Howdy There,

This week in Food Tech, we had to line up with our group. I was in Group 2, and we walked to Papakura Intermediate School to do our work. When I walked into the Food Tech room, I could smell chocolate chip muffins, I was the sous chef. The sous chef’s job was to grab the ingredients, while the kitchen porter did the cooking and chopping. The kitchen hand washed the dirty plates, dried them, and put them back where they belonged.

Before we started, we filled the sink with warm water and dish washing liquid, washed our hands for 20 seconds, and dried them with tea towels. After that, we sat down and listened to what we had to do next. Once we heard the instructions, we got up, and the teacher called the sous chef to grab the ingredients. I grabbed a bowl and walked over to get the ingredients. I got one cup of flour, salt, and baking powder. The kitchen porter mixed everything together while I went to grab the other ingredients.

I got eggs, a cup of milk, and a chunk of butter, which I put in a cup and microwaved for 30 seconds. After that, we mixed everything together. When it was well-mixed, the teacher came around and gave us chocolate chips to add to the bowl. We mixed it all together until it was ready to put into the muffin tray. We baked the muffins for about 12 minutes. But we had to wait for everyone to be ready before putting them in the oven at the same time, so they would all be done at the same time.

When we finished baking, we cleaned our station (which was number 2). After cleaning, we sat down and wrote about the skills we used and any problems we faced. When the cleaning was done, we put away our aprons, pushed in our chairs, and lined up at the door. We waited for everyone else to finish, and when they were done, we said our prayer before leaving. Then we went home.

Enjoy!

Howdy There,

On Monday at Tech, our group got to make mac and cheese! It was a fun and interesting experience because, unlike other days, we didn’t have assigned roles. That meant we could do any job that needed to be done, like cleaning up, helping with the cooking, or making sure everything was running smoothly. It felt good to be able to jump in and help wherever we were needed.

Skills We Used
While cooking, we used lots of important skills:

Teamwork – We had to communicate and work together to make sure everything got done.
Following Instructions – We carefully followed the recipe to make sure our mac and cheese turned out delicious.
Cleaning As We Cooked – Instead of waiting until the end, we cleaned up as we worked, which made things a lot easier.
Fixing the Mac & Cheese Sauce
In the middle of cooking, something went wrong! One of my partners accidentally messed up the mac and cheese sauce, and it didn’t turn out the way it was supposed to. But don’t worry—I (yes, me!) managed to fix it. With the help of our food tech teacher, Whaea Leigh, we made the sauce even better than before.

We improved it by:

Adding more cheese to make it thicker and tastier.
Using a strainer to remove the clumpy flour, then breaking it apart so it mixed smoothly into the sauce.
After fixing the sauce, it was perfect—creamy, cheesy, and super delicious!

The Final Result
Once everything was ready, we scooped our mac and cheese into small tin trays, which were the perfect size for each of us to hold and eat from. The top had a nice crispy layer, but it wasn’t burnt—it looked golden and delicious.

Even though we faced some challenges while making the mac and cheese, we worked together, learned new skills, and in the end, it turned out amazing!

Howdy There,

When we walked into class, we started our usual Monday routine and put our bags away in a small cubby so they wouldn’t be in the way. Next, we wrote down everyone’s jobs on the whiteboard. The groups stayed the same, but the kitchen jobs rotated.

That day, I was the Kitchen Hand, which means I cleaned up after the Kitchen Porter (the person who baked). Because of that, I didn’t see all the ingredients used to make the pizza.

While making the pizza, we used different skills like kneading the dough, cleaning as we worked, measuring ingredients correctly, using the oven safely, and working as a team. We split the pizza dough into three parts so each of us could make our own pizza.

Now for the math part! Our food tech group has 15 students. Since 15 divided by 5 equals 3, that meant each station in the kitchen could have 3 people. Since there were 5 stations, everyone had a spot. That’s why we split our dough into three so each person in our group could have their own piece to work with. It was a fun activity, especially since I got to do it with my great friends!

Howdy There,

This Friday, Kiwi Can came to our school, and I’m really excited about it! This term, Kiwi Can doesn’t come to our school very often because there has been a shortage of staff. So, it was a big deal when they arrived. Now, let me tell you about what we learned during this Kiwi Can session.

The country we focused on was China. One interesting fact we learned about China is that it has the Great Wall of China, which is one of the most famous wonders of the world. It is one of the biggest man-made structures in history, and some people say it can even be seen from space! Isn’t that amazing?

This week, our Kiwi Can topic was about communication. We learned why communication is so important. Without communication, the world would be in chaos! People wouldn’t be able to understand each other, and that could lead to big problems like wars. So, communication is super important to keep things peaceful and organized.

We also played a fun game called Compliment Circle. Here’s how it works: we all stand in a circle, and one person stands up in the middle. The person standing up receives compliments from everyone in the circle until everyone has had a turn. It made everyone feel good and helped us practice positive communication!

Finally, we played another game called Tic Tac Toe (or Dots and Crosses). In this game, there are two teams, and each team has three people. When the game starts, everyone runs to different spaces on the board, trying to get three dots or crosses in a row to win the game. It was a lot of fun and a great way to work together as a team.

