Issue 3 June 2020
Artwork : Tiro and Pun Pun Grade 9
Artwork: Pao Pao - Grade 11
Endless Horizons Ellie Kim (Grade 6I) Friendships are like the sky. Always changing. Like the clouds playing peek a boo. Like friends playing and laughing. But sometimes the sky is black and there are ferocious winds. Just like friendships can be shattered like glass and ripped into shreds. Forgiveness rises on the tail of the shining sun. Some clouds move fast, but some move like they have all the time in the world. Friendships, like clouds, shift and some split, but some stay together and connect. Darkness is never alone, the stars are waiting behind a curtain of night. Like when a friend walks in and it’s like she carries the warmth of a thousand suns. The stars don’t vanish, they are always here, you just have to look for them, open your wide eyes. Friends stay with you, just wait, and with the patience of the night, they’ll appear. As if they never left.
Dearest CIS Community, Welcome to VOICES Magazine Issue 3 VOICES magazine connects our community to create and express thoughts, ideas, and feelings. During these unique times amidst the Covid19 pandemic, it is crucial that we continue to communicate with one other. Our current inability to interact physically, face-to-face, requires that we adapt other means of communication. The required isolation, along with technology, forms a delicate, yet serendipitous, dichotomy that urges us to look inward. Although we are fortunate to be living in an era with technology to support us in this quarantine, we also are fully aware that the scope of a Zoom screen and discussion is limited. Connection is paramount. The thoughts we nourish in this unique period will unequivocally impact our worldviews- forever. The power of Language Arts and the Visual Arts strengthen our emotional connections with one another. Empathy and simple kindness bring us together to help others. People are wonderful and vulnerable; art carries our messages. VOICES invites everyone to join this conversation. This issue shares the delightful, insightful, literary and artistic creations of this school year and farewells from teachers leaving us. Congratulations to Concordian graduates of all levels. Everyone has graduated in her/his own way this year. Our planet is speaking to us, we need to listen! May our work together be filled with courage. Let’s stay safe together. Connect and share your stories. We hope that these works inspire you and make you happy. The VOICES Editorial Team
Artwork: Daniel - Grade 11
G9 Khrista Sirivivatchalern
I bonded with you
I’ve had lovers before
In emotional bliss
But none like you
In physical rapture
My body inhales you
throwing my heart over spiky nets nearly dropping
Dreams and fantasies
nearly drowning
and quivers with bliss
Burning satisfaction
-Is this the end
my senses are reeling
--
Or a bright beginning
The strength of desires and feelings
Why do we try
Don’t push don’t
--
To hurt the other more
Try don’t stress
With you I knew peace
Only to watch One walk out the door?
Don’t cry
--
--
I love you so
That is what glides
Yet I push you to Breaking
Through my head
But you left Me incomplete I miss your tender touch your voice your everything --
Yet you play with my heart
As I try To close my eyes And go to bed
T
his piece is “based on events in Kensuke’s Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo. In the story, a thirteen-year-old boy is sailing around the world with his family. During a storm at night, the boy falls overboard. He gets washed up on an uninhabited island. The students were tasked with writing the classic message in a bottle letter. The second piece of writing is in response to the short story the ‘Monkey’s Paw,’ by W.W. Jacobs. The students had to write a paragraph that builds tension and ends in a cliffhanger.”
A message in a bottle Katie Wang
I hope that the information I gave about the island is enough for you to rescue me. There are many islands out there so please keep looking! PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE! HELP ME! I’m just a lonely 13 year old all alone on a huge island. I have no food, shelter, or sanitary supplies. At night there are strange sounds that come from the deep, dark shadows of the jungle. I can hear animals growl and scream while they hunt each other…PLEASE RESCUE ME QUICKLY! I could die of hunger, thirst, get sick, or even worse…GET EATEN BY AN ANIMAL WHILE I’M SLEEPING!!! Please get me out of here! If you find this message please contact my parents! My parents are Mike Smith and Michelle Smith. I don’t know where they are right now, but the last time I saw them was on July 28, 1998, and they were heading to Papua New Guinea.
My name is Michael Smith and I’m thirteen years Please come rescue me, Michael Smith old. I come from Southampton, England. July 29, 1998 I have been sailing around the world with my family. We left Southampton on September 10, 1998. We were sailing on a yacht called the Peggy Sue. Our last location was in Perth, Australia. We were heading to Papua, New Guinea. We were about two or three days away. That is all I can tell you about my location. Two nights ago I was on deck doing night watch, while my parents were asleep. Without thinking, I went above deck to get my dog, Stella, but it wasn’t wearing a harness. Suddenly, a huge wave struck the boat and we got washed overboard. I woke up, realizing that I had been washed up on an island. I was very lucky to be alive. I have been on the island for 2 days and so far it seems uninhabited. I am the only person here! I don’t know what island I’m on, but it’s got a long, white sandy beach that stretches all the way up to the cliffs. The largest cliff is covered in shrubs, bushes, and trees. In that area, the jungle is very thick and dark. On the beach, there are tall and skinny coconut trees that sway towards the cliffs in the east. The island is mostly covered in jungles, except the center has a large hill that makes the island seem so small. In the western part of the island, the cliffs slope downhill and it’s rockier there.
Artwork: Prae - Grade 10
Cliffhanger Katie Wang
A
cold feeling rushed up my spine and throughout my body. Footsteps echoed through the gym. I grabbed my bag and turned around. Nothing! Suddenly, I heard faint laughter. It was an eerie laugh like a child’s doll that could talk. I begin to walk faster and faster. Beads of sweat started to form on my scalp and within minutes I was drenched. The air around me became thicker and harder to breathe, as I walked. I had almost reached the exit when I saw the shadow of a man in the corner of my eye. My breathing stopped. My heart skipped a beat as the man took a step out of the shadows. He had a pale, gaunt face and long bony fingers. He made a long and hungry sound that paralyzed me. He took another slow step forward and reached out for me with his gnarled fingers. When he was a foot away from me I could move again. I tried to run, but my steps were sluggish. Suddenly, I tripped and fell. Ow! I thought. I tried to move my foot but realized that I twisted my ankle. When I looked up, I saw him towering over me. He reached out with one gnarled finger and...
Artwork: Soomi - Grade 11
May The Future Make My Brain Longer Anonymous With theatrics and epigrams above me, How far up must I go? Only time will tell and time will see A way that I must grow Defeated by tranquility Under the endless days and nights Disillusioned with reality Ennui has replaced delight Calmly, I tread forward On hopes of being better, Only met by stagnation Lifeless to the letter Becoming stone, I pondered Even here, can I still truly grow? All I’ve done, I’ve squandered Near standstill; adagio Still, I press on — failure leads only upwards, dear reader
Artwork: Anonymous
Artwork: Soomi - Grade 11
a mess of confused shopping carts, and angry drivers looking for parking occasionally flipping off one another in the race to find parking space. My family navigated the battlefields and joined the swarms of people marching towards the open gates; all of us carrying an arsenal of cloth bags and pushing tacky shopping carts with the intention to pillage, plunge, and plunder whatever we could find. Half a dozen red plastic carts were rolling aimlessly by themselves in the parking lot that we had come from; they were the soldiers left behind by the previous crusade, who were lost and didn’t know what to do. Those plastic carts would always be in our hearts but there was no time for grieving, there was only WAR. My sole mission that day was just to have a good time taking advantage of the maximalist marketing nature of American products. I was just there to enjoy my experience of modern American culture. I didn’t sign up for aggression, wasn’t prepared for hostile behavior, and wasn’t vibing with the physical fights that rang out across the mazes of makeshift cardboard-box shelves.
G10 Prim Adhiphandhuamphai A comedic writing from the author’s perspective, about the chaos induced by aggressive Chinatown residents shopping in Costco. The writing ends with the author, in critical condition, reflecting on the state of the modern world.
Costco Warfare
Where are Adam and Eve? I see them right there, buying apples in the frozen section. And the serpent? Also in the frozen foods section, albeit not in the most lively form. There it lies, in a canister titled Snake Snacks. Perhaps not the most appetizing meal, but maybe the exoticness of the meat would appeal to some. Chilling.
It seemed like half of downtown Chinatown’s residents all agreed to altercate at the same time because hundreds - no, thousands of So there I was, an ambitious eight-year-old on impatient Asian grandmas had gathered outside vacation in San Francisco, at the gates of the doors. The matriarchs made up a whopping America’s Garden of Eden. two-thirds of the troops moving up the stairs towards the battle raging at Costco. Costco. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon, the perfect time to take part in a war in the sacred gardens. Costco’s bright red title, in bolded italicized font, protruded from the beige colored walls like a lightless Bat-Signal. But instead of Bruce Wayne saving the day, you just get Costco and materialism. The big parking lot stretched far out from the building. As far as the eye could see, it held
Those Chinatown grandmothers were on a mission to feed every single one of their grandchildren. They were armed to the teeth in their cutest bucket hats and their most durable tennis shoes. The mighty and fearsome ladies charged cart-first into the open doors of Costco, grabbing anything and everything they could find. Chocolates, prunes, plastic brushes; you name it, they take it. They showed no
mercy, and relentlessly raced down the aisles, crashing into people of all shapes and sizes without so much as a glance. Eight-year-old me wasn’t spared in this attack, and was injured very badly on one of my legs after a hit and run by a Craisin-crazed grandmother. But no, I did not let that hinder me. The pain only intensified the adrenaline surging through me. All the commotion powered me to keep on moving, dodging, and jumping. I was a blur of dopey child-organ. The flash of an enlarged infant. A streak of fluorescent-pink. My shin throbbed painfully and bruises were forming, but I was a fearless child whose mind was devoid of the concept of weakness and the way bruises are formed. However fast I tried to flee, the grandmas kept appearing. No matter how far I went, no matter how dark I ventured, or how nimble I scampered, they’d always be one step behind. My body was slowly giving out; my leg muscles burned from overexertion; and my lung muscles wheezed painfully. The light at the end of the tunnel seemed to get farther and farther away, and with every step, my regret of meddling with the money-forged utilitarianist ways of Costco citizens increased ten-fold. The grandmothers were just a hair’s width away from me. At that moment, I faltered. My knees buckle and my legs give out. My limbs splayed across the floor like a doll, spinning this way and that way as the grannies darted past me. Sweat dripped from my face and blood dotted my torso. The bruises on my legs were maroon, and I knew that I was close to dying.
