Mary Ward Planet - Vol.14, Issue 1, Winter 2008-09

volume 14 | issue 1 | winter edition 2008

Eco Cer tification | Au Revoir Madame Newman | DIY Gifts

PLEASE RECYCLE!

You know you have topnotch editors and staff when: 1) …they brave the cold without gloves to get you a tall mocha in a grande cup to accommodate the extra whip cream and chocolate shavings.

2) …in the same night, another editor gets you an ube bubble tea, allowing you to ride the sugar high until 10pm.

3)...write/draw/design/photograph/create the stuff of dreams, all with critical eye and kind heart.

4)…they get - and laugh at - your typography jokes.

You are the best. Have a Merry Christmas everyone!

For the 2008/2009 school year our new-and improved Executive Planet team has hunted down the most talented minds and creative thinkers in our school to put together another fabulous issue! This time we have chosen to focus more on the exciting things that have been happening in the Mary Ward Community. How many of you knew that we have a famous golfer among us? Read all about the emotional grade 12 overnight retreats! Check out the Planet website, http://planet.maryward.ca!

In January, we will start working on another award-winning issue, so please come out and contribute to the Planet!

It is always this time of year that is my favourite. The winter seems to just be so cozy to me. I love the weekends when the snow falls, and I am inside, with the fire burning, and a nice cup of coffee in hand. During the school year it is often difficult to stop and take a moment, this is why I always look forward to the holiday season. For some reason it just seems easier to do just that – stop and take a moment. And people seem different – there seems to be a little more pep in their steps – a sort of holiday cheer that is unspoken. In this issue we are very fortunate to say hello to a new staff, and some new positions on the executive committee. Everyone has worked very hard to produce a fantastic issue for everyone to enjoy, so to everyone I say, Joyeaux Noel et Bonne Annee!

Editor-In-Chief: Diana Vecchiarelli Section Editor - World Issues: Joanna Concessao Section Editor - WACT/Lifestyles: Roxanne Melliza Section Editor - Community: Michael Ruiz Chen Section Editor - Creative Spaces: Jovita Pinto Section Editor - Sports: Adrian Kania Section Editor - French: Ashley Rostamian Junior Editors: Alex De Pompa, Inggrid Wibowo Art Director: Danielle Roche Photo Editors: Amy Fernandes, Justin Reid PR Manager: Raven Kaur Webmaster: Naomi Reyes

Introduction to the New Editors

US Elections Zimbabwae Elections Global Economy and Financial Crisis Mayan Doomsday Mumabi Crisis

5 Most Jam Packed Places in MW Me to We Day Conference Kenneth Opell Interview School Dances International Night New York Art Trip Gr. 12 Retreats

Tribute to Mme. Newman So You Think You Can Dance Canada Review Aladdin Progress Decline in French Students French Town

Mitchel Kennedy Senior Boys V-Ball WAC Fall Sports Reviews Athlete Profiles Raptors

All content ©2008-2009 Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this newspaper, in part or whole, is prohibited without the approval of The Planet executive members.

The Mary Ward Planet is the official student newspaper of Mary Ward C.S.S. All members of the Mary Ward community may voluntarily contribute to the Planet. Everyone exhibits professionalism and respects one another in all exchange while keeping Christian values and practices. All submitted articles, layouts, and photography are subject to moderation. Approval of material submitted is subject to restraint of space and obtainable placement. All material must positively support the ideas and spirit of Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School.

Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School is a selfdirected learning centre located at 3200 Kennedy Road that was founded in 1985. It became a member of the CCSDL (Canadian Coalition of Self-Directed Learning Schools) in 1995.

Twilight Why Twilight?

Lights Concert Confessions of a BCBG Girl

Short Story Take Your Kids to Work Day Courage Is

DIY Christmas Gifts: How to Make a Sock Monkey

editor’s section SECTION EDITOR’S

Diana Vecchiarelli Editor-in-Chief

As the 2008 year is coming to a close, we will vividly remember this year as the year of change. From Barack Obama’s uplifting election victory to our new school policies, our community and world have all been greatly affected by these changes. The Mary Ward Planet has also gone through some extreme changes with the re-construction of its executive team.

When I found out that I had the opportunity to take the role as Editor-in-Chief of the Planet this year, I jumped at the chance. I knew what I had to endeavour but was I willing to take the chance? After an interview process, I was selected Editor-in-Chief of the paper and accepted the position. Having previous experiences with the paper as a Junior Editor for the past two years and interim editor of Issue 3 last year, I knew what had to be done to make each issue a success. But I still knew this task would not be easy. Having twelve executive team leaders under my belt was at first very overwhelming for me. How was I supposed to keep in close contact with them as well as the other 100+ members of the paper? In addition, I was overwhelmed with knowing that I had to keep the Planet’s title of “Mary Ward’s Award-Winning Newspaper”.

With the help and wisdom of the Planet moderators, Ms. Largo, Mrs. Powell, and Ms. Albert, I have managed to lead the Mary Ward Planet to its usual triumph. The endless hours of work in communications along with the Planet’s expected “unexpected” problems that arrive at every deadline have all been worth it at the end. As you will see in this issue, we have focused on several aspects that affect our community. Recently our school has been acknowledged as an Eco-Friendly school. But with our immense reliance on paper for unit guides, how can this be?

Check out page 6 for more details. As you flip through the pages of this issue, take the time to read every article as they all affect us in quite a few ways. Issue 1 is jam-packed with interesting reads ranging from all different topics from the Mumbai crisis, to the success of the Senior Boys Volleyball team, and the popular series of Stephenie Meyer’s novels. Also, check out the Planet’s updated website designed by Naomi Reyes at planet. maryward.ca.

To put together just one issue of the paper requires the talent and dedication of several students. Issue 1 would not have been the success it is now without the help of the Mary Ward Planet executive team. It is my pleasure to introduce to you our team of devoted, committed, spirited, and talented leaders.

Drumroll please...

Joanna Concessao World Issues Editor

Michael Ruiz Chen Community Editor

Ashley Rostamian Rédactrice

Adrian Kania Sports Editor

Roxanne Melliza WACT Editor

Danielle Roche Art Editor

Amy Fernandes Photography Editor

Naomi Reyes Planet Webmaster

Alex De Pompa Junior Editor

Inggrid Wibowo Junior Editor

Jovita Pinto Creative Spaces Editor

Ravneet Kaur Planet Relations

I would like to congratulate everyone’s efforts and contributions forwarded to making this issue the best of the best. Your outstanding journalistic articles and talented layouts are very much appreciated. In keeping with the spirit of keeping eco-friendly and enjoying the holiday season, the beautifully designed and attractive cover page of this issue can be used as a unique gift wrap for all of you generous gift givers. I am proud at what we have accomplished this issue and hope for the best for the next two issues to come.

Merry Christmas!!

PHOTOS BY JUSTIN REID

VOLUME 14 / ISSUE 1 mwplanet 03

world issues ISSUES WORLD On the night of November 4th, millions of Americans and people around the world witnessed a historical event as the United States voted Barack Obama as its first ever African-American president.

Obama’s victory against Republican presidential nominee John McCain was a landslide with 365 electoral votes versus McCain’s 173, surpassing the required 270 votes needed for presidency. In the world of politics, a win is a win, no matter what the margin. This victory, however, is more than just a victory for the Democrats in America, but it is the beginning of positive change for the whole nation.

“It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment change has come to America,” Obama said in his acceptance speech in front of more than 240,000 people who gathered together at Grant Park in Chicago.

When Obama was a child there was a joke between him and his mother, Ann Dunham, that he would become the first black president. Today that joke is a reality.

Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii to a Caucasian mother and a Kenyan father. He spent part of his childhood in Indonesia but returned to Honolulu when he was 10 years old where he was raised by his maternal grandparents.

Many factors were against Obama from the start of his campaign. The most obvious was his skin colour. Never in the history of America has a black man become president.

There was also much controversy about his religion during his campaign to win the Democratic nomination. Obama’s lack of experience in the federal level of government was also a prime issue which his opponents targeted.

Obama had yet to finish his first term as U.S. senator from Illinois and was only a state senator just four years ago. He did, however, graduate from Colombia University in 1983 with a B.A. degree in political science with a specialization in international relations. He also graduated from Harvard as magna cum laude.

Compared to McCain who has served four terms in the U.S. Senate, Senator Obama’s experience in politics is considerably less. Obama’s supporters were blind to this fact. They did not see Barack Obama the rookie; they saw Barack Obama the root of change. His plans to save the economy and remove the troops in Iraq were just two of the issues that drew voters in. However, it was his ability to draw a bridge between the different groups within America and encourage them that a united country is essential to moving forward that became foundation for his success.

“So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other,” Obama said.

Throughout this presidential campaign Obama spoke, and America listened. On November 4th it was America’s turn to be heard. “If there is anyone out there who still doubts … the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer,” Obama said the night of his election.

By Sean Kennedy

Turmoil

in

The African nation of Zimbabwe is currently in the midst of a tremendous crisis.

In recent years, the quality of life in Zimbabwe has plunged. Inflation has reached record levels at 11 200 000%. A single loaf of bread now costs 1.6 trillion Zimbabwe Dollars. Unemployment has exceeded 85% and food is in short supply. Thousands of Zimbabweans are fleeing to South Africa in the hopes of finding a better life. There are numerous factors that led to this disastrous calamity.

During the 19th and 20th century, Africa was looted and decimated by colonialism.

Britain, France, Belgium, Germany, Portugal, Spain and Italy all claimed large segments of Africa as their own land. These tyrannical and malevolent colonialists, who took over nearly every inch of Africa, treated the native African population as a subhuman workforce. They tortured and murdered millions of Africans, all while stealing Africa’s precious natural resources for their own use. With many African nations only liberating themselves as recently as the 1980s, the devastating impact of colonialism is still felt today. Zimbabwe is no exception.

Up until 1965, Zimbabwe, known as Rhodesia, was under British colonial rule.

Under the chains of British imperialism, the native black population of Rhodesia was heavily subjugated and abused. Despite making up less than 1% of the population, white British colonialists owned virtually all of the means of economic production and maintained a complete control over the government.

In 1965, a British man named Ian Smith, declared Rhodesia’s independence from Britain and proclaimed himself Rhodesia’s new leader. Ian Smith was an extremely racist leader, who openly stated on many occasions that he did not “believe in blackmajority rule”. Under his despotic rule, Ian Smith ran a white-minority government that catered only to the minuscule white population. As the whites grew rich and acquired all of Rhodesia’s land, the native black majority grew exceedingly impoverished and destitute. Blacks and whites were segregated into different towns.

Fortunately, Ian Smith’s hate filled regime would only last for a short period of time.

From 1964-1979, the native black population, led by Robert Mugabe, revolted against Smith’s government in the bloody Bush War. In 1980, the black population finally freed themselves from the autocratic clutch of Ian Smith and elected Robert Mugabe as their president.

Initially, Zimbabwe faired very well under Robert Mugabe. The child mortality rate plunged from 128 to 58 per 1000 live births, life expectancy increased by

04 mwplanet VOLUME 14 / ISSUE 1

The 2008 presidential election set the record for the most ever votes with 130 million ballots cast. Democracy allowed the people of the United States to display their need for a new leadership that will steer them in a direction far different than the course they have been on for the last eight years.

The impact of Obama’s victory does not end at the country’s borders. As a prominent participant in international relations, this landmark event will certainly impact other nations.

“And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces, to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world, our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.”

Obama’s election has also inspired many young people.

“Barack Obama being elected into the American government gives me much hope and confidence as a young person who believes in change. It gives me faith in a nation that made many bad choices in the past that they’ve come to recognize the dire need to correct those mistakes. It is incredible that in my lifetime I got to witness such an historic event and I believe that through Obama a bridge of justice and peace will be built,” said Gabriella Richichi-Fried, a Mary Ward high school student.

Although many Americans feel triumphant in Obama’s win, many are left wary of the new president.

“And to those American’s whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too,” Obama said.

Despite the bitter rivalry between Obama and Senator McCain during the longest presidential campaign in U.S. history, the leader of the Republican party commended his former opponent.

“In a contest as long and difficult as this campaign has been, his success alone commands my respect for his ability and perseverance. But that he managed to do so by inspiring the hopes of so many millions of Americans, who had once wrongly believed that they had little at stake or little influence in the election of an American president, is something I deeply admire and commend him for achieving,” McCain said in his concession speech.

President George Bush also recognized this historic victory.

“No matter how they cast their ballots, all Americans can be proud of the history that was made,” he said.

An historical event it was. The hopes and dreams of a free and equal America entrenched in the Emancipation Proclamation and Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech has finally been realized. A black man has become the president of the United States of America.

Obama recognized his victory as a milestone in American history but he also recognized that although change has begun, it will take much work.

“The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful that I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you, as a people we will get there.”

Zimbabwe

approximately 10 years, immunization rates increased from 25% to 85%, and literacy rates surged. Despite these social reforms, many blacks still remained impoverished due to the fact that the vast majority of high-quality farmlands were under white control and produced crops for export instead of feeding the local population. Mugabe responded to this inequality by starting a land reform campaign. This was an attempt to right the racial injustices present and give the majority black population the bulk of the farm land. In response to these actions, the international community imposed heavy crippling sanctions on Zimbabwe. Food productions tumbled resulting in the current disastrous situation today. Mugabe’s plans had failed.

In March 2008, Zimbabwe held elections. President Robert Mugabe narrowly lost to Morgan Tsvangirai. However, these election results were highly suspect and it is widely believed that Tsvangirai won by a much wider margin than reported. Since the results were so close, a runoff election was called between Mugabe and Tsvangirai.

In this second election, countless voting irregularities were reported and Mugabe won with a tremendous 85% of the vote. Following these election results, which were condemned by the international community, widespread violence broke out between Tsvangirai supporters and Mugabe supporters. There have been numerous reports of mobs supporting Mugabe viciously attacking and sometimes even murdering Tsvangirai supporters in the streets. Morgan Tsvangirai himself has been arrested and tortured on several occasions by the government. Numerous attempts have been made to form a unity government between Tsvangirai and Mugabe. However, all power sharing agreements that have been made so far have been very fragile and ongoing negotiations frequently break down.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the highly respected South African anti-Apartheid activist, said “[Robert Mugabe] did a fantastic job, and it’s such a great shame, because he had a wonderful legacy. If he had stepped down ten or so years ago he would be held in very, very high regard.” This is a very accurate description of Robert Mugabe.

Mugabe liberated his country and people in 1980 and did much to improve the lives of Zimbabweans since then. However, his land reform campaign failed cataclysmically.

Mugabe has fallen from grace and is now a madman frantically attempting to retain power. The Zimbabwean population has spoken and is widely regarded to have elected Morgan Tsvangirai as president. Therefore, Mugabe must step down.

world issues ISSUES WORLD

By Marc Phen There was a period of time in my life where I was very interested in ancient civilizations. I read any books I could get my hands on that were about them. From the Greeks and their culture as the origin of law, to the Egyptians and their famous architecture, to the Mayans and their own unique culture, I’ve read it all.

When I try to remember what comes to mind when I think of Mayans, I think of how violent their history seemed. This was a culture that practiced a brutal form of human sacrifice. Victims would be brought to the top of the pyramid where the priest would literally rip their heart out and cast their body aside. Just like the rest of humanity, they would fight amongst themselves, with multiple kingdoms constantly at war for supremacy, yet still progressing forward as a whole. Even their end was a violent one; their entire civilization, already in decline, was utterly decimated by the Spanish invaders. Their cities were destroyed and raided for anything of value, while everything else was burned.

