of an Otago Skink, which was rarely seen in the area where they were from. 

Burger Competition - Home Economics

 Last week for Home Economics, we had our burger competition where we competed with other groups from my class. The members of my group are Shiela, Skyler, and Rieya. It has just been announced that we won the "Best Over All Burger" for the competition. 

Evaluation:

1. How does colour enhance the overall effect of your meals?

The colour of the patty that we made was golden brown, it was the perfect colour and it was also perfectly cooked. We also put mayonnaise, lettuce, and tomatoes which helped add a little more colour to the burger.   

2. What did it taste like?

So far, that was the best-tasting burger we made out of all the other ones we made before. The patty was cooked perfectly, golden brown on the outside, and steaming hot on the inside. It was not raw which was a very big relief for my group since it was a very thick patty. The lettuce and sauces that we put into the burger held everything together.

The comments of the judges made every effort that we put in worth it. They complimented the way the burger was constructed. But they especially mentioned the patty, which was the one that we mainly focused on. The only error that we had was the bottom buns getting soggy after some time. The reason being is that the seeds of the tomatoes were not removed, which caused the juice to fall onto the buns. Next time we do this, we'll remember to not make the same mistakes.

Holiday Trip - ESOL

 Out of all of the holiday trips I went to, my most favorite was when I and my family went to Auckland and Hamilton to visit my grandmother. We went there in 2019 to celebrate Christmas and New Year. The flight only took one hour from Christchurch to Auckland. We arrived there in the afternoon and my grandpa was the one who picked us up from the airport. He's not Filipino that's why I felt a bit shy to talk to him. Fast forward to when we finally arrived at Hamilton, my grandma greeted us with excitement, along with my aunt. That was also the first I saw my Aunt's new dogs named Olaf and Willy. Willy was an outdoor dog that's why he was rarely in the house, unlike Olaf. 

After a few days of spending time together, my aunt invited us to go to Auckland to go to Rainbow's End and to also visit her restaurant. In Rainbow's End, I got to go to the extreme ride which was only available for 2 hours on that day. The ride was called Stratosfear. 

Corrosion Experiment - Science

Investigating Rusting 

Hypothesis: All of the test tubes will have a corroded nail except for the one in D. 

Aim: To investigate the factors that cause rusting in iron. 

Equipment: 

8 test tubes
Test tube racks 
A bung
8 iron nails
Boiled water 
Tap water
Salty water
Cooking oil
Calcium chloride
Vaseline
Nail polish
Zinc

Method:

1. Label four test tubes A - D and place them in a test tube rack. 

2. Test tube contents: A = Iron nail and tap water, B = Iron nail and salty water, C = Iron nail, boiled water, oil, and D = Iron nail and calcium chloride. Sealed with a bung.

3. Leave the test tube undisturbed for at least three days. 

Test Tube	A condition present or absent	Observation after experiment
A	Nail	The nail only rusted at the top and didn’t really look different from how it looked before the experiment took place.
B	Tap water + Nail	Out of all the other test tubes, B was the one that corroded the most. The whole nail was covered with rust.
C	Salt + Water + Nail	This test tube was not as bad as the one before. It still rusted but only a little bit.
D	Oil + Water + Nail	This nail didn’t corrode as much as the other ones since it was covered with oil, preventing air and water from touching the nail.
E	CaCl + Bungs + Nail	This nail was the only one that did not corrode out of all the other nails.
F	Vaseline + Water + Nail	Same as the one with the oil, this nail didn’t corrode as much because it was covered with vaseline that has the same substance as oil.
G	Nail Polish + Water + Nail	This nail corroded and covered the whole nail. When you shake it, the rust just stays on the nail, unlike the other ones when shaken.
H	Zn + Water + Nail	With the last test tube, it only corroded the Zn but hardly the nail. There were also tiny pieces of rust floating in the water.

Experiment followed:

Before Experiment:

 

 

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch News Article - Social Studies

Following up with the Great Pacific Garbage Patch blog post, we then needed to make a news article about it. The news article that I created basically includes the facts that I also had put into the slideshow. The only difference is how I presented it. Anyways, I used Canva to create this poster.