Issue 48

Editor in Chief Johanna Ohlsson Graphic Editor Christine Geiger Editors Meghana Mortier, Jocelyn Kwan, Aidan Kirby

December 12, 2014 Issue 48

Frogs Take the Piste Christian McNally had the last laugh

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uisque la pièce des grenouilles cette année fut la dixième et la dernière, la communauté d’ISL avait des expectations très élevées. Il est forte claire que ‘Vacances de neige’ a sûrement dépassé nos attentes, avec ses blagues incessantes et les acteurs formidables, ainsi que sa musique extraordinaire. Cette pièce inoubliable raconte une histoire d’un groupe de touristes parisiens qui vont en Suisse en cherche des vacances dans la neige, d’où provient le nom de la pièce. Ces touristes, complètement inconscients de l’environnement et de la beauté dans laquelle ils se retrouvent : la Suisse, sont la source principale de l’hilarité grâce à leurs disputes entre eux et avec les locaux. En fait, c’est à cause de leurs mépris pour ce pays ainsi que son peuple qui est la cause de leur chute.

La moitié du groupe se fait empoisonnée par des locaux remplit de rage dans un chalet et l’autre moitié fut capturé dans un piège orchestré par une famille italienne et un boucher suisse.

La scène dépeignant leur capture est accompagnée par la musique sinistre, jouée sur scène par Jim avec son violon. Cette même scène fut la scène la plus intense de la pièce qui a laissé les spectateurs rongeant leurs ongles. Le public réalise à la fin que quasiment tous les personnages : les italiens, la réceptionniste, le boucher et les locaux ont été complices dans ce crime contre les Français. Cependant, tout n’est pas perdu pour nos touristes ignorants car, jusqu’au dernière moment, au moment climax, les flics arrivent sur scène

pour sauver les vies pitoyables de nos touristes. Les raisons principales pour cet attenta sont : premièrement pour s’en débarrasser de ses touristes insupportables et deuxièmement pour en faire des cervelas de leurs corps. Cette première raison est due à la xénophobie qui prédomine dans cette société majoritairement conservative et isolée.

Cette pièce est largement vue comme une représentation de la situation politique contemporaine des villages isolés dans l’alpine suisse. De plus, elle incorpore les relations conflictuelles entre l’agriculteur suisse stéréotypé et les touristes ignorants qui s’en fout totalement de la culture de la région.

La comédie présente dans la pièce se construit principalement sur les doubles entends sexuelles ainsi que l’ironie dramatique. La scène, dans laquelle Marius donne un coup de téléphone à sa femme Martine, incarne cette ironie dramatique. L’humour provient du fait que ces deux ‘aimants’ se trompent l’un et l’autre. En outre ces deux personnes entendent des sons au fond, et par conséquent ils soupçonnent l’autre de l’avoir trompé.

Les acturs ont été fantastiques tout au long de la pièce, même si le français n’était pas la langue maternelle de certains d’entre eux. Mr. Alexander, par exemple, qui est professeur d’anglais, nous a surpris tous lorsqu’il a délivré ses paroles avec un accent pas mal et une voix forte de passion. Ses expressions visuelles de colère et de la folie ont accompagné parfaitement ses paroles dingues. Par ailleurs, Maria, la reine d’expression faciale nous a tous fait rire. Eliot a montré son engagement dans la pièce en rasant le haut de son crâne de sorte que l’on a pu recon-

naitre Jean Claude Dus sans difficulté.

Cependant, il a dû porter un chapeau toute la journée suivant la première représentation. Henry, avec son personnage de dragueur ne lésinait pas sur les mouvements ridicules, rendant certains passages particulièrement comiques. Monsieur Fazan a joué un rôle dans sa propre pièce car il a apparût à la fin comme un agent de police.

J’ai demandé pleines de spectateurs ainsi que des acteurs de leurs opinions sur cette pièce géniale et toutes les réponses ont été à la fois comiques à la fois positifs. Sophia dit que cette pièce est « un classique qui est adapté à la façon Fazan qui fait rire à tout le monde. » Henry affirme que « la pièce française est une institution à la vie ».

