SUMMER LEARNING JOURNEY: Taking Flight 🐦

Hello and welcome to another SLJ post! I've just arrived in Timaru as of yesterday, and we've already been to the carnival twice! I hope you enjoy my last blog post of 2018 :)

Activity 1: Bird of the Year! [4 points]

Aotearoa New Zealand is home to many different kinds (species) of native birds.  Sadly, about a third of our native bird species are at risk of disappearing forever (becoming extinct). 

Each year, Forest and Bird New Zealand hold a ‘Bird of the Year’ competition where people can vote for their favourite native bird. This year, the winner was the kererū (or woodpigeon). 

Go onto the Bird of the Year website, look through the native birds on the site, and choose one that interests you. 

On your blog, write a short description of your bird. Where does your bird normally live? What does your bird normally eat?  Post a picture of the bird underneath your description. Be sure to attribute your picture properly.

1. Why did this bird interest me?
Going into this I wanted to raise awareness of a bird who people may not know the name of. The tomtit hadn't even reached 500 votes yet. The yellow of its chest caught my eye, and by the time I'd read 'tom' I was interested, because my dog is called Tom. My sister also happened to like the bird because it reminded her of her cat, whatever that means... 

Here is a DLO I made explaining about the tomtit (my new favourite bird). 

Activity 2: Flying Foxes [4 points]

Not only is New Zealand home to many native birds but we also have a number of native bats. Some of these bats are really small while others are much larger. None, however, are as large as the largest bat in Australia. It is called the flying fox (pictured below) and it has a wingspan of up to 6 feet or 2 metres. Wow! That is taller than most of us! 

Flying foxes usually sleep during the day and hunt for food at night, using their ears to guide them through the darkness. Like other bats, they have the best hearing of any mammal. It is their ‘superpower.’ 

If you could have a superpower, what would it be? If I could choose, I would like to be able to fly. It would make it possible for me to fly back to Canada and visit my family whenever I wanted. How amazing would that be?!

On your blog, tell us what superpower you would like to have and why you’d like to have it.

Personally I would like to have the ability to travel back in time because I would be able to meet my favourite musicians of all time. If I had this power I would go back to the 1960's and meet The Beatles (more specifically, Paul McCartney, my favourite person in the world). Or, I would go to the early 2000's and go to a My Chemical Romance concert while they were still together (they split up a month before I started listening to them). Oh, and I would definitely go to a David Bowie or Pink Floyd concert! Okay, I should stop now before I start rambling...

Activity 3: Wind Beneath My Wings [10 points]

Birds and bats are just two species of animal that are able to fly. Did you know that some fish, squirrels and snakes are also able to fly? Check out the ‘Top 10 Flying Animals of the World’ website to learn more about these incredible animals. 

Once you have explored the site, choose one animal and create a digital learning object (DLO, eg. a poster) that tells us all about the animal. Be sure to include at least three interesting facts and a picture or two of your animal! Please follow these instructions for attributing your pictures properly.


On your blog, post a final copy of your DLO..

SUMMER LEARNING JOURNEY: The Air Up There 🌬

Activity 1: Bee-Informed (4 points)


Activity 2: Carbon Sinks Don’t Stink! [4 points]
Every day a chemical compound called carbon dioxide (CO2) is produced and released into the air.  If it isn’t removed, it can become toxic for humans. Fortunately, there are a number of places where CO2 is absorbed (removed from the air). Two of the most common places are forests and oceans. They are called ‘carbon sinks’ because, like a sink, they gather, clean and drain things away that we don’t want. One of the largest carbon sinks in New Zealand is a forest in the south-western part of the South Island. It drains away 60% of our unwanted carbon!

Mayo image source: Hellman's 

Let’s imagine that you could design a sink that could gather up and then drain away any foods that you don’t like. On your blog, tell us what you would put in your special sink. 

On your blog, list all of the foods that you would put in your special draining sink..

1. Mayonnaise
2. Any kind of pasta
3. Broad beans
4. Pulpy orange juice
5. Blue cheese

SUMMER LEARNING JOURNEY: A Heated Debate 🔥

Selamat Pagi! Welcome to the third week of the Summer Learning Journey for 2018. I've had a great experience so far, I've just arrived in Timaru after being in Greymouth for a few days. Time to crack into some work :)

DAY 1: A Heated Debate
Activity 1: Togs or Trackies? [4 points]

Tourist Natalia Volna at Gibsorne's Titirangi Hill. 

