Science - Volcano Project

Hi Everyone!

Recently in science, we have been learning about the Earth's structure along with the continents and tectonic plates and space. To connect what we have been learning Mr Heath (our science teacher). Decided to let us make creative projects such as making volcanos, solar systems, and so on. We were required to make 2 -3 projects. I feel like all of us had chosen to create a volcano first since we were allowed to make it erupt with elephant toothpaste. In my group, I had Hope and Megan. 

Mt Tambora Volcano

Aim: 

• To create a volcano

Equipment:

• Newspaper 

• Glue 

• Bottle

• Cardboard 

• Paint - brown, red, green, orange

• Elephant toothpaste chemicals 

• Paintbrush

• Tray/container (you can just use a large piece of cardboard for your base)

• Red Food colouring 

Method:

- Get all equipment prepared. 

- Use a bottle as the structure for the volcano.

- Paper mache the outside for a more realistic design, make sure to leave out the opening of

the bottle. (This will be the opening of the volcano)

- Use a newspaper for rocks, by scrunching them into balls.

- Paint over the paper mache and rocks to add colour to your designs, create more definitions

and details using the paint. Such as lava leaking out and so on.

- Set up the elephant toothpaste inside the bottle. 

Video of the volcano eruption:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xzIKeNojJzsikHd-kw-mP91QB41sxFc2/view?usp=sharing

Research:

Mount Tambora, also known as Mount Tambora, is a volcanic mountain located on the

The northern coast of Sumbawa Island, Indonesia. 

Mount Tambora has been recorded as the largest volcanic eruption in our history which

killed tens of thousands of people. This catastrophic eruption took place in 1815 on April 5,

this is when people first started to notice. Tremors and pyroclastic flow became more obvious

5 days later a humongous blast blew apart the mountain. Earthquakes due to tectonic plates

created many catastrophic events for the people. As this volcano is located on an island,

tsunami's were also added to the blast and the pyroclastic flows. As all these natural disasters

followed each other, it killed at least 10,000 islanders. Following that, the precious homes of

35,000 more, the death toll is more than 71,00 so it's known as the deadliest volcano.

How do volcanoes form? 

Volcanoes form when two tectonic plates crash together. Describing it more specifically it is

when two plates move under one another. So when enough magma builds up in the magma

chambers. It will eventually force its way up to the surface and erupt, this is the main reason

for volcano eruptions. 

What is the difference between lava and magma? 

Magma consists of molten rock in other words semi-liquid rock which is stored in the earth crust.

While lava is magma that reaches the Earth's surface through a volcano vent. 

Conclusion

Our volcano project was a success with the appearance and the experiment. Our goal was to make

sure our volcano looked exactly or at least similar to the photo above. As Mr Heath, our science

teacher promised a prize for whoever achieved that goal. Not only did we need to be creative

and get the appearance of our volcano outstanding. But we also needed to get our

measurements right for the experiment. Luckily our experiment came out successfully which

you can see in the video. The appearance of our volcano was definitely a success since we

came in the first place. As promised Mr Heath had given us our prize which we were happy about.

Something different I would have done would be to concentrate more colour on the elephant

toothpaste. Since our ‘so-called’ lava appeared as pink. Another that I thought about if we ever do

this again would be to create a more realistic shaped volcano. We make it looks more like a volcano

frankly speaking our sort of looked like half a black rock. As it had a more dome-shaped figure, it was

also my first time doing paper mache. Overall the procedure of creating this project was

really enjoyable and fun. 

Social Studies - NZ Racism

Hi Everyone!

For today's blog post I will be writing about what I have been learning in social studies for the past week. 

Recently we have been focusing on discrimination and how there has been a drastic increase in discrimination during the past year. Mainly due to coronavirus, however, major violence has started to weave itself into the discrimination. Now it is not only verbal insults but there are people out there who beat up up others. Do you want to know what the reason is? it's because they are of different races, they think they are superior. But in reality, we are all the same race we are all human. We still have yet to become equal and accept each other, but with this behaviour of the world. We are just slowly starting to repeat history, and we won't be able to change anything. Unless we change ourselves, which is disappointing. 

