Xiao Hua Issue 8 by Xiao Hua

Xiao Hua 校話

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Xiao Hua June 2013

NO.

8 | CHINESE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

HAPPENINGS 簡報 ALUMNI CORNER 校友專訪 | 16

SCHOOLYARD 校園 PHOENIX SPORTS AND ACTIVITIES | 17 TEACHER INTERVIEW: MR. MANSHEL | 18 CHINA EXPERIENCE PROGRAM WEEK | 20

BERMUDA TRIANGLE | 34 NORTH KOREA | 36

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Xiao Hua June 2013

NO.

8 | CHINESE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

WHAT’S COOL 流行文化

YEAR 7: TO GRADE OR NOT TO GRADE | 84

ADVICE | 39

GROWING UP TOO FAST | 88

DIARY OF A TEACHER: MR. MUMM | 40

GROSS NATIONAL HAPPINESS AND ITS RELATION TO BUDDDHISM | 90

FEATURES 專題文章 WHY GIRLS AT CIS DO US PROUD | 48 CIS FINANCIAL AID | 52

追星 | 86

CREATIVE 創意

ONCE UPON A BEGINNING | 105 THE EVOLUTION OF MUSIC | 106

ALUMNI 校友 RETURN OF THE ALUMNI | 110

A COUNTRY IS PERSECUTING ME. SHOULD I COME TO HONG KONG? | 72

EDITORIALS 觀點 WHAT IS SUCCESS? | 76 FLU/SARS | 78 NO-BAMA GO-BAMA | 80 U.S. ECONOMIC SITUATION | 82 ISSUE 8 XH8 final.indd 5

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Xiao Hua

Faculty Advisor 指導教師

GEORGINA MARTIGNAGO

Editor-in-Chief 主編 JOHNSON PAK Managing Editor & Artistic Director CHLOE MOK News Editor JACKIE WU Features Editor VERA LUMMIS Business & Communications Director RACHEL CHAN Chinese Director MICHELLE LI Sports Editor NICHOLAS SUNG Heads of Photography CLAUDIA NG & NATASHA CHAK

News Editor 新聞編輯 JACKIE WU Associate Editor: Voices 新聞編審 MEGAN FOO & SUNWOO NAM

Reporters 記者 BORIS BUT, NATASHA CHAK, KAITLIN CHAK, MiCHAEL CHENG, ALLISON CHEUNG, VANESSA CHEUNG, NICOLE CHOI, CATHERINE DING, MEDHA GOYAL, YOONAH HAN, SHANNON HU, SOPHIE KANG, CONSTANCE LAM, CORDELIA LAM, CRYSTAL LAU, CONRAD LEE, CHRISTY LEUNG, BERNETTA LI, BRANDON LIN, ETHELIA LUNG, SUNWOO NAM, CHRIS NG, JUSTIN NG, BRYAN TAN, ERIC TSE, NICHOLAS TSE, MONA SHI, SAMANTHA SO, NICHOLAS SUNG, KATHERINE YANG, CAMERON ZELUCK.

Features Editor 專題文章編輯 VERA LUMMIS Contributors 特約記者 AGNES CHAN, SAMANTHA CHEUNG, KENDRA CUI, MEGAN FOO, OLIVER HSU, MIYEON KIM, FRANCESCA LI, BRIAN LU, SUSAN MAGINN, CLARON NIU, ASPEN WANG, MARCUS WONG

Managing Editor & Artistic Director 設計副總監 CHLOE MOK Illustrators & Designers 設計師 BERNETTA LI, EMMA CHAN, ZOE SUEN, STEPHANIE SO, JACKIE WU, CANDICE LINCOLN, KELLY LUY, AUDREY HIOE

Heads of Photography 攝影主任 CLAUDIA NG & NATASHA CHAK Photographers攝影師 MATTHEW CHOW, MIRIAM FINNEMORE, MATTHEW HO, YUMI LEE, JESSICA EU, NATHANIEL CHAN, BELLA LU, BRITTA LAM

Business & Communications Director 財務及傳訊總監 RACHEL CHAN CAROL CHAN, GILLIAN CHIU, MING CAI CHUNG, BONNIE LEE, CLAUDIA NG, ELIZABETH OH

Production & Administration Manager 行政主任 CYNTHIA SO

XIAO HUA IS A REGISTERED STUDENT ORGANIZATION OF THE CHINESE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL. THE MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED INDEPENDENTLY BY STUDENTS OF THE CHINESE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, 1 HAU YUEN PATH, BRAEMAR HILL, NORTH POINT, HONG KONG. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. Xiao Hua magazine. The magazine is published termly. There is no subscription rate to Xiao Hua - the publication is provided free of charge to all members of the Chinese International School community. For enquiries, please contact the Xiao Hua Communications Department at cis.xiaohua@gmail.com. For information on advertising and promotion, please contact Alina Luk at al.look@gmail.com, or call at (852) 6478 0234, facsimile (852) 2838 9596. Xiao Hua is not responsible for loss, damage or any other injury to unsolicited manuscripts, unsolicited artwork (including but not limited to: drawings, photographs, or transparencies), or any other unsolicited materials. Those submitting manuscripts, photographs, artwork, or other materials for consideration should not send originals, unless specifically requested to do so by Xiao Hua in writing. Manuscripts, photographs, and other materials submitted must be accompanied by a self addressed overnight delivery return envelope, postage prepaid. The paper used for this publication is a recyclable and renewable product. It has been produced using wood sourced from sustainably managed forests and elemental or total chlorine-free bleached pulp. The producing mills have third party certified management systems in place. This magazine can be recycled either through your curbside collection, or at a local recycling point. Log on to www.recyclenow.com and enter your postcode to find your nearest sites.

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I h i i w n

Editorial Board 2o13

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one Michelle Li

two Vera Lummis

CHINESE EDITOR

FEATURES EDITOR

新一期的校話，真的要謝謝大家的努力。無論是拍照，散文或訪問，我每次看校話都有各種驚喜！這次更看到很多低年級的同學發表文章，圖畫，參加校話這個大家庭，所以多多鼓勵。希望大家看得愉快。

This time round we have some really thought provoking Features articles. From a discussion of the plight of refugees in Hong Kong to a personal account of a trip to North Korea, I'm sure you will find some interesting and insightful pieces to read. Thanks again to all the Features writers this term - it's been really great working with you all!

three Jackie Wu

four Nicholas Sung

NEWS EDITOR

SPORTS EDITOR

It's been another great year for Xiao Hua. Our writers have been working diligently to produce an array of interesting articles which I'm sure you will enjoy reading. Thank to everyone who contributed to this issue, without you're effort and dedication, Xiao Hua would not be where it is now. Enjoy CIS!

Sports at CIS has been developing at an astonishing rate, and what the Xiao Hua Sports Department aims to do, is to capture athletic Phoenix talent, achievement and spirit at its finest form. The Sports Department has hence worked cohesively to feature different sections of the CIS sporting community - we hope you will enjoy this issue!

five Rachel Chan

six Chloe Mok

BUSINESS DIRECTOR It has been my pleasure to work with such an incredible team of people throughout the publication process of this issue's Xiao Hua. Have an amazing summer and happy reading CIS!

ARTISTIC AND MANAGING DIRECTOR Every issue of Xiao Hua is the result of hard work and unwavering dedication from the talented XH team. There have been obstacles and there have been setbacks, but albeit the sweat, tears and sleepless nights, the production process of Xiao Hua is always a worthwhile one. We hope you enjoy this issue as much as we have enjoyed putting it together; happy reading CIS!

seven Claudia Ng

eight Natasha Chak

HEAD OF PHOTOGRAPHY

The publication of a new issue of Xiao Hua is always one of the most exciting things to look forward to at the end of every semester. It’s an honor to work with such a dedicated and talented group, and to be part of the publication process. Happy reading CIS!

It was an honor working with the talented Xiao Hua editorial board team this semester. The editorial board team has put a lot of effort into this issue, enjoy CIS!

nine Cynthia So

相信大家都非常期待暑假的來臨，不過我有更興奮得消息：第八期的校話新鮮出爐啦！大家快點翻開來好好欣賞一番吧!希望校話能陪伴大家過一個又充實又快樂的暑假！

ADMINISTRATION MANAGER

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slt letter

hy change? One of the most punishing arguments one hears about anything is the line “If it ain’t broke, why fix it?” By and large people don’t like change. Despite seven opportunities to do so in general elections since 1983, the British people only twice voted to change government. And they were pretty half-hearted about it in 2010. Over the same period, only one US President was not re-elected for the second term of office allowed by the Constitution. “Better the Devil you know” beats “Time for a Change” very much more often than not. The great, and often ignorantly maligned, renaissance writer, Niccolo Machiavelli understood this in a famous passage in The Prince when he wrote: “It must be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to plan, more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to manage than a new system. For the initiator has the enmity of all who would profit by the preservation of the old institution and merely lukewarm defenders in those who gain by the new ones.” As in so much in The Prince, Machiavelli appears to be advocating a cynical approach in his advice to leaders: better not risk changing anything. As in political change so in change in our own lives. Any suggestion that we should change comes up against our dear friend, Ego. “Be the change you want to see in the world” says Gandhi; ego looks in the mirror and replies “Actually, I think I’m all right as I am – it ain’t broke and I ain’t fixin’ it”. Change is uncomfortable and seems to imply criticism of things as they have been. However, the genius Florentine, Machiavelli, is too easily and 12 XIAO HUA XH8 final.indd 12

too often misunderstood. His purpose was to advocate change but also to warn not to underestimate the challenge of it. Change, he argues throughout, is necessary. The world is in flux and those entrusted with the governance of a community must manage change ahead of the point where something actually is broke and really needs fixin’. As he puts it elsewhere: “Whosoever desires constant success must change his conduct with the times.” CIS has change and innovation built into its institutional character. Tradition is potentially the enemy of change but not if it is a tradition of change. It seems to me, as a newcomer here at CIS but as a student of history, that this is a school tradition characterized by a certain genius. We are embarking on a great adventure in Hangzhou and there is much about this that is unsettling. It is also exciting, exhilarating and necessary. Having been given the opportunity to contribute to Xiao Hua in this way I would like to take the opportunity to express my thanks and admiration to those Y9 CIS families who have taken the leap of faith to join us on this ride. Following Mr Mulcahy on this page, another brilliant Irishman, Edmund Burke, comes to mind. As he put it over two hundred years ago: “A state without the means of some change is without the means of its conservation”. Perhaps too, a school that doesn’t have change built into its identity runs the risk of failing students entering a changing world. CIS ain’t broke one little bit and by embracing and celebrating change and innovation, is unlikely ever to become so. Mr. Pratt Secondary Leadership Team

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editor’s letter

munity is counting down the days till the summer holidays. Our immense craving for this annual, extended break comes from immense fatigue and deep desire for relaxation. We often look towards the future, believing that there are more opportunities and more time for us to do what we want. However, when “future” becomes the present, it is already too late. (just ask the current Year 12s: 2 more months ‘till school starts again, 6 more months ‘till college apps are due, 1 more year ‘till graduation)… There’s really not much time left.

“Future” will never provide us the satisfaction we need, so we look back on our “past”. As the school year of 2012-13 comes to a close, many of us will realize how much we have achieved in this past school year. In this issue of Xiao Hua, Kendra Cui (Y12) looks at how the CIS community has worked together to alleviate the traffic problem on Hau Yuen Path. This was an extraordinary success and has clearly demonstrated the CIS spirit and how the accumulation of small, individual contributions can make a great, positive change. This year, CIS students have adventured to the “isolated country of North Korea” and clarify the misconceptions that even international media still have on this country. Oliver Hsu (Y11), one of the students on this one-in-a-lifetime journey, recounts his time in North Korea and shares with us his reflection after the trip. One must keep in mind that these “pasts” were once “presents”; if we didn’t treasure these opportunities, we wouldn’t be able to recount these precious memories and achievements now.

ecently, I read the novel “The Time Keeper” by inspirational author, Mitch Albom. The story illustrates God’s punishment on the first man who began to measure “time” and how the man, after centuries of banishment, redeems himself by teaching two people the true meaning of time. Living in the bustling city of Hong Kong, this constant reminder that our time is running out will make us forget how to live in the moment.

Master Ooguay, the wise turtle in the animated movie Kung Fu Panda once said, “Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. But today is a gift, that is why it is called the present”. Be thankful for the valuable opportunities you had in this school year and make sure to treasure the moments you share with your loved ones during this summer holiday!

As you are reading this, I am sure that the whole CIS com-

Johnson Pak Editor-in-Chief

Have a great Summer CIS!

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RECRUITING NOW! XIAO HUA AWARDS ANNOUNCEMENT

are you looking to develop are you looking to business andCongratulations communication to ourdevelop 120 student artteam and design for being named Crown Award finalists by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. skills? skills?

The Crown Award highest If so, then come join us! Xiao Huaisisthe CSPA’s If so, then come honor join us! Xiao Hua for overall excellence. This includes print and online currently recruiting aspiringnewspapers, is currently young aspirstudentyoung magazines, and recruiting yearbooks. businessmen and women to join our ing digital designers to join our Art Xiao Hua is guaranteed to win either a Gold or Silver Business Department. You willMarch be able Department. will be ableCIS to was Crown Award at the CSPA’s 2013 conventionYou in New York. of only two and finalists, and Xiao Hua the only bilingual to one develop business communicadevelop digital design publication. skills tionThe skills through working closely through working with Adobe Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) was founded in 1925. The Crown Awards is an international competition that aims to recognize exceptional work by student journalists in print and online media. with companiesTheofCSPA different industries andofPhotoshop to create is overseen by the ColumbiaInDesign University School Journalism. in Hong Kong. To view the announcement online, please the visit layouts that youat:see in this the CSPA’s website http://cspa.columbia.edu/docs/contests-and-critiques/crown-awards/recipients/2012-scholastic-crown.html magazine. Xiao Hua also received All American Honors and a Gold Medal, the highest ratings, from the National Scholastic Press Association and the Columbia Scholastic Press Contact Rachel Chan for more info:respectively Contact more info: Assocation critique programs for Chloe its 2010Mok -2012for issues.

rachec@student.cis.edu.hk For more information and details, pleasechloem@student.cis.edu.hk email cis.xiaohua@gmail.com.

XIAO HUA AWARDS ceremony 2012 Last year, Xiao Hua held its very first Awards Ceremony. This ceremony celebrated the efforts and hard work of the Xiao Hua team. Staff memebers with outstanding contributions and performances were also awarded. 14 XIAO HUA XH8 final.indd 14

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was .

Let’s Hear From You! Comments (students, teachers, parents, alums): Tell us what you think of Xiao Hua or any of our articles. We’d love your feedback. Please send comments to: comments.cisxiaohua@gmail.com Contribute: Please submit articles, artwork, short stories, photos or anything that fits our content profiles to cis.xiaohua@ gmail.com Subject: ‘Attention: Administrator.’ Make sure you put your name and class. Join Us: If you want to join our staff, please contact us at cis.xiaohua@gmail.com

Advertising Xiao Hua is a unique high school publication in Hong Kong, being bilingual in Chinese and English. Featuring four color graphics, it is also the only regular publication covering all aspects of CIS community life. Published twice a year, the magazine provides detailed coverage of school news, sports and arts. Features on student accomplishments, community news and cultural interests round out the editorial package. With an readership of over 3,000 including students, parents, teachers and alumni, Xiao Hua is distributed to a finely targeted audience. Xiao Hua is not just another school publication. It embodies Hong Kong’s unique blend of Chinese and Western culture, as well as the best Chinese and English student work the school has to offer. It offers advertisers access to an affluent community with a wide range of interests.

For more information on advertising and pricing, please contact: Business & Communications Department Room 1904, Chinese International School, 1 Hau Yuen Path, Braemar Hill, North Point, Hong Kong. Tel: 6478 0234 Fax: 2838 9596 Email: cis.xiaohua@gmail.com

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happenings

ALUMNI:

BJORN LI: CLASS OF ‘08

jorn Li, Class of 2008, shares with us some of his interesting and exciting experiences after his life in CIS and University on being a professional poker player.

1. Where did you go to University and what did you major in? I went to University of Chicago and graduated with a degree in Mathematics and Economics 2. What do you do now? I am currently a professional poker player and mainly work from home playing online poker, playing up to 16 cash game tables of varying stakes. I play anywhere between 3-10 hours a day depending on my mood and the state of the games. That’s just sort of my bread and butter but the achievement that I am most proud of up to today coming 6th in a live poker tournament for $240,000AUD. I have also won 2 other tournaments outright by coming 1st in a Macau live tournament and another in Vegas. 3. After University, what did you start to do, and why? When I was still in University before I graduated, I had already been spending a lot of time playing poker, so the transition into doing it on a full time basis did not bother me so much. For me personally, I like the freedom that comes along with what I do, and how and when I can choose to work. Not having to wake up every morning for a 9-5 job is definitely a plus! http://www.pokernews.com/#

4. Were there any consequences to this decision? My parents were initially very opposed to my choice of career due to the natural stigma that came along with taking up “gambling” as a profession. On top of that, they were worried that I could fall into any of the other pitfalls - gambling addiction, drugs, etc - that people often associate with this profession. However, what concerned them the most was the monetary swings that come with what I do, the fact that 40% of my days are losing days bothers them. But like all things, I was eventually able to convince them that these are all problems that won’t affect me ever or are just occupation hazards and they finally accepted my career path. 5. Despite the consequences to this decision, do you regret it? No regrets, I enjoy what I do and for me that matters a lot. 6. When did you start playing poker? A big bunch of us started learning the game of Texas Hold’em right here in the Year 12 CIS Common Room, playing fun micro stakes cash games among our friends, taking it as a way to pass time and generally have fun. But I was one of the few who got more intrigued by the skill element of the game and decided to take this game more seriously by attending bigger stakes live games. I still remember one of the times early on when I had my biggest winning day then (around 50k HKD) at a live game in Hong Kong and it was just the best feeling ever.

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7. Some people say poker is all about luck, what is your say on this? While most people perceive poker as a game of gambling because of the chance element involved in the very nature of the game, I see it as something a lot more than that. Just like Mahjong, there is a very important skill element in the game as well because this is a game played between a certain number of real players and the fact that there are multiple parts in the hand where decisions are to be made. 8. What are some of your tactics and how do you think your past education has helped you on that? A lot of what the game of poker is about is the ability to process information in a logical and efficient manner and going to school has definitely contributed to the way I approach and think about problems, not just problems on the poker table. Another very important element of poker is understanding the psychology behind why certain people do certain things and having the key to this can take one’s poker game to another level. 9. What are your future plans? For now, I am just going to keep practicing my trade until I realize there is not more value to be had, for example if every player in the field get on the same level as I am or if due to some unforeseeable circumstance online poker becomes extinct. And to be honest, I haven’t thought too much about the future but I guess like all things in life we can take things as they come along.

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happenings

school yard 校園 Go CIS Phoenix!

The significance of sports and activities in CIS has undoubtedly grown over the past year. Let’s come together and celebrate the achievements and successes of Phoenix sports and activites teams!

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happenings

Teacher interview: Xander Manshel WRITERS | Sunwoo Nam, Medha Goyal & Cordelia Lam PHOTO | Matthew Chow LAYOUT | Chloe Mok

Two years into his tenure at Chinese International School, it’s safe to say that English teacher Alexander Manshel has made a significant mark on our community. Since his arrival at CIS, Mr. Manshel has quickly become one of the most well-known and respected teachers amongst school faculty. He has been a vital contributor to various exciting new projects, such as the CIS Improv Troupe, Dan Tat Monster, Eurydice, and the new advisory system. Who wouldn’t be interested to have a little insight into his mind? Well today you have the chance! >>

What do you strive to do best in your teaching?

Students often have a “boring” view of how teachers relax and enjoy themselves outside of school. In my teaching what I strive to do is to show kids in my class that not only is liter- Could you say anything to possibly ature beautiful, important and inspiration- change this stereotype? al, but also that it is directly applicable to life. Some people go to religion and family to make important decisions in their lives, but i feel that literature is a kind of religion and a kind of family in that it provides you with such a wealth of experience and empathy to draw. So I strive to inspire my students to see literature not as something archaic or pretentious that is just spoken about in british accent, but that it’s actually something you use and live with everyday. I also strive to show students that language and the way we manipulate, understand and analyze it is all around us all the time whether it’s in a poem, advertisement or email that you’re writing to a friend - that knowing how to use language well is important. 18 XIAO HUA XH8 final.indd 18

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Believe it or not, teachers have exciting, diverse and dynamic lives outside of school. School takes up a lot of time - as a profession we take a lot of work home with us. I’m lucky in that the subject I teach changes constantly and that it’s very exciting, so when I go home to read a new book for fun, it may also be a book that I may one day prepare for a class. Likewise when I go on to prepare for my class, it’s fun and stimulating to read literature. But beyond that, outside of school, I like to play sports, play soccer, tennis and squash. I’m also a member of improv group that performs in Hong Kong and has recently performed in Beijing as part of an international improv group festival. I’m currently working on a writing project, which is a fictional audio

historical walking tour of Sheung Wan, that is a detective noir murder mystery.

Students often lose sight of who they are under the pressures of work and deadlines. What advice do you have for students about school life, and perhaps life outside school? I think the schoolwork slash life balance becomes a kind of treadmill, and I often hear students expressing their anxiety or stress regarding a certain assignment, but at the same time, expressing the fact that they actually think the assignment is meaningless or irrelevant to what they care about. At first, I found this strange that students would stress out so much over assignments they seemingly didn’t care about, but now I think that the treadmill metaphor applies, in that it’s easy to think “I just have to get to this next stage, to this next marker of success 3/6/13 7:35 PM

, .

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ess

happenings

or of feeling like I am a strong student or worthy person”. But if you don’t actually stop to consider what is important to you, then you’ll be on that treadmill forever! I know people who have spent their entire time at high school working hard towards getting into a good college, and spent their entire time at college working hard towards getting a good job, and then they spend their entire time at that job working towards that next marker. What happens to those people is that you end up stopping at a certain age and thinking “What am I doing?”. There’s a phrase in the workforce, the “golden handcuffs”, in which I’ve got this job I don’t really like, but if I stay here for 6 more months, I’ll get promoted to a slightly better job I don’t like! So that’s why I worry about students at our school. I think we can all probably agree that the biggest promoters of stress is their reaction to the work. You all have a lot of work to do, but I think if everyone stopped and said “What is important to me?”, “What do i really want to do and devote myself passionately into?”, then everyone would end up being a lot happier and probably a lot more unique as well.

How would you change this world to bring it closer to what you would envision as perfect? I think there are a lot of things. Obviously it would be wonderful if there was a spirit of selflessness that pervaded the world, if people weren’t as concerned with, rightly so, protecting the welfare of their family, country, and business. These things are, not in and of themselves, deplorable ideas, but when taken to the extreme, we end up in a world where selfishness is a core value. But I would say most of all, what concerns me the most is the state of the environment. I am seriously concerned that in the course of my lifetime and the lifetime of my students and my future children that our world will see a major transformation in terms of what it means to live on Earth and what the quality of life of that is. So I guess what I would encourage people to do is to spend as much time appreciating and spending time in and with nature for its beauty, but also for the connection it provides you to the world outside yourself and outside of human society. I think a lot of people who are concerned about the environment, myself included, are not very vocal about it and don’t impress upon others that it is quite a dire situation and that is only going to become increasingly dire XH8 final.indd 19

over the next several decades. If we don’t act now actually we are failing to fulfill a promise to our children that was fulfilled for us by our parents and our grandparents. I think those two things - selflessness, selfishness and the environment - are not entirely disconnected. It’s hard to say to a small business owner in India that he can’t have a car that will help him make deliveries to create well being for his family, but at the same time if every single small business owner in India, Brazil, China and other developing nations all buy a car and all function this way then we’re going to be in a bad situation. Likewise we have similar responsibilities to think about our consumption. Sometimes, in order to make things better we have to actually not get/have/do/go anywhere/anything.

What would you say has influenced you most in your life?

showing gratitude whether you can show it directly or not. As far as a book, I would choose “Harold in the Purple Crayon”. It was my favorite book as a child and it’s a story about Harold who is confined to his bed as he is a kid and it’s bed time. So he has a purple crayon and when he draws a door, it becomes a door; when he draws a sailboat, he can sail and when he draws land, he can hit that land and walk around. So it’s a book all about the possibility of imagination and your ability to change a situation by changing your perspective and by never seeing limitations around you as limitations but only as possibilities.

If you could create your own national holiday, what would it be?

It would be called Brunchtopia. So that day, everyone in the world rises at a reaLet me pick one person and one book. The sonable hour at 10:35, and then at 11:35 person would probably be my senior year there’s a brunch, which includes orange of high school english teacher, who was a juice, pancakes, omelettes. Then everyone fantastic teacher, exceptionally wise, really goes for a long walk with friends and faminterested in what a student had to say and ily and then you go see a movie. You can he was constantly curious about the books. celebrate Brunchtopia at your house. It never felt like he had everything figured In the event that you found a out - it felt like he knew them really well, but there wasn’t an ultimate answer that he real-life magical rainbow and was trying to drive you towards. He really followed it to a pot of gold, how cared about students’ process of discovwould you spend the money? ery. He was also a really great person. He had such a remarkable relationship with I would convert the money to Hong Kong his wife and his kids, and he shared that dollars and then I would want to do two with us. He was really interested in who things. I would want to travel around the we were becoming, not just as students in world, and then I would want to start english, but also as people. Unfortunately, an international school. I would want to the year after I graduated from my school spend a ton of money on books, a ton and went to college, he got really sick with of money on hiring great teachers, and a brain tumor and ended up passing away. a ton of money on making it free for all In part it was his support and his ability my students. And I would buy some new to challenge me that made me really think sunglasses. seriously for the first time at college about becoming an English teacher. I’d always loved literature, but without him as a Finally, for all you budding psychologists: model, I don’t know that I’d necessarily We have included some word association would have pursued it so quickly. I probwe asked Mr. Manshel to do. We wouldn’t ably would have had ended up here some want to impose our ideas onto these point in my life, but I don’t know if I words so we only present his answers. would have started teaching as soon. I still We’ll let you interpret them however you think about him a lot and on days when like! I have a really good class or a really nice 1. Xenophobia-- Ellis Island moment with students and I can’t help my mind get drawn to him. I think of that as 2. Feminism -- Everyone a way of honoring him and repaying what 3. Paradise -- Island he was able to give to me. I think that’s important - feeling like you are honoring 4. Life -- Breakfast cereal the people, who have given you a lot, ISSUE 8

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的美德還存在嗎? 夏日炙熱的陽光令人無精打采。躺臥在沙發上的我正無聊的發慌，便隨手拿起茶几上的蘋果日報開始翻閲。東張西望了一番後，我終於發現了一篇吸引我的報道專題：《現代紳士要識發浪漫短訊》。當時只有十四嵗的我，被愛情的粉紅色泡沫淹沒的我當然不會錯過“紳士”和“浪漫”這兩個讓我對愛情充滿憧憬的字眼。根據這篇報道：“訪問了3,000名女性後，發現1/3 女性不再將要求男士以傳統方式表現紳士風度…… 現代女性認為，不時發浪漫短訊、不時在Facebook留言、主動倒垃圾，才算有紳士風度。”

舊式紳士

現代紳士

為女士開關車門

替女士的汽車入油

為女士拉椅子

主動倒垃圾

主動第一次約會

不怕公共哭泣

吃飯付錢

至少懂得煮一款小菜

邀請女士跳舞

幫女士戴歌入iPod

向女士求婚

女士經痛時不跑開

不時送卡或禮物

不時發浪漫短訊

這未免有點誇張了吧——紳士風度竟然扯上了Facebook？在我典型的紳士標準裡，從來沒有出現過“要在 Facebook留言”這麽膚淺的項目；難道我都變成了山頂洞人？！怎麼開車門、拉椅子、付賬都被標上了“過時”呢？在我眼中，傳統才是真正的浪漫！這猶如電影和愛情小説裏的典型情節一樣：棉花般的白雪紛紛落在你的髮尖，在你身旁與你漫步的是個高大英俊、笑容親切的鑽石王老五。他溫暖的大手便輕握著的你手，帶領你到一個充滿浪漫氣氛的高級法國餐。他為你打開門，又細心地為你拉開椅子、點餐。隨著時光的流逝，一陣淡淡的玫瑰花香在空中蔓延。突然背後隱隱傳來鋼琴聲，他站到你的面前，手拿著個蒂芙尼蓝的小盒向你單膝跪下來——你淚眼滿眶地點了頭。最後在旋律的伴奏之下，他伸出手邀請你慢舞，與你緊緊相擁…… 經過我我細心思考之後，我總算從下面的表中得出了一個結論。表面上這是個舊式現代紳士準則的比較，可是如此的社會現象背後隱藏的其實是一種女性的病態心理——公主病。《現代紳士》中的7個準則之中起碼有6個是在私人時間才會對著某個地位很重要的女性做的。換句來説，如果對象不是老婆或女朋友，甚至媽媽的話，請問又有誰會幫個女鄰居“主動倒垃圾”或者當一個陌生“女士說經痛時不跑開”呢？但開車門、付賬、送禮物等，這些行爲其實並不屬於任何特定女士的特別待遇。所以你可以看出來，這些苛求的準則事實上是個信息：我要你把所有的注意力都放到我這個女朋友身上！以前的紳士教育目標是“培養身體健康、精神健全[以及具備德行、智慧、禮儀和學問四種品質]的各種社會活動家和企業家”（百度百科）。紳士風度何時淪落成女人訓練忠僕的標準呢？話説如此，我依然同意報章裏說的一句話：“紳士觀念沒有湮滅或過時，背後理念依然是尊重自己尊重別人，只是時代變了，紳士風度的行為也改變了。” 其實真正喜歡上一個人，你喜歡他都來不及了，哪會有時間管他否一位紳士？你們心目中的紳士又是怎麽樣的呢？

