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Dates to remember: FFebruary 15 P & F Meeting, 7:00 pm

20 QCS Monitoring Day

22 Ash Wednesday

MMarch 7 Board Meeting

14 St Patrick’s Day celebrations

15 Aquatics carnival

16 St Patrick’s Day Mass

19 Year 12 Industry Placement commences

21 P & F Meeting, 7:00 pm

22 Exams begin

30 Easter Liturgy

Last day of term

AApril 16 First day of term 2

18 P & F Meeting, 7:00 pm

20 Cross Country

25 ANZAC Day

27 “Cats”

28 “Cats”

Eamon Hannan – Principal

OOpening and Investiture Mass At our Opening Mass last Friday we had the investiture of our college leaders. I would like to express our thanks to Fr Andrew Chase who led us in celebration of the start of another year. I would like to congratulate the singers and musicians who led us in worship so beautifully. It was wonderful to see such a large contingent of singers and musicians supporting the college. Thanks also to Ms Fraser and her team who prepared the celebration.

The leaders of the college in 2012: College Captains: Caitlin Geoghegan, Sam Lenz, Rebecca Smith, Sean Young Committee Chairs: Christian Leadership Jennifer Galea Community Service Kate Tolo Cultural Nelsen Sealey Sports Imagion Carlyle-Brauer Student Council: Brittany Anderson, Natalie Conroy, Matthew Jones, Callum Pownell Board Representatives: Megan Comben and Paul Deguara Following the Mass we presented the McGarry Bursaries. A bequest by the late Miss Joan McGarry has established perpetual bursaries to be presented each year to St Patrick’s College students. The trust is established in honour of Miss McGarry’s parents, the late Fred and Rose McGarry and her brother, the late Jim McGarry. As per the guidelines of the bequest, bursaries were awarded in the areas of Academic achievement and Social Justice. As well, in recognition of Joan McGarry’s lifelong dedication to her profession of nursing, the student with the highest OP entering Nursing also received a bursary. The intention of the bequest is that students receive the bursary once properly enrolled in a tertiary course after Year 12, with study to commence in the year of the bequest.

NUMBEER FOR SMS If you would like to text the college to let us know that your student will be late or absent, the number for this is:

0427 106 014

Newsletter 15 February 2012

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These bursaries are not about money – although the money is substantial – the bursaries are about a gift to the future, a belief in young people, a hope to make things better for young people; an extraordinary gift to our whole community.

Every year when we celebrate these bursaries it is important that we reflect on the fact that we have a debt of gratitude and a responsibility to all those who have gone before us at St Patrick’s. There is a proud tradition of spreading and sharing the good news at this college and we become part of that tradition and we continue to create that tradition this year.

It was wonderful to see the McGarry Bursary recipients so excited as they were all about to embark on studies for their various careers. This year saw a substantial increase in the amount available up from $13 000 last year to $25 000 in 2012. The amount available for bursaries is advised to the college by Perpetual Trustees who are the trustees of Joan McGarry’s will. Bursaries are awarded according to a formula devised by the college Board in 2009 to meet the available money and number of eligible recipients each year.

Crispin Scott Academic Excellence for OP 1 B Arts / B Laws - UQ $4082

Eamon Kelly Academic Excellence for OP 2 B Physiotherapy – UQ $2041

Kirsty Preston Academic Excellence for OP 2 B Commerce / Laws – UQ $2041

Riley Adair Academic Excellence for OP 3 B Medicine / B Surgery - JCU $1020

Shreyas Boppana Academic Excellence for OP 3 B Medicine / B Surgery - JCU $1020

Julia Comben Academic Excellence for OP 3 B Speech Pathology – UQ $1020

Jack Haines Academic Excellence for OP 3 B Engineering – UQ $1020

Michael Preston Academic Excellence for OP 3 B Engineering – JCU $1020

James Waters Academic Excellence for OP 3 Bachelor of Dental Surgery – JCU $1020

Emily Barnett Academic Excellence for OP 4 B Arts – UQ $510

Sarah Curti Academic Excellence for OP 4 B Arts / B Education - UQ $510

Sheree Ellwood Academic Excellence for OP 4 B Laws – JCU $510

Alexander Handley Academic Excellence for OP 4 B Commerce – Uni of Melbourne $510

