THE SUMMERINE
Emma Hinde, Form III
My childhood house 1: The living room Sometimes I think of how complicit we were as we made a fire in the chimney. In the beginning I looked at it from the corner of my eye, admiring. He was like an engineer, an artist. He knew perfectly well where every log I brought him had its place. I remember more precisely the day when I received a matchbox from my father with trembling hands. I took it reluctantly, terrified by the flames that were going to come out of that single, little match. Suddenly, I heard the familiar crackling of tongues of fire tickling the logs. For me, it was a feat that deserved a thousand rewards. I only received one kiss from my father and the daily responsibility for this thankless yet fascinating task. 2: The kitchen Every day I would snoop through the bin, looking for things to make handicrafts with. I could transform everything, every object metamorphosed: Rolls of toilet paper turned into pencil jars that my parents, to please me, were collecting; bottles of milk into piggy banks... everything took on a different form. I loved to create and imagine. I don't know if I had a real talent but I cut, glued, painted, drew, cut, transformed, nailed and modelled all the time. The kitchen turned into an artist's studio for an afternoon. I felt like Rodin or Picasso, especially when my mother came to be amazed at my prowess. 3: The office If you had listened then you would surely have heard both laughs and cries of anger burst out of this room. My sister and I, we had this trick of coming to play in my parents' office, which over time had also become our playroom. Our parents were amused by our imaginary games ‒ we were far from disturbing them. While sitting on all fours on the carpet or lying on our stomachs, zigzagging between their giant shoes, our world, populated by fairies and heroes, came to life. Their shoes were everything to us; one day, a pirate ship, another, the slide of a swimming pool.
4: My bedroom I remember the excitement and anxiety that we felt when we wanted to have “a sleepless night”. If, unfortunately, my mother came to say good evening, I used my fabulous acting skills to make her believe that I was falling asleep while my sister was hiding under my bed. Then, like secret agents, we would sneak along the corridors to look for some provisions for the night ‒ games, cakes and a few books. Equipped with our pocket lamps, we would walk up the stairs to my room. It was not an easy task because our staircase was as old as the world itself and it creaked under my feet. Once in my room, in absolute calm we built a cabin in which we would spend that fantastic night. Then we would play cards and the first few hours would pass quickly. Once the package of biscuits was finished, time was getting so long that every minute that passed seemed like an eternity. My sister and I promised to stay up all night. Despite our efforts, the sandman passed by and sleep took us into our dreams. 5: The verandah Overwhelmed with fatigue, I watched with my little child's eyes a show whose beauty I still remember. From the top of my stool I watched in amazement as the New Year's fireworks were displayed through the window of the verandah. Indeed, my house had a panoramic view of the Rhine valley. It was as if I was being cradled by the tempo of the fires, merging with a dance of colours that were ever more shiny. I could only hear this gentle rhythm mixed with the laughter of the adults and the tinkling of champagne glasses. 6: The garden At the beginning of winter we would get up in the morning and run to the window with the immense hope of finding the garden covered in a thick, white coat. I remember how we used to run down the stairs, put on our gloves and caps before rushing into the cold. We spent hours fighting snow battles and doing sleigh rides, even when my nose turned red and I couldn't even feel my hands. After using all the snow in the garden, we all went home, soaking wet, to have our promised hot chocolate. This is where the country mouse that I used to be learned how to always fall back on her paws. Douce D’Andlau
Nikolaus Wachs, Form V
Edna Johnston, Form III
Absolutely Nothing The walls are painted a nothing colour, with nothing hung on them. No marks, no scrapes, no hidden child-like scrawls, nothing I swear, nothing is on these walls. The bed is nothing, A sleepless den, the sheets unwrinkled, No stains upon them. Likewise the clock, Upon the wall, It ticks and turns, For no one at all. The window is open, And upon its sill, Sits song-less blackbirds, Grey and still. This poem is about nothing, And with pleasure I tell, This passage means absolutely nothing as well. Sinead Cleary
