Market Research

 Here is my market research conducted on waffles in the school cafeteria. I am posting this on my blog because Mr said :)

Product and Research Purposes -

The product our market research is being conducted on is waffles sold within Hornby High Schools cafeteria. The research purposes are to see if the student population eats waffles (particularly the ones sold by the school currently), if they would like new flavours to be developed, what flavours they would like to see, how much they would be willing to pay for waffles and if additional features (such as heating waffles up and adding toppings) will increase the demand for waffles. This is an effort to see if there is any point in selling waffles at the school cafe and if developing the current waffles more would increase its demand. 

Secondary Research -

We carried out secondary research in order to gather more information about our target market and the competition our product may have. From this we have gathered there are approximately 790 students at this school. We have also been able to identify the competitors of our product, those being other products sold at the school cafe. These include cookie times (sold at $1), popcorn ($1), hash browns ($2), slices ($1.50).  https://hornby.school.nz/

Primary Research - 

We are conducting this primary research to evaluate if people at Hornby High School would be willing to purchase new additional flavours of waffles at the school cafe. We sent out the survey to the whole school (self-selected sample) and from this 170 students replied. This is a good representation of the population as it is 21.5% of it, the equates to just over ⅕ of the school population. 

Survey Results 

Pricing - 

To start our survey we wanted to ask about their opinions on pricing. Here are the results:

Graph 1 depicts how much people are willing to spend on waffles. The graph shows that approximately 80 of those surveyed were only willing to spend $1 on a waffle, this is 50cents lower than the current prices of waffles sold in the current cafe. Selling waffles at this current pricing of $1.50 was what 20 of the surveyed population were willing to pay. At the higher prices of $2 and $2.50 less than 10 people were willing to pay for waffles, this was expected due to it costing more than what waffles currently cost. 

Graphs 2 and 3 show the sampled populations' opinions on prices and whether they currently buy waffles from the school cafeteria. 67.3% of those surveyed said they did not buy waffles from the school cafe. 22% did current;y purchase waffles from the school cafeteria but believed that the pricing was too high and should be lowered. 8.9% thought that the pricing of waffles was reasonable and should not be lowered or higher and a mere 1.8% of the surveyed believed that the price of waffles was too cheap and should be changed to a higher cost. 

Additional Features-

Secondly, we aimed to find if the probability of someone buying waffles would increase if additional features such as toppings were included when waffles were bought: 

Graph 4 shows that 83.3% of the population surveyed would be more willing to buy a waffle if they were to be heated prior to purchase. This tells us that people would prefer their waffles hot rather than cold/at room temperature and that heating them could cause an increase in demand. 

Graph 5 illustrates that 88.1% would be more willing to buy a waffle if toppings (sprinkles, whipped cream, maple syrup, eg) were offered along with the waffles. This indicates that demand would increase significantly if a complimentary item was offered alongside the waffle. 

Rating of Flavours -

Graph 6 informs us that the majority of those surveyed believe that a plain flavoured waffle is mediocre with the average ranking being a 3. This is the lowest ranking of all suggested flavours and indicates that if we were to sell plain flavoured waffles alongside the other options it would not sell as high.

Graph 7 shows the ranking of chocolate chip waffles. The mode (average) of this ranking is a 5. This was the highest rank offered to those surveyed and shows that this is a flavour of high demand that would sell well in the school cafe.

Graph 8 shows the opinions of those surveyed of strawberry flavoured waffles. This flavour shows scattered results and many clusters. However, the average ranking seems to be 3.

Graph 9 shows the white chocolate chip ranking. The population surveyed gave this flavour of waffle a medium ranking of 5. Again, this ranking is the highest rank given in our survey and indicate that it would be a good flavour to sell.

Graph 10 informs us of the surveyed views on cinnamon sugar flavoured waffles. This flavour is not one commonly seen but however got quite a good ranking with over 70% ranking this flavour a 3 or higher.

Finally, Graph 11 shows up the opinions of those surveyed on sprinkle flavoured waffles. The medium ranking of this flavour was a 3, which although isn't bad, is lower than many other of the flavours above and probably wouldn't be worth selling compared to them.

