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Sunday, December 30, 2018

Summer Learning Journey Week one

Day Tahi
Activity one: The Legend of New Zealand

According to Māori mythology, much of Aotearoa New Zealand was formed when Māui, a powerful demigod, fished it out of the sea. Legend has it that Māui created a magical fish hook from the jawbone of his grandmother and that one day he took his hook, boarded a boat, and rode out into the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Once at sea, he threw his magical hook into the water and caught a fish. This ‘fish’ was actually the North Island of New Zealand! In honour of this legend, the North Island of New Zealand is sometimes referred to as Te Ika a Māui or ‘Māui’s fish’ and the South Island of New Zealand is sometimes referred to as Te Waka a Māui or ‘Māui’s canoe’.
To learn more cool facts about New Zealand, check out the Tourism NZ website. Read the fun facts posted on the website and choose your ‘Top 3.’ On your blog, post your ‘Top 3 Fun Facts’ about NZ in your own words.
  1. New Zealanders are also called kiwi's which are one of the country's most well known native bird.
  2. The official languages are English, Māori and NZ sign language.
  3. You must drive in the left side of the road in this country and you usually sit in the right side of the car to drive.

Activity two: North and South


The country of New Zealand is made up of two main islands – the North Island and the South Island. Approximately 77% of the New Zealand population live in the North Island. Many of these people (including our Summer Learning Journey design team) live in Auckland city. Auckland is a great place to live with lots of amazing parks, beautiful waterways and stunning scenery to enjoy. It is also a busy, vibrant city with many cafes, museums, galleries and theatres to visit. I feel lucky to call Auckland my ‘hometown.’
Now it is time to think about your hometown. What is special about where you live? On your blog, describe your hometown. Be sure to include lots of describing words (adjectives) in your post.
My hometown is Christchurch, the city that 2011 broke with an earthquake a natural disaster. It was a large city and it had a lot of buildings. But suburb wise my suburb is the best, it has lots of food shops like Pizza hut, KFC, McDonald's and Subway so there's plenty of food choices. And then there's The Hub Hornby which has all the shops you need like The Warehouse, Toyworld, Specsavers, Farmers, Whitcoulls, Paper Plus and Just Incredible.

Activity three: Ice, Ice Baby

Antarctica is the world’s coldest continent. Even though it is made up of ice, it is also the driest continent in the world. In fact, it hasn’t rained there for nearly 2 million years! It is home to many animals such as whales, seals, birds, and fish. There are no permanent human residents (people who live there all the time) in Antarctica, however scientists do visit and stay in Antarctica for a while to study it.
This year the airline, Air New Zealand, filmed their safety video in Antarctica. They used some fabulous actors from Hornby Primary School in Christchurch. Just like on aeroplanes, we also need to keep safe and be smart online. We need to think about the type of information we are sharing online, who we are sharing information with, and how to have a positive digital footprint.
On your blog, make a copy of this footprint and, inside the footprint, explain how you create a positive, digital footprint. What do you do to stay smart online?

Day Rua

Activity one: Giant Among Us

New Zealand has a really special environment. Many of the plants and trees found in New Zealand are not found anywhere else in the world. These plants and trees are endemic to our country.  In New Zealand, one of the largest and longest living endemic trees is the NZ Kauri tree. Kauri are mainly found in three regions of New Zealand: the Coromandel, Auckland and Northland. The largest Kauri tree in the country is in the Waipoua Forest in Northland. It is called Tāne Mahuta. Some people refer to it as the ‘Lord of the Forest.’
Thousands of people go to visit Tāne Mahuta every year. Would you like to be one of those people who got to see Tāne Mahuta in real life? Why or why not?
On your blog, tell us whether you would like to go and visit Tāne Mahuta one day. Be sure to tell us why you do (or do not) want to visit this endemic tree.
I would love to go and see this tree for it would be a great sight to me.

Activity two: Fabulous Ferns


One of the most common plants found in New Zealand forests is the fern. It is a special, iconic symbol of New Zealand. You will find pictures of ferns on the jerseys of many famous sporting teams in New Zealand, including the New Zealand All Blacks.
Did you know that many of these teams also have the word ‘fern’ in their name? Use your best researching skills to find three New Zealand sporting teams who use the word ‘fern’ in their title.
On your blog list three sports teams that have the word ‘fern’ in their title. Beside each team’s name, post a picture of their uniform. Then, at the bottom of your blog post tell us which of the three uniforms you like best and why.
The uniform I like most is the Silver Ferns because its not a rugby uniform.
  1. Silver Ferns Image result for silver ferns uniform
  2. Black Ferns Image result for black ferns uniform
  3. Kiwi Ferns Image result for kiwi ferns uniform

Activity three: Weird and Wonderful

New Zealand is just one of many countries that has amazing plants and trees. In fact, the African desert is home to some pretty incredible plants, like the cactus. Some cacti are able to survive on as little as 3 millilitres (ml) of water a day. Wow!
Let’s imagine that you are given a cactus for your birthday. To keep it alive, you must give it 3 ml of water every day.
Over one full year, how much water will you need to give your cactus plant?
On your blog, tell us how to solve this maths problem. You can write your answer in words, use a Sketchpad image, or post a video explaining how you would figure it out. Be sure to give us your final answer in millilitres (ml).