Into the Abyss The much-anticipated sequel to “Behind the Fridge” … He plummeted for about ten minutes along a dark, slimy, narrow, cold tube made of… flesh. It was made of living, breathing flesh, with the stench of rotting skin and bone! Every ten meters there were insets from which extended tiny red flora. They gave off a deep, eerie, blood-red glow. Suddenly, the passage cut off. He landed roughly in a pile of corpses, mucus and several long, slimy tentacles. He looked around, seeing that he was in a cavern ‒ the walls were a deep, creepy red. Wait, is that blood? The walls were covered in the blood of a thousand years, forming a sharp, hard shell on the smooth rocks and rotting wood. It was unbearably cold, he could feel his breath freezing in his throat. He saw platforms covered with the same material, upon which stood... Demons? But he had no time to ponder as, in that moment, the corpses’ eyes lit up with a deep, green glow and the tentacles shot out to him, entangling him while the corpses dragged him deeper, deeper into the Abyss. He appeared to be in a similar tube. Actually, it was a complete replica of the other one, except this one was unbearably hot. He could feel blisters forming all over his body, he having been there for only twelve seconds. Just as suddenly as the last time, the tunnel disappeared. He landed in a boiling cauldron. He tried to escape, only to find that he was too weak to stand up. Again he plummeted down another passage, yet here he was battered with blunt blows until the tunnel, again, vanished. He landed at the foot of an altar. An altar to the Queen of the Demons. He laid himself upon it and the Queen pitied him. She gave him life and the body of the ultimate warrior. A century later, he founded the Chaos. “They are the Adeptus Astrates, the Angels of Death. They are the Space Marines, and they shall know no fear…” Georgy Dementiev
Camila Garcia, Form V
Kate Higgins, Form II
Technology Technology is something that has been developing thoroughly for the past few decades. From the first man in the moon in the late 60’s to cancer treatment using radiation, technology has been a tool for human growth and development. In Ireland, it plays a great role in society. From better roads to public Wi-Fi, technology has been accepted by all sectors of the population and most think that it has more positive aspects than negative. However, technology causes far more problems than we think. The blindfold technology puts over people is very hard to see through and a lot of the crises we experience nowadays are due to that. Not only does technology and globalization cause economic issues like inflation but it also causes a lot of environmental harm, such as excessive waste on account of consumerism. In addition, society itself can be harmed by technology, as other countries can fall victim to cultural appropriation and forget their own celebrations and customs. Another area of technology ‒ communication ‒ can cause serious damage to face-to-face relationships and, especially with teenagers, it can cause addiction. Technology is not always helpful, despite what society thinks: Technology is actually fragmenting the world even more.
A lot of people claim that technology and new renewable energy sources are helping society to be more sustainable. The truth is that enough damage has been caused to the environment that there is no turning back. Consumerism, as a result of new technologies (especially plastics), has caused more waste in a few decades than the surplus produced by the human race. Mass production, a technology started by Henry Ford and adopted by most industries worldwide, causes massive amounts of pollution; not only air but also water and soil pollution. Every time I go to the beach I find glass bottles and plastic bags on the sand and every time I return, there is more and more garbage. This is not only an issue for human beings but also for marine animals and the ecosystem. The idea of using natural sources of energy like gas and water is well-thought but it is expensive for industries to implement and far more expensive to maintain. This is the only reason why they keep using harmful energy sources, causing more pollution. Think of Jack, a kid that lives near a river where all the toxic waste of his local factory is illegally being disposed. What would happen if he drank that water or if he bathed in it?
