Peachgrove Yr 7 Bilingual cool dudes

I had the pleasure of hanging out with my good friend Whaea Mana's class today. They are very interesting young people. We discussed maori and pakeha culture as well as some geography from around Aotearoa.
One of my favourite parts of NZ is the East Coast from Te Kaha to Gisborne. My wife and I fell in love on a road trip around that region and we found the Ngati Porou people to be very welcoming.
I later got to know a teacher from Rangitukia called Tepu Houia. He gifted me a special carving which I have looked after for several years. Today I discovered that his nephew is in this class so I have gifted it to Whaea Manawaroa and her students to look after.
Their job now is to find out about the history of the clock carving. Tepu's nephew, Aiorangi is in the class so they should be able to find out all about the carving. They can post comments here explaining what they learn.
Also, I would like to introduce the Big T Surfers from Tahaaroa to the Peachgrove Bi-lingual class, Room 24. Please get to know each other and share your differences and the experiences of living in town, country and coastal areas.
Ka kite ano

two minute noodle scandal!!!!

I love my two minute noodles even though they're bad for me.
So does Neina-Marie, but, being a great GATE student, she investigated by going straight to the horses mouth!
Here is her post from her blog on what happened....
http://www.nestle.com.au/Products/MSI/Maggi/MAGGI_2_Minute_Noodles.htm

Maggi Noodles - are my curry-flavoured treats harming Orangutans?

Yum... once a weekend, I have 2-minute-noodles for breakfast. Unhealthy, I know, but tasty! However, mulling over the fact that these were listed in the "Use Palm Oil" category, I looked at the ingreidents. It did say quite clearly vegetable oil, but that just means it could use palm oil. The packet did not clearly state that it used PALM OIL. Vegetable oil, as I have now found, is just NOT GOOD ENOUGH.
So, contacting them from their website (http://www.nestle.co.nz/) I gave them a little email, which went something like this:
Dear Nestle,
I really enjoy Maggi Noodles, but would also like to know what you stick in 'em. You say you use Vege' oil. Is that oil Palm Oil? If so, can you please clearly state it on your packet? And is it from a sustainable source?
Here is the reply, fresh from my inbox:

Hi Neina-Marie,
Thank you for contacting us regarding the vegetable oil used in our MAGGI Extra Delicious 2 Minute Noodles.
All the noodles contain Palm Oil and this is listed on the ingredients panel of all our packaging (bar one which is the single chicken varient and this will be changed in the future).
Nestle does not use crude palm oil but rather buys products derived from crude palm oil from reputable manufacturers. About 95% of this oil comes from suppliers who are members of the RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) and who therefore have a declared commitment to sustainable sourcing. Indonesia and Malaysia produce 85% of the world supply and Nestle agronomists in these countries world with suppliers to encourage suatainable practices.
We trust this information is of assistance.

Sincerely,

Consumer Services Executive

WOW! I asked my mine of information (Dad), and he gave me SHOCKING news. One variety doesn't mention it uses vegetable oil! And, the oil they get... it's too hard to explain. You read it for yourself. All I have to say is...
IT'S STILL NOT GOOD ENOUGH!

Edmodo groups

For your collaborative project with M3...
Sign up to Edmodo groups with your new codes. Use Edmodo to communicate with the M3 kidlets.
Edmodo is microblogging

http://small-world.wikispaces.com/

Also use our Small World wiki to collate and share information.

Your first step is to understand what Globalisation is and to help the M3 students ... or maybe they will help you understand!

:-)

HamiltON homework

By the end of Week One , Term Two, you need to have your own blog and on this blog you need to include the digital photos you have taken of Hamilton, [or ones you have found on the net]. If you took normal photos and have prints, you can scan them and post them. Anyone who does not have the equipment at home needed to do this can do it at school.
This must be achieved by Friday Week One.

You must then comment on this post saying your photos can be viewed on your blog.

The second task is to outline on your blog or in your topic book what your digital story is focusing on for the HamiltON inquiry project.

The third task is to create a storyboard outlining how your digital story will work. Step by step, image by image and with the text and any other explanation of what your Marvin characters might do to help narrate your digital story.

You will then create a digital story using the Marvin software. It is just like Powerpoint but with extra characters to help make your story more exciting for the audience.

The Digital story [using Marvin] must be no longer than 3 minutes in length, have no more than three Marvin characters in it, and be focused on the topic, not the use of characters or the inclusion of unnecessary actions.
The dialogue must be used sparingly to complement the written information. You must use your images of Hamilton [or those related to your personal theme] as background images.

The Hamilton inquiry, Marvin digital story, must be finished by week four of this term.
We will use the computers at school to get the work done in class time. Your homework is to upload the photos to your blog as stated at the beginning
You may include voice over narrative, music, video clips, scanned artwork, etc, for extra credit.

The best digital story will win a fabulous prize - Annick the Researcher and Elaine Her Majesty will introduce you to more information about exciting prizes and will judge the competition.
You will be competing against Room9!

Any questions?