Reflection 2011

	Name: Isabella F                              Date:1/12//11
Look back What did you do? What could you improve?	Although Maths isn’t a HUGE part of the Enrich curriculum, I think I could improve on my Maths skills, measurements, numbers, etc. I also think I could improve some of my chess strategies - I have been easily beaten many times this year. Also I haven’t competed my Must Do sheet completely that many times - I think I need to manage my time a bit better sometimes, although I do put in effort.
Questions What questions have you answered? What questions do you still have?	hmmm... i’m not really sure... well, I know there’s still some things in ICT that I need to find out, Alice, Scratch, etc, but I have answered questions about my passions and my talent [writing] and I have learned how to play chess.
Pull it apart What factors contributed to your learning? What challenged you?	LOADS & LOADS & LOADS of tasks challenged me at my first year at Enrich, like Science, Talent Development, Storytelling and more, chess, writing, Rebuses, workshops...
Make connections What did you learn to do better? What sort of thinking helped you?	I learned to write better, I guess, and the biggest part of that was the Story Telling talent development. I learnt by looking at something and not knowing how do do it, want to do it, learn to do it, DO IT.
Make judgements My progress was...	My progress was that I have developed my giftedness better, really. I learnt how to do so so so so much, like on the computer, GarageBand and so much more. I really enjoyed my year here at Enrich and I cant wait to come back next year!!!!

Yummy yum yum!!!

Today in science at Enrich we made FOOD!!! Bread, sherbet, and best of all, HOKEY POKEY! We basically did it to find out the reaction when we put baking soda and flour and yeast together.  First, we did the bread, and put the ingredients together, gave it a mash, dug a hole, put water in the hole, gave it another mash, passed two bowls round the circle to knead the dough, put the glad-wrap over the bowls to cover the dough and left them. Next we did the sherbet, and we had to taste-test the ingredients, which were:
Baking soda [bleh! gag!] 
Tartaric [ugh! yuck!]
Citric Acid [cough! wipe off tongue! Almost puke!]
Raro [strong and fizzy, but okay.]
icing sugar [yummy! heavenly! oh, yum! Yum yum yum!
We put them together [on the edge of vomiting] to make sherbet. Yuck!  hated it! When we got a bit of sherbet put in bags to take home Katie gave me just a bag with a bit of icing sugar. I ate a bit and saved a bit to take home. We then made hokey pokey, by putting sugar and golden sugar in a bowl, stirred it, leaving it for about... five or ten minutes? Then we took it off the stove and added baking soda, left it to cool, and went to have morning tea. It is morning tea as I am writing this but Katie said we'd have hokey pokey for lunch! Yum! We learnt heaps about reactions and interactions, and it was really fun!!!! 

CHESS WITH KATIE MAY!!!!

Yes yes yes yes yes!!!!!! I just bet Katie, one of the teachers here at Enrich! I have been trying to tackle her for ages and now I did it! I must say, it wasn't too long until it was checkmate [thats the chess word for game over] I mean it was well, a few minutes maybe? I can't remember exactly how it went, but I know that I had taken both her knights and about five of her pawns. She played really well too, taking my... um... bishop I think and a few others. About the same as me. I didn't think I was going to win but I did. I was white and Katie was black.  It was looking pretty tough at first but now that I have won I feel so so so so great!!!!

EXPLODING BALLOONS!!!

You will NOT believe what we did today for Science! We did three experiments, but the one I liked the most was the one where the balloons exploded! First, we got a balloon and a coke/pepsi bottle and filled the coke/pepsi bottle with white vinegar but only a third full. We then got a funnel and attached the balloon to the bottom of the funnel. We put four teaspoons of baking soda through the funnel and into the balloon. Then we took the balloon off the funnel and put the bottom over the neck of the bottle and kept the balloon there and the bottle fizzed and blew the balloon up because of the baking soda and vinegar mixing together to create a gas! We went outside and popped the balloons and boy did it make one heck of a mess! My balloons was the biggest and it was the only pink one. It was really fun and it made me burst out laughing when Grayson chucked the balloon on the ground and Wilson dived in and popped it with a pointy pencil!

