BRITISH SCHOOL GAZETTE Spring 2015 TRIPS
Saas Grund & Naples
GAMES
NEWS
Sudoku and more
Sports and other news
INTERVIEWS
Teachers and Students
Av. de Chatelaine 95A . 1219 Chatelaine
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T: 022 795 75 10
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www.britishschoolgeneva.ch
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EDITORIAL
We hope you enjoy this latest edition of the Gazette! The team has worked incredibly hard to pull it all together this term, and as always we couldn’t have done it without the guiding help of Mrs Leumann and Mrs Prior. We hope you especially like the small collection of recipes we have gathered from different students, reflecting the wide diversity of nationalities we see represented at BSG, and even try one or two out (if you dare!). If you would like to get involved in the Gazette next year, look out for the job descriptions that will be put up sometime in the next term. It’s a great way to get experience in leadership, editing, graphics or advertising, and the perfect opportunity to get involved in school life. Alex Ridley A2 Thank you, committee, for clearly raising the standard of the BSG Gazette this year, both in terms of content as well as timing and team spirit! It’s been a pleasure ‘leading’ you and, even though I know that there will be capable others following in your footsteps, you will be sorely missed! Thank you also to all the students and teachers who have contributed to this year’s two editions- your words, drawings and photographs have helped the BSG Gazette become what it is today: a good read. Mrs Leumann German and English teacher
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SCHOOL NEWS
Bake Sales
On February 2, 2015, the A-Level students decided to put on a bake sale in order to raise money for our Leavers Ball, which will be held on 20th of June, to celebrate our collective survival of school. Thanks to the contribution from the whole of the school, including the baking or buying of a variety of colourful cakes and cookies by teacher and students; a record of 440.30 CHF was raised. More sales are being planned and we hope that you will be as willing to bake and/or buy as we are to sell!
New Break-time Entertainment
The latest purchase from the Parents’ Association has been a big hit with the students - a tabletennis table and mini badminton net! Now at every break and lunch-time shouts of laughter and a friendly competitive aura can be sensed radiating from the hall. A table-tennis tournament has been set up, but everyone is welcome to play more casually with their friends. A sign up sheet can be found on one of the pillars in the hall.
Houses for BSG
This year BSG has a house system for the first time! Students were all divided into four houses, named after famous Swiss mountains - Eiger, Matterhorn, Monch, and Jungfrau. Students can earn points for their houses by receiving ‘merits’ from teachers.
By Megan Haylock and Alex Ridley A2
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TEACHING AS By Thomas Haylock A2
Several weeks back, our psychology teacher Mrs Fogarty suggested that Sarah and I attend an AS psychology class and teach them all about eyewitness testimony and why it can be considered unreliable when not backed by any other forms of evidence. When this was first suggested, Sarah and I agreed to this, as we knew it would be a rather interesting way to revise EWT (eye-witness testimony) with the added bonus of playing some well-planned mind games on the AS class. Planning the lesson involved modifying and updating a presentation we did previously; we tailored the information to suit an AS class, gathered a few videos and games we knew would be interesting to play, and even set up a good trick we both used on the A2 class. The class went surprisingly smoothly! Questions were asked and answered, Sarah and I alternated between slides, and an overall relaxed work environment was maintained throughout. The games and videos we chose offered a decent amount of variety from the standard powerpoint presentation, as well as a much-needed break from note-taking. We found ourselves being well-organised, prepared, and confident in what we were presenting - of course, we had to know what we were talking about! While an almost unquestionable advantage, the mere thought of memorising Farmer’s guidelines for a viable eye-witness testimony still haunts me to this day. As a final “proof” that EWT was unreliable, Sarah and I played a little bit of a mindtrick on the unsuspecting AS psychology students. Having worked on the A2 class, we were both curious to see whether a significantly larger class would be able to catch on. About forty minutes in, I conveniently left the classroom to “get a book”. While outside and out of view of the class and as Sarah continued to teach, I changed my shirt from a light blue to a dark green. We taught for another twenty minutes and not one person noticed the switch. The reaction to when I told them about the switch was priceless! Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We learned a lot about what teaching is like (keeping in mind Sarah and I had never taught before) and our actions further inspired some of the A2 Maths students to do the same! We put a lot of effort into our lesson and we were able to study our topic to a greater extent than we had thought. The lesson was certainly worth the effort and I would highly recommend having a go at teaching others during your time at BSG.
