Passion Project Success

Frances and I had a lot of fun taking pictures of different plants from different angles. Frances and I planned to take photos of close ups and landscapes but we soon found out that we couldn't do landscapes because there weren't any options for taking pictures of landscapes.

I really loved the photos of the flowers as there was lots of different textures in a flower that we never took any notice to. I actually worked out how to take better pictures that weren't blurred or not against the light properly. I worked out that you don't take a picture with the plant full on your view and the sun in the background as the sun over takes the picture. A cool effect is if you put your camera on the ground and take a picture from that level. It looks like you are taking a picture from a little bug or birds point of view. As you can probably tell, I learn't a lot of different skills.

I guess this project worked out and I really enjoyed it. We never got to make a powerpoint with all the different flowers and pictures that we took. I also plan to print one of the pictures specially on a canvas for a christmas present.

One thing that might of gone wrong was that the documents did something weird and we might of lost our pictures. Frances's and my teamwork together was really good. We never tried to steal the camera off each other, we took turns we the camera and on each flower. Credit to Frances!

I think if we did a passion project next year, I would want the teachers to choose each group a overall topic which they would enjoy doing and we could nail it down to one part of the subject. For example, you wouldn't give some minecraft hater minecraft for their project. At first, Frances and I couldn't think of anything to do because we both love swimming but we can't really go to the pool every friday and teach people how to swim. I would recommend that the teachers make a roster on who can be on the laptops and computers because some people get to go on every week and others don't. They also need to make a roster because the laptops stuff up when to many people are on.

I hope I can get my photos on canvas and give them to my family for christmas. I will add some of the pictures that Frances and I took as soon as I can!

My Speech (Australia vs New Zealand)

My speech was on Australia vs New Zealand and explained the differences.
I think my speech went quite well (at least what the audience was saying.)

My speech was good as it had good language and  I hope I had a clear voice. I had a tiny bit of humour in it which hopefully cheered the audience up a bit.

I think I could improve my speech by not showing that I was scared and worried about saying it. I could probably warm up myself and try and put more enthusiasm into my speaking. 

Maths Against Hannah!

I think I am overall quite good in Maths but I think my top 5 areas of maths are:
1. Working Form (Add, Subtract, Divide and Multiply)
2. Area of triangles, circles and other shapes.
3. Working with Graphs and knowing what they mean.
4. Making Fractions into decimals into percentages.
5.  Adding and Subtracting Fractions.

I might need to get a bit of work on:
1. Finding a Fraction on a number (I can do it but very slowly.) e.g 4/5 of 20 = 16
2. Find the number that has been split, e.g 1/5 of __= 6

Can anyone help?

What I've learnt this week

This week I've learnt how to find out the area of a circle. The area of a circle is found out by the radius squared, then times by pie. I also learnt some of the number 'pie' which is 3.141592653.

Holidays

In the Holidays, I had a boring first week and had a couple of sleepovers. On the second Wednesday of the holidays, I went to Bribane, Australia for a week and we went to Australia Zoo and patted some awesome animals there. We stayed at the Gold Coast and did some awesome shopping and brought an outfit.

For the last part of the week, we went to Movie World, Sea World and Wet 'n' Wild. Movie World had some awesome rides including Green Lantern, Arkham Asylum and the Scooby Doo Scary Ride. Movie World had a lot of awesome characters we got to meet like the Green Lantern, Batman, Wonder Women and the Scooby Doo Crew. Sea World had some amazing dolphin shows and jet stunts shows. I loved the Sea Viper and Jet Racer which had speeds up to 80km per hour. Wet 'n' Wild had the best hydroslides I've seen. They were long and freaky but the tornado was scariest as it felt like you were falling back vertical. I had a couple of racers with my family down some slides with mats which I nearly won on.
I can't wait until i will be able to back to Australia sometime soon!

Passion Project Ideas

I was stumped when I was told we had to do a passion project. I wanted to do something on swimming or models but I couldn't think of anything. I thought of an idea for a hydroslide as a model but I finally chose photography. I am working with Frances and we are going to take pictures of close ups and landscapes.

