Cheesy Scones Fail? | Home Economics

Yesterday, Chloe, Jay and I created cheese scones in Home Economics.

We were proud about how we worked together even though we had lost a team member. Next time we will work on ensuring they are cooked thoroughly as they were like dough on the inside. Also we worked the dough too much so it was too firm to roll out properly. 

Chicken and Vege Stirfry! | Home Economics

Today, we had another practical in home economics.

What is the learning outcome?

To learn to create a chicken, noodle and vegetable stir fry in our groups (my group is Kayne, Chloe, Jade and myself).

What learning process did we use?

We were first given a sheet of instructions showing us how to do it. We first had to select our vegetables. My group selected broccoli, cauliflower, onion and carrot. We had to dice the onion evenly and cut the carrots into thin sticks called "julienne". That is something new I learned! 

Next of all we were given our chicken breast which we had to dice into even and small pieces. This allowed the chicken to cook through the whole way without some pieces being cooked faster than others. We also had to wash our hands after handling the raw chicken as if is a health risk to put it in contact with any other foods or cooking surfaces. 

After we had cut the chicken and vegetables, we started to fry it all together. On an element we put a pan on high heat and let the oil heat up for a few moments. Then we let the carrots and chicken saute (which means to brown) before adding the rest of our ingredients.

The next ingredients we added were our broccoli, cauliflower, honey, and soy sauce. As we let that cook on medium heat, we boiled noodles for 2-minutes on another element. After they were finished, we added them into the stir fry and continued to fry for a few more minutes. 

Cooking the chicken safely

The most important thing about the cooking process was ensuring the chicken was cooked all the way through and evenly. 
The best way to tell if your chicken is properly cooked is if it cut it open. If the chicken is brown on the outside and the flesh is white on the inside, it is done.

If the chicken is pink or the outside is not brown then it is safer to keep it cooking for a few minutes. If the chicken is not cooked it puts you at risk for getting salmonella or food poisoning. 

If you need to check boned chicken, stick a fork into the flesh. If the juice that runs out is clear and the fork is easy to put in, the chicken has been cooked. The meat should feel firm rather than jiggly or rubbery and juices should not be pink. 

The best and safest temperature to cook chicken is 75° degrees Celsius or 165° degrees Fahrenheit. 

What evidence can you use to show this?

 What worked, what didn't, and what would you change?

I think we did well on cooking the chicken and vegetables, as the chicken was well cooked yet the broccoli wasn't too soft. 

What didn't work was our honey to soy sauce ratio, I think we added a little bit too much honey and not enough soy sauce, it didn't have much flavour. We also noticed that halfway through our dishes our element was left on. That is something we have to keep an eye on for next time. 

I would change cooked noodles to uncooked noodles to incorporate texture into our dish. I felt the noodles were too soft and didn't have much of a flavour. I would also have added a lot more soy sauce and a little bit of spice. 

Wonder Novel Study Part One 🌟

Wonder Novel Study | Pages 11-43

1. The wish August wanted was to have a normal face that no one would ever notice anything wrong with.

2. What it means to be ordinary is to go to school, look like an average human, and to have friends and family. August is extraordinary because of the features and genes that define his face, to not have been public schooled for the first years of his life, and be exceptionally good at his schoolwork, particularly science.

3. When seeing August's face for the first time, people react in a way that can be described as a 'grimace' or confusion. They often point and whisper to each other, in confusion, amusement or sympathy to the distorted facial features August has. If I ever saw August in real life, I would be curious as to what genetic mutation caused his face to look like that. I would also feel sympathetic because it must be hard to face society looking different from everybody else.

4. What the father meant was that he did not think August would have a good or enjoyable time at school. Much like a lamb being sent off to be killed, the Dad did not have much hope it would go well for August at school.

5. In my opinion, if I was the mother of August, I would send him to school. Although his genes are rare, there are many people living across the globe that have to live in society with unique facial features. August is just one of these many and I don't think hiding from people's reactions will be better than being home schooled his whole life. It will be a better opportunity for August to meet new people, learn to know himself more, and feel better about himself without having to hide away.

6. The white lie August's mother told was that a woman who visited their house in the recent months was actually taking a test needed for August to be accepted into his new school. 

She instead had told him that it was an IQ test because she did not to raise suspicion. 

White lies can be okay to tell at certain points, but if it puts someone or their reputation, job, family or relationships at stake, it is not a good idea to do so. 

7. Mrs. Garcia's shiny smile is what August could describe as a fake smile - a smile put on to hide the fact she was frightened, confused, or amused by August's face, and to make sure he didn't suspect anything. 

