'Who Gets What'

 This week in ESOL, we continued our learning of the Chocolate industry. We were asked to work with our teams from the last activity we did. Where we mapped out what countries most of the producers and consumers were. Our activity was to represent a role in the 'bean to bar' process for making and selling chocolates. There were five roles that we chose from. 

  The growers of cocoa. The growers of the cocoa, plant, and harvest cocoa to sell to the cocoa buyers. The growers work in Tropical Lands.

 The buyers of cocoa import to the chocolate makers and pay the growers. They also work in air-conditioned offices. They sell the cocoas to rich producing countries.

The producers of other ingredients of the chocolate. They produce the other ingredients of the chocolate. They have workers who work to produce the ingredients. 

The chocolate manufacturers. They make the actual product and work with laborers and machines.  They usually work in factories.

Lastly, the shopkeepers. This was the role my group chose. Retailers work in retails with good air conditioning and are usually dressed nicely and sell the finished product to consumers. 

We also divided the money using percentages. Our first choice was to have 25 percent of the 1.23. But the total exceeded the limit so we had to negotiate. A classmate of ours became a solicitor and removed a few percentages and our group settled at 19 percent. We then found out the actual percentage and the actual percentage we were supposed to have was 23 percent. 

 It did not really surprise me once I found out the actual percentages our roles were supposed to have. 

To conclude, I personally think that it is quite fair. Since everybody has families, rent and stuff to pay. 

Antarctic Center Trip

 Antarctic Center Trip 

 Two weeks ago on Friday, September 4th, our year 10 ESOL class went on a class trip to the Antarctic Center to learn more about Antarctica for our class studies.

At our arrival at the Antarctic Centre, at 9:00 o'clock, our class was introduced to a person called Jane. She was one of the staff that worked there and she was the person who was in charge of our class. We then went to the workshop to learn and to see what Antarctica is like. She explained a bunch of facts to us like the race to Antarctica, which involved two men: Robert Falcon Scott who was a British explorer, and Roald Amundsen who was a Norweigan explorer. We also learned facts about Huskies. 

 After the workshop ended, we got on the Hagglund. Hagglunds were built for the Swedish Army and were first used in Antarctica in 1974. The Hagglunds weigh 4330 kg. The Hagglunds surprised me that it can move over different obstacles such as climbing steep mountains, floating on water, and has a good balance despite it being a heavy vehicle. The Hagglund experience was really fun especially when there were a bunch of bumps on the road and it would rock us inside.

 Then, we met the Little Blue Penguins. They were the smallest species of penguins and their lifespan is six years. We watched the little blue penguins being fed fish and we learned that the oldest penguin that they had was about 25 years old, which surprised me since they only live up to 6 years! Currently, their oldest penguin is 17 years old. The penguins were small and cute but they were really fast in the water. The Little Blue Penguin viewing was short but I had fun looking at them.

 Next, we went to the 4D movie experience. A 4D movie is combining a 3D film with physical effects. The movie we watched was called 'Ice Voyage'. It was about a cruise to Antarctica, roaming around and exploring the beauty of the continent. The movie showed us the ice, wildlife, and the landscape. When I was watching the movie, it really made me feel that I was in Antarctica, thanks to the 3D and special effects. After we watched the movie, I felt that Antarctica is a beautiful place and I hope that we can protect it as it is one of the most peaceful places on the whole planet. 

 Following the movie, we had free time. For our free time, my three classmates Myka, Jhermaine, and Faith, decided to roam around the exploration gallery and ate at the cafeteria after. We didn't really do much but talk and eat. Because it was Faith's birthday, we ate the chips she brought for us. They were really delicious and burnt my fingers a little because they were hot.

 After we filled our stomachs, we went to the Storm Room. Before we got there, I saw two of my classmates doing the ice-cold challenge. I heard one of them stayed there for a while but I don't remember the amount of time they had their arm in there. Later we were told to put on shoe covers so that we wouldn't slip on the ice. When we went into the storm room, we saw a room full of ice and snow. It had an igloo that we could enter and two snow-mobiles that we could ride on. After a few minutes, the storm room went dark and the speaker announced that there would be a storm, and everyone started to huddle together and go in the igloo for warmth. Then the storm finally arrived. Gusts of wind enveloped the room and it was cold. The maximum wind speed of the storm was 42 km and the lowest temperature was negative eight degrees.  I was wearing a mask and a jacket to keep me warm. Even so, I was still cold since my socks were short and I could feel the sharpness of the wind on my legs. Although it hurt a little, it was bearable. We stayed there for about eight minutes and later left the storm room. We were told that that was only the summer temperature, which really surprised me because I felt like I was in the freezer.

Lastly, we went back to the exploration gallery to finish our workbooks. When we entered the gallery, the first thing you would first notice the huge globe that rotates and was projecting something underneath it. . As we went in farther, we separated and some of us decided to be in groups to research what we found interesting. I had a little free time in the end so I decided to buy a tiny whale keychain plushie from the souvenir shop to hang on my bag. 

 Unfortunately, the time to leave has come. At 12:45 the taxi vans have arrived to pick us up and arrived at school at 1:00 pm. 

 Although the trip was short and the huskies weren't there, the whole experience was really fun! Especially because it was my first time coming to the "Antarctic Centre". It was really interesting learning more about Antarctica through this trip and I definitely would want to come back and meet the huskies once Covid 19 is gone. 