Conclusion-

At the beginning of this research, we had the aims of discovering if the student population of Hornby High School, eats waffles if they would like new flavours to be developed, what flavours they would like to see, how much they would be willing to pay for waffles and if additional features will increase the demand for waffles. This research was done in an effort to see if the waffles currently sold by the school cafe could be developed more to gain a higher increase of demand and if there was even a point in continuing to sell waffles at school. To conclude, from this research we were able to find valuable information. Firstly, it was found that 67.3% of those surveyed did not buy waffles from the cafeteria currently, however, this could be due to pricing as 22% of those who did buy waffles believed that the pricing was too high and should be lowered. Adding to this 80+ surveyed thought that the price of waffles should be 1 dollar and not 1.50. Lowering this price could increase the demand for waffles at Hornby High School. Another aim was to find if additional features will increase the demand for waffles at HHS. We were able to easily conclude that adding additional features like toppings and heating it up would cause 88% to be more willing to purchase a waffle. From this, we can conclude that if waffles were to be sold adding these additional features along with the waffles would be beneficial to both the consumer and the cafe. Lastly, we aimed to find out if the student body would like new flavours to be developed and sold in the school cafe and if so what flavours. From the suggested flavours we offered in the survey both chocolate chip and the white chocolate chip was by far the most popular with getting an average ranking of 5. This suggests that these would be the best waffles to sell at the school cafe. Again, from this market research, we were able to come to conclusions on each of our aims and discover what developments would be most essential in increasing the demand for waffles in this school.

Evaluation - 

Strengths -

Sample size - a strength of our marketing research was the sample size. We had a sample size of 170 from a student body of approximately 790. This is 21% or ⅕ of our school’s population and was able to give an accurate representation of the opinions of the school. If there was to be a smaller sample size the results would not be as accurate as a lower amount of opinions would be voiced. 

Survey method - as we sent out an online survey we were able to get our results easily, as well as it is simple for the student population to send out. Choosing to use an online survey, by the means of google forms, we were able to send it out to the whole school, reaching more people than if we were to use another method such as paper sampling. 

Weaknesses - 

Secondary research methods - Our secondary research method was a weakness as we were not able to get much information on how well waffles are currently doing in comparison to its competitors and the demand for waffles at Hornby High School currently. This is considered a weakness as it meant we had to include these questions into our primary research and taking away from possibly finding out unknown information about waffles at our school, this is as if more questions were to be added our survey would become more lengthy and the response rate would go down due to people being less bothered to do it. 

Sampling method - We chose to do a self-select survey as it was easiest seeing we doing an online survey. This meant that we only had to send out the survey to the school and not put much thought into it. However, this could be seen as a weakness as it meant that people who didn't have a strong opinion were less likely to complete the survey. This also meant that we couldn't ensure that we had a range of different people from different groups filling out the survey (for example we may have only got responses from those in years 7 and 8 and not those in years 12 and 13) 

Improvements

sampling method -  Doing a self-select survey meant that only people who have strong opinions filled out the survey. Next time an improvement would be using another method such as stratified random sampling may have produced more accurate results. This would be as it would be able to be disrupted amongst a group of people who belong to different groups but also still be random and unbiased. This way we would be able to gather a mixture of opinions and be sure that it’s coming from people with a range of different backgrounds. 

Asking open-ended questions - although asking open-ended questions and allowing many responses is a good use of qualitative information, the way we went around it in our survey meant that it was difficult to graph and read. This is due to the hundreds of responses we had, with most answering the open-ended questions with the same answers.  An improvement of this struggle would be to give multiple options and then add an “other” option as one of the possible answers. This would improve our market research as it would be easier to analyse and graph, as well as still being able to gather the information we were looking for.