Une actrice qui préférerai restée anonyme m’a dit que son personnage « ne comprend pas l’ettiquette sociale et qu’il est trop exagéré. Il est dans une relation qui lui rend plus exotique. » Cette exagération est typiquement le style Fazan, corroboré par le directeur lui-même en disant que sa propre pièce est « vraiment idiote et savoureuse qui résume un peu le style Fazan : des claques, des bananes, de la folie, beaucoup d’énergie (trop) ! Un zeste de scandale ! » ‘Vacances de neige’ fut surtout une pièce rigolote, extraordinaire, intelligente et très bien faite. La collaboration entre les acteurs et aussi avec Monsieur Fazan est cause du succès de cette pièce phénoménale. Finalement on peut remercier les musiciens qui nous ont permis de nous mettre encore plus dans l’ambiance et grâce à qui la chanson phare du film des Bronzés est restée dans nos têtes toute la soirée.

2

We Always Have Paris Victoria Karl reports from the annual MUN conference.

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t’s that time of year again! And no, I am not talking about Christmas, but, the annual trip to Paris with the MUN club. Basically, each person must represent a certain country and debate various topics while staying consistent with the beliefs and views that their country has. Each year there are nine different committees, each discussing between one or two topics. This year, ISL represented France and Tanzania in the ECOSOC committee, Human Rights Panel, Special Conference, WHO, Political Committee, Environmental Committee and the Disarmament Committee.

We left on Thursday as a group and took a train to Paris where we spent the rest of the day walking around the busy city and eating dinner at a small restaurant.. We had an early start the

next day as we had to be at the official UNESCO building by 9:00 in the morning, sharing it with the hard-working politicians that actually work there. We attended the Opening Ceremony for an hour until we broke up into our various committees. The conference always starts off with a roll call (this can take a while because some committees contain over 150 different countries) and then we are allowed fifteen minutes of caucus time. Caucus time is time that the delegates are allocated to write clauses, or ideas, about how to solve the problem at hand. Signatures are required to pass a clause and then the debating can begin. These discussions can take many hours, however, since we are only the Model United Nations we have to shorten the time. These debates continued for two days and on the last day (Sunday) we took part in the General Assembly.

which, this year, was on the topic of indigenous tribes. At the closing ceremony, one of our very own ISL students was awarded the ‘Best Delegate Award’: Stijn Braunius (Y12)!

All in all, this was a great four-day trip where we were able to make new friends in different years and from 65 other schools. It was also a great experience to sit where the professionals sit, debate, solve and implement real issues and policies. We really had a great time!

This assembly is held in a big room because all the participants of PAMUN are seated there to debate a resolution

Are All Traditions Equal?

Shivani Patel ponders the cultural diversity at ISL.

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hristmas is just around the corner but have you ever stopped to wonder why ISL selects the celebrations that should be celebrated.

From Sancta Lucia, celebrating the sacrifice made by St. Lucia to the day of the dead celebrating those who have departed ISL can be seen to celebrate a variety of traditions but is this really true?

The start of the year began with an understated celebration of the Canadian Thanksgiving on October 13th with a thanksgiving lunch, organised by the few Canadian parents in the school.

This then was followed by the day of the dead and Halloween on October 31st, with a shrine set up by the entrance of the school by the Mexican parents. In the primary school, a Halloween party was put on, where the children could enjoy trick or treating and other activities. American thanksgiving was also celebrated this year, with turkey served

at lunch and the PTA serving dessert.

This was all followed by Christmas, which most homerooms are celebrating by participating in secret Santa. On the 11th December, Sancta Lucia was also celebrated by the Scandinavian families by taking part in the “Luciatåg” and baking “lussekatter”. Later in the year Easter will also be celebrated not only at school but also, just like Christmas, a chance to celebrate with family during the holidays.

