Tamaki Tales

Don't stop believing

2011-11-08T13:47:00.003+13:00

Room 1 have made this movie and had fun filming it. We liked the title because we believe in ourselves.

Gravity and Weight

2011-09-11T16:31:00.007+12:00

Gravity is a force that pulls everything towards ear Gravity make it seems as if things always fall downwards. Gravity holds us onto earth and stops us fying off into space.

We carried out an experiment using the following material:

*stiff card

*pencil and crayons

*scissors

*small coins

*glue

*stick

Procedure

1. Draw 2 copies of a bear on stiff card ( 10cm from top to bottom and cut them out.

2. Decorate the shapes so that one is the back of the bear and the other is the front.

3. Stick small coins on the back of the paws of one copy and stick the undecorated side together with the drawing side.

4. Balance the bear's nose, hands downwards on the end of a pencil.

Observation
We observed if the bear balanced on the pencil.

Result

The bear did balance on the pencil because the weight of the coins made its nose the centre of gravity.

Young Scientists

2011-09-02T15:37:00.011+12:00

….Water Displacement....
Are water levels affected by objects of various mass?
INTRODUCTION
Water displacement is simply when something (e.g. a block) is put into water and the water level rises. This is because the block is taking up space, and the water has to move somewhere, and the only place to go is up.
Required materials:
*Glass jar with a lid
*water
*Bucket
*Pen or pencil
*Journal to record results
Step-by-step procedures
1. Fill the bucket with water so it's about three-fourths full.
2. Make sure the jar has its lid attached. Place the jar into the water. What happens? Write it in your journal.
3. Now, slowly push the jar to the bottom of the bucket. Look at the level of water on the side of the bucket. What happens? Does the water level rise or fall? Record the result in your journal.
4. Remove the jar from the bucket and fill it completely with water. Secure the lid on the jar. Place the jar back into the bucket of water. Does the water level rise, fall, or stay the same? Record the results in your journal.

We placed different objects with different weights and recorded it.
Result: The sealed empty glass floated in the water and the water level remained the same until we pushed the jar to the bottom of the bucket. The water level increased and almost filled the bucket. Then we filled the empty glass jar with water and placed it into the water. The jar sank to the bottom almost instantly and the water level rose. So are water levels affected by objects of various mass...? YES!
Conclusion Before we filled the jar with water the weight of the water was heavier then the empty glass jar causing it to float. When we filled it with water it became heavier and sank causing the water to rise.

Term 2 Reflections

2011-08-08T21:47:00.007+12:00

Term 2 was a very exciting and busy term. With a heap of sports to an educational trip to the Careers Expo in Greenlane.This term was a fun term with lots of excitement.

Firstly the speeches which were very scary and exciting at the same time. I found it hard to choose a topic but in the end I ended up with an illegal job called the Black Market. This topic was not very hard and I found it easy to memorise and it just took me one que card to do it.

Secondly the amazing trip to the Careers Expo in Greenlane.What a trip it was looking at all the different careers that surrounded us. It was all amazing but I only went to a few that really interested me.

Thirdly our self defence class. Kicks and punches were the things we learnt all used in different ways like shin kick, backward shin, stance, side kick to knee, hammer hits, window wiper and much more. It was a very interesting class with our helpful instructor Mandi.We learnt heaps of defence ways and techniques to protect and save ourselves.

Now the Matariki Festival. Practice at lunchtime and spare time. All classes in our school practiced for our very own Matariki Festival. We had to get students to do on stage challenges and we had to do a class item for everyone to see. The winners of the Matariki festival was our class room 1.

Lastly the school Careers Expo.Such an exciting event and confusing as well. We worked in groups of 3s or 4s.We all had different careers to research and present. We had to work hard on our display boards to to make them look creative and informative and get it ready for the actual Careers Expo on Wednesday 13 July 2011.

Wasn’t this an exciting term! It went really fast. Although it was a very busy term I enjoyed it and I had a lot of fun with my friends and learnt a lot. I am quite excited for next term to see what interesting stuff it will have for us!

Matariki

2011-06-28T01:59:00.006+12:00

What is Matariki?
Matariki is the Maori name for the group of stars also known as the Pleiades star cluster or The Seven Sister and what is referred to as the traditional Maori New Year
Why do we celebrate Matariki today?
Today Matariki means celebrating the unique place in which we live and giving respect to the land we live on
How is Matariki celebrated?
Matariki is celebrated with education, remembrance and the planting of new trees and crops signalling new beginnings. Matariki was the optimum time for new harvests, and ceremonial offerings to the land-based gods Rongo, Uenuku and Whiro to ensure good crops for the coming year. It was also seen as a perfect time to learn about the land we live on and to remember whakapapa (ancestry) who have passed from this world to the next and the legacy they left behind.
Who celebrates Matariki?
Anyone who wishes to participate.
What does Matariki mean?
Matariki has two meanings, both referring to a tiny constellation of stars; Mata Riki (Tiny Eyes) and Mata Ariki (Eyes of God).

My Careers Expo Experience

2011-06-28T01:35:00.003+12:00

Our hearts racing and filled with excitement just wanting to race to the hall and jump onto the bus and zoom away to the Expo at the ASB Showgrounds as we went to experience our first Careers Expo.
“Line up Roo 1 and walk quietly to the hall’, said Mrs Sigamoney. So off we went walking quietly to the hall. I was so excited that I just wanted to jump onto the bus and leave immediately but it was obvious that I had to wait and leave with my class.
“Excuse me Ina”, I said as I made my way to my seat. With a huge smile on my face I sat down next to Vanessa.
’”So what do you want to be when you grow up?”asked Vanessa starting our conversation. I replied that I wanted to be a lawyer and so we carried on asking each other questions and listened to our different answers.
“Ok everyone keep quiet, we have arrived”, said Mrs Raj.
We had arrived! I didn’t even know that we had arrived because it was so fast and all I wanted to do now was just to slip inside and start looking around.
WOW! This was the only word that came out of our mouths and the expression on our faces, was just so delighted and happy. I was just so, so ........excited I couldn’t explain it in words.

Now the first job I went to was the Engineering career. I collected quite a lot of information about ipads, anything and everything was what engineers made and did.

The second job I went to was the Faculty of Law. I took in lots of information as this was my dream job. I learnt if you wanted to be a lawyer you had to have really good reading, writing and communication skills. The salary range was 60,000 + and you had to have a good written CV.

The next job I Iooked at was Accounting. To be an accountant you had to be good at maths and keep a good account of money. In this profession you had the opportunity to make overseas trips to take care of different banks and businesses and the salary range depended on what stage you were working at.

“Could we please go to the Faculty of Medical Services?” I pleaded with my friends Ina and Sheralee.They agreed and we jumped into the next line.
It seemed like we had been standing there for an hour.
Then there was an announcement for Tamaki Intermediate students to meet at the entrance..At least we gathered some good information.

Soon we had arrived at school after all that huff and puff of hopping into the buses and coming back to school. At least we had learnt quite a lot and now I have a fair idea of what job I want and what the future holds for me which is Law and being a good lawyer.
Thank you Tamaki Intermediate for giving me this opportunity to help me with my learning and my future decisions.

A Persuasive Argument

2011-06-22T14:07:00.006+12:00

“A law should be passed restricting cats and dogs to urban areas only. They should be banned from bushes, forests and coastal areas at all times”
I strongly agree with this statement.

Firstly I agree that they should be restricted to urban areas only because dogs and cats and other animals are putting our national icon the kiwi in danger. The problem is that kiwi chicks are being killed by dogs, cats, ferrets, stoats and weasels so they should not be allowed in these areas. There have been quite a lot of attacks on flightless birds such as the kiwi, the kakapo and many more in the bushes and forests. The safety of the kiwis and other birds is of great importance. Only five percent of kiwi babies are surviving to adult age. To be safe from a stoat attack a kiwi has to be about a year old. The present population is now halving every year. Although stoats are the biggest threat to the kiwi, most of the kiwi close to farms and houses have been killed by cats and dogs.

Secondly there has also been serious attacks on people in these areas. Some attacks have been very serious and required extensive surgery and months of recovery. Allowing dogs and cats in coastal and bush areas becomes unsafe for people to enter these areas.

By restricting dogs and cats to urban areas we will not only prevent the kiwi population from becoming extinct but we can also prevent attack on humans. I think animal control should push for this law to be passed

Dogs and cats should be restricted to urban areas only because their owners have better control over them. They can be taken for a walk on a leash so they cannot wander off and cause harm to anyone. Some camps and caravan sites allow pets provided their owners follow their rules.
Therefore I strongly believe that dogs and cats should be banned from bush, forest and coastal areas because of safety to kiwis and other
animals.

A Careers Experience

2011-06-22T14:03:00.007+12:00

A variety of jobs surround my head as I try and connect my skills and my passion and look at a career to focus on. As we arrive at the ASB Showgrounds in Green Lane, Tamaki Intermediate year 7 and 8 students and teachers marched out of the bus in a rush realising how late they were. Friday 10th June was the day I recorded in my mind. The day I would look at options for my career. This was the purpose of this trip and to also focus on our topic of Being Enterprising.

The room was filled with darkness. Only a few of the presentations were lit up. After checking on my group I explored the room with my friends beside me, looking for a career choice.
"Wow, an interesting job!” My attention was attracted to becoming a travel agent. Roaming the world and volunteering in several countries was now my dream. I cruised over, suddenly revealing my interest in travelling and interacting with people. The lady explained the qualities you need to have, entry requirements and the job prospects. Even more interesting, it was listed as my first choice for my future.

I walked about a meter away and caught a glimpse of a chef's hat. I turned in interest as the hat was beckoning me towards the exhibit of becoming a chef. Realising how empty my sheet of information was I pulled it out and listened to the lady at the front explaining the job of a chef. The positives and negatives were connected to my likes and dislikes and I chose to become a chef. But how could I remove the thought of becoming a travel agent? I couldn’t, so I carried on with the two thoughts wrestling in my head.

You will always have individual dreams which are chosen freely, your teachers will have dreams for you which are optional and then there are your parents who have dreams for you that are optional, but for some parents it is compulsory which is exactly my case. It's compulsory! My father has a fantasy of me becoming a police officer. I may consider it but I absolutely doubt the idea of becoming one for many reasons. Keeping in mind that he was my father I scoot over to their showcase, listening in on entry requirements, prospects and more. I have been proven wrong. Being a police officer didn't sound entirely horrible!

After enquiring about three careers I immediately felt the urge to start a business. But I couldn't. I'm only twelve years old.Scanning these exhibits I spotted many free things I want to carry back to school with me. In fact I already took three bags. Other than the free stuff this experience opened up a whole new world for me.

Coca Cola Careers Expo

2011-06-13T13:10:00.020+12:00

On Friday 10th June 2011 I waited excitedly to go to the Coca Cola Careers Expo at the ASB Show grounds. This was my first visit to a Careers Expo and I didn’t know what to expect.

The Yr 7 and 8 students and staff travelled by bus to the Expo
When we arrived at the Expo Mrs Sigamoney got us to line up and Mr Furivai led us to the hall. I anxiously made my way to the Air Porce people. Quinton and I were interested in the same exhibits so we stayed together.

First we had a go at the Pilot simulator. Quinton went for a while and then crashed. Then I had a go at it and I stayed on until the end which was about ten minutes.

After that we went to see what the Army had to offer. The person in charge was Sam Morris who was a pilot officer. He explained to us the different challenges you had to face in the army. He also gave away free gifts. He gave us a lot of information. We wanted to know how to sign up in the army and what skills do you need

The next place we headed for was the Farming Career exhibit. We saw different kinds of insects which looked pretty scary. They we actually real insects. We found out that to be a farmer you had to be a strong person and have a love for the land.

Finally it was time to leave. I found this to be a good experience and I wished we could have stayed there longer.