作者：蘇芷晴

http://mettelray.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/suits.jpg

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BY CONSTANCE LAM // LAYOUT BY EMMA CHAN // ILLUSTRATION BY CANDICE LINCON

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boho blog “bohemian-kiwi”, a collaborative dessert blog with friend Scarlet Ng “creme-mousse” and two collaborative serene blogs with another friend, Justine Hwang “christique” and “lucraie”. CIS student led groups such as Nouveau and Scribbles have their own blogs on Tumblr. The Tumblr community consists of insightful, sweet and beautiful bloggers and is close knit and friendly. Image and gif posts are amusing and creative.

he 21st century is a new age where technology is so sophisticated to the extent that people can communicate with a few clicks of a mouse. What is this sorcery? This sorcery is social networking, a miraculous convention that brings people around the world together with its allure. Social networking sites include Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. While most of us are familiarized with the concepts of Facebook and Twitter, some of us are still unfamiliar with the latter, which is rapidly increasing in popularity. What is Tumblr? What is the driving However, one may become so drawn to Tumblr’s assets that force behind its popularity? Why are people as addicted to he or she may develop a BIG FAT TUMBLR ADDICTION. If one is addicted to Tumblr, they will spend a lot of time on Tumblr as they are to Facebook? their Tumblr, stylized as “tumblr.”, is a microblogging platform blog and check their dashboards obsessively. Tumblr will beand social networking website. Users can create their own come their blog, follow blogs of their liking and communicate with other users. Boho, serene, modern, neon, pastel, black and white, fashion, vintage and food blogs are merely a few of the abundant blog styles that Tumblr users can choose from. Another option is to have a personal blog, a blog that has almost no limits and in which you can post anything you want without having to adhere to a specific format/style and without the consternation of losing followers. You can create your own URL and customize your blog with different themes. Themes are the layout of your blog, and are easily customizable with HTML code. Your dashboard will have recent posts of the blogs you follow. On each post, there are 2 buttons; a heart shaped button and a reblog button. The heart shaped button serves as the “like” function, where you can like a post(much like Facebook). The reblog button’s function is self explanatory. One can blog a post previously posted on someone else’s blog that they like. Most blogs have a message/ask box for other users and followers to ask questions and communicate. Yet if Tumblr is so simplistic, why is it popular? Tumblr’s simplicity is one of the reasons of its popularity. According to Joyce Liu of Year 8, “I like tumblr because I can meet people from different countries and learn about their culture. I enjoy the beautiful pictures on my dashboard, giving me a new perspective in life. The main reason I like tumblr is because I blog whatever expresses my individuality.” Liu is an avid blogger with multiple blogs, including a

first priority and they will procrastinate spending time on family, friends, schoolwork and other activities. Offline, their relationships with other people will be strained and their grades may start to slip if the procrastination persists. To a Tumblr addict, one un-follower(a follower who has stopped following a blog) is a tragedy of epic proportions. What if one misuses Tumblr to seek attention in pursuit of more followers and more likes? This action on Tumblr is called “attention fishing”, and attention seekers are known to post self degrading posts, in hope of more likes and more reassurance from other users. However, other users who insult themselves online may not be in search of attention, and they may actually mean the self insults. If Tumblr is misused, the distinction between attention seeking and self harm will be blurred. Attention seeking defeats the entire purpose of Tumblr’s popularity and mars the enticement that Tumblr entails. According to a blogger on the said site,”Tumblr is just a place where random people share their random thoughts and don’t care about the opinion others have of them.” Yet the sole purpose of attention fishing is to get people to pity you. If you want to get your thoughts out for the world to see, or if you simply long to laugh at funny posts at length, get a Tumblelog and express your beautiful individuality. Just remember that the key to social networking is balance, and you have to remember that you live in the real world, not in your dashboard. .

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Photography by//Yumi Lee

obotics Written by: Crystal Laz // Layout by: Stephanie So It is Thursday after school, and you are surrounded by a clamor of sounds. Everyone in the room is participating and contributing ideas. You hear a pandemonium of whirring machines. And in it all, you can feel the collaboration developing from ten people. You are in the DT lab, and around you is the CIS Robotics Team. The CIS Robotics Team, founded by Benjamin Chasnov (Class of 2012), has participated in numerous competitions since 2009. The team has been in all the Hong Kong Remotely Operated Vehicle (HKROV) competitions from 2009 and their most outstanding accomplishments being getting first place in 2011 and second place just last year. It is a significant improvement from when they first started out; it is obvious they have garnered more experience and expertise in the complex area of technology since they started. Preparation for one ROV competition is an arduous, time-consuming event. The team has to start approximately two months in advance, and there is even talk of getting together and working in their own time during public holidays. The ROV Competition offers workshops for schools that are participating in the contest. Workshops like these are meant to provide information about the upcoming competition and to supply the students ample knowledge on what to prepare for. Usually on Thursday after school, two team members will work together, whether it is to saw off the unnecessary parts of a pipe or to conduct a motor test in the sink. By working in pairs and under the guidance of Mr. Harris and Mr Law, the Robotics team gets a bit more of their robot completed by each week. All the members, despite some difference in Year levels, are respectful to each other. There is no bickering, no fooling around; everyone is serious and dedicated to their work. However, there is a friendly, approachable atmosphere in the room. For constructing a robot, a lot of different materials are required. Some of them are expensive, and quite hard to get a hold of. The DT lab offers almost all the equipment they need, but the electronic components require the most financial attention. The Annual Fund, and also a number of other sponsors, takes care of the financial area. Also, the winnings from their competitions render the Robotics team free from pecuniary problems. Creating an underwater robot not only helps further develop technology skills, but it also strengthens collaborative skills. The Robotics team meets up every Thursday to work diligently for an hour, but they are much more than that. They are a community. Everybody feels comfortable and at ease in the easy-going environment.

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ä¸ čžŻ

voices Written by Justine Chen 陳此君

中文辯論隊漢基國際學校是一所雙語學校，但為什麼只有英文辯論隊，卻沒有中文辯論隊呢？這就是創辦人陳冰梅和李素玲成立中文辯論隊的動機。學生們不僅應該學會運用英文雄辯，而且也應該擁有用中文雄辯的能力，這種技能也是必須的。漢基的中文辯論隊是今年新成立的辯論隊。辯論隊利用辯論的形式，不但幫助學生們提高中文水平，也同時培養一種雄辯的素質，鍛煉他們論說的能力。每個星期四的中午，辯論隊的同學們都會聚集在一起，討論跟自己身邊正在發生的時事，圍繞著這些時事發表各自的看法，相互間進行辯論。而中文辯論隊今年的目標是在明年之前，參加香港國際學校雙語辯論比賽，大家更立志要向冠軍的寶座衝刺。中文辯論隊的創辦人是中文系的陳冰梅和李素玲老師。陳老師說重要的不是比賽，其目的就是鍛煉學生不斷進取、勇於表達自己的精神。此外，也可以借辯論的形式令學生們開闊視野、積累知識和經驗，慢慢地提高中文水平。國際學校的學生，除非是在中文課上，否則大多數

同學都很少有機會用普通話和用中文與別人交流。中文辯論隊在這方面恰恰給學生們提供了多運用中文交流這麼一個難得的好機會。除了鍛煉中文水平以外，辯論隊也可以使同學們培養一種快速反應的能力和敏捷的思維習慣。學生能夠學會怎樣在設定的時間內，以最高的效率說出自己的看法，並且還要邏輯清晰、語言流暢、富於感染力和說服力。通過參加中文辯論隊，學生也能夠培養一種勇於跟對手角逐的競爭意識，增強自信心，積累大量的知識，並且最重要的是誘發出對知識的濃厚興趣。真可以說是一舉多得！漢基的英文辯論隊在香港的國際學校中已經樹立了良好的聲譽。我們相信，在我們的共同努力下，只要齊心協力、多加把勁兒，中文辯論隊也能夠像英文辯論隊一樣，令其他學校的同行們不敢小覷。

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DEBATECLUB Say it’s a Wednesday afternoon. School’s over. You’re staying back to finish DT. Up at the DT lab, with your saw halfway into a block of wood, you realize you've forgotten your water bottle in your English classroom, and you rush back to get it. When you open the door of your classroom, you almost walk into a fierce looking speaker. She is shouting heatedly, surrounded by a group of seated students, their heads buried in papers, scribbling hurried notes. As you edge towards the back of your room, where you have spotted your water bottle perched upon the window sill, you jump suddenly as one of the seated students springs up abruptly crying "Mam!". You watch as the person making the speech nods, and the standing speaker fires a question. When the question is over you turn to look at the speaker. She is floored. She stands silent in front of the desks, mouth agape, eyes rolling, brows in a frown. Her presence no longer seems intimidating. You take this opportunity to slip away quietly, yet just as you open the door, you jump again as the speaker tumbles forth into her speech. She answers the question with ease, weaving her answer into what she had been saying just before.

BY MEDHA GOYAL /LAYOUT BY ZOE SUEN

hurling fact upon fact at his opponents, fixing his bow tie and glasses while crying out in a

hurling fact upon fact at his opponents, fixing his bow tie and glasses while crying out in a high pitched voice 'take that you insufferable fools!' There are several problems with such an image. First the debate team consists of many people who are nothing like it. One of the finest debaters on the team (in my humble opinion) is also someone who could be called a 'jock' - if one insists on using stereotypes. Second debating is less about facts or statistics and more about concepts. What matters most is how you interpret the facts you are given. Your role is to twist Few have seen these eloquent orators but, your opponent's ideas to serve your as the English teachers can attest to, they stay purpose, while promoting your own ideas, at school on Mondays and Wednesdays for sprinkling in a few examples and statistics three hours each time, arguing about current for support. Most importantly, debaters are events. Few have heard their speeches, but not scary people. Yes, each team may hurl a their voices reverberate in classrooms for few insults towards the opposing team, but hours on end. Led by Aspen Wang, Mr. Cook this is just to heighten the competitive and Mr. Kwan, they are presented an issue, and atmosphere. It doesn't always reflect their true nature. Once the debate is over they then divided into teams for discussion. Between thirty and forty five minutes later, the may very well have to switch sides and debate from the opposing side. So the students are called in to debate the issue, speaker's fierce expressions are simply a formally called a 'motion'. Afterwards the part of their alter egos. Once the feedback adjudicator, usually one of the two teachers, gives feedback, and the debaters usually don't has been given, they revert to their approachable and pleasant selves. leave until 5:45. That's right - the debaters. This group of committed individuals is the CIS The team may sound intimidating, but debate team. they are very welcoming to newcomers. I only joined the CIS debate team this year, Now I hope that when you hear the yet I have been given many opportunities to word debate you don't imagine a pinched, participate in competitions. This is not stuffy, student standing on a raised platform because I am particularly good, but because CIS participates in enough competitions, local and international, to give each debater 28 XIAO HUA XH8 final.indd 28

(within age limit) their own time to shine. CIS. participates in debate competitions both locally, for example in the Hong Kong Schools Debating Championship, and internationally, for example at the Singapore Debate Open. Our school team is not too bad. We have won many competitions, and lost some, but one thing we can be proud of is that we are consistently strong. According to some debaters in the team, we may just have the best coaches in Hong Kong, and so we are not what is called 'one star wonders' - teams with one star debater - but teams in which a lot of debaters are good. The debate team sounds so organized it seems as if it has been around forever. Surprisingly it didn't even exist a few years ago. Before it there existed a bars team, run by Mrs. O'Connell, Ms. Parker and a CIS student Sarah Pemberton. Its members were handpicked, and it was only for older students. Aspen tells me that at the time she wanted to join it but was turned away, however, because she was too young. Soon Mrs. O'Connell had to leave. A student in the team, Resa Ng, wanted to promote debating to a wider audience, and take debating at CIS past the rudimentary and into the competitive. However the team had to learn two different kinds of debate in order to take part in local and international competitions - Worlds Style and British Parliamentary. So she took the opportunity to write a proposal for a mostly student led debate club, and received the school's

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As Resa wished, we train in Worlds Style and British Parliamentary. In a Worlds Style debate there are two teams, each of which make four speeches. The first speech simply introduces the team’s stance on the issue and their main arguments. In the subsequent speeches speakers strengthen their own arguments while also explaining why the opposing team’s arguments are invalid. The British Parliamentary system is rather different. In this style there are four teams of two, each fighting to snatch the trophy before the other three manage to finger it. Now how do four teams argue the two sides of a motion? They pair up. Two argue for the motion while two argue against it. Each team on one side tries to outdo the other while also shooting down the team on the opposing side. The debate club has changed significantly since its birth. It has seen many leaders - Sarah, Resa, Lorraine, and Aspen. It has seen a debate coach from outside school - Greg Force - and some teachers experienced in debating - Mr. Kwan and Mr. Cook. It has morphed from a debate club, in which sat at least thirty younger students, to a debate team. It changed from being very casual to more competitive. At times it has been more student led. At others it has been led mostly by teachers. The debate team has always been in flux, and wants to remain this way. In the future it hopes to attract more younger students in order to replace the older students as they begin to leave. It also hopes to participate in more international competitions. Most importantly it strives to keep improving its debaters. The debate team looks to thrive, so watch out for it in the future.

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Now I hope that when you hear the word debate you don't imagine a pinched, stuffy, student standing on a raised platform hurling fact upon fact at his opponents, ﬁxing his bow tie and glasses while crying out in a high pitched voice 'take that you insufferable fools!' There are several problems with such an image.

”

PHOTOS BY MIRIAN FINNEMORE

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HERITAGE of HONG KONG WRITTEN BY: SOPHIE KANG LAYOUT: BERNETTA LI

http://samcpherson.homestead.com/files/McPhersonYMCA/HongKongUnionChurchc1910.JPG

Before Hong Kong became the “crossroads of the east”, Before the mesmerizing skyscrapers became an integral part of Hong Kong, Before the captivating light show and the enchanting night view held tourists spellbound, Before the tourism industry became an indispensable part of Hong Kong’s economy… there was a small serene island called香港。

he tranquil island, which was solely a port, would act as an effective stop in trade routes. The Victoria Harbor and its natural surroundings made its scenery and natural surroundings extremely exquisite even without a wide array of lights. 香港, the “Fragrant Harbor” used to be completely different from the cosmopolitan shopping-paradise fantasy it is now “crowned” as. Feelings of lament and sorrow approach us as we quietly witness Hong Kong going through rapid transformation and becoming a part of the homogenized world. The most imperative aspects of Hong Kong are being more and more neglected, as what defines the place ---- its customs, culture, and relics, are diminishing. Although Hong Kong appears to be a classy and lavish place, in reality it is losing its unique features that are essential to its identity, original background and history. As time progresses, there will be a myriad of advances in technology and lifestyles, and massive changes will be yielded to Hong Kong as a metropolis. Even so, what Hong Kong desperately needs right now is a nostalgic atmosphere. Old memories of Hong Kong, the humble port, are becoming a mere part of Hong Kong’s past. The conditions of Hong Kong in terms of historical preservation have deteriorated sharply. We are wiping out the slightly eccentric but pivotal history of 香港. We are destroying memories of

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happiness, sadness, excitement, and fear our ancestors had during the younger years of their lives. The vast majority of people would pick the Victoria Harbor as the heart of Hong Kong, just because of the fact that its view seemingly depicts every aspect of Hong Kong that there is to remember. They forget about the heritage, the treasure of every prosperous city in the world. Have you ever noticed Wan Chai, small markets in Sheung Wan, or places in which heritage sites, customs and cultures of Hong Kong are prevalent in? Places that encompass the culture of Hong Kong, and places with passionate people that are proud to be immersed in and surrounded by “Hong Kong Style” environment are the places that can truly be deemed as the heart of Hong Kong. It’s true. Now you start feeling regret about your apathy towards historical preservation or heritage. It is crucial that we take measures to revitalize the historical treasures of Hong Kong, and emphasize their values. We all hope for a future where we can see pieces of 香港 merged with contemporary and modern life, don’t we? Don’t we all come to a consensus on the idea that the next generation deserves to be able to ask their parents “Can you tell me about the history of Hong Kong?” and we should all be able to answer by willingly telling them about 香港 and its heritage?

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香港難民

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逃離故鄉的殘忍作者朱悅芬頁面設計蘇紋慧圖片來源: http://visionfirstnow.org/

難民難民，顧名思義就是落難的人民。我們對這個詞語通常會有一些負面的聯想：衣衫襤褸、瘦削黝黑而且沒有接受過教育的人們。香港難民建議中心(HKRAC)於二月二十一日來到漢基中學部講授講座，剔除了我們對於這群弱勢社群的錯誤印象，並加深我們對他們的認識。透過簡單的活動，我們明白到所謂的「難民」曾經有一個家，有親戚朋友：他們曾擁有正常的生活。不論是政治逼害或欠債被追殺，他們都經歷過離開家鄉的百般痛心，和依賴他人施捨、委屈求存的無奈。根據香港的法律條例，在港的難民被剝奪去最基本的人權：他們不能夠工作，不能接受教育，就連志願做義工也是不合法的。他們被迫使過著毫無意義生活，每天為自己的未來而提心吊膽。雖然每年只有大概150 名難民來到香港，但香港政府確認為他們會奪去我們的工作、樓宇和學位，所以給予他們的待遇簡直可以以「殘忍」來形容，目的想把他們趕回個別的家鄉，不管他們回去後所受的遭遇，即使是面對必然的殺害也對本港政府無動於衷。有人或許會覺得，這些人依靠我們辛苦納給政府的稅務生活，對香港毫無貢獻，我們為什麼要容忍他們浪費公帑？光是香港今年的財庫就足夠我們富裕的生活幾年，為什麼我們不能慷慨一些，把金錢給真正需要的人們呢？我們捐款的目的是要幫助世界上有需要的人，這些人就在我們跟前，與其把錢獻給慈善機構，我們因該從我們的城市做起，先解決香港眼前的不平，再想辦法消除世界上的問題。

“他們都經歷過離開家鄉的百般痛心，和依賴他人施捨屈求存的無奈。”

我們自譽為國際都市，東方之珠，身為港人的我們以完善的法律制度而驕傲。眼見這些被法律歧視的人們，若不幫助他們的話，我們等同助紂為虐，加以鼓勵政府對他們的不仁待遇。漢基既然是香港的一份子，作為漢基學生的我們也應該出一份力，努力宣傳在港難民的遭遇，只有提升大家在這方面的知識我們才能夠作出貢獻。大家不妨到香港難民建議中心的網頁查看資料：http://www.hkrac.org/ 。有興趣的話也可以以捐款的形式幫助，或到中心做義工，每一分付出換來的是爭取難民在港的平等權益。 ISSUE 8 XH8 final.indd 31

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ANTARTICA BY ASPEN WANG // LAYOUT BY EMMA CHAN

FIRST LANDING IN THE FALKLANDS

My first two days in the Falklands were not as heavenly as I expected. My boots padded into the moss beds that were soft, bouncy and ripe with water. My head had begun to hurt from the incessant wind. The light was not pleasant. It was both dull and bright at the same time...After walking for what seemed to be several nautical miles, it hit me. A pungent smell of living organisms began to roll over to my olfactory system. “That’s acrid penguin crap you are smelling,” a helpful soul piped. “You can get closer to them near the gorge.” The marshy pudding on which I was standing seemed to drag me further downwards. As I neared the precipice, I could hear the caws and screams of birds, uncanny sounds in the bleary light. Suddenly, I spotted my first rock hopper penguin.This curious bird, barely the height of my shin, bounded forward on the sheer propulsion of his webbed feet. Its back was black, and its stomach white. But, it was the eyebrows that caught my attention. These whiskered dragon wisps angled jauntily out from the bird’s skull. It was streaked with bits of red, and had the tone of fire. However, its eyebrows only served to highlight its eyes. The pupils were shrunken into black pits, and around each burned a ruby so bright and malicious that the penguin looked possessed. As it was my first penguin sighting, I gleefully followed my prey. Unfortunately it took the hint, and quickly concealed itself in the dense foliage of marsh, weeds and excrement. There were plenty of birds on which to pounce. There were the blue-eyed cormorants that stared at me warily, their sapphire eyes peaking out from the soot wings. Although it was not mating season yet, the puffed extremities above the bird’s eyes still held a faint trace of yellow and were mildly swollen. Peering at a nest 10 meters away, a malicious Skua bird was tearing the wings off a penguin chick. The process, explained an ornithologist, was for the baby penguin to be wingless, but the parents would still care for the chick letting it grow fat and juicy until one day, the Skua, happy with the size of its meal, swoops down to carry the flightless chick away. I gazed sympathetically at the penguin parents as they returned.. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a faint dash of yellow. I wasn’t going to let this rock hopper get away. I slowly crept up on it. It just so happened at this moment a cloud decided to obstruct the 32 XIAO HUA XH8 final.indd 32

sun’s view of the planet, and lighting was lost. The rock hopper sensed a large object behind it, and fled. Once again I was without a good photo. But, as the light reappeared, it was no longer harsh or unforgiving. Instead, it set off a warm glow and cast its shadow upon thousands of other rock hoppers, nesting and crooning in the precarious rocks below. Gleefully I snapped away, I had my picture now. That picture, when I look back on it now, captured the fading sun and the cries of the mating calls. It captured the wings of every bird that would beat with the undulating rhythm of the sea. Ah…and it captured the sea which glittered like sparkles spilt by a child onto blue jelly. As the world began to look like child’s playground, with the moulded Plado hills and colourful splotches of crayon coloured bumps on the ground, the light was no longer artificial, but beautiful, natural. FORTUNA BAY

When we first landed on Fortuna Bay, I was hit with the strong stink of seals. They lounged and spread themselves out on the pebble beach, basking in the cool air warmed by the bright blue day. I was overjoyed at my proximity to the seals, forgetting in an instant all the warnings that had been announced on the ship. I stood there for a while, dazed at the sight of adorable creatures with meekly closed eyes, exposing their tummies to the sun. I immediately whipped out my camera and began photographing them. Abruptly, one opened its eyes and peered at me in a menacing manner. Propping itself up with alarming rapidity, it growled at me and lunged forward. Scared out of my wits, I was debating whether to make a run for it, or to stay still. I started running for my life. On the periphery of my vision, I saw many other startled fur seals wake up from their peaceful doze and snap out. I could hear the crunch of the pebbles behind me get louder. Suddenly, a neon orange figure stood in front of me and told me to get behind it. I cowered behind the man until he waved the seal away. “Don’t worry, they’re generally not that harmful. Just take care.” Then he added, “Although they tend to be extremely aggressive in mating season, and can outrun you. If they bite you, it will be bloody, but the worst part is that the wound might get infected with bacteria from their mouths. But generally, they’re nice.” Horrified, I kept close to the group, glaring at the little ones who came tauntingly close out of curiosity. WEATHER, ICEBERGS, AND SCENERY

The weather was mercurial. At some points, the sun would blaze clearly from the blue sky, creating a turquoise light beneath the boat. At other times, the wind and rain were so harsh that it would actually indent, or cause depressions on the surface of the sea. We saw a great many kinds of icebergs. They could be generally classified into two types, tabular icebergs and irregularly shaped

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voices ones. When I first saw the tabular icebergs, I was simply astounded. Nothing can describe the unique beauty or majestic quality of frozen water at such a level. The light would hit it and depending on the pressure/density and the impurity of the ice, it would reflect in my eyes as hues of white, blue and of both. There was a sort of ephemeral gorgeousness in these structures so finely cut from nature. The precision or regularity of these tabular icebergs were very interesting. They had this straightness since they were parts of an ice shelf that had just fallen. I kept watching them with keen curiosity, their sheen glittering ice tops bobbing in a harmonious rhythm with the dark blue waves beneath. Perfection in nature is hard to come by. I did not think anything could be more enthralling, but the irregular icebergs decided otherwise. Each piece was unique and resembled anything my imagination wanted it to be. Most of the time, I felt they were tiny glittering islands of crystals, floating in the endless sea. I could never have guessed the shapes below if it were not for the rays of light that would strike the deep depths, returning to my eyes with an astonishing array of bright blue. Some had smoother edges than others. Others had more floral patterns than some. The randomness and striking difference from tabular icebergs prompted me to marvel at the infinite possibilities. Occasionally we encountered a real whopper. A massive freak. If it were flat enough, these would sometimes be resting places for penguins and seals. These giant ice bergs cast shadows on the others, and they were dangerous. Normally, we steered away, so I never really got a good look. However, there was one mamouth one that the captain thought our boat could survive if there were contact, so we ventured into the unsafe. The iceberg was composed of two ridges, squashed together in a seemingly orderly yet random fashion. The slopes were gentle and cast a kind of smooth feeling only snow, the sky or silk can give. Penguins sloped off it in a carefree manner for the seals were nowhere in sight. They were flecks of black on the great expanse of white. The water beneath it coloured darkly, suggesting more was to be discovered. From the ridges, water poured and dripped at a constant rate. The sun was high above and created a situation where in the sunlight, one would feel very warm, in the shadows, there would be several degrees difference. But, I expect for the ice it was scalding hot. As my boat trailed away, I kept straining my eyes to count the drops. Drip, drip, drip, drip…… THE LAST LANDING

The last landing was on Deception Island. As I laboriously put on my 5 layers of outer garments. I was not annoyed, since I knew it would be for the last time. On the polar circle boat, I really took in the wind whipping at my face and my hand slowly losing warmth as I left the comforts of shelter. When I took my first step, I expected

the catabatic winds to sweep me off, but instead I was hit with pungent smell of sulphur. This island was slightly volcanic, making the surroundings warmer than usual and I could tell as the wafting smoke from the sea hit the air, the water here was peculiar. The mountains had little snow and instead faded murals from nature gave into one another, leaving black marks to the imagination. The pebbles here were larger, and the skuas cawed from a nearby pond. I thought the area was unbelievably picturesque and artsy. It was not special in the conventional way, no breathtaking beauty or stunning views. Instead, it was just very strange. It reminded me of the painting “the persistence of memory” by Salvador Dali. The middle creature in the painting that was fading related to the bones and broken ships I saw, fading again into the past. All these bones were not very distinguishable parts of things, but they were things nonetheless. The empty scenery apart from the cliffs in the painting mimicked the scene at hand, minus the curling vapours from the sea. Most of all was the melting clocks that captured this moment most accurately, something that would be stuck in my memory with the warped feeling of relativity, space and time, but something that will only exist in my memory. In the midst of my musing, 3 chinstrap penguins appeared. After they torpedoed out of the water, they waddled towards me. I stood still and stared at them. They stared at me. I stared at them. They came closer, and stared at me. They were so close to me that I could have petted them. Suddenly, one made a retching sound and regurgitated a bit of krill onto my boots. I did not know whether to be disgusted or flattered by their affection. We stood there a bit longer, the penguin could not comprehend the giant before it, and I could not get enough of a creature so vastly different being so close to me. It timidly stepped on my boots, and then fled in case I reacted. I remained still. After a while, it probably thought I was a piece of log, and lost interest. As the other two penguins bickering to the side started to waddle away, the one closest to me chased behind, not wanting to be left alone, not looking back. I sadly made my way across the shoreline, reminiscing about the moment just shared. I saw several tourists strip to their swimming suits and dive into the water; they would receive a certificate for their bravery. Some got into the water and came shooting back out shouting “Cold! Cold!” I chuckled at their foolishness. Others stayed in the warmth of the water near the shoreline and laughed with smug superiority. All this faded to nothing as I moved farther away from them and had the perspective of the steep cliffs rising above them. I was suddenly lost in the sheer magnitude of the nature of Antarctica. The last view I had was an epoch of lost ages, heroes who had come and gone and that the world would never see again, the last standing place unconquered by man, unharnessed and uncontrolled. The wild forever crystallized in my memory.

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voices When ships and planes mysteriously vanish, sometimes without a trace, speculation runs wild. There are always those who concern about the conventional such as, pilot error, kidnapping and terrorism, but there are also those who worry about the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;supernaturalâ&#x20AC;?...