As an example, here is something I wrote about Arabic.

Can you make any connections to other stories / the wider world? Sentence starters “This reminds me of…” “This is similar to…” (E.g. have you ever seen someone be ashamed of their culture?)

This reminds me of how Arabic or people from Pakistan or Iraq are usually stereotyped as terrorists. For example, they are shown terrorising a high-security building or a city in general. Now, this is just what people assumptions are on people, as everyone watches the news to see what’s going on in the world. Usually, in the news, they show the bad things happening in the world. In the news, they have shown what Arabic have done and how it just shows how much bombing and war there is. Personally when I first saw something like this on the news. I thought that I would never want to visit there. The images in the news just showed bombing, fires, guns and things like that. Everything was just so graphic so I had just thought that in that area it was a complete warzone. But after learning about it I learned that there are also people suffering there. Also how it is not how the news makes it seem, otherwise that this makes people. Misunderstand and assume things about other races but that’s what they think because we are actually all one race.

Social Studies - Germany and The Great Depression

Hi Everyone! 

In today's blog post, I will be writing about Germany and how this nation relates to The Great Depression. This is what links to what we have been studying in social studies which would the Holocaust. 

In the year 1929, the Wall Street Crash produced a global depression, Germany grieved the most out of all countries. As the US wasn’t sending out loans anymore so they had to withdraw a lot of money. Which had caused Germany’s economy to collapse - There was a major increase in unemployment. The number of people in poverty had climbed and Germany ended up being despairing. This led to a link of major events which had concluded j in the destruction of German destruction. A major factor of why Germany was hit the hardest during the global depression. Would be the Treaty of Versailles, which was a treaty that was supposed to. Settle disputes following the discontinuance of hostilities in WW1. 

The Treaty of Versailles was a treaty signed right af3ter WW1 to create peace, which was signed by the allied and associated powers and by Germany. Germany was required to sign the treaty as Germany was thought to be at fault for starting World War 1. However, the allies wanted Germany to compensate. For all the damage they caused to the civilian population of their allies, but also for their property. Germany also had to comply with some unrelenting conditions in the treaty as a consequence.

The crash's consequences were not immediately evident in New Zealand. However, beginning in 1930, export prices began to decrease, falling by 45 per cent by 1933. This was terrible to a country that relied heavily on agricultural exports. Demand for their goods and services decreased, as did their pricing.

Science - DNA Extraction Experiment

Kiwi Fruit DNA Extraction Experiment

Aim: Finding DNA in a Kiwi Fruit

Method: 

1. 
   Cut 1 kiwi fruit in half and scoop it out of the skin into a zip lock bag, add a splash of water and one small teaspoon of salt. Mush together creating a slushy solution.
2. Strain solution through a piece of cloth into a beaker. 
3. One finished squirt some dishwashing liquid in and mix thoroughly. 
4. Pour into a test tube.
5. Place the TEST TUBE into a beaker with WARM water. (Do not pour the solution into the water)
6. Leave for 10 minutes.
7. After 10 minutes pour 5mL of methylated spirits down the side of the test tube.

Discussion: 

DNA is found in cells, but starting from the cell, inside you would find a nucleus and inside the nucleus, you will locate 46 chromosomes and in those chromosomes. You will finally discover the DNA, and sections of the DNA are made of genes. 

DNA is made up of nucleotides these "building blocks" are made up of three components - phosphate, sugar, and base. The structure is described as a double helix or in a less professional term, it would be described as a twisted ladder. 

Conclusion: 

As displayed in the results our experiment did work the bottom was the kiwi fruit solution, the middle was the DNA molecules. The top was the methylated spirits, so we were able to result with a success. Although one thing that I would do different would be to add less water, so maybe that would alter how much DNA we extracted? 

English - How to Find the Solution to a Moral Dilemma

Hi Everyone!

Make sure to check out my friends blog, shes got great content! 

https://hhssofiam.blogspot.com/

This is our first week back from the holidays and this is also my first blog post. Speaking of blog posts, this blog is required from our English class. 

So today I will be talking about ¨The Trolley Problem¨ you may know this or you may have heard it but in other terms. However, if you haven't heard of it I will explain it to you. 

