Day 3 of SLJ: Awesome animals

Activity 1: 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.

This beast is feared because it is known to eat it's prey by making them into a stew! It has a singular eye in the middle of it forehead, bloodshot from lack of sleep. The cyclops never sleep. They long for the taste of demigod flesh and satyr meat, YUK! The size, well, that depends on its age. The tallest is 914 cm (30 cm). The fur is hard and bristly. Not a beast you would like to met. 

Activity 2: 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.

Pros 

1: You get to meet new animals.

2: You might get to go to places you've never been to. 

3: You might be the discoverer of new ways to save the environment. 

Cons

1: Some animals might get attached to you or you might get attached to an animal.

2: You might see people sabotaging the forest (which might upset or infuriate people)  

3: You might not be able to save an animal. 

Activity 3: WWF: World Wildlife Fund 

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 #1: Freshwater Seals

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 name of the animal is Saimaa ringed seal.

WWF is trying to help repopulate the population of Saimaa ringed seals by building snow banks so seal pups have a place to stay safe, keep warm and hide from humans that might cause disturbance.

Day 2 of SLJ: Forest life

Activity 1: Giants 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 like to visit the tree because it is a major tourist attraction. So, if tourists think it's an amazing piece of New Zealand then, I want to see it.

Activity 2: 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.

Sliver ferns (netball team) - 

Black ferns (women's rugby team) -

White ferns (women's cricket team) - 

I like the silver ferns uniform because I play netball and the uniform shows that that team is from New Zealand. Also it showcases the fern, our most common plant in New Zealand. 

Activity 3 (edit):

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).

This equation consists of multiplying and is quite simple. All you do is multiply 365 (because that is how much days are in the year) by 3 (because "my" cacti drinks 3 millilitres of water). The answer should be 1095. This is the simplest way I could think of.

Week 1 of summer learning journey (yay!) : A place to stand

Welcome to the first week of the Summer Learning Journey. For our first week, we are going to be learning all about the land habitats here in Aotearoa New Zealand. It is going to be a great adventure!

Day 1: In the beginning...

Activity 1: 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.

Fact 1: Aoeteroa is the Maori name for New Zealand. Aoeteroa means long white cloud.
Fact 2: New Zealand is 1 of the only 3 countries to have 2 national anthem's with equal standing. The first is 'God save the queen' and the second is 'God defend New Zealand'
Fact 3: Gisbourne is the first city in the world to see the sun. This is because Gisbourne is 496.3 kilometres away from the International date line.

Activity 2: 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.

I was born in Kawakawa. Kawakawa is world famous for the weird and wacky toilets built by an Austrian resident named Friendensreich Hundertwasser who lived from the mid 70's till 2000 when he died. 

Activity 3: Ice, Ice Baby [10 points]

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?

Old SLJ 2016-2017

Day 5 - Boarding the plane

It's the big day! You hop on an airplane and travel to a new country. Curious Kiwi will keep you company on the journey. Unfortunately, Curious Kiwi forgot his book and he is worried he will be bored on the long flight without anything to read. He asks you for some help...

Option 1: Think about all the books you have read this year and recommend one for Curious Kiwi to read. On your blog list the title and author of the book and then provide a short description of it. What is the book about?

My recommendation: Percy Jackson and the lightning thief.

Why? Because it is very imaginative book yet also informative and humorous. The book is about a 12 year old boy named Percy (Perseus) Jackson who is a demigod (half mortal half god). He lives in our world but with Greek gods and monsters alive and causing havoc. He embarks on a quest with 2 other teenagers (a demigod and satyr which is a half goat half man) to retrieve a very destructive weapon that might bring war and destroy the world! Don't worry though. It's not that scary :)

Old Summer learning journey 2015-2016

Day 2 activities. 

Option 1: Go on your blog spot and list 3 things that you need to stay safe on an air plane. 

1. You must stay seated at all times during take-off and landing. In duration of flight you may be allowed to take the seat belt off. 
2. If in an emergency and air masks fall the the ceiling you must fit your mask before your mates. 
3. If an emergency happens during either take off or landing put yourself in the brace position either your arms and head against the seat in front of you or if you are in row 1 put your hands on your head with your arms beside you legs.  
   

Bonus activity:

Cost 1: 2,858 CAD - 3,115.35 NZD

Cost 2: 3,604 CAD - 3,929.01 NZD

Cost 3: 4,789 CAD - 5,221.16 NZD

Cost 4: 1,252,991.09 CLP - 2,692.13323 NZD

Cost 5: 1,113,666.31 CLP - 2,392.92156 NZD

Cost 6: 1,776,767.70 CLP - 3,818.2071 NZD

Cost 7: 1,877 EUR - 3,112.34 NZD

Cost 8: 1,990.06 EUR - 3,299 NZD

Cost 9: 2,082.22 EUR - 3,452 NZD

Cost 10: 3,640 MYR - 1,265.87 NZD

Cost 11: 3,670 MYR - 1,276.32 NZD

Cost 12: 3,097 MYR - 1,076.97 NZD

Cost 13: 1,652 GBP - 3,051.92 NZD

Cost 14: 828 GBP - 1,529.62 NZD 

Cost 15: 830 GBP - 1,533.24 NZD

Cost 12 was the cheapest in NZD 

Cost 3 was the most expensive in NZD  

Energise with Whaea Gina

Yesterday in Te Ngahere we had energise. This week we were learning about takeaways. First we had a look healthy and unhealthy heart. We have to have some fat around our heart to provide some cushioning but if you have to much fat around your heart it can’t beat properly and it can’t circulate enough blood. This can happen with foods like Carls Jr, Mcdonalds, etc. The one that really surprised me was the fish and chips. It had 9.5 teaspoons of fat 1 piece of fish and a small handful of chips. I think I will try and cut down these takeaways.  

Easl.ly

Today in Te Ngahere we created an infographic; a way to present our statistics for gaming. We did a survey yesterday about gaming and our teachers got the statistics. They were really surprised about the amount of people who play online games. We found some really interesting facts (eg: 18% of people in our class report that parents think gaming is a problem). Then we made an infographic to show some statistics that we thought were really interesting and eye opening. We think easl.ly is a very cool website and we hope we can use it later on in the future for more cool things!