Artwork: Leia - Grade 10
In my last moments, I think of them. Adam and Eve. The Grandmas. The events that supposedly unfold in The Bible, how the effects of mass-produced and industrialized capital has affected how their future played out. In the modern world, there is no such thing as simple trickery of biting into the forbidden apple and getting cursed. The modern world holds much worse terrors, where companies can bend the rules and sell innocent pieces of poison, leaving buyers unbeknownst to the immoral actions supported with each exchanged coin. The grandmas were just a cog in the infinite spinnings on the wheel of exploitation of the Other Lands. The Elysian Fields were built on a pyramid of lies and underpaid wages. The edges of my vision begin to blur. I can feel my energy seeping away. ‘Can someone call 911?’ I hear from somewhere. Their voices are hard to decipher, fading into thin wisps of nothing as I try to hold onto their calls for me to stay with them. ‘Can someone PLEASE call 911?’ I hear vaguely. ‘Oh my god, she is dead.’ The Costco ceiling begins to spin. My breaths are shallow. ‘This is 911, what’s your emergency?’ says a feminine-robotic voice. The phrase echos across the chasms of my eardrums as I feel myself falling into darkness. ‘This is 911, what’s your emergency?’ the same robotic coos, softly. Gently. I let myself be consumed by the arms of darkness, melding, and becoming one. ‘This is 911, what’s your emergency?’ the robotic voice calls distantly from somewhere far above.
Artwork: Fiona - Grade 10
‘What’s your emergency?’.
William Chen’s Poem - Grade 9
Grade 10: Elegy poetry Nicky Kantakom
Over
Shoved and packed into a chamber, With forceful bangs, doors sealed shut. Heavy air and pungent vapor, I await my fate under this dark, brick hut. Bright light pierces through the eternal grey, I awaken from the deep dark nihility. I had forgotten that today was the day, feelings taken over by perpetual apathy. With the voice of a rover, I faintly ask, “is it over?”
Proud Neenproudpetch
If We Knew Unmarked worksheets strewn across your table, The room’s silence, stifled by faint tick-tocks, And on the floor, pages from your journal. Your bracelet slid off with no reluctance. The sun still burns and the stars still shine, But the tired waves of your existenceOnce arid heartbeat hills; now a flatline. 3.42 A.M. The call ended. You said; “I want to, but mom would be sad.” A dead giveaway and I still laughed. Not knowing what you actually longed for; To fall back in love with being alive To know that you’re enough for all of us. You’re probably starting a new canvas. Take your time, so we’ll know when you’re ready Soak in the sun rays before you go home.
Tiro Ruayjirawat’s Poetry - Grade 9
Grade 10: Elegy poetry Amm Yongsanguanchai
Mirror, Mirror I saw myself, In a transient mirror. A perfect sphere. It looked so fragile, But completely beautiful. Floating before me. A rare gem, Made with air and water. Sparks like a rainbow. Gently floats away With the summer breeze, Drifting up and down. Escapes o’er the garden fence, Across the dandelion field Under the beams of sunlight. Until the slightest touch, On the jagged edge of an autumn leaf, An inaudible pop.
Artwork: Jean - Grade 9
G10 Kamlai Surapananonchai
I HAVE A HARD TIME FALLING ASLEEP The cold air pricks your paper skin The covers drawn up to your chin Feet buried beneath your shield Hidden in the dark concealed Your head tilts back and hits the clouds Tongue bitten from crying out loud. Your eyes well up with unshed tears Head foggy from bedtime fears Then you sleep your breathing shallow Not quite ready for your sorrow You thought tonight we’d never meet But then I reach my claws to your feet (T-T) Why do people think tears are sad? Don’t they also come when you are mad? Crying is more than a symptom for grief, Listen closely and I’ll make it brief. From empathy and surprise to anger and bleak, Wailing, sobbing, yelling and shrieks. It is all normal for us to blubber, Babies, wives, and secret brothers, Floating planes that ceased to fly, Dearest husband left for a guy, Failing after all your tries, Constellation of scars on your thighs, All we do is cry cry cry. Tears are triggered by extreme waves of emotions, Chemicals and hormones as much as the ocean. Releasing the dam, relieving the stress, Go ahead, do it and feel the catharsis. Nobody cares if you bawl, So go ahead and sell your tears in a mall.
Artwork: Keekwang - Grade 11
我的外婆 李光春 Poj Tanavongchinda 如果你问我，你最敬佩的人是谁？我就会骄傲 地告诉你，我最敬佩的人是我的外婆！ 我的外婆出生于曼谷。她的爸爸是中国人，妈 妈是泰国人。两岁的时候，因患小儿麻痹症，两 条腿从此瘫痪，不能走路。但是，在父母的呵护 下，命运的不公并没有让外婆丧失对生活的希 望，反而让她更加坚强！ 外婆十六岁的时候，因为家里的生意需要人 手，外婆只好辍学回到家里帮忙家人打理生意。 家里是经营宝石加工生意的。有一次，外婆去推 销产品，当她敲开客户的家门时，客户看到站在 面前的是一个拄着两根拐杖的女孩，以为是乞 丐，于是给了外婆一个硬币就把她打发了。这件 事深深地伤害了外婆的自尊心。外婆一直都是一 个阳光 、自信的女孩，怎么接受得了别人把自 己当作是一个乞丐呢？回到家后，她伤心难过地 哭了好久。后来外婆不哭了，她想：哭是解决不 了问题的。于是她决定改变自己。外婆首先从着 装方面改变自己，并不断学习关于宝石及宝石销 售方面的知识。此后外婆每次去推销宝石之时都 把自己打扮得漂漂亮亮的，介绍业务的时候也说 得头头是道。从那以后，再也没有人看不起她了! 渐渐地，外婆接到了好多的订单。外婆常常对我 说：“一个硬币改变了我的人生！它让我懂得了 打败我们的不是命运，也不是来自外在的力量， 而是我们自己！如果你自己认输，那就真的输 了” 外婆正是靠着这样的信念走过了人生的风风 雨雨。 结婚以后，外婆有了属于自己的幸福家庭并跟 外公一起经营起肉干生意。那时,他们的生意做 得风生水起。肉干不仅在泰国畅销，而且还远销 香港。可是，天有不测风云，人有旦夕祸福！我 的外公在家时不小心从楼梯上摔了下来。他的头 部受了重伤，从此生活不能自理了。这对外婆来 说无疑是晴天霹雳，天塌了下来！外婆的生活一 下子失去了依靠。家里有两个上学的孩子需要照 顾，外面还有那么多的生意需要打理，怎么办？ 外婆没有时间来悲伤，也没有时间来犹豫，她毅 然决然地拄着两根拐杖，勇敢地承担起了家庭和 生意两副重担。为了生意，外婆考取了残疾人驾 驶证，常常自己驾着改装过的汽车去好几百里外 的地方见客户，谈生意。在生意场上，外婆是个 女强人;回到家里，她更是一个贤妻良母。虽然家 里有保姆，可是很多事她都尽量自己动手。除了 照顾外公，外婆还亲自做菜，亲自给孩子洗澡， 亲自去学校给孩子开家长会。对于一个身体健全 的女人来说，这些或许是很平常的事，可是对于 一个像外婆这样身体有残疾的人来说，是多么的 不容易啊！我的外婆不辞辛劳，不畏艰难，不但
亲自把妈妈和舅舅一手带大，而且还把两个孩 子都培养成才！我的妈妈毕业于泰国的一流大 学——泰国朱拉大学！大学毕业后，她回到家 里帮忙外婆打理生意 ; 我的舅舅远赴美国留 学，在美国本科、硕士毕业后，回到泰国，在 一家美国的大公司里做管理工作。外婆凭着自 强不息、不屈不挠的精神，不仅在事业上独挡 一面，取得了傲人的业绩；而且在家里还为孩 子们撑起了一片蓝天！ 泰国是一个佛教国家，泰国人民大多信仰佛 教。在佛教思想的教化下，在佛教文化的熏陶 下，我的外婆也有着一颗慈悲善良的心。她还 是世界残疾人协会泰国分会的主席呢！由于自 己身体上的缺陷，外婆对残疾人总是有着一份 特殊的感情。外婆经常捐款给残疾人协会，还 聘请专业老师来教授残疾人各种生活技能。在 残疾人协会的帮助下，很多残疾人通过专业培 训学会了如何使用电脑办公，还有很多残疾人 学会了如何自己经营生意。外婆还经常受邀去 到很多地方为残疾人演讲，她用自己的亲身经 历鼓励残疾人如何自力更生，有尊严的活着！ 越来越多的残疾人在外婆的帮助下看到了生活 的希望，有的甚至还创业做了老板。 我的外婆是一位了不起的华裔，她身残志 坚，顽强拼搏，在泰国这片土地上，凭着自强 不息的精神和慈悲善良之心，拄着两根拐杖， 攀上了一个个人生的高峰，创造了一个个生命 的奇迹！在这里，我要大声地对外婆说：亲爱 的外婆，我爱您！您是我最敬佩的人！
Artwork: Prae - Grade 10
Artwork: Ana - Grade 9
This incident cut a deep wound in grandma’s heart. She has always been a joyful and confident girl. “How can I allow people to think that I’m a beggar? ‘’ Grandma asked herself on the way home as tears rolled down her cheek. Suddenly, she thought, “crying doesn’t solve the problem” and decided to rebrand herself. Many years later, my grandmother often says that a quarter changed her life. After she got married, my grandmother started several successful companies with my grandfather and had two children. My grandma cared for her children really much, and in fact, she got a special driver’s license for persons with disabilities just so that she could personally drop my mom and uncle at school before heading to work. Sometimes, she would independently drive across the country in order to meet with clients. She would also often personally cook for and bath the children. At home she was a mother and at work she was a determined businesswomen.
