I wonder... What is up with my brain?

For English, we have to research something we are wondering. At first, I had no idea what I was wondering until I realized what I am interested in. One of the things that not many people know I am interested in, is the brain and how it all works. I am interested in Psychology so I am really interested in how the brain works and what cognitive functions are and what they do. So when we were given the chance, I immediately looked on google and found some interesting stuff.

At first, I looked at the different dimensions of the nervous system, this is what I found out! I found out the nervous system (aka the brain), is your body's decision and communication centre. The central nervous system is made of the brain, spinal cord, and the peripheral nervous system. Together, they control everything you do, from blinking to choosing what to eat! nerves reach from your brain to your face, ears, eyes, nose, and spinal cord... and from the spinal cord to the rest of your body. The sensory nerves in your body, gather information about the things around you, then send that information to the spinal cord. Then the spinal cord sends a speedy message to the brain. The brain then sends a response to that information. Motor neurons then send the instructions from the brain to the rest of your body.  The spinal cord is made up of a heap of nerves that run up and down the spine, the spinal cord sends messages to and from the brain every second.

The brain itself is made up of three main parts: the forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain. The forebrain is made up of the cerebrum, thalamus, and hypothalamus (part of the limbic system). The midbrain is made up of the tectum and tegmentum. The hindbrain is made of the cerebellum, pons, and medulla. Often the midbrain, pons, and medulla are referred to together as the brainstem. The cerebrum or cortex is the largest part of the human brain, which controls thought and action. The cerebral cortex is divided into four sections, called "lobes": the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, and temporal lobe.

What does each of these lobes do?

• Frontal Lobe- associated with reasoning, planning, parts of speech, movement, emotions, and problem-solving
• Parietal Lobe- associated with movement, orientation, and recognition.
• Occipital Lobe- associated with visual processing
• Temporal Lobe- associated with perception and recognition of auditory stimuli, memory, and speech

The cerebellum, or "little brain", is similar to the cerebrum because it has two hemispheres and has a highly folded cortex. This part of the brain is associated with regulation and coordination of movement, posture, and balance.

The limbic system is often seen as the "emotional brain", it is found buried within the cerebrum.

Underneath the limbic system is the brain stem. This part is responsible for basic vital life things such as breathing, heartbeat, and blood pressure.

After I learned about the brain itself, I wanted to learn about other things such as why we fear. Personally, I have the biggest fear of birds, especially ducks and seagulls.  I found an article that taught me about the fear of blood. So basically, when people have a fear of blood and see it, their blood pressure drops, which causes their heart to beat faster. Most people associate fear with their heart racing, this is because their blood pressure drops, this also explains why some people feel cold when they see something they fear.

After reading this exciting article, I found another article that taught me about how sugar affects the brain. This article taught me that Sugar is a class of molecules (molecules are a group of atoms bonded together, representing the smallest unit of a chemical compound that can take part in a chemical reaction) called carbohydrates. The carbohydrates are also called  Glucose Molecules.

There are different forms of sugar including Sucrose, Maltose, Fructose, Lactose, Dextrose, Starch, Corn syrup, Honey and Raw sugar. There is sugar in most foods that people buy such as, Tomato sauce, Honey, Energy bars, Energy drinks, Flavoured water, Yogurt, and fruit juice.

Whenever we eat food something called dopamine is released in the brain. Dopamine is a compound in the body as a neurotransmitter and a protector of other substances including adrenaline. It is one of those chemicals that is responsible for transmitting signals in between the nerve cells (neurons) of the brain. Very few neurons actually make dopamine. However after eating the same food time after time, the dopamine levels begin to even out and we no longer find the dish as satisfying as we once did, this is because the human brain is supposed to motivate us to eat different varieties of food. This makes sure that we keep eating the right amount of vitamins and minerals, while also keeping us away from the bad foods.  Interestingly enough, no matter how much sugar a person consumes, the dopamine levels will never even out enough to motivate the discourage an individual from eating more sugar.

When that sugary drink hits your sweet taste receptors (taste buds on your tongue) the sugar it contains hit the sweet taste receptors. Then it sends a message to the Cerebral cortex part of the brain telling you, GO FOR IT WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO LOSE? This is an activation of your reward system and it is not like how bodies process addictive substances such as alcohol or nicotine. So when you eat something packed with a sugar and you have a sugar rush, it spikes the dopamine levels and then it leaves you craving even more sugar.

I really enjoyed doing an I wonder activity in English, it really got me to think deeper about my passions and what excites me.

