THE VOICE
Issue 3
FAREW EL L
March/April 2012 Lassyt
BREAKING NEWS: FAREWELL DEAR SECOND YEARS!
The end of one amazing journey…. By Marthese Grech
On the occasion of this year‟s second years‟ last few days at the college, I decided to interview some of them, so that they can share their experience with all of us. The students interviewed were Francesco Grasso, Matthew Buhagiar, Julian Mizzi, Erik Gollcher and Lisa Mifsud. If you could describe your experience in this school in one word or sentence, what would it be? All those interviewed said that their two years at college were the best two years of their lives. Some also described their experience as amazing because of the fact that all the students were all united together
like one big family. Of course, none of them regret choosing SAC and claim, that if they were to choose again, they would surely choose SAC again.
Aloysians in ESU Team Page 2
Mention some activities in which you took part during these two years which you will always look back to: Of course, the annual event of Soiree was immediately mentioned. All those interviewed, said that Soiree is a memorable experience which they will surely never forget. According to them, both the 2011 and the 2012 ones were amazing and they always enjoyed taking part in any way possible as it was also a way to make new friends and socialize. Another event mentioned was „Unplugged‟ which was described as „an event >> cont. on pg 9
Chocolate: Deliciously Healthy Page 3
The end of one amazing journey… Page 8
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Aloysians in ESU Team By Yanika Borg The English Speaking Union has been operating in Malta for more than a year now. It is a charity encouraging spoken English, organizing meetings and competitions mainly for students. By building skills and confidence in communication, it gives people the opportunity to realise their potential. This year a Public Speaking competition was held at the Old University in Valletta on the 29th February. St. Aloysiusâ€&#x; College had three participants; Thomas Bartolo, Jodie Bonnici and myself. We delivered a prepared, five-minute speech in front of foreign judges. Last yearâ€&#x;s competition was won by Aloysian, Luisa Cassar Pullicino. This year Martha Zammit won and will be representing Malta in the United Kingdom next May.
Personally I think that this Union is doing a great job on this bilingual island. It encourages young people to have a wider knowledge of English, not only in writing but also in speaking.
ESU is also organizing a debating competition, held in Parliament. Debating classes are currently being held to prepare all the participants for the competition next April. The Aloysian debating team consists of Adrian Micallef, Gianluca Busutil and I.
>> Aloysians in the ESU Debate
Yanika Borg (left) Thomas Bartolo (centre) and Jodie Bonnici (right)
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How Great are your Expectations? By Jodie Bonnici
Many people have a very serious and common problem in their life. They expect too much of it. This makes it harder to deal with failure. However, failure is a daily component in our life and it is from these mistakes that we learn and improve ourselves. As we grow older we understand this more due to our experiences in life. Yet it seems as if the older we grow the more disappointed we
are when we make a mistake, no matter how inevitable it is. This makes life far more complicated than it should be. The solution? Don‟t expect too much of yourself or of others, especially if it‟s obvious that it is useless. For some people this comes naturally while for others it is one of those bad habits that take ages to break. When you are about to start making great expectations stop, think, and consider whether it really is worth the probable disappointment. While it is always important to aim high and to push your limits, don‟t put yourself in a situation where you end up questioning your whole life, past and future. This might cause not only frustration to the person, but can also cause uncertainty and doubt in one‟s life. Maybe your life will turn out better if you keep your expectations under control instead of letting your imagination get the best of you.
Chocolate: Deliciously Healthy! By James Mula Yes, you read the title right. As insane as it sounds, studies prove that chocolate, apart from being delicious, tasty, yummy, and to die for, is indeed healthy. This must certainly be good news for chocolate lovers and chocoholics around the world. Despite the fact that chocolate is high in calories and sugar content it is good for the heart as long as you exercise daily. Studies
also say that it decreases the risks of heart attacks. According to Suzanne Steinbaum, director of women and heart disease at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, chocolate improves heart health if you add it to your everyday lifestyle which should include exercise and moderation in diet. She also says that “chocolate does not add to weight gain, but in fact, might help control it.” Experts still urge moderation, so don‟t you even think that after reading this article you can gobble up all the chocolate you find as an excuse that it is healthy. Nancy Copperman, director of Public Health
Initiatives at the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System in New York had this to say, "Before you start eating a chocolate bar a day to keep the doctor away, remember that a chocolate bar can contain over 200 calories which mostly come from saturated fats and sugar... Consider limiting your chocolate fix to a one ounce (28 grams) portion of dark chocolate or adding cocoa powder which is very low in fat to your food once a day."
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WE WILL
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MISS YOU!
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Half Way There! So summer is getting closer and closer guys and girls! The weather‟s changing; our lifestyle is changing and were finally seeing people daringly wear short sleeves and sporting a lighter, more carefree Spring/Summer look!
This is all the motivation you need to keep on pushing hard with your diets and exercise regimes! Plan carefully as there are around 10 weeks left till summer properly starts and the beach becomes the new playground…so here are some vital tips!
Get more ab-work in your routine to keep your midsection tight, hard and ready to hit the beach! Increase the intensity of your cardio and keep that stubborn fat melting off you! Drink plenty of water as you will start to lose more as the weather becomes warmer!
Go easy on the carbohydrates and consume more quality foods rich in fibre, protein, vitamins and minerals. Some great ideas are tuna salad, chickenceaser salad, pasta salads, bruschetta, brown bread sandwiches, etc. Believe me; a burger will never taste as good as success! It‟s time to step up to the plate my friends, let‟s do this!
