Electro City

Hi team,

Time to make our own sustainable working cities. Use the website below to get going. On Friday afternoon we will look at what everyone has done.

www.electrocity.co.nz

Character Descriptions

Hi team,

Here are your two options for your introductory character description task.

Below is the example that we did together as a group to give you some ideas as a guide.

Remember that brainstorming and planning is very useful to help you include as much detail as you can.

With a cheeky smile on his face, he gazes off into the distance planning his escape route. Thick, matted hair covers his worn and weathered clothes. A red bandanna is hidden under his faded, curved hat. A  black, wiry moustache sits below the man’s crooked nose and an unwashed appearance complements his personality. His tanned, scarred face shows the signs of many months at sea. Dark eyeliner brings out his brown eyes giving him a fiercer look when charging in to battle.

Work On The Go!

Hi Team,

Here is a list of the activities that are on the go:
- Persuasive Writing Homework Excuse - Due Monday next week
- Powtoon - Finished by Wednesday
- Sketch something in your home
- RICH TASK Poster - Finished by Thursday
- Original NZ Flag - Due Friday
- Maths Original Island Map - Due Monday next Week

- My Journal - Due 1st Monday next term

Puzzle Time

Learning Languages.....using Powtoon!!

Hi team,

Here is the link to Powtoon for you to have a look at and practise.

Remember this is to enhance the learning and make it fun.

www.powtoon.com

Go for it!!

Che Yourself!

Hi team,

Here is the link to the GIMP tutorial video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yupmgRJqwTc

You can do it!!

Walking With Rebecca

Hi team,

Here is an excellent example of a well planned and carried out Rich Challenge!!
Take note of the evidence and detail shown as you scroll through the blog. 
Awesome work Bex:-)

http://www.walkingwithrebecca.blogspot.co.nz/

Stop Motion Lego

Hi team,

Check out Billie's awesome stop motion video!

Powerful Poetry

Hi team,

Here is a summary of the types of poems that we will be creating and how to structure them:

Haiku: The poem follows a 5-7-5 syllable structure.

Diamante: The poem is a seven line poem. 
The first line has 1 word and is a noun
The second line has 2 and are adjectives
The third line has 3 are verbs
the fourth line has 4 words and are nouns
the fifth line has 3 words and are verbs
the sixth line has 2 words and are adjectives
the seventh line has 1 word and is a noun

Definition: The poem is a description of the poem subject and makes the reader try to understand the subject of the poem through the description.

Cinquain: The poem is a five line poem.
The first line has 2 syllables
The second line has 4 syllables
The third line has 6 syllables
the fourth line has 8 syllables
the fifth line has 2 syllables
Rhyming is ok but not compulsory.

Limerick: The poem is a five line poem.
The last words of the first, second and fifth lines rhyme and the last words of the third and fourth lines rhyme.
The poems are usually humourous.

The poem also follows this rhythm pattern:
da DUM da da DUM da da DUM
da DUM da da DUM da da DUM
da DUM da da DUM
da DUM da da DUM
da DUM da da DUM da da DUM

Acrostic: The poem subject is written vertically and each letter is the start of a word that relates to the subject. 

Concrete/Shape: The poem is written in the shape of the poem subject. The words of the poem make the shape.


"Let's get our creativity on!"

How to be an explorer of the world!

Before felt pens and crayons, colour was made with things around us in the natural world.
Here is an example of a landscape made entirely from natural colour.
Awesome work Sesi! Who's next??

The Ultimate Insect

Hi team,

Here is the brief to get going. Looking forward to some more of your amazing work! Set the standards high. Good luck:-)

Geography of NZ

Hi team,

As part of our knowledge building we are going to look at the geography of NZ again and make sure we can accurately label towns and cities on a map of NZ.

Here is a list of towns and cities that we are going to learn the location of:
- Kaitaia                   
- Russell                     
- Dargaville
- Piha
- Whangarei
- Auckland
- Thames
- Hamilton
- Tauranga
- Rotorua
- Taupo
- New Plymouth
- Gisborne
- Napier
- Hastings
- Wellington
- Nelson
- Kaikoura
- Westport
- Christchurch
- Milford Sound
- Dunedin
- Invercargill

Let's get our geography on!!

Precious

Hi team,

Here is an example of writing for you to look at and take ideas from if you wish:

Precious 

The burning rays of the sun beat down on the tiring shoulders of the men. No words were spoken but each member of the group knew their role. Some dug while others washed. It was all about the rocks. Not the rocks themselves, but what could be hiding within. The goal. The reason they were all there. 

