The Stag Newsletter

stag@reddamhouse.com.au

EDITORSNOTE

Post-punk artists, skincare drama, Di’Stef advice and more!

Hello everyone, and welcome back to our (late)est edition of the Reddam Stag newspaper First, to address the elephant in the room, the other editors and I have had a huge assessment week, and have had to postpone this release for another cycle We know how desperately you wait to read the Stag, and we ’ re sorry for the delay Otherwise, look forward to a super exciting issue. Our year ten writers have worked hard to put together the best of stories, from the latest sports updates, interesting insights into local news, and an indepth interview with the incredible Miss Di’Stefano I hope you all enjoy!

- Hugo Bendeich Stag Editor

stag@reddamhouse.com.au

hugo.bendeich@reddamhouse.com.au

kayson hu@reddamhouse com au

Theatre

The Lehman Trilogy

The Lehman Trilogy is a stunning 3-act play that tells the story of three brothers arriving in America during the 1800s to start a simple business selling shirts Encompassing their expansion from a small shop in Alabama to a worldwide investment bank throughout three generations, this London National Theatre production is a must-see

Written by Stefano Massini, adapted by Ben Power and directed by Sam Mendes this masterpiece stars only three actors who play the variety of roles needed with quick, seamless transitions that make it seem like there is a cast of 20. A combination of changing facial expressions and body language as well as tweaking their costume allows these actors to develop distinct characters that are clearly identifiable to the audience.

Xavier Hanna

This dramatic choice allows the audience to develop a strong relationship with not only the characters but the actors as well

The stage is laid out with a rotating modern office with several packing boxes in the centre and a curved cinema screen, acting as a changing backdrop. For the first two acts, the modern office is an unrealistic representation of the set at face value However, through the actors’ masterful utilisation of Stanislavski’s techniques, aided by the changing backdrop, the viewers use their imagination to create a cinematic world that could engage even the most bored audience member Although, packing boxes seem like bland props, through the transformation of objects they significantly contribute to the audience's imaginative world and allow the actors to better explore the use of levels.

The audio in the play is equally as powerful as the visuals, with deafening gunshots marking the death of several characters. This deepens the dramatic mood amongst the audience and even jump-scares some. Furthermore, throughout the play, a live pianist underscores the performance which adds to the mood and guides the audience through the play

Playing until 24th March at the Theatre Royal, Sydney

Gen Alpha are stampeding for Drunk Elephant! Popculture

Maya Hatzvi

At some point in our short lives, I’m sure most of us have taken the token wander into Mecca or Sephora to use the samples liberally, discuss with friends why Sol De Janeiro 62 is SO much better than 71, and occasionally buy something. I’m also quite sure that we ’ ve been mildly horrified at the state of the Drunk Elephant skincare section in said stores.

Moisturiser piled high in lids, assaulting concoctions of D-Bronzi, all bundled up and offered up for 100s of dollars God only knows what bacteria has developed in the other drained samples, and the shelves behind them are cleared, or very close to being. In a plot twist, it isn’t acne-ridden teens or older people desperate to stave off aging abusing these products; it's the fresh-faced Gen Alpha!

Before I go on, I’d like to make a specific division Gen Alpha, those primarily responsible for wreaking this havoc, are those who are 14 and under. Sephora employees are fed up not only with the mess young girls are making, but the rudeness too One worker remembers a girl shoving a Rare Beauty highlighter in her face, demanding that she look for it in the back and throwing a tantrum when it was out of stock! Another kid reportedly stole a Drunk Elephant sunscreen from another customer’s basket when she wasn’t looking. When we asked a Sephora employee in Bondi Junction about the issue, she shared that there had been incidents of theft, and that the craze was undoubtedly fueled by social media, without any regard for the actual effect of these products.

Child influencers such as North West, Kim Kardashian’s daughter, and Penelope Disick, Kourtney’s daughter, are thought to be some of the people behind this new tween craze for highend skincare and makeup They’re regularly seen sharing their skincare routines, made up of thousands of dollars worth of products, particularly Drunk Elephant. And cue the Sephora madness

The Drunk Elephant Saga PopCulture

Maya Hatzvi

So why is this a problem? Employees and customers are frustrated, but there are real concerns for tweens’ skin, too.

Ingredients such as retinol, used to combat severe acne scarring and wrinkles, can severely damage and burn the skin if used too frequently and in too high a concentration, doing way more harm than good.

Also, have I mentioned the price?

Products from Drunk Elephant can run you anywhere from $31 (for a lip balm) to $230 (for a night serum). The constant hits on our FYP of tweens dousing their faces in these expensive products are both unhealthy for them and create the illusion that everyone can afford a 20step premium Sephora skincare routine (bragging rights included)

Additionally, the kids that survive on Nivea lip balm feel left out It’s either that or a very passionate, annoying parent pester scheme for that Sol De Janeiro Bum Bum Cream, because everyone else has it, and it’s only $82 for the full size.