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THEATRE TRIPS Lord of the Flies Play Review The Year 9 visit to Simply Theatre, Versoix, to watch the play ‘Lord of the Flies’ was a blast. It was a great experience to go through, as at that moment Year 9 was reading Lord of the Flies, so it was amazing to see it being enacted right in front of me! Although the stage and cast were small, they still managed to flesh out the characters and create the same atmosphere as in the book. The actors were believable and matched what I had pictured them to be in the book; from Piggy’s annoying voice, to Simon’s insane ramblings, to the screaming rage of Jack and Roger. Speaking of Roger, he got a much larger role in the play than in the book, and he happened to be played by Patrick Lynch, one of the students in our own class. I couldn’t help grinning when Patrick, as Roger, first entered the stage. The props were not the greatest but they worked, especially the pig head and the blood. They used clever lighting behind the scenes to create the atmosphere, whether it was night or day, and peaceful or tense. The make-up looked like it took a lot of work and the tribal paint looked very realistic. It was good seeing the cast transition from schoolboys to savages. So, all in all, it was a great play and it represented the book very well despite the challenges. I really enjoyed it! By Lyo Yuson Year 9
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THEATRE TRIPS Frankenstein Play Review Directed by academy award winner Danny Boyle and retold by Nick Dear, came yet another riveting take on the classic gothic science fiction novel that is Mary Shelley’s FRANKENSTEIN -by the National Theatre, with thought provoking performances by Benedict Cumberbatch and Johnny Lee Miller as Dr. Victor Frankenstein and ‘The Creature’. Year 11 and several A-level students, along with Ms. Crawford and Ms Leumann, got to attend the screening of this play at Balexert. The story is that of Dr. Victor Frankenstein, an unorthodox doctor obsessed with the reanimation of the dead and breaking the laws of science, eventually bringing to life a creature who greatly horrifies him. Set director Mark Tildesley and other creative cast members of the play created a marvellous atmosphere in the cinema from the opening moments in the play, where the creature emerges from the papery womb, to the end of the play, as Frankenstein sets out to destroy his creation in the stifling cold of the North Pole. This play’s unnerving scenes rendered the audience speechless by the creature’s compelling testimonies and actions revealing himself as “the Adam of your (Dr. Frankenstein’s) labours” but feels closer to the “fallen angel” yearning… longing to obtain love, companionship and knowledge; thus exposing themes of negligence, the perception of good and evil, acquiring knowledge, basic human needs and defying scientific limits. There was so much pure intensity and chemistry between Miller and Cumberbatch’s characters and the entire cast carried out their roles so thoughtfully and passionately- it was as if the actors themselves were what Shelley envisioned when she began her pursuit of this beyond extraordinary tale! By Gabrielle St Hilaire Year 11
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SKI TRIP TO SAAS GRUND Going to Saas Grund on a Friday filled our hearts with relief; respite from schoolwork and stressful homework for the weekend. The air was filled with impatience as we sat in class, drowning in Maths. Our distracted minds turned their attention to the clock ticking and, as usual, time slowed down. When the clock struck 14:15, chairs scraped the floor as the felicitous few gave their farewell hugs and rushed down to the bus, ready for the fabulous weekend awaiting in Saas Grund. On the bus were the driver, Mr. and Mrs. Prior, eight Year 10 students, and six AS students. As the bus drove on the highway an hour later, I turned to the window to see buildings, trees, and cars drive past in the corner of my eye. We drove along a highway, which hung over the lake, presenting a fearful view. Here I saw an opportunity to take photos of a marvellous sight: beams of sunlight pierced through the clouds and glistened on the water! When the sun passed its zenith, I drifted off to sleep…and woke to a dark winter night with a spectacular view of the lit up houses on the mountainside, which resembled Christmas lights on a tree. When we finally arrived, we couldn’t wait to get off the bus and into the town of Saas Grund, though it was freezing cold. The mountains overlooked us and the moon shone its pale light. We were introduced to Joey, who was to be the trainer for the ‘beginner’ snow boarders. He led us to where we were to stay: an eight floor birch-wood hotel with modern furniture. Our thudding footsteps echoed as we entered and the delicious aroma of fish and chips filled the room and our nostrils. With no time to spare, we rushed to the dining table to devour the food! We were ravenous; we ate until nothing was left. Our stomachs were full as we sunk into our seats with most of our shirts unbuttoned to make way for our bulging tummies. In hindsight, the food we consumed was just enough for the sledging drill to come. With excitement, we climbed up the tall white hill of the nocturnal winter landscape. The more we ascended, the more adrenalin was pumped. We slid down the slope several times, snow spraying behind us. We missed a perfect photo opportunity of Tife tumbling down the hill, yelling all the way, which made it a night filled with laughter and warm smiles.
