Playing with fire

Science so far

Our class is doing science. This is my plan so far:

Plan:

Find research questions

Look at fire physics

Experiment with fire, research fire

Find good research sites

Research the 5 states of matter; which one is fire most like?

Find how liquids can catch fire

Create presentation

Share

Questions:

Side:

What makes fire burn? How does this work?

What makes some liquids flammable and why?

Is fire a part of SHC? (Spontaneous Human Combustion)

Does fire have a place on the Periodic Table, and if so where and what?

Main:

What is fire, and what makes it so destructive?

Is it possible to create less destructive, modified fire? Explain

Notes:

Fire is the visible effect of the process of combustion – a special type of chemical reaction. It occurs between oxygen in the air and some sort of fuel. The products from the chemical reaction are completely different from the starting material. - Google

We look at five states of matter on the site. Solids, liquids, gases, plasmas, and Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) are different states that have different physical properties. Each of these states is also known as a phase. - Google

Solids, liquids, gases, plasmas, and Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) are different states that have different physical properties. Each of these states is also known as a phase. Elements and compounds can move from one phase to another when specific physical conditions change.

- Google

The three states of matter are the three distinct physical forms that matter can take in most environments: solid, liquid, and gas. In extreme environments, other states may be present, such as plasma, Bose-Einstein condensates, and neutron stars. - Google

Sometimes we might think that fire is a living thing! It moves, ‘eats’ things and seems to breathe. The ancient Greeks thought it was one of four major elements, along with water, earth and air. They could feel, see and smell fire just like they could the earth, water and air, but fire is something completely different. Earth, water and air are all matter – they are made up of billions of atoms. Fire is not matter at all, and it is not a living thing. It’s the visible effect of achemical reaction between oxygen in the atmosphere and some sort of fuel. - Sciencelearn hub

Sites:

Science behind fire

National Young Leaders Day 2016

Reflections:
This year, the year 8's at St. Joe's went to NYLD//16. It was in Dunedin, at the Town Hall. Our class sat near the back. It began at 9:30 in the morning, and it began. Our teacher, Mr C, nearly won a game. We listened to lots of motivational speakers, from 9:30-2:30. My favourite speaker was called Chris Jupp. Near the end we got to listen to a mini-concert by Avalanche City.

Highlights:
At the end we listened to a mini-concert by Avalanche City. There were two songs. (Not going to mention names for copyright reasons.) Another highlight was the humor that was inserted, SPECIFICALLY added for year 7's and 8's. We also had games. We had to do a Mexican wave, in specific orders. We had a game where we had to use a odometer. (Footstep measure) The goal was to make it go up as far as possible by using ONLY your head. Mr C had the top score of 79 in the qualifiers, but only got 51 in the final. The winner got 53.
Lessons learned:
My favourite lesson was from Chris Jupp. The message was of social acceptance. He told us about a time when he found a man on the street. His name was James. He started talking to him and slowly made James smile. They helped him find his laugh again, and made him happy.

This has been my NYLD experience. Hopefully you get a chance to go to it as well. You'll enjoy it, so ask your teacher today!

Fire science investigation

Plan:

Find research questions

Experiment with fire, research fire

Find good research sites

Find how liquids can catch fire

Create presentation

Share

Questions:

Side:

What makes fire burn? How does this work?

What makes some liquids flammable and why?

Is fire a part of SHC? (Spontaneous Human Combustion)

Does fire have a place on the Periodic Table, and if so where and what?

Main:

What is fire, and what makes it so destructive?

Is it possible to create less destructive, modified fire? Explain

Notes:

Fire is the visible effect of the process of combustion – a special type of chemical reaction. It occurs between oxygen in the air and some sort of fuel. The products from the chemical reaction are completely different from the starting material. - Google

Sometimes we might think that fire is a living thing! It moves, ‘eats’ things and seems to breathe. The ancient Greeks thought it was one of four major elements, along with water, earth and air. They could feel, see and smell fire just like they could the earth, water and air, but fire is something completely different. Earth, water and air are all matter – they are made up of billions of atoms. Fire is not matter at all, and it is not a living thing. It’s the visible effect of achemical reaction between oxygen in the atmosphere and some sort of fuel. - Sciencelearn hub

Sites:

Science behind fire

Catholic Schools Day

Yesterday was Catholic schools day. Our school, St Josephs (https://sites.google.com/a/stjoseph.school.nz/teaching-and-learning-at-st-joseph-s/), was naturally a part of it. Our morning was all fun and games; literally! Some of the teacher were at a conference and us year 8's had to take some games for the smaller kids. Kaleb (http://kalebtc.blogspot.co.nz/) and I took a game called X-treme tic-tac-toe.
 