Rachel McKenzie Academic Excellence for OP 4 B Education / B Science - JCU $510

Kiara Watkin Academic Excellence for OP 4 Diploma of Dance; Australian Conservatoire of Dance, Melb $510

Jaiden Capra Academic Excellence for OP 5 B Engineering – UQ $255

Sanchia De Angelis Academic Excellence for OP 5 B Exercise and Sport Science – ACU – Melb. $255

Danika Gebers Academic Excellence for OP 5 B Dentistry – JCU $255

Daynee Grech Academic Excellence for OP 5 B Physiotherapy – JCU $255

Brittany-Elise Johansen Academic Excellence for OP 5 B Health Sport & Physical Education – UQ $255

Edward Keogh Academic Excellence for OP 5 B Science / B Education - UQ $255

Darcie O'Grady Social Justice B Arts - UQ $4082

Laura Harris Student with the highest OP entering Nursing B Nursing – UQ $2041

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The AAdrian Carl Smith Memorial Bursary was awarded for the first time on Friday. The award is for a graduating student selected by the Principal and Staff of St Patrick’s College who best reflects the nature and values of Adrian Smith in his time as a student and staff member of the college. Adrian was a person who had great integrity, a friendly nature and a great passion for Information Technology, Aerospace and Business. The successful awardee will be continuing with their education at the tertiary level and the bursary is both an acknowledgement of their involvement at the college and to assist with future studies. Justin Simpson (Year 12 in 2011) was awarded the $200 bursary on Friday. Justin is about to begin a degree programme in Information Technology at Central Queensland University. On Friday we also presented two bursaries for current year 12 students. The SSister St Luke Academic Encouragement Bursary provides a $600 rebate from a student's school fees. The bursary is for a student who has been identified by the college as overcoming challenges in pursuing their academic goals. The student shows persistence and dedication in their progress through Year 11. This bursary is named for Sister St Luke a well known and highly respected Mercy Sister who taught at St Patrick's Primary School and at Our Lady of Mercy College for many years. Sister St Luke was well known for her academic prowess and for her ability to teach students in a wide range of subjects. She is also remembered as a teacher who had high expectations of her students. The bursary winner for 2012 was Brendan Nevins.

The BBrother Tom Higgins Vocational Education and Training Encouragement Bursary provides a cash prize of $250 which is intended to assist the student with the pursuit of their vocational goals. The bursary is for a student in Year 12 who has been identified by the college as striving for excellence in their vocational studies. This bursary is named for Brother Tom Higgins a former principal of St Patrick's College who passed away in 2008. Brother Tom was a great supporter of vocational education at this college having built the first workshops which were demolished to make way for our new hall. Brother Tom was also very involved with counselling students in choosing courses and steered many a student to a successful traineeship or apprenticeship. The bursary winner for 2012 was Bryan Reitano.

Year 11 Monitoring – Student Free Day There is another student free day on MMonday (20/02/2011) for QSA monitoring of student work. Teachers from throughout the region will meet at St Patrick's College and other venues to review 2011 Year 11 work from schools across the region in all subjects. We have more than twenty-five staff involved on panels and a number of others involved in observation of panel work. This day is essential for monitoring the standards in Authority subjects. Later in the year Verification meetings confirm the standard for the work of year 12 students. Parents and Friends Association Tonight (15/2/2012) will be the first meeting for the Parents and Friends for 2012. The next meeting will be held on 21/3/2012. Meet and Greet and Success in Senior Schooling Seminar Last night we had a barbeque for all staff, parents and students. It was a great opportunity for our community to get together. After the meal we had a seminar on how to support students over these senior years.

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WWeekend Masses

Bishop’s Inservice Day On Monday the Bishop’s Inservice Day for the Mackay and districts Catholic Schools was held at St Patrick’s College. The day was a great success which was in no small part due to the work of Ms Lesley Fraser, Mrs Rose Christensen, teaching staff, IT staff, support staff and grounds people who worked very hard to make sure the college was set up properly for this event. A special thank you to the college leaders and IT students who made themselves available on the student free day to escort presenters and teachers to the correct room and to troubleshoot IT problems.