The factory’s technology is causing serious harm to the community and its surroundings. This could happen to you, too. Moreso than our surroundings, society itself is being affected in a much greater way. Nowadays, most products bought in Irish households are imported. Those waffles from Holland or that mac and cheese package from Tesco were once something that defined a country, to say it in some way. We can find anything ‒ anywhere, anytime ‒ and people are forgetting about their own cultures and taking traditions from other countries. I remember my mom telling me how hard it was for her to get a jar of Nutella in Mexico; whenever any of her friends or relatives went to Europe, she would beg them to buy her one and she would only eat it on special occasions. Today, no one knows that Nutella is a special Italian chocolate spread and, for example, in St. Columba’s, at least 6 jars of Nutella are eaten everyday. Do we want our children and our own generation to not be able to distinguish between one country and the other? Cultural appropriation is a problem that all countries face thanks to technology and there is nothing countries can do now because everything that goes into technology stays there forever. Take social media as an example. Social media is the cause of many issues in teenagers’ lives. First of all, social media is very time-consuming and people can actually develop an addiction to it. Before this technology, people didn’t have to worry about how many likes their picture got, how many followers or friends they had on their accounts or if they were left “on seen” or not; they didn’t have to worry about all the pointless drama that social media causes. The time all teenagers spend in front of their phone’s screen its really worrying, as they now spend more time indoors than outdoors or exercising, which has shaped this new generation’s lifestyle in the wrong way. It is worrying how a 3-year-old toddler knows how to unlock an iPad and at that age I was playing with puzzles or with dolls. No one can deny the fact that the way we live now is so much more unhealthy than 20 or 30 years ago and technology is a big factor in this statement. Yes, society is right about all the academic help technology gives us but the psychological problems it causes for teenagers outweigh these advantages. Many people experience depression or anxiety because of social media and its impact is more dangerous than we think. Including all the physical and psychological problems, social media also affects relationships in “real life”. Kids talking less with their parents, locked up in their rooms, pretending to be someone else or wishing to be somewhere else without realizing all they are missing out on ‒ and whose fault is it? It is not a who, it’s a what. Technology is not always helpful to humans or to the Earth. Humans tend to do good and innovative things but excess in anything is always harmful. Society is still going to consider the good side of technology but that is not where our attention should be. The real problem with technology is that people are so focused on its bright side that they forget what the use of technology really entails and the excessive waste it causes. What kind of future do we want for our children? A future where they can’t go swimming because of the poisonous chemicals in the ocean? Or one where they don’t remember their own traditions? Do we want a world where a like is more important than your parents? It is our choice whether to support it or not but, that said, the answer seems quite clear to me. Camila García Herrera Kaley Song, Form II
Book Recommendations
This is a gentle reminder to read over summer
Hi. Emma here. This is just a list of summer reading recommendations for books. There will be a great variety, so you’re sure to find something that you would like. And a quick warning; some are just weird. Others are very, very dark. And there are a couple of floaty ones. Lovey-dovey ones. Please don't get scared and stop reading now. I’ll begin with my favourites; the discworld series by Terry Pratchett. They are some of the weird ones, but almost all brilliant. Beginning with The Colour of Magic, this series spans across 41 books. I have read almost all of them. Don't start with the first one, though. It’s not one of his best. A great place to begin is Going Postal, which follows a criminal as he is put in charge of the Post Office. They are set on the Discworld; a flat planet that travels through space on the backs of four elephants, which in turn stand on a stellar turtle called the Great A’Tuin. Full cast of witches, wizards, dwarfs, trolls, some humans, a bloodthirsty box on legs and an orangutan as the librarian. They are very funny and sometimes even make you think. Another book by Pratchett, co-written with Neil Gaiman, is Good Omens. It has just been made into a TV show on amazon prime. Great book. Great show, too. Then there is The Alienist, written by Caleb Carr, which is a murder mystery that I should probably not recommend to anyone below the age of about 16. The main character is a criminal psychologist, which is why it has made this list. It is set at the end of the nineteenth century, at the very beginning of forensic science being used when fingerprinting was not yet accepted in court. The second book, The Angel of Darkness, was better in my opinion. But you kind of need to read the first one first. This one also has a tv show on netflix at the moment, but I definitely wouldn't recommend that. At the moment I am reading Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice, which I can hardly put down. It is much better than Dracula, I can tell you. That is definitely not on the list; my apologies if you actually enjoyed it. It is a vampire talking about his life and struggles in an interview with a boy. Equal parts gruesome and beautiful. There are some amazing descriptions and a great plot. It is an interesting way of writing.