New Zealand is a pretty lovely place to live, isn’t it? Apparently, New Zealand (NZ) is also a pretty lovely place to visit. In 2017 approximately 2-3 million people came to visit NZ as tourists. Some of them chose to come in the middle of our summer, while others braved it and came in the middle of winter! When do you think is the best time of year (season) to visit NZ? 

If you would like some help making a decision, feel free to read the Go New Zealand website. It has lots of information about the seasons in NZ!

I, personally, encourage my friends and family from overseas to come and visit NZ in early spring. The weather is usually warm and dry and the tourist attractions, beaches and holiday spots are less busy than they are in the middle of summer.


On your blog, tell us what time of year you think is best for tourists for come and visit. Be sure to share at least three things that tourists could do while they were here in NZ.

Here is my DLO created with Google Slides. 

Activity 2: You Are My Sunshine (4 points)

Activity 3: Burning Up… [15 points]

While it can get hot in New Zealand, especially in the middle of summer, it gets even hotter in places like Dallol (Ethiopia), Dasht-e Loot (Iran), Tirat Zvi (Israel), Kabili (Tunisia) and Bandar-e Mahshahr (Iran). 

The hottest temperature on record in each place is: Dallol: 41oC; Dasht-e Loot: 71oC; Tirat Zvi: 54oC; Kabili: 55oC; Bandar-e Mahshahr: 51oC. Crazy ‘eh?!

For this activity, you are asked to use this information to create a graph. The graph should have a title along with the names of each city and their hottest recorded temperatures. You can draw the graph by hand or use a computer programme like Google Draw to create your graph. It’s completely up to you!

SUMMER LEARNING JOURNEY: Wasting Away ♻️

The rough tidal pool at the Pancake Rocks.

Hello and welcome to another SLJ post! Today I actually did something I've never done before and visited the Pancake Rocks and Blowholes up at Punakaiki. I also went to the beach out in front of where we're staying and went out to Westport for this delicious chicken and chips (or in my case, chips).

A selfie I took on the beach :)

The *very rough* pool at the Pancake Rocks!

Activity One: Off The Menu (4 points)

Created using Venngage. 

Sign the petition against overfishing here. I already signed, and shared on Facebook! 

Activity Two: The Black Drain (4 points)

Created using Google Docs 

Activity Three: Faded Glory (5 points)
Created using Venngage

SUMMER LEARNING JOURNEY: Spectacular, Spectacular ⛅

Hi and welcome to another Summer Learning Journey post! I'm writing to you from Greymouth, today we visited the Hokitika Gorge and Lake Kaniere. Everything was so beautiful, but the use of 10-80, potassium-cyanide and the deforestation I saw was really devastating. I am against the use of 10-80 in New Zealand and believe there are better ways to get rid of unwanted pests that don't danger our native animals.

Alas, I hope you enjoy. 

Activity 2: It’s All in the Name [4 points]

Rotorua is one of New Zealand’s most popular tourist destinations. It is a city filled with incredible forests, mountain biking tracks, lakes, and geothermal wonders, including hot springs (geysers) and mud pools. One of the most famous geothermal pools is called the Devil’s Bath at Wai-o-Tapu Thermal Wonderland. It is a neon green pool of stinky water. 

Over the years, people have suggested that we come up with a new name for the pool. What do you think we should call it? Take a minute to let your creative juices flow.

On your blog, give us a list of three to five options for the name of this geothermal pool. Put a star (*) beside the name that you like the most.

I liked the Grinch's Hideout most because I think it's something that's funny, but it's colour is related to something we all know. I liked 'hideout' because I think it would attract tourists if they thought it was secretive, all while sounding epic!

SUMMER LEARNING JOURNEY: First You ‘Sea’ Me, Now You Don’t 💦

Selamat Pagi! Welcome to the second week of the Summer Learning Journey for 2018. I've just arrived in Greymouth and spent the day at the Devil's Punch hole, a historic bath site in Kumara and visited a cave near Castle Hill. I hope you enjoy reading my blog!

Activity 1: Night Owls

Image source: Wiktionary

Here in New Zealand we have many amazing and unique sea creatures, including penguins. The blue penguin, or kororā, is particularly special because it is the smallest penguin in the entire world! Blue penguins are typically found on the east coast of the South Island in places like Oamaru but they can be hard to spot as they rarely leave the water. If they do come onto land it is usually at night, when most of us are sound asleep! That’s because they are nocturnal. Not all of us, however, sleep all night. In fact, some people love to stay awake late into the evening. People who like to stay up late are called ‘night owls.’ Are you a night owl or are you an early riser, like me? I typically wake up every day around 6:00 a.m. and jump out of bed, ready to start the day! On your blog, tell us whether you are a night owl or an early riser. Then, tell us about the rest of your family. Are they the same as you? .

