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Dates to remember:

February 2013

21 Arts‟ Camp departs at

4:00 pm for Halliday Bay

22 Arts‟ Camp

23 Arts‟ Camp

25 QSA Monitoring Day –

Student Free Day

March 2013

6 P & F Meeting, 6:00 pm

Board Meeting, 7:30 pm

8 Mocktail for Year 12

students – MECC

14 Aquatics Carnival

15 Year 11 and 12 Mid

Semester Maths exams

17 St Patrick‟s Day

18-28 Industry placement

19 Awards evening for Year

12, 7:30 pm, St Patrick‟s

Hall

21 Mid –semester exams

commence

28 End of Term 1

30 India tour leaves

April

15 School resumes – Term 2

19 Cross Country

22-24 Year 11 Orientation

Camp to Hamilton Island

23 Mid Semester I Reports

posted home

25 ANZAC Day

May

2 Parent – Teacher evening

Eamon Hannan – Principal

Students should be working on serious assignment writing and study at this time. We

recommend that OP students would need to study a total of 15 hours per week. They might

need more as the exam block approaches. Year 11 students especially should take advice from

their teachers regarding what is required for revision for the exam block.

Some students find it difficult to settle down to study in the home environment. They should

consider taking advantage of the college library. The library is open from 7:30 am each

morning and after school Monday to Thursday until 3:50 pm (3:30 pm Friday). The library is

also open on Saturday between 9:00 am and 3:00 pm.

In addition various members of staff from different faculties offer tutoring after school on

different days. Revision should be happening now.

Monitoring Day

Next Monday most staff at St Patrick‟s are involved in QSA monitoring of standards in the

work Year 12 students did in Year 11. Some students are required to attend classes on this day

and other students may attend study classes. See Ms Galvin‟s section later in the newsletter for

more information.

Newsletter

The link for this newsletter is sent home via email on Wednesday each week. The newsletter is

of course available on the college website www.stpats.qld.edu.au.

Assessment Planner

As mentioned at last Tuesday‟s Meet and Greet evening there is an online assessment planner

in addition to the paper copy sent home with students last week.

To access this click the link (down on the right hand side in the Quick Links section) on the

college‟s web page www.stpats.qld.edu.au or go directly to here

http://www.stpats.qld.edu.au/Assessment/.

Enter your student‟s code (normally first four letters of their surname followed by first four

letters of their first name – this can be found on their timetable printout) and then select

whether you want the assessment sorted by week due or by subject. (My preference is to

select Week due as that way you can see the progress throughout the semester in most

subjects.)

20 February 2013

NUMBER 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

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Then click on Submit Query. You will then get a listing of assessment with the teacher‟s name

at the right hand side. I recommend printing this out and sticking it on the fridge.

The teacher‟s name on the right hand side is actually an email link to that teacher if you would

like to correspond with them via email.

Year 12 Academic Awards Night

We are holding an Academic Awards night for Year 12 students based on their achievement

and effort in Year 11. This evening will commence at 7:30 pm on Tuesday 19 March in St

Patrick‟s Hall.

Catholic Debutantes‟ Ball 2013

Students wishing to be involved with Catholic Debutantes‟ Ball met with the Catholic Ball

Committee on the weekend to begin preparations for the Debutantes‟ Ball in May. This is a

great initiative of the local Catholic Community and I have received correspondence from Mrs

Berenice Wright (secretary of the Ball Committee) indicating that it is likely that there will be

40 debutantes and partners from the two Catholic Colleges of Mackay. This is a great Mackay

tradition and we are very grateful to Mrs Wright and all involved with Debutante Ball for their

tireless devotion to our students in preparing them for the ball.

St Patrick‟s Family

Congratulations to Lachlan Carroll (Year 12) who won our local club‟s Lions Youth of the Year

and Public Speaking award.

Mass Readings for next Sunday (2nd

Sunday of Lent)

First Reading:

Psalm:

Second Reading:

Gospel:

Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18, "To your descendants I give this land,…

Psalm 27:1, 7-9, 13-14, The LORD is my light and my salvation

Philippians 3:17 -- 4:1 or 3:20 -- 4:1, Their end is destruction,

their God is the belly,

Luke 9:28-36, "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!"

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WEEKEND MASSES

Lesley Fraser – Assistant to the Principal: Religious Education

Last Thursday was the feast of brothers St Cyril and 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 and 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 through their

married relationship.

