Dummy Mobile in Schools Jack Li
Ring ring! Cell phones are gradually dominating teens and adults and is evidently recognized as one of the most successful inventions in the modern word. Some schools however, regard cell phones as ‘harmful’ to to the ever increasing digital age and ultimately abolish the use of cell phones in class. I mean seriously, this is absolute madness.
The ever increasing digital age has come. In fact, it has dominated. According to ‘The Oregonian,’ 78 percent of teens now have ownership towards a cellular device. This fact clearly proves that most teenagers have mobile phones, and since they have it, why not use it? Seriously, the ministry of education needs to start firing some people.
Yes, people know that teens text and this could magnify the osff-tasking in class by a noticeable percentage. However, there are always ways of manipulating this ability to produce positive productive work. What a teen really wants to do when they text is to socialize (flirt), or simply because the work is way too boring. This is, I must admit, somewhat unchangeable , but this doesn’t mean that you can’t put texting to positive use.
A certain way that this can be done is that rather using paper to do a survey and going through the torturous process of printing everything out, students could just text their classmates and get feedback almost instantaneously. You see?
Ahhhh dictionaries! What would we do without it? Wouldn’t it be great to just have a know it all right in your pocket? Wouldn’t it be great to know instantly where a country is located in geography class? Wouldn’t it be just so much easier allowing students to actually use their cell phones? Technology companies are basically killing each other for consumers to buy their products. What do they want to do? As well as making money, they also bang themselves on the head to come up with new innovative ideas that is usable for a consumer for ordinary use. So teachers, are you really willing to see all the work technology companies put into there cell phones to put to waste? I clearly don’t.
All the things so far in this article are absolutely true and important, but the most important concept is something so noticeable that a blind rat would be able to see. Communication, yes there, I said it. What would cell phones be without the use of social networking, texting and calling? The reason for why humans are so unique to other animals is because we can ‘communicate.’ Lets be honest, no one wants to live in a world by themselves and what is the easiest way to contact a human being far away? Yes! You got it, using a cellphone.
So, since cell phones are able to let students produce positive productive work, make learning more simple and efficient, let students almost instantaneously search up the information they need and most importantly, to communicate. Why are schools prohibiting this ingenious invention and not letting students use this great device to the benefit of their schooling? Will not even one day the schools come to their senses and allow this?
Think of our future.
Popularity Do’s and Don'ts Sophie Gilmore
Popularity has been shown that it is one of the biggest things kids worry about when starting high school/middle school, and kids worry that they won’t fit in and stress about how to change them-selves to become ‘popular’.
When a survey was conducted in 9WRA, more than half of the class stated that they were worried about not being popular. They said they were either worried about not fitting in, making no friends and just not being liked by everyone.
These of course are very common worries when entering schools and are perfectly normal. However this does not make people feel better about their situation, so here are some helpful tips to becoming popular but in a good way!
First of all, it doesn’t matter where you have come from or what school you have recently been too because it all starts here at your new school! You need to start socializing with other people quickly. It doesn’t matter if they already have friends, you just need to approach them nicely and say “hey, mind if I hang out with you?” Because if you put it off for to long, it will just become harder and harder to talk to them. s
Another thing you can try is to sign up for lots of sport teams and clubs. These can be drama clubs, the basketball team, the glee club etc. This will help introduce you to other people with the same interests as you , therefore making new friends and boosting your popularity!
You also need to be nice to everyone! This doesn’t mean buy everybody in your grade a present, but a simple “hey” when you pass them in the halls or smile as they walk by should do it! Do NOT act like you’re better than them, being stuck up is a huge turn off for everybody!
This is probably the biggest tip for everyone, and that is be confident! People don't notice quiet people as much as they notice bubbly, outgoing people. This tip is easy to do, all you need is to slap on a bright smile and boom, you look instantly confident!
The last tip is to always be yourself! There are hundreds of people who make the mistake of changing themselves just so they can become popular and that is the absolute worst thing you can do when entering a new school!
But remember, if you really want to be popular, all you need is a great set of people skills the remainder is all yours to mold as you see fit, regardless of what anyone else thinks!
Children eating the correct breakfast
Peri
In the 20th century have the children of New Zealand been eating the correct amount of breakfast and the right things for breakfast. The students of 9WRA all eat things like toast and nutri-grain and some days a few of the students don’t even eat breakfast. Are these the right options that a growing child should have for breakfast on a long day of thinking at school?
Although many people eat nutri-grain they mostly only consider the good things such as oats corn and wheat and consider it a good breakfast to eat but there is actually about 30% sugar so maybe this ideal kids breakfast cereal is not as good as the company makes it out to be.
Toast is a good choice to have for breakfast because it is filled with a lot of nutritious an healthy things but many kids these days cover their toast with things like nutella which is one of the most sugary and unhealthy toppings you can get.
For breakfast people should be eating a variety of things just like other meals you have. For example for breakfast you should eat things such as fruit, vegetables, grains (mostly whole grains), protein (meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dry beans, nuts and seeds) and last of all dairy products.
These things make a good breakfast because they are filled with protein and energy and should be eaten everyday.
Some children don’t even eat breakfast, some days they are running late and leave the house with no food in their tummy’s this is even worse then eating sugary cereal for breakfast. It is very bad if the child leaves the house with no food because they will find it hard to learn and they will feel sleepy and unfocused and education is the most important thing in a child’s life.
The most important thing is to make sure that children are eating a healthy breakfast and that you eat breakfast everyday because children need the energy and healthy options to stay awake and healthy so they can stay focused in class giving them the right education.