ISL prides itself on representing over fifty nationalities yet all of the traditions celebrated as ISL are from the western world. What about celebrating Diwali, Chinese New Year, Ramadan or Hanukkah. More than ten percent of the school is not from the west and for some reason, just because they are in the minority, they do not seem to be represented. Diwali, the Hindu festival of light, occurs around October or November depending on the moon, has not currently been celebrated at ISL but there is no reason why it shouldn’t be.

There could be a firework display for families to attend just like would hap-

pen in India. Another celebration that could easily be celebrated is Chinese New Year in February. Students could put on displays including people dressing up as dragons or making lanterns.

ISL should not try and cram everything into an already jam packed year,but celebrating cultures that are not our own would not only help us be culturally diverse but also enhance our understanding of cultures that do not attend ISL.

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A Particularly Charming Trip Wouter van Ingen is charged and accelerated.

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am and your hand can’t make it to the alarm clock before the voices in your head start telling you it’s too early, too dark and too cold to get out of bed. Aching muscles lie still in rebellion pretending not to hear your brain commanding them to move.

A legion of voices are giving you permission to hit the snooze button and go back to dream land.

But you didn’t ask their opinion.

The voice you chose to listen to is one of defiance. A voice that says there was a reason why you set that alarm in the

first place. Then you remember that today you will come face to face with the biggest experiment of modern science.

On the 27th of November, the year 13 physicists went on a pilgrimage to France in order to worship the temple of modern physics; the Large Hydron Collider or better known as Cern. This trip acted as an extension to the Nuclear Physcis topic of the IB physics course and the presentation of Dr. Mickensey who works at Cern and visited ISL a few weeks ago. We would learn all about the discovery of the Higgs Boson and about the incredible mechanics of the 4.6 billion dollar Large Hydron Collider. We left ISL at 7:15 and took a large bus to the complex which is split in between France and Switzerland.

However, it seemed that not all of us had the physical conviction to wake up early that day and this resulted in Sami missing the bus.

After arriving at the Cern complex, we were reunited with Sami who had been driven all the way by his parents.

We were given a brief presentation by one of the physicists that gave us a brief overview about the discovery of the Higgs. After a lot of mind boggling words that seemed Chinese to me, I was finally able to understand that the Higgs particle gives mass to all the matter in the universe. Now it was time to come face to face with the machine that had made this monumental discovery possible.

Our tour guide made us put hard hats on, and we proceeded to walk through security doors that came straight out of a sci-fi movie. Naturally, these doors

were only accessible by the tour guide undergoing an iris scan. I mean it is not like this machine is capable of producing micro black holes and smashing protons together at 99% of the speed of light, right? We descended 100 meters by lift and when the doors opened, we were welcomed by a monstrosity of a machine; the ALICE detector.

This machine would detect and collect data about the resultant particles emitted after the protons have collided. Its sheer size and the amount of pipes and cables that was perturbing from it like an angered porcupine reminded us how smart people are and how basic our HL Physics unit is within the real life perspective.

Near the end of the tour, we got the treat of visiting the collision chamber. It was situated in an immense hall and it consisted of millions of cables and hundreds of metal structures. No student’s camera could fully capture the sheer size of the machine; however Owen Constantine was able to get close enough to the reality with his picture below.

As a satisfying end to our trip, we made a quick visit to the Cern Cafeteria. We were able to choose from a large variety of food that has been unheard of within the ISL cafeteria. There were Higgs Boson Burgers and the renowned Cern Particle pizza. They were delicious and after our meal we went straight on the bus back to ISL. It was a wonderful trip and the ISL physicists were given the opportunity to discover the epicentre of modern science discoveries.

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Can’t Cure Ebola with Band Aid Johanna Ohlsson doesn’t know it’s Christmas

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es, once again, the Westerners are trying to save Africa with a song. At first glance, it may seem like a good thing. Heck, when is fundraising ever a bad thing? The issue here is obviously not that Bob Geldof is raising money for a good cause; it´s the way in which he and other Westerners are trying to “save Africa”. This phenomenon has been named the “white saviour complex” and is making many Africans frustrated.