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.

Edna Galvin – Assistant to the Principal: Curriculum

Study Day – Monday 25 February – all students and parents please note

While many staff will be at the college attending Queensland Studies Authority Monitoring

Meetings – study groups will be available for all students to work – in the library, in the

computer rooms and in quiet study. Those students wishing to use the college facilities on that

day – please sign on at the office today and tomorrow. All subjects where students must

attend on Monday have been advised by staff.

Reminder: Many assignments are due next week and the week after.

Uniform - Footwear

Examples of footwear that is acceptable:

Examples of footwear that is not acceptable:

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

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

Walkerston

Saturday Vigil Mass

6:00 pm St John‟s

Sunday

7:30 am Eton

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Sean Geoghegan: Assistant to the Principal – Student Welfare

Being a teacher

During the course of December I happened to read Nigel Marsh‟s book “Fit, Fifty and Fired

Up.” Yes, it was an appropriate gift from my wife because although I certainly fail to qualify in

the first category, I match the second and happily, very happily, I know I fit the third. During

the course of what was only the fifth chapter, one entitled „The Hamster Wheel‟ he made an

observation that caused me to reflect long and hard about my own life, my own career choice,

the career choices others have made, and the career choices our children will have to make:

“Having taken time off from my career previously, at least I knew to expect a big

drop in status if I did decide to take another break. This can be a brutal shock if

you‟re unprepared because the moment you leave a senior executive position you

cease to count in some social groups. Immediately. You simply fall off the edge of

the cliff into total irrelevance….

Now perhaps it‟s because Nigel Marsh is an Englishman (he has lived and worked in Australia

for the last ten years) that he happens to be particularly class and status conscious.

Nevertheless, it got me thinking about the whole issue of status as a determining factor in the

career choices we make, and the lives we live as a consequence of those choices. Everyone

knows that as far as broader society is concerned, to become a teacher, especially for a man, is

akin to (as Nigel Marsh puts it) “putting on Harry Potter‟s invisibility cloak.” Let‟s face it,

although I have travelled more than most, I will never, ever get to brag about my ski-chalet in

Aspen. Nigel Marsh says something else:

I don‟t think that a life spent in commerce is a waste of time or in some way not

worthy. People all over the world lead varied, fulfilling and useful lives labouring for

companies of all shapes and sizes. And yet…and yet…there‟s another side to the

story: business life is dull to the point of nausea. And though for many being a cog in

the machine is not a problem, for others it can be a living hell. (Not everyone gets

taken to work in their own helicopter) Sometimes your job can feel like a prison

sentence of soul-flattening boredom …To top it off, your labours may not be

connected to anything you care about.

Marsh states, and many studies verify that eighty-eight percent of people aren‟t fulfilled in their

job. What motivated this missive was the fact that every so often I get reminded of why I do

what I do. Last week I was contacted by a past student who had just spent a year studying law

(in Spanish!) at the Catholic University of Santiago in Chile. He began, and is now continuing,

his studies at UQ. This bright, articulate and talented young man was my history student for

two years, but he also travelled to South America in 2007 on a St. Pat‟s tour that I arranged,

and on that occasion, Mrs Agius lead. It was on that tour that he fell in love with South

America, and vowed to return. He now speaks fluent Spanish and this will give his law degree,

and his future prospects, much wider scope. When I met with him, at his behest, on Friday

afternoon, I listened enthralled as he talked for many hours of what he had learned and

experienced. It was wonderful to witness. I realised, not for the first time, that although I will

never grow any company‟s bottom line, my labours are directed at something I care about –

the intellectual growth of young adults. (The ultimate high was teaching my own children!) I

am in the business of growing people and that, boys and girls, provides a sense of purpose and

meaning that is difficult to equal.

Bianca Johnston – Cultural Coordinator

Halliday Bay Cultural Camp (Thursday 21 February – Saturday 23 February)

We wish the students involved in the upcoming music camp all the very best for the camp.

We look forward to hearing of their successes at the free concert “Sounds by the Sea” at

2:30pm, Saturday 24th February at Halliday Bay Resort.

Choir, percussion, stage band and drama club students involved in the camp are required to

bring their camp luggage and equipment to school on Thursday morning. The camp group

will meet after school in the undercover area, assist with packing and depart by at 4:00 pm.

