What is Musical Theatre? 🎵

Musical Theatre is a performing art that involves both theatre and music all in one. Musical Theatre combines theatrical acting, music, song and spoken dialogue.

What is Mime?⁇

Mime 

Mime is the theatrical technique of suggesting action, character, or emotion without words, using only gestures, expression and movement.

An example of mime is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qepk-12IbUc
This is an act performed by Richmond Shepard. A man who has devoted his life to the art of mime. If you do not like people such as clowns, I do not recommend watching the video linked.

Creating Money in Enterprise!!! 💰💸

Creating Money 

For the first assessment for my Enterprise class, we were assigned to create banknotes. We had to design two sides of both notes, both of the said notes had to contain at least five of the characteristics of good currency. These characteristics being 

• Generally accepted
• Durable
• Divisible
• Stable/consistent
• Transportable
• Scarce (controlled by the government)
• Easily recognisable
• Difficult to Counterfeit

Here are the two notes I have created 

After we finished designing and creating our notes, we then had to make an annotated diagram showing all of the features of one of our notes, and then write a paragraph explaining how our banknotes meet the characteristics of good currency. My annotated diagram and paragraph are below... 

The banknote that I have created is one of the two that I have designed. There are many features that make this note difficult to counterfeit. The first being the bordering seen either side of the note. Using carefully raised ink and microtext throughout this note is one of the many ways to prevent counterfeit. A clear, embossed window with the Hornby High School logo can be found on the lower left corner on either side of the note. This colour changing window can only be seen in certain lighting, which again, reduces chances of counterfeit. Serial numbers can be found on the bottom and right-hand side, these numbers are used to track the money by the government. Having the government control and track the money ensures that the money stays scarce and makes sure that the money is generally accepted as well as keeping the value consistent/stable. The recognisable images on the notes ensure that people can tell that it is a Hornby High note, and also make sure its easy to recognise! These notes are made of a durable polymer that can’t be ripped and are water resistant, ensuring transportability and durability. It is stated on both sides that is legal tender. Again, microtext is used numerous times, ensuring counterfeit is impossible! Using a $100 and $10 makes the currency divisible. All of these features ensure that the notes well and truly fit the bill!

Regarding the relevance to Hornby High School, this note really fits the bill (I'm sorry I used that joke again)! On the left, on the back of the note, there are two Pohutukawa flowers, a beautiful native plant of New Zealand. One the middle of the back of the note, there is a microtext image of the new Hornby High School building. Finally “Te Huruhuru A O Horomaka” is the motto of our school. On the left of the note, we have a manuka flower plant, another beautiful New Zealand plant. In the centre, we have the Hornby High logo, an important thing for the school. Finally, we have the current Hornby High School principal, Mr Robin Sutton, a microtext image of him completes the brand new notes.

Finally, we had to put all of our work on a poster. I used canva.com to create a pretty poster online. I used some images of money and some clip art of coins to make my poster more pretty to the eye! Here is the poster I have created! 

Atlantic Slave Trade Triangle 🗺

This is my map of the Atlantic Slave Trade Triangle that I have created using MyMaps on google. This represents the process that happened with goods and slaves. Using the line feature, I managed to create a map that I can understand and that should be easy for others to understand.

What is the Slave Trade Triangle?
The Slave Trade Triangle indicates trade among three ports and regions. It was where the Europeans took the people from Africa, used them as slaves and then sold their goods.

What is the first passage?
The voyage from Europe to Africa is known as the first passage. The cargoes that were carried were guns and weapons in general.

What is the middle passage?
Guns and weapons were then traded for humans. They were then put on Slave ships and then sent to the Americas.

What is the third passage?
Materials like cotton, tobacco that slaves picked were sent to Europe and then sold.

Creative Writing Reflection 📖

For the past few weeks in English, our class has been learning about creative writing. Creative writing is one of my favourite aspects of English because we get the chance to use our imagination and create something completely original. I enjoy learning about creative writing because I get the chance to write stories and/or novels about anything I want to. I also learned that creative writing is more than just writing narratives, but also forms of poetry and even spoken word or language featurettes! Here is the reflection of my time in English so far!