Qooh me- dangerous online bullying site
Justine Lee
Online social site, Qooh Me, founded by Vincent Mabuza, ‘allows people who find you interesting to ask you anonymous questions so they can know you better’ but, in fact, it is just another problem for this internet-based world. This site was launched in May 2012 and now has more than 200,000 users. A poll, taken in 9WRA, shows that a quarter of the class uses this social site.
Qooh Me allows anybody to ask the account owner anonymous questions as long as they search up their username. Questions asked goes into the user’s inbox and the public aren’t able to see the questions until it is answered. Accounts are free and only take ‘45 seconds’ to create. It is very common for users to post the link to their Qooh.me page on their Facebook wall, so that any of their Facebook friends can ask them questions anonymously.
This site is dangerous and it is creating a new way of cyber-bullying.
Anyone can ask questions: strangers, friends, people that accidentally stumble across the page, anyone that types the username in the search box. An account is not even needed for one that wants to ask questions. There are no privacy settings and no age restriction. Adult accounts sit next to child accounts. There is no way to find out the origin of inappropriate comments or questions and no way to report or block the user. On this site, people ask questions that they would never ask in person. They are often unacceptable and contain explicit sexual references.
Furthermore, the site encourages swearing and hate in an indirect way, in other words, bullying. Swearing is frequent and common; no one cares about being good when you can’t be caught out for being bad. Anonymity aids bullies in posting hate on Qooh.me walls. It is a new form of cyber-bullying; there are many witnesses but no one knows who the bully is. Anyone that visits the wall can see what is happening. A student from 9WRa said, ‘You shouldn’t get an account if you can’t handle hate.’ Some people may choose to back up the user and post a comment rebuking the haters but also vice versa. There can even be whole groups of bullies attacking one user, all at the same time, behind different screens. The problem is no one knows who is saying what. People can also pretend to be someone else and ruin others’ reputations.
The owners of the site know this is happening. They posted a letter addressing all users saying, “1. DELETE all offensive questions. 2. Don’t even bother saying ‘Say it to my face’ just DELETE…. Follow this and you will enjoy qooh.me.” However, deleting mean comments does not usually solve the problem. Deleting is just a way to make the wall look good on the surface, as no one can see the questions before the user answers them. It makes no difference to how hurt the victim is if he/she has just been called a “whore”; it just means no one else sees it.
Qooh Me is a dangerous site that encourages cyber-bullying. Either some new privacy settings and adjustments have to be made or it should be taken down.
Minors’ Money Save Lives
Jack Breurkes
The 40 Hour Famine is a New Zealand-based fundraiser by World Vision, a charity organisation that helps kids in 3rd world countries live better lives. Over 40 hours, people stop doing things like eating, speaking or using electronics. These people ask others to sponsor them and when they get the money they donate it to the famine.
In 2013 the Famine went from 8pm on Friday the 7th of June to 12pm Sunday the 9th, but some people started at different times.
The money raised from the famine this year is going to children in Bougainville, Papa New Guinea so that they can live more promising lives, and at midday on July 4th this year the Famine had already raised an astonishing $622,047 of their goal, $2,500,000. This means that they have already received the money to help 77,761 children get the medicine, nutrition, water, shelter and education that they have been deprived of by poverty.
World Vision tries very hard to let people know about their cause and convince people to donate. One of the many ways that they accomplish this is by having four teams with celebrities endorsing them and advertising it well.
Many children give to or participate in the famines, and World Vision has indicated that the target is children and teens. Things like their ‘Kids for Kids’ concerts show that they mainly want children to participate in their fundraising events.
Earlier this year, a study of 17 kids in their early teens showed that World Vision’s techniques work reasonably well. 8 of them gave money directly to World Vision, sponsored someone doing the famine or did the famine themselves, showing that World Vision has convinced kids to give to charity.
31 countries are supported by World Vision and its donors. Places like West Africa, where 2.5 million people were given food during their food crisis and Tanzania, where the milk obtained from cows 10 times what it was in 2008. All of these things would never have been possible without world vision’s help, and millions of lives were saved because they cared.
World Vision has been helping kids help kids for many years now, and as a whole, it seems to be working. If World Vision can convince teenagers to give up their hard earned pocket money for those who don’t get any at all, then World Vision are every bit as good as they make themselves out to be.
BHS WINNING ENSEMBLES Sarang
Recently, High School students from all around New Zealand competed in the 2013 NZCT Chamber Music Contest. In total, around five hundred chamber groups participated, and thirteen of these groups involved students from Burnside High School.
“These district contest performances represent the culmination of many hours of hard work for the participating young ensembles” says Euan Murdoch, The CEO of Chamber Music New Zealand.
Out of these five hundred Chamber groups, sixty two were from the Canterbury region.
From the sixty two groups, eight were chosen to compete in the Canterbury District Recall Session. Six of these selected groups were from Burnside High School.
Four out of these outstanding eight groups were chosen to compete in the National Semifinals, which involves twelve groups including the four from Canterbury. All four of the Canterbury groups are from Burnside High School.
“ What makes Chamber ensembles so great is the perfect mix of solo and ensemble work” says Miss Helen Renaud, The Head Of Music Department at Burnside High School.
The National Semifinals and Finals are yet to be held in Wellington early next month.
Is it enough?
Sally Hill
Have you ever wondered if you exercise enough? Or if you are doing the right type of exercise?
Students from 9WRA ( year 9) at burnside high school were proud, surprised or ashamed of how much or little exercise they did. Some wondered how much or what type of exercise they should do, others thought it was a waste of time and some were just experts on it!
There are many different opinions on how often you should exercise. Some say six times a week some say every second day and others say does it matter? In 9WRA (class of 29) the mass of students (16) said that they exercised everyday, 8 said that they exercised once or twice a week and the rest (5) said that they never exercised! But are those numbers good or bad? Should students be exercising more?