Mystery Uncovered::

The Bermuda Triangle Written by: Sunwoo Nam Illustration by: Kelly Luy Layout by: Stephanie So

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voices For many decades, the Bermuda triangle, an area of water between Bermuda, Miami, Florida and San Juan, Puerto Rico, has baffled the minds of many, as a number of vessels and aircraft unexplainably disappeared flying through this region, without leaving any debris or remnants. Myths and stories concerning this ”deathly” region ensued, covering everything from supernatural energy that engulfs massive bodies to pirate attack to even crew losing its sanity due to some infected food material. However as much as these speculations seem “reasonable”, they clearly don’t fit. After all, why would a perfectly skilled crew on a good weather day, with their ship entirely uncompromised abandon it and then never surface again? As a result, the inexplicable outcomes and enigmatic component of earth’s surface surrounding the so-called Devil’s triangle has left the scientists and the researchers to dig into the queer disappearances and ponder about the mystery.

ing this puzzle like alien abduction where aliens allegedly chose this area to collect specimen for their research and passage to the other world, which suggested that the aircraft and ships that disappeared from here entered some other world and still continue to thrive there.

What’s the big deal?

Truth is…

One of the most famous disappearances in the triangle dates back in 1945, when Flight 19, a squadron of five naval bombers, supposedly vanished into thin air while flying over the area. The queer incident aroused more shock when the two planes that set out to rescue flight 19 also disappeared and were never found. More disappearances seemed to occur particularly in the Bermuda triangle such as Donald Crowhurst, who was attempting an around the world voyage along with a large ship carrying ore and naval ships such as the USS Cyclops and the Marine Sulphur Queen, all disappeared without leaving a trace when traveling the area of the Bermuda triangle.

When many people believed the methane deposits theory to be one of the most convincing plots of the mystery of the Bermuda triangle, people soon countered it with apparent errors in the theory. For example, it was discovered that there are other areas similar to Bermuda triangle, such as Carolina coast, with larger deposits of Methane. However, this area, unlike the famous deathly region, seldom experience accidents. In addition to this, it was pointed out that methane gas bubbles surfacing from the ocean floor may be large, but they are not large enough to make a huge vessel vanish without any trace. As a result, the best conclusion being debunked, it occurred as if all the theories raised so far have one thing in common– that they were either based on baseless facts or half-truths, making their conclusions rather illogical and unreliable. So far, it appeared as if concepts including scientific reasoning, no matter how incredulous the idea was, was more appeasing to the public than other, more notable explanations. It has to be understood that people never actually took note of the area’s environmental circumstances and perhaps, it was needless to raise all these wildly assumed theories when the answer was staring straight in front of their faces. It is very well known that the majority of

So the world says… With these inscrutable disappearances occurring particularly around the Bermuda triangle, the world generated several different theories surrounding the mysteries of the region. One of the first conclusions that people proposed was associated with the form of abnormal gravity pattern that exists in the region, wherein anything that entered the demarcated triangle area would hit the bottom of the ocean floor, and thus meet a watery grave. Not long after followed rather preposterous concepts on explain-

In recent years, the final, most “accountable” conclusion declared that methane deposits of this region were responsible for the disappearances. This study stressed the fact that the Bermuda triangle contained enormous eruptions of methane bubbles that would swamp a ship and project high into the air, take out flying airplanes as well. With this theory, it seemed as if the Bermuda triangle mystery had finally been solved and many put a blanket over it, causing the issue to quickly die down.

Atlantic tropical storms and hurricanes pass through the Bermuda Triangle, and in the days prior to improved weather forecasting, these dangerous storms claimed many ships. In addition to this, the Gulf stream in the region can cause rapid, sometimes violent, changes in weather; thus despite the fact that many of the reports at the time declare that the ships and planes were lost in calm waters, weather reports checked since often do not agree with these reports, suggesting some mistakes. Not only was the environmental factor not taken into account about the triangle region, but people have never wondered about how these accidents actually became involved with the Bermuda triangle. Some say that the accidents that never actually occurred had made it to the list of accidents in Bermuda triangle over the course of time, for people immediately associated the region with any disappearance of vessels or aircraft. For instance, the disappearance of a vessel named “Mary Celeste” caused some commotion in this region in 1872, but eventually, it was found abandoned off the Portugal coast. There is no question that when there is foul weather or poor navigation, the entire world can be a deadly place for both ships and aircrafts. There is in fact, no true evidence that mysterious disappearances occur with any frequency in the Bermuda triangle than in any other large, well-traveled areas of the world. For many number of years, people have been puzzling over the odd mysteries of the Bermuda triangle. However, after going through different facts and attempts at trying to explain the enigma, a question of that maybe it was a deceit created for some free publicity can easily be raised, causing the myths and theories to be challenged. As a result, if the world doesn’t discover conclusive evidence of what causes the Bermuda triangle then we are forced to reach one conclusion that after all, it simply does not exist.

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Written by Oliver Hsu // Photographs taken by Kazia Tam

Over Easter break in early April, twenty two students, three teachers, and one par-

ent visited a country that has repeatedly made headlines for nuclear tests and threatened war with the United States, the name of which brings to mind everything from nuclear weapons, communism, and isolation, to human rights abuses and devotion to its leaders - the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or as it is more commonly known, North Korea. I recall the murmurs of disbelief and incredulous reactions of both students and parents when the chance to visit a country commonly depicted as a land ruled by a malevolent dictator was first announced. These responses quickly turned to discussion as to how this opportunity first arose, whether the safety of students would be ensured, and whether it would be wise to take advantage of this opportunity and participate in the trip. It quickly became apparent to me that this trip was catered towards and would attract a particular kind of student. Those who displayed the most interest were inquisitive students who wanted to experience something that most people have not had the chance to. Students that, more often than not, had a tendency to not blindly accept what they were told as fact. These students were free and independent thinkers who wished to draw their own conclusions about a country through firsthand experience. In the weeks prior to the trip, I received or overheard comments regarding our impending departure from fellow students, most of whom were not participating in the trip. Such comments ranged from a jocular “Take a picture with Kim Jong Un” to 36 XIAO HUA XH8 final.indd 36

a slightly more serious yet still light-hearted “You guys are going to have no freedom at all”. Admittedly, similar remarks were made by those visiting the DPRK, myself included, in the weeks leading up to our departure, becoming almost a running joke amongst trip participants. I personally would prefer to believe that such remarks were made for humorous purposes, playing upon the image of North Korea as presented by much of the world, as opposed to ignorance. Then again, such conceptions are not unreasonable given the portrayal of the country in mainstream media. I attempted to abandon all preconceptions of the country before our departure. Prior to actually seeing any part of North Korea through my own eyes, I considered the possibility, however unlikely, that I, along with many other people in the world, was a victim of biased influence perpetrated by Western media. While I understood the value of research, I was also aware of the challenges presented by prior research regarding fully experiencing a visit to a country that is typically only presented in a single-sided and likely biased light. Our exposure to popular opinion and mainstream media has the power to influence our perceptions of multifaceted issues, and this power is often misused to market biased opinion and distorted reality as fact. I made the conscious decision to attempt to purge myself of such indoctrination regarding North Korea, opting to develop my own perspective of the country’s people, culture, and other aspects through this visit. Conversely, I reminded myself of the importance of remembering that indoctrination can work both ways, particularly on a multilateral political topic. While it is likely that the large majority of the western world has been exposed to information regarding the DPRK tainted by

chauvinism and bias, it is equally likely that the country and experience presented by the North Korean government to tourists is an equally, if not more, chauvinist perspective, due to the intense devotion of the North Korean people to the country’s leaders as well as the country’s isolated nature. I believed the consideration of partiality when visiting North Korea would detract from the experience and impressions of the country gained on the trip, and so decided to leave the notions of political bias, propaganda, and partiality out of my mind for the duration of the trip. I do not deny that preconceptions have caused me to have a biased perspective at some points during the trip, but it is the conscious effort to limit this bias that enhances the experience of a country such as North Korea. Upon our arrival in Pyongyang, we were greeted by a gust of wind as we stepped off the Soviet Russian plane, completed customs forms in hand, and made our way towards a low, long, warehouse-like building that is the Pyongyang airport. Stepping into the room, my eyes immediately drifted to the large portraits of previous leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il mounted on the opposite side of the airport. The portraits were over a meter long, depicting the younger, unsmiling faces of the two leaders, differing from the famous smiling portrait of Kim Il Sung. The portraits were one of the first indications that we had finally entered North Korea. The large majority of the trip was spent visiting locations of interest such as monuments to Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, important locations in North Korean history (both prior to and after the division of the Korean peninsula), and other places or performances that the country was proud of, such as a very well rehearsed acrobatic

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circus performance. Though it was hard not to appreciate and admire such monuments and performances, I personally felt that they were almost too perfect, too ideal, as if they were constructed or devised for the purpose of showing tourists and foreigners. Perhaps my perception was slightly skewed by preconceptions about North Korea, though the fact that the tour was guided and the immaculate nature of almost all the places visited, particularly in the capital, contributed to the idea that we were being shown a faรงade. The most prominent aspect of North Korea is the intense devotion, love, and respect the people have for their leaders. Those who have never visited the country and those who have not seen this devotion firsthand cannot truly comprehend the degree to which this reverence is firmly rooted in the minds and culture of the North Korean people. Before visiting North Korea, I had been aware of the role the leaders of the country played in North Korean culture, but the respect for the leaders shown by the North Korean people was not something that could be captured in words or images. The respect transcends the titles of Beloved President and Dear Leader, the red badges worn by every North Korean citizen, and the bowing before statues. It rises above the tangible representations of this love. What we saw on the trip was almost a living force, and, unlike other aspects of the tour, seemed completely genuine. A very intriguing experience for me was the visit to the museum dedicated to the Korean War, or rather the museum dedicated to the alleged American atrocities against the Korean people during the war. A speXH8 final.indd 37

cial local guide guided us through the museum, and her narrations and explanation of the events were so emotionally charged that she was on the verge of tears at the end of the tour; however, her sorrow seemed too perfectly timed, almost as if it were rehearsed, with the right syllables being stressed, and her voice cracking at just the right time. Interestingly, there were photographs of almost all the events described in the war, with the notable exception of photographs of American soldiers committing the alleged atrocities. Instead there were paintings and artwork reflecting the crimes committed against the Korean people as described by our local guide. It is very likely that I am overemphasizing these details as a result of the influence of preconceptions regarding North Korea, but the aspects of the tour made it difficult for me to limit any bias that I may have had. The authenticity of our experience in North Korea was limited by the guided tour. The mandatory accompaniment of tourists by assigned guides suggests that we only saw what was intended for the eyes of tourists, which is likely the areas the country was most proud of. We had to remember that what we were shown was the best of North Korea, and remain aware that most of the country remained hidden from us. This awareness is necessary to getting as close as possible to drawing unbiased conclusions of the country. While the country we saw appeared to be a stable, functioning society with reasonably happy people, it would be ignorant to assume that the portrayal of North Korea in other areas of the world have no basis in fact; therefore, most students on the trip believed that we had witnessed another biased portrayal of North

Korea, this time biased towards the country and its leaders. A belief that I have held for a significant period of time was tremendously amplified through experiencing this visit to North Korea. People should form their own opinions through developing a comprehensive understanding of an issue, as opposed to blindly accepting the opinion of others, particularly those in positions of authority, as the indubitable truth. The importance of independent thought was highlighted to me during our visit to North Korea in two different ways: the life of the North Korean people as we saw it contrasted with what is shown in other parts of the world, and the awareness of the bias in the portrayal of the country and its leaders by the tour and the North Korean government. Completely relying on either of these ideas to form a conclusion would be simply accepting biased opinion and depictions as fact. Forming an opinion from a combination of elements from both these ideas would be the beginning of learning to think for oneself. I could easily say that I have gained an appreciation for the North Korean culture, Korean history, or the Korean language during this trip; however, the most important thing I have learned from this experience is the importance of free thinking. The trip stressed to me the need for people to gain firsthand experience and draw their own conclusions regarding different matters from available information. If I gained only one thing from the visit to North Korea, let it be an appreciation for independent thought.

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“ c n

THE LOWDOWN ON THE LATEST MOVIES, BOOKS, FOOD, MUSIC AND MUCH MORE

W o c a n w m

N s i g

GRAPHIC BY KAITLIN CHAN

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http://houseoflowers.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Description-about-rose-flower-bouquet-wallpaper.jpg

Dear Dr. Lingers,

“How do I ask my crush to Prom next year?” Well, it’s interesting that you’ve asked one of the most hackneyed questions that ever comes my way. Nevertheless, it’s a good one, and very timely. The culture of prom-asking never ceases to change, and this year at CIS we’ve seen some pretty interesting developments. Now, you can’t just bring the flowers, the signs, and then mutely stand there holding them while your date-to-be gasps and gushes and takes photos. None of the

classic Love Actually stuff will cut it. This year’s Year 11’s have kindly shown us that asking your crush to prom is no longer the private, sacred and highly personal event that it was in the good ol’ days. Now it needs to involve all your friends, maybe even your classmates; if you can get some cool teachers to help out, you get extra brownie points. Prom-asking ranges from a scavenger hunt type process up and down the back stairs and through the corridors of the school to a sappy serenading session

in homeroom (hey, at least the homeroom teacher will enjoy it!). And if you really want to knock her socks off, you’re going to have to get your whole year group involved. Mobilize those 110 or so minions. Get them to stand in the shape of a heart in the basketball court and hold hands, smiling up to where she’s perched on the seventh floor. Simple stuff. Don’t stop there though—prom-asking experiences went online this year. So get your savvy film friend to follow you around and film the whole thing, post it on Facebook, get 80 likes, feel good, and attend prom with your beloved. You’ll be one deserving fella. ISSUE 8

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Diaryof a

Teacher:

Mr. Morgan

Writer: Nicole Choi Layout Designer: Bernetta Li Photographer: Stephanie W.

5:45: Mr. Morgan likes to get an early start to the day. Humming, he’s gotta have his bowl, gotta have cereal... 6:30: Time’s tickin’ on and on and Mr Morgan and Ms Hunt have gotta get down to the bus stop! Waving goodbye, they start heading down. Sydney is now old enough to say goodbye, and tends to “get upset at the lift”! When asked about what he thinks about the latest addtion to his family, Mr Morgan smiles and describes it as “really cool.” Chuckling, he follows up with some of his famous humor- “I’m like a Hong Kong parent now, but I don’t tutor as much!”. 6:40: They’ve made it! To beat the trafﬁc, Mr Morgan, Ms

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Design Tech teacher, Head of Year 7 and a father, Mr Morgan is a well loved teacher at CIS. Also husband to Ms. Hunt, they plan to move back to Australia following this school year. Before he leaves, I got the chance to see what it’s like being Mr. Morgan. Hunt and several other teachers take the 41A from North Point up to school. When asked why he makes such an early trip, Mr Morgan shudders and says “If I didn’t...”. Something tells me he’s a huge fan of the recent improvements to the Braemer Hill traffic! Climbing on the bus, it’s a difficult choice between the front seat and back seat, so he instead goes for the middle ones. 7:01: Arriving at the Braemer Hill campus, Mr Morgan climbs up the stairs to the sixth floor. Being a HOY has its benefits, and he doesn’t have to make the trek to the DT offices. Taking out his laptop, he spends a good half an hour answering emails,

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most from inquisitive Year 7 parents. 7:55: Since it’s a Monday, the Year 7s have their weekly assembly and as HOY Mr Morgan is responsible for leading it. Besides the obligatory administration, Mr Morgan likes to teach the Year 7s to “become better people”. For instance, at the last assembly he spoke to them about average wage. 8:15: As the first block starts, Mr Morgan is off to teach his first class! He’ll usually have two to three classes per day, teaching Years 7, 9, 10 and 11. Curious to see how he would answer, I asked Mr Morgan which class was his favorite. Realizing the consequences of the question (I’m part of his Y10 class), he wisely responded, “I can’t decide!”. Not satisfied, I asked him what differentiates each year. He says it has to do with the style of teaching he approaches them with: for the Y7s, it’s more of a performance, because of their enthusiastic nature. Y11s “have a brain in their head”, and he tends to teach them in a more serious manner, being able to address them in a mature manner. He adds that he misses teaching Y12/13s, because their older age allows for more of a student-teacher bond. 11:00: Break time! 11:25: It’s time for class again, and Mr Morgan is talking about Auto CAD. Seeing the fatigue on their faces, he stops for a quick break and shows multiple photos of Sydney. A chorus of “awws” echoes from the girls in the room, and even the boys can’t help a smile. 12:45: Lunch time! As the students rush out from the classroom, Mr Morgan yells a quick goodbye. On Mondays and Fridays, he can be found at the cafeteria, reporting to lunch duty. If not, he’s on the field helping students learn ride bikes. Thanks to Mr Morgan’s lunch bike sessions, all students from Years 8 to 12 know how to ride a bike- he mainly focuses his efforts upon the new Year 7s. 13:40: Lucky for Mr Morgan, he happens to have a free block after a day of three straight classes. If it’s not report card time, he’ll usually be working hard as a HOY, answering more emails from parents or preparing information evenings for trips like CEP. He might also go check up on any renegade kids who need a bit of help to get back on track. 15:00: School’s out! Sometimes Mr Morgan will leave straight after school’s over, and it’s not unusual to see him dashing down Braemer Hill to catch the bus. He doesn’t like to wait for the following one, so he’s often in a hurry. He always remembers to wave goodbye or smile at a student as he’s running by! 19:00: After dinner with the family, Mr Morgan does his homework. That’s right, even teachers have homework! He’ll usually devote about half an hour to emails, and more if necessary. He’ll also arrange any meetings for the next few days. If there’s any marking to be done, that’s also on the list. When asked what he does when he’s finally done, he guiltly admits to surfing the internet, but is quick to say “just like you guys (students) do”. Oops.

what’s cool

MR MORGAN & MR HUNT WITH SYDNEY.

“Just like you guys do”.

Oops.

ut on Tuesday and Friday nights, Mr Morgan actually spends time not at home, but at night school- learning Auto CAD. Excited to have found an english speaking Auto CAD class, Mr Morgan is constantly improving his own education to better teach ours. This motivation to help his students succeed is something he is well known for, and is widely appreciated. As he moves onto Australia this summer, he will be greatly missed, and we wish him all the best there! Those students are sure lucky to have him.

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Modern

of a

hipster

Here’s an idea! Let’s please stop using the word “artsy.” It sounds too twee to mean anything substantial, but it is embedded too deeply in our modern vernacular to go away anytime soon. If we’re being honest here, we know “artsy” doesn’t mean anything at all. If you want to make a snarky comment on your friend’s HD cover photo of city lights, think of something more original. Moving onwards. This leads to the discussion of Hipsters and Hipsterdom, as I feel it is fair to say that “Arsty” was our generation’s precursor to “hipster.” “Hipster” ruined “hip” in the same way that “artsy” ruined “artistic.” “Unlike the highly specific definition of Hipsters (that is highly New York/Williamsburg-centric) which urban dictionary provides, I would argue that at this school, we use the term in a more general sense. Hipster is a blanket term used to describe people and things that are unusual in a somewhat affected way. Things that I hear described as “hipster” the most often, in ascending order, are photography, music and fashion. Let’s break this down, shall we? If I had a dollar every time someone called a camera of mine “hipster”, I would buy an apartment on the Peak for every member of my extended family, second cousins included. This word usually makes me uncomfortable; because it has both positive but mainly negative connotations, and my response thus far has been “erghm.” Vintage cameras are used as often accessories in fashion editorials, which further dampens people’s perceptions of their relevance. I’ve noticed film cameras popping up among the CIS community more often these days, and I think its nice that people want to try shooting on a limited roll, and I get excited just thinking about their anticipation for their shots. I don’t think the term “hipster” applies here, because hipster implies that the camera is used as a statement accessory to say “I am kool and retro yeah”, and is not used for photographic purposes. But these cameras are just too heavy for that: they give Hsu’s “Rise of Modern China” a run for its money. So anyone dedicated enough to lug one around probably cares genuinely about their analogue photography. Or they are just too hip for you… Music is where people take things to extremes. Obscurity is often worn like a badge of honour, a badge that neatly hides the actual listen-ability of the songs themselves. No one cares if you were the only person at their debut garage show in Portland/ that bought their first vinyl/who has screen printed shirts with their name on them/and owns a collection of the lead singer’s hair in a Ziplock bag. The only time when it matters when you’re first is if you’re landing on planets that aren’t Earth or curing disease. Or scaling mountains. Or competing

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in timed sports. Otherwise, stay for the music, and nothing else. On a final note, “hipster fashion” is a culture I consider to be most lauded in hipster culture. This is perhaps because fashion is an industry known for cultivating identity and selfexpression in a way that is incredibly accessible. The way people dress is the first thing you notice about someone from a distance, and there’s something magical about finding someone who likes your, literal, style. If “hipster fashion” means enjoying thrift shops and dated clothing, then I am all for it! Just remember to wear underwear and never buy anything that smells (unless it’s an article of outer clothing that you’d die without. Here I am obviously referring to the sweater knitted out of vegetable shapes that A. Law from 13HK bought for ten US dollars. You’re a legend, A.) I don’t know how I ended up at the end of this article, but I guess what I have to say is that its important to have a sense of identity you feel most comfortable and happy with. If this means you’re hipster now, so be it. You want to take Instagram photos of your own bare feet slathered in butter and call it art? Go do that. In five years you’ll be the coolest kid on the block, you have my word.

程個你在時

VINTAGE CAMERa: ACCESORIES IN FASHION EDITORIALS Writer: Kaitlin Chan Layout Designer: Bernetta Li

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what’s cool 手機應用程式

好介紹

二十一世紀期間，電子產品迅速地發展，相信大部分人都擁有智能手機。現在，請讓我介紹幾個不同類別的手機應用程序給大家。

作者／／蘇曉茵頁面設計／／蘇紋慧

娛樂 HKMOVIE

交通搭車好幫搜假期會到大學上暑期課程或到海灘享受陽光與海灘嗎？這個手機程序絕對能夠幫得上忙。你只要輸入出發點和終點的地區或地址，程序便會在短時間內提供多條路線（主要包括巴士和小巴服務）任君選擇，更會標示每段車程的收費資料。假設路程中要轉車的話，手機程序更會很細心地提到轉車的地方。每一個車站都會附上照片，就算你不熟悉周圍的環境，也能輕易找到目的地。

暑假期間想約朋友去出去逛逛嗎？有了HKMOVIE就不用愁沒節目啦！在香港各大影院正在上映的電影都會盡錄在程序當中，你只要挑選電影的名字和觀看日期，就能看到它在各大戲院播放的時間。每部電影的主頁都會包括預告片、用家評分和電影的背景資料。看到後感興趣的話，你更可以馬上訂購票子，方便且快捷。

生活方式 Sleepcycle

睡眠對身體很重要，它但能夠消除疲勞和加強身體的免疫系統，它更可以保護心裡的健康和我們的大腦。但是，由於城市人繁忙的生活模式，要睡個好覺不是容易的事。手機程序中有一個叫Sleepcycle，雖然它是一個要收費的程序，但它絕對物超所值。你只要輸入你要起床的時間，把電話放在身旁就可以了。Sleepcycle會在你睡覺時計算你在床上的活動，並判斷你的睡眠狀態。在特定的時間前後十五分鐘，Sleepcycle會挑選你最淺睡的時候把你喚醒，這樣你起床的時候就會更輕鬆，更有幹勁。你起床後就可以看到昨天晚上的睡眠狀態，Sleepcycle更會分析你的睡眠質素，並提供數據給你參考。

時裝 LookBook

喜歡走在潮流尖端的人，最好的學習對象莫過於在世界各地同樣對時裝感興趣的年輕人。這個手機程序收錄了世界各地的人的照片，每一張照片下都會說明照片中的人穿著的概念和背景等。照片中的模特兒美女俊男皆有，更包含了不同穿著風格的人。這個手機程序的確能為你帶來不少靈感，說不定它還能改變你對時裝的看法。 Image source: http://itunes.apple.com

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BOOKS

estled in relative obscurity and the object of every foreigner’s curiosity, South Korea’s isolated neighbor North Korea is synonymous with nuclear ambitions and communist rule. While the rest of the world is advancing at a rapid rate, North Korea has remained stagnant, stuck in the 1940’s. In a nation blocked off from the rest of society, very few North Koreans are given the opportunity to share their stories with the world. “The Aquariums of Pyongyang” recounts the life of Kang Chol-Hwan, a North Korean defector who spent a decade in the infamous Yodok concentration camp. Kang Chol-Hwan was one of the few survivors able to share his story with the world. The Aquariums of Pyongyang documents the tragic story of a South Korean family lured to North Korea by the false idealism as promoted by Kim Il-Sung. Born and raised in Japan, Kang’s Communist family emigrated to North Korea after hearing of the bright future of North Korea. His grandfather had amassed a large fortune, and was ensured safety and power in North Korea. The family reached North Korea by boat, with aspirations of building a new state free from oppression. However, these ideals were shattered when the family http://media.npr.org/assets/bakertaylor/covers/t/the-aquariums-of-pyongyang/9780465011049_custom-7af092932fwas sent to the notorious Yodok concen- 98997029f89e00ce2243269b5bd8b7-s6-c10.jpg tration camp after the grandfather committed a benign act of dissent. All three generations of the Kang more accurate, less biased take on life in North Korea. This family were sent to Camp 15 in order to be “reeducated” until biography encompasses all aspects of life in North Korea- the they were worthy of shedding their sins and join society once disappointment of the thousands enticed by promises of a new again. Kang proceeded to spend his formative teenage years in great state, the hardships of those sent to the prison camps, the Yodok concentration camp- a place teeming with “enemies and the assimilation into a new free society. The Aquariums of of the state”. Witnessing beatings, executions and cases of Pyongyang acts as a detailed vehicle that allows the readers to malnutrition, Kang is disillusioned and desensitized. Released experience the lives of those in North Korea. in 1987, Kang returns to ordinary life in North Korea. After being caught for listening to forbidden South Korean radio stations, Kang fears for his safety, and decides to flee to South Korea. Upon arriving in South Korea, Kang is able to taste the freedom that he was not able to experience in his home country. By leaving during the 1980’s, Kang was able to evade the worst years of turmoil in North Korea. Within the exiguous selection of books about North Korea, The Aquariums of Pyongyang offers a candid view of “The Hermit Kingdom”. News reports and articles often choose to mainly focus on the destitute and cruelty of North Korea. However, Kang does not merely focus on the adversities of North Korea- he shares descriptions of the picturesque views and mountains untouched by industrial endeavors, and Writer: Yoonah Han the strong camaraderie and communities that exist in villages. Layout: Bernetta Li By focusing on both the good and bad, Kang is able to give a

THE AQUARIUMS OF PYONGYANG.

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G B

T c d a w d s p

A G A f s th in c d ti to th r a

G K f 1 o

what’s cool

Hong Kong is renowned not only for its efﬁciency and fast-paced atmosphere, but also, for its cuisine. In our small city, hundreds of authentic and impressive restaurant establishments serve up dishes from around the world, ranging from the well-known to the obscure, from French cuisine to Ethiopian. Of course, Japanese cuisine is no exception. It is one of the most popular dining options and when we speak of Hong Kong Japanese cuisine, we canʼt possibly forget to miss the staples Genki Sushi.

Genki Sushi By Sunwoo Nam and Cordelia Lam, layout by Zoe Suen There are countless amazing sushi restaurants in the city and countless fancier ones than Genki sushi. However, Genki never disappoints. Best suited for quick meals or lunch break, the food is always of the utmost quality, and is delivered in a fast and unique way- the “kaiten” spinning conveyor belt. There is no fancy decorum, and the concept is pretty straightforward: Grab your sushi off the conveyer belt, enjoy it, stack the plates and count the prices.

