The Dragon
Secondary Yearbook 2009 - 2010
SPONSORS We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the following sponsors, as without their generosity, this Yearbook would not be possible.
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Contents
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Year Summaries: Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11 Year 12
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Subjects: French Business Studies & Economics Art & Design Technology English & Drama Science Geography German Global Perspectives History ICT & Maths Psychology & Sociology Music PE
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The Library
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Organisations and Clubs: Football Warhammer Photography Guitar Duke of Edinburgh Award The School Council
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Events The Cake Sale Relais pour la vie The Carnival Movember Steel Pan Visit The School Disco The Tunnel Exhibition
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A Letter from the Yearbook Editors
This year, our school has chosen to have two Yearbooks, one for the Primary and one for the Secondary. The Secondary Yearbook consists of 50 pages of which include the staff in St George’s, all the years in Secondary and the trips they have been on, the different events that have happened within the year for instance cake sales, Merite Jeunesse, Relais pour la vie and the Carnival and Disco, and last of all a summary of all the subjects in Secondary and some of the work that has been produced by the pupils in those subjects. Unfortunately the Yearbook clashed with our AS exams so a student from Oxford, Ken Mawhinney, came to Luxembourg to help us develop the Yearbook in time. He has been a great help for this Yearbook, he organised and edited every page with photos and texts. This Yearbook has been a new experience for all of us because now we know how much organisation, thought, time and work it takes to include everything that has happened within the different years and the Secondary school itself and to produce a Yearbook to everyone’s satisfaction. We would like to thank many people for making this Yearbook perfect. Thank you Ken Mawhinney for all the help you gave us and for the time you put into editing everything. Thank you Frau Michlmayr for all the help, time and organisation you put into this Yearbook as well as your own subjects. Thank you to Emily Sanderson for taking many of the lovely photos featured in the Yearbook. Thank you to Mr Fossey. A big thanks to all the teachers for gathering the work from their pupils and for respecting the deadlines And finally a big thank you to the sponsors of this Yearbook.
We would have never been able to finish this Yearbook without all your help! Thank you so much!
Emily Ball and Samiha Hild (The Editors of the Secondary Yearbook)
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A Letter from The Ambassador British Embassy Luxembourg 5 boulevard Joseph II
14th May 2010
L – 1840 Luxembourg Telephone: (352) 22 98 64
Pupils & Teachers St George’s International School 11 rue des Peupliers L-2328 Luxembourg
To everyone at St George’s, I am honoured once again to be asked to write a foreword to St George’s yearbook. As always, it is a pleasure to do so and to take another opportunity to wish pupils, staff and parents the very best of luck for the coming year. Since my arrival in Luxembourg, St George’s has continued to grow, just like Topsy. I have been delighted to follow your successful transition from a school operating from container-style classrooms (and not very nice ones at that!) on three separate sites to state-of-the-art new premises which must be the envy of all of your peers. It has been even more exciting to follow and support your plans to expand even further in terms of both buildings and examinations offered. It is clear from my visits to St George’s that all of this has been achieved with the minimum of fuss and the maximum of efficiency. Most of the credit must go to those most directly involved in the running of the school and to the pupils themselves. But I should also like to take this opportunity to place on record my gratitude to the Luxembourg authorities for their support in these endeavours. You should all be very proud of your achievements. As always, everyone here at the British Embassy looks forward with pleasure to following the development of St George’s over the course of the next year. We offer you our very best wishes in everything you undertake.
Peter Bateman Peter Bateman British Ambassador to Luxembourg
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A letter from the Head Teacher of the Secondary School
It is a great honour to write a few words at the start of this wonderful tribute to all the hard work and effort that has gone on in the school over the past academic year. This has been a pivotal time for the secondary part of the school as we move towards a complete sixth form and are able to offer pupils an ever wider range of opportunities.
The new Lentz building has transformed the feel of the school. It provides an airy, calm environment in which to work and space to provide more amenities such as the new library, music suite and dedicated accommodation for our older students. It was humbling to see how the students and the staff adapted so calmly and positively to the move in the autumn term but also marked a true sense of a new beginning.
The Secondary school is an increasingly vibrant place to be. Pupils have benefitted from a wide range of curriculum related trips and have returned with renewed enthusiasm for their studies. Meanwhile the range of extra-curricular activities is steadily growing, and on the next few pages you will see evidence of everyone in our community making the most of the opportunities that are around them.
We are so fortunate to be in such a dynamic and international place as Luxembourg. For me, this country represents almost unlimited opportunities for young people to grow up in a safe yet stimulating environment. Being here allows our students to face the wider world with confidence and we pride ourselves at St George’s in providing the right balance of care and challenge to enable this to happen.