By the time I heard about the Mayan Doomsday prophecy, my interest had wavered and I simply dismissed it as more religious garbage from a culture that performed human sacrifice and was wiped out anyways. But then I did a little research and I found that the Mayans were not as focused on violence as I thought in my elementary days. Theirs was a culture that was actually pretty advanced. They were the only ancient civilization in the Americas that had a fully developed written language before the Europeans arrived. They had art and architecture and even math and astrology. Their technique for making paints was so good that hundreds of years later there are murals still retaining their original colours. And of course there was the Mayan calendar system, yet another aspect of their society that was fully developed.

lasted for 25,625 years, and this was divided into five cycles of 5125 years. This is the cycle that we are concerned with. The Mayans believed that the Sun coincided with our spirituality as a whole. When the Sun lined up with the center of the Galaxy it would receive a burst of energy which would cause the sun to shine more brightly. In modern astrology, this phenomenon translates to visible solar flares. The Mayans believed that this solar event happened every 5125 years, and they calculated that they were living in the fifth and final cycle.

So when December 12, 2012 comes along, we should experience this cosmic event, this brightening of the sun, for the fifth and final time, signifying the end of the Galactic day, the completion of the cycle.

Now, what exactly does this have to do with our doom? Nothing. The Mayans don’t actually say that this cosmic event is anything catastrophic, but rather the end of a spiritual cycle. Since the Sun is directly related to our planet’s spirituality, this last blast of spiritual energy is supposed to propel us into the next stage of our development. We are supposed to realize our purpose in a flash of widespread enlightenment. This can be interpreted to be doomsday in some religions, such as Christianity where the solar event is the rapture where Jesus returns to the earth and reveals that our purpose all along was to be good Christians, and those who weren’t good Christians were doomed. Although the astrological cycles interest me, the spiritual link with the sun does not. If I am right and nothing is going to happen but a light show, then no foul.

But just in case I’m wrong, here’s to our spiritual e vo l u t i o n in 2012!

The Mayan Calendar system was really an astrological one, used to calculate the cycles of pretty much everything, from the moon and the stars to the planets and the sun. The Mayans believed that a Galactic Day, the completion of the cycle of the galaxy,

By Priscilla Chen Is Canada headed for a recession? Since the U.S.A is currently in a recession, Canadians are worried about their money, their jobs and their families.

Mark Carney, the Bank of Canada’s governor, says a recession is possible since only a 0.6 percent rise of Canada’s Gross Domestic Product is anticipated for 2009.

Not only Canada, but the whole world is concerned about the global economic crisis. The Group of Twenty- a global finance group consisting of twenty countries, including Canada, Germany, the U.S.A, Japan and the UK are having multiple summits to discuss and solve the current financial crisis.

The Global Economic Crisis is affecting everyone, from the elderly to newborn babies.

Baby-boomers, who are soon to retire, are worried about their pension plans. Parents are worried if they’ll have enough money to feed their babies this year. Teenagers may need to work to support their families while focussing on school.

Dreams of travelling to one hundred countries, having large houses with pools, expensive Ferraris, well paid occupations and . big families are drifting away for some people because of the financial crisis. However, hope is not lost because, there are ways to save!

Money Saving Tips  Instead of spending earned money, invest it. If your job gives you extra money that is not used on necessities, put it in a savings account that provides you interest. Although it might not be too much extra money, every penny counts.  Buy sale items instead of regular price. If there is something you must have, wait a few weeks, until it goes on sale. Buying items at regular price with a coupon can save you money too.

Find coupons at local stores or on the internet.  Don’t leave your cell phone charger plugged in when you aren’t using it; Turn off the lights when you leave a room.

Unplug unused electronics; it’ll save your family lots of money in the long run.  Do you ever have urges to spend money?

Carry only a little money with you at any time. If you don’t have lots of money on you, you won’t have an urge to spend.  Instead of buying food at the Cafeteria, pack your own. When your parents give you five dollars a day for lunch, pack your own and save the money. This would give you twenty five dollars a week and one hundred dollars a month. Five dollars may not seem much, but after an extended amount of time, it can be.

 At school, when junk food is craved, students buy chips and candy from the vending machine. Buying snacks in bulk at the grocery store, instead of at the vending machine, will save you loads every month, leaving you with a heavier wallet and the same food satisfaction.

Having fun with friends outside of school is a must. However, spending money on movies, popcorn, fast food and shopping cleans your wallet out quickly. Instead of seeing a movie or going to the mall, do something fun and free like going to the park or window shopping. Fun doesn’t have to have a price tag.

Finally, although the global economy is not in a good state, all hope is not lost. The Bank of Canada says it is possible for an economic rebound in 2010.

The current weak Canadian dollar is lowering the cost of Canada’s exports and expanding its foreign customers.

VOLUME 14 / ISSUE 1 mwplanet 05

community COMMUNITY

terror in mumbai

timeline of terror attacks WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 26 Attacks begin around 9:20PM at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus when at least two gunmen infiltrated the area and began shooting, resulting in most of the deaths and injuries incurred during the attacks. By 10:00PM, one of the attackers is captured at Cama and Albless Hospital.

Various business, residential and dining areas are targeted., including the Jewish Chabad Lubavitch outreach centre and the Taj Mahal Palace hotel.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27 Early morning altercations between the Indian Army and militants begin at the Oberoi-Trident and Taj Mahal Palace hotels. Later, the army inspects the two despite explosions occuring within both hotels. A group called the Deccan Mujahedeen claims responsibility for the attacks.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28 Indian security forces begin to take control of the major attack sites, including the Oberoi-Trident hotel.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29 More explosions and gunfire occur at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel in the early hours of the morning. A fire then ensues at 7:30AM. By 8:50AM, three gunmen are dead and Indian police declare the end of the Taj Mahal takeover.

SOURCED FROM BBC NEWS

O

n Wednesday, November 26 at around 9:20pm local time, machine gunfire tore through the crowds at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai, India signaling the start of a horrifying 60-hour siege on the city by terrorists. The attacks lasted through to Saturday morning, leaving almost 200 dead and 300 injured, including 2 Canadians and 31 foreigners.

Mumbai is the financial capital of India and the second most populous city in the world. It has a population of 13,662,885 and as well, a history of terrorist attacks. Only two years ago on July 11 2006, the city was targeted by the militant group Lashkar-eToiba, who set off a series of seven bombs on trains in the city. The attack killed 209 people and wounded 700. However, the latest November attacks differed from the past in striking and horrifying ways.

A previously unheard of group calling itself “Deccan Mujahedeen” claimed responsibility for the attacks in letters sent to media in Mumbai, but made no demands and offered no manifesto explaining their rampage. Fighting to their deaths, the attackers - of whom 9 were killed and 1 captured - appeared to be intent on simply causing as much death and destruction as possible. Eye witnesses say they did not discriminate between victims, including women, children, or foreigners, despite earlier reports that they were targeting US and British nationals.

The suspected total of 10 gunmen were heavily armed with machine guns, grenades, and hand guns wreaked havoc around the city, launching simultaneous attacks at various sites where they killed indiscriminately. Seemingly intent on creating as much bloodshed as possible, gun men opened fire at landmark destinations in the city – namely, the Cama and Albless Hospital, Nariman House (a Jewish outreach center), Cafe Leopold (a popular restaurant), the MetroAdlabs movie theatre, the Mumbai Police Headquarters, the luxury Oberoi-Trident Hotel, the historic Taj Hotel, and the offices of the Times of India (the leading English language daily newspaper). In addition, the militants were randomly killing people they came across as they moved through the city.

At Nariman House, the Oberoi Hotel and the Taj, the terrorists also held hostages - many of whom were foreigners - and set off explosives and started fires, holding off the authorities till late Friday and early Saturday.

The attackers are believed to have arrived in the city by boat, exposing a weakness in Mumbai’s ports.

They were extremely well trained and well prepared: they operated with ease weapons such as AK-47’s that require months of practice; and knew the lay-

By Joanna Concessao

outs of their intended targets well, moving through both hotels efficiently to capture hostages and evade Indian authorities. The gunmen also carried plenty of ammunition and explosives such as RDX, and kept in contact with each other through cell phones and GPS. The planning and organization evident in their attacks are particularly chilling, given their lack of demands.

The attackers are suspected to have ties to Pakistan, whose militant groups have long targeted India, though it is as yet unclear who precisely is responsible. US Secretary of State Condeleeza Rice arrived in India on December 3 to offer US assistance in investigating the attacks. “This is clearly the kind of terror in which al-Qaida participates,” Rice said, suggesting the terrorist group may be indirectly involved. She also urged Pakistan, whose relations with India are becoming increasingly tense, to cooperate: “Pakistan needs to act with urgency and resolve and needs to cooperate fully and transparently.”

“

There is a new chilling face to terrorism one that is personal and ruthless.

”

The attacks have filled the people of Mumbai, Indians worldwide, and the global community with horror, grief, and anger. They have also raised troubling questions about the preparedness of India’s military and intelligence services. The Indian army who initially arrived at the scene of the attacks was ill-prepared and poorly armed, and the proceeding Indian commandos - based in New Delhi - took 10 hours to reach the terrorists and were not immediately given maps of the hotels. The attacks have revealed significant weaknesses in the nation’s anti-terrorism forces, which India must now address.

As India and the world community come together in the aftermath of the attacks to put together the pieces, one thing is clear: there is a new chilling face to terrorism – one that is personal and ruthless. Gone are the days of anonymous mass bombings, or hostages taken with a list of demands for release. The attackers who laid siege to Mumbai spoke to their victims, and killed them as their prisoners faced them. They took hostages for the sake of taking hostages; they made no demands, and wanted no contact with the police for negotiations.

They planned to fight till their deaths. They shot at point-blank range. The attackers of Mumbai present a terrifying reality - human beings filled with so much hate as to kill fellow man indiscriminately and personally, look on their deeds with no remorse.

community COMMUNITY

RECYCLING:

DO WE CARE?

By Tara Azadeh, Amy Fernandes, Laura Galloway, and Liane Vaz

MARY WARD was given an eco certificate last year, and through the help of Green Quest, we are planning to earn re-certification for

the 2008/2009 school year. Yet, there have been questions raised as to whether we deserve this great achievement of being called an ‘eco-friendly’ school at all. The perception that our school does not recycle leads to students wondering, do we truly care? Students don’t have enough motivation to recycle, leading to more garbage in both our recycling bins and our lives.

Many Mary Ward community members have come to believe that it does not matter what bin they place their waste or recyclables in, as the belief is that it all goes into the same bin in the end. This leads to food and paper in the plastic and aluminum bins, and paper and plastic in the trash. Members of the school community have either shared this belief or believed to have witnessed the lack of recycling or have heard the false accusations that our caretakers have been negligent, combining our recycling with our garbage. “What’s in the recycle bins, they ARE recycled...we do have a recycle program. We fill the bins, every week. Whatever we have in the garbage room that’s recyclable, we recycle it. This school uses a lot of paper you know”, says one caretaker. Another is that it does not matter where we throw our garbage and recycling as it is later sorted. These rumours have occurred based on either eye witness accounts or word of mouth. Benjamin Cheng stated in an interview that “When I was in grade nine, a teacher told me that the school does not recycle. They throw all the recycling into garbage cans anyways.”

These false perceptions have caused students and staff to lose faith and hope in recycling and any progress that has been made thus far. Currently, garbage is ending up in the recycling bins and vice versa, with the idea that it gets sorted afterwards.

There are other factors besides false perceptions that have caused a halt in our progress towards a greener environment. One such factor may be that students are not aware of each bins’ purpose. Students must understand that even though blue bins designated for plastic and aluminum and grey bins are designated towards paper, the school board is now using one bin for all recyclables including paper, plastic, aluminum, glass, cardboard among other things. Although many students are aware of what the bins are for, the lack of bins within the school are causing recyclables to end up in the garbage. The question is, are we so lazy that we cannot walk across a classroom to recycle. Confusion about the purpose of each bin can be derived from the fact that there are garbage bags lining the recycling bins. To clarify this, the caretakers stated “We put garbage bags in the recycle bins so we don’t have to wash it out every day [as there is sometimes food mixed in].”This means that even though there are garbage bags in the bins, they are still for recycling only. The shortage of bins is because a school board member has to come and tour our school, and during this tour they decide how many bins we need. Green Quest staff supervisors, Mrs. Heisz and Ms. Saran have confirmed that our school has currently been waiting for the head of waste management to come to our school for some time. This difficult process of waiting for a board member to tour and to submit the necessary paperwork can be seen as lack of school board support.

The negative perception that the caretakers have not been properly recycling is incorrect. The fact of the matter is that it is not the caretaker’s duty to sort through our garbage and recyclables, but it is our obligation to deposit items in their appropriate bins. One student’s careless action, such as throwing their waste into a recycling bin, compromises all other efforts. A caretaker from our school says, “If there is garbage in the recycling bin, then it is compromised and cannot be recycled, it all has to be thrown out”. Those within the school claiming they witnessed caretakers throwing recyclables into the garbage have misunderstood their actions. When asked about why misunderstandings may have occurred Mrs. Heisz and Ms. Saran stated that “Our recycling bin is a large white bin at the back of the school, it looks just like a garbage bin, but it is full of only recycling.”

The recyclables in fact are combined at the end of the day but are still kept separate from the garbage. In addition, any compromised materials are thrown into the garbage as it is no longer considered recyclable. Upon talking to the caretakers it was discovered that it does not matter which bin we throw our recyclables into, but it does matter if there are non-recyclable materials in our bins as the recycling plant our receptacles go to do not accept compromised materials. This is because the sorting machines are programmed to only deal with recyclable materials.

The eco certification consists of utilising lower energy and waste management. Each school (about 50) are currently participating and working towards becoming eco-friendly. Students, as well as members of Green Quest survey the schools energy consumption as well as their waste management. By the end of the year, they take another survey to measure the amount of success they have had with lowering consumption. Although progress has been made, Green Quest staff supervisors, Mrs. Heisz and Ms. Saran mention that it is the responsibility and obligation of the students to use the designated bins properly. She confirms that when a bin has been compromised, all within must be thrown out in the garbage. In order to improve our recycling, students need to take the initiative to walk the few extra steps to the proper receptacle. The rumour that it is the caretakers’ fault that we do not recycle is entirely false; it is in fact our fault.

The caretakers are just doing their job. Can the student body say the same?

SUGGESTIONS FOR KEEPING OUR SCHOOL ‘ECO-FRIENDLY’ 1.

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Print less unit guides Use recyclable paper for all school printed pieces and for your homework Turn off computers when not in use Put your garbage in garbage cans and your recycling in the recycling bins Bring litter-less lunches (then you don’t have to worry about throwing out trash) Use re-usable water bottles Join Green Quest Get your TA to print your TA mail and record of achievements smaller so two sheets will fit on one page or print them double sided Get teachers to hand out books not print out reading hand-outs Instead of printing announcements, read them on the PA More recycling bins in all areas and halls of our school Print unit work double sided Better signage/ receptacles that clearly communicate what they are designated for Do paperwork to get more bins Campaign VOLUME 14 / ISSUE 1 mwplanet 07

community COMMUNITY It’s happened to everyone at Mary Ward. You walk into an area and can’t find a seat. Everyone hates that. Not only does the area feel claustrophobic, but you can’t even go to that area.

However, some areas are harder to get a seat in than others, but which areas are the hardest to snag a seat in? This is why I have compiled this a Top 5 list of the most crowded areas in the school. These areas are crowded, busy, and everyone has been turned away from these areas at some point, by teachers or dispensary assistants. So without further ado …

Oh mon Dieu! Despite the fact that the number of French students declines as students move from grade 9 to grade 12, and the existence of a senior study room, the French area does have its crowded times.