You have to set it up with 9 hula hoops in a 3x3 grid. then you have two teams with different colored bean bags. they then run out and put the bags in the hula hoops till they get 3 in a row. If they fail, once they use all their bags, they can run out and move them. It's more fun than it sounds. After that we had mass with St Kevins (http://www.stkevins.school.nz/) at the church. Me and Seth (http://ssinclairschool.blogspot.co.nz/) were on the projector. We had a couple of slip-ups, but other than that, we did well. After the mass we went home. It was a pretty good day. After all, who DOESN'T want to play games all morning?

Hoidays

I had a great holiday. It was filled with family, cousins, and horse heads.

It has been fun, playing cricket, soccer, rugby and hanging out with friends.

My family and I went for a walk to the top of the Harry Lee trail to see the "Sign of the Kiwi." The walk took about 45 minutes, and the walk  down took about 30. We were staying at my auntys house and went to visit my cousins several times. Our other cousins were at Stuart Island, but we still had a great time. We went to the park about 400m from my cousins house. On the way there we were walking down the middle of the road. It wasn't a busy road though. It may as well have been closed down for how little traffic there was. On the way back we just walked on the footpath like normal people. While there we played cricket and my cousin made a bet to me: if I could make a one handed catch on the full with the horse head on, he would buy me a scoop of hot chips. Unfortunately, I didn't make the catch and didn't get the chips. I came really close though, with the ball bouncing out of my hand. Overall, I had a great holiday with my family and friends, but now I'm back at school.

Swimming Sports

On Wednesday I went to the North Otago swimming sports. I had qualified for Freestyle, Backstroke  and the relay. But like the total idiot I sometimes am, I accidentally brought my board shorts, which slowed me down by about two seconds per race. I came 6th equal with Jacob
(http://jdfowler.blogspot.co.nz/) in the whole grade for freestyle and wasn't sure in my heat. In backstroke I came 8 in my whole grade after Jacob and last in my heat. Overall I did pretty well in the individual races. I then had the relay for ages 12+ with some other people in my class. We came 5th in the relay. The last two grades won their relays, and overall St Joseph's did really well in the NOs. My highlight was being chosen in the relay over Jacob. It was a good day with a good outcome.

R.E Problems with modern Christmas: Greed

R.E

Our Greed At Christmas

At Christmas time, we are all excited. New stuff that's free from a mythical Saint who breaks into your house every year to give you stuff. But what are we forgetting in our greed? Many things, including the true meaning of Christmas. So let have a look at what our greed covers up in Christmas.

Firstly, and most importantly, we forget Christmas's True Meaning. We’re all so absorbed by our presents that we forget that it’s Jesus’ birthday, and that’s what Christmas is about. We are all eating a Christmas ham when we should have said grace beforehand to give thanks for it. Greed again, we were hungry so we ate.

We are also greedy in the way that half the time we don’t say “thank you” to whoever gave us our gifts half the time. There are some exceptions and special situations like secret santas where you can hardly thank you gift giver as implies the “secret” half off “secret santa”. But otherwise you should remember to thank whoever gave you your present.

Finally, there is the matter of the actual presents. We are sometimes disappointed about our presents and barely manage to hide it. We then either exchange it for something else or sell it when we should really be grateful for it. If people are ungrateful, perhaps people will remember the True Meaning, but perhaps they will just be too annoyed that they didn’t get gift that it will cloud their judgment even more.

These are just a few of the problems that are caused at Christmas by our modern-day traditions. Other problems are caused by things like commercialisation, but these are problems caused by greed. So this Christmas take a little of your time to thank someone, or say a prayer before you dig into that massive Christmas ham.

