Careers Research

In Social Studies we have been learning about careers to help us in our future lives. 

This topic was given to us by our teacher and ended up with a random job. We have to work out our money, housing and transport. We got the option to either live by ourselves or to have a flatmate.

My job was an Human Resources Adviser

Aboriginal Boomerang Art

Boomerang Art

For the past few weeks in social studies, we have been learning about Indigenous Australians and the meanings behind their art. Boomerangs had originally originated from Europe. The reason for the artwork was because they had no written language so they told their cultural stories through this in which was portrayed by symbols and icons. Eventually, the artist decided to eliminate the sacred elements and abstracted the designs into dots to conceal their sacred designs which they used in the ceremony. Below is what the design of my boomerang looks like.

The blue spears represent hunting, red dots represent the food, green represents nature and yellow represents a star. The story behind this means hunting for food in nature under the sun.

THROWING BOOMERANGS

Artwork

1) Why do we look at street art? Why do we stop when we see it? What is our
reaction?
I think that we look at street art because we find it interesting and appealing. The different types

of style and use of colour is probably one of the main things that make us stop to look at it.
Sometimes you don’t seem to have a reaction but other times you’re thinking wow this is good.

2) Why do we need and use visual symbols around us?

We need/use these because for some people they use it to represent their culture. They also
communicate more than words.

3) What are examples of common visual symbols in our environment? 

Another World-Diversity

What diversity means to me and is it important?

For the past two terms, we have been looking at diversity. To me, diversity means different kinds of people who come from different backgrounds. I think that diversity is important because if we didn't have different people or different backgrounds then it would just be plain and boring. 

What did you already know? 

I already knew what diversity meant. For example, accepting people based on their background/culture.l

Home Economics

Serving Sizes Guideline

B & C	Meat + A	Milk	Fruit	Veg	Extra FSS	Water
6	1-2	1-3	2	3+	0-1	2L

How do these guidelines relate to your daily intake?
Mine

B & C	Meat + A	Milk	Fruit	Veg	Extra FSS	Water
4	2-3	2-3	3	2+	0-1	1.5L

The purpose of this activity was to create a dinner plate model, which had salmon with mashed potato and kumara with mixed vegetables.

Takeaways from this term

I learned about the serving size guideline.

What I hope to apply next time is to prepare faster.

Something I'm looking forward to doing next term is creating our own food.

My Food Bag Semester 1

DESIGN PROCESS

My profile target was for teenagers.

My recipe decision was based on teenagers getting enough nutrients in their food because of some teenagers just eat whatever they like. I also based my recipe on a certain thing to try and bulk up the meal.

CHOSEN RECIPE

Samosas-Recipe Link

CURRIED PEAS AND POTATO SAMOSAS

Ingredients

• 400g potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 tsp Gregg's Ground Coriander
• 2 tsp Gregg's Whole Cumin Seeds
• 1 tsp Greggs Ground Turmeric
• ¼-½ red chilli, and finely chopped
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 cup Wattie’s Frozen Baby Peas
• Handful fresh coriander leaves, chopped
• 3 sheets flaky pastry, thawed
• 1 egg, beaten

Yoghurt and Mint Dip:

• ½ cup unsweetened natural yoghurt
• A handful of fresh mint leaves, chopped
• Juice of ½ lime

Method

• Cook potatoes in boiling lightly salted water until tender. Drain and set aside.
• Heat a dash of oil in a small saucepan. Add onion and garlic and cook over a medium to low heat until onion is soft. Add Gregg's Ground Coriander, Gregg's Whole Cumin Seeds and Gregg's Ground Turmeric, adding an extra dash of oil if the pan is dry.
• Add chilli, lime juice and Wattie’s Frozen Baby Peas. Cover and cook for 5 minutes until the peas are tender, stirring regularly.
• Mix cooked diced potato, pea mixture and chopped coriander together. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside to cool. Preheat oven to 200°C (fan bake).
• Cut each pastry sheet into 4. Place a spoonful of filling in the middle of each square. Wet the edges of the pastry and fold over to make a triangle. Seal edges with a fork.
• Place samosas on an oven tray lined with baking paper. Brush with a little beaten egg or milk. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the pastry is golden and filling hot. Serve with mint and yoghurt dip.
• 
  

Yoghurt and Mint Dip:

• Mix ingredients together. Serve in a bowl with the samosas.

Tips:

• Reduce or omit the chilli if desired
• You can replace the diced potato with diced kumara

This recipe was chosen for a particular reason, which was because my group was nearly finished their recipes but just wasn't finished. We also chose to do this recipe because of Samosas was the only thing we had that not everyone had tried before and it's always good to try something new. 

The meal contained vegetables which covered the vegetable part of the food model. It also had a potato which covers the starchy foods as well as including pastry which gives you your carbohydrates.