The first task we were given was the soundtrack of our life. This task was fun because we got to choose 6-8 songs that are special to us and make a google slide about them. I choose 7 songs just because it's in the middle! I choose songs that are particularly special to me, and that I enjoy listening to. This task was quite challenging for me, only because I had to figure out exactly why I liked the songs, most songs I just like for no real reason. But these songs are quite meaningful to me and are very special in my opinion. You may notice that a lot of these songs are Malay, well my Mother is Malay, so I grew up with most of these songs. She sang a lot of these with me as a child, and a lot of my childhood was learning these songs and dancing to them.



Then it was on to "proper" work. We were then given a task matrix, this matrix consisted of work that we had to do at our own pace, but have completed by Friday the 22nd of February.  This work was about Creative Writing. I enjoyed all of these tasks and seemed to get them completed at a good pace. I  managed to get all of these tasks done by Tuesday the 19th of February, so I had time to do any further editing and make my google slide look pretty! I used a really nice template that I got online to make my google slide more appealing. All of my work seems to be good, but there is always room for improvement! I enjoyed using a matrix because we got to work at our own pace, but we had to have it done by a certain deadline! Having a matrix is how I would prefer to do my English work. Not only because we can work at our own pace, but so we can also choose which task we would like to do first, I prefer to get the "harder" ones done first just so I can get them over and done with.




Halfway through doing the task matrix, we watched a video about growth mindsets. After watching the video, we were tasked with making a piktochart with three important points made in the video. I choose to make quite a nice wee presentation sort of piktochart, using nice quotes and images to enhance my presentation. I thought that the video was very informative and important for students to watch, so they are more interested in learning and growing their brains. Fixed mindsets are what commonly stop students from working to their full potential. Growth mindsets are commonly taught around the world and are beginning to be more common in students and even adults!


After we finished the Growth Mindset poster task, we got back onto working on our task matrix, I began with sensory language. I enjoyed doing the sensory language tasks because I like to use sensory language to write really dark stories. The stories or paragraphs that I write are usually really dark stories, and the sensory language can make it way more interesting. The sensory language story or paragraph that I wrote wouldn't have been as interesting if I didn't use sensory language. I really enjoyed doing the Sensory Language task.


The next task that I did was SLAM poetry, I really like this task because I hadn't heard of SLAM poetry before. I had heard of a similar form of poetry called spoken word, which is in fact quite similar to SLAM poetry, except SLAM poetry seems to be more aggressive. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about it because poetry is really interesting and a beautiful form of art. The SLAM poem I reviewed was a beautiful piece about New Zealand and how we have lost some of our old values.


After SLAM poetry, I worked on Metaphors and Similies. Learning about Metaphors and Similies is quite important because they can make pieces of writing way more interesting. I didn't really use Metaphors or Similies in my own writing, but I think that I will now! I think that they are going to make my work more interesting and more enjoyable for the reader.

Language Features was the next task on the matrix for me to do. Our task for Language Features was to create a piktochart about a Language Feature or two. I decided to do a poster on Colloquial Language or Language that is informal. This type of language should not be used in emails, especially business emails. I don't know if I will use Colloquial Language in any of my writing pieces, but they may come in handy! 

The very last task for me to do was write three haikus. Haikus are a form of Japanese Poetry that consists of 17 syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five again. It is a very short form of Japanese poetry. We had to write haikus about seasons, the season I chose was Summer. Summer is such a nice season unless it's too hot. I really liked writing Haikus because it allowed me to be creative and extend my knowledge as well!

Soundtrack Of My Life ♪♪♪

For English, one of our tasks was to create a soundtrack of our lives, a Google slide about the songs that are important in our lives. Here is my Google Slide. My Google slide also has some info about me!

