Social Studies - Know Your Places

 - Know Your Place -

For the past few weeks for Social Studies, we have been trying out a new tool called Prezi. Prezi is a site that helps you create a presentation and lets you write in it, it also can give templates for you to use and make your presentation look better. For us to understand the tool better we were given the task to find places around Christchurch and the Canterbury region that have importance to the region and places that are important to us. 

My Prezi

I learnt quite a lot of new things that I never knew about Christchurch or Canterbury, for example, lytteltons history and how it actually helped shape Canterbury to how it is today. Finding out Hornby High Schools history was actually the most interesting thing as I didn't know much about the school before researching about it. I think next time we should be able to research places that are solely important to us because I feel like I want to know more about the places that are important to me and my childhood. 

Novel Study - Unwind - Part 7, Consciousness

How is it that Connor was not unwound? p318
- Connor wasn't unwound because he had another I.D of a security guard that was 19. He looked quite similar to the man and was given that identity to hide him from being unwound.

Whose arm does he now have? P319
- Connor has a tiger shark tattoo which belonged to Roland, who was unwound in part 6. He has Roland's arm, as his arm was blown up and amputated.

On p321 Risa tells Connor how she won't be unwound. Do you think her decision to not accept the spine of an Unwind was purely ethical, or was she also playing the system in order to stay alive?
- I think it was an ethical choice because even though she could've walked again she chose not to because it was from an unwound. I think the advantage of not being unwound was something she found out or realised and thought it was a good cover for her story. As someone who saw people going to their "deaths", she must've been a little scared by this incident even more than before, so she didn't want the spine, knowing that that could've been Connor or her. 

Since the explosions at Happy Jack, what have people been doing? What has Cy-Fi's role been in this? P325
- Since the clapping incident at Happy Jack people have been protesting at Washington and realising that unwinding isn't a good thing. Cy-Fi's role in this has been testifying before congress. Because of all of this the government is starting to think about changing the legal age from 18 years old to 17 years old.

Lev's parents disown him. Who is trying to become his guardian? P328.
- Because Lev's parents disowned him, his brother Marcus is trying to get custody of him instead of him being sent to a state home. His brother was also disowned by his parents.

Why has Pastor Dan resigned? P329
- Pastor Dan resigned because he didn't believe in a God who tithed. He didn't lose his faith, he just lost his convictions in believing in that part of God.

P331-332 explain what has happened to Harlan Dunfee. What do you think about the Admiral and his wife's plan? Was it what you expected?
- Harlan Dunfee wasn't put together in the way everyone thought. Instead of killing the people who had his parts, they instead, held a party for his 26th birthday. They invited everyone who had his body parts to celebrate this all together as they all had a part of him.

- I think their plan was a pretty surprising plan as to when we are introduced to Harlan's story we learn that his parents went Insane. Instead, they just wanted to see their son again because they were forced to unwind him due to the society that they lived in. It wasn't what I expected because as I said before, his parents were explained to be "insane" when in reality they were just regretful. 

Who takes over the graveyard? P331

- At the end of the book, we find out that Risa, Connor, and Hayden stayed at the Graveyard to help the other unwinds that have escaped to let them have another chance. We find out that Connor becomes the leader of the graveyard to help people fight against unwinding in a more humane way, unlike clappers. 

Science - Wind Racers

Aim - To calculate the speed of a wind-racer 

Equipment
- Base Trolley

- Bamboo Stick

- Tape

- Newspaper

- Normal A3 paper

- Paint 

Method -

- Attach the bamboo to the base trolley with tape, add another bamboo stick big enough to fit your sail. 

- Draw on your Paper if chosen to

- If drawn paint the picture and cut them out, then paint one layer of the newspaper

- Attach your drawing to the layer of painted newspaper and let dry

- Attach newspaper with tape onto the bamboo stick that can fit sail in a V shape so it looks like a sail. 

Results -

Discussion -

As expected, our wind racer didn't go that far because of our sail. We didn't want to make it go the furthest but we wanted it to look the best. It was surprising to see that our wind-racer actually went forward on its own, then it had fallen down. Below are our distance, time and speed of our wind-racer.

