About Me

Ciao, my name is Victoria! I’m a year 8 student at Panmure Bridge school, and also the Manaiakalani Leader for 2020. I really love music! One of my current artists I’m listening to is Doja Cat, and J. Cole. My favorite subject in school is writing and reading, because it’s really fun to write my own stories and read fictional books...Roald Dahl is one of the best authors! My goal for this year is to get my gold badges. I hope you enjoy exploring my page!

Summer Learning Journey 2020

                

Over this summer holiday, the Summer Learning Journey team has held another year of the programme. This was really exciting, because it's a chance for schools all around New Zealand to help and even improve in their learning over the break. And we can possibly win a prize for coming 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place! This is my 4th or 3rd time participating, and I proudly placed 2nd! The 1st place prize was a Nintendo switch, so it was big competition. Alex won it though, while Sakina came 3rd. It was another great year of participating and it's a great accomplishment and motivation for myself, and a strong start to the beginning of the year. Congratulations to those who participated and won a prize or certificate at the assembly!

Activity 3: Concluding the Journey

1. Which activity did you enjoy the most? This is my favorite activity of all of them, because I really enjoy being able to reflect and talk about my amazing Journey with the programme this year.

2. Which activity did you enjoy the least? There wasn't a single activity that didn't serve a purpose or meaning. I've learnt something from each one, that took lots of effort. So I don't have an answer for this one.

3. Three things you've learnt while completing the programme? I've learnt a lot more about climate change, and what is happening to our environment. Another thing is about the current wild fires in New South Whales which is actually impacting a lot of Australia. And lastly is quality over quantity, as I focused more on my learning rather than just getting all the activities done in a day.

4. What changes/improvements you would make to the programme for next year? A update for the programme might be to create a list of names with a link to their blog, of those who have registered to the Summer Learning Journey. This would help a lot because I don't know what schools, what classes, or even what students to look at in the cluster and it's really difficult to find them by myself. A change I would make to myself is try to look at more schools out of Panmure Bridge School too.


Sadly, this concludes the Summer Learning Journey for 2019-2020. It's time to reflect on everything we've learnt, and enjoyed this year with the programme. I've had a lot of fun with other participants, and the Manaiakalni team! I absolutely loved the theme this time, and looking at change makers. And my one piece of feedback is that the website has really improved and things are easier to access and locate. Best of luck to everyone in the cluster, and I hope you have enjoyed my blog posts (-:

Activity 2: En Pointe

                              

"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow." is a simple, but meaningful quote from Albert Einstein. I think it's the gateway to happiness and growth, as straight-forward as it is! To me this means...using yesterday's mistakes, accidents, and mishaps as a beneficial thing to improve today. And wishing for the same thing to happen tomorrow, and etc.

In this activity we look at one of the most successful ballet dancers, Misty Copeland. She started taking lessons at 13 years old, unlike most ballerina's who started from 3-4! But Misty worked really hard to become the first African-american lead dancer of the American Ballet Theater. This title was an amazing earning for her, as there aren't many African-american ballet dancers in their country. "I want them to be able to see dreams through me." - quoted from Misty in one of her interviews, which is one of many inspirational quotes. We were asked to look more into quotes like that one, and choose one off a list of 25 to create a text graphic/poster. This one I chose was from Albert Einstein, speaking on past, present, and future.

Activity 1: The World of Hip Hop

I think the dance and performance was amazing! It's so satisfying to watch everyone in sync and on beat with the music. The songs were appropriate and popular as well. Some of the dance moves were very complex, which got a great reaction from the audience. I really like the outfits because it was bold, bright, and stood out. There is always room for improvement, but I personally can't nitpick anything that needs to be better. It was really well done I would say. The one biggest thing they did well was the performance all together, it must've took a lot of practice and I didn't catch any obvious mistakes.

In this activity we looked at Parris Goebel, a very famous New Zealander, known from all around the world! Parris always had a passion for dancing, ever since she was a child. She grew up to create her own all-girl dance crew, ReQuest at the age of 15 which was very successful. Now in Auckland she started "The Palace Dance Studio", and created five more dance crews! In 2019 Parris and one of her crews, The Royal Family, won the World Hip Hop Dance Championship. We were asked to watch their performance, and give a review - What did/didn't we like about the performance? What did the crew do well? What could they work on/improve? And include details like the dance, dancers, costumes, music, etc.

Activity 3: Top Secret Street Art

In this activity we learnt about an artists from England, named Banksy. He creates street art, although not many people know about him. We took a deeper look into street art, which is seen a lot in New Zealand. The art can be telling a story, or really just be something to look at. Street artists in Christchurch are taking this chance to make the city look beautiful again after they experienced a massive earthquake causing destruction...So we looked at a whole bunch of Christchurch street art on this website, which had some amazing work! We had to choose two different paintings, and identify their differences and similarities.