Day Toru

Activity one: Fantastic Beasts

In New Zealand we have many unusual animals. One of the most unusual is the kiwi bird - a bird that does not have wings and can not fly. Pretty strange, eh?! J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter books, has recently written a new book about strange or unusual animals called ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.’
For this activity, please watch this cool book trailer. Year 7 and Year 8 students in South Auckland, New Zealand helped to make it. Once you have watched the video, use your imagination and create your very own beast. What does your beast look, smell, feel, and sound like?
On your blog, post a description of your beast. Use interesting adjectives (describing words) to tell us about your beast.
My beast is small with large rabbit ears and sharp teeth in a wide smile. It smells sweet like honey, it has fur softer than a pillow but it's as hard as a rock. It's got stubby arms and legs and is a creamy color. Also it screams like a gremlin.

Activity two: The Secretive Skink

We have a number of small lizards (geckos and skinks) living in New Zealand. One of the least common is the Chevron Skink. According to the Department of Conservation, Chevron Skinks live mostly on two islands - Great Barrier Island and Little Barrier Island. These islands are ‘animal reserves.’ Very few people, other than staff working for the New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC), are allowed to live there. The DOC staff are called ‘Rangers.’ Their job is to protect the wildlife (animals and plants) living on the island.
Would you like to be a DOC ranger and live with the animals on Great Barrier Island?
On your blog list three pros (good things) and three cons (bad things) about working as a DOC ranger. At the bottom of your post, tell us whether you would like to be a DOC Ranger or not.
Pro
  1. You get to be with animals every day.
  2. There are lots of places where you can look at nature.
  3. You can be bossy as much as you want if it protects animals.
Con
  1. You have a lot of work to do.
  2. Animals can be noisy.
  3. Animals can bite really hard.
I would love to work around animals and study them in their habitats, so I would love to be a ranger.

Activity three: The WWF: World Wildlife Funds


In 1961, a number of people came together to start an organisation called the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The main goal of this organisation was/is to protect life on earth. Hundreds of WWF staff work in countries all over the world trying to protect our planet and the animals who live here. To learn more about their amazing work, click on one of the two video links below.

Clip #2: Tigers

Once you have watched the video, go to your blog and, using full sentences, tell us:
1) The name of the animal the WWF is working to save.
2) What the WWF is doing to help the animal.
3) What, if any, success they have had protecting the animal.
The WWF is working to save freshwater seals by building snow banks for them. If they don't do this their pups will be exposed to the harshness of nature like predators. The seals usually dig into snow banks  to lay their pups so their pups can be protected. They are constantly trying to save animals so I hope the seal population has gone up.

Day Wha

Activity one: Scaling New Heights


Aotearoa New Zealand is a country of mountains and valleys, dense forests, and sparkling oceans. At the centre of the South Island sits the tallest mountain in the country, Aoraki Mt Cook. It is the place where Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to reach the top (summit) of Mt Everest, learned how to climb mountains. It was pretty difficult for him, at first, but Sir Edmund Hillary did not give up and, in 1953, he achieved this dream of climbing Mt Everest. His face can now be found on the New Zealand $5 note!
Let’s imagine that you met Sir Edmund Hillary in real life and were able to interview him.
On your blog, post five questions that you would like to ask Sir Edmund Hillary about his life.
  1. Where did you first visit.
  2. Where did you first grow up.
  3. Why did you become an explorer.
  4. When did you become an explorer.
  5. What's your favorite food.


Activity two: Pancakes and Maple Syrup

Aotearoa New Zealand is home to many spectacular sights and natural wonders. One of these is the Punakaiki Rocks and Blowholes located on the West Coast of the South Island. The Punakaiki rocks attract tourists from all over the world who are keen to see these amazing rock formations. Many people think that they look like pancakes stacked on top of one another. Pancakes are one of my favourite foods! They are delicious and pretty easy to make.
For this activity you are asked to choose one of your favourite foods. On your blog, write the name of your favourite food and then tell us how to make it. You may need to ask a family member, friend or Google (!) for help, if you do not normally make this food for yourself.
The delicious short bread like cookies I make. It's easy to make them just buy nestle some chocolate chips from countdown and follow the recipe on the back.