For those of you who are not aware with Bob Geldof´s passion for saving the world through a song, it all began in 1984 when he wrote a song called “Do they know it´s Christmastime?” in order to raise money to help victims of the Ethiopian famine. Although Sir Bob certainly had the best intentions, this version of the song was even worse in terms of lyrics than the newer version. A few of the very worst lyrics have been replaced by (slightly) more politically correct ones. For instance, the infamous “Well tonight thank God it’s them instead of you” now reads “well tonight we’re reaching out and touching you”.

Despite the fact that the lyrics have been slightly altered, they are still highly problematic. They are patronising and ever so slightly racist. Furthermore, it seems as if Sir Bob is somewhat in need of a geography lesson, as he constantly portrays Africa as a country rather than a vast continent consisting of over 50 countries. Although the lyrics have been altered to say “West Africa” rather than Africa, Bob Geldof still does not seem to understand that far from all of West Africa is stricken with the Ebola crisis. Although Geldof has managed to separate West Africa from Africa, as West Africa is the only part of Africa affected by Ebola, massive generalisations are still one of the major problems facing the song. For example, the song states that there will be “no peace and joy this Christmas in West Africa - the only hope they’ll have is being alive”.

Even if you look past the terrible lyrics, the song sucks. The tune is moderately catchy but it’s rather boring and dull.

Although it does feature One Direction and Ed Sheeran, to be honest, the line-up for this version of the song isn’t

great- it includes “stars” like YouTube vlogger Zoella and Olly Murs (some guy who lost the X-Factor once).

As anyone who has studied IB development economics would know, aid is not always the best way to encourage development. In fact, there are a large variety of problems. Trade and FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) are often far better ways of developing countries than merely handing out charity donations. That´s not to say that BandAid´s donations are not welcome- they´re just as welcome as anyone else´s donations. However, the extremely negative way in which Bob Geldof is portraying Africa is encouraging donations rather than investment. Rather than portraying African countries as the resource-rich and rapidly growing economies that they in many cases are, the countries are being portrayed as nothing but misery and death.

Sir Bob Geldof has not been happy with all the criticism he has been receiving for his latest hit- in fact has only two words for them: “F*** off”. This rather immature response was specifically directed at William Pooley, a British nurse who contracted Ebola whilst treating patients in Sierra Leone, who described Geldof´s song as “cringe worthy”.

It actually seems that Geldof himself is in fact aware that the song is somewhat sketchy, as he in fact said: “It really doesn’t matter if you don’t like this song.

It really doesn’t matter if you don’t like the artists, it really doesn’t matter if it turns out to be a lousy recording - what you have to do is buy this thing.”

Finally, it can be quite certain that the majority of Africans do in fact know what it is Christmas and do not need Geldof and his gang to “let them know its Christmastime”.

uNewspaper: The High goes live

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he High has contemplated the idea of being both on paper and online for some time now, and it is through uNewspaper that this thought might be one step closer to being realised. uNewspaper is the product of Thomas Murphy’s Personal Project, and is essentially an online portal for anything of the written kind. uNewspaper, being purely online, offers its readers a continuous inventory of articles which are published through a submission process. Anyone may contribute to this site by submitting their writing and then waiting for its approval for upload.

Thomas states that “there is no exhaustive list of subjects because uNewspaper is not about boundaries”, and contributions are welcomed from a range of fields, from education to cooking to creative writing. Targeted mainly at years 11, 12 and 13, uNewspaper will be seeing much of their writing in the future, alongside digital versions of articles as seen in The High.

Thomas also mentions “the deadlines for completion of the personal project” are fast approaching, and so, initial submissions “would be gratefully received on or before Friday, 12th of December, 2014”. Yet it would certainly be great to see more submissions after this date.

The High and Newspaper will now be collaborating more often, to bring more news your way.