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SKI TRIP TO SAAS GRUND Skiing and snowboarding could not have been fully satisfying, if there had not been other activities to engage in during our nights in Saas Grund. On the second night, we walked out of town into the dark and bone-chilling night on snowshoes. The sound of the nearby waterfall and breaking branches, as well as the owl hooting, created a perfect depiction of life in a forest. Brown leaves crunched noisily under our feet, causing some of us to think we were being followed by the serial killer from the horror movie ‘Jason’; but we didn’t fear. We felt safe under the protection of fearless Joey. After a long walk we sat around a campfire. The flames popped and danced, casting shadows, while marshmallows roasted on the fire. Our last night’s activity was bowling at a mini gallery, a welcomed activity before jumping under the warm covers of our beds. On the day of departure, reluctance was in the air. Despite the smell of freshly fried bacon, I felt sad. I also felt blessed to have come to Saas Grund- I had so much fun, despite my initial fear and unease. Coming from West Africa, and not used to snowboarding let alone skiing, I was afraid I would come back in little broken pieces! Thankfully, the only thing broken was the wristwatch I bought with my last few francs (R.I.P!!). Everyone was disappointed that we were not excused from school for at least that day. We all waved goodbye to Saas Grund, the legendary Joey and the Swedish ski instructor Amanda. The more kilometers we covered, the more our snowboarding and skiing fun was being left behind. The scars of winter were vanishing and giving way to brown field sites, hillsides, suburban houses and companies like Nissan and Ibis Hotel. We were back in Geneva and ready for French. “Wait- Oh no, vocab test…” By Conrad.A.Jr Year 10
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FUNDRAISING FOR WHW The World Horse Welfare organisation (WHW) is a charity focusing on rescue and rehabilitation for horses. This year, I am trying to raise as much money as possible for this cause. “World Horse Welfare’s vision is a world where every horse is treated with respect, compassion and understanding.” They want to help educate the world to horses’ needs and how to look after your horse if you own one. They rescue hundreds of horses over the world every year. Founded in 1927 as a campaigning organisation to prevent the export of live British horses for slaughter, the organisation strives to diminish the pain and suffering of horses. If you want to help, look out for the collection tin that I will have around school in the upcoming weeks, or you can sponsor me and my family for our 5km run in Geneva on May 2, which I will be running in a self-made horse onesie! If you want to know more, you can come and talk to me or look at the website http://www.worldhorsewelfare.org/ to sponsor me and my family on this run you can email me at eve.warden.6b@gmail.com. By Eve Warden AS
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RECIPES Student nationalities
Ingredients: For the meringue 4 egg whites 250g caster sugar 1 tsp white wine vinegar 1 tsp corn flour 1 tsp vanilla extract For the topping 500g strawberries, hulled and halved 200g redcurrants, stalks removed 3 tbsp icing sugar 350ml double cream
Strawberry Pavlova New Zealand
Method: 1. Heat the oven to 150C on fan or 130C on gas. Whisk the egg whites with a hand mixer until they form stiff peaks, then whisk in the sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, until the meringue looks glossy. Whisk in the vinegar, corn flour and vanilla. 2. Spread the meringue inside a circle, made by turning a dinner plate upside down on baking parchment and drawing around it, creating a crater by making the sides a little higher than the middle. Bake for 1 hr, then turn off the heat and let the Pavlova cool completely inside the oven. 3. When the meringue is cool, chop 100g of the strawberries. Mix them with half the redcurrants and 2 tbsp icing sugar. Place in a food processor, blitz until smooth, then push the fruit mixture through a sieve. Whip the cream with the remaining icing sugar and spread it over the meringue. Put the remaining fruit on the cream and finally pour the sauce over the whole lot. Then it is ready to eat! Contributed by Patrick Lynch Year 9, Adapted from BBC Good Food.