Knowledge Project Congratulations to Mr Sean Geoghegan on the launch of the College Knowledge Project. To date we now have two parts of this project on the college web page. Accompanying this newsletter are two crosswords which are linked to the first two parts of the project. Solutions will be available next week. The crosswords may be completed electronically via the links: http://www.mycrosswords.com/440/EajstaplejmonHannan/KnowledgeProjectPart2.html http://www.MyCrosswords.com/440/EamonHannan/KnowledgeProject.html

Mass this Sunday The readings for Mass this Sunday are Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time: Reading 1 Is 43:18-19, 21-22, 24b-25, Responsorial Psalm Ps 41:2-3, 4-5, 13-14, Reading 2 2 Cor 1:18-22, Gospel Mk 2:1-12. The text of the readings may be found here http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/021912.cfm. An excellent resource for reflecting on the coming readings at mass this week can be found at Living Space http://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/OB071/ I recommend it to you.

Gonski Review Next Monday a major report into funding of education in Australia is being presented to the Federal Government - The Gonski Review. Accompanying this newsletter is a letter from Miss Leesa Jeffcoat our Director of Diocesan Catholic Education and information from Diocesan Catholic Education and the National Catholic Education Commission about funding of Catholic Schools.

There is often misinformation about funding issues and the documentation accompanying this newsletter clearly indicates that on average students in Catholic education save the Australian tax payer around $2.2 Billion dollars each year. Even when parent contributions are taken into account Catholic schools are funded on average at a lower rate per student than government or independent schools. The view of Catholic Education authorities is that this should not be an “us and them” debate. We want quality education for all Australian students.

Assistant to the Principal: Lesley Fraser – Religious Education

As is the tradition at St Patrick’s College, last Friday we came together as a school community through the celebration of Mass. We welcomed our new student leaders and asked God to bless us as we journey together throughout the 2012 school year. The ceremony gave me a wonderful sense of hope for what lies ahead. However, it also gave us a time to reflect on what has been; with the presentation of the McGarry Bursary Awards to the 2011 seniors. Sitting in Mass, I couldn’t help but think about what Mother Teresa of Calcutta often used to say:

“I cannot do what you do, and you cannot do what I do, but together we can do something beautiful for God.”

Each of us is unique, and each has our own contribution to make as we journey together. Let us pray that each of us makes good use of our talents, and that we set out to work well with others. I am very thankful to all of those who shared their talents to make our Opening Mass so special; especially our altar servers Liam Pinkstone and Anna McDermott and our Handbell Ensemble and Choir; the music was outstanding.

Yesterday was the feast of brothers St Cyril & St Methodius as well as of St Valentine. All three men were early Christians dedicated to the spread of the Gospel in a hostile culture: Valentine in the Roman Empire, Cyril & Methodius in Eastern Europe in the 9th Century. Just as Paul and Barnabas ‘spoke out fearlessly,’ so too did these three men. It cost St Valentine his life.

There are some similarities to our own age; we too live in a culture that is increasingly hostile to Christian values. Most modern couples don’t think of themselves as missionaries or having much to offer in the way of evangelisation. But every Christian is called to be missionary by virtue of their Baptism and every married couple is called to love each other in a way that helps us appreciate God’s love, in other words they are called to evangelise by through their married relationship.

Northside Cluster: Saturday Vigil Mass 6:00 pm St Joseph’s 6:00 pm St Brigid’s Sunday 7:30 am St Brendan’s 9.00 am St Joseph’s

Marian Saturday Vigil Mass 6:00 pm Holy Rosary Sunday 9:00 am Mirani

Southside Cluster: Saturday Vigil Mass 6:00 pm St Francis Xavier 6:00 pm St Mary’s Sunday 7:00 am St Patrick’s 7:00 am St Therese’s 9:00 am St Michael’s 9:00 am St Francis Xavier 9:30 am St Francis of Assisi 6:00 pm St Patrick’s

Walkerston Saturday Vigil Mass 6:00 pm St John’s Sunday 7:30 am Eton

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Let us pray: God , who created us and made us who we are,

We come together at this time of the year. We ask you to bless us, to continue to journey with us,

To lead us and teach us your will and your ways.