This area happens to be on the lowest spot on the list because if you can never ever find a seat, you just have bad luck. However, the consultation list makes this area worthy of this list. Since every French unit has you consulting the teacher at least two or three times before finishing, you can expect the list to fill up fast every period; especially during conditional zero target dates when everyone is doing the customary mad dash. All you can really do is get to the area early, and if you want a consultation, wait in one of the seats and pounce like a tiger when the consultation list appears (mind you, someone else is probably doing the same thing). Oh, and it’s très agaçant when you’re waiting in Room 307 only to discover that the teacher is in Room 308, so make sure that you double-check the floor schedule.

Granted, this area has an overflow room and you can probably find at least one empty seat before too long.

But there are still those times when the room seems to be pretty full. Everyone from Grades 9-11 and a good handful of Grade 12s use this room, so it can fill up pretty quickly. Not only that, but Wednesday morning and Friday afternoon are particularly notorious for closing off half of the area (possibly more) for conflict-free seminars. Thankfully, I have a handy trick that doesn’t involve the words “get there early” (although it would help).

Check the math seminar schedule; in particular, the conflict-free times. You see, once a seminar finishes, there is a huge possibility that most of the attendees will leave the room, magically leaving behind a treasure trove of seats! ...too much trouble to do, though, don’t you think?

By Jed de los Reyes

By changing the layout of the room at the beginning of the year, more desks could be crammed into this room, creating more space. Still, every time I walk into this room and it’s not an OKOF meeting, it’s usually full, and I’m not sure why. Some say that it’s because this area naturally attracts people with a natural “social” vibe. Others say that it’s because people want consultations for so many things. The teachers say that it’s because of the staff running the area. Whatever the reason is, Canadian and World Studies is really filled up most of the time. Don’t even get me started on those computers! Especially when it comes time for essaywriting units and mapping, you can never use them.

CH IZ

So, were you really surprised? Ask most people about which area is the most full and what do they usually say? English. This is the other subject that students are required to take all four years, meaning that everyone in the school takes English. Despite the large amount of desks that were obviously meant to deal with this issue, this room still has managed to become infamous among many students as the busiest area in the school. If you keep an eye on the English doors, you will see many, many, many people who are instantly forced to turn back.

Everything about this room is full. The consultation list fills up fast and the five computers are gone three minutes after a period begins. Even the seminars can be jam-packed sometimes, with some people being turned away because the seminar can’t fit everyone. Some people can argue that the English counter is the busiest in the school, with Mrs. Bomba at the counter all day; it is common to see long lines at the counter (especially at the beginning and end of a period, by the way). Congratulations to the English department for being attractive enough to students to earn this … honour.

EN

Mr. Rosseel says that there is hardly a time when the room isn’t full, and it shouldn’t be surprising.

Since we are a Catholic school, religion is one of two subjects that you are required to take all four years at Mary Ward. This means that three-quarters of the school have to use this room at any given time (since the grade nines and tens are semestered). Not only that, but the room - to be honest – isn’t exactly too huge. This means that the area is always jam-packed.

Of special mention are the two “June Rushes” in the Religion department. One takes place at the end of the year, but the other lesser-known one takes place in February. It’s the last day to hand in religion units for grade nines, meaning that a number of them will be scrambling to get from unit three to unit nine in two weeks. The result is that the Religion department becomes full with grade nines in the weeks leading up to this date. By the way, it’s on January 30th this year. Therefore, grade nines, consider yourselves warned.

BY PHOTOS TAKEN

U LR AE H C MI

So when it all comes down to it, what can you really do to avoid getting turned away from an area?

Get there early. Yep. It’s the most obvious thing to do. Whether by leaving areas ten minutes before a period ends or checking into TA five minutes before lunch ends, getting to an area early is the simplest tried-and-true technique that has always worked at Mary Ward, especially when you want a computer or a consultation.

Aside from getting there early, there are still a few other things that one can do. Leaving your backpack on a desk to reserve it and leaving the room is a no-no. All of the departments seem to have gotten touchier about it this year and many teachers will proceed to move your unfortunate bag out of the way. Not only that, but remember that it’s easier to find a seat for one person than seats for you and five friends (although it is fun…). At any rate, remember that full rooms in Mary Ward are pretty much inevitable and don’t get discouraged. You have seven other subjects to work on!

So now, with your newfound wisdom, you may now proceed to go to an area and never get turned away again! It may be hard to save a seat for yourself and five others but just make sure to save a seat for me, ok?

08 mwplanet VOLUME 14 / ISSUE 1

community COMMUNITY

By Roxanne Melliza On September 9th, 2008, the TCDSB issued a press release indicating the launch of a new joint venture between eight Catholic secondary schools and the Toronto Police Service called the School Resource Officer Initiative. The initiative is one of many being conducted by Toronto Police as a result of raised awareness for school safety after the shooting of Jordan Manners at C.W. Jefferys in May 2007. The program included the arrival of a School Resource Officer who became part of each school community in order to give support to students, staff and parents. Constable Jennifer King was assigned to Mary Ward and began her work shortly after the press release, adding prescence in the halls and coming into resource areas from time to time. As a School Resource Officer, Constable King is also expected to provide support to the school population through mentoring and various programs such as ESP (Empowered and Student Partnerships). All SROs are in full uniform, are armed, and have received appropriate preparation. This groundwork have given them an understanding of secondary school culture and intervention strategies, and the training is on-going as they become more involved in their respective schools.

These officers are also partly responsible, alongside school administration, for the safety of the school. A poll has indicated that the student and teacher populations feel very safe at Mary Ward. The senior students and teachers all rated the school’s safety a strong 5/5, and the junior students rated school safety at an overall 4/5.

The thought of a police officer was intimidating to many in the community. Some Ward students were under the impression that SRO’s were being implemented in troubled schools. “If you can ask people to survey them,” senior student Justin Reid mentioned, “then why would you need [the cops]?” Edmond Lai felt concerned with the fact that Constable King would be armed, saying that “it makes people nervous.” Before the officer arrived, many students were concerned with what she would be doing when she arrived at Ward and why she was coming. “It’s great to have presence, but it’s hard for me to imagine what they would be doing here,” a student remarked.

A group of SRO’s, including Constable King (far right) with Ms. Jones and a student at the ESP Kick-off Conference.

However, there were people who welcomed Constable King’s presence. “They had to pick schools and they had to start somewhere,” one concerned Grade 12 student said. “It’s up to us to get rid of these misconceptions [about Ward being unsafe].” Teachers also appreciated the officer’s arrival, such as Mme. Newman: “We have been given the opportunity to build bridges between students and the police and to help lead the way to further positive relations between all students and authority figures.”

The collaboration between the Toronto Police and TCDSB is expected to continue for the rest of the year and extensions to the Initiative will be planned accordingly. Alongside Mary Ward, this new program was implemented at Archbishop Romero, Bishop Marrocco/Thomas Merton, Cardinal Newman, Don Bosco, James Cardinal McGuigan, Michael Power/St. Joseph and St. Patrick.

Nineteen secondary schools from the TDSB are also part of the new agenda.

By Nicolle White This year’s Halloween was full of participating and non-participating students.

Although the spirit of this spooky celebration wasn’t as strong as it should have been, there were some excellent costumes. Prem Pinto, a grade 10 student “a.k.a. Iron Man” stood out with the most innovative costume; a simple clothing iron tied around his neck.

Some group costumes included Mario, Wario, Luigi and Princess Peach. the Jabbawockeez, the Rainbow, the Blue Man Group, the “Friend Ship”, the Hills and The Pac-Man duo.

Other Creative costumes included Satan, a Police Officer, a Jack-in-the-box, the Mad Hatter, Spongebob Squarepants, Teachers, a Bunny, Juno (our lovable pregnant teen), the Mary Ward Zombie, Goddesses, a Nudist on Strike, Nerds, Jail Birds, Bowlers, Disco Queens, Ballerina, Flava Flave, Anime Characters and Pirates. Some students also dressed up as their favoured delicacies of McDonald’s French Fries, (we know their salty goodness is irresistible) and Grapes- a healthy snack for a change.

It’s fortunate that no one dressed up as a cookie because one of our teachers, Mr. Notten, dressed up as the famous and ever hungry Cookie Monster! Some teachers dressed

up as nerds (Mr. Visconti), a ‘50’s chick wearing a poodle skirt (Mrs. Giardini), Juliet (Mrs. Bomba) and a squirrel (Mr. Candiotto).

SAC members organised the costume contest, wearing togas to show their Halloween spirit to help represent the participants of the costume contest. Those who were into the grand spirit of the day went up on the stage and showed off their costumes. Even though there were many participants, there was only one costume that won the hearts of the entire school bodyIron Man, showing off his bling- the iron. Why pay over $40 for a costume from Party Packagers when you can grab a household item and tie it around your neck to create the greatest and by far, most popular costume yet. Even a name tag will get you far!

Next year, let’s all hope that we make the smart decision of using witty homemade costumes instead of wasting our parents’ hard earned cash on a costume we will wear only once.

Hats off to you, Iron Man- an inspiration to us all.

VOLUME 14 / ISSUE 1 mwplanet 09

community COMMUNITY

NATIONAL

(

TO

ME WE DAY( STUDENTS TOWARDS

CHANGE

By Jovita Pinto

JADE WONG

Every 3 seconds, a child loses his or her life in the battle against poverty.

People globally are suffering due to the lack of clean water resources and proper health care. Lack of education strips a child off an opportunity to experience success.

Well then… how do we, Students of Mary Ward, connect with them?

Through our stand against injustice. This was the message sent out to around 8 000 students and millions watching nationwide, at the second National Me to We conference at the Ricoh Coliseum on October 17th.

National Me to We Day is a celebration of the power and potential of youth. I was overwhelmed by the atmosphere surrounding me: people chanting slogans, holding posters and doing the ‘human wave’.

Every person in that arena had the same purpose: to witness change in their lifetime.

It was exhilarating to see the likes of award winning actress Mia Farrow, renowned interior designer Nate Berkus and the cast of Degrassi: The Next Generation take the centre stage and share their experiences as they encountered poverty up front.

Craig and Marc Kielburger, the founders of Free the Children, called out to the students for their support. Their charisma and enthusiasm was inspirational.

They were so proud to have completed the building of 50 schools that they have now taken up the challenge for another 100 schools this time.

Political figures like social advocate Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty spoke about the true potential of today’s youth. Mr. McGuinty emphasized on the actions of youth towards improving the environment while, Justin encouraged us to have our voices heard: through our actions, our vote and everyday decisions.

The speaker who touched my heart the most was Michael Chikwanine, a former child soldier from Africa. At the age of only 20 years, he has endured so much pain, suffering and isolation. He spoke of his journey through the devastating wars and his new haven in the West. His call for action was like a reality check for many of us, who know of the strife but haven’t yet acted against it.

There were several musicians on stage that commemorated our contribution via song. The entertainers included Sarah McLachlan, Crash Parallel and the new Canadian Idol winner, Theo Tams.

Here we are… Less than twenty of our students attended the conference but the spirit spread like wild fire. The Halloween for Hunger food drive, conducted annually by the Free the Children organization at Ward, had their best collection yet, with 2000 non-perishable cans.

So, the next time you walk across the Canadian and World Studies department and wonder what happens every Monday during lunch… well that’s where ideas become actions and dreams turn into reality for people so far away, yet connected with us through hope.

By Alex De Pompa Kenneth Oppel was born in 1967 in Port Alberni, British Columbia. At age twelve, after he finished with his mad scientist and architect phases, he decided that he wanted to become an author. He started writing sci-fi epics and later moved on to sword and sorcery tales. One summer, he wrote a humorous story about a boy addicted to video games. They had a family friend who knew Roald Dahl, an acclaimed British novelist, short story writer and screenwriter responsible for greats such as Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and offered to show him Oppel’s story. Dahl liked the story enough to pass it onto his literary agent, who decided to try and sell the novel. Soon, Colin’s Fantastic Video Adventure was published. This gave Oppel the confidence to seriously pursue his writing career. He studied at the University of Toronto and married a year after graduating. He presently lives with his wife and three kids. He has written numerous books, such as the Silverwing trilogy (which has sold over a million copies) and the Matt Cruse series. The first novel in the series, Airborn, was the winner of the 2004 Governor General’s Award for children’s literature and the Michael L. Printz Honor Book award from the American Library Association.

Q: How many books have you written so far?

A: I have written about twenty-four novels now.

Q: Which of your books are you most proud of?

A: My personal favourite book is Airborn.

Q: Will you ever write a sequel to Firewing?

A: I might one day, but probably not. If I wrote another book it would be like a re-run.

Q: What are some of your favourite books or authors?

A: When I was younger, Roald Dahl was my favourite author.

For your age group, I’d recommend a book called Feed.

Q: Have you met any other famous authors?

A: I’ve met J. K. Rowling, Lemony Snicket, and Philip Pullman.

Q: What do you do when you have writer’s block?

A: I have two tricks. Usually, if I hit a block it’s because of unsatisfactory work so I go back and rewrite it, or I skip ahead.

Q: What advice would you give to aspiring authors?

A: Read, read, read. Write whatever you like to write. Write a diary or keep a notebook of your ideas. The important thing is that you write about things that fascinate you.

an interview with kenneth oppel

10 mwplanet VOLUME 14 / ISSUE 1

WWW.CBC.CA

community COMMUNITY

By Laya Thomas Tradition, diversity, multiculturalism, individuality, and unity. These are all words that describe what International Night has brought out to the Mary Ward community. International Night has always been a wonderful event that allows students, teachers, parents, and the community to discover different cultures. International Night allows an individual to discover more about their cultural heritage. As with any event that takes place, International Night takes a lot of co-operation and coordination with students and teachers. I interviewed Mrs.Giardini to see what some of her insights and opinions were on the past International Nights.

What has been your past experience with International Night? Well, my first year participating in this event was on March 1st, 2007 and there was a big storm going on that day. We had to decide whether to go forward or not with the event. We decided to go on with the event as excited people started to fill the halls. It was a great outcome in the end.

What did you like and dislike about this event? I liked everything, from the energy, the involvement of so many people and the respect for all the different cultural exhibits and foods. I disliked nothing except for the snow.

I heard that last year was the first year that International Night was not followed through.

Could you tell me why and what went wrong? The main reason why we didn’t have International Night last year was because Mrs. Athaide, the coordinator of this event, decided not to. There was a lot of work that was being put into this event and it’s hard to stay fresh. So we felt that alternate years would respect the creativity and work being put into this.

Are we going to have an International Night this year? If there’s enough interest, yes. As we can see this has always been an exciting event that has taken place at Mary Ward every year, which is now taking place every other year. I think that International Night will play a significant role this year at Ward. It makes us realize that: Yes, we are all different with our different heritages, but we are all same and connected. Differences bring us together, and many will agree that International Night is a great way for our community to come together and discover more about each

By Sonali Menezes You stumble out of bed, and what comes to mind? Why units, of course… suddenly without a second thought, you begin to feel stressed. You quickly stuff your face with a piece of dry toast while chasing after the bus…in the back of your mind are…units…you stress. You arrive late to first period, you miss your consultation, and what exactly do you fail to hand in on time…a unit. Sound familiar?

It is widely known that high stress levels can negatively affect one’s mental as well as physical health and overall well being. According to Statistics Canada, a large amount of time spent doing paid work and unpaid work (such as school work and house chores) can lead to unhealthy levels of stress in teens. On average, teens did 7.1 hours of unpaid and paid labour a day. So exactly how much work does the average Mary Ward student do per day, and how much of this work translates into stress?

Laya Thomas states, “Ward is so serious, everyone’s so into their work and I think we need to get more involved in some “non-unit-related” fun stuff. We need more events to get people less stressed.”

