NEIL FINN'S LEGACY 🎶

Neil Finn was born in Te Awamutu in 1958 six years after the birth of his brother Tim. His family home appeared in the video for Don't Dream It's Over. Following in his brother's footsteps, Neil was musical, and took piano lessons and taught himself guitar, all while attending St Patrick's School, Sacred Heart College, and Te Awamutu College, the logo of which would become a song title on a Split Enz album. Neil became involved with a local folk group, but when he left school, he worked in a record shop. In 1976 he went to London. He was asked to join Tim's band called Split Enz - but soon changed their name to Crowded House. Don't Dream It's Over made the band famous. 

1. Sketch an outline map of New Zealand. Mark and label the birthplace of Neil.

Neil was born in Te Awamutu in 1958. Te Awamutu is a town in Waikato of New Zealand's North Island. It has a population of about 10,000 people. 















2. Explain the link between Neil and Oxfam.
When Crowded House finally split up, they decided to hold a charity concert in Sydney, Australia. Oxfam was the charity they fundraised for. 

3. Present evidence, not counting Oxfam, that Neil tries to help people.
Neil has been part of many ventures to help people - including when Neil built a studio in Auckland to help out local musicians. Neil certainly shows excellence, innovation, integrity and cares for the environment. 

4. Explain the continuing impact of Neil on his home-town. 
The local museum in Te Awamutu includes a True Colours exhibition, featuring material involving the Finn music and family. This draws tourists to Te Awamutu, increasing popularity. 

5. Discuss the influence of artists like Neil on school bands. For example, think of the Smokefree Rock Quest.
As Neil was still in school when he joined local bands, it serves as an inspiration for younger school bands because it proves that they too can make it big like Neil. The Smokefree Rock Quest is a chance for school bands to share their music and take a big opportunity to do better in their own music. 

6. Web search: Find out about the reformed Crowded House, the new album Time On Earth, and how Neil Finn is continuing to make a difference.
When Neil asked Nick Seymour to play bass on his third-solo album, and Nick agreed, they decided that the album would be released under the Crowded House name. In January 2007 they announced they would be reuniting. They held auditions for 20 days before drummer Matt Sherrod joined the band. Don't Stop Now was a prominent single on their new album Time on Earth, and was performed before the album release in June and July. The album hit Number 1, number 2 in Australia, and 3 in the UK. Neil Finn has recently joined Fleetwood Mac as guitarist after the firing of Lindsey Buckingham earlier this year. 

KATE EDGER'S LEGACY

Kate Edgar was born in England in 1857. When Kate was young, the family moved to Auckland. She gained permission to study with the top class of boys at the Auckland College and Grammar School. In fact, since she was the only girl in the class, she had to enter with her eyes fixed to the floor. It has been said that the boys were polite to her, but she never spoke to them.
Because the school had connections with the University of New Zealand, Kate could work towards a degree. Kate ended up being a candidate for one of the Maths Scholarships to be awarded at the Examination in May. She gave her age and qualifications but did not say she was a girl - and Kate was accepted.
Making history as the first female in the British Empire to gain this degree, nearly one thousand people attended her graduation, and the Bishop of Auckland gifted her a white camellia flower for her 'unpretending excellence'. 
Kate Edgar then went on to be the first principal for Nelson College for Girls and taught an array of subjects including English Grammar, Science, and Latin. Kate died in 1935. 

1. Explain the difference in attitudes to education today and the time when Kate was a girl. 
Today, girls and boys, and everyone in between, are both encouraged to get themselves an education through high schools and universities across the country. Girls are widely accepted into all universities, just as equal as boys. In fact, in 2009, two-thirds of bachelor degrees were given to women. Evidence shows the tertiary education gender gap between girls and boys increased by about 1 percent per year - with women on top. 
However, back when Kate was a girl, around mid-late 19th century, it was not quite the same. It was the boys that were earning their degrees and allowed to participate in tertiary education. There were no secondary schools for girls in Auckland in the 19th century, in fact. It can be determined that there is a huge difference in attitudes between girls and boy's education between the 19th and 21st century. 