Show us how best to use the time and talents you have given each of us, and lead us to grow in appreciation of the contribution that others make.

May your Spirit empower us to work well with others and bring out the best in those with whom we share our lives.

Guide us and strengthen us for the days that lie ahead. Keep us faithful to the good things we’ve planned.

And if through weakness we should go astray Bring us back to heal us – don’t let us turn away.

We ask this of you, Creator God And maker of all that is good. Amen.

MMusic Ministry Any student who would like to join in the singing for the Regional Mass this Sunday at St Patrick’s Church is most welcome to attend. Practise is at 5:00 pm in St Patrick’s Church. Mass commences at 6:00 pm and is generally over by 7:00 pm at the latest.

Edna Galvin – Assistant to the Principal: Curriculum

Scholarship Winner The college has just been informed that Sarah Curti, senior 2011, has been awarded an ‘Aspiring Teacher Grant’ for 2012. This grant of $1500 goes to only 25 high achieving secondary students commencing a pre-service teacher education programme in Queensland in 2012. In order to be eligible Sarah has to obtain an outstanding OP; be accepted into a tertiary education course in 2012; be given a statement of support from her school and also submit a written report. This is a wonderful achievement and we congratulate Sarah and are thrilled to see such a competent intelligent student joining our profession.

Past Students – Stars of the Past We have recently been informed of two past students who have completed their doctorates.

Dr Michael Burchill (Year 12 2002) – in Nano particles. Michael is now working for a large corporation in Australia.

Dr Roland Lee (Year 12 2001) – in Linguistics. Roland is lecturing in Canada.

Students 2012 We hope these kinds of achievements inspire all our students to work hard towards their goals and dreams. As they say:

Bianca Johnston – Cultural Coordinator CATS AT ST PATS! Tickets go on sale on 14th March! All tickets will be available from the College office from 9:00 am – 3:30 pm Monday – Friday. Reminder: Please ensure all contracts and the production fee is returned to the school office as soon as possible. All on stage cast are required for ALL rehearsals (Tuesday evenings 6:45pm – 9:15pm and Sunday mornings from 10:30am- 1:30pm). Please note the rehearsal dates and times on the rehearsal schedule.

Some people dream of success

Others get up early in the morning and make it happen!

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Cats Choreographer Ms Jessica Borg

Music Co-Curricular Activities Congratulations to the number of successful students that have been given places in the Percussion Ensemble and Stage Band of 2012. The Stage band consists of a group of students from the college and Mercy College. Mercy College is currently developing an instrumental program and we look forward to working with them to provide a number of different cultural experiences.

The Mercy / St Patrick’s Stage Band of 2012 consists of: Grace Schofield, Lachlan Graham, Ben O’Brien, April Martineer, Aindrea Fuller, Peter Muller, Aimee Griffin, Alex Russell (Mercy), Emma Marsh, Brianna Rogers, Nicholas Braithwaite, Sophie Tulloch (Mercy College), Nelsen Sealey, Kathryn West, Alex Oliver, Sheridan Scott, Charles Langfield and Bianca Ruzgys.

The St Patrick’s Percussion Ensemble members of 2012 are: Natalie Conroy, Charles Langfield, Shoubhik Bahattacharjee, Sondra McConnell, Aimee Griffin, Sheridan Scott, Heidi Blomfield, Jemma Rasink, Emma Marsh, Siobhan Gibbs, Kathryn West, Bianca Ruzgys, April Martineer, Aindrea Fuller and Rachal Lagan.

We wish our instrumental ensembles all the very best for a great year!

All rehearsals are now underway. Students involved in the co-curricular Arts groups should have received membership and forms. We encourage families to take note of the performance dates and calendar. Families are required to complete the forms and return with the membership payment to the school bursar by MMonday 12th March.

For further information please don’t hesitate to call Mrs Bianca Johnston at the College.

Welcome: Over the past few years, the cultural life within the College has developed and now provides co-curricular cultural experiences for over 100 students. With such increased interest and demand, the College has recently employed an Instrumental Music Ensemble Assistant / Specialist.

