So today is social networking site ‘twitter’s 7th birthday. Are people getting too engrossed in these internet websites? We are going to find out…….

In January 2013, Facebook had around One Billion active users. This is around 14% of the world’s population meaning social Networking sites like these are starting to take over the world!

At the start of this year, Twitter had 100 million users who would login at least once a month. This is 1/8th of the size of opponent Facebook.

So many people have a Twitter and/or a Facebook account and more so because children who are under the age limit do have an account of some sort somewhere. The minimum age for a Facebook page is 14 and for twitter it is 13. The reason for this is that it is dangerous. Kids could meet anyone online who are very clever and extremely sneaky. These rules are put in place for their safety they are not there to be ignored.

Author-Adventure-Film maker extraordinaire Matt Dickenson has been around the world on expeditions to places like Antarctic, The Sahara Desert and even the summit of Mt Everest, but his most recent adventure has been writing. He answered a few questions about himself and his new book Deep Oblivion

Who is your favourite author?
My favourite author is probably J.R.R Tolkien, the author of the Lord of the Rings series. I also really like Patrick Ness he wrote a boom trilogy that I love a lot.

What is your favourite book?
Lord Of The Rings is Continue reading Quick Fire Interview: Matt Dickinson →

On the 9th of February 2013 1st year, 6th year and the Student Council celebrated a mass with the Most Reverand Archbishop Philip Tartaglia. We also invited the Head Teachers from most of the local primary schools. Including, Lourdes Primary and Our lady of the rosary primary. The parent council was also invited. The mass lasted for just under 2 hours and was for the celebration of Our Lady of Lourdes which was on the following Saturday.
The children were put into there classes based on the house they were in. (e.g. Jedburgh) There was an exception though, the student council was sat separately. Myself Lewis Kelly and my classmate Brandon Connelly represented our class (1J1) at the mass, because we were selected to be our classes student council representatives by the year head. The Archbishop encouraged us first years to “listen to Jesus.” He told us to especially remember the time where Jesus turned water into wine.
After Mass, the Archbishop joined invited guests and S6 Caritas pupils for a celebratory lunch. A number of liturgical and fun events took place throughout the day. Monsignor Gilmartin and Father John Carroll also celebrated with us.
At the end of the mass everyone who attended and was willing to receive got a gold cross which had been blessed by
the Most Reverand Archbishop Philip Tartaglia. Though only first year got a bar of Cadbury chocolate but the chocolate was given last period instead of at the end of the Mass.

At the end of the mass we all got a chocolate bar and a gold blessed cross.

At the end of the mass we all got a chocolate bar and a gold blessed cross.

‘Hero’ – It’s a word that gets tossed around a lot these days but do we know the true meaning of the word?

Some people’s image of a hero is their favourite football player or actor, or a superhero like Batman or Superman. But real heroes do not earn £20,000 a week or wear underpants over their tights, (people like this are ‘idols’, not heroes) they are normal people who work in hospitals, who work in hospitals, who are in police force, the fire brigade or fight for peoples rights.

Take Rosa Parks as an example; a black woman, who was as normal as you or me, in 1950’s America, got on a bus and refused to move when a when a white person told her to get off her seat. She is a hero because she took the first steps towards equal rights in America.

I was lucky enough to meet Sello Hatang who is, in my eyes, a hero. He lived through the Apartheid in South Africa and is one of Nelson Mandela’s colleagues at the Nelson Mandela Foundation. His job is to talk to people, especially the younger generation, about his experiences and what Nelson Mandela went through. He told us he travels all around the world telling his story about the Apartheid. His courage and ability to speak out was amazing and he really inspired me as I’m sure he has many others.

What impressed me about nelson Mandela was his ability to forgive. He spent years in prison and came out eager to change things and forgive those who had suppressed them. He led and inspired people which eventually led to change in South Africa. As he said, ‘For to be free is

not merely to cast off one’s chains but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.’
He wanted to be free and not be angry at the people who had imprisoned him. He was the first black president of South Africa at the end of the Apartheid and he started the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He is a true hero, not Wayne Rooney or Lionel Messi.

There are lots of unsung heroes in our own communities who don’t get enough recognition. People like school janitors or cleaners, doctors and nurses, teachers, firemen policemen and so much more! Their jobs are far from easy and they all help you and me in lots of different ways. Take a moment to imagine life without any of them – it doesn’t look very promising!

You can be a hero just by helping do the dishes after dinner, picking litter in the street, forgiving your friend after falling out or even saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’, it starts with things as easy and simple as that!

You don’t have to be rich and famous to be a hero, you should be helpful, caring and forgiving and that makes you a hero in your own life.