Being Enterprising Speeches and Interviews

2011-05-27T14:20:00.006+12:00

Friday the 13th

2011-05-15T21:59:00.024+12:00

Jupiter is lining up with Venus and Mercury early this morning in a celestial dance that was visible across Australia’s eastern skies from 5am today, just before sunrise.
The alignment of the four planets happens only once every 50-100 years, and very rarely on Friday the 13^th.
The last time these planets were observed together was in October 1910.
Four planets align on Friday the 13^th
World won’t end, great day for lovers
Some may fear four planets falling into line on Friday the 13^th could herald the end of days.
However, a Cairns astrologer is assured the apocalypse is not upon us-rather it’s a good day for asking others out on a date.

"Don’t really believe it's an unlucky day. It’s been a lucky day for me. Did an awesome Google search and the teacher was proud of me". Bradley

"Some people have bad days, some have good days and some even have parties. I think it is a good day". Vanessa

"Does not really worry me. Just a normal day" Ashley

"I don’t believe in it. People say that if a black cat walks in front of you, you turn around and walk the other way". Vaegaau

"I don’t believe in it. It’s just a myth". Erika

"Another normal day I guess!" Apelu

"People say it’s the devil’s day". Toa

"Just an ordinary, normal day for me". Cherub

"Not a good day. My internet didn’t work today". Samuel

"Just like any other day". Moanarangi

"I don’t believe in it because nothing really bad happened to me". Page

"Normal school day for me". Yolenda

"I think it’s real because Lafiti kicked the ball at my head today". Quinton

"I don’t really care. Nothing bad happens to me". Picilla

"Just another normal Friday". Saitia

"I sort of believe it because I had bad luck". Ro June

Dear Mrs Baker

2011-05-07T22:20:00.007+12:00

My name is Saitia. I'm from room 1 and I am writing
this special letter to tell you about my mum and all
the things she does for me and my family.

First let me tell you about my mum. My mum's name is Ta'and she
is really cool because she is very loving she loves all my friends
when they come over. She even treats them like her own
kids. She is also supportive in everything I do in school
or at my games.

I like my mum because she looks after me and she buys all my
books and uniform for school and even my rugby gear.
My mum is a big influence in my life because she always teaches
me to be kind to everyone and always play fair and help
people that are in need.

I think my mum deserves to win because of everything she
does for me and I want to show her that I care for her and
I love her and that's why I am writing this letter.

Dear Mrs Baker

2011-05-07T21:52:00.001+12:00

Dear Mrs Baker

Hello my name is Mowbray and I am writing to you about my amazing and very helpful Mum. She is a mother of 9 children and is a grandmother to 4 grandchildren.

The name of this beautiful and helpful mum is Hitelenisia. She is a Tongan woman who has short dark black hair, a generous personality, and a beautiful loving smile. My Mum is retired and now is a housewife.

This is why she is the best mum in the world because when she is at home she will often be looking after her grandson while his mother is at work. She would also always help me with my homework and when I come back from school, there’s always yummy food for me at home.

I love my Mum very much and I wish she would always be there for me.

Dear Mrs Baker

2011-05-07T21:43:00.004+12:00

My name is Picilla and I'm in room 1. I'm writing to you to tell you how amazing my mother is. I am also doing this because I love my mum.
My mother is a loving person and she is caring. She looks after us in every way that she can. My mum feeds us like a mother should and she nurses us. She stays at home and looks after my little brother. She comes to the Tongan trip meeting and she told me that she would love to come but she can’t because she has to take care of my baby brother but I don't mind because I know that she still loves me.
My mum supports me in every way that she can and she also supports my other siblings too. She is a loving person. She is a talented musical person. My mum can play the guitar, ukulele, harmonica and more. She is a great person. After seeing her playing the guitar I am obsessed with music and now music is one of my hobbies. She is my role model and I take in all the advice that she gives me. My mum is the most important person to me.
I think my mum deserves this award because she loves me and the rest of my family and I love her too and always will.

Dear Mrs Baker

2011-05-07T21:34:00.004+12:00

Hi my name is Ina Niu and I am from Tuvalu. I have just started at Tamaki Intermediate at the beginning of term 1.
I am writing to you to tell you about how special my mum is and hopefully to persuade you.

My mum’s name is Exeter Taafaki and she is also from Tuvalu. My mum is a great and lovely person. She always tries her best to make money to feed the whole family. She cares al lot for people. If we had a family member that had nowhere to live she would welcome them in with a beautiful smile. That’s how loyal she is to our family. If my sisters or I had a school situation she will find a way to solve the problem because she wants us to have a good education, a good job and a great life when we grow up.

My mum is a very busy lady but she always tries to find time to spend with us. If we had no food to eat she would go to the bank and withdraw money even if she hadn’t paid her bills. She will take the money out and make sure that we have delicious food to eat.

My mum has a lot of special qualities. She influences me in a lot of ways. She tells us that school is important and that we should never miss a day of school because it would ruin our life when we grow up. My mum also tells me to learn really hard in school because when I grow up I will have successful job.

I love my mum very much for what she does for our family. I hope I have convinced you what a special lady she is.
Thank you for reading about what I have to say about my special mum.

Dear Mrs Baker

2011-05-07T21:22:00.004+12:00

Dear Mrs Baker
My name is Quinton. I am a Maori and I am
in room1. I am writing this letter to you
about my mother.
My mum's name is Linda Herbert.
She is tall and has long brown hair.
My mum works at a factory in Otahuhu.
She finishes work at 2:30pm
and makes it home at 3:00pm.
My mum is a helpful lady because she helps
me with my homework
and takes care of me when I'm sick.
My mum is a good role model to me and
my family she sets good examples.
I LOVE MY MUM VERY MUCH. SHE'S A GOOD LADY MRS BAKER

Dear Mrs Baker

2011-05-07T21:07:00.005+12:00

My name is Venessa and I am 12 years old. I am writing this letter to you to tell you about my mum and why she deserves this book prize.
Tera is my mum and she is my height. She is a mother of four and she has a husband named Tony. She works at Auckland City Council on level 5. She wakes up at six thirty and wakes us up. We all have showers and get ourselves ready. Mum helps Shanelle and Mya (age 8 and 5) get ready and drive us down to my Nana’s house. My three sisters wait there until it’s time to go to school and while we wait she drives into work. She really likes her job and she finishes at five thirty.
She gives us a good education from the right schools and cares for us like no tomorrow. She comes to goal settings and parent meetings. She’s happy when we get certificates and win prizes. She gives me five dollars on Fridays for me to spend at the tuck shop for lunch. She cleans the house when she has time off, even after work and late at night. She doesn’t care about herself. She teaches me how to cook dinner like spaghetti, scrambled eggs and rice.

When I fell on the road I had a deep cut. I had a long sleep on the sofa and she was waiting until I was awake so she could take me to the hospital to get the dressing on it before it got infected. I still have the sore. She takes care of me whenever i need it. She makes me laugh sometimes. I love my mum and she loves me. She is the best mum in the whole universe.

That is why I think my mum should get this book for mother’s day because I love her.

Dear Mrs Baker

2011-05-07T21:04:00.010+12:00

My name is Yolenda and I am in room1.

My mum attends the Auckland University, she is studying to get her masters and she is working so hard.
That's why my mum deserves to get a gift and I am so lucky to have her in her life

As a single parent she would do anything for their children.
She gives up anything to make us happy. When she was on her study break she took us to the Waitakere Ranges, Sky tower, Am bran Farm, and boat Cruz around the harbour. During the Christmas holidays she spent $200 on petrol and we went down to Taupo and Rotorua, at Rotorua we went on a jet boat ride. The prize was $120 but she still bought the ride and I had a lot of fun.

I am writing to you because I have the most amazing mother in the whole Universe. She deserves a gift because even though she is a single parent and doesn't have a job she always finds money to feed us and clothe us. She gives up her study time to spend with us even though her study work is due the next day.

Dear Mrs Baker

2011-05-07T15:25:00.009+12:00

My name is Vai and I am writing this letter to you about my mum and the wonderful things she does for me and my family.

My mum’s name is Luti Tafea. She is a teacher at Tamaki Intermediate School. She does her best to teach her class and she also helps us with work at home. She is a generous, caring person. She also has a lovely smile that lights up the room. I just love it when she hugs me because it makes me feel safe. When I’m down she cheers me up. She is a passionate and loving person.

My mum cooks us delicious meals. She even takes us training every day. She plays games with us in her spare time. She is a cool mum!

I think my mum deserves the book prize for all the things we’ve been through together and the things she does for her family.

Dear Mrs Baker

2011-05-06T14:55:00.018+12:00

My name is Sheralee and I am in room 1 extension class. I am Maori and European and I just adore my mum. The purpose of my writing this letter is to tell you why my mum deserves the Duffy book award that I would love to give to her! Well where do I begin?

Words alone cannot describe the feeling I have for my mum. My mum's name is Trudie Te Hemoata Cook and she is a passionate about her job which is a caregiver for Health Care New Zealand. She is also a generous, down to earth and talented woman. My mum means the world to me and I will never give her up or trade her for any other mother. Sadly when my mum was younger she never got to meet her mother and when she was eleven years of age her mum passed away. So my mum made sure that she provided my family and I with everything that we needed and she made sure that we got to know her properly even though she never knew her mother.When you look into my mum's light brown eyes you can see that she is also passionate and committed to being a mother. She also has long black hair and is hundred percent loving.

My mother has a lot of special qualities and to me she is the bread winner in the house! She works hard and makes sure that we have food in our tummies and that we will never attend school hungry. Personally I think that I am the luckiest girl in the world being able to have such a loving and caring mum like my mum even though we don't have any extravagant things. I will always love her! I wrote a poem for my mum and this is how it goes.

M is for: the Memories that we have share together.
O is for I Owe you one for bringing me into this world.
T is for Thanking you for being my mum.
H is for Helping me and supporting me when I really need it.
E is for Extending your love to the maximum
and R is for I will never put you in a Retirement home!

Like this poem the love we share has gone beyond the known!! Thank you Mrs Baker for reading my letter and I hope that you now know why my mum is the best mum ever!

Dear Mrs Baker

2011-05-05T22:59:00.006+12:00

My name is Cherub, I'm a year 8 student and I'm in the extension class.
I am writing to you about my mum and why I think she deserves this award.

My mum’s name is Marjorie. Marjorie is an old French name, Middle English form of Margaret, which means pearl. My mum is a gem. My mum is a single mother that looks after 7 children. She has a glorious cheesy smile and always makes me laugh. My mum use to be a reliever teacher at many schools but she stopped when she had my little sisters. She always solves my problems and makes me a better person.

My mum is a challenging person, it’s like she’s unbeatable at sports. My mum is a great cook; one thing that will be challenging for any human being to beat is my mum’s divine homemade seafood chowder. I'm not a big fan of sea food but I'm a huge fan of my mum’s sea food chowder. My mum is my life. She’s like the atmosphere and has my life in her hands. I can feel my mum’s love even if she’s a thousand miles away.

I chose these words because this is the best way to describe my mum. Happy Mother’s Day mum. I love you.

So how do earthquakes happen?

2011-05-05T20:51:00.013+12:00

Earthquakes are the phenomena experienced during sudden movements of the Earth’s crust.
Under the Earth’s crust lies the asthenosphere, the upper part of the mantle composed of liquid rock. The plates of the Earth’s crust essentially “float” on top of this layer and can be forced to shift as the upwelling molten material below moves. As the plates shift an enormous amount of energy is released in the form of waves, although they can occur anywhere on the planet with little or no warning.

The most extreme earthquakes occur near plate boundaries, as the plates converge, diverge or shear. Moving rock and magma within volcanoes can also trigger earthquakes. In all of these causes, large sections of the crust can fracture and move to-and-fro to dissipate the released energy. This “shaking” is the sensation felt during an earthquake.

The energy released is often described in terms of “magnitude”, a logarithmic scale used to describe how energetic an earthquake was; a quake of magnitude 2 is hardly noticeable without special monitoring equipment, while quakes over magnitude 8 may actually cause the ground to visibly heave and roll. Since the scale is logarithmic, a magnitude 8 quake is not four times more energetic than a magnitude 2 quake, but one billion times more energetic!