Mr Lyle Denman has recently returned to the Mackay region and comes to us with much experience. He has taught Instrumental Music (Percussion) in the State and Private Music education sectors, he has been involved in the professional music scene throughout Queensland as a performing musician and a studio musician. He comes to us with great experience of a variety of musical styles ranging from hand percussion to modern big band, musical theatre to rock and roll.

We welcome Mr Denman and we look forward to working with him and continuing to develop the Cultural life of the College. Mr Denman will be assisting with the college Percussion Ensemble and the Mercy / St Patrick’s Stage Band.

CATS Rehearsal pictures …

Tickets on sale from

Wednesday 14 March

Performances: Friday 27 April

Saturday 28 April

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Sean Geoghegan: Assistant to the Principal - Pastoral Care

‘‘The Knowledge Project’ “A priest, a rabbi, an Irishman, a Scotsman and an Indian walk into a bar…………” One’s immediate reaction to those words is to anticipate a joke. We have been cued to expect something humorous. Why? It’s quite simple really. We are relying on prior knowledge. Ever tried telling a joke to someone who does not share the same cultural experiences? What transpires when the joke depends on the listener having knowledge of something as elementary as “Little Red Riding Hood” or “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”? If one has no prior knowledge of those childhood stories, the joke cannot be told. You cannot learn the new joke without the prior knowledge. New knowledge must build on old knowledge.

Wide reading, the exercise that generates general (or old) knowledge, is a declining habit. In order to improve the reading comprehension of students, St. Patrick’s has initiated a project designed to improve this vital skill through increasing the general knowledge of students. Many people, and sadly some educators are among them, do not appreciate the close connection that exists between having a broad general knowledge and exercising higher-level reading comprehension. Most students can read fluently, but the amount they comprehend varies significantly.

We are faced with a generational issue in education whereby most students, although having wide access to information technology, know a lot less than earlier generations. There was a time when we, as their elders, were dazzled with their capacity to adopt and adapt to new technologies, and believed they were assimilating a complex array of ‘new skills’. Those days are behind us. Computers are tools. Only vested political interests peddle the notion that they will ‘revolutionise’ education. They have done nothing of the sort. Nor will they.

Mainstream educational thinking has, for the last past forty years, disparaged rote learning and the acquisition of information or ‘knowledge’. What period in history one ought to teach, or which novels or plays were worthy of being prescribed as set-works, became so politicised, that it was preferable to avoid teaching either major global events or approaching books that earlier generations had accepted as ‘classics.’ Fear of causing offence, or being labelled as culturally insensitive, or forwarding a Eurocentric agenda, meant that our students became progressively less familiar with the narratives and concepts that have defined our primarily Greco-Roman culture.

Every act of comprehension involves one's knowledge of the world.

When a person reads, what the reader brings to the text is as important as the text itself. Individuals have some background for most things. Long before students come to school, this knowledge and experience is arranged and organised into schemata. Schemata become theories about reality. These theories not only affect the way information is interpreted, thus affecting comprehension, but also continue to change as new information is received.

Schemata can represent knowledge at all levels - from ideologies and cultural truths to knowledge about the meaning of a particular word. We have schemata to represent all levels of our experience, at all levels of abstraction. Our schemata are our ‘knowledge’. All of our generic knowledge is embedded in schemata. Prior knowledge (organized into schema) has been proven to have a significant influence over comprehension. A student’s ability to make sensible inferences tells us that the student has made connections with the text and comprehends what is being read. It has been shown that while high achieving readers tap prior knowledge to make inferences, poor readers often have trouble applying prior knowledge to form inferences and comprehend text.

In comprehending text, much more goes on in the brain than simple decoding. The reader must visit several previous learning experiences to fully comprehend what they are reading, and this builds a strong foundation for true comprehension to occur. What readers bring to the printed page affects their comprehension. Some insist that the prior knowledge of readers is the single most important component in the reading process.

Individuals acquire schemata through their experiences - both real and vicarious. As individuals have more experiences, they refine, reshape, correct, and restructure their schemata. One of the major problems involved in comprehension is that readers hardly ever share the same schemata. In addition, readers do not always hold the same schemata as do writers. In summary, the success of a reader is closely linked to the breadth of his/her knowledge. The more general knowledge the individual has at their disposal, the better their comprehension of a text is likely to be.

