Weather Bomb Hits Te Waipounamu

A huge weather has hit large parts of Te Waipounamu (South Island)

Wild weather, including high winds torrential rain, have soaked large parts of southern New Zealand. Townships on the West Coast including Franz Josef and Fox are cut off as washouts and slips blocked state highway 6. Around 970 tourists are trapped in Franz Josef and are unlikely to get out until Friday. The only way in or out is by helicopter.  In Timaru District, the council says it could take weeks to recover from flood damage. Timaru District remains under a state of emergency which will not be lifted until at least on of the bridges reopen.

Online Shopping Now More Expensive

                 Online purchase will now get more expensive for New Zealanders.
Offshore retailers selling products in New Zealand will now be required to collect and pay GST. The rule applies to businesses selling goods online in the country worth more than $60,000 annually. The  changes are intended to help local suppliers compete with online overseas companies. It is expected that the government will earn roughly around $130 million in revenue each year by 2022.

Last Day Of Tech

   On The last day of tech we finished adding our details on and coloring it in. When we finished cutting out our carton we had to stick it onto another carton format. When we finished sticking it on our second paper we were supposed to laminate it but unfortunately I didn't finish it in time. 

What I have achieved is designing useful things for our environment and community. 

                           What I have not achieved is working fast enough to get things done.                                                                                      

Crusaders Get New Logo

The new logo is a Maori design and the phrase is ma pango ma whero. In translation it means a Maori Proverb referring to different cultures working together. Following the Christchurch attacks this year there was pressure to change their logo and name. The Crusaders have decided not to change their name but to release their new-look logo. Mansbridge say that the Crusaders thought of lots of other names but none reflected their identity or values.

Tech

At tech we started designing our front cover of our juice carton. I haven't started on my good copy of my carton so I am designing on a test paper. One thing we need on our cover is how many ML. The title of my juice carton is Apple Bomb and the flavor is obviously apple. On my cover I have a little apple character saying try it love it its good and healthy for you.

Company Making Robots That Looks Like Human

A Russian manufacturing company has released a scheme to mass produce life like robots.
The design is called a Robo-C because they are designed to be used as a companion. The company that makes these robots is called Promobot. It plans to use the robots as personal assistance and companions and hopes they will be able to be used for educational purposes. The Robo-C has a neck and torso and can look like any person on this earth. Very soon people will be able to order a robot with any appearance for professional or personal use. The robot is not able to walk but is able to copy human expression, move its eyes, eyebrows and muscles. It can also hold a conversation. The robot has over 600 facial expressions and will be able to communicate and answer questions by studying the original.

NCEA Exams Start

The first of 119 NCEA and Scholarship exams started last week. In total around 140,000 secondary school students will be taking tests. The New Zealand Qualifications Authority is the group that organised these exams. They are expecting to mark more than a million exam booklets, as well as 48,000 online exam entries from this years exam. The exams will finish on the 3rd of December. Education Minister Chris Hipkins said about 20,000 students from nearly 200 schools would be sitting online exams this year, up from 6,700 students last year.

Tech

At tech today we started creating the cover of our juice carton. The name of my juice is Apple Bomb the flavor is apple and this is the font I used. Next we had to add our ML, bar code, ingredients and lastly nutrition. When we thought about those things we had to think about what is legal and why. We said that you need ingredients to show if you have any allergies to the juice. Next we had to think about what we can use that can be safe and not harming the sea animals. We came up with an idea instead of straws you can have a side where you can unfold a attached pouring hole.

Smart Money: Buying Online

Tips for Shopping Online

First of all you have to check that the website is secure also to check the reviews and feedback's. You can also remember to check and see if their policy's are good and fair. A good tip is to check the product description such as what colour, what size, what materials and what features the product has. 

South Africa Wins Rugby World Cup

South Africa dominated England 13-12 in the final in Yokohama. Tries by wingers Makazole Mapimpi and Cheslin Kolbe and the goal kicking of Handre Pollard earned South Africa their win. England came into the match with huge expectations after the New Zealand win however they were disappointing. South Africa has now earned their 3rd trophy ever since 2007 and 1995.