I would be lying through my teeth if I said that I was an early riser! I am a total night owl. My routine goes like this: stay up until around 5 and then go back to sleep for another 6 hours. This summer, I made it one of my goals to improve my sleep schedule and I have to say I'm seeing a difference.

As for my family, my Mum is the same as me, a night owl. She often stays up working late or watching television at night which she enjoys. My older sister De-Arna is also a night owl despite her going to University and working most days. However, this doesn't exactly run in the family: my Dad, step-brother, and younger sister are all early risers. My sister, in particular, wakes up at 7:30 even on the weekends. My Dad insists on taking us to the Farmer's Market every Sunday morning. And my step-brother is so loud when he gets up in the mornings, he wakes us at 6.

Activity 2: A Local Delicacy

I chose to find the recipe for an iconic Balinese food, Lawar, because I'm leaving for Indonesia in 13 days and I want to learn more about their dishes before I visit. It's one of my goals to get out of my comfort zone and try new foods that I can hopefully recreate at home. Did you know that because the religion in Bali is predominantly Hindu, most Balinese dishes do not contain beef?

ACTIVITY THREE
I used simple multiplication and division for this maths problem, but there are many other ways to work it out!

SUMMER LEARNING JOURNEY: Flora and Fauna 🌺

Merry Christmas! Have an amazing time with your loved ones and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ <3

WEEK 2, DAY 2: FABULOUS FLORA!

Activity One: Weaving a Tall Tale
(Here's a link to the video I watched. It's so satisfying!)

Activity Two: Mighty Mangroves!
Here in New Zealand we have a native tree called a Kiwi Mangrove. Kiwi Mangroves grow in shallow water (harbours). The largest mangrove or manawa forests in New Zealand are located in Northland and in Auckland. According to many environmental experts, they are one of the toughest and strongest trees in the world because they can survive in really harsh (difficult) conditions.

For this activity you are asked to think of someone who is very tough and strong. They can be someone who you know personally or they can be a character that you have read about in a book, seen in a movie, or on a television show.

On your blog, tell us about this person. Who are they? Why are they, in your opinion, so strong and tough?

The person I have selected is 'Spaceboy' from the comic series The Umbrella Academy by Gerard Way. 

I chose Spaceboy because... even from a very young age, he possesses super-strength and superhuman abilities. Furthermore, his strength is only increased when his body is replaced with that of an extra-terrestrial gorilla's. This gorilla-human hybrid is incredibly tough and withstanding, and can withstand the vacuum and cold temperature of space (hence the name). 

This is why Spaceboy soon chooses to live on the moon alongside his soon-to-be-discovered twin brother and The Rumor, whom he has an incestuous infatuation with. From this we can definitely determine that Spaceboy is extremely tough and powerful... especially for a gorilla-human hybrid. 

P.S: Definitely read The Umbrella Academy. Or at least watch it on Netflix after it comes out. 

Activity 3: Stranger than Fiction

Here on earth there are more than 298 000 different kinds (species) of plants. Some of these plants live on land and some live in the water. Follow this link to read about 10 of the strangest plant species in the world. When you are finished, choose two of the plants from the list.

SUMMER LEARNING JOURNEY: Swimming with The Fish 🐟

Before we begin, Merry Christmas Eve to those who celebrate! 

🌊 Activity 1: Surfs Up! 🌊

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! 

The top photo is a photo took about three years ago, when my sister, my stepdad, and I went fishing. It was my first time going fishing, and although the sky didn't quite resemble that of a summer's day sky, it was super fun and we caught some fish. 

The second photo is from two years ago, and it's of me representing Christchurch for shot put. I ended up 8th out of about 17 but in my other competitions I'd earned 1st and 2nd place in all of them. This was in December of 2016, and although I haven't been to competitions in ages, I recently got 1st in shotput and discus for Year 8 at Hornby High's athletics day last year. 

🚴 Activity Two: The Great Taupo Cycle Challenge 🚴

🐟 Activity Three: Something Smells Fishy... 🐟

SUMMER LEARNING JOURNEY: A Blog About Logs (+ more!)🌲

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.