Science today

Today at Enrich the first thing we did was our talent development groups. For science we did two experiments with ice. The first one we did was with three petridishes and one had a raro ice cube, one had a sugar ice cube and one had a plain ice cube. We waited for nine minutes, doing an observation every three minutes and at the end my hypothesis was right because the plain ice cube had melted the fastest. We did a conclusion and we found it was probably because the sugar ice cube and the raro one had more particles to break down than the plain one.

Hi Isabella.
You made a positive start to our first session of science talent development today.  You were eager to unpack the science trolley, and were patient when discussing the items and their uses.  You enjoyed the light sensor experiment, and you contributed when discussing the reasons why we got the results we did.  You explained your thoughts by using examples to help you - this is a great skill to have.  Keep up the great work Isabella.
Katie

First day back!

First day back at Enrich for Term 4! OMG, the year has just WHIZZED by, what with all the things to keep us entertained, tasks to complete, challenges, chess, Mental Edge games, blog posts to be done, so much to do! My mini movie for the MADE awards has been sent off, cross fingers I did OK! We have quite a few different things going on this term, the Art Talent Development group just carries on, preparing for their art exhibit, and the other groups have got new subjects. The two new subjects are maths and science. Hope the rest of my day goes well, but it probably will with everything to keep me so busy!

Two stars and a wish for Term3

MY TWO STARS FOR THIS TERM WOULD HAVE TO BE MY WRTING TALENT DEVELOPMENT, AS I THINK I MADE GOOD PROGRESS WITH TURNING MY STORY INTO A MOVIE AND SENDING IT TO THE MADE AWARDS. MY OTHER STAR WOULD HAVE TO BE CHESS, BECAUSE I REALLY DO THINK I HAVE IMPROVED MY SKILLS AND STRATEGIES. MY WISH WOULD BE THAT WE COULD DO MORE ON THE IPADS CAUSE WE HAVEN'T REALLY USED THEM THAT MUCH AS WE HAVE HAD TO GET OUR WORK DONE IN OUR SPARE TIME AND THERE HASEN'T BEEN A GREAT DEAL OF WORKSHOPS THAT USE THEM. MIND-MAPPING USED THEM, BUT THAT WAS PRETTY MUCH IT.

Hi Isabella!
I am so impressed with your dedication to your writing!  You put in a huge amount of effort to get your Kid-Pix slideshow completed.  You showed great task commitment by coming into Enrich in your own time to help you stay on top of your workload.  You enjoyment for writing is clear, and this has shown through with your slideshow.  Well done Isabella.  Keep up the great work for next term!
Katie.

SECOND LAST DAY OF WRITING TALENT DEVELOPMENT!

Did you know that our talent development stories for the MADE awards have to be finished in 2 WEEKS!? For us it's only two DAYS, since we only go to Enrich once a week. I'm not sure I'll get it done in time, but you never know!  I hope I do!

The final decision!

I have decided to use Kid Pix for my movie for the MADE awards!It is easier than Garageband, another computer program you can use to create a podcast. Kid Pix is awesome, easy, fun and a really cool computer programme to learn from. I really enjoy using Kid-Pix!!!!

Kidpix

I thought I knew how to use Kidpix. Well, I didn't. Not all of it anyway. Today in Writing Talent Development, Katie taught us how to animate things on Kidpix. It was really interesting! We learnt how to import you're own backgrounds, record you're own sounds and make it into a slideshow. Also, we learnt how to have an opening to the next slide - with the sound effects! I am considering using Kidpix for my movie for the MADE awards. It's pretty cool. Just as cool as Garageband. BUT Garageband is way too complicated for me.

Writing Talent Development week 5

Today at Enrich, we did some more on our stories for Talent Development. I have deleted some, edited a chunk, added a paragraph, looked up the thesaurus for more interesting words, and worked really hard to make my story perfect. After morning tea, Katie showed us how to use Garage Band, a computer program, because some of us [E.G: ME!] didn't know how to use it. All of us are PROBABLY going to use Garage Band to make our stories into movies for the MADE awards. I am really excited about learning how to use Garage Band!  