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Ingredients: Group A: 2 cups flour (if whole wheat, add a little extra of the
Banana Bread Canada
wet ingredients)
1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp of table salt 1 tsp of cinnamon Group B: 2 eggs 1/2 cup sugar 3 mashed bananas 3/4 cup yogurt 1 tsp vanilla, or vanilla sugar Group C: 1/2 cup chocolate chips or nuts, like walnuts
Variations: If you want to make muffins, decrease the cooking time to about 25 minutes, but check after 20 minutes. You can replace up to half of the flour with oatmeal, just let the mixture sit for 10 minutes before baking.
Method: 1. Mix A in a large bowl. 2. In another bowl, beat together B, while squishing bananas. 3. Stir B into A. 4. If desired, stir in C. 5. Pour into a greased loaf pan, and bake at 175 C for 45 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. This may take up to 60 minutes depending on the dimensions of your pan. More surface area means less cooking time. :) Contributed by Michelle Lee Physics Teacher
Ingredients: 300 grams of Prawns (cleaned) 250 ml of Coconut milk 1 medium sized onion (sliced into thin long pieces) 2 Tomatoes (sliced into thin long pieces) 5 Green chilli (decrease if you want less spice) 1 inch Ginger piece cut into long thin slices ½ teaspoon of Turmeric powder 2 tablespoons of Oil Salt to taste Curry Leaves
Prawn Moilee India
Method: 1. Put oil into a pan with a thick bottom. When the oil is hot, add onion, ginger, curry leaves and green chillies. 2. Sauté until the onions are slightly brown. Now add turmeric powder and mix well. Add the tomatoes, sauté and cook until the tomatoes are done- add salt (this will help to cook the tomatoes faster). 3. Now add the cleaned prawns and mix well. Cover the pan and cook for 10 minutes. When the prawns are cooked, add the coconut milk. Mix well and cook for 5 more minutes on medium heat. Add salt if required. Cover the pan partially. 4. Serve hot with bread. Contributed by Mrs Kala Madhav parent
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Ingredients: Plantains vegetable oil 1 cup sugar 2 tsp cinnamon
Fried Plantains Costa Rica
Method: 1. Slice the plantains into 1 cm slices 2. Heat 1 inch of oil in a frying pan 3. Fry the plantains in the oil for about 4 minutes, turning occasionally 4. Remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon and lay out on paper towels to drain 5. Put the sugar and cinnamon in a brown bag 6. drop the plantains in the bag and shake to coat evenly 7. serve warm Contributed by Alex Ridley A2
Ingredients: 1 Tbsp finely chopped coriander roots and stems 1 long green chilli, chopped 1 Tbsp finely grated ginger 2 tsp of ground turmeric 2 tsp of cumin 2 Tbsp vegetable oil 1 large onion, finely chopped 1 cinnamon quill 10 curry leaves (see Note) 400 g canned chopped tomatoes 1 kg green king prawns, peeled with tails intact, cleaned steamed white rice, to serve
King Prawn Ragouille Mauritius
Method: Using a mortar and pestle, pound coriander, chilli and ginger. Stir in turmeric and cumin. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium–high heat. Add onion, stirring for 5 minutes or until softened. Add coriander mixture, cinnamon and curry leaves. Stir for 1 minute. Add tomatoes and 375 ml water. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes or until thickened. Add prawns and stir for 5 minutes or until just cooked. Season, then serve with rice. Contributed by Shraveen Dhalladoo AS, Adapted from SBS Food
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SPORTS NEWS - BASKETBALL Hot Shots
