Day: March 31, 2026

SLJ Certificate

LI: To celebrate our success

Last week, PBS held a special event called the Summer Learning Journey celebration assembly. During this event, Mrs. Grant came and handed out certificates and prizes to everyone who took part. My certificate was just for showing up and participating in the activities. The Summer Learning Journey was really fun because it kept me busy and entertained during the holidays. I didn’t spend all my time feeling bored, and I still learned new things while I was out of school.

My favorite activity was called “Legs Legs Legs – Step It Up.” For this challenge, I made 2 pretend legs for a dog named Turbo. Turbo was born without two of his front legs, so I designed the 2 fake legs to help him move better. It was a fun project because I got to think about how to help an animal that needs some extra help.

In addition to the 2 fake legs, I also created some other ideas to help Turbo live a better life. One of these was the “Snack Dispenser 5000.” It’s a machine I designed that automatically gives Turbo treats whenever he wants one. That way, Turbo can stay happy and well-fed without someone having to remember to give him snacks all the time.

I also thought about making an “Auto-Cooling System.” This was a device I imagined that would keep Turbo cool and comfortable, especially on hot days. It would help him not to get too warm or tired when the weather is hot.

Another idea I had was called the “Turbo Booster.” It’s a gadget that gives Turbo a quick push or a boost, helping him move faster or get from one place to another more easily.

Overall, the activities I did during the Summer Learning Journey were really interesting. I learned how to come up with creative solutions to help animals like Turbo, and I had a lot of fun building and imagining new devices. It was a great way to spend the holidays, combining learning with fun hands on projects.

Letter to Ah Sum

LI: To understand we make judgements based on stereotyping, assumptions and prejudices

Today we went over a story called “Bok Choy for Reading.” The story talked about how Chinese immigrants, like Ah Sum, were treated badly and unfairly judged in New Zealand a long time ago. It showed that many people didn’t see Chinese immigrants as equals and often had negative ideas about them just because they looked different or came from a different culture. The story also taught us that it’s important to understand and care about people who are different from us, even if we don’t fully understand their situation. Showing kindness and empathy is the right thing to do.

After reading the story, our task was to write a letter to Ah Sum to thank him properly. When we visited him in his hut, we didn’t have the right words to express how grateful we were, so now we need to take the time to say it the right way. This exercise made us think about how important it is to be respectful and thoughtful when talking to others, especially those who might have helped us or who are going through tough times.

What I found most interesting about the story is how it revealed that even though a long time has passed, there are still challenges and unfair treatment faced by people who are different, especially because of their race or background. It shows that racism and prejudice are still problems today, not just in the past. The story made me think about how important it is to treat everyone equally and to stand up against unfairness whenever we see it. It reminded me that kindness, understanding, and empathy are needed now just as much as they were back then.

First Flight Recording

 

Today, we were challenged to create a recording of the story we created. My story was about a little owl on his first flight and the story was called Fly by Night. To help us add more details and make the story more interesting, I used a special tool my teacher made and it was called Gemini Gem. This tool asked me questions that made me think about different ways to describe things and add more depth to my story.

Once I finished recording my story, I used another feature called the Storybook to make an illustrated version, which means I added pictures to go along with the story. This part was a bit tricky because I had to change the prompts that is, the instructions I was giving to the tool to get the pictures and details to match my original story as closely as possible.

My partner and I found it pretty interesting that the Gemini Gem helped us improve our story. It guided us to add better details, and now we see how we can use it in the future to help create better stories or projects. Overall, it was a mix of challenging and fun, and the tool turned out to be useful in making our story more detailed and engaging.

AI Reverse Challenge

Today in LS2, we used our previous experience with AI to create images. Our goal was to make pictures similar to a specific photo of a leopard lying on a tree branch, looking out. My partner and I each used different techniques and styles to make our images look unique. To do this, we had to give the AI a detailed description of what we wanted, including three main parts: the subject (what’s in the picture), the description (more details about the scene), and the style (how the picture should look artistically).

For example, I gave a prompt that explained the scene like this: “A leopard is resting peacefully on a tree branch in the jungle. The image should look like it was painted with watercolors, which gives it a soft, flowing, and artistic appearance, similar to watercolor paintings. The overall mood combines the calmness of the leopard with the gentle, artistic feel of watercolor art, making the picture look peaceful and beautiful.”

This helps the AI understand exactly what kind of image I want, including the scene itself and how it should look. We practice this process to get better at making creative and realistic images with AI.