The Benefits of Controlled Burning

 Title: 'How Controlled Burning Benefits us'

Introductory statement: Controlled burning is when a "wildfire" is set purposely and planned which is beneficial for the forest management. They carefully plan it and have firefighters thoroughly watch the flames. There are two types of controlled burning: broadcast burning, which involves lighting fire in an area of land, while pile burning is when leaves, branches and other debris are cut snd burnt when weather conditions aren't safe.

Arguments: Why is it a good thing? I believe that controlled burning is a good method, because not only has this method been used for a long time, It also is helpful to the environment. Controlled burning or prescribed burning is set when there are wildfires happening to prevent the fire from spreading larger and faster. The fire also helps return the nutrients in the soil. Controlled burning is also used to exterminate dead trees, branches and other debris which frees up space to help young trees and new plants to grow in. This is how it helps with the environment.


  How does controlled burning work? Interestingly it already states it in the name. It basically is just controlled burning. First, managers plan and draw up a plan, which includes how big, what will it burn and what they hope to accomplish with the fire. The managers also plan how the fire will be set, how to inform the public and the equipment needed. They would also check the weather and the environment's state.


  How does it affect wildlife? The managers choose carefully when they burn based on current conditions, and many controlled fires are slow-moving giving the wildlife a chance to find safety by leaving the area or finding shelter. Burn sites are divided into smaller plots with some land left unburnt, giving space for wildlife to go. Very little injuries happen during prescribed burning as most animals are able to escape but if there are animals that were burnt, the people managing the fires would look around the burnt area looking for injured animals. Prescribed burning helps maintain healthy habitats and restores and strengthen plants.

Conclusion: I strongly believe that controlled burning or prescribed burning benefits us as it can stop wildfires from spreading larger and faster, It's planned well and help maintain healthy habitats. One example is a prescribed burning occurred in the ponderosa pine forest in eastern Washington, United States to restore ecosystem health and another example is in southeast Australia which began at the beginning of September which was rapidly spreading, so they used prescribed burning to stop the spread of the bush fires.

The hottest and coldest place on earth - a comparative study

Dallol, Ethiopia, is the hottest inhabited places on earth

Death Valley.

Antarctica, Vostok weather station

The village of Oymyakon in Russia’s Yakutia region is the coldest village in the world

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The hottest and coldest place on Earth

 What are the Hottest and Coldest places on Earth? In this essay, we will compare the Hottest place and the coolest places on the planet and figure out their similarities as well, as each continent and countries have different and similar temperatures.

 With the average temperature of 35 degrees Celcius, The Dallol region of Ethiopia is the hottest place on the planet. Dallol volcano is in the Danakil Depression, depression meaning low altitude. It is said that water quickly evaporates and when walking around you’ll feel like you’re on another planet. There are lots of acidic pools and mineral salts pushed to the surface which caused the colourful surroundings. There are no people or any living organisms living in Dallol anymore. It is too hot to be inhabited however, there are still tourists and Afar people who live nearby to collect minerals. There are a few animals who can survive, for example, the camel. It can survive due to its flat feet, huge humps on their backs that contain water and their long lashes to protect their eyes from the sun.

  A white snowy dessert filled with thick sheets of ice. No forests, no rivers or ponds, until you pass over the south geometric pole where you will see the Vostok weather station of Antarctica which is installed by the former Soviet Union in 1957 and is now managed by Russia. You would spot a bunch of buildings and equipment on the surface. The station supports 30 people but no human is able to permanently live in Antarctica but there are animals and plants that are able to. For example the Penguin. It can keep warm due to the layer of fat under the skin. Yes, penguins do have feathers which are good for keeping heat and energy but they’re not large, flat and arranged in an area like flying birds have. They are small and placed evenly packed all over the surface. Their flippers are used for communication with other penguins. 

 The Dallol dessert in Africa and The Vostok weather station has some similarities, Like; people can't really live in these places permanently, no trees, and water. But there are lots of differences as well. For example, the temperature is very different. It is freezing in Antarctica while in Africa it is burning hot.

https://www.livescience.com/19700-hottest-place-earth.html

https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/82672/flying-over-vostok-station

https://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/science/cold_penguins.php

A recent news that interests me

 The 2020 Taal volcano eruption. The Taal volcano crater filled with the Taal lake in Luzon, Batangas Philippines. With 33 eruptions, it is the second most active volcano in the Philippines. It last erupted on the 12th of January 2020, 43 years from the last eruption in 1997.

 In the past few weeks of the first month of 2020 many people who lived around the area have evacuated from their homes to avoid the eruption. They didn't have even have enough time to pack their stuff and they had to stay in separate little tents connected with each other without roofs in a huge gymnasium. They all had to wear masks to not inhale in the ash fall. Though they try to cope with holding a contest of "Best Dressed up in 'Unsuitable' donated clothes at volcano evacuation centre" and off course praying.

 Most of the citizens who lived around the volcano are now evacuated. Every single one of their buildings has now collapsed and the whole place is covered in grey ash from the volcano. People lived around the volcano because of the rich land, fishing from the lake and the tourists that visit to make a living. It will take a while to rebuild the community.

 This disaster made me feel anxious and concerned because my family lives in the area close by where the Taal volcano erupted.