During the camp, the co-curricular cultural groups will have the opportunity to develop and

learn different techniques and workshop the upcoming tour, competition and Eisteddfod

pieces. Students will have the opportunity to work with local musicians and clinicians.

Specialist movement workshops will be directed by Miss Jessica Borg whilst Instrumental and

jazz techniques will be explored under the direction of the college instrumental director Mr

Lyle Denman.

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We wish them all the very best for the weekend! Please ensure any late forms and payments

are returned to the office before departure.

Cultural Beginnings Camp Concert: “SOUNDS BY THE SEA”

You‟re invited to this FREE concert. This concert will highlight the College Choir, Stage Band,

Percussion Ensembles and the Drama Club and showcase cultural accomplishments achieved at

the 2013 Music Camp.

Venue: Halliday Bay Resort

Time: from 2:30 pm

Congratulations!

The co-curricular ensembles are now in full swing. All groups demonstrate great potential and

we look forward to hearing and seeing their performances and celebrate their successes.

Congratulations to the following students who form the college Percussion Ensemble of 2013:

Katharine West, Nathaniel Anderson, Siobhan Gibbs, Aindrea Fuller, Alexandria Mattinson,

Aimee Griffin, Jessie Clout, Roland Legge, Chris Brown, Dylan Bailey, Victoria Burton,

Susannah Menzies, Sophie Tulloch, Courtney Muscat, Sheridan Scott, Grace Schofield, Anna

MacDermott, April Martineer, Heidi Blomfield, Bianca Ruzgys and Zakaree Munro.

Watch this space to see who are the members in the College Stage Band and Drama Club.

Reminder: All co-curricular Arts Membership Fee is Due by Friday 22 March

An Invitation:

If you are a member of the College Choir, Stage Band and Drama Club and a USA tour

participant, you are advised to take note of the following cultural experience.

This year the college co-curricular groups will be exploring the music, moves and staging of

Frankie Vallie. To aid the students understanding and appreciation of the style and skills that

will be required for upcoming performances we urge all invited cultural participants to attend

the „Oh What a Night‟ performance at MECC advertised below. Students are advised to listen

to morning notices to receive further information.

________________________________________________________________________________

Oh What a Night! Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons Tribute

Date: 2nd Mar 2013 7:30pm

Venue: MECC Auditorium

Categories: Musicals; Family; Concerts; Public Events; Performances

Prices: $49.50 Adult | $44.50 Concession | $44.50 Student | $44.50 Child |

$44.50 Group 10+

In the later part of 2011 the fully scripted and choreographed

Las Vegas production of OH WHAT A NIGHT! A MUSICAL

TRIBUTE TO FRANKIE VALLI & THE FOUR SEASONS

performed throughout the East coast of Australia. The tour was

a resounding success and exceeded all expectations resulting in

over 50 shows during their 10 week schedule.

The demand has been such that OH WHAT A NIGHT! has

agreed to return to Australia from mid-January until early

March 2013. "We can't wait to get back down under" smiled

George Solomon. "We all had just the best time, the crowds

were wonderful every night and they sure let us know how much fun they were

having". George Solomon will again be joined on stage by the other original cast members

Paul Holmquist, Brandon Albright and Rick Morgan, Direct From Las Vegas!

USA TOUR DATE CLAIMER:

In the next few weeks there will be a compulsory tour meeting for travellers and

parents/guardians. This meeting is proposed to be held the week of Monday 4th March –

Thursday 7th March. Please watch this space and your email address for further information.

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Brendon Brauer - Sport

Coaching Staff Needed

2013 is shaping up to be another successful year in sport after the success of many individuals

and teams in 2012. 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

Rowing Coordinator

Water polo

College House Captain Nominations

Nominations for college house captains are now open. 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 2013. Voting for house captains will occur next week.

St Pat‟s Aquatics Carnival

With a little under four weeks until the St Pat‟s Aquatics carnival, students should consider

completing some training for the St Pat‟s triathlon. House meetings will be held after house

captains are elected. Students will be given the opportunity to nominate for both the Triathlon

(300m swim, 6km ride, 2.5km run), Age Championship 50m swimming events as well as other

novelty events.

Capricornia Water polo & Swimming

Congratulations to Year 11 student, Ryan Atkins who has been selected in the Capricornia 18

years Water polo team following last week‟s trials. Congratulations also to Tomas Richards,

Kirsty Cushing and Jonathan Grech who have been selected in the Capricornia Swimming team

that will compete at the state swimming championships at the Chandler Aquatic Centre in

March.

