Mathematics

This rumour going on about mathematics being a waste of time is an act only a 5 year old would even think about of saying and doing. In my perspective the person whoever thought of this absolute senselessness might’ve had Dyscalculia. Dyscalculia means having difficulty in learning, like complication in understanding numbers and understanding math facts.

A majority of people would agree that mathematics although sometime complicated is essential for us humans to thrive, for example technology wouldn’t be possible because of the number coding/Fibonacci needed to be understood. If numbers weren’t learned is would lead to putting more hours in simple house chores like laundry and cleaning (vacuuming) the house. Maths and numbers are important if we would want to thrive and have all this technology.

More evidence to prove this is that mathematics is one of the best ways to stimulate your brain, as numbers and challenges given to you has been known to go back to your basics. If mathematics was practiced daily it wouldn’t seem as impossible as people describe it. Mathematics is one of the best ways to stimulate your brain and if practiced daily it wouldn’t be as hard as it seems.

So, to wrap it all up mathematics is not a waste of time because it is needed for us to thrive, stimulate our brain and also to have all things we have right now. Maths contributes to almost everything we do like jobs and house chores. I leave you with this, imagine a world without technology, no cars, no time, no houses and finally no humans...

Should 8.30 Be The New Starting Time for Intermediate Children?

Should 8.30 be the starting time for Intermediate children?

The time we start I think is early enough and fits right in with everyone’s schedule, but the idea of changing it 10 minutes earlier is absolutely Daft!, I mean what is the point of having 10 more minutes of school time? Changing the school hours to ten minutes earlier will not make a difference and this is why I stand against it.

Firstly, Parents will have to make an extra effort to wake up and drive their children to school which makes life more stressful. If it were to change to 8.30 the teachers shouldn’t be expecting a lot of children coming on time, which affects their report as punctuality is needed for college. 8.40 is the ideal time for school to start across all years 1-8.

Secondly, 10 minutes isn’t enough time to fully understand a subject. If they were to change it to 10 minutes earlier they might as well change it to 20 minutes earlier because at least that’s enough time to put in another subject. From my perspective 10 minutes isn’t enough time and they should just stick to the current time instead of making life harder for them and student’s.

Lastly, Lowering time to 8.30 benefits No one! What is the difference? I mean some teachers may agree with this because they think that 10 more minutes will make them a little bit smarter. Cram more information that might not even stay with them for 5 minutes. To bring this into action is just a waste of time and I know that it will bring no difference whatsoever!.

I think that it should just stay at 8.40 because it makes no difference, adds more stress and doesn’t benefit any intermediate children in most aspects. These are just some of the reasons why the starting time shouldn’t change to 8.30.

Persuasive Writing - Recycling

Should there be a law which makes people who fail to recycle pay $50?

Recycling is very important not just for the world but also for the future generation. Our current environment is slowly starting to deteriorate and recycling can help prevent this from happening. I presume that having a 50 dollar penalty will help people remember to recycle because they waste hard earned money.

Firstly, there is too much rubbish everywhere which could easily be thrown in the bin. This makes it hard for people and animals to be able to breath well because the air is so dirty that it pollutes the atmosphere and the oxygen produced by trees. Recycling allows resources to last because new ones aren’t used so often, it’s also the same thing with energy if we use it wisely we would have more energy.

Secondly, pollution produced by so much rubbish covers the sun which then leads to acid rain, it then causes the ozone layer to deplete which in turn makes unstable temperatures causing global warming allowing water levels to rise. If water levels were to rise there would be a major loss of land mass making islands like the Galapagos Island to slowly fade away and eventually be engulfed by water.

Lastly, a lot of new big projects are being planned for the world but by the time they will be able to publicize their creation pollution will lessen the time it will have on earth. For example hovercrafts and floating buildings will not be able to be built if we trash earth, whenever people pollute it increases the chance of earth to look like a big plastic wrapper.

This is why making a penalty for people who fail to recycle is useful not just for us but everything else. People from the future will have the same or a longer lifetime than us if we keep on recycling. Plus we’ll be able to accomplish things we thought we never could by doing a simple daily act Recycling.

Tech Flip Book

At Room 8 we have been visiting Pakuranga Intermediate every Thursday. At the Intermediate we have been learning about electronics. For the past few weeks we have been building a Boom Box. To learn about the process click here

Stephenson's Rocket

WALHT: Write an informative report

Title: Stephenson’s rocket

The Stephenson’s rocket was an early locomotive meaning it was used to pull trains. It was built by George Stephenson and his son Robert in 1829 as a machine to compete in the Rainhill trials. George created many other locomotives but none of those were known as or considered ‘Rocket’.