So whenever you’re stomach desires a quick meal of Japanese cuisine that will fill your empty stomach, look for the great Genki Sushi! We guarantee you won’t regret it!

recommendations:

Spicy Salmon: For all the salmon lovers, here’s a dish that you must try! The main dish of Genki Sushi, spicy salmon breaks the conventional taste of salmon sushi. The additional spice is a Aside from the endless fun that lies within the conveyor belt, perfect blend of flavors that marry so well that you will feel on Genki Sushi also impresses with its wide variety of delicious food. explosion of savors that meld together; it sure will be an A plethora of hand rolls, sashimi, gunkan, and seasonal specials are experience to taste the harmonious combination of soft, spicy featured on the Genki menu, with best sellers including the fried salmon. shrimp roll, boston roll, soft shell crab hand roll, and of course, the classic fatty salmon sushi. Genki also pioneered a series of Fried shrimp roll: When we say fried shrimp roll in Hong interesting new sushi dishes, including Foie Gras sushi, the eel and Kong, we immediately think of fried shrimp wrapped around cheese roll, and squid cartilage sushi. Every season, Genki provides spring roll. However, fried shrimp roll in Genki sushi wraps the diners with delectable, fresh dishes that are limited during certain deliciously cooked shrimp that is still firm yet soft with rice roll, time period, allowing new plates to be delivered and never failing which adds the extra little kick that makes you want to keep eating. to satisfy those who walk into the restaurant. Diners, thus, have The fascinating blend of flavors creates perfect union and their pick of many innovative and tasty sushi dishes, all within a provides a scrumptious dish that will satisfy your hungry stomach. reasonable price range, and enjoyed as part of a unique and atmospheric dining experience. Soft shell crab hand roll: Like the name suggests, the soft shell crab hand roll will melt in your mouth. Mixed with Genki Sushi operates a vast number of branches around Hong mayonnaise and crab, the dish sure has to be tasted once you walk Kong, so it’s not difficult to locate if you want a reputable into Genki Sushi. The simple flavor will delight all your senses and franchise sushi house while visiting the city. It operates in 40 you sure will want to continue eating the hand roll! 1 outlets in Hong Kong Island, Kowloon side and New Territories. images from: http://pecopecosushi.com/public/plugins/interior/images/bg1.jpg http://media.npr.org/assets/news/2010/04/07/sushi_wide-e245e449aa25676642c996d1649ec788d55b3548-s6-c10.jpg ISSUE 8 XIAO HUA 45 XH8 final.indd 45

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MOVIES 一部關於夢想、堅持，與耐心的電影，《壽司之神》教導我們熱愛工作及永遠抱負不凡的重要性。大衛·賈柏巧妙地把三星大廚小野二郎的故事與一絲絲打動人心的父子感情結合為一，創造此部扣人心弦的故事。在這超過五十年的漫漫徵程，《壽司之神》小野二郎一直保持著一種“ 精進以持衡”的職業道德。小野二郎在電影中多次謙卑強調自己雖然已獲得米其林三星主廚一稱，也捏了一輩子的壽司，但總在尋找能提高食物品質的方法。誰會猜到，一間隱身於一座辦公大樓地下室的小餐廳竟然能夠連續兩年獲得米其林三星之稱？電影中的一位食評家把小野二郎精心創造的壽司形容為「極簡的純粹」，表面上輕描淡寫卻恰恰蘊涵著壽司之神對食物品質極高的要求。小野二郎一直以來都只注重食物的味道，不追求任何榮華富貴。本電影便詳盡地帶出小野二郎在餐廳工作的勤勞：每位學徒必須先學會用手擰毛巾，學會了才能學會用刀切魚片，切了十年的魚才能學會煎蛋。只有經過每天如此長久的準備，壽司之神才能夠細心地創造出這麼一道看似平凡卻回味無窮的壽司餐。九歲的小野二郎被逼出家門時，他的父母無情的一句“你已經無家可歸”到今日還烙印在他腦海裡，也是

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他一直以來勤奮工作的推動力。因此，今年八十六歲的小野二郎向來相信鐵的紀律是獲勝的法寶，但雖然小野二郎採用十分嚴謹的教養方式，他始終不想讓兒子如他年輕時一樣辛苦，在電影中不時流露出一直以來對兒子們默默的支持。從父子之間相互的支持，觀眾能夠體會一種被隱藏卻根深蒂固的父子情，不禁被此深深感動。 “我繼續向上，努力达到巔峰，但沒人知道巅峰在哪” －生活在一個不停發展的世界里，我們確實永遠無法到達進步與發揮創意的極限，因此我們必須全心投入工作之中，窮盡一生磨鍊技能。在現今日新月异的社會中，熱愛工作的重要性很多時候都被對財富的痴迷蓋過，《壽司之神》所體現的職業精神也似乎漸漸消失。一番鼓舞人心的成功故事，絕對值得觀看！

Writer: Agnes Chan Layout: Bernetta Li

ISSUE 8

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wi an pe lar mi eve ter on die val ab na

Ind ind its eve gen sub de Du do ind W ind

Th ha er ist in a w sic ed wa ba an ha es, by

》事

what’s cool

e i d n i MUSIC B Y J U S T I N N G & B RYA N TA N / / L AY O U T B Y E M M A C H A N

ften times, I’ll find myself in a social situation in which I will be talking about musicians such as Kodaline, or The Smiths, and subsequently receive a slew of blank stares from my fellow peers, who then proceed to ask, “What is that? Are they popular?” When we think of the term “indie music”, what comes to mind is this idea of defiance towards commercial spawn. However, is this merely what defines indie music? Where did this term truly originate from? As the indie rock musician, Billy Lunn once said, “We are underdogs here. We have to work for it.” Indie musicians choose to retain artistic integrity over commercial value. Indie is a unique blend of rock and pop genres, and the ability to create such a confluence subsequently provides sustenance for an artist to derive a greater expression of such music. Indie originates from the term independent. When the topic of indie arises, a common response to such is that it is a genre of its own and that it can be derived as “underground” music. However, this is not true, as indie music may also include a variety of genres, and produced independently from commercial labels or its subsidiaries. It is not actually a genre of its own, but a phrase to describe independent artists composing different kinds of music. During the time of the 50’s and 60’s, in a world where major labels dominated the music industries, lacking creativity and originality, indie music found it’s place as a backstreet rebellion to this rule. With its low tech production methods, and do-it-yourself process, indie music symbolized the rebirth of creative, popular music. The generation of indie has since evolved over the years, and has encompassed greater meaning in its strive to produce greater genres of independent music. Over the span of 10 years, artists that are characterised as Indie music composers have risen in quantity, from a small group “rebellious punk rock music” to a wide variety of subgenres, truly revolutionizing original music as a whole. The growing popularity of indie music reflected in the sales, albums selling in the hundred thousands. In the wake of Franz Ferdinand and the Arctic Monkeys Indie ‘landfill bands’ have flooded the charts: Imagine Dragons, Of monsters and men, Friendly Fires, to name just a few of the bands that have defined this new musical generation. Fans of the Stooges, The Sex Pistols and the Ramones were fuelled and inspired by a sense of exclusivity and the discovery of something new.

However does the fact that these indie bands are now mainstream alter the message that it once tried to symbolize, or because of this, stop it from being good music? Whilst being mainstream does not equate to bad music, Indie music bands that are in the billboards no longer hold the attention of those who want to break away from this popular mainstream music. So what is the new indie? It seems as though the once indie rock bands, punk rock, evocative beats that defined indie music has now evolved, and molded into the modern day mainstream music. The course of Indie music show how at one point, it was the idol that represented rebellion against the control of major labelling companies, the “anti- popular” music; as time passed, it gained fame and recognition, until finally evolving into the mainstream music. We can no longer disassociate indie music with mainstream music, as records show that these two are not any different than one another. With the technology we now possess within our society, and the meteoric rise and availability of social networks including Facebook, Twitter and Youtube, indie musicians have since gained the ability to reach greater prominence and people awareness than before. A simple click to “Like” or “Share” the video, allows music to spread even further, reaching thousands, possibly millions around the world. Greater awareness has led to a different demographic compared to what it had been during the 1980s, as consumers of such music no longer purely involve indie fans, as a new legion of mainstream fans have joined in the support for this new, molded version of indie music. The new indie, the new underground music seems to have become dubstep and techno. The concepts behind artists like tiesto, skrillex, nero are not dissimilar to those of the previous generation of indie artists, with the same sense of exclusivity and creativity. The sound produced is different, but if you look closely between the two, you will find that the relationship is tight. But with songs like “Don’t You Worry Child” by Swedish House Mafia erupting the billboard charts, one can only think about how long it will be before this generation of dubstep techno indie music goes through the same process, and ends up losing its indie feel. Despite this change in musical style, indie music still remains prominently a representation of freedom, and it would not hurt to listen to some Florence and the Machine or The Smiths once in a while. ISSUE 8

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features

Why Girls at CIS Do Us Proud

Does Gender Imbalance exist at CIS? WRITER | VERA LUMMIS PHOTOGRAPHS | JESSICA EU ILLUSTRATION | AUDREY HIOE LAYOUT | CHLOE MOK

“ g i

he issue of gender representation is a problem of a huge scope. While much progress has been made, gender inequality still exists on a wide scale: in corporations, politics, schools, and across a range of fields and industries. It’s widely known that men are often the ones who get ahead even when their female peers are as capable, intelligent or qualified. Someone once put it to me: “You know that gender discrimination doesn’t exist when a dumb woman can get as far as a dumb man can.” In the modern workplace, however, women often need to be better-credentialed than men to get to the same place--for example, female Pulitzer Prize winners are often better-educated than their male counterparts. This trend has given rise to a frustrating phenomenon: men are overall better paid and hold higher positions in companies, but women are better educated. According to UNESCO, in Europe, North America, Latin America, the Arab States, Central and East Asia and the Pacific, the number of women in tertiary institutions has grown to surpass male enrolment rates. In the United States alone, there were 141 women graduating with a college degree at some level in 2012 for every 100 men, showing that women excel in education by a significant standard. >>

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features However, women seem to begin to lag behind as soon as they leave the education sphere, and the inequity they face in their careers becomes more and more pronounced as they grow older. Where does the disparity between women’s prominence in education and their lack of representation at the top levels of the workplace come from? Aside from the inherent sexism in the structure of corporations, whose social policies aren’t conducive to supporting women on issues like parental leave, child care and equal pay, other reasons have to do with women shying away from a culture of self-promotion and aggressive participation. As a result, women take fewer risks--57 percent of men purportedly negotiate their first salary, compared with 7 percent of women--and studies have shown that women are more criticized than their male peers and judged more nega-

tively by prospective employers than are men with identical backgrounds. Women also receive lower starting salaries: the American Association of University Women found last year that women are paid 7 percent less than men, on average, one year after graduating. A McKinsey study in the United States last year also found that 36 percent of male employees hope to be top executives, compared with just 18 percent of female employees. What does this all reveal about the differences between men and women in the working world? Women are affected by discriminatory or inhibiting social policies, and also approach their jobs with a weaker sense of self-entitlement, and these factors all affect their ability to get promoted and fill the leadership ranks. There is a still a dearth in women leaders in the 21st century workplace: only 4.2 percent of Fortune 500

CEOs are women. At a recent event organized by the Human Rights Group as part of January’s LGBT Week, a teacher-panel led discussion on LGBT issues, I was struck by how many girls there were in the audience - the event was attended by more than 100 students and teachers, and my estimate is that every four out of five attendees were female. Further reflection upon our audiences at other events--discussion forums, film screenings, and the like--made me realize that our most dedicated attendees are all female, and the majority of students who attend our events are also girls. The membership of the HRG follows the same trend - out of the current 26 members, 4 are male. I thought

“...but now I’ve come to feel that the prominence of girls in school related activities, advocacy and activism, is the norm, rather than the exception.”

it would be an interesting exercise to examine the representation of gender at CIS, amongst the student body in a range of co-curricular activities and leadership roles, and amongst the faculty, in the departments and within the school administration. My findings aim to illustrate the representation of gender at CIS, and how, in this aspect, our school represents a microcosm of the larger world that I’ve described above. Much of my understanding of the representation of gender at CIS is based on hunches and observations that I’ve developed and collected throughout my years at school - the exasperation I felt year after year when few male students were willing to volunteer for the role of House Representative, Homeroom Representative or Student Council Representative, and conversely, an appreciation for the general willingness of my female peers to take initiative and the comfortable at-

titude with which they show what they’re passionate about. Perhaps when I was a younger I took the avid ‘can-do’ attitude of many of my female peers for granted, and never thought that they were exceptionally enthusiastic or conscientious, but now I’ve come to feel that the prominence of girls in school related activities, advocacy and activism, is the norm, rather than the exception. Upon looking into more closely, I’ve found that my personal experiences and impressions can in fact be corroborated by data drawn from reality. Here is an analysis, albeit rather simplistic, of the representation of gender amongst the largest and most active co-ed groups on campus, ranging from the CIS symphony to World Vision, the Swimming Team to the Global Issues Group. There is a striking disparity in the number of female and male students who participate in the most active groups at CIS, whether they are music ensem-

bles, student publications, leadership committees, co-ed sports or charity and advocacy groups. Charity and awareness-raising groups, in particular, such as World Vision, Interact, GENES, the Human Rights Group, and Global Issues Group, have especially lopsided male/female participation, with participants being 81 percent female, on average. Our student publications, Xiao Hua and Scribbles, are also comprised of predominantly female students--the average of the two is at 76 percent. Our main co-ed sports teams, the Athletics Team, Swim Team and Cross Country Squad, have more equal numbers of male and female athletes, which recalls the stereotype that boys are more athletic and inclined to participate in sports, in comparison to girls. This common perception does not ring true at CIS, but our sports teams are ISSUE 8

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features significantly more balanced in gender representation than many other groups at school. It’s important to note, however, that this is only a cursory examination of gender representation in co-curricular activities. We undoubtedly have our fair share of male activists and leaders, and in groups that have hierarchical structures, like Model United Nations and the CIS Symphony (with positions like concertmaster and first chair violinists), there may be a more equal representation of male students. My own impression, however, is that girls are also considerably represented in roles of leadership - the MUN leading committee of 2011-12 was comprised totally of six or seven Year 13 female students, and on the current Xiao Hua Editorial Board, only four out of sixteen members are male. Overall, it is fair to assume that the current situation reflecting the representation of gender at school reflects a consistent trend in CIS, at least in recent years, because there is a significant degree of continuity in student participation in CCAs. The representation of gender amongst the student groups at CIS reflect women’s prominence and tendency to thrive in education in the wider world.

If girls are spearheading student leadership, what is the situation like with our faculty? Gender representation amongst the faculty as a whole is more or less equal. However, when you look at the very top level of faculty positions, which includes the roles, ‘Head’, ‘Deputy Head’, ‘Director’, ‘Coordinator’, ‘Manager’, and ‘Head of Department’, and in addition, our Board of Governors, it turns out that on average, 63 percent are men and 37 percent are women. This imbalance reflects the world trend in academia. Academic institutions are considered to be ‘bastions of innovation’ and progressive thought, and as proponents of systems based on meritocracy, the common perception is that gender inequity in academic employment

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only exists in exceptional cases. The reality is quite the opposite. While it’s true that the representation of gender is much less skewed in academia than it is in corporations, the education field is no exception to the lack of equal representation of gender in employment around the world. In the United States, women are less likely than men to be employed as full-time tenure professors, and comprise less than a quarter of all college and university presidents. Furthermore, women in faculty only earn 80 percent, on average, of what men earn. The high profile of women presidents at four of the eight Ivy League universities is also misleading; within those institutions, gender inequity exists on a similar scale. The limitations of looking purely at numbers and determining gender rep-

Gender Distribution in the largest and 93

41 37

30 28

17 15

12 9

8 5 0

Model United Nations

Global Issues Group

BIBLIOGRAPHY: 50 XIAO HUA XH8 final.indd 50

Swim Team

Cross Country Squad

Athletics

Chinese Music Ensemble

Concert Choir

1) http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/04/miss-education/309267/

4 Human Rights Group

CIS Symphony

Debate Team

2) http://www.smh.com.au/executive-style/statistics-con

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Gender Distribution in the CIS workplace 16

5 4

Administration

Faculty (Heads of Department)

resentation are that they do not divulge important qualitative information. If there are fewer female Heads of Department, and in general fewer females in the top leadership positions in the administration, can one assume that the school either doesn’t provide an environment that is supportive enough of female staff, or perhaps, harbors a certain level of reservation towards promoting female faculty to the top levels of leadership? From my own experiences and impressions of CIS, the answer is no. Many factors come into play that determine whether women fill positions of leadership. The 21st century home is amazingly traditional. Women with children often take on the role of caregiver, and the time they devote to their families

Board of Governors

detracts from the effort they have left to put into their careers, or, vice versa, where the effort they put into their careers minimizes opportunities for spending valuable time with their kids, and they feel solely culpable for that. As such, a host of other factors cause women to be obliged to stay in less demanding positions at work. Furthermore, it is not fair to assume that female faculty at CIS face more barriers within the school than their male counterparts do, as the data above only represents the situation at this point in time. A more comprehensive analysis would involve looking at the representation of gender throughout all twenty seven of CIS’ years, as well as taking into account the actual opinions of the faculty at CIS. Also, turnover in faculty leadership

positions at school is rather frequent. This year’s Director of Student Life and Affairs is male, but previously we had had a female administrator fill that role for sixteen years. Our current Head of Academics is female, but previously we had had a male faculty member fill that role for a number of years as well. CIS should do two things to foster an environment where gender representation, amongst faculty and students, is as equal as possible. Firstly, when leadership positions open up--at our Hangzhou campus?--recruit women just as actively as men. Secondly, foster discussions with teachers and students at school who have an interest in this issue. Mr. Boyce, a longtime faculty member at CIS and our current IB Coordinator, has been interested in the representation of gender in academic results for a number of years. He’s noticed that on average, girls produce better academic results than boys, and has, in the past, raised the issue of modifying or adapting aspects of the CIS educational experience to better accommodate male students’ learning patterns and development. In the meantime, let’s proudly take note of the fact that girls at CIS are such a force, and continue to strive for gender equality in all aspects of life at CIS.

rgest and most active CCAs at CIS

Female Male

21 16

15 10

7 5

8 4

4 2

Debate Team

GENES

HKAYP

Interact Club

utive-style/statistics-confirm-its-still-a-mans-world-20120727-22zki.html

Scribbles Magazine

TEDxYouth@CIS

Xiao Hua Magazine

World Vision

Student Council Executive

3) http://www.aaup.org/NR/rdonlyres/08E023AB-E6D8-4DBD-99A0-24E5EB73A760/0/persistent_inequity.pdf

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Senior Student Committee

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Financial Aid

WRITER | MEGAN FOO LAYOUT | CHLOE MOK

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n her circular entitled “How the Annual Fund Empowers CIS Students” released earlier this year, CIS’ Director of Development Dede Huang discusses the myriad benefits of the annual fund, outlining its potential impact on student life. Established four years ago, the Annual Fund has sought to increase the school’s resources and enhance the CIS student experience. It can be said that the contributions from over 500 families, staff and alumni have fulfilled the Annual Fund’s aims – the Annual Fund has in many ways enriched the student experience, whether by introducing the Campus Green Fund to improve CIS’ environmental performance and reduce carbon emissions, or providing the core funding for the publication of student-led magazines like Xiao Hua and Scribbles to amplify student voice.

features Dr. Faunce’s sentiments that as an educational institution, CIS should not “overlook the one most valuable resource that our school can share with the local community: a CIS education”. By August 2013, students who meet the aforementioned criteria will be able to enter Years 10-12 via the financial aid program, and will be poised to reap the benefits of studying at CIS. What the program proposal has overlooked, however, is that many students from low-income families do not have sufficient educational backgrounds, and thus cannot compete with current CIS students, regardless of their raw intelligence and academic potential. Are such students, then, immediately exempted from the prospective pool of applicants?

One of the program’s primary objectives is to appeal to local students in order to achieve “a more vibrant Alongside its present initiatives, the and diverse experience for all CIS Annual Fund has since its inception students”. CIS has, for the past year, launched several large-scale, longharped on about the importance of term initiatives. The Financial Aid a diversified student body, espousing Program is one of the many ambithe value of diversity in all of its tious projects that CIS has decided manifestations, whether about race, to undertake has already fomented religion, family heritage, sexuality, debate within the student body. or economic background. With this While certain members of the CIS financial aid program, students curcommunity are able to discern the rently enrolled in CIS will be able to desirability of establishing a financial acquaint themselves with students aid/scholarship program, others from other parts of Hong Kong with maintain ambivalent attitudes about different financial backgrounds, and its feasibility and effectiveness. acquire further knowledge about dissimilar lifestyles. While diversiThe Financial Aid Program aims ty with respect to socio-economic to make it possible for up to four status is achieved, one can question new students entering CIS in either whether the school is truly diversifyYear 10, 11 or 12, to provide the ing by taking such steps: the ethnic opportunity of a CIS education to identity, racial backgrounds, and prospective students who otherwise place of domicile of these students would be unable to afford it. These are very likely going to be similar – students must demonstrate finanif not identical – to students already cial need and will have to showcase attending CIS. prowess across a range of areas including academic ability, leaderIt is in Dr. Faunce’s greatest wishes ship potential, societal contribution, that with this diversification comes a and talent in the arts and sports. The heightened sense of social responsischool’s Board of Governors has giv- bility. By engaging in the scholarship en full support to this cause, echoing

CIS Financial Aid description: To fund a ﬁnancial aid program for outstanding young women and men of high aspirations, talents and accomplishments who will enrich our school community as much as our school will enrich and inspire them.

“ the myriad beneﬁts of the annual fund, outlining its potential impact on student life. Established four years ago, the Annual Fund has sought to increase the school’s resources and enhance the CIS student experience.

”

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features program, CIS will be reaching out to students from lower-income families, and dramatically altering such students’ high school experience. One of the Financial Aid Program’s intentions is to inculcate the appreciation of studying alongside gifted and inspiring students from different economic backgrounds within students. This objective is idealistic at the least; youths from low-income families are painfully aware of the stigma associated with poverty, and when such youths are pitted against CIS students from high-income families, they may decide to isolate themselves from the rest of the student populace. Another potential outcome would involve these students suffering social ostracism, although this is less likely at CIS, one cannot rule out the possibility that the socio-economic chasm between CIS students and financial aid students could potentially unleash conflict across the student body. Nonetheless, diversification will engender a greater sense of awareness of different socio-economic backgrounds within the student

“

One of the Financial Aid Program’s intentions is to inculcate the appreciation of studying alongside gifted and inspiring students from different economic backgrounds within students. This objective is idealistic at the least; youths from low-income families are painfully aware of the stigma associated with poverty, and when such youths are pitted against CIS students from high-income families, they may decide to isolate themselves from the rest of the student populace.

”

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populace, and will render students’ views more holistic, two consequences that are closely aligned with the part of the CIS mission statement that advocates students being “compassionate, ethical and responsible individuals […] respectful of other views, beliefs and cultures”. The Financial Aid Program provides “need-based” aid, meaning that its financial aid program solely targets students who demonstrate financial need. However, what constitutes as “need-based” has historically been rather ambiguous, leading to the introduction of “need-blind” admissions, which signify admission policies wherein the admitting institution does not take into account an applicant’s financial situation when deciding admission. Phillips Academy, an independent boarding high school in the United States, boasts that it “determines [financial aid scholarships] based on a comprehensive analysis of need, including all variables that contribute to a family’s financial situation” and caters to low-, middle- and upper-middle-income families. When writing about the newly admitted class of 2013, Phillips Academy’s Dean of Admission and Financial Aid James F. Ventre announced that a total of 148 of the 402 students (amounting to around 37%) were awarded $5,515,330 USD in financial aid scholarships. This approach to admitting students, which “offer[s] admission to every qualified young person regardless of their families’ ability to pay the cost”, may offer a wider pool of promising high-school applicants, but also has its limitations. The most glaring shortcoming to this “need-blind” admission process is that admission officers become ignorant of the advantages of wealth; applicants from low-income families are placed on an equal field as those from affluent, moneyed families, and such applicants would stand less chance in being admitted, which of course, altogether defeats the purpose of offering “financial aid scholarships”. CIS, conversely, does not “pretend to open wide the gates to ‘need-blind admissions’, and it is unrealistic to think that this will be possible anytime soon”, effectively attesting to its primary objectives to help those in need. The efforts and objectives of the Financial Aid Program are ambitious, but certainly have the potential to be rewarding, as they pose a plethora of benefits for prospective students. CIS should remain hopeful about this idea; if effectively assimilated into the sphere of education, this financial aid program will not only support many students in the long-term, but also truly enrich the CIS student’s experience.

Ph ht ht

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features Financial Aid Program provides “need-based” “ The aid, meaning that its financial aid program solely targets students who demonstrate financial need. However, what constitutes as “need-based” has historically been rather ambiguous, leading to the introduction of “need-blind” admissions.

”

Photographs from: http://whitmanpioneer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/news.peterson.need-blind-aidweb.9.jpg http://collegeresourcenetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/state-student-aid.jpg XH8 final.indd 55

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HANG ZHOU TRAVELLOGUE 56 XIAO HUA XH8 final.indd 56

Photos: Nathaniel Chan Layout: Bernetta Li

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features Nat and I have had a lot to say and share since our return from Hangzhou last November after visiting the China Center. A lot, however, has already been said – from the academic curriculum to food to extra-curricular activities to the broader vision of the China Center, extensive discussion has already taken place. In writing this travelogue, we therefore do not wish to repeat what has already been said, but to instead provide some of our own personal insights on the Hangzhou experience through the narrow lens of our three-day stint - to add to the existing mosaic of ideas, opinions and portrayals of the China Center with our modest two cents. And so presented to you here is our Hangzhou travelogue - a messy throw bag of photography, narrative, analysis, spontaneous thought, indulgent description and irrelevant digression. Enjoy.

DAY 1 : ARRIVAL

Having bid farewell to our peers at school, Nat and I were joined by Mrs. Li, Mr. Pratt and Mrs. Pratt, and set off onto a van to the airport. During the ride, we talked about everything - college application traumas, childhood memories (Fun fact: Nat ate raw shrimp out of the sea while fishing on the lakes of Vancouver), our shared appreciation of Malcolm Gladwell, and the basics of making impeccable coffee (Fun Fact #2 – Nat worked at Starbucks for a month and can make a perfect skimmed milk Green Tea latté). This long and winded conversation would continue to sustain the rest of our trip. Hangzhou upon arrival was cool, spacious, quiet. The airport was the younger and more modest cousin of its Hong Kong counterpart, and the city, although sunless, was grey-skied not in the nasty, man-made pollution particle sort of way one finds in most Chinese metropolises, but in the natural, organic, Scottish moor sort of way. Architecturally, the city was bizarre. Houses that dotted the drive to our hotel were all designed in such a way that they resembled a cross-breed between Swiss chalet and futuristic space shuttle – with star-trek esque orb satellite rods on top of each house, all of which stood adjacent to a little plot of domestic farmland. Difficult to envisage, I know, but that’s the best that I can do. After settling down at our hotel in the city center, we went for a stroll around the picturesque Sihu lake. The whole vibe of the place reminded me very much of Shanghai and Beijing in the 80’s, before the seeds of globalization took root. Chestnut vendors and traditional red-topped teahouses were scattered throughout our walk. Small junks shaped like temples glided across the surface of the lake so silently that it seemed as if they were unmanned, or manned by unseen spirits. The boatmen, skin tanned and shriveled with age and humidity, sat by the water, hollering “坐船五十元!”at a slow and steady rhythm. Young couples sat talking on the benches, their words obscured by the sound of the willow trees shuffling in the wind, such that I could only just make out the unfamiliar hiss and syncopation of the Hangzhou accent. Despite the familiar Zaras and Mickey D’s that dotted the main street, there was a tranquil, down to earth quality that I loved about the city, a more slowpaced lifestyle that I found to be also a defining characteristic of

the Hangzhou center. Dinner: A banquet at the Hyatt. Suffered from severe food coma after about the 6th baozi.

Day 2 : Greentown

Morning: The next morning I dragged myself out of bed after the alarm went off and called Nat with the hotel phone. “Nathaniel Chan speaking,” Nat voiced on the other end in the sultry tones of Christian Bale’s Batman, to which I froze a second in response, until I realized that this was one of the many ways Nat amused himself. We decided to go for a jog around the lake to work off last night’s indulgent carb fest. Nat and I - two long-limbed teenagers in bright sneakers and t-shirts darting through the path like monkeys – were anomalies in the serenity of the early morning. Hangzhou in the morning is full of the elderly – old men and women practicing taichi, ballroom dancing to a small radio, writing calligraphy words with lake water as ink on the stone pavement.

Visiting Greentown

The most important activity on our agenda, alas, was visiting Greentown High School. When we arrived, we were welcomed with classic Chinese warmth and hospitality and shown around by students and teachers who came to give us a tour despite the fact that it was a public holiday. Physically, the campus was massive, airy and lofty, with a slew of facilities available

GREENTOWN HIGH SCHOOL CAMPUS for students to use - an archery room, a photography studio, a massive track and field, and a room dedicated just for extracurricular traditional tea-making classes. It was clear that one thing that distinguished Greentown from 1 Hau Yuen Path was sheer physical space. What really struck me during my visit of Greentown however, were the conversations that I had with students and faculty, conversations that ultimately revealed to me that Greentown is different. Greentown is a hybrid – a strange mix of

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features orthodox Chinese education and progressive teaching and innovation. It is geared towards the international stage, incredibly flexible and truth be told, more open-minded than we are, and yet undoubtedly characterized by local culture. It has convinced me that our Year 9’s will most likely not sink into the folds of our alleged CIS bubble.

tively progressive nature of the school, Greentown students are nevertheless restrained by a handful of Neanderthal rules – no dating, no earrings, no nail polish, no casual excursions outside the campus without permission – that I found difficult to digest.

