New Zealand is a Democracy

This country (New Zealand) is a democracy.

New Zealand has a Democratic system of government when people vote for who
they want to be represented by.

The age limit you can vote is 18 and over and must be a New Zealand citizen.

In New Zealand we choose our leaders every 3 years, talking about three years,
the next elections are next year in 2020.

Democracy means - A system of government by the whole population or all the
eligible members of an area/state.

Loto - How laws are made, (Social Studies)

What is a bill - 

first of all laws are ideas brought by public, or a member of Parliament. It is not exactly a law but it is a upcoming law, a draft copy of a law, or a request.

It is not the bill you think about like paying the electrical bills, or money, it is simple a draft copy of a law. A law does many things to people, places, things. A law helps run our country peacefully and keeps people happy.

How does a bill become a Law/ act of parliament -

In New Zealand we have laws which are created by the member of Parliament.

To making a law, there are 7 stages it has to go through first.

The 7 stages are the following:

Introduction - The bill is introduced to the House of Parliament.

First reading - MPs (Members of Parliament) debate which, the bill should go on to the select committee or not.

Select Committee - Here in the select committee they focus on the opinions of the public. All the submissions, reports, feedback, comes back the house. When it is approved the house will ask for some recommendation.

Second reading - The bill comes back to the house along with the recommendations of the select committee. MPs decide on which it should go to the Committee of the whole House.

Committee of whole house - Members debate the bill Claus by Claus (part by part). This is also known as the last chance to change the bill.

Third reading - This is known as the final debate. The Members of Parliament looks and consider what will happen if the bill becomes a law.

Royal assent - This is the last stage of becoming a law. The Governor General signs the bill, agreeing that is should become and act of Parliament and is now introduced into a law.

Three Branches

For the past few weeks my class and I have been learning about the government and the three branches. 

The three branches of the government includes:

Legislative - Legislative are people who makes laws

Judicial -  Judicial are in charge of punishing the people who breaks the law

Executive - They makes sure they execute the plan of what their doing

MMP, System of Government, (Social Studies)

For the past 3 weeks, I have been learning about the house of representatives and the system of how governments/prime minster are chosen. I now know what MMP and MP stands for. MMP, stands for Mixed-Member Proportional which means, different parties get to share their ideas. MP, stand for Member of Parliaments, which means that people who got voted in.

What I also Learned was that, it depends on how much votes you get, which means that's the percent of chairs you get, in the house of representatives. For Example, If you get half of the votes, you are guaranteed to get half of the chairs to your party. 

 

There are 120 seats in the House Of Representatives

Learning new concepts in class (Social Studies)

At the start of Social Studies today (01/08/2019) we were instructed to abandon
the electronics for we were going to use or brain and to also talk in groups.

First we were told to warm up our brain by memorising the 7 key concepts about
the government. Secondly me and my partner volunteer to present the words that
we had to remember. It was a bit hard to memorise the 7 words but it was a
win-win situation because we exercised our brain. After that we were shown
each meaning of the 7 words we were told. We again had to memorise all the
meaning to the words and later on present it. Again, me and my partner volunteered
to present to the class the meaning of a certain word. It was very challenging
because we had little time to memorise these words. My partner and I
were trying to remember and fortunately we did it.

Some of the new words I learned was:

• Laws - A rule or set of rules
• Member of parliament - A person who has been elected by the people
• in a particular to electorate

• Rights - something we are entitled to
• Electorate - is a voting district
• Political party - an organised party

Migration in the 21st Century and its effects (Social Studies)

What I found surprising was that  Countries in Europe are facing many problems.
Like In 2015, more than 35,000 children went to Sweden without their parents.
Since so many kid came at the same time, it took longer to find homes for the children.
4 children’s reported that they were not allowed to enroll in school because they didn’t
have a parent or someone who took care of them.

Most refugees came from impoverished backgrounds which was very challenging
for them which they had to cope with what was coming to them. Till these days
there are still more refugees seeking for help, home and food. Most of them were
involuntary to work, or to leave the country which was hard for them to look after
themselves and there family. The effects on these refugees are not as simply. They
have to have there documentation to be able to enter different places.

3 new words I learnt:

Impoverished

Involuntary

Documentation

Human and plant cells (Science)

For the last few weeks here at science class we've been learning about plant cells and animal cells. What I learned about these 2 different kind of cells are that most of the cells are kind of the same but plant cells have a few extra. Here is a photo representing the 2 different cells.

Maintaining our Culture (Social Studies)

Do you think it is important to hold onto the language of our ancestors?

