45 minute inquiry.

Curling is where players have to slide stones across ice towards are target area which is separated into 4 rings. Curling was first introduced in scotland at the time of the medieval era. Curling was first used for entertainment for two centuries before it became an official sport. The first club was invented in 1716 an it still exists today! 

The rules for curling are fairly basic but there are about 90billion so I will tell you a few.  Each team member has to deliver a stone across slates of ice to a target area, As I mentioned before. There are a minimal of two to four players in a team. 

Curling was first introduced to the olympics in 1998 and has been ever since. Curling is also played at events like Commonwealth games, Winter olympics, Etc.

45 min inquiry.

Today we had the 45 minute inquiry.

Approximately 8000 tons of logs come from the coast of new zealand. While another 2300 come from overseas. Asia buys 10000 of our logs each year. The logs are pine trees and they come from all over the country. The logs are shipped to asia because asia manufactures practically everything.

The logs are transported by Train,Trucks and vessels to the logging plant. Where they are then treated and cut down smaller. The logs are then loaded onto ships and sent the long journey to china, where they are made into paper,toilet paper  etc

45 min inquiry.

Today We did a 45 minute inquiry. today I learnt about Whale boots, Boomerangs, Totem poles and Maori statues. Did you know that whale boots aren't nessicarily made out of whale, They can be made out of reindeer and seal skins as well. Did you know that Boomerangs were first made by aborigines 10000 years ago. I learnt that a totem pole is used for hanging totems on as well as carving them on.Something they have in common is that they are heritage to indigenous people. Which basically means they are the local people of the country.

Bow Hunting.

Last Saturday Mrs Mills went to Huntly to bow hunt for koi carp. She was hunting them because they are a pest. They eat native fish and their eggs. They pollute the water by stirring up the mud and it kills native trees. Koi carp can grow up to 80cm and can weigh up to 10kg.

Mrs Mills went bow hunting last weekend because the koi carp were spawning (breeding) and they come into the shallows to do this.

Bow hunting is a sport that requires a bow and arrow. You also need a line attached to the arrow so you can retrieve the fish and arrow. You do not need a license in NZ to bow hunt. It has been around since the Victorian era.

Mrs Mills caught 6 koi carp. She didn’t throw them back into the water because you can receive a fine.  She left them on the side of the lake and they were taken by some fishermen.

Link to 45 min inquiry doc

Which button would you press and why??

I would press the grey button because you can do the same as the blue button in more comfort. For example I could sit on a couch and lift the couch and fly to wherever I want, I could lie in my bed and fly around the world in one night. If I was being attacked I could force the attackers hand to turn around their gun or sword on themselves. I could send supplies to people in Africa from my bedroom. I could lift the tallest building and move it to my garden. I could stop any bullet, missile, whatever from hitting some where! 

Tennis

Today for P.E We played doubles tennis, I was in a team with Braden and we played about 7 games in total winning roughly half of them. I noticed I had improved in my serving, Because I used to hit it a little bit hard. I also learnt to aim my serves, Because yesterday I hit the ball at the gym. I have already played tennis in the past so I know quite a lot about tennis. I found serving hard because I had to actually aim at something but I was able to improve as time went on. We modified the game of tennis to: first to three points wins and you can serve underarm.

Beyond the story.

Name: Luke Homer

School: Tauranga Intermediate School

Year Level: 8

Title: If You Want to Live, Climb.

Email Address: x_homerl@tauranga-int.school.nz

My alarm started buzzing at 5:30am. I slammed the snooze button and crawled out of my warm bed. It was a cold morning so I decided to take a hot shower to warm up. I said goodbye to my wife and two daughters after saying my usual prayer. I climbed into my car and drove the 40 minute drive to the World Trade Centre. When I arrived I grabbed my usual morning treat; a toasted bagel and a latte. I walked over and hopped into the elevator and I zoomed up to the sky lobby of the 78th floor. I got out of the elevator and headed into the other local elevator and took it to the 81st floor. Finally, I reached my destination and walked out of the local elevator and down the hallway into my office.

Suddenly my senses alerted me that something was wrong. I just happened to look and I saw that the North Tower was on fire. I was so shocked that I ran back into the elevator and took the same journey I did to get to my office in reverse. I reached the bottom in a panic but was told by security that I had to return to my office because the building was secure. Reluctantly, I went back up.

When I got to my office my phone was ringing and on the line was a lady from Chicago telling me to get out of the building immediately. I turned around in no specific direction and thats when I saw it... A big white plane coming straight towards me with a ‘U’ on the wings and on the tail. I screamed and dropped the phone.