Specialist say that to be healthy and fit you should exercise at least 4-5 times a week! That might sound like a lot but it only has to be for twenty minutes or so a day and once you get into a routine and it is nearly enjoyable and becomes just another part of you like having a shower and eating. Some students make excuses and say that they never have time! But if they really wanted exercise they could just get up that 20 mins earlier and go for a early morning jog! Or maybe instead of going home and sitting on your computer or playstation you could go to the gym?
Exercise is not hard! Students moan and groan about it but really it could just be taking your dog for a walk or something easy! Sometimes you are doing exercise without even thinking about it. For example just walking around school makes you pretty fit or just doing PE!
Not doing exercise has its consequences as well. One of the most common consequences is that you gain fat, lose muscle and lose energy and it doesn't do a whole heap of good for your mental health either. Another consequence is diabetes what is often caused by eating too much sugar and not doing enough exercise. It also can cause illness like blood clots, heart attacks and many other life threatening diseases.
Now hopefully next time you are about to go on and sit on your computer or watch TV you will change your mind and go out for a walk, run or to the gym and be a better person!
Ring ring! Cell phones are gradually dominating teens and adults and is evidently recognized as one of the most successful inventions in the modern word. Some schools however, regard cell phones as ‘harmful’ to to the ever increasing digital age and ultimately abolish the use of cell phones in class. I mean seriously, this is absolute madness.
The ever increasing digital age has come. In fact, it has dominated. According to ‘The Oregonian,’ 78 percent of teens now have ownership towards a cellular device. This fact clearly proves that most teenagers have mobile phones, and since they have it, why not use it? Seriously, the ministry of education needs to start firing some people.
Yes, people know that teens text and this could magnify the osff-tasking in class by a noticeable percentage. However, there are always ways of manipulating this ability to produce positive productive work. What a teen really wants to do when they text is to socialize (flirt), or simply because the work is way too boring. This is, I must admit, somewhat unchangeable , but this doesn’t mean that you can’t put texting to positive use.
A certain way that this can be done is that rather using paper to do a survey and going through the torturous process of printing everything out, students could just text their classmates and get feedback almost instantaneously. You see?
Ahhhh dictionaries! What would we do without it? Wouldn’t it be great to just have a know it all right in your pocket? Wouldn’t it be great to know instantly where a country is located in geography class? Wouldn’t it be just so much easier allowing students to actually use their cell phones? Technology companies are basically killing each other for consumers to buy their products. What do they want to do? As well as making money, they also bang themselves on the head to come up with new innovative ideas that is usable for a consumer for ordinary use. So teachers, are you really willing to see all the work technology companies put into there cell phones to put to waste? I clearly don’t.
All the things so far in this article are absolutely true and important, but the most important concept is something so noticeable that a blind rat would be able to see. Communication, yes there, I said it. What would cell phones be without the use of social networking, texting and calling? The reason for why humans are so unique to other animals is because we can ‘communicate.’ Lets be honest, no one wants to live in a world by themselves and what is the easiest way to contact a human being far away? Yes! You got it, using a cellphone.
So, since cell phones are able to let students produce positive productive work, make learning more simple and efficient, let students almost instantaneously search up the information they need and most importantly, to communicate. Why are schools prohibiting this ingenious invention and not letting students use this great device to the benefit of their schooling? Will not even one day the schools come to their senses and allow this?
Think of our future.
Popularity Do’s and Don'ts Sophie Gilmore
Popularity has been shown that it is one of the biggest things kids worry about when starting high school/middle school, and kids worry that they won’t fit in and stress about how to change them-selves to become ‘popular’.
When a survey was conducted in 9WRA, more than half of the class stated that they were worried about not being popular. They said they were either worried about not fitting in, making no friends and just not being liked by everyone.
These of course are very common worries when entering schools and are perfectly normal. However this does not make people feel better about their situation, so here are some helpful tips to becoming popular but in a good way!
First of all, it doesn’t matter where you have come from or what school you have recently been too because it all starts here at your new school! You need to start socializing with other people quickly. It doesn’t matter if they already have friends, you just need to approach them nicely and say “hey, mind if I hang out with you?” Because if you put it off for to long, it will just become harder and harder to talk to them. s
Another thing you can try is to sign up for lots of sport teams and clubs. These can be drama clubs, the basketball team, the glee club etc. This will help introduce you to other people with the same interests as you , therefore making new friends and boosting your popularity!
You also need to be nice to everyone! This doesn’t mean buy everybody in your grade a present, but a simple “hey” when you pass them in the halls or smile as they walk by should do it! Do NOT act like you’re better than them, being stuck up is a huge turn off for everybody!
This is probably the biggest tip for everyone, and that is be confident! People don't notice quiet people as much as they notice bubbly, outgoing people. This tip is easy to do, all you need is to slap on a bright smile and boom, you look instantly confident!
The last tip is to always be yourself! There are hundreds of people who make the mistake of changing themselves just so they can become popular and that is the absolute worst thing you can do when entering a new school!
But remember, if you really want to be popular, all you need is a great set of people skills the remainder is all yours to mold as you see fit, regardless of what anyone else thinks!
Children eating the correct breakfast
Peri
In the 20th century have the children of New Zealand been eating the correct amount of breakfast and the right things for breakfast. The students of 9WRA all eat things like toast and nutri-grain and some days a few of the students don’t even eat breakfast. Are these the right options that a growing child should have for breakfast on a long day of thinking at school?
Although many people eat nutri-grain they mostly only consider the good things such as oats corn and wheat and consider it a good breakfast to eat but there is actually about 30% sugar so maybe this ideal kids breakfast cereal is not as good as the company makes it out to be.