Yes, because, when you grow older you are going to teach your kids
about the history of your language and how to speak it, so the
language doesn’t die out. You can keep the language alive and
pass it down to your further generation. Another reason is so you
can talk to other people in your language and having to talk in your
culture to a big audiences.

Can you think of how we can hold onto our languages in NZ?

You can hold onto your language by going to a church that
only has your culture, (E.g Samoans going to a Samoan church),
participating in cultural activities, listing to your elders speaking
the language, and also going to a school that only speaks your
culture.

Changes In Glen Innes (Social Studies)

In glen Innes where tamati’s community  is, he is trying to help our home. The whanau around him are supporting him too with the things he is doing. It has been sad for Tamati because of the change, and lots of people leaving. Now there are different families that are new to the community. At Madeline Ave in GI, was begun in the 1990s. It’s all about, story-telling and working with organisations to create community engagement. Nowadays the river Tamati is currently working on is polluted and also said “There's no way you’d put a child”.

Tamati is trying to engage the residents to remember what the river is for. When tamati’s great grandma came here the volcanic soils were great for growing, and snapper could be caught in the fishing grounds. Tamati says “this is something special and we should treat it like a treasure. He really likes the pathways. Much has change here at Glen Innes bout there are still some old elements. The marsic brothers “Fish and chips shop” has been there for a long time Nicola Johns Pharmacy on Mayfair place, she really cares about people. The is old as well, John Pearce shoe care on Apirana Ave, Actually fixes shoes. We also got the best kebab shop of anywhere located and, Kebab 149, on line road.

Tamati and some others say “We have the privilege here of being involved with something that will be around for generations.

Community (Social Studies)

Today for social studies we did a topic on community. On this picture it shows, what I know about a community and also what a community needs. 

Te Reo Maori - Summary (Social Studies)

Back in the 1900s, most of the Te Reo Maori language was prohibited to
be taught in schools. People just couldn’t be bothered teaching the language.
It was slowly dying as years went by. The history behind this was that the
indigenous people who were the founder of the land were in fact the Maori
people. But most of us intend to forget this language and speak english.
But nowadays the attitude of the language has changed and now it is being
taught in schools, been made into songs, raps, and many other things.

(Science) Layers of the Earth

Today (11/04/2019) is the last day of school and also last science class for this term. I will be telling you what I learned of the layers of the earth.

First there is the crust. That is what we living things live and stand on. 

Second, there is the mantle. It is the place were lava stays. But when lava is underground we call it magma.

Thirdly there is the outer core. The outer core is just above the inner core.

And lastly there is inner core. It is as the same hot as the sun and is located right in the center of the earth.

Here is a photo of the 4 layers if you didn't understand and want a better view.

(Social Studies) Presentation

(Social Studies) Presentation

Today (11/04/2019) my class and I had to present what country or origin
we had done for our presentation. My buddy was the famous Aumau and
the topic we did was India. The things I need to work on for talking is to
talk more louder, make more sense and also look towards the audience.

For what I need to work on for listening is to watch the person in the front
and to understand what they say. I need to listen, stay quiet and also learn
something new.

"Jacindamania" (Social studies)

Jacinda ardern's is becoming noticeable with what her actions has done to lots of people.
They call this ‘Jacindamaina’. She is becoming more popular and more famous but that
wasn’t what she was trying to do. She was just doing what she can with what she has.
She also went to a mosque to show her respect. Meanwhile in public and social media
everyone is loving what Jacinda Ardern is doing to all of us. She has banned semi auto
guns from everywhere in new Zealand but is not officially made yet. My thoughts are that
she is doing the right thing to help out those in need.

Empathy - (Social studies)

To me empathy means when you show or sacrifice your time to help
out another. It also means when people can feel what others are feeling.

For example:

Not long ago there was a shooting down at Christchurch at a
mosque. Many lives has past, many families are grieved and
brokenhearted, and also many people around the world are showing
empathy. They are showing empathy by visiting the mosques where
the shooting took place and even for people that are not in Christchurch,

they go to there local mosque and show their empathy.

People also are praying for the victims and the families of each of them.
Most people are showing there empathy / condolences through social
media where the whole globe can see. There is also people donating
their own money from their pockets to help out and give what they can.

Families of those who are hurt and have sustained injuries, visit the
hospital and give them flowers. Even random people are visiting the
injured and grieving them by flowers, balloons anything that can or
will cheer them up.