Translation: My grandmother was born to a Thai mother and a Chinese immigrant father in Bangkok. At the age of two, she contracted polio and was never able to walk again. However, due to the support from her parents, she didn’t lose hope and actually became stronger!
However, life is a mix of the good and bad days. One day, my grandfather suffered from a fall which resulted in severe brain damage. This accident limited his ability to independently live so she had to and still care for him today.
My grandmother was greatly influenced by Thai culture which encourages giving and compassion. Due to her personal experience, my grandma cares deeply about other disabled persons. She works with many charities and organizations to ensure that others who When my grandmother was 16, she dropped out are disabled have access to the same of school to work as the family’s gem-processing opportunities and that they are able to live happy, business required manpower. Thus, grandmother independent lives. needed to frequently visit clients in order to sell products. One day, grandma knocked on the door My grandmother has always supported me of one of her father’s clients. When he opened the with her spirit of hard work, self improvement, door and saw a girl in crutches, he thought that tolerance and compassion. So I would like to the girl was a beggar. So he simply handed her a say to my grandma, “I love you”! Thank you for quarter and slammed the door in her face. everything!
DP Visual Arts Exhibition 2020
Artwork: Min, Sacrifice - Grade 12
Artwork: Lyn, Hope - Grade 12
Artwork: Nippon, Infinite Possibilities - Grade 12
Artwork: Mild, A Clockwork of Phantom Limbs - Grade 12
Artwork: Taro, Urban 2020 - Grade 12
Artwork: Fern, Be you - Grade 12
Artwork: Tata, Omo PLUS - Grade 12
Artwork: Ms. Katarina
Another Day in School A flash of bright lights blind their eyes In the hallway alone, she spies Another man down, stifled cries Alarms blaring, deafening sounds She shakes in terror, dread surrounds Treading, stalking, stealthy like hounds Coming closer, she hides in fear. Destiny determined; it’s clear: Muzzle pointed, she sheds a tear.
-- Andra Lye 2018
: Grade 11 student, Tootee Lelerphun has recently started a business online, it has been successful! She shares her experience with us, a taste of what it’s like to be an entrepreneur. Kudos to you, Tootee!
Small Business During the Pandemic
C
oronavirus has transformed lives. Schools are closed. We’re in a lock- down and confined in our houses. The first thing that came to my mind was, “I am going to have much more freetime, and that freetime shouldn’t be wasted by sleeping or scrolling on my phone all day.” My next thought was, “I am going to take online business seriously and earn money out of it!” tacted one of them, asking her to promote my product and she agreed. Her style is iconic and I first started my online business in January of she is famous among Thai teenagers, who are 2020. I decided immediately that I was going to my target customers. What a perfect opportunity! sell anklets. I used my Chinese New Year money I then sent her the product, and she posted a picture to buy the raw materials and invest in advertise- of her wearing my jewelry and tagged me so her ments. I then created an account on Instagram to followers can find my account. Followers on market anklets. On the opening day, more than my Instagram account increased immediately. half of the stock sold out and at the end of the During that time, the store was having a week, all the products were sold! I was so sur- Songkran promotion. The sales increased prised! I made more than 50 percent of profit and drastically. there were so many people asking me to restock. As my business continues to grow there are still some difficulties. First of all, there is an issue with people copying ideas. Because I am doing so well with my online business selling jewelry, others have decided to copy my ideas, create similar platforms, and sell their products for less. This decreased my sales and eventually caused a loss in income. It was, and remains, very frustrating! However, there is nothing I can do to stop them from copying. What I can do, however, is continue to improve my own designs, trust my intuition and imagination, and to improve the quality of my products. I have earned approximately 14,000 Baht in April New raw materials arrived at the start of April. alone! I decided to make gummy bear pendants by myself to decrease the cost of production and The pandemic may have disrupted our lives, but increase accessibility to more colours and this lockdown period has given us more time. designs. I also expanded the gummy bear The time that we never seem to have. This free collection which consists of a necklace, time presents us with the opportunity to explore anklet, earrings and bracelets. As I had more ourselves, to take action, and to do something freetime, I spent it on designing, advertising and to improve ourselves and the community. There making adjustments. I then thought about how are opportunities in every crisis. Let’s take to reach more customers and came up with advantage of this opportunity and start the idea of having a celebrity review and post something new! pictures of them wearing my gummy bear line. I con I trusted my imagination and also ordered materials for my new anklet design- a gummybear anklet. During this quarantine, Tiktok has become more popular. Tiktok is a social media platform where we can post short videos which go viral very quickly. I was thinking of a way to reach out to more customers, so I decided to post a video presenting my products. I dropped the video and it hit 30,000 views! This increased my follower count on Instagram as well. Identical to the previous stock, the profit is more than 50 percent.
Betty stifled a laugh at this, since Lana had only been there a month and didn’t know better. Marsha answered, “Well, sure, but nobody goes to the games. I mean, boys’ arts just aren’t as James Martindale competitive, with less brain-integration you know. I mean, even the men’s pro leagues they tried Marsha & Betty left the school cafeteria excitedly couldn’t stay in business. Besides, isn’t it more fun and bounded up to the locker of their best friend. to watch them as cheerleaders?” The other girls Marsha called out, “Amanda! Psyched for the big nodded enthusiastically. game tonight? Those stupid Wildcats beat us last year, and we just can’t let them do it again!” Down on the field, referees made final preparations, checking paints against color charts From a few lockers down, Pedro chimed in, as he for standardization & measuring brushes to turned to show off his cheerleader outfit. “I know! make sure none had been treated with banned Amanda, you’ve SO got this. We’ll be cheering for substances. you big time.”
Future’s Cool
On the home team sideline, Amanda noticed the Betty added, “Did you guys see that article in Trainer walking quickly up with Jane next to her, the Gazette? She could set a record for most crying. “Team, we’ve got a problem. Jane snagged brushstrokes in a season.” a nail on her uniform during warmups. It’s just one of those things. Freak accident. If it was anything Amanda lost her smile and bristled. “Hey, don’t other than her index finger we could work around it, talk about that. It’s a team effort. Winning is way but the torn part is going to throw off her flourishes more important than individual stats.” and maybe base strokes too.” “Sorry, but it is kinda cool. I just hope you Coach Musgrave turned bright red and looked remember us when you go pro and become an furious. She paced back & forth several times. All-Star.” Marsha said. “OK, OK, we can do this. I’m not gonna let a last-minute setback get in our way. Audrey, you’re A few hours later, at Rothko Stadium, Coach Lillie in for Jane. You’ve been at every practice. You’ve Musgrave gathered the dozen or so members of got great sense for light & shading. You’ll take the Varsity Painting Team around her. “Have you middle segment. Amanda, get her up to speed on all done hand-stretching already?” the sequence. I’ll go amend our team list with the officials.” Amanda replied for the team, as Captain: “You bet. Shoulders, too. We’re ready!” Amanda pulled the newest starter aside while others went to comfort Jane. “Audrey, don’t let In the packed stands, students & parents the opening strokes of their leadoff painter distract looked on as the judging panel filed into their you. Remember what we saw in film sessions. She section of the arena and put on scanning helmets. loves to crowd the edge and develop the border Transmitters at the top blinked on for each, first. If you match her too closely, she’ll try to draw showing green lights to indicate connections with a foul for imitation, so stay with our theme. Center the scoreboard. Joy Readings would be posted in developed first, pastel undertones, and a fast start. real time. More area colored means more chances to get an early lead on joy points.” Marsha sat by Lana, the exchange student, and asked, “Do you guys have good art teams at your Since Coach was taking a long time handling school in Venezuela?” the rosters, Trainer led the team on-field for the ceremonial exchange of scarves. Everyone politely Lana was always happy to talk about her stood for the Anthem to Creativity. homeland: “Not really. There are community leagues, where future sculptors train for Olympics, After that, it all seemed to go so fast. Each painter but at school we just take art classes for coordinalocked in with their motifs and followed the game tion & aesthetics. I tried pottery leagues as a little plan. Everyone rose to the challenge. The canvas girl, but I wasn’t great.” looked radiant, and for most matches Amanda’s skill would have been enough to lead an easy win. Marsha felt sorry for her. “Pottery is SpringBut these rivals were hard-working, with a tough season here, but it’s not as popular. Painting and strategy. The balance of symmetry and Poetry are the biggest.” counterpoint they used was provocative, and they pulled ahead several times despite slower Lana asked, “Is there a boys’ painting team too?” techniques. When scoring went dark, as it always does for the final 2 minutes, no one was confident in the outcome.
