Analysing Poetry

honest pleas in crude crayon – Patricia Alcartado

ham-fisted, over-saturated, filled to spilling – i am an old puzzle: pieces missing, colour faded

my conduct is a stutter and my voice contains a fumbling, green thing

there are days where my heart forgets its place

lodging in my throat, pressing into my larynx and choking me with each bloody pump

when the sky unfolds above me i misremember my own name

is it woman? is it immigrant? is it youth?

am i merely the brand burned into my skin by a thousand condemning stares?

am i a glass thing, changing within every fire i am placed?

can i ever be more than they’ve made me?

https://schoolspoetryaward.co.nz/2018/08/24/honest-pleas-in-crude-crayon-patricia-alcartado/

This poem highlights the feeling that bullies give you with the words they say by using metaphors and personification. 

The author also uses rhetorical questions which cause the reader to reflect on their own life, their bullies or the harm that they have caused someone. She does this to make the poem more personal to us so that we can connect with it and understand the meaning behind her words. The metaphor 'The sky unfolds above me' represents how she feels as if the world is swallowing her when she is bullied. The personification 'my heart forgets its place' is showing us how bullying makes her feel and how she doesn't know who she is anymore, only who she is to the bullies.

Poetic Language Features

Metonymy: substituting the name of a feature for the name of a thing.
E.g: We will swear loyalty to the crown. ('Crown' in place of a royal person.)
E.g: You have all of my heart. ('Heart' in place of love or emotion.)

Irony: incongruity between what might be expected and what occurs.
E.g: Saying something is as clear as mud.
E.g: Saying "Oh, fantastic!" in a poor situation.

Synecdoche: Using part of something to refer to the whole thing.
E.g: Saying 'wheels' when referring to a car.
E.g: Referring to champagne as bubbly.

The Lifestyle Creed - English

The Lifestyle Creed Poem

What does the word “creed” mean? Where else do we see this word used? 'Creed' is a system of religious belief. I've only seen this word in the movie 'Creed'.

Look up any words you don’t know in this poem and then write an original sentence using the word to show that you understand its meaning.
Cognitive - This is to test your cognitive skills.
Begotten - The child was begotten through hope.
Oleocanthal - Oleocanthal is said to be the reason for the burning feeling when consuming extra-virgin olive oil.

Look up the Catholic Nicene Creed. What is it? Look up the words. Compare them to this poem. How are they similar? How are they different?
It is a prayer. It is about death and resurrection. I noticed that they are the same poem with some words changed and the theme changed to health instead of death.

Why does the author use cut up bits of text? What effect does it have?
The author does this to show the bits she cut from the Catholic Nicene Creed. She possibly printed two poems and literally cut them up and stuck them together. I find it harder to read in this way but also a smart way to present the poem

Why does the author use two different font styles? Compare the way they look. Why did the author do this? What do each of the font styles represent?
The second font that she uses is for the words that she changed from the Catholic Nicene Creed. It looks as if she cut up parts of two poems and put them together. The first font is neat and the second is sort of messy.

Why do you think the author has juxtaposed the Nicene Creed with words such as “brain boosters”, “antioxidants”, and “good cholesterol”? What meaning is she trying to convey? Is this effective? What is the effect on the reader?
She is trying to say that healthy eating has become a new religion that people obsess over and make their life about

What is the overall purpose of the poem?

It is comparing prayer/religion to healthy eating and telling us that this is what has been happening in our world nowadays.

What is the overall tone of the poem?
I cannot really find a tone due to it being from two different poems. The poem is cut from different ones which gives it two tones as they're about different topics. It is probably dissonant and there is no flow.

Read the last two lines of the poem. What ideas do these lines suggest?
They kind of mock what religion is actually all about.

Do you like this poem? Why or why not?
No, because it doesn't mean anything to me and I don't understand the language. It's very confusing since half of it is from a different poem on a different topics.

'Children of Men' Discussion Questions

What message does this film relay about immigration and xenophobia?

If we don’t change the things that are wrong now(at the moment) then it’s going to get worse.