“God, I can’t do this anymore. You take over, ” I shrieked and jumped under my desk just as the plane hit the South Tower.

There was a massive bang, like a thousand claps of thunder. When I came out from under my desk, I saw a devastating sight that has been forever burnt into my brain.

I paced around my office heart racing, struggling to breath. I started screaming into the darkness for help.

“HELP, HELP!” I yelled.

At first it was pointless. It was then and there I first heard the voice of my savior, Brian Clarke.

“HELLO,” crept a voice from the shadows.

“HELP ME!!” I scream.

“Okay. Follow the sound of my voice,” said Brian.

“Okay,” I said.

I started to follow Brian’s voice and eventually met up with the one thing standing between us, a wall. It was a pale coloured wall that was extremely thick. Luckily, the plane’s impact had created a tiny hole above me.

“PUNCH!” yelled Brian.

So I did.

“IF YOU WANT TO LIVE, CLIMB,” said Brian. I climbed through the tiny gap. When I got over I started to cry. It was hard to find the words to thank a man who just saved my life. I walked over to Brian and hugged him.

“Which way, up or down?” I asked.

“Down,” said Brian. So we began the challenging long walk that lay ahead.

On the way down we came across multiple other survivors. Who said not to go down? To this day I thank God I didn’t listen to them. By the time we get down to the bottom we had gone down 78 floors in about one hour.

To this very day, I cannot explain how grateful I am to Brian Clarke for not only saving my life but for being there with me for over 10 years. But most of all, I thank God for answering my prayers and saving my life that day.

Life education

This past term we have been learning about the effects of drugs on a humans brain. I have learnt that there are  7 things in your brain effected by alcohol and illegal drugs. MR JM ICE. And there are 9 ways to say no to drugs. Thanks heaps to Michael who has taught me about everything inclu

M-Memory

R-Reason

J-Judgement

M-Mechanical skills

I-Intellect

C-Concerntrate

E-Emotions

G- Greater 

I- Impact

B- Brain

G-Greater 

A- addiction 

P- Potential

F- Faster 

A-Absorption

R-Rate

R- Reason

E- Excuse

A- Assertive

C- Concerntrate

H- Humour

W- Walk away

I- Ignore

T- Talk about it

S- Say no!

Waimarino

Yesterday I went to Waimarino adventure park with Rooms 41,42,7 and 8. At 8:30 we left our school with Kye's dad and we arrived at Waimarino at approximately 8:55. When we first arrived at Waimarino, We had a brief conversation with Jade and Emma about the rules.


We then headed over to the Kayak shed. I got a blue kayak and then set out into the water. While we were in the water I learnt to Raft up, perform a TX rescue, and how to do the chicken dance standing up in a kayak. We also played cat and mouse which was so much fun after about 2 hours we sadly had to head back to shore but I was excited to do the activities which followed!

I quickly grabbed my lunch and then grabbed a hot chocolate because it was extremely col* ( I had to put a astrix there because cold and freezing are swear words at waimarino!) And then we were briefed on the rules again but this time for the activities. And then it was time to head over to the activities. The first activity I did was the high diving board, The high diving board is also my all time favourite activity!

Key compentices:

Thinking: I was thinking how fun this is when I was jumping off the high diving board.
Relating to others: I was relating to others when I was making a whirl pool in the pool.
Using signs, symbols and text: I read all of the rules about the specific activity I was doing.
Managing self: I was managing myself by choosing when to eat and when to jump off the high diving
Participating and contributing: I was participating and contributing in all of the activities I decided to do.

Here are some photos of the day:

Me jumping of the High diving board

Drugs webquest and 50,000 khan academy points

Drugs web quest google doc.

This week for homework we did a drug web quest studying about the different types of drugs.

12 hr relay (CAN'T GET ENOUGH!!!!)

Last friday we had the Annual 12 hr relay. In the fun run I did 12 laps which was very good for me! 

In the next part of the 12 hour relay we had the Top house activities, My favourite activity was the army combat course because we got to jump onto a big foam mat, Some other activities I enjoyed were the Leaky bucket, The horizontal bungy and the tug of war

Alcohol laws in a new land

Life Ed- Addiction

Addiction- When A person has to take a drug to feel normal.