Activity 2: Try Your Own Tapa

Above is my Tapa design. It's looks very simple, but definitely represents quite a few things important to me. In the middle is a cross, symbolizing my pacific culture, Tonga. But the stripes going across it come from the American flag, which is also part of who I am. The 7 stars count the people in my family -The two biggest stars being my parents, and the 5 small stars as me and my siblings. The stars repeat and creates a pattern through out my Tapa like the bear icon, which is very common in most designs. I'm a Virgo (Zodiac), and the bear is my animal sign. The basic layout of my Tapa (the two boarders and the 9 squares covering the face) come from many other designs as well.


In this activity we looked at a Samoan artist who lives in New Zealand, named Fatu Feu'u. He is a great artist, known for creating paintings, sculptures, pottery, prints, and glass work. His work is influenced by traditional Tapa cloth patterns, tattoo's, weavings, carvings, and mask designs. But a lot of pacific cultures have their own version of "Tapa", and we looked more into this by visiting a few sites. The task was to create our very own Tapa design, whether it be on paper or online! You can read more about what I created above. I really enjoyed this activity because I get to use and show off my digital art skills again, but I also really like how mine turned out.

Activity 1: Fashion forward

What happened to their company was a few years ago, when their name used to be "Love Lies Bleeding". They realized it was actually copyright from a whole different company in the US. They didn't have the ability to get into a legal fight, so they ended up having to change their name. In a session of deciding for a new name, they had wrote a list of people who helped and supported their business. The idea of "Twenty-Seven Names" tells a story, and pays recognition to those 27 people.
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Personally I really like their clothing brand name a lot, and it has helped create a very successful business so I think they shouldn't change it. Changing their name before definitely brang a lot of attention, but I find their 'new' name a lot more interesting. It has more meaning, and is a great way to represent their brand and to be acknowledging of those 27 people who supported their business through out, and helped their label.


In this activity we looked at a New Zealand fashion label called "Twenty-Seven Names". The founders of the business had been friends since primary school; Rachel Easting and Anjali Burnett. We also looked at an article about how some of New Zealand's famous brands got their names from, including "Twenty-Seven Names". We were asked to share how they got their name and whether we think it's a good name for them and if not, what they should change it to. The top paragraph is backstory on "Twenty-Seven Names" and the bottom half is my opinion. I like their name, and don't any better suggestions for them.

Activity 3: Feast or Famine

Yes, I would definitely consider doing a 20 or 40 Hour famine if I was able to! It would be a great feeling over all to experience and participate in that. It's a great example and influence on others, to show some random act of kindness by raising money for the charity. It's a great way to be supportive too, because we actually make a life-changing difference. I really think World Vision and the 40 Hour Famine is extremely beneficial and impactful. It would also be a big accomplishment, and a life experience!


In this activity we looked at funny actor from New Zealand, named Julian Dennison, who is only 17 years old. Besides starring in a couple of movies and commercials, he has joined up with 'World Vision' to be a 40 Hour Famine Ambassador, travelling to Uganda to meet some of refugees from South Sudan! Then we were asked if we would or wouldn't participate in a 20 or 40 Hour Famine like Julian. Personally, I went with yes because it is a big help and shows my support to them. Read more about my personal opinion and thoughts in the 6 sentences above!

Activity 2: Plot Points

For this activity we were to imagine we had the chance to create/write our own movie. We had to explain some of our thoughts including what it would it be about, who would be the main characters, what are some important events, and even the title name for the movie itself. I've created a short presentation to explain the concept. The title of the movie is 'Young' and the general idea is about a young girl who is diagnosed with schizophrenia which is a serious mental disorder - also, the symptoms I mention aren't all the signs and experiences that people face. I think the general idea would be a great movie, short film, or documentary.

Activity 1: Talk Show Host

In this activity we looked at probably one of the most influential woman in the world, Oprah Winfrey. She is super successful, most well-known for her talk show that she ran for 25 years! She has also started her own school in South Africa, and encourages young people with opportunities to follow their passions. The task was to share our interest/passion and future plans with our viewers. Although I don't have a specific job in mind, I'd love to focus on travelling or exploring more in my future. Personally, I think it would be a good idea to continue studying but it depends on where I am at when I actually finish high school/college.

Activity 3: Girl Power

For this activity looked at two young female singers, Jessica Mauboy and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. They are both great role models, being people who have faced challenges and overcome them in order to achieve their dreams. We were then asked to choose one role model whether it is someone we know personally, or from the internet. I decided to create a poster about Beyonce, an American female artist. She has done a lot with her career, and knows how to carry herself. Otherwise I would've chose my mom, because she is a great example of independence and she works hard.