Toast is a good choice to have for breakfast because it is filled with a lot of nutritious an healthy things but many kids these days cover their toast with things like nutella which is one of the most sugary and unhealthy toppings you can get.
For breakfast people should be eating a variety of things just like other meals you have. For example for breakfast you should eat things such as fruit, vegetables, grains (mostly whole grains), protein (meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dry beans, nuts and seeds) and last of all dairy products.
These things make a good breakfast because they are filled with protein and energy and should be eaten everyday.
Some children don’t even eat breakfast, some days they are running late and leave the house with no food in their tummy’s this is even worse then eating sugary cereal for breakfast. It is very bad if the child leaves the house with no food because they will find it hard to learn and they will feel sleepy and unfocused and education is the most important thing in a child’s life.
The most important thing is to make sure that children are eating a healthy breakfast and that you eat breakfast everyday because children need the energy and healthy options to stay awake and healthy so they can stay focused in class giving them the right education.
Qooh me- dangerous online bullying site
Justine Lee
Online social site, Qooh Me, founded by Vincent Mabuza, ‘allows people who find you interesting to ask you anonymous questions so they can know you better’ but, in fact, it is just another problem for this internet-based world. This site was launched in May 2012 and now has more than 200,000 users. A poll, taken in 9WRA, shows that a quarter of the class uses this social site.
Qooh Me allows anybody to ask the account owner anonymous questions as long as they search up their username. Questions asked goes into the user’s inbox and the public aren’t able to see the questions until it is answered. Accounts are free and only take ‘45 seconds’ to create. It is very common for users to post the link to their Qooh.me page on their Facebook wall, so that any of their Facebook friends can ask them questions anonymously.
This site is dangerous and it is creating a new way of cyber-bullying.
Anyone can ask questions: strangers, friends, people that accidentally stumble across the page, anyone that types the username in the search box. An account is not even needed for one that wants to ask questions. There are no privacy settings and no age restriction. Adult accounts sit next to child accounts. There is no way to find out the origin of inappropriate comments or questions and no way to report or block the user. On this site, people ask questions that they would never ask in person. They are often unacceptable and contain explicit sexual references.
Furthermore, the site encourages swearing and hate in an indirect way, in other words, bullying. Swearing is frequent and common; no one cares about being good when you can’t be caught out for being bad. Anonymity aids bullies in posting hate on Qooh.me walls. It is a new form of cyber-bullying; there are many witnesses but no one knows who the bully is. Anyone that visits the wall can see what is happening. A student from 9WRa said, ‘You shouldn’t get an account if you can’t handle hate.’ Some people may choose to back up the user and post a comment rebuking the haters but also vice versa. There can even be whole groups of bullies attacking one user, all at the same time, behind different screens. The problem is no one knows who is saying what. People can also pretend to be someone else and ruin others’ reputations.
The owners of the site know this is happening. They posted a letter addressing all users saying, “1. DELETE all offensive questions. 2. Don’t even bother saying ‘Say it to my face’ just DELETE…. Follow this and you will enjoy qooh.me.” However, deleting mean comments does not usually solve the problem. Deleting is just a way to make the wall look good on the surface, as no one can see the questions before the user answers them. It makes no difference to how hurt the victim is if he/she has just been called a “whore”; it just means no one else sees it.
Qooh Me is a dangerous site that encourages cyber-bullying. Either some new privacy settings and adjustments have to be made or it should be taken down.
Minors’ Money Save Lives
Jack Breurkes
The 40 Hour Famine is a New Zealand-based fundraiser by World Vision, a charity organisation that helps kids in 3rd world countries live better lives. Over 40 hours, people stop doing things like eating, speaking or using electronics. These people ask others to sponsor them and when they get the money they donate it to the famine.
In 2013 the Famine went from 8pm on Friday the 7th of June to 12pm Sunday the 9th, but some people started at different times.
The money raised from the famine this year is going to children in Bougainville, Papa New Guinea so that they can live more promising lives, and at midday on July 4th this year the Famine had already raised an astonishing $622,047 of their goal, $2,500,000. This means that they have already received the money to help 77,761 children get the medicine, nutrition, water, shelter and education that they have been deprived of by poverty.
World Vision tries very hard to let people know about their cause and convince people to donate. One of the many ways that they accomplish this is by having four teams with celebrities endorsing them and advertising it well.
Many children give to or participate in the famines, and World Vision has indicated that the target is children and teens. Things like their ‘Kids for Kids’ concerts show that they mainly want children to participate in their fundraising events.
Earlier this year, a study of 17 kids in their early teens showed that World Vision’s techniques work reasonably well. 8 of them gave money directly to World Vision, sponsored someone doing the famine or did the famine themselves, showing that World Vision has convinced kids to give to charity.
31 countries are supported by World Vision and its donors. Places like West Africa, where 2.5 million people were given food during their food crisis and Tanzania, where the milk obtained from cows 10 times what it was in 2008. All of these things would never have been possible without world vision’s help, and millions of lives were saved because they cared.
World Vision has been helping kids help kids for many years now, and as a whole, it seems to be working. If World Vision can convince teenagers to give up their hard earned pocket money for those who don’t get any at all, then World Vision are every bit as good as they make themselves out to be.
BHS WINNING ENSEMBLES Sarang
Recently, High School students from all around New Zealand competed in the 2013 NZCT Chamber Music Contest. In total, around five hundred chamber groups participated, and thirteen of these groups involved students from Burnside High School.
“These district contest performances represent the culmination of many hours of hard work for the participating young ensembles” says Euan Murdoch, The CEO of Chamber Music New Zealand.