M-Memory

R-Reason

J-Judgement

M-Mechanical skills

I-Intellect

C-Concerntrate

E-Emotions

Feelings associated with drug use:

This graph is showing how a humans brain releases chemicals into their body when their High, At the start, It makes them high, But after a while the human needs to be taking drugs just to feel normal.

Mauritius

In the holidays I went to an island off the coast of Africa Called Mauritius. I stayed in the heritage Awali Resort, The awali was an African themed resort and it was so cool!! We also went to places like The C beach club, Casela national park, and on a catamaran. I really enjoyed this incredible holiday as I got to do things I would normally never even imagine. 

Mauritius was a totally different experience to New Zealand as nearly everything is different,
The food, The people, The drinks, The climate, Everything!!.
I really hope I'm lucky enough to stay in such an amazing place again. Here are some photos of my holiday...

C Beach Club

Casela national park

Peacock at Casela

Monkey at Casela

Catamaran cruise

Mystery rock

The Reef

Norman Hewitt SPCA

Today Norman came to our school to promote animals being 'One of the family.' . I enjoyed this presentation because it showcased the importance of having animals in your family. I personally have had 3 dogs, and 3 cats and all of them have been great pets and have been very loving. I agree with Norman's opinion that raising children with animals, can help mellow their character for future years.
I would recommend that if you have the opportunity to

Setting and Story.

WALT: describe the setting of a story using ‘show’ not ‘tell’

SC:

- to use descriptive language to help the reader visualise the setting

- to use language that activates the readers’ senses e.g smell and sound

- to use similes and metaphors to describe the setting

- to use interesting vocab to describe the setting 

I walked through the sliding doors, A large man with a ginger  beard looked up at me from behind the counter, He was reading a superman comic.

I browsed the new releases and picked up Iron Man 3. I walked to the counter and handed it to the large man. He charged me 8$ so I paid and wa

lked back to my car.

1. Video Store

2. I browsed the new releases, Iron Man 3

3. G

4. Comment: I Got it quite fast, you had a lot of words that gave it away to me.

LukeH Design a school

Team Jones movie.

26 hour movie challenge.

Basic facts

Dangerous Decibels

Today my class took the dangerous decibels program, this program was aimed at teaching us how to manage our sound intake carefully.

Some things I learnt were that we have 1000 hairs in our ears, and that when we have our iPod on full blast it can damage our hairs.


I am going to change: not listening to music on my iPod/Phone etc at full blast, I am going to do the 60/60 rule.

A fact I learnt was that frogs,birds and fish can repair their hearing..


I really enjoyed this program and I would like to thank the teacher and the program...

My powtoon

Homework- Basic facts for 2 weeks

LAST WALK!!!

My walk.

Today I went for a walk in Ohauiti Reserve. It was loads of fun as I tried to pick avocados.

Sadly it was raining but I still enjoyed my walk.

In the summer I go to pick avocados.

Its a really good place to have a picnic..

Papamoa hills walk

Today I went for a walk at papamoa hills, it is my third walk.
I really enjoyed walking even though I nearly died.
By the end of it I my heart was pumping.
Here are some photos:

Second walk.

For my second walk I decided to go to Kaiate falls with my dad.

It was lots of fun, One thing I didn't like was the stupid steps!!! You had to walk up and down, Up and down. I just felt like dying.

I would love to go swimming there next time! I didn't even think about swimming this time :)

Here are some photos from the walk.

Holistic vets.

Last Friday I volunteered at Holistic vets, it was lots of fun as I got to help sweep the floors and look after the 'arrc' wildlife cats and kittens. I have considered coming back every friday to volunteer. The staff were very kind and I was busy the whole time. Overall it was heaps of fun and I am looking forward to coming again.

Teaching Nico Twinkle Twinkle

This weekend I went to my little cousins house to teach him how to sing twinkle twinkle little star, He started to understand it, and starting singing as well, I really enjoyed spending time with him. I never realised how hard it is to teach young children, And It takes a lot of energy and time and commitment. They'll only do it if you make it fun and interesting.

My walk around Johnson reserve.

On saturday I went for a walk around Johnson reserve, With my dad and my dog, I saw some cool waterfalls. In the summer we often go down the waterfall.

I also saw some bees in a tree, They have also put in new fences and taken down more trees. It was freezing. I couldn't wait to get into my warm car.

Volunteering at the vets

This friday I am going to volunteer at Holistic vets. I will take pictures when I am there. I chose to volunteer here because they saved my cats life. And they deserve it.

My How to video..

Today I made a how to video. A pmi for this is:


 A postive: I really enjoyed making this and I got it done, I enjoyed the end result as it looked good and was uploaded on time.