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Kreeks Crowned Chloe Rodriguez is not in the band

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SL held it’s annual Battle of the Bands last Thursday featuring The Unknown, Second Glory, and Mark and Jonathan from Haut Lac, local ISL bands Broken Bones and Feet to Fall Upon, and the Kreeks coming all the way from Nyon. The competition was hosted by Felipe Bris and the prestigious panel of judges consisted of Mr. Fazan, Ms. Brown, Alice Jeavons, and Mr. Hunter. The event kicked off with a wide array of snacks (hot dogs, sodas, candy bars, and a tasteful selection of leftover desserts from the Thanksgiving lunch earlier that day). All the proceeds from the sale went to the WHO global interactive initiative for polio eradication. Felipe then started the show itself, presenting the first act, along with the rest of the evening´s acts with a mixture of good and bad puns.

The performances themselves were great, and the bands all showed a lot promise. That night, we saw a lot of excellent original compositions, and exceptional covers of songs such as Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky”, Imagine Dragons “Demons”, some songs from some indie band I’m not cool enough to know, and of course, “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” by Greenday. The

music performed that night was incredibly diverse, ranging from upbeat indie rock, to depressed hipster punk. To be honest, the energy of the audience was not at an all-time high. Although we happily engaged in a round of “clap to the beat of the song”, we didn’t quite know what to do with ourselves when asked to stand up by one of the bands.

Most of us attempted to dance, but we just ended up sort of swaying around before deciding to give up and sit back down. Awkward dancing aside, the event was a blast and full of great and interesting performances, one right after the other. Mr. Ivett says that he “has big plans for the event next year”, and that he plots to make the event more similar to a music festival rather than a concert, so there’s plenty to look forward to for next year. I’m no music aficionado, but I can honestly say that there was a lot of talent being showcased that night. As a person who can neither sing nor play any musical instrument that requires actual skill, I was impressed by the display of both vocal and instrumental finesse. I am looking forward to next year’s Battle of the Bands, and hoping that the competition is as good, or possibly even better than this year´s.

A Christmas Tale The Elf on the Shelf wonders if Christmas will ever be the same

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ater this year - after seemingly hundreds of years at the helm - a very well-known figure will finally hang up his Christmas stockings and step down from his position as the head of ISL. His name is inextricably linked with the school, and he has been responsible for nurturing and guiding generations of children, some naughty, some nice.

Santa Claus is retiring.

The news that he will be relinquishing his long-held grip on the reins of the International School of Lapland (or ISL for short) was met with shock by many.

One of his little helpers was heard to

say: “Oh deer. I’ll always remember him ringing his Christmas bell to send us off on our merry little way for the festive period. ” Initial reports that he had been ‘given the sack’ turned out to be inaccurate, stemming from one of his helper elves, who had been new-years-eavesdropping on a discussion regarding the best way to carry toys.

His wife Mary - formerly Mary Christmas, until she took up her married name of Mary Claus - said that she had urged him to step down, adding that she was concerned about the annual mince pie and sherry binge which he undertakes each December 24th. She was quoted as saying: “All that food and drink – I was just getting concerned about his long-term ‘elf…”

Santa released a statement saying:

“I’m exhausted. My belly’s getting bigger and chimneys are staying the same size. It’s a young man’s game. I’m still going to help out in the workshop and make some toys, but no more being the last one in the office, or dealing with all those letters and emails from kids and their parents, morning and night.”

The High can exclusively reveal that applications have already been received by numerous elf candidates to take over as the new (God)father of Christmas. One applicant - named Mr. Elfoy - stood out over and above the others on the short-list and currently works at ISL. He was heard to say: “They are extremely big boots to fill and it’s snow easy choice. I’m ho-ho-hopeful there’ll be a get-out santa-clause in the contract in case my reindeer goes snowballs up.

But I’m very excited about it.”

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Europe Conquered Ainsley Trahan rounds up the results from the recent ESC sports tournaments.