Activity 3: Going, going….gone

Over the years, scientists have made some surprising discoveries. One of these discoveries is that we have entire cities: for example, Jakarta, Indonesia (which I'm visiting in two weeks) and Venice, Italy) 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.

1st image source: NASA
2nd image source: wallock_screen on Twitter

SUMMER LEARNING JOURNEY: Awesome Animals 🦁

ACTIVITY ONE

Speak Visually. Create a presentation with Visme

SUMMER LEARNING JOURNEY: More Than Meets The Eye 🏔️

Welcome to my fourth (?) post for the Summer Learning Journey. Hope you enjoy :)

ACTIVITY ONE

Fun fact: My maternal grandfather, Lesley "Blue" Duff, was on the second Antarctica expedition Sir Edmund Hillary lead! He served as a mechanic in the winter of 1957. (note the second on the list)

Source: antarctic.homestead.com/New Zealand Antarctic Research Programme Personnel

ACTIVITY TWO

Aotearoa New Zealand is home to many spectacular sights and natural wonders. One of these is the Punakaiki Rocks and Blowholes located on the West Coast of the South Island. The Punakaiki rocks attract tourists from all over the world who are keen to see these amazing rock formations. Many people think that they look like pancakes stacked on top of one another. Pancakes are one of my favourite foods! They are delicious and pretty easy to make.

For this activity you are asked to choose one of your favourite foods. On your blog, write the name of your favourite food and then tell us how to make it. You may need to ask a family member, friend or Google (!) for help, if you do not normally make this food for yourself.

Stir-fry image source: merridycasson.com

Here's a photo from the first time I ever made this stir fry when I was about 10 (I'm 13 now), the recipe's changed
a lot since then: I hardly eat chicken or mushrooms anymore so I substituted those
ingredients.
I actually ended up making this stir-fry for dinner tonight too, it was so good, you should definitely try it. 

ACTIVITY THREE

Deep in the heart of Bolivia (a country in South America) lies a natural wonder unlike anything else. It is a massive area of salt, over 10 000 km2 large, that is referred to as the Uyuni Salt Flats.

Tourists who visit the flats often stay in hotels made completely out of salt (salt hotels). This is not the only unique hotel that you will find around the world. In fact, you can stay in hotels made entirely of ice (ice hotels) or glass (glass hotel). Let’s imagine that you were given enough money to build your very own hotel. 

On your blog tell us where you would build your hotel and what you would use to build it. For an extra five points, use Google Drawings to design one room in your hotel. You can also use a paper and pencil to draw your room, take a picture of the drawing, and post it on your blog.

Here's my hotel room I drew! I used thin pigment liners, felts, etc. I personally don't draw hotel rooms for blogging contests, but this was fun and I liked how it turned out. (By the way, I left some blank on purpose: it's kind of my art style to only colour a few things in my drawings)

And here's the same drawing, but my dog "accidentally" stepped on it and it was so cute not to include. Thanks, Buddy. 

SUMMER LEARNING JOURNEY 2018: Forest Life! 🌲

Activity One

Activity Two

Activity Three

SUMMER LEARNING JOURNEY: The Beginning! 🌍

Source: Lee Welch on Twitter

ACTIVITY ONE

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.

After visiting the Tourism NZ website, it is safe to say I learned a whole lot of information I didn't already know about our beautiful country of New Zealand. 

My personal favourite fact I discovered on this website was:
The country is part of the Pacific Rim of Fire and its most active volcano is Mount Ruapehu, found in the middle of the North Island.'

Source: National Geographic

I personally found this fact to be quite intriguing because I am partly interested in the stories of natural disasters such as earthquakes and volcanoes, although I've honestly never looked into the science behind it other than in science class. It was for this reason, I decided to look into the Ring of Fire and the science behind it.

The Ring of Fire is a invisible horseshoe-shape that spans 40, 000 km across the Pacific Ocean. It's location is associated with frequent tectonic activity such as earthquakes and volcanoes which occur there more than any other stretch of land or ocean on the globe. The 452 volcanoes located around the Ring of Fire amounts to 75% of all of the volcanoes on Earth. Furthermore, the Ring of Fire has even been near or on the epicentre of over 90% of the world's earthquakes. 

So what is the science behind the Ring of Fire? I took to Google to find out.