Harmful Effects of Drugs - Jessica

The harmful effects of drugs are made known in public service announcement 'Jessica'. Throughout the video see how negatively Jessica and the people surrounding her are affected by the meth Jessica is taking. For instance, when the audience is informed that Jessica forced her brother to smoke with her we are able to see that drugs can see that her thought process has deteriorated and her actions could lead to her younger brother also become addicted. This would not have happened if Jessica didn't fall down the path of drugs. This was done purposely to make the viewers of this PSA realise that drugs would not only impact them, but also impact their friends and family. The movie 'Walk the Line' also shows how much of a dangerous impact drug could have on the bros. In this movie "Johnny Cash" takes drugs to ease the pain of his brother's death but in doing this it leads to him destroying the relationship with his friends and family. Both Johnny Cash and Jessica

Film aspects, group work

we had to choose a movie trailer and write a SEXXXY paragraph on one of the aspects shown in the trailer. After completing that we had to answer so critical literacy questions. Here is the work I did base on the 'Rocketman' trailer.

SEXXY paragraph:

Music is used effectively in the rocketman trailer. For example, the trailer begins with soft music symbolising Elton to be soft and introverted but as the trailer goes on the music intensifies and dramatic, as does Elton and his career. This makes the audience understand how his career and life is going due to the beat of the music relaxing or becoming more upbeat, the slow, soothing music showing the good and easy parts, while the fast opening up his struggles in his life. The director purpose was to help show his journey as well as also giving light to the difficult things he has faced when pursuing his career in music. Coinciding with telling Elton's story through different types of music is tone. The tone in the trailer is dark and gloomy giving the audience a sad feeling when combined with the slow music. When the tone is bright, loud, upbeat music is often played with it, giving a more positive impression. The intensity of the music can be compared to Elton's life itself. As mentioned previously, Elton's life started out light and soft, and as his music career rocketed out of control, so did the music. While he began to accomplish more and more, the music became more celebratory.

Critical literacy:

Why is the text written the way it is? This trailer is written/filmed this way to help capture the audience into watching and viewing this movie. The director wanted to grab the attention of the potential viewers and pull them into Elton’s life. 

What views of the world is this presenting?  In this trailer, we can see the world of celebrities and music enthusiasts and how they live their life. The trailer doesn’t show us the less advanced world or the world of others, only really the artist, family, and the famous. We see the view of the music world and how easily it can change peoples lives, in both positive and negative ways. 

How would the text be different if it were told in another time, place or culture? If this text was told in another time place or culture the whole story would be different. If told in another time period, such as in the one we are currently in, music would be a much easier career, meaning Elton wouldn’t have to face as many struggles. The world now is also much more accepting of new things so he wouldn’t get judged as much. If Elton lived in a different place or culture than where the film is set, the text might become less advanced and less accepting as Elton wouldn't've had the equipment and in some cultures the music style shown isn’t  as popular, meaning Elton's career might not have rocketed