The Trolley Problem 

The Trolley problem is used as an example of a moral dilemma, which is made from a scenario. Of which where a runaway trolley is racing down the rail track and it is going towards 5 workers. These 5 workers can't escape for somewhat reason, but one person (supposedly you) is standing next to a switch. Which changes the route of where the train goes, however on the other route there is one other worker. 

If this were real we would be put into an overwhelming and pressuring situation, where you had picked. Whether you would save 5 people but sacrifice 1, or save 1 and sacrifice 2. 

I will now be telling you my perspective of this situation, but would also most likely be someone else's choice. I would choose to sacrifice 1 person and save the other five, I know 1 life loss would be just as important as 5. But if you think about their families I find that the other 5 would take priority. Maybe one of them would be made the last generation of a family or something like that. 

The Fat Man

Another similar situation or another perspective of this same situation is that there are still 5 people who might die. But there is no other route, however, you will still be sacrifice 1 life, the scenery of this situation. Is that there is a bridge over the track, you are standing on the bridge but there is also one other person. He is considered a very large and heavy person, on the train track, there are 5 workers. Who once again cannot escape for somewhat reason, however, you have the option. Of pushing the large guy next to you off the bridge and because of his large mass he is able to stop the train. Or ignore the situation and let 5 people die, once again this is another moral dilemma. 

If it were me I would have obviously hesitated a lot but in the end, I would push the man off, saving the other 5. However, I know for a fact that I would be deliberately killing someone. But it was not my intention to kill him rather me wanting to save the other 5. I would pick this option because I would not want the burden of ignoring 5 lives on my shoulders. I would rather want to know I did something. But if this 1 person was someone who was close to me I would honestly ignore the situation. It may be harsh but that would be how I prioritise. 

Jim Carrey

Another moral dilemma example uses Jim Carrey as the victim, now you must be wondering why I said, victims. The situation briefly explained: 

¨The dilemma is the same, except that you recognise the guy standing alone as the actor and comedian Jim Carrey. And this is “Dumb and Dumber”-era Jim Carrey. In fact, he’s in costume, and has that bowl haircut he sported in the eminently quotable 1994 film. Remembering all of those funny lines makes you smile. What a great movie.

The five tied-up people are also Jim Carrey—clones, you assume—but they’re the modern, anti-vaxxer version, with full beards and dead eyes.¨

https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/variations-of-the-trolley-problem

I would have pushed let the 5 other clones die, and in my opinion, nothing beats the original's personal traits. But also because if they are clones you could always make more, as you still have the original Jim Carrey. 

The Thread

¨In this variation, there is no second track but there is another man standing nearby, between the trolley and the five helpless people. If you shove him onto the tracks, his body will likely stop the trolley. You know nothing about this man except that at this very moment he’s on his phone composing a tweet that begins with the word “thread.”

Also, he’s vaping.¨

https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/variations-of-the-trolley-problem

During this situation I think I would choose to push the fat man off, I know he didn't do anything and I don't even know him. That's why I can't always be sure that he was a good man and the fact that he vapes. Adding to that fact he must be, frankly speaking, is obese or overweight. If he would be able to stop a train, his life would have already been cut short so that would be. My support for my reason to push him off. 

The Long Overcoat

¨You can’t be a hundred percent sure, but it looks like the person standing alone is actually two small people, one standing on the other’s shoulders, sharing a long overcoat. Could they be children? Who are they trying to fool? And why? In any case, they’re probably up to no good.

Does that merit a death sentence, though?¨

https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/variations-of-the-trolley-problem

It does seem suspicious but we are also not completely sure whether it is one man or two children. Either way, it is something you would be curious about, and depending on how this ¨prop¨ or disguise. As described in movies you would think that he would be a bad guy from first sight. So I would hesitate but my instinct would be to flip the switch so I would be saving the 5 people. 

Adolf Hitler

The lone man is Adolf Hitler. Actually, this one is kind of a no-brainer, isn’t it? Not sure why it’s even listed here.

https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/variations-of-the-trolley-problem

Without hesitation, I would most likely flip the switch and kill Adolf Hitler, I mean I guess I would be doing everyone a favour. 