Nigel Fossey
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Staff The Teachers
Top Row: Mr John Teale, Ms Kimberley Constable, Mr Declan Keogh, Mrs Tomoyo Mawhinney Mr Cyril Thomas, Ms Sherryll Elliott, Mrs Birgit Meixner-Oakes, Mrs Brigitte Michlmayr Bottom Row: Mrs Anne Rue,
Mr Nigel Fossey
Mrs Caroline Thomas
Mr Paul Rhodes
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Mr Pete Heley, Ms Adrian Jellinghaus, Mrs Brenda Wilcock Ms Ramla Ali, Mrs Kasia Kraus, Mrs Christelle André-Bewig
Mrs Deborah Radcliffe
Mrs Marion Pearce
Mrs Peggy Teale
Mr Mourad Dahoumane
Mrs Kerry Tranter, Mrs Emmanuelle Kruten Mrs Fiona Ramage, Mrs Kate Greenwood
Staff
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—— YEAR 7 —— What 7CT thought of the year... “In year 7 I really liked the trip to Blankenberge because we had a fantastic time bowling and building a dam. I also really enjoyed the steel band that came here in May.” “In year 7 I enjoyed going on our trip to Blankenberge, we had lots of fun and we had a great time at the beach. The other thing I enjoyed was the assembly we had with the steel band. They played really well and I like how they told us how they made the drums. I also enjoyed playing the drums. We played the song ‘La Bamba’, it was lots of fun. I will always remember these times in year 7.” “My favourite thing that happened in year 7 was the trip. When we were away, my favourite thing was the bowling. There were bright lights in the counter, the table and on the bowling alley they were bright too. It was so cool!”
What 7PT thought of the year... “Here are some of the interesting things we did: in English we read ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and we learnt about poetry, in Maths we did algebra and mental methods and we learnt about acids and classification in Science. In ICT we learnt how to make macros and databases. Art was good because we did studies of different artists and different styles. We also had French and German lessons which were really fun. I learnt how to describe myself and to talk about where I live in German. We had PE once a week and I really liked it because we learnt how to play handball and we did a lot of team sports. I also loved Swimming, DT and Drama in each term. In DT we painted our rainforest picture and I loved working as a team.” “This school is a really great one because of how international it is. You get to meet so many different people that come from all over the world.” “Having a new building built was great too with lots of space in the classrooms. I am looking forward to the next year of secondary!”
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7CT
Class Photo
Mr Thomas (Teacher), Paul Bley, Ernesto Milanes, Emilie Moanda-Cox, Heinrich Blom, Patrick O’Callaghan, Wouter Morrema Paulina Gamero, Kristen Maswattie, Hannah Oaks, Femke Lamberts, Hannah Wilkinson, Kristian Oevreeide.
7PT
Class Photo
Mrs Teale (Teacher), Oliver Hartfree, Isabel Olufsen, Ida Van Beers, Gabriel Shaft, Victoria Leguide Nicole Cherniavsky, Sebastian Lorendsen, Gunther Read, Tom Zeimet, Patricia Peters Natalie Rohweder, Alana Dunn, Gus Murphy, Astrid Guth, Hélène Usher, Sophie Schatteman, Anna Bundgaard (bottom corner) 11
What the students thought of the trip to Blankenberge... “I enjoyed everything we did on the trip and I thought there was nothing bad. I especially enjoyed the day in Brugge and loved going to the beach so much. The place where we stayed was great and big too. We were really lucky because we got free ice-creams from the teachers because we all won a competition. I thought the bus drive was a bit long but it was worth it.” “The Reptile Zoo was fun and interesting because we got to hold some of the reptiles. We learnt about the history of Brugge; it was really informative, however we had to walk a lot but then we ate lunch and were allowed to buy chips. We also got to walk up the tower. Going up was easy but walking back down again was scary because there wasn’t anything to hold onto.” “The bedrooms were huge; one room with two beds and a TV and one room with 4 beds and a bathroom with a toilet and shower!” “The best activity must have been the bowling. It was so cool, it was like a nightclub!” “On the trip I liked the bowling and the shopping most because we had great fun and we were all chilled out! We were all grateful that we went on this trip. Thank you Mr Teale!”
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—— YEAR 8 —— What 8SE thought of the year... “In year 8 I liked that we had so many new teachers and many new good friends. I also liked all the new activities in P.E. from the start of this year.” “Playing bulldog at break with the year 8 girls and boys was epic! It made the day better.” “I have met new people and made new friends. I liked the residential trip because I tried new sports, but the best part was that I could play football most of the time.” “I enjoyed DT this year; I liked making and designing masks. I like expressing the way I feel in Art and I hope we carry on with more fun things next year.” “The trip was great. We got there, had a lovely walk and then came back and went kayaking. The next day, we did mountain biking. On the Wednesday we went canoeing for half an hour. On Thursday, we went sailing and rock climbing. Finally on Friday we went for another walk, came back and then got on the bus home.”
What 8RA thought of the year... “This year was fun because there were a lot of fun and cool things such as having a new building to explore.” “I liked the Frankenstein play because we got to write our own version, bring in props and it was really exciting at the dress rehearsals! All the Frankensteins looked really funny wearing face paint!” “On Miss Ali’s birthday we threw a surprise party for her in PSHE and we had lots of food, drinks and cake! It was really good fun! This year has been a very good year.” “The hike in Remich was cool but very tiring and the week in Lultzhausen was great, especially mountain biking where there were lots of funny moments!”
