Planning & Preparing for the Akomanga Kaihanga Showcase: Team Renegade

On the first week back to school from Monday to Thursday 9KMe spent their periods preparing for a project showcase on Thursday at 5PM.

The planning for our poster started out like this; Naomi had suggested adding a windy road because of our project theme. We then spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out where our text should fit. Once we liked the design we got Dr Jannie to check on it. At this point I was working on what we were going to write about and the speech that would accompany the poster.

The next time I checked in with the others, instead of a windy road it was a straight road leading up to a round-a-bout. By this time Temu was the one designing the digital form of our poster.

✨I have just found some digital drafts :O✨

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One success has to be how everyone was in agreement with the design. When someone had input it was about what they should add. 

One challenge we had run into (for what I was there for anyways) was how much time was actually spent on the draft and then the digital one. We had from Monday until Wednesday to complete it but we went a bit into Thursday.

Once I saw the end product, let me tell you, I was in shock. It looks so clean and organised and the colour palette is *chef’s kiss*! Not to mention the road was a fantastic idea. 

✨Do you see how cool this looks??✨

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Champion and I were working on creating the video that was going to be presented after the poster. When we finished adding all the information Temu had helped us with the design. Look at how clean the presentation is 😭!!

I think that Team Renegade has done an awesome job with the poster and presentation!! 

Congratulations on 25 blog posts in 2020

Power of Gratitude

Have you ever thought about what gratitude is and how it can impact our lives? Get ready and buckle up, because here we go!

Gratitude is an activity where you can express your appreciation for the things that make you happy. When showing gratitude you slowly begin to rewire your brain (with the help of neuroplasticity), helping to set you onto a more positive track. 

Seeing as our class topic is ‘gratitude’ Whaea Kata gave us the task of constructing a gratitude box/jar and to give it a name. 

Not too much thought went into the making of my gratitude box. I found an already decorated box so now I’m looking for my Kimetsu no Yaiba stickers to slap onto it.

I was now stuck pondering about the name of my box. I was scrolling through Pinterest when I saw a photo of Raymond from Animal Crossing. That’s when it hit me; Bubblegum K.K.. I got the inspiration from the game’s soundtrack, one of the songs being “Bubblegum K.K.”. The song is soothing and the title is cute so I thought “Why not?”

I started off with doing my gratitude reflections every night before bed but after around a week I stopped. Now I do them every time I’m stressed or need the boost. When I do my reflections I grab my pad paper, I find a comfortable position to lie in, and surround myself with music. 

Three things I am grateful for today are Eden, who has been keeping me company and now one of my closest friends in the class. Mrs Feps for giving me the rest of her nachos (and being an awesome teacher; helping me with my work and trying to converse with me) and my project group because we are able to work on projects that will help improve our community.

How Was My Lockdown Holiday?

I enjoyed the two week lockdown. I was able to catch up with people and enjoyed testing out digital learning from home. Every few nights I would go on calls with my best friend and we would just talk for hours. Social distancing was difficult for us at first but the more time we spent talking online the easier it was to get over that we won’t be able to see each other in person for a while. Those were the most enjoyable nights.

When I got to a certain amount of boredom my mum sent me audio books and I listened to those. I struggled to pay attention as I’d constantly get distracted by my cats.

Why It Is Important To Learn About Migration

I believe it is important to learn about human migration because in doing so we can understand what life is like in other countries. Some people emigrate to other countries because of how poor living conditions were there. Others are just searching for opportunities.

If we can understand and empathise with these people then we should be able to acquire the needed knowledge to work towards global growth.

Te Whare Tapa Wha

In health class we are working on identifying the four dimensions of Te Whare Tapa Whā and Hauora. Hauora looks at your health. Te Whare Tapa Whā is used to describe each aspect of your overall well-being. What are the four dimensions you may be wondering?

Firstly, Taha Hinengaro which means Mental/Emotional.

Anything in your life can shape the way your Mental/Emotional state is in. One thing that can be impacted is your Thoughts/Feelings. For me, when I go to sleep late, the next day I wake up and struggle to focus. That means my Mental/Emotional state has been negatively affected.

Taha Wairua which means Spiritual.

The things you believe in or value can shape the way your Spiritual state is in. For me, I believe that to stay ahead of work is to do it the day you are sent it. This leads to me feeling a sense of achievement because I now have a load of free time.

Taha Whānau which means Social.

The way you interact with others and how they interact with you can affect your social state. When I make an effort to talk and to listen to others that helps out my Social well-being.

Lastly, Taha Tinana which means Physical.

When you move around that counts as your physical well-being. Depending on what actions you do you can shape the way your physical state is in. For this dimension I usually walk around each day, which definitely improves my physical well-being.

Many people believe that health only applies to our physical appearance and so they brush everything else off. That could not be more wrong. Without all four of these dimensions your overall well-being will definitely struggle. What I mean by “struggle” is if more than one of these walls (dimensions) are lacking support then they may start to crumble. If one wall is crumbling you should consider talking with someone you trust. This will mean your overall well-being can have time to heal, even if it’s slowly.

This week and last week we were given the task of building a whare and naming each wall after the four dimensions. The pictures below are of my house (and some of my classmates!). I've got a lot to learn. Next time we do something like this hopefully I’ll be more organised.

Improving Glen Innes Road Safety

Kia ora! My name is Riiana and I am a year 9 student at Tamaki College. I am a part of Akomanga Kaihanga, a project-based learning class formed this year. Right now we are currently working on team projects. I am in Team Renegade with Amelia, our team leader, Naomi and Temu, our researchers, Champion, our note taker, and Poiva, our spokesperson. I am also a note taker!

My group is working on improving road safety around Glen Innes. So far we have decided to add raised crossings outside of Tamaki College and on Apirana Ave. We are also looking to reduce the speed limit on Line Rd. There are more ideas we have yet to discuss between ourselves like repainting white lines and filling in potholes.

We chose this issue as the majority of us live in the area and have concerns about the behaviour of drivers and their actions.

The steps we have taken to achieve our main goal is by getting the opinions of those in the community and forming coalitions with project leaders working towards similar goals. We have managed to form one, that being with ACC.

Once this project has been completed, Team Renegade hopes to have created a long term effect. What I mean by this is our main goal is to have decreased any chance of future road accidents. 

I am quite proud of the progress we have made through our journey. We first started with just focusing on Line Rd. Our design model had security cameras watching over the intersection and crossings also near the intersection. Now we have shifted our focus to the Glen Innes town centre and Line Rd.