All you need to know about your Heart! ❤ (Not this kind)

What is a Heart Attack?
Heart Attacks are caused by blocked blood flow to part of the Heart, which results in damage to the Heart muscle. The blockage is most often build up of fat, cholesterol and other substances, which forms a plaque in the arteries that feed on the heart. Heart Attacks can be fatal.

Symptoms
Common Heart Attack Symptoms include pressure, tightness, pain, or a squeezing, or aching sensation in your chest or arms, that can spread throughout your body.  Nausea, indigestion, heartburn or abdominal pain are also common symptoms of a Heart Attack. But shortness of breath, cold sweat, fatigue, lightheadedness or sudden dizziness are also symptoms common in patients that have experienced Heart Attacks.


How to Prevent Heart Attacks
There are numerous ways to avoid a Heart Attack, here are three!

Control your blood pressure - High blood pressure is a major risk for Heart disease. As an adult, it's important that you get your blood pressure checked regularly, so you know if it's too high or too low.

Stay generally healthy - This sounds pretty obvious, but staying healthy in general is quite an important factor! Being healthy can lower the risks of Heart Attacks. Not only eating healthily and maintaining a healthy lifestyle but keeping cholesterol levels balanced and avoiding too much alcohol and smoking. Staying at a healthy weight and managing stress can also lower the risk of Heart Attacks.

Get regular exercise- Excercise has many benefits, it can ensure that you maintain a healthy weight, and also stay healthy in general, regular exercise can make sure you stay healthy!

                                                       Treatment for a Heart Attack

There are many treatments for Heart Attacks. But when someone is experiencing a Heart Attack, CPR should start immediately, manual compressions are best if a defibrillator is unavailable. After someone has had a Heart Attack, it is common for repercussions to occur. Common repercussions include Heart failure, weaker Heart and many more. 

Impact of Growth Mindsets on Students 🎓

For English, we were given a task after watching a video lecture about fixed and growth mindsets and to make a piktochart about three of the outstanding points in the video. To the right, I have the piktochart that I made using a template and individualised it! Here are my three points, you might have to click on the Piktochart in order to read the information! 

Development of Drama skills! 🎬

For the first few weeks of Drama, our class has been learning about using space. In the video to below, you can see that using our senses, we are moving together as a group, some of us went out of time at some point, but we all managed to do it quite well. We have also been learning an assortment of theatre sports games, such as Popup storybook that is my favourite! We have also been learning a text from a Shakespeare play that goes...

"Rumour is a pipe, 
Blown by surmises, jealousies, conjectures, 
And of so easy and so plain a stop,
That the blunt monster with uncounted heads,
The still discordant wavering multitude,
can play upon it"




This piece is our text for the term that we are learning about and using in our tasks. We have also made a wild west silent movie, a common exercise for drama. Our group took quite a traditional approach to the task, and it turned out quite well!

Phillip and his Phalanges! 👏

For Science, our class has been learning about Medical Science. One of the tasks we had was to draw a skeleton with all of the bones and muscles. My group was Jessica, Molly and me! Our group is pretty creative so Molly decided to draw a sombrero and snake on our Skeleton Phillip. Our group actually won the creativity section of the competition our class had. We accidentally forgot to label some of the bones, but we managed to do our best! Enjoy this smexy photo of Phillip. Photo credit to Molly!!!

I couldn't dance to save my life, but these people can! 🕺

Who is Parris Goebel?

Parris Goebel is a 27-year-old internationally renowned choreographer from South Auckland. She is best known for her major roles in choreography for films, as well as owning her own dance studio the “Palace”, her stunning dance crew “The Royal Family” has also made a name for themselves, winning numerous competitions and championship titles.

Where did she grow up?

Born on the 29th of October 1991, Parris Goebel is a Manurewa, New Zealand born choreographer, singer, director, actress, and businesswoman. With her world renowned dance crew “The Royal Family” by her side, Parris Goebel is a Quin threat! She has also choreographed for many other artists and dance crews. LeeAnn and Brett Goebel are Parris’ proud parents. Parris was interested in dance from a young age but is mainly self-taught.

How/When did she study dance?

