With impeccable timing NASA has released the latest Hubble photos just as we are wrapping up our unit on space.

One week and one day left to go!

Taken from

Note: it is very seldom that the Roman Catholic you're talking to will refuse to take and read from the bible. Since the Roman Catholic church discourages their doing so, they seem to have a real underlying desire to take one in their hands and read it. Because they are not very familiar with the bible, you may have to help them find the chapters you direct them to, not by taking the bible and not by reaching over, but instead by looking over, seeing where they are and then telling them to move forward or backwards about # of pages. It is best to use the King James Version, although here we will be using the American Standard version.

I was googling some stuff about Ash Wednesday and this was perhaps the oddest site I came across. Apparently Catholics aren't true Christians because we aren't born again. So what exactly is our baptism and confirmation then??

For all my cat loving and photography loving friends!

Wooohoo!

Can anyone recommend some quality HP fanfic to me please? (With links?)

I am craving some HPFF but don't know where to find any (except for f's which I've already read XD).

Eeeek, I'm a bit scared of this storm. The thunder is making me jump already and I can still see a sliver of blue sky. But the ute is under cover as best as I could get it and I know where the torch is.

The radar is showing black over Amberley and parts of Ipswich. Time to turn the computer off!

Right nearby my house - photos by my Dad, scrapbooked by me.



A purple carpet of jacaranda blooms... yes, some parks really look like this!



Another piccy.



Jacarandas in bloom at Goodna, a suburb not that far away from me.

They're so much more beautiful in real life though and they are everywhere. In Brisbane it seems like every street you walk down, every corner you turn there are even more jacarandas. When you take the train you see splashes of purple against green, green, green and tin rooves... bee-yoo-tee-ful.

I couldn't find any of storm skies + jacarandas though!

Yay for summer storms! I know I say this every year but I just love seeing all the jacaranda trees in bloom against grey skies. Almost as much as I love the smell of jasmine. :)

Parent morning rehearsals, swimming and Italian today; an excursion all day tomorrow to Parliament House; buddies and sport on Friday. So little teaching... this prac is great! In all seriousness, I'm settling into it quite well. I know the names of about 35 of the 38 students in Year 6. Just another 40 to learn come Monday. :)

I delivered my first proper lesson today, we did a Reading & Viewing lesson using an interactive whiteboard (wow!!!) and an e-book. My supervising teacher wasn't there for the whole lesson as she was organising stuff for the Bush Dance in a week but she was happy with what she saw. I didn't feel very natural but I think that will come with more teaching time and as I get to know the students better.

Oh yes, bush dance. Each class has to learn a square dance type thing for the P&F Bush dance so that's something else we've been working on this week. I honestly wonder sometimes how any teaching gets done!

Next Monday we will sit down in planning time and work out what lessons I will actually teach in the next 2 weeks or so. On Tuesday I start our literacy unit and I'm reallllly nervous as I feel a bit out of my depth. We're doing "Author's Craft" and beginning with picture books then moving to novels. Each group is doing a different novel. I have to get my assessment task sheet and criteria sheet sorted for Monday as well as my lesson plan for Tuesday.

On the plus side, I get to repeat each lesson not two but three times since it's share teaching between three classes. I know from last prac just how amazingly helpful it was to have that opportunity to reflect, make changes and re-teach.

Right, bed time I think. I was hoping Peter would come back online but I guess not. Oh well, he will be home within a month! Less actually but I can't say, it's a matter of national security ;)

PS: I went back to my first dance (jazz/hiphop/contemporary) lesson last night for the first time in about three years, it was soooooo much fun! I have known one of the girls in my class through dancing for 14 years now. We started learning the choreography for a new dance that's to some Missy Elliot song (no idea which) but inspired by the Joker. It is creepy plus. I can't wait to see it with costumes, lighting, make-up, etc!

Has anyone else not discovered Cake Wrecks yet? I can't remembered when I last laughed so hard and so long.

I just made minestrone and it is yum, yum, yum! Good stuff, dinner is now sorted for the next three days. :)

"Marriage is the uniting of two people. The two become one identity. So the idea of assuming one surname seems only natural and in fact is an external sign of the two individuals unity - a bit of a paradox really, which is why marriage is an extremely important and holy institution. Were I to get married and my wife to be wished to keep her surname, I would take that to mean she’s not ready, nor really understands what marriage is about. It would be a sign of defiance to the institution , a false sense independence which would be an unhealthy attitude to life of dependence on one another."

Oh really.... [in the comments]

A note from the headmistress

If you can see this movie - buy it, borrow it, see it at a function, whatever which way or form - see it. And if you can't see the whole movie then watch some of the footage that has been put on YouTube.

The Devil Came on Horseback - Trailer



Interview with a Refugee from Darfur





Another interview with a refugee. This woman is a mother who lives many members of her family including a daughter to the Janjaweed, a militia sponsored by the Sudanese government to carry out ethnic cleansing.

Testimonial from an ex-solder of the Janjaweed

You can read some stories of Sudanese refugees who now live in Brisbane. One of them is story of a man named Kunda, he is 25 and hasn't seen his family for over 14 years. I'm 22 and I see my family at least several times a week.

The BBC's Q&A: Sudan's Darfur conflict provides a solid basic background to the genocide.

I am so scarred..

It's almost better than PostSecret...
It's PostSecretFrance.

http://postsecretfrance.blogspot.com/

I have to stop reading reader's comments on sites like news.com.au... they make my blood boil sometimes! Not everyone shares the same views as me and that's fine but there is so much narrow-mindedness, self-rightenous and complete lack of compassion.

The Rotaract Club of South-West Brisbane would like to invite Rotarians, Rotaractors, Interactors and the community to learn more about the conflict in Sudan. Since 2003, 400,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced.

We need to ACT NOW.

Our guest speaker will be Jenny Ryan from Airfares for African Refugees and the Mater Mothers’ Hospital. Sudanese refugees from the local Brisbane community will also be there to share their experiences.

Date: Thursday 20 March 2008
Time: 6:30 for 7:00pm
Location: Auditorium, St Aidan’s Anglican Girls’ School,
Cnr Ruthven St & Aidan’s Way, Corinda
RSVP: rotaractswb@hotmail.com

If you would like a copy of the flyer in PDF format please email rotaractswb@hotmail.com

You can also check at our blog for updates: http://rotaractswb.blogspot.com/