Amid multiple calls for Sephora to ban people under ten from the store, it’s time for a significant attitude change If tenyear-olds desire the extensive and expensive skincare routines of adults, they should be able to act as adults in stores when purchasing them. That means no more skincare smoothies, or using credit cards as if they’re unlimited and throwing petulant tantrums when they don’t turn out to be Save skin, save money, and save the sanity of all make-up store employees and customers today

Football - Premier league Sport

Ashton Sacks, Jessica Zhu

Leicester City faces potential charges from the Premier League for allegedly breaching financial rules. Despite relegation, their financial accounts are under scrutiny, with concerns about potential breaches of profitability and sustainability rules The club is engaged in discussions with authorities to address these issues.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola expressed frustration with Premier League scheduling ahead of Champions League matches, citing the proximity of domestic games to European fixtures Despite winning their last-16 second leg against Copenhagen, Guardiola continued to criticise the scheduling, indicating that attempts to discuss it with the Premier League would likely be met with dismissal. Guardiola made significant lineup changes for the Copenhagen match but denied resting players for an upcoming Premier League showdown with Liverpool, emphasising the need for fresh legs City have reached the Champions League quarter-finals for the seventh consecutive season

Prediction for Upcoming Game (Liverpool vs Manchester City)

This is the biggest game and title decider of the season With an injured squad and the best goalkeeper in the world injured, Liverpool seems in a tough position. Even though City has only beaten Liverpool once in the last 10 years at Anfield, the Red’s chances are bleak even at home. The injury list drags on for Liverpool. However, there is one player who isn’t injured. His name is Darwin Nunez, and he is on fire, he is all we need.

“Darwizzy” smashed two bangers in the last Europa League game, and in my opinion, he will get at least 1 goal into the back of City’s net and win it for Liverpool. I love Darwin Nunez

Sport

Basketball

Patty Mills, an Australian basketball star, has reportedly signed with the Miami Heat for the remainder of the NBA season after being released by the Atlanta Hawks. This move resolves potential issues for the Australian national team ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics. Mills' signing with Miami comes after his departure from the Hawks last week. The deal allows him to be eligible for the postseason roster. Miami, currently seventh in the Eastern Conference, has a chance to advance further in the playoffs Mills, previously with the Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs, Brooklyn Nets, and Hawks, adds experience to the Heat lineup

F1 Updates

Red Bull's drivers took a 1-2 win in the first race of the season in Bahrain (Max Verstappen and Sergio (Checo) Perez respectively) Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc qualified for P2 but dropped to P4 in the race due to front brake locking issues. However, his teammate, Carlos Sainz Jr, finished with P3 despite qualifying for P4.

Tensions between both Visa Cash App RB drivers rise. The team gave commands for a driver swap with Daniel Ricciardo who had a tyre advantage late in the Bahrain race, but Yuki was extremely reluctant. This arguably cost the team a position as Ricciardo may have been able to overtake Magnussen in front On the cool-down lap, Tsunoda made an aggressive overtake on the Aussie driver, demonstrating his reluctance to allow Ricciardo through Ricciardo and Tsunoda finished the race in P13 and P14 respectively.

Ashton Sacks, Jessica Zhu

Curentaffairs Bianca Townsend

Whos got the power now?

2 weeks ago, Victoria was hit with mass blackouts directly caused by storm damage to power lines 30% of the state was completely dark, pushing electrical prices up to what is being called “ one of the largest outage events in the state’s history”

Despite this all dating back to early-mid February, Victoria and other states in Australia (less so in NSW) are stuck patiently waiting for a solution and more importantly, reliable power sources that will let people go about their daily lives

With weather disturbances and climate change becoming more and more obvious to us, we don’t want these blackouts to become prevalent That’s why Lily D’Ambrosio, Victoria’s energy minister, suggests we should move to an energy system that is reliable and better for our planet

The problem is people need power now. Changing to a power source that will have long-term benefits but short-

term chaos is not something that was going to be approved for a long time. When we transitioned to cars from horsecarts, there was a crossover period. We see the same thing happening for our energy sources now.

Ultimately, we want cleaner and renewable energy The Victorian government is in favour of using wind and solar power but claims that it isn’t currently enough to power the state.

Another option is nuclear energy, providing cheap electricity with no emissions We also have an abundance of uranium, which fuels nuclear energy sources But, if something goes wrong in a nuclear power plant, we may have another Chornobyl on our hands Radioactivity is something you don’t want to play with or mess up

Despite this, relying on coal-fired power plants just isn’t viable anymore. We know the long-term effects that burning fossil fuels has on the environment, and we can’t continue pursuing such a damaging option, power outages or not.