2. Find out where the term 'blue stocking' came from.
Blue stocking was a term used to describe 'intellectual' women who would rather discuss things such as social issues than things such as embroidery or housework. Talking about anything other than 'women issues' was frowned upon as it wasn't ladylike. The name originates from the 'Blue Stocking Society', a social and educational movement lead by women in the mid 18th century. From then on it was common for women to be called a blue stocking if they would discuss these frowned-upon topics. 

3. Describe how females in Kate's day were expected to behave.
Most prominently, society did not think girls should deserve the same educational opportunities as boys; apart from a small array of subjects including drawing, cooking, sewing, housework, etc. This was because it was thought the study of academic subjects would make a women's brain could harm and inflame their brains. The sole purpose of women's lives were not to be educated, but to find a husband, have children, and serve him. It wasn't as if they could get out of their marriage either - it was very, very rare for women to be granted divorces up until the very late 18th century. In summary, women did not have the same rights as men and had to behave very, very differently in oppose to them. 

4. Write "Kate Edger" in a vertical column down your page. Beside each letter of her name write one word beginning with that letter that you associate with her. Beside each word put a piece of proof to back up your decision. 

Knowledgeable; for being able to teach an array of subjects. 
Academic; for her skillful capability in all areas of school
Teacher; for her many years teaching.
Educated; for many years spent in tertiary and secondary education.

Encouraging; a quality that she, as a teacher, must have had.
Determined to receive the education she deserves.
Graduated with a Bachelor of Arts.
Eager to receive her education; eager to give and teach.
Recognised for her heroic, history-making achievements.

5. Discuss the links between a white camellia, Kate, and the aim of the Urangi. 
White camellia flowers symbolise adoration, and are typically given to people who are well-liked. Kate Edgar is just one of the women who have been gifted white camellias in return for their wonderful achievements, because she is very well-liked by many. The aim of the Urangi at Auckland University is to 'create and maintain a positive, productive learning environment in which all persons treat each other with respect'. Kate links to this because, simply, she showed all of these skills effortlessly at both Nelson College and her private secondary school in Wellington. Perhaps it was one of her goals. But what we do know is that Kate excelled at these skills with tremendous accomplishment. 

6. Web search: Emily Siedeberg was the first female doctor in New Zealand. Ethel Benjamin was the first female lawyer in New Zealand and in the British Empire. Find out how they, like Kate Edger, helped to change society's attitudes.
By becoming the first female doctor and lawyer in New Zealand/British Empire, these powerful women have accomplished history-making acts. Men once believed that women were incapable of achievements such as these; but these women defeated the odds. Society changed from men thinking poorly of women's academic skills, to actually being proved wrong: and that yes, women can do anything men can do. 

THE FAIR TRADING ACT

Rights of Consumers and Responsibilities of Producers

1. What is the Fair Trading Act? 
The Fair Trading Act prevents consumers from unfair and misleading trade practises, fake information in advertisements (for example, lying about where it comes from) and deceptive conduct being carried out by businesses. In other words it protects New Zealand consumers from being tricked or mislead by businesses when they post unreliable, deceptive, or false information. 

2. What is the commerce commission's goal?
The commerce commission's role is to put laws in place surrounding fair trading between businesses and consumers. Their aim is to keep New Zealand consumers satisfied when businesses are confident and markets are reliable and working well. 

3. Who besides the commission are responsible for the act and can take their own legal action?
The commerce commission call themselves a self-enforcing act, which means consumers have the rights to take legal action and demand that the business fixes the situation.

4. Who are the two types of groups the act applies to?
The act applies to businesses and consumers.  

_



Understanding your compliance obligations

1. What do the acts apply to?

The Fair Trading Act applies to anyone in the trade industry, from small businesses to large businesses. All consumers are protected by the Fair Trading Act when buying from any business.

2. Whose shoes must the business put themselves into?

They should put themselves in the consumer's shoes to ensure that they are being reliable and fair. 

3. What is the commission empowered to do?

Enforce laws protecting customers from being mislead, tricked, deceived by false or unreliable information put out by producers. 

Reporting a business

1. If you need to report a business, what can you do?

You can make a complaint to the commerce commission by calling 800 943 600 or email contact@comcom.govt.nz. From there, the commission will investigate the business. 

Why is it good to know your rights?