Parris studied at Auckland Girls Grammar school, but she dropped out at the age of 16 to focus on her passion; dance. It is amazing that she is mainly self-taught! She proves that you don’t need to have all of the fancy teachers or anything of the sort, you just need enough passion to drive yourself towards your goals.

Who is the Royal Family?

The Royal Family is just one of Parris’ dance crews that are found in Penrose New Zealand.

What competitions have they been involved in/won?

The Royal Family have performed at many competitions and have also won many. the gold award at the World Hip Hop Dance Championships THREE YEARS IN A ROW. Other awards the Royal Family have won include silver at the World Hip Hop Dance Championship in 2015.

Which famous singers have they danced for?

The Royal Family, and Parris Goebel herself have danced for many famous singers including, Big Bang Janet Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, Black-Pink, Ciara, Little Mix, Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj. But there are many more too!

Currency throughout history 💰

AUREUS 💸
The currency of Ancient Rome typically consisted of coins, made from various metals, such as Gold, Silver, Copper and Bronze. It was first named nummus aureas or denarius aureas. In Constantine's reform of AD 312, the aureas was replaced by the Solidus as the basic unit of currency. The currency included aureus (gold), the denarius (silver), the sestertius (brass), the dupondius (brass), and the as (copper). They were still included as payment in Greek-influenced territories. The Aureas was regularly issued from the 1st Century BC to the Beginning of the 4th Century AD when it was replaced by the Solidus. An advantage with this money was that is was recognisable, but a downfall is that it seems easily counterfeited.  


CHARGE IT CARDS 💸
Credit cards all began in 1946 with John Biggins Charg it card, it was the first bank card in the United States.  Patrons at upscale stores who didn’t want to carry cash would have their purchases recorded in a ledger book at some stores, but that became problematic as urbanization and larger stores meant that recognizing customers and trusting them to pay wasn’t quite as a reliable method as it used to be. So, stores would provide a means of identification with the name of the store, and perhaps a number to confirm you were who you said you were. These credit indicators were only good at one store, but they were really the beginning of consumer credit in the way we think of it today. It allowed a sales clerk to quickly record an imprint of the information on the card and was popular in malls. A bank issued a card that let people in a two square block radius charge to the bank. The area was limited by necessity- merchants had to leave sales slips with the bank. An obvious advantage was that it was easier to carry around rather than cash, but a downside is that it was bulky and seemed a bit of a hassle to use. 


APPLE PAY 💸
Apple Pay is a mobile payment and digital wallet service by Apple. Apple Pay is easy to use and works with Apple devices. They are used to make secure purchases in stores, within certain apps, and on participating websites. When you make a purchase, Apple Pay uses a device-specific number and a unique transition code. Released in October 2014, Apple Pay seems to have taken the world by storm! I think that it would be so simple just using your phone to pay for all of your purchases, but I think that it would make it easy for people to use your card details to pay for their things. Also, you need to have a compatible Apple device to use it, and I don't really think it's practical anyway. 

English Creative Writing Matrix Tasks ✍

In English, our class has been learning about creative writing. In the Slideshow below, you will see the tasks that I have completed over the past week and a half. I have learned about many different types of Creative Writing! Personally, I would like to learn more about different genres of Creative Writing, such as poetry, spoken word, and even creative non-fiction!

What are Human Rights? 🌍

At the start of the Human Rights Unit, I had a small idea of what Human Rights were. Our Learning objective for this unit was to Learn what the 30 Human Rights were. I didn't know that some of these Human Rights existed! I thought that some of them were confusing but I soon understood what they meant. Human Rights are a vital part of our lives and it's important that we know what they are. Personally, I would like to learn more about how far New Zealand has come as a society. Learning about the past mechanisms used previously. Also, to delve deeper into Human Right origins and famous people that have fought for Human RIghts.  