Discussions with Students

Discussions with Teachers

The first thing I did was talk to the students guiding us. We discussed academics – in particular the Gao Kao exam system. One Gao San (Year 13) student I talked to, a petite loquacious girl, despite clear interest in the humanities – she was passionate about linguistics and aspired to be a Chinese teacher – nevertheless chose to pursue the natural science track because she believed it to be more rigorous. This is alas, one of the faulty characteristics of the Chinese educational system – students must make a decision to study either the natural sciences or the social sciences, at the very beginning of high school. Despite the rigidity of the educational system, the students I spoke to were creative, open-minded, and surprisingly unscathed by its limitations. One student, for example, a boy in the natural sciences track, told me that when he grew up, he wanted to pursue a career in writing tour guides. I seriously expected doctor or lawyer or financier, given the current climate of materialism and pervasive post-90’s belief that to ‘get rich is glorious’, and yet he said, with a complete straight face, a tour guide writer! How fresh and atypical! And yet, at the same time, actually a pragmatic and forward-thinking decision, given that tourism is a thriving industry in China today. This blend of convention and progression was also present in how the students described their daily lives. They surprised me, for example, with a relatively relaxed portrayal of the Gaokao and their stress levels (the Gaokao that I had in mind involved slaving over papers with IV drips to keep going.) Greentown students generally have a lot of free time, and go to bed at 10:30 every night, a bedtime I know to be a luxury for many Year 13s. And yet, despite the rela-

Nat and I also had the opportunity to talk to some of the teachers over lunch, where we gave our rusty linguistic muscles a much-needed stretch. We discussed the abilities of the students and various student projects – one of which was an investigation of traffic in Hangzhou through hands on fieldwork and data analysis. What I gleaned most from our discussion was that the teachers of Greentown, or the teachers of the entire Chinese nation as a whole today, face an extremely difficult task – teaching young people amidst the ever-changing, volatile and increasingly amoral backdrop of contemporary China. We discussed, for example, the infamous girl on the talk show who stated that she would rather “cry in a BMW than laugh on the back of a bicycle.” How can you teach students to follow their passions and interests in a society increasingly characterized by such pragmatism? Everyone on our lunch table agreed - China today, is in a moral tangle. It is a world of malfunctioning milk, an un-meritocratic educational system, endemic corruption and stagnant politics. How can you shape students into ‘ethical and compassionate global citizens’ and yet ensure that they are equipped to face such a world? A world where the quality of your health care is largely dependent on how lavish your gift to the doctor, and success in your studies is determined by how well your parents have built a secure web of guanxi? Can education be the driving force of a nation of increasingly agnostic values? It is these challenges that face the teachers at Greentown, challenges that they discuss, grapple with and seek to overcome every day.

Discussions with Parents

NATHANiel AND YI LING WITH GREENTOWN TEACHERS AND STUDENTS

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If there is one thing that I observed during this trip talking to parents, it’s this: your parents are seriously concerned about you. And two parents with absolutely nothing in common can talk for hours on end about you, united by their common desire to successfully raise their children. Over the course of three days, having listened to a deluge of hopes and concerns – “am I doing the right thing?” “Am I doing enough?” “Should Suzie take SAT lessons after school?” “What if Sam gets homesick?” – I have to admit, I’ve grown extremely sympathetic towards the universal plight of parent-

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One question that emerged among parents during our visit of Greentown revolved around one parent’s suggestion that CIS students share dormitory rooms with Greentown students as a means of guaranteeing CIS students a full-on immersion experience. Many parents, believing that this would break the portable CIS bubble, were in fact very supportive of this suggestion, – until they saw the Greentown dorm rooms themselves. Now don’t get me wrong. The ones we visited were actually clean and livable. But without a doubt they would have generated uproar among some CIS students and parents alike. If I were in Year 9, I wouldn’t have raised a ruckus, but I wouldn’t have been terribly happy either. If I were a parent, despite wanting to strip away the comforts and luxuries of home from my kids, I would perhaps be unwilling to subject them to the notoriously spartan world of Chinese dormitories. Is this because we have been coddled all our lives and raised into a generation of spoilt brats? Or are Chinese boarding school living conditions really too extreme? A bit of both, perhaps. Dinner: Upon leaving Greentown, we dined at a local restaurant down the road. Our table was crammed with delicious local dishes that all cost less than RMB50. Nat and I dug in, and even devoured a pair of hairy crabs at the end of the meal, cleaning out our crab shells like a pair of uncivilized savages.

Day 3 :Life Beyond Greentown Where the previous day we focused on student life on campus at the Hangzhou Center, today we went to a recreation club nearby the campus to learn about what what life would be like beyond academics – extra-curricular activities, excursions in Hangzhou and leisure time. We were first introduced to the daily student schedule at the Hangzhou Center, a schedule I was seriously envious of. One of the main reasons I would’ve appreciated a year at CIS Hangzhou is the significantly more relaxed and slower pace of life. By Year 11 and the time IB rolls around, life becomes super speedy, heightened, overwhelming. It’s all metro-boulot-dodo, go to school-do homework-sleep. Year 10 in Hangzhou, in my opinion, would’ve been the perfect opportunity for a pause, figure out your interests, really be with the people around you. We also listened to JUMP! talk about their involvement in the Hangzhou center. JUMP! isn’t your typical APA/ outward bound kind of thing because it places its emphasis on experiential learning. A pedantic and tedious word that harks back to the language of MYP criteria with much more interesting implications. Essentially, experiential learning means that JUMP! activities will be completely integrated into the school curriculum. A kayaking trip through Hangzhou’s many lakes could serve as a biology class on river ecology. A rope course could be a means of introducing students to angles and vectors. The possibilities are endless.

Writer: Yi-Ling Liu

BEYOND GREENTOWN OLD LADIES DOING THE FAN DANCE

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e a

LAPTOP POLICY

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Writer: Mi Yeon Kim Illustration: Candice Lincon Layout: Bernetta Li

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ou walk into the 7th floor corridor during lunch and see an army of silver Apple computers. There is a mass of scattered year 7 students clad in white uniform, propped against the walls, laptops open, eyes glued to the screen, noses inches away from the keyboard, and bits of lunch hanging from their mouths. You go to the library during lunch and you see even more students on laptops typing furiously and yelling to each other “Dude, I just beat my high score!” The soccer courts that were once full are now empty.

THIS IS THE REALITY OF TODAY'S CIS STUDENTS. Should this crazed obsession for laptops continue or does the CIS community have a duty to make sure that students engage in other activities outside of the vortex of the cyber world? Thanks to the annual fund, CIS was able to provide every single secondary school student from Year 7 to 10’s with laptops. This introduction of a new technology era has brought a wave of advantages and disadvantages to CIS. The 1:1 laptop program has brought students numerous benefits, giving students a tool to have access to the wider world beyond our CIS community. With the laptops, students are now able to attain readily accessible information from the vast Internet and their resources are not confined to those provided within the classrooms. Sharing and emailing documents online makes it harder for students to lose their homework, and it is more efficient for students to take notes on computers. To get a better idea of the benefits of the Laptop Policy, I decided to interview one of the students.

SOOYEON KIM,STUDENT,YEAR 10 1) What do you think are some of the advantages of the 1:1 Laptop Policy? I believe that there are a lot of advantages to the 1:1 Laptop Policy. Having a personal computer allows me to store all my schoolwork in one place and I don’t have to worry about losing my work. I can easily access my work during school and hand it in to my teachers. When I didn’t have a laptop, I had to rely on Netstorage, emailing, and having a USB stick to access and store my work. Having so many utilities often made things very difficult to keep track of where I was saving my documents and really hindered my organizational skills. Laptops are also beneficial because during class I can quickly access information on the Internet whenever I need to. Having this kind of access to the Internet is very useful and helps with my research.

2) What do you think are some of the disadvantages of the 1:1 Laptop Policy?

features “DURING CLASS, YOU OFTEN FIND A LOT OF STUDENTS ON FACEBOOK, SCROLLING THROUGH PICTURES THROUGH TUMBLR.”

here is a notable point raised from the interview. Although there are advantages with the laptop policy, the main disadvantage is the fact that laptops serve as a major distraction for students who have no selfcontrol. Especially since younger years from primary school are using laptops, it is important to not let distraction by computers become a problem out of hand. From young, the school should take responsibility to teach younger students how to use technology sensibly. For secondary students, unless there is a stringent policy to reduce distractions in the classroom, the Laptop Policy’s aim to provide as a tool for learning and enhancing organizational skills will be undermined. Although to a large extent each student is responsible for his or her learning, there must be several rules that accompany the use of laptops. tages. Some of the disadvantages include that it is easy to get distracted during class. Having access to the Internet means you can have access to information as well as Tumblr, Facebook, and YouTube. During class, you often find a lot of students on Facebook, scrolling through pictures on Tumblr. So, I believe that the main disadvantage of the laptop policy is it is so easy for students to get distracted by other social media sites.

3) Do you find that having your personal laptop during school is useful to your learning? Learning-wise, having a laptop during school isn’t that beneficial since teachers provide you with specific and useful resources. So there isn’t much of a need to go on the Internet to find more information. If anything, the information on the Internet is usually broad and goes off at different tangents from the topic we learn at school. However, organization-wise having a laptop is beneficial because as I said before, it stores all the information in one space and it’s easy to access a laptop that I always have with me at school.

Like most things, the Laptop Policy has benefits and disadvan-

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UNRWA: features

Photograph courtesy of Eric Tse

WRITTEN BY ERIC TSE There’s a pizza sale on the 7th floor.

This happens almost every week in CIS, making us the best customers of Pizza Box or Paisanos. Pizza is something that no one can resist. And for us CIS students, sparing 20 dollars for a slice of heaven is something that we’d do in our sleep. This is precisely why pizza sales are such great fundraisers. However, they aren’t as perfect as they seem. Very often, students rush up to the 7th floor to pay for a slice of overpriced pizza without actually knowing exactly why, or exactly how they are helping our society. But we knew it was going to be different this time. UNRWA week was going to be different. First of all, UNRWA week was already very different from any other week, as it only had three days. Nonetheless, the UNRWA group managed to organize a fun filled three-day week to not only raising money but also awareness for its meaningful cause. Before we started planning the events of the three-day UNRWA week, the group had to firstly understand what this organization was about. A great place to start was to learn what the five-letter acronym, UNRWA, stood for. It stands for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. So yes, it was quite tricky at first but our large group of volunteers learned it eventually. Established after the Arab-Israeli conflict in 1948, UNRWA’s purpose was to provide assistance, protection and advocacy for more than 5 million Palestine refugees in the Middle East. After understanding what UNRWA is all about, we started organizing events that could help out the cause by both raising funds and raising awareness. This was where the pizza sales and bake 62 XIAO HUA XH8 final.indd 62

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who are we?

sales came in. We held bake sales and pizza sales every single day of UNRWA week. However, in order to make these sales different from all the sales that also raise money for other important causes, the UNRWA group decided to add their own twist to them. Along with the popular pizza and brownies, we also sold Halal food, a food preparation method under the Islamic dietary law. All these sales totaled up to $6000, which is a great improvement from the amount that the UNRWA group raised last year. Other than raising funds, we also raised awareness about UNRWA’s cause. Along with the sales, we organized really interesting and engaging events throughout the week. On the first day of the three-day week, the group invited teachers down to the courtyard to dance the Macarena. Despite the humiliation of shaking their bums in front of the whole school, the teachers still managed to put on a great show for UNRWA. On the second day of the three-day week, there was a documentary screening on the 8th floor. We wanted to inform students of CIS how privileged we are to be able to live in the comforts of our own homes, to learn and acquire new skills in school, and to enjoy our human rights to the fullest possible extent. On the contrary, Palestine refugees have none of these privileges, and have lost their homes and means of livelihood in Israel as a result of the Arab-Israeli conflict. After the documentary screening, we also organized a small teacher-student discussion session, where teachers and students spoke about their encounters or thoughts of being a refugee. One of the English teachers in our school, Mr Phan, is a refugee himself. He is a Vietnamese refugee, fleeing from his home after the Vietnam War in fear of the new Communist Government. Through his stories about being a refugee, the students were able to learn a lot more about UNRWA’s cause. On the third and last day of UNRWA week, UNRWA held a Year 9 Choices session where our representatives gave presentations about the purpose of this organization and the events that have been affecting refugees recently. The presentations assisted the Year 9s in gaining a stronger understanding about the organisation they are helping this year, a local charity foundation called Crossroads, whos' mission is similar to UNRWAs. After the informative presentations, the group’s representatives also played some games with the Year 9s, making the session interactive. The Year 9s enjoyed the session a lot, and they learned a great deal from it that they would not have known otherwise. Other than a Year 9 Choices session, the UNRWA group also organized a friendly football match between the CIS Football team and refugees who were all extremely open about their experiences about being a fugitive. The football team had a great time, being able to learn from these people and interact with them. This shows that we are no different from these refugees, and that if we help them, we will definitely be able to make a difference in their lives. Through all these events, we have not only been able to raise funds to help the organization, but we have also been able to educate students of CIS about UNRWA and the lives of a refugee. Most importantly, we have been able to help students of CIS realize how fortunate they are to be living in Hong Kong when there are people around the world that don’t have the luxuries of living in their own homes. 3/6/13 7:35 PM

features 華籍同學們：你們有多“本土”呢？翟心慈

漢基校内被標為“本地人”的學生很多人，不論老師，朋友或家人都會問我:在漢基三年了，適應嗎？

十年級的時候，當我決定從本地學校轉到漢基時，難免會有小小擔心：我會適應到嗎？我來自一個普通的中產家庭; 原本的本地學校也不是名校。在家裡或與朋友溝通，也很少說英文。踏進漢基的第一天，我第一次真正體會到平時不講普通話或廣東話，反而滿口英語的華人。當時我很怕，怕會因為文化上的不同而交不到朋友。可是慢慢地，我發覺漢基和本地的學校有許多不同的地方。兩間學校的人始終長大於不同的文化裡，而漢基學生所接觸到的外國文化也自然較多。幸運地，漢基也有跟我一樣滿口廣東話，會聽本地，甚至台灣和韓國的音樂，每天晚上都會追看TVB的新劇集......這都是本土學生一部份的特徵。當然，漢基的學生不能稱“本地學生”，但我們能稱得上為“香港學生”嗎？除了學習環境和課程之外，漢基學生在成長時所吸收到的外國文化，在學校能夠跟不同國籍的人交流，還有家庭背景，都跟大部份本地學生有一定的差距。在學校講廣東話的我，經常會被標上“本土學生”的稱號；而我在漢基的三年裡，也遇到不少在校內被人説是“本土”的學生。究竟咱們同學所認定的“本地學生”有多“本地”呢？雖然我在學校會以廣東話為溝通的主要語言，但廣東話中也不免會夾著一兩句英文。這是漢基和大部份國際學校所謂“本地學生”的特徵－說話時很自然地用英文代替不懂用中文表達的詞句。是不是某些英文詞彙用久了，用慣了；所 image from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/be/Hong_Kong_ﬂag-map.svg/600px-Hong_Kong_ﬂag-map.svg.png

以用中文交談時，還會不自覺地夾雜著英文？在本地學校，這可是非常罕有的。可是，我們也有一部份的同學跟外面本地學校的學生一樣熱愛甚至沈迷在韓國的音樂和台灣的偶像劇中，可見語言對我們漢基的學生來說並不是一個障礙。我們當然也有一部份的學生，跟我一樣偶然會追看本地電視台的電視劇。但漢基的“本地學生”每天都在身邊的同學中漸漸吸收外國的文化，所以看的電影，電視劇和聽的音樂也很少只是集中在亞洲內。雖然漢基內被稱為“本地學生”的同學跟真正本地學生除了語言外，文化上也沒存在太大的差別，可是說到政治，人生目標和人生觀漢基的學生跟本地的學生一定折然不同。畢竟，我們成長的背景截然不同，認識世界和了解不同觀點的機會也比較多，因此對世界的看法會跟本土學生也有一定差別。漢基學生所認定的“本地學生”，其實只不過是在許多國際學校都會出現的“混合品種”。所謂混合，其實基於國際學生本身已有的本地文化，再加上教育中與不同國籍的學生和老師相處而得出的結果。而香港土生土長的學生在漢基很容易便會接觸到多國的文化，所以我們本身的文化便會跟其他國家的文化產生一種漢基獨有的“國際本地學生”。我們這個混合品種除了能享受自己的文化，又會懂得接受和欣賞其他國家的文化。做人不能忘本，要飲水思源。身處於像香港般的國際都會，也要懂得享受別的文化。在全球化的影響下，我們這一代的學生要懂得身處在不同的國度下，也要懂得跟不同的人溝通。身處在漢基，我們既能接觸到不同的觀點和想法，又能從身邊不同的朋友中吸收自己香港獨特的文化。無論你自稱是華人，中國人，臺灣人或香港人，流落的確實是華籍血統。雖然身在漢基的我們有許多優勝的地方，但萬萬不能完全陶醉於外國的一切，而抛開自己本身的歷史，忘卻自己的文化。

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Images used in collage: http://images.celebrateexpress.com/mgen/merchandiser/87063.jpg?zm=1600,1600,1,0,0 http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0061/6462/products/HAR792MCF_1024x1024.jpg?8844 http://www.npss.prn.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/MPj0439409000011.jpg http://www.coffeestainedcards.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/pile-of-books.jpg http://2020science.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/TI84plus.jpg https://www.sbx-osu.com/catalog/images/785graduation_cap.jpg http://www.volunteer.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0017/95003/graduate.jpg http://lacrosseunlimited.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/Z/e/Zephyr_Snapback_Hat_Princeton_University_Tigers_Lacrosse_Hat_3.png

features

writer | susan maginn photograph | claudia ng

meritocracy

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features

is not unusual to hear the term “meritocracy” being lauded, and yet what most people don’t know is that the term “meritocracy” is a relatively new one, and was first used pejoratively. It seems impossible to imagine a situation in which intellect is not the best criterion for advancement. Indeed most regard the efficacy of the government to be hindered by mass corruption, nepotism, and peculation; these problems seem to be easily solved with a system of meritocracy. The class-based elite would be replaced with a hierarchy of talent; the hard working and capable populace would be able to climb the rungs of the social ladder which had been hitherto inaccessible. The concept of meritocracy has undoubtedly existed for centuries; the first meritocratic system was implemented in the second century BC, in China, when the world’s first civil service exams were introduced. These exams were designed to evaluate the merit of officials so that only the most talented would advance in society. However, it was Michael Young, Baron Young of Dartington (1915-2002), a British politician, who first christened the oligarchy of the future ‘meritocracy’ in his influential satirical essay “The Rise of the Meritocracy”, published in 1958. Young was writing for the Fabian Society, a British socialist organisation, and originally intended the word to have negative connotations and as a result he was disappointed with the way in which subsequent governments came to suggest that meritocracy was a principle worth striving for. Today, the word “meritocracy” has a firm place in any English dictionary, and may as well constitute the basic foundation for success in the twenty-first century.

In “The Rise of the Meritocracy”, Young pictured a fictional futuristic dystopia set in 2034, United Kingdom, in which the government favoured intelligence and aptitude only, hence the term meritocracy. The essay, written in first-person narration, interweaves history from pre- and post-war British politics with imagined future policies. At the heart of it, “The Rise of the Meritocracy” was a harsh social commentary on the governments at the time which ignored the shortcomings of the education system. Young questioned the legitimacy of the selection process and the outcomes of being ruled by a narrowly defined group. His argument was that from such zealous adherence to intelligence arises only arrogance and complacency, and that “creative minority” or members of the “restless elite” could not be the only contributors to society. Young’s fundamental principle was that “every selection of one is a rejection of many”, and that the danger of a criterion such as merit was that there were inevitable casualties of progress in the “stolid mass” as their influence could very easily be underestimated and ignored. Imagine this. The most intelligent children are quickly drawn from the pool of average children and are siphoned into elite prestigious schools and institutions. They are provided with the best resources, and grow up to be hard working, capable, smart workers, who earn the highest pay, and ascend to the highest positions in the job market. As for the rest of the populace, now deemed to be “talentless” and “useless”, not only are they severely demoralised and looked down upon, but their education and employment are of lower quality too. At best, they are encouraged to “try harder next time” but in reality are unexpected by

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society to accomplish much of anything. They are simply required to continue plodding away like a mill horse and complete the most simple and mundane tasks. The problem evidently lies in current educational models, which purport equal opportunity, but are not particularly fair. What we are witnessing is a curious phenomenon beginning to take shape, particularly in more developed nations, where meritocracy is upheld. The current 1 per cent are in their position due to their merit, and hence, they are able to send their children to prestigious schools, receive better education, and catapult their future generations into the 1 per cent again. Wealth itself can be considered as “distilled opportunity” and hence the cycle of elitism is perpetuated. In today’s day and age, it is education which elevates you. One needs intelligence, qualification, experience, application, and a certain calibre to achieve a certain status; in other words, one requires merit to advance. This merit can only be nurtured to its fullest with top quality education. It isn’t surprising therefore to discover that 80 per cent of leading figures in public 66 XIAO HUA XH8 final.indd 66

service - be it royalty, national, public, or local government organisations - in Britain, were privately educated. What this demonstrates is that most of the current elite in Britain have come from similar family backgrounds and received similar education. Social mobility, so heralded in meritocracy, appears to be nothing more than an illusion. Whilst some “rags to riches” stories stand, it seems that for most, climbing up the rungs of the social ladder is near impossible. Nonetheless, whilst there are many practical problems on the road to

we “level the playing field”. In this way, all those with relevant potential are able to advance and contribute as much as possible. It is in the method of eliminating “unchosen inequalities” that difficulties arise. Funding from the government, a transparent and holistic examination process, and the emphasis on one-chance exams that determine your band in the local band system are just some of the practical problems that are brought up. In Hong Kong alone, there are a number of different education models, some of which people could argue better prepare

Wealth itself can be considered as “distilled opportunity” and hence the cycle of elitism is perpetuated. ensuring equal access to opportunity in education this fundamental principle remains advantageous to society as a whole. The idea is that initial “unchosen inequalities” are eliminated as much as possible in education, so that as a society

its students compared to others. The CIS educational system, for example exemplifies elitism. Firstly, our school prides itself on “academic excellence” and hence is exclusive in the students that we accept. All students

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features “...the meritocratic institutions of today can all too easily create income and wealth inequality and maintain the status quo of elitism which it is attempting to combat.” undergo a rigorous entrance exam, and only those who perform exceptionally are accepted. Secondly, CIS is exclusive in terms of the socio-economic backgrounds of the pool of applicants that it draws. Solving the equity issues in education include far more than simply introducing financial aid in CIS, but rather noticing and explaining the gap that currently exists between local schools and schools such CIS which are recognised as offering top quality education. Evidently, if not for the quality of education offered at CIS, parents would be less inclined to send their children here. In all societies, we strive to provide our children with the best; only some are able to do so financially. However, the increasingly competitive race to the top doesn’t seem to complement the principles of equal opportunity in this era of No Child Left Behind. Certainly, the policies of No Child Left Behind, which are aimed to “level the playing field” of state schools in America, are noticeably absent in Hong Kong. Quite the opposite, in fact, as the Hong Kong local school model is distinctly hierarchical. Schools and pupils in Hong Kong are “banded”, and what band a student is placed in and their resultant secondary school affects their tertiary choices and the rest of their life. Students in “Band 3” are demoralised, as they are characterised as the “trouble students” before their schooling even begins. They have few successful peers to model their behaviour after, and indeed possess dimin-

ished chances of moving into higher bands or indeed university. The remnants of the old caste systems echo in Hong Kong’s local education system, with an ostensibly flexible and supportive band system in schools that ultimately restrict and rigidify the entire process. Hong Kong’s educational system, in following meritocratic principles, has ultimately failed its students, by locking them in categories which are limiting and should be redundant. Likewise, private schools such as CIS merely perpetuate social immobility. The same scenario is taking place all over the world; it is the disparity that exists in educational systems; the paradox of fairness and meritocracy. Ultimately, we must question whether an egalitarian society in which children receive education and resources on an equal level is desired, even if made possible. It is all too likely that under such a system, fairness and equality would only lead to reduced incentives, a decrease in the overall quality of education, and slow if not stagnant technological advances in society. On the other hand, the meritocratic institutions of today can all too easily create income and wealth inequality and maintain the status quo of elitism which it is attempting to combat. Until a better alternative is suggested however, it may be that the rise of meritocracy is the inevitable future.

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The Braemar Hill Traffic Jam: Have we simply If stopped caring?

Words // KENDRA CUI Illustration // AUDREY HIOE Photographs // CLAUDIA NG & MATTHEW HO Layout // CHLOE MOK

If there is one problem that we as a community must deal with incessantly, it is the severe traffic congestion on Braemar Hill. Year in and year out, students have been forced to sit through longer and longer traffic jams. Students, who already have to wake up early to begin school at 7:55, now must wake up at 6:55, then 6:50, then 6:40 just to make it to school on time. Yet with each passing year, it seems that the majority of the student body has come to just accept this problem—we endure it, dozing off in our vehicles to pass the time. It seems that our apathy has led us to brush off this problem, resulting in stagnancy and inaction. There is nothing that can be done. And, until now, hardly anyone seemed willing to do anything. However, as Ms. Safaya, our Head of Local and Global Engagement puts it: “This is the year for change.” With more initiatives springing up this year to try and tackle this problem, it is evident that Ms. Safaya’s words are being acted upon. More and more people are consciously involved in trying to tackle this problem, and making an impact on our community. One group of students that has been consistently involved with this issue is the Year 12 IBDP Geography students. At the beginning of every year, these students do a survey on the Braemar Hill Traffic Issue. They study various causes of the traffic congestion, and document its effects on the both the school and Braemar Hill communities.

Over the years, they have amassed some startling statistics:

95%

of the traffic heading up the hill between 7:15 and 7:55 belongs to CIS.

Of the vehicles belonging to CIS,

85%

are private cars.

At peak hours, what should be a 2 minute journey from the Pacific Palisades to Hau Yuen Path becomes a 10 minute journey—slower than a person walking up the hill 68 XIAO HUA XH8 final.indd 68

Noise levels caused by the traffic average between 60dB to

80dB,

with 80dB certified as potetially hazardous to hearing by health organizations such as the American Speech Hearing Association.

For a CIS student who attends school from Year 1 to Year 13, he/she spends a total of continuous days waiting in traffic

In the worst case scenario, the traffic jam from CIS down to Cloud View Road can extend to as long as 1.2 km. This is even worse for the path from CIS to Tin Hau Temple Road; the traffic jam can extend to 2.5km in the worst case (Your writer knows this statistic very well because she was the one who ran down the hill then back up to collect this bit of information)

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features

: Over

the years, the different IBDP Geography classes have consistently drawn the same conclusions: the Braemar Hill traffic problem is no doubt caused by CIS students, and the effects have gradually worsened with each passing year. However, what some members of the CIS community forget to consider is that in addition to affecting CIS students, this traffic problem also affects the quality of life on Braemar Hill. Many residents of Braemar Hill complain that they too must wake up earlier to get to work on time, and the sound and air pollution caused by vehicles is affecting their health adversely. While some of us sleep comfortably in our singly or doubly-occupied private cars, those who take public transport, use the school bus, or who are residents of Braemar Hill must bear the brunt of the inconvenience caused by these cars. Why is it, then, if our problem

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1 2 3

4 5

Change the road layout to accommodate for drop-offs and remove awkward turns: Although one of the more effective plans, as it would allow for traffic to flow more smoothly at parts of the road such as at the end of Hau Yuen Path, feasibility is definitely an issue. Government funding and approval would be necessary to reroute roads, and the situation may worsen during construction periods. Staggering primary and secondary starting times: Although this may help reduce the extent of the problem, it definitely would not tackle the cause of the problem. Also, it may inconvenience families who have children in both primary and secondary, and would affect the starting times of other schools in Hau Yuen Path. Implement a policy whereby families must pay for a permit to enter Hau Yuen Path or Wai Tsui Crescent: This would be effective in deterring people from using private cars in the mornings, but given the socio-economic status of CIS families, fees charged would have to be exorbitant to deter families. CIS also does not have legal power to both implement and enforce this measure, as both Hau Yuen Path and Wai Tsui Crescent are the property of the government, not CIS. Parents, especially those who have genuine needs in using a private car, may not approve. Mandatory carpooling for those taking private cars: This would certainly reduce the number of cars on the road, and may even encourage students to make new friends through sharing cars, but would be difficult to enforce and coordinate. Complete ban on private cars: The most effective measure in tackling this problem, this solution has been greatly successful in schools such as HKIS, which has experienced the same problem in the past. However, CIS would need legal backing to implement this measure, police assistance to ban private cars entering Hau Yuen Path and Wai Tsui Crescent, and this measure may be met with vehement resistance from those using private cars. In addition, it would be difficult to distinguish CIS cars from non-CIS cars.

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With so many adverse effects caused by the traffic problem in Braemar Hill, what can we do to solve this problem? Here are a few solutions that have been tossed around in the past.

has become so severe, these solutions have not been implemented already? Aside from reasons such as legal complications and the difficulty of enforcing certain measures, perhaps the largest reason for the lack of previous initiative would be resistance from students and parents who are unwilling to change their ways in order to benefit the larger community. Although a part of the private-car-using population already carpools, and has a genuine need to use private cars (due to lack of school bus routes next to their residences), the majority of students who take private cars are still unwilling to give up unnecessary luxuries, as they are not the ones bearing the brunt of this traffic problem. This is also unfair towards students who choose to take the school bus and do not contribute to this problem. In the past, parents and students have both complained about waking up fifteen or twenty minutes earlier for school buses, but these pick up times would not be so early if there were less private cars and less congestion.

tion—seem to be unaware of this problem and even resist certain measures designed to implement this problem.