Film Aspects

How does tone work in a film? The tone is the brightness in a film. there are 3 things that affect visual tone; lighting, exposure, art direction. Lighting is how you choose to light the scene, Exposure is how much light you let into a camera and art direction is how much tonal difference there is in set dressing, props and wardrobe. All these things can help show the mood in a scene. In a scene from the movie, 'The Godfather' tone is used by making a dark and shadowy setting inside an office where the actors discuss death and stuff while outside where a wedding is taking place it's brightly lit giving us a much happier mood. Directors are able to control the feeling of a scene by using tone.
How does the over-the-shoulder shot work? An over the shoulder shot can show a connection between characters. While and over-the-shoulder shot gives viewers a subconscious sense of connection, single shots create an emotional disconnection. In a scene I watched (forgot what movie it was from) a dolly shot is used to visually show the disconnection happening. The ending of this scene ends with the man in the scene sharing the camera with a waiter showing he has a connection whereas the lady in the scene is shown in a single shot close up giving the audience the impression that she is alone.
How does film blocking work in film? Film blocking is the precision staging of actors in a performance. When it comes to blocking there are three aspects used. These aspects being space, shapes and lines. When film blocking using shapes there are 3 main shapes used, circles, squares and triangles. Circles can make the audience feel safer, Squares create limited space making it seem like someone is boxed in while triangles are sharp giving a more aggressive feel. Film blocking can be used to make things, such as a conversation between to characters, more interesting. It can also be used to tell us what is really going on.
How does camera movement work in film? Camera movement is how a camera is directed. A whip pan is when the camera quickly flips (it's like quickly turning your head) and it creates a jolt of energy where a slow pan is the same but done at a slower pace giving the viewers time to take in the landscape of a scene A tilt shot is when a shot tilts (shocking) and is used to reveal something to the audience or to grab our attention. Dolly zoom is when a camera slowly zooms in and is used to show an intense internal experience of a charterer. A Steadicam shot is different from a dolly shot as the camera is stabilised on the camera operated it gracefully glides within a space. A hand-held shot is similar to a Steadicam shot but is shakier creating more anxiety for the viewer.
How is the contrast used in the film?  Contrast can be used to turn a good script into a good visual. In Spike Jonze's apple home pod ad contrast is used as at the beginning darkness is the overpowering visual effect until the character interacts with the home pod and it then becomes a bright and colourful scene. He does this to show us how someone restricted breaks free.
How is the dutch tilt used? A dutch tilt can create an uneasy and disturbing feeling, signalling to the viewer that something is wrong. A Dutch tilt is where the camera has a noticeable tilt on the x-axis of the screen. This tilt was created by the german expressionist in the early 1900s. When using a dutch tilt you need to identify, consider and enhance the moment. To enhance your shot you consider how tilted your camera is, the angle used your lens focal length and your depth of field.
How do visual motifs work in film? A motif is any reoccurring elements that have a symbolic significance in a story. They are important as they ensure the story is able to operate on more than one level. According to the video I watch great work of art is made if you can keep coming back to it and still find greater depth.
How does a POV or POT shot work? A POV shot is a shot where the audience has the point of view of the character. This hooks viewers in as we are able to see key moments through the eyes of the actors. A POT is when is similar to POV but instead of seeing what he sees we get a sense of a thought they are having. Point of thought shows can allow the viewers to share a moment with the character as we can feel their thoughts. These are important to grabbing and drawing the audience in making the movie makes more meaningful and personal.
How does the insert shot work in film?  An insert shot is an isolated shot that focuses on a specific detail. this shows critical information to the viewer. The three main aspects of an insert shot are colour, composition and timing. Composition helps the viewer get the feeling. Colour is used to draw the audience into specific points within the insert shot. The length you dwell on an insert shot helps show the meaning.
How does production design work in the film? The overall visual look of the scene. Production design sets the movie mood, character and themes.
How does colour work in film? Colours can have a psychological effect on the audience. There are three factors that determine the colour. The first one being Hue, this is the colour itself. The second factor is saturation which is the intensity of the colour and Brightness being the last factor, this is how light or dark a colour is. In the movie 'The Matrix' the hue is mostly green due to it being set in digital matrix and viewers often associate green with coding and hacking.  The green in this movie also gives us a sickly feel matching the world the movie is set in. Some movies desaturate the colour out of them. This gives a cold, raw and gritty look. Brightness can create a contrast within the film.
How does establish shot work in film? An establishing shot establishes the scene of the movie. This hot can be used to show the relationship between the subject and the location. As well as establishing a location, they also establish the tone of the movie. Establishing shots can be expensive due to the fact that it shows the viewer everything

Creative Writing Goals

Step 1- I am/am not ready to learn because…

I am ready to learn because I understand what I am meant to be doing and I have all the equipment needed. 

Step 2- My learning goals are …

My goal is to complete the tasks and hopefully further my knowledge in these writing features 

Step 3- To engage in the connectivist learning process, I will need …

To engage in the connectivist learning process I will need my brain, a Chromebook, a blog,

Business Studies Reflection

Over this term of Business studies, we organised a business that could sell food to our school community. I think that it went really well and I enjoyed doing this part of the business. We had to write a reflection on how we thought the day went. Here is my reflection:

Personally, I think our group worked extremely well together which really helped us as that meant there wasn’t any drama between us. I think that our group did a good job with organising our business plan and managing our time to make sure that everything was completed in a reasonable amount of time. Actually selling our product went good as we sold all of our burritos and ended up making $123.5 which surprised me. 