The Violinist

¨Again, the person standing alone is actually two people. But this time one of them is a world-famous violinist who’s been surgically attached to the other person. And you think, “Wait, that’s another thought experiment altogether. The abortion one. What the hell is going on here?”

Whatever is going on, it looks like the one person has had just about enough of the other person’s fucking violin playing. He would probably welcome death.¨

https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/variations-of-the-trolley-problem

Well I have no idea if the other person who was not a violinist was even willing to be surgically attached. As he was already willing to die and it seemed like the violinist was not a considerate person at all. I would figure that it would be OK if I like this ´person´ or as I could say these people die. 

The Henchmen

¨Same dilemma as the original, except that you wouldn’t be pulling the lever yourself. One of your henchmen would pull it. From your position, many yards away, you would look your henchman in the eye and nod, almost imperceptibly. He would understand.

P.S. In this variation, you have henchmen. Because you’re a mob boss or something.¨

https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/variations-of-the-trolley-problem

Looking at the situation since I'm a mob boss my life must be pretty valuable, no wonder people want to kill me. But because of my importance I have henchmen standing by the lever. So my choice would be to just tell him to pull the lever. 

The Chiselled Features

¨The lone man is athletic and attractive, whereas the five others are not, to put it charitably. This adds yet another wrinkle. Not because attractive people are more deserving of life than ugly ones are, but because—at a moment with so much at stake—you noticed such superficial traits in the first place.

What does that say about you?¨

https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/variations-of-the-trolley-problem

My decision wouldn't change from saving 5 people, just because the lone person is attractive. That is no reason to sacrifice and let 5 innocent people die, he may be innocent but 5 more lives are more valuable. But then again we can't even be sure to whether he is a good person or not. Also there will always be another attractive guy somewhere in the world where may I meet. 

The Bowling Pins

¨Instead of lying across the tracks, the five bound people are standing, arranged like bowling pins. While still horrific, you have to admit that this is a little funny—you can’t help but hear that “bowling-ball-knocks-pins-over” sound effect in your head.¨

https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/variations-of-the-trolley-problem

Fortunately in this situation I have great humour but is quite dark, sadly I don't have that trait in real life. In the end we have to be mature and pull ourselves together because it is a life threatening situation. I would still decide to flip the switch and direct the trolley the other way. 

The Bluetooth 

¨You know nothing about the lone man, but the five people tied up are all wearing Bluetooth headsets. Not such an easy choice, is it?

You feel paralysed, so you decide to seek advice online. You take out your phone, open Twitter, and write, “O.K., Internet hive mind . . . ”

The trolley hits you at 40 m.p.h. You never had a chance.¨

https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/variations-of-the-trolley-problem

Well in the first I shouldn't have went on my phone and it took me way too long, since i'm a small person. I would've went flying and the trolley still would've hit the five people but If i were really there. Bluetooth headsets don't matter to me I would just quickly flip the switch before the trolley gets too close. 

Thanks for checking out my blog!

pls comment any feedback I need :)

Wananga - Reflection Section

Hi Everyone :) 

Text Title: Business Proposal 

Text Type: Manhwa

Text Creator: Haehwa

Text Purpose: What genre does this belong to? 

Date: Friday, July 9

I would say the manhwa ¨Business Proposal¨ comes under the genre´s of:

• Comedy
• Drama
• Romance 
• Love

Business Studies - Final End of Semester Project

 

https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/kerre-mcivor-mornings/audio/ray-avery-more-creativity-needs-to-be-put-into-curriculums/

Ray Avery 

Ray Avery was born in Kent, England. He was an orphan so he spent his childhood in orphanages and foster homes. In Avery’s childhood, he was always mistreated and was always ¨systematically abused¨. When he was young he had dyslexia which was why he was prone to bullying. But he did love to spend his time in libraries, which is also where he educated himself. He developed an interest in science at the age of 14 when he started to wonder. Why was it always warmer when he went into the library? Due to Avery’s dyslexia and learning differences. He was always thinking outside of the box and was constantly coming up with new solutions. From that point on, he was supported by one of his teachers. Of which he encouraged him to attend an agricultural school. He graduated as a scientist and began work conducting experiments. 