That’s all we did for Kiwi Can this week, and it was really exciting and fun! I can’t wait for the next session!

Howdy There,

This week in Food Tech, we recently made Weetbix slices, and it was such a fun and tasty experience! The room smelled so good as we mixed everything together. At our Station 2, we combined Weetbix, sugar, flour, and a little bit of baking powder in a bowl. Then, we added melted butter, milk, and eggs to make the mixture come together. The best part was breaking the Weetbix into pieces.

After mixing, we spread the mixture into a baking tray and pressed it down. The tray went into the oven for ten minutes , and we could already imagine how delicious it would taste. While the slices were baking, the smell of warm, sweet Weetbix filled the kitchen. We couldn’t wait to try them!

When the slices were finished, they looked golden and smelled amazing. We let them cool for a bit, then cut them into squares. The Weetbix slices were soft and chewy, with a nice sweetness. They tasted great on their own, but we could also enjoy them with a little bit of honey or fruit if we wanted.

It felt so rewarding to eat something we had made ourselves, especially when it tasted so good! Everyone in the class worked together, and we had a great time. The Weetbix slices were a hit, and it was the perfect treat to share with friends.

Enjoy!

Howdy There,

This week our teacher gave us a task to write about leadership. We had to think about how we wanted the juniors to remember us. We only had one day to finish it, but because our teacher was away for two days, we got an extra week to complete it. So, it’s due today.

The punishment was that we had to stay in at lunchtime and work on our writing. We needed to make sure we finished it because this showed our teacher that we are independent and mature enough to do what we’re asked. Most of us have shown our teachers and classmates that we can follow rules and that they can trust us to get the job done when needed.

I couldn’t take my Chromebook home, but my teacher had an idea for me and my friend. We had notebooks in class, so I asked if I could take them home and finish my work there. When I got home, I completely forgot about my homework! I had to stay up late to finish it and gave it to my teacher the next day.

I hope this writing inspires others to see what we want to be known for and shows that we can be the person we want to be remembered as. I want everyone to see that we are able to be the person we believe we can be.

Enjoy!

Howdy There,

This week we learned about the Treaty of Waitangi. Many people know about Waitangi Day in New Zealand, but not everyone knows what the Treaty of Waitangi is. The Treaty was an agreement made between the British and the Maori people, where the British promised the Maori people would be able to keep their land and do well.

However, there were two versions of the Treaty – one in English and one in Maori – and they didn’t mean the same thing. The Maori version promised that the Maori people would stay in control of their land, while the English version said that the British would have control over the land. These differences still cause problems today.

Here is my work:

Enjoy!

Howdy There,

WALT: Recall What We Learned During Tech 

I hope you’re all excited for this new term I know I am One of the reasons I’m excited is because I’m doing tech this term, and I’m in Food Tech. It’s basically like cooking food. On Mondays, around 12:40 PM, the Year 7 and Year 8 students from Edmund Hillary School walk to Papakura Intermediate School (P.I). You might be wondering, “Why do we walk there when we already have our own school?” Well, the reason is that our school doesn’t have some of the cool classes that P.I. have. At P.I., they have three cool subjects that we don’t have here: DVC (Design Visual Communications), Food Tech, and Hard Materials.

Enjoy!

Howdy There,

Today, RM9 created a fun word search activity related to the sea. This word search is part of a Summer Learning Journey, which is a collection of tasks that students can work on during the holidays. The goal of this learning program is to help students improve their skills and knowledge in a fun and engaging way, even when school is not in session. The Summer Learning Journey includes different challenges and activities that cover a range of topics, and it encourages students to keep learning over the break. At the end of the program, there are exciting prizes for students who complete the tasks. A special guest comes to the school to present the awards, congratulating the students who did well and gave their best effort. It’s a great way to continue learning outside of school while also having fun. Tasks like the word search help students practice important skills, such as problem-solving and teamwork. They also get to explore new topics, like the sea, which can be both educational and interesting. This activity makes learning more enjoyable, and the opportunity to earn prizes adds an extra motivation to keep going. It’s a fantastic program that helps students stay engaged and improves their knowledge while they enjoy their summer break! Here is my word search

Can You Solve It?

Enjoy!

Howdy There,

This week’s reading had two stories about tough choices in life or death situations. The first story was about two teenagers who were stuck in a bunker after an explosion. They didn’t know if the air outside was safe because of radiation, but they had to decide whether to open the bunker door. It was a life or death decision because they weren’t sure if the radiation outside would harm them or not. They had to decide if it was worth the risk to find out if they could survive.

The second story was about a family who had to decide whether to put down their sick chicken. The chicken was in a lot of pain, and the family knew that letting the chicken suffer wasn’t kind. Even though they loved the chicken, they all agreed it was time to put her down so she wouldn’t be in pain anymore. It was a hard choice because they all cared for the chicken, but they understood it was the right thing to do.

I liked this week’s reading because both stories made me think about how hard it can be to make these tough decisions. Both stories show how important it is to think carefully before making choices, especially when it comes to life and death. Many people have to face these kinds of decisions in their lives. For example, if you’ve ever had to say goodbye to a pet, you might know how hard it can be to make the choice to let them go. It takes a lot of love and courage to make these choices, even when they are difficult.