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8RA
Class Photo
Maria Popova, Gavin Jones, Isabel Oakes, Suzanne Robat, Bram Lamberts, Carlyle Laurent, Brandon Morton, Alexander Cramer, Mark Ellmer, Ms Ali (Teacher) Corinne Elliott, Sophia Miller, Sophie Vaughan, Adam Williams, Marie-Laure Goeres
8SE
Class Photo
Dana Konstain, Amy Louise O’Callaghan, Ben Crotty, Christopher Cramer Lydia Staplehurst, Georgia Patterson, Konstantinos Dardavillas, Jane Link, Angelo Manna Tadhg O’Dea, Rohan Trivedi, Puneet Vyas, Nicholas Huizinga, Ethan Invernizzi 14
The Year 8 Residential Trip One fair week in April, the Year 8’s began a journey to the Lultzhausen to participate in a range of activities and make some new friends. Many lessons were learnt: 1.
Do not go into a canoe with Monsieur Thomas! 2. Marie-Laure will fall into the water when sailing. 3. Kayaking is fun, but remember that you need to go back to where you started from. 4. When rock-climbing, pair two people of similar masses‌.or Dana goes flying! 5. Mountain-biking up a hill is not so easy. However, cycling into Miss Elliott (Sophia) or a tree (Puneet) is not so difficult. 6. Luxembourgish girls appear to like Irish boys. 7. Bram will not be beaten by anything, not even an inverted wall. 8. Mark straightened his hair. 9. The hot chocolate was free (sadly this was discovered on the last morning). 10. Who needs a T.V. in the common room, right?
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—— YEAR 9 —— What the students thought of the year... “One thing I will remember from St George’s School is the assembly where we had to perform a play and I was able to act as a talking tree. The second best thing was constructing OBT (our bird thing) in art with Sam, Brandon and Bradley. The story teller was quite good too. The walk we took with Mr Teale and Mr Thomas was very fun as well.” “I liked writing poems in English lessons. I found it fun. I also liked filming a story about internet safety, although it was quite embarrassing when all of the school saw it in assembly. I met a new friend and a lot of other interesting new people. I will always remember this year as the happiest year of my life!” “This year I’ve made a lot of friends, composed my first piece of music, helped create an assembly, improved my English and German and I’ve learnt a little French. I’ve learnt a lot and I want to continuously learn more.”
The Canach Walk
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Y9
Class Photo
Daniel Wilkinson, Jesse Samitas, Jakub Mlonka, Lasse Andresen, Samuel Mills (top corner) Jacob Samotik, Mr Keogh (Teacher), Zhen Jieh Lim, Brandon Kam-Cheong, Matteo Dorrell, Jorge Shaft, Kento Miyazaki Lucy Clarke, Elena Lukashik, Rebecca Tranter, Alexandra Ward, Philip Huizinga, Bradley Bartlett, Tristan Hearsey
Year 9 Science Trip In November, Year 9 pupils visited the Luxembourg Science Festival at the Abbaye de Neumünster and the Musee National d’Histoire Naturelle. They had the opportunity to make chemical molecules, e.g. water, using a balloon; and to learn about the science and history behind cryptography. The students practised their skills and wrote messages to each other in code. At the end we watched a play: ‘Bottled Suitcase Solutions’. Three brothers opened up a suitcase and used its contents to dabble in alchemy and explosions. Jakub even tried to buy some concoctions but was unsuccessful… the price was too high! They had more luck in the museum shop and bought lots of fossils. 17
—— YEAR 10 —— What the students thought of the year... “The London trip was probably the best bit of this year. It was really good fun and I found it was both interesting culturally and ethnically; visiting the Tate art galleries and the Globe theatre and seeing how London has become such an amazing cosmopolitan city. The best bit of the trip was probably when we visited the O2 Arena and the British Music Experience. In this exhibition we saw how music has developed in Britain over the years, which is more complex than I had originally thought and it was fascinating seeing the roots of music genres. The trip was really good and I would like to thank the teachers who took us and gave us enough freedom to really soak up the London experience.” “The trip to London was awesome and I had so much fun. We visited the Shakespeare Globe, went on the London Eye and walked across the Millennium Bridge. We also went shopping in Covent Garden, went to the Natural History Museum, visited art galleries and went to the O2 Arena. St George’s has progressed so much this year, bearing in mind I have been here for so long. The secondary students moved buildings because it was getting crowded so it is great that we now have our own building!”
