Connected Creativity - Debate

Kia ora! Recently all the year 9s at Hornby High School chose what passion projects they wanted to do till the end of the year. The 3 passions that I chose are forensics, debate and cultural narratives. Today, I'm going to be telling you all that I've been doing in debate recently. 

We started off simple by playing a game where our teacher would say a statement and we would have to move around the room depending on how we felt about it. For example, our teacher gave the statement "All zoos should be closed", I went to the space that represented, basically a slight no. Zoos are filled with majestic creatures usually from all over the world, people have a chance to see and visit them and learn new information.

In my first debate, I was nervous, but since it was a practice debate I felt a little at ease. I got the topic "All zoos should be closed" once again. Only this time I got to delve deeper into the topic and start doing actual research to prepare for what I'm going to say. In my opinion, my first debate went pretty well! I made eye contact and spoke with a good voice.  Although, something challenging was preparing for a clash, in my first two practice debates I was always the one who spoke first and the one to start the debate off but in my most recent debate, I had to prepare for a clash. 

Debate was a fun experience and I'm looking forward to future debates where we could possibly find out who won and who didn't

Gymnastics in P.E!

 Kia ora! Hope your day has been great so far! Also, long time no talk! Anyway, today I'll be telling you about what I've been doing in P.E recently. We started to do gymnastics late last term and continued on this term. We've been using 6 apparatus - bar, beam, parallel bars, mini-tramp, floor/mat and trampoline.

One challenge I faced while doing gymnastics was trying out new things and doing new techniques that I had never learnt before. I wouldn't say there was a 'most challenging' apparatus for me but the trampoline was quite fun. 

One achievement that I was proud of these past few weeks is probably learning to do things on the parallel & horizontal bars. 

These past few weeks taught me a lot of stuff to do with gymnastics and if I ever have to do something like this again, I would definitely take the chance!

Marijuana & our Bodies

  Kia Ora! Today I'll be sharing with you the work that I did for Health. We had to pick a topic out of Gender issues in sport, discrimination or racism, drugs on the mind &  body, obesity, addiction on the mind &  body, effects of gaming on the mind &  body, steroids in sports, illness (any), effects of social media on the mind, brain development during teenage years/neuroscience, coping strategies in practice, binge drinking, mental health/the mind and vaping. 

We also had to make something digital or on paper that we could use to present our work. I decided to create a collage!

I chose to do my work on how marijuana affects our bodies. I could have done a drug that wasn't as common but, I see so many people these days smoking weed and I just wanted myself and others to know the pros and cons before they end up doing something they regret.

Do you support the use of marijuana? Why or why not? Let me know in the comments!

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog, I hope you're all staying safe during lockdown.

Music Test

 1. What are the three elements of music?

Harmony, melody and rhythm

2. What music element is a chord? And name two instruments that can play cords

Guitar and Ukelele

3. What three parts make up a chord and what are their functions?

- Root

- Major or Minor

- Interval note

4. Name three of the four types of notes we've learnt about.

1/4, whole, 1/2, 1/8.

Emma Twigg

 Morning! You may know Emma Twigg, she recently won gold for New Zealand in the Olympics in a single scull race. My class was given a task to pick a sport that gets held at the Olympics, Summer Olympics, and Winter Olympics and research a person who plays that sport. I chose Emma Twigg, who does rowing. Here's a simple fact board I made about her.

Do you have a favourite sport to watch in the Olympics? If so, which one?

My Goals for Term 3

Morena all, welcome back to term 3 and my blog! I'm going to be starting off the term by telling you my goals for this term. What goals do you have for yourself this term? Let me know in the comments!

I like setting goals for myself as the term starts because it's always going to be in the back of my head to remind me. It's also something I can look back on. Do you set goals for yourself?

Diffusion of Potassium Permanganate

Hello! Welcome back to another Wednesday Science period! Today we did a little experiment resonating with diffusion, here's what I used!

Equipment:

Tweezers

Petri Dish

KMn04 (Potassium)

Cold & Hot water

Question: Does temperature speed up or slow down Diffusion?

Result/Observation: Crystal in the hot water grew and expanded 2x the size of the crystal in the cold water. Why? The particles in the hot water are moving faster than the particles in the cold water, which means that diffusion will happen quicker. 

Conclusion: The experiment was interesting because that was the first time I had seen something like that. It was also cool to see the effect the different temperatures of water would have on the potassium permanganate.

Last Card, Connect 4, and Twister! - Health

 Ciao! I hope you've all had a great day!

In Health for the past few lessons, we've been playing various games such as Operation, Uno, Pick-up sticks, and Guess Who. We played in groups with our friends. 