 A minus: I found it hard caping with the noise in the background when recording, I was helped when my teacher let me record outside

 A intersting thing: I found out that you can add voice effects to iMovie. This will be good for when I'm making mini movies because I can make them sound more realistic and interesting.

I overall enjoyed this experience And I look forward to working with iMovie again.

I am happy as I achieved the success criteria. Next time I will record all of my voiceovers outside and Make a better effort overall.

Here is what I had to do: I am making a how to video on an origami Panda.

Camera Angles

Refer to this guide and think about what are the best camera angles to use and why.

Your ‘photographer’ should know what you want.

Direct your photographer. Tell them to take a photo from here or here, from this angle or that angle. Make sure they know what you want!! Ask them to show you the photo. Give them feedback if it is not right. Think about your audience. Will they be able to SEE what to do from the photo.

Here are my success criteria.

• Title
• Subtitles for each step of the method
• Voice overs for each step of the method
• your movie shows continuity (colours, subtitles and fonts are the same throughout.

My last meal

Today I made my last  3 course dinner for my Italian nonna. I enjoyed cooking it because I got to taste the soup along the way. Here are some photos of tonight. 

Creating three three course meals has been an extremely fun and hard homework challenge for me.

It has taught me how hard my mum and dad work every night!

I hope I get to cook 3 course meals more often from now on.

Menu.

Nico part 2: Twinkle Twinkle little star.

As I couldn't see my little cousin today. I practiced teaching him how to sing twinkle twinkle little star on Skype  It works better because he had to look at me doing it on the screen. He laughed and seemed to really enjoy and started to do some of the actions. I think this means he is starting to learn it.



 Next weekend my Auntie and Uncle are coming to stay at our house. I will get my mum to get a kids CD with twinkle twinkle little star on it as she's a teacher.

Then we can have another go.

My Recycled art lantern

Today I made a lantern out of a baked beans tin and a metal hairband. I got the idea from Pinterest and I decided to give it a go today. I thought it could make good gifts.


Here are some photos.





Final Product:

Me hammering it in: 

20 hour eating famine

Yesterday I did the 20 hour eating famine. I was surprised that it wasn't too hard and I was able to pull through. I am happy to be helping kids in Bougainville who go through this every day.Here is a screenshot of my money raised.

Letters to Sunlive.

The reason I ended up doing the 10x10 grid was because I had tried to get an art gallery review posted in there. But The lady stopped messaging me. Here is proof

Homework 10x10 grid!!!!

Today I took on the mighty 10x10 grid in under two minutes.
Here is my result. It took me 5 goes to get it!

CSI writing

Once upon a time I was sitting at my desk in the Twin towers when all of a sudden I heard a big BOOM coming from the first tower. I looked out of my dads window and what I saw shocked me. I grabbed my laptop and sprinted quickly down the stairs. On our way down there was an explosion in our building. I was lifted off my feet and thrown down the stairs I went straight flew the window. That was the last I remember.

-Two days Laters-

I woke up to the blinding light, I reached over and what I saw shocked me.My family was beside me. I tried to stand. The pain was searing. “Wheres Linda?” I asked. Linda was one of my best friends and worked into the office next to me. The last I saw she was running to the elevator.By the guilty look on my familys face I knew what had happened.

My homework service challenge.

This weekend I have started teaching my 3 year old cousin twinkle twinkle little star. All he did was laugh at me and crawl over me, but at least he was having lots of fun. I think I could have done it better by saying the lyrics before singing and showing him a video of it. Also he didn't look at me when I did the actions so next time I will face him and do it. Fingers crossed he gets it soon, cause I'm sick of the song already! But thankfully he's pretty cool and I'm enjoying spending time with him.

My second meal.

Tonight I completed my second three course meal for my homework. I made stuffed mushrooms, roast chicken and chocolate brownies. I decided to not do rice because we had more than enough food.
I enjoyed cooking the chicken because I was making it dance but then I got in trouble, lol.
My Dad said that he loved the mushrooms. He also said that next time I make a roast chicken, I should make gravy.
My Mum said that I did a great job and overall great effort. My mum gave me a score of 8/10.


Here are some photos of tonight.

Me starting to make the  brownies.

                                                     This is me seasoning the chicken

                                                  Preparing the stuffing for the mushrooms

The starter.

My friend gave me an 8 out of 10

My sister gave me a 9 out of 10.

Main Meal.

Brownies.