Suicide Ad

Keeping Ourselves Safe

Our class recently did KOS - Keeping Ourselves Safe. Some of the stuff I learned was that anyone can be the victim or abuser. If you do abuse someone you have to face the consequences. Some of these can be a fine or imprisonment. You can go to people you trust for help, like your teachers, family or friends.

Term 3 reflection

In term 3 we did some good stuff such as:
Technology at St Kevins, my group did cooking.
The skiing program in Ohau, I went and LOVED it.
Singing cup, I didn't get in but gave it a good try, and Guzman won for House.

A chellenge was to get a good time in cross country even while being sick and only just recovering.

Some things I am looking foward to are camp, for days of fun!!!
School athletics, it will be fun and a good compeditive sport for us all.

Essay - Biologist

Have you ever thought about what you want to be when you are older? How about a Biologist? Biologists are a group of scientists who study in labs and places where there is life in general. They need some specific skill sets but it's a rewarding job in the enviroment (& helping save it!) with a pay ranging from 62K - 168K per year. You need to work for it though; A Bachelor's degree in Biological sciences or Biology is needed to take up this role.

Biologists sometimes get special tasks in marine biology, Wolf Biology! (yes, thats a real thing) Biotechnology or Immunology, but they all really lead back to the main subject, Biology. Some biologists work at sea, Some work in the forest and some even study specific animals; pointedly the Wolf Biologist. These different types of biologists help us get a better understanding of the world of life around us. We can even get a better understanding of dinosaurs!

A Biologist normally studies living organisms, but there are exceptions like Biotechnologists who study how tech can help living organisms e.g. making a robotic arm that can be controlled by the brain. They mostly study life; more specifically organisms that are related to it and the enviroment and  Biologists also study animals and the body to understand them better.

A Biologist's other work can include Agriculture to help farming and to help grow bigger and better crops, cleaning the enviroment and rivers to help trees grow and plants live longer and have more chance of survival, and also to help fish thrive and re-fill the rivers. They also help with conservation to help support endangered animals and plants in their natural enviroment. Medicine is another way they help, finding new, more effective cures to harmful diseases, and helping Industry with safe waste disposal and less contamination.

To be a Biologist you need to have a specific skill set but also a good brain. some of these skills include: Good, practical scientific skills, (it’s no good being a Immunologist when you are better suited to Wolf Biology!) An inquiring mind to ask and solve questions and equations, The ability to think clearly, and logically and a methodical approach to work.

These are just  a few of the skills and rewards of the career choice Biology. I want to do this job because I would get to study the enviroment and help figure out some of the secrets of the planet. So I ask again, “Have you ever thought about what you want to be when you are older?” I have.

An email

From: God

To: all people

Why I give you free will: To help others but also choose your own path. I wanted you to have free will so you could be an indivdual, not all people the same.

How I wish you to use your free will: You should use your free will to help the enviroment. I wanted you to make peace with each other, not kill over MY land.

What I most want from you: To use your free will in the best possible way and make the best choices. The best way for the enviroment, not you.

Bucketlist Writing

Skydiving

The plane that took us up was painted like a shark. The small air vessel was for parachuting purposes more than anything else and had a special door in the side to prove it. The door was the way we would exit the plane, 12,000ft in the air. The only thing between us and doom was a parachute…

As the plane seemingly rose, while in reality it was me falling. My stomach dropped and I let out a scream that  never reached my ears, never left my throat because of the lack of oxygen that comes with being 12,000ft up in the air. The plane soared overhead and I lost sight of it as I passed through the cloud and the chute released. Suddenly the speed ceased to a glide and I could heave a sigh of relief.

The descent was slow so I decided to take in the scenery. The land lay before me like a oil canvas. The mountains rose slowly and steadily as we fell, gliding up to meet us. The air was fresh and slowly I regained the ability to breath properly. Under the mountains, the trees seemingly shot up from the ground, like spears being thrown by a giant. Soon I landed, stumbled and fell as I regained my footing and the ground felt odd after being weightless for so long

As I looked at the videos from my GoPro, I was reminded of the rest of my Bucketlist. The video was inspiring, and I decided that I would complete the next item on my list, running with wolves. But the day for that would be soon. I would complete my list, one thing at a time. My list was big. I had a lifetime of adventure ahead of me!