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ovember 13th to 15th may have been a regular weekend for some, but not for ISL’s girls’ and boys’ football and volleyball teams. These four teams were off to exotic destinations around Europe to participate in the newly founded European Sports Conference (ESC) set up between a group of schools across Europe in order to maximize sports tournaments. Though this conference is still in its early years, participation was high, with teams from Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Germany and Poland coming together for a grueling twoday tournament. The girls’ volleyball and boys’ football teams travelled by train to Stuttgart and Milan, whilst the girls’ football team’s excited chatter echoed through the plane (much to the passengers’ dismay) on their way to Berlin. Despite these foreign destinations, the ISL boys’ volleyball arguably had the best deal, playing at our very own school, ISL. It was a successful two days for all teams, with both football teams coming second, the boys’ volleyball team coming third, and the girls’ volleyball team playing exceptionally well, especially without the company of many of their regular players.

Volleyball team captain, Ali Rana (year 13), felt that the ESC tournament “was a terrific experience for the team as it gelled everyone together and allowed [them] to perform as one unit.”

Not only was their result admirable, but throughout the tournament, the team grew together to function as a unit. However, Felix Neumann (year 13) stated that, “unfortunately, with ev-

ery rise there is a small fall… some of our players got injured.” Although one team member had to get stitches, none of the injuries were unbearably long lasting, and it seems that everybody has now recovered.

The boys’ football team also played an impressive tournament, and finished in second place. Although Steven Campillo (year 13) states that the team was missing their spiritual leader (referring to himself), they continued their successful season. Dominic Krummenacher (year 13) feels that “[they] played really well even though [they] hadn’t played together that often.” Additionally, despite a second day of torrential rains, Dom believes that “it was still a lot of fun.” In fact, the rain was so intense on the second day of the tournament that the pitch was partially flooded and the finals were rescheduled for a week later in Bern.

The girls’ football team had an equally exciting tournament in Berlin. Not only did they end the weekend with an impressive result, but they worked exceptionally well together. One team member felt that this was the team’s best tournament so far, and that the team worked cohesively. The football was fantastic, but many will remember the highlight of the weekend as the free chocolates offered by Swissair at the end of each flight.

The girls’ volleyball team played an excellent tournament in Stuttgart. Although one of the team’s captains, Mariana Cermeli (year 13) couldn’t be there for the tournament, she stated, “I heard that they came together really well as a team and the younger players really stepped up. Despite the fact that they lost their first two games, they still remained positive throughout the tournament and had fun.”

Stress Jennifer Fernandez-Owsianka needs a holiday.

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eet shuffling along the hallway.

Brain dead. Utterly brain dead. I am tired of everything and school is becoming unbearable. Not only are my teachers adding on more homework as the days goes by, but I also feel the pressure rising. Do you feel this way too?

Christmas is approaching and so is that dread that I get when I stare at my desk, piled with books for another evening filled with schoolwork. The pressure is creating a lot of stress, and the problem with stress is that it drains our positivity and creates anxiety. This then stops us from sleeping well and we then enter a crazy pattern of self-destruction. This pattern then turns into depression and from depression – to death. Yes, it is that dramatic. So how can we resolve it?

First of all, I think it is good to remind our teachers of the workload we are getting. Secondly, I think the best solution is to find a way to escape. My ways of escaping schoolwork and stress is by writing, cooking, reading and doing yoga. My advice to you is: find your own original way of escaping (this includes both teachers and students). We all have the same problem…I guess.

On a more serious note, if you are dreading day after day, believe me it’s not all that dark! Trust me – I’ve been there. Thirdly, I think the good thing to do is to try to avoid getting stressed.

It’s not all that important – there is no need to worry. At the end of the day if you get a few bad grades or you don’t put 100% of your effort into an assignment, it will change absolutely nothing.

What I do is that I put in perspective what needs to be done and then I can see a dramatic difference in what is and what isn’t important.

Finally, my last piece of advice is to keep the positivity alive! Believe in yourself that you can do it as I do. However much I hate it, I know I have to keep going and I hope you do to.

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Point Of Order Zsofi Igo believes that she can write about anything.

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SL’s first ever Theory of Knowledge Debate Day happened this year, thanks to the one and only Mr Kirby (and thanks to the 22 other teachers that took part in the judging). First of all, to clarify what this day actually is: Year 12 Students debating (*cough cough* arguing) in their pairs, about three predetermined topics. This year the topics were as follows:

• • •

This house believes that we can laugh about anything This house believes that everything and anything can be art.

