What is media?

Day 71 of lockdown. Blog 6 in October.

Hello everyone,

Today for distance learning, (well, yesterday, but I'm blogging about it today) we were learning about media. What is media? What does media do? Media is something that is everywhere, even my own blog is media. It is something that is everywhere, and it can do anything to people such as sharing information, catching up on the latest trends, the current news, and it can entertain people, such as billboards, adverts, mobile devices and this blog you are reading right now.

We were given a google form to answer what type of media we consume a week. Unfortunately, I cannot show you the google form, but I made a graph to really see what I do in a week.

Yes, I play a lot of video games. A. Lot. Over ten hours a week. In fact, I bought this new game about 5 days ago and it shows you for the amount of hours you have been playing. It said 20 hours. What else am I supposed to do anyway? It's lockdown! I'm boring myself to tears! Video games are the only things that is currently keeping me sane. No, I don't have an addiction. I don't play that much.

We had the choice between google sheets, google drawings, and word art, but I chose google sheets since I haven't created a graph in a long time.

You have made it to the end of my blog post! Thank you for taking your time reading this blog. Have a great day!

New Zealand's Future - Kaitiakitanga

 Day 70 of lockdown. Blog 5 in October.

Welcome readers,

For distance learning today we were learning Kaitiakitanga, meaning guardianship and protection. We must be aware of our environment so we can make it available for our future generations. Instead of filling it with trash, why not make a change, and protect the environment? We need to be aware of and protect our land.

We had to make a poster about how we can promise the future of New Zealand. Here is a photo of the Poster I made.

I found this template on a website called Canva and changed a few things, I think it turned out pretty nice. I also really encourage you to follow my quote, and actually apply it to your lifestyle. Below is a list of things you can do to start helping the environment.

Try picking up any rubbish.

Try planting.

Pick up some rubbish.

Reduce, reuse and recycle.

Be a tidy Kiwi!

I'm afraid this is the end of my blog post. Sorry, I just didn't know what to write. This blog may be short, but I can promise you the next one won't. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. Have a good day!

Distance learning - Tessellations

 I lost count of what day we're in in lockdown. Blog 4 in October.

Hello everyone,

Today for Distance learning we were learning about tessellations. Tessellations are sometimes called tiling as well, but I'll be calling it a tessellation. A tessellation is where the designs are made by tiles that can fit perfectly without any gap or overlap. For instance, like A brick wall. All of the bricks fit perfectly into each other without any gaps or overlaps!

You can make a tessellation out of anything, whether it is arrows, triangles, squares, anything! as long as the follow a pattern. All tessellations follow a pattern. Patterns can be created from curves, lines anything. (Like I said before.)

In A tessellation, all corners of the pattern meet at a point called the vertex. A vertex is just A corner point in A tessellation. As an example, look at the photo below;

The photo above is an example of A vertex. Three hexagons meet at this vertex, and hexagons have six sides. Therefore, this is called A 66.6 tessellation.

There are rules as well about the tessellation. Let me run you through them.

Rule 1. The tessellation must fit perfectly into the other shapes without A gap or overlap.

Rule 2. The shapes must be the same size.

Rule 3. The vertex must be the same for every corner.

Those are all of the rules for the tessellation and that is what A tessellation is.

Anyway, we had to make our own tessellation on this website, I just made A triangular tessellation.

Here is my very basic, boring, no colour triangular tessellation. I couldn't be bothered even doing the colours since it already took me so long just to do the actual shape. If you want to make a tesslellation yourself, You can check it out here!

Here is A little presentation I made to help you understand tessellations better;

Congratulations! You made it to the end of my blog post! Thank you for taking your time reading my blog. Have a great day!

Tivaevae Quiz

 Day 64 of lockdown. Blog 3 in October.

Kia Orana readers,

It is Cook Islands and Niuean week, and we were learning about tivaevae. Fortunately, we didn't have to make a paper tivaevae. We had to make A quiz. I will be showing you the quiz I made at the end of this blog.

First, I will give you some information to prepare for my quiz, I will be explaining everything about tivaevae.

