Disciplined behaviour, a must at all times

by Ananda KANNANGARA

The urgent need for parents to encourage children to engage in religious and social activities in addition to education activities was reiterated by the Minister of education Bandula Gunawardane following numerous complaints by parents that indiscipline leading to violence was on the increase among schoolchildren.

The recent incidents where students of different boys schools clashed after school hours and cricket matches had been cited by parents and requests made to take action to curb such incidents in the future . Minister Gunawardane said that schoolboys wielding wooden poles from two popular schools had clashed after their annual cricket encounters and the incident was seen on television by many. In another incident, students from two different boys' schools had behaved in an unruly manner at a bus stands and even the police had to be called in to stop them." It is not a good image for schoolchildren to have", the Minister said.

The Minister told the Junior Observer that it is important for parents to monitor the behaviour schoolchildren even outside of school as whatever they do reflects on their character and could affect their future. He urged parents to give their children not only a quality academic education but also a solid education about life inculcating values in them.He pointed that as most children live with their parents they were the best teachers. Going by the recent incidents he said that it is imperative for parents to teach their children to accept victory and defeat alike without clashing over such things. He said that when schoolchildren engage in social and religious activities they get more oppportunities to interact with other children and learn to live in peace and harmony.

NASA GRAIL returns first student-selected moon images

One of two NASA spacecraft orbiting the moon has beamed back the first student-requested pictures of the lunar surface from its on -board camera. Fourth grade students from the Emily Dickinson Elementary School in Bozeman, Mont., received the honour of making the first image selections by winning a nationwide competition to rename the two spacecraft. The image was taken by the MoonKAM, or Moon Knowledge Acquired by Middle school students. Previously named Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) A and B, the twin spacecraft are now called Ebb and Flow. Both washing-machine-sized orbiters carry a small MoonKAM camera.

Over 60 student-requested images were taken by the Ebb spacecraft from March 15-17 and downlinked to Earth March 20.

"MoonKAM is based on the premise that if your average picture is worth a thousand words, then a picture from lunar orbit may be worth a classroom full of engineering and science degrees," said Maria Zuber, GRAIL mission principal investigator from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass. "Through MoonKAM, we have an opportunity to reach out to the next generation of scientists and engineers. It is great to see things off to such a positive start."GRAIL is NASA's first planetary mission to carry instruments fully dedicated to education and public outreach. Students will select target areas on the lunar surface and request images to study from the GRAIL MoonKAM Mission Operations Center in San Diego.

Launched in September 2011, Ebb and Flow will answer longstanding questions about the moon and give scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed.

The MoonKAM programme is led by Sally Ride, America's first woman in space, and her team at Sally Ride Science in collaboration with undergraduate students at the University of California in San Diego.

More than 2,700 schools spanning 52 countries are using the MoonKAM cameras. "What might seem like just a cool activity for these kids may very well have a profound impact on their futures," Ride said.

"The students really are excited about MoonKAM, and that translates into an excitement about science and engineering.."NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., manages the GRAIL mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. - ScienceDaily

Holy Week starts today!

Christians and Catholics have been observing lent a forty-day period before Easter which begins on Ash Wednesday. When calculating the forty days, Sundays are left out because Sundays commemorate the Resurrection. Lent began on February 22 and will end on April 7, the day before Easter.In the Roman Catholic Church, Lent officially ends earlier at sundown on April 5 (Holy Thursday), with the beginning of the mass of the Lord's Supper.

The most solemn week of the Christian year, Holy Week is the week leading up to Easter, and is the week during which Christians/Catholics remember the last week of Jesus's life; the Passion of Christ. Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday that is today and will end on Holy Saturday April 7 .

Holy Week (Latin: Hebdomas Sancta or Hebdomas Maior, "Greater Week") includes the religious holidays of Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday (Holy Thursday), Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. It does not include Easter Sunday which marks the resurrection of Jesus after being cruicified on the cross.

Palm Sunday (or Passion Sunday), the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem. Holy Thursday (or Maundy Thursday), the institution of Communion and the betrayal by Judas. Good Friday, the arrest, trial, crucifixion, death, and burial of Jesus Christ. Holy Saturday, the Sabbath on which Jesus rested in the grave.

On Palm Sunday the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, the week before his death and resurrection is celebrated . , Palm Sunday is often referred to as "Passion Sunday,

Maundy Thursday is the Thursday before Easter. Christians /Catholics remember it as the day of the Last Supper, when Jesus washed the feet of his disciples and established the ceremony known as the Eucharist. The night of Maundy Thursday is the night on which Jesus was betrayed by Judas in the Garden of Gethsemane. The word maundy comes from the command (mandate) given by Christ at the Last Supper, that we should love one another. In many countries this day is also known as Holy Thursday. The feast of Maundy (or Holy) Thursday solemnly commemorates the institution of the Eucharist and is the oldest of the observances peculiar to Holy Week.

Good Friday is the Friday before Easter. It commemorates the Passion: the execution of Jesus by crucifixion. Good Friday is a day of mourning in church. During special Good Friday services Christians meditate on Jesus' suffering and death on the cross, and what this means for the faith of Jesus' followers.

In some countries, there are special Good Friday processions, or re-enactments of the Crucifixion. Holy Saturday ), sometimes known as Easter Eve commemorates the day that Jesus Christ's body laid in the tomb. In Roman Catholic churches, the sanctuary remains stripped completely bare (following the Mass on Holy Thursday) while the administration of the sacraments is severely limited.