New Zealand experiences thousands of earthquakes every year. Most are either very deep or centre well off shore. However, a severe earthquake can occur at anytime with devastating effects.

2011-05-05T20:07:00.002+12:00

So what is a Tsunami?
A tsunami is a flood of water that can cause a huge destruction when it hits a coastline.

Tsunamis are caused from underwater earthquakes. Underwater earthquakes happen when the oceanic and continental templates push into each other and build up pressure. The pressure builds up until the oceanic templates slips under the continental plate releasing all of the pressure and energy.

If an underwater earthquake is large enough, the ocean floor will make destructive movements, therefore the water above the sea floor must move too.
The ocean water is pushed upward causing a large ripple that begins to travel through the ocean. This large ripple, which becomes the tsunami travels at a very fast speed of up to 600 miles per hour.

The tsunami that followed the earthquake in Japan caused massive destruction and loss of lives. Japan has moved 4 metres closes to South America as a result of the earthquake.

Cherub

So what isLiquefaction?

2011-04-27T23:40:00.009+12:00

Liquefaction is a phenomenon in which strength and stiffness of soil is reduced by earthquake shaking or other rapid loading.

It is caused by a violent shake such as an earthquake. This causes the earth to throw out soil making it mix with water or other liquid

Liquefaction occurs when the structure of a loose, saturated sand breaks down due to some rapid shaking.As the structure breaks down, the loosely-packed individual soil particles attempt to move into a denser configuration.
When liquefaction occurs it causes high buildings to fall due to the soils loss of strength and stiffness.

Then the liquid absorbs soil making it reduce it's stiffness and strength which then makes the soil very hard and sticky causing it to get things stuck to it such as cars passing over it and other things that have moved from their places by the violent shake of the earthquake.
\
In an earthquake, however, there is not enough time for the water in the pores of the soil to be squeezed out. Instead, the water is trapped and prevents the soil particles from moving closer together. This is accompanied by an increase in water pressure which reduces the contact forces between the individual soil particles, thereby softening and weakening the soil deposit.

Most of the buildings in Christchurch are built on soft soil and mud which is prone to “a large increase in shaking”and with high susceptibility to liquefaction.

Term1 Class Report

2011-04-12T10:54:00.006+12:00

Term 1 Class Report.
We all started this year off with a BANG!! We were shocked at how many of our friends had changed during the Christmas holidays, but pleased to finally wear our blue school uniform with pride again.

The first few weeks of the term were astonishing. As usual we had our school swimming lessons held at the Panmure Lagoon Pools. Then we ended week 4 with our competitive Swimming Carnival where our four houses Calliope, Orpheus, Leander and Achilles competed for the title “BEST SWIMMERS” and also gain growth towards their points for the house shield.
And then came the best part, receiving our netbooks. We couldn’t wait to give it a cuddle and get started with work. It’s been awesome working on Google docs and carrying out researchers. No more trips to the ICT!
Then to our disappointment the whole school was stuck with assessments around weeks 2,3 and 4 but with the help from our teacher we were all striving for Excellence. RELIEVED is the main feeling we all had after the first tragedy of the year.

This term the year 8 students focused on Risks and Challenges learning about heroes and leadership. A lot of students from our class became leaders at our school like our Head Boy and Girl as well as our deputies and our house leaders for 2011. A number of students from room 1 were selected to hold these responsibilities for this year. Great Stuff Room 1!
Towards the end of the term we had a change of teacher and we have adjusted well.
Term 1 is just the beginning towards a year full of surprises and adventurous experiences waiting to be discovered.
By Afu and Vaegaau R1

An Inspiring Duffy Assembly

2011-04-08T15:29:00.005+12:00

Anxious is how I felt as my class and I raced to the hall, desperately wanting to find out who our Duffy role model was and this exciting moment happened on the 4th of April 2011.

When the guests arrived we were told who they were and what their profession was. Afu started the assembly off with the karakia and Vaegaa’u led us in the National Anthem.

After we finished singing Afu had introduced our guests. Our Duffy Role model was a famous New Zealand actress by the name of Merrin Cavel. She first spoke about her early life and her occupation. She also told us about her elder siblings who were a lot better at things than she was. She spent three years at Drama School studying for her degree in acting.

She then spoke about how a simple book, “Bent Not Broken “changed her life. She eventually wrote a play based on that particular story. Merrin then explained how she was given two opportunities of a lifetime in New York and England, where she was asked to perform her play. I thought that she had a fabulous life because she also acted in Harry Potter, Shortland Street and was featured in What Now!! She was an inspiring speaker who had achieved a lot.

Once she finished the students then began to sing “Ara Vini” to entertain our guests and show our appreciation.

The next guest speaker was the president of the Rotary Club and his name was Mr Morton. He told us a little bit about the history of the Rotary Club and why he was wearing small gold badges around his neck. Each had a name. of the past thirty presidents from the Rotary Club.

When he had finished, the school sang once again and this time we sang “Si Ya Hama”. We were very fortunate to also receive our brand new Duffy books.

Lastly, to end our Duffy Role Model Assembly Afu said a karakia. Then sadly we had to farewell our guests.

To me that was an awesome Duffy Role Model Assembly. I also really enjoyed meeting a talented actress and the people who sponsored our school. Thank you! It was an awesome experience being able to find out how reading has changed so many lives and how it can help you achieve in life.

By Sheralee.

2011-03-29T16:36:00.002+13:00

Christchurch Message Board

When I heard the news about the Christchurch disaster, I was shocked! It felt like my heart stopped. I feared for the people of Christchurch.
This disaster occurred on the 22nd of February which was a Tuesday afternoon. The earthquake startled people at 12:51pm. It registered 6.5 on the Richter scale. While it wasn’t as severe as the first earthquake in September, it was far more violent.
This quake was a tragic disaster because it was closer to the surface. But the first earthquake was much deeper. The Christchurch earthquake made a lot of buildings collapse.
Rescuers confirmed that there 75 people dead and 238 people were still out there trapped under buildings.
The earthquake shattered this beautiful city. The people of Christchurch are still devastated and trying to recover. You’ll get through this soon. Be strong!
Picilla

Christchurch situation
On the 22 February 2011 an earthquake struck Christchurch. Buildings, houses, people, families, and icons were crushed from the earthquake. This news appeared all over New Zealand. Seventy three bodies were found at the bottom of houses and buildings. Luckily for some people they got sent to the closest hospital. All hospitals were booked.
Hundreds of families rang into the police station to report their family members that were missing. Schools and families have opened their homes for other families to come stay with them if they don’t have a home.
My message is be strong, be safe, have a positive mind, and God be with you.
BY: Ina

On 22nd of February Christchurch was hit by a dreadful earthquake. On the news they said that 71 people have died because of the 6.3 earthquake. The news also mentioned that there were 300people still missing from their families.I really hope your families are alright and are safe. I hope the disaster that has happened won’t affect your families too much. Please don’t give up hope because of this disaster May God bless you and your families and be strong.
By Kitione

What happened in Christchurch?
There was a gigantic earthquake in Christchurch. It happened at one o’clock on Tuesday 22nd February while we were at was at school. Over one hundred and fifty people died. This is a very sad and hurtful. I wish the people who survived are safe and have shelter and food. Buildings have fallen and homes destroyed, even the old cathedral. I wish there were no earthquakes.
By Vanessa

Dear families and friends in Christchurch,
People in New Zealand and around heard the devastating news about the earthquake in your city. We hope that you are alright. Never think that you are alone, God is just a prayer away and we all are praying for you. We hope that all of you are okay and well. That’s what really matters. Please just hang in there Christchurch and everything will be sorted out. May God bless your city and may he be with you all the way.
Nella

Dear People of Christchurch
We are very sorry for your loss of family members, property damage and memories of your dear hometown Christchurch. We have heard that there is no power and very less water. We wish you all the best. Hopefully you recover quickly and forget about what happened and carry on with your life. May God bless you, your loved ones with you and the ones who are resting in peace.
By Ashley

Small and Cute Net Books

2011-03-18T15:19:00.003+13:00

On the 22nd of February Room1 students at Tamaki Intermediate got net books to work with. I am one of the lucky ones who got a net book to use. When my teacher announced that we were getting net books that day, everybody was so excited.

During midday after swimming, we were all in our classroom doing our school work. Then there was knock on the door and Miss Gleeson walked into the room. She was the lady who was introducing us to the net books. When we all took our net books out of the boxes, we were so happy because the net books were small and cute. I loved working on my net book and will for the rest of the year.

By Yolenda

My Magnificent Net Book

2011-03-18T15:16:00.001+13:00

A few days ago we got to try our magnificent brand new net books.
It has games, a web camera, the paint programme, pictures, internet, and more.

When I typed on “gedit” it I could hear the click, click sound. My net book is black and can fit inside a small bag, the size of my mum’s handbag. This is how small it is!

I love the net books and it’s thrilling just getting one to use. I also got a little tingling feeling inside of me when I started to use it. A feeling I cannot express.

I want to thank Mrs Burt, Mr Nevyn, Ms Gleeson, Mrs Raj and Mr. Horan for the netbooks.
By Venessa

A Great Experience Using Net Books

2011-03-18T15:14:00.000+13:00

It was a great experience for us to receive our own net books, and learn about how to use them. I enjoyed and still enjoy using my own, awesome little net book.

When we first started to use the net books, we did math, played games and learned how to log in and shutdown. We also learned how to take a screenshot of our own selves. This was fantastic.

I hope we can continue to use net books at college.
By Vaegaau

An Amazing Experience

2011-03-18T15:10:00.000+13:00

What a terrific way to start term one!
Room 1 was very fortunate to get given new net books

At first when we turned our net books on we had to make an eight letter password that we had to use to log into our accounts.

Finally when we got the chance to play with our brand new net books we were all absolutely excited and filled with joy. Miss Gleeson then showed us how to take a screen shot or our own picture that we had taken. It was fun!

For a little while we were able to play on our new net books. We could play games or take photos. Most of the students were being vain and taking photos of themselves!
Sadly all good things must come to an end so our playing time was over. We all logged off and packed our net books up.

To me it was an amazing experience being able to have fun on our net books. I would like to thank Mrs Raj, Nevyn and Miss Gleeson for teaching us and allowing us to have some free time on our net books. THANK YOU!

By Sheralee

Fantastic Experience with Netbooks

2011-03-18T15:08:00.000+13:00

My experience with a net book has been fantastic. I had lots of fun working on it and imaging it, and we took heaps of pictures and played lots of games. I think that by term 2 I’ll be so good that when a problem happens I will be capable to fix it when it freezes.

By Saitia

Smiling like Crazy

2011-03-18T15:05:00.000+13:00

Getting our little net books was an exciting experience for me because I was finally getting my very own laptop for the very first time. I went into the office with a group of students and we brought our laptops to class. I was so happy that Cherub and I were smiling like CRAZY. It was like the weather changed but our faces wouldn’t change back from smiling ones. I felt so lucky to be in the extension class and I am so thankful that Mrs. Raj put me in this class.

By Picilla

Precious Net Books

2011-03-18T15:02:00.000+13:00

At the beginning of the year 2011 Room 1 was told by our teacher that we were getting net books. Everybody was delighted and the excitement began.

The first time we held our net books it was like, holding something precious and you do not want to let it go. We took cool pictures of ourselves with our web cam, it was fantastic. We went through our net books and checked out the programmes on it. We played learning games and it was so much fun.

I think I am very lucky to be in the extension class, and I would like to thank Mrs. Raj for putting me in the extension class and Mr Horan for providing us with these lovely net books.

By Nella

Amazing Net Books

2011-03-18T15:01:00.000+13:00

It was amazing to use a net book for the first time. I was so surprised to see a little laptop. It had wonderful things in it like a built in webcam, internet access and games. What a cool net book!

It’s quite sad that the other classes didn’t get them. The only reason why we got net books is because we are in the extension class. If my family couldn’t afford it I will beg them to buy me one and I won’t ask for any pocket money this whole year.

I like the idea of bringing net books to school because we don’t have to use books. I would do anything to keep my net book safe.