Arthritis: It hurts, like... really hurts

What is Arthritis?
The term "Arthritis" in literal definition means inflammation of the joints but is more commonly used to describe any condition regarding severe pain in the joints. Arthritis is a condition that affects your joints. There are more than 100 different types of arthritis and closely related conditions that anyone of any age can suffer from, and can involve almost any part of the body; knees, hips, spine, and other joints that bear heavy weight. This can also include smaller joints such as fingers and toes.  This condition occurs when your joints become damaged or worn out. The actual cause of Arthritis will be explained further later in this post as well as the different types of Arthritis. 

The joints in your body...
Almost every day, you move your arms up and down, exactly how is this possible? Most people don't give it much thought, however, moving your arms or legs in this manner would not be possible without specialized structures called joints. The most common joints are freely movable joints in the body called Synovial joints. Synovial joints are the most movable part of the body. In the human anatomy, a joint is a physical connection between two bones. For example, the knee joint is the point of connection between the femur, or thigh bone. There are six types of synovial joints, without these joints, your body could not move like it does today. 

The Pivot Joint

The Pivot joint is also known as the rotary joint and allows for rotational movement. This type of joint can be found between your neck vertebrae. When you turn your head side to side, its due to the rotary movement allowed in the Pivot joints. 





The Hinge Joint
These joints can be found between your upper and lower arm bones, aka your elbow, as well as your ankles, fingers, toes and feet. Hinge joints operate like hinges on a door. They allow for a swinging motion, where bones can either flex towards each other or extend apart. If you twist or overextend these joints, it can result in injury. 





The Saddle Joint
Saddle joint is similar to the Hinge joint, but provide more range of motion. In the Saddle joint, the bone sitting on the saddle can move in an oval shape relative to the other bone. Our thumb is a classic example of a Saddle joint, thumbs can move using a hinge-like motion but can also rock from side to side. This is because of the Saddle joint. It's the Saddle joint that makes our thumbs opposable. Human thumbs are called opposable thumbs because they can be moved around to touch the other fingers, which gives people the ability to grasp onto things. 







The Plane Joint
Plane joints, sometimes called gliding joints, are probably the most difficult joint type to visualize. They are usually associated with the small bones of your wrists and ankles. In this type of joint, bones slide along beside one another. This allows for movement in many directions, hence the flexibility of the wrists. These bones also are in your spine and ankles.  






The Condycloid Joint
Next, we have the Condocloid joint. These joints form where the head of one or more bones fits in a cavity of another. You'll find this type of connection in your wrists where it connects to the radius, or lower arm, and carpel, or wrist bones. These are characterized by one bone having an outwardly curved end while the other end is inwardly curved. The shape allows us to move the joint in two different ways, side to side, and up and down. 




The Ball and Socket Joint
This type of joint allows for a wide range of rotation and movement. Your hip and shoulder joints are the only Ball and Socket joints in the body, due to the need for great motion at the end of the bodies limbs and the vast amount of muscles needed to move and support such flexible joints. Two main compartments make up a Ball and Socket joint: a bone with a spherical head and a bone with a cup-like socket. In the shoulder joint, the spherical head of the humerus bone fits into the cavity of the scapula. The hip joint is somewhat less mobile than the shoulder but is an overall stronger and more stable joint. The added stability of the hip joint is necessary to bear the weight of the body resting on the legs while performing actions such as walking or standing. 



The Anatomy of a joint 
The joints are where the ends of two of your bones meet. The Cartilage is a type of tissue that covers the surface of a bone at the joint. Cartilage helps reduce the friction of the two bones, reducing the risk of wearing of the bones. The Synovial Membrane lines the joints and seals it into a joint capsule. Not only does it do that, but the Synovial Membrane also creates a clear, sticky fluid called Synovial Fluid. The job of the Synovial Fluid is to lubricate the cartilage. Strong Ligaments surround the joint to give support and hold everything together. 

The different types of Arthritis

As there are hundreds of different types of Arthritis, I will only include three in my list... 

