2023 Sarah NEWS
Every year - including this academic year - becomes increasingly more evident that Sarah truly does have a knack for the arts and the humanities.
Although we strive for better results in sports every time – and have emerged victorious in a fair number of competitions – the fact simply is that we are a group of people with a natural talent for expression, and this has been celebrated in occasions such as House Drama, Scrabble Scramble, and House Dance.
Yet reminisce not that long ago, we also had the Public Speaking competition which was won in quiet, obscure glory — just in the true Sarah spirit. This article will then attempt to shed light on the Public Speaking competition, retell the highlights of that day in as illustrious a way as possible.
Now, the reader must be first warned of the writer’s rather limited point of view on this matter, given that I have only personally been to one of the competitions, the Year 9 and 10 division. Nevertheless, I have tried my best to gather as much information on the other two, but I must add a reader discretion that some details may be slightly distorted by memory.
This year, the competition consisted of different categories: reading from a book, persuasive speech, debating duo, interpretive drama, as well as the final speech to entertain. These different categories allowed the participants to truly explore different aspects of the art form of rhetoric — and not only did Sarah explore these, but also seemingly mastered them along the way.
The youngest year groups in Sarah performed incredibly well, taking second place in their division. From what I have gathered, there have been reports of some brave Year 7s, who came to rescue to defend the name of Spider-Man as the best superhero. As for the Year 8s, the interpretive drama duo Rachel and Se-eun tackled a topic that is slightly more relevant to our day-to-day lives than fictional world-saving teenagers like Peter Parker: a rainy day. Something which we have sadly had to become used to as Jeju residents. They managed to make this rather glum and ordinary occasion of having to stay inside from a big storm into an entertaining piece.
Like the Year 7s and 8s, the Year 9s and 10s also had a reasonably successful run. Despite the eloquent and impressive efforts on behalf of the other houses, the participants gave speeches of highest humour when called for, and utmost gravity when necessary. The topics of the speeches varied from a stoic and serious discussion on nuclear war to the silliest jokes that elicited much laughter — as intended — from the audience. I myself had the pleasure of being a part of the event, making a speech that started as a humorous attack on Independent Project, winding up to be calling out my friend who eats bagel with ketchup, then finally a profession of love and undeniable attraction to procrastination.
Last but not least, the Year 11s once again showed themselves to be the true leaders they are as they set a fine precedent by taking the first place in their division. To start off their successful event, Lily recited from Shelley's age-old classic Frankenstein most stirringly. Along with an excellently scripted speech delivered in an expert way by Hannah, a comical account of school uniforms was given by Ellen. To finish off, Chandler and Hanju delivered a lighthearted yet scintillating interpretive performance based on a video of a boy turning into a watermelon after swallowing watermelon seeds. Based on Jesus’s miraculous and asexual conception from Mary, they were able to make a funny parody which involved Mary conceiving Jesus by eating watermelon seeds. As it did in the House Drama, a cameo appearance of Jesus never fails to amuse.
I hope that this article has reminded its readers of what was a rather exciting experience of public speaking – if not, at the very least, allowed them to live vicariously through my meagre attempt at storytelling. Though, I am very sorry that my limited perspective meant that I couldn’t include all the diligent Sarahrians who dedicated each of their times to competitions like these.
Thank you to all who participated in this year’s public speaking competition, as well as all the other countless competitions. As the next academic year approaches, I hope that all these articles and reflections on this year’s successes inspire next year’s successes.
Sarah has always been not particularly doing well in terms of winning house competitions and has a pretty big reputation for coming last which can be further evident by the immense cheering and jumping that happens whenever there is a rare occasion of Sarah getting in the top 3. Although I have only been in this school for a year and a half at the time of writing this, I figured it would be nice to end the academic year on a positive note. For this, I would like to go over some successes, not failures, that we, as Sarah, achieved so far.
So let us start with a bit of our house and its individuals. When I first became a fellow member of Sarah, halfway through year 7, I was clearly struck with the low tension and the lack of synergy of Sarah. To see that Sarah continuing on the losing streak was not at all helping with house spirit and engagement on those activities, and to be honest, I admit that I am not worthy to say any of this mostly because of me also showing pessimism and the tendency to not like any activities. The usual “we’ll come last anyways” was said pretty often amongst students.