While we were playing we showed our interpersonal skills by being inclusive of others and letting people join in with us. In a game like 'Guess Who' we showed our active listening skills but carefully asking relevant questions. And, while playing something like Uno we had to negotiate and compromise whenever someone wouldn't agree with our rules and opinions. 

To be honest these last few lessons had been fun because we got to engage with students we might not be familiar with talking to. Also, I got to learn some new games and new ways people play certain games. 

Do you want to know more about Interpersonal Skills and why they're important in daily life? Click the link!

Rising Water

Hello! Today is a Monday, and maybe if you've been reading my blogs you may have noticed that on Mondays, I have Science! We're going to have a special experiment on Wednesday this week (something to do with dry ice!) so be on the lookout for a blog about that.

Anyway, let's talk about today. We just did a small experiment in which we had the following materials...

Materials

Candle

Petrie dish (or a bowl/plate works fine too)

Water

Cup

Lighter/Matches

What was our aim?

To see what happens to the water level when the candle is covered

Hypothesis

I predict that the gas from the fire will just form an interesting looking pattern.

Something that looks similar to this.

What is happening inside the cup?

Essentially the flame of the candle is consuming the oxygen.  As you can in the picture above, it talks about high pressure and low pressure. While the cup is on the flame, the pressure is high, and when you release the cup, the air gets cold and that's what causes low pressure. So basically the air is expanding and the water is contracting.  When you do the experiment, you can see tiny bubbles escaping under the cup which shows that the increased air pressure from the heated air as the candle burns. Once the candle runs out of oxygen, the candle burns out and the remaining air inside cools down.

Conclusion

As soon as we covered the lit candle with the cup the water started to rise a little, maybe even bubble before the candle went out in less than a few seconds. Not much happened in today's experiment but like I mentioned earlier, this was just a small one for today.

Here's a video you could check out of someone do this experiment so you can visually see what we did! 

Goal Setting 2021

 Kia ora! Once again for term 2, I've created another goal-setting document for term 2. Below, you can read about my subjects this year, my learning work-ons, and the ambitions I wish to have done by the end of this term.

I usually like to set a high standard for myself but in the past, sometimes when I would force myself to do too much I'd just end up putting pressure on myself and not getting anywhere. So, this term I've decided to do what I think will help me best. 

What are your goals and ambitions for this year?

Dilution and filtration

Hola! On Wednesday last week, my science class did an experiment! We used a chemical called Copper nitrate, we also used water. We diluted the solution 4 times. After that, we made a little cone out of filter paper, put it in a funnel and poured our solution in. Why did we do that? Over the next few days, crystals should've formed. 

Looking back today. there are small crystals along the side of the filter paper. I think that the experiment has worked. 

Questions - 1. Which test tube had the most concentrated sample of Copper nitrate?

The first test-tube had the most concentrated sample of copper nitrate.

2. When we added water what were we doing to the concentration of the solution?

We were diluting the solution 

3. Which concentration of copper nitrate formed the most precipitate, why do you think this is the case?

The last one, by the 4th test tube copper nitrate, had been diluted x1000. 

Solvent: The liquid

Solute: The solid you are trying to dissolve.

Filtrate: Separating the solute (solid) from the solvent (liquid).

Precipitate: When a solid forms in a liquid.

Water Boats

 Hello and welcome back to Term 2! First period I have Science and for our first task this term we used bunsen burners and made little containers out of paper and looked at how long our container would hold up against fire.

Aim: Designing a container out of paper that holds water and doesn't catch on fire.

Method: We first designed the container that we thought would hold water, second we set up all our equipment, turned on the gas and put our container on the tripod, lastly we turned off the gas when our container started to collapse or go up in flames.

6 things we used: Bunsen burner, beaker, A4 paper, water, heat mat, tripod

Results: My container withstood the fire for about 15 seconds.

Conclusion: Our containers base wasn't as strong as we would've liked it to be. It got through the paper in a short amount of time. Something I would do differently next time is create layers and make the base stronger. One tip I would give to someone doing an experiment is to make the air hole is closed (labelled in the diagram).

PE & Athletics Day

Konnichiwa! Today I'll be telling you about what we did in PE over the last few weeks! Since Athletics Day was coming up, my class practised all sorts of activities that we'd have to do. The athletics events that I have learnt this term are, shot put, discus, 100m sprint, long jump, high jump and relay.

Shot put - Whenever you're doing shot put, make sure to hold the shot put behind your ear with your elbows up and give a big push. 

Discus - Hold the discus carefully with your fingers wrapped around. When getting ready to throw, swing your arm, and when ready throw! Make sure to use your arm and leg power (bend your knees a little).