8. Julian bullies August through a number of sarcastic questions that may not sound mean to other people, but actually hurt August's feelings a lot. Julian asked questions that were inappropriate and made August feel intimidated, nervous, and sad. He cut in front of August, resulting in sending him stumbling backwards. 

                   

What is the learning outcome?

To create and choose your own precept, explain what it means and create a digital display that you can promote to others.
To research the words and learn their meanings.

What learning process have you been using?

As this is a 'Can Do' task I used Google Slides. I have a lot of experience with this and it is easy to embed onto blog posts like this. 
I used an online dictionary on Google.

What worked, what didn't, and what would you change?

What worked is that I really love the way it turned out. My colour palette was inspired by the Wonder website, but I came up with the idea of twinkly white text. I really think the colours complement and contrast each other to make it eye catching. 

What didn't work is that it was difficult to find the right colour match. At first it was a little too dark, then it was a little too light, and eventually I had to take a screenshot from the website and apply it as the background. 

What I would change is I would add a few more details to have something for readers to look at apart from text. Some ideas I had were the Wonder Logo or link to the website. 

What worked was that it was easy to find the word without flipping through an actual dictionary. What didn't was that it was very difficult to put 'mortality' into my own words. What I would change is that I would add pictures to demonstrate what the words mean.

Safety Signage At Work Sites

For the past two weeks we have been learning about safety signage in the Tech workshop. We learned that there are three common types of safety signs and what they mean while in a work site.

• Hazard sign - yellow triangle with a black outline. They indicate that there is a hazard in the area which may cause harm (bruising, broken bones, or head injuries) or significant harm (death). An action that could be taken is minimising and isolating the hazard, e.g putting up a barrier to deter people from the hazard or prohibiting access to the area (isolating), or cleaning, or removing it to minimise the hazard. Examples of hazard signs including wet surfaces or electrical faults. 

Prohibition sign.

Hazard sign.

• Mandatory sign - blue coloured circle. They indicate that there is certain safety equipment required to work and be safe on the site. An action that should be taken is to wear the instructed safety equipment. Examples of mandatory signs include wearing eye-protection and earmuffs on worksites.

Mandatory sign.

Danger sign.

• Danger sign - black and red. They indicate there is a hazard that may be life-threatening and cause significant harm. The action taken should be to be either take extreme caution or do not enter the area if the sign instructs to do so. Examples of danger signs include at the entrance of rooms if there is a significant hazard in the room, or at the entrance to mines if there is a gas leak.

• Prohibition sign - red with a line through it. They indicate certain items you cannot use/take into the site or do on the site. The action taken is to follow the sign and do not take the restricted item on to the site - it could create a hazard. Examples of prohibition signs include no smoking in office buildings and no cellphone use on airport tarmacs.

We were then given the task to create our own signs to display in the workshop.

I decided to create a mandatory sign (blue circle) instructing people to turn the extraction fan on while welding.

I think it is an important rule as the consequence of not doing so could lead to dust and soot getting into your lungs and having negative effects later in life.  

Here is the sign I made. I used Google Drawing for this, which proved to be difficult since I couldn't make my own shapes. I am proud of my overall end result. 

Click the following video to learn a little bit more about safety in the workplace :) 

Ever wondered what happens backstage in musicals?

What am I learning to do?

I am learning the process of what happens backstage in musical and theatre productions, in the lead up to the class musical production at the end of the term.

What learning process am I using?

I am using MindMup, which allows people to create concept maps to plan, create and share their ideas. I like this platform as it allows my planning to flow and ideas to expand easily. 

I am also using Padlet, which I like less because I feel like there is no original ideas as we can all see each others and can take from it. 

Musical One: Dear Evan Hanson. 

First performed in July 2015, at the Arena Stage in Washington D.C. 
The musical is based on antagonist Evan Hansen, who is a senior in high school and suffers from social anxiety. A classmate of Evan's unfortunately dies, but it is a lie he creates that leads him to becoming closer to his classmate's family and start to get better on his social anxiety. 
If I was involved in this show I think I would be stage or lights. I do not like this musical as I think the theme of mental illness is not suited for any musical at all. 