It is important to know your rights as a consumer because you may end up having to pay more than intended for your purchase, or be stuck with a faulty product or unfair contract. When producers set a certain price for a product they may attempt to hide hidden surcharges that the consumer is unaware of. The consumer will then end up paying more than intended because of this unreliable information. Furthermore, when online shopping it is possible for a retailer to sell you a faulty product without any information regarding it. Or hide certain information inside contracts (small text etc.) As a consumer it is important to know your rights to fix the situation if these things ever happen to you, or prevent it from occurring in the first place. For example, I buy a fridge from Fisher and Paykel. But when I receive it, the product is faulty. If a customer does not know their rights they will not know how, or if, they're allowed to get their money back or get the fridge replaced by the retailers. Knowing your rights, to be able to take legal action in these cases, can prevent the producer from getting away with it illegally and ripping you off. This is a much better outcome than having to pay more than intended, have a faulty product or unfair contract. 

KELP BAGS 🌿

THE LIFE OF JIANG QING 🇨🇳

THE LIFE OF JUAN MANUEL DE ROSAS 🇦🇷

https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/juan-manuel-de-rosas-6816.php

http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199766581/obo-9780199766581-0069.xml

https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/argentina/history-3.htm

Juan Manuel De Rosas was the dictator of Argentina from 1829 to 1852, excluding the years 1832 to 1835.

• Controversial legacy
• Federalistic party (provincial, traditional social structures) They supported regional governments and commerce taxes.
• Born March 30th 1793 in Buenos Aires - Died March 14th 1977

Questions.

1. Where and when was he born, how did he grow up, what was his school? Buenos Aires on March 30th 1793. He was home schooled until the age of 8, then moved onto the best private school in Argentina (name not available).

2. What party did he represent, what values or morals did it want? He represented the Federalist party, which was founded in 1616.

3. When did he first start/study politics, is there a reason why he started in it? De Rosas originally was in the military since when he was 13 years old. As he gained influence via his meat salting business, there was battle tension between Unitarians and the Federalists. He joined the Federalists, perhaps to increase his influence.

4. How did he get to the highest rank he did? He joined the Federalist party in 1827. He was then promoted to General Commander of the ritual militia in the same year. In 1828, after the death of the governor of Buenos Aires, De Rosas stepped in immediately. The next year he was appointed Governor of the province. In 1835 he was re-elected Governor, this time with absolute power and was deemed the dictator of Argentina as his followers believed this would restore safety to the country.

5. What was his religion? De Rosas was a Catholic.

6. What wars did he fight during his time in power? In 1816, the war of Argentina had broken out, and De Rosas was part of the military during it. In April 1829 he defeated Unitarian leader at the Battle of Marquez Bridge.

7. Who were his enemies - countries or specific people? The Unitarians party was his most significant enemy.

8. When did he die? De Rosas died on March 14th, 1877, during his time as a farmer in Southampton, England. After tensions in Argentina had risen he fled the country to become a farmer there.

9. How did he die? He died of the lung infection pneumonia that inflames both air sacks resulting in them filling with liquid.

10. What is his legacy? Negative or positive? He has a monument and railway station named after him, but he was known as the most hated person in Argentina at the time of his death.

SOCIALISM 🌎

Q1. Who are the leaders of these countries?

Q2. Do you like the idea of socialism?

Countries with strong socialist systems

Norway: Erna Solberg

Sweden: Stefan Löfven

Denmark: Lars Løkke Rasmussen

Countries with socialist/communist economies

Cuba: Miguel Díaz-Canel

China: Xi Jinping

Vietnam: Trần Đại Quang

Russia: Vladimir Putin

North Korea: Kim Jong-un

Countries who express they are socialist nations
Algeria: Abdelaziz Bouteflika

Angola: João Lourenço

Bangladesh: Abdul Hamid

Guyana: David A. Granger

India: Ram Nath Kovind

Mozambique: Filipe Nyusi

Portugal: António Costa

Sri Lanka: Maithripala Sirisena

Tanzania: John Magufuli

Countries with strong aspects of governance:

Belarus: Alexander Lukashenko

Laos: Bounnhang Vorachith

Syria: Bashar al-Assad

Turkmenistan: Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow

Venezuela: Nicolás Maduro

Zambia: Edgar Lungu

Capitalist countries:

Ireland: Michael D. Higgins

France: Emmanuel Macron

Great Britain: Theresa May

Netherlands: Mark Rutte

New Zealand: Jacinda Ardern 😍

Belgium: Charles Michel

I like the idea of socialism because I find that is is very fair and is the social system New Zealand has adapted to. However, there are some aspects I don't like, including how some property rights can be breached and how it is hard for young people to make as much money at the start as wealthy people because of school, and so the economy can be unfair to people who can't get jobs.