Artwork: Visual Art Project Service
Sitting at the aroma bar after the match with the rest of the team, Audrey was ecstatic. Not only would they be displaying the trophy as regional champions, but she was being toasted by every other team member for coming through in a pinch, and might even be named captain next year with Amanda graduating. It was a triumphant performance, and she made sure to show lots of warmth and sympathy to Jane, sitting nearby with her finger wrapped in a bandage. Amanda stayed surprisingly quiet in all the celebration, despite being named Most Valuable Painter. Instead of wearing team colors, she was already wearing the team jersey she would be painting for next year at university. Most assumed she was just drained from the intensity of competition, but Marsha & Betty knew better. “All right, spill it.” said Marsha. “We know something’s wrong. You’ve got that strange faraway look in your eyes. What is it?” “It’s Coach. She told me she was so relieved we won, like she wasn’t expecting it. She didn’t really believe in us, despite all that time we put in.” Amanda said. “Maybe she didn’t mean it like that,” Betty offered. “She was probably just worried because of the sub situation.” “That’s the point, Betty. She wasn’t just worried. She confessed to me she cheated. While she was in the scoring room for lineup changes, she reached over to the wires while they weren’t looking and put a crimp in one of the lines for the other team. It probably reduced their score about 2%.” Marsha said, “But wait, you won by almost 4%. So it didn’t matter, you would’ve won anyway.” Amanda was unmoved. “Yep. We would’ve won anyway. But somehow, I just can’t stop thinking about how Coach didn’t trust us. Winning was more important to her than anything, even the rules. Now the win doesn’t mean as much to me. I just wish she had trusted the process.” Betty asked, “So where is Coach now? Are you going to talk with her about it?” “Nope. She told me about it like she wanted me to be impressed with how badly she wanted us to win, and how protective she was, like she’d do anything for us. I mean, she was still a great coach in other ways,” said Amanda slowly. “I guess it helps me not to idolize her too much. She makes mistakes too. I’m just surprised how much it takes the glow off of this moment.” Marsha & Betty hugged their friend. “Know what? This is one of those things for your ‘future file.’ You store it away to remember for times in the future when YOU are the one in charge. It’ll be one of your guiding lights.” “Wow … who made you so wise all of a sudden?” asked Amanda. “Actually, that’s a nice way to look at it. Thank you. You guys are such great friends.” “Yes, we are!” said Betty. “Now let’s go try another aroma mix. This one’s on me.” And off they went. __________
Artwork: Pun Pun - Grade 10
Photo Study
Vann Ruschattawuttipong
T
he subject in the picture was staring at something else as she made a smirky smile. She was wearing her school uniform sitting on a cushion with a pillow on her lap and holding her phone in her hand. There is a window behind her through which a yellow building and soccer field is seen. It seems to be quite sunny outside as the light on the top of the left corner of the picture is white. I chose this photo to represent my work because the way the subject makes an enigmatic expression makes it feel more interesting and mysterious. If the subject was just smiling at the camera, it would seem ordinary and usual. Instead, when the subject stares at somewhere else with that expression, it makes it seem more mysterious and extraordinary. I took this picture in the library at about 2 p.m., almost 3 p.m. I actually didn’t expect this photo to be in this type of mood and tone. At that time, I didn’t want to take the picture so I was trying to make a displeased face as if I was forced to take it.
The camera technique used in the picture is mid-shot which enables us to see that the subject is sitting on the cushion as well as the scenery and the background. I made the light brighter so it seems to be livelier and sunnier outside. I also made the color of the yellow building a bit lighter so that it will match with the surroundings.
杯子的故事 曼谷英汉国际学校 十年级 杨艳珍 （Pornrawin Wongprasertphon） 在我的家里，有一套很特别的杯子。这套杯子的 花纹精致，色彩艳丽。从我记事起，我就看到这套 杯子一直在家里那里最闪亮的玻璃橱柜里放着，爷 爷奶奶偶尔会拿出来用。爸爸妈妈从来不让我碰这 套杯子，他们说那套杯子对爷爷奶奶很重要。越不 让我碰，我越对这套杯子充满了好奇。 八岁那年，我忍不住爬上椅子，想把这套杯子拿 下来看一看。我打开玻璃橱窗，慢慢地拿起一个杯 子。真漂亮啊！这是一个彩色印花的瓷器杯子，杯 口画着一圈金色的海水纹，杯子正中间有动物的图 形，我细细看，那是一条栩栩如生的龙和一只凤 凰。我正看得津津有味，爷爷突然出现在我的身 后。 爷爷慈祥地对我说：“你很好奇？”
希望和奶奶白头偕老的愿望。有的杯子上还有一 个挺难写的 ‘恭喜发财’ 字样。爷爷说他选 了 ‘恭喜发财’的字样是因为爷爷在中国的时 候生活非常贫穷，但移民到泰国后，通过努力的 工作，才慢慢地积累了财富。他想通过这个“恭 喜发财”的字样，提醒自己和后人要勤奋工作， 积累财富。听到爷爷说着杯子图案的含义，我渐 渐明白，爷爷送奶奶这套杯子，是想让奶奶知道 他想把自己的全部交给奶奶，想和奶奶携手过一 辈子。 我静静地看着这套精美的杯子，仿佛感受到爷 爷当初见到奶奶时激动的心情，我被爷爷对奶奶 的真挚感情所感动。在我看来，这套杯子，不只 是表达了爷爷对奶奶真挚的爱，也表达了爷爷对 祖国和家乡的思念。我一定要帮助爷爷保护这套 杯子，守护爷爷奶奶的爱情，传承爷爷对祖国和 家乡的思念。 This essay is about a special set of cups that my grandparents value most. The cups have been kept in a shimmering glass wardrobe ever since I was a kid. Neither my parents nor my grandparents allowed me to touch the cups, so I was really curious about them, as they were glamorous, colorful, and very intricate. However, my grandpa promised me that he’ll let me take a look at the cups only when I turn 15.
我赶紧把杯子放到橱柜里，跳下椅子，对爷爷 说：“爷爷，为什么你们都不让我碰这个杯子 呢？”
The patterns on the cups represent stories of my grandpa’s life and his journey to Thailand. Grandpa said that it was World War II when he immigrated from Chaozhou to Thailand. Back then, his home 爷爷笑着对我说：“ 等你到15岁，我就告诉你这 was destroyed, he had no food and no shelter. His 套杯子的故事。” hard work eventually paid off, and he finally started his own company.
在期盼和好奇中，今年我终于等到自己15岁了， 一过完生日，我就缠着爷爷给我讲杯子的故事。 One day, grandpa met grandma, and it was love at first sight. He designed this set of cups for her to keep 爷爷徐徐道来关于杯子的故事…… his history and their memories on the cups.
爷爷在中国出生， 第二次世界大战的时候，爷爷 的家被战争摧毁，没有食物没有房子。因而，爷爷 Each cup has different patterns printed on it, one 决定从潮州来到泰国工作。初到泰国，爷爷工作很 of which has a dragon and phoenix pattern, and 辛苦，通过辛勤的劳动，终于创办了自己的公司。 the other has a mandarin duck pattern. The dragon and phoenix are symbols of Chinese culture, and 虽然工作忙碌，但远离家乡和祖国，爷爷感到孤 the mandarin duck is the symbol of love. These 独，时常想念祖国，想念家乡的亲人。 patterns also represent grandpa’s hope and grandma’s 一次偶然的机会，爷爷遇到了奶奶。他对奶奶一 desire of growing old together.
见钟情，可是又不知道如何向奶奶表达自己的感 情。于是，爷爷自己设计了这套杯子，然后把样稿 送回中国去订制。当这套杯子做好送到泰国的时 候，爷爷立即拿着这套杯子送给奶奶，表达自己的 爱意。 听到这，我恍然大悟，原来这是爷爷送给奶奶的 最重要的礼物，见证了他们的爱情。我继续好奇地 问爷爷：“那杯子上的图案有什么含义呢？” 爷爷继续说，他设计这套杯子的时候，他想到了 很多，包括花纹、颜色、材质以及材质。最后采用 烧制陶瓷的办法制作了这套杯子，因为陶瓷是中国 传统的手工艺品，代表着爷爷的出身，是来自中国 的。这套杯子的杯口印有海水纹，代表着爷爷是漂 洋过海来到泰国，与奶奶在泰国相遇。每个杯子身 上都印有不同的图案，其中一只杯子上有龙凤图 案，还有一只杯子有鸳鸯的图案。龙凤是中国文化 的代表，鸳鸯是爱情的象征，这些图案代表着爷爷
Some cups also have a very hard to write “Gong Xi Fa Cai”. Grandpa said that he chose “Gong Xi Fa Cai” because Grandpa lived in China very poorly, but after emigrating to Thailand, he slowly a ccumulated wealth through hard work. He wanted to remind himself and his descendants to work hard and never give up.
Students were tasked with writing three stages of a story based on Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey framework.
(Retrieved from https://selfsustain.com/blog/8-week-mens-adulthood-groupstarts-april-2017/heros-journey-joseph-campbell/)
Fire in the Skye
She looked at her face. Those emerald-green eyes that her mother so loved, her warm brunette hair, rosy cheeks that her sister was jealous of, her plump lips and contoured nose her father was always boasting about.
“Skye Pie, hold this for me, will you?” her sister said as she thrusted her handbag into Skye’s arms. Skye rolled her eyes. Cove was always STAGE 1: ORDINARY WORLD like this, telling her do her stupid homework while she wastes her parents’ money buying All was quiet. Nothing was moving. She could hear more useless handbags at the mall. her heart pumping in her chest, pounding so hard that she thought it would burst any minute. She “Oh, and Skye, handle it carefully, will you? waited. What was she waiting for? She couldn’t That’s a five thousand dollar Louis Vuitton bag. recall. Why was she lying on a flat surface that One hundred percent camel skin.” smelled of mould? Her head hurt. Her nose stung. Her eyes felt swollen. What was happening to her? The airport was noisy. Signs were everywhere. Who was she? So many questions were whirling Some had English writing on them, while inside her head like a tornado a moment ago, but others had strange looking letters like a now she felt blank. Empty. reversed S or an X with a line below it. As they collected their luggage, Skye spotted a Skye felt blood rushing through her veins. The air scroll. It looked old, almost like the pieces of was warm; humid in fact. It was much warmer in parchment you would see in bottles at those Egypt, even though Los Angeles was hot, it was museums. She quickly spun around to make dry as well, but here, the moisture in the air made sure no one was looking at her. Then, she it hard for Skye to breathe. She fiddled with her grabbed the scroll with one hand while using necklace, which she could see from the reflection the other to yank her luggage off the carousel. on the shuttle bus was glistening under the sun.