Musical Two: The Greatest Showman

First premiered on December 7th, 2017.
The drama/romance film, based on the Barnum and Bailey Circus running from 1871 to May 2017, tells the story of an ambitious showman, P.T Barnum. After being fired from his job as a a bank teller, Barnum decided to take out a risky loan to buy a museum. The sales for his new attraction museum in Manhattan are slow, so eventually he searches for "freaks" to star in a circus show at the museum. The show is a success but the circus is soon burned down by protesters, causing Barnum to have to rebuild the circus into major success...
If I was involved in this musical I would have played Barnum, as I relate to him well. I have big dreams and would do anything for success, so I feel as if I would portray him well. I have never seen this musical however it does seem interesting and well-written.

Musical Three: Hamilton

First performed in January 2015 at The Public Theatre in New York City.
The musical features singing and rapping about the life of one of America's first presidents, Alexander Hamilton. The musical has been a huge success and is one of the world's most well-known musicals in this day and age.
If I was in this musical I think I would have played Aaron Burr, the man who shot Alexander Hamilton. I have a lot of anger and jealousy so I would be able to portray him well.
I have heard a lot about this musical but there are things I would change. I do not particular like the rapping part that much, but I like the story and perspective it portrays.

What worked, what didn't, and what would you change?

What worked is that I was able to follow my instructions quickly and clearly with no need to search on YouTube for any backstage clips. I was also able to plan well and add to my ideas quickly. 

In terms of what didn't work, I think everything went well. However I would change using Padlet to a private document or blog post instead because I don't think there is any point in writing down musicals you know if you can see everyone else's. 

Making Savoury Bread Cases | Home Economics

Yesterday we created savoury cases during our first practical in Home Economics. 

The students I worked with were Chloe, Kayne, and Jay. 

We were proud about the end result, as well as how fast we worked. 

Next time we will improve having every person doing every task they are assigned and staying focused. We ended up missing an ingredient because we were not aware of what was being said and put our muffin tray in the wrong oven slot. 

In our savoury cases we had:

• Cheese (shredded) 
• Ham (sliced)
• Corn
• Onion (fried)
• Bread (buttered)

The cases we made were made out of bread, which we buttered and then placed in a muffin tin to cook. Our estimated cooking time was ten minutes but we didn't require that time as we put our tray in the top of the oven instead of the middle slot. 

Writing Through VR Vision | First Draft!

“You’re going to space again,” Jack Ullman had said to me, voice crackly from the end of the phone line. He had been in Houston, a long three hundred miles from my home in Dallas, “Three months on the I.S.S. You’ll do good, Georgi.”

Two months had passed since then.

‘One month and you’ll be back again.’ I’d said to myself as Torrance and I pulled on the heavy material of our spacesuits. Torrance was a tall man who barely passed physical examination back in Kennedy. On Earth I remembered him having slicked back hair and plaid shirts tucked into large brown belts with silver buckles. On the space station his hair was weightless. It reminded me of Sideshow Bob in a way; if Sideshow Bob was in his early 50’s and spoke with a heavy southwestern accent.

Mission 54 consisted of 3 scheduled spacewalks, the first of which was about to occur. Ullman had taken me through the procedure many times through the crackly radio transmission. Torrance and I had listened intently.

The stratosphere had been calm that morning. The solar wind was gentle against my spacesuit and allowed Torrance and I to exit the space station with ease. The task was simple in theory. ‘Measure the total amount of sunlight the Earth receives,’ had been scrawled at the top of my notebook for the past week and a half.

Mission 54’s first spacewalk proved to be anything but simple. The TSIS-1 sensor; which was “revolutionary”, according to Ullman, took over the estimated time to calibrate and required the undivided attention of Torrance and I. By the time we were prepared to make our return to the space station, seven and a half hours had gone by.

Standard procedures were put in place and Torrance’s tether began to retract. Mine followed quickly, a sharp tug in my lower back and tightening around my waist.

A ‘whooshing’ noise quickly began, sending my heart to race as always. It had been a trait of mine ever since my very first spacewalk back in ‘99. It would happen while the tethers retracting and last for a few seconds as the space station opened up.

“Signing off, Georgi Boy.” Torrance’s voice said through my radio. He had reached the space station, quite obviously.

It soon came to my attention that the whooshing noise had not ceased. I frowned, counting to five. That was when I realised that the noise was much different than before - lower pitch, subtle vibrations on my helmet. That was not supposed to happen.

“Tether cable broken?” I said into my microphone, before awaiting that fateful ‘beep’ that signalled my transmission had gone through. A few seconds passed, but no beep sounded. An unusual feeling pooled in my stomach; a cocktail of panic and fear arising to my throat to emerge as a tiny whimper. The tether was still retracting, but it was weak.

