Colin Meads

                  

 Colin Meads

Colin Earl Meads was born at Cambridge in 1936. When he was seven the family moved to a hill country farm near Te Kuiti. Colin grew up having a physical and outdoor life. He played for the first XV at Te Kuiti High School and later for his province of King Country.

Farming was tough with financial hardship and few breaks away. Farm jobs, however, such as scrub cutting, shearing, and fencing kept Colin fit. He became famous as a rugby player. The greatest in the world. He made his All Black debut in 1957. He was an All Black for nearly 14 years, first he loose forward but more constantly as lock. A team-mate gave him the nickname Pinetree because he always give the impression that he was a giant and it stuck. 

The 1960's were a golden era in All Black rugby. Colin was held up as the role model for New Zealand's style on and off the field. At the end of 1999 the New Zealand Rugby Monthly magazine named him New Zealand Player of the Century. He was made a New Zealand Companion of Merit. Colin was, and is, considered to be a role model for values that Kiwis admire.

The calves are then sold through the PGG Wrightson livestock-trading network. All proceeds from the sales go to IHC. Colin says the scheme makes him very proud to be a New Zealander. He says, 'I see first hand what a great job IHC does in our rural community. Our country has come a long way from the institutions of a decade or two ago.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

THE GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH

On the surface
1. What is another name for the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? The other name for the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the 'Pacific Trash Vortex'. 

2. How long does it take for debris from the east cost of Asia to reach the Great Pacific Garbage Patch gyre? It takes a year or less for debris from the east cost of Asia to reach the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

3. Why is it impossible to detect the size of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? It is impossible to detect the size of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch because it consists of very small pieces, almost invisible to the naked eye, and most surface of its contents are suspended beneath the surface of the ocean.

4. Where is a similar patch of floating plastic debris found? A similar patch of floating plastic debris is found in the Atlantic Ocean.

5. Name the two marine animals this passage specifically mentions as being affected by the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? The two marine animals this passage specifically mentions as being affected by the Great Pacific Garbage Patch was 'Laysan' and 'Albatrosses'.

6. How much plastic debris washes up on Midway Atoll every year? There are 20 tonnes of plastic debris washes up on Midway Atoll every year.

Hidden depths
1. Find a map of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

BellWork

Vocab - define these words and provide the part of speech for each.

- Gradually (adverb) - in a gradual way; slowly; by degrees
- Abandoned (adjective) - having been deserted or left; unrestrained, uninhibited
- Abrasive (adjective) - showing little concern for the feelings of others
- Develop (verb) - grow or cause to grow become more mature, advanced, or elaborate
- Expel (verb) - officially make (someone) leave a school or other organization

Lucy Lawless

       Lucy Lawless

Lucy was born Lucille Frances Ryan at Auckland in 1968. Until she was 16 she wanted to be an opera singer. She does still sing but when she went to university for a year it was to study languages. She speaks German, French, and some Italian. People magazine chose her as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world. 

Lucy became a role model for females. She can arm-wrestle warlords, punch through solid ice, kick down doors, and knock out opponents with a single blow. She fights bullies and evil. She protects the innocent and weak. In New Zealand the real-life Lucy speaks out against child abuse. Lucy is an inspiration to many around the world.Lucy loves New Zealand fashion and promotes it to the world.

Pelvis is the large bony frame near the base of the spine to which the hindlimbs or legs are attached in humans and many other vertebrates. Skit is a short comedy sketch or piece of humorous writing, especially a parody. Warlord is a military commander, especially an aggressive regional commander with individual autonomy. Tyranny is a cruel and oppressive government rule. Legendary is like very well unknown and enough to be famous. Starship Hospital is a paediatric healthcare service and major teaching centre, providing family centred care to children and young people throughout New Zealand and the South Pacific.

Jim Salinger

Jim Salinger

Jim was born in 1947 in Dunedin. He went to Otago Boys' High School and Otago University. He built his own mini-weather station in his parents backyard. It had louvred screens, thermometer, gauges for rain and wind. He found his weather study so interesting he decided to make it his career. Today Jim is a world expert on climate change.

As a climate researcher at university and later in the former New Zealand Meteorological Service, Jim has long been involved in researching and monitoring past and current climate trends. He works as a principal scientist with NIWA, the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research. There he prepares climate updates and leads research projects on New Zealand's climate change. 

The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize. The IPCC is an international body of scientist  and officials who check out information and write reports on climate change. About 500 of the IPCC's lead authors received a special certificate acknowledging their contribution to the panel's work. A dozen Kiwis, including Jim, have been lead authors on IPCC reports.

Tom Scott

                Tom Scott

Tom was born in London in 1947. When he and his twin sister were one and a half the family came out to New Zealand to live. When Tom led onto learning, he went to Fielding High School and then to Massey University in Palmerston North.

At Massey he worked on the capping magazine and impressed people with his drawings. Tom was interested in current events, journalism and drawing cartoons. As a successful cartoonist he has needed to be creative, to have a sense of humour, to be skilled at drawing, to be able to work and think quickly and meet deadlines, and to understand the current issues of society.

Tom was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services as a writer, journalist and illustrator. Tom is passionate about New Zealand and is well-known as a fine after-dinner speaker. He is spoken of as New Zealand's leading satirical cartoonist. The word satirical comes from satire which means using exaggerated or mocking humour to show up faults. His cartoons can show a complex social issue in one drawing. One New Zealand Prime Minister, Robert Muldoon, did not like something Tom had written and banned him from the Press Gallery. Tom later drew a cartoon about a fire during refurbishing of Parliament Buildings in 1992. It features one firefighter telling another the situation is worse than they thought because there are no politicians or journalist trapped inside.