Technology - Wood structure

In wood work with Mr Rees we have been making structures that we can hang things from. This project has taken our class a term to complete as we only have Mr Rees one hour a week. The first thing that we had to do was draw out a plan of how long each of the three parts were going to be.The structure was aloud to be 450mm long at the max but I could be smaller if you wanted it to be  My first part was the upright and it was around 150 mm long. My second part was a support that helps keep the joint and the upright together and it was 85mm long. The last part was the joint which was 200mm long. All in total my structure ended up being 335mm long if you put it side by side. The hardest part was probably cutting and attaching the support to the structure because we had to cut it on a angle and when we went to attach it we had to nail it in on a angle. My favourite parts of making the structure was measuring,oiling and planning making it because I really enjoy making all my sizes organised and all my work looking as neat as possible.

Musical Performance - Aotearoa

Yesterday we performed the song Aotearoa by Stan Walker in front of the year 7,8,9s and some year 10 classes. We had been practising for the performance since the start of the term. Everyone had to sing the chorus of Aotearoa but some people who were confident in sing a solo got a part of the verse to sing. The teacher choreographed most of the dance but she did ask for our input on how we are going to perform it and what we are going to wear on the day. We chose to perform it live seeing as it is more of a Maori culture and seeing if the performance was to celebrate the Maori holiday Matariki we though it fit quite well. On the day we chose to wear the old Branston Intermediate Kapa Haka uniforms. I was wearing a light blue skirt with a belt kind of thing because all of the other things we could wear were much to big for me which was a bit of a struggle because I didn't know what I was going to wear until the last day we had of rehearsing. On the day of the performance everyone was nervous either because we thought that we were not going to as well as last term,because there was a whole other coming to watch, We were going to muck up or just because we were nervous about getting up on stage in general or possibly because the only practice we had on the day didn't go as well as it could of. We were up first out of all of the performances so we had to get changed as soon as the bell rang for last period we had to go a quickly get changed while the others were getting seated. When we performed I was a bit embarrassed because I am not really big on performing in front of lots of performing and especially in front of my younger brother and my sister. My favourite part of song was when Kaela and Stacey sung the National anthem because I personally think that they are great singers and they sing really we together. The performance went better than I expected but I think I could have done a better job of acting like I enjoyed doing it because I was to busy worrying about not laughing because of my nerves. I think that we could of been a bit louder and brung more energy to the performance because I think that at times we were a bit quite. Next time I perform I am going to worry about my facial expressions and being a bit louder so it can fix that problem.  Over all I think the performance went quite well but we could of been a little bit better.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yesterday in home economics we made Chocolate chip cookies. The people I worked with were Ava and Jay. The positives of yesterday were that we were really good at our clean up and we were also good at our personal hygiene. The negatives of yesterday were that it was a bit hard to get everyone in our group to listen because we were so keen of getting the food into the oven. Next time I would try and make sure that the butter is exactly the right amount because it was 1 gram off and even though it didn't really impact the final result of the cookies it still annoyed me. One thing that went really well was that we washed the dishes as we went which helped us finish really quickly.

Here is the recipe:

200g butter
1 cup Chelsea White Sugar
1 cup Chelsea Soft Brown Sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla essence
3 cups flour
pinch of salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups chocolate chips
• Method

Melt butter, and add both sugars and cream these together. Beat in the eggs and vanilla then mix in the dry ingredients. Roll into medium sized balls, making sure the mixture is not too wet! Put on a well greased baking tray. They shouldn't spread too much so flatten slightly. Bake at 180° for 8-10 minutes.

Tip: you can easily half this recipe. Or roll half into a log, wrap in cling film and freeze. Cut into 15 pieces while still frozen and bake.

Shylock Study #1

Make a list of the insults and names Shylock has been called in the text so far. Dog, Lair and a Villon
Find lines/quotes in the text that show Shylock’s hurt, his rage, his loneliness.

Hurt: My own flesh and blood to rebel

Rage: He hath disgraced me and hindered half a million

Loneliness: I have always just shrugged and put up with it because Jews are good at suffering
Do you think he cares more about losing the ducats or his daughter? Shylock seems to want the money back more than his daughter
Shylock is powerless to get back his daughter or his ducats but Antonio is now in his power. Find the first mention of revenge. Do you think his thoughts of revenge are justified, give reasons. Shylock mentions revenge first when he finds out the Antonios ships have been lost at sea. I think that his thoughts of revenge are justified because of all the bad things Antonio has done to Shylock but I think that if he just stopped thinking about revenge the whole situation might turn out better in the end
A3S1 lines 54-62. What sentiment is Shylock trying to express here, do you find sympathy for him here? Shylock is trying to express that just because he is a Jew does not make him any different and that you should not judge someone for what they believe in because they are still humans.
Choose one ‘Hath not..’ quote and explain it. Hath not a Jews eyes - Doesn't a Jew have eyes