Chess with Zoe

Today at Enrich, I played chess with my friend Zoe Bennet. The first game was tough. I was white, and Zoe was black, which was annoying, because black is my lucky colour! It was a tie. The next game I was black [hurray!] and I won. See, I TOLD you black was my lucky colour! On the next game, I refused to be white, but Zoe made me. [Huh!] but I knew that black wasn't my lucky colour, and the game was all to do with strategy and skill. I wasn't really surprised, though, because chess is a tricky game, and it has nothing to do with what colour you are, but how good you are at chess, and how well you can think ahead to the next move.  

Hi Isabella.
You had a very productive writing session today.  Writing is certainly something that you are passionate about.  You have such enthusiasm and drive and it is great to see you making the most of each session.  You are using a lot of descriptive language within your story, which is going to help to keep your readers engaged.  Keep up the great effort.
Katie.

S.C.A.M.P.E.R

Today at Enrich my friend Zoe Bennet and I did S.C.A.M.P.E.R. It is a thing where you pick an object, for example a piece of Lego. There are seven things you need to do - 1. Substitute 2. Customize 3. Adapt 4. Modify/Magnify 5. Put to another use 6. Eliminate and 7. Reverse/Rearrange. Our object was a soft-toy version of a Lego-Man. S.C.A.M.P.E.R was very fun, and it gave me a challenge 1. to find out what the words meant 2. To find things that were appropriate for that object - imagine rearranging a piece of Lego!

The MADE awards

Today is the second week back at Enrich! Fun, fun, fun! This week, in my NEW talent development group, writing, we are going to start our stories for the MADE awards, a national competition, for all ages. I can't wait! It's going to be so much fun! Also, a lot of things have changed. Instead of our Must-Do-Can-Do sheets being on the computer, they are new ones stuck into our books. This is because on the computer, they got mucked up with saving problems. In the writing talent development, I reckon I'm going to have so much fun!

Teacher Comment

Isabella

You have had a successful term at Enrich.  Your time management is excellent - you track your learning on your Must Do / Can Do sheet each week, which reflects how well your prioritise your time and what needs to be done.  You pursue your areas of passion - particularly writing.  I have enjoyed all the pieces of writing you have sent to me during the term.  You write detailed accounts of your day at Enrich for your blog, which are always interesting to read.  Keep up your positive attitude and high energy for new learning.  Term 3 is going to be another busy term.  Well done Isabella.

Katie.

Two stars and a wish

 Since this is the last day at Enrich for term 2, we have to have a blog post on two stars and a wish. Two stars are something that you think you have done well at, and a wish is something you would like to happen, like more ICT workshops. So, my two stars and  a wish are:
STAR 1: I think I have done really well with blog posts - this is my seventeenth post throughout the year. Also, I don't just type two lines with black font, and no normal font for me! I always at least make the writing italic+bold, and I almost ALWAYS change the colour! And I always fix up my spelling, I don't wait for a teacher to come along and put a space between words! Even if I do need help with a tricky word, I make sure that the words I know are spelt correctly. I also try to add as much detail to the post as I can, and quite often put an image on the post. That is why I think I am good with my blog posts.
STAR 2: I reckon I have done pretty good with my writing.I have been e-mailing my stories to Katie, one of our teachers, and she really liked them. There is quite a few I have done, and Katie says they are full of description, and that is why I think I have done well with my writing.
WISH: My wish is to have lots of descriptive writing workshops, because I really like doing descriptive writing. It is my talent. I like describing certain things, like a beach, a haunted house, a beautiful orchard, a rocky mountain, a pretty island, an ugly island where witches live, a ghostly graveyard, and lots more. I also like writing explanations, narratives, but not so much recounts.
These are my two stars and a wish, and I hope at the end of term 3, I ill have lots more different ones. 

Science talent development

Week 10 of term 2 already! Time flies around here when you have so much to do! Now, about Science Talent Development... it's all going well, and I have added a few more slides to my keynote, one with a diagram of a horse, another with a diagram of a horse's timeline, and others with more facts about how they adapt. It has been really FUN creating this keynote, and I cant wait to find out more about horses and how they adapt!     