The school basketball game, a friendly match, or a fight to the death? The basketball game was nothing like the one in High School Musical, as there was a lot less singing and much more actual playing. Although I think many people would agree, if they started singing we’d all find it hilarious, maybe not tuneful but hilarious nonetheless. I was joined by Valentine, Sabah, Archie, and Sarah T on the bench doing the score, timing and of course commentating. We were lucky enough to be sitting right in front of the action. We could practically feel the sweat dripping off the players as they ran past. There were 4 teams: the school basketball team- who we’d all assumed would win- the secondary team, the A level team, and, of course, the teachers. Each match was 5 minutes long; 5 minutes may not seem that long, but plenty of points were scored in that time. One of my favourite scores was André, not because it was a talented shot (sorry) but because just before it Mr Wiseman had scored, and everyone had gone completely insane. Then when he took his shot, nobody made a sound. Everyone was still focused on Mr Wiseman. Don’t worry André, Archie and I cheered for you! We had a great time commentating. Some highlights were: “Mr Dawson has the ball, he is dribbling everywhere, and it’s disgusting.” “Michael has the ball, Michael drops the ball, the ball is chillin’” and “Fran dribbles, Fran…. Fran! Fran? Fran doesn’t know what he’s doing.” Results: The secondary team came in first, with the basketball team in second, and the A-level team came third. Leaving the teachers bringing up the rear in last place. Someone has to lose, right? Thoughts: “It was great, a brilliant experience, because I had the chance to play with my classmates. The best part was when we lost, because you know you win some you lose some and winning ain’t everything, so yeah.” Daniel R “It was exciting to see the teachers participate in the sport and sometimes it was difficult to determine which side you were supporting.” Archana “I liked the primary school cheering for the teachers, they gave a good ambiance.” Mr Palmeira “Hmm, I thought it was very entertaining to watch. Especially when Wisey scored. Everyone was cheering!” Gianna “It was so exciting, the ball went back and forth from different individuals at the speed of light- it felt like the earth was at stake in this game. Everyone was deeply hypnotized by the mesmerizing game.” César By Hayley Townsend AS
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SPORTS NEWS - FOOTBALL It was BSG’s first ever football competition since the club was started. We met at LGB’s front gate and walked down to the indoor court as a team. Nobody went in with high hopes to win this competition, as we hadn’t had much practice compared to the other schools; this was just an experience for us. Our first game was against IIL’s first team. BSG’s starting line-up was Tife, Ciaran, Ashley, Benjamin and Berk. 5 minutes into the game and we scored the first goal! 1-0 for us! IIL tried to get the score even but to no avail thanks to Berk and his amazing goalkeeper skills. Within the final minutes of the game a goal was scored again by BSG, making the score 2-0. The whistle blew and BSG had won their first game! We suddenly felt that we could actually win. Our second match was against La Chat and it was a very tight game with BSG leading 2-1. It was only in the last minute of that game that La Chat managed to score a goal, ending the game in a draw. We were all pretty disappointed about that, but still BSG had not lost a game yet. In the 3rd game we were up against LGB and the final score was 4-0 to LGB. At that point BSG had won 1, lost 1 and drawn 1. This was a good result considering the little practice. The last game resulted in a penalty shoot-out, the score 3-2 for LGB. A disappointing defeat for us. The winners of the competition turned out to be IIL’s first team, so it wasn’t a huge disappointment for us considering we had beaten them in our first game. It was a good experience for us and we will definitely come back stronger next time! By Alex Yu Year 11
SPORTS NEWS - NETBALL BSG NETBALL TEAM Before the whistle.