Kiribati Climate Change - (Social studies)

For the past few days, my class has been learning about Kiribati and whats happening to it. Climate Change is slowly sinking Kiribati down to the ocean which will no longer exist. Since Kiribati is sinking people are now leaving and families are struggling to find a place to stay. They are being forced to move which they have no other places to stay.

 

Science "Experiment"

Last week during science we did a experiment using baking soda and also vinegar. We put the vinegar in first, into the tube. After that we added the baking soda and had to get back away. Straight after we poured the baking soda into the tube it cause a reaction. The vinegar and the baking soda rose up almost out of the tube. 

There was a video but there were some technical difficulties.

Current Events (One person killed after motorcycles crashes into power pole in Bay of Plenty)

On the 6 of March early in the morning at 12.25am, a person was killed by driving into a power pole with a motorcycle. It took place in Bay of Plenty, Ruatoki Valley Road, south of Whakatāne, on a Wednesday. I think it is important to show this event because, people could be more safer on the road and learn a lesson from what can happen if things go wrong. It goes to show what little things can become a big problem.

Made In Taiwan - Documentary Summary

Tamaki College 

SOS (Social studies)

Name: Loto

For the past few weeks at social studies we have been watching and studying about a documentary called Made In Taiwan. There were two men named Oscar and Nathan who set out to find out about there ancestor and were they came from. These two men has travelled to many places to find out where they came from. They took a DNA sample to find out were they came from. 

Summer Learning Journey Week 2 - Day 1

DAY 1: Swimming with the Fish

Activity 1: Surfs Up! [4 points]

In New Zealand we have many beautiful beaches and stunning waterfalls. One of the most spectacular waterfalls is called Kitekite and it is located in Piha, a small village west of Auckland. Tourists and locals flock to Piha during the summer season to enjoy the waterfall, the local beach, and the great surf. Have you ever tried surfing? Although I have never surfed many of my friends have and they absolutely love it. In fact, it is their favourite summer activity! What is yours?

For this activity, please take a picture of yourself doing one of your favourite summer activities. It could be anything! Here is a picture of one of our team members (Laura) doing one of her favourite summer activities.

On your blog, post a picture of yourself doing one of your favourite summer activities. Below the picture tell us what the activity is and tell us why it is one of your favourites.

My best summer activity is playing a sport, Rugby. I've loved rugby ever since I started playing. I starting playing rugby at the age of 8 not knowing anything about it. The reason why the picture is me passing a ball is because, that was the only thing I knew about rugby (Passing a ball). Other than that I was totally clueless. After 1 year of playing rugby I was boss (well that's what I thought) and at the end of the season I got an award which was "Most Out Standing Player" of that year. That was the best you could get on that age.

Activity 2: The Great Taupo Cycle Challenge [4 points]

Every year approximately 7500 people arrive in Taupo, New Zealand to compete in a one-day cycling race around Lake Taupo. The race route is 160 km in length. Participants can choose to compete in the full race or the half-race (80 km). Let’s imagine that you were given a free ticket to compete in the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge next year and you were able to bring three people with you as your ‘support crew.’ Who would you bring with you?

If it was me, I would choose my son, Aronui, as one of my supporters because he’s really funny and energetic. I think that he would make sure that I had a great time and that I spent the entire day laughing and smiling. I would also choose my sister, Leigh, because she is very strong and fast. Thirdly, I would choose my co-leader, Hazel, because she is very organised and would make sure that we followed the trail and didn’t get lost!

For me I would chose:

1. My big brother Sam, because he is energetic and very fit. I reckon he could do 2 laps! apart from that, he is strong, fast, smart and also funny!

2. My friend Trent, He is amazing at sports and super fast and funny. He'd be great at cycling because he is fit and also has incredibly strong legs.

3. And thirdly I would pick my friend Alex because he is very smart and fit, he is small but his spirit is big and also he would keep us on track if anything goes wrong!

Activity 3: Something Smells Fishy…[10 points]

One of the longest and largest rivers in the world is called the Amazon River. It is located in South America and is approximately 6400 kilometres (kms) long. That is four times longer than the entire country of New Zealand. Wow!

Scientists believe that there are over 3000 different kinds of fish that live in the Amazon River. Now, that is a lot of fish! To learn more about fish, we went online and found some really cool facts about fish.

For this activity, we are going to provide you with five sentences about fish. Some of them are true and some are them are not. It is your job to read these ‘facts’, and decide whether they are true or false.

On your blog, write out each fact and in CAPITAL LETTERS beside the fact, write the word ‘TRUE’ if it is a true fact or ‘FALSE’ if it is not true.

True or False?