Contacting an expert

Today at Enrich I did another session of science talent development with Eddie, Jordan and Darryn. Today we had to contact an expert on our animal. I am contacting the North Island Doc center to ask questions about the Kaimanua wild horses. I have sent them an email and I have told them who I am what I am doing and of course, the questions. I can't wait to find out more about wild horses! It will be awesome! Also, it will help my keynote, as I need to put more facts about wild horses onto my keynote! I am so excited!  We will have to contact an expert in our passion projects too, so this is good practice. But then, that's what talent development is all about - practicing for our passion projects!

Science talent development-what we are up to now

As you know, for my talent development I am doing nature science. We are studying animal adaptations, and now we are up to doing a keynote about our animal. Mine is a wild horse. I have about two slides to go, and I hope I will be able to finish them before the end of term, because next term is when we start our passion projects. I have a wee bit more to do, as I have not yet contacted an expert on wild horses. I am using the skills that I learnt in the keynote ICT workshop to do my keynote about animal adaptations, adding on pictures and stuff. When I'm finished, I might put a snapshot of the title page on one of my blogs. But for now, here is one of the pictures I used in my keynote above on the right.  

Being gifted and what it means to me

For me, being gifted means you are above average in different areas.  A big part of being gifted means going to Enrich every Thursday.  At school, people think I'm the smartest person EVER but only in a few different subjects - writing, mainly, and sometimes my reading. I am not that talented in maths, but that is okay!  Going to Enrich really helps me, as they don't do the regular school curriculum.  They have different challenges, and it is really fun.  Also, they don't just do reading, writing, maths at set times.  The teachers incorporate it in all areas.  For example, Katie sends us an email every morning, and that is reading because we have to read it to see what's going on.  Also, our blog posts are kind of like writing.  Enrich really helps me.  Being gifted is a very special thing to me. 

Leaderboard Chess

At Enrich we have a leaderboard for chess.  Our names are laminated and separately blue-tacked on to one of the pillars at the back of the room.  If your name is at the top of all the other names on the pillar then you are at the top of the leaderboard and you are the leader.  If your name is below all the others, then that means you're either not much of a champion at chess, or you haven't been playing enough chess.  When you play someone above you on the leader board and win, then you get to go higher on the leader board.  The leader board is a fun way to improve your chess skills and is kind of like a contest but it isn't too tense, you just want to have fun.

Animal adaptations

In the nature science talent development group, we are studying animal adaptations.  A few weeks ago we went to Queen's Park to look at the animals and the museum to look at the tuataras.  Now an example of a good animal adaptation we are looking at is the great white shark's adaptation.  The great white shark has the ability to stick it's head out of the water and look around.  A great white's main diet is a seal, because seals are full of fat.  The fat then turns into energy to keep the shark pumped up.  Although it is a fish, the great white has adapted [changed over time], to be like a warm-blooded animal.  It's mind is developed better than most fish.   

Talent development

At Enrich we are doing our passion projects.  Well...  not all of us are up to passion projects yet.  The people who were here last year are the only ones doing passion projects at the moment.  The newbies are doing talent development first. You got to choose out of three different options for your talent development - Art [mosaics], ICT [robotics], and Science [nature].  I am doing nature science, and we are learning about animal adaptations.  To learn about adaptations, our group [there are only three of us], went on a walk to the museum to see the tuataras.  We saw three adult ones and about nine baby ones.  One of the adult ones was back in it's burrow by the time we left, but we saw it moving and I think that is the most I've ever seen a tuatara move.  It was moving pretty fast too.  The baby ones moved the most of all.  We tried to take a few photos of them, but they kept crawling around too much!  After the museum, we went to the duck pond in Queens Park and took a look at the ducks.  We learned that the female duck isn't as bright as the male duck!  The female duck blends into her surroundings, [the female is brown and so are the trees and dirt] so that she can protect her eggs from predators.  After we took some photos of the ducks, we went to see all the other animals.  First we went to see the rabbits.  We saw that some of them were blending into their surroundings, just like the ducks.  Next, we went to see the pigs.  They were Auckland Island pigs, and boy, were they smelly!  We kept on going.  We went to see the deer.  There was this big male one with HUGE antlers and he looked MAD with a capital M!  The female was beautiful though, and she had these sweet brown eyes.  We had an awesome trip.    