We all held our breath; would BSG score against IIL?
The team played a friendly against IIL on 2nd February 2015. Great work girls!
BSG netball team advances towards yet another goal.
The team ready to secure a well-earned victory…
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PAST STUDENT By Samuel McAllister
Differences between American and European High Schools When I first moved to the United States, I thought school would be like the Disney film High School Musical. Not quite. Classes are categorised by difficulty: Regular, Honors, and AP. For example I took AP English, which is significantly more challenging than regular English and Honor English. Because AP is college level, if you pass the class and the end of year exam, you don’t have to take that class while in college. In America, for the first year of college every student has to take the basics: English, Math, a science and a language. However, since I passed my AP English class, I don’t have to take the English requirement in college. Another thing that is different is the way students are ranked by something called a GPA. Each student has a GPA: a grade point average. Your GPA is determined by your grades in your classes. However, if you are a student who takes AP classes and gets As, your GPA is going to be higher than a student who is taking regular classes and is getting As, due to the difference in difficulty. An A in my school is a 94% and an F is 70%. To get into college a student must have a decent GPA. Usually a GPA is out of 5 in High School and out of 4 in college. The courses are much more specific. There is no “Math”; instead there are 8 Math classes such as Calculus, Algebra, Trigonometry etc. The same for English: instead of it being called “English” it is divided into specific sections such as Literature, Composition, Language, and Arts. It paves the way for what you want to study in college. I want to study Engineering, so I take 3 Maths classes, 2 Sciences, and a Business class; there’s no point of me taking an Arts class. In order to apply to college you also have to take the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) or the ACT (American College Test). Both of these are standardised multiple choice tests on material that you are meant to learn throughout your high school career. The test is split into 3 parts; English reading, Math, and English writing. The good thing about the test is that you can take it as many times as you want. So, one time you can focus on the Math section and then the second time you take it, you can solely focus on the writing part. Your score is the total of each section, but you only submit your best score for each section to the colleges. I took it twice, and the first time I didn’t get the reading score I wanted, so I took it again and only focused on the reading part. I didn’t even bother answering any Math or writing questions, leaving me more time for the reading part that I needed to improve on. The sport element is also completely different. In Europe, schools tend not to mix education and sports, however, here it’s a huge part of the school spirit. High school athletic events, such as American Football, get coverage on TV, and if you are really good at a sport, a college will offer you a contract, usually with a scholarship. College sports are more popular than professional sports and in order to play in the Pros, you have to get drafted from a college. So, if you are not an academically rigorous student, but you are a good athlete, you can still get into a good college. A friend of mine had a GPA of 2, which isn’t good at all, but he was astounding at baseball, and got a scholarship to play baseball for Notre Dame, one of the best colleges in the nation. High schools in the U.S. are much more holistic than high schools in Europe. In order to succeed, you have to be a well-rounded student, not just get A’s.
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INTERVIEW
Mr Lille
Mr Fitzgerald
What is your full name?
Daniel James Lille
Mark Robert Stephen Fitzgerald
Where are you from?
I was born in Sheffield, in the UK, but my family is from Scotland, so when I go home now I go to Scotland.
I’m from a place in Ireland called Limerick, like a limerick. I was born there too.
Did you go to university? If so, where and what did you study?
I did yeah, I went to King’s College London. To study, believe it or not Geography! Then Sheffield Hallam to do my PGCE (That’s my teaching qualification).
I went to the University of Limerick and I studied Business Administration and then I did a post-grad in Education Business.
Who was/ is your celebrity crush?
I don’t have any celebrity crushes but I admire Bill Gates and Steve Jobs - as they both brought personal computers to the masses and without them I wouldn’t have a job teaching ICT!
My celebrity crush ? Jennifer Aniston, Mila Kunis, Sophie Marceau.
What is your most prized possession?
My Rolex, it was my 21st birthday present from my Mum, so it’s very special to me.
My health.
What is your favourite place in the world? To visit or to be? (e.g. mine is my bed or New York)
Oh, I should really have read these questions- I thought it was going to be about school not me! A sunny beach – doesn’t matter where, as long it’s warm and sunny!