However, coming up to year 8, I have started to notice some differences. First of all, obviously, unexpected successes. Sarah had significantly improved during this academic year, coming first in quite a few competitions. Maybe we are phoenixes after all, rising from the ashes again. Perhaps it is the revival of the phoenix taking into action. Otherwise it might have been that we had more participation and willingness to “try” rather than the will to “sit-and-complain-about-how-life-is-unfair-and-that-house-competitions-are-useless”.
Jokes aside, let us nominate a few of the successes we have had. The house chant, public speaking, coding, house drama, the scrabble scramble, and the ones I have forgotten to mention, which there would be quite a few, I believe.
I would like to show a sign of gratitude towards those who were trying their best and allowed Sarah to win. Thanks to everyone, Sarah was able to rise to 4th place, leaving the dreaded 5th place to Noro.
When you come to think of it, reminiscing about these past events can bring you joy. Pleasurable memories. The feeling of victory. The satisfaction. And most importantly, pride. You feel proud of being a Sarahrian. We do not have to win every single time, but the point is that when we do, it helps us mentally and brings motivation. More specifically, Intrinsic motivation. We have not only won literally, but we have also won a sense of motivation and house spirit, which is the whole point of these competitions. The motivation will help us try genuinely, and participate more in competitions, raising the chance for yet another victory, which then starts the cycle again.
These competitions have also enabled us to develop diverse relationships too. Although you might deny the fact, and say that you have made no additional friends because of it, there is still a guaranteed chance that your friendship “bonds” have ever so slightly altered.
So what does all of this mean? Short answer: try harder. Long answer: Sarah is improving. It’s starting to become a better community. To continue this trend, we need to keep up the good work and put in at least some effort into these competitions. For you and for the whole of Sarah. With effort, anything can be made possible (citation needed).
House song is probably one of the biggest house competitions involving all year 7s to year 11s singing a chosen song. This year, we sang flashlight by Jessie J. Even though we placed fourth, I believe we had lots of fun preparing for the competition and in the final performance. The teamwork and participation in Sarah was marvellous and even though winning is great and it feels good, I think we could all agree that having fun and enjoying the moment is much more important and I think that we all felt it as well. Even though a lot of time was put into the competition’s preparation whether it was outside of lessons, at the weekends or house time, it was really worth it as at the end, the competition ended up being a spectacular, magical, phenomenal event. I know that everyone is looking forward to next year’s astonishing event of house song as with no doubt, it would be an unforgettable event.
The day of the event!
Although the scrabble scramble competition remains purely as a distant memory as of now, I’m sure there are some people amongst Sarah who hold it quite dearly to their hearts, as it is a competition that requires a very specific skill set that few seem to possess in our school. In that spirit, we’ll be taking a look at each word used on the scrabble board during the scrabble scramble competition of 2023.
Hijacked (verb): To take control of or use something that does not belong to you for your own advantage
“The house singing practice was hijacked by a group of Mulchat spies”
Wrist (noun): the part or joint connecting the hand with the forearm
“The increase in wrist injuries amongst Sarah members was proven to be caused by the sports day shot put event”
Zesty (adjective): having or characterised by zest, appealingly piquant or lively
“Sarah's zesty performance created an electric atmosphere that fueled their determination to secure fourth place”
DIY (noun): the activity of decorating, building, and making repairs at home by oneself rather than employing a professional.