Y10
Class Photo
Ray Mawhinney, Max Murphy, Aviv Pooth, James Dunn, Bart Morrema, Anastasia Konstain, Abel Lovasz (top corner) Mr Teale (Teacher), Sean Crotty, Nicholas Liebl, John Gamble, Max Chan, Peter Dorrell Girish Vyas, Emilie Burr, Gabrielle Jago, Michael Cheer, Paulina De Oliveira, Jack Williams
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Year 10 and 12 Trip to London
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—— YEAR 11 —— What the students thought of the year... “Year 11 is a little class with only 9 students; 3 girls and 6 boys. During the year, most of the French and German group went to a Luxembourgish girls only school in Ettelbrück where we practised our French and German skills. It was great fun meeting new people and seeing how a Luxembourgish school works. Two of the students received their bronze Merite Jeunesse awards. There has been a lot of stress and doubt about our exams this year. It has made some people work harder and focus more on school to get the grades they need in at least 5 IGCSE’s. Now all of Year 11 is looking forward to the end of exams. Then we can relax and enjoy our trip to Paris.” “This year has been an interesting school year so far. In 2009, we went on our school trip to Berlin which was a lot of fun. We also learnt a lot on the trip. This year has also been quite stressful, with mock IGCSE’s in January and our real IGCSE’s starting recently. Throughout the school year there have been new pupils arriving and leaving, so it has been fun meeting new classmates. Lessons have also been made interesting by doing things such as field-trips in Geography.” “Year 11 has been a really good year so far. The Berlin trip has been the highlight of the year since we went to Checkpoint Charlie, the Berlin Wall and many museums. We also took a boat trip down the river. In French we went to Ettelbrück to improve our French conversational skills. The Ettelbrück students then came to St George’s and ate pizza with us.”
Y11
Class Photo
Jonas Andresen (top left), Ryan Leblanc, Tom Usher, Karan Garg, Fraser Wilson, Yani Roegiers (top right) Mrs Kraus (Teacher), Ingrid Oevreeide, Gemma Tranter, Phillipa Cheesman, Bradley Pritchard 20
A Fond Farewell from Bradley Pritchard
I will be leaving St George’s at the end of the year with five years of fond memories. I will be sad to see the back of this school because it has given me so much in terms of friendship, confidence and a sense of belonging to a community. I’ve learnt how to cope with my disability better and better each year because the school has been considerate towards me. I have found it easier to accept myself because of the help and support I’ve received. Years ten and eleven have been my favourites because of the teachers, the Berlin trip and some unforgettable people. One that immediately springs to mind is Mr Johnson, who was always a great laugh and a teacher who went out of his way to help people. He was a very thoughtful person and always knew what to say. Over the years I have seen St. George’s undergo many changes from being in the portacabins with no disabled facilities, to slightly bigger portacabins that housed a disabled toilet. Now we come to the present day St. George’s, which has full disabled access complete with automatic doors, two lifts and 3 or more disabled toilets, along with a flat surface so that wheelchair users have easy access to the new building. Happy days! Sadly, it is time to move on and take that small step closer to my career. Although I will be gone from school, I am hopeful that I will not be forgotten. I will take all the lessons I have learnt at St. George’s and put them into practice in the next stage. I want to say thank you to everybody at St. George’s for believing in me and giving me confidence to move on. Thank you, and all the best for the future! 21
—— YEAR 12 —— Year 12 is great; We have a lot more freedom than in Year 11. For example, we are allowed to go out at lunch, come in late if we have no lessons in the morning and there is a common room where we can relax during our free time. There are 16 pupils in Year 12: 11 girls and 5 boys of many different nationalities; for instance English, Irish, Luxembourgish, Spanish, German, Malaysian, Scottish, and Welsh. The options for Year 12 are Psychology, Sociology, German, French, Maths, Biology, Chemistry, History, Geography, Art and Spanish. Right now we are all studying for our AS exams and next year we have our final exams. At the beginning, Year 12 was a small class but throughout the year, it has grown; pupils have come from all different schools like the European School, the Luxembourgish schools, and English schools. Our class ranges in age, from 16 to 22. During Year 12, we have all bonded, developed good relationships and helped each other out with work. We consider ourselves a little family now.
Y12
Flor Amores (top left), Charlotte Smithwhite, Samiha Hild, Olivia Turner, Yi Wen Lim, Olmo Sommer (top right) Charles Goodwyn, Samuel Curridor, Andrew Baenziger, Charles Goodhew, Billy Von Blumenthal, Ms Constable (Teacher) Emily Sanderson, Ellis Gray, Shaunette O’Brien, Emily Ball, Nicolle Skinner
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Y12 Hollenfels Trip
We have only been on one trip this year, our trip to Hollenfels which was interesting. It was a trip to bond since we were all new to this class and new to each other. We walked from Mersch to Hollenfels which took around 5 hours. Once we got to the castle in Hollenfels, we started our activities in the forest, which involved all of us trying to get into a tiny circle, tying ropes and learning how to be a group. After these activities, in the evening a man showed us the green house where all the fresh herbs were. After that, we got a good surprise; we all had to prepare a meal which included pumpkin soup, jacket potatoes with fresh herbs, summer squash with lemon juice, vegetable gratin, a carrot salad and as a desert, apple walnut cinnamon cake. During this trip we learnt about each other and got to know our tutor pretty well. It was a good experience for us!