Distance - 30cm

Time - 2.73s

Speed - 10.1 ms -1

Home Economics - International Foods

Novel Study - Unwind - Part 6, Unwound

Connor and Risa are sent to Happy Jack Harvest Camp. Describe what it is like, and explain why it is like this. P265-266
- Happy Jack Harvest Camp is like hell hidden as a paradise. Everything looks like a happy place but everyone is terrified of being unwound, the people that haven't been unwound yet are kept till they are needed which terrifies them even more. The staff are all dressed in bright happy colours but it contrasts against what the place actually is. It is like this because they want the unwound to live their lives the happiest they think they can be but instead are scaring them even more. Instead of properly letting them have fun they are making them do things to see what body parts are the best and more important than the others. 

What is the exact percentage of the Unwind that you have to keep alive? Why is it not 100%, as Risa believes? P269
- 99.44% of an unwound body parts can be donated. This is because they have to take into account some parts like the appendix. 

What do the unwinds call the place where unwinding occurs? P271
- The Unwinds called it the Chop Shop.

Lev too is at Happy Jack but as a tithe. Why is this?
- This is because his parents never changed him from being a tithe, no one knows he isn't one anymore. As he is now a clapper he has to do his job and the only way that he can get in freely is acting as a tithe.

On p278 Connor and Roland finally have the fight that's been brewing between them. What does each character realise during this?
- Connor realises that Roland is much stronger than him. He also realises that they are quite similar in height.

- Roland realises that he could actually kill people and is quite scared about it as he hasn't ever killed anyone. He also realises he could kill Connor easily and all it would take would be to clench his fist that has Connors's neck.

P284 - What group has Lev joined, who recruited him, and when will they follow out their plan?
- A group called the Clappers recruited him, which was lead by Cleaver. They were going to follow out their plant when one of them was going to be unwound or when Blaine decided that we were going to. 

Roland is called for unwinding on p286. Why is this?
- Roland is called for unwinding for his blood type. His blood type is AB negative which was rare and was also high in demand at the time.

Chapter 61 is arguably the most confronting chapter in the book. Here we have Roland's first person narrative of being unwound. Do you think this chapter is necessary? Why do you think Shusterman chose to have Roland's experience detailed? Do his memories alter how you view him?
- I think this chapter is necessary because we learn the process of unwinding and how people's body parts are going to be used. We also learn that Unwounds must be awake during the process. I think he chose to have Roland's experience detailed because we learn more about Roland and why he could've turned out this way. I think its also to see what Roland's life was before he was unwound. His memories don't really alter how I feel about him because I knew something in his past must've happened for him to want to protect the females in his family.

Why does Lev decide not to clap? P310

- Lev decided not to clap because he was in shock. He just realised that Connor "died' and he didn't get the farewell he deserved. He was also scared because he didn't want to end his life just yet. He was trying to clap but the shock was too much for him and he froze up.

Marshmallow Catapult Shooter

Aim - To make a marshmallow shooter and work out what forces are acting on it

Equipment -
- Plastic Cup

- Scissors

- Balloon

- Marshmallows

Method

- Cut out the bottom of the cup

- Cut off the neck of the balloon

- Stretch the open end of the balloon over the bottom of the cup

- Place marshmallows in the cup

- Pull balloon back to fire marshmallows

- Results -

Discussion -

When the Marshmallows were in the catapult all forces were used to keep the marshmallow from moving out of the cup on its own. As we set up for the catapult to shoot the forces used the most were drag/friction as we were setting it up to let it go so friction would make it go further. As the marshmallow left the cup the forces that were greater were thrust as the marshmallow flew out of the cup without having to have any stops. When the Marshmallows were falling to the ground the two forces that were greater than the others were gravity and support as the marshmallows were falling down to stop it from going any further. 

Conclusion -

The marshmallow catapult worked really well as the marshmallow was able to be shot out and it was also able to hit some people. If I could change anything it would be to tape the balloon onto the cup and also use plastic cups instead of a styrofoam cup as the styrofoam cup started breaking from the balloon. 