“The tether’s too weak.” I murmured into my microphone, head spinning, as if I could faint at any moment. My palms were sweaty inside my thick spacesuit and toes were wrenched in my boots. I faded in and out of a state of reality and dizziness, mentally screaming at myself to keep it together.

No beep.

“Torrance!” I remarked, voice bouncing around my helmet. It was laced with anger and frustration, somewhat shielding the true emotions I was feeling at that very moment.

“Torrance! Oh god where are you! Answer me!” I screamed, followed by nothing but silence and a fuzzy crackling.

“Georgi-”

Signal lost.

“NO!”

It was the sound no astronaut wanted to hear.

Followed by nothing but the eerie sound of solar wind and his own panicked breathing, it had been the final sound Georgi Dobrovolski had heard before the infiniteness of space swallowed him up, never to be seen or heard from again. He’d had no chance of survival. His transmission radio signal was lost and tether looped back on itself like a snake, sending him floating into space like a human satellite in orbit.

Emotions only portrayed by anger, fear, confusion and betrayal were the beasts feasting at the back of my mind. They were interrupted by only the nausea in my stomach and horrific sight before my eyes.

The sky was littered with stars; some gold, some white, some blue. They illuminated the dark abyss of space, sending gleams of light to stream across the thick fibreglass of my helmet. It was dark, almost tranquil, although the solar wind was heavy against my suit.

The almost blinding light of the sun shone to my left. I could feel the heat even through the heavy material of my swimsuit, sending ripples of pure heat and an eerie buzzing down through the stratosphere.

The sun wasn’t the only thing in front of me. Earth sat right in front of my eyes, spinning slowly as if showing all of it’s beauty to me. White patches of cloud surrounded the planet, pale in comparison to the deep blue oceans and green rolling hills of the continents.

For thirty years I tread across its soil, climbed its trees and swam its oceans. It felt as if only yesterday I was spread across the golden sand of the beach, accompanied by only my dog and wife, Leila. The warm sun had washed over us. Those memories were once something to fall back on; relax my mind. Now they were a painful memory of what I was leaving behind… Leila and my parents, and my two children Austin and Jayden. My name would be plastered across the headlines, online and offline and everywhere in between.

The astronaut who died in space.

They were the last thoughts I had before reality became overwhelming and the air became thin.

The beast of emotions towered over me and sent me into unconsciousness. They tore and clawed at me as my screams faded into sobs and my nausea twisted into sharp pain.

“Don’t let me die like this, Torrance! Oh god please tell me someone’s there-”

“N.A.S.A has officially released a statement following the death of Georgi Dobrovolski, who failed to return to the International Space Station today following the first spacewalk of Mission 54…”

This is the first draft of a piece of writing I wrote, inspired by a 360 video I watched via Google Cardboard. This was a unique experience I had no experience with prior, and so I am excited to see if it has improved my writing at all. 

Pick-A-Path Album Challenge!

Discover your new favourite bop by clicking through the slides! These are all my favourite albums by the way!

Expectations In The Science Lab

• Come to class quietly and ready to learn
• Put your bag under the desk
• Walk in the science lab (no running).
• Food is not allowed in the lab.
• One person talking at a time.
• Hands up.
• Clean up after all experiments.

MUSIC VIDEO BATTLE - Jake Paul vs. My Chemical Romance!

What is the learning outcome?

Find a YouTube clip of an artist/musician/band you admire. Open the video in Video Notes, watch through it and make some notes about why you like it, what messages are in it, and what you would change if you remade the video clip.
Repeat this for an artist/band/musician you do not enjoy!

On your blog, write a compare/contrast post about what makes a good piece of music using your two choices as evidence.

The Black Parade Music Video:
- Dark, gloomy, creepy vibes
- A theme of death, hospitals, sickness
- Lots of zombies, dead people
- Post apocalyptic society
- Black and white
- I would include some more hospital scenes as I really liked the vibe it gave.

It's Everyday Bro Music Video:
- Lots of people featured
- Cars, mansions, wealthy vibes
- Shots of street racing
- Dancing and choreography
- I would include more shots rather than just cars, mansions, and dancing. It got boring after a short while because everything just looked and sounded the same. 
- I don't like the song as I don't listen to this type of music (trap, rap, chart music).

What learning process did I use?

I used Video Notes to link and watch the video while taking notes at the same time. I have had experience with this in the past but I think it's very handy for taking notes.

What worked, what didn't, and what would I change?

What worked: It was very easy to take the notes while watching.

What didn't work: The original 'It's Everyday Bro' video is restricted so I had to use another version.

What I would change for next time: I would include more notes and go into more detail about the video.