According to a survey conducted at Mary Ward: 80% of students agreed that they would like to see more dances and social events at the school. 80% also felt that social events and dances contribute to the school community. As well, 65% agreed that social events and dances create a sense of belonging in the school community for students. Many students feel trapped in an endless cycle of never completed work. As teens, they need something to break the endless cycle, to get and feel involved in the school community.

Social events have their own contributing benefits to the school community, and in part, can contribute to the happiness of Mary Ward students.

0: the number of school dances Mary Ward held other then semi-formal last year.

57.5: the percentage of students who said they would definitely attend any school dance held at Mary Ward this year . 30: the percentage of students who said they ‘might’ attend a school dance at Mary Ward. 12.5: the small percentage of students who said they would not attend a school dance at Mary Ward (these statistics were collected before the knowledge of the upcoming ‘Jam for Justice’).

To ensure the best results for the roots to the reasons teens dance, or attend dances, they each chose more than one explanation as to why they en-

joy dancing: 20% of students dance because they like the social aspect of such events, 20% dance for the exercise, 25% dance to get their minds off of units, while 37% dance simply for their own enjoyment (they just love to dance… no questions here). So, many students love to get loose by means of dancing, so many students are in search of a unitless connection with the school community. What better means to satisfy both these needs then by holding a school dance?

So, the benefits o f danci n g , please: lowered stress levels, a higher level of self confidence and self esteem, (which is extremely important in teens), a feeling of self importance, feelings of belonging, improvements in strength, balance, energy, strengthening of hips, bones and legs, a decrease in blood pressure, a lowered risk of coronary disease and a chance of better weight management, yes, dancing burns calories... need this list continue? With all of its health benefits, should school dances be come regualar events at Mary Ward?

VOLUME 14 / ISSUE 1 mwplanet 11

community COMMUNITY

By Michael Chiu and Eric Wong

On the night of November 3rd, all was quiet. No one would suspect that 74 students from Mary Ward C.S.S., accompanied by Ms. Arturi, Mr. Notten, Mr. Emer, Mrs. Largo and Ms. V, would be launching a frontal assault on New York City that very night. After a ten hour bus ride through the night, the students finally arrived at the Skyline hotel, which would become their home for the next 4 days. However, this was just the start of a day’s journey; it was 8 in the morning. After a chance to purchase breakfast at Westside Famous Deli, the group started their first day in the Big Apple.

Accompanied by tour guides Brian and Maurizio, Ward proceeded to walk to many iconic locations in NYC, including Times Square, Carnegie Hall, MTV Studios, the Trump Tower, and a photo-op at St. Patrick’s Cathedral before finally settling in for lunch at the Rockefeller Center.

However, the trip was not hesitant to throw curriculum at the poor students involved. On the first day they visited their first gallery; the International Centre of Photography.

The pieces highlighted were mainly depressing accounts of social unrest in developing countries or war. While contrasting with the moods of the highly excited students, it proved a good introduction to the trip’s main focus: the arts.

After some restful slumber, on the next day, Mary Ward was off again to visit several more art museums! They started

off the day with the Guggenheim Museum (designed by Frank Lloyd Wright), one of the most architecturally creative buildings in all of New York, filled to the brim with modern and controversial art. The second event of the day was the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). Six floors of sheer beauty, the MOMA is one of the most renowned museums on the international scale. Not to succumb to exhaustion, the next topic on the agenda was the Museum of Art and Design, a hot spot for Ward’s design students. To top off an exciting day, the students all hopped on the tour buses and headed on up to the Empire State Building for a look across Manhattan. Unfortunately, the night was awfully sick and its sneezes brought about gusty winds, preventing access to the outside of the observation deck.

Every day was jam packed with more and more activities, and there was never a dull moment for the Mary Ward senior art students. They visited many famous districts of New York City, such as the financial district and Central Park. However, one cannot stray from art for too long, so several groups of students went to Chelsea, a d i s t r i c t of Manhattan that housed many up-andcoming artists and their respective galleries.

Many students who went thought that it was a wonderful, and eye-opening

experience. The diversity of the art exhibited ranged from sketches from new artists and gemmed pendants to a 3 million dollar original Andy Warhol piece.

One of the highlights of the New York Trip was Fuerzabruta, a Broadway performance that was unique and surprising. An interactive and rave-like setting provided a large amount of entertainment for all students in attendance. All viewers had to stand for the 70 minutes the show lasted, and they even had to move around to accommodate the various sets the performance required To add topping to the cake, Mary Ward’s very own Mr. Emer was chosen to dance with the actors on stage, receiving ample cheers from the students.

In addition to the galleries and museums already listed, the lucky 74 students who went on the trip also went to other museums and such as the PS1 for contemporary art, the Museum of Moving Images (which included retro arcade games) and Dia:Beacon. Some even went to NBC studios where Saturday Night Live is filmed. All in all, they had a great time. Mary Ward students bonded in New York, away from all the units, pressure, and stress. It was a time where students could experience a foreign landscape, enjoy the wildness of urban city life, and appreciate the many forms and perspectives of art. By the students’ return on t h e evening of November the 8th, their goal was complete: they had conquered New York City!

http://flickr.com/photos/davenyc2007/2770497511/

By Jean Gonzales Their story took place away from modern metropolitan life at YMCA Cedar Glen, a one hour drive north of Toronto on October 27-28, 2008 and November 3-4, 2008.

The school bus carried a bunch of boisterous, energetic twelfth graders, who sat with their knees squished into the seats, cramped but cozy. Eventually, the usual view of towering buildings, houses, and congested streets faded away to the welcome scenery of the rural landscape, showcasing nature’s work of art. A fine vista of browning wheat fields stretched on either side of the road. Granite clouds hung in the sky, hiding the sun and closing upon the hills and meadows. The brisk scent of fall was in the air. The trees beckoned winter with their coat of many colours as they prepared for their deep sleep. As the bus drove further and further away from the city, the seniors left behind the noise and chaos of their hectic lifestyles – away from their daily routines, away from units, away from computers and television, away from their worries. For once, the ticking clock was forgotten.

Each of them had their own experiences of changing and growing together. The retreat gave them a quiet space to reflect back on those experiences. With the theme “Finding Your Voice” in mind, the grade twelves contemplated on how far they had come in their lives.

Through journal writings, meaningful group discussions, and prayers, they highlighted their past. They reflected upon the events that struck them as the most meaningful, acknowledged the people who shaped their actions, and appreciated the people who meant—and mean—so much to them. They learned of the unique qualities within themselves that are demonstrated each day, but are so often overlooked.

Through wilderness adventure, they were given a break from their typical days: days spent cooped up indoors, hunched over the computer and cramming to finish units. Pleasure was found in outdoor activities with the beautiful scenery in a fun, non-competitive atmosphere, helping them to relieve stress and find peace in nature.

They faced physical challenges as they attempted to com-

12 mwplanet VOLUME 14 / ISSUE 1

GRADE 12 RETREAT plete rope course activities and balance a tree trunk with their weight. Such activities did not only present them with physical challenges, but also challenges regarding teamwork skills, as many of the challenges could not have been completed without co-operation from every group member. They pushed themselves to the limit at the gruelling wall climb challenge. They climbed up step-by-step and identified the best route up, attempting to reach the top of the wall while grasping on with all of their might.

This left them not only with sore muscles, but also with a sense of accomplishment as they successfully reached the top.

Huddled together with familiar faces around the fire pit was a delightful moment that added to their treasure trove of memories. The bonfire, in its radiance, lit the night with its sparks and hazy smoke. Chattering voices drowned out the fire’s crackling sound with ease. The velvet night sky lay overhead with glittering pinpricks of stars.

The grade twelves were delighted to just sit around and be together, singing songs and sharing stories.

When the sadness that accompanied impending goodbyes loomed upon them, the grade twelves found themselves in need of some comic relief. Drama skits with humorous and witty dialogues paved the way for a light, feel-good mood amongst them as they watched their fellow peers portray and mimic the personalities of their dearest, most beloved teachers in a set of surreal situations from TV shows. There was no need for costumes, no need for props, and no need for scripts; only the creativity of the actors and the cheering audience.

In a darkened room around the retreat candle, the seniors shared, from their hearts, all the people and memories they valued within a trust-bound group. They discovered that too often, appreciative words, meant for the people around us, are left unspoken. Too often, we keep searching, oblivious to all the beautiful things that are found in all the people we love, our surroundings and our life. Too often, these are only seen once they are lost. That night, the seniors learned to appreciate the presence of all

the wonderful people in their lives. They silently looked at each other with nothing but sincerity, communicating the powerful love and gratitude that was then shared between them through warm hugs and the tears that rolled down their cheeks.

Through simple ‘warm fuzzies’ and post-it notes, each of them was given a chance to know how worthwhile they are to other people. The power of simple, sincere compliments should never be underestimated, because they can do wonders in raising the self-esteem of others.

The retreat gave the seniors a chance to see the special qualities that they struggle to see within themselves. The ‘warm fuzzies’ were simple notes that touched them and helped bring about the realization that others are searching for the contributions that they have to offer. They experienced the joy of discovering their voices, as well as helping others find theirs.

Nothing beats being surrounded with nature in the presence of inspiring friends. Joy was found in such small moments that would have normally flashed by without a thought: enjoying the fresh country air, eating delicious food around the table with friends, praying together, and watching the breathtaking view of the hills and trees.

Cameras flashed to capture every memorable moment.

They lost track of time as they laughed, cried, prayed, reflected and sang. When it was time to leave the following day, the seniors weren’t ready to surrender these moments and adventures. They reflected upon the friends they had lost and gained; the late nights spent cramming to finish units; the teachers who inspired them, rejoiced in their achievements, and helped them through their mistakes; the stories behind the pictures they’d taken; the bonds and memories made; the craziest, wildest things they’d done; the dreams they pursued; and the bright days that lie in wait for each of them. The seniors came back from the trip to their respective families and school lives not only with sore muscles, but also newly-made friendships, memories and insights concerning their relationships with God, other people, and themselves.

la petite planéte PLANETE LA PETITE

Un hommage à un professeur phénoménale Par Roxanne Melliza

Savez-vous

combien d’années cette prof a enseigné à Mary Ward?

Même quelques profs dans notre école ne le savent pas. De toute façon, c’est apparent que cette personne est devenue une figure importante dans notre communauté. C’est possible que vous l’ayez vue dans les pièces de théâtre du département d’Arts Dramatiques, ou en passant des rendez-vous pour le comité de ‘Prom’… C’est Mme Newman du département de Français! Cette année, elle prendra sa retraite officiellement après Noël. Un prof vraiment sage qui connaît tous les détails du système autonome, Mme. Newman manquera beaucoup à la communauté de Mary Ward.

Comme enseignante, Mme Newman a eu beaucoup d’expériences avec les années. Après quelques années dans le système élémentaire, elle est arrivée à un lycée en deux campus – Mary Ward. (Oui, elle a enseigné pendant la période préhistorique quand Mary Ward était un lycée normal!) Après plus de 20 ans d’enseignement on doit avoir une idée claire du système unique de l’école. Elle est aussi chef du secteur du département de Français, une des enseignantes fondatrices du programme intensif (Extended French) et celle qui a écrit la plupart des cours de français et Quad. Pleine de sagesse, et experte en grammaire et orthographe, elle est une ressource formidable pour tous les étudiants de français.

C’est impossible qu’on puisse oublier Mme Newman après la neuvième année aussi, car plusieurs se rappellent d’elle affectueusement.

Dans ce lycée, une enseignante doit s’occuper de plusieurs rôles. Mme Newman a eu la chance d’être la TA pour des dizaines d’élèves dans son TA, #01 – c’était son TA depuis le commencement du programme à Mary Ward. Les périodes quotidiennes de TA ensemble sont vives et animées même pendant les matins fatiguants, et personne ne peut oublier les minutes qu’on passe ensemble après l’école en attendant Madame pour check-in. Vous savez que vous êtes dans TA#01 quand vous ne sentez plus le parfum du café dans le labo, ou peut-être quand on sait que les fonds de charité sont ramassés durant l’année par ceux qui remettent leurs formulaires en retard – et la liste continue. TA#01 est tellement le numéro un pour une raison!

Depuis les années, une multitude d’étudiants se sont confiés à Mme Newman comme une figure maternelle dans l’école. Des anciens élèves jusqu’à la génération présente des élèves, il y a toujours quelques-uns qui peuvent se souvenir des moments qu’on lui a demandé de l’aide ou des conseils. Mais autrefois, ses plans étaient tellement différents et sans la profession qu’elle a maintenue pendant toutes ces années. Pendant une session de Quad, elle se souvenait de sa vocation : la profession d’enseigner n’était jamais dans sa tête, mais elle a réalisé que le rôle d’une éducatrice était parfait pour elle. Heureusement pour les étudiants de Mary Ward, son choix était le meilleur. Bonne retraite!

Do you know

how many years this teacher’s been teaching at Mary Ward? Even some teachers and staff don’t know the answer to that question.

It’s obvious that this person has become an important figure in the school – you might have seen her backstage during school musicals or plays, or perhaps passing by a Prom committee meeting…. It’s none other than Mme Newman of the French department! This year, she will be officially retiring after Christmas. She’s a teacher who knows the ins and outs of self-directed learning, and will be greatly missed by the Mary Ward community.

As a teacher, Mme Newman has garnered a lot of experience over the years.

After teaching for a period in the elementary system, she came to a school divided into two campuses – Mary Ward. (Yes, she taught during the prehistoric period that Ward was a normal high school!) After more than 20 years of teaching at the same place, you should have a pretty clear idea of the unique system of the school. She is also Department Head of the French Department, one of the founding teachers of Ward’s Extended French program, and writer of most courses in French and Quad. Wise and knowledgeable in spelling and grammar, Mme Newman is an excellent resource for all French students. It would be hard to forget Mme Newman even after leaving French, because many reminisce about her fondly.

Especially in this school, a teacher has many roles to fill. Mme Newman had the opportunity to act as TA for dozens of students over the years in TA #01; this had been her TA group number since the beginning of Direction 2000, the former name of self-directed learning. Morning TA periods together are always lively even on tiring days, and no one can ever forget the long minutes spent together waiting for Madame at check-in. You definitely know you’re in TA#01 when you can smell the scent of coffee in the Labo, or perhaps that you know that our charitable funds are almost completely raised by late fees on forms… and the list can go on forever. TA#01 is truly number one for a reason!

Over the years, a multitude of students have turned to Mme Newman as a maternal figure in the school. From students of days past to the present generation, there are always people that can recall asking her for help or advice inside and outside of the classroom. But back then, Madame’s plans were radically different and didn’t even include the profession she would keep for years to come. During a session in Quad, she recalled her path to becoming a teacher: she never thought to become someone who taught others, but soon she realised that the role of an educator was a perfect fit. Luckily for the students at Mary Ward, her choice was the best. Happy retirement, Madame; bonne retraite!

VOLUME 14 / ISSUE 1 mwplanet 13

la petite planéte PLANETE LA PETITE

PHOTOS TAKEN BY JUSTIN REID

Par Shandra Shamugam J’ai senti une variété d’émotions le jour dont je suis allée au studio d’enregistrement pour voir « So You Think You Can Dance Canada». J’étais très excitée, mais en même temps, je ne savais pas quoi m’attendre parce que depuis l’émission a commencé en septembre 2005, j’ai regardé à peu près quatre épisodes. Ce n’était pas une émission de télévision qui m’intéressait trop, mais bien sûr, je ne laisserai pas passer une telle opportunité. Le voyage au studio qui était situé au Centre-ville n’avait pas duré trop long, mais le temps que nous avons dû attendre pour rentrer dedans était incroyablement long. Tout d’abord, nous avons dû attendre dehors dans le froid pour 15 minutes pendant que les gardes de sécurité faisaient leurs surveillances en utilisant les détecteurs de métal. Quand cette étape s’était terminée, on a dû se rendre dans la salle d’attente et y rester pendant environ une heure et demie avant qu’ils eussent nous permis à procéder au studio d’enregistrement. Avant de rentrer au studio, une autre surveillance de détecteur de métal était faite pour assurer qu’il n’y avait personne qui portait de téléphones cellulaires, de caméras, ou des objets dangereux.