He made an impulsive decision to move to New Zealand where he became a citizen in only nine months. Frankly speaking, he is pretty old so we could expect that the system back then was different. When he came to New Zealand he continued his experiments in Auckland. He had eventually taken the role of the technical director of Douglas Pharmaceuticals. Later on, he moved to Fred Hollows Foundation in the year of 1992. Which is where he was concentrating on blindness in the developing world. Producing lenses to those suffering from cataracts and was knighted by John Key’s National government in 2011.

 Now he is known as a New Zealand pharmaceutical scientist, inventor, author, and social entrepreneur. As he started to question things and found science interesting, he had always found it enjoyable when he was younger. In 2003 he became the founder of Medicine Mondiale, he had mentioned. That was because he believed it was possible to improve healthcare outcomes on a global scale. Continuing with his passion in his career he created a business. Being the CEO/Co-Founder of Jupl NZ Ltd which he leads along with his wife. He made many achievements and received many awards, such as New Zealander of the year in 2010. He currently lives with his wife and two young daughters in Mt Eden and, by all accounts, considers himself a family man. Talking about one of his motivations in the business industry. He loves his family just as much as he loves his career, as he had no family growing up. 

Commenting on his business, in a brief description, Jupl established in 2012. Jupl is known to be the leading developer of personal health and safety solutions. As the company also has technology factors. Jupl also announced a global release of a mobile personal application. Called freemium, when Avery talked about his business this is what he said: ¨We are excited to offer our latest personal safety solution free to those most vulnerable in our communities. Now families and small businesses can protect the wellbeing of those they care for with enterprise grade personal safety technology. The Jupl app allows everyone to maintain their personal safety and independence wherever they are.¨ Their cloud software continuously monitors, records and analyses set physiological parameters to inform carers or employers of any emergency situations. ¨ Jupl uses the latest advances in care technology to bring together wearers, carers and monitoring specialists to help manage daily needs. Our cloud-based platform coordinates hardware and software to create a unique and interactive experience that gives everyone access to key features and tools to suit their individual needs. ¨

Avery´s biggest goal was to create infant incubators. But Avery and Brannigan launched Vigil Monitoring in 2012 to develop the biometric watch. Which Avery has said was a spinoff from technology involved in developing his infant incubators. 

Seven World Class Kiwi Entrepreneurs - Link

Ray Avery (Scientist) - Link

Ray Avery TEDX - Link

Sir Ray Avery: Changing the world - one piece at a time - Link

Who is Sir Ray Avery? - Link

Jupl offer free personal safety app to everyone - Link

The 11m health watch that wasn´t - Link

Science - Wind Racer

Aim: To make the most efficient wind racer which would either go the furthest or looks the most creative. 

Method: 

• Gather all your equipment
• Set up your trolley and your bamboo stick, by placing the stick in the hole. 
• Cut a plastic bag into a partially large rectangle a size that would suit the stick. 
• Repeat with newspaper or paper. 
• Tape your first rectangle to the rod.
• Repeat with your other material. 
• After use sticks to create a structure for the sail, we used skewers but you can use another material. - Since we used a whole newspaper page, we stuck 2 skewers together from the ends. Making it longer. 
• Stick one pair at the top and another one at the bottom
• Depending on the size of your sail and rod place one or two pairs in the middle too. 
• After, make sure everything is secure by using tape in places that are weak. 
• Finally, decorate to make the appearance look more appealing. 

Equipment: 

Newspaper, plastic bag, tape, trolley, bamboo/metal rod, skewers.

Results: 

(Ours didn't look this way and were also provided with a trolley and rod, so ours were definitely bigger.)

Discussion: 

As the wind racer was under unbalanced forces, it was able to accelerate as we blew wind towards the sail. It was able to thrust/go forward, but before that while, a wind racer was staying stationary. This meant that it was under balanced forces, meaning the net forces were even. Friction was applied to the wheels of the wind racer; one of the reasons for it slowing down. Another obvious reason is that the wind wasn't able to reach the sail anymore. Which is a requirement for a sailboat or car. The last reason is that it wasn't in a great place as it drove right into the bark falling over. 