Thankfully, the state and federal governments have now recognized this significant problem and that long-term changes are ultimately going to be better for everybody. Hopefully, the future will encompass large-scale wind and solar energy systems, all powered by massive batteries not just across Victoria, but across Australia.

The loss of Sydney’s historic architecture CurrentAffairs

For nearly as long as it has existed, Sydney has been a place of architectural marvels. With stunning heritage sites, and groundbreaking innovation permanently on display in its iconic skyline But all of this has recently come under threat.

Since 2015, predatory developers have been campaigning to destroy Sydney's historic buildings to make way for new, hasty, cheaply built Mega-Apartments, ripping through cultural landmarks, under the guise of creating more affordable housing However, this is not the case As of January this year, more than 1,000 newly made buildings have been flagged as being at risk of collapsing, due to irreparable damage to their concrete bases, caused by lazy workmanship and cheap materials This isn’t a new phenomenon either - In 2019, cracks were discovered in the basement of the Mascot Towers, a fiasco that left residents homeless for over a year and a half.

This has left many Sydneysiders with one question: why is the government letting this happen? Developers are allowed to tear through Sydney's iconic architecture to create tasteless and shoddily built housing,

There is rarely anything that those who live around those buildings can do to stop it There is one major, and obvious

source of all of this destruction: greed. It’s no secret that the government is constantly looking for sources of money, even to the detriment of Sydney’s rich and extensive history. More and more developmental projects are going through, and any amount of research into these developers reveals their ties to the Australian government and their offshore allies It was not too long ago that the federal government made an under-thetable deal with the Far East Organization, a Singaporean real estate developer, selling them the General Post Office This puts a historic building, originally opened in 1874, at immense risk of being torn down Even more recently, a historic property, "Lang Syne” was purchased by the CEO of an advertising firm, David Droga. Despite heavy pushback from the community, this 100-year-old home was torn down

With more and more historic properties being ripped apart throughout Sydney, many have been asking themselves, will this ever end? While it’s very difficult to predict the outcome, with enough protest from the community, we can protect these historical artefacts While yes, it doesn’t always work, there are quite a few developmental projects that local communities have been able to overturn. Perhaps hope remains for these beautiful buildings that populate our rich and budding city

Advice from Ms Di’Stef TeacherInterview

What do you think of the new Year 10 cohort?

They're lovely, they are very enthusiastic They seem extraordinarily mature, especially because we've had some very immature year 10s. They seem very committed, conscientious and promising

Do you think we’re going to be one of the stronger groups in the HSC?

I think there’s lots of potential from what I’ve seen, they’re a very academic and keen group, they seem to be very serious but also very supportive of each other and friendly with each other

Would you mind telling us about your background and heritage?

I was born in Australia and my Mum and Dad came from Greece My dad arrived in 1955 and my mum arrived in 1958, and they got married in a church in Paddington They lived there when I was born, so I’ve lived within a 10km radius of Bondi my whole life!

Sarah and Maya

Do you have any siblings?

I have 1 younger sister, and she works at the Reddam campus in the infant school, so we trade Reddam stories She’s a year 2 teacher and I’m thrilled she works here because Redam does feel like family, and it’s a very lovely community It’s one of the nicest places I’ve taught at, and I’ve taught in lots of places over the years

In fact, I’ve just made a promise to my year 12s that we’ll all get matching tattoos if they all get band sixes! I walked into the staffroom and said “I think I’ve just made a deal with my Year 12’s that if they all get band sixes I’ll get a tattoo that says 2024, and I said to them that I wouldn’t mind thinking about it, but we all have to have one. ” I might end up with a row of years all down my arm if I’m not careful

Are there any special traditions in your family?

My husband has an Italian background and we have the Greek traditions of Easter and Christmas, plus the Italian version, because they're usually a week apart. When my parents were alive the traditions were much stronger and we always had lots of great lunches, dinners and gatherings When I was growing up there were also big traditions around baptisms and marriages We were always at somebody's house for a party, and our Greek tables were always groaning with food

TeacherInterview

The big one was Easter, and making the red eggs, playing the competition of cracking the eggs at midnight, seeing who gets the killer egg that doesn’t break, and all the beautiful, symbolic ceremonies around that Having an Easter lamb on a spit was also a big tradition, and my other favourite tradition that we continue more is the New Year tradition. I make a New Year Cake, and we put a coin in and then cut the cake up to see who gets good luck in the New Year I was told that my cake turned out very nicely last year! Since my mum passed away nearly 4 years ago, I’ve had to step up and I’ve gotten better at it every year, and my sister and I have competitions about whose cake is softer and sweeter. I’ve always been very close with the family we have here, where we continue these traditions, but a lot of my extended family is back in Greece.