100m Sprint - Be ready to listen for the whistle, clap or whatever sound. Run your hardest and try to focus on your breathing.

Long Jump - In long jump, you use your lower body to help you run and jump farther. Make sure to have a good run-up.

High Jump - For high jump, you must also use your lower body to help you jump higher. If you're going to be landing on your back, using the muscles in your upper back may help.

Relay - In relay, as your partner is getting closer, start jogging, and as soon as you get a hold of the batten, run! But still, remember to focus on you're breathing.

Athletics Results

Long Jump - 2.10m

Shotput - 7.5m

Discus - 4.8m

Conclusion

I really enjoyed participating in a variety of things to do in the past weeks! I was punctual by coming to PE every lesson and having my PE gear. I also really enjoyed Athletics Day! Our Kahui had a chant that we had to say when the relays were on near the end of the day. Everyone was cheering and supporting one another. It was also cool to see so many people in their Kahui colours.

Getting Help

 Kia Ora! Today in Health we've been given a task to find 2 or 3 agencies in Christchurch that could help a teenager with mental health issues.

Agencies

1) Mental Health Advocacy and Peer Support located on 357 Madras Street

This agencies services are mostly free. This is great because there would be no pressure to keep paying for sessions. MHAPS provides a range of programmes plus a series of individual single subject workshops. These small group events are designed to improve people’s understanding of mental health and addictions. As a person becomes more aware of their own reactions to stress and trauma these programmes assist them to develop effective recovery and wellbeing strategies.

2) Canterbury Men's Centre located on 21 Marshland Road

The Canterbury Men’s Centre takes care of Canterbury men in pursuing our aim of Happy Healthy Canterbury Men. They also take care of men that have experienced sexual trauma at any time in their life 

Canterbury Men's Centre also do research, support men’s sheds, produce The Blokes Book, produce The Fun for Older Men book.

3) Mental Health Education & Resource Centre located on 116 Marshland Road

The Mental Health Education and Resource Centre (MHERC) provides information, a free public library, as well as professional development and community education about mental health, wellbeing, mental illness, and addiction. Their services are available to everyone, including those who may be affected by mental illness, seeking wellbeing for themselves or others, and those working in the mental health or social service sectors.

Heart Dissection

Ni Hao! In Science, we did a heart dissection! You may have seen my blog about my chicken leg dissection in which I stated that for my next experiment I would've liked to do something more interesting like an eye or a heart.

Aim: to look at the structure of the heart

Method: Gloves, scalpel, tray, scissors, tweezers, cleaning supplies, newspaper, and a Heart!

1) Put newspaper on your tables and put on gloves

2) Get a tray

3) Get one piece of each instrument

4) Send one person in your group to collect the heart

Process

1) Cut off the fat

2) Cut down the aorta into the left chamber, which is the large chamber

3) Fibers in the heart (strings) help to keep the structure of the heart together

4) Found the pulmonary artery which flows blood into the lungs

Conclusion

The heart looked quite interesting especially when I pulled it apart. It was cool to look through all the arteries and examine all the fibers.  

Chicken Leg Dissection

 Hello! Last week in Science we dissected a chicken leg! 

Materials: A chicken drumstick with thigh, dissecting probe, scalpel, dissection scissors, paper towels, forceps, dissecting tray, gloves, disinfectant hand wash and spray.

Safety: 1. Wear gloves

2. Do not put anything in your mouth (fingers, pens, etc) during the dissection

3. Wash your hands thoroughly at the end of the dissection with antibacterial soap and hot water. Ensure your hands are dried after washing.

4. Spray surfaces with antibacterial soap.

3 things I found interesting

After my partner and I had made a cut along the side, we were kind of struggling to see inside even with forceps. Our teacher advised us to stick our thumb inside to help us be able to see. 

When we had just started cutting into the muscle we had found our first piece of tendon! It was stringy and honestly quite tough.

Since tendons and ligaments are actually quite strong we had to cut through them to find the tibia and the fibula. My partner grabbed one side, and I grabbed the other and we both twisted the chicken to hear a satisfying crack. 

Defenition

Femur - The femur is the biggest bone and it's like our thigh bone

Tibia - The tibia is similar to our shin bone.

Fibula - The fibula is 

Muscle - moves our bones

Tendon - connects muscles to the bones

Adipose - is the body fat

Bone - Gives us structure and protects us

Ligament - connects bone to bone

Conclusion

The experiment was actually quite fun and I had actually been waiting to dissect for a long, long time. When I had to put my thumb inside I got a little grossed out but overall the experience was great. I might insert pictures of the experiment later. I would like to dissect something like and eye or a heart next time