60 years Artwork

This is my 60 Years Artwork which is the school back in 1952. I decided to make it look oldish by adding newspaper and painting a tiny bit of tea on top. I tried to make the art look like the original photo which it does but the original looks more dull. I did my border the same colour as the roof so the roof stands out. The banner with '60 Years' fills in some of the plainness in the roof.

By Hannah Wildash-Chan

NZ's got Talent!

                                        Newly previewed on TV 1, NZ's got Talent has started up again. The first series started on 8th of September 2008 hosted by Jason Reeves and Andrew Mulligan. The show was on Prime and judged by Richard Driver, Paul Ellis and Miriama Smith. The Semi-Final were held on the 29th of September 2008 and announced on the 30th of September. The finalist were a dancer called Chaz Cumming and Music Group, TMC but Chaz Cumming won in the end. They decided to end the show  as Prime didn't have enough money and have now started it again on the 9th of September 2012.





 24th of February was the day the second series was announced for NZ's got Talent for 2012. June 29th, they announced the hosts and judges for the show which is hosted by Tamati Coffey and judged by Ali Campbell, Rachel Hunter and Jason Kerrison. NZ on air gave the show $1.6 million to start it off and has now become a big hit after the first show.The top prize was and is $100,000.

 I love NZ's got talent because of the humorous acts and excitement. I went to one of the auditions which was awesome but there was alot of waiting for cameras and backstage interviews. There were some hilarious acts including a fake One Direction but there were some awesome dances including Infinite dance. I went with Antonia and my dad. We sat on the 3rd level and got zoom up by the camera. We were told not to look and clap happily. I think everyone will enjoy it and should watch in on Sundays, TV1 at 7.30pm.

Production

Last week was the last production  for the year seven and eights. It was an amazing time getting ready for 2 days of fun and action. I had a full face paint which Ms Bolger was practicing most days for the night.

My outfit was very itchy because I had heaps of dirty feathers and feather boas all over me, I don't think anyone knew who I was! Room 5 did a great job dancing as little ducklings.

Every practice we had at the Theatre, I could see Charlotte D, Junah and Ms Bolger dancing in the wings. The dressing rooms were awesome because they had speakers echoing everything on stage which lead us to enter the wings at the right time. We finally had a photo at the end of everyone celebrating!

Swimming Racing

In the weekend, I woke at 5am at got up to get ready for my EARLY bus ride to Palmerston North for my swimming races. The warm up was at 8.30am so I was on the bus at 6. The trip was a long journey down the long straight roads (well, it felt long!) and we finally arrived at the pool. I got changed, had my warm up and now the LONG wait started for my race. My first race was 50m freestyle which I got a time of 38.18 seconds. Another break and I was eating chippies. My next race came in a rush and was 100m freestyle with a time of 1.26.22 mins. But as I just finished my race, I was called up for my 3rd and final race which was  50m breaststroke. My time wasn't too bad with 55.81 seconds but I am still happy with it. We ate some pizza and jumped back on the bus for the second bus trip home. We watched Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2 on the television the surprisingly had in the bus. As i fell asleep, we arrived back home and I received plenty of hugs! :)

Getting Ready for the Production

The Production is coming up real soon and i need to get ready for my role as the Ugly Duckling. I need to know what sides I come on from and exit off. My costume is needing to be finished by adding a head to the outfit. The class dance is going well but the practises needs to be faster. My goal for the week is to get my costume finished and out of the way so I can practise my outfit changes.

Lamb Shanks

My new second obsessive thing is Lamb Shanks, just ate them for dinner and are sooooo good! You gotta try them with my mums recipe!
Do u like Lamb Shanks?

My favourite Olympic Sport

My favourite Olympic sport in definitely the triathlon. One, because my cousin races in them and two, because the sport has a variety of different muscles that you have to use. The first of part of the triathlon is the swim. The swim is an important part of the race as you need to have a good start in the race. All the transitions are really important in the race because if you come out first but can't but your shoes on, you might drop back and can't start up again.