Novel Study - Unwind - Part 5, Graveyard

Which job in the graveyard does Risa get assigned to? How does this come about? P201
- Risa gets assigned to be a dishwasher then becomes a medic, this is because a kid comes in with blood caking him and his nose is bleeding. Risa tells him how to stop the bleeding without gaging himself with this own blood. She is then upgraded immediately to a medic while the kid becomes the dishwasher.

Why doesn't Connor volunteer for "work"? P205
- Connor believes the Admiral is working a slave market instead of a refuge place. He believes that people are being sold off to others or even to the cops to be unwound and that the admiral is also using them for his own pleasure. 

How does Roland unsettle Connor? P206-207
- I think Roland unsettles Connor with the amount of knowledge he has on the graveyard already. They've only been in there for a few days and he already knows so much. I think he is also unsettled because of Roland and the Admirals teeth. In the text, Roland says that the Admirals teeth look very similar to a kids photo in his room, which is hung up. He then says that the teeth are probably the kids and he doesn't know how many unwound body parts the Admiral has. It makes Connor think a lot about what Roland has said and makes him mad because he actually starts to believe Roland.

P208-209 detail Lev's arrival, and Connor's reaction. Make sure you fill in your character profiles for both characters.
- When Lev arrived Connor was surprised but angry as he thought Lev was Unwound. He was happy to see him but then thought about everything he had done and was angry. When Lev spots him he smiled and tried walking to Connor before Amp told him to stay in line. Connor said that he knew him and Amp let him pass. Once Lev reaches him he punches Lev straight in the face, just to get all his anger out and then hugs him tightly like he would do with his brother. 

- Lev looks completely different to how he did at the start of the story. Instead of having clean hair, he had unkempt hair that looked dirty and instead of wearing white clothes, he wore worn jeans and a dirty red T-shirt. Instead of having an innocent look, he has a hardened look which surprised Connor.

- Connor looks similar to how he did at the start of the story, just acted differently. Instead of going straight to lev he stopped, thought about it and looked at Lev from far away. He thought about everything Lev has done and kept his thoughts to himself. Instead of being impulsive and going straight to Lev, he waited until the right time and then talked to Lev.

P214-215 Connor learns the truth about the Admiral here. How does the Admiral gain Connor's trust?
- Connor bursts while talking to the Admiral and says that he is able to pick and choose who gets unwound and what body parts he gets. This makes the Admiral mad and he takes out his dentures in front of Connor. Connor is horrified and confused as he believes that the teeth he has is the kids but no blood is pouring out. The Admiral explains that the kid in the photo is his child and they used his dental records as reference for his teeth. Connor is happy about the explanation and starts to trust the Admiral.

What, according to the Admiral, is it that Connor is becoming famous for in the Graveyard?p212
- The Admiral believes that Connor is becoming more famous in the Graveyard for his repairing skills and his fighting. Everyone knows that Connor is extremely good at fixing things which makes him known for that. He is also known for fighting as he helps resolve problems, even if he loses the fight.

What happens to the Goldens?p217
-  The goldens were stuffed into the same crate that the last kids who died from suffocation were in. They had died in the same way they died, from suffocation in crate 2933.

How does Roland begin to assert his power in the Graveyard? (you'll need to look throughout the section)
- Roland begins to assert his dominance by telling the other kids that he was specifically chosen to be the Pilot's assistant. Kids become impressed by him because of his age, and he also manipulates them. Later he soon acts like what the Admiral would act like, giving people rides in the plane, letting them vote and giving their opinions. They all start to listen to him more.