“It was clear that Sarah’s DIY project was only held together by rogue pieces of tape”
Queer (adjective): strange; odd / denoting or relating to a sexual or gender identity that does not correspond to established ideas of sexuality and gender, especially heterosexual norms
“One must remain clear when calling someone queer, or there may be quite a queer misunderstanding”
Coney (noun): rabbit fur
“Mr. McCue wore a luxurious coat made of coney to the summer fete”
Teet (noun): A pointed part on the body of a female animal which her babies suck in order to get milk (definition courtesy of Collins Dictionary)
“Teat (teet)-like projections on the sheath of the male are considered unlucky in southern India”
Tiff (noun): A petty quarrel
“It is not uncommon for some members of Sarah to be a witness to one of the many tiffs between the Sarah Council”
Buyer (noun): A person who makes a purchase
“We will continue selling Sarah-themed merchandise until we find a buyer”
Quixotic (adjective): foolishly impractical especially in the pursuit of ideals
“Sarah will once again undertake the overtly quixotic pursuit of winning the Diversity week competition with the most mediocre poster possible”
Doolittle (noun?): United States Air Force officer who electrified the world in 1942 by leading a squadron of 16 bombers on a daylight raid over Tokyo (??)
Heteronormative (adjective): denoting or relating to a world view that promotes heterosexuality as the normal or preferred sexual orientation
“This place has always been traditionally heteronormative and it will be very hard to do anything about it”
Britain (noun): Great Britain
“Oh golly gee let’s see how Britain is doing after Brexit”
Gorgeously (adverb): in a very attractive manner
“On the final day of school, the sun set over the horizon, fittingly ending the day with a gorgeously breathtaking scene”
Rattling drum roll filled the air. My heart pounded as the beat led. As I held my breath tight, past practice and failure strangled my neck. I was being baked in the PAC. The judge was announcing the first place at last. ‘Sarah!’ said he. Sarah won first place! It has been several months since our performance but the memory of that day still stays vivid in me. I am confident the same would apply to all, from the tree to me - Jesus.
Mr McCue had his iconic big smile on and we were asked to perform this again during Sarah's house meeting. So much swooshed by and we were almost soaked in glory. From then onwards, I took extra pride in belonging to Sarah: being a Sarahrian.
What I was exceptionally proud about our play was that the story did not revolve around a character. This, surely, was what earned us 1st place alongside incredible acting, hilarious plot and perfect staging from the tech crew. Instead of focusing on a single character, Sarah chose to involve all participants. Although arguably there were some central parts with more lines, each and every actor had their place and time to shine. In the inclusive environment, everybody gave their best. Special thanks to Chandler for organising this and the Year 11s and the tech crew such as Sam who supported us.
Another notable aspect of the play was that it was in a form of ‘box’, where the first and last scenes were an ‘after-life’ and the scenes in-between were tutorials to help understand. We also made great use of blazers which was a main theme.
I, as Jesus, put the blazer on my head for a ‘distinctive 5 by 5 hairstyle‘. This resolves Jesus’ inferiority complex of being unrecognisable. Surely Jesus will never feel undistinguishable since I had to hear a dozen ‘Aren’t you Jesus?’.
I originally chose Jesus for his perhaps stereotypical characteristics. I could easily envision the solemn yet kind-hearted Jesus before my eyes - like what most would perceive Jesus as. It turned out that I was wrong. Jesus in the scene was hostile, arrogant and even immature. This character was surely not one that I was used to before. ‘Sorry, but may I change?’ striked the back of my lips and almost made its way. But I did not let it out. With a brief pause, I realised this was a great opportunity to try something new. The sense of adventure and overcoming obstacles thrilled me. There simply was no reason not to participate.
Whether it be arts, sports or academic events, try them. These all are not that distant. They all are a gateway for a great experience and adventure. House Drama was an opportunity for me to explore a new character-type and gain fame; I would occasionally turn back at ‘hey Jesus’ from
teachers and younger students even until now. It is a great pleasure to be remembered in a way. So next time, be more open. Do not limit yourself to your tiny comfort zone. House events are there to have fun. You may not always win in the events, but do not let that be an excuse for not trying. So…
Why not? Give it a go!
The house chant was an excellent example of cooperation and the idea of our whole team. It was an opportunity for our enthusiastic Sarah house members to come together and encourage others to achieve a common goal. There were two events, one minute chant and a two minute chant. The two lyrics were made by year 9s house leaders, and they were great. The lyrics were engageable and enjoyable along with the small movements that they made. We practised for a long amount of time during the tutor times and house meetings. Everybody was together and participated, filling each other’s shortcomings. Even when things went wrong and didn’t meet the expectation, we never lost our courage and figured a way out, which led to an impressive development. As a result of this hard work and practise for about a month, we were able to take the 1st place in the house chant event. At the moment of the result presentation, everybody was cheering and uplifting. All of the members of Sarah did their best in chanting and participated in the house chant, which was why it was particularly memorable and important.