Dans la salle d’attente, la plupart des étudiants ont utilisé les matériaux d’arts et d’artisanats fournis par le studio pour créer de belles affiches distinctives avec le nom de leur danseur préféré. Une photographe faisait le tour et elle a pris des photos de tous les fans et de leur affiche dynamique afin des mettre sur le site de web. Une fois arrivés, nous sommes entrés dans la zone de l’enregistrement, pour une autre période d’attente. Quand le spectacle a finalement débuté, la commission de juges était annoncée et l’hôtesse, Leah Miller, était aussi appelée.

Une vague d’excitation a coulé à travers la foule quand ils sont finalement apparus, et l’émission a commencé. Pour commencer l’émission, une danse de groupe qui a eu lieu la veille était présentée, et puis Leah Miller a annoncé l’émission. Les huit concurrents ont exécuté des solos qui duraient exactement 30 secondes dans lesquels ils ont dansé pour ce qu’on appelle « leur vie», même si ces danses ne faisaient pas aucune différence. À la fin du spectacle, Vincent-Olivier Noiseux et Arassay Reyes ont été éliminés, et deux des juges, Jean-Marc Généreux et Mia Micheals, ont commencé à pleurer. À la fin de l’émission, les gens se dirigeaient vers la salle d’attente où ils s’alignaient pour réclamer leurs manteaux avant de se diriger vers la sortie. Une partie de la foule a attendu dans une immense ligne pour obtenir des autographes des juges. Les enseignantes de Mary Ward nous ont dit que nous n’étions pas autorisés à prendre des autographes puis que nous devions border l’autobus à l’heure. Il y avait beaucoup d’aspects positifs dans cette expérience, mais il faut

indiquer qu’il y avait aussi certains aspects négatifs. En général l’émission était très divertissante et vraiment excitante. Il n’y avait pas de moments ennuyeux parce que l’hôtesse a sélectionné des membres de l’auditoire pour performer des pièces de danse durant les annonces publicitaires. Mais il y avait certaines choses que je n’ai pas trop aimées, telle que 1) la plupart des gens ont été mis dans le parterre et parfois nous n’avions pas vu la scène, 2) puis que c’était une émission de résultat, à part des solos qui ont duré trente secondes, la seule grande pièce de danse qui a lieu ce jour-là était celles qui se trouvent au début de l’émission et elles n’étaient même pas enregistrée la journée que nous y sommes 3) il y a aussi le fait que les caméras n’étaient pas permises, alors personne n’avait pas eu la chance à documenter cette journée fabuleuse.

Avant de partir pour cette excursion, la question que je m’étais posée était la suivante, est-ce qu’une émission en direct était mieux que regarder l’émission à la télévision? Je suis arrivé à la conclusion que oui, mais cela dépend de l’émission.

Pour cette expérience spécifique, je crois que j’aurais mieux aimé d’aller durant un jour où il y a plus des danses au lieu d’une émission d’élimination. Mais sans doute, j’aurais aimé répéter cette expérience.

Par Khrestin Abd El Malak L’école sécondaire catholique Mary Ward présente à ses étudiants la pièce de théâtre « Aladdin » qui se déroulera en avril pendant trois jours consécutifs. Les élèves qui font partie de la pièce commencent à se préparer dès maintenant afin d’arriver à de bons résultats et pour présenter encore une fois un autre bon spectacle qui n’échouera pas à satisfaire sa audience.

Monsieur Dalton et madame Tsang sont les directeurs de la pièce. Tous les deux enseignent dans le département de drame à l’école Mary Ward. Ils sont très excités pour cette pièce et espèrent que, si les choses vont comme prévues, l’audience l’aimera aussi. Les élèves qui faitent partie de la pièce se rassemblent à chaque jeudi, après l’école, pour des répétitions qui durent environ deux heures. Aladdin sera jouer par Brian Postalian, un élève en onzième année présentement, et Jasmine sera jouer par Diana May. La pièce incorporera des acrobates et des danseurs aussi que plusieurs effets techniques pour ajouter à l’atmosphère de la pièce. Les acteurs font du bon progrès et jusqu’à date, tout se déroule bien et les élèves eux-mêmes sont excités et très contents d’avoir eu la chance d’y participer. Le groupe d’acteurs varie en âge : il y a des élèves en neuvième année jusqu’aux plus aînés de l’école. Donc, apportez tous vos camarades et venez regarder ce spectacle qui sera sans doute magnifique comme toutes les autres productions de monsieur Dalton et madame Tsang !

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la petite planéte PLANETE LA PETITE

Par Eric Wong Où sont-ils tous allés? Je sais que le français n’est pas le sujet le plus populaire à l’école, mais voyons-donc; chaque année, on perd de plus en plus d’étudiants et on n’a pas assez de nouveaux étudiants pour les remplacer. À mon avis, je ne comprends pas pourquoi il y a un problème avec le nombre d’étudiants. Les enseignantes sont bonnes et capables. Le département est organisé et structuré. Plus important, les devoirs ne sont pas tellement difficiles – mais ils posent les défis aux étudiants. Pourquoi pas, je vous demande? Quel autre sujet peut lutter contre la valeur d’apprendre une nouvelle langue, des vacances en France, et les mémoires inoubliables? Cet article n’est pas une promotion, mais une question posée par la Petite Planète.

Je suis un étudiant du Français depuis cinquième année. En y pensant, je trouve que l’acte d’apprendre le français m’a beaucoup aidé dans mon développement personnel. Je peux parler avec mes nouveaux amis en France, et je peux parler les deux langues officielles du Canada. C’est un prix important, et une valeur très différente que les mathématiques et les sciences. Je ne dis pas que ces deux autres sujets sont mauvais, mais je veux dire que le français est une façon différente d’apprendre. Chaque jour, j’apprends des différents mots ou de nouvelles expressions, et je vous dis, c’est une chose très satisfaisante et remarquable.

Le nombre d’étudiants dans les salles de classe française tombe rapidement.

Maintenant, les séminaires pour « Français Intensif » pour les 9e et les 10e sont coincés dans une période chaque mercredi. Le temps pour les deux classes est divisé en deux – alors il n’y a pas assez d’étudiants pour que chaque classe ait une salle pleine. Je suis sûr que tout le monde à Mary Ward sait comment le département du français fonctionne. On complète les unités, puis on consulte avec les professeurs pour de l’aide et des commentaires.

C’est routine! Pourquoi est-ce qu’il ya des gens qui trouvent les difficultés dans cette simplicité? Le système est pareil aux autres sujets autour du l’école, alors pourquoi?

Savez-vous qu’il y a un excès de professeurs en Ontario? La plupart des nouveaux professeurs qui ont trouvé un emploi ont leurs qualifications françaises. Les écoles ont toujours besoin des professeurs qui enseignent le Français, alors c’est une bonne chose d’apprendre à l’école. En général, il y a une décroissance des étudiants dans le Français Intensif – ces étudiants sont les plus avancés, les plus forts avec cette langue dans notre école. Autour le Toronto, il y a de grande décroissance dans le nombre des étudiants du Français Intensif; ces étudiants sont les professeurs de l’avenir. Bien, il y a seulement une école élémentaire qui continue d’enseigner le Français Intensif – qui reste proche de Mary Ward.

Où sont les étudiants de Français?

Je pense que vous savez : des nouveaux intérêts, des sujets plus importants (pas possible), des emplois, des difficultés et des cours requis pour l’université.

Solution: La publicité, un miracle, ou des meilleurs exemples du résultat du Français dans les vies des étudiants.

Par Tatiana Ng Ping Cheung Découvrez le village de St. Jacobs situé près de Kitchener, en Ontario. Ce village charmant contient une centaine de boutiques et restaurants captivants, de marchés animés et sans oublier une douzaine de musées, de studios d’art et de plusieurs expositions.

Peut-être pendant que vous marchiez sur le trottoir en admirant tous les petits magasins inhabituels que vous alliez faire des découvertes étonnantes. Par exemple, tout d’un coup vous apercevez une famille habillée à l’ancien qui voyage dans une calèche tirée par des chevaux. Bien sur, cela vous provoque à vous posez des questions plutôt bizarres. En effet, il en existe plusieurs familles comme eux dans le village de St. Jacobs. D’ailleurs, c’est où se trouve la communauté mennonite d’Ontario.

Les mennonites sont un groupe religieux et culturel protestant éparpillés dans plusieurs pays qui sont en faveur du mouvement anabaptiste. Ils vivent leur vie à l’ancienne en communauté. La plupart du temps, ils essaient de s’éloigner de la société moderne. Donc, en autres mots, leur vie est basée à l’époque de leurs ancêtres.

Cela est composé de moissonner, de cuisiner et des autres tâches quotidiennes sans électricité.

Le lieu de St. Jacobs permet au public de pénétrer au monde des mennonites. Les touristes peuvent passer par le centre des visiteurs pour apprendre leur histoire. C’est une région hors de l’ordinaire qui est facilement accessible. Alors, la prochaine fois que vous planifiez une vacance de repos, venez à St. Jacobs pour une petite visite qui vous comblera de satisfaction!

VOLUME 14 / ISSUE 1 mwplanet 15

sports SPORTS

WATCH OUT FOR THE

! GOLF PRODIGY

FOOOOORE

By Adrian Kania

TORSTAR MEDIA ARCHIVES

This promising PGA tour golfer began his golf saga when he was only 2 years old. With his current Taylormade clubs that were taller than he was, Mitchel Kennedy tore up the fairways with the man who inspires him most, father Robert Kennedy. Growing up, Mitchel participated in various golf tournaments concluding with many different results. As he reached the age of 10, his dad knew that his inspiration could only do so much. It was time for Mitchel to be trained professionally. Mitchel was eventually appointed his own golf agent, Dino Cirone, whose golf knowledge and contact became exceedingly important for the aspiring golfer. Training and developing his golf game with Agent Cirone for about a year, Mitchel finally entered into his first tournament at the Ontario Central Optimist Championship where he performed remarkably to take home the gold trophy. When he was asked about how he felt after winning, with a big sigh as to commemorate that day, he responded, “It was just unbelievable. It was my first tournament ever and I won! That was the very day I realized that golfing would become my life.” After that, Agent Cirone intensified Mitchel’s golf schedule with more tournaments and practices. Mitchel golfs 18 holes per day on average during his season, spending long summer days and late school nights out on the greens.

However, Mitchel not only participated in many sporting teams, but he EXCELS in golf. He is a true athlete.

-- Mr. Wetzel

Mitchel’s most notable season in his 13 and under golf history must have been his last.

When he was 13, Mitchel entered into the Ping Tour where he won an outstanding 4 tournaments out of the possible 12. Winning almost 50% of the tournaments he played in, Mitchel held the same record that his golf idol, Tiger Woods, had throughout his seasons. Although his golfing ability was peaking at a young age, Mitchel also suffered one of his most significant losses at the age of 13. He entered into the 2-day event, Ontario Bantom Championships, at Pushlinche Golf Club. In the opening round, he shot an untouchable 67, finishing the day in the leader position by 3 strokes. With much confidence, Mitchel went into the final day where he played an uncharacteristic game to shoot a horrible 82. This resulted in the 10th position. Mitchel says,“I did ruin my second day, but for some reason my strokes were not coming along. I lost that tournament even though I was in an almost invincible position. I took this loss to heart and for the first time I experienced the mental portion of the uncontrollable game called golf.”

16 mwplanet VOLUME 14 / ISSUE 1

Mitchel soon turned 15 and made his way into Mary Ward C.S.S. where he would walk around as a stranger. No one realized that they had a golf champion amongst them. In grade 9, Mitchel made the varsity boys golf team where he failed to perform to the best of his ability at the TDCAA golf tournament. He went away that year with his golf talent almost unnoticed. It wasn’t until grade 10 that Mitchel created his outstanding presence in his high school golf career. In the fall of 2007, completely erasing the previous years’ performance, Mitchel excelled at the TDCAA city competition at Station Creek, where he graduated as the dominant champion, shooting an unbelievable 71. He then accelerated into the two-day OFSAA provincial competition at Lion Head Golf and Country Club, where he placed third after a tie-breaker due to a controversial call.

In order to fully gain an understanding of the controversial situation, Mitchel Kennedy explained exactly what happened.

“I hit my first ball off the 12th tee, about 290 yards, thinking that it was going straight, but it flew too far and landed in the scattered forest. However, I thought I might be able to play it still. So I started walking down the fairway to look for my ball. When I got to the forest, I happened to have a hard time finding my ball because of where the hole was located. So the fairway Marshall told me to go hit a provisional while he would search for my ball. I went back to the tee and I hit my provisional. Just so happens that when I hit my second ball, the fairway Marshall declared my first ball lost thus resulting in a one shot penalty. This put me one shot behind the leader and tied for second.

You have no idea how upset I was the way they just infected my game with that unreasonable call. The fairway Marshall told me to go hit a provisional even though I could have still looked for my ball and then for some reason he just assumed that I declared my first ball to be lost.”

After this controversial call, Mitchel continued to play effectively for the last 7 holes to finish tied for second with a 74 in the first round and 71 in the final. This held him only one shot behind the leader. To resolve the top 3 positions, Mitchel and his opponent faced off in a two-hole tiebreaker. Realistically, Mitchel should have been awarded with a deciding gold or silver, but he was still satisfied with hanging an OFSAA bronze medal on his wall of achievements. This concluded Mitchel’s 2007 season.

At the Mary Ward Athletic Banquet later that year, Mitchel was recognized as MVP for Golf as well as the junior athlete of the year. In a touching speech, Mr. Wetzel, who coaches Mitchel’s golf at school, summed it up best; “The Junior Athlete of the Year award is usually given to a student who expresses a common interest in various sports.

However, Mitchel not only participated in many sporting teams, but he EXCELS in golf. He is a true athlete.”

After a full summer of hard training and changes with Agent Cirone, Mitchel moved into his 2008 fall season with a sprint, winning the TDCAA at Station Creek for the second consecutive time. That day he shot 74, which is quite amazing given the condition of a tiresome two hour frost delay. However, winning the TDCAA this year meant something different. Going into OFSAA, Mitchel had big

expectations to fulfill. He went into the two-day provincial competition with a great deal of pressure on his hands. Shooting an 80 in the opening day, then 79 in the final day, Mitchel finished 30th overall. Some could say this year was a failed attempt, but when asked about his perspective, he positively responded, “This year was a growing season. Agent Cirone and I made some significant changes in my game during the summer for the long-run. I made some large improvements in my game this season and I hope to start off next spring with bigger things to come.”

Mitchel still has his grade 12 year at Mary Ward to put his ability to the test. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that Mitchel can engrave his name deeply into the history books of Mary Ward.

After he graduates from high school, Mitchel is sure that he is going to attend a State University in the U.S. on a golf scholarship where he can enrich his game throughout their intense and competitive programs. His ideal plan would be to attend Florida State University and relax his golf life there.

Agent Cirone and Mitchel regularly visit the Florida greens during the year in order to adapt to the golfing conditions for his University golf career. After graduating from State University, Mitchel is set on becoming a professional golfer and joining the PGA tour. When asked if he wanted to golf all his life, he answered, “Of course! I absolutely love the game. From its stressful downfalls to its rewarding stages, golf is something that I enjoy wholesomely.