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Brendon Brauer – Sport Coaching Staff Needed The coaching staff for our 2012 teams is still being finalised to ensure students are given a wide variety of opportunities to represent the college. As was mentioned in last week’s newsletter, our coaching staff consists of both teaching staff as well as members of our college community. It is through the generosity of these individuals that we can continue to compete in many competitions, which allows us to experience a high degree of success. If there are any parents interested in coaching, managing or assisting one of our many teams, please contact Mr Brauer at the college on 4944 7220. At present we are still to finalise our coaching staff for the following teams: � Netball Second VII � Netball Third VII � Netball Social Teams � Rugby Union � Basketball � Waterpolo Without assistance from parents, some of our teams / sports will unfortunately not operate in 2012. St Pat’s Netball Trials The St Pat’s netball trials were held on Friday evening with approximately 30 girls in attendance. The First VII was selected at the trials together with a Second VII and Third VII. The First VII will compete in both the Mackay Netball Association Fixtures and Mackay District Secondary Schools competition (MDSSN) whilst our other college teams will be entered in the MDSSN competition. I would like to acknowledge the efforts of Jess Seymour and Tracey McLeod in conducting the trials. Our coaches and/or managers of our teams are still to be confirmed: First VII Jess Seymour (coach), (manager TBC) Second VII TBC Third VII TBC Social team’s coach/manager TBC College House Captain Nominations Nominations for college house captains will occur this week. Students are encouraged to nominate for these leadership positions which have the responsibility of encouraging house spirit at our college inter-house sporting carnivals. Only students who are willing to promote house spirit in a positive way should consider nominating for such a position. Each house team will vote for two students to lead their house in 2012. House leader nomination forms are available from the college office. Capricornia Sports Trials Students are reminded to return their paperwork and trial levy to the college bursar ASAP after their selection in Mackay District teams. Some students have been late in doing so and are risking their positions in the team. Shadow players are waiting for an opportunity to take your position. Mackay District 19 years Soccer, Hockey, Basketball and 18 years Rugby League Trials Nomination forms for Rugby League, Soccer, Hockey and Basketball have now closed. These trials will be held next week on Wednesday with the exception of Basketball which will be held on Thursday. Important Dates 15 February Mackay District 19 years Touch trials 16 February Capricornia Volleyball & Tennis Trials 22 February Mackay District 18 years Rugby League, 19 years Soccer & Hockey trials. 23 February Mackay District 19 years Basketball trials February 29 Mackay Rugby Union 18 years, 19 years Squash & Netball trials March 1 Capricornia Touch Trials March 15 St Patrick’s College Aquatics Carnival/Triathlon

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Exchange Student - Sunniva Aksnes Hey! My name is Sunniva and I’m an exchange student from Norway staying here in Australia for a year. I have already been here in Mackay for almost eight months, attending Mirani High School, and I’m now doing my last months here at St Pat’s. I have had a very good start at this school, and felt very welcomed, and I’m now looking forward to my time left in Australia. I am especially looking forward to being part of the ‘Cats’ musical.

Investiture Mass pictures …..

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THE KNOWLEDGE PROJECT HISTORY

Hammurabi’s Code of Laws Hammurabi was the King of Babylon, 1792-1750 B.C, the ancient civilisation in what is now present day Iraq. He ruled for 43 years and conquered several rival nations, but he is most famous as history's first law maker. Near the end of his reign, Hammurabi issued one of the first written codes of law in recorded history, which spells out the rules for his citizens and the punishments for lawbreakers. The very concept of laws that apply to everyone was an unheard of novelty in Hammurabi's time, when most societies were governed only by the whims of their despotic rulers. The laws were discovered in 1901 on a stela (a stone pillar) now in the Louvre Museum of Paris, France. The King's scribes wrote the laws on a black stone pillar that was dedicated to the god of justice and displayed in public. The Code of Hammurabi is significant because its creation allowed men, women, slaves, and all others to read and understand the laws that governed their lives in Babylon. It is unique in that laws of other civilizations were not written down, and thus could be manipulated to suite the rulers that dictated them. The Code is particularly just for its time. Although it follows the practice of "an eye for an eye", it does not allow for vigilante justice, but rather demands a trial by judges. It also glorifies acts of peace and justice done during Hammurabi’s rule. Pictured below is the 2,7 meter high Stela which was placed in Babylon for all the public to see. Next to it is an artist’s drawing of the famous blue ‘Ishtar Gate’ to the city which still stands in modern day Iraq. Sadly people today think of the dictator Saddam Hussein and the US invasion of that country when they hear the name – not its magnificent past.