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The Secondary School Dragon Picture Competition Runners-up
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FRENCH
The Nancy Trip On Thursday 11th June 2009, the French class of Mrs Andre Bewig (yrs 9, 10, 11), accompanied by Mrs Wilcock and Mylène Simon (from the University of Lyon) had the opportunity to enjoy a sunblessed day in Nancy in the Lorraine region. We were able to visit the historical centre which includes; the “Place Stanislas” and the surrounding monuments and buildings. We walked through the cobbled streets of the old town and admired the architecture and the sculptures of the buildings (the gargoyles of the “Musée Lorraine” greeted us with their funny looks!). We were engulfed by the medieval atmosphere of the cathedral and the rich carving and statues of the St Epvre church which left us with a strong wish to return at a later date (this very famous church was closed for restoration). Last but not least, the “Musée des Beaux-Arts”, a beautiful 18th century building, disclosed all its treasures to us explaining through the artefacts the meaning of art and beauty, from the Renaissance to the 20th century ( Perugino, Delacroix, Monet, Rodin, Friant, Gruber and Picasso). Our last stop in the museum was the magical world of crystal and glass in the Daum collection. Baccarat and Daum are both local representatives of this art form. A short visit to the bustling streets through contemporary Nancy brought a very successful and happy end to the day. We all left with the promise to return soon! Un grand merci à Mme Andre Bewig, Mme Wilcock, Mlle Simon et à Monsieur Fossey pour avoir fait en sorte que cette excursion soit possible.
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BUSINESS STUDIES & ECONOMICS Business Studies was a new subject for all the students that chose it as a year 10 option and they have had a very busy year. They have studied many topics including: why businesses exist at all, who owns and runs businesses, how do they finance their activities and all aspects of marketing. During the year they have made paper boxes, researched and presented reports on some of the largest companies in the world and prepared reports on their favourite products and brands. In the FTSE100 project each student chose 5 shares to invest in and at the end of three months everyone had made a profit and we all wished we had invested real money! Year 11 have also had a very busy year. They started off by studying financial information from cash flow to balance sheets and moved on to all aspects of people in business. It has been very rewarding to see all the students gaining in both knowledge and confidence throughout the year and they have shown a very mature attitude to their preparation for their IGCSEs.
First year studying Business and I have enjoyed it! I’ve learnt the definitions of a lot of business and economics keywords!
Comments from students
The teacher is really nice and funny and the subjects are good.
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Good and educational for future life!
The Best part was when we got to create surveys and ask teachers and students to fill them in.
ART & DESIGN TECHNOLOGY This year Key Stage 3 pupils have studied Fauve and Impressionist landscapes, Cubism still life, portraiture, sculpture and German Expressionism. They have studied the work of famous artists and based their own work on what they have learnt from them. For the spring term they worked in a series of panels and willow bird sculptures for the Rainforest exhibition in the Grund. IGCSE students have produced a variety of work as part of the IGCSE coursework. They have individually researched their projects and produced work in a range of media including painting, printmaking and textiles.
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ENGLISH & DRAMA It has been an exciting and challenging year in English. Year 7 read their first full Shakespeare play, ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and showed they could empathise with the two lead characters and discuss the issues of hate and love with maturity. They also created some very funny modern adaptations of the balcony scene. The year 8 drama presentation of Frankenstein to the whole school was a great success. Everyone worked really hard to bring the presentation together, whether they were in front of the audience or helping out with props and effects. Both Year 7and 8 entered poetry and short story competitions and their effort is very much appreciated. Year 9 had started to read more challenging novels this year. Their reading of H.G. Wells’ ‘Time Machine’ resulted in a drama presentation on times in history they would have liked to visit if they could time travel. Year 10 has had a good start to their IGCSEs. In particular, their insight into the poetry we’ve been studying has been original and thoughtful. Year 11 has worked very hard to amalgamate everything they’ve read and studied over the last two years in preparation for their exams. Their analysis and essay writing techniques have vastly improved. Year 12 had the pleasure of attending a live performance of Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’, a play we also studied. Overall, Y12 has had a good start to the A level course, with some very good presentations and analysis of texts during the year.
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ENGLISH & DRAMA Our Poem
What is Poetry?
It’s not the star it’s the shine Some of them sparkle in a line
Poetry is like something weird and Confusing but never mistaken, It is like a never waste of taste, Like as in every language is the same.