Conclusion: 

Our wind racer project was a success while racing with other groups of wind racers. From what I recall ours came second. But I know we would've ćame first if had putten it in a different position. Away from any disruptions, some improvisions I would have made would be, making the sail more creative. But not only that I found that we should've made our sail more stable by possibly. Sticking sticks to the base and string the sail to the sticks, would make sure the sail. Wouldn't spin around (which is what ours did), and another tip for me would be to make a better. Sail structure so it could catch more wind, but not too weak or too much, which would make it act as a parachute. If it did react like then it wouldn't go as fast as the sail would just hold the wind - slowing it down. 

But overall I really enjoyed this activity and it was great for everyone to contribute in teams. Not only was it fun but it was able to actively teach us about forces, which could make things easier for our tests. 

Wananga - Reflection Section

Hi Everyone! 

Text Title: Lucia

Text Type: Manhwa

Text Creator: Skye (code name)

Text Purpose: What genre does this belong to? 

Date: Friday, July 2

I would say the manhwa ¨Lucia¨ comes under the genre´s of:

• Comedy
• Drama
• Fantasy 
• Historical 
• Romance 
• Shoujo 

(Shoujo means that it is a type of comic/manhwa directed towards young girls interested in young romance.) 

Wananga - Reflection Section

Hi Everyone!

Text Title: Your Name (anime movie)

Text Type: Movie

Text Creator: Makoto Shinkai

Text Purpose: How does the text depict age, gender, cultural groups?

Date: June 6, Friday, 2021

I find this movie a very detailed and beautiful movie, the animation is very smooth. Not only that but the art is immaculate. The storyline is also very emotional, normally these types of movies are in the young adult years. But this movie focused on their love and relation in their teenage years. Though they did briefly show segments of them when they were adults towards the end. The character development was simple but it was very meaningful, you could easily compare them. They would show obvious signs of differences, that is what always makes the love more relatable. A countryside girl and a city boy, speaking of this girl she was very cultural. As she has moved in with her traditional grandmother at a young age due to family issues. They did sacred Japanese dances and events, one thing eye-catching and notable was how she made Sake. Sake is valued in Japan, it is alcohol also known as liquor. In japan f we were to translate their term. It would be called rice wine, this wine was traditionally drunken and made at ceremonies. The way they did this was by chewing on rice till it became a liquid, so it was fermented. Whereas normal wine Is brewed with sugars. 

Social Studies - Causes and Effect Article

 Hey Everyone!

Today for social studies we were required to create a news article containing information on the GPGP. Moreover my last blog post in social studies about the GPGP, I created my new article. On "Canva" I definitely recommend this site for school projects, it's my favorite website. 

Please provide me with feedback on my work, and if there was anything I need to improve on.  Thank you! :)

You can click on this link to check out my news article. 

https://www.canva.com/design/DAEfblYE-Mg/z-aaExu20P-wV_PtXKllWA/view?utm_content=DAEfblYE-Mg&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=sharebutton

Wananga - Reflection Section

Text Title: The Outsiders

Text Type: Book

Text Creator: S. E. Hinton 

Text Purpose: Who would be most likely to read this text and why? 

Date: Friday, May 28 

I would recommend this book to teenagers who take an interest in action and 90's language. I think the book is very suspenseful but it is also pretty violent and involves crime which is where the suspense comes from. Because we see one of the most "puppy" type of characters kill someone. Before that he wasn't innocent either because he had always got jumped and experience bad things. So I definitely recommend this for teenagers up. 

Social Studies - Eco-Warriors Help out

Hi Everyone!

For this week's social studies blog post, I will be letting you guys know about what I did today. 

Mr. Cairn had decided to do something new and suggest we help out the Eco-Warriors. If you don't attend HHS you must not know what that is. The Eco-Warrior is a club based around the ecosystem. Their goal is to take care of our school by picking up trash in the meantime they stay on school grounds. Once they manage to sustain our school environment they are planning to expand their range. 