In addition, the travelling adds to the excitement”.

It seems that Mitchel has had his mind set since he won his first tournament and clearly he has only been improving since. There is much potential in this young man’s swing and his friends and family completely support him. His best friend, Fillip Kapera was asked, if he will lose contact with him once he goes away and fulfills his dream as a pro-golfer.“Oh definitely not! You know how much Mitchel owes me for all of my pizza pockets he’s devoured after school? Plus, I wouldn’t mind being his caddy as he tears up the greens around the world.

He even proposed the idea. I know he could definitely use somebody to feed him pizza pockets as he strokes one ball after another. But I’m definitely going to stick around to support my best friend and I know we will be best friends, whether I’m the caddy by his side or not.” It is almost guaranteed that Mitchel will be screened on nationwide television, building his reputation as a profound golfer alongside his golf idol, current world record holder, Tiger Woods. Who knows, maybe even Mitchel might be the next world record holder? But how good will he become? Only time will tell. Best of luck Mitchel in your upraising golf career! Sincerely, the Mary Ward community.

By John Austin Ng Lee Thirteen years ago, the Mary Ward Senior Boys Volleyball team was able to win the TDCAA (Toronto District College Athletic Association) championships and claim their much earned banner. Since then, year after year, efforts in winning the championships fell. But for this year’s team, their challenge to re-claim the historic banner just fell short. But for this year’s team, they made it to the playoffs and claimed second place at the TDCAA championships.

Finishing first within the East division of the regular season with a score of eight wins and one loss, the boys were able to take a spot within the play-offs.

Although they were only able to achieve second place within the championship, the team this year has worked diligently to show their remarkable potential-and it truly showed.

The boys began their regular season with a sprint of victories defeating notable teams such as Neil McNeil, Brebeuf and Cardinal Newman. It wasn’t until their last game at Pope John Paul II that the team was upsettingly defeated in an uncharacteristic match. However, they still managed to grab the top seeded position within the East Division and earn a spot as a favorite going into the playoffs. In the elimination round of the playoffs, the team went up against St. Basil’s winning all 3 sets against them almost unnoticeably. Playing against Chaminade in the quarter finals, the opposition managed to win the first set, but Ward then fought back hard to dominate the next 3 sets. Winning this game meant everything to the Ward team. By advancing to the semi-finals, the boys automatically earned a spot in the AAA Division OFSAA (Ontario Federation of Sports Athletics Association).

Hard work pays off and this team really exemplified that. Before the season began, the team participated in an invitational tournament at St. Basil’s where they dominated their pool while Michael Power dominated theirs. It came down to the final game where the two dominators would battle in a tight match. Eventually, Michael Power would overcome Mary Ward and claim the gold. Between the two teams, both finished their seasons with a final score of eight wins and one loss. It was kept in mind of the players that Michael Power would be their greatest rival this year.

In the semi finals the much anticipated Mary Ward team faced Michael Power once again. Remembering their loss against Michael Power in the pre-season tournament, the team gave nothing but their best to prove just how much they’ve improved. Ward took the first set with a winning score of 25 to 12 and continued to the second set with confidence, but with a clear rift in their mental game. They surprisingly lost the second set with a score of 13 to 25, almost opposite to the previous set. In the third set, both teams exchanged points until Power gained a significant 8-point lead, but Ward wouldn’t give up. With the help of the roaring crowd, the boys managed to win the third set 25 to 22 and they went into the fourth set with complete momentum. In the final set, Power became powerless against Ward as they finished the game with a decisive score of 25-17. The crowd went wild. Many ran onto the court to congratulate their team, all singing, ‘season’s over’ as Michael Power left the gym. It was a Cinderella story victory for the Ward team, proving that they can overcome obstacles.

With the unexpected semi-final win, optimism overcame the Mary Ward community. With a fan bus full of 40 supporters, Ward celebrated into the finals against Father Redmond. Ward knew this game would be different though, it was an away game. The team knew who they were up against. In a thrilling match, Redmond proved exactly why they’ve been champions in consistently in the past by claiming their title in straight sets. The Mary Ward team didn’t feel overwhelmed as they knew that they would play the best of their ability. Losing to the best team within the TDCAA, they still felt thrilled to be second best in the city, marking a historical place within the history of Mary Ward Senior Boy’s Volleyball. With pride and honor, the boys retrieved their silver medals and celebrated on their way home.

In the recent past, many teams came and went, but none were capable of making it to TD’s, let alone OFSAA. So what made it so different this year? According to Arthur Kurek, captain of the team, there were three main things that made this year different. The first key point was the team chemistry. “The potential in our team is just remarkable, says Kurek.“Last year there was a lot more separation.

This year we have talent, but the chemistry is the big difference which is making this team successful.” I asked one of the coaches of the team, Mr. Wong, the same question, “What made it so different this year?” He responds, “They’ve always had the potential, but it’s this year they started to play together. Not only were they looking to improve as whole, but they were also looking to improve as individuals www.quickscores.com to help the team.”

JOHN AUSTIN NG LEE

sports SPORTS

As a team, players must put their differences aside and work together to face their competitors. The chemistry that the teammates have with one another is simply amazing, as it helps them perform under the pressure.

Another strong point that helped the team this year was the superb coaching skills of both Mr. Wong and Mr. Emer. Mr. Wong has been coaching for the Senior Boys volleyball team for the past four years and Mr. Emer just made his volleyball debut this year. Mr. Wong’s coaching method is more technical and calmer, however Mr. Emer’s coaching method is more straightforward as he often gives constructive criticism. “We have two very opposite coaches,” states Adrian Kania.“Sometimes we needed to be told ‘that was crap!’ It’s different coming from a player, than it is coming from a coach. Friends would take it personally and it would cause conflict on the court. If Emer says it, you would take it from a different perspective.”

The coaches this year helped the team to maintain a good balance of energy and mentality. Mr. Wong helps the team continue to work on their techniques as well as performing the best they can. Mr. Emer makes sure that all the players know what they did wrong and how they can improve. Understanding this helps the players keep the pressure off which allows them to perform better.

Lastly, the supporters are filed as the third key point to the team’s volleyball success. In previous years, fans would come in and watch the game for only one or two sets and then leave. This year, the fans remarkably would cheer on for the team throughout the whole game. The fans supported the players when they messed up or when they were under a lot of pressure. According to Chris Diaz, who’s been a player for the boys volleyball team throughout all five years of his high school life, on his thoughts of this year’s fans. “It’s been the best fan support we’ve ever had, compared to other years. More people have come out than other games. It shows that success in a team attracts fans:” Adrian Kania adds to that saying, “Having the support is like having an extra player on the court. When the crowd roars, it mentally destroys the opposing team.” The support of the fans made a huge difference in their home games. With the encouragement from the fans, the team feels more motivated and determined to win.

The biggest supporter by far would have to be fifth year student, Kevin Chapman. Though his work often goes unnoticed by the students, it was definitely noticed by the team. “If we had a mascot suit, he would wear it!” says Billy Dykeman, expressing his thoughts about Kevin Chapman, “he made the posters.

He was the biggest supporter –his ink, his time. Every respect (goes) to Chapman.

The music he brings in, he makes the extreme effort to support us.”

The boys this year had definitely played an amazing season. We have noticed such an improvement in their performance, and now understand just what made this year so different. They played with their hearts out and took on all opposing teams with nothing but their best efforts. In the words of Mr. Wong, “Volleyball is something they take pride in and it’s something they want to do well in. And it shows in their work ethic.” They worked hard for their position this year, and they sure earned it. Congratulations to this year’s team players, coaches, and supporters who had the pleasure of being part of this historic experience. Good luck in OFSAA! Wear your hearts on your jerseys.

VOLUME 14 / ISSUE 1 mwplanet 17

sports SPORTS WAC is in its second year and already we’ve had the pleasure of hosting several ‘wactivities’ with many more to come. But the members of WAC can’t help but notice somewhat of a lack of participation this year in comparison to our quite successful previous inaugural year. For example, last year we had 6 teams that would fully participate every Wednesday, and this year we barely have 3 dedicated teams. For all the non-math students out there, that’s a significant 50% decrease. We think this is mostly because of the disappearance of the intramurals, which ultimately results in no publicity for our Wednesday ‘wactivities.’ We would love to change this, so let me take this opportunity to familiarize you with WAC and what we’re all about.

You may be asking yourself, ``What is WAC?``. Last year, I took some time to walk through the hallways and ask a few students the question, “What does WAC stand for?” One of the most amusing responses would have to be, “Wild Armadillo Chutney,” which was creatively suggested by graduate Daniel Lucifora. But actually, WAC stands for Wolverine Athletic Council. We are a group of students who are usually involved in school sports, but mostly just enjoy participating in various fun activities. Some of these ‘wactivities’ include: space invaders, dodge ball tournament, and scooterboard relays. Our goals are to offer you the same opportunity, which is just to have fun during the sometimes boring lunch periods. The Wednesday ‘wactivities’ are all about giving you the chance to come out and compete with, and against your friends. However, WAC isn’t necessarily all about competitiveness and winning, although we do keep a yearlong point’s race going. We provide students with an environment where they can have some fun and become active members in the Mary Ward school community.

WAC is always looking for new members. There are no specific qualifications to be a WAC member because we do accept everyone, but we do encourage the use of creative thinking, active participation in sports, as well as spirited personalities. If you would like to become a WAC member, simply stop by InsPirE, where we meet every Monday during lunch. We are also accepting team rosters all year long. Teams are made up of five students, and one of them will be assigned as team captain. If you would like to put together a team, you can pick out a roster sheet from the brown envelope outside the Inspire door. Remember to think of an original and creative team name. If you have any suggestions or inquiries, please feel free to either submit your suggestions into the brown envelope or approach one of the WAC members in the hallways.

Before I conclude, we would like to inform you of our latest idea. We at WAC cannot help but notice the slow disappearance of our beloved intramurals.

Personally, I miss the daily lunch volleyball, or 3-ball, or badminton, or even basketball. With the loss of Mr. Doucette, we seem to have lost our intramural spirit as well. But WAC has decided that enough is enough. We would like to re-commence the intramurals this year as a WAC event. We plan to have both a competitive and recreational division for all intramural sports in order to maintain the purely fun aspect of WAC. All new teams involved that sign up for intramurals will be put into the point system, so no worries. There will be a prize at the end of the year for those teams that finish at the top of each intramural event and accumulate the largest number of points. We will still be hosting our Wednesday wactivities in between intramurals for additional points, therefore your participation will be rewarded.

More information will be released soon. We plan to have one intramural sport underway and completed before the Christmas break. We are very excited about this new venture and anticipate your energetic presence at future ‘wactivities.’ Just one day, come out and have some fun during lunch!

Articles by Adrian Kania “Coaching is a profession of love. You can’t coach people unless you love them.”

-- Eddie Robinson Junior Boys Soccer Coach: Mr. Emer Captains: Cormac McGee and Ronaldo Romeral Summary: 1 win-3 losses-1 tie. Finished fifth in East division but did not qualify into TDCAA playoffs.

Varsity Girls Basketball Coaches: Mr. Rossi/Dever Captain: Caryn Ricamara Summary: 0 wins-13 osses.

Finished last in the East division and did not qualify for TDCAA playoffs.

Varsity Girls Field Hockey Coaches: Ms. Peets/Saran Captain: Chantelle Kwok Summary: 1 win-4 losses.

Placed fourth in the East Division and lost in the first- round playoffs.

Varsity Mixed Cross Country Coaches: Ms. Delgarno/ Dwyer/Poole Captains: Team Involvement Summary: IndividualsShannon Farquharson placed sixth in TDCAA and then 137th in OFSAA Ronaldo Romeral placed eighth in TDCAA and then 115th in OFSAA.

Varsity Boys Golf Coaches: Mr. Wetzel/Emer Captain: Mitchel Kennedy Summary: TDCAA-team finished fourth. Mitchel Kennedy finished first and shot a 74, Joey Bauer shot 85, Arthur Kurek shot 90, and Billy Dykeman shot 92.

Only Mitchel moved onto OFSAA where he placed 37th.

Senior Boys Volleyball Coaches: Mr. Wong/Emer Captain: Arthur Kurek Summary: 7 wins-4 losses pre-season in tournaments. 8 wins-1 loss in actual season. Finished first in the East Division and then placed second in TDCAA. Moved on to OFSAA.

Varsity Mixed Tennis Coach: Mr. Simone Captain: Team Involvement Summary: Kendra Cole won the TDCAA event for junior girls singles. Victoria Greco and Julia Morgado placed third in their junior girls doubles event.

Midget Boys Flag Football Coaches: Mr. Valvo/Rocha Captain: Dylan Hobson Summary: Entered into a tournament at Jean Vanier.

Finished fifth (0 wins-4 losses).

Midget Girls Flag Football Coaches: Mr. Valvo/Rocha Captain: Vittoria Ungaro Summary: Entered into a tournament at Jean Vanier.

Advanced into the playoffs (1 win-1 loss-2 tie). Lost in the semi-finals.

18 mwplanet VOLUME 14 / ISSUE 1

“Character is that which reveals moral purpose, exposing the class of things a man chooses or avoids.”

-- Aristotle These athletes, among many, truly exemplify the divine class of sportsmanship. Although many great Mary Ward athletes participated in the fall season, it is these fantastic four that are notable through their personified dignity and attitude in the sports they pursue.

Kendra Cole A grade 9 student who made the Varsity Mixed Tennis Team. Out of nowhere, Kendra exemplified her potential by becoming the champion of the junior girls singles event at TDCAA. Unfortunately, there is no OFSAA for junior events, however her athleticism enlightened the Athletic Department.

Kendra has a promising future in Mary Ward as a tennis star, without a doubt.

Shannon Farquharson A grade 11 student who made the Varsity Mixed Cross-Country Team. She raced fearlessly in the cold in the senior girls, 7 km event at TDCAA and placed 6th. She accelerated into OFSAA where she finished 137th in an extremely tough and demanding race. It was incredible for her to compete at the provincial level.

Mitchel Kennedy A grade 11 student and Captain of the Varsity Boy’s Golf Team who stormed through the TDCAA’s shooting an incredible 74. He then entered into the provincial championships, placing 37th in OFSAA (shot 80, 78). Mitchel was also starting back-court power on the Senior Boy’s Volleyball Team. Mitchel also coached his elementary school volleyball team.

Arthur Kurek A grade 12 student who made the Varsity Boy`s Golf Team. He placed 4th as a team (shot 90) in the TDCAA. Arthur was the dominant captain of the Senior Boy`s Volleyball Team. He played as the remarkable starting right-side hitter.

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By Justin Alvarado an Colangelo’s agenda was to re-sign Jose Calderon (Raptors Guard) as soon as possible.

That is just what he did.

Jose Calderon will be anchoring the starting Point Guard position this year, now that TJ Ford is gone. This should mean that there will be a big change in the Toronto Raptors’ offense. Ford was the http://assets.espn.go.com http://www.bergenjaguar.com type of player to constantly push the ball up the court On June 25th, one day before the 2008 as quickly as possible and find opportunities for himself NBA Draft, the Toronto Raptors sent out a trade or the other four players around him. Unlike Ford, Caldeoffer that would change the dynamics of both ron can take his time and run many half-court offensive the Toronto Raptors and the Indiana Pacers plays to help set up the players around him for a basket, greatly. The Toronto Raptors President and Gen- as well as run the floor. Calderon also led the NBA last eral Manager, Bryan Colangelo, and his associ- season in the assist-to-turnover ratio category (6.15 to ates decided to take the team in a new direction. 1). Another factor that could be added is how prone one He planned to do this by acquiring another big player is than the other to injuries. TJ Ford has suffered body to pair with 6’11” power forward, Chris two neck injuries in the past (one injury while playing Bosh in order to beef up the Toronto Raptors’ for the Milwaukee Bucks and the other occurring the front line. He proposed a trade that would in- previous season which was the end result of a mid-air volve sending out the previous season’s starting flagrant foul by Center Al Horford of the Atlanta Hawks).