George’s locomotive had a tall smokestack which looked like a small chimney at the front, a cylinder shaped boiler in the middle and a separate firebox at the back. It was made to enter the Rainhill trials. The Rocket also used a blastpipe which feeds exhaust steam from the cylinders into the chimney or ‘smokestack’.

It was in service between the 30’s and 40’s but the time was only vaguely documented.  From 1830 - 1834 it was in service in Liverpool and Manchester railways. After its service on L&MR (Liverpool and Manchester railways) it was used in 1836 - 1840 on Lord Carlisle’s Railway near Brampton, in Cumberland now called ‘Cumbria’. When it was introduced into L&MRs on the 15th of September in the year 1830 there was a tragic event William Huskisson (Member of Parliament of Liverpool) who was struck and killed by the Rocket at Parkside.

Trials were held by the Liverpool and Manchester Railway Company. The purpose was to find the best locomotive engine for a railway line, which was built to serve to English cities . On the day of the Trials, 15,000 people came along to see the race of the locomotives.

Stephenson’s locomotive reached speeds of 24 miles per hour during its 20 laps. I was able to do this by the several new features. It was the first locomotive to have a multi - tube boiler or smokestack. Click the link inside this word to see an animation on how it worked and also to build its engine using questions linked with the parts purpose.

What George Stephenson built along with his son was truly remarkable but sadly George died of pleurisy (inflammation of the pleura) at an age of 67, despite his passing his legacy still lives on today .

Stephenson’s Rocket

Le Cobra

WALHT: Write an informative report

Title:Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah)

The Cobra is any species of venomous snake, a good example would be the King cobra. Although it is called a cobra it is not necessarily from the same family, the King cobra is not the same as the spitting cobra. It has different characteristics meaning its from a different genus.  Most cobras belong to the Elapidae family, the majority of them can expand their neck ribs to form a widened hood. Some cobras have really good eyesight which enables them to see 330 feet away (100m).

They can live in different climates but it is mostly found in hot/humid places, making Africa and Asia the perfect place to live. When threatened they raise their neck/hood as a threat display. They move with a sidewinding momentum which helps them maneuver through the terrain with ease but only a third of their body energy is wasted.

The word ‘Cobra’ in Portuguese means ‘snake with hood’ or ‘hooded snake. It also has spectacles or pattern on their hood. It fools predators or prey from behind making it look like they are facing both ways.

It has a wide variety of diet ranging from small animals which included rodents to bigger animals than themselves which include Buffalos. They are carnivorous reptiles meaning they only eat meat. The cobra is also known for eating its own kind. Here is an example of A king cobra eating an Indian Cobra: Click this to see it in action

Cobra’s venom potency is not the highest but one bite from the King cobra can kill an elephant slowly but very painfully. The way it destroys a prey’s body varies but the spitting cobras venom stings the prey’s eyes making them vulnerable to any attack.

Cobras use their stealth and speed but if stealth doesn’t work they go directly for the killing, aiming to get a kill blow in. Once they have injected venom into their prey they ingurgitate their victim eating it whole.

Adult sheds their skins 4-6 times per year but juveniles shed every month once the shedding of skin is finished the cobra has new skin, fangs,eyes and tongue tip. The cobras have to rub their skin on rough surfaces to get the skin to start peeling. They will have bad eyesight for 10 days. Click this to see an example of a cobra shedding it’s skin.

Snakes are fascinating but at the same time dangerous. Some species of cobra are declining due to poaching as the snakeskin is very nice product to use for designs. Picture ref:http://www.123rf.com

Mother Story

‘My Mum is the best’ that’s what all kids would say, who wouldn’t? My Mum is special to me, she brought me to life , she taught me most of what I know and she guides me to where I am now . She is like most mums but has her own special touches, she is very brave and always keen to try everything even though she is scared. She is like our leader she raises our morale and does what is right for us, She works very hard for us and sometimes I don’t have a clue on how hard she works and  I sometimes take for granted what she works so much for . My mum is many different things to me she is a teacher, guidance counselor, financial manager and most of all she is my own special mum. I still remember the times when I was sick and she used to take me to the hospital and buy me food from Jollibee (Filipino Restaurant) afterwards. I used to try and copy her cooking by getting grass and other things on the ground then chopping them with a plastic knife. For this mother’s day we went to HanSan a vietnamese restaurant to celebrate it was packed. Besides all the telling off and arguments I love my mum as she loves me and there is no one who could replace her.