P222-226 give us an insight into how the Unwinding Bill was passed into law. Summarise what happened, then explain whether or not you think it is plausible.
- In the heartland war, there were three sides, the Life Army, the Choice brigade and the remains of the American military, the Admiral was on the military's side. The whole heartland war began because of an argument which had then turned into a war. One side was murdering abortion doctors to protect the right of life, while the other side was getting others pregnant to sell fetal tissue. They had both gotten the weapons to destroy each other when the Bill Of Life was going to be introduced. As a joke, they said a child could be "aborted" once they were of age if their parent wanted them to, but that same year someone won a noble peace prize for being able to transplant every piece of someone's body. As the war was getting worse the army proposed the idea of unwinding, hoping it would shock the two sides into seeing reason, but to their surprise, both sides agreed. The Bill Of Life was introduced and both sides were quite happy with the idea, not worrying about the consequences. I don't think it is plausible because they just agreed because of the noble peace prize winner. The side that was fighting for the right of light doesn't know when you are transplanted, whether or not you actually live or not. you don't know enough details to say yes without knowing the consequences. You also aren't giving the kids who are being unwound the right of life as you are letting the parents decide instead of them. You are also letting them be "aborted" which is what one side was highly against, even going as far as to kill abortion doctors. It doesn't make sense and also doesn't seem plausible to agree to.

The Admiral was there when the Bill of Life was signed - do you think this detracts from the believability of the commonplace nature of Unwinding? In your opinion, do you think the book should have a few more generations between those who signed the Bill, and the present state in the novel?
-  I think it does distracts the nature of Unwinding because not everyone knows the full process of unwinding when they had agreed on the Bill of Life. They didn't know enough but agreed to the Bill of Life because they thought it sounded right. I don't think they should have a bigger generation space because then kids would most likely all be unwound. They would all either be dead or completely afraid of being unwound, the kids now are afraid, but they are trying to stop the problem as it affects them the most. 

What job does Lev volunteer to do? P236
- Lev Volunteers to help with oil Pipelines. He volunteers along with another kid and Mai. 

Which part of Harlan Dunfree does Emby have? P240
- Emby has one of Harlan Dunfee's lung. He was given this because when he was younger he was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, both his lungs were shutting down so the doctors gave him one of Harlan's lungs.

Chapter 39 is from Roland's point of view. Why do you think Shusterman changes the narrative here? What do we learn in this short chapter?
- I think it is to see someone who isn't one of the main character thoughts towards someone who is the main character. I think it is also to see Roland's brief opinion on Connor. In this chapter, we learn that Roland has done quite a few things that most people don't know about, for example, we learn that he stole things from the infirmary and broke generators just to be able to blame the Admiral for everything and get people on his side. We also learn he is very cautious about Connor, as he thinks Connor knows way too much about the things he has done. 

By the end of this section, things at the Graveyard have deteriorated, with the unwinds turning on the Admiral, and tearing the place apart. Which character is beaten to death on p250?
- The character who is beaten to death is Cleaver, he was the pilot that made Roland his apprentice. 

What does the Admiral refuse on p255? What is the doctor's reaction to this?
- The Admiral refuses a heart transplant because he had a heart attack. The doctor is confused and a little afraid because he hasn't done a traditional heart surgery in a while but still remembers it from medical school.

Why does Roland have the Juvey-Cops called? P259 Why doesn't his plan happen? P260-1
- Roland has the Juvey-Cops called because he realises that he can turn in Risa, Connor and Himself to the cops for money. Each runaway unwound you bring in you get $500. This didn't happen because Roland was also an unwound and in return gave himself in with no reward. He tried bribing the cops but they had dealt with this all before, so they didn't believe him.

Social Studies - Egyptian Technology Timeline

 

Social Studies - Egyptian Technology Essay

Today, human technology has changed over time, we have evolved from the stone age to having mechanical robots doing our jobs for us. Egyptian Technology has changed over time, some examples of things are Shadufs, which is a water-raising mechanism used for agriculture, Papyrus paper, which is paper which was created from the Papyrus plant, and Sundials, which tell the time. This all matters because it has helped evolve human technology as a whole, and was the base of many things we use today.