Out of these five hundred Chamber groups, sixty two were from the Canterbury region.
From the sixty two groups, eight were chosen to compete in the Canterbury District Recall Session. Six of these selected groups were from Burnside High School.
Four out of these outstanding eight groups were chosen to compete in the National Semifinals, which involves twelve groups including the four from Canterbury. All four of the Canterbury groups are from Burnside High School.
“ What makes Chamber ensembles so great is the perfect mix of solo and ensemble work” says Miss Helen Renaud, The Head Of Music Department at Burnside High School.
The National Semifinals and Finals are yet to be held in Wellington early next month.
Is it enough?
Sally Hill
Have you ever wondered if you exercise enough? Or if you are doing the right type of exercise?
Students from 9WRA ( year 9) at burnside high school were proud, surprised or ashamed of how much or little exercise they did. Some wondered how much or what type of exercise they should do, others thought it was a waste of time and some were just experts on it!
There are many different opinions on how often you should exercise. Some say six times a week some say every second day and others say does it matter? In 9WRA (class of 29) the mass of students (16) said that they exercised everyday, 8 said that they exercised once or twice a week and the rest (5) said that they never exercised! But are those numbers good or bad? Should students be exercising more?
Specialist say that to be healthy and fit you should exercise at least 4-5 times a week! That might sound like a lot but it only has to be for twenty minutes or so a day and once you get into a routine and it is nearly enjoyable and becomes just another part of you like having a shower and eating. Some students make excuses and say that they never have time! But if they really wanted exercise they could just get up that 20 mins earlier and go for a early morning jog! Or maybe instead of going home and sitting on your computer or playstation you could go to the gym?
Exercise is not hard! Students moan and groan about it but really it could just be taking your dog for a walk or something easy! Sometimes you are doing exercise without even thinking about it. For example just walking around school makes you pretty fit or just doing PE!
Not doing exercise has its consequences as well. One of the most common consequences is that you gain fat, lose muscle and lose energy and it doesn't do a whole heap of good for your mental health either. Another consequence is diabetes what is often caused by eating too much sugar and not doing enough exercise. It also can cause illness like blood clots, heart attacks and many other life threatening diseases.
Now hopefully next time you are about to go on and sit on your computer or watch TV you will change your mind and go out for a walk, run or to the gym and be a better person!
Restoring Christchurch Buildings
Adam Hodgson
When we think of the Christchurch rebuild we think of new buildings being built in the CBD however groups of people are restoring important old buildings. I looked at two of the major projects one being the Isaac Theatre Royal and the Arts Centre of Christchurch.
The Theatre was first built in 1863 on Gloucester Street and was made out of wood and called the Christchurch Music Hall and was later renamed The Royal Princess Theatre. In time people wanted better facilities so they replaced the building on the same site but was improved in its structure and was also made out of wood. This Theatre was designed by A.W. Simpson and opened on the 4th of November in 1876. The theatre was owned and managed by J.C. Williamson. In 1906 they began work on the theatre for A third time and the Christchurch Press said that the Theatre would be 'one of the most modern and comfortable south of the line'. Recently the Theatre has been damaged by the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011. Many people are working hard to keep as much of the Theatre as possible to be included in its restoration. Especially the dome and the front of the Theatre which they hope to fully restore to its formal glory. The target of finishing is 2014.
The Christchurch Art Centre was the first site of the Canterbury University founded in 1873. Recently it has been the hub of arts, music and entertainment for Christchurch. The earthquakes have caused major damage to the structure of the buildings, there was also major damage to the Observatory Tower .Repairs are expected to be $290 million dollars . The Registry Building reopened on the 7th of July 2013 and is the first building on the site to be repaired and opened.
Adam Hodgson
When we think of the Christchurch rebuild we think of new buildings being built in the CBD however groups of people are restoring important old buildings. I looked at two of the major projects one being the Isaac Theatre Royal and the Arts Centre of Christchurch.
The Theatre was first built in 1863 on Gloucester Street and was made out of wood and called the Christchurch Music Hall and was later renamed The Royal Princess Theatre. In time people wanted better facilities so they replaced the building on the same site but was improved in its structure and was also made out of wood. This Theatre was designed by A.W. Simpson and opened on the 4th of November in 1876. The theatre was owned and managed by J.C. Williamson. In 1906 they began work on the theatre for A third time and the Christchurch Press said that the Theatre would be 'one of the most modern and comfortable south of the line'. Recently the Theatre has been damaged by the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011. Many people are working hard to keep as much of the Theatre as possible to be included in its restoration. Especially the dome and the front of the Theatre which they hope to fully restore to its formal glory. The target of finishing is 2014.
The Christchurch Art Centre was the first site of the Canterbury University founded in 1873. Recently it has been the hub of arts, music and entertainment for Christchurch. The earthquakes have caused major damage to the structure of the buildings, there was also major damage to the Observatory Tower .Repairs are expected to be $290 million dollars . The Registry Building reopened on the 7th of July 2013 and is the first building on the site to be repaired and opened.
Outward Bound Matthew
Outward bound is New Zealand’s leading organisation for showing people there full potential. Outward bound is set in the beautiful Anakiwa bay in the moulbrough sounds it is a three week intensive outdoors course for building peoples skills.
The activities outward bound go into three general categories, water, high up and bush. The the water activities include, kayaking, canoeing and sailing. The high up activities include climbing, abseiling and high ropes. The bush activities include tramping, community service and running. These are only some of the numerous activities you can do on outward bound. The courses are meant to challenge you physically, mentally or emotionally.
Outward bound is set up in watches (groups) of about 13 outward bound tries to split up people who know each other so you will meet new people and make new friends.