The Merchant of Venice - Act 3

Act Three, Scene One

Why does Shylock assume Solanio and Salerio know of Jessica’s flight? because they are friends
What is the second suggestion of misfortune for Antonio? The rumour is that Antonio ships with all his money and valuable things were in a ship wreak
Who has been looking for Lorenzo and Jessica, how do we know? Shylock because he wants his money back
Where do Shylock and Tubal arrange to meet and with what purpose? they arrange to meet at the synagogue and so they can arrest him

Act Three, Scene Two

Why does Portia want Bassanio to delay his choice? so if he is wrong she would have at least spent some time with him

What makes Bassanio choose lead over the silver and gold caskets? Because he doesn't want to judge a book by its cover

What does Portia’s speech A3S2 L166-174 reveal about the expected roles of a woman in marriage.

What did Gratiano’s and Nerissa’s wish to marry depend on? if Bassanio chose the right casket

How does Portia know that the letter contains bad news? Because it is making Bassanio turn pale

What help does Portia offer straightaway? twice as much money as they owe him

Why do we not expect this help to be successful? Because Jessica (Shylocks daughter) over heard him say that even if he was offered 21 times as many ducats he would still take a pound flesh

Do you think Portia would still be in love with Bassanio if she knew he had lied about his wealth? yes because she likes him better that any of the other men

Act Three, Scene Three:

Antonio is now convinced that he knows the reason for Shylock’s insistence on claiming his bond. What is it? Because money doesn't matter to him anymore as long as he get the pound of flesh
Why can the Duke not ‘deny the course of law’ according to Antonio? because it will be a threat about how people make money
What does Antonio seem resigned to his fate. What two important realisations is this based on? Because Shylock really wants the pound of flesh and money doesn;t seem to matter to him anymore
Do you think Antonio’s feelings towards Bassanio have changed since the beginning, why? No because they still seem to be best friends still
Shylock refuses to consider the idea of Mercy, but demands Justice. Consider the following ideas:

Is mercy the same as forgiveness? No
Is it easier to show mercy or look for revenge? For me it is easier to show mercy as you get a better result out of it
Is justice the same as fairness? no just because their is justice does not mean that it is fair
Is true justice possible in this case? Justice is possible for some people but not to all

Act Three, Scene Four
What is Lorenzo’s opinion of Antonio? he admires him
What does Portia tell Lorenzo she intends to do? Go and be a Nun
What does she ask Lorenzo and Jessica to do for her and why? Look after her house and because she trust them and she wants to go save her husband
Why does Portia think Antonio and Bassanio must be alike? Because she belives since they are best friends they mjust be alright
Why do Portia and Nerissa intend to travel dressed as men? Because woman can't get into court
In A3S4 L 60-78, how does Portia describe the behaviour and attitudes of young men.
Does it seem likely that Portia is going to follow the expected  behaviour of a wife? no

Act Three, Scene Five
In his jokey conversation with Jessica, why is Launcelot against the conversion of Jews to Christianity? he thinks that the prices of pork will go up
What is Jessica’s opinion of Portia? I think that Jessica seem to respect her

Can dos:

Tainted: To contaminate or pollute something

Ecstasy: An overwhelming feeling of happiness or excitement

Converted: change the form or function or something

Vantage: A place or position affording a good view

Oration: A formal speech

Constitution: The composition of something

Envious: A feeling or showing envy (Jealous)

Forfeit: A penalty of wrong doing

Mee Goreng - Home economics

Yesterday in home economics we made an Asian dish called Mee Goreng. The students I worked with were Tanaya and Tana. The positives of yesterday that we finished on time and that we managed to follow the recipe without making any mistakes. The negatives were that we accidentally left a chair out making it a health and safety issue. Next time I would spread the jobs out more evenly so that people are not standing and waiting around not entirely sure what to do.  The Mee Goreng turned out better than I expected considering I do not like noodles very much.

Science - Microscope slides

Equipment: Chemical stain,Tweezers,Cover slip,Slide,Specimen (Transparent and thin) and microscope

Method: Place your specimen in the middle of a clean slide. Ensure that the specimen is laying flat and not folded over itself  

2. add 2-3 drops of the stain solution. Plant cells are usually stained with iodine and animal cells are stained with methylene blue.  Both of theses stain the nucleus of each cell

3. Holding the coverslip by its edges in your left hand,manoeuvre it so that the bottom edge of the coverslip makes contact with both the slide and the edge of the stain solution. With your right hand support the top edge of the coverslip with a pair or tweezers

4.Gently lower the coverslip with the tweezers ensuring that no air bubbles are traped under the coverwslip

5.Place your slide on the microscope stage and examine it under low-power magnificaton.

Here are some photos from the experiment:

This was taken through the lens of the microscope