COMMUNISM IN HISTORY 🇪🇺🌍

Task: Watch the following video and answer the following questions:
 - Where did communism begin? The Communism Manifesto, published in 1848 by German philosophers. The first nation to adapt it was in 1917 in Germany, when the Soviet Union was formed.
- Who was the founding father of communism? German philosophers Karl Max and Friedrich Engels. 
- What are the main points of communism? Classless society, all private land to be owned by the government, same salary, same food, same shelters, same cars. 

The first record of communism was in the Communism Manifesto, published in 1848 by German philosophers Karl Max and Friedrich Engels.

This book explored the idea of an economic system where the working class w

Eurasia, where the Soviet Union was formed.

ould rise up to overthrow their wealthy employers (i.e an idea of a classless society). 

Max and Engels developed the ideas of citizens to be uniformed in the same clothing, all cars to be the same, employees to be paid the exact same amount of money, and for all private land to be owned by the Government. The Government would provide food and shelter in equal amounts to their nation.

The Communism Manifesto gained popularity throughout the late 19th century, until 1917, when a group of communism in Russia held a communism takeover. This takeover would form the Soviet Union, which at it's time was the only communist union on the globe. 

Soviet Union flag.

However, following World War II, many European countries adapted the idea of communism. These countries including Romania, Bulgaria, East Germany and Hungary. By the 1940's, 50's, and 60's, Asian countries such as East China, and North Korea adapted to communist societies. 
During the Cold War period, it is estimated one quarter of the world were governed by communist nations. 

DICTATORS AROUND THE GLOBE 🌍🏰

Characteristics of a dictator:

Feeling superior
Feeling advantaged
Selfish
Ungrateful
Vicious
Heartless
Cruel
Dishonest
Greedy
Ungenerous
Horrible
Sick
Disrespectful
Lack of empathy

Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler, known as the leader of the Nazi party and man behind the deadly Holocaust, has come to be known as one of the most cruellest people in history.

He is also known as one of the most notorious dictators in history. His quotes make him see as if he dishonest and a liar.

Fidel Castro

Fidel Castro was a controversial politician and communist who represented Cuba as prime minster from 1959 to 1976. After that he was president up until 2008. That's 52 years in ruling.
Castro's campaign began a range of worldwide warfare leading to communism revolutions and the overthrow of Cuba's dictator. After his death, Castro was still praised as one of the most revolutionary political heroes of all time, and these praises have been called horrible by news outlets, meaning a lot of people disagree with them.

Pol Pot

Pol Pot is the former prime minister of Cambodia. He also lead the far-left political group Khmer Rouge for nearly 30 years; a communist group that carried out a Cambodian genocide. 

Pol Pot died in his sleep in 1998 after suffering heart failure, and now, after his death and 40 years after the massacre, Pol Pot is known as introspective and highly reclusive with a nationalistic attitude; and the brutal leader who lead Cambodia to war and mass murder. 

Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein served as the president of Iraq between 1973 and 2003. He was the leader of a political party. Saddam was eventually sentenced to death by hanging for 'crimes against humanity' and the Dujail massacre, an assassination attempt towards the at-the-time, Iraqi president Iraqi Shi'a. He was also falsely accused by George W. Bush for holding weapons of mass destruction. Saddam has thousands of images, statues, and portraits across Iraq of him, as was said to be in his own cult for his own personality. 

NZ DRIVING AGE 🇳🇿🚘

Task

Research about the change in driving age

15 > 16 years

When did this happen and what were the reasons?

What process did they (govt) go through?

____

The change in driving age occurred on August 1 2011, meaning 15 year olds could no longer apply for a learner license, or their restricted at 15 and a half.