As lighter reading, perhaps you would like some of the poetry stories; books written in verse. The Poet X, by Elizabeth Acevedo, made me cry in the lower argyle. It was beautiful. Another is The Weight of Water, by Sarah Crossan. They are both written from the perspective of teenage girls, and are really cleverly written. The story shines through. Thank you Hannah Swanepoel, a soon-to-be second year, who recommended them to me. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith is another that made me cry, and that I couldn’t put down. After finishing I wrote a note to myself; “Beautiful. I would say bittersweet, but it goes deeper than that. Cried. But some funny bits. Finished at midnight with torch.” Or should I not include that last bit? Never mind. There are others, such as The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, most stuff by Neil Gaiman, and the classics. Some of them, anyway. Most that I have read are pretty boring, but I have hope. Next year I’ll tell you if I have found any over summer. I’ll call it “Emma’s list of non-boring classic books.” If you know of any, please tell me. I’ll write your names down. Or is that bribery? Anyway, this is my list of summer reading recommendations. I hope you’ll give it a go. Happy reading and have a nice holiday. If you liked or didn’t like any of them, please tell me. And feel free to ask for more if you happen to see me in the library. Good luck to the new head editors for next year. Also, save the coral reefs, rainforests, and planet. Emma Hinde
Tania Stokes, Form V
Let’s Bring Back Star Trek N.B: It is not necessary to read everything in here. The best part of this article is the Star Trek ship models so just skip right over to those if you want. Also, I have Star Trek comics. Just come up to me and I can lend you some if you’re interested.
Star Trek is one of the largest and most developed of all franchises (unfortunately, it has recently lost some popularity). Before appearing on the big screen, Star Trek (like many other things) started as a comic book series. From 1969 to today, the beloved comic books and comic strips have been popular all over the world. Despite some of the worse entries in the series since, the 2017 Star Trek Discovery airing on Netflix was brilliant. I particularly liked the angle it took on the Klingon Empire, especially with the release of the “Star Trek Discovery: The Light of Kahless” comic book. The comic is written from the perspective of the Klingon Empire and gives us a background of their troubled history as well as explaining the start of the Klingon and Star Trek crew conflict (if you would like to borrow it just find me, I’d be happy to share it with you). The franchise has more than 22 ships just for the USS Enterprise. Then there are around 10 ships (each with hundreds of variations and models) made for either allies of enemies of the Enterprise. Sadly, I won’t be able to go through all of them but I think I will leave some for future Submarine issues. In this article I will discuss one of my top three Federation ships and also the Klingon ship (as I mentioned them before).
The USS Voyager (NCC-74656) which first appeared in 1995 and lasted for 172 episodes until 2001 is one of the most unique of Star Trek ships with an oval-shaped head design. The ship is part of the intrepid class, which means that the Voyager is not a heavy duty combat machine. It is easily maneuverable and great for deep space exploration. The Voyager has a length of 343 meters and a width of 116 meters. It can travel at a maximum warp speed of 9.975 and includes Phasers (laser pistols), Photon torpedoes (similar to phasers but were capable of warping and dealing with matter and antimatter), and a tricobalt device (rarely used explosive weapon). The ship is about the same size as the Starship Enterprise (the ship most associated with Star Trek) but with a different layout, as the main body was composed of an oval-shaped crew pad. The Voyager was commanded by Captain Kathryn Janeway and launched in stardate 2371. In the image you can see the different aspects to the ship.
The Klingon ship has had several designs throughout the years. In the Netflix Series it’s boarded by coffins of deceased Klingon. There are multiple Klingon ship designs and many variations of those. I will refer to the most famous design: The D7-2 class Klingon Battle Cruiser. At first glance it looks at a lot like a hammer. I suggest looking it up online as it is difficult to find the right blueprint images. It has one of the coolest designs with the command bridge located on a small sphere extended away from the main body of the ship. The ship is 228 meters long with a crew of 430 Klingon. The greatest advantage to the ship is that it is equipped with its own cloaking system/shield. This means it can become invisible. The cloaking system was developed from a form of stealth technology and used selective bending of light to render a starship or other object completely invisible to the electromagnetic spectrum. It was seen in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock when Captain Kirk and Sulu pointed out a blurred distortion on the horizon. The ship was also equipped with very powerful weapons, including photon torpedos, magnetic pulse generators and even disruptor cannons.