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LITERATURE

Ernest Hemingway Among the major American writers of the 20th century, few have been as influential or imitated as Ernest Hemingway (1899 - 1961) - and few have had as many detractors. Renowned for his novels and short stories, Hemingway became such a public figure during his life, and constructed such as an extensive mythology around himself, that it is sometimes difficult to separate the legend from the reality. After writing a number of short stories based on his boyhood summers in upper Michigan and his later travels through Europe, Hemingway penned his first major novel, The Sun Also Rises (1926). This book, about a disaffected young American whiling away time in Spain and France, brought Hemingway instant acclaim. He followed with 'A Farewell to Arms' (1929), a tragic World War One romance between an American ambulance driver and an English nurse, and 'For Whom The Bell Tolls' (1940), a tale of guerillas in the Spanish Civil War. As his fame increased, Hemingway earned, and cultivated, a reputation for writing only about war, bull fighting, hunting, big game fishing, and other overtly masculine topics. Though some critics dismissed Hemingway's work as macho posturing, the undeniably masterful story telling of his novella 'The Old Man and the Sea' (1952) earned him the Nobel Prize for literature. Hemingway spent his last years in depression and declining health, ultimately taking his own life with a shotgun in 1961. One of his daughter’s children became a famous model – Margot – below. Sadly she too committed suicide in 1996, leaving her sister Muriel. Pictured below (middle) is a painting by surrealist painter Salvador Dali about the Spanish Civil War, alongside a photo (right) of Ernest Hemmingway.

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VISUAL ART

Bust of Nefertiti One of the most famous works of Egyptian art, the limestone bust of Nefertiti, was discovered in 1912 by a German archeologist. Nefertiti was the most important queen of Pharaoh Amenhotep IV, who ruled Egypt from 1353 to 1335 BC. During his rule, the Pharoah changed his name to Akhenaton, and embraced a new, monotheistic religion that emphasised ethics. Monotheistic religions were highly unusual for the time as most religions were polytheistic - the worship of many gods. After Akhenaton's death, nearly all traces of him and his powerful wife were wiped out, perhaps by the priests whose religion they had rejected. His mummy has never been found. The art during the Amarna period had made a colossal change. People were portrayed as they were. Unlike most pharaohs, Akhenaten portrayed himself less god -like and more human. This new style of art was portraying people in everyday lifestyles and sometimes with minute details. Nefertiti's bust, which is nearly 3,400 years old and about 20 inches tall, was found in nearly perfect condition. Whether the bust captures the queen's likeness or portrays an ideal beauty is open to question. If is indeed Nefertiti, it’s a tribute to the genius of the sculptor to be able to portray such stunning beauty.

SCIENCE

The Greenhouse effect The natural greenhouse effect is a phenomenon created by the heat energy radiated by the sun and greenhouse gases normally present in the atmosphere. In simple terms, sunlight passes through the atmosphere, warming the Earth. In turn, the Earth radiates this energy back towards space. As it passes through the atmosphere, greenhouse gases (water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide) absorb part of the energy, while the remainder escapes into space. This means that some of the sun's energy becomes trapped – thus making the lower part of the atmosphere, and Earth, warmer. The Earth's atmosphere is made up of 78 per cent nitrogen and 21 per cent oxygen. Only about 1 per cent is made up of natural greenhouse gases, but this comparatively small amount of gas makes a big difference. Before the Industrial Revolution (which started in England about 200 years ago) the mix of gases that made up the atmosphere was relatively constant. The Industrial Revolution brought new industrial processes, more extensive agriculture, and a rapid increase in the world's population. This rapid increase in human activity meant that more of the gases which cause the greenhouse effect were released into the atmosphere. We know this because of measurements made over the last 35 years and the analysis of air bubbles trapped in ancient ice. There is now clear evidence that levels of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and halocarbons are increasing.