Goals in Learning

Writing

I am currently writing at  4p - 4a

What evidence do I have? Attach as a link below (Google Docs only) or photocopy and staple documents to this form once printed.↓

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FRcA62AuWa1Ky54BhYg04If57mA3b_6h1zJ2p15cHUM/edit

What have I improved on this year?

Paragraphs and language features

What are my next learning steps? Try to set two-three learning steps moving forward.

Choosing the right type of writing for the task and doing a better hook in all types of writing.

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Reading

I am currently reading at 13-14

What are my next learning steps? Try to set two-three learning steps moving forward. Use the link to help you.

Reading harder texts and placing word attack strategies

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Maths (Proportions and Ratios; our current learning)

I am at Stage: 7

What are my next learning steps? Try to set two-three learning steps moving forward. Use the I Can form given to you by your teacher to help you.

Fractions to percentages

using brackets

Book Reveiw

The Ranger's Apprentice Book 7

Erak’s Ransome, by John Flannagan, is a science fiction book set in the kingdom of Araluan, and is on the more realistic side of science fiction.

In the book, the Skandian (warrior/pirate tribe), Oberjarl (leader) has been captured and held for ransom. The rest of his crew come to Araluan for help. Will and Halt (Will’s teacher) go with them along with Princess Cassandra (or Evanlyn) to haggle the ransom price. After this happens, Halt and Evanlyn are captured and imprisoned as Will searches for his lost horse.

Dehydrated and lost, he is found by a travelling tribe who have his horse and he must race to get him back. He wins and with help from the tribe he frees Halt and Evanlyn as they are about to be executed. They then defeat the evil war leader and set Erak free.

What I thought was good about this book is that it had some intense moments and it left me wanting more. The book could also leave you hanging. Some bad things were that there was WAY too much talking in some parts. The areas shed light on some parts but are BORING.

The book’s theme was a realistic sifi and was a good read. There was no message I could see in the book. The books were actually written to encourage the authors son to enjoy reading, then it was sent off to a publisher and suddenly it was a book series. The author, like all the others, was trying to communicate, “Reading is Fun.”

I think that this book is a good read and would recommend it to anyone who like science fiction. The book had so many good parts and I rate it 8 ½ out of 10.

Book Character Description

Will Treaty

(Rangers Apprentice)

Will is a fun loving kid from the Kingdom Araluen. He is seventeen but has already faced much danger. He has skill with a recurve bow and is one of the best law enforcers in the kingdom. He has dark, curly hair, bright, brown eyes and an olive skin tone. The book unfolds to tell us that Will grows very close to his mentor, Halt, because he is an orphan.

He is and easy-going person who plays a lute and lives in a cabin in the woods. He has an awesome ability to fade into the background without a trace. He is smart and always has a solution to the problem at hand. The small orphan to the powerful ranger, Will has learned alot, and still has alot to do. The transformation to an amazing young law enforcer, Will has crammed alot of action into his small life.

R.E

Holy Orders

In Holy Orders you are anointed by the bishop in your area. The Orders start by being called up by the Bishop. The person replies in Roman to say “I’m Present.” They then lie on the floor in a gesture of humility and obedience.

The people present are asked to sing to help the candidates to be ready for the orders. The Bishop then lays his hand the person and they take vows of obedience.

How the ceremony end varies from country to country. In one the people come forward and have a blessing. In another, the Bishop comes to kiss the Priest's hands, as they are the hands that will anoint, bless and baptise people.

Imagine being a... Writing

Biologist

As I put the finishing touches on the project, my eyes fill with pride. The small beings are ready and pass the teamwork test like a family of beavers cutting down a tree.

They work together better than humans ever have. When they sign a peace treaty they go straight back to war. But these are a peaceful people. They will work together in any situation. They will thrive where we have failed.

They are like humans, and the best thing is they live. They are organic beings, not robots. The team is alive. They are useful and have all the traits of living beings. I am the first to build life in science. The first ever person to make life from scratch.

Imagine being a biologist...

Joe