Tivaevae (sometimes spelled tivaivai), literally meaning patches, is the art of quilting in the Cook Islands. Quilting was first introduced to the Cook Islands women by the French in the early 1800s. Once the islanders learned how to sew and embroider, they quickly made quilting into a unique art all their own. While they may be made by a solo artist, tivaevae are also created in local women’s groups, where friends gather to swap news and stitches. These groups are called panges, which takes 8 women to form.

In every pange, there is A Ta'unga, kind of like the expert in the pange. Once the tivaevae is finished, the Ta'unga sews A boarder around the tivaevae.

There are three different types of Tivaevae. Tivaevae Manu, Tivaevae ta'orei, and tivaevae tatura. Each tivaevae take different times to complete. It also depends on compexity and time. They can take from one week up to two years to complete.

Tivaevae manu

Probably the most common type of tivaevae, this type of tivaevae features cut-out patterns sewn applique-style on to a solid color backing. Designs are cut out similar to paper snowflakes, by folding the fabric into quarters or eighths.

Tivaevae ta’orei

This is the patchwork style of tivaevae made from 1-inch squares of fabric, sewn onto a solid backing. With thousands of pieces necessary for one blanket, ta’orei quilts can take years to complete.

Tivaevae tataura

Both tivaevae manu and tataura are made from cut-outs appliqued on a solid back. Tivaevae tataura also includes embroidery stitches used to embellish the design.

Tivaevae are often markers of important life events, being given to important visitors or as special gifts on weddings, birthdays, and the traditional boys’ hair cutting ceremony. Even if tivaevae aren’t being given as a gift at a special event, you can bet they are being used as decorations!

I think I have given you enough information for my quiz. Are you ready? Here we go! Scroll down to see the quiz.

The ultimate fail.

 DAY 63 OF LOCKDOWN!

Fakalofa atu everyone,

It is Niuean/Cook Islands week this week and we had to make something called the tivaevae. Tivaevae are treasured quilts made by women in the Cook Islands. They are made from brightly coloured fabrics including flowers, geometric shapes and animal designs, though animal or bird shapes are considered unlucky on the bedspread.

They are sometimes made for gifts, or special occasions, such as a weeding, or a boys' haircutting ceremony.

So we had to make our own tivaevae out of paper and we followed A tutorial. And guessing from the title - yes. It is another fail blog. An ultimate fail. I made A mistake instead of a tivaevae.

Remember how I said how I hated origami? Yeah I think this is why. I also said I am very bad at my cutting skills. That is true. That is the whole reason this failed.

I enjoyed nothing in this because I was using some kitchen scissors and - oh come on! You can't get mad at me again for doing that! It said in the video to get 2 A4 sheets of paper and cut them into A square this time! Anyway, where was I? Oh, right! I was using blunt kitchen scissors and they didnt work. At. All. This photo will explain everything. I am also left-handed so it makes it a lot harder for me to cut.

I will be saying the same thing I said last time. This was A beautiful piece of paper absolutely destroyed by me into A mistake.

I don't think I will be doing this again anyway, so I won't be doing anything better next time. I've had enough of origami and cutting paper.

I'm Back!

 Hello everyone,

Yes, I am back! Back after the school holidays! And I am back here to talk about my holiday. And there is one event in particular that I will be talking about - My birthday!

I turned eleven two days ago, (October 16) But celebrated it on October 15, because it was one of my family friends birthday already so they just decided to celebrate 3 birthday people all together. The third birthday person? My family friends little brother, Akmal. His birthday is on the same as mine, but he was born in 2008, not 2010. What are the odds? It was shocking when we found out!

Since me and Akmal's birthday is on the 16th but we celebrated it on the 15th, his older sister's birthday is actually on the 15th! But a massive age gap. 

So we just when to the skate park and his big sister can enjoy the whole house. I don't actually skate but my sister does. So I took her skateboard and went to the skate park with them! And doing that was the biggest mistake. People make skating look so easy, especially Akmal. He rode down A steep slope with such ease, I decided to give it A go myself. I went to the top and tried riding down, and then I grazed my elbow. It took me at least 10 minutes to build up the courage to go down again. 10 minutes later, I finally built up the courage. The courage to ride down. And of course, test my luck, I fell down again. Even worse, I fell on the same spot I fell on the first time. 

My elbow started to really hurt and I decided to check it. I saw this dark red big scab and A graze right under it. Even now it still hurts. I am writing this blog with the graze on my elbow right now. Skating was probably one of the worst mistakes I have made.