It’s not the fish it’s their glittery scales Watch the mermaid flicker her beautiful tail It’s not the princess it’s her dazzling gown It’s not the prince it’s his golden crown By Hannah and Kristen, Year 7
Poetry is something good for myself but also for others, Something that you can share, To which you can give care. By Wouter Morrema, Year 7
Home Home is pictures of memories on the wall Home is a place of comfort for all Home can weather any storm Home is cosy and warm They say you can’t buy a home They say that home is nothing if lived in alone They say memories aren’t for sale They say that in home we find comfort when we ail Home Home after Home Home yours
is in a child’s laughter is forever and forever forever has open doors is where you make it
By Corinne Elliott, Year 8
Home Someone asked me, what is you’re home? Is it in London, is it in Rome? Is it a castle, is it a house? Are there children, is there a spouse? Is it an Island on the sea? Is it a place where you are free? Is it agony, is it pain? Is it sunny, is there rain? Are you with people or are you alone? Is there a T.V, is there a phone? Do you dance and have fun all the time? Is it ugly or is it fine? I said, home is all those things and more, Home is the World, the Milky Way, the Universe. By Isabel Oakes, Year 8
My Riddle It’s not waste but the taste, Then the sweet will go to your waist. So now it goes to waste. All because of the sweet taste. What am I? By Patrick O’Callaghan, Year 7 Home I’m neither sure nor certain Of what the word home means, However different you are, However different your home is. One thing I am sure about, Part of the definition of the word home is that, It’s the place you love, You love and want to protect. Protect so it will always be there, Always be there for you to be safe. To be safe from all the dangers around you, Around you that you easily escape. Escape just by walking through a door, A door that leads to your home.
By Maria Popova, Year 8 29
SCIENCE Science at St George’s has had many highlights this year. Pupils have been heavily involved in developing their investigative skills and having opportunities including testing soil outside, growing plants, burning magnesium and squeaky pop tests! Pupils have been given the opportunities to learn the curriculum whilst developing their creative skills, thinking skills and practical skills. They have made leaflets, posters, travel brochures, games, presentations, written essays, argued their points in debates, critically analysed films and documentaries…,giving everyone the opportunity to shine. Pupil’s favourite moments: “Burning things, especially glucose” (remember…respiration is the most important equation EVER) “Dissecting hearts, lungs, frogs” “Reactions which make pretty colours” (Year 7’s!) “Anything involving acids” “Using plasticine to make cartoons of white blood cells eating microbes, or boats to show forces”
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SCIENCE
2009 saw the introduction of Biology and Chemistry AS level with our first intake of Year 12 students. A level Biology students this year have embarked upon the study of many fascinating aspects of the biological sciences. Subjects such as the structure of biological molecules, DNA replication and immunology have been covered on this fantastic journey to an understanding of the world around us. Students have been out on wilderness walks in the school surroundings gathering plant life for photosynthesis experiments and the collected gooey living tissues have been dissected in our never ending quest to acquire an understanding of living processes. Chemistry students have delved deeper into the atom and its properties, discovering what really goes on. From the theory of how much energy is required to remove an electron from the outermost shell (aka the first ionization energy) to the curly arrows showing innumerable reaction mechanisms– Chemistry has been a mole-led expedition of learning. Armed with new equipment, chemicals and readily available gas supply the pupils have put into practice their lab skills and seen Chemistry in action.
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GEOGRAPHY It has been an exciting and interesting year for Geography in the school, with the introduction of A Level at St George’s and a batch of new ‘Year 12s’. In addition, the subject has benefitted from new learning resources, including a wide variety of periodicals in the library and a fully automated weather station on the Lentz Building. As ever there have been some outstanding pieces of work produced by all year groups. Of particular note are the Year 7s follow up work to the Blankenberge residential, Year 8s volcano models and the Year 9 display regarding Global Warming. Year 10 have made a very encouraging start to their IGCSEs and Year 11 have completed theirs with an expectation of positive results. Finally, the Year 12 students have discovered that there’s certainly more to Geography than just maps!
Examples of work from Year 7
Examples of work from Year 9 32
GERMAN
This year in German was a premiere: we had our first A / AS class and the students worked hard on topics like Sport, the Environment, Tourism and German history after the 2nd World War. Also, Year 11, Year 10 and Year 9 students did a lot of preparation for their IGCSEs – we wish them all the best! One of the highlights of this year`s German classes was the exchange with students from the Ecole privÊe Sainte Anne in Ettelbruck. Our year 10 and 11 German and French classes had a great time welcoming the girls to our school and visiting their school before Christmas. At the moment our year 8 German classes are writing letters to Ettelbruck and are looking forward to meeting their new friends next year. Another exchange of letters has occurred throughout the whole year between the Year 7 beginners class and a school in Michaelbeuern, Austria.
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GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES The subject of Global Perspectives deals with a wide variety of world issues, and this year the students began by studying the 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre in New York. The work was based around a documentary filmed by the French brothers Jules and Gedeon Naudet, titled ‘9/11’. The film is an account of the terrible events of the day played out from the perspective of the Fire Department of New York. At the time of the attack the students were very young, so this was the first occasion they had to see a factually based representation of what happened. I was extremely impressed by the mature manner in which the students discussed the events, and they showed a great deal of humility when reflecting on the imagery they had been exposed to. The work they produced was of such a high calibre that I decided to use it for a display – which has attracted interest from both students and staff alike.
