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.