Chinese Language Week - Day 4

 Ni Hao Ma,

I know, I should have done days two and three, but, on day 3, I went on a walk and completely forgot about blogging. On day two, I was too lazy to blog. I'm really sorry for no blogs!

 Anyway, Chinese Language week Day 4. We had to do this challenge where we had to draw our Chinese animal and write something about it. The Chinese animals are kind of like the Chinese version of Zodiac signs. Like, 2021 is the year of the Ox. I was born in 2010. So I am year of the Tiger. Most of my class are Dragons, Rabbits and Tigers. My teacher is A dog.

 Now I am going to tell you all of the Chinese animal birth years. If you don't know your one, you can find out by reading this blog! The Year of the Ox is for people who are born in 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, and 2021.  

The year of the Rat is for people who are born in 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, and 2020. 

The year of the Tiger is for people who are born in 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, and 2022. 

The year of the Rabbit is for people who are born in 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, and 2023. 

The year of the Dragon is for people who are born in 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, and 2024. 

The year of the Snake is for people who are born in 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, and 2025. 

The year of the Horse is for people who are born in 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, and 2026. 

The year of the Goat is for people who are born in 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015, and 2027. 

The year of the Monkey is for people who are born in 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, and 2028. 

The year of the Rooster is for people who were born in 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, and 2029. 

The year of the Dog is for people who were born in 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, and 2030. 

And last but not least, the year of the Pig is for people who were born in  1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019, and 2031.

There is actually A legend behind all of the Chinese animals. According to myths, the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac were selected through a race. This race is meant to create a time measurement for the people. There could only be twelve winners and in order to win, the animals had to cross a rapid current river and reach the finish line on the shore.

Originally, there was a cat and a rat, who hated each other with a passion. It’s hard to believe that they were once friends. These two were the worst swimmers in the animal kingdom, but they were both smart. They discovered that the fastest way to the river is to hop on top of the ox. The generous ox agreed to carry them across the river. However, the rat was so eager to win that he pushed the cat into the water; thus the cat never forgave the rat, and wasn't included in the race. Other variations of the story say that the rat just never told the cat about the race and did not even compete at all.

Afterwards the ox and the rat made it to shore. The rat jumped in front of the ox and came first in the race. The ox came in second and the tiger finished in third. All of a sudden, a loud thumping sound came: it was the rabbit. It jumped from one stone to another and was doing well until it slipped. Fortunately, there was a log floating by and it grabbed onto that log and floated to the finish line earning the fourth place in the race. In fifth place was the dragon, but everyone thought that it would come in first because it could fly. It told Jade Emperor that it had to stop a couple of times to help some villagers. And on its way to the finish line, it saw a little rabbit on a log and decided to give a little puff of air to help it get to shore. After the dragon, the horse came galloping towards the finish line. The sneaky snake was hidden behind the horse’s foot. It suddenly appeared and the horse was scared. The snake took advantage of this and landed itself in sixth place, and the horse landed in seventh.

Soon after, the monkey, the rooster, and the sheep landed onto shore. Unlike some of the previous animals, these three actually helped each other to get to the finish line. The rooster found a raft, and the monkey and sheep hopped on. Working hard together through the water currents and the weeds, they reached shore: the sheep came in eighth place, the monkey in ninth place, and the rooster in tenth place. In eleventh place was the dog. Even though it was a great swimmer, it was late. It told the emperor that it needed a bath, and the fresh water from the river was too tempting. Right when the emperor was going to close the race, an “oink” sound was heard: it was the pig. “Lazy little pig” originated from this story. The pig felt hungry in the middle of the race, so it stopped, ate something, and then fell asleep. After it awoke, it finished the race in twelfth place and became the last animal to arrive.

The order of the lunar calendar follows the outcome of the race, where the rat is the first animal to start the sequence, and the pig is the last. After the pig, the sequence starts over again. The lunar calendar has been a significant calendar for China and the Chinese zodiac. Many parts of the world are also familiar with this calendar. 

Wow! That was A long blog post! I have been working on this blog since 12:00! Now it's 1:39! I guess this will cover missing two days of blog posts? Hopefully! I'd never expect to make A blog post this long! Bye!