Next is the bike which you need to make into the first group for otherwise you probably can't catch up. You need to go at a medium speed as you need to save your legs for the run.

Running is a key part of the triathlon as the run is to the finish line and you got to keep your speed up with a front group. If you can't get to the front group, you will have to work your hardest for the front group.

If you are good at a variety of sports, are good at saving energy and love trying you hardest, then I think triathlons are for you.

Start of a triathlon!

My 1Deful Obsession!

I don't really have an obsession but I am REALLY dedicated to ONE DIRECTION!



Left to Right: Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles

One Direction is a pop band created by Simon Cowell on X Factor in 2010. They entered separately then put together by Simon. They got to the finals but came 3rd, since then they have been HUGE all around world with sell out concert in Europe, Ireland, USA, Australia and New Zealand. Their song 'What Makes You Beautiful' has also been a big hit through out the world. Most of their fans are girls and from the ages to 10-25 years old. I love them because they are gorgeous, great singers and have a really good personality. I hope you like them too.

My Production Role

This is the Swan Duckling!

In the production this year I am going to be the Ugly Duckling. The story is mean't to be about a swan (that's me) who gets into a group of ducks and they all think the swan is an ugly duckling. To make myself successful in this role is to pay attention when its my turn to speck and put lots of actions to be like a duck/swan. I am only in 1 dance which is 'What Makes You Beautiful' by my favourite band 'One Direction' so the class I am working with only has a practice once or twice in the week. I am quite a fast worker so I can fit everything in.

Holiday Fun!

In the holidays I went to a couple of movies. The first movie was Ice Age 4 which was a very childish movie. My brothers really enjoyed the comedy part of the movie.

I also went to The Amazing Spider Man which was more my kinda movie. It had alot of action and freaky monsters. My dad enjoyed it as well but I think my younger brothers got a bit scared.

Rosa Parks Research

I really enjoyed writing this biography. I hadn't known anything about her but that something happened on a bus and she became famous. The biography is long so long story short.

Rosa was born in Alabama on February 4th 1913. In 1955 she refused to move from her seat in the white people section and got arrested by the police. When she got out of jail, she was a big role model and later died of old age after her family died by illness.

The story of her life is very sad but it was worth researching her.

Early Life:

Rosa Parks was born to the parents of Leona and James McCauley who was a Carpenter and Teacher.  Rosa was born as Rosa Louise McCauley but later got married to Raymond Parks.

February 4^th 1913 was the day the role model was born in Tuskegee, Alabama. Once her parents were divorced, she moved with her mum, grandparents and brother onto a farm and as grew up with a great relationship with a church for black people. When she was at a Laboratory School which was created by the college she went to, her mother and grandmother sadly grew ill so Rosa had to quit so she could stay with her at home.

Explanation of the Law:

In the 1900’s, the people in Montgomery could vote for where different people could sit in the bus for the law, but sadly only the white could vote. The end result ended up keeping the ‘coloured’ at the back of the bus and leaving the first 4 rows for the white people. Once those rows filled up, the bus driver could move the sign for the ‘coloured’ people back so there would be more space for the white. This means the black sitting in the newly ‘white’ area had to move back.

The incident:

Thursday, 1^st December 1955 Rosa paid her money and bordered the 6pm bus. As the bus drove off, a lot more white people came on from different stops and soon filled up the front of the bus. The driver (James Blake) moved the sign to the back. The 4 people sitting in the new white section were asked to move but refused. When he threatened them, 3 of them got up and moved but Rosa stuck to her place. When James thought she was getting up she just moved closer to the window. “Why don’t you stand up?” James said.

“I don’t think I have to stand up.” She replied.  James threatened her by saying he would call the police and get them to arrest her but she didn’t care and stayed in her seat.

Rosa got arrested later that day and dragged off the bus to the police station.

This is what Rosa said to a television program in 1987, "When he saw me still sitting, he asked if I was going to stand up, and I said, 'No, I'm not.' And he said, 'Well, if you don't stand up, I'm going to have to call the police and have you arrested.' I said, 'You may do that.”