The sound of steel on rock was met with splashing water from heavy buckets. Their clothes were drenched with a combination of water and sweat. Nobody wanted to be there. But they had no choice. It was all for their families. The discovery of even the smallest speck of a shiny substance would make work cease and all would gather around ‘the one’ who had possibly made the discovery. 

Time was of no importance. The quest started when the sun rose and ended when it set. The completion of a hard days work only meant that it would be the same the next day, and the next. On route to the conveyor belt one of the worker’s legs buckled under the weight of the bucket and he cried out in pain. But his cries of pain fell on deaf ears. Everyone felt his pain but showing pain was a sign of weakness and weakness was a sign that the world had won. 

As people go off to work, take a long lunch break, update their Facebook status while enjoying a warm cup of coffee and look forward to the weekend, not many people spare a thought for men like these. Men working hard under the burning rays of the sun. Men who are mining in search of the elusive substance. The valuable and precious substance known as gold.

Keeping on top of my learning..

Hey team,

Hope you're enjoying your day off school today?! Movies, shopping at the mall or playing on your Playstation or Xbox...

I don't see you again until Tuesday... So during that time you could not think about school, you think about it a little or you could think about it a lot.

What you need to so is get your writing reading for publishing. Again you could leave it how it is now, you could edit it a little or you could edit it a lot and be very happy with the final result. Up to you. You're in charge!

Also capital cities.... We have been looking at these for a while now and yet some people have been trying to learn them all and some people are just hoping the check tests have the ones they know.

Hmmmm what can you do to learn more?

Finally, the grammar and parts of speech assessment. Have you been revising regularly? I know some of you have however some of you will still think that an adjective is a 'doing word.' The power is in your hands! 

I'm not going to get angry at you for not doing anything but you will be angry at yourself for not doing the best you can.

As I have said, speed boat getting faster, some of you are firmly strapped in and some are nearly over the side...

Do the 'RIGHT' thing:-)

Maths Website

Hi team,

Here is a useful site for practicing Maths. Have a look through the site and see what you can find!

http://www.math-play.com/Angles-Jeopardy/Angles-Jeopardy.html

The more you play, the more you learn!!

Digital Storytelling!!

Hi team,

It's time to kick digital storytelling into action!! I have created you all an account so will share with you this week!

Here is the website to have a sneak peak in the time being:

www.storybird.com

Bring it on!

Fractions!!

Hey team,

Here is a useful website with some videos on working with fractions that you might wanna check out. Recommended!!

https://www.khanacademy.org/math/arithmetic/fractions/Equivalent_fractions/v/equivalent-fractions

Enjoy:-)

Happy Holidays!

Hey team,

Hope you have all been recharging over the break and are looking forward to Term 2!

A reminder that your 3rd Rich Challenge is due on Monday. Looking forward to seeing what you have all done.

Term 2 is going to be very busy and we will be working hard and learning lots so make sure you are on board the 4.75 speedboat and holding tight or you will be chucked overboard.

See you all on Monday!

Matt.

End of Term Maths Assessment

Hi team,

Next Wednesday 16th April we will have an End of Term Maths Assessment where you will get to see how much you have learned so far.

The areas that will be covered will be Basics, Fractions/Decimals/Percentages and Measurement (Perimeter/Area and Unit Conversion)

Things you need to remember are to always SHOW YOUR WORKING when necessary and also READ THE QUESTIONS CAREFULLY.

Do your best and you will be fine!

R Rated movies and songs with inappropriate content......What's the big deal?

Hi Team,

So what is the big deal? We are gonna be old enough to watch and listen to them eventually so why does it matter when.... Censorship.
Often in the media you hear about people who behave in a certain way based on what they see at the movies or on TV and what they hear through lyrics of songs. Mainly it is a result of excessive violence and bad language. But if it doesn't affect you does it matter how it affects others?

Post a thoughtful comment about your views on this issue. If you don't care too much and think you're cool for doing these things all the time that is fine but think about the bigger picture...

"Let's Learn Capital Cities"

Hi team,

As part of our general knowledge building in geography we are going to learn some capital cities. We will start with some of the more common ones and then move onto a wider range. Here are a few to kick us off:

(Capital City in BOLD)