This house believes that we should constantly push the boundaries of science.

The Year 12 Students were put in pairs randomly and had around four days to prepare our ideas (but for most of us this meant the night before). The morning of Debate Day, people were already in the spirit, saying “Oh no don’t worry, we haven’t prepared anything, we will go easy” and then two seconds later BAAAAM, they were firing impossible questions at us. So beware Year 11, keep your friends close but your enemies closer. Debate Day was like the real D-Day. The debates consisted of introductory

speeches, a cross questioning period and concluding speeches, after which the one or two teacher judges in the room, along with the input of the student spectators, calculated points and announced the winner. Whichever teams won the most debates (counting the points as well) had to take part in the final big debate which took place on the stage in front of the whole high school. The secret topic (This house believes that technology has done more bad than good) was revealed half an hour before the performance. Pressure was high. Emotions were high. Tension was high. Who was going to win ISL’s first ever Debate Day? This year it was between Team Ian and Urszula against Team Alex and Anita, who both fought hard. However, only one team was to be victorious: Team Alex and Anita! It was very close and it actually came down to a one point difference. Alex said that “it was scary but [he] got into it so it was fine and the audience [gave him] confidence” so don’t worry, the amazing sound effects from the audience will always spur you on.

The winners and runners up all got massive (and less massive) trophies to which Ian responded, “finally we get some recognition for our academic achievements”. This is a good point as in ISL many trophies are awarded for sports related achievements and if you are not the sporty type but someone that really likes trophies… well then here is your opportunity.

The debates were scored out of 60,

and some points were awarded for being polite during the cross-questioning.

The highest scoring team, which was made up of 50% Year 13s (due to the odd number of students in year 12) got a 54, while one team only scored 16 points. Interestingly enough, if the points were averaged then we would have had two Year 13 teams in the final... I think they were just jealous that they didn’t have this fantastic opportunity last year so they made sure to leave a lasting impact.

Thanks to Mr Ribas and his techy skills, the meanest and nicest judges were also determined. However, this is confidential information (which might be negotiable with some chocolate, cookies and sarcasm). All that can be shared is that there was over a 50% difference between them (quite a lot).

Mr Kirby said, “Please do not feel obliged to thank us for this opportunity – it’s what we’re here for”. But we will still thank him because it was a fabulously fun day (where we didn’t have class).

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Away with the Furries Meghana Mortier finds the Zoo in Zürich.

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study week led by La Science appelle les jeunes was held from the 23rd till the 28th of November. The study week was about animal behavior and students from all over Switzerland and Liechtenstein could apply. 73 students applied and 20 students were chosen.

I turned up at Zürich Zoo on a Sunday afternoon with a duffle, a sleeping bag, and absolutely no idea about how the week was going to play out. The very first thing that happened was a roll call, after which each of the 20 students received a name tag; but this was no normal name tag. It allowed us to have access to every single part of the zoo, aside from the inside of the actual animal enclosures (of course). We also received keys that opened multitudes of staff doors. With these two items, we had the run of the zoo, and we could even wander around after closing time.

After putting away our suitcases, we were taken on a tour of the zoo and shown the animals we had the chance to work with. As we walked we got to know each other a bit and it slowly dawned on me that every single one of the students had either been speaking German since they were born, or had learned to speak German at mother tongue level. And there I was, a kid who’d happened to live in Germanspeaking cities for 4 years and could only speak enough German to get around a city without too many problems. At that point I resigned myself to a very long and very hard week.

Turns out, I was completely wrong. The week was long and hard in the sense that we were basically working constantly from 8 in the morning till 8 at night every day for 5 days, but in terms of language, I was okay. Everybody switched between speaking German, French, English, and Italian, and by the end of the week I was having conversations where every other sentence was in a different language. Apparently one week of doing this has a great effect, as one week on I am still occasionally answering people in the wrong language.