Sophia Lohstapornpipit
“Skye,” a voice came from behind her. She stuffed the scroll into her pocket and spun around. Oh god. It was her neighbor, more like her best friend, before his family moved to Vancouver eight years ago. She had actually forgotten about him, but when she saw his face her head flooded with memories like a wave had just crashed into her brain. “Cole.” “Hello there, Skye.”
lord of the royal jubilee. After that, the phoenix brought its burnt old body to Heliopolis for final burning after the bird rose again. Skye blinked. This bird only existed in legends! How could one be standing in front of her now? I’m hallucinating, It’s not real, she thought. She shook her head violently. The bird was still there; it had gorgeous navy blue tipped wings, long and slender legs, and it wore a headpiece that looked like a crown.
STAGE 4: MEETING THE MENTOR
“Skye, your world is in danger. Soon, there will be a curse spreading that will cause everybody on Gold feathers. Strange. Skye blinked her eyes. Earth to develop cancer,” it spoke in a singsong She stretched out her hand to pick up the feather. voice. “Everyone will be affected, including your It was as light and soft as silk. It left a trail which loved ones; and there is no cure.” led to one of the tomb rooms. She could feel a tingling sensation on the tips of her fingers, and “And why are you telling me this?” Skye spoke it felt like electricity. The ground vibrated. There boldly. Even though she was putting on her was a soft humming noise coming from the toughest face, she was actually terrified by the tomb room, then a sphere of purple light floated gigantic bird on the inside. towards her. The sphere gradually became bigger and bigger until it stopped right in front of “Well, you see,” the bird sighed, “there actually her. A single blood-red feather fell from the ball of is a cure, but you are the only one who can find light. The humming grew more intense, and Skye it. Chief Khan was gazing at his crystal ball one found herself covering her ears with the palms day, and he saw a dreadful danger approaching of her hands because the sound was deafening. your planet. We would like to help. Humans and The humming soon stopped, and it was replaced the creatures were actually friends and allies... with melodic singing. It sounded like a woman’s until your kind betrayed us. Chief Khan decided voice, perhaps a mother singing to her newborn. that the past is the past, and on behalf of all the creatures, we would like to restore that friendship “Skye Tierra Mackay, you are the one.” and bring back the old ways.” Huh. She shook her head. This isn’t real. It’s just Skye smiled. a dream, it’s just a dream. “So what are you waiting for, Ms. Mackay? Come In a blink of an eye, the light sphere burst into on, follow me.” a cackling flame. There was no transition whatsoever, it just sort of turned into fire. “What the Sam Hill?” Skye breathed. It was starting to smell toasty, and then burnt. Skye turned around and started to run - but then felt a pair of eyes watching her and whipped her head around. Instead of a blazing fire, standing there was a beautiful bird, it almost seemed unreal. It was a Bennu phoenix - as Skye recognized it. Her grandmother told her stories of this majestic bird that was the Ba of the sun god, Ra. Its connection with Ra extended to the rising and setting of the sun where it was considered as the Artwork: Mr. Eric
Phoenix Witch
Artwork: Lisa - Grade 11
Otto Kantakom Stage 2. Call to Adventure Year 3235, New York City. Big Apple. City of Times Square, the Statue of Liberty and more. There lived a genetically modified 16-year-old girl. Maseris Stanlingford. Blue as her friends call her since she was obsessed with blue. “First things first, I got an A++.” Blue explained to her mom. “This is the 35th time that you got an A++.” Her mother exclaimed. “35, a weird number since when I was running back from school, exactly at the 3,535th mile a polaroid fell from the sky and cracked the ground. On the polaroid was a man who had cocoa brown hair and lime green eyes. The person was holding up two peace signs, one towards the left and one towards the right.” Blue explained. 15:35, 3,535th mile. She picked it up and looked at it. “Did someone drop their polaroid?” Blue Familiar, Blue thought screeched. “Go to school, kid,” a stranger whispered. “Why does he look familiar?” Blue thought to herself. She was continuing to wander around until she overheard someone conversing in an alien-like language. You’re chosen, she heard. She saw letters saying “evah nuf” in a calligraphy font. “A 2-year-old drew it, how’ll I understand?” Blue realized that it was “have fun” backwards. Yesterday, 16:57, Blue was just strolling in the library. She was looking through bookcases. One book’s spine read Universe God. She looked at it and saw a lady that was flying in the air with a bird made of fire behind her.
“Nah… Sofie ain’t like you. I feel none of that energy in ya. You just a puny human, why d’ya want to know the goddess Sofie? Whatevs, I ain’t care about you. When the phoenix force enters ya will be omnipotent. Described as a sound right before you pass out.” The guy quickly shouted and snapped his fingers, in a blink of an eye she teleported out of the library. Back in the present day. Blue was nauseous, but she felt power, a tingling sensation. She was staring at everything and sensed atoms around her.
She quickly ran to the schoolyard. The leaves turned brown in a blink of an eye. Chrysanthe“Excuse me?” Blue whispered. mums started to rot and animals ran away. She wasn’t a perfect girl anymore. She saw her best “Yessss?” An ancient voice appeared. friends quickly run away. She stared at them with red eyes, smiling evilly. The school was gone. “Can you tell me information about this book?” She walked to them. “NO!” Blue screamed as a Blue asked. darkness overcame her. Everybody fell, she felt “First to worthy. Sofie, no ordinary girl.” The something she never felt before, loneliness. librarian showed her to a dark room. “She was the girl who made the universe.” An expert shouted.
Phumfah (Tonnam) Shanmatkit
The Good Earth and the Symbolism of Land “As he had been healed of his sickness of heart when he came from the southern city and comforted by the bitterness he had endured there, so now again Wang Lung was healed of his sickness of love by the good dark earth of his fields and he felt the moist soil on his feet and he smelled the earthy fragrance rising up out of the furrows he turned for the wheat.” In the book The Good Earth written by Pearl Sydenstricker Buck, the land is portrayed as a symbol of good sense and life itself. The novel revolves around the power of the land as seen from the accords between Wang Lung’s and the land. Wang lung feels deeply connected to the land, in which Wang Lung’s depends on literally and figurately. This is apparent when Wang Lung sees Lotus cursing at his eldest daughter whom he loves. This creates a disparity between his love for Lotus and his eldest daughter. And as a result, his fondness of Lotus fades. Once the flood diminishes, Wang Lung once again begins to work on the field, and once again: “...he had been healed of his sickness of heart when he came from the southern city...”(Buck, 212). The land has always helped and heal Wang lung of his troublesome thoughts. In this case, it is the manipulating love of Lotus’s beauty that causes him to become disloyal to his land. Furthermore, the lotus flower is a symbol of purity in Chinese culture, but it can also be used to create a deadly poison. This can be seen in Lotus’s parasitic relationship with Wang Lung. Wang Lung was blinded by her beauty and his desires, and as a result, received the poison of corrupted love. This leads to Wang Lung straying from the principle he was raised on and leading him to a wasteful wealthy life. “...so now again Wang Lung was healed of his sickness of love by the good dark earth...”(Buck, 212), The land acts as a cure for the immorality that wealth invites. The land is a symbol of life and the power of life is a life-giving force that will always exist in the novel. Thus, it is a recurring motif that reconnects everything back to the land, as everything is connected to the essence of life. As for Wang Lun,g when he comes to his senses, which has been stained by Lotus, he is returned to his former self. Besides reconnecting with his land he also “...felt the moist soil on his feet and he smelled the earthy fragrance rising up...”(Buck, 212). This passage includes imagery, illustrating the reunion between Wang Lung and the land. The land that was with him through thick and thin; he has returned to it. More specifically this passage includes tactile and olfactory imagery, as seen from the “moist soil” and “earthly fragrance”. Wang Lung is able to feel the soil in his bare feet and get a whiff of healthy fragrance that he interludes. Pearl Sydenstricker Buck uses a stylistic word choice to put emphasis on each verb, where each verb is used to develop the mood of the passage. Moreover, each word such as “healed” will be juxtaposed by another word such as “sickness”. Where this is a recurring motif that can be seen in the passage. This juxtaposition allows the reader to see a clearer image of the passage and creates a contrast between life in the “southern city” compared to life on the “good dark earth.” The tone convicts a sense of rejoining as Wang Lung is reunited with his land. Whereas, all of the following are confined in one lexical field, creates a repetitive system of referring back to the power of the land. This creates a warming mood that recurred throughout the passage as if the land was personified as a living being Wang Lung missed. As he helped the earth create life; by growing crops, the earth has given Wang Lung life in return.
The Investigation Dr. Miguel Catasus Portuondo
The Lion had concerns. These gave him not a minute of peace. He, as the King of the Jungle, did not know if his subjects were happy. Happiness is so important in life. As a solution, he decided to find, among his kingdom of animals, an advisor who could implement and carry on an investigation. Immediately, and for obvious reasons, he considered the Owl. He was his best friend, and besides, no one had the Owl’s unique wisdom. When the Owl received the request from the King, he was very, very worried. There were so many intertwined and multifaceted aspects that he worried it would be very hard to reach an objective categorical answer. Despite all his hesitations, he was given the task with demand for delivery. Using his vast knowledge, he designed a survey that, through a conceptual valuation, guided him to identify the defining elements of an open question, and at the same time, the independent variables with the largest statistical weight. To this end, he selected 100 animals to answer the following questionnaire:
His Majesty’s Investigation regarding Happiness in the Jungle QUESTIONNAIRE
I Methodological orientation: 1. Mark your answer with an X according to your current status. 2. If your answer is affirmative (case 1), you will be called for a personal interview. You will come alone. 3. If your answer is negative (case 2), explain using less than 50 words why you are not happy. 4. If you belong to case 3, once you have written your answer, you may leave the room. 5. Your information is absolutely confidential. The only one with access to it will be his Majesty the King, if necessary. II) ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION: ARE YOU A HAPPY ANIMAL? Case 1: YES____. Case 2: NO _______________________________________. Case 3: I don’t know____. Signature_________________________________________.