What effect does Cuarón’s use of long takes have in the scenes where this filming
technique is used?

It makes the audience feel like the film realistic and more like a documentary.

How plausible is the future world depicted in Children of Men?

It is very plausible in terms of the immigration situation that is currently happening in our world
today but the women becoming infertile is very unlikely to happen.

How has the lack of children changed society?

Everyone is unhappy because children are a source of happiness and the uncertainty of the
future because there is no one to pass on the knowledge.

What role does religion play in the film?

Religion is a big role because some people think that it is God’s wrath that causes the infertility
of women.

Luke is consistently portrayed as the "bad guy" throughout the film. Is he sincerely a
bad person? Why or why not?

He’s not entirely a bad guy but because he has different beliefs he thinks that he is doing the
right thing.

How was a totalitarian government able to emerge in the wake of the infertility crisis
in Britain?

Because of the infertility of the women, there is a worldwide panic enabling a totalitarian
government to emerge.

How does Kee develop over the course of the film?

She started off being mean to Theo but during the film, she started to trust Theo and others
that try to help her.

How does Theo develop over the course of the film?

At the start of the film Theo doesn’t care about anything like politics and what’s happening in
the world but after Jullian died and learned about kee pregnancy his view of the world
changed. He became hopeful of the future.

Hornby High Japan Trip 2018

7/7/18

Today we went on our flight to Changi, Singapore. It was long and boring but luckily we had movies on the plane and lots of food. Getting off of the plane was a great feeling as I had been stuck on that plane and in that seat for around 9 hours. The airport was amazing! It was like a giant mall, it had Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Adidas, and Prada. But it also had things like a pool on the roof and a butterfly garden. We were at this airport for about 6 hours but there were many things to occupy us. Then it became time for our flight to Tokyo Narita Airport.

8/7/18

This flight had such better movies but all I wanted to do was sleep I was so exhausted. It was hard to sleep in the small chair but I managed. When we arrived at the airport I finally got to freshen up a bit but was still half asleep. I can't remember too much after arriving at the airport since I was so tired, only walking and waiting for our train that I slept on the whole 2 hours. I had already noticed something so different while waiting for the train though. The heat and humidity was no joke here. It was hard going from winter in New Zealand to summer in Japan with all this heat. Later on, we arrived at Sendai Station where our host sisters picked us up. My host sister is Misaki and she's very kind and speaks quite a bit of English which made me feel relieved as I'm not too good at Japanese. That day I met her family. They were all kind and welcoming. For the rest of the day and night, we talked and relaxed and watched movies. At dinner time they asked if I have rice or bread every day since here they do that and when I said no they were so shocked. They wondered what I even eat then and I found that quite funny. That is quite a big cultural difference between us I think. The showers here are quite different too. I don't even know how to change the temperate of the water but it's been okay. The whole room is basically a shower but it also has a bath. It was hard to sleep at first because of the heat. It never goes below 20 degrees even at night which is so different.

9/7/18

I woke up a bit sweaty because of the constant heat. The first thing we did was have breakfast where we had rice weirdly. I guess people aren't kidding when they say Japanese people have rice for every meal. After we had gotten ready we got dropped off at school. Their school is so much bigger than I've ever seen. There are about three stories and even an underground part! We got a tour around parts of the school we would expect to be in at some stage then Miyuki Sensei taught us how to purchase a bus ticket as we were doing that later today. We walked down to Sendai Station to do that and got on a bus to see what was left of Sendai Castle. There was an amazing view of the city as we were on top of a hill and many awesome statues to see. Most of us tried a drink that instead of a cap has a marble that you push in to open. Next, we took the bus to the Osaki Shrine. It was so hot and it was horrible to see how many steps there were to get to the top. We had to clean our hands and then walked up another set of steps. We went up in a certain way: Left, then to the right, left again and then through the middle the rest of the way. You go up like this for good luck. That night I tried something I never thought I'd want to.. Cows tongue! Surprisingly, it wasn't too bad, just chewy. While I had cow's tongue Misaki's grandparents were eating a whole fish. It would be normal if the head and skin hadn't still been on. I was so scared they were going to ask if I want one. I was so shocked how they could eat that and confused how they managed to chop it all up with chopsticks. The night was so hot just like the day was. I didn't realise how much I would end up sweating while here it's not funny.