Point Guard, T.J. Ford; the previous starting Cen- Jose is the key to the Raptors’ offense this season and ter, Rasho Nesterovic; third-string Center, Maceo if his numbers last season represent anything, the team Baston; and the Raptors’ 1st round, 17th pick has an enormous amount of potential to look forward to in the 2008 NBA Draft (which the Pacers man- this season. agement chose to pick Georgetown Hoya, Roy Hibbert with). The deal that the Raptors would 2. Jermaine’s impact.

Much of the Raptor fan base was very unsure receive is a very enticing one. In return for sending off three of our players and a draft pick, we about the trade. Of course, many were happy to ship would receive the Pacers’ 2nd round, 41st pick in off Ford, but for someone who has never played all 82 the 2008 NBA Draft (which the Raptors’ manage- games in one season and has only played 42 games last ment chose to pick Australian, Nathan Jawai) season, it was a very risky trade. During the press conference, Jermaine O’Neal confirmed that he was feeland six-time all-star Center, Jermaine O’Neal. ing great and noted that his condition was at 100%. If O’Neal manages to stay away from injury, Bryan ColanOffseason Moves Besides the Jermaine O’neal acquisition, what gelo might as well be called a genius. He brings several else has Bryan Colangelo done for the Raptors positive factors that the Raptors were evidently missing, such as another low-post presence on offense and deplayer-wise this offseason?

Key Additions: Roko-Leni Ukic, PG (Free Agen- fense. The most important of all is that O’Neal brought cy); Will Solomon, PG (Free Agency); Hassan rebounding (7.7rpg – career). The injuries are not the only thing a Raptor fan should worry about the most.

Adams, G-F (Free Agency) Key Losses: Primoz Brezec, C; Carlos Delfino, Another problem that may occur is the clashing of egos.

O’Neal was always the first option on offense back in InSG; dianapolis (where the Indiana Pacers call home), but the Raptors already have Christopher W. Bosh with that poExpected Starting Lineup sition on the Toronto team. O’Neal can still remain a big PG: Jose Calderon (’07-’08: 11.2ppg & 8.3apg) force down-low and as long as he understands that he SG: Anthony Parker (’07-’08: 12.5ppg & 82 GP) will play the second-fiddle to Bosh, the Raptors will do SF: Jamario Moon (’07-’08: 8.5ppg & 6.2rpg) very well.

PF: Chris Bosh (’07-’08: 22.3ppg & 8.7rpg) C: Jermaine O’Neal (’07-’08: 13.6ppg & 6.7rpg) Legend: PPG – Points Per Game; APG – Assists 3. C-B-4!

Although Chris Bosh is already a talented and esPer Game; RPG – Rebounds Per Game; GP – tablished player in the league, he could still improve. He Games Played had the perfect opportunity this past summer by playing for the USA Basketball team representation in the What should we expect this season?

2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Playing along an all-star caliber cast with LeBron James (For1. New floor general = new leadership It is almost certain that at the top of Bry- ward, Cleveland Caveliers), Dwyane Wade (Guard, Miami

Heat), Carmelo Anthony (Forward, Denver Nuggets), Dwight Howard (Center, Orlando Magic) and Chris Paul (Guard, New Orleans Hornets), he helped the American Basketball team obtain the Gold medal for Men’s Basketball. Hopefully Chris will bring his experiences from the Olympic team to the NBA basketball court with the Raptors. Bosh is anticipated to have an exceptional season this year. His stat-line should expect a slight boost. He will also be able to rest more this year because of Jermaine O’Neal’s ability to play the Power Forward position to relieve him during fatiguing moments.

4. Bench Play Andrea Bargnani (Forward/Center): He will most likely be the first or second man off the bench this year, just like the end of last season.

For now, the chance of him starting on this team is very slim. The only way for Bargnani to start and receive major minutes is if Bosh or O’Neal falls with injuries. Andrea’s numbers decreased in his sophomore year, but he hopes to improve that. Recent interviews have shown that he has bulked up (from 240lbs to 250lbs) and trained rigorously over the summer and is ready to step up and play this season.

Joey Graham (Forward): Now that swingman Carlos Delfino has left, Graham will have to fill the void as the backup for Jamario Moon. Graham’s previous seasons have been very disappointing, but there is still hope. Toronto Raptors Head Coach, Sam Mitchell, wants to give him more minutes this year in order to prove that he is not wasted athleticism, but has talent.

Jason Kapono (Guard/Forward): The two-time 3-point shootout champion also has to step up this year. He has been consistent, but it is very clear that he can do much more for the team than just shoot three-pointers. He would most likely play as backup for Anthony Parker this year, just as he did last year.

Bottom Line: The addition of Jermaine O’Neal should benefit the Raptors and make them a better team than they were before. The Raptors have a huge amount of talent at their disposal and none of it should be wasted. Each player can bring their own element to the game and that will help the Raptors win. The biggest worry about this season is the health conditions of each player – especially Bosh and O’Neal. If the team can manage to win at least 45 games this year and make it past the first-round of the playoffs, it would be considered a success for the franchise, but it is important for the fans to continue their hope and support. Look out, NBA, there’s a new “Big Three” in town: Calderon, Bosh and O’Neal. Best of luck to the Toronto Raptors this season.

VOLUME 14 / ISSUE 1 mwplanet 19

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highly anticipated novel, Midnight Sun by author Stephenie Meyer was illegally published online in late August. When Meyer realized that one of the copies was leaked, she wrote on her website that she would not continue to finish writing her book.

Meyer explained that she did not want people “to experience Midnight Sun before it was completed, edited and published”.She put up a final unedited copy of the draft on her site to end her readers’ confusion.

Avid readers of the series rushed to download the PDF version, knowing it could be pulled off the Internet any second. Meyer realized the same day that the two hundred sixty-four pages she had written and trusted to someone were all over the internet, and she struggled to take all copies down.

It was a bittersweet ending for readers when the last book of the four-part series hit the shelves.

The Twilight series (Twilight, Eclipse, New Moon, Breaking Dawn) revolves around a star-crossed love between a human and a vampire. The books illustrate several problems that arise as Bella, the protagonist, continually puts herself in danger by associating herself with vampires.The plot goes through many twists and turns, such as Bella becoming best friends with a werewolf who falls in love with her, and Bella’s desire to become a vampire herself.

In the last book, Bella and Edward are finally accepted by the people who previously challenged them. With the series over, fans can no longer read into the lives of Bella, Edward and the other characters in the story. Among fans, there was a lot of excitement when Meyer announced another vampire book. Midnight Sun would be a rewritten version of Twilight, the first book, from Edward’s point of view rather than Bella’s.

Meyer says she has a good idea of how the leak happened as there were very few copies of Midnight Sun that left her possession and each was unique. “Due to little changes I made to the manuscript at different times, I can tell when each left my possession and to whom it was given. The manuscript that was illegally distributed on the Internet was given to trusted individuals for a good purpose.”

Now, readers are left wondering whether Meyer will continue to finish the novel. Meyer said on her website, “It has taken me a while to decide how and if I could respond. But to end the confusion, I’ve decided to make the draft available [on my website].”

When asked whether she could understand Meyer’s reasons for not publishing, senior student Laura Galloway replied,“I could see how that could be a huge betrayal of trust because [Meyer] said she knew exactly who put it up on the Internet, so I could see how that would really upset her, and to want to take it down and to stop writing temporarily.”

Martina Li, also a senior student, had a different answer: “I think it’s pretty stupid. You can’t just disappoint millions of fans and say ‘No, I’m too pissed off, I’m not going to do it anymore’. That’s just letting down your fans just because one person made the stupid choice of spreading it on the Internet, what can you do? Some fans will choose not to read the online version and buy the published version. So I say just suck it up and publish the book and let us continue with our lives!”

By Liane Vaz 20 mwplanet VOLUME 14 / ISSUE 1

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W I L I G H T, TWILIGHT, TWILIGHT. It seems to be the only word I’m hearing anywhere I go. I mean, I love to read, especially anything aimed at our adolescent generation, but honestly. It seems like Twilight is a flu, being passed around easily by a handshake or simple kiss on the cheek. Why is it that so recently everybody became interested in a series of novels when the first one was published 3 years ago?! I’ve never read any of the books, and plan not to for at least a few years. I believe that by doing it, I would almost feel as if I’d be conforming to some kind of overstated trend, not that I’m saying it is. Perhaps it’s just because the final installment, Breaking Dawn, was published a few months back in August, therefore possibly initiating some kind of Twilight frenzy.

Or perhaps, people heard that the movie, based upon the novels, was due to be released soon and everybody wanted to go into the theatres as a “Twilight know-it-all”. Either way, it seems that a whole slew of teen readers have been bitten by this ever-popular saga, and sucked into the dark, steamy world of Twilight.

Before I continue writing about this book phenomenon, I would like to clarify that I am NOT hating on Twilight. In fact, I am glad that people who would laugh at the thought of reading for fun are now devouring these books. My question is simple though, why Twilight? To me, these novels seem to be aimed towards a group of teenage readers looking for a darker read that still has a sweet touch, unlike the even more popular (and unbeatable) Harry Potter that appeals to readers of all ages. So how is it that Breaking Dawn, the last novel, holds second place, only beaten by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for being the most-selling book ever on its opening day? I find it funny that the Twilight series targeted towards a particular crowd seems to be so favored by a variety of people. Perhaps it’s not so much the content of the book, but rather the way it’s written. Many times I’ve read a book where I felt as though the ideas were poor, but because the writing was executed so well, I continued reading that particular book. I’m not saying that a book about two teen lovers that cannot be together because one of them is a vampire doesn’t sound somewhat fascinating. However, it’s possible that Twilight’s success is based on Stephanie Meyer’s incredibly captivating writing style. Maybe it’s a combination of a fresh idea and the author’s ability to write a fictitious story still relevant to teens. Or it may be how Stephanie Mayer is able to connect to the inner conflicts that many adolescents go through.

It may be a bit melodramatic to take a stand against reading a book after all, but I find it eerie how there hasn’t been a single unsatisfactory comment about Twilight. On a different note, I assume the story of two people unable to be with each other because of both internal and external forces is a classic story retold in many different ways. Our generation chose to admire it in a vampire-loving-kind-of-a-way. Also, as a book lover myself, I can understand passion for a good read no matter how integrated it becomes into pop culture. I mean, look at Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants; they made TWO movies. But that’s another editorial for another day. For now, and I hate to admit it, Twilight has the spotlight.

By Ashley Rostamian

LIGHTS ROCKSMODCLUB

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LIVE

By Michael Ruiz Chen

Either through her infectious songs featured in Old Navy commercials, or maybe watching her interviews on MuchMusic and MTV, you’ve probably met her some way. On October 17, Valerie Poxleitner - better known as Lights - performed her optimistic and empowering songs live at the MOD Club. At around six in the cold afternoon, the doors opened and the club was almost packed to full capacity. Even though the performance by the indie-pop singer started around 8:30 pm, diehard fans filled the entire venue. This local artist from Timmins has attracted a rather large fan base stretching from the GTA to the US. The concert began with an ecstatic audience as opening act Everlea took the club by storm. They started with their main singles, ‘Changes The Sex’ and also ‘The Way You Hate Me’. Everlea’s lead singer hovered over the amps and performed guitar solos right over the front audience while the lead guitarist leapt into the air. Overall, Everlea’s act was only the start of the excitement for the night.

Afterwards, the crowd anxiously waited with near silence, knowing Lights would appear on the stage at any moment. Armed with Russell (her keytar) and signature headband, she sang her first song, ‘Savior.’ Afterwards, she introduced her supporting members: Adam on the keyboard, and Maurie on the drums. Together, they performed the next few songs including ‘I Owe You One’ and ‘Ice’ where the latter was sung along by the audience. She connected with the audience through rhythmic clapping in ‘Casanova.’ Later on, many of her more popular songs were sung including ‘Drive My Soul.’ Before playing these songs, Lights took off her signature headband and threw it off to the side, to the disappointment of her fans. Towards the end of her performance, she sang her cover of Akon’s ‘Don’t Matter’ which she asked the audience to intimately sing with her. With that, she left the stage. However, she returned to sing ‘Pretend’ as a lullaby to end the night. She thanked the audience with her coy smile and formed a heart with her hands.

Overall, Lights’ and Everlea’s performances were both equally personal. With Everlea’s opening act, they sung most of their songs with a well-off quality but the vocals were slightly shadowed by the guitar riffs and drum beats. Everlea kept the audience interested, though it seemed as though their opening performance took up most of the night. On the other hand, Lights performed soundly with some overly high notes but were hardly noticeable. These were balanced by the great rhythm and catchy beats which allowed the audience to follow and sing along. The border lights on the back of the stage contributed well to the performance. The acoustics of the club made the sound sharp and clear. Security was a bit lax but enforced with distinguishing minors and 19+ members by wristbands. The night started and ended off well with a subtle note of new converts and rekindled fans.

By Karizza Sanchez It was a dream job for a girl like me, who lives and breathes fashion. Unfortunately, somewhere and sometime during that dream I found a loose thread which swiftly led to the unravelling of my position as a Sales Associate at BCBG Max Azria at Fairview Mall. I was in love with the merchandise, but not so much with the people. In fact, it’s bewildering as much as it is astonishing that my co-workers, not the customers, were the ones to drive me away. I found myself saying hello to good style, but saying “see you later!” to my good attitude, or Bon Genre. I was determined to change that, and resultantly I resigned after roughly about a month with the company.

Year after year, I tried to search for a part-time job that coalesced the two L’s – labels and love. I wanted to be in an environment where I was passionate about the merchandise and the people, both customers and co-workers. When I received the offer to finally be a BCBG Max Azria girl, I thought I had finally found what earlier seemed to be unfeasible. It seemed as though the company stood for everything I was hoping to come across: good style and good attitude – and rightfully so since the company phrase Bon Chic, Bon Genre literally means good style, good attitude. I desperately wanted this job to work out. I practiced and tried to perfect my answers expected interview questions; carefully and thoroughly thought out my outfit for that day; and even did some research on the company to enhance my

knowledge. It was evident that I coveted the position. However, ironically enough, it was also evident that I was beginning to yearn for my resignation within a month into the job.

That doesn’t go without saying, however, that the first few days on the job were incredible. We watched runway shows, behind-the-scenes footage of the making of the designs, and videos of the photo shoots that took place for the company’s distinctive advertisements. I was exposed to all the fashion lingo for different types of clothing and got a sneak peak of some of the fall and winter trends (creams and greys are the new black).

I felt fantastic and inspired by all of the chic garments that surrounded me. A 17-year-old teenage girl working for BCBG Max Azria! How mind-blowing is that? Mind-blowing for the time being because in the hours I spent in the store, I soon realized that lavish clothes came with a big price tag: condescending attitudes.

I wasn’t coming into this job inexperienced, yet the majority of the employees treated me like one. Whatever the reason was, they felt the need to speak to me as if I was a three-year-old.

The managers would question my questions, as if I had just said something extremely idiotic. It wasn’t even about being part of management or having been part of the company longer than me - it was complete and utter disrespect. You would think that 20 and 30-year-old women would have learned to respect others this late in their lives. You would think that women who work in high-end retail stores would have some class. Sadly, the manner in which the women of BCBG have chosen to conduct themselves appears to be human nature in the fashion world.Where the atmo-

PHOTOS TAKEN BY MICHAEL RUIZ CHEN

-- PLANET RATING

s p h e re i s with the sprayed Prada perfume, latest not about one’s personbeauty is ality. Rather, one’s beauty is measured by her answer to the ever-so-popular question, “Which designer is it by?” I was surrounded by stunning pieces of clothing, yet I had never felt uglier in my life.