Dominica in the Caribbean.
What is your favourite website? Which website do you visit the most?
Zattoo – as I get all my UK TV channels for free here in Switzerland!
Sabah: Remember this is PG. *laughs* The website I visit the most is probably irishtimes.ie or Planet Rugby, one of the two. My favourite is Youtube.
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Mr Lille
Mr Fitzgerald
What is your favourite drink? *wink wink*
*laughs* Mint tea, peppermint tea- I can’t live without it.
Yamazaki Whisky.
What is your favourite food?
Any type of Middle Eastern food – Köfta, Grilled Lamb, Falafel with loads of saladsoh! and loads and loads of hummus and baba ghanoush – but I also love Thai and Mexican as well – oooh and don’t forget chocolate cheesecake – or chocolate fudge cake with ice cream - actually anything with chocolate!
Just one?! I love BBQ Spare Ribs and I like Thai food and I love hamburgers. Oh, and my wife’s cooking. Yes, that is my favourite food; my wife’s cooking. I’m not too keen on sweet food; if I had a choice between starter, main course, and dessert, I would always go for starter and main course. But I do like chocolate milkshakes- and lemon sorbet.
What type of music do you listen to?
Everything! At the moment a lot of Sam Smith, I love his music and Ellie, Ellie Goulding. And Calvin Harris when I’m running – with a bit of trance or hard house when my legs are getting tired.
Bruce Springsteen, Kings of Leon, Soul- I like Soul music and U2.
What is your favourite song and favourite band or artist?
Seal- Kiss from a Rose, favourite band would have to be something like the Killers and favourite artist has to be Adele.
Bruce Springsteen, favourite song- Born To Run by Bruce Springsteen.
What are your favourite novels or authors?
I love Crime thrillers, so Patricia Cornwell, that kind of thing. It’s not very high brow, is it? Peter Forsyth. I like a really good gripping thriller. As well as old favourites like Agatha Christie and Ruth Rendell. Also I love real life or biographies; if it’s real life and a great story then I’m sold.
*…Silence…* That shows you how much I read. I like biographies. ‘Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt’ by Michael Lewis, it’s non-fiction.
What is your favourite year (or age group) in the school? *wink wink*
Wow! Controversial! It would have to be, as I’m their form teacher, Year 10. I see them every day- they’d kill me if I said somebody else.
*Sabah, Georgia and I speak up* I like A2 and AS, not to say I don’t like Year 11 but there are only three of you.
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INTERVIEW Mr Lille
Mr Fitzgerald
Do you have any piece of advice you want to give people who are leaving the school in June?
Changing your mind when you have started something isn’t failure, it’s just realising it’s not for you.
“Wisdom is knowing not to put tomatoes in a fruit salad.” There you go, that is my advice. Georgia: That’s so funny! Sabah: A bit weird though. Sarah: It’s good. Mr. Fitz: Abstract! Not weird. Abstract. Georgia: It’s original.
What is your favourite movie? What is your favourite musical?
Film: has to be Home Alone 2! It’s not Christmas without watching Home Alone! Musical has to be Phantom of the Opera, as it was the first one I saw live in London.
Musical- Miss Saigon! Favourite movie… The Godfather part 1 and 2. Although it’s a bit cliché- they are good movies, though.
Interview by Georgia, Sabah and Sarah
MY ESCAPE - BALLET By Chelsey Pickering Year 9
I started doing ballet at the tender age of seven. I have been doing ballet for almost eight years now. I am currently doing ballet at the Dance Area in Geneva, and I have been dancing there for more than a month. It is absolutely amazing dancing there, because everyone is friendly and has a welcoming heart. The instructors teaching there are also very helpful and give very good advice on the progress you have made. I am doing Etude 4, which requires 3-4 classes a week and each class is an hour and a half. Ballet is my outlet after school. You get time to clear your mind and get in your daily exercise. The only thing that expresses how I feel, besides talking, is dancing, so it feels good to do it. I personally feel that after-school activities are good for your health and your mind, it doesn’t matter what you do, but dancing is my passion! Putting my hair up in a ballerina bun every day and pulling on my shoes is just the beginning of where this magical journey starts, and I am proud to be part of it!