A fault line has ruptured the Earth
in Darfield, Canterbury.
Source: Otago Daily Times

The Ring of Fire forms its shape as it is at the meeting point of many lithospheric plates (which compose the outer layer of the Earth's crust) which are constantly sliding, bumping, and moving around each other. The line where these plates meet are also known as fault lines. The Ring of Fire is essentially a band of active fault lines, deep oceanic trenches, and volcanoes (dormant and active). 




Another favourite fact I learned was:
30% of the country is forest.

Source: doc.govt.nz

I was interested in this fact because I go travelling a lot and get to see many forests, especially up and down Te Waipounamu (the South Island), but I never would have thought forest accounted for 30% of Aotearoa. I thought it would be much less, especially due to deforestation which is a big issue in the world right now. Deforestation, if you don't know, is the destruction of forests, often to make space for houses, farms, and other structures. 
The biggest forest in Aotearoa is in Northland, Te Ika-a-Māui (North Island) and is home to two of of the biggest living Kauri in Aotearoa, which I had no idea about.  I thought the rākau in the Ōtautahi Botanical Gardens were enormous, but they're pale in comparison to the Kauri rākau in Waipoua Forest! After reading some articles about this beautiful forest I really want to visit one day and learn more about these fascinating rākau and their history as natives to Aotearoa. Did you know it is an astounding 90 square kilometres in size?

Another fact I found interesting was:
Gisborne is the first city in the world to see the sunrise because it is 496.3 kilometers away from the International Date Line.

Source: mapsofworld.com

This was actually very fascinating to learn! Next time I wake up to a sunrise I will no longer admire the fact that I'm one of the first in the world to see it, because Gisborne has already seen it. 
This got me thinking about the International Date Line. I enjoy working out what time it is in different places in the world and have memorised the time difference in a few places but I've never really learned where or what the International Date Line is... well, apart from that one episode of Zach and Cody. So, I did some proper research.

The International Date Line is an invisible line that runs through the mid-Pacific Ocean. Its purpose is to differentiate one calendar day to the next. For example, Aotearoa and America Samoa are the closest to the International Date Line, so Aotearoa  is the first country to see the new day and America Samoa is the last to see the new day. Say it was midnight on New Year's in Aotearoa, America Samoa would not reach midnight on New Year's for another 24 hours because of the time difference.

ACTIVITY TWO
'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.

To put it simply, I love Christchurch.
I mean, there are so many things to love! 
Take a walk around the Central City and admire the beautiful artworks by the most inspiring of multimedia artists. From the iconic Chalise that stands proud in the heart of the Cathedral Square, or the many colourful pieces of street art bringing life to the faces of buildings and fences that line the streets. Christchurch is a beautiful city with vibrant nightlife and gorgeous views. 
You can slice through the clear blue water of Akaroa Harbour alongside the ever-so-elegant dolphins, hike up Halswell Quarry and admire it's breathtaking views, or play at the exciting new Margaret Mahy playground in town with the whole family... but what is so different about Christchurch?
What separates our city from the hundreds of others across New Zealand?
It is the bond.
After the earthquakes in 2011, Christchurch teamed together to rebuild not only the buildings, but strengthen the bond we have as citizens. If you have ever visited Christchurch, you can see the bond we have: whether you're a council worker or a construction worker, we have all been through the same devastation that is the 2011 Earthquake, and because of that, we couldn't have become stronger. You can admire the beauty of Christchurch, but there will be nothing more beautiful than the bond we have. Kia Kaha, Christchurch. 

ACTIVITY THREE

Source: flickr.com

'Antarctica is the world’s coldest continent. Even though it is made up of ice, it is also the driest continent in the world. In fact, it hasn’t rained there for nearly 2 million years! It is home to many animals such as whales, seals, birds, and fish. There are no permanent human residents (people who live there all the time) in Antarctica, however scientists do visit and stay in Antarctica for a while to study it.

This year the airline, Air New Zealand, filmed their safety video in Antarctica. They used some fabulous actors from Hornby Primary School in Christchurch. Just like on aeroplanes, we also need to keep safe and be smart online. We need to think about the type of information we are sharing online, who we are sharing information with, and how to have a positive digital footprint.'

On your blog, make a copy of this footprint and, inside the footprint, explain how you create a positive, digital footprint. What do you do to stay smart online?.

Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to read my very first post for the Summer Learning Journey 2018. I've learned so much today and I'm really excited to continue the program. Feel free to leave some feedback in the comments as I appreciate every comment I receive. 
- Jaime :)