Hopefully this article was of interest to you. The franchise is truly wonderful and I would ask everyone who hasn't watched it or even heard of it to give it a chance. Star Trek is based on a group of scientists who travel to unknown worlds and constantly use their problem solving skills to avoid being sucked into black holes, save allies stranded in a world of infectious creatures and even detect clones on board the ship in order to save the real crew members and so on. For many, the series has inspired them to look beyond the horizon and it has also taught them how to nurture their creativity and imagination. I certainly can relate to those people. At the end of the day, I just want everyone to have a chance ‘to boldly go where no man has gone before’. Shannon Dent
Book Review ‒ The Alex Rider Series
Oh yeah did we mention about reading yet‒
The Alex Rider series is about a fourteen year old boy who works for MI6, the British secret intelligence service. His parents died in a plane crash when he was very young and he was cared for by his uncle who worked for MI6 and his housekeeper. Unbeknownst to Alex, his uncle was secretly training him to be a spy, teaching him karate, kitesurfing, surfing, swimming, skiing, how to drive and much more. Alex is short for his age but he’s well-built and has long, blonde hair. He is forced to become a spy when his uncle dies in a car crash. At his uncle’s funeral he meets the head of special operations who threatens to send Alex’s housekeeper back to America if he doesn’t work for them. My favorite book out of the series would probably be Scorpia (number 5). This is a book where Alex is tricked by a terrorist organisation (Scorpia) into believing that his parents were killed by MI6 so he sets out to try and get revenge and attempts to kill the deputy head of special operations. While training with Scorpia, he tries to learn about his dad who once trained with them, too. The reason I enjoy these books is because they are quite different from other children’s spy books. Unlike Cherub or Young Sherlock Holmes, Alex is forced to become a spy and he hates his job. If I were to suggest one improvement for this series it would be for Alex not to get captured in every single book but then again, I suppose that happens in all spy books! I also think they are very easy to read and it jumps into the action from about page 1. I would recommend Alex Rider for the reasons I mentioned in the last paragraph and, even if you aren't satisfied with this review and think it sounds boring, I can guarantee you if you try and read a few pages you'll get sucked in very quickly. Caleb Owen
Estelle Yu, Form V
Let me take you to a world of Criminal Psychology Most of us are familiar with TV shows like Criminal Minds, CSI, The Ted Bundy Tapes, Mind Hunter and many more. These are based on Criminal Psychology also called Criminological Psychology. So, what exactly is Criminal Psychology? It is the study of the mentality, the motivation, and the social behavior of criminals. It looks at what makes someone commit a crime, the reactions after the crime and also whether the offender is likely to commit a crime again which is called recidivism. People who study this are called Criminal psychologists. They are often called up as witnesses in court cases to help the jury understand the mind of the criminal. According to The Stimulating Human Psychology written by YaoYao, the brains of criminals are shaped differently and consists of less or more substances in the brain than non criminals’. I thought this was the only factor that differentiated “us” with “them” and “they” would have similar brain structures. But through more research I found out that every single criminal has a totally different reason. Which is why there are no common rules that can be used to all of the people, who are involved in crime itself (e.g. offender) or investigation process (e.g. witness). This is one of the reasons why criminal psychology is so interesting and so enjoyable. Criminological psychology is extremely important because it helps reduce the rate of crimes. This study mainly focuses on the offender. The primary job of a criminal psychologist is criminal profiling. This is an investigative strategy used by law enforcement agencies to identify likely suspects.Through this process, it provides the court with law enforcement with a psychological assessment of the suspect. It also helps with the interviewing process by supplying strategies and suggestions that can be used. The four main categories that a criminal psychologist will go through are clinical, experimental, actuarial and advisory. The first stage, clinical. Psychologists are involved in assessment of an individual to provide a clinical judgment. They can use assessment tools, interviews or psychometric tools. Psychometric tools are things such as, personality profiles, motivation questionnaires, and ability assessments. These tests try to provide objective data for otherwise subjective measurements and help other competitive organs determine how to process the individual in question. For example, it helps finding out whether he/she is capable to stand trial or whether the individual has a mental illness which means that he/she is unable to understand the proceedings. Poppy Somerville, Form III