Fish Fact #1: The oldest known fish in the world is a 65 year old Australian lungfish. TRUE

Fish Fact #2: Sharks are the only fish that have eyelids. FALSE

Fish Fact #3: Starfish are a type of fish. FALSE

Fish Fact #4: Fish communicate with each other by making low-pitched sounds (moans, hisses, etc) TRUE

Fish Fact #5: Fish usually swim together in groups called ‘classes.’ FALSE

Summer Learning Journey Week 1 - Day 5

DAY 5: Blink and You’ll Miss It

Activity 1: Towering Timbers [4 points]

There is a long and rich history of logging in New Zealand. Logging involves cutting down trees. The people who cut them down are called loggers. The trees that they cut down are sold and used to build things (eg. houses), to make products (eg. paper), and to generate (create) heat and power. Over the past two centuries, many of the trees in New Zealand have been cut down by loggers.

Left: NZ native forest Right: A logged forest

Some people like logging because it creates jobs for the loggers and generates money for New Zealand while others are against (opposed to) logging. Many of those opposed are worried that logging will damage the environment. It might also force animals who live in trees (eg. owls) to find new homes.

What do you think about logging?

On your blog tell us whether you think logging should be allowed in New Zealand. Be sure to provide at least two reasons to support your argument.

I would go against loggers. Reason why is because they are cutting down trees which gives oxygen and also because trees are some home to animals! Without trees some animals will be homeless and have to live in the opens which is not safe for them. 

I think logging should not be allowed in New Zealand! There are 3,000,000,000,000 trees in New Zealand study says, and about 3.5 billion to 7 billion trees are cut down each year! If this goes on, there soon will be not as much trees in New Zealand and therefore there wouldn't be as much oxygen for humans and animals to breath! 

Activity 2: Living on the Edge [4 points]

While it can get quite cold in New Zealand, it rarely drops below freezing (00C). Most of the time the temperature in New Zealand is pretty mild. This is not the case in the tundra. The tundra is an area of land (biome) that is cold, dry and completely treeless. Did you know that the average temperature in the tundra is -280C?

Over the past few years, however, the temperature in the tundra has been rising and the weather has been changing. Let’s imagine that your teacher decides to take you on a class trip to the tundra before the weather changes too much and you aren’t able to go.

On your blog, write a letter to your best friend or a family member telling them about your trip to the tundra. To earn full points your letter must have a greeting (eg. Dear…) followed by 5 – 6 sentences of information about what your experience.

Dear Brother,
I've recently went on a field trip with my class. It was an amazing and a fantastic experience and I would like to tell you a little bit about it. While we were at Tundra I saw a lot of  mountains, like a lot of them. Every direction I'd look there would be a mountain. Other than that, I got the chance to met some animals and even some endangered animals. We got the chance to pet it, but not hold it since, you know its endangered. The weather did change a lot but we didn't mind. I also encountered a snowy owl. For some reason it just landed on my head and all my class mate's started laughing. I too found it funny but it had to go since my teacher was afraid of it. Apart from that, it was a amazing experience and I would love to visit it again one day.

To my awesome: brother!!

  

Activity 3: Going, going….gone [10 points]

Over the years, scientists have made some surprising discoveries. One of

these discoveries is that we have entire cities (e.g. Jakarta, Indonesia and Venice, Italy) that are slowly sinking into the ocean. Scientists believe that, one day, the cities will disappear completely under the water. Yikes!

Some of the residents (people living in the cities) have taken pictures of their neighbourhoods and written stories about their lives in order to make a record of what ‘life was like’ in their city before it disappeared.

Let’s imagine that New Zealand was going to sink to the bottom of the ocean next week (Eek!). Before it sinks you are asked to write a blog post telling people what life was like in New Zealand in 2018.

On your blog, post a description of life in New Zealand in 2018. Please remember that the people who read your post will have never been to New Zealand or even seen a picture so it is your job to ‘paint a picture’ of New Zealand using your words. You can also post pictures, if you wish. Be sure to fully attribute the pictures.

New Zealand is a small, amazing and a fascinating country. New Zealand has many city but the most popular one is Auckland, all though Wellington is the capital of New Zealand. Auckland has 1/4 of the population of New Zealand. In New Zealand there are lot's of amusement parks and also incredible place's for tourist to visit! My favourite place I like to go most of the time is to the beach. In Auckland City (Which is the picture below) there are many buildings, boats and especially people. In the city there is some beach's around there, fast food areas, cafe shop, clothes stores, anything you could imagine. Other than that, New Zealand is a Beautiful Country.