Ngatu

Ngatu

Have you ever heard of a Ngatu?  Not familiar with it? Nope, okay.  Well you’re in luck to learn all about this magnificent art!

Exactly what is a Ngatu?
Ngatu is a cloth, a cloth made from bark, that may be used for many different situations.    The cloth is created by women and young girls, they would sing traditional Tongan songs while they are forming the cloth.  Ngatu is the given Tongan name, as the Maori name is Tapa. The cloth can be worn as clothes and be able to wear during a traditional dance.

How is Ngatu made?
They first peel the bark, and they use the bark peeling to make the cloth and then they hang it up in the sun.  The bark is dipped into water to make it soft. They beat the bark with an ike so the cloth will be more thin and wide.  Next, the bark is hung\

up once again so it can dry.  After it has dried, the lay pieces of material on a table and it becomes the backing of the ngatu.  They spread a paste that is made out of flour and water onto the material. They then safely set down the feta’aki on top of the material.  Then, the cloth is leisurely rolled up into one piece and pick it up to take it outside. They unroll the ngatu to be shown to sun and left to dry.  Last but not least, the women will design or as in paint onto the ngatu with brown dye.

My Ngatu
The picture at the top is my design of a tapa cloth.  The creation of this was quite hard because we had to do layers of our prints.  We were inspired by photos of different Tapa cloths on the internet. That’s when we decided to chose 2 designs we like and use them.  A very popular pattern was the flower and another pattern which is quite difficult to describe but I can mostly say it has triangles.

The significance
Ngatu is important to Tonga because it is part of their culture for the past years.  As said before, it can be used for many different situations. Surprisingly, it can also be used a kite.  Ngatu can be used for different types of occasions, like a birthday and also for funerals. This can be passed down generation by generation and can be noticed by others who are not Tongan.

Lastly, to wrap this up, the ngatu is part of the Tongan culture.  It can be used for special occasions and also can be used for an activity; as in traditional dances.  

What I found difficult: I found it difficult to put the text in my own words because I personally think the original text was awesome. What I found easy: I took a few notes in my literacy book and tried to memorise the bits and pieces I have. So, to make it easy I had memorised and put it onto here. What I could do next time: Next time I should try and write more than just short sentences.

Cellphones shall not be banned!

WALT: Write a persuasive text. Should cellphones be banned in schools?

There was once a time where phones hadn't existed.  Now they do, you see them everywhere. In someone's hand, pocket or even in their bag. Before we had this advanced technology, we had flip phones.  Then, those were replaced with attractive favoured phones. Where you actually touch the screen, I mean back then we had buttons on phones. Okay okay, I'll get to the main topic.

Should phones be banned in schools?  Tweens and teens have phones now. It could possibly change them in a way where they would use their phones 24/7.

Firstly,  I disagree with this because phones can help you in a way.  I recommend the age of 12, for a child to start bringing a device to school.  Imagine this: The bell had just rung, students are leaving. You notice that no one has come to pick you up.  Your phone! Your phone is in your bag. You take it out and decide to ring your parents. You've informed them that you can now be picked up.  A phone can help you contact someone. You could possibly tell them about your day or just have a normal conversation.

Furthermore, phones can give a child or teenager a full responsibility for the phone.  It can help them look after their own things as they are growing older each year. But, it may take over them and could get the feeling of using their phone all the time.  Although, you can tell them when to stop using their phone or give them a time limit on how long they can use a phone. So, they will get used to the time limit and will know for themselves on when to stop.

Finally, a phone can give facts about the day.  An example is, you can set a calendar and will tell you about the events coming up for the day.  It can help you from forgetting things like a test or an activity that may happen in the day. A phone can give you facts about the recent news.  It might probably tell you about the weather and how cold or hot it might be. Phones can actually help you wake up in the morning by setting the alarm, the ringing will mainly wake you up so you can start getting ready for the day.  Most of us would probably sleep through it, but it's worth a try.

In conclusion, I feel that phones shall not be banned from schools because they are what we need to help us throughout the day.  A calendar to remind you, an alarm to wake you, a responsibility to help you and lastly a way to contact people.

What I learnt: I learnt how to use different words for a new sentence and how to back up my reasons correctly on why phones shouldn't be banned in schools. What I enjoyed: I enjoyed writing the whole persuasive text because persuasive writing is my favourite way to convince people about how I see things. What I found difficult: I mostly found it difficult is to actually come up with different reasons and I had some seconds thoughts on disagreeing with the topic but I finally chose my way to disagree. What I need to work on: Next time I could work on giving my opinions more of an understanding information to give my readers a chance to know what I am saying so no one would go 'huh?'.

Fractions, Decimals and Percentages

What I did well:
I think I did well on explaining on how to convert, though I had some trouble along the way so I may have mixed a little bit of words up due to some confusion.
What I enjoyed:
I enjoyed that I got it finished and I'm proud of how my presentation had worked out even if I had trouble, I had it finished.
What I could next time:
Next time I could justify on some on how to convert them to make sure that the people who are viewing understand what I am trying to say and teach them.

Posted

These are my posted activities for the past weeks.  The slideshow will update every time I finish and add a completed activity.

'Posted' is a book which contains with cellphones being banned because of some issue.  Kids have found a way to communicate through post it notes.

The 7 Sacraments

What I did well:
I think I did well on making the pictures or symbols match with each Sacrament because instead of googling images, I made them myself.
What I enjoyed:
Making the little symbols was what I enjoyed doing.  I didn't trace any image out to create them.
What I could do next time:
Next time I could maybe justify on what a Sacrament is more and give information so people can understand what I am saying.