The only change we did to our recipe during the practice practical sessions was adding 1 whole chili instead of 1/2 a chili because of it just needed a bit of a kick. We also added 1 whole chili because we couldn't taste the spiciness within the samosa. 

I think the positives about our end product in the last practical were that it was small so we could eat it whenever we wanted and it was a good size. It was easy to eat. It had different spices that were added into the mixture. This recipe was also a good choice because it had a lot of colour within the samosa, which was appealing to the eye once you bit into it. It had more flavour in our final product. The pastry was nicer in our final session because it just tasted good and flakier.

2 THINGS I LEARNT

• The first thing I learned this semester was how to handle pastry properly and how to wrap things inside it.
• The other thing I learned during this semester was how to speed cook when the recipe I chose would normally take a long time.

Textiles Technology-Poncho

In the past terms, we have been looking and working on a product of our choice. I chose to make a poncho. It took a lot of work. Others did clothing, stuffed animals, etc for their choice. Finally, I have completed my poncho and am now blogging the work.

PONCHO PRODUCT

This is my process of cutting and pinning all of the material I needed. There were quite a few pieces of material that needed to be cut. (Below are a few pictures of how I had to cut and place it on the material).

The next step I did was making sure all the pieces were cut. I also started to begin actually sewing the pieces together. Firstly I sewed the pocket onto the front of the poncho. Next, I started sewing the other two front parts onto the main piece I had already finished (as shown below).

The next thing I did was do the exact same thing I did for the front except it was for the back of the poncho and you don't need a pocket at the back either unless you really wanted too.

Then, I did the hood. I have no photos of the process it took but I can tell you that it had to be accurate when it came to doing the hem because you would be able to see it on the outside. (As in the stitching) 

And this is my finished product but it's inside out. It took a lot of time and effort but in the end, I was happy and proud of the outcome. It took a while but it was totally worth it. I had made a lot of mistakes in the process of making my poncho. Each time I made a mistake it would just look that much better the second time I did it. So, now I'm actually done!!

Above are a couple of photos of the poncho in the process of being sewed.

Another World

The Willow Maid could be connected to the way people treat nature.

Tarzan  helped me to understand that DNA doesn’t determine who you belong with, or where
you belong.

Barriers by Hinewirangi helped me to understand that people change things about them so
others could understand them properly.

The Seahorse and the Reef by Witi Ihimaera helped me to understand how poorly people treat
the sea.

Butterflies helped me to understand that people have different opinions and point of views.

Supergirl, Welcome to Earth could be connected to how people shouldn’t be judged based on
their cultural backgrounds and what they look like.

Zootopia could be connected to how people are treated differently based on where they come
from and stereotyping.

Ryan Murphy’s Glee, Never Been Kissed made me think about how everybody has feelings.

On My Block helped me to understand that people are stereotyped because of their backgrounds.

A Silent Voice could be connected to the way people treat those who are different from them.

Divergent helped me to understand that you should always make decisions for yourself, rather than letting society dictate these decisions for you.

Character Strengths #2

This character trait is shown in Beauty and the beast when Belle appreciated the beauty of the beast. I think this trait is important because it’s not only about the beauty in the inside but also the beauty within you.

I saw perseverance in Tarzan when he chose to impress the other gorillas, even though they told him no. I think it is important to show perseverance because no matter what others say not to do could actually turn into something more and they wouldn’t have expected it.

This character trait was shown in Glee when Kurt came out that he was gay to Mercedes and she never judged him for it. I think it is important to be out and proud about who you are as a person and not to worry what others will think of it.

I saw social intelligence in The Hate U Give when Starr stood up for what was right as well as connecting with others at the same time. I think this is a really important trait as it may help you in the near future.

This trait was shown in The Hate U Give when a white boy Chris was always there supporting his girlfriend Starr even though she lived in a black neighborhood. This is important because no matter what someone you love is going through, either yourself or them will know that they’ve still got someone they love there with them.

I saw this character strength in Glee when Rachel took over leadership to help the glee club. I think Leadership is important in our lives because you could actually gain experience and skills from just doing one thing.

Acid Rain

What is acid rain?
Acid rain is basically the industrial burning of coal, oil and natural gases. Carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide escape into the air. From there they dissolve in the water inside the clouds and make the rainwater more acidic than normal.

Cause of acid rain
The main cause of acid rain is when sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are released into the air. They rise really high into the atmosphere and begin to mix and react with water, oxygen, and other things to form more acidic pollutants.

Effects of acid rain
The effects of acid rain are mostly seen in aquatic environments. For example, streams, lakes, and marshes. Usually, where it is harmful to wildlife. After it flows through the soil it then flows into the streams and lakes.