I think that advertising could have been done earlier as it would have given people more aware that we were selling burritos, even though we sold out I think it would have given it more publicity within the school. Our group could have improved with the organisation of our shopping as we completely forgot some products we needed and purchased extra things than we needed (such as too much cheese). The wrapping of our burritos to start with could have been more efficient as it took a lot of our serving time up. 

Next time I would make a time management plan for the day so we wouldn’t be rushed and stressed on the day. If we did something like this again I would measure our quantities out more as in the end, we had too much cheese and taco seasoning. I would also prepare a proper recipe as our group justed winged it a hoped for the best. 

What did the Treaty of Waitangi say?

In social studies, we had to read the Maori version of the treaty of Waitangi and the English version and then compare both versions to find the key differences.

Article 1:

Key differences: The English version says that the European have complete control over everything in NZ whereas the Maori version says that the European only have control of the land and not the people.

Perspectives causing conflicts: Maori could feel cheated. Europeans could feel like the Maori are disobeying them.

Article 2:

Key differences: The British one states the Maori can only sell land to them whereas the Maori one says that if they offer land to the British and they refuse they can then sell it to anyone.


Perspectives causing conflicts: Maori could sell land to a non-british person & the Europeans could get mad.

Article 3:

Key differences: There are no major differences


Perspectives causing conflicts: The Maori may not get treated the same as the British like it states will happen in the treaty.

Why the Treaty of Waitangi was needed

In Social Studies we had to complete an essay on why the Treaty of Waitangi was needed. We had to write a paragraph about missionaries, musket wars, lawlessness and the Declaration of Independence and explain why they contributed to why the treaty was needed from the information we had accumulated over the past few weeks of looking at this topic. Here is my essay: 

Historians debate that comprehending the reasoning behind historical events is far more essential than remembering the specific details. In 1840, Maori and Europeans signed the Treaty of Waitangi. The Treaty of Waitangi was needed to establish laws and boundaries between Maori and Europeans. A written agreement between these parties was required for numerous reasons. Though the treaty was signed in the past it is still important to today’s culture. 

New Zealand’s lawlessness in the 1830s was a key factor in why the Treaty of Waitangi was signed. European whalers used to stop in Russell after long trips on their boats. Once on land, the European whalers would make poor decisions affecting the welfare of New Zealand and it quickly led to Russell earning the name ‘the Hellhole of the Pacific’. The whalers inadequate behaviour wouldn’t have stopped if actions weren’t taken to prevent these issues. Fortunately, the treaty allowed for these problems to be resolved. Obsessive drinking from the whalers leads to fighting, disease and prostitution between the Europeans and the indigenous women of New Zealand. The lack of laws provided a much-needed excuse for the treaty as it allowed them to enforce new standards of behaviours. 

Missionaries went out of their way to protect Maori rights and earn their trust and respect. The Maori decision to sign the Treaty of Waitangi was heavily influenced by the missionaries who did everything they could to help them. Maori were taught how to read and write in their native language, Te Reo Maori, due to the missionaries that we’re able to teach them what they knew. After concerns about the impact large land sales had on the Maori, the European missionaries purchased land for them in an effort to help the Maori keep the land that was rightfully theirs. Missionaries were also anxious apart the alarming numbers of Maori being killed or enslaved because of the musket wars leading them to do whatever they were able to do to fuse the situation. The reasons above prove how the missionaries did everything in their power to make sure the Maori rights were protected, ultimately leading in the signing of the treaty. 

Between 1807-1842 over 20,000 Maori lost their lives due to musket wars. Tribes without muskets were forced to trade large amounts of food and flax for muskets just to have a chance at surviving. Tribal boundaries changed dramatically because muskets fights became a common way to obtain more land. After muskets were introduced to New Zealand a number of wars broke out, killing thousands. Fatal incidents and huge loss of land became regular due to these wars. The introduction of muskets created great havoc and caused violence as laws were not in place to prevent the trading of muskets, making the Treaty of Waitangi all the more necessary to avoid situations like the muskets wars for happening again. 