It’s true that all things must be given a chance.

It’s also true that a month may not have been enough time to let the situation improve. However, with that being said, I know this wasn’t the right job for me. It certainly had the label aspect of my ideal job, but it most definitely did not have the love. I didn’t love my coworkers and I didn’t love the environment. I was losing my good attitude – dreading to go to work everyday.

Hate is a big word, but I hated going to work.

There was only one solution: I quit. A month after this luxurious experience and opportunity, I have managed to stay exactly where I was – still in search of that part-time job that merged labels and love. Even with that said, as disappointing it is to know, I am elated that the company had a 30-day exchange policy. I exchanged my position for my happiness. Thank God these women did not hold a sign that said, “All sales are final.”

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creative spaces SPACES CREATIVE A crash...

Flashing lights…..

A jarring noise like shearing metal and a hard thud from the impact……

My eyes are still getting used to the bright light. I examine and see people in lab coats and lights twirling around my head. How long have I been out for? All I remember is th--Wait, where am I? I can’t hear anything; oh well, nothing to do but drift off to sleep.

The uneasy feeling of being shaken all over, the bruises erupting all over my flesh – Oh! The horrible nightmares. I bolt upright in my hospital bed, feeling light and refreshed. It’s ironic that I’m wholly drenched in sweat.“My third aunt’s birthday, my girlfriend’s face, my culture……” Good, that proves I still have my memory, that’s one huge load off my worries. My body seems to function properly, except for the acute headache and my right leg – but other than that, all’s fine and dandy. Who cares after you’ve recovered from... from..?

What happened exactly? That’s just one hole in my memory, no worries Duke; don’t panic yourself out to The unrelenting anger; the desire to do something rash; the wish to run away….. I was at my girlfriend’s house and we just had a long discussion. Then it all turned hazy. The doctor says I’m recovering just fine. She wishes to contact my parents, but she can’t seem to find any data on the people who raised me from a babe.

It is be about time I tell her I am an orphan, but I think I’m going to enjoy this a little bit longer until she catches on; judging from her organization, this could take a while. Well, I don’t care; I have to wait a minimum of another fve weeks to recover fully.

The smell of sewage looms in the air as I am stunned by the impact that has left many of my bones broken. The blaring sirens and the slow drift into unconsciousness. The small jolts to keep my heart beating…. Three weeks later and I’m still nowhere close to feeling better. I’ve been in this dull state long enough. I’m tired of being poked, stabbed, tested, and prodded. Several lawyers come to visit me. They pass through the trivial niceties and plough through to the main conversation. They wonder about my whereabouts on some insignificant day of the week a month ago. I tell them I have no clue what they are talking about and abruptly pull my covers over my head. They understand my discomfort and my nurse is already up and ushering them away.

One of the lawyers is quite offended by my actions and yells at me, “What about your dead girlfriend?” I shudder and ponder on how such a sick man like him can become a lawyer; joking about my loved one’s death, he’d crossed the line.

Through the night, everything came back to me. The lawyer inquiring about my dead girlfriend, the car crash, and the all-consuming anger that I had felt the day the accident happened. Once again, I’m covered in sweat and all I can think about is my girlfriend. What happened?...“You killed her. You were in a car crash,” she said. My doctor walks out from behind the curtains and sits down on my bed.

How could I have done such a thing?

Hey, Sarah Brown here! This past November 5th, the Grade nines got the opportunity to go to work with their parents (or another adult) and see what they do during the day.

My mother is a nurse, so I got really excited to do some serious brain surgery on a random patient. I‛m just kidding by the way.

My day started off really, really early in the morning. My mom actually had to wake me up an hour before I was supposed to wake up because she knew that I wouldn‛t be able to get up. She woke me up at around 5:45 a.m. I was so tired I couldn‛t even move. It was actually pretty cool to see her in such a serious environment. First, I actually got to watch her do knee surgery, (which was...let‛s just say, one heck of a sight) and then I went on a tour around the hospital. I actually saw some pretty cool stuff. I got to see the morgue (place where they keep the dead), and no, it wasn‛t anything like the rooms on CSI. It was actually pretty tiny. The people were covered up, and there were only two of them in there. It smelled really bad and I couldn‛t stand it. After the tour, the rest of the kids and I headed off to meet our parents for lunch. After lunch, we actually got to be “surgeons” for the day and perform some mock surgeries. I got the opportunity to do something called a “laparoscopy” (a pretend one, of course) which is when a camera is put into the patient‛s body to see the organs inside the body. This is more efficient instead of cutting one huge opening and finding the organs by eye. It was really hard, but it was cool to see what the camera saw since the camera was hooked up to a TV. After being a nurse for the day, I was really tired. My day was really fun. I realized what hard work adults go through every day, and I found a deeper respect for them. As far as becoming a nurse one day, I think I‛ll just leave that up to my mom.

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Hey, I‛m Amanda Kennedy! The Take Your Kids to Work Day program started in 1994 and was created by The Learning Partnership. Take Your Kids to Work Day shows kids the importance of education and hard work, and gives them a chance to observe the world of work and many different jobs and opportunities that lie ahead.

I spent the day in the community experiencing life as a family doctor. Unlike Sarah, I didn‛t get to watch a surgery or see any dead people. My dad and I started our day at 8 o‛clock .By the time we got to his office there were already people waiting. My job was to observe what my dad did and help his assistant with filing, computer work and escorting patients to exam rooms. A family doctor‛s office can be very unpredictable. No one can tell what will transpire next or what kinds of emergencies are unfolding. We saw patients of all ages from cute little newborns to wonderful seniors, who in spite of numerous disabilities, showed a lot of courage. Many of them took the time to talk to me and showed genuine concern to find out about my school, hobbies and interests. Some had a really good sense of humour and they made me feel happy and welcome.

Some patients were really sick and some had cancer. It made me sad to realize the amount of suffering they were facing. However, I was happy to discover the many things doctors can do to help alleviate some of their pain.

Other than diagnosing and treating illness, a good chunk of a family doctor‛s time is spent counselling patients on how to stay healthy and how to prevent disease. Many of the problems that plague our society, such as heart disease and some cancers have their roots in poor diets, smoking and lack of exercise. I found this really interesting.

Although, it is very interesting and satisfying, a family doctor‛s life is very demanding.

creative spaces SPACES CREATIVE

The first time I attempt to do anything, I am daunted by the enormity of it. It towers over me, an impossible precipice, inapproachable. I am reminded of courage, I must be courageous, and climb to the top of that soaring tower.

Courage is not something we often think of as an individual goal. Usually we think of it as a specific goal that results as the side product of something else in our lives. Some time ago, a wise man told me he wanted to be at peace. He did not want to feel peaceful towards his neighbours or his dog. No, he wanted to be in a state of peace, with all things in his life. Now I’ve always wanted to be in a state of peace, however I was told that with my brash tongue this was nearly impossible, I was a courageous extrovert. I was struck by that, the courageous part, I mean, if the wise man can be at a state of peace, why can’t I be at a state of courage? I looked up the word courage. The dictionary defines it as the ability to face danger, difficulty, uncertainty, or pain without being fear or being deflected from a chosen course of action. So last week, armed with my decision and the dictionary definition, I set off.

I figured, of course, that the best place to start to achieve my state of courage was some distant place I’d only heard of and had no connection with whatsoever. I mean, hey, this is a great idea, but if something goes wrong I would prefer that it wasn’t my friends who knew about it, you know what I mean? So anyways I took a bus to the magical land known as Ajax. The weather on the way over looked wonderful, it was raining hard with the occasional lovely flash of lightening and rolls of thunder, it made me feel really optimistic.

The weather was like a signal from God, he approved of my mission. I got out of the bus when it pulled over near a convenience store in Ajax; the name of the store was Fred’s Burnables.

As I got out of the bus, I noticed an old man with a peg leg; I’d never seen a peg leg before, with the leg and the beard though I believe he may have been a pirate in disguise. I don’t know whether talking to an old person is very courageous, but a pirate, that’s pretty cool, so I went over.

“Hello! My name is Raven and I am trying to achieve a state of courage do you have any advice for me?”

“Courage….” he replied gruffly, “Courage is an outrageous thing to be a state of RRR,”, he growled! Like a pirate! Actually it might have been all those heavy bags he was carrying; so I helped him put them in his trunk, as we talked.

“It’s a silly thing to be really, especially at your age, makes you do things you regret. See this leg? I used to race; that’s how I lost it, in an accident, courage is a bad thing to be, be something else, be peaceful”.

I told him that I was very much set on being courageous and peaceful was the wise man’s thing anyway. To this, he gave an understanding nod and we both parted ways. In my case, my way meant that I walked down the street.

A little later, I ran into my old English teacher; literally, I ran into him. It was his fault: Who stands in the middle of a sidewalk during the day anyway? He

sighed and got up and looked at me and got that look. He used to get that look a lot, it was this sort of ‘panicked deer in the headlights’ kind of look. He had it whenever I put my hand up in class. It was very distinct, just this little line between his eyebrows, and a sudden widening of the eyes. I’ve never truly understood why he achieved this look. I quickly informed him of my mission.

The line in the middle of his forehead became all the more pronounced,“What made you think you’d find it out here” I couldn’t tell him the real reason, so I made something up.

“I thought a new place was a great place to find courage,” “Oh really? Well I think you’re right that’s very courageous in itself,” “Really?”

“Really,” “Yes, now excuse me um I have to go to um... Alaska,” “Oh ok have fun,” He left for Alaska, though I must say he looked seriously underdressed, between you and me, he was always rather scatter brained. I continued down the street feeling a little depressed now, but it was still raining, so I guess that must have been a sign from God to keep going. Then my boyfriend drove by.

He stopped beside me on the sidewalk and rolled down his window.

“Raven, what are you doing here?” I quickly considered my options I could hide behind a tree or question his sanity and claim that I was the tree, or--“I thought you were sick today, you’re soaked,” he frowned at me. It was too late.

“Well actually, I’m here in search of courage,” he looked at me, rather the way my English teacher looks at me actually, gives me his jacket, and says he should take me home. So I get in the car with him.

I felt disappointed, I was there looking for courage. It was, as though, I’d missed out, I’d lost that elusive thing I was looking for all day, I felt further from courage than I’d ever been, then I thought of what my English teacher had said, about how it was courageous coming to the magical land of Ajax at all. I felt optimistic again. I thought of the old man walking around on his peg leg. To go to the store and buy the necessities of life, especially with a handicap was courageous, and my English teacher was courageous to go to Alaska, and my boyfriend was courageous too, well I don’t know but he dates me and that’s pretty brave most of the time. I couldn’t help feeling that the dictionary was wrong. The dictionary was wrong about courage being facing up to a something without fear, because if you didn’t fear something there wouldn’t be any need for courage. I think the most important thing that I learnt was that people are constantly “in a state of courage” by choosing to be alive and by facing life itself, we are courageous. The car drives over a highway and I notice a billboard “COURAGE IS STRENGTH IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY-BE COURAGEOUSBECOME A YOUTH LEADER TODAY-TALK TO YOUR CHURCH. Thank you God. VOLUME 14 / ISSUE 1 mwplanet 23

fun and AND games GAMES FUN What you’ll need: º One pair of sock monkey socks º A sewing needle and thread / a sewing machine (Note: I would not suggest buying a sewing machine for this project, but you know, whatever floats your boat). º Two buttons (for eyes) º Polyester Stuffing º Yarn (black) º Ribbon (red) These materials are available at WalMart, the Dollar Store and your local craft store!

OVERHAND STITCH

Christmas is coming, and what a joyous time of year it is! I for one, am absolutely ecstatic because I can finally sing Christmas songs, babble on about building snowmen and anxiously talk about baking Christmas cookies and leaving them out for Santa without looking like a complete Christmas-obsessed freak (even though I suppose I am pretty shameless about it). However, for those who are not quite so thrilled about hearing the happy chiming of Christmas bells, I suggest you read this article very, VERY carefully and follow these steps to rid your Christmas anxieties away forever! Plus, you’ll be creating the most glorious and affordable Christmas gift in the universe in the process. After all, what could possibly say “thanks for being a great friend” more than a sock monkey?

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ea

leg

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leg

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bum

Decide the placement of Monkey’s head, and stitch around the sock to define the“neck.”This is just to give you a guideline so when it’s time to sew on the arms, you can judge the distance between the head and the arms. Don’t worry about how neat your stitching is - you will be covering the stitching with a ribbon later on.

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head

Take the other sock, Sock #2 and turn it inside out.

Use a sharpie and draw out Monkey’s arms (2), tail (1), nose (1) and ears (2) (see diagram). Cut out all the pieces from this second sock (see dotted lines).

no

Take one sock and turn it inside out. This sock will be named Sock #1. Take a sharpie and draw a straight line from the top part of the sock to about half an inch below the heel of the sock (make sure it’s centred), and then draw two curved lines on either of the sock (see diagram). Using either your needle and thread or a sewing machine, sew on the lines separating the two legs. Do not sew the feet holes closed yet. Turn Sock #1 right side out by pulling the top part of the sock through one of the legs (this can be very tricky, but have no fear - it is possible!) and stuff the entire sock, including the legs. Once the stuffing is accurately distributed, fold the bottom of the feet closed and do an overhand stitch to close them (see diagram).

You’re halfway finished Monkey, and it’s only Step 2! Fancy!

ar m ar m

Set up your work station ... this means stick this page up on your wall for all to admire. Put on some Christmas music. Eat some Christmas cookies. Sing along to the Christmas music (but not while eating the Christmas cookies because that could end up being tragic). After the ambience is set, pick a name for your soon-to-be-sock-monkey so you can talk to it while you make it (makes things more interesting). Once you’ve done all of this, I would say that you are ready to start creating your fabulous sock monkey (and in my case, I’ve used all my creativity and am naming him “Monkey”.)

tail

Once cut out, Monkey’s arms, tail and ears should be attached on one side (see diagram). For now, put aside the nose piece – you don’t need it yet. Follow the dotted lines and sew shut. Make sure not to sew all around because your pieces are still inside out and need to be turned right side out. Once all the parts are turned right side out, use a tiny bit of stuffing in the arms and the tail. Sew closed using the overhand stitch. Monkey’s ears do not need stuffing!

Sew Monkey’s arms, tail and ears accordingly to Sock #1 using the overhand stitch.

Mark where the nose will go and use the overhand stitch to stitch it on the head. The placement of the nose should be around a centimetre from the place where you stitched where the “neck” should go (Step 3). Leave it open so you can stuff underneath it so Monkey’s nose sticks out. Once satisfied, sew shut.

Now that Monkey is fully assembled, I am finally able to add the finishing touches so he doesn’t look like so much of a faceless freak. Sew the buttons on so he has eyes, tie ribbon around his neck so he can have a fancy bow, and if you have it, use black yarn to create a mouth because Monkey likes to smile.

But then again, when sock monkeys are involved, don’t we all?

The first sock monkey was created way before any current inhabitant of Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School was born. It is mind boggling, I know, but the history of the sock monkey way back. It was over 100 years ago when these poplar dolls became the latest fad amongst the grandparents of our grandparents and cemented themselves in pop culture.

In the same fashion that I am suggesting that you make one (or ten) of these glorious monkeys for your friends, mothers during the Great Depression made them to cheer up their children. As I said before, nothing says “I love you” like a sock monkey!

From all of us at the MW Planet, have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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