Summer Learning Journey Week 1 Day 1 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.

In my hometown (Panmure) we have an awesome public library where you can use the free internet, partake in after-school activities and they're currently doing a holiday activity programme. We also have a big public pool, a community centre and an old stone cottage.

If images of places that I've mentioned aren't there then they weren't free to use.

(The stone cottage)

Owner: GPS 56 CC by 2.0

(The public pools)

Owner: Wikimedia Commons CC by SA 3.0

Summer Learning Journey Week 1 Day 1 Activity 1: Top 3 Fun Facts

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 Zealand was once a part of the territory of New South Wales and Australia.

I think this is an interesting fact for me because I didn't  know this before and I was wondering how different it would be if we were still governed by Australia and NSW.

2. Dairy farmers make 100 kilograms of butter and 65 kilograms of cheese every year for people living in New Zealand.

I chose this fact because that's a lot of butter and cheese since there are millions of people in New Zealand.

3. The Auckland City Sky Tower is the tallest freestanding structure in the Southern Hemisphere because it's 328 meters high.

This is an interesting fact because having such a big structure really puts our country on the map and makes it a tourist attraction.

Who Am I? Challenge

For the past previous week LS2 have been working on a challenge called Who Am I? This challenge is like Where Am I from but instead it is based on famous people around the world such as Tenzing Norgay, Nelson Mandela, Princess Diana etc. There were 10 people and for the task given we were to write down who they are, where there from, why are they famous, quote (if they have one), 5 facts about them, their country on google maps, their flag, and a picture of them. This was a lot of work which is why I was working with Miki and Ofa. 

Where Am I Challenge

Today Aung Naing and I were working together on a collaborative challenge, for it we needed to find out where the image was and then answer 5 questions: What is it, where is it, who uses it, when was it built and why is it there. We also needed to find 5 facts for each building/monument, take a screen-shot of it on google maps and find and attribute an image of it. We learnt many new things like how the Eiffel Tower wasn't meant to stay, the Sydney Opera house cost 102 million AUD and that the Mona Lisa is priceless meaning that it can't be insured.

Sir Ernest Rutherford

Today LS2 were put into groups of four and in those groups we were to research and then create a comic strip on a New Zealander that invented something, my group (Jeremiah, Fraidoon, Miki and I) chose to research Sir Ernest Rutherford. Sir Ernest Rutherford was the first person to split an atom, although he himself didn't split an atom he developed the theory that lead to the first atom being split. Sir Ernest Rutherford was born in New Zealand but later moved to England.

Leadership Speech

Today was the day that the year 7s presented their leadership speeches for the roles that they wanted for 2019, the role that I wanted to take was Head Boy but I also put my name forward for Maniakalani Leader. I think I said my speech well even though my voice was shaky.

Leader Speech

Talofa o lo’u ingoa o Alex. Hi, my name is Alex. I would like to be considered for both head boy and manaiakalani leader for 2019, both are positions that mean you need to be actively involved in school life. I have a history of this. Firstly I confidently share all my work on my blog, and currently have 908 posts. I have been a presenter at the Manaiakalani film festival and am often asked by others to help them with the digital side of their learning. I have joined most of the inter-school sports since I was in Year 4. I have represented our school at the Lego Into Orbit competition, I have taught students from Tamaki College how to digitally draw images, and I have placed in the top 3 in the Summer and Winter Learning Journeys for the past 2 years. By taking part in the holiday learning journeys I was already prepared for school when the holidays came to an end.

I have completed my confidence and respect silver CARE awards which mean that I have confidence in my learning and show respect to others. By the end of next year I will have all of my silver and gold CARE awards because as a student leader I know I will need to lead by example, and at Panmure Bridge School that means following our CARE values.

It would be an honour to be a leader in this school and I know that I have the ability to do so. Faafetai lava le afifio mai, thank you for listening.