Keynote.

On Thursday, the day I go to Enrich, I did a really cool workshop.  It was about ICT, it was mostly about keynote.  Keynote is a computer program where you get to choose your background, and how it is set out, give it a title, type things about your topic, add on images, give your picture a frame, make your picture see through, give your keynote music, make the pages flip automatically, and do all kinds of other stuff.  At the workshop, we experimented with a tool called inspector.  It can make your pages flip, get music, all those kinds of things.  We also put images on our keynotes, just so that we could get the hang of it.  We were not making a proper keynote.  So, I think I've told you everything.  Oh, just one more thing, if some of you don't know what keynote looks like, here is a picture to show you.       

P4C

P4C is philosophy for children. Philosophy is questions that can have yes or no for an answer. So far, the questions that we have had to answer are: Would you choose wealth or friendship? Would you choose power or pleasure? Can you lie to yourself? These questions are hard to answer and different people think different things. If somebody asked you, then how would you answer these questions?

Can you lie to yourself?

A very interesting question. Can you lie to yourself? Yes or no? Perhaps, as you could tell yourself something that is not true. But you would still know that it is not true. Then again, don't you have to know the truth to tell a lie? I myself have no idea. But I really want to know what you people think. I would really like it if you posted some comments sharing your thoughts and ideas. It would be interesting to know. What is your opinion? The answer to this question can be yes or no. That is what makes it so interesting. 

Today's game.

Today's game at Enrich this morning was called "Sardines". It is a game kind of like hide-and-seek but different. One person is "It". They go and hide. Once the person is hidden, everybody else goes and tries to find them. When somebody finds them, they have to hide with them and not say a word. Eventually, everybody will be hiding with the person who is It. The last person to join the hiding spot is It. The game turned out to be really funny because everybody got all squished in one spot. The game involved good searching skills. I liked it. 

Profiling.

Today at Enrich the first workshop I did was called "profiling". It was a very interesting workshop. It was a chart in student shared with 4 rows. One told you which number profile it was. The next row was called "feelings and attitudes". The  row after that was called "Behavior." The last one was called "Needs" but we did not do any of that one. In the rows, there were words and you had to change the colour of the text if those words described YOU. I liked doing that workshop. It helps you learn about yourself.

Chess

Here at Enrich, we play quite a bit of chess. We play it mostly because it gets your brain going. Chess is kind of like Enrich's version of maths. Chess can be played for different amounts of time. Some people think you can sit down and play one game for hours, and sometimes you can, but sometimes you can only play for a few minutes before somebody wins or loses. Chess is a fun game that involves new strategies, and skill.

Event Organisation

Today at Enrich has been awesome, just as usual. Our game this morning was called "Seaweed", where there are three people in the middle to start with and they are allowed to run anywhere. Then one of them calls out something like the colour of a top and if you are wearing that colour then you have to RUN and try not to get tagged before you get to the other side. If you do get tagged, then you have to stand with your feet not going anywhere and reach out your arms like seaweed to tag other people as they run past. The last person who was successful to get to the other side without getting tagged is the winner. The game involves quick thinking and quick movement. It was fun.

Interactions

We are learning about Interactions, at Enrich.  Interactions are when 2 or more things have an effect on each other.  To learn about Interactions we went on a field trip to see: a pre school to see how children interact with each other, a walk around the city to see the interactions in shops, cars on the street and people around town. We also went to the boardwalk by the estuary where we saw water and plants and insects and birds all interacting with each other.

ICT Q AND A.

Today at Enrich I went to a very interesting workshop. It was called ICT Q and A. We learnt some cool tricks with the computer, like highlighting things in different colours and how to paste, copy and cut [the computer way]. We also learnt how to change our screen-savers. It was a very cool workshop and I learnt loads of things that I did not know how to do. We learnt how to take screen-shots in different ways. The workshop helped me know more about computers. It was awesome.

This is a screen shot I took using command, shift and 4 all at the same time. It lets you choose the area you want to take a shot of.