Artwork: Gail - Grade 9
Artwork: Mr. Eric
The second main result was surprising, 72 % belonged to case 2-- no doubts about evident dissatisfaction. A detailed revision of the answers brought light for a better understanding of the actual facts. It was an effective chaos. All the animals were lacking something that others had in excess. For example, the flamingo wanted a more energetic wife such as the lioness; the rhino wanted a less choleric husband like the deer; the lioness wanted a more romantic husband like the swan, etc. It was a whole spectrum of uncorrelated emotional The Owl began his data analysis. Complex deprivations. Evidently, this picture did not help statistical tests were used. Days and nights of to find out the underlying truth in the hearts and intense work were needed. Patterns began to be brains of the “unhappy animals”. uncovered. Final trends were found. With huge hope, the Owl called the only The results were totally unexpected, 27% of the animal with a ‘YES’ as a response. The donkey surveyed animals were case 3. They never asked was a HAPPY ANIMAL. With a sad face the themselves if they were happy. They did not think donkey explained his answer: he wrote it in the about it. The Owl classified them as a group wrong place, and was so sorry. His survey was close to happiness or “Subjective Happiness”. He annulled.
assumed that if they were not consciously unhappy, then they were not aware of lacking any A verdict had to be given. The Owl tried to find the essence of the problem but only more happiness in their lives. doubts showed up. A spark of his inexhaustible This group was extremely interesting from a intelligence came into help. With a lot of tact and psychological viewpoint. Among the animals in diplomacy, selecting meticulously each word, he this group were the monkeys. Always smiling, wrote a brief note stating: jumping from tree to tree, enjoying their bananas with a gregarious social life; mothers constantly My Dear Monarch: caring for babies, caring fathers, all copacetic. Perhaps the synergetic effect of all these factors Your Majesty has no reason to be concerned about the happiness in the kingdom. was the explanation! Everything is in order. There are happy and However, the evidence was not all that simple. unhappy people, which is normal. I take the Along with the monkeys, were the eagles, and liberty, for the sake of our friendship and with the animals as different as eagles and monkeys were utmost respect, to finalize this report with advice difficult to find. Could it be that when you look at as your friend: take care of yourself a little more, the world from different heights you change your and of Her Highness, the Lioness. perspective? On the other hand, what about Your most faithful servant, reptiles? There are no reptiles in this group. Does dragging their bodies along the ground create The Owl. -an issue of perspective? The Owl realized that a deeper method of analyzing this group was required but he did not have time. His Majesty was waiting.
Last year, Ms. Maria Ticinovic’s Grade 10 English class was tasked to write a comedic piece. The first piece is written by Sanjana Gowri Shankar (now Grade 11), who prepares for battle … the mighty lizard. The second piece is written by Andra Lye ( also a Grade 11 student), recalling her encounter with a ‘peculiar leaf’. Does Sanjana make it out alive? Was the leaf actually a leaf? Read on to find out more!
At war with... the lizard! Sanjana Gowri Shankar Artwork: Mr. Eric
When you live in a city built on a swamp, it is more than likely you will have to deal with the elements. I am not just talking about flooding or scorching hot days, but about the crawling insects and reptiles and dengue-carrying mosquitoes that flit in and out of sight every day and night. I suppose everyone here becomes Captain Ahab with their own personal white whale. Sometimes it’s cockroaches and sometimes it’s snakes. For me and my family, our white whale was a small lizard. I want to tell you a tale of how a grotesque lizard the size of a whiteboard marker tormented and terrorized us for one long and horrible night. We just reached home from my parent’s long-awaited anniversary night, spending most of dad’s savings in a lavish, expensive restaurant. We sat at the dining room table exhausted, and we talked, laughed, and reminisced about our wonderful day together. Just then, I saw something scuttle past me. No, my mind had probably wandered off. This can’t be happening. From inserting window meshes and having a thousand bottles of lizard repellents to placing naphthalene balls at every corner of the house, we had tried everything we could but lo and behold, a lizard had still made it through our defenses. Scanning the lizard’s jerky movements, my dumb self decided to shout, “MOM, DAD THERE’S A LIZARD RIGHT THERE.” Wait, why did I do that? Was I not aware of my mom’s deadly fear of lizards? Before even completing my sentence, my mom jumped right on the chair, crouching in fear, eyes glinting with anxiety, looking down, left and right like a soldier watching out for enemies on a night patrol. My dad jerked up in surprise, staring at my mother in confusion. Nope. I’m outta here. And I backed away from the dining table. After finally realizing what was happening, my dad clambered after the lizard, hitting it using a broom with an excited shout and turning around with a proud smile, only to see my mom’s frantic pointing at the tailless lizard scuttering up on top of the cupboard while he groaned in despair. Now it was seemingly out of reach but my
Artwork: Momae - Grade 10
father grabbed a chair and while still holding his weapon of choice- the broom, he planted himself upon that piece of furniture and went to smack that lizard one more time. But the chair gave way and he came crashing to the floor. My mom and dad both shrieked and stood still. The lizard peered out from the edge of the cupboard. His tongue darted both back and forth. I swear he smiled, right at us. I know that sounds impossible, but I swear it did. My mom screamed and ran past me, giving up the battlefield and abandoning my father. I turned and ran with her, not knowing if my father was even alive but as I took one last fleeting look behind me as I ran, I saw the lizard so quickly and improbably now standing on my father’s head.
Artwork: Leeung - Grade 9
We made it to my room and hovered there frantically searching for a way out, but we were trapped in that box of a room, near an exit and only a sealed window. Then, as we fell silent with only our scared and gasping breaths to break the silence, we looked to the doorway. My mother suggested we not only call the police but also some type of an exterminator...or even a random person on the street, but our phones were outside in the kitchen. I cursed our luck but my mom surprisingly remained calm and went to slide out the door. Peeking around and seeing nothing, she opened it fully and gave me a last loving look before she crossed the threshold.
blotched lizard swiveled its eyes around me like a security camera. Alas, it poked out its monstrous yet tiny head from under my bed and began to stalk towards me. It was as if he was playing with me, taking out my family one at a time. It reminded me of something my dad said about monkeys when we went to the zoo during my childhood. He said, “guerilla warfare is more “I will come back for you,” my mom said. than just throwing a banana.” And that perhaps was the motto of this lizard, he was an expert “Mom…” I breathed. in guerilla warfare tactics. But neither did he “Stay here! I will find you. I love you.” And she was ambush me like my mother nor did he set a trap as he had done for my dad. gone. It was only a matter of minutes before I heard the screams...and then I knew. I was on my own. I sat down in the corner and cried. I don’t know how long I cried but I was interrupted by a hopeless feeling that enveloped me by a light sound. I looked up quickly. The lizard was back! He was scuttling under the door crack. It seemed to have completely flattened its body before becoming whole again and then it was gone, hidden now in some dark corner of my room. I screamed. Forget the summatives. I was going to die. I just knew it, and yet, even facing that possibility and even knowing my father and mother were perhaps gone, wondering about how I was going to finish my math project on time was as frustrating as worrying about this battle. The
He charged. I screamed and stood up, and in doing so I bumped the drawer behind me and my giant pile of summatives went crashing to the floor just as he leaped for my throat...although to be fair...he only got to my ankles. This, by the way, was no ordinary pile of summatives but an incredible amount of assignments only seen in such places as the Pentagon, the Kremlin, or in an IB school like Concordian where no teacher follows the summative policy. The pile crashed like a pile of bricks upon my attacker...and then there was silence. I bent down and with great apprehension, I slowly peeled away the pile of books and papers, and oh well, the lizard was dead and crushed and quite frankly, rather small and feeble. But there you had it, my nightmare was over.
Artwork: Gail- Grade 9
The Encounter with a Peculiar “Leaf” Andra Lye
I
t was a sunny afternoon, birds chirped in the azure sky, tree leaves rustled in the wind, and squirrels taunted each other on our spacious lawn. All was fantastic… until I started manually pushing open the automatic gate that leads to our garage. Wait… manually pushing an automatic gate? Why is that? Why does one have to manually push something that is already automatic? You see... Bangkok is sinking. Come to Bangkok and you will see pavements, skyscrapers, high rise buildings in almost every corner, but what you probably didn’t know is the fact that all those buildings you see are constructed directly above marshy lands, a mere 1.5 metres above sea level. So as Bangkok sinks, the ground that the rail sits on sinks. The cumbersome gate is then unable to automatically function on the uneven track. Oops! I am slightly off track (like the supposedly automatic gate); let’s resume where we left off. It was two days before New Year’s Eve. My mum and I went out to buy some groceries to prepare for the party we were going to host at our place. Upon arriving home, I got down from the car, ready to push open the unwieldy, six-foot, charcoal-coloured gate.
What I didn’t realise, however, was something protruding on top of our gate. Something slender, long, and glimmering emerald. As I pushed the gate open, completely distracted by the birds and the tree leaves and the squirrels, the peculiar-looking “leaf” fell on top of my exposed feet. That’s strange. I’ve never seen any leaf like this before. It was long enough to plop on top of my two feet while stretching to the depths of the safe-zone I call “the car”. The “so-called” leaf was infinitely long and never-ending, like a sea stretching out into the horizon or an IB student stretching out their entirety of their arms, clinging onto the cliff of freedom, childhood, and fun for dear life. I like to think of myself as someone curious and inquisitive. Not being able to identify this anomaly of a “leaf”, I bent down to examine it in magnified detail. The “leaf” responded by hissing.
definitely freaking out more than I was. She may have been literally in the “safe-zone”, in the protective barriers of her car, but mentally, I think she has traversed all oceans of fear. That’s it. She’s scarred for life. A green snake slithering on top of the gate was all it took for my mum to freeze like a deer in headlights. For the snake to do a dive straight onto her daughter’s exposed feet, all my mum could do in response was gape in horror and break out into a cold sweat, maybe say a prayer or two. After a week or so, we thought that episode of hysteria was over. We almost forgot about that nightmare of a day...until we spotted another “leaf” in its natural habitat, our garden. This time, a brown, crisp, two-metre “leaf” that everyone loves to crunch on with their feet... not.
Wait.