Secondly, experimental. It can involve executing experimental tests for the purposes of illustrating a point or providing further information to courts. This may involve false memory, eyewitness credibility experiments and such. Eyewitness credibility is perhaps the oldest form of evidence and is typically given the most credibility in the courtroom other than a confession. For example, this way questions similar to “how likely would a witness see an object in 100 meters?” will be answered. Thirdly, actuarial. This involves the usage of statistics to inform a case. For example, a psychologist may be asked to provide probability of an event occurring. Therefore, the courts may ask how likely a person will reoffend, the risk of recidivism. And last but not least, advisory. At this part, psychologists may advise the police about how to proceed with the investigation. For example, advice about which is the best way to interview the individual or how an offender will act after committing the offence etc. Criminal Psychology is often linked with Forensic Psychology. This is another field of psychology dealing with the legal aspects of behavior and mental disorders. It’s an application of psychology to legal matters in a court of law. It deals with crime, law and the legal system. Sometimes the two terms, Criminal and Forensic Psychology are used interchangeably. Criminal Psychology shouldn’t stop from just finding out what goes on in the brains of the criminals before, during and after the crime scene. Through the information we need to be able to prevent and help the psychopaths from doing something terrible to the society. Criminal minds lack the ability to feel empathy, guilt or remorse. In scientific terms, their amygdala which is the part in the brain that enables humans to feel emotions, have a strikingly thin layer of cortex surrounding it which is why they cannot experience any compassion during their wrongdoing. They do not know what is right and wrong.
To make positive changes to the lacking of feeling emotions, there is no necessary need for direct surgery. It can be changed through social interventions. For instance, for children who tend not to follow their parents’ instructions, instead of punishing them for their bad behavior, programs that emphasize rewarding good behavior with positive reinforcement seem to work better. Criminals are usually created from a young age. It highly depends on the circumstances and environment a child was brought up in. What they experience during their childhood will most likely determine what kind of adult they grow up into. The presence of criminal psychologists and the fact that there are studies going on around it, really benefits our society in terms of preventing and reducing crimes. With their thorough research criminal psychologists will provide therapy and treatment to the offender or potential offender. This will give them enrich knowledge to help pick better yet smarter choices in their daily lives. In fact, psychology not only helps you understand the situations but also enables you to identify the problem causing roots for quick healing and helping people to improve the quality of their life. The study of Criminal Psychology isn’t as thrilling, exciting or scary as we see it portrayed on tv shows but it certainly is not boring. Working in this field you can see something new and different every day. As the main goal of this study is to reduce crime in general, I ardently hope that through the study of criminological psychology it would noticeably retard the cycle of crimes happening again and again. I hope the information we already have and the additional knowledge we’ll be collecting through further studies, the crime rate will remarkably reduce as well as the recidivism rate all around the world. Without these criminal/forensic psychologists it will be a real challenge figuring out the root of the problem. Songyon Oh
General Notes
Music Notes Noah Leach in Form V is back with another
fire track
which you can listen to in the online version of this magazine here. You can find the online Submarine through the college website!
Revision Notes Good luck making them
Editor’s Note
Edna Johnston, Form III
Another school year draws to a close.. I wish the best of luck to all those sitting exams at the moment, no matter whether you’re doing the leaving cert or your First Year internal exams ‒ it’s a stressful time for us all regardless. I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who contributed to this edition. The team and I thought it would be hard to scrounge so much as a single article from you seeing as proceedings get so busy at this time of year but you really surprised us!! As always, it’s great to see regular contributors. You guys are the future of this magazine and I hope to see more from you even after I stop being head editor (and thereby relinquish my right to shout at you about submissions in assembly). I’m passing on the role with great enthusiasm to Avi and Edna Johnston. They have been excellent sub editors and I know they’re gonna make a good team in the year ahead! Emma Hinde has joined us as a sub editor, too. With these three in charge, you can expect to see a dramatic increase in quality real soon. The future of this magazine is bright. I can resign in peace :’) Thank you all again!!!