In the last school holidays two people from Burnside high school got a scholarship to go to outward bound. For Kristina Saul outward bound was a life changing experience. “It was a life changing experience I learnt so much. I made lifelong friends and lifelong values. I learnt to tie knots and how to sail a boat and probably had the longest shortest three weeks of my life”.
For Kristina Saul she had two big challenges” well I had two big challenges the first one was running a half marathon because I am not a runner, but I managed to run the whole thing without stopping, the second challenge for me was sleeping out in the woods for two nights by myself which is a compulsory requirement on outward bound”.
There are two ways you can go to outward bound the first is you get a scholarship from your school. The second way is that you visit the outward bound website and pay the fee to go to outward bound.
As you can see from this article outward bound is a wonderful place perfect for anyone who loves the outdoors.
Too Much Freedom?
Jungwon
Most of us think that the year 13s of Burnside High School deserve to wear mufti to school. But what’s the point if they’re supposed to wear clothes that are suitable for an office environment. That’s what it clearly says on the dress code for year 13s, 2013. And yet, some students are still wearing much too casual clothing to school for an office environment.
An interview was done on the students of 9WRA (year 9s of Burnside high school) and the questions were; ‘what do you think about the year 13s wearing mufti’ and “do you think the seniors are wearing appropriate clothing for an office environment?” Many people have said for the first question that “It is acceptable because they’re adults” and that “it prepares them for university.” Other results say that ‘they should not because some students wear inappropriately” and also because “Burnside should represent Burnside through uniform.” The results for the second survey showed a very close result. Some answers were that “some girls wear much too short skirts or shorts and that the clothes that they are wearing are not suitable enough for an office environment.” Of course, most people wear suitable clothing but this is all too true because it is a fact that some girl students do wear very short clothing and most people are wearing street clothes.
It says on the year 13 dress code for Year 13s (Burnside);
For Girls the following are not appropriate:
Singlet or shoe-string tops.
Brief, skimpy tops that expose the midriff, short skirts or shorts eg. Rugby shorts.
Low cleavage, there must be adequate coverage at all times.
Inappropriate messages and slogans on any garments.
Ripped or holed clothing.
For Boys the following are not appropriate:
Singlet or tank tops.
Short shorts eg. Rugby shorts.
Inappropriate messages and slogans on any garments
Ripped or holed clothing.
Beards or moustaches or sideburns extending below the ear (ie. Boys must be clean shaven)
It is very obvious that you will find somebody wear any of these kind of clothes by some year 13 by the end of the year. But without allowing the year 13s to wear mufti, they cannot be recognised as the leaders of the school so a suggestion is that the Year 13s wear a different kind of uniform which will be similar to the normal uniform to be recognised. This happens in a lot of schools in Christchurch and would be a great addition to Burnside. We should be representing the school with appropriate clothing and making Burnside proud!
Marvellous Music
Marijke Cooper
Music has been around for as long as humans can remember. It can make people laugh and cry and can help with disabilities like epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease and Asperger's syndrome. Music has many different styles and combinations of tones. It has inspired many people and has changed history. People have studied it for centuries yet we are still coming up with new ways to use it.
Alzheimer’s and dementia are two diseases commonly treated with Musical therapy. In 2010, a study was done over 330 people. It showed that Musical Therapy helped with their social interactions and conversational skills. It also helped with their anxiety issues and restlessness.
The first records of musical therapy came from Greece. They believed that Apollo, the god of music and medicine, would help them cure people who were sick. It was also common in Israel and native Africa. It was said to drive evil spirits out of people so they could heal themselves. In the modern world, music therapy is used to help people who have behavioural and emotional disorders, communication issues. Music has been shown to affect parts of the brain that can cause strokes and epilepsy. There was a study done around how listening to different types of music can help with depression. Everyone responded differently to the treatment but it was found that most people responded well to sad, flowing music. Music has been also proven to help with a number of things. Children who play musical instruments generally do better in school. Also music helps people have better memories.
Rote Learning vs Inquiry Learning
By Eddie Wu
Education is important to all kids and parents. Many Chinese parents immigrated to western countries to look for better education for their kids. Why do they do that? What’s the difference between Chinese educational system and Western educational system?
Firstly Chinese learning style is called rote learning. Students have to memorize the exact words or answers for the test, otherwise their masks are not going to be pretty. Usually the week before the exam, Chinese kids study hard until midnight, striving to remember those endless poems and historical stories in the textbooks. While shortly after the exam, most of the students tend to forget the dull stuffs. Eventually it turns out that those poems won’t help Chinese kids at all when they try to find a job. The western learning style is completely different, teachers emphasize on inquiry learning or self learning. Students will often receive a topic, then they will follow the appropriate questioning steps to seek the relevant and interesting information about the topic. Teachers are like dictionaries, if you don’t understand something that you have searched, you can always ask the teacher and will no doubt get a helpful answer. Also in maths, western kids are given a equation and asked how does the equation come, while in China kids have to remember all equations without knowing why. Statistics show that over 40 percent of Chinese students are coming out of university with extreme difficulty in finding a job, in stark comparison the figure is less than 20 percent in western world.
Secondly, Class size. In China there will normally be 60 students per class, for Westerners that’s astonishing. Most western classes have around 30 students, but in some private schools the class size is tiny, there are only 15 students in each class which is just a quarter of the Chinese class. Class size means one important factor-----teacher’s focus on each student. In China it’s impossible for teachers to pay attention to every student. Only the top or teachers’ favorite students will get teachers’ attention. For the middle and bottom students in the class, teachers don’t really care about their results, so it is not rare that they don’t get enough help from the teachers. In western countries, teachers focus a lot more on each student. They try to treat everyone the same way, and pay equal attention to students. Therefore the students tend to learn faster and more efficient in the fair environment.