Surely there must have been something in place before the Treaty of Waitangi, right? Intriguingly, just 5 years prior to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, 34 Maori chiefs signed the Declaration of Independence. The signing of the Declaration meant that chiefs would annually meet to discuss problems and establish laws boundaries, a copy of the flag would be sent to the king so New Zealand could trade with other countries and that the Maori would have complete independence over their country. Unfortunately, there were many negative consequences that occurred due to this signing. Tribes soon broke out into warfare causing chiefs to not meet. Despite complete mana and sovereignty remaining with the Maori, they could only trade with the British. The Treaty of Waitangi was needed in place of the Declaration of Independence to ensure laws and agreements were established to protect the land and people of New Zealand.

This essay has provided valuable reasons as to why the Treaty of Waitangi was needed. Lawlessness, missionaries, musket wars and the Declaration of Independence were all major impacts into why the Treaty of Waitangi was essential to New Zealand. We are able to gather that New Zeland was not in good condition before the treaty as no boundaries had to be set in place leading to many negative consequences such as disease, wars, murders, and having no rights. A treaty was an obvious solution to the issues that used to occur in New Zealand.

Comprehension Box

Caviar: Exotic and extravagant

1. The word synonymous in Paragraph 1 means: closely associated
2. The main idea in Paragraph 3 is: caviar was highly valued by powerful European rulers
3. Salmon are different from sturgeon because they are: they weren't endangered
4. In the future, it is most likely that caviar will: be more expensive
5. Which event happened first in North America: Supply was plentiful
6. You could conclude that trumpets were used at banquets to announce the arrival of caviar because of they: wanted to know it was a special delicacy
7. Caviar became less expensive for some years because of America: produced lots of it
8. You can conclude that in France they are fussier about caviar than many other countries because of they:  only call sturgeon eggs 'caviar'
9. The Persians called caviar cake of power because they thought it was: a type of powerful medicine
10. The text could best be summarised as a: description
11. The author most probably: wants you to eat caviar  - is interested in caviar
12. It is a fact, not an opinion, that caviar is: fish eggs
13. Ultrasound makes it possible to know the best time to harvest eggs without killing the fish
14. The pronoun they in paragraph 6 refers to salmon eggs

The party of the year

Which word in paragraph 2 means sociable? Outgoing
Which saying explains why Regan and Bethany complemented each other? Opposites attract
We can conclude that Bethany's parents trusted Regan because:  They were happy to let Bethany go if she attended too.
Which paragraph tells Bethany's reasons for attending the party? 1
In order to make herself more noticeable, what did Bethany do before entering the party? She: started applying makeup
The best summary for paragraph 5 is that it is a description of:  the events happing at the party
We can infer that individuals collapsed or snoring may have been: intoxicated
What caused Bethany to decide she would leave after she'd spoken to Steve?  Regans urgings
Who does the pronoun we in paragraph 8 refer to? Bethany and Regan
Bethany and Regan are similar because they both: care bout each other
We can conclude that many partygoers came to the party because they: They got text messages
The writer most probably wanted to use this text to: make adolescences aware of potential dangers
It is a fact, not an opinion, that large parties: are sometimes published by text
We can predict that many of partygoers will be: cautioned by police

Liar Liar

The word Physiological in Paragraph 2 refers to the science of the: body
Information about what and how a polygraph measure is the main idea of: paragraph 3
Before polygraph examiners try to determine if a person is lying, they must: find a person's normal physiological levels
What is a galvanic skin resistance also called? electrodermal activity
Blood pressure, heart and respiratory rate and electrodermal activity are similar because they are measured by:  sphygmoma - an instrument
you can conclude that Aldrich Ames: low blood
Which is the best summary for this text? how polygraphs work
The physiological increases measured by polygraphs could also be caused by: excitement
Which of the following could not affect the outcome of the polygraph test? the weather
Which sentence states a fact? polygraph test measure physiological changes
The writer's opinion about the polygraph test is: neutral
If a persons polygraph results show they are lying you could conclude they are: possibly lying
Which of the following is not measured with a sphygmomanometer? blood pressure
The pronoun they in paragraph 4 refers to: examiners