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By James, Year 10
HISTORY
In all year groups this year there has been a focus on active learning and independent study skills as well as historical knowledge. Some of the active learning activities that the students have taken part in include in year 7 a presentation on different styles of castles. The students learnt all about a particular type of castle and presented their finding to the rest of the class. Most students used PowerPoint to present their project however Natalie and Alana went the extra step and created models of their group’s castles. In Year 8 the students took part in a mock trial of Charles I, where they had to either defend the King and try and prevent his execution or condemn him and get him executed. Each student had to write and present their speech to the rest of the class who were acting as a jury. Year 9 started the year looking at the Industrial Revolution and as part of this the students had to create an invention that would be useful to the people of the modern world. They then took part in a ‘Dragons Den’ style presentation where they presented their invention and then the other students got to question them before voting on the best invention. In Key Stage 4 and 5 the students have been concentrating on examination technique but have taken the time to take part in some vigorous debates including ones on “Who was to blame for the Cold War?” and “How to deal with the Cuban missile crisis”. 35
ICT & MATHS Year 7, 8 and 9 have enjoyed using a variety of software to create different types of documents. 7CT produced a very colourful mosaic image using Excel. A big difference this year was to learn how to use a combination of two types of software to create one document. For example, 7PT class created an impressive frame by frame animation using paint and movie maker. Most of them managed to produce more than 100 frames for their animations. Year 8 and 9 created their own company logo using graphic software, and then produced a 3 page website using Expression Web. They learnt how to analyse, plan, develop, test and evaluate using the System Development Cycle. This year we ambitiously introduced Visual Basic Code to KS3 students and surprisingly some students managed to successfully complete the task of creating a game of ‘hangman’ using MS Excel. Year 11 have spent the year preparing for their IGCSE examinations but years 10 and 11 did get a chance to use some VB code in MS Excel. They worked on various projects e.g. writing a macro to create addition and multiplication tables in Excel. Some of their macros were capable of creating very big tables. Year 10 students spent some time working on using the marquee tag in html and created a website explaining how this works. This was a very busy year in the Maths Department. We had 10 students preparing for IGCSE exams and - for the first time - 3 students preparing for A level Maths exams. One of the highlights of the year was World Maths Day when the pupils of St Georges were among the 1,133,246 students from 56,082 schools in 235 countries who united to set a new world record by correctly answering 479,732,613 maths questions. Our students enjoyed competing in real time over the internet against fellow mathematicians from all over the world. Maths classes were timetabled in the ICT suite during the competition and the atmosphere in the room was electric. Some of our students were capable of answering up to 50 questions per minute... Can't wait for next year!!!
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PSYCHOLOGY & SOCIOLOGY In Sociology this year the students have been getting to grips with a totally new subject and way of learning. They have created posters about key sociologists and their theories as well as taking part in discussion surrounding some of the more controversial theories and ideas within sociology such as whether gender roles are natural or created by society.
“I love our lunches out here, but I always get the feeling that we’re being watched.”
“Something’s just not right—our air is clean, our water is pure, we all get plenty of exercise, everything we eat is organic and free-range, and yet nobody lives past thirty.”
“Boy, look at his personal space!”
Comments “Sociology is the from systematic study of society, students human dedicated to the
In Psychology this year the students have been looking at 20 different studies that have helped shape psychological thinking. To help them to get to grips with these studies the students have taken part in simplified versions of the studies such as looking at optical illusions to begin discussions about Derekowski’s study on pictorial perceptions. They have also taken part in many discussions regarding the ethics of controversial studies like Zimbardo’s prison experiment.
understandings of social interactionists as people form societies, groups and communities.”
“Karl Marx is officially Santa Claus”
“Sociology is all about discussions which often go off on interesting tangents”
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MUSIC This year the Music department has seen the Secondary students working on a variety of different projects ranging from the music of the Medieval period through Film music to the music of Japan. As always the students have been involved in composing, performing, listening to and understanding music from different periods of history and genres. Many students have taken the opportunity to learn to play a variety of different instruments and we have Violinists, Pianists, Clarinettists, Drummers and a multitude of Guitarists within the Secondary school. The instrumental teaching team has grown during the year and we now have teachers available for Flute A Bec, Flute Traversiere, Violin, Clarinet, Saxophone, Trumpet , Trombone, Euphonium, Tuba, Cello and possibly soon for Voice. Some of the highlights of the year include the IGCSE students forming a small band and providing the music for the Year 2 Christmas production as well as several Secondary musicians providing music for the St George’s Day tea party for several Ambassadors and other distinguished guests. Over the last year we have had a number of students come in to the school who are already fairly advanced players and we’re looking forward to eventually being able to start a Secondary Concert Band to extend our groups and activities as well as a school String group for the Violinists in school. There are also a group of students who have formed their own rock band and who meet regularly to practise their own particular style of music.
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PE The academic year began with all Secondary students being given a thorough workout on the running track at the Institut National des Sports. The cobwebs of summer were certainly blown away with a combination of extended periods of running and short distance sprinting. The students also participated in the long jump and relay racing. M. Thomas and Mr Teale were very impressed with how the fitness of the students quickly improved, and they are pleased to say this has been maintained throughout the year. One of the major developments in Secondary P.E. at St George’s this year has been the introduction of rugby. All year groups have participated, however the efforts of Year 8 were particularly impressive. With the assistance of members from the Rugby Club Luxembourg, students quickly realised that there is more to the game than running with a ball and knocking each other over. A further introduction to the curriculum were the walking expeditions, which took place around the locations of Remerschen, Esch-sur-Sßre and Canach. These walks gave the students a chance to get out into the scenic countryside of Luxembourg and experience distance walking. As the Secondary School develops we hope to be able to expose students to a greater range of sports and continue to expand upon the equipment we have for their use.