The government received criticism for this action, with people saying that the lift on the minimum driving age would have no effect on the road toll.

Despite the backlash, 74 percent of New Zealanders wanted the driving age lifted up to 17 years of age, and the action was not reversed. The minimum driving age in New Zealand remains at 16 years old.

The process to get laws changed in New Zealand usually consists of a proposal (bill) going through several stages of parliament giving the public, MP’s, the cabinet, and prime-minister to get a chance for their say.

The government went through a process consisting of a committee decision, which the cabinet and MP’s approved, as well as more education and training for New Zealand youth drivers and defensive driving course to be done sooner.

THE ACT PARTY 🇳🇿🌿

What am I learning?

I am learning about the different types of Government, what each political party is made of, and what they want to do to help New Zealand.

How does this show my learning?

By writing about a New Zealand political party I can expand my knowledge about politics in general and what my own parliament is up to.

What am I wondering?

What would I need to do in order to become a politician? 

MONARCHIES IN THE WORLD 💍

OPINION: 172 Hours On The Moon 🌙

BOOK REVIEW: 172 Hours on The Moon 🌙

Warning: Potential spoilers and a lot of text. 

These school holidays I made a goal for myself to read different genres of books that I don't usually read. Genres I already ready include romance, drama, biographies and horror... lots of horror. I don't read fantasy because I like to put myself in the scenarios and worlds the books I read are based in, and it is quite difficult to imagine myself as a vampire or fairy or mermaid rather than my own house being haunted or something along those lines.

I find fantasy books don't really play with my emotions much, as I do not find myself particularly engaged with characters with magical powers that I definitely do not have myself. Horror or romance on the other hand plays with my emotions terrifically, and particularly the works of Stephen King make me afraid to turn the page with every new horrific event. 

Other genres I have enjoyed briefly exploring including ones written about natural disasters, notably the Wahine Disaster, The Black Death, 9/11, and the Columbine Massacre. Others include biographies of famous musicians of the late 20th century and early 21st  - those of Elvis, Chester Bennington, Gerard Way, Kurt Cobain, Chris Cornell and John Lennon. These are generally people whose music I listen to and I hope to explore new timelines, music genres, and cultures in the upcoming months. 

What inspired me to do this? There are two reasons. I, as well as a few of my classmates, are all preparing for the Reader's Cup competition next term. This competition will consist of reading assigned books and answering questions about them at a Canterbury school meet-up. I got my first book during the last week of term, and after a quick scan of the back summary, I could identify that it would be a fantasy-horror story. I took this as an opportunity to begin my goal. 
The second reason is that my father has always been an avid reader of horror books and music biographies, and seeing his three huge bookcases full of them all inspired me to change up my reading style to see if I could find a new genre I enjoy. 

And so when my father took me up on a roadtrip up to Hastings, up in the North Island, I ensured to pack my two books I planned to read that week. 
One of those books was titled 172 Hours On The Moon, written by Johan Harstad. It was originally published in the Netherlands by the title DARLAH (which I definitely prefer and would probably have reached for it without even reading the summary. I'm guilty of judging books by it's titles!) 

Brief Summary.                                                              Edits of the teenagers! (Sadly these                                                                                                 aren't real)

172 Hours On The Moon is a good book in my opinion. In the story, N.A.S.A is determined to find a rare mineral on the moon that would improve the United States technology manufacturing market, but it is too dangerous. They discovered something very unusual and dangerous about their unused moon base. Because N.A.S.A didn't want other countries on the moon to find out about it, they made a plan. Their plan involved sending three teenagers, the winners of an international lottery they would hold, up to the moon to "celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the moon landing.

In a horrifying mess including hatches mysteriously locking themselves, a power outage that could have only been performed manually, and the crew slowly dying off, the two remaining teenagers and one crew member fight to get back to Earth via their second secret moon base. Will they get home? And what even are doppelgangers?

Genre and field of study
I think the genre this book could be categorised in is Adventure/Action or Science Fiction. I think this book is rather mature and even I, a person who strongly believes in government conspiracies and extra-terrestrial life, got spooked by it's contents. 
It's field of study would probably be Astronomy.