Student Council’s Events (March) 2nd Year’s T-Shirts Ex-School Uniform Day Chinese Dinner
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Great Expectations a timeless novel ,
By Amber Duivenvoorden Few writers have written so movingly or captured the inner workings of a child‟s mind as Charles Dickens. Great Expectations is spellbinding in its intensity, it leads the reader into a vivid portrayal of childhood fears and anxieties, rich in humour and sorrow alike. It is regarded as perhaps grotesque or tragic and ultimately, Pip‟s tragedy is that he follows falsehood and becomes a snob which is something nowadays audience can relate to. Pip dreams about becoming a prince charming and his dream comes through he thinks, the intervention of his fairy-godmother, Miss Havisham. Pip hopes to marry his princess, Estella, in belief that together they will live happily ever after. This is perhaps a very idealistic image of love and once again pains to point out that life is not really a fairy tale. Miss Havisham, far from being a good fairy-godmother is really a tormented woman and Estella is no beautiful princess but a flint-hearted temptress. Pip finally discovers that in order to „live happily ever after‟ he must first undergo the painful process of finding out who he really is. Seeking out our true identity is a process we all go through in life and as readers we sympathize with Pip completely at the end of the novel when his idea of being comes crashing down
and he is struck by the realization of how mistaken he was. The fact that Great Expectations applies to nowadays as well is emphasized further through the 1998 modern version of it. It is a story of the love of a man for an unreachable woman. Updated to modern day New York City, the story concerns a man of modest background who falls in love with a rich girl. But when a mysterious benefactor green lights the man to make his dreams come true, everything done has the ultimate goal of making Estella fall in love with him. Great Expectations is undoubtedly an irrepressible enthusiasm for people and places, examples of rattling dialogue or gripping action are to be found on almost every page. It is weirdly eccentric, awesomely threatening and colourfully comic characters are plentiful.
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Monday Morning by Enya Tanti
Grown-ups never stop nagging about how they long to be young again. They seem to have forgotten the wild mood swings and our individual quests to find our true identity in this ever-changing world. Call me negative but I feel as if i want to just fast forward and lead what one would call a secure life. But in reality is age linked to that state of mind? As we're all unique one must not assume. So I might have to just accept the fact that this cycle of thoughts might be a crave that will never be satisfied... This is a clear example of a set of thoughts that flood my mind during a monotonous lesson. I foolishly feel satisfied by the fact that even though the teacher feels as if he is in complete control over the class, my imagination helps me create my own little world that is a key to help me bamboozle any authoritative figure. I slap myself and try to concentrate once again but this time my belly starts to grumble and i long for a double chocolate chipped cookie that could instantaneously melt and tingle on my tongue. I feel as if my face has been programmed to increase its red tint whilst i get embarrassed by the roars that emerge inharmoniously from my stomach.
Up This Month‌
My name gets called out, I walk straight up to Mr.Dorethy and hand over my homework. It's around seven pages long ... that should be a good enough deterrent. I sit down and stare at all the vulgar language that had been written on my desk. I cringe and grip my heart whilst seconds appear to be going by sluggishly. Two minutes left and I'll be free. I then realise that I should just be grateful and I should censor the number of movies I watch weekly as they seem to have embedded a melodramatic strand in my DNA. After all, just like Wendell Willkie once said: ''Education is the mother of Leadership''
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(The end of one amazing journey cont.) „SAC Fest‟ was also mentioned as one of the best experiences they had during these two years. People can take part as well as join Stage Crew in this activity. Stage crew is a totally different experience than that of Soiree and even those who weren‟t in stage crew during soiree can take part. They also highly encouraged all the first years to take part in SAC Fest as it‟s truly a once in a life time experience. Matthew Buhagiar and Julian Mizzi, who attended St. Aloysius‟ College Secondary school, said that they took part in it for 6 years and it was always a different yet unforgettable experience. These students also praised the college chaplaincy for its innovative ideas, as well as for all the help and good advice it has always given them. How did you feel when you first entered the college? Did you take long to get
used to the system of the school? They all said that they didn‟t find it hard to get used to everything. The way that all students helped and welcomed each other helped everyone feel at home easily. Even those who weren‟t at SAC before didn‟t take long to get used to everything at the college. Do you think that it will be difficult to adapt to the environment of university or of any other place that you are heading to? They all said that they will surely adapt to everything. They are positive that they are capable of facing new experiences and new challenges. However, they also claimed that they will miss this school and its environment.
Now that you’re leaving, what will you miss most from this school? All the students said that they will mostly miss the SAC spirit. It isn‟t just a school where you only go to learn, but it‟s also like a second family so much so that there‟s „the same beat of the heart‟. They also said that they will surely miss the cocurricular aspect of college. As already mentioned above, there are several memorable events that will surely be missed by all of them. The council was also praised by all of the students interviewed. They said that the council
became more innovative especially during this last year, as they have organized several new activities such as the Chinese night. The council was also given credit for all its hard work and for the fact that they always strive to listen to all the complaints.
THE VOICE | Issue 3 Because of this, the uppers all said that they were very sad to be reaching a conclusion to this amazing journey. Be it 7 years or 2 years, they were years that will remain in their hearts forever. What message do you want to pass on to all the first years, teachers and administration?
To all the teachers and administration, they insist that they should „keep doing what they do best‟. They also thank them for all the advice and help given throughout the years. To all of the first years, they highly encourage them to take part in all co-curricular activities without forgetting the academic aspect of school. If you‟re careful, you can find time for everything, and enjoy your stay
at college as well as being successful in school.
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We would like to wish THE VOICE | Issue 3
all our readers:
By Anthea Galea
This issue’s editor: Rachel Powell