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Perhaps more importantly, there is more water in the atmosphere. As polar ice has melted, the sea level has risen 48 inches, increasing worldwide rainfall by one per cent. This may spark a vicious cycle. More water in the atmosphere means more heat trapped at the surface. As the surface becomes hotter, the ice caps will melt faster, leading to more water in the oceans and still more water vapour in the atmosphere. Again, that will fuel the cycle, causing the surface to become hotter and the ice caps to melt faster.

PHILOSOPHY

Plato (429 to 347 BC) Plato was born in fifth century Athens, one of the city-states of Ancient Greece. Greece at that stage was not a united country – there was no Greece as such – rather there was a collection of Greek cities that were frequently in a state of conflict with one another. Plato is best known for his theory of forms - abstract, immaterial things imitated by other physical objects of the world. A famous Platonic view is that all knowledge is recollection or remembering. Plato believed that long before our bodies ever existed, our souls existed and inhabited heaven, when they became directly acquainted with perfect beings called 'the Forms'. Real knowledge is knowledge of the Forms. But knowledge of the Forms cannot be obtained through the five senses, because the Forms, after all, are not in the physical world. Therefore, what appears to us as learning is in fact merely remembering. Before the soul joined with a body, or became 'embodied', the soul knew the forms, without being distracted and limited by the senses. When human beings come to know something, it is because our souls recollect what they knew before they were embodied. Plato did not believe that real knowledge could come about through the five senses, as they were easily deceived. It is important to note that Plato believed in the existence of the soul without the influence of religion.

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RELIGION Noah Noah and the flood is a remarkable story in Genesis, but it is by no means unique. According to the story, God surveyed creation and became angry at mankind's sins. He regretted creating humans and decided to destroy them all. Before doing so, however, God allowed Noah, who was blameless, to gather his family, as well as pairs of all living creatures on the earth, build an ark, and save them from certain destruction. The flood, the result of forty days and forty nights of rain, covered the earth. (The use of the figure ‘forty’ is a biblical term simply meaning ‘a lot’.) After a hundred and fifty days at sea and another hundred days of the ark resting on a mountain, the land was dry enough for Noah to begin the process of repopulating the earth. God promised Noah than he would never again destroy mankind and symbolised this covenant (agreement/contract) with the appearance of a rainbow. Legend has it that the ark came to rest on Mount Ararat in present day Turkey (pictured below). What is really interesting is that the Bible is not the only source of a catastrophic flood in the ancient world. The Epic of Gilgamesh, a poem written on a stone tablet, and discovered in 1853, written in the language Akkadian from ancient Sumeria, tells a very similar story. Does this mean that the flood was a legend shared by all people in the ancient world, including the people who were to become known as the Jews? Or did it in fact take place?

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MUSIC

Medieval and early church music The first known written music comes from the Middle Ages. It takes the form of plainchant, also known as Gregorian chant, sung melodies use by monks during the Catholic Mass. The Mass is a ritual reenactment of Christ's Last Supper, intended to provide a spiritual connection between men and God. Part of this connection was established through music.

Renaissance music

Renaissance music was produced for the middle of the 15th century to about the end of the 16th, a period that saw the rise of Martin Luther (pictured below), a renegade German monk who was to cause a major split in Christianity - the Protestant Reformation. From 1517 onwards, the division between Catholics and Protestants was to be a cause of Europe sliding into many wars. (Whatever you do, don’t confuse Martin Luther with Martin Luther King! Martin Luther KING, although named after Martin Luther, was a black American civil rights campaigner in the 20th Century.) The music of this time, the Renaissance, shared the aesthetic of the period’s art and literature. Renaissance artists, writers, and the musicians saw themselves as pulling the world out of the dark, clerical, mystical world of the Middle Ages. They emphasized the return to the ideals of classical Greece and Rome: love, pleasure, intellect, and the beauty of the human body and emotion. Below Dominican monks (left), Martin Luther (right)

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KKnowledge Project

Part Two

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