Welcome to Bangkok. Home to high rise buildings, scrumptious food, excellent Hissing? scorching hot weather, and various peculiar “leaves” that one can easily find. Don’t say Sure, leaves can rustle, whoosh, and swoosh I didn’t warn you about the latter! in the wind, but something about this “leaf” puts me on high alert. There’s no way any leaf is capable of hissing. I started wiggling my toes, trying to cautiously lift this “leaf” off of me. My sensory nerve fibres on my feet were finally transferring information to the nanoscopic synapses in my brain. There was a slight tingle in my feet and my hair pricked up. The slime, the weight, the length... this wasn’t a leaf, but a... “SNAAAAAKE!!!” I shrieked as I leaped up in the air causing the snake to fly. It was taking a leap of faith (figuratively and literally) to the other side of the universe (or my neighbour’s house), hoping to escape the ear-piercing scream from my side of the universe. I went hysterical. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t speak. All I could do was panic. I ran in circles, like a dog chasing its’ tail. I waved my hands frantically in the air. I wailed and collapsed on the grass, ironically, not realising the natural habitat of the snake. Thankfully, all living organisms at that time telepathically felt the fear radiating off of me and decided to leave me alone with my snake-blessed feet. Now you may be wondering: my mum? Fear not, friends.
where was She was... Artwork: Mr. Eric
Assignment details: Grade 8 English Language and Literature students visited Bangkok’s Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) and selected artistic pieces which interested them. They conducted further research on the painting and artist to generate creative their own writing. Their final task was to write a creative poem expressing themes related to the art they chose. The following are some student poems inspired by the artistic pieces they chose. Inspired by “The Forest of Bones”, illustrated by Sriwan Janehuttakarnkit.
Bone Branches Tsheyang Tsering (G8)
As I walked around the once new forest, I stepped over bodies unnourished. All the branches around me broken and loose, Yet all fitted within the noose. necks hung like clouds from sky bodies hung from rope necktie The sky moves from light to dark, The contrast between it so stark, This once new forest found in the depths of Japan, where people jumped into fire from the frying pan As their lungs and bodies lay devoid of air The forest full of souls; like morbid times square. This forest serves as a lesson for all Despite being abused by Logan Paul. This forest; natures gravestone, Made only of human bone This forest, now a scar forever embedded, The whiteness of this forest, eternally shredded
“The Erawan piece is a print I was going to sell to raise money for Thailand’s elephant reserves but the COVID situation ended that plan.” -- Mr. Eric
Artwork: Pun Pun - Grade 9
Inspired by “Glamorous Night in Bangkok” by Preecha Pun-Klum
Ballad of Bangkok
Fant Fant Thongthungwong (G8) The gold shines as the sun rises Across Bangkok city Buddha sitting in those thick walls As people pray silently Bells ringing above the great hall The city now awake Night sky become as bright as day But it all starts to break Cars passing by as fast as light Bringing change all along Bangkok will never be the same But still it will move on Yellow flashes across the street Bright red from afar The world I’ve known has waved goodbye It all replaced by cars
Inspired by “The Steps of Life” by Kiettisak Chanonnart
Slaves of the Mind My Luesukprasert (G8) Amethyst halls closing, bodies amort. Filled with a stinking smell, death of some sort. Heads, minds, sucked into the void. Emptiness, in the form of a humanoid. Roaming around in ceaseless existence, We breathe our lives with no resistance. Life is like a long, empty, corridor. Become lost and alone, and you’re done for. But as time goes on, radiance replaces shadow. It feels the same as the end of Jim Crow. Like people freed from chains, memories of bliss fill in the misery, The songs of sadness become a history And there, flickers a luminescence of hope. You should deal with what you can cope.
Elizabeth’s Diary Baitoey Suteewong Artwork: Earn - Grade 9
O
nce in May, Ares gave me this bracelet and said ‘the bracelet can turn into a shield and the charm can turn into a spear or sword whichever one you want’. Then he disappeared in a shimmer of light. It took me nearly a month to find out how to use the bracelet - I can’t tell you what it is but, I had to use this word in greek then I could use it. On my 9th birthday, mom and Brian went to Hawaii and left me at home, alone, with no babysitter, no nothing. Then Ares came and said ‘I’ve been watching you. Brian may not be a monster but he is a demigod son of Nemesis, the god of revenge, he might not look so bad, but your life is in danger. You must leave now, I’ll talk to your mom, Go!’ Ares alerted as I dash out of the house. When I looked back I couldn’t see my house anymore, all I could see was a 7-11 store right in front of me. Good thing I always have my backpack at the front door so I grabbed it on the way out. In my pack I had some useful things. I had my wallet, some nectar, and Ambrosia Ares gave me on the way out, some double-mints, a demigod survival book (from Ares again), some spare clothes, a dagger from Brian’s closet, and I would never leave the house without my bracelet and necklace.
I promised my mom that I would write in this diary every night when I leave California, to go to this place called Camp Olympus (the camp is just outside of New York). I’m not sure how long I would write this because my life is pretty crazy. Let me tell you about my past. It all started 2 years ago when I ran away from home because my mom got married to this dude called Brian Mcarcy. At first, I thought he would help my mom with work since my dad, Ares, God of War, left her when I was born. Of course, he visited us a couple of times when I was younger, until I turned 6 when my dad left and never returned, leaving my mom with a helpless 6 year old me. Then a year passed by, and blah blah this happened, that happened, blah blah, my mom got married to Brian. At first, he was okay, I didn’t like him but I didn’t hate him either. I was 7 then, I could still hide from monsters because my demigod senses were not that clear yet. Also, I was still really small.
Artwork: Ms. Katarina
Oh, I didn’t tell you how I got the necklace, did I? No, probably not. In May he gave me the bracelet, right? The bracelet is called ‘εντόσθια’, which means gut-stabber in Greek. In June, Ares gave me the necklace and revealed that ‘The necklace can turn into a chest armor in an emergency, just tap the blue stone in the middle and say the magic word and you’ll be in your armor in no time’. Then (again) he vanished in a shimmer of light. My necklace is called μοίρα (which means doom in Greek). And so I traveled alone in the big city for about 6 months before meeting Peter, this demigod child of Athena, in Wyoming. Peter was 11, 2 years older than me. Along the way to camp, we built shelters to stay in rest and heal for the night. Anyway, Peter came from Oregon which is up north from California from where I live and was born in Ohio. Peter told me how he took a train across Nevada then he somehow got lost in South California. Then we traveled for about 6 more months or so and somehow we got to Florida. I told Peter that I wanted to relax for a bit because it was a sunny day and I always wanted to come to Florida, but Brian always said ‘No, if you want to go you have to learn your money and see how expensive it is to travel there’ but now’s my chance to do it! Even though I’m almost broke because of buying food, we decided to make a small shelter by the beach and rested there for a few days before traveling again with full health and happiness. But that didn’t last for long. A few days later we were attacked by a wild centaur. Of course, we had to heal quickly with the help of Nectar and Ambrosia.
On the day that I met Peter. He was in a T-shirt and Jeans and I was wearing a hoodie and some jean shorts. Of course, both of us had sneakers and a backpack. I had a watermelon Jansport backpack and Peter had a black outdoor products backpack. We had been traveling for 1 and a half years and we still had no clue of where this camp was. From what I heard, some people call this camp many different names. Some say that this camp is called Camp Olympus. There are so many I can barely name (or maybe I just can remember them, hehe). Anyway in Ohio we met this 10-year-old girl named Clara who was the daughter of Nike. After I got to camp I was treated at the infirmary for a few days, but Peter and Clara got to leave on the first day. Later that night I went to the campfire then I was claimed by Ares, Peter was claimed by Athena, and Clara was claimed by Nike.
Artwork: Sybert - Grade 11
Sanjana Gowri Shankar analyses the Hong Kong protests from the perspective of CGTN and VOX.
The Determination of Knowledge through our Worldviews Our world view determines the knowledge we come to accept. Every one of us perceives the world through a lens - our perceptions, biases, and beliefs all determine how we understand our purpose and place in the world and accept the knowledge that we are presented with. The filter through which we view the world depends on environmental factors, for instance, where we grew up, things we have been taught to follow, and our experiences in our journey through life. The way someone perceives a situation may not be the same as how another person views it. This assertion applies to the reporting of the situation in Hong Kong by different news channels. The calls for the withdrawal of an extradition bill proposed by the Hong Kong government sparked the series of anti-government protests that have turned into an extensive pro-democracy movement. The protest has reached its twelfth weekend amidst clashes with police, transport chaos, and the shutdown of the Hong Kong airport. This paper will express how different news channels portray their perspective on the situation that includes their biases and beliefs, and how it affects the knowledge the audience takes in. China Global Television Network, a Chinese international news channel under the state-owned CGTN group, brings a Chinese perspective to global news (“CGTN”). VOX, on the other hand, is an American news and opinion-based website owned by Vox Media (“VOX”). In their reports of the Hong Kong situation, the two news pieces convey an argument in support of their perspective and worldview. In reference to the event, CGTN is pro-China, whereas VOX is pro-Hong Kong. The lexical fields in both the news broadcasts are neutral at the start but progress to being biased towards the side they support. They portray themselves as overt, and in doing so, they imply that as others believe it, you should believe it too. CGTN’s coverage of Hong Kong shows the violent side of the protest. This includes clashes with police, chaos, and commotion, even at the very beginning. The video states that “It was a common revision of existing laws, so why was then Hong Kong plagued by -sometimes violent- protests?” Here, they are essentially claiming that the extradition bill is a mild issue, and juxtapose it by showing us footage of the “sometimes violent” protests. This drives us into thinking that the Hong Kongers are simply exaggerating through constant protests over a minor issue of the “revision of laws.” As the video progresses, it is implied that Hong Kong is also responsible for harboring intelligence officer agents from the UK and the US, who would not get punished for committing offenses as long as they repose in Hong Kong. Here, they assert that China needs to gain more power over Hong Kong in order to bring justice to these agents. This is followed by a statement: “If the law changed, Hong Kong would no longer be a haven for criminals.” The syntax “no longer” suggests that the city already acts as a shelter for criminals, requiring stricter regulations from China. Therefore, the knowledge we obtain from this source is that Hong Kong is executing violent protests for no reason, it is providing refuge to a bunch of criminals who need to be penalized by China, and that the US is to be blamed for helping these protests. This is what they know, and what they are telling us to be convinced by. Furthermore, as they talk about the connection between the protests and the involvement of the National Endowment for Democracy, which they call the “second CIA”, they show pieces of evidence of Hong Kong leaders meeting with CIA agents, and present us with the phrase “believe it or not” at the end. This is a form of synthetic personalization, mainly emphasizing on “believe it” as they are making a connection with the audience to persuade them into believing the facts they are selling them with. The broadcast then concludes with a question, “So do you still think the protests in Hong Kong are pro-democracy?” Their argument here is that Hong Kong is not pro-democracy, it is pro-America, and they are trying to alter the way we view the case, which accordingly changes the
Artwork: Mr. David
indicating that it is invading Hong Kong’s democracy. VOX news also uses graphosemantics through bold and italicized text, large font sizes and maps that portray China in red and Hong Kong in blue, which paint China as the villains. Hence, the knowledge we gain from the VOX news is that Hong Kong is right, whereas mainland China is wrong and evil. In conclusion, different points of view of the world govern the distinct knowledge that we derive. In the context of Hong Kong’s situation, the belief of what is right and wrong is how the news sources phrase it and how we interpret it, and each of them implies that one side is right, the other being wrong. Both news sources are trying to sell their argument in support of their worldview by presenting their implications on the situation. These implications become facts in the viewers’ minds. And these facts become the knowledge that we accept.