By Moanarangi

Our New Net Books

2011-03-18T14:54:00.002+13:00

On Tuesday 22 February, Room 1 got to touch their net books for the first time!
It was awesome. The excitement felt like an angel was singing an opera.

We had to take our net book out of its box, lift the lid up, and take the net book out of its sleeve. We all waited until Miss Gleeson told us to press the ‘on’ button all at the same time. This felt so good. The excitement grew even more when we were taught how to take a photo of ourselves and then take a screen shot of it.

Message: Get a notebook. It’s fun.

By Ina

Extreme Joy

2011-03-18T14:52:00.001+13:00

What an excitement! Room 1 was recently given net books to work with in class.
I was extremely happy when I heard that we were going to get net books.

When we received our net books it had our own name tags on it and our own names on the actual Net book itself. Before we could do anything else we had to put in a password that was eight characters long. We were told we weren’t allowed to tell people our passwords- even to our best friends. We then followed the instructions that Miss Gleeson gave us. Everyone then played on it for a little bit. Finally everyone stopped playing the learning games.

It was a great experience and hopefully we all get to keep one. Thanks Mrs. Raj for the experience. I really enjoyed it. A big thank you to Miss Gleeson and Mrs Burt for teaching us, and a big thanks to Nevyn the expert at internet connections.

By Erika

My lovely netbook

2011-03-18T14:43:00.000+13:00

Getting used to constructing my writing on this flash technology has been an ecstatic experience for me and for my peers.

Being one of the Manaiakalani schools we are entitled to using net books.

Although the things we do on the netbooks have to be school related, rather than be stuff on Face book, Bebo, my space etc, I am not upset or sad but my happiness grows every minute I place my fingers onto the key board and start discovering the awesomeness of these net books.

Thanks to Mrs. Burt, Mrs. Raj, Miss G and Nevyn we’re well on our way with our net books. And if we have problems we always have our little technicians to help us.

By Afu

My new netbook

2011-03-18T14:37:00.000+13:00

When I first saw my net book my heart was pounding so hard.
When I opened my box to get my net book, and when my fingers touched it, my joy knew no bounds. The net book was the most valuable thing in my life, that’s how I felt about my net book.
When I was entering my password and my name I was thinking so hard about my password because I didn’t want anyone to figure out my password and take it away from me because if they did, they would be able to get into my work space which I didn’t want.
When Mrs. Raj said, “Pack away your net books.” I felt like packing it up and running away with it. It was the most exciting moment seeing my own net book and using it. It felt really good to see my really own net book.

By Chloe

A Magical Sleepover at Kelly Tarltons

2010-11-30T10:01:00.002+13:00

Today was the day I went to Kelly Tarltons. I was even more excited because I was going with my class and Room 8. It was 5:30 p.m. and I was just getting ready. I shoved my sleeping bag into my little bag and hurried off. We arrived at Kelly Taltons at exactly 6:10 p.m. on Monday the first of November. This was part of out EOTC Programme.

I took the first ride with some of my friends in room 2. As we drove we saw the other van with the rest of my class in it. On our arrival we were greeted by our guide Darren. We had to wait in a classroom for the others. Then, the other guide Stephen explained the rules to us. After that we went on a tour with him and Darren.

While we were walking Darren walked off somewhere and I was suspicious. Finally we reached the penguin section and I ran to the see-through glass and saw the penguins just sitting there. Next we went down a short corridor to enter a room full of old stuff used in Antarctica. This was Scott’s Hut. Suddenly out of nowhere a strange figure with a sack over his head jumped out from the top bunk and lunged out into the crowd. It was only Darren trying to scare us and he succeeded.

After all that mayhem he took us to stingray bay and allowed us to feed heaps of giant king fish. This was awesome! Next Stephen said in a loud voice, “Let’s have a competition, boys versus girls!” Five boys and girls put their hands in. It was freezing and so cold so 2 of the boys pulled out and the score was 5 to 3 to the girls.

Then we spotted a massive stingray just hovering close to the floor in the tank while the other stingrays and the humongous kingfish went right past it.

It was getting late and Darren told us to get some sleep because we had more to do the next day. The lights went off and we were allowed to go exploring with our torches. It was an amazing experience. Eventually everyone went to sleep except for the 11 boys in the shark tunnel who were awake and talking all night.

“Wake up!” shouted Darren in a high pitched voice. We had to get out of bed, wash our face and brush our teeth. It was discussion time and then a big breakfast. We watched an interesting video on Kelly Tarlton the founder of the aquarium. After that we went to see the penguins and go on the snow cat ride. The ride was slow but the bonus was that we got to go twice. It was worth the wait to see the penguins and the king gentoo. Unfortunately it was time to go back to school.

We did experience a magical night at Kelly Tarltons.

Manaiakalani Film Festival

2010-11-30T09:41:00.004+13:00

Digital Storytelling is the new thing in education and I suggest that you should not be afraid of it neither should you praise it instead you should use it as an education tool. That’s what the Manaiakalani Cluster is doing by holding the Manaiakalani Film Festival. Tamaki Intermediate School and Pt England School were the first to view the films made exclusively by the
Manaiakalani Schools. It was chilly that November morning when we all piled on to the bus. It soon became clammy inside the cramped bus all the way to Sylvia Park Hoyts to see the films on the X-treme Screen.

After the confined, clammy, cramped bus journey the bus came to a halt outside Sylvia Park and we all skipped, hopped and jumped off the bus. It was raining so we all ran across the pedestrian crossing like we were running a sprinting race. When we walked into the courtyard it was like a scene out of a movie. The arch above us slowly moved as we walked to reveal a huge, beautiful Christmas tree decorated from top to bottom with reindeer, sleighs, Santa, toys and everything related to Christmas.

We then followed on to the escalators and then we turned and went up the stairs while Pt England were happily gliding up the escalator. We ran as fast as we could and then we stopped so suddenly that it was like we hit a brick wall only because the door could only fit two people at a time.

Soon we were seated and the films started.. First up were two people from our school, Afu and Apelu. Their movie was fantastic and an enormous success. It was about Digital Storytelling and it was called Are You Ready? It was aimed at teachers and parents/caregivers. The next few movies passed through my mind like a hot knife through butter. Until one great movie caught my eye, Who’s Your Neighbour? was what it was called. It had a great moral and good filming and cute little actors playing the good Samaritans.

Over all I thought that all of the movies were fantastic but a few really caught my eye.

Manaiakalani Film Festival 2010

2010-11-29T12:16:00.004+13:00

A humorous and fun experience for many students of various age groups, uniting the schools of our neighbourhood at the colossal screens. It was a bright sunlit Thursday morning and our school was travelling to the renowned Hoyts theatre recognized for its superb surround sound and titanic screens.

At last after a painstaking period of travelling we’d arrived at the mall and within it was the theatre. Gradually as we walked towards our destination I began to feel slightly frivolous and brimming with anticipation .As I followed series of human signs I soon came across ingenious posters created by the entire cluster of schools taking part which had further enticed me to glance at the films which had optimistically been strikingly completed.

At long last we’d made it. As soon as I saw a glimpse of the theatre I knew it was going to be out of this world. Furthermore as soon as I’d been seated I realised how comfy and hefty those dream seats were. It was as if I was floating on a cloud. Whilst all these things far expected my expectations I found that the films were equally as good as several commercial and highly funded movies apart from showing greater morals and virtues.

One of the movies I found to be the most valuable was Unity and Diversity which demonstrated that no matter what your ethnicity is you can work, communicate and become best of pals. Another film that surpassed my expectation was a short film by Point England School. It was a Justin Beiber music video re-enactment which featured many young actors aged around six to seven. I also was surprised on how each of the presenter s of many age groups showed no sign of stage fright and showed a lot of courage. What let me down was that not every student from each class was able to take part in their class film.

To the end of my experience I was left with new values and morals to look up to from tons of movies shown. This experience was extremely fun and I definitely yearn to see a second movie festival.

Manaiakalani Film Festival 2010

2010-11-29T12:07:00.004+13:00

Time was running out and I was going to be late! It was a beautiful but windy day on Thursday 11th of November 2010, Tamaki Intermediate School travelled in four buses to Sylvia Park for the Manaiakalani Film Festival. It was 9:00 in the morning and everyone was ready to go. We were all filled with excitement.

Once we arrived at Sylvia Park we quickly marched out of the bus. We felt little tiny rain drops touching our soft, smooth skin so we rushed across the crossing and went into the mall for shelter.

We finally got to the cinemas where it was very warm and quiet. There were teachers there to usher us to our seats. We were in the Extreme Theatre seated in front of a massive screen.

It was time for the movies to roll. Two presenters from Tamaki Intermediate, Afu and Apelu stepped onto the stage and introduced their movie. Their movie was “Are you ready?” It was a really awesome and interesting movie to watch. The students were very talented. They very superior actors. Are you ready was all about the 21st Century learning?

Next up was Pt.England’s turn to shine on stage. Two little girls were presenting for Pt.England. Their topic for their movie was The X Factor. Pt.England school have very talented young children. One young student sang Dutty Love by Sean Kingston and the other sang somebody to Love by Justin Bieber.

After Pt.England, Glen Brae Primary entered the stage. Their topic was on worms, yucky slimy worms along with little tiny bugs. I don’t like worms and bugs.
Pt.Engand had appeared on the stage again but with different presenters. It was two five year olds. They were tremendous. They were so cute and had outstanding expressions.

Then later on two students from Tamaki Intermediate went on stage and it wasn’t Afu and Apelu this time, it was Olivia and Jorjah. Their topic was about Heal the World, and that was the right topic for us. We want the world to be a better place.
After Tamaki Intermediate it St.Piux. Their topic was about You’re Not My Neighbour. In this movie boys from different cultures had walked past a friend and danced. They knew he was hurt but they didn’t care. But lucky there was a lady who marched to take her child to school and l saw that he needed help. He finally made it to hospital, thanks to that lady.

The Manaiakalani Festival films were not over but we had to head back home because we were only there for 1 hour. We didn’t want to leave but we had to because we had to get ready to write a test the next day.

We had finally reached school and were starving. We quickly ran like a bunch of little mice as if we could see or smell cheese because we were so hungry.

Heal the World

2010-11-11T11:42:00.004+13:00

We did a study about the many disasters that happened in different parts of the world and what we can do to heal the world in a small way. Watch our movie and please leave a comment.

Unity in Diversity

2010-11-11T11:19:00.006+13:00

As an end product of our inquiry learning project on "Heroes" we made this movie. It is a documentary worth watching.

Eastern Zone Girls Volleyball Tournament

2010-10-28T11:24:00.003+13:00

Wow’ it was a beautiful day but windy. On Monday 18^th October 2010 the volleyball girls from Tamaki Intermediate participated in the Eastern Zone Volleyball Tournament at the Lagoon Stadium in Panmure. We travelled by van with Mrs Parker-Tofa and Miss Curran.

Once we arrived at the stadium we hurried out of the van eager to take on the other teams.

The siren finally went and all the schools were ready to give it their all. Our game was against Pt.England. It was a really awesome game. We managed to get along with them. The points were 21-13 to us.

Our second game was against Ellerslie Intermediate. They looked pretty good but unfortunate for them we won 18-15.

Next we played Baradene College. We actually thought we were going to lose; they were so fast they caught up to us. The points were 22-19.

Later on we played Panmure District School. It was a very close game. Panmure District actually showed that they had good skills because they won by 29-28.

Our fifth game was against Sylvia Park Intermediate. We managed to get along with Sylvia Park too. In this game we worked as a team but unfortunately we lost 20-19.

It was finally lunch-time. We all felt like we had bottomless pits. After we had something to eat we went and played volley with the other schools just for fun. It was so exciting and fun.

Now it was time to get back to the game. Next up we played Ellerslie Intermediate. It was a complicating game because of the umpire, but we managed to understand the umpire. The points were 21-19 to them.

After our game against Ellerslie Intermediate we played Stanhope School. Playing Stanhope School was one of the most interesting and funny games because of their mistakes. We had heaps of laughter. The points were 24-18.