10/7/18

Misaki has told me that every morning before we go we say "いってきます" which means "I'm off".  Today we stayed at school all day. We had a history lesson about Tsurugajo Castle as we would be going there in two days time. Then we had a cooking class which was nothing like the cooking classes I've done in New Zealand. We cooked an entire meal which I can't remember the name of but it was very filling. My favourite part was the dessert. Last we had a PE class where we played volleyball. I hate PE but this class was very enjoyable and fun and my team even won a round. After school, the English club had a welcome party for us. They cooked us octopus balls which I was very weary to try. Let's just say I do not like octopus at all. We got home quite late and just watched another Disney movie which I enjoyed then went to bed.

11/7/18

Today for breakfast they gave me kiwifruit and Misaki tried it and didn't seem to like it at all which was funny. We went on a long bus ride to Matsushima which means Pine Islands. We saw why it meant this when we went on the ferry around Matsushima which had many small islands with heaps of pine trees. I got heaps of nice pictures on the boat. After this, we went on a very long red bridge which was beautiful. Then we went shopping! I love shopping so I was so excited. Crystal, Callum and I walked around for a while to find some good shops and we found one that we stayed in forever and brought some clothes. After this, we didn't have much more time left at the mall so we went and got a quick lunch at McDonald's where we ordered in Japanese. I got a Big Mac combo which tasted just the same as it does back home but was a bit cheaper. When we got back to school our host sisters came to take us all home and Misaki and I talked a little bit about our day and she asked what I had bought. That day got even better and we had KFC for dinner! the chicken is so much better here somehow.

12/7/18

After learning after Tsurugajo Castle on Tuesday we are now going there ourselves. It was very hot so it was great finally getting to go into the cool castle. As we went up to the top floor of the castle we could see some history and pictures on the floors below which was fascinating. The view from the top was amazing. We could look over a bit of the city. After this, we went to a samurai's old home and learnt a bit about the home and samurais. When we got back to school I got great snacks from the vending machines and an amazing chocolate ice cream to cool me down.

13/7/18

Today we went to a large statue in Sendai called the Sendai Daikannon. We went all the way up to the top in an elevator then went down the stairs while looking at some smaller statues they had in glass cases. Next, we went to Yagiyama Zoo. I didn't go around the zoo too much. I probably walked around for 10 minutes before buying an ice cream and sitting in the shade for the rest of our time there. But, there was an adorable baby black bear playing with a stick that I could've watched play all day if it hadn't been for the heat. There was also a polar bear. I've never seen one before so that was cool and we also watched it get fed and swim around. That night my host sister and her grandparents took me to the arcade not too far from our home. We played a shooting game, took photos in a photo booth and also won a few toys from the claw games.

14/7/18

I had been nervous for my first weekend alone with my family especially since it was a long weekend. But, today my host sister and I met up with Lenora and her host sister and we went shopping at Sendai Station. First, we got some shaved ice since the heat was unbearable, then we went and took photos together. We looked around stores all day. Some jewellery stores, Adidas and some girly clothing stores. Today I spent more money than any other day. I was annoyed because I couldn't pay in exact change since I had no coins but now I have too many. I tried asking Misaki in Japanese if she had ever been to Disneyland which was a bit difficult but she understood. She hasn't been although she's been to DisneySea which I did not know was a thing. For dinner, Misaki's aunty brought pizza which I don't usually like too much but this one was おいしい (delicious). I was so exhausted after walking around all day I went to bed right after dinner.