Has the CIS community simply stopped caring for others? We are constantly told over and over again that it is “one for all and all for one”, but it seems that the Braemar Hill traffic issue has been so ingrained into our minds that we are simply apathetic; we are not the ones bearing the brunt of the problem, so we simply don’t care and let others suffer for the problems we create.

However, recent student groups have been determined to make a change, and to show neighboring communities that CIS students indeed do care about others. The week beginning the 25th of February, a new driver’s code of conduct was introduced in order to reduce the impact of the congestion. Concerned students and members of the CISPTA decided the time was ripe to implement this initiative. There also seems to be a certain lack Although this solution may not seem radical enough to create of awareness among some groups of parents. Although many parents any long lasting change, the ideas have first-hand experience dealing behind this solution were directed with the traffic congestion on Brae- at changing students’ and parents’ mentality towards this problem. mar Hill, be it through watching their children wake up earlier and As asking parents to give up using earlier for school buses or driving their children themselves to school, private cars would be too extreme and would be met with strong a certain number of parents—esresistance, changing drivers’ habpecially those who do not witness first-hand the extent of this conges- its is the least we could ask for. If

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features people are unwilling to change even the smallest of habits, how can the school implement stricter measures without more resistance? Both the school board and CISPTA do not want to implement drastic measures, but instead give those using private cars a chance to show that they can be caring and considerate drivers. For example, the code simply asked that common courtesies be demonstrated by parents and students when using private cars in Hau Yuen Path. It asks parents to avoid taking too long to kiss and say goodbye to their children. It asks students to be ready to disembark when the car is in Hau Yuen Path, instead of sleeping and spending three minutes to get their bags from the boot. And it asks drivers to cooperate with the policemen, as the police are doing everything they can to around usâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;especially the Braemar Hill make sure traffic flows smoothly. neighborhood. Regrettably, there have still been isolated cases of drivers behaving extremely aggressively towards policemen to the extent that policemen no longer bother to issue tickets to inconsiderately double or triple-parked vehicles. Much of the onus has been placed on students to encourage others; if students are eager to help in solving this problem, parents and drivers are much more likely to follow suit, as drivers especially will be more inclined to follow the lead and mentality of students instead of listen to the directions of policemen or school teachers. Primary students especially have been very enthusiastic in tackling these problems; every morning, there are many endearing scenes of primary students racing to see who can get out of the car first, and this has no doubt inspired accompanying parents to drive more considerately to help solve this issue. Thus, at its root, the new drivers code of conduct is aimed at tackling the mentality of the CIS community; it simply encourages students, parents and drivers alike to use a bit more common sense and show a bit more care and consideration to others

Another recent initiative that has sprung up is the Bringing Environmentally Sustainable Transport or B.E.S.T. Expo, a one-day event hosted by a group of Year 11 and 12 students along with the geography department in early June. The aim of this expo is to bring together members of the public, businesses, NGOs, politicians and other schools who have had experience dealing with traffic issues, and share stories regarding overcoming traffic congestions. Schools which spoke included HKIS, which has had spectacular success in dealing with school-related traffic congestion, and NGOs such as Clean Air Network were also present. The presence of the general public and members of the Braemar Hill community was indispensable as well. Through learning from other schools how they tackled certain traffic issues and collaborating with businesses who dealt with green transport, much insight was shared and gained by all. More importantly, the event fostered a sense of community; CIS is not only a community in itself, but is part of the larger Braemar Hill and Hong Kong community, and should strive to be caring members of those communities

too. Since the implementation of the new driverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s code of conduct, feedback has been incredibly positive. The longest trip from the Pacific Palisades to Hau Yuen Path decreased from 10 minutes to 4 minutes. Hardly any buses are arriving late to school now. And Quarry Bay School, our neighbor across the street, posted a note on its wall thanking all members of the CIS community. All this occurred because of a simple change in mentality. Our challenge now is to maintain this progress, and make sure that we do not become complacent. However, in wake of the amazing improvements CIS has made, the future seems optimistic. This truly goes to show that small acts can make a difference!

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features

The Hong Kong Refugees Adrvice Centre (HKRAC). Photograph courtesy of HKRAC.

A country is persecuting me. Should I come to Hong Kong? CLARON NIU investigates the reality behind the refugee situation in Hong Kong. >>

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features the legal framework under which refugees can Glass buildings tower above the be granted refugee status – Hong Kong is only a streets below. The sea is sandtransit point for refugees, not a final destination. wiched between two rows of skyThis often leads to sticky situations for refugees. scrapers, reflecting the ringing Because the process of gaining refugee status blue of the sky off its calm surface. requires heavy paperwork (that is, legalistic), and, because Hong Kong does not officially recognise Small boats move across the warefugees, some refugees have been mired in Hong ter, like insects on a pond. You are Kong for 7 years. flying into Victoria Harbour. And Ms. Otero from the HKRAC (Hong Kong you are a refugee. Refugees Advice Centre) for more information.

You have been flying from Somalia for 20 hours, escaping persecution in your home country. You turn up on the shores of Hong Kong, only to find that your application for refugee status has been rejected. And you are then deported back to Somalia. This, unfortunately, is what greets the majority of the refugees that come to Hong Kong. But there are strong arguments for granting refugee status for the people that do come to Hong Kong. But firstly, what is a refugee? Under International law, a refugee is someone who:

. ?

is outside their country of nationality or habitual residence has a well-founded fear of being persecuted because of his or her race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, and is unwilling or unable to get protection from his or her country or nationality or habitual residence These points are based on the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees—which also sets out the rights of persons seeking asylum and the responsibilities of states granting asylum. A refugee, however, is not someone who seeks economic aid or a person that leaves their home country in search of better employment prospects and welfare. Also under the 1951 Convention, refugees are granted the rights of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As of now, Hong Kong has not yet ratified the 1951 convention – which often leads refugees that arrive in Hong Kong into a ‘limbo’ situation, and, because Hong Kong lacks

What rights do refugees have in Hong Kong?

Regrettably, refugees are not granted many rights here because Hong Kong has not signed the 1951 Refugee Convention. As such, the Hong Kong government offers no legal framework for refugee protection, and in order to fill this gap, the UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency) processes claims for refugees seeking asylum. Although Hong Kong is not bound by the Refugee Convention, it does have legal obligations to refugees under seven core international human rights treaties to which it is bound related to refugees’ civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. Nonetheless, in practice, refugees receive very minimal levels of welfare assistance that are not updated frequently enough to adjust to changes in the cost of living and fall short of allowing them to enjoy an adequate standard of living and live in dignity. For example, with housing, they receive 1,200 HKD per month per person for rental allowance, payable directly to the landlord. With Hong Kong being one of the most expensive and quickly rising property markets in the world, this amount does not get you very far! So, refugees are forced to live in housing that is of low quality, unsafe, cramped and often on the outskirts of the city far from services. Life is also getting harder for them. The UN Refugee Agency headquarters, due to the effects of the international financial crisis and competing humanitarian situations globally, has been forced to make cuts to its budget, with repercussions for the Hong Kong Sub-office. It is going to have to discontinue the 500 HKD a month cash assistance it provides to recognized refugees. This was announced just this February and is devastating news that will make a big negative impact in the lives of refugees. As NGOs, we operate on very tight budgets, but we are trying to see how we can fill this gap, although we would really like to see the government take more responsibility. ISSUE 8

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features

What would a typical day of a refugee be like in Hong Kong? It is hard to describe what a “typical” day in the life of a refugee might be because they come from so many different countries and have such diverse situations and backgrounds. In short, each case is quite unique. However, I think there are a couple of pervasive experiences that all refugees feel in their lives. In Hong Kong being a refugee, unfortunately, involves a lot of waiting. Refu-

gees often wait months or years for their claim for refugee status to be processed and once they have been granted refugee status, they must then await resettlement to another country, which can also be a lengthy procedure. During this time that they have to wait—for reasons outside their control—they are not allowed to work, to receive vocational training or university education or to even volunteer! This can be very frustrating, and makes them feel like they lack a purpose, negatively affecting their self-esteem. Many of them are young, and like all young people, they have dreams and goals about what they want to accomplish in life too. For example, one of our clients had to wait seven years for his claim to be accepted. He said that in this time, he could have completed a PhD. For this reason, many of our clients describe life in Hong Kong as “living in limbo”.

Illustration by Kelly Luy

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This is how Ali found himself in Hong Kong - with no money and no belongings, in a foreign land where he didn’t speak the language. Ali explained to immigration officials that he was here to seek safety, and after some time in detention, Ali was encouraged to open a case for asylum protection with the UN Refugee Agency. Unfortunately Ali was confused when he retold what had happened to him. He wasn’t sure exactly how long he’d been held in captivity, and he was too embarrassed to tell his interviewing officer what had happened to his Mum & his sister. As a result, Ali’s case was rejected. At this point, Ali was terrified he would be deported, fearing that on return he would certainly be killed for trying to flee.

Fortunately a friend directed Ali to the Hong Kong Refugee Advice Centre (HKRAC). At HKRAC a lawyer worked with Ali to explain why he was confused about the dates. A referral for counseling also helped Ali talk about what he’d seen Combined with this is the uncertainty happen to his family. HKRAC helped they feel about not knowing when, Ali submit an appeal against his rejecwhere or how their journey will end, tion and eventually receive the refugee which can understandably produce stress recognition he deserved. Ali is now and anxiety. In short, they sometimes living in safety in Canada. feel like they have no control over their lives. Refugees are survivors who have HKRAC is the only dedicated provider experienced enough suffering in their of free legal services to refugees like Ali. home country. Hong Kong has a duty Since its establishment five years ago, to ensure that they are able to enjoy the HKRAC has given over 1,000 refugee human rights to which they are entitled. men, women and children a fair chance at a brighter future. I also asked Ms. Otero to talk about a refugee that came to Hong Kong. There is a case to be made for granting refugees the status that they are accordRefugee Story ed under international law. The first is Ali was just 16 years old when he fled his moral. As can be seen from Ms. Otero’s home country of Somalia. As a member answers, refugees face hardships and of a minority clan, he’d experienced dis- discrimination in their home countries crimination his whole life. This all came that force them to flee. As a society, we need to ask ourselves whether we to a head one night when rebel militia have a responsibility to protect vulnerstormed his village. Rebels murdered Ali’s Dad and sexually assaulted his Mum able groups of people. The point that I & sister. They then kidnapped Ali along raised earlier – that waiting for Refugee determination is often like living in with other boys from the village and limbo – places huge psychological distress held him captive for months. While in and pressure on refugees. This stress is captivity, Ali was physically and emooften like a multiplier- as refugees often tionally tortured, and told to join the undergo much strain from leaving their militia or be killed. Luckily Ali escaped to his Uncle, who was able to give all his own countries. Moreover, the statement savings to an agent who promised to get ‘we should look after our own before we help others’ should be examined him out of the country. in regards to Hong Kong’s situation.

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features Around 700-800 refugees a year come to Hong Kong to seek protection, and only 100 are typically granted refugee status. The numbers of refugees that come to Hong Kong are indeed small – especially relative to the global refugee count and Hong Kong’s population. Lastly, Hong Kong’s government argues that according refugees the right to stay in Hong Kong would have a floodgate effect. Yet, the numbers of refugees that come to Hong Kong are extremely small, and it is not apparent that Hong Kong would become a magnet for global refugees. The second is economic. Refugees that come to Hong Kong are not given employment or labour rights – due to Hong Kong’s complex refugee system. As such, refugees are forced to subsist on 1,200 HKD a month for rent and 500 HKD allowance from the UNHCR. But, a refugee is not necessarily someone with low skills or an inability to work. Because Hong Kong’s refugees are not allowed to work – this leads to social stigma of a ‘dependent’ or ‘entitled’ refugee. Ironically, however, Hong Kong’s legal framework is often what causes refugees to depend on the state. Releasing refugees into the workforce would be much more productive. It would allow refugees to provide for themselves, give labour back into Hong Kong’s economy, and possibly provide more skill sets to Hong Kong’s workforce. Consider the examples of Albert Einstein, former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Brazilian musician Gilberto Gil or Chilean author Isabel Allende. The last is political. Hong Kong is routinely criticised for its failure to ratify the 1951 convention – which can often hurt Hong Kong’s clout in other areas of international relations. Hong Kong is also one of the only developed jurisdictions that has not developed a sophisticated legal framework to deal with refugee issues. We also term ourselves ‘Asia’s World City’, but to what extent, if any, is Hong Kong a world city if it does not recognise refugees – but instead treats them as illegal immigrants? Hong Kong’s refusal to ratify the convention does indeed stem from a broad indifference in the local population – yet it hurts our status as an international and developed city.

Although this seems like a thorny and complex issue, CIS students can do much to help. Currently, HKRAC identifies the lack of public pressure as one of the reasons for why Hong Kong’s legislative body has failed to ratify the 1951 Convention. We can surely raise awareness, write letters, and leverage our outsized influence in the Hong Kong community to make a change. This is of special importance to CIS. We have never shied away from our privileged position in the city. Now is the time to use it.

What does HKRAC do to help refugees and how can you make a difference?

The Hong Kong Refugee Advice Centre is the only NGO dedicated to giving free legal assistance to refugees making claims for asylum to UNHCR (The UN Refugee Agency) in Hong Kong. We also advocate for their rights and generate awareness among the public about their difficult situation in Hong Kong while they await resettlement. I am always inspired by the motivation and eagerness young people have to make a change in their community. One of the best things that you can do to make a difference in the lives of refugees is to change mind-sets and do awareness-raising on the real situation of refugees in Hong Kong. There are a lot of misperceptions which can cause confusion about who refugees are, and at worst, can fuel intolerance, hostilities and negative stereotyping. I encourage everyone to be an ambassador for refugee rights and to speak up if you hear false information. If you are interested in lending your support to the Hong Kong Refugee Advice Centre, such as if you have an idea for a fundraising event, a school function or project, we are always happy to hear from you. You can contact us at: info@hkrac. org. You can also join the conversation by reading our blog and signing up to our newsletter on our website (www.hkrac. org), liking our Facebook page, and following us on Twitter (@hkrac)!

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editorials

How do we measure success? By Mr. Caves, layout by Zoe Suen.

How did you do?

attempting to avoid the steely glares they should consider that there are

That’s the first question we tend to from the other onlooking mums

“two ways to win.” One way to win

ask of someone when they get their and dads, turned to her husband

involves the simple matter of the

English essay, or Chinese test, or for some moral support and solace.

result of the match. It’s important,

Mathematics assessment back. This She said that it didn’t help much

there’s no getting around it.

is almost always interpreted as, when her husband, also having “What did you get? Did you get a witnessed the mayhem below, 7?” The same applies when we walk turned to her at that very moment, off the basketball court or netball arms also aloft, and proudly court, or come out of a music declared to all in sundry, “That’s my competition. How did you do? girl!” translates as “Did you win?” or, It would seem that most little “What place did you come?” But is children, like most of us bigger

However, what was of much greater significance to Chuck was the other way to win, which is often wrongfully disregarded, and sometimes entirely overlooked. “Were you pleased with your performance?” he would ask. “Did

that what “How did you do?” really children, are competitive, at least to

you give it absolutely everything

means?

some degree, and want to win.

you had?” The answers to these

My eldest niece, Eilidh, used to

Whether it’s scoring a penalty,

questions were the true measure of

attend a “Soccer Tots” football

achieving a top grade, or closing an

success for Chuck. “If the answer

class when she was three years old.

important deal, we want to win.

to these questions is yes”, he would

My sister, tells the story of Eilidh’s

Results, grades, and positions

tell his students, “no one can

reaction when she slotted a penalty

matter, of course they do. They go

question the outcome of the

for the very first time against a little

a long way to determining the next

result.” Effort, attitude and

boy who was in goal, also aged

stage of our education, our career,

performance always trumped the

three. My sister recounts looking

and our future sporting, musical or

score in his book.

on in abject horror from the

dramatic activities. Results are the

balcony as her darling little

most obvious way in which we

daughter proceeded to thrust her

measure success, or, more often,

arms triumphantly in the air and

how our success is measured by

run around the gymnasium in

others. And yet, are results alone

celebration, shouting “Look

the true measure of success? Are

mummy, I won, I won, I beat him, I results alone even the best measure beat him, I beat him” all the while

of success?

pointing menacingly at the poor,

Please forgive a few anecdotal

forlorn little boy languishing in the

sporting analogies…

goal.

A friend of mine, Chuck, who was

My sister, trying to come to terms

a tennis coach in Philadelphia,

with the carnage she had just

always used to say to his students

witnessed, while simultaneously

that every time they went on court,

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editorials Wayne Gretzky, or “The Great One” as he’s called in North

those lessons in practice, and to improve on our

America, is without question peerless in the world of ice

performance the next time, are of much greater significance

hockey. Gretzky played for twenty years in the NHL from

than any single loss or disappointing result.

1979-1999 and holds 61 records within the sport, including,

A sense of humour also helps. In 1973, American tennis

most assists in a season, most assists of all time, most goals

player Vitus Gerulitis achieved a momentous victory against

in a season and most goals of all time. He was voted MVP

the legend that was Jimmy Connors. It was momentous

in the NHL nine times in his career, he won the Stanley Cup

primarily because Gerulitis had endured a spectacular run of

four times, and his shirt, number 99, has been retired from

16 consecutive defeats against Connors. When he eventually

the League altogether in his honour. As well as his immense

overcame his nemesis, he was asked by a reporter just how

talent, Gretzky was famous for training for five hours a day

he had finally been able to get the monkey off his back.

and he was meticulous in his practice routines. He said,

Quick as a flash Gerulitis replied, “Nobody, nobody, beats

“The highest compliment you can ever pay me, is to say that

Vitus Gerulitis 17 times in a row…”

I work hard every day.”

Roger Federer, at the grand old age of 31, has won a record

Towards the end of his career, Gretzky was asked by a

17 grand slam tennis titles: seven Wimbledons, five US

reporter, “How do you continue to motivate yourself night

Opens, four Australian Opens, and one precious victory at

after night, game after game, after everything you’ve

Rolland Garros in France. Few people would begrudge

achieved?” Gretzky replied, “Every time I go out on the ice,

Federer the moniker of “GOAT” (greatest of all time), and

I say to myself that there must be at least one person in the

he’s still got a few years left in him yet. A few years ago,

crowd tonight who has never seen me play, and I go out

when he was probably at the height of his powers, Federer

“

there to impress that one person.”

was asked, “Roger, you’ve won an incredible array of major titles in a very short period of time, what do you consider to be the most important match you’ve ever played?” Federer

A determina+on to learn from our mistakes, to apply those lessons in prac+ce, and to improve on our performance the next +me, are of much greater signiﬁcance than any single loss or disappoin+ng result.

”

mulled this over briefly and then replied, “I haven’t played it yet. It’s my next match. It’s always my next match.” Another sporting icon, Vince Lombardi, was the feted Head Coach of the Green Bay Packers American Football team from 1958-1967, winning six Division titles, five NFL Championships, and the very first two Superbowls. Lombardi is famous for his numerous sporting soundbites and inspirational quotations, but perhaps one of his most notable comments is applicable to us all and in everything we do, “Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is.” Were you pleased with your performance? Did you give it absolutely everything you had? These are the questions we should ask ourselves when measuring our success, in whatever field. If the answer to these questions is yes, no

Sport is an education in itself. No matter how talented or

one can question the outcome of the result.

dominant an individual may be in his or her field, it is

Therefore, the next time someone asks, “How did you do?”

virtually inconceivable for anyone to be victorious

whether it is in regard to your latest assessment, swim meet,

throughout their entire career. Not even sporting icons such

or debating competition, perhaps you should tell them just

as Muhammed Ali, Michael Jordan, or Martina Navratilova

that, how you did, not what you got.

have enjoyed an unblemished record. Coming to terms with the fact that sometimes we won’t achieve the result we hoped for is painful, it hurts, and that is probably no bad thing. 2 A determination to learn from our mistakes, to apply XH8 final.indd 77

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editorials

作

沫我我還我

時再種以上幾步下席典易我

Illustration: Candice Lincon Layout: Bernetta Li

會

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editorials

沙士十年港人 “善忘”

作者：梁穎彤

我每逢聽到背後有 “咳－咳”聲，或是更有能將飛沫連病菌發砲至遠方的打噴嚏聲，病菌得意地立足在我身上、衣服上；這令人起雞皮疙瘩的畫面就浮現在我的腦海中，使我顫抖。是的，我對細菌特別敏感，還隨身帶著消毒酒精液，但是我可以十分肯定地說，我腦海中的“妄想”其實跟實況差不了多少。香港的流感高峰期是每年1至3月和7至8月；每當此時，學校裡總是彌漫著無法抑制的咳嗽、打噴嚏聲。再加上潮溼的天氣，校園彷如都被病菌籠罩了。在這種環境下，抵抗力差的、壓力大的、睡不好的人也難以避免染上疾病。現在很多人的鼻子也是淡紅色的，上課時都在群體“包雲吞”，無時無刻不往垃圾筒走幾趟，撒下一團團的紙巾。我們通常就是病到這個地步，卻沒有發燒或怎麼的，所以便照常上學。你咳一下、我打個噴嚏；一個傳一個，使班上總是有人缺席。雖然我不是醫生，但從“沙士”到現在，甚麼非典型肺炎、禽流感、豬流感、普通流感不就是這樣輕易地、廣泛地經飛沫或呼吸道分泌物而傳播開去？而我們當中，誰不知道生病時應戴上口罩的基本常識？老實說，不負責任的我不論生病與否都不喜歡也不會戴口罩。原因很簡單：我愛吃喝東西，戴著口罩真

的很麻煩；戴著口罩很悶熱；而且因群體壓力，所以在學校戴著會感到話不合群。以上是一些很差勁的藉口，我也為此自愧。但其實學校中，這是和我一樣的大部分的人，務求為了方便自己及迎合群體的典型行為。走過“沙士”十年，我們究竟從此大事中汲取到甚麼教訓呢？當時的我僅僅唸小一，記得每人的臉都給很酷－N-95口罩蓋了一半。我對“沙士”的回憶只限於放長假期、與同學們互相分享帶有香氣的消毒啫喱、看著新聞報導著淘大花園的疫況、聽著煲醋和喝板藍根能預防沙士的謠言等。雖然當時年幼無知的我對“ 沙士”沒有甚麼深刻的體悟，但我相信很多人都記得昔日“勤洗手”、“1比99”（漂白水）等推廣個人及公共衛生的宣傳口號，正確的洗手方法、生病時要戴上口罩等普通衛生常識。電視特輯“沙士十年”中，人人都說港人“善忘”，十年前的戴口罩、“勤洗手”熱潮已經逐漸退下。轉眼間“沙士”都過了十年；雖然今天的流感怎麼也比不上昔日的“沙士”嚴重，但基本的衛生常識當然是不論時勢的。捫心自問，我們是否像往日一樣注意衛生呢？

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editorials After his 2008 presidential election triumph, Barack Obama not only became the President of one of the world’s largest economic and military powerhouses, but also a figure of cultural and political significance and a symbol of democratic idealism and black power. After a two turbulent years, a narrow win for a second term in office against stiff economic headwinds has presented him with both a victory and a formidable case. Facing an uneasy and disillusioned public, can he fulfill his unfinished political endeavors and drive the U.S forward? Barack Hussein Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. Following a swift rise from Harvard collegiate to presidency, Obama’s first term was characterized by a vastly positive public reverence, despite negative political management. His first inauguration speech was filled with soaring rhetoric of a better nation intertwined with vague policy objectives. Some of his vision - the health care reform and ending the war in Iraq, for instance - has been successfully implemented while other aspects such as his promise to change the political tone in Washington have fallen by the wayside. Early in his first term, Obama signed into law the economic stimulus legislation in response to the 2007–2009 recession in the United States in the form of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 as well as other major domestic initiatives then followed. Obama has been credited with ending U.S. military involvement in the Iraq War, increasing troop levels in Afghanistan, signing the New START arms control treaty with Russia, ordering U.S. military involvement in Libya, and orchestrating the military operation that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden. He became the first sitting U.S. president to publicly support same-sex marriages. However, Obama has been similarly criticized for his lack of attention to unemployment rates and economic stagnation unlike his campaign promises. Obama has often been attributed to his lack of intervention during the economic recession and subsequent employment depletion with a total loss of 4.3 million jobs, as well as a lack of unemployment measures targeting the middle-class Americans. Prior to Obama, the second term of President Bush featured the weakest gains in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with average annual real (inflation-adjusted) GDP growth of just 1.9%. According to figures from the federal government’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Despite the fact that 88% of Obama first term was post-recession, average annual real GDP growth was a woeful 0.8%, markedly the worst tally achieved during any presidential term in the past 60 years. As his second term gains motion, Obama is faced with a more harrowing difficulty – to satisfy his original approaches towards increasing employment and to feed the insatiable social and economic needs of the American public. Despite losing the Popular Vote, Obama was able to defeat Mitt Romney for re-election in the overall Electoral Vote, his win propelling an intimidating case of redemption as well as the accumulative renovation of a country. Although his stated need for political improvement as well as his successful domestic initiatives in moderate tax relief were largely accepted, Washington proved that partisan polarization, in which the public opinion is divided and radicalized, was too much for

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editorials

A figure of cultural and political significance and a symbol of democratic idealism and black power. the president to change. Critics, in fact, say he made it worse. Most of the major legislation the President promoted passed along partisan lines, such as economic stimulus, health care reform and financial reform. For the doubtful return of the second term, the President made manufacturing a centerpiece of his vision, arguing that a combination of tax reform, investment and education could help repatriate quality jobs to U.S. soil and stabilize the middle class. The Obama administration has applied a number of modest initiatives in order to combat decreasing manufacturing jobs, namely launching a manufacturing institute in Youngstown, Ohio, with $30 million in federal funding, a joint effort between industry and schools to train workers for tomorrow’s manufacturing jobs. The Youngstown facility focuses on training workers for 3-D printing technology, the kind of modern manufacturing industry where observers see a lot of potential. The president continues to campaign the change of high unemployment rates, stagnating economic growth as well as discrete items such as arms, climate change, health care and immigration. Within the core of Obama’s agenda remains his central campaign commitment to the middle class. It definitely won’t be an easy task, and in an era of divided government and amid cries for austerity and budget cuts, it does not seem likely that the President will offer brandnew proposals.

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affairs. Will Obama’s second term mark a successful year for the U.S? It is difficult to say whether his actions shall manifest themselves for the better or the worse, or whether catalyzation lies within the polarized traffic shades of a green ‘go’ or a red ‘no’. As Obama states in his second inauguration speech, marking the tentative start of a gradual, yellow-light second term as president: “We made ourselves anew, and vowed to move forward together [...] Now, more than ever, we must do these things together, as one nation, and one people.” Written by Catherine Wang // Layout by Stephanie So Image source: http://uspolitics.about.com

The plight of America seems to be shrouded in hopeful trepidation, headed by a leader at once ambiguous yet confident. Under such a modern democracy, the public is buffeted by the remorseless dictates of global capital, the need for evermore education and training and the burdens of higher taxes to pay for social programs, such as health care. Battling these global and cultural trends is difficult. In fact, it is unfair to ask any one person - even a President, and even Barack Obama - to overcome them all. But now he must make good on his own promise, not always central to his discourse or decision making, to find more good-paying middle class jobs, and strive for the American future while dealing with a population hit by recession and reality. A simple solution would be to introduce less rhetoric and more action, and more transparency between the government and the people on military

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Will the U.S. weather through this? Sophie Kang /layout by Zoe Suen With a d

azzling g limmer o f glistenin of colors g light, a . In mid countles air the co s numbe different r uscating r of lum states of inous fire firework a land ca s works so shimmer lled USA come tr u ar up to a , n w d h e e xpand in re a pleth e. The sc the sky a to variou intillating ora of d s they bo s is fi s ti ast their h re n a c firework p w t e o c s rk u a lt n s u d sizes a do not se res are m s illumin s they sy em to sto erged tog ate the n mbolize ight sky p gleamin ether and liberty h the 50 above he g and cro the dream erself se r and the w s d o s ems to b f a re astonis aspiring boisterou e smiling people hed with s crowds tranquilly their mo celebrate . uths ope their nati n in awe. A onal inde s pendenc It was th e day, ev e year 17 en the sta 7 6 when the tue of the Britis thirteen h, and w colonies ere retur o f Americ ned to th from Fra a obtaine e United nce, they d freedo States of became o m as the A m e ri n c e y were ex a. As the of the w fledging tricated fr hite glim thirteen economy. colonies mering s om the d From th tars on th establish ominion e 18th ce prospere e e proud d their in of ntury, th d to beco fl e d a e p g p a o e s n f t, dence wit me a rob the newly to the 20 ust natio h th b s o c u the Grea r e p n United ntury, th port n. Althou t Depres e almostStates of gh the U sion duri modern America .S. had e n g e ra th a nd its , the Unit ncountere e 1930s, weathere a social a ed States d some p d throug nd politi of Ameri h its hind redicame c a c nts that h l catastro rances, a a century. nd was e phe that ad hamp Once a n stablishe ered its g incurred ation tha d ro h a ig s wth such h unemp one of th t had rep of prom as loyment resented e leading inent ind rates, the the finan economic ustries, A n c a ial capita ti s u o p merica w n e rp owers of l of the w as a land the world orld, wit of oppo h a cons during th rtunities ta e twentie ntly flou where am rishing e th bitious d conomy ream see a n d kers from a plethora all over th e globe a spired se ttling. wide arra y

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editorials A

s the US economy continued to expand, her national debt also

grew due to her endless effort and attempts to maintain stability. To many, there seemed to be a transfer of power to China, a relatively new powerful nation that had abruptly grown after the Great Leap Forward in 1958, led by Mao Ze Dong. China, apparently regarded as the new adversary of the US, was the source of America’s loan, and her debt is still under the control of China’s hands. Although the US and China were, and still are adversaries as both are major leading nations of the world, they are pivotal existences to each other. The US, manufactures a myriad of products in factories of China, and China targets their handicrafts, cheap but made with dexterity, and produced in fine quality. However, the economic situation of the US during 2012 seems to explicitly indicate that China is superior in terms of their economical and financial state. The detriment of the US economy must be mitigated even if the US government has to take extensive measures to proceed, as 2013 should not have high unemployment rates, which at 9 percent was extremely high last year, in 2012.