One of the things that the Egyptians helped create was the Sundial. A sundial is a device that tells the time of day using the sun and shadows. It has been debated on whether or not the Egyptians were actually the creators, but scientific research explains that the oldest Sundial up to now is one that was made in Egypt. The Sundial, which was created in the 13th century BC is a piece of technology that tells the time. When sundials were first made they were large objects that weren’t able to move, since its evolution it has become a small handheld object that is on phones and electronic devices. There are two different main types of sundials, The first one is the altitude dial. The altitude dial helps determine the sun's altitude or height of the sun above the horizon. They are quite hard to work with as they need to be aligned correctly with the sun. The other Sundial is the Azimuth Sundial. The Azimuth dial helps people determine the time by the sun's angle on the arc. They need to be orientated correctly, but sometimes they have a magnet inside to help.

How it works is there is a base which has roman numerals on to tell the time. There is something called a Gnomon, which is the part of the sundial which casts a shadow when the sun hits it. The sun casts a shadow and hits the base which has the roman numerals and covers them which tells the time. When the sun is at its highest point of the day or midday, the shadow is at its shortest place. When the sun is lower, in the afternoon the shadow is at its longest. You may think, why can’t I use a stick instead, if you try it out it wouldn’t actually work. The sun changes when a season changes as the earth axis changes the height of the sun, this means that you can’t use a stick as it wouldn’t be accurate.


Compared to before clocks now have become much more efficient as a pendulum is used instead of a Gnomon. They have also become smaller and more convenient for people these days to use. It has also become digital due to technological advancements and because cellular devices have become one of the biggest things used today. The difference between an ancient sundial and a clock is how they use the sun. A sundial uses the real sun and is quite accurate whereas a clock uses a makeshift sun, called a mean sun, which assumes to move orderly at all times of the year. This is only one thing that the Egyptians created that are still being used today in modern times.

Another thing that the Egyptians created was papyrus paper. Papyrus paper is an extremely early version of the paper that was used in life. This is important because it helped us get to our paper now, which is made with tree bark. Papyrus paper was made out of the Papyrus plant, which looks like little palm trees. The papyrus plant was used for many things for example sails, cloths, mats and cords. Instead of using the leaves of the papyrus plant instead, they used the root as it worked better than the thin leaves of the plant. Making papyrus paper is actually quite easy, all you need is papyrus plants, something to pound it down, water, and a burnisher, to make the paper smoother. The Egyptians would gather the papyrus plants, split the roots from the leaves, cut the roots in half, and then soak them in water for a day. They would then lay the roots across one another and pound them into strips. You would then soak it again for around three days, press it for three days and then burnish them with a smooth stone before it would be used. Compared to before the paper we use today is so much more different as we use tree pulp in the same way, but instead of pounding it down, we fit the tree pulp from water and let it dry for a day. The paper these days are also less time consuming as anyone at home can make paper in thirty minutes, instead of waiting for almost a week. This is another thing that the Egyptians have created that have still been used today.


The sundial and Papyrus paper are only two things that the Egyptians helped create. So much more has been created by them which have also helped shape human society today. Without the technology that our ancestors created, we wouldn’t be able to function as we do now, our world would work differently.

Art - Art Techniques

L.O - Learn about different techniques to use in art



This semester for art we are going to be making murals about Hornby. To create the murals we need to use painting techniques to make it the best it can be. Since we started we have been drawing, painting and learning new techniques. Some techniques we used were stencils, layering, texturing and more.

Stencils

Stencils are things that you paint over to create what the stencil left open when making the stencils we were asked to make either a four-leaved clover, a bunny, or a complex looking bird. I decided to create a bunny. It was quite easy because all we had to do was draw the bunny, cut it out and use the paper that we cut the bunny out of as our stencil. We then used paint and a piece of cardboard paper that had a brick style on it and painted on it in different ways. I first fully coloured the bunny as my first go and then started blending the colours to create different ombre’s colours. I then coloured the outline of the bunny to give it a weird look and afterwards I outlined it and left some parts empty to give it a spray paint look. It was really fun because I could use many colours and I didn’t have to try that hard. When cutting out the stencil for the first time I had a little bit of struggle because it wasn’t cutting properly but then It started cutting properly. It was fun to make stencils and I would try to do this again. We were told to do this because of an artist called Bansky. Bansky uses stencils and layers his art to create a defined piece of artwork.