Mackay District Trials (Rugby Union, Squash, Netball)

Nominations for Rugby League, Soccer and Hockey have now closed. Nomination forms for

18 years Rugby Union, 19 years Squash and 19 years Netball are now available. Students who

are interested in attending these sporting trials must ensure they return nomination forms to

the sports coordinator by the due date. Late nominations will not be accepted. Students must

also ideally collect nomination forms at both morning tea and lunchtime breaks.

Important Dates

21 February Mackay District 19 years Basketball trials

27 February Mackay District 19 years Rugby League, Soccer and Hockey trials.

6 March Mackay District 18 years Rugby Union, 19 years Squash, 19 years Netball

14 March St Patrick‟s College Aquatics Carnival (Triathlon and Aquatic events)

The first three weeks of school in pictures –

next two pages!

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Ash Wednesday Liturgy Shrove Tuesday - Pancake Competition

Valentine's Day

McGarry Bursary recipients

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SRC Training Day

College Leaders

McGarry Bursary recipients

College

Captains

Pancake Day

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THE KNOWLEDGE PROJECT

HISTORY The ‘Forgotten’ Genocide – The Armenian Holocaust

Most people when hearing the word ‘Genocide’ immediately link this to the attempted extermination of European Jews at the hands of the Nazis in World War II. Much less however is known of an act of genocide committed during the course of World War I –the genocide of the Armenian people, a Christian minority group living within the borders of what is today modern day Turkey. Part of the reason is because the Turkish government continues to deny it ever took place.

The Armenian Genocide was carried out by the "Young Turk" government of the Ottoman Empire. It was implemented in two phases: the wholesale killing of the able-bodied male population through massacre and forced labor, and the deportation of women, children, the elderly and infirm on death marches to the Syrian Desert . One and a half million Armenians were killed, out of

a total of two and a half million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.

At the time it was occurring, the Armenian Genocide was condemned by representatives of the British, French, Russian, German, and Austrian governments—namely all the major Powers. The first three were foes of the Ottoman Empire, the latter two, allies of the Ottoman Empire. The United States, neutral towards the Ottoman Empire, also condemned the Armenian Genocide and was the chief spokesman on behalf of the Armenians. The German ambassador to Turkey, Count von Wolff-Metternich, Turkey's ally in World War I, wrote his government in 1916 saying: "The Committee [of Union and Progress] demands the annihilation of the last remnants of the Armenians and the [Ottoman] government must bow to its demands." German consuls stationed in Turkey, including Vice Consul Max Erwin von Scheubner-Richner who was Adolf Hitler's chief political advisor in the 1920s, were eyewitnesses. Hitler said to his generals on the eve of sending his Death's Heads units into Poland, "Go, kill without mercy . . . who today remembers the annihilation of the Armenians."

Henry Morgenthau Sr., the neutral American ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, sent a cable to the U.S. State Department in 1915: "Deportation of and excesses against peaceful Armenians is increasing and from harrowing reports of eye witnesses it appears that a campaign of race extermination is in progress under a pretext of reprisal against rebellion.". As of 2011, the governments of twenty-one countries, including Russia, France, and Germany, as well as the United States of America, have recognized the events as 'genocide'

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PHILOSOPHY / ECONOMICS Capitalism and Class The economic system which dominates the world at present is called capitalism. There are really only two basic approaches to a modern economic system, although you'll find endless variations on these two approaches throughout the world. One type of economy is the free market economy. That's capitalism. The other is the planned economy, which some people call a command economy or a Marxist economy. At its root, capitalism is an economic system based on three things: wage labour (working for a wage), private ownership or control of the means of production (things like factories, machinery, farms, and offices), and production for exchange and profit. While some people own the means of production, or capital, most don't and so to survive they need to sell our ability to work in return for a wage, or else scrape by on benefits. This first group of people is the capitalist class or "bourgeoisie" in Marxist jargon, and the second group is the working class or "proletariat".