Home Economics - Pasta

In Home Economics we made pasta. We worked in the same group as normal. To complete the dish we had to cut and saute onion, heat up a sauce, cook the pasta. The pasta could've turned out better as our spaghetti was sticky, indicating that the pasta had been over cooked. In the end, the pasta was alright and it tasted fine but I definitely think next time we could do better. I think our group could've worked better as sometimes people were just mucking around instead of helping. One thing I thought went well was when we were cleaning up as all the dishes were done and the benches were wiped down before the bell went. Unfortunately, the photos I took wouldn't send so I am unable to show you the finished product.

Maori Gods - Social Studies

In Social Studies we have been learning about Maori Gods. we had to make a posters of one of the Maori God. The poster above is mine. I think it is interesting that many cultures have different Gods to explain natural causes. It is cool that although cultures can live on completely different parts of the world they all seem to have similar stories explaining the cause of things.

English - Critical Literacy - Adverts

Focus - Representations
Vocab - Stereotypes, Construction, Bias, Gender, Masculinity, Femininity

Today we looked at some NZ drinking prevention adverts. Here is the work we did: 

19. is this text fair? no, because of the main characters in these videos are young men
10. how are children, teenagers or young adults constructed in this text? They are seen as drunk people who make stupid decisions.
23. How does the text present age, gender or cultural groups?  the majority of these videos are the young mean of colour who seem to be drinking way too much
26. Why is this text written this way? to tarket people who they think that seems to drink too much.

How have people been represented in NZ anti-drinking ads?  The people represented in the videos our class watched all seemed to be young men of colour who are drunk. I think the people in charge of making these ads unfairly chose to use men because of the stereotypes that boys like to drink, are childish and make stupid choices.

English - Essay Brainstorming

Money is not an indicator of success.
Success is more than just money, success is your personal achievements

School should close when it is hotter than 30 degrees.
School should close when hotter than 30 degrees because students wouldn't be able to think or learn well as it is too hot and they are in an uncomfortable environment.

Chinas former one-child rule should NOT be adopted by other countries

Home Economics - Japan

In home economics, we are learning about Japan. Something I have learnt about Japanese culture is that Tea Ceremonies are a symbol of respect and purity.  Compared to the majority of people in New Zealand, the Japanese take much longer to prepare food and put tones of effort into it. In Japan, it is common to have rice for every meal, whereas in New Zealand it isn't as common.

Another task we had to do in home ec was research rice, from this we now have to compose three questions someone else is able to answer. Here are my questions:

1. Why is brown rice healthier than white rice?
2. What colour is wild rice? 
3. Why is rice such common food? 

English - Critical Literacy - Musicals

Vocab - Stereotypes, Construction, Bias, Gender, Masculinity, Femininity

Masculinity stereotypes -

• Strong
• Manly
• Tough
• Brave 
• Aggressive
• Athletic
• Tall
• Work
• Blue 

Femanity stereotypes -

• Calm 
• Makeup
• Clean
• Small
• Quite  
• Passive 
• Delicate 
• Sensitive 
• Dress
• Soft 
• Pink

Somewhere that's green -

• Soft voice
• cleaning 
• man doing the mowing
• dress
• girl is cooking 

11. How are adults constructed in this text? Women are seen as cleaners and cookers whereas the men have more "masculine" jobs. The women are seen to be cleaning and doing jobs around the house with their hair all done and wearing dresses.

28. What kind of social reality does this text portray? Women have to do more feminine jobs while men are able to do the jobs seen more manly. The women are also perfect with her hair and dress immaculately.

29. How does this text construct a version of reality?  It constructs a version of reality as stereotyping someone based on whether they are a man or a woman was extremely common a few years ago and we are only now starting to not judge someone based on their gender.