Our second to last game was against Parnell Intermediate. We couldn’t wait to play our second to last game because we were going to make it into the finals. The points were 26-21.

It finally came to our last game against Bailey Road. It was a fun game because we managed to beat them 23-10.

Our player of the day went to Kathleen Vili for playing really well and for her awesome spikes. The sad bit of the tournament was that we didn’t have any finals. But we actually came second equal with Stanhope.

Last but not least we would like to thank Mrs Parker-Tofa for putting her effort in training us and Miss Curran for taking us. Also big ups to the volleyball girls for playing well.

By Lana Room 2...

Tama's First Trip to Wellington

2010-10-28T10:47:00.006+13:00

It was a tiring Friday morning and I was awake at 2:00am. I was as cold as my freezer sleepy but excited. The day came when my family and I had driven down to Wellington.

I had my bags packed ready for the trip. On the way down to Wellington we had

stopped in a few towns from Auckland to Hamilton and Hamilton to Cambridge and from Cambridge we had gone all the way to Taupo. Taupo was the best town we had stopped at because of the lake. It was huge and we had driven right around the edge of it.

It had been a long drive, so long, that I thought that we would be old people by the time we arrived. However by the time we had arrived it was around lunchtime and we were starving so we stopped at the shop to get something to eat.

In Wellington we were all tired. We went to the hall where the wedding happened and we set up some mattresses for us to sleep on. On the day of the wedding we were all excited that my uncle was going to get married. That day was really busy and everyone was singing and dancing and eating. I was so happy for my uncle, the wedding was great and everything was perfect. Afterwards we had said our good byes and we were on our way back to Auckland. I wanted to stay but we had to leave.

I had a great time that day and I had lots of fun.

The Chinese Flood That Took So Many

2010-09-24T13:13:00.009+12:00

The China Flood began in early May 2010. Heavy Monsoon rains caused the big flood in China.
The deaths occurred when people were washed into fast flowing rivers and mudslides buried houses and people in China.

Many carried bundles of possession salvaged from the water that turned the streets into rivers . One of the men that survived said, " My mother and father were in their 60’s and my brothers, all 3 of them are still buried in the house.”

More than 10 million people had lost property, many have been injured and others have suffered from disease caused by the flooding waters.

In China 392 people died and 232 had been reported missing. Aids came in to help the Chinese people. The First Aid and the Local Red Cross volunteers on the ground evacuated people. First Aid people supplied emergency relief like food, clothing and water.

Jets of water shot through three Gorge Dam on 27 July. On Wednesday the flow peaked at 1.96 million cubic feet.

Term 3 Report

2010-09-24T12:44:00.003+12:00

Term 3 has been a really busy term for Room 2. Throughout this term we have been learning about Disasters. Learning about Disasters was really interesting because of the many disasters that happened globally this year. An example was the Christchurch earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1.
For the first few weeks of this term we have been doing procedure writing. Our teacher Mrs Sigamoney demonstrated the procedure of making Indian samoosas. We had to follow the instructions and welearnt how to fold the pastry. It was not as easy as we thought, but it was fun. We had to listen carefully to the instructions and then do a procedure writing of our own.

Then we started doing a news report on a New Zealand or World Disaster. That was an interesting research task for us.

Money group this year has been really challenging for us Room 2 students. Most of us had been participating in it. It was a maths competition where a group of 3 people confront the other group. It was so fun because we learnt new stuff such as GST, kiwi saver, and many more.

Thanks to the Duffy Club and Mrs Raj.

The amazing media team! What have we been doing in media? The Yr8’s have been training the Yr7’s for next year. It was an awesome opportunity for Room 2 students to present Tamaki Today and School...Inc. We would like to thank Mr Munnik for helping us.

‘Sports’. Highlights were the Open Grade boys game against Pt.England, and Open Grade girls game against Bader. This term we also have been training for Volleyball for our tournament next term.

A bonus for us this term is having another student teacher for 5 weeks, Miss Andrea Begunk. She’s really fun to hang around. She has a bubbling personality. Learning with her and Mrs Sigamoney has been really cool and fun. Mrs Sigamoney teaches us great new stuff. We would like to thank both of them for putting their effort in teaching us so we can get a good and wonderful education.

By Lana and Maroussia, Room 2.

Introduction to Report Writing

2010-09-09T13:42:00.003+12:00

Room 2's Research and Report Writing on Disasters.

Synergy’s Amazing Report

2010-09-09T13:40:00.005+12:00

Humanities Most Lethal Event in History

There have been many reasons to believe that the great flood was a myth but now there has been evidence to enforce the calamity.

It is said that the final resting point of the Noah’s ark is within a single mountain in Turkey and is what thousands of Christian deem. A structure found on the mountains of Turkey contained radio carbon wood dating to 4800 years and was near to the instant that the great flood had subsided which had occurred in 2300 BC.

According to biblical accounts the human race was 5 million and soon after the tragedy a colossal death toll of 4992,000,000 and a diminutive amount of 8 survivors.

God created the big bang which created the earth. He intended us to discover evolution. It does not say in the bible how God created the earth which means he may have used the big bang. There is reason to believe that there must have been someone before the big bang, which you assume to be God. For the big bang to occur there had to be something there. This evidence proves significant and establishes a basis that God does exist and that the great flood that he supposedly caused is true.

There is reason to believe God could have caused various disasters .There is proof that heaven is actually in some point of space which makes it possible that the scientific theory was factual .God may have sent the 3-mile ball of rock smashing into the ocean off the coast of Madagascar thus resulting in a series of tsunamis crashing against the world’s coastlines and injecting plumes of superheated water vapour into the atmosphere. Within hours the infusion of heat and moisture formed super hurricanes that strike the other side of the planet. For about a week, material ejected into the atmosphere plunged the world into darkness. All told, up to 80 percent of the world’s population may have perished, making it the single most lethal event in history.

Noah saved two of every animal genre which comes to 16000 individual animals. Only 11 percent of animals were no bigger than a sheep and a small percent of which have become extinct. Most of the animals we have today have descended from an initial species such as the horse. It has adapted and formed many other species such as donkeys and zebras and mammoths have adapted to form elephants and so forth. Many animals have also grown in size to adapt with earth's harsh conditions

This evidence has proved substantial and should convince all atheists and non believers to join or convert to Christianity.

Mereia's Procedural Writing

2010-09-03T14:41:00.006+12:00

HOW TO MAKE NACHOS

Ingredients/Equipment

· 1 big bowl

· 1 packet of corn chips

· 1 packet of grated cheese

· 2 Tbs of Salsa

· A Microwave

Method:
First carefully pour the corn chips into the bowl.
Next take two handfuls of grated cheese and gently sprinkle it around the bowl of corn chips.
Then put 2 Tbs of salsa and grated cheese into the bowl of corn chips.
Place the bowl of corn chips in the microwave and heat for 90 seconds.
Then use a tea towel to remove the HOT bowl of Nachos carefully.

Enjoy!

TIPS:

If you don’t have a microwave, heat up your nachos in a 400 degree oven .

Add refried beans, ground beef or grilled chicken over the salsa for a tastier Nachos.

Lorenzo's Procedural Writing

2010-09-03T14:36:00.005+12:00

Silent Ball

Equipment:
Stable chairs
1 tennis ball
3-14 Players in this game

Instructions

Grab enough chairs for everyone to stand on. (Stabilized chairs only).

Next you stand on the chair and pass the ball around.
Now you cannot pass it to the player that has just passed it to you.
You are eliminated if you talk, jump, or fall off your chair or drop the ball.
To win in this game you must be the last man standing.

Perfect indoor game for a winter's day!

Meshaq's Winter Game

2010-08-26T10:55:00.006+12:00

How to play Indoor Dodge Ball

Equipment needed:

5 large softballs

2 even teams of 5

A wall

A gold coin

A stop watch

Method:

1. First you get into two even teams.

2 Next play heads and tails and the winner gets the ball first.

3. Then each player in the winning team gets a ball each.

4. Use the stop watch to time the game for five minutes

5. Now begin the game.

6. You can only throw the ball at the players from the waist and below.

7. The team with the most players still standing wins.

8. After five minutes swap over.

You can make the time shorter to make the game more intense and challenging .

Introduction to Procedural Writing

2010-08-26T10:37:00.001+12:00

Our topic for this term is on weather and weather disasters. Room 2 has been writing winter recipes and how to play indoor games for procedural writing.

Finacial Literacy Evaluations

2010-08-24T09:51:00.011+12:00

We just finished an awesome session about financial literacy for a Math competition. I learnt new stuff about money such as profit, loss, interest, principal, amount, Kiwi saver and much more. It was an awesome experience. Math is my favourite subject
- Lana

We just finished training for some hard but cool Math for a competition. Math is not my favourite subject but what I learnt is how to solve money matter problems.

- Natalia

I really enjoyed being involved in the learning that ended with the money competition. It was cool as. I have learned a lot. It was a great experience. Math is my number 1 subject

-Vanessa

I really think that the Duffy Money Group has helped me a lot. It has made me do my Maths easier and I love it. Thanks to Mrs. Raj I learnt about GST, Profit and Loss.

- Maroussia

I really think that this group learning has been fun and thanks to Miss Raj I’ve learnt about profit and loss, loans, GST and Kiwi saver.

- Ocean

For teaching us how to solve money problems thank you Mrs. Raj. We learnt about GST, Profit and loss etc. The Duffy money competition was a good experience.

- Coltrane

The Duffy money maths competition was a fantastic experience because we learnt about stuff we didn’t know. I just wanna say to all the year 7s to go hard next year on the asttle maths test. I just want to say a big thank you to Mrs. Raj for teaching us a lot about GST, Profit and Loss and for using her own time to teach us.

- Lorenzo

The Duffy Money competition was a great experience and I would like to thank Mrs. Raj for teaching me all about money and other stuff that has to do with money

- Raiden

Ever since I had joined this group I realised that I have gotten better at solving math questions.

- Anthony

I have learnt a lot of strategies and have improved in problem solving. When I grow up I want to be a teacher or a bank teller and a league player.

- Taiapa

I really enjoyed being in this competition because I learnt a lot of new strategies and it was an amazing experience. It was awesome.

- Sheralee

I liked the Duffy Money competition because it helped me learn new strategies and I also learnt about GST. I am now confident with solving problems.

- Vaegaau

During the preparation for the money problem solving competition I learnt a lot of new strategies that helped me with math problems including cross multiplication. Thanks to Mrs. Raj I am now more confident with problem solving.

- Afu

Even though I joined the group late I loved learning about GST and Kiwi saver. The competition was thrilling.

- Synergy

I thought percentages and decimals were hard stuff in math. But after joining this maths competition classes it made me realise that math is not hard after all. “It’s a piece of cake!”

- Jessica

I really enjoyed being in this financial literacy programme. I hope I can get into more of these groups in the future.

- Meshaq

The Duffy money programme taught me a lot about kiwi saver, GST, interest, profit and loss, loans, credit and debit and much more.

- Longoa’a

Norman Playing The Vuvuzela

2010-08-20T12:06:00.009+12:00

Yes, I’m playing a Vuvuzela!

I was fortunate to get to blow a vuvuzela which my teacher Mrs Sigamoney brought back from South Africa. I was interested to know more about the vuvuzela so I read about it.

The vuvuzela is also known as lepatata and it is a Tswana name. It is typically a 65-centimetre (2 ft) plastic device that requires the flow of air to produce a loud monotone note. A similar device, known as the corneta is used in Brazil and other Latin American countries. Many types of vuvuzelas are made by several manufacturers, may produce varying intensity and frequency outputs. The intensity of these outputs depends on the blowing technique and pressure exerted.

Thousands of vuvuzelas were blown by soccer fans at the FIFA World Cup in South Africa. I was thrilled to get the technique right and have a go at it.

Here I am playing the Vuvuzela.

Bob Mc Davitt the Meteorologist

2010-08-19T09:36:00.002+12:00

Bob Mc Davitt the former Meteorologist came to Tamaki Intermediate to talk to us year 8’s about different types of weather disasters and how they are caused.