This is how capitalism works: For the work people do, they are paid for only a fraction of what they produce. The difference between the value they produce and the amount they are paid in wages is the "surplus value." This is kept by the boss as profit and either reinvested to make more money or used to buy swimming pools or fur coats or whatever. In order for this to take place, a class of people must be created who don't own anything they can use to make money i.e. offices, factories, farmland or other means of production. This class must then sell their ability to work in order to purchase essential goods and services in order to survive. This class is the working class. So at one end of the spectrum is this class, with nothing to sell but their ability to work. At the other, those who do own capital to hire workers to expand their capital. Individuals in society will fall at some point between these two poles, but what is important from a political point of view is not the positions of individuals but the social relationship between classes. The working class then, or 'proletariat' as it is sometimes called, the class who is forced to work for wages, or claim benefits if we cannot find work or are too sick or elderly to work, to survive. They

sell their time and energy to a boss for their benefit. Their work is the basis of this society. And it is the fact that this society relies on the work they do, while at the same time always being squeezed to maximise profit, that makes them vulnerable. Employers and bosses want to get the maximum amount of work from us, from the longest hours, for the least pay. Workers, on the other hand, want to be able to enjoy their lives: they don't want to be over-worked, and want shorter hours and more pay. This conflict is central to capitalism. Between these two sides is a push and pull: employers cut pay, increase hours, speed up the pace of work. But workers attempt to resist: either quietly and individually by taking it easy, grabbing moments to take a break and chat to colleagues, calling in sick, leaving early. Alternatively workers can resist openly and collectively with strikes, and slow-downs. This is what Karl Marx called ‘class struggle’. The conflict between those of us who have to work for a wage and our employers, who are often referred to as the capitalist class, or 'bourgeoisie' in Marxist jargon.

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NATURAL HISTORY Africa’s Great Rift Valley Some 20 million years ago, the earth's crust weakened and tore itself apart creating a jagged rift, thousands of kilometres long, across the Eastern end of the African continent. The land on either side erupted creating great volcanic mountains, while the valley floor gradually sank into a low flat plain. This geologic phenomenon, dubbed the Great Rift Valley by the Scottish explorer John Walter Gregory, divides Kenya neatly down the length of the country essentially separating east from west. Today, The Rift Valley is characterized by uninhabitable desert and fertile farmland, flat arid plains and steep escarpments. The Great Rift Valley is also the home to millions of wildlife and hosts the world’s most renowned game parks and reserves (the Masai Mara in Kenya and The Serengeti in Tanzania).

Africa's Great Rift Valley is a 6,000-mile crack (fissure) in the earth's crust, stretching from Lebanon to Mozambique. Geologists know that the Rift Valley was formed by violent subterranean forces that tore apart the earth's crust. These forces caused huge chunks of the crust to sink between parallel fault lines and force up molten rock in volcanic eruptions. Evidence that this process, called rifting, is still in progress comes from the many active and semi-active volcanoes, located along the Rift. Evidence of volcanic activity along the rift is provided by the presence of numerous boiling hot springs. Rift valleys are created by plate tectonics. Tectonic plates are the huge rocky slabs made up of the Earth's crust and upper mantle. They are constantly in motion—shifting against each other, falling beneath one another (a process called subduction), crashing against one another. Tectonic plates also tear apart from each other. Where plates move apart, the Earth’s crust separates, or rifts. Rift valleys can lead to the creation of entirely new continents, or deepen valleys in existing ones. The Great Rift Valley is widening slowly but surely, in the process causing many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes in the area. The Great Rift Valley is also visible from outer space as a rift of two parallel lines. In some places this natural divide is up to 100 km (60 miles) wide, while it reaches its narrowest point just north of Nairobi at 45 km wide. Subterranean movement is common today as the Rift Valley is home to thirty active and semi-active volcanoes and countless hot springs along its length. Because the Great Rift Valley hosts a large number of animals, Kenya and Tanzania offer great safari experiences with national parks and game reserves traversing these great safari countries.

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CITIZENSHIP Queensland State Government In Australia there are three levels of government, Federal (see last week), State and Local. In this article we will look at Queensland’s Government. Like Federal Parliament, Queensland has a constitution, or set of rules controlling the way Queensland is governed. The constitution provides for law-making powers and also sets out the role of the Governor in how government works.

Parliament House While other state Parliaments are bicameral (two houses) Queensland’s parliament is unicameral - one House, the Legislative Assembly. Queensland’s second and upper house, the Legislative Council, was abolished in 1922 largely because the upper house was seen as being guardian for the rich and powerful. The Labor party orchestrated its demise. Our system of Government is modelled after the British Westminister system. There are three separate “arms’ of government; the Legislative Assembly, the Executive and the Judiciary.