The animals we could study were go-

rillas, elephants, snow leopards, red ruffed lemurs, otters, Neolamprologus similis (fish that dig pits), and plains viscachas (rabbit-like rodents that may have been the inspiration for Raichu).

I chose to study the snow leopards, a family with a mother and father and two 6-month-old female cubs. Trust me, the choice was very difficult to make.

The next four days involved choosing a research question, observing the animals, compiling and processing the data, writing a report, and preparing a presentation for Friday afternoon.

My group decided to research the relationship between the two cubs and the mother. All the groups except for the ones studying the otters and the snow leopards got to observe their animals in nice, warm, indoor enclosures. The four of us studying the snow leopards each spent our four hours of observation time bundled up in coats, gloves, hats, and scarves, and wishing we had extravagantly fluffy and warm pelts just like the snow leopards’.

Watching the snow leopards, we learnt

many things, one of the most important things being that snow leopards are literally exactly like house cats - they’re just really big and could kill humans. But other than that they’re just as adorable and playful and snuggly and sometimes they do really dumb things. Also, the cubs looked ridiculous because their paws were as big as their faces (due to the large-pawed characteristic that snow leopards have in order to not sink into snow). Watching the snow leopards play fight and eat and sleep on one another kind of made up for standing around in the cold.

The evenings where time for putting data into the computer and processing it. Depending on how much data you had (ranging from 50 to 1000 data points; my group had 800) varying levels of coffee and sugary fruit tea were drunk, with the record for coffees per 5 minutes being 3 cups. Somehow we all finished our work, and were rewarded with a night out in Zurich. It was completely worth missing a week of school for.

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The X-mas Factor Christine Geiger embarks on a spiritual quest for the true meaning of Christmas

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fter Halloween, everyone seems to be lulled into a ChristmasCraze. Take the Christmas lights for example, which have crowned the buildings of Lausanne ever since the 31st of October. The premature Christmas immersion throws me off every time. Markers of the holiday are usually those excuses of spiced pumpkin beverages, the first snowfall and the Christmas market setup, but this year, I’m taking a step back, in search of the true essence of the holiday spirit.

While on the subject of snow, that pathetic peppering of frozen vapor we had in late October does not qualify. Nor does Monday. Nor does Wednesday’s period 8 head-turning window-gazing feeble fluff. Snow is when it snows in town too. Snow is when golfball sized water-marshmallows plummet from the sky. Snow is when agitated parents pick their kids up from school, in fear of not being able to make it home in their ridiculous four-wheeled drive monstrosities. As a dedicated member of the bustakers society, I would just like to address the fact that I have always made it back home in one piece. No need to worry about being stuck at school: in the entire history of ISL, no one has ever done so.

So, if there s’no snow, what is keeping

the festive spirit alive? It might be ice.

Ice skating rinks are a popular alternative, which turn your summer splashing in pools into icy winter wonder. It takes a while to get used to your new blade-feet, but this is quickly resolved by “borrowing” those strange old-people-walker-devices children use to retain their balance. Of course these are then kindly and unsuspiciously returned afterwards, and done in such a manner that you pretend that you obviously dont need that silly, childish device, you are simply using it ironically to show how quirky you are. I would personally like to address the rebels of the ice skating world, who make the whole experience just a little more dangerous for everyone. I am of course referring to those defiant individuals who do not follow the social norm of skating in a clockwise manner. Please take note of those who cannot escape this world of expected behaviour, try to be mindful.

All in all, ice skating is strange, why strap knifes to your shoes and walk around in circles? Then again, is this not symbolic of life itself?

What do most people do after ice skating, of course, slip into some lovely 60s unisex Oceanic sheep socks, or more commonly referred to as UGGs. Let me tell you a little Christmas nativity story… One cold, cold day, near the frosty waters of the ocean, two feet needed a place to rest after a long and tiresome day of surfing. No shoe could offer any comfort. The two feet searched and searched, until they took

shelter in the company of barn animals, among which there were oxen, asses and, most importantly, sheep. The feet were soothed by the warmth of the wool, and on that very special night, the UGG was born. The next morning the