Major themes.
I have always believed a good way to sum up a book is in just a few different words. For 172 Hours on The Moon, these words would be moon, extra-terrestrial, unknown. Unknown extra-terrestrial life on the moon - that's a good summary. 

Criticisms I had.
I have always attempted to write events slowly in my own stories. This book is an example of quick-paced events which I did not enjoy particularly. It felt as if every chapter something big and new was happening without time in between to convey emotion, reasoning, descriptions, or detail. Another criticism is that there was no absolutely no reason to include a romance between two of the teenagers. I believe the book would have remained the same whether or not there were any romantic themes, and the emotions of the couple were not explored in any way, not even after a death. In terms of the ending I feel as if it was rushed and I didn't like that. 

What I enjoyed.
I immensely enjoyed reading this book because I love to read about the moon, moon conspiracies, and government conspiracies. It was one of the reasons I picked it in the first place and I definitely did not regret it. I enjoyed how realistic these themes within the book were. I enjoyed the difference in the teenager's personalities and how their countries and personal lives were portrayed. 

In comparison to other books I usually read, this has inspired me to read more books about the moon and space missions because it has allowed me to discover that Science Fiction isn't always about monster, ghosts, or abnormalities in humans. 

I would definitely recommend this book to others, particularly people who are conspiracy theorists, like the idea of going to space, or readers of Science Fiction or futuristic themed books. 
I give the characters a strong 10/10, the plot 10/10, and how it was written and portrayed a 6/10 - just because I felt as if it was too rushed and didn't include as much detail as I was expecting. 
I give it an overall 8.5/10 (or 4 stars). 

Have you read this book, or do you want to after reading this? Leave some feedback for me and I will answer any questions you may have about the book or my opinions. 

THE BLACK DEATH PANDEMIC

My Family Crest | Social Studies

This year in Social Studies we have been working on our identify unit. This would help us learn more about our culture, heritage, and family background. One of the tasks we had to complete was create an original family crest displaying information about our families and their background.

What is the learning outcome?

Create an original family crest representing the culture, background, and current status of our families.

What features did I include?

To represent my Scottish and New Zealand heritage I included the flags of both countries waving from the top of my crest. I also included the Scottish name of my grandmother - McLeod. My ancestors were part of the infamous Scotland clan, Clan McLeod, many decades ago. 

To represent the geographical background of my family I included the towns of where my family originated and where they are now: Stornaway in Scotland, and Christchurch in New Zealand.

To represent my family in the past I included the patch my grandfather wore while on the first Commonwealth Trans-Atlantic Antarctic expedition with Sir Edmund Hillary. He travelled there in the Winter of 1957 and got a medal from the Queen thanking him for his duties. My grandfather was a mechanic in the New Zealand Army. You can read more about the expedition here.

Finally, to represent my family now I included the logo of my Mum's business, Kreative Kiwi Embroidery. 

What learning process have you been using?

To make the task easier and original, I designed my crest by hand. I used a pencil for my first and second drafts, then used a 0.8 pigment liner on my final draft to make the lines pop. I then used coloured pencils to make the crest more interesting and create contrast. I think this was a much easier process as if I had used a digital program I would have had to rely on Google. By doing it by hand, I could create much more original designs than what Google Images has.

What evidence of this can you provide?

First of all I created a page on Google Slides of what I wanted to include in my design. I used Google Images to find everything.

Then I took to paper with a pencil and designed my very first draft of the family crest. 

Finally I took my time to create my final draft of my family crest. I ditched the Scottish lions for a more original design, coloured everything and traced the lines with a dark, 0.8 pigment liner. I also included the Scott Base Antarctic badge which my grandfather wore. 

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

What worked is how I was able to come up with and adjust ideas by designing drafts. I also like how I was able to include my Scottish and New Zealand heritage, and both my family's past and present. 

What didn't work was that it was super difficult to redraw the Scottish lions by hand, so I had to give up on drawing them. They also took up a lot of the crest, leaving not enough space for my design. 

What I would change is I would next time add more detail into my crest. Although I liked what information I included, I did not like the presentation of it. I would change the bright colours to bold ones with yellow tartan, much like the original Clan McLeod tartan. I think it looks too much like a cartoon and if I had pushed myself further, I could have created a much more detailed and extravagant design.