After the arrest:

After she was arrested, she became a role model to many people. Her husband quit his job because he wasn’t aloud to talk about his wife or what she did but the Parks continued telling people about there story. In the 1970’s the Parks family got ill. Rosa and her husband had stomach aches for a couple of years as well as later her husband, mother and brother got cancer. August 19^th 1977 her husband died with throat cancer and in the following November, her brother died of cancer as well. Rosa slipped on an icy pavement and broke two bones along the way. She decided to move into a old peoples home to look after her mother in her final years until 1979 when she died at 92 years old.

Funeral:
On October 24^th 2005, they hung black ribbons all around the buses until her funeral on the 2^nd of November 2005. Her funeral was a seven hour long service at Greater Grace Temple Church in Detroit. She lies next to her mother and husband and now the Cemetery is called ‘Rosa L. Parks Freedom Chapel’


By Hannah Wildash-Chan

Transit of Venus

6th of June was the day of the Transit of Venus 2012. This transit is about Venus, Earth and the Sun coming in line with each other. In Wellington, it was very cloudy so we couldn't see the sun but this is what Auckland could see.

They could see the sun by using special solar glasses. They black out everything so you can only see the sun. St Benedict's School brought 30 glasses and missed out on seeing the transit but luckily the next day, it was bright and sunny so we could look at the sun with the glasses. The transit helps scientists find out how far it sun is to the earth by looking at different points. The next transit of Venus will happen on December 11th 2117 so I hope scientists can find out more about the distance from Earth to Venus.

Research on science constellation

Nicole, rosie and I are working on the constellation, Leo the Lion. Nicole has been doing some research at home but Rosie and I are trying to join in Nicole is doing all the work. In the end, Rosie did most of the art and drawing, Nicole has been doing some research and I think I have been putting everything together and doing some research. It is working really well because its a bit hard having everyone working on one thing. I think Nicole was very helpful because she went home and did some research while me and Rosie just worked at school.


Have you seen your constellation in the sky?

This week I learn't...

I now know how to make Mushroom and Bacon Risotto!
YAY!!
I can make dinner at home now!
What is your favourite meal for dinner?

My Interest

I have a BIG interest in...
ONE DIRECTION!

Left to right: Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson (the best), Harry Styles, Liam Payne and Niall Horan.
Everyone likes different things so don't judge people that like different things. I am obsessed with One Direction and I love them even more because I also went to there concert! Who's your favourite singer or band?

Geronimo Stilton: A Very Merry Christmas By Geronimo Stilton (Edizioni Piemme)

The Stilton family Christmas tradition was changing in a flash.

 ‘“You had a great idea?” I repeated nervously. 

 “Yes!” he exclaimed. “This year, the entire Stilton family will spend Christmas...”  

He paused and gave me a sly look. I knew he was trying to make the moment more dramatic, but the anticipation was DRIVING ME CRAZY! 

 “Where,Grandfather?”  

“...in New York!”’

 The Stilton family was making a change in their Christmas. They were travelling to New York to visit the MacMouse family. Geronimo got up early in the morning to pack his yellow bag with a bright blue tag on it so he could tell that it was his. As the Stilton family of 20 was on the plane to the MacMouses family of 13, Geronimo Stilton (the narrator) thought of how small the house was and how the family would fit into the tiny house for both families. Geronimo wanted to get to the MacMouses house as soon as possible to have a nice warm bath and some delicious cheese. He grabbed the yellow bag with the blue tag and jumped on a taxi.

‘When I opened it, I had a big surprise. Crusty kitty litter, this wasn’t my bag! Where were all my clothes? The Christmas gifts for the MacMouses were missing! If I didn’t find those gifts, I’d be cheese toast. Grandfather William would make sure of it.’

So Geronimo went all around New York to try and find the owner of the bag. I’m not going to say if he found the owner but you will have to read the book for yourself. It had some very good pictures and information about the places he visited. Personally, it isn’t for anyone over 11 years old but if I was 8, I would love the book.