New Zealand - WELLINGTON
Australia - CANBERRA
United States of America - WASHINGTON D.C.
Mexico - MEXICO CITY
Canada - OTTAWA
England - LONDON
Wales - CARDIFF
Scotland - EDINBURGH
Ireland - DUBLIN
France - PARIS
Germany - BERLIN
Italy - ROME
Norway - OSLO
Denmark - COPENHAGEN
Finland - HELSINKI
China - BEIJING
Japan - TOKYO
South Korea - SEOUL
Taiwan - TAIPEI
Thailand - BANGKOK
Malaysia - KUALA LUMPUR
Indonesia - JAKARTA
Philippines - MANILA
India - NEW DEHLI
Fiji - SUVA
Samoa - APIA
Tonga - NUKU'ALOFA
Jamaica - KINGSTON
Austria - VIENNA
Argentina - BUENOS AIRES
Brazil - BRAZILIA
Cambodia - PHNOM PENH
Costa Rica - SAN JOSE
Egypt - CAIRO
Greece - ATHENS
Ghana - ACCRA
Czech Republic - PRAGUE
Chile - SANTIAGO
Hungary - BUDAPEST
Kenya -NAIROBI
Peru - LIMA
Romania - BUCHAREST
Russia - MOSCOW
Sweden - STOCKHOLM
Turkey - ANKARA
Sri Lanka - COLOMBO
Vietnam - HANOI
Solomon Islands - HONIARA
Portugal - LISBON
Libya - TRIPOLI
Bangladesh - DHAKA

May the force be with you!"

Trash2Fashion

How to draw a realistic eye

Measurement Activities Monday 31st March

We all want more space on a plane right?!

Who'd have guessed? The airline bean-counters are working out that their biggest money-spinner isn't first class with its showers and private bathrooms or business class with its lie-flat beds, which has led to the abolition of first class for many of them because it is so lavish.

No, in an industry where "yield" is measured in square centimetres, the airline accountants are in a lather about premium economy class.

If you're over 30 years of age, you may remember seeing it on your first trip on a plane with your parents. In the 1980s, it was that quiet little space at the front of the plane they called business class: 38 to 40 inches (96 centimetres to 102 cms) forward space between seat rows and a slightly wider seat and better meals.

"Premium economy is kind of the new business class," Kent Craver, a Boeing direct of cabin experience and revenue analysis at Boeing, told the Wall Street Journal last week.

That's because it is virtually identical to the business class of the 1980s and 1990s in both comfort and price pitched at twice to four times the best discount economy fare compared to up seven times the best discount economy rate for today's business class.

The fact that there is now such a price chasm between the premium passenger experience and the increasingly squeezed and torturous cattle class down the back was destined to cause more creaking in the airline revenue model as the flying business searches for elusive profits.

One of the biggest holdouts against premium economy as an affordable compromise between a bed and a sardine seat finally folded last week when Euro giant Lufthansa decided it was going to finally bite the bullet.

Like Qantas before it, Lufthansa was worried that premium economy would simply cannibalise its business class market.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the latest was Lufthansa's third internal attempt to justify a premium economy class after twice previously concluding that it would simply encourage its existing business class customers to spend less on the cheaper option.

The Wall Street Journal reports that, only after Lufthansa in 2012 began upgrading its business class to lie-flat beds from almost-flat ones was it confident of not cannibalising its own premium traffic.

"You ask yourself: isn't there a down-sell risk?" says Lufthansa's chief commercial officer Jens Bischof. "I see the upsell potential as significantly higher."

Lufthansa premium economy (96 cms per seat row) will be installed between October this year and the northern summer of 2015. An estimated 10 per cent of Lufthansa's long-haul seats will be premium economy.

It's strictly a mathematical equation: Lufthansa's new premium economy seats occupy 50 per cent more floorspace than standard economy, but can be sold for multiples more. Even allowing for the value-added perks like china meal service, amenity kit and an extra checked bag, the airline is way in front.

"It will be a very profitable product," says Bischof.

Who could forget Qantas's decade-long equivocation about what traditional airline people regarded as a radical departure from the set-in-stone rules of airline passenger class division?

As airlineratings.com publisher Geoff Thomas reminded us recently, Qantas chief executive James Strong was adamant in 1997 that he "couldn't make a case for" premium economy.

It wasn't until after Qantas's then-partner British Airways had made a smash hit of premium economy that Qantas CEO Geoff Dixon finally gave the green light in 2008, not long before he left the airline and Alan Joyce took over.

Premium economy is well-entrenched in our part of the world, with Qantas, Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand among the true believers.

But significantly Singapore Airlines is holding out, as are the three big Gulf carriers, Emirates, Etihad and Qatar, and the US carriers flying to Australia, United and Delta, although a number of US carriers offer varying standards of premium economy domestically.

Do you consider premium economy value for money? Have you used it in your recent travels? What was your verdict? 

Student Leader Voting

Hi team,

Please follow the link to vote for this year Balmoral Student Leaders.

https://docs.google.com/a/balmoral.school.nz/forms/d/1XBkeMiB_tEKcEu71Oifw5KXeJ94cmKlNQkDXGVJ6ZSc/viewform

The power is in your hands!