We asked him why he became a meteorologist. It wasn’t a passion for Mr Davitt. He and his family experienced the violent storm which caused the Wahine disaster in 1968. His mum had tried to light a fire during the storm and this resulted in the roof blowing off.. This experience inspired him to take an interest in weather patterns and become a meteorologist.

When all the year 8’s assembled in the hall Ms Waetford introduced us to Mr Davitt. First he showed us the different cloud types and names. He told us how fast lightning can travel and how to know when a storm is coming. He then showed us images of what buoyancy looks like. For example a hot air balloon rising.

Mr Davitt also explained how fast lightning could travel and the size of hail stones. They were the size of a ten cents coin or bigger or smaller.

It was time for questions from the students and there were questions like, “Why are some weather predictions inaccurate?”

It was the end of his talk and the year 8 Syndicate had said thank you to Mr Davitt for teaching us new stuff about weather.

Then it was time for the classes to leave.

Bob the Weather Man

2010-08-17T12:24:00.008+12:00

What Room 2 students have learnt from Bob Mc Davitt the Meteorologist.

The Yr 8 student’s at Tamaki Intermediate School got the visit of a life time by the meteorologist Bob Mc Davitt who studies the different temperaments of weather in different parts of the world.
One of the things I took great pleasure in learning about was the water cycle. We were taught how almost infinite sums of minute droplets of water mostly known as clouds form together and produce rain which soon goes through a process called the water cycle which is basically only fluid transpiring from the earth and forming condensation which will soon become clouds. As clouds begin to bond they begin to form droplets which evaporate in to masses of smaller droplets and as a result creating rain. These steps are repeated therefore sustaining the cycle of rain.
I learnt limitless tons of knowledge and the few things that I thought most likely would help me in future was how to figure out how various disasters are caused as well as how to read satellite images of the weather

Olivia's Money Competition Reflection

2010-08-13T10:15:00.003+12:00

The day had arrived, where we all had to compete against each other to score a final place in the Interschool competition and to be into win a Nokia Phone.

In my group was Daysha, Alysha and I. We were called Team Ollie .Before the competition started we all said to each other that it does not matter if we win or lose, it’s just having fun and learning that counts.

The competition started and the pressure was tense. It felt like my blood pressure was just about going over 75 because your whole group depended on you to find a correct answer.

Half way through the competition we were experiencing major problems because we weren’t sure if we were giving the correct answers..

Finally the competition came to an end, Paul the Duffy twin collected our test sheets .As Paul marked our papers we felt sweat running down our forehead as we anxiously watched.

He then announced the winners. We were crossing our fingers, to win a phone (at least I was).

Unfortunately team Ollie was not announced .We felt gutted that we didn’t win. But then we looked at the positive side and that was that there were still two more phones up for grabs, and all we had to do was to answer two questions to score a phone.

Paul asked what does CEO stand for and he pointed at me I felt an enormous amount of pressure on me , I didn’t say anything because I was shocked but I still had to answer that tricky question, so my answer was Chief Executive Officer.

He said that I was right; I scored a phone on the spot. In my mind I was saying’,” yes, yes, yes! I won a phone thank you, thank you, thank you.’!”

Sadly the competition came to an end .I enjoyed answering all those hard questions and learning more about kiwi saver.

Thank you Paul for helping us, understand how kiwi saver works, and thanks for giving us the chance to win a Nokia phone and I would also like to thank Mrs. Raj for preparing me for the last two weeks . You really taught me some good strategies that I can use in my future . THANK YOU!!!

Lorenzo's Money Competition Reflection

2010-08-13T10:06:00.008+12:00

On Wednesday 11^th August 2010 we the money group participated in a competition and which ever group won got a mobile phone. Unfortunately my group did not win but we were still happy about how we participated in this competition. I just want to thank Mrs Raj for dedicating her time to us and teaching us about great things, including banking which would help us help our lives. I really want to say good luck to our winners Longoa’a, Earle, Tama Jnr, Scott, Sela, and Jorjah on going to the Interschool Challenge.

Synergy's Money Competition Reflection

2010-08-13T10:01:00.002+12:00

At last our school had been given the chance to take part in one of the most enjoyable and brain busting experiences. Out of numerous sums of form one and two student in Tamaki intermediate school a select group of enthusiastic students with a variety of different skill were chosen through sums of different test.

Luckily even though my test weren’t up to the standard I was not chosen for the select group of people but because of my enthusiasm to be in the group and the kindness of the assistant principal in charge of the group I was fortunate enough to be put in the group just before the competition had started.

I knew that if I wanted a chance in the competition that I would have to strive to do my best .I was taught numerous ways to solve equations related to GST, Intrest, and kiwi saver. I was able to consolidate all the knowledge knew as well as extra information.

When I arrived for my first time at the money I was split into a group of 3 which was great because it would help when the competition had come .I listen precisely to our entire instructors step and on the day of the competition the steps had been really handy. But because I had focused more on the mathematical side money I had not been able to answer many of the questions and even though I had not won I was proud to at least take part in this knowledgeable experience.

Oh What a Day!

2010-08-12T09:59:00.003+12:00

Oh what a day!

Wednesday the 11^th of August 2010 had finally arrived and everybody that was involved was revising all the math strategies that they learnt over the past two weeks with Mrs. Raj. They were revising because there was a competition that was being held in the hall called ‘The Duffy Money Competition’.

The Duffy Money Competition organised by the Duffy twins Craig and Paul was all about financial literacy. We learnt a lot about assets, liabilities, income, expenditure, kiwi saver, interest, credit and debit cards and other money matters. It was terrifying at the start but as time slipped by it became extremely exciting.

In total there were 9 groups of 3. The competition was challenging but it also gave our minds a good workout. Paul hosted the competition. It took approximately an hour before our excited heart beats slowed down. At the end of the competition Paul collected all the answer sheets and marked them.

Waiting for the results was agonizing but we were over the moon when Paul read out the answers. Our group was happy because we had got almost every answer correct and we came first. In second place was Team Piggybank. Earle, Longoa’a and Tama were proud winners. They each got a brand new cell phone. Then to our surprise Paul announced that our team, Team Thingy, had come first. We also got a cell phone each and we were ecstatic. Our eyes turned to our friend Olivia who had not received a phone. Then, to our surprise Paul announced that he had two extra cell phones to give away. He asked two very hard questions and Coltrane won the first cell phone while our friend, Olivia, won the other one. We were so happy for her.

The competition was so much fun even though only two groups went through to the Inter-School Competition. Everybody had so much fun that they forgot about losing and celebrated with all their friends. We would all like to say a big thank you to Paul and his twin brother Craig for organising the competition. We would also like to say a huge thank you to Mrs Raj for preparing us for the competition. THANK YOU!!!

2010-08-11T09:34:00.001+12:00

Berttina's Term 2 Reflection

2010-08-06T16:13:00.000+12:00

This term has been a busy and fun term at the same time. Mrs Sigamoney is back this term from Africa which was a great start to this term.
This term has been so cool because we participated in different things like the media team, after school netball, Young Leader’s Conferences, school activities and much more.

This term was a testing term for us year 8's to see where we are at with the National Standards and set goals for term three.

I have been so proud of myself because I have achieved my term goals and I also achieved in my weakest subject which is Mathematics. I have also improved in my spelling and basic facts test that happens every Friday morning in each classroom. I have also met deadlines but there are just some bits I need to work on.

Term 2 has been amazing because I am doing well in the media team. I get to go out with the media team and fiilm great sports events happening in and out of our school and positive things that happen in our school.

Every Tuesday afternoon the year 8 and year 7 girls play netball at the Morrin Road Courts. I am part of the year 8 team. My memorable moment this term is when I got some goals in for our team.

This Term was my best term because I went to the Young Leader’s Conference with other leaders, which was brilliant. It had helped be become a confidentt leader.
At our school we learn and have lots of fun. Term two has been a great term.

By Berttina

Daisha's Term 2 Reflections

2010-08-06T15:58:00.000+12:00

This term has been like a ride you can’t get off. But a good ride of course. I’ve had some downbeat days but mostly upbeat days this term. Last term our present teacher Mrs Sigamoney was not able to be there for us . While Mrs Sigamoney was away Mrs Bailey our current Te Reo teacher, and Mrs Raj our Assistant Principal had been teaching us. We enjoyed having both teachers.

When Mrs Sigamoney made her comeback we had to get used to her way of teaching and her expectations. She had to get used to us and our routines.

My school involvements were Soccer, Netball, Guitar, and Kapa Haka. For soccer, Mrs Sigamoney was our coach. She taught us well and we ended up coming fourth We drew one game, lost two and won the rest. For netball our coach and part time coach was Miss Samson and Lana’s Dad ‘Erosita’. We have made it through to the finals and just this week we won our championship game. In guitar Ms Dekker is my teacher. She teaches me and the others the basics of guitar and in Kapa Haka Miss Popata and Anthony's grandfather are also teaching us Kapa Haka.

I did start to sllacken a bit in these last few weeks. Next term it will be different. I will pick up my grades like a handful of water and throw them as high as I can.

Bob Mc Davitt The Meteorologist

2010-08-06T15:50:00.000+12:00

On Tuesday 3rd of August, the yr 8’s gathered in the hall to learn all about weather from Bob Mc Davitt the Meteorologist.

Bob Mc Davitt is a well known Meteorologist who used to be a weather man on the news a few years back. He was inspired to study the weather after he and his family experienced a violent storm that happened during the Wahine Disaster in 1968.

Mr Mc Davitt had prepared a slideshow showing many different types of weathers and how they were caused.

He explained that the largest hail stone to be found within New Zealand was the same size as a 10c coin (22mm) big.

He showed us a slide where a twister destroyed a city. He said that a twister spins by the speed of 110km per hour, and that if a twister wants to transport it will transport from moving its eye from one place to another then, slowly moving its body.

My favourite part about this talk on weather was when we watched and learnt all about the different types of clouds.

Thank you Mr Bob Mc Davitt for giving us awesome information on weather. The information you have given us will help us during this term on our topic on weather disasters.

Lana's Term 2 Reflection

2010-07-23T11:45:00.003+12:00

Term 2 Reflections!!! Term 2 has been a challenging term for my friends and I because we have been working so hard. For the first couple of weeks we had Mrs Bailey and Mrs Raj teaching us because our teacher Mrs Sigamoney was in South Africa.

When Mrs Sigamoney arrived back from South Africa, Room 2 was so excited to see her. Mrs Sigamoney saw some new faces but she knew some of us. Five weeks later we had a student teacher Miss Hedgman who came and stayed with us only for five weeks. It was so awesome to have her, but at the same time we felt sad because she had to leave us. It was a pleasure to have her teach us for a short time.

Through the past few weeks we have been doing book reports, we also have been doing descriptive writing along with narratives. Every Monday we get homework and it is due on Friday. Last week was a very busy week because the whole school did Assemmment Tests tests like Astle Reading, Astle Maths, NZ and World Map. Our topic was Advertisements. A friend of Nellie’s came to talk to us about how to organise a Market Fair. She spoke to us about her mobile coffee business. She travels in a big van to occasions like school athletics and more.

SPORTS! I’ve been joining a lot of sports such as soccer and netball. In soccer we played against many schools and we made it to the finals but unfortunately we came fourth. Still we came home proud. We represented our school well. Now netball, I’m in a netball team that represents our cool school Tamaki Intermediate. Playing netball is fun because we run around a lot and we get to make friends with other kids.

Now we just have to wait for our reports to come. I really hope my report is good.

Lorenzo's Term 2 Reflection

2010-07-23T11:35:00.000+12:00

Term 2 was a great experience for me because it was my first time in extension. I had a fantastic time in the extension classroom and made a lot of friends. This term was a great experience for me because I learnt how to be a leader and I had my first meeting in week 2 term 2.

I got to play in our first rugby game for the open grade which was against Bader Intermediate. Unfortunately we lost by one try. We also competed in the Eastern Zone Rugby Tournament wher ere we came second.