Activity 2: K-pop heroes

For this activity we looked at BTS, a seven member boy band from South Korea who creates k-pop. They are very popular and have a huge fan base, called A.R.M.Y. Personally, I am very familiar with them and really enjoy their music although I'm not always active with what they do. We were asked to give a full opinion about the group, and a detailed explanation of why or why don't we like them. Learn more about them and my thoughts in the poster I have created above.

Activity 1: Getting Stronger

For this activity we looked at a Samoan-Indian singer from New Zealand, named Aaradhna. She gained global recognition in 2004 when her and Adeaze released a song called "Getting Stronger". It went to number one on New Zealand Singles chart, and is many favorites. So then we were asked to make a personal list of our top 5 favorite artists, and one of our favorite songs from them. They could be from any time period and any genre of music. I've created a quick presentation of my top 5, including videos and pictures! The music I listen to is international and modern - hip hop/pop/rap. I personally don't listen to Aaradhna or any of her music.

Activity 3: The Diary of Anne Frank

In this activity we found out about a girl named Anne Frank. She lived in Germany with her Jewish family in the 1930's. When World War 11, her and her family were forced to hide in a secret room in their house for two whole years. At the time, Anne would write in a diary in which later her dad made into a book titled "The Diary of a Young Girl". For the task we created a diary entry to recount the most extraordinary day. It could be an actual event, or something we made up. I chose to make up a story but still made it personal because I could be more creative with what I wrote.

Activity 2: Romeo and Juliet

English version: This morning was quiet. I'm awake before everyone else, so I lay in bed for a few minutes and just listen to the birds outside of my window. It's still a bit wet outside from last night, and cold and windy. I'm not that hungry, so for breakfast is a toasted PB & J sandwich. And I start my day!..

Shakespearean version: This morning wast quiet. I'm awaketh bef're ev'ryone else, so I did lie in sleep chamber f'r a few minutes and just hark to the birds outside of mine own window.  T's still a did bite did wet outside from last night of all, and bitter cold and windy.  I'm not yond fill'd with pangs of hunger, so f'r breakfast is a toast'd PB & J sandwich.  And I starteth mine own day!..



For this activity we looked at a man named William Shakespeare, a famous author, poet, and playwright. One of his most popular plays is Romeo and Juliet, which you might've heard of. Shakespeare wrote his plays in English, but they weren't like the modern words we use today. They call it "Shakespeare Language", and to learn more about it we used a translating tool to see what it was like. We were asked to write a short recount of what we did today, and use this tool to translate it! You can read mine above. This activity was pretty cool, although I've looked at Shakespeare and this translator before.

Activity 1: Rags to Riches

For this first activity of the last week we took a look at J.K Rowling, who has written the Harry Potter series of books and is a very popular author. Knowing that books need to be engaging and interesting for the reader, it's important that the cover is too. Then, we were asked to design our own book cover for our favorite book! But it must include basic things like the title, drawings, and author. I chose "Matilda" by Roald Dahl, since it's a really good book and movie.

Activity 3: Choose your own

For the last activity of week 3, we end it off with another choose your own. There are no wrong or right answers, so we were able to choose choose any scientist, technologist, or inventor which those labels are specifically in the theme for this week, who interest us and we think has changed the world. I decided to go with an inventor we looked into a little bit for one of the activities named Tim Berners-Lee who invented the World Wide Web or, "WWW." and more! The information you can find on the page are about who he is and what he has done.

Tim Berners-Lee has impacted many people's lives with the World Wide Web, whether for the best or worst. Having this technology and system has improved the generation especially with this really useful part of the internet/online. One of his quote's being "You affect the world by what you browse."

Activity 2: Caine’s Arcade

For this activity we were asked to talk about favorite game, whether it's online, with cards, a board game, or an outside! It could be anything, but we had to include what the game is/what is it called, and how do you play. I chose to talk about one of my favorite card games, Uno. This is a really fun game and easy to learn. Me and my sisters used to play it a lot, and sometimes we bring it out when we are bored. Uno is available online as well, though we play with a real deck. I also enjoy just playing with regular cards because you can play a list of games with whoever and however many people.

Activity 1: Ministry of Inspiration

The Aquabots seem really interactive, and exciting. I think the idea is really creative and a great way to try new things. Meaning I would love to try it out for fun, but I don't think I would be fully interested to properly compete. I think this because it would take a lot of focus and practice. This is an activity I think is very cool, although I personally don't think I would be the type to be getting completely involved - and that's my honest opinion.

For this activity we were asked to watch a video on the Pasifika Aqua bots competition that happened in Nelson. The students who competed needed to navigate their Aqua bots around a swimming pool to collect things and visit certain areas of the pool, called "islands". Then we had to share our thoughts on weather we would join an Underwater robotics team at our school to compete like this and why/why not. I don't have a strong answer, but I thought that I probably wouldn't join one.