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The Secondary Library
When the new Secondary building opened in November our Secondary Library moved to its current location. After considerable investment in new resources the library now has over four thousand resources and six computers. Students can choose from fiction books by a wide range of authors. Our non-fiction section includes books about popular hobbies and books to support the Secondary curriculum. We have books to help with exam preparation and a popular cookery section. There is also a selection of DVDs and audio CDs. We subscribe to periodicals in several languages including The Economist, New Scientist, GĂŠo Ado, Deutsch Perfekt, National Geographic and The Week. Now that the library is open before school, at break and lunch time and after school, many students use its resources to help with homework.
This year the most popular fiction books are from The Saga of Darren Shan and include The Vampire’s Assistant and Cirque de Freak. The most popular non-fiction books are Get Cooking and The Second World War.
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FOOTBALL The Football club meets every Saturday morning for training and playing matches. It is organised by Mr Tranter.
WARHAMMER The Warhammer club meets each Wednesday. Students can construct and paint models and then play against one another.
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PHOTOGRAPHY The photography club ran every Monday and taught students how to take and edit photographs. Here are some fantastic examples!
GUITAR Rock and roll was born on the 4th July 1954. On this day a teenager called Elvis Presley wandered into Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee and recorded ‘That’s alright mama’. All he had was a love of music and boundless enthusiasm, and that’s all we need at Wednesday Guitar Club. I must admit I was a little daunted at the beginning. What could we do in half an hour that would challenge advanced players without alienating beginners? Well, the students themselves solved this dilemma “don’t talk – play”, is our motto. With Peter’s awesome technique, Gavin’s perfectionism, Philip’s rhythm chops, Beccy, Ethan, and Nicole’s chord work, the sky is the limit! I learn as much from the students as they do from me, and we are having a great time.
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DUKE OF EDINBURGH The 2009/2010 school year has been an exciting time for the Merite Jeunesse as we attained our first Bronze awards for St Georges School. Well done to Ingrid Oevreeide and Karan Garg who were presented their awards in February 2010. Aviv Pooth and Tom Usher also completed the expeditions for the Bronze Award. Ingrid and Karan now move onto their Silver Award. We also welcome to the award Lucy Clarke, Zhen Jieh Lim, Daniel Wilkinson and Kuba Mlonka. The new Merite students made a flying start in April 2010 with a training day and Bronze practice expedition in the Beaufort to Echternach area, an area that they were sure had more hills going up than down! The expedition was a great success and all the participants learnt a lot about themselves and each other. Both the Silver and Bronze groups are now planning an expedition in June to walk in Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg which should be a very enjoyable, interesting and challenging experience.
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THE SCHOOL COUNCIL
We can look back on a very successful year of the School Council: Cake sales, Discos, Dress up day – throughout the whole year the students organized events to help raise money for charity! We are very proud that we can sponsor a student in Tanzania and help “Care Luxembourg” with their difficult work around the globe. At this year's “Relais pour la vie”, the students of St George's had a classic team! This event took place in March this year and 16 students joined to raise money for cancer relief. During our meetings we had a lot of discussions about the students’ questions. Meetings with Mr. Fossey were organised to discuss arising matters - which hopefully made life easier for all the students! Thanks to Alana, Heinrich, Suzanne, Ben, Becky, Jorge, Emilie, James, Ingrid, Ryan – and a special “Thank You” to Billy and Nicolle for all the effort they put into organizing the school disco and cake sales!
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Cake Sale
Relais pour la vie
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This year the students enjoyed The Carnival
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Movember! Most of the male teachers grew facial hair this year for Movember. They decided to put down their razors for one month (November) and help raise awareness and funds for men’s health – specifically prostate cancer. What many people don’t appreciate is that one man dies every hour of prostate cancer in the UK, more than 35,000 men will be diagnosed this year, Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK. Facts like these convinced them to get involved and with the support of parents, friends and understanding partners they managed to raise 832,47€. Well done!
Steel Pan Visit The students got to watch a steel pan performance this year as well as trying to play the steel pans themselves!
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The long awaited School Disco was a big success!
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The Tunnel Exhibition At St. George’s International school we encourage our pupils to think about global issues and how what we do affects the planet. With this in mind we chose the theme of the Rainforests for our exhibition. In the secondary school, the students have undertaken this project during their art lessons and have learnt about composition, colour mixing, tone and application of paint. They have developed drawing and painting skills as the canvases have progressed. They have used the internet to research painters and find relevant materials to reproduce. Students have also had to learn to work together as a team, respecting each other’s ideas and encouraging each other’s artistic potential. This has been a large school wide project which brings the whole international school community together in a shared view of the art and the future of the Rainforests.
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Autographs
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