A space odyssey... via Moscow!

Each year, many countries celebrate Space Day. The aim is to promote Maths, Science, Technology and Engineering education by capturing young people’s enthusiasm for space and inspiring them to continue the work of today’s space explorers.

The music video below is actually a collaborative effort of the rock group, Barenaked Ladies and Chris Hadfield, a Canadian astronaut. On December 19, 2012, he set out aboard a Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) where he is currently living and working in aboard the ISS as part of the crew of Expedition 34/35. You can find out more about him and his work here or follow him on Twitter. He often posts truly amazing photographs from space!

           

 Today, Ms Tatyana Chernaya shared this presentation, which was created by students in her class. They all attend a distance school in Moscow, Russia. Look at their slide show and think about what questions we can ask them about life in outer space and about life in Moscow.

             

 Then share your questions on the padlet (wallwisher) below and check back to see their answers!
 

Created with Padlet

Happy Holidays!

As a Roman Catholic convent school, it is very easy sometimes to forget that other peoples also have celebrations. Today for billions of Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Catholics and other Christians is Easter, the commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

This week is special also for the world's Jews as they honour the tradition of Pesach, or Passover. This 7 day festival begins on the 15th day of the Jewish month of Nissan,and celebrates in remembrance of the Angel of God "passing over" and sparing the houses of the Jews when he was slaying the firstborn of Egypt.

One thing all of these days have in common, is the emphasis on sharing them with one's family. So, whether you are rejoicing in the risen Lord or commemorating the ancient Israelites being freed from slavery out of Egypt, I wish everyone a great weekend of celebrating!

Habemus papam Franciscum!

  

When many of us returned home after J'ouvert, to discover that Pope Benedict the First had stepped down, our school as community reeled in shock. Many of us put off really considering what it meant for our Church until Ash Wednesday when the full impact of this decision really hit home.

In the library, we got to work creating an exhibit about the workings of the college of cardinals, the traditions of the conclave and the presumed papabile. And to make sure we got the most in depth and current information, we went online. It was the most blogged about event all month, even eclipsing Carnival! Our display took a lot of time to research, assemble and mount, but when it was done, judging on the duration of past conclaves, we figured that it would be up until the end of term...

So just imagine our shock, when at about 2 o'clock on only the second day, our Skype and Twitter accounts blew up with the news that there was smoke from the chimney of the Sistine chapel and... it was white! Teachers and students rushed to the library, checking for details on the desktops and their laptops and smartphones, while watching the television with baited breath.

This term our Form 1s have been looking at the importance of digital media in their lives. They've described it 'like air, all around , all the time and essential to our lives'! So this shouldn't have surprised us at all, but it still did... 

Check out video above from France24 and share the digital media reactions of the world!

Conserving water is important!

Today is World Water Day. It is a day co-ordinated by UNESCO, as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. Each year, World Water Day highlights a specific aspect of freshwater and this year it is dedicated to the theme of cooperation around water.

Water is of course, essential to human life and easy and equitable access to clean water greatly improves everyone's living conditions. We know that in the dry season, sometimes our reservoirs run almost dry and we have to ration water. Then you are only able to get water every other day or only for a few hours. That can make it hard to bathe and clean and cook every day and you don't get to water your plants. So we all recognise that conserving water is very important.You should try to make a difference in your home too!

We are a part of the great World Water Day project organised by Mr Graffin's class at West Leederville Primary School in Perth, Australia. Click on the picture above to visit it and leave a stickie to share how you feel about water co-operation and water conservation! And don't forget to check out 'Save it, share it!', our amazingly informative video (above) featuring the really fun song written by our own SJCPOS Young Leaders!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Are you stuck in the same old reading rut? Tired of the same old, same old thing? Boy meets girl... girl meets ... vampire, you know. Why not try something new? Have a bind date with... a book!

We know some books are very popular, ahem, we're looking at you Twilight' and 'Harry Potter'. And you too, 'Lemony Snickett' and 'Nancy Drew'. But there are lots, and lots of talented authors and enthralling books you guys just don't seem to see...

So, this week, the library has picked out some amazing books, some older, some brand new, authors and titles that we think you'll really love, once you get to know them. We wrapped them in plain white paper and added a cute heart (because well, it's Valentine's Day!), and then a few words describing the subject matter of the book- things like 'Family Drama, 'Plot Twist', 'Espionage', 'Not your average vampire', 'Sister, Sister', etc. We printed out the books' barcodes and stuck them on as well so that you could use them to scan your choice out!

To take part, all you have to do is, agree to create a 50 word comment, right here, about the book you got. I'm looking forward to reading your reactions to the book that you decide to 'date.' If you loved it, that's great. And if you don't.? Just return it, no awkward questions and we promise, its feelings won't be hurt. So come on in, we're looking out for you, but hurry, we've loaned 55 books in 1 hour... that table's getting empty!