Thirdly, textbooks. In China no matter what subject you take, you will be given a textbook. For some important subjects like maths, English and Chinese parents need to buy multiple numbers of reference books to satisfy the teacher. Even the teachers say that it’s optional to buy the book, the result is like compulsive, no one wants to look odd without a book. In western countries you hardly see textbooks. Teacher hands out worksheet every lesson instead of textbooks, students are asked to prepare notebooks and folder, and all those important notes will be kept. Because of the textbook differences, you’ll find the weight of Chinese pupils’ bag is way heavier than Western pupils’ bag. Chinese kids carry heaps of textbooks containing similar contents, while the western kids only have a useful note book. The result shows that there is no difference in the amount of knowledge both Chinese and Western students can acquire from school.
Fourthly, discipline. Schools in China have very strict rules. Students will be punished strongly if they disobey any of the rules. For example, if Chinese pupils don’t complete their homeworks on time, they will be asked to stand still in front of the class facing the wall for 20 min, and if anyone talks in class, he or she will spend the next break in teachers office, writing down promises like “ I won’t talk again in class” over and over again. In western countries school rules are a lot more relaxed and sensible. Students don’t get into big trouble unless it’s a serious misbehavior. Generally speaking Chinese kids are more obedient than Western kids.
Last but not least, Chinese students have far less time for sports. The school is pretty much academic driven, hence there is no surprise for the students, parents and teachers to be solely test result oriented.
In conclusion, the differences between Chinese and Western educational systems are huge. From my personal experience, I am convinced that western style is more comfortable and effective, it provides the students with the tool to explore their curiosity. I truly believe that the western style of learning will benefit for your life.
Outward bound is New Zealand’s leading organisation for showing people there full potential. Outward bound is set in the beautiful Anakiwa bay in the moulbrough sounds it is a three week intensive outdoors course for building peoples skills.
The activities outward bound go into three general categories, water, high up and bush. The the water activities include, kayaking, canoeing and sailing. The high up activities include climbing, abseiling and high ropes. The bush activities include tramping, community service and running. These are only some of the numerous activities you can do on outward bound. The courses are meant to challenge you physically, mentally or emotionally.
Outward bound is set up in watches (groups) of about 13 outward bound tries to split up people who know each other so you will meet new people and make new friends.
In the last school holidays two people from Burnside high school got a scholarship to go to outward bound. For Kristina Saul outward bound was a life changing experience. “It was a life changing experience I learnt so much. I made lifelong friends and lifelong values. I learnt to tie knots and how to sail a boat and probably had the longest shortest three weeks of my life”.
For Kristina Saul she had two big challenges” well I had two big challenges the first one was running a half marathon because I am not a runner, but I managed to run the whole thing without stopping, the second challenge for me was sleeping out in the woods for two nights by myself which is a compulsory requirement on outward bound”.
There are two ways you can go to outward bound the first is you get a scholarship from your school. The second way is that you visit the outward bound website and pay the fee to go to outward bound.
As you can see from this article outward bound is a wonderful place perfect for anyone who loves the outdoors.
Too Much Freedom?
Jungwon
Most of us think that the year 13s of Burnside High School deserve to wear mufti to school. But what’s the point if they’re supposed to wear clothes that are suitable for an office environment. That’s what it clearly says on the dress code for year 13s, 2013. And yet, some students are still wearing much too casual clothing to school for an office environment.
An interview was done on the students of 9WRA (year 9s of Burnside high school) and the questions were; ‘what do you think about the year 13s wearing mufti’ and “do you think the seniors are wearing appropriate clothing for an office environment?” Many people have said for the first question that “It is acceptable because they’re adults” and that “it prepares them for university.” Other results say that ‘they should not because some students wear inappropriately” and also because “Burnside should represent Burnside through uniform.” The results for the second survey showed a very close result. Some answers were that “some girls wear much too short skirts or shorts and that the clothes that they are wearing are not suitable enough for an office environment.” Of course, most people wear suitable clothing but this is all too true because it is a fact that some girl students do wear very short clothing and most people are wearing street clothes.
It says on the year 13 dress code for Year 13s (Burnside);
For Girls the following are not appropriate:
Singlet or shoe-string tops.
Brief, skimpy tops that expose the midriff, short skirts or shorts eg. Rugby shorts.
Low cleavage, there must be adequate coverage at all times.
Inappropriate messages and slogans on any garments.
Ripped or holed clothing.
For Boys the following are not appropriate:
Singlet or tank tops.
Short shorts eg. Rugby shorts.
Inappropriate messages and slogans on any garments
Ripped or holed clothing.
Beards or moustaches or sideburns extending below the ear (ie. Boys must be clean shaven)
It is very obvious that you will find somebody wear any of these kind of clothes by some year 13 by the end of the year. But without allowing the year 13s to wear mufti, they cannot be recognised as the leaders of the school so a suggestion is that the Year 13s wear a different kind of uniform which will be similar to the normal uniform to be recognised. This happens in a lot of schools in Christchurch and would be a great addition to Burnside. We should be representing the school with appropriate clothing and making Burnside proud!
Marvellous Music
Marijke Cooper
Music has been around for as long as humans can remember. It can make people laugh and cry and can help with disabilities like epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease and Asperger's syndrome. Music has many different styles and combinations of tones. It has inspired many people and has changed history. People have studied it for centuries yet we are still coming up with new ways to use it.
Alzheimer’s and dementia are two diseases commonly treated with Musical therapy. In 2010, a study was done over 330 people. It showed that Musical Therapy helped with their social interactions and conversational skills. It also helped with their anxiety issues and restlessness.