Queensland Parliament The Legislative Assembly (89 members) is created by a voting process whereby people are voted to represent an area (electorate) of Queensland comprising about 85 000 people. The leader of the ruling party is Queensland’s Premier (currently Campbell Newman). The Premier appoints elected members (ministers) to be responsible for aspects of government such as Health, Education and so on. Their areas of responsibility are called portfolios. Together with the Premier they make up the Cabinet.

The Executive is made up of Cabinet and the Executive Council. The Executive Council consists of Cabinet members with the Governor as Chairperson. This body makes decisions about the appointment of judges and magistrates among other things. The Judiciary consists of our court system. Queensland has Magistrates Courts, District Courts and Supreme Courts. The highest court in Australia is called the High Court. These levels of government are intended to ensure that no one branch of government has all the power.

SCIENCE The Principles of Flight

Have you ever boarded an aircraft and wondered how so much steel and aluminium can possibly fly? Read on to find out why. There are four forces acting upon an aircraft whenever it is flying: Lift, Drag, Thrust and Weight. Lift and drag are referred to as aerodynamic forces because they operate while the aircraft is flying. Lift is a positive force caused by the difference in air pressure under and above a wing. The higher air pressure under a wing creates lift, and is affected by the shape of the wing. Changing a wing’s “angle of attack” affects the speed of the air flowing over the wing and the amount of lift that the wing creates. Drag is the resistance of the air to anything moving through it. Different wing shapes greatly affect drag. Air divides smoothly around a wing’s rounded leading edge and flows neatly off its tapered trailing edge. This is called streamlining.

Cabinet

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Weight (gravity) is the force that causes an object to fall downwards. In flight, weight is countered by lift and thrust. Thrust is the force that propels an aircraft skyward. An engine spinning a propeller or a jet engine expelling hot air from the tailpipe are examples of thrust. In flying animals, wings provide thrust. The diagram of the airplane opposite has the various fixed and moveable parts labelled. All of them are designed to control the four forces in such a way as to make the aeroplane both able to fly and stable during flight. Obviously, they also allow the pilot to steer the plane.

LITERATURE Colleen McCullough McCullough was born in Wellington, in outback central west New South Wales, in 1937 to James and Laurie McCullough. Her mother was a New Zealander of part-Māori descent. During her childhood, her family moved around a great deal, and she was also "a voracious reader". Her family eventually settled in Sydney, and she attended Holy Cross College. Before entering tertiary education, she previously earned a living as a teacher, librarian, and journalist. She began studying medicine but a skin problem forced her to consider other options and she spent ten years researching and teaching in the Department of Neurology at Yale in the US.

Her first two books; Tim (1974) and The Thorn Birds (1977) were so successful she was able to live from her earnings as a writer. She moved to Norfolk Island in 1980 and remains there today. She has been a prolific writer, and the quality of research for her novels, especially her Masters of Rome series led to her being awarded a Doctor of Letters degree by Macquarie University in 1993. Arguably her most acclaimed novel was The Thorn Birds (1977), the story of three generations of an Irish Catholic family in Australia. It was well received internationally and sparked interest in Australian culture and history.

The story revolves around Meggie Cleary, a young girl whose poor family receives the opportunity to go live near, and work for, her rich aunt in Australia. After eking out a difficult living in New Zealand, her parents seize the opportunity, taking Meggie and their many sons with them to become graziers in the Australian outback. While living in Australia, Meggie meets the preacher, Ralph de Bricassart, when she is still a child. The ambitious priest and innocent little girl bond unexpectedly, particularly as Meggie grows into a woman with her own wants and desires. This relationship is at the heart of a 60 year generational saga about strong, independent men and women determined to make the best out of lives sometimes marred by scandal, heartbreak, and tragedy. Other works by McCullough are: An Indecent Obsession (1981), A Creed for the Third Millennium, (1985), The Ladies of Missalonghi (1987), The Song of Troy (1998), Morgan's Run (2000), The Touch (2003), Angel Puss (2004), On, Off (2006), The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet (2008), "Too Many Murders" (2010). She also wrote a biography The Courage and the Will: The Life of Roden Cutler VC (1999). In addition to her Masters of Rome series she also authored the Carmine Delmonico series as well as several screen adaptions.

ELECTRONIC LINK TO ONLINE KNOWLEDGE PROJECT CROSSWORD

http://www.MyCrosswords.com/440/EamonHannan/KnowledgeProjectPart22013.html

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Solution to last week’s crossword