knowledge we take in. The way in which the Chinese perspective in the news presents the situation would affirm what they believe in, which is accepted as their knowledge. This fits their world view, which is reflected upon us, making it our view. On the other hand, the VOX broadcast strongly emphasizes and represents the emotions of Hong Kongers. The video opens with the citizens’ opinions on the protests, where they say “we have compromised too much in the past”, and “this is a historic moment for Hong Kong.” These show the citizens’ fight for democracy and independence, and “the power China has on Hong Kong” as it mentions. Here, rather than the violence and the disruption of the protests, they display footage that show calm and peaceful demonstrations for a great cause. This is fantastic since we can clearly see the different arguments both the sources are building upon. VOX is treating Hong Kong as the underdogs or the heroes by disclosing the activities China has performed, like arresting democratic leaders and suppressing freedom of speech. As the video suggests, China is impatient and wants to take over now. It does this by executing these activities in Hong Kong before the deal ends
Artwork: Prae IDU, Cubist piece
The Truth Untold Grace Chen (MYP 7 ELL) “You may demand a wish. However, you must offer something to pay the price.” she says, staring down at the mortal with her eyes, green as an emerald, easily seeing through the human. 36 years old. Divorced. Poor. Has one child. You must have a sad life, but I do not feel sympathy for you, she thinks, while the man tries to process what is happening. A big golden scale appears in front, gleaming with its rich colour. It makes anyone feel inferior to see this unforgettable image. “Have I done something good in my lifetime? Has God heard my prayers?” the man questions, looking at the mysterious woman with glee, whose existence is unknown. “Perhaps you’re delusional for thinking that way. You have a long-standing grudge that cannot be solved that easily, that is why I’m granting you a wish.” she rolls her eyes at the typical response of a mortal. She waits a moment for the human to wish for something, knowing that the response she’ll get will be the same as always. The man wishes for wealth, to help with his miserable lifestyle. The wish is on the scale, weighing it all down. He doesn’t know what price he’ll have to pay, but whatever it is, he is willing to give in. He searches his body and puts the ring that was given to him by his dead mother on the scale. The scale doesn’t move. Laughs and giggles fill his ears as if his offer was foolish.
returns to his world, changing his fate, without having a memory of this incident. Granting wishes for hundreds of years, to people who don’t deserve anything. Not understanding her sins, she pities herself. She chuckles at her own fatuity, for thinking that she is a saint, sitting on the summer green grass waiting for nothing. A sudden memory went through her head. “What do you wish for, Chae-seon?” “I wish for—” Wait! No!
She looked at the glowing red sun with her “You’re going to offer me that junk? Don’t make green eyes, sparkling with confusion. She me laugh. It’s useless. Offer something more saw herself and a scale, similar to hers. It was surprising to her that she was the one wishing for valuable. It can be a human sacrifice.” something.Apart of an unknown memory she has no He finally thinks of a worthy offering and puts his knowledge of, it was like a dream, you’ll never know it ended, or how it started. offering on the scale. The scale balances. “How interesting. You have sacrificed your own The streets of Ulsan were quiet and peaceful. child for the sake of your own happiness.” A hint An area that is very small, people in the town are of remorse shows on her face for a split second, striving to live out their dreams. then fades away. When his wish comes true, he
“A wish?” she scratches her head, “Whatever She appears in an amphitheater, full of deities. that wish is, I hope it was good.” The room is full of noise, whispers and stares are following her... She looks at the humans passing by her, then a man who she recognizes proposes to a woman “SILENCE!” the council member shouts so and vows to forever love her. That man was the loudly, her ears bleak. “Chae-seon, your past will be person who sacrificed his own child. How funny, revealed to you now. After this, you must live with he already found his happiness in such a short the consequences.” he slams on the table. period of time. “A lot of people have had the same fate as yours,” he said, looking straight at her. “wishing for “Oh my gosh! Of course, of course! I accept!” immortality.” Gasps fill the room; deities look the woman jumps eagerly, accepting the ring around with shock, judging the greedy woman at and hugs her significant other. “I love you! I love the center. you!” My life became miserable because of my stupid She scoffs in anger, “What’s the use of living and wish?! She furrows her eyebrows with anger. interacting?” she mumbles and stands up and walks away from the scene, as the green leaves “To pay the price, you granted wishes to mortals follow her. She walks to a cliff that could lead to to fulfill their desires for hundreds of years.” he one’s demise if they fall. looks around the room, “Your punishment is done, and you will perish in nothingness, forever!” No matter how hard I try, I cannot leave this world! her heart thuds louder and louder, butterflies fill her stomach, sweat starts Her body starts to turn into black dust, little specks dripping and she freezes; tears drip down from of matter start to fill up the room. She reaches her big green eyes. There was no point to live in out to the deity in front of her, screaming for help, this world anymore, as she has no desire to do “Wait!—” before she could finish, she was long anything. gone. She walks down and falls from the ground. THUMP! A big chunk of sand jumps out from the ground. Her body is flat, she opens her eyes, but she is still alive. She punches the sand with exasperation, knowing that no matter how hard she tries, it will never work. For hundreds of years, she tries to end her life. The same routine as before, granting wishes to fulfill human’s trivial demands, making their lives better. Humans are allowed to change their fate. However, for this immortal, she’s bound to live forever in the world. From the start of the Joseon dynasty to modern society, she lives through the pain over and over, seeing her close friends die in front of her. She revokes any relationship with humans, to not experience any pain. Death is something humans fear, but for her, it is a desire. “It is time for you to learn your past, the reason why you became immortal.” a deity suddenly appears within her location and picks her up to another location, disappearing with teleportation.
Artwork: Chin - Grade 11
Farewell from Teachers
A final note to my G12 students:
When Ms. Kathleen asked me to make a contribution to VOICES, I hesitated. After a long debate with myself and a long conversation with my literary adviser –any guess? – I decided to share with you my stories as a farewell message. Dear Students, One of them, “The Investigation” was among the finalists in the Concurso Internacional de Cuento I wish for you that you always persevere in Breve, Mexico, 2013, organized by the Editorial dreaming and that you try to make those dreams group BENMA. come true. You see, it won’t always be possible to make something happen, but if you feed your When you read them, and I hope you will, you imagination, and if you use the gifts you have, will realize that all of them are about life. The then your lives will be richer and fulfilled. meaning of life. Adults will tell you that we can never really avoid hardships or complications, we just need to look around and see challenges that sometimes seem overwhelming. Nevertheless, it is only up to us to make a difference, small or big, and with that achieve great things.
This is my advice to you today when you are at the beginning of a new challenging experience. Find a meaning to your life based on your moral values. The mission statement of the school is not a slogan; it is a guiding truth. It will give you strength and wisdom to make the best decisions, and give you courage to face mistakes and learn I am so proud of my students at CIS, I appreciate from them. It will make you wake up every single every single day I had an opportunity to work with day with a big smile in your heart and faith in the you in this great community. I will never forget future. Concordian, my home for four years, and look forward to seeing how your young minds will I will miss you. You are not my students anymore impact the future. but I am here for you, always. All my love, Ms Susana
With love, Dr.C
Dear Concordian Students, It has been a gift to be able to come in and work with you all as your ELS teacher over the past 3 years. Being a part of your community gives me a lot of hope for our future world. You are bright, hardworking, and caring. I am proud that I have gotten to be a part of your education here. I wish you all the best in your endeavors and can’t wait to see the things you will accomplish in the future. All my best, Ms. Sarah
Artwork: Leia, Take and Object - Grade 10
The VOICES Editorial Team Ms. Kathleen Baertschy Mr. Luke Fiander
Mr. David Glazier Khun Wanlapha (Prinz) Sa-ardwong Andra Lye Huei Hsia, CEO Kiartbordee (Ken) Charoenpojvajana Patcharamon (Wandy) Kongmebhol Sanjana Gowri Shankar Sybert De Los Santos
Artwork: Pun Pun Grade 9
WWW.CONCORDIAN.AC.TH Tel.+(662) 706-9000, Fax.+(662) 706-9001 E-mail: enquiries@concordian.ac.th 918 Moo 8, Bangkaew, Bangplee, Samutprakarn Thailand 10540