Creative writing, a floating house

As the night drew closer, so did the clouds. As the children went to bed, so did the sun. When the sun drew closer to the horizon, a harmony of colours blanketed the sky, the stars filled the night sky with a wonderful light that summoned the moon to join in with the fun. After the chimney spat out its last breath of smoke, I was nuzzled up between my blankets, my teddy bear, up close against my chest in a full embrace.

What type of government New Zealand has (I finished first)

There are three elements of the New Zealand system of government. The first one is the Legislature also known as Parliament. This is our house of representatives where all the MP's sit. The next element is the executive branch also known as the government. It runs the country. They also make decisions on what and how New Zealand spends their money. The final element is the judiciary, The courts. They are judges and courts. They interpret the law and make changes to it. These elements are very important to New Zealand because they all have a big impact to New Zealand and its future generation. For instance, Parliament makes all the laws, update old ones and give a voice to the people without and approve the government taxes and spending. The government is also very important to New Zealand because it basically runs the country. They make decisions on what New Zealand should spend their money on. They suggest new laws to Parliament, and decides on policies which get put into practice by government departments. Lastly, the judiciary is also very important because they explain the law in cases the come before the court by hearing and deciding cases. They sometimes review decisions made by the government. Overall, the three elements of the New Zealand Government is very important, they impact our everyday lives.

In New Zealand we have 7 political partys - National, Green, Labour, New Zealand 1st, Maori and ACT. At the moment our Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, is leader of the Labour Party.

What is Matariki?

Here is a piktochart that I made about Matariki. 

Stories about Matariki, The Seven Stars of Matariki by Toni Rolleston-Cummins

• What type of story is this?
• Who was it written for? {the audience}
• What is the main idea?
• What did you like about the story?
• Choose one story and explain how you would perform it on stage
• What would it look like on stage?

This story is a narrative, a made up story, its a story that is supposed to give children a

small understanding of what Matariki is. This story was written for children but has appealed to many adults.

Social Studies; Different forms of government; Monarchies

In Social studies we're learning about form of goverments and at the moment we're looking at royal families and dictatorship. We had to make a mindmap with 10 facts about The Royal family and   monarchs in general. 

We actually did it! Reflection of the Revolting children musical piece..

Revolting Children
What have I learnt?
This term in Drama, we have been learning a lot about musicals. I have learnt many new things about musicals. After being in the Lion King, I had a massive interest about musicals and I have since grown a passion about them as well. I have learnt that it takes more than just an actor and a song to make up a musical. There are many elements of musicals, not just the songs and the dancing. In some cases, many actors in musicals have years of ballet experience, some actors have had classes in facial expressions. The costume and set designers have many years of fashion and architecture experience.

What did I find challenging?
The thing that I found the most hard was getting my head around the choreography, I am not very good at dancing so I was a bit nervous about that part. But I managed to learn it and remember it for most of the performance.

What would I do differently if I did it again?
I would probably practice more of the choreography, I did okay but I think that I could learn it a bit more. I didn't practice enough for my liking. I did enjoy dancing though.

What did I enjoy?
I enjoyed the chance to be a complete idiot! The whole song was about how we children are revolting. I enjoyed using my facial expressions in the musical performance. I love it when people use all their energy in their performance.

What am I wondering?
I am wondering how long it took for the actually Matilda cast to learn their dance and lyrics. There are many complicated dances and lyrics in the performance.

What was it like performing on the day?
I really enjoyed performing revolting children. I knew most of the moves. But there is a part where I forgot and just played the character as the really energetic one. I felt a bit sad that I wasn't one of the main people in this particular performance but I understand why I wasn't. But I tried my best to be the most energetic person on that stage. 

The time warp

What did I find challenging?
I found that it was hard to work with people that don't want to do anything. Most of the people in my class didn't look like they wanted to be there. I wasn't nervous at all, but that is because I feel the most comfortable on the stage.

What would I do differently if I did it again?
I would work with the class more on the dance moves and the expressions because no one except Jess and I looked like they wanted to be there.

What did I enjoy?
If i'm being honest, I enjoyed being recognised by other students the most. It's quite nice being known as the kid that knows the dance moves and as the kid that is energetic and fun.

What am I wondering?
I am wondering what our class piece would look like if we perfected it. I also am wondering low long it took others to learn the words as I already knew them.

What was it like performing on the day?
For me personally, I really enjoyed performing. I was centre stage and I love that. I love being on the stage, and putting myself out there. It was a bit sad that some of my class didn't show any enthusiasm at all, but at least Jess and I were there to show a lot of energy. If you can't tell, I'm the one in the front dancing.

The video of our performance isn't working on my chromebook at the moment. But as soon as it works, I will add to this post so stay tuned!