The first records of musical therapy came from Greece. They believed that Apollo, the god of music and medicine, would help them cure people who were sick. It was also common in Israel and native Africa. It was said to drive evil spirits out of people so they could heal themselves. In the modern world, music therapy is used to help people who have behavioural and emotional disorders, communication issues. Music has been shown to affect parts of the brain that can cause strokes and epilepsy. There was a study done around how listening to different types of music can help with depression. Everyone responded differently to the treatment but it was found that most people responded well to sad, flowing music. Music has been also proven to help with a number of things. Children who play musical instruments generally do better in school. Also music helps people have better memories.
Rote Learning vs Inquiry Learning
By Eddie Wu
Education is important to all kids and parents. Many Chinese parents immigrated to western countries to look for better education for their kids. Why do they do that? What’s the difference between Chinese educational system and Western educational system?
Firstly Chinese learning style is called rote learning. Students have to memorize the exact words or answers for the test, otherwise their masks are not going to be pretty. Usually the week before the exam, Chinese kids study hard until midnight, striving to remember those endless poems and historical stories in the textbooks. While shortly after the exam, most of the students tend to forget the dull stuffs. Eventually it turns out that those poems won’t help Chinese kids at all when they try to find a job. The western learning style is completely different, teachers emphasize on inquiry learning or self learning. Students will often receive a topic, then they will follow the appropriate questioning steps to seek the relevant and interesting information about the topic. Teachers are like dictionaries, if you don’t understand something that you have searched, you can always ask the teacher and will no doubt get a helpful answer. Also in maths, western kids are given a equation and asked how does the equation come, while in China kids have to remember all equations without knowing why. Statistics show that over 40 percent of Chinese students are coming out of university with extreme difficulty in finding a job, in stark comparison the figure is less than 20 percent in western world.
Secondly, Class size. In China there will normally be 60 students per class, for Westerners that’s astonishing. Most western classes have around 30 students, but in some private schools the class size is tiny, there are only 15 students in each class which is just a quarter of the Chinese class. Class size means one important factor-----teacher’s focus on each student. In China it’s impossible for teachers to pay attention to every student. Only the top or teachers’ favorite students will get teachers’ attention. For the middle and bottom students in the class, teachers don’t really care about their results, so it is not rare that they don’t get enough help from the teachers. In western countries, teachers focus a lot more on each student. They try to treat everyone the same way, and pay equal attention to students. Therefore the students tend to learn faster and more efficient in the fair environment.
Thirdly, textbooks. In China no matter what subject you take, you will be given a textbook. For some important subjects like maths, English and Chinese parents need to buy multiple numbers of reference books to satisfy the teacher. Even the teachers say that it’s optional to buy the book, the result is like compulsive, no one wants to look odd without a book. In western countries you hardly see textbooks. Teacher hands out worksheet every lesson instead of textbooks, students are asked to prepare notebooks and folder, and all those important notes will be kept. Because of the textbook differences, you’ll find the weight of Chinese pupils’ bag is way heavier than Western pupils’ bag. Chinese kids carry heaps of textbooks containing similar contents, while the western kids only have a useful note book. The result shows that there is no difference in the amount of knowledge both Chinese and Western students can acquire from school.
Fourthly, discipline. Schools in China have very strict rules. Students will be punished strongly if they disobey any of the rules. For example, if Chinese pupils don’t complete their homeworks on time, they will be asked to stand still in front of the class facing the wall for 20 min, and if anyone talks in class, he or she will spend the next break in teachers office, writing down promises like “ I won’t talk again in class” over and over again. In western countries school rules are a lot more relaxed and sensible. Students don’t get into big trouble unless it’s a serious misbehavior. Generally speaking Chinese kids are more obedient than Western kids.
Last but not least, Chinese students have far less time for sports. The school is pretty much academic driven, hence there is no surprise for the students, parents and teachers to be solely test result oriented.
In conclusion, the differences between Chinese and Western educational systems are huge. From my personal experience, I am convinced that western style is more comfortable and effective, it provides the students with the tool to explore their curiosity. I truly believe that the western style of learning will benefit for your life.
Olivia Leonard
Over 3.2 million school students are being bullied each year. About 48% of these cases of bullying have been types of cyber bullying on common websites like Facebook, Ask fm, Qooh me, and Tumblr. A shocking 1 in 4 teenagers have been bullied online more than once. Tormentors are able to harass their targets 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, wherever they go and the trail of abuse lives in cyberspace, following the victim for years.
A class was selected to answer a few questions. The first question was asking students if they had a Facebook, Ask fm, Qooh me or Tumblr. 26 people had an account on one or more of the social media websites listed, 2 students deleted their accounts from bullying and 1 student didn’t have any idea what the social media sites listed even were.
The second question was asking the 26 students with one of the listed social media websites if they had received a form of bullying messaged to them. 22 students had received a type of bullying messaged to them, 3 students deleted the hate as soon as they got it and 1 student had never had rude messages sent to them, ever
A few months ago, a law in New Zealand was put into place where you can get 3 months imprisonment or a $2000 fine. Personally I think that these laws are inefficient as people are still getting cyber bullied and it’s not going stop to easily if the victim is getting anonymous messages through Tumblr, Ask fm, and Qooh me because they have no clue who it is so basically the bully can get away with anything!
Cyber bullying needs to stop! People can take the online criticism to heart and feel very hurt from it all.The one thing I don't understand about cyber-bullying is how someone could possibly sit in front of their computer screen, click anonymous, and say ‘kill yourself.” If you are a cyber-bully reading this, try imagining your life in the victims’ shoes. Looking into your computer screen and reading the several messages of anonymous hate. How would you feel?
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