It was great having Constable Aaron Dan visit us in Week 2 as we began learning about how to keep ourselves and others safe. Te Maunga wrote about some of the things we discussed. Here are two of our authors:

Safety

Most people don’t know what the number 105 is for. This number is for when there is no danger and you don’t need the Police straight away. For example, someone robs your house but the robber is not there, so there is no immediate danger in your house. 111 is for when the robber is still in the house.

In New Zealand, Police Officers don’t carry around guns because our country is more sage than other countries. But there is only one type of Police Officer who carries a gun in NZ - that is airport Police. Did you know it is illegal to carry weapons around? You can’t carry around knives, pepper spray, guns, and a lot of other weapons. But say if you are a butcher and you’re taking your knife to work, that is fine because you aren’t going to kill someone. It is okay if you are just taking it to work.

Have you ever been told that someone else is being abused and they say not to tell anyone else? Well here is the best thing to do - you should tell your parents, their parents, or the teachers. You can really help them out. It is really important to tell someone because their safety is at risk. 

Have you ever been home alone? Well, the legal age to be home alone is 14. A lot of parents leave their kids at home who are under 14. It’s alright if you’re slightly underage and your parents are just popping out quickly. So if you're underage and your parents won’t be back for hours or days, then that is illegal.

A lot of these things are really important to keep yourself and others safe. Especially if you don’t know what to do when you are being abused. Your safety is vital.

By Emily

Keeping Ourselves Safe

Keeping yourself safe is all about being aware. You can never be safe if you’re not aware of the situation you’re in. You need to ask questions such as if your friends are pressuring you to do something ask them or yourself what is the outcome. What are the consequences? If you’re about to go for a walk alone at night to clear your head, you need to think if your neighbourhood is safe. There’s no need to be a control freak but just realise the outcome.

If you are being put in danger against your will/wants, then you can call 111. The Police can’t deny a call for sounding silly. If you’re feeling like you’re not really in danger and just paranoid it is still okay to seek help. If you’re not in immediate danger, you call 105 or you call a trusted friend/adult to comfort you. No matter what, there is someone there for you, immediate danger or mental. You just need to know who.

Abuse is a scary thing. Sometimes you can be getting abused and not even realise it. Abuse can be online, emotional, physical, sexual and neglect. Your parents may be abusing you and you might not even realise it - if they don’t change your diapers or don’t take you to the doctor then that is neglect because they aren’t being a good caretaker. And sometimes you may notice but not think it's serious enough to report. Being hit or beaten with a belt or wooden spoon is illegal and not a joke. These things may seem harmless but they’re not.

Keeping yourself safe is vital for your wellbeing. Always stay aware and make sure you stay safe.

By Tom

Te Maunga had an enjoyable time in the City for our first Friday experience this term. We went to City Gallery to play with plasticine. Our focus question was: How would you represent the digital world in tactile form? We had to think about the digital world and use plasticine to model a part of it that is important to us. We then had to recreate our model using only marbles or snake shapes. The next part of the challenge (which we did not get to) was to then recreate our model again using balloons. Next week we will learn how this all links to the new exhibition at Te Papa: Generation X.