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However, the economic situation of the US during 2012 seems to explicitly indicate that China is superior in terms of their economical and ﬁnancial state.

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eradicate its struggles, and President Barack Obama is one of the few people capable of, in fact the most capable of, turning the US back to its original state, or at least alleviating it. During the advent of Obama’s presidency, the recession of 2009 was in its thirteenth month during January. The newly elected president managed to make his first move, but failed to secure the precarious state of the economy at all. His first act was increasing federal borrowing and most significantly, the national debt of the United States of America by approximately a trillion dollars as his thoughts were in parallel with the unaccredited theory that “increased government spending, deficits, and debt are what promote economic growth and recovery.” Obviously, Obama’s stimulus did not ameliorate the economic state at all, as borrowing a trillion dollars from the US economy to spend on promoting the US economy was ineffective. The borrowed money had just been spent on the “profit” of the economy, when it could have been stored for governmental uses, or maybe not even borrowed at the first place.

During February of 2013, Obama had announced a plan for the reform of America’s tax system, which was increasing taxes, but staving off the US budget and limiting domestic and military spendings. He added by saying “They should at least pass a smaller package of spending cuts and tax reforms that would delay the economically damaging effects of the sequester for a few more months.” However, his plan for increasing revenue did not turn out so successfully, as Republicans perceived his suggestion to Congress as ineffective and inefficient. President Obama believes that the state of the economy, despite having been dwindling since last year, is slowly recovering, and the process of alleviating the current economic situation will be successful with cutting spendings and tax reform. Will the US weather through its current economic situation? Will the economy, which had abruptly and unforeseeably contracted during the last few months of 2012 return to its original state? 2013 is a pivotal year and an opportunity for the United States of America to redeem its prosperity.

With the value of one US dollar dropping everyday, US exporters are full of joy and happiness, as it is the best time for them, but the worst for American consumers and shoppers who now have to pay more for products imported from other foreign countries. The unemployment rate of 2012 has never been this high for this long after the end of a recession. The economic growth of the US has never been this feeble, as the gross domestic product of America has never been this slow as to grow by 6.8 percent during the last three years, when there was a growth average of 15.5 percent when other periods were analyzed. And the weight of this whole plight America is attempting to weather through is obviously on Barak Obama, the reelected president of the United States. The first few months of 2013 in which the adverse economic state of the US is ever more prevalent, is an imperative period of time for the United States to grasp control of the factors that impede the growth of its economy. It is a crucial time for the United States of America to

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YEAR 7: BY CHRIS NG /LAYOUT BY ZOE SUEN

Year 7 is a year that involves a lot of adjustments, changes, stress, transition, and introduction to new grading system. This year there is a new initiative in the grading system set up by the head of academics and head of year 7. Basically, in the mid-term, you don’t get to see your grade for courses that you are still working on, for example English and Mathematics, but you do get to see your final grade for courses you have completed, for example, Design Technology, Computer Technology, Elective etc. This is so that students will be less grade-oriented, and will learn to pursue a lifelong passion for learning. Personally, I like this idea; however, in order to be objective, and to voice out the opinions of the school community, I have interviewed many year 7s, and a couple of year 8s who have recently finished year 7 in MYP. There was a year 7 student who likes the new system. He says the transition to secondary was not really hard overall or academically difficult, but he still believes that the founding of the new grading system is good because teachers won’t give results too quickly and give them no time to improve. He also believes that there would be less stress. Another student found the transition from primary to secondary very difficult, because he came from another school and didn’t know anyone, and it took him a very long time to find his friends, but eventually he managed, and is coping with school quite happily. He says that “the academics are ok, not too bad”, and says there are “easy academics”. However, he states that he has a brother who told him a lot of stuff, so that may have contributed to his easy time with academics. When asked whether if he thinks the new system is good or bad, he cautiously explains that he personally thinks it is bad, because he thinks he should know which subjects he is lacking, and which ones he is strong at. He comments “therefore, in year 8, I can do better”. However, he is also considerate, and says “For some of my classmates and friends, they didn’t get such high grades, so this gave them less pressure from parents and the school.

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photo from: http://media.ofﬁceworks.com.au/ims_docs/4A/4A4ACA958EAD0805E1008000AC193D36.JPG

A different student comments that she finds the transition to secondary hard because she also came from another school, and it was “a lot different”. So she firmly states that it was “difficult”. She says the academics are “not so different”, but that there is a “lot more pressure in getting graded”. On the other hand, she still believes that the system is bad, because she doesn’t know how’s she doing and needs to “wait” for the scores. It also “makes you more curious” as to how well you did.

There was also a student who believes that academics were not tough, yet there was a certain standard or “level” that was expected of them, so it wasn’t completely easy. He doesn’t like the system, because he believes that showing grades would allow them to know their abilities and set goals properly. For him, he treats grades as a goal setter, as what he should improve on. He believes there is not much stress, so he honestly wouldn’t mind having the grades on.

Although so many year 7 students I have interviewed seemed rather pessimistic about not having grades mid-term, it is a rather small sample and may not represent the entire school. Personally, as a year 12 student who has experienced an arduous 5 year long MYP program, I believe that having less focus on grades is actually more beneficial overall, because year 7 grades aren’t pivotal towards college success any way, and parents should allow students to have a more relaxed transition to secondary. I remember not being very stressed in year 7, and was utterly satisfied that I got a 6 in CT even though I didn’t do much overall, but now I would be utterly shocked if I didn’t get a 7 in CT because it counted towards my final grade. Such a type of relaxed composure in year 7 really significant increases my happiness.

editorials Another year 7 boy coming from another school comments on how the transition was pretty big and how there was a lot more homework than the past, so he “needs to be more organized”. He comments that academics are not stressful, but teaching methods are different. For example, in English, in his old school, all he did was grammar and sentence structure. Now he comment that teachers “go deep into detail”, “discuss every little bit” of a novel and “every sentence” in it. “It isn’t time consuming if one does not procrastinate,” he says

There was a year 8, on other hand, who endured the hardship of year 7, and comments in an impartial way, which I really admired. He says it could be good because the teachers and students won’t have “a set expectation”. For those who get a bad score, if they see their bad score, they might not try hard on the next term. However, for some perhaps, who did well, they may try harder after seeing these grades. For him, personally, as a year 8 student, he thinks it’s a very good idea overall. His tone tingled with a sort of elusive admiration.

Although three students who came from another school said that the transition was tremendous, they still regarded grades as important to look at in the middle term. I would believe it may decrease their stress levels, although I may be wrong, since I never really experienced their lives. There was a girl who had a good point though, that they would be “more curious” of what they got because they don’t know their score, but she said she wouldn’t go counting and adding up all the criteria to see her score, unlike some overly concerned parents. This over obsession of numbers almost seems like mark six, where these parents or students match up numbers and see if they got the “jackpot”. Also, it is good for those who don’t feel academically confident, and allows time for them to nurture confidence. I could tell the year 7 students have been very frank because their tone was serious throughout the conversation and there weren’t really any jokes or frivolity regarding grades. Personally, I think we should continue having this mid-term no grade system, and see how it goes. Actually everyone has different perspectives on things, some parents even add up the mark. Even though we don’t know with certainty if the system achieved its intended goal, as the views on such subject is very variable. At least the school is delivering a message to hope people not concentrating on grades, especially in the first term of year 7. For many, however, grades have already been an ingrained habits. A lot of people already got used to grades and numbers may not be so easily persuaded. Frankly, it is not easy to make small change and change everything. The school needs to openly evaluate the effect, if there is a need, then the system should be modified. Other than that, I believe removing these numbers is a good start to decreasing desire for grades. ISSUE 8 XH8 final.indd 85

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追星 editorials

BY MONA SHI

/ / L AY O U T B Y E M M A C H A N

《致:那麼愛他們的我們。》近些年來隨著流行樂壇的發展，“追星”一詞在生活中出現的頻率越來越高，類似《新加坡粉絲包車緊追釀意外出車禍6車相撞》的新聞頭條或許你們都看過。提到"追星族"的時候或許都會搖頭嘆氣，但是你們真的了解過這個群體嗎？請不要因為一兩個事例就把這一群人都想成是只會追星的腦殘，沒有經歷過的人，又怎會明白。所謂追星指的是去支持那些我們認為值得追隨的人，從他們身上我們看到了某種令我們欣賞的特質，因此願意將他們認定為我們的偶像。也許是看到了他對夢想的那份堅持，也許是看到了他待人的那份真誠，也許是看到了他用笑容撐起的那份堅強，種種原因使他們成為我們自己樹立的榜樣。相比社會為我們設立的榜樣，我們更願意去效仿我們自己發現的偶像，會自覺的去努力，去配得上自己的 86 XIAO HUA XH8 final.indd 86

偶像。在追星的過程中，偶像還成為了結交新朋友的契機，往往能找到幾個能陪著自己一起笑一起哭一起感動的人。共同的話題不僅創造了交流的機會，還促進了交流的次數，這有助於拉近人與人之間的關係，幫我們建立新的或加深已有的友誼。【追星帶給我們了歡樂，那麼作為一名粉絲，最起碼不要使任何人為我們感到丟臉或對我們失望。】你要記得，你的偶像沒有義務也沒有可能對你的人生負責。你買專輯買門票花的是自己的錢，你看節目聽演唱會花的是自己的時間，所以當你發現剩下的錢不夠花時間不夠用，錯只可能是出在了你自己的身上。你要是因為追星影響了學習，耽誤了前途，只能說明你自己不懂事，以為你能永遠像個小女孩一樣跟隨他們一輩子。你要記得，你不過是成千上萬名粉絲之一，他們有他們自己的生活，擔當不起你的未來。

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契動的流的新的為一們失

負唱會間不追星以為，你，擔

editorials

同時，請搞清楚自己的身份，記得你不過是一名粉絲。你的偶像很感謝你們很愛你們這個粉絲群體，但是與你無關。當你一個人站在偶像面前的時候，他看到的不過是一個比較容易激動的陌生人罷了。你在他心中的地位低於他的家人朋友，低於和他朝夕相處的工作人員，甚至低於他經常光顧的餐廳的老闆。就如你的人生只能由你自己負責，他的人生也只能他自己負責。連他的父母都無法操控的人生，憑什麼會被你這個陌生人影響？不要妄想真正參與到他的生命中，不要讓你對他的期望逐漸變成你添加在他身上隱形的責任。他們沒有義務對你的期望負責，你也沒有必要因為他們沒有如你所願而失望之極甚至因愛生恨。或許你為了你的偶像付出了許多但沒有得到回報，或許你會認為你的偶像欠了你太多。那我告訴你，他什麼也不欠你。你熬夜投票希望將大獎送到他手上，這在你看到他站在頒獎台上感謝粉絲時就已經得到了回報。你拼命省錢打

工只為給他一個當凌絕頂的銷量，這在你用發顫的手點開終於公開的新曲的時候，他已經回報了給你。你千山萬水去看一場演唱會為他應援陪他流淚，在你為了見他一面而期待得睡不著的時候，他已經回報了給你。你所有付出的金錢與時間在你從中體會到期待驕傲興奮的時候便已得到了回報。你不欠他，他也不欠你。如果有一天，你對他們的感情淡了忘了，沒有對不起，請看在他曾帶給你歡樂的份上不出惡言，平靜分手。其實追星在某種程度上就是在用金錢從別人身上為自己購買快樂，不要把自己想像的太偉大了。引用一句我很喜歡的話:“你的偶像是販賣青春販賣夢想販賣才藝販賣皮相的戲子，如果你也把他當成戲子，那便是他最大的悲哀。” 說了這麼多其實最重要的就是他們現在還在，你也還在他們身後。趁能愛的時候好好愛，趁還愛的時候好好愛，轉身的時候也會更乾脆。

PHOTOS: CLOCKWISE FROM TOP

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Growing up

TOO BY CORDELIA LAM / / L AY O U T B Y E M M A C H A N / / P H O TO G R A P H S B Y B E L L A L U

Are adolescents entering adulthood earlier than they should be?

y 12-year old brother comes home from school late one afternoon, exhausted from his two straight hours of math tutor. His head is slightly drooped, his eyes glued to the floor. His oversized school bag weighs down heavily on his shoulders, falling to the floor with a loud thud as he wriggles free of its straps. I hear him mutter under his breath "… can't believe I got a 4 out of 6 in my science test… not satisfactory… definitely need to rebound for the next test with a full score…" From the way he speaks, it's almost as if he's a weary businessman returning home from an exhausting day at the office, not the young, carefree student that he should be. As it turns out, my brother is not alone in his premature coming-of-age; he is just one of the world's millions of children and adolescents who are being propelled into adulthood too early. But why exactly is this happening? It's no question that the expectations for a young person in today's society have been raised to a completely unprecedented standard. The cutthroat competition that now exists between global citizens forces us to work even harder to achieve our goals. Not striving hard enough to reach a target now results in brutal rejection, because in today's world, there are always numerous candidates waiting to overtake us in the race for an opportunity. Students in modern society have to grow up in a fast paced environment that waits for no one, and what seems to have "matured" them the most, is their crystal clear understanding of their exact situation. The soul-consuming pressure that was once reserved for college students or job applicants has streamed down to the younger generation, so that the grades we get in middle school, the activities we have on our report cards, and the debate classes we go to after school, have all become governing forces in our lives. It's difficult to place the blame on anyone in particular, but what we do know for certain is that the pressure and competition aren't going anywhere; it is now becoming imperative that the younger generation perform with guaranteed efficiency and success. The side effects of this phenomenon couldn't be more obvious: primary students wheeling their three-hour homework piles to and from school in giant schoolbags; bleary-eyed 13 year-olds spending all day indoors with their eyes glued to their book reports; stressed88 XIAO HUA XH8 final.indd 88

out teens cramming late into the night for the next day's science test… While it's true that a little pressure goes a long way in pushing us to achieve, should the rat race for good grades and success really start so early on? Many parents are expressing concern over what they call the "erosion of childhood", a phenomenon that is affecting students everywhere. This is especially apparent in the early years of high school, when teens who should be enjoying their last few years of irresponsibility are working late into the night on essays, and losing grip of the worry-free lifestyle once led by kids their age. However, this isn't the only type of premature "aging" that is occurring within our generation's youth… Another facet of the maturity phenomenon is not caused by external pressure or academic expectations. In fact, the culprit is the sweeping internet phenomenon that has taken the world by storm. With the advent of easy, accessible technology such as the laptop, the smartphone and, most importantly, the Internet, young people are more interconnected than ever. Tweens sporting iPhones and gadgets in their hands upload filtered pictures to their Instagram accounts, and send each other panicked texts about recent goings-on in their personal lives. Social drama is spread like wildfire through urgent texts and Facebook messages; it seems that daily occurrences become old news just minutes after they happen with the instantaneity of recent technology. This modern level of connectivity has redefined what it means to be "grown up". Our parents lived out their childhoods free of our technological cacophony- without the constant “ping!” of their phones or the whirr of their laptops, they lived out each day in blissful innocence, deriving entertainment from the great outdoors, even, can you believe it, from playing sports and rolling around in the backyard. Childhood and adolescence, to our parents, truly was a time of purity and naiveté; a time for kicking back and discovering life for the first time. These days, all we ever seem to do is bury our heads in our mobile devices, sharing YouTube videos through Facebook timelines, and reblogging pictures of hair on Tumblr. It’s obvious that our teenage years differ drastically from those of our parents, and not necessarily in a good way. The tech phenomenon has brought along one noticeable side effect. It has hastened the maturing process of young people. With a sea of information, entertainment and knowledge at our fingertips facilitated by the accessibility of the Internet, it is not uncommon

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editorials

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for teens and young adults to be exposed to mature content that would otherwise be considered "inappropriate" for their age. In the past, most movies we saw were with our family and friends; however, with countless Hollywood blockbusters, indie hits and TV triumphs easily available for download, watching movies and television from the privacy of our laptop screens has become the standard viewing experience for the majority of our youth. What this means is that the stigma surrounding "inappropriate" or "mature" content is now nothing more than a label, and the youngsters of the world are much more accepting and absorbent of information that wouldn't always be considered "proper" for their age group. Teens of today feast their eyes on shows like Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars, where underage drinking and physical intimacy are standard plot features in every episode. Shows like Skins, Girls, and Game of Thrones have become staples of the teen television

selection, and these shows feature full-frontal nudity as well as profanity and mature themes like sex and drugs. This has brought about a visible change in young people’s perception of their world, raising the standard for what is now deemed “age appropriate” or “mature”. With the recent rise in teens engaging in "adult" activities such as drinking and partying, one cannot help but wonder if a strong exposure to mature content is partially responsible. Undoubtedly, youth of today's society are living by their own rules, and forging their own path through life. Perhaps it's the pressure to succeed and achieve that's doing it, but young people are maturing at an astonishing rate. The term “work hard, play hard” now bears new meaning for today’s youth culture, and the rest of the world will just have to learn to keep up. ISSUE 8

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For Snobs:

Sustainable Happiness Actually Lies with the Buddha Written by SAM CHEUNG The affluent and middle class seem to be engulfed by consumerism. Man’s happiness is fleeting if his satisfaction is based on monetary value. Standard of living measures the physical qualities of life, such as accommodation, food, and clothing. Standard of life measures the physical and conceptual qualities, hence includes cultural, spiritual, social, and environmental conditions. Gandhi’s ideal of “fulfilling one’s need instead of want” has been manifested in economics, and is salient in Bhutan’s use of GNH (Gross National Happiness) instead of GDP (Gross Domestic Product). In fact, consumerism impedes man’s quest to happiness, which is highly sought after in our arguably artificial societies. Happiness should be sustainable as opposed to transient, attained through a higher standard of life instead of standard of living. Society’s preoccupation with the acquisition of consumer goods yields ephemeral happiness. The single-minded pursuit of GDP is a prevalent phenomenon that is throwing us off the track of what “happiness” is. Like the cycle of a caterpillar flourishing into a butterfly, man’s need (not want) is perpetual and dramatic. People seek comfort in purchasing what is pitched to be “the best” on the market, and is a vicious cycle of reinforcing their materialistic ways of living. Possessing products without having a genuine need only produces

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an inherent excitement that fades as fast as tidal waves. Eckhart Tolle, an author listed by Watkins Review and New York Times as one of the most spiritually influential person, notes that consumerism stems from man’s “short-lived ego satisfaction”, “so [he] keeps looking for more, keeps buying, keeps consuming”. Man cannot be content for long under the metric of physical abundance (GDP) without putting emphasis on his psychological wellbeing and community vitality (what GNH measures). GDP and consumerism may seem to go hand in hand, but is in fact a paradox. Although consumers propel the economy, GDP does not accurately reflect standard of life, or, the state of happiness of the society. It simply measures a country’s total economic activity. The rationale behind GDP is that all citizens would benefit from an increase in economic production, assuming that a person’s standard of living is improved from the increase http://openclipart.org/people/Tomas%20Sobek/100605_

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editorials Happiness should be sustainable as opposed to transient, attained through a higher standard of life instead of standard of living. in economic activity as more jobs are created and personal income might be elevated. However, on what bases are we to set a benchmark for our happiness, an emotion that is primarily intangible and elusive, on our country’s monetary value? For a country to pursue GDP growth, she uses up a lot of resources, and brings a wave of (potentially excessive) consumerism. Gandhi’s ideals of “plain living”, basing our lives on our needs instead of wants is fortunately very relevant to the modern man in his pursuit of sustainable happiness. Firstly, Gandhi would have been against consumerism, as he did not want people to suffer from the colonial mentality of believing that the Western attitudes were superior. In a sense, prospering nations such as India and China are following the West’s footsteps in blindly pursuing happiness through materialism. Gross National Happiness (GNH) was introduced in 1972 by Bhutan’s fourth Dragon King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, to measure the country’s prosperity. Bhutan’s culture emanates from Buddhist values, with a strong emphasis on spiritual well-being. GNH is “an aspiration, a set of guiding principles” that measures cultural and environmental preservation, social development, and good governance. Bhutanese maintains 60% of her land as mountains in fear of industrialization eclipsing people’s rights to live in a healthy and abundant environment. GNH, compared to GDP, is much more inclusive of people’s state of happiness, based on tangible measurements of people’s level of stress, satisfaction towards governance etc. Gandhi was against industrialism and advocated the preservation of the environment, as he believed that the quality of our surroundings largely contributes to our health and well-being. “White elephant” is a common phenomenon where countries, in efforts to raise

their GDP, build bridges and infrastructures that simply rot in the middle of the cities. Similar to consumerism, there is no genuine need for these infrastructures. The result is not only a waste of resources, but rapid deforestation and environmental hazards such as heavy metals pollution. The above are consequences of man’s obsession with raising GDP, which ironically lowers our and standard of life. Can man attain sustainable happiness when his environment eventually causes his health and lifestyle to deteriorate? In the end, it boils down to whether we can be content with the physical qualities for long. In the long run, having a high standard of living is deflated without good spiritual values and a healthy environment. Gandhi’s ideas of achieving an equitable society through basing our lives on our wants instead of needs were were criticized for being backwards, but his prediction of the pernicious effects of consumerism and industrialization has indeed occurred. A country or city adopting GNH is no Shangri-La. The pressures of modern civilization, such as seeking solace through purchasing goods, is still inflicted towards the Bhutanese despite their spiritual abundance. But what is proven is that consumerism indoctrinates our minds with the idea of basing happiness on monetary value. Looking at Hong Kong, there are certain streets in Causeway Bay with rents higher than shops on Fifth Avenue, New York. The happiness index of Hong Kong has dipped since Hong Kong was washed with consumerism. Maybe it is time to turn to some Buddhist values for guidance. Perhaps, Bhutan’s King should publish a book titled “For Snobs: Sustainable Happiness Actually Lies With The Buddha”.

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SPORTS

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Order of the Phoenix As the CIS Sports and Activities program enters a new era under the leadership of Mrs. Kellie Alexander (Director of Sports and Activities), a group of senior students have undertaken leadership roles in order to accentuate the betterment and rapid development of the Sports and Activities program at school. Written by: Michael Cheng / Layout by: Stephanie So In the past, Sports and Activities at CIS were constantly overshadowed by various other aspects of student life – including, obviously, academics. After all, the number one priority of being at school is to get good grades, no? While it is important to excel academically, large-scale participation in Sports and Activities at school is crucial in cultivating a type of school spirit and identity – the type that makes every student proud to wear the Phoenix maroon and navy. In the past year, many efforts have been made to foster participation through increasing the exposure of the various Sports and Activities. These efforts include the implementation of a new system where there are six “Celebration” assemblies throughout the year to ‘celebrate’ different Sports and Activities as opposed to one annual Sports assembly, improvement of uniform etc. At the center of this very process of improving the Sports and Activities program is a group of passionate individuals, a group formally the “Senior Sports and Activities Committee” but better known as the “Order of the Phoenix Leadership Group”. So, what is the Order of the Phoenix Leadership Group? The Order of the Phoenix Leadership group is a committee, under the guidance and supervision of Mrs. Alexander, currently consisting of around 15 senior students (Year 11 and 12). The Group meets with Mrs. Alexander every Thursday lunch to discuss short-term and long-term improvements that can be made to the CIS Sports and Activities program. Already this year, the group has organized and facilitated a mascot design competition for students, from both Primary and Secondary, to submit designs for a Phoenix mascot. The mascot project aims to bring together a close-knit school community through the presence of a mascot – and the fact that both Primary and

Secondary schools were included in the competition is telling about the scope of the impact the Order of the Phoenix Leadership Group endeavors to make in this school. No longer should the Primary and Secondary schools be separated: it’s the idea of whole school unity and pride that the Order of the Phoenix Leadership Group tries to instill in the school. Other ideas that the group works on include but are no means limited to expanding the range of sports uniforms available at CIS, ensuring that all CCAs receive appropriate recognition and exposure, and developing ideas such as a ‘Big Sib Little Sib’ Sports Mentorship program! Most of these upcoming projects aim to improve the overall quality of the Sports and Activities program at CIS; yet, fundamentally, the quality amongst students that the Order of the Phoenix Leadership Group represent, and are trying to cultivate, is passion. “Passion” refers to for the school, and passion for the community around us. The Order of the Phoenix Leadership group are passionate individuals who are intent on making a change in the school through implementing these new ideas, because they realize and acknowledge the need for school spirit in CIS now. So, whether you have an idea about a new club you want to start, a new uniform design for a sports team, or even a seemingly miniscule, rudimentary idea that you feel may be relevant to Sports and Activities at CIS, the Order of the Phoenix Leadership group is always open to your ideas. The group will continue to serve the student body through working with Mrs. Alexander to improve the Sports and Activities program at CIS. So, everybody, do be on the lookout for messages and updates from the Order of the Phoenix Leadership group.

Go Phoenix! ISSUE 8

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sports

Diversity WRITER | NICHOLAS TSE LAYOUT | CHLOE MOK

Athletes are often judged on how successful they are in their field of sport. At CIS though, we look at both sides of the coin. Whilst there are many successful and brilliant teams and individuals that constantly make the Moongate headlines for all the right reasons, there are those who also pursue their sports just for passion. This time, we take a peek at the more ‘unknown’ sports of the CIS community, those that are great, yet receive less credit for what they do because they don’t hold the tag of a ‘conventional’ sports team in schools. These individuals (some of them team captains)all possess something special - their own way of pursuing a goal, a passion, and their hunger for success that continues to drive them forward. Let’s take a look at what they say.

Photograph courtsey of Nicholas Sung

A-Grade Football Captain: Nicholas Tse

Although we were defeated on penalties in the Last 16 knockout rounds of the HKSSF tournament this year, as captain, I managed to see a more passionate and dedicated side of CIS students with raw emotion, pure teamwork and fantastic spirit. As they say, all good things come to an end, but what I see beyond this process of playing football is the unity that this tightly knit squad has formed, We should always remember that teamwork and harmony are the two most important things that a sports team should have.

Golf

Managed by Mr. Mulcahy and led by William Leigh and Mika Wysocki, the golf team has won this year’s ISSFHK Event at Discovery Bay Golf Club, as well as finishing competitively in both the Kau Sai Chau and Hong Kong Golf Association tournaments. Nowadays, the golf team practices at the driving range and at the Hong Kong Golf Club in Deep Water Bay, as the Phoenix Golf programme continues to develop at a very astounding rate.

Captains: Mika Wysocki & William Leigh The golf team participated in a total of three major inter-school tournaments this year, held at Fanling, Discovery Bay and Kau Sai Chau. The CIS golf team received an impressive first place award at the annual inter-school Discovery Bay competition for lowest accumulated score of four of its team members. Many first-place and runner-up best nett and best gross score awards were also awarded to individuals of the team at Discovery Bay and Fanling. The golf team has certainly made history at CIS this year, and undoubtedly has years of glory to come!

Photographs courtsey of Mika Wysocki

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Captain: Kevin Chan With table tennis being one of the more popular sports in Hong Kong, competition is usually huge, and CIS haven’t in the last few years been able to make it past some of the group stages. However, the group is united and they are extremely passionate, with established team captain Kevin Chan (who represents Southern in Hong Kong) and fellow members Cameron Sung and Johnson Pak forming the core of the team which is stable and talented. Our team has started off great this year with the A Grade Girls just missing out on a quarterfinal match. CIS also defeated the Japanese International School in our first ever friendly match. As team captain, I believe that what drove our team to success was passion alone. As table tennis is a sport which requires constant practice and repetitive exercises, without passion I don't think the team would have been able to survive the countless hours of training. With the influx of new players, I hope that the team will return to its former glory and dominate the HKSSF stage once more!