We were put into around 5 groups we all were given supplies containing a bucket and tongs to use. Unfortunately, we were missed out and didn't get tongs so we compromised and found gloves. We started to pick up trash and garbage around the auditorium there were loads of garbage around there. We mostly found them in the vine bushes under the trees, I honestly think the only explanation. For lots of garbage around there, is because it is the only old part of our school. The auditorium and those bushes were not taken down unlike all the other parts of the school. So that rubbish has been building up over the years and has just been hiding under the bushes. 

Stating my thoughts, I would say that it was unexpected and disappointing. When you take a glance at our school you think it's there's nothing wrong. But once you take a closer look you will find that there is an uncountable amount of rubbish. It is embarrassing and disappointing that I am saying this about my school. But unfortunately, it is just the truth so I am glad we have a club like Eco-Warrior trying to change that. 

I want people to know that they should help out the Eco-Warrior there's no harm in taking walk and picking up trash. It is not hard or challenging at all, over time when you're around friends it will be fun. We could make this a regular habit by just trying to take care of our own environment. One thing I know is that "What goes around, comes around". 

Social Studies - Trash the Planet

Hi Everyone! 

This is my first blog post for this term but also will be my first blog post with my new social studies teacher. His name is Mr. Cairn and he is a pretty good teacher who explains things well, which makes things easier. 

Lately, in our social studies classes, we have been focusing on the topic of pollution and the environment. We started off by comprehending a short story about a sea horse, this story tries to get a message through. About pollution in a creative way, this story showed us the more cultural/spiritual side. It mentions...

 ¨Kids, you must take from the sea only the kai you need and only the amount you need to please your bellies. If you take more, then it is a waste. There is no need to waste the food of the sea. Best to leave it there for when you need it next time. The sea is good to us, it gives us kai moana to eat. It is a food basket. As long as we respect it, it will continue to feed us. If, in your search for shellfish, you lift a stone from its lap, return the stone to where it was. Try not to break pieces of the reef because it is the home of many kai moana. And do not leave litter behind you when you leave the sea.’ Dad taught us to respect the sea and to have reverence for the life contained in its waters.¨

Reading this from the story makes me think of how we really have taken the ocean to our
advantage, and we have gone too far.

I have learned many things from watching this documentary made by Ali Tabrizy. Who explains how much the ocean means to him. That is why he made a documentary to show what is happening to the ocean. Not only that, but he is also showing how he is trying to help and prevent pollution.

I have written a bit about the video and what I think of it.

This video has gotten me to think about how there are some people out there who really want to save the ocean. But also that we have so much rubbish and it is just honestly never-ending. The fact that surprised and worried me the most was that the amount of microplastic. The ocean had become 500 times more than the stars in a milky way. I mean I'm pretty sure anyone would have at least tried to count the stars, but it’s way too much. Just by looking at the night sky, we can see it filled with countless stars. 

 

After watching more of these types of videos I'm starting to see how most of us humans are so ignorant. We ignore the fact that we are killing the Earth, we only keep doing this. Is because we are doing the things that are benefiting us and are making us comfortable in the current situation. But we aren’t really considering our future whatever we are doing to the earth. Will come back to us if we don’t stop, in the end, it’ll be our loss. Another fact that I had learned about was that when dolphins and whales come to the surface of the water. They actually fertilize these floating plants called phytoplankton. Which actually absorbs four times more carbon dioxide than the amazon rainforest. 

Things we could do to try and reduce the pollution in the ocean, is by using reusable everyday necessities. Like maybe a wooden toothbrush, organic/tote bag, metal/bamboo straws. If we are cleaning out our clothes, with the old one that doesn't look nice. We could find innovative ways to reuse them, maybe, for example, we could make flannels for cleaning the car. There are many ways to be innovative with old clothes. But the ones that you know look nice but you also know that will never wear it again. Find a store where you can donate or give clothes, or maybe to benefit yourself you could sell them too.

Lastly, Mr. had introduced to us a new website called "Happy Broadcast" This website is like a website talking about all the news globally. As you know the news usually talks about the bad things happening to the world. But in spite of this news, the Happy Broadcast is they to cheer you up. The Happy Broadcast talks about the good things happening around the world, for example, people helping the environment. I think it's a great way to learn about how people are out there doing good deeds.

The Happy Broadcast