Facial Recognition For Sheep

A Dunedin company has announced they are developing facial recognition for sheep. Iris Data Science is working on the facial recognition instead of costly electronic identification or ear tagging of animals. The project has received a $40,000 grant from Callaghan Innovation and the company is aiming to prototype the software this year. Sheep face images are collected and fed into a machine-learning model which learns how to identify sheep by finding recognizable features. It is the same facial recognition technology is on humans in the airport. 

Langman Wins Supreme Netball

 

Silver Ferns captain Laura Langman has been named player of the year at the New Zealand Netball awards evening. Laura Langman wins the Dame Lois Muir Supreme Award is the highest individual award a New Zealand netball-er can achieve. It's the third time Laura has received the award ever since 2015 and 2016. She remains the only Silver Fern to receive the Dame Lois Muir Supreme Award. 

Fire Breaks Out In Sky City

A major fire has hit Auckland's Sky City Convention centre. Large flames engulfed the top of the building just after 1pm yesterday afternoon starting on the seventh floor before spreading to the sixth. The fire started in the roof cavity and it's been difficult for firefighter's to get inside the building and to the top. St John says one person has been admitted to Auckland City Hospital in a serious condition. Sky City has evacuated it's entire Auckland area, with people forced to leave the Sky Tower, casino, all Sky City hotels, restaurants and corporate offices.

Tech

Today at tech we finished off our me drawing, carton research and design brief. Next we drew the cover of our fruit carton. My cover is a passion fruit and the title of my carton is Dark Night. When we finished we all submitted our work to Miss Ferguson.

Silver Fern Beat Aussie

The Silver Ferns have beaten Australia 54-53. The result means the New Zealand side takes a 2-1 lead in the four-match Constellation Cup series. The Silver Fern trailed by six goals earlier on. However the world champions fought their way back in front of 13,497 fans at Sydney's Qudos Bank Arena on Sunday. Ameliaranne Ekenasio made the shot with 20 seconds remaining after both teams made some errors in a pressure-packed final five minutes. The Silver Ferns can win their second Constellation Cup series if they win the final match in Perth on Sunday.

Finish Up For Rotation

At tech we started painting our board for our 3d games. I painted my board black because I thought it matched my pieces.  I added three thin coats lairs of black to my board and then in the square holes I added two thin coats of lairs. Then we let them dry by using the sun or blowing it because unfortunately Mrs Ferguson lost the art rooms hair dryer.

Funding For Hamilton To Auckland Rail Service

              

     Funding has been given for a rail service from Hamilton to Auckland. Around $92 million in                 funding has been approved for the service, Which will launch next year. Transport Minister Phil             Twyford announced the funding on Friday, saying that more and more people are travelling                   between the two cities. The train will run from Hamilton to Papakura, Where passengers will have   to transfer to the Auckland public transport system. The final aim is to get the train all the way to           Britomart which is in Auckland's city.

(Tech) Completing Our 3d Work.

At tech we finished off by adding a second coat to our 3d pieces while we were painting some of us still needed to share our 3d pieces creation to our teacher Mrs Ferguson.  If we had already sent our creation to her then we wrote our name on the board and how big do we want our pieces. I wanted by pieces 35x35.

When my board piece was cut out I had to sand it with a sanding paper until it was smooth. When my board was smooth I then added some glue and glued the board together with a cut out square frame.

Government Pledges $54 Million To Fight Homelessness

The Government has announced a $54 million funding package to help fight and reduce homelessness. The money is said to go towards programmes that support at risk individuals and whanau. The plan is to get them to stay in a stable housing. The news was announced by Minister of Social Development Carmel Sepuloni late last week. The plan is to have 67 intensive case managers and navigators to work with homeless people. Their role will be to work with those in most need.

Painting

At tech we started painting our 3d pieces. My 3d pieces were naughts and crosses instead it was called sun and moon. I painted the sun yellow and the moon white. To let the pieces dry faster we used the art classes hair dryer. The finally we took them to the back to dry completely.