15/7/18

Today we left home at around 10am to go to an aquarium which ended up being a 2-hour drive away. Halfway we stopped to get food and so we could stretch our legs which I was grateful for. We were at the aquarium for hours. It was so big and really cool. There were beautiful fish and also baby seals and turtles. We went to the gift shop where they insisted on buying me a gift which was really cute and I bought some chocolates that had the aquarium name on the box. After looking around the aquarium we went outside and I saw people eating, cooking and fishing for fish. I found this really strange since we had just been looking at fish and people were out here eating them. The drive home was a bit faster but I was exhausted and wanted to sleep so badly but we were going out for dinner next. I can't remember what the place was called but it was where you cook your meat in the middle of the table and it was really good and I wish I could've had more but I got full fast.

16/7/18

For half of the day we slept, ate and chilled, but for the rest we went to an outlet mall. There were so many great stores and I wanted to try so much clothing on but I also wanted to save more money for Disneyland which wasn't too far away. I just brought some shirts as gifts for people back home and walked around with Misaki and her cousin as they looked around and brought things. Not too much else happened that day except for having some great teriyaki chicken burgers for dinner then hanging out in the lounge.

17/7/18

I was kind of glad to be going back to school today to see my friends as I had been nervous and a bit homesick all weekend. Today we were going to a Kamaboko factory wish makes weird little fish snacks. They showed us the history behind it and how it's made and then we proceeded to make it ourselves in a simpler way. I burnt one of mine a little bit but it was okay because I didn't like it too much anyway. Fish isn't really my thing unless it's from a fish and chip shop. We got photos then went back to school where we practised our performance for our farewell party. After this, we had a class with our host sisters. My host sister had a Japanese history test so I just sat there and was fascinated by their handwriting and how nice the characters looked.

18/7/18

Today was the dreaded day where we were going to a mountain temple, but to get there we had to go up 1000 steps in 30-degree heat. I thought the heat was bad enough when I was just sitting there but walking up to the temple in it made me think I would die. I nearly gave up so many times but I'm glad I can say I made it to the top. The view up there was great and I was so glad I took three bottles of water with me because they were so needed. The walk down was so much faster and easier. Going back to school was great so I could go get my favourite ice cream from their vending machine. I have to say vending machines are a blessing and we need more back home. I was glad to be able to rest when I got back home.

19/7/18

We went to another beautiful temple today which also had lots of little shops on the streets nearby. I bought some pretty chopsticks, even though I am horrible at eating with them, some lollies and an ice cream. It's starting to feel like all I eat here is ice cream but I love it and it's necessary so I don't die of heat. Everything in Japan is really pretty. I even love the long bus rides because we get to see the mountains and all the pretty trees. When we got back to school we watched the school's choir competition. I can' remember some of it because I was so exhausted from the heat but it was all so good and the last choir group did a song in English which was really impressive. At the end, we even got to see the choir with the boys from the advanced music programme at Tokiwagi.

20/7/18

Today we had Hornby time first where I left to get an ice cream from the vending machine outside like I did every day this week. I can't help it they're just so good. After Hornby time, we had lessons with host sisters again. My host sister had an English class and since it was the last day of term we watched 'Stranger Things' which is one of my favourite shows. Next, we went on a bus ride to Michinoku Park. The park was so beautiful and I got great pictures. There was only one downside. It was so hot and there was barely any shade. Luckily there were vending machines with ice cream and water. I was so grateful for the air conditioning on the bus ride back and for the stop we made at a convenient store. I bought some lollies and some chips I tried that I fell in love with and I just can't stop buying them. Getting back to school was great because they have my favourite ice cream in the vending machine of course and today was the last day I could get it. After school, we had a farewell party. We performed some songs for them and said thank you to Miyuki Sensei for organising everything and taking care of us. After this, we ate, talked, took photos and played some bingo. Lots of the girls wanted to add us all on Instagram and Snapchat and take photos with us which was really cute. Tonight we had McDonald's burgers for dinner that were amazing and so much better than at home. After this, we went to the summer festival near our house and got some good food and watched fireworks with Misaki's friends.