Activity three: Salt and Pepper

Deep in the heart of Bolivia (a country in South America) lies a natural wonder unlike anything else. It is a massive area of salt, over 10 000 km2 large, that is referred to as the Uyuni Salt Flats.
Tourists who visit the flats often stay in hotels made completely out of salt (salt hotels). This is not the only unique hotel that you will find around the world. In fact, you can stay in hotels made entirely of ice (ice hotels) or glass (glass hotel). Let’s imagine that you were given enough money to build your very own hotel.
On your blog tell us where you would build your hotel and what you would use to build it. For an extra five points, use Google Drawings to design one room in your hotel. You can also use a paper and pencil to draw your room, take a picture of the drawing, and post it on your blog.
If I had enough money to build a hotel I would build a hotel shaped like a Pokéball each room will be themed around a different Pokémon and it's evolution's from the original 151 Pokémon.


Day Rima


Activity one: Towering Timbers

There is a long and rich history of logging in New Zealand. Logging involves cutting down trees. The people who cut them down are called loggers. The trees that they cut down are sold and used to build things (eg. houses), to make products (eg. paper), and to generate (create) heat and power. Over the past two centuries, many of the trees in New Zealand have been cut down by loggers.


Some people like logging because it creates jobs for the loggers and generates money for New Zealand while others are against (opposed to) logging. Many of those opposed are worried that logging will damage the environment. It might also force animals who live in trees (eg. owls) to find new homes.
What do you think about logging?
On your blog tell us whether you think logging should be allowed in New Zealand. Be sure to provide at least two reasons to support your argument.
What do I think about logging? I think it's worse than killing everybody in a small town I mean millions of species have been killed because of logging (AKA: deforestation). Deforestation is illegal in a bunch of countries and is a cause of global warming. If we don't stop heaps more life forms will die out and I don't just mean animals people will die too. This shouldn't just be banned in a few country's it should be banned allover the world and to do it should be a life sentence to Alcatraz. They say man is enemy to all and I think their right.

Activity two: Living on the Edge

While it can get quite cold in New Zealand, it rarely drops below freezing (0). Most of the time the temperature in New Zealand is pretty mild. This is not the case in the tundra. The tundra is an area of land (biome) that is cold, dry and completely treeless. Did you know that the average temperature in the tundra is -28?
Over the past few years, however, the temperature in the tundra has been rising and the weather has been changing. Let’s imagine that your teacher decides to take you on a class trip to the tundra before the weather changes too much and you aren’t able to go.
On your blog, write a letter to your best friend or a family member telling them about your trip to the tundra. To earn full points your letter must have a greeting (eg. Dear…) followed by 5 – 6 sentences of information about what your experience.
Dear Sam,

I have just been to visit the tundra, it was really cool. Though it was chilly there were a ton of cool animals there, I even saw some kea eating frozen berries. There were lots of birds and bugs around and even some lizards. It turned out to to be -28℃ no wonder I almost froze but i'm glad I didn't though can't say the same for my feet. There was also a lot of ice and snow I even slipped over at one point. I really wish you could have seen it with me because it would be more fun with you there.

Yours sincerely
Thomas

Activity three: Going, Going... Gone

Over the years, scientists have made some surprising discoveries. One of these discoveries is that we have entire cities (e.g. Jakarta, Indonesia and Venice, Italy) that are slowly sinking into the ocean. Scientists believe that, one day, the cities will disappear completely under the water. Yikes!
Some of the residents (people living in the cities) have taken pictures of their neighbourhoods and written stories about their lives in order to make a record of what ‘life was like’ in their city before it disappeared.
Let’s imagine that New Zealand was going to sink to the bottom of the ocean next week (Eek!). Before it sinks you are asked to write a blog post telling people what life was like in New Zealand in 2018.
On your blog, post a description of life in New Zealand in 2018. Please remember that the people who read your post will have never been to New Zealand or even seen a picture so it is your job to ‘paint a picture’ of New Zealand using your words. You can also post pictures, if you wish. Be sure to fully attribute the pictures.
This year in New Zealand might be the last since New Zealand is sinking like a ship. So before it completely sinks I will tell you about all the places I visited this year. The first place I will tell you about is Orana Wildlife Park. Orana Wildlife Park is basically a zoo, there are many animals to look at like kiwis and meerkats. There are plenty of things to look at and there's a cafe with a large selection of ice blocks🍦 you can go to when you get hungry. There's even a playground you can go to [for more info go to there website]. Next I will tell you about the botanical gardens and their summer treasure hunt. The summer treasure hunt, if you didn't figure out already, is a activity you can do during the summer. You walk around the botanical gardens and see how many things you can find from a list you get on their website. Aside from that, you can explore the gardens for free it's a great place to go for a day out. As an added bonus there is a museum nearby.
Finally I will tell you about The Hub Hornby, The Hub is a large shopping mall with many shops. There's a The Warehouse, an EBGames, a Toyworld and a bunch of food shops. It is the best place for finding what you need.
But that's only part of Christchurch, New Zealand is better known for its luscious forests and native animals. There's also a place you can go called Orana Wildlife Park here are some pictures:
Porcupine
TIGER!!!!!!!