The 2022 House Glee was a success!
The event took place on October 26th in the PAC.
However, practices and preparations date all the way back to September 7th. Our Art captains, Jasmine Uhm and Yuna Song, have worked exceptionally hard to organise both House Singing and House Glee! Starting from matching costumes, choreography, music, and organising practice slots, all of our Year 11 leaders have worked to the bone for Sarah house.
Auditions for House Glee took place on September 7th, before Chuseok Break––all students who participated were included for the final show. The prompt was, ‘rebirth’, which our Year 11s have accommodated to the theme exceptionally well. The music used was, ‘Don’t look down’ from the show, ‘Austin and Alley’. Connecting to the theme of ‘rebirth’, this song illustrates how Sarah House continues to rise from obstacles and how we don’t look down from our past difficulties. It shows Sarah House’s solidarity and our rebirth from various hurdles, which ultimately makes our House stronger.
The dress code for this year’s Glee was red! Red is a symbol for love, passion, courage, and vigour. The colour red represents desire and strength, all of which are aspects that our House strives to pursue continuously. Red evokes warmth, energy, and positivity within individuals, thus, it was an excellent option for our performance’s dress code!! It’s also our traditional house colour. Therefore, it was deemed as the most appropriate and obvious colour as a sign for Sarah House’s unity.
Another part of the dress code was grunge/street fashion. It
Student leaders and performers worked diligently for nearly two months to perfect teamwork and choreography. The choreography was very creative; there were several forms, movements were versatile and it required quite a bit of teamwork. A lot of the choreography needed difficult partner work, for which the Year 11s have led the students to an amazing outcome using perseverance and determination. Not only did they help students in lower years, the Year 11 leaders have put on quite the performance themselves! The dance break in particular stood out due to their awesome dancing skills and made the performance even more fascinating.
By October 26th, both the choreography and costumes were ready to go, and Sarah House once again put up an incredible show. Sadly, the outcome was not what everybody had hoped for, however, one thing we can all agree on was that everybody worked hard and the performance was absolutely stunning.
Special thanks to our amazing leaders, Yuna Song and Jasmine Uhm, who organised such dynamic choreography for the audience and performers to enjoy!
NLCS Jeju divides its students into 5 houses: Sarah, Jeoji, Geomun, Mulchat, and Noro. This might be common knowledge for most people, but as a person who came into this school with no prior experience whatsoever - mostly because I wasn’t in junior school - it all felt very new to me. The building was unfamiliar to me at first. I even believed that the Boys Block was for boys and the Girls Block was for girls only. It was only later I found out that it doesn’t matter and it’s just the chosen names for the different sides. I was assigned to Sarah house, which is located on the 2nd floor of the Boy's School and shares the floor with the math department.
The divide between the Junior kids who came up and the new kids were like a brick wall at first. However, this wall slowly started to crumble. Then one day, the Junior School kids started breaking the wall themselves. I hope that the new kids and the rest get along with each other and break the wall faster.
The tutor groups or tutor forms were very helpful for me in making some new friends and it was great at first when I was trying to get used to the school. My tutor helped me a lot in hardships and I always felt like I could tell her anything and she would talk about it with me. Anything about the school that I didn’t know, or was curious about was answered by my tutor.
The House Competitions initially made me very excited and I wanted to try my best to help our house become the best. The House Competitions, especially the ones with the Year 10s and 11s, showed me what leaders look like. As time passes throughout the academic year the House Competitions get more and more competitive and they try to get every point they can. These competitions were very fun and got me on my toes waiting for school to end and to participate in the contest. They got my competitive spirit going and this was the only time outside of the classrooms when I ever got the chance to be competitive. It was great that they didn’t force the students to participate a lot in the events because it gave more room and more opportunities for the students who wanted to participate.