21/7/18

Today was my last whole day with my host family which upset me but I was also a bit happy because I'm getting closer to when I can see my family back home again. We just chilled today and then they all wanted me to try on a yukata. They helped me put it on and they even did my hair then we went outside for some photos together. Tonight we went to the summer festival again for a little bit with her cousins and got some more food to have for dinner.

Ocean Acidification - Science

• How have humans contributed to ocean acidification?

Humans are producing too much Carbon Dioxide

• How is ocean acidification affecting organisms in the ocean?

There are fewer of the minerals that they need

• Why is the rate of ocean acidification alarming to scientists?

Because if this keeps going on the oceans will be too toxic to go in

• What can you do to reduce the effects of ocean acidification?

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

Drive less
Ocean acidification over time

• How could we do an experiment in our classroom that investigates the effects of acidity on shellfish and coral? (Hint: both are made from calcium carbonate, what could we use to model/instead of their shells? Google!)

Design a small experiment that would give use more evidence for the dangers of ocean acidification on these animals. What would you need, what would you do, and what would any results tell you? (I will pick a few of the best explained experiments for us to actually do in class)  You can include images if you like.

Instead of their shells we can use chalk, limestone or marble since they’re all made out of calcium carbonate.

We could use a sodastream to produce the carbonated seawater and then put the chalk or limestone in and expose them to different levels of acidity and see the change after an amount of time.

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For our experiment we put eggs in different types of liquids.

One is in coke, another in vinegar, and the last is in regular water.

The coke and vinegar are to represent the different levels of acidity in the ocean.

We are using eggs to represent the coral and shells because egg shells also contain calcium carbonate.

  

Coke -

After sitting in the coke for several days the shell was cracked and the colour of it had darkened. It had also rotted on the inside and the shell is now harder to break than a regular egg shell.

Vinegar -

There wasn’t much left of the actual shell after a few days. It had completely lost it’s brown colour and kind of looks like a snake’s egg. It is now bouncy and squishy.

Water -

No change.

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My response:

My evidence:

97% of scientists say that global warming is real.

https://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus/

My response:

My evidence:

It’s summer in the southern hemisphere so it must be winter in the northern, that’s why it is cold and snowing.

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Forensic Scientist Essay - Social Studies

This essay will explain what key criteria, skills and qualities in order for to become a forensic scientist. It will also explain what it is like in the day to day life of a forensic scientist.

There are many key criteria required to become a forensic scientist. The key criteria to enter this job is the need to have a  Bachelor of Science majoring in an element of forensic science such as Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Medical Laboratory Science, Biochemistry etc. This depends on which part of forensics you want to specialise in. 3-5 years of training is required and they prefer you to have taken Science, Math, Chemistry, Biology, English in school. These are the key criteria needed to become a forensic scientist.

In order to become a forensic scientist there are many skills and qualities needed. The skills needed for this job are knowledge of poisons and drugs, research analysing and interpreting skills, knowledge of the chemical makeup of things such as blood body tissue and DNA, practical skills for performing experiments. Personal qualities needed are to be good at problem solving, eye for detail, communication skills, able to work well under pressure. These are the skills and qualities required to enter the job of a forensic scientist.

The day to day life of a forensic scientist requires a variety of different and hard activities. Most of the day of a forensic scientist is spent doing paperwork, working alongside detectives and the police on cases that you’re assigned to. Other times you’ll be working in the laboratory to analyse evidence from crime scenes. You’ll also have to go to crime scenes to examine everything and then go back to the lab to look over the corpse. Occasionally You’ll have to go to court to show evidence. For example you could be called to check out a crime scene and you’ll go have a look at the body and try to find evidence. Later on you would go to the lab to analyse the evidence found at the scene and to examine the body. After that comes the paperwork. This is the day to day life of a forensic scientist.

In conclusion, There are many key criteria, important skills and qualities that are required to become a forensic scientist. Some of these are having a Bachelor of Science, able to work well under pressure, knowledge of drugs and the makeup of DNA etc. The general day of a forensic scientist involves paperwork, working in the lab and sometimes going to crime scenes or to court.