My behaviour this term was alright. The reason why I say alright is because I got into trouble with the teacher and got sent to the Deputy principal 's office. My work was not very good because I had not met all deadlines. I have improved in my spelling this term because in term 1, I was getting very low marks, but now I have been getting 20 out of 20 most of the times and 18 or 19 for two weeks.

........Monster Horror........

2010-06-25T12:48:00.000+12:00

My three friends Justin, Sam, Cody and I were walking along the path to SPRONX when suddenly a hideous deformed creature struck us from behind. “Help me! Help me!” was going over and over in my head. We were petrified and we sped through a narrow alley way which was the nearest escape route that we could find. Once we thought we were safe at the end of the alley, we stopped running.

“We made it!” Justin yelled out.

“I DONT THINK SO,” screamed the creature that was now standing right in front of us again. “Don’t celebrate too early,” he yelled as we got a glimpse of the evil in its eyes.

As we tried to escape, we were trying to hide the feelings that were racing around inside us. He opened his mouth and a smell of an old rotten can of tuna blew right into our faces.

We stood there thinking, “What is it doing?” and as we speed quickly away covering our mouths. As we ran the sun began to rise and shine very heavily upon the creature. The creature started to turn into stone slowly from its feet to the tip of its head. It started to scream in horror as its body shattered into ashes captured with its horrified soul.

We stood there as if we were turned into stone with our eyes wide open and as our mouths released open with dried out saliva not knowing to believe or to think that this thing that we just saw was true.

After our one of a kind experience Sam and Justin would try to tell every one the story while Cody and I would just stand there quietly and not say a word.

By Maroussia

1970 KFC Ad

2010-06-25T12:43:00.000+12:00

Back in 1970 K.F.C made an advertisement and in that ad there is a chubby little boy named Hugo and a chubby little girl named Holly.

Hugo and Holly along with their parents are going to go have some K.F.C but it was taking so long and the kids are bored, but when they arrived at K.F.C their eyes light up and they are fighting over who was going to go and get the food. Holly won and so Hugo goes and get the food and when he comes back they are stuffing their faces with as much chicken as they could and they then head home and were as happy as could be.

The things that I like about the advertisement are that it is a cartoon not a real life ad. I also I think it is an awesome idea to have animals and to make everything so happy when they finally get their K.F.C. (Kentucky Fried Chicken)

Although it is a cartoon, it is believable and what happens in that ad would usually happen in a normal, everyday family.

The only thing that I would change would be to make the kids slim, not chubby and fat.

No this advertisement would not work today because well I mean who would buy something that would make you that obese and advertisers today don’t use cartoons any more. They use real people because this is living proof there product is good.

By Jorjah Rm 2

1970 Kentucky Fried Chicken Ad

2010-06-25T12:20:00.000+12:00

In 1970 a KFC advertisement was made which features cartoon characters Hugo and his family.

The animated advert looks incredible as it had intense colours and detail for its time.

It is extremely amusing and cheerful as two chunky eager children sing a tremendous jingle on their way to KFC. The ad features many animals having picnics as Hugo and his family drive to the KFC outlet. The animals are portrayed as bouncing which makes the cartoon appealing. When they finally reach the Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet the children keenly eat the mouth watering chicken as if they haven’t eaten for days.

I believe this ad will still work in current times as most advertisements these days are not cartoons and the ones that are will usually be too graphic and too descriptive and do not give you a feel of a fun family meal. I also think this add will appeal to children and adults rather than just children or just adults.

The only thing I would change about the advertisement would be to replace the jingle they sing to a more recent category of music which would appeal to more modern families.

By Synergy Rm2

Descriptive Writing

2010-06-18T12:11:00.000+12:00

Descriptive Writing

Room 2 has been doing Descriptive Writing on video clips of TV Ads and static images.

TREE ADVENTURE

2010-06-01T10:59:00.000+12:00

On Tuesday 18 May 10 students from our school participated on a tree adventure trip held in Wood-hill Forest.

Firstly we waited for the police to arrive and their vans to pick us up. When they arrived the girls hopped into one van and the boys hopped into the other van. We stopped of at Point England School to pick up some other students.

It was sure a long drive but we were excited and nervous at the same time. When we arrived at the place, the fun began. After that we changed into our P.E gear and then we put on our harness for safety. We were eager and a little freaked out at how high the obstacles were.

We got to do each course after the tree adventure staff showed us how it’s used. Everyone was eager to start.

Eventually we started and everyone went on different kinds of courses and levels. Some of us made it to the end course which was number 8.
Last of all we ended our fun adventure and headed back to school. We took off our safety gear and said thank you to the staff and headed back. When we returned, we were exhausted from all that fun activity. Thanks to the police for transporting us safely to the tree adventure and back.
THAT WAS TREMENDOUS!!!

By Berttina

Nelya, Student from Greece

2010-05-21T12:51:00.001+12:00

Xeneqe's Discussion Writing

2010-05-07T12:34:00.003+12:00

RAISING THE DRINKING AGE TO 20 YRS....
Some people agree with raising the drinking age to 20 yrs while others disagree.

Some people feel the drinking age should be raised to 20 yrs and over. Firstly teenager are beginning to do irresponsible things like robberies and starting fights. Secondly 18yr olds are too young to start drinking. If they raise the drinking age to 20yrs then teenagers won’t be able to buy their own alcohol. Lastly if they have a party at home, having alcohol is not a good idea.

On the other hand some teenagers will disagree because then they will have to wait till they turn 20 yrs of age. Some people’s opinion is that teenagers will probably ask their parents to buy the alcohol for them. They can’t just walk into the liquor shop and purchase alcohol.

I think that the drinking age should be raised after all the stupid stuff that has happened throughout the year.

By Xeneqe Rm 2

Meshaq's Discussion Writing

2010-05-07T12:22:00.006+12:00

Should We Extend Shopping Hours On Easter Weekend

Some people think we should while others disagree.

Some people feel that shopkeepers should extend shopping hours on the Easter weekend. People run out of food and need more time to shop. Shopping with the family is fun and exciting. Store owners could earn themselves more money.

Other people feel that shopkeepers need a break on the Easter weekend. They need to spend the time with their family. Easter is a religious holiday and people need to go to church. This is important quality time for Christian families.

I think that we shouldn’t extend shopping hours on Easter weekend.
By Meshaq

Longoa'a's Mother's Day Letter

2010-05-07T12:19:00.003+12:00

Dear Mrs Baker
My mother’s day letter is for my father.
Unfortunately my mother is not with me and I have not had any female influence in my life for at least two years so my dad is like a mother to me.
My dad has been there for me every step of the way .
He has helped me with my education and he has always supported me through school. My dad is very funny even in the toughest of times.
My dad is special to me because he plays two roles in my life so that’s why this letter is dedicated to him. A book for him would be really appreciated Mrs Baker.
Longoa’a Rm2

Jorjah's Mother's Day Letter

2010-05-07T12:13:00.005+12:00

Dear Mrs Baker

I think my mum should be chosen to get a prize because she is a single mother that looks after five kids but she always finds a way to get to all our shows and prize giving. She always goes that extra mile just for me. She is a very strong woman. She is the best mum I could ever hope for.
When I was little I wasn’t that good at spelling or maths so my mum would stay awake all night and cut colourful shapes out and put words or numbers on them to help me. She would always go out of her way to practise with me .I remember when she used to make biscuits and cakes and whenever she did, she got out my apron and I would help out. I always got the extras and the best thing is, she still to this day does the same thing and I love it.
She deserves this gift after everything she has done for our family. She has been through all the tough times we had but even when we were having trouble she was always there for my siblings and I. I love her with all my heart and I know she loves me too.
I just want to make her day that much more special.

Jorjah, Rm 2

Year 8 Girls Soccer

2010-05-07T12:04:00.005+12:00

On Tuesday 4th of May fifteen Yr 8 girls travelled by van with our coach Mrs Sigamoney and Mrs Gawn to Crossfield Grounds to compete in the Eastern Zone Soccer. Once we arrived at the grounds the weather wasn’t too promising but we were still filled with excitement.
Our first soccer game was against Glendowie Intermediate. We had 11 girls playing and 4 subs. It was a pretty easy game. We felt nervous but once we started we gave it our all. The points were 3 – 0 to Tamaki.
Our second game was against Ellerslie Intermediate. It was a pretty tough game but we managed to get along with them. The points were 1 - 0 to Ellerslie.
Our third game was against Churchill. We played extremely well against them. The score was 6 – 0 to Tamaki. They weren’t professionally good as we expected so we seized the opportunity.
Our fourth game was against St Thomas. St Thomas was really good but we lost by a low score. The points were 2 – 0 to them.
We didn’t expect to be in the semi- finals but we made it in. Tamaki were the runners up in Pool A and we challenged Baradene Intermediate. It was a very challenging game and we put all our effort into the game but unfortunately we lost 2 – 0 to them.
Our last game of the day was against Ellerslie again. We tried our best in this game but we lost. The important thing was that we had fun and we did our best. The points were 2 – 0 to them.
It was time for prize giving. Tamaki Yr 8 girls came fourth and the Yr 7s came fourth too. Finally it was time to head back to school. We had a fabulous day at soccer.
We would like to thank Mrs Sigamoney, Mr Horan and Mr Utanga for putting their effort in coaching us. A big thank you to Mrs Gawn for transporting us safely

Lana and Maroussia

Room 2

Students Attitude to Smoking?

2010-05-07T11:54:00.004+12:00

“Is smoking good and will students try it?”
Well after survrying some students on this issue these are their views and reasons.
There are two very strong and persuasive sides to this issue where some students say yes to smoking while others feel every cigarette is taking a short period of their life away.
Here are some reasons why some students think it is a good idea. One reason is that it calms you down. Other reasons are they smoke because it is too hard to quit (in other words it is addictive), It is cool to smoke and students try to show off to get attention.
On the other hand many students say no to smoking. One reason is that smoking kills and takes years of your life away. Another reason is thatt cigarettes are a waste of their money. They feel that they will not be good role models as adults. They do not like to smoke and disappoint their parents. Smoking stains your teeth, your teeth will start to rot and you will have bad breath.
In summary although it calms you down, it is taking years off your life which you could be spending with your friends and family.
Therefore I think that nobody should smoke and that smoking is not good for you.

By Jorjah

Introduction for Rm 2 Term 2

2010-05-07T11:30:00.001+12:00

Room 2 began this term with discussion writing. We worked in groups to choose a current issue and brainstorm our ideas. We looked at the issue and discussed the arguments for and against it and make recommendations.

Nelya's Media Training

2010-05-07T11:20:00.003+12:00

Monday was a special day for me because it was my first time on the “Tamaki Today” channel. When I first stepped in the studio I was overwhelmed because there were all these cameras and the lights, the microphones and the big computer system.

I felt more confident after listening to Longoa’a and Lana practicing. They were hilarious! They made me laugh and I felt more relaxed. While Longoa’a and Lana were practising Berttina and Jorjah were explaining to me how to use the camera and then it was Jorjah’s turn. After that I got my words and it was my turn to present the show. I was nervous that I would make mistakes but when my moment came, even though I was shy I did pretty well.

The last thing I said in front of the camera was “This was Nellie for Tamaki Today”. What a relief! After presenting we had to edit whatever we recorded. I had lots of fun and I will never forget my first time in front of the camera. I look forward to my next presentation.

Nelya

Rm 2

Gardening at Tamaki Intermediate

2010-04-23T15:46:00.001+12:00

Gardening at Tamaki Intermediate

On Tuesday 20th April 2010 two very fortunate students from each class had been selected to do a very special job around the school and that was gardening.

Firstly we had to go to the library to get instructions from our gardening teacher Graham Shieff. He told us which plants we were gong to grow. He asked us if we had any knowledge of plants. Not much really!

Then he took us outside and we got to work. Gardening was fun! It was exciting because it was our first time. We had to dig holes and space the plants 30- 50 cm apart. We dug holes with a spade and then put nutrients in the soil. After that we squeezed the plants to loosen the soil. Then we covered it with soil.