Tennis

Captain: Leighton Mok The CCA of Tennis has continually gone from strength to strength as the years have gone by. I am very proud to announce that the CIS tennis team has been both competitive and brilliant over the past season of matches. Not only did the team show perseverance, the commitment and effort we’ve put in have earned us a spot in the ISSFHK championship. For the love of tennis, and for the name of CIS, our goal is to grab the ISSFHK Championship title, and progress into Division I! I hereby represent the team to thank Ms. Safaya for her nurturing and belief in us, her stress on team spirit and last but not least her support which has brought the whole team to a greater level.

Photographs courtsey of Ms. Safaya

Archery Michelle Li

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Table Tennis

sports

The archery team was first founded by Class in the SGSS Interschools and Jennifer Ho in 2010, and has now exPhoebe Liang receiving 1st place in Wing panded to include 17 members. Archery Lung Cup. is a sport which trains both concentration and coordination. By date, we have received 13 awards through representing CIS in various competitions around Hong Kong. In the year 2012 our most prominent achievements include Rebecca Ngai receiving 2nd place in the Eastern District Competition; the A grade girls team receiving 4th place in the HKSSF Interschools; Christopher Wan receiving 2nd place in Boy's Beginner Class, David Lam receiving 4th place in Boy's Open

CIS

Photograph courtsey of Michelle Li

is great at sports. The term ‘great’ is not just measured by success. Rather, it should be measured by the level of passion and commitment that students show towards the sport. And it is because of this that I believe CIS sports to be one of the most exciting, promising, and truly talented sectors of our school. Long may that continue! ISSUE 8

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CIS Sporting Timeline Part 2

Writer: Ethelia Lung Layout: Jackie Wu

Photographs courtesy of Mr. Watts

Since the rise of the Phoenix the CIS Sports Community has experienced astounding progression in terms of spirit, unity and last but not least, sporting performance that comes with the amazing school spirit and enthusiasm that the student body encompasses. As CIS students we are all able to personally experience how CIS sports grew over the last few years – but how were things some 10 years ago? Lets take a tour back to the beginning of the 21st Century and see how sports developed at CIS from 2000 to 2007!

2000-2001

School year 2000-2001 New Sports Teams: • Sailing club • Boys Hockey Houses: • Blue Sharks • Red Fire Ants • Green Dragons • Yellow Phoenix Achievements A well-equipped fitness center is added to the school. The Boys’ Basketball teams show strength across the board and take its overall division title, while the Cross Country Team does its bit to add to CIS’ trophy cabinet by winning the 8th Hong Kong Green Power 25km Mountain Race.

2001-2002

Achievements Primary Boys’ Basketball Team: champion of its division. Boys’ B-Grade and C-Grade Basketball teams are champions of the HKSSF Division II. Girls’ C-Grade Basketball Team places first in its Division II League. Girls’ Tennis Team takes 3rd place in Division II. For the first time, Year 7-9 students run in an inter-house cross country competition around the Braemar Hill mountain track. The school’s Cross Country Team also wins the 25km Green Power Race for the second year in a row. On the musical side of the school’s CCAs, the CIS Enharmonics released their debut CD in this school year!

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2002-2003

New Sports Teams: • Dragon Dance Team Achievements Girls’ B-Grade Basketball Team is champion of its Division I. Girls’ CGrade Basketball Team only loses one game in the season, and ends in second place in its first year of competing in Division I. Boys’ A-Grade Basketball Team places second in the International Schools Basketball League. B-Grade Boys’ Soccer Team reaches the finals of Division II for the first time in CIS history. Girls’ Tennis Team claims 3rd place in the Division II. Girls’ B-Grade Rugby Team reaches the finals of the Hong Kong InterSchools Girls Senior Rugby Tournament. Senior Boys’ Senior Rugby joins the Bill Williams Rugby Sevens tournament for the first time. Boys’ Year 7 Rugby Team also enters a Hong Kong secondary schools competition for the first time. Girls’ “A” Table Tennis Team is quarter-finalist and wins its first trophy. In 2003 internationally ranked fencer Nicola Lu of graduating class ‘96 also returns to campus!

2003-2004

New Sports Teams: • Badminton • Volleyball Achievements Primary Boys’ Under-10 Soccer Team takes gold in a tournament organized by the Eastern District Recreation and Sports Advancement Association. The Boys’ C-Grade Soccer Team wins the Division III championship, the first time a team from the school has won the top spot in soccer. The Girls’ A-Grade Rugby Team wins the Hong Kong Inter School Under-16 Girls Rugby League, and the Under-19 Team places second in the Tai Tam Sevens. The Boys B- and C-Grade Rugby teams enter the Hong Kong schools competitions for the first time. The Girls’ B-Grade Basketball Team wins the Division 1 championship and the Girls’ C-Grade Team comes second in its league. Boys’ Cross Country Team ends the season in first place. Girls’ and Boys’ Athletics teams both finish 2nd from a pool of more than thirty schools. The Boys’ Tennis Team reach the finals of its league.

2004-2005

Houses: • Blue • Red • Green • Yellow Achievements The Primary Upper Gymnasium opens. The Primary Boys’ Soccer Team wins the HKSSF Inter-School Primary Boys’ (East Area) Championship and Hong Lok Yuen International School Under-11 Soccer Tournament. The Boys’ A- and B-Grade Soccer teams are both champions of their respective HKSSF Division III leagues and CIS is promoted to the next division. Both Secondary Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics teams place 1st overall and gain promotion to Division II. The Secondary Girls’ Cross Country Team outruns seventeen other teams to win the Division II championship. The Secondary Boys’ Cross Country Team also achieves noteworthy results, finishing second overall. ISSUE 8 XH8 final.indd 97

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2005-2006 2006-2007 Houses: • Establishment of Purple House! Achievements Boys’ C-Grade Soccer Team are Division II champions. Boys’ A-Grade Rugby Team are Bowl Champions of the inter-schools 7s tournament. The Secondary Girls’ Swimming Team places top in its division, and the Boys’ Swimming and Cross-Country teams and the Girls’ Table Tennis Team take second place. Both the Boys’ and Girls’ Basketball teams take 3rd place in their Division I leagues.

W tiz CI m refi sid so fie th in co ex th

Achievements The Girls’ A-Grade Netball Team bring the school their first ever championship trophy in netball. The Girls’ A-Grade Rugby Under-19 Team and the Girls’ Table tennis teams also place first in their respective leagues. The Boys’ A-Grade Athletics Team come top in their division and are promoted to Division II. The Swim Team also competed in two regional competitions. CIS moves up to 5th place in the league tables of the HKSSF.

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Athletes’ Support System

sports

Writer: Michael Cheng Layout: Jackie Wu

Photographer: Britta Lam

n a warm, humid spring afternoon, you’re on the starting blocks preparing to explode out for the inter-school 100m final once the starting pistol goes. You’re dressed in CIS Maroon Phoenix clothing from head to toe, and customized spike shoes designed to optimize performance for track and field prodigies. The gun goes off, and before you know it, with the whole team cheering you on, you approach the finish line. You dip your chest and you realize you finished first. You bask in the glory of your win, the happiness of bringing glory to the school, and return to the stands to high-fives and hugs from all of your school-mates. Mr. Ip walks over and gives you an encouraging pat on the back, “Good job!” You smile, politely utter an obligatory word of thanks without bothering to turn your head towards him, and then immediately proceed to text your friends at school who did not have the chance to witness your moment of glory.

While the above preamble is perhaps slightly (overly) dramatized, the basic idea of the hypothetical situation is clear: as the CIS Sports and Activities Program undergoes a rapid advancement in a variety of areas, ranging from improved equipment to refined coaching programs, we (the athletes) rarely, if ever, consider the amount of work that has to be put in behind the scenes so that we can, with the utmost mindlessness, go out onto the field/track/court/(whatever you play your sport on) and enjoy the competition without any worries. Student-athletes take part in sports competitions because of the fun and excitement that comes with it; but do they ever stop and wonder why and how, exactly, they can, without worry, enjoy all the competition and the glamor of sports?

vancement of the Sports and Activities program in general, it is without a doubt that the very participants in the sports teams often overlook the real reason behind the cohesive quality of the CIS Sports and Activities Program. To ensure that the athletes can enjoy themselves when playing in sports competitions without having to worry about any logistical issues, a group of hardworking, assiduous staff undergo hours of preparation and administrative work before every sports event, regardless of its magnitude. This group of individuals works hard for the studentathletes, yet their humility and self-effacement means that their efforts often are unappreciated by the student-athletes.

While increased participation in sports should be largely fostered in the school community as part of the goals for the ad-

At the top of the support staff group is, perhaps, an individual whose cheerful and caring leadership has brought CIS Sports to

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Meet, the selfless individuals from the CIS Sports Support Staff.

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new heights. Yet, the rigor and difficulty of her everyday work behind the scenes, all geared towards ensuring that student-athletes receive the best possible treatment, is often undervalued by the student body because a very small portion of students are able to understand and appreciate the work she does. Mrs. Kellie Alexander, director of Sports and Activities, describes the experience of overlooking the CIS Sports and Activities program as “exhausting at times” but states that “it is fantastic to see faces light up when student-athletes get what they want”. When I asked if she felt that her work is undervalued, Mrs. Alexander gave a rather nonchalant chucke, “Well, it would be nice if the students understand how difficult it is to organize so many things at once… because some students can be so demanding without understanding what goes 100 XIAO HUA XH8 final.indd 100

on behind the scenes! But overall as long as the student-athletes are satisfied, it makes my work worthwhile”. Such is the character that defines the amiable persona of our Director of Sports and Activities. She always puts the well being of the students before her own, and the effect of the work that she has put in for the Sports program is evident. Already, sports teams (notably swimming) have had vast improvements in equipment, such as new tracksuits, and sports teams are getting much improved logistical support. Additionally, Mrs. Alexander works closely with the Order of the Phoenix Leadership Group (Year 12 and 13 students) weekly in order to ensure that the seemingly endless desires (sports-related) of the CIS student body are best catered to. That

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Ding of e has (nosuch d lowith stusires That

sports

being said, Mrs. Alexander was also quick to note that the serene running of the entire Sports program cannot be attributed to the efforts of one person. So, who are the rest of the support staff that helps to make our lives so easy? In addition to Mrs. Alexander’s leadership, it is very important to also recognize and appreciate the work of several other crucial members of the CIS Sports Support Staff.

able to the success of the CIS Sports program as the heroics of the player who wins a gold medal for the team. In the words of Nicholas Sung, the captain and a dedicated member of one of CIS’ best sports teams, “[student athletes] would definitely not be able to enjoy such a rich, fulfilling and dynamic sports program at CIS without [the] presence [of the CIS Sports Support Staff].”

For Mr. Ip, a man whom most of the student body recognizes and knows well, working for the CIS Sports Program is almost feels like an obligation. Mr. Ip says that for every single game that a sports team plays outside of school, he has to take charge of arrangements for buses to and from the location, ensuring that all equipment (balls, jerseys, first-aid) is packed and ready in an equipment box, checking out all the relevant Sports ID cards, among various other tasks. Already, such tasks have become a ritual for Mr. Ip due to how much he does it; yet at times demanding students neglect all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes of them playing on the field. Mr. Ip says that “He enjoys [his] job” but also mentions that “sometimes it’s annoying when students are ungrateful, if they just say ‘thank you’ for the work we put in once in a while, it would be [great]”.

It is a traditional saying that it is innate human nature that we don’t fully appreciate what we have until it’s gone. The studentathletes at a prestigious institution like CIS certainly reflect the meaning of that claim. We love the enthralling experience of playing high school sports; yet, more often than not, fail to realize the privilege that we have simply by putting on the maroon and navy of the school. On the one hand, we should be proud to represent the school as athletes, but on the other hand it’s also important to be grateful and appreciative to those who make this happen. Since becoming the captain of the formidable CIS swimming team, Nicholas has also been exposed to the “sheer amount of logistical and organizational work that is involved in ensuring that a team operates efficiently”, and hence believes that the CIS Sports Support Staff deserve the “utmost credit and respect” for the recent development of our Sports and Activities program.

This is something that student-athletes should take note of, as without the support of Mr. Ip and his colleagues, we likely wouldn’t be able to have the experience of playing in sports competitions across Hong Kong. In that light it is important to note that the quiet, perhaps unrecognized, work of these important figures in school is every bit as valu-

In light of the above, I strongly urge all student-athletes in the school community to be more appreciative and mindful of those around you who do unnoticeable little things that go a long way in helping make your life easy: be it your teachers, your peers, the cleaning staff, or the CIS Sports Support Staff. ISSUE 8

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sports

Water Polo

WRITER | KONRAD LEE PHOTOGRAPHER | NATASHA CHAK LAYOUT | CHLOE MOK

Ran Zhang

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Ho im W ne the tha ac un to sin de mi M

How often is training with the HK Water Polo Team? There are six three hour training sessions per week from Monday to Saturday, and it is required that we attend a minimum of four of these training sessions. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturday nights are at the Wan Chai Swimming Pool with an hour long gym conditioning session; Mondays, Wednesdays, and Friday nights are at the Kowloon Park Swimming Pool. I personally make it to the training sessions on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, but I would occasionally have to alternate with school work and other activities for a good balance. How is water polo different to other sports for you? I've given quite a few sports a go in the past, such as basketball, football, swimming, tennis, rugbyâ&#x20AC;Ś but none have captivated my interest as water polo did. Water polo for me is unique, and also arguably the toughest sport I know. What most people are unaware of is that the rules of the game only apply above the surface of the water; under it, anything goes (grappling, kicking, punching, pulling etc.).Along with this comes a sense that the game isn't entirely bound by rules, which is a breath of fresh air from the other sports I've played.

Wh usu

The sport is physically exhausting. Being recruited into the Hong Kong Water Polo team has made me realize that hard work and dedication is essential to remain at a certain level of play. It has forced me to follow a strict training regiment which has developed my physical endurance, as well as a sense of discipline. Compared to the sports that I have played in the past of which I have only considered as hobbies, water polo is definitely a new and doting experience for me.

Pol hou an h opm vert bod swi

Water polo is also a very team based sport and it is imperative that good communicative skills is maintained with your teammates. A sense of trust will be built amongst players as they train together and work towards the same goal, and I would consider the team to be more of a family than anything else. Aside from the appeal of the challenge to constantly push myself to achieve more and better myself in the years to come, water polo is also way too much fun :)

tan form usu run fam ing

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How has the introduction of water polo to your life impacted you as a person? When the sport of water polo was first introduced to me through a newly founded school team in mid 2012, I had very little knowledge of the sport. Initially, I assumed that this would be like every other sport that I have played before, and that my interest would soon be lost after a couple of sessions. However, as time passed, I found that this was a unique sport different to all the others I've played, and I felt compelled to commit to it. Up to this day, I believe that I have not yet missed a single training session, and through this, I have been able to develop my dedication and commitment for this particular passion and interest of mine. My recruitment into the Hong Kong Water Polo team was definitely a

The people who are in the school team are a huge factor to my enjoyment of this game. There is a very diverse range of personalities within the team, and it has occasionally caused conflict within the pool. However, once our disparities have been set aside, our team was able to unify and cooperate well with one another. In a sense, everyone has individually emerged as a leader within the group, and that has brought us closer together.

nicholas sung

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catalyst in my life so far and has affected my lifestyle quite significantly. What was most striking when I first started my training was the physical demand and commitment to the team. To be able to cope with school work and the other activities that I am dedicated to, it was necessary for me to manage my time well and keep a desired balance between the two.

What does a Hong Kong Water Polo Team training session usually consist of? An evening training session with the Hong Kong Water Polo Team, including the travelling, normally takes up 3 to 4 hours of my evening. On nights at the Wan Chai Pool, there is an hour of land training that comprises physical fitness development. Lower body conditioning is performed for treading, vertical and lateral leaping and balancing in the water, and upper body strength is developed for movements such as wrestling, swimming, shooting and ball work. The 2-hour pool work that follows contains short-distance swimming sets and dynamic exercises which we must perform in relation to the positions we play in the sport. The session usually concludes with some passing/shooting drills, strategic run-throughs, and if on the weekend, a practice match for us to familiarize ourselves with in-game situations. Although challenging, it is always fun to train and progress alongside optimistic

and well-spirited teammates who never fail to encourage and motivate. How were you first introduced toto Water How were you first introduced Water Polo and what does the sport Polo and what does the sport encom encompass that leads you to become a dedicated player? I was first introduced to playing Water Polo when the CIS Water Polo Team was re-established in mid-2012. As a swimmer since a young age as well as my passion for playing ball sports like football and basketball with the school team, Water Polo therefore appealed to me as the best of both worlds. When I was then exposed to the sport I realized that it was a game that required pace, power, endurance and a strong mentality â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and these were the exact characteristics of Water Polo that intrigued me. Water Polo was distinctly different from swimming: I was surprised that hustle is fully permitted underwater, and I also took some time to adapt to the Water Polo-styled freestyle and backstroke which consist of quicker and shorter strokes for better mobility and reactions. Motions are more power-based and focused on generating momentum through treading. As Water Polo is undeniably a team game, committing myself together with my teammates to rehearsing certain strategies, plays and tactics helps us cooperate cohesively and allows for the development of high quality communication and understanding; which are crucial aspects of Water Polo. The fact that the Water Polo encompasses a heavy sense of game awareness and positioning is also one of the reasons why I enjoy the sport - at competitive levels of the sport the speed of play increases; I learnt that anticipation, mental preparation and a concrete understanding of my position and responsibilities in the pool are important to doing my best for the team. Since acknowledging these aspects I have been determined to devote myself to improving in hopes of becoming a mature Water Polo player. What are your goals or aspirations for the sport? In the long term, I wish to improve my overall gameplay through solid, disciplinary training and to learn from the experienced Senior athletes on the Hong Kong squad. I understand that there is always plenty of room for improvement in my game and I hope that with a willingness to work and commit comes progression. Training with the regional squad is a fulfilling process because it provides me consistent reflection, forcing me to evaluate my weaknesses and mistakes and become determined to do better at my next opportunity. A greater ambition would be to, together with my fellow CIS teammates, win the title at the HKASA Interschools Water Polo Championships next year. The CIS Water Polo Team, under Mr. Boyce and Coach Tobyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s guidance, consists of players who have wonderful energy and enthusiasm: for the past year we have matured, widened our playing experiences and become closer than ever as a unit, and with the hard work weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been putting in at training, we would love to give winning the championship a shot before many of us graduate next year. ISSUE 8

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creative

CREATIVE A selection of creative works from the CIS community

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creative

Once Upon a Beginning WRITTEN BY | MARCUS WONG

Once

Image from: http://prettiest-rose.tumblr.com/ post/49678499778/pale-sea-sand-and-love

I followed a river without aim, But trudging along under a willow tree, You walked opposite from whence I came, And falteringly I whispered your name, To which me walking became we.

Together

we journeyed down the shore, Maybe it was your cute smile that curled at your eyes, But I felt a warmth untouched heretofore, Yet as the river narrowed closer than before, I dared not cross to the other side.

And

so we kept on meandering along, Yet now the river surged into a sea, But as you walked on away I grew strong! Thrashing amongst the ice I saw my wrong, For shivering onshore we had become me.

Now

once again without a dream, I despaired over your leaving, But picking myself off the frozen icy gleam, I turned around and headed back upstream, Thanks to you Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m now believing.

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creative

The Evolution of Music CATHERINE WANG explores the relationship between music and society, and how Bach is different from Skrillex.

Image from: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NHKJEhZqMGE/T3ziEUclbdI/ AAAAAAAAAU0/-s62BaKPty4/s1600/wide-days-poster.jpg

LAYOUT | CHLOE MOK

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creative For the most part,

AAAAAAAAAU0/-s62BaKPty4/s1600/wide-days-poster.jpg

music has been comfortably shelved amongst the long list of nonentities and evolutionary phenomena that lie beyond a common ground of definition. It is prevalent to the extent that it is not questioned, and complex to the extent that it is utterly simple in its existence. The soft amalgamation of scientific qualities such as pitch and volume as well as sequence-orientated characteristics such as rhythm and phrasing have defined a form of art that has in ways transcended the evolutionary cycle. Humans have been resting within the nature of music for about 50,000 years, and the fact that it has remained in our society throughout the vicissitudes of history marks an incredible feat of nature. Music, as a purely auditory and unnecessary human element, has survived radical technological and economic transformations but also thrived off social changes, established an industry, and fed into humanity’s development. As civilization progressed, music has doubtlessly experienced a ceaseless evolution along with the intellectual changes of the people. But how has music changed? And how can this show how we have changed as a society? At the very start of prehistoric civilization, music emerged in human development rather instinctually as a tool for expression and for society. Though it seems strange to say so, the many models of modern music largely originated from the hands of a Paleolithic caveman imitating and interpreting the sounds of the natural world. Much of the indigenous music and instruments that remain today is characterized by sounds based on animals and weather. Even in the roots of preliterate cultures, beyond itspractical use as a potential instrument for hunting, music served as a crude form of entertainment. It connected individuals on a new interpersonal level that operated beyond the physical need for survival. Archeological studies, such as the discovery of flutes carved

from the bones of animals, indicate that music could also have held cultural uses. Furthermore, as civilization slowly formed based on the concept of society, agriculture, and self-sufficiency, music emerged as an art largely targeted at the people. Egyptian and Asian cultures established music as an integral element of their culture. As a result, unique instruments were developed, and techniques such as notation, meter, melody, and phonic emphasis became significant components of the increasingly composed music. Living standards improved and society flourished. The culmination of musical culture was in fact found in Greek civilization; music was included in the educational system, manifested itself in theatre and the other arts, revered under mythological perspectives, and served as the foundation for Western music. Although the exact origin of the art remains ambiguous, as humans responded to the stimuli of their natural environments music was implemented as a practical tool for enriching society. Of course, as social dimensions were cultivated amidst the grounds of economic and political development, music flourished as less of an expressive necessity but as a form of art and a vehicle for culture. Music was undergoing great changes in Europe – the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods marked the development of music as a commodity and as a toy for the nobility and the religious sector. Music notation was ratified, and later, the printing press made compositions widely available for the infant musical industry. Although most music remained within the ‘sacred’ boundaries of polyphonic secular melodies, it was becoming prevalent in the lives of European peasants. Europe and the world were economically expanding, facilitating trade networks that helped satisfy high demands for foreign products, and forming investment opportunities that stimulated rapid financial growth. The first leap into the world of advanced music was the Baroque period, which lasted from 1600 to 1750 and included musicians such as Johann Sebastian Bach and George Friederic Handel. The era saw the development of contrapuntal

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creative (music with two or more melodic lines) styles, operas, ensemble pieces, and the definition of major musical forms such as the fugue, the sonata and the concerto. Ornamentally complex and rich in polyphony, the music characterized an era of abundance and security. The Classic movement, which followed and lasted from 1750 to 1830, was largely based upon the artistic styles of Greek and Roman cultures and pursued more structural and balanced compositions. A form of musical ‘renaissance’, it looked to the ideals of proportion to construct an airy, singing tone within pieces, and developed homophony. The trio, string quartet, serenades and divertimento debuted, and the era further developed Baroque standards of previous musical forms. However, the Classical era also marked the crucial development of the music industry – performers were now allowed to capitalize public performances, easing their financial dependence upon the aristocracy. This contributed to the increase of orchestras and the presence of public space, and the development of symphonic music. Finally, the progression of Romanticism, which melded the inflexibilities of the previous musical eras with a new form of emotional passion, marked the transition of music from a power previously known for its sense of order into one with great expressive potential. Lasting from 1810 – 1900, motifs came to develop over melodies, and concepts of tonality, chords and dissonance dominated over the compositions of the era. Music materialized as the milk of urban society, and began to amalgamate with other schools of art such as theatre. Following the dawn of the 20th Century, music was industrialized and spread rapidly with great technological advancements, marking great artistic changes under modern influences. Music was first distributed using the radio and phonograph, and flourished under the entertainment needs of urban society. During this time, much of the focus shifted from Europe to America. Art music, or the fruit of a poststructuralist intelligentsia, was lead by individuals such as Igor Stravinsky and became the frontier of new rhythms and musical technique. The development of new instruments and syncopation gave rise to Jazz, the improvisational confluence of African and European genres to form a ‘swinging’

art form. Its presence saw the materialistic development and intellectual apathy of the newly affluent population, as economic development over the years manifested in the 20th Century marked the great industrial boom of abundance anddomestic prosperity. Music became a common form of entertainment, and it was radio and not the television, that remained the center of the family home. Genres slowlyappeared under the umbrella of social development and the relentless exploration of music - country music, blues, rockabilly (think Elvis Presley) and eventually Rock and Roll followed the advent of the guitar, the microphone, and the public demand for new music. However, following the 1960’s developments in electric appliances, rock music slowly surfacedamidst the changing views of the youth. Its strong back beat

“...music has not been the creation of mankind, but rather a manifestation of our own social environment, an instinctual wardrobe that stores the expressions and demands of our age.”

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and radical implementation of the electric guitar gave rise to multiple subgenres, such as heavy metal and punk rock. By the 1970s analog synthesizers propelled a movement of digital pop music and the dialectical, surrealist phenomenon commonly known as the “Hippy movement”. Social and political change had fueled great upheavals within the youth, and music often served as a form of effective catharsis for angst and the backbone of a cultural movements. Computers and digital synthesizers completely transformed the music industry, as editing could be completed and music completely manipulated with minimum manual intervention. Generations of pop music, with sporadic revivals of unconventional subgenres, dominated the progression of the 21st century – additional genres, such as electronic and house music, came to life following further technological development. The modern era has been marked with the presence of multiple genres prevailing simultaneously, with music being largely preferential and subject to individual tastes. Ultimately, as it is today, music has become a multifaceted industry, divided into the two classes of those who produce music and

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Image from: http://fanart.tv/fanart/music/24f1766e-9635-4d58-a4d4-9413f9f98a4c/ artistbackground/johann-sebastian-bach-4e33e4b36a6fe.jpg

those use it. Like all great things, the change of music has been inevitable, but its gradual alterations have been the foundation for its own development and unen ing evolution with the changing social constructs. Music, originally a somewhat animalistic ground for expression, has throughout history expanded into a highly lucrative industry with ambiguous applicatory grounds. As a race, music has not been the creation of mankind, but rather a manifestation of our own social environment, an instinctual wardrobe that stores the expressions and demands of our age. Humans have not only shaped music â&#x20AC;&#x201C; on the contrary, throughout the course of history, there existed this ineffable law of mutual conduct, of which music has invariably shaped man. It has evolved seamlessly with changing social constructs of individual eras, assimilating the individuality of each varying stage of human-

ity, from the religious constraints of the 17th Century to the liberalistic charge of the 1960s. Music therefore serves as a piquant, if not reliable indicator of the state of society, which remains an open-ended, constantly shifting manifestation of humanity.

For the most part, music remains an unknown force. But maybe the relationship between man and music is a song â&#x20AC;&#x201C; each individual tone being a thought, the pitch of which is music, and the silences that separate yet connect them the strange envelope that is time.

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Image from: http://az58332.vo.msecnd.net/e88dd2e9fff747f090c792316c22131c/Images/Products55582-1200x1200-626017.jpg

Image from: http://hippism.webs.com/photos/Hippies/9xn55j5i.jpg

creative

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alumni

it to alum ni@ cis. edu .hk Got more alum ni new s? Sen d

Recently, alumni have had more reasons than usual to return to the mothership.

Alumni Lunch and Learn 30+ alumni returned to CIS on Thursday, 18 April 2013 where they had the opportunity to “lunch” on cafeteria sandwiches and “learn” about how students are educated in the 21st century classroom. A highlight of the day was the ride up to Braemar Hill on the school bus (yes, it is possible to look forward to that one day!) and meeting students from across primary and secondary as they demonstrated the impact of technology in the classroom. A year 11 music student so impressed an alumna with his music composition that she has invited the school to assist in producing a soundtrack for her charitable promotional video! Way to go CIS!

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alumni

Alumni Mentoring PrograM The alumni mentoring program kicked off on Saturday, 13 April 2013 with 63 students from across Years 11 and 12 being introduced to their alumni mentors, in a buzzing atmosphere not dissimilar to a mass speed-dating session in the English classrooms. Alumni heard from Ms Irvine on the do’s and don’ts of mentoring a student (“remember they’re still kids”) and Mr Mulcahy, on the in’s and out’s of the MYP and IB curriculums. Individual mentors will guide their students until they graduate from CIS. Alumni mentoring is intended to be a rolling program available to all Y11 and 12 students going forward. Something to look forward to everybody. Some feedback we’ve received so far: “Smart, a lot of aspirations” “It’s been a while since I chatted to someone so focused.” “A real go-getter” “Wow, is all I can say”

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