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Play&Learn (10 mon - 5 yrs)
GAMES ZONE GET THE MOUSE TO THE CHEESE
SUDOKU
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GAMES ZONE SPOT 4 DIFFERENCES!
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GEOGRAPHY TRIP What to do when stuck in Naples Well, we weren’t exactly stuck; we were in Naples to see, first hand, the effect of plate tectonics as part for our A2 Geography course. The “we” consisted of the A2 geography class, all two of us, and our guide and fellow pizza eater, Mr. Lille. Our first visit was to Solfatara, a less well known spot, but definitely worth visiting. This volcanic crater smelled like rotten eggs, but once you got past the smell and the hollow ground beneath your feet, the colours created by the sulphur and minerals were beautiful. Next was Vesuvius. Walking up an active volcano first thing in the morning was tiring, but the view was definitely worth it. Herculaneum and Pompeii followed, and seeing the people frozen in their last minutes in Pompeii was incredibly moving. The destructive power of a volcano is simply breath-taking! The only downside to the trip was the boat to Capri… I was assured that the views were spectacular, but I refused to move from the bit of the boat I found moved the least (I don’t do boats!). However, Capri itself was stunning! The cliffs were spectacular, as were the ones in Sorrento. Six days flew by and we were all sad to leave, but we were more than happy to be leaving pizza behind! By Megan Haylock A2
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THE MIDDLE OF THE STORM I walked into Waterstones and felt a little tug on my ankle. I looked down and saw my puppy, Blackie, rubbing his head against my foot. I happily gave him his toy to play with and left him at the entrance. I saw two people there: Trevor and Tierno. Trevor was a short ginger-haired boy with a really high IQ, while Tierno was a bit rounded but had a good set of dance moves. I had known these two from when I Drawn by Liza Nazarova Year 7 was much younger. We used to play together in the forest and we loved climbing trees but now we had grown out of that. I went over and talked to them. They were both eager to see the different books inside the store. I rushed upstairs to the ‘Ancient Egypt’ section and picked up a book about ancient Egypt and started to read for hours on end. When I reached the last page I dropped my book and as I bent down to pick it up, I saw a silver key shining under the bookcase; I immediately thought of finding the keyhole. I called Trevor and Tierno to my location and we started the hunt for the keyhole. Trevor used his item finder and Tierno and I started to climb the bookcases to search for some sort of attic opening. After a while I finally found the keyhole- it was in the spine of the book I was reading! I shoved the key into the keyhole and before I could call Tierno and Trevor the book started to rotate and sand from the other books started to whip up an intense sandstorm. Everyone got sucked into the sandstorm and we were spiralling in the middle of the storm. I woke up covered in sand and could see a big coffin with hieroglyphics carved into its surface. I reached out to touch it but it just opened on its own. Any sane person would have run for their life screaming with their arms up in the air- but no, I thought that this could be documented and sold to a museum. This thought raced through my mind as I touched the coffin. I heard Blackie barking at something; it was the decaying corpse that was mummified in the coffin. The smell was grotesque and caused me to vomit my breakfast into a bronze pot. I slowly moved closer so I could get a better look but as I approached the corpse it moved. At first I thought my eyes were deceiving me but they weren’t. The mummy lunged forward towards me, holding what seemed to be an ancient dagger that was rusty but still very sharp. I dodged it and started running; as I was running I saw Trevor and Tierno, who were both watching me intensely as I deflected. I shouted “Pick some treasure and run!” Tierno and Trevor both picked up some golden vases and ran. I, on the other hand, picked up a necklace with a pyramid crest on it and ran holding my dog. A portal opened in front of us and we all jumped through. I ended up in Waterstones at 10:30am and rushed out with everyone else and that was that. I looked back and saw a crack in the wall with sand coming out of it… By Edwin Asiedu Year 7
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