Beau and Meshaq had to water them down. The whole process was videoed and we also took photos.

This was a new experience for us. We enjoyed it thoroughly and our school looks even better.

Meshaq, Beau, Anthony, Raiden Room 2

Inter Zone Boys Softball Tournament at Tamaki Intermediate School

2010-03-22T15:16:00.001+13:00

On Thursday the 11th of March I was sitting in class doing my work when Mr Horan walked in and asked for some helpers. I put my hand up and he chose me and seven others who would help him run the softball tournament.
We all went under the A.S.B. tent and put our vest jackets on. We asked what we were going to be doing for him. He told us that we would be scoring and recording the softball games for the day.
We all had a diamond to look after and we got our first scorecard with Tamaki vs Bailey Road but I swapped with Taiapa for the shade that his diamond was in. So then I had Parnell vs Panmure District School. Parnell won that game.
The next few games were quite boring as no-one got many runs. Right up until the Parnell vs Saint Thomas’. Parnell got 10 runs in the first innings. But unfortunately Saint Thomas’ only got 1 run so it was over for Saint Thomas’.
At the end of the day all of the teams lined up and waited for Mr Horan to tell them who came 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Parnell came 1st, Ellerslie came 2nd and Sylvia Park came 3rd.
I had a really fun, exciting and exhilarating day but I was very disappointed that Tamaki Intermediate lost but at least everyone had fun in the sun!
By Scott
Room 2

Year 8 Girls Inter Zone Softball Tournament

2010-03-17T15:16:00.002+13:00

Tamaki Intermediate students represented the school at the Inter Zone - Auckland Softball Championship Tournament in Albany on the 11th of March 2010.

Our first softball game was against Murray’s Bay Intermediate. We arrived late but it was good because Mrs Bailey rang the organisers and told them that we would arrive late. Our score was 10-3.They were quite professional and we were playing on their home ground.

Our second game was against Rose Hill Intermediate. The students of this school had many different skills. They were loud when they were encouraging their pitcher. The score to them was 14-3.

Our third game was against Kowhai. Students of Kowhai Intermediate were an awesome team. Their batting, fielding and passing were excellent and when we went in to bat, Wendy decided to show Her skills and slid to base 3 and scraped her knee, challenged their back stop, changed her mind went back to 3rd base, Selina got to 1st base and Wendy sneaked home to get our only run. It was awesome, and as for our team Berttina and Shadae ran to catch a high ball. Berttina thought she had it, but the ball fell straight into Shadae’s glove. The whole team started screaming. The score was 21-1 to them.

Our last game against Huapai Intermediate, we should’ve won but our concentration was out the door and we were lucky to score 3 runs. The score was 10-3
Our most consistent players were Lana, Kathleen and Pasepa. Good catches from Selina, Lorraine and Elain, well done! It was a great experience for us all. What we learnt from our games is that we need to focus a lot more and be more consistent in our play. Thanks to Mrs Bailey for coaching us and thanks to Miss Roz for umpiring our games.

BY LANA - Room 2

Unity in Diversity - A film made by Tamaki Intermediate

2010-03-17T14:00:00.004+13:00

Olivia's Speech

2010-03-17T13:56:00.002+13:00

Whaikorero-Jorjah's Speech

2010-03-17T13:51:00.003+13:00

Tamaki Intermediate's Swimming Carnival

2010-03-17T13:13:00.004+13:00

During the first three weeks of Term 1 2010, all students at Tamaki Intermediate School had the opportunity to learn, practice and do well at swimming.

All lessons were geared towards learning basic survival skills in water. The emphasis was on learning the different strokes as well as having fun.

We celebrated learning to swim by participating in our School Swimming Carnival. The event was full of races in the different categories and lots of fun activities. There was a lot of noise and cheering all the way. We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.

By Jorjah

Balloons

2010-03-17T10:30:00.004+13:00

Balloons, balloons go up and down.
Balloons, balloons go round and round.
Balloons, balloons I want one now.
Balloons, balloons have no sound.
Balloons here, balloons there, balloons everywhere.
Kids love them, play with them
And pop them at last!

By Earle
Room 2

...Rugby League... by Beau

2010-03-17T09:58:00.005+13:00

...Rugby League...
League is the best you know,
Sitting in the stadium go the Broncos!
Wayne Bennett is the best you know.
He wins every grand final even in the snow.

By Beau Room 2

Chocolates

2010-03-15T08:27:00.002+13:00

Milk chocolate, dark chocolate, creamy, caramel too,
Small, big, tasty, sticky chocolates, all for you.
Mouth watering, fattening, lovely and cool,
Soft, pleasant, chewy, gooey chocolates just for you!

By Synergy, Phillip
Room 2

Eastern Zone Softball Tournament

2010-03-15T08:05:00.001+13:00

Thursday the 11th of March 2010 was when the Year 7 and Year 8 boys from other schools came to my school, Tamaki Intermediate to play Softball. Our boys teams made it through to the finals that were held here.
Before the games started, Mr Horan (Principal) came to my class (Room 2) to choose helpers. I was one of them. You could imagine how excited I was.
Most of the school teams were arriving. The last school to arrive was Bailey Road School. I had to guide them to where they were meant to be seated. Finally, everyone was there to start the games off!

The bell rang as teams were practicing. Let The Games Begin!!
All I heard was bats pounding against balls, and names being shouted.
Our Year 8 boys started off well winning 11 – 4 against Bailey Road. I was unsure about the Year 7 boys who looked like they were doing good but I had to keep turning my head to see what was going on. It was a long and scorching hot day for all of us. But we had a lot of fun. The audience cheered every game no matter which schools the students represented.

Our Year 8 boys were placed 2nd and the Year 7 boys were placed 8th in the Tournament.
It was a good tournament. The weather held up and everyone had fun in the sun!

By Daisha Room 2

Athletics Day 1

2009-12-07T11:42:00.004+13:00

Friday the 13^th November 2009 was a great day for athletics. It was Day One of our Inter-House Athletics.

There was a buzz around the school. Excited students and painted faces. I was in the Intermediate Boys Group A which was Calliope and Orpheus House. We all lined up outside on the netball courts, waiting for Miss Waetford’s instructions. Then each group proceeded to their first event. The events for the day were 100m, 200m, long jump, high jump, hurdles, shot put, discus and javelin.

Our first event was the long jump. It was a great event and Patrick from Calliope House jumped the furthest. We proceeded to our next event which was high jump. I didn’t like that event but I still tried. Unfortunately it didn’t go well again. I couldn’t wait for our next event the 100 metre sprint. This was my favourite event because I came 2^nd but again Patrick came first. We were off to our last event, the hurdles. The hurdles were different this year. It was like a game obstacle. This time Orpheus won.

I think Athletics was so coll. I felt like doing it again!

APPA Choir

2009-11-25T09:30:00.003+13:00

On Wednesday the 18^th the Tamaki Intermediate School Choir went to the Auckland Town Hall to take part in the annual APPA mass choir festival along with many other schools.

This was the big final after practicing all year and attending all the practices.

On the way there we were all eager and we singing all the songs so we would not forget the lyrics. When we arrived there we went inside and went onto the stage. Firstly we lined up on stage with all the other schools and then took photos. After that we took our seats. We felt happy but a bit scared as we were up high by the organs. Then the lights went dim and the orchestra came out to their seats. Next the conductor came out and we started our fist item which was the national anthem. We were under way and got to sing all our songs. Everyone enjoyed it when the Kapa Haka Group came on and performed. While we were on stage there were people all around in the town hall waving to us and taking photos. It was so hot sitting there with the bright lights shinning down on us.

On the way back everyone was tired. We went back along the scenic route down Queen Street and along the water front to Orakei. Over all it was a memorable night for us all. We would like to thank Miss Dekker and Miss Hess for teaching us and Miss Waetford and Mrs. Bailey for coming with us to the town hall.

Seneti, Room 15

Mele's Recount

2009-11-24T10:02:00.003+13:00

It was a bright early morning with the birds chirping, butterflies fluttering, sunny and clear skies. Everything sounded mysterious and yet peaceful. Inside was a whole different story. It was like a bomb waiting to blow up. Girls here, girls there, girls everywhere. It was like a traffic jam. Luckily I was ready. It was 11:00 am and it was time to go to my cousin’s wedding.

As we hopped inside the limo my heart was pounding like a horse. Then we arrived at our destination. We jumped out of the limo. Unfortunately I had to stand in front and lead the bridesmaids, I was so nervous. As we stood in line outside the door our white dresses shimmered in the sunlight.

The song played, I walked to the beat and smiled like a crazy girl. Everyone was looking at me. It was like a crowd that came to watch rugby. We stood on the stage awaiting the bride. All eyes were on us. My aunty was encouraging us to smile and be happy on the day of my cousin’s wedding. Soon the bride was being escorted in by her father. They walked in elegantly hand in hand and her father put her daughter next to her waiting husband. The bride was so beautiful. She had a long while dress with a tiara on her head, she looked like a princess.

The priest began with a prayer and told them what marriage was about and as soon as that was over they said there vowels When they both said “I do”, it was a very touching moment. People cried tears of joy.

This was the time we had to walk out with my partner. Firstly the flower girls led the way. Next the new couple walked the in aisle. As I held my partner’s hand, I was as nervous as hell. But I was proud of myself and grateful that I was one of the bridesmaids too.

As I walked outside I congratulated the new couple. We took a couple of photos. I didn’t want the day to end but it had to. Although I had a lot of fun I will always remember that day!!!

By Mele, Room15

Grandparents Are Great!!!

2009-11-16T09:16:00.002+13:00

Zeenat's Grandparents Letter

2009-11-16T09:12:00.004+13:00

Dear Mrs Baker

There are so many relationships in this world and out of that a very precious one is between grandchildren and grandparents.
My grandparents gives me warmth,love, care and happiness. They tell me stories, teach me to be honest and they play with me. They are my best friends and I learn so many things from them.
I think my grandparents deserve this book because they have golden hearts which means they are very kind and helpful to others. They are very friendly and loving.
when When they got married they were very poor. They worked very hard to achieve there their goals and now they are happy with their there marketing business. They are my heroes. This pair is like Brad Pit and Angelina Joeline. Their love towards each other is sweet like a chocolate cake and deep like the ocean which never ends.

POEM...

They are my foundation
if they did not exist then
I would not be here in this
world.

They mean everything to me because
without them I would not
know whom I am.

They give me power of
courage,strength to
learn, to face
difficulties, love to others,
and how to respect
others.

If I am a successful
person then I base
this on
my foundation which
are my Grandparents.

Boaza's Grandparents Letter

2009-11-16T09:11:00.007+13:00

Dear Mrs. Baker

I think that my grandparents deserve the book because they are so sweet like an ever lasting lavender,
and so cuddly like a cloud that loves you back. They always ring my house to hear how we are doing and I always
try to get the opportunity to go to my grandparent's house to spend time with them. I would love if they get the
best grandparent award. My granddad is very sick and cannot walk. One of his hands is paralyzed and he has
to rest most of the day so my grandmother has to do all the work. She works so hard for a 59 year old
loving grandmother, turning 60 this December. She has just suffered a loss of her only sister who lived in
Italy and my grandmother didn't even get a chance to say good bye.Neither did I get to meet her. Now she is alone with no sisters or brothers but she has my dad, my 2 aunts and her grandchildren. She has only my 2 brothers, my 1 sister and I as grandchildren so we always try to make her feel better. As for my grandfather, he is always glad to see us coming to see him and staying for a few nights. He enjoys the company that we give him. He loves us and so does my grandmother. This is why I think that my grandparents deserves the grandparents award because they're the best grandparents in the world. I love them so much!!

A Grandparent Poem!
It seems like only yesterday
Our lives were just beginning.
Your love for us never failed,
Our hearts continually mending.

It is strange to watch the time fly
Before our very eyes,
Which reminds me of the blessing,
That we have you in our lives

I love my grandparents
I love them so much
I want them to get the award
And a celebration brunch!

By Boaza, Room15