Layering is when you layer paint over your artwork again and again to create a detailed piece of artwork. When making this we learnt how to specifically layer our outwork to make it work properly. It was quite hard to do because of the colours I used but some of the artworks looked better than the others. This took us a few periods because we needed to do quite a lot of different colours and techniques while painting.







What techniques would you use if you were to do this and why?

Novel Study - Unwind - Part 4, Destinations

This section opens with Lev in a pawnbroker's. What does this tell you about how his character is changing?
- It shows that he isn't as scared to do things that he would've considered bad before. He realises that he needs to take risks to live instead of living by the rules so he uses his skills to deceive the pawnbrokers.

While being transported to possible safety, some of the kids on the run wonder, "Would it be better to die or be unwound?" If given the choice, which would you choose? Why? This response requires more than one or two sentences! Put forward at least three reasons why you think what you do.
- I would rather die than be unwound. Like what Hayden says in chapter 27, Unwound's aren't really dead, pieces of them are still alive and don't realise that they are dead yet. In Cy-Fi's case, he has 1/8 of a human being nagging him inside his brain and he never knew why. You would think they would be completely dead but somehow a part of them is still alive. Another reason is that the process of being picked apart must be painful to go through, not physically but mentally. Imagine being picked apart even though you are completely healthy and having to lose your life because of parents or caregivers that you trusted, it would make you feel guilty and maybe go insane. My last reason is that it should be your choice to pick if you want to give your organs away. Now people are able to choose if they want to give their organs away to someone when they die. In this world, children can't pick and are merely sent off without a worry. It should be the host of the bodies choice if they want to give organs away than being forced to by your parents and the government.

Another question the kids in the book discuss is, "If every part of you is still alive but inside someone else, are you alive or are you dead?" They also wonder if consciousness can exist even if it's spread out, and if the soul remains intact. What do you think? Read Thomas Hobbes' Ship of Theseus puzzle to help you make a decision. Be sure to reference it in your answer!http://metaphysicist.com/puzzles/ship_theseus/
-

This section of the novel sees Lev and Cy-Fi finally make it to Joplin. As they get closer, Cy-Fi's behaviour becomes increasingly erratic. What are some of the things he does, or things he likes, that are not his own behaviours or memories?
- When they were soon arriving at Joplin, Cy-Fi starts by saying "Home of the Joplin High Eagles - reigning state champions in girls' basketball". Lev says that he knows a lot about the place and Cy-Fi retaliates by saying that "He knows, or knew, or whatever". It tells us that Tyler, who is the "he" is making more appearances and is remembering the place. Twenty miles away from Joplin Lev also noticed that Cy-Fi's twitching became worse, as even walking was difficult for him, and instead of it being twitching, it has become seizurelike shuddering that left him shivering. He then starts remembering places that Tyler's memories remember, for example, the Ice Cream shop that has pumpkin ice cream, which Cy-Fi dislikes. He then remembers the way to his house and has a struggle with Tyler as he tries to take hold of his body. They then switch back and forth while and at Tylers parent's house.

What was Cy-Ty hiding in his backyard? Pg 185-194
- Cy-Ty was hiding jewellery in his backyard behind his dead pets graves. There were gold rings, bracelets, necklaces etc.

The section ends with Cy-Ty reaching his destination. What do you think of his parents' behaviour? What does Lev's support show you about his character?

- I think Tyler's parents are scared of him because after being unwound he is back in another persons body and can only remember them, bits and pieces of his hometown and the briefcase that contained the jewellery.  In a part when Cy-Ty asks if he is going to be unwound, his parents huddle together insead of trying to help Cy-Ty. I think Cy-Fi's parents are glad that he is back and that he is safe because they don't care that he had left, though they were a little hurt that he left them in the first place. They understand that he has to do something and the let him, knowing that he won't rest until he does. I think Lev's support shows us that he is quite a caring person, and that he is loyal until the end. Even though they had made it to Joplin, Lev still stayed with Cy-Ty until the end when Cy-Fi was back and with his dads. I think he is the type of person who checks to see if they are completely fine before leaving them and going back to his own problems.