What is a book you think everyone should read before they die and why?

There are lots of those I might be a bit predictable in choosing Victorian authors like Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte, but the era really resonates with me. Personally, I quite like the Victorian era because it was a time when social laws were changing, and human rights were coming to the forefront. I read Victorian literature at Uni and although Jane Austen is a bit before the Victorian era, I love Pride and Prejudice She was very ahead of her time, and people didn’t understand her

She wrote feminist-freedom novels and she taught me that women don’t have much power but they do have the power of ‘ no ’ because everything was determined by class and wealth, so it can be very oppressive if you don’t come from that background and back then your options would be very limited. All of Austen’s female protagonists were very strong women, they might not have had a strong social rank or power in that regard, but what she showed me was that power comes from within, it’s a character trait I think those are very important ideas to read about

If you were not an English teacher, what job would you have? Why?

Probably an archeologist. I just love my cultural background, ruins, and mythology. I love walking around ancient stones and touching them when I go to Europe. It is incredible to be touching 3000 years of humanity. I find it fascinating about how people used to live their lives The fact that people were able to build these structures with human power and mathematical formulas is amazing Humans have so much skill and creativity. The significance of human existence is encompassed in these ruins.

TeacherInterview

What is your favourite Shakespeare play?

Definitely Hamlet I think most English teachers will say that Hamlet is a very noble character, living in a world that is quite corrupt, he has a very heavy burden to right all the wrongs of his family and nation, and he knows he has to sacrifice his life to do it He has to question the value of his life and trust - there is no one in the play that he can trust, so he has to outwit everyone around him as well as have a philosophical exploration of what life means The language of the play is so beautiful. My favourite line is, “May flights of Angels sing thee to thy rest” and that is exactly how I feel about death.

Do you have any hobbies?

I like to knit, I go to trivia night, I like to travel, I love reading and visiting antique shops and buying all sorts of rubbish. I love trivia nights, but it gets very annoying when people cheat, I don’t cheat, I like to know that I did it myself

If you could have dinner with two people, dead or alive, who would they be and why?

I have a list of people for my imaginary dinner party I think I would have to pick, Paul Keating, The Queen, Margaret Atwood and Helen Mirren, as I think there would be very interesting conversations with all of them.

Do you have any advice for students struggling with English?

Firstly, you have to read If you don’t like reading novels, read magazines, but you have to adjust your mind to be able to cope with different words, develop comprehension, understand the way words flow, increase your vocabulary, develop things like prediction and be able to draw information out of a text. Many kids expect it to be very literal, but you have to learn to read between the lines Carry a journal, take it out on the bus and write down people's conversations It is called writing without fear. Whenever I am at a coffee shop, I take out my book, write the date, place and time and I write about the people walking into the coffee shop. People-watching and journal writing are the best ways to develop your skills without the fear of assessment That is the only way you can develop a love of language. There are so many things around us that go unnoticed. When you start observing things more closely, you become a deep thinker and a more empathetic human

Music

AIn Melbourne, Victoria, the all-female rock band MOD CON is using their music to shed light on social and political issues in Australia and worldwide The band is composed of guitarist and vocalist Erica Dunn (winner of Best Female Musician at the Music Victoria Awards 2019), bassist Sara Retallick and drummer Raquel Solier Dunn previously created music under the name ‘Palm Springs’, with a more pared-back alt-country feel. Releasing two albums titled ‘Modern Convenience’ and ‘Modern Condition’ in 2018 and 2021 respectively, MOD CON provides a post-punk feel that is uncommon nowadays in modern music However, their albums have a mix of styles within different songs, making each a unique experience from each other

Hallie Dwyer

Though not created to be ‘political’ or ‘left-wing’, MOD CON often discusses themes such as racism, homophobia, and climate change in Australia, prompting the audience to consider what they can do to help solve the societal issues many face.

It’s music to empower ordinary people to speak out about what matters most to them In an October 2021 interview with NME Australia, Erica Dunn says “In times like this, if you ’ re not talking about what’s true to you, or what’s going on with you, then what are you doing?” Off their 2021 album, ‘Ammo’ is an incredible Cranberries-esque song that criticises present-day societies for their constant fear, paranoia, and preparation for events such as World War III Other songs discuss political issues such as corruption within elected leaders and the darker aspects of human nature. While they have not released any new tracks since 2021, MOD CON recently supported American rockband ‘The Breeders’ during their tour of Australia, playing in Sydney’s Enmore Theatre as well as other venues across the country Their next and imminent performance is as part of a collaboration with other musical groups, a moving festival called ‘Cellophane Honeycomb’, which will be at the Metro Theater in Sydney on March 23rd, and venues in Melbourne and Brisbane