Meerkat
Meerkat

Kea
Fluffy Kea

Tui
Mouse In NZ Bird Enclosure

Red Crowned Kakariki
Red Crowned Kakariki

A Wild Goose
Springbok

Springbok
Baby Springbok

A Lion
A Adult Tuatara

A Tortoise
A Shingleback

A Baby Tuatara
Another Baby Tuatara

And Another Baby Tuatara
A Green Gecko

A Dozing Tiger
(All pictures taken by yours truly)

    5 comments:

    1. Kia ora Thomas!

      My name is Mikey. I'm a member of the Summer Learning Journey team this year and I will be commenting on your blog posts over the next few weeks. Congratulations on completing a whole weeks worth of activities! That's an incredible effort :)

      You've included some really great messages in your 'digital footprint'. It's so important that we take extra care when we use the internet. I'm glad to see that you know this and that you know how to be cybersmart.

      Well done on researching three New Zealand sports teams - popular ones, at that. I like the Silver Ferns uniform the best as well. It reminds me of the uniform I wear when I play netball on Saturdays. Do you play any sports?

      You've made some really great points both for and against being a DOC Ranger. A friend of mine used to work for DOC and he LOVED it! I think it would be a pretty cool job too. What kinds of animals would you most like to work with?

      Wow! What an original idea for a hotel! How did you come up with the idea to have it shaped as a Pokéball? Would you design an Oddish room? He's one of my favourites :) What kinds of materials would you use to build it?

      I really enjoyed reading about the different places you've visited this year, Thomas. Which one was your favourite? The Summer Treasure Hunt sounds like a great way to spend the day. Do you know who organises it? I'd love to find out if they have something similar here in Auckland. It's great to see that you've included lots of images too. Well done for making note of where you got them from.

      I look forward to reading more posts from you soon. Until then, happy blogging! :)

      ReplyDelete
    2. Kia ora Thomas,

      I'm Laura - also part of the Summer Learning Journey team like Mikey. Mikey told me about this awesome blog post so I had to check it out!

      I love your description of your beast - you use some fantastic vocabulary (words) to describe it and I can just imagine what it looks like! I also really liked reading your description of what NZ is like, when you talk about Orana Park. I went there years ago on a school camp (I lived in Nelson) and it was so much fun! Great idea to direct people to their website by adding the link.

      I hope you are enjoying your summer holiday and having fun with the Summer Learning Journey. I can't believe it's 2019 already!

      Keep up the awesome work Thomas!

      From Laura :)

      ReplyDelete
    3. Kia ora Thomas,

      Great to see you getting into the Summer Learning Journey and completing so many of the activities, great work!

      New Zealand is such a cool place to live I think and there is so much cool history to learnt about our country. I love being a Kiwi and think it's pretty cool we get our nickname from our iconic native bird. Have you seen a kiwi before? I have seen one when I went to Willowbank, it was pretty cool.

      Well done in completing the "Weird and Wonderful" mathematical equation and showing your working. How did you create your illustration? It's pretty amazing how a cactus can live with such a little amount of water however it wouldn't be very helpful living in the desert if it needed a lot would it?

      Yum, I love shortbread too! Are you able to pass the recipe that you have for it onto me? I'd love to try it.

      Until next time, happy blogging. :)

      ReplyDelete
    4. Good afternoon Thomas,

      My name is Susie and I am also a member of the Summer Learning Journey (SLJ) team. It is great to see that you've created this giant blog post which consists of so many SLJ activities! How long did it take you to finish a week's worth of activities?

      I really enjoyed reading about your hometown Christchurch. You have done a great job mentioning what the city is well-known for. Were you affected by the 2011 earthquake? When I visited the South Island I absolutely loved Sumner beach and New Brighton. There are so many beautiful landscape around the area. If you could recommend 3 must-visit spots in Christchurch, what would they be? Where do you usually like to spend your time during summer?

      I am happy to hear that you would like to visit the Tāne Mahuta tree. Did you know that this tree is approximately 2,000 years old? It means that it's been growing for the past two millenniums! Pretty crazy, right? What would you like to do once you get a chance to visit Waipoua Forest? I would probably take a picture standing right next to the humongous tree. I also love camping so maybe I can stay overnight at a nearby camping site.

      I hope you have an awesome year at school Thomas :) Keep up the blogging!

      Susie
      SLJ

      ReplyDelete
    5. hi i really like your long blog about animals and the moari culture and keep it

      ReplyDelete

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