Osteoarthritis

Sometimes called degenerative joint disease or degenerative arthritis, Osteoarthritis is the most common chronic condition of the joints. Osteoarthritis can affect any joint, but it occurs most commonly in knees, hips, lower back and neck, small joints of the fingers, and bases of thumbs and big toe. In normal joints, cartilage provides a smooth, gliding surface for joint motion and acts as a cushion between the bones. In cases of Osteoarthritis, the cartilage breaks down, causing pain, swelling and problems moving the joint. As Osteoarthritis worsens over time, bones may break down and develop growths called spurs. Bits of bone or cartilage may chip off and float around in the joint. In the body, an inflammatory process occurs and proteins and enzymes develop that further damage the cartilage. In the final stages of Osteoarthritis, the cartilage wears away completely and the bones rub against each other leading to joint damage and more pain for the patient. There are many reasons why someone might develop Osteoarthritis, such as excessive exercise, very little exercise, being overweight, or commonly, aging. Symptoms of Osteoarthritis include swelling around the joint, stiffness of the joint, weakness in the muscles, and painful cracking of joints. There are many different forms of treatment for Osteoarthritis, but most include some sort of painkilling pills. 

Gout Arthritis 
Gout is a form of inflammatory arthritis that develops in some people who have high levels of Uric acid in their blood. Uric acid comes from a protein called Purines that come from food. Usually Uric acid just passes through your body, but in certain circumstances, such as being overweight, the uric acid builds up. The acid can form needle-like crystals in a joint and cause sudden, severe episodes of pain, tenderness, redness, warmth and swelling. These crystals damage the cartilage. There are many stages of Gout. Asymptomatic hyperuricemia is the time prior to the first Gout attack. There are no symptoms, but uric acid levels are high and crystals are forming in the joint. Acute Gout, or a Gout attack, happens when something causes uric acids to spike or moves crystals that have formed in a joint, triggering the attack. The resulting inflammation and pain usually strikes at night and intensifies later. The symptoms ease after a few days and likely go away after 10 days. Interval Gout is the time between attacks. Although there's no pain, the Gout isn't fully gone. Low-level inflammation may be damaging joints. Chronic Gout develops in people with Gout whose uric acid levels remain high over a number of years. Attacks become more frequent and the pain may not go away as it used to. Joint damage is a common thing, which can lead to a loss of mobility. This stage is commonly preventable. 


Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation, pain, and swelling in the joints. It can occur at any age but most often develops between the age of 25 and 50, and affects women more commonly than men. Rheumatoid Arthritis typically starts in the small joints of the hands and feet but it can also affect other parts of the body as well as causing fatigue. The normal role of your body's immune system is to fight off infections. In an autoimmune disease, your immune system attacks healthy tissue instead, causing inflammation. In Rheumatoid Arthritis, the immune system attacks the synovium, a thin membrane that lines the joints and makes a fluid that helps them move smoothly. Inflammation thickens the synovium, resulting in swelling, and pain in and around the joints. Rheumatoid symptoms include swelling, stiffness, joints feeling hot and painful, fever, fatigue, weight loss, and decreased appetite. Rheumatoid Arthritis usually starts slowly and affects joints symmetrically. For some people, it develops very quickly.



Common Myths about Arthritis

1. Arthritis can't be prevented 
False, while it's true that you can't completely prevent arthritis, but there are ways that you can reduce the risk of getting it. You cannot do anything about some risk factors, such as being female. However, maintaining a healthy weight, staying physically healthy, not smoking, avoiding strain on muscles does somewhat decrease other risk factors. 

2. All Arthritis is the same
False, as mentioned many times in this post, there are more than 100 different types of arthritis, ranging from Osteoarthritis to Gout, there are many different types.

3. Popping your knuckles gives you Arthritis
False, this is one of the biggest myths. The reason you knuckles pop is because when you pull your bones, by stretching or cracking them, bubbles in the synovial fluid pop. This by no means increases the risk of getting arthritis. But can damage your hands in different ways. 

4. Only old people get Arthritis
False, as I have stated multiple times, arthritis can happen to anyone. 

5. Arthritis consists of minor aches and pains
False, If you read this post thoroughly, you would understand that arthritis is a very painful disease that many people around the world have to live with.