27. What view of the world is the text present? The text shows us that in their world girls have to stick to the girly roles and the men have to stick to manly roles.

Legally Blonde - 

• dress 
• the only girl assumed to be dumb
• wants job
• not as soft and more confident. 

11. How are adults constructed in this text? The girl was seen as a dumb blonde, which isn't actually smart. She is seen as determined and doesn't have many of the stereotypical feminine traits

28. What kind of social reality does this text portray? The girl isn't judged by here gender instead she was judged on how well she did in school.

29. How does this text construct a version of reality?  Gender isn't how people are judged

27. What view of the world is the text present?

Art - Mural Research Thing

In art we had to do a research task about murals, here is my work:

Find a mural timelapse:

Artist name: Dan Kitchener

Art Location: 45th street/Butler street Pittsburgh, America 

My Comment: I chose this work because the colours caught my eyes as I was looking for a time-lapse. I like the detail of the work, how all the colours look together and I kinda like how chaotic it looks.

Find another mural:

Artist Name: Tess Sheerin

Where Arist is from: Tess Sheerin is from Raglan, NewZealand. She is an environmental activist as well as being an artist. 

My Comment: I chose this work because I like how it is simple and still spreads a message. I like how the background makes the seal stand out more and I like how the background colours correlate with the colours used for the trash. 

Home Economics - Souvlaki

In Home Economics we made Souvlaki. As usual, I worked with Cortney, Tana and Gabe. I think our group did a good job of distributing the jobs out evenly as we all ended up with jobs we were able to complete and that went with our skills in the kitchen. My job was to prepare and cook the beef that went in the souvlaki. The thing I think our group struggled with was cleaning as for some reason no one was really in the mood to clean as well as we normally do. Next time we could clean as we went along to make it easier for us in the end. We got to put whatever we wanted out of the food we had prepared. In my souvlaki, I put beef, lettuce, tomatoes and greek yoghurt. I thought that our groups' souvlaki turned out pretty well and I liked that we were able to add our own things in our own souvlaki. Unfortunately, no one in our group remembered to take photos otherwise I would have shared what the souvlaki looked like.

Physical Education - Gymnastics

In PE we have been doing gymnastics. In the 3 lessons we have had so far we have been getting used to the equipment and learning/practising some of the skills. The majority of my time in gymnastics has been spent on either the floor or the bars as they don't require taking socks off. Apparently, we were supposed to film our routine but none of our class got told this so no one filmed any routines. Although we didn't film our routines we still had to answer questions on how we felt like we are going to gymnastics so far. Here are the questions and my answers.

Something I did well? Something I think I did well was learning the routine for the floor as I can do the majority of the tricks and I also think I did a good job of learning new skills.
Something I could work on? I think I could work my handstand roll out as I don't have enough control to do the roll at the end.
How could I improve? I could improve my gymnastics skills by gaining more confidence as sometimes I doubt myself making me think I am unable to do a skill.


 Here is a step by step demonstration of what I am trying to work on.

Our whole goal in gymnastics was to eventually be able to complete a sequence. Jordy and I choose to focus on the floor. After a period we were able to successfully remember the routine.  The order of the routine was arabesque, cartwheel, forward roll, jump full turn the finish with a backward roll. The next period we filmed our routines, but we were a bit embarrassed so they aren't as good as they could've been. Unfortunately, the videos were unable to be sent at this point in time but I assure you that as soon as the video is able to be sent I will post it on my blog.

Learner Matrix - English

In English, we have been trying to improve our self-directed learning.  The first thing we had to do was highlight parts of the matrix in either green, meaning we feel like we do this or in yellow, which means we need to work on it. I wasn't sure about if I was already doing a few of these things but I tried my best to do it as accurately as possible. Here is my learner matrix:

We had to make a goal about one of the aspects we don't already do so I decided to do mine of having a positive attitude because I sometimes freak myself out when it isn't necessary. I also think it would be a good time to practice this aspect as creative writing isn't my favourite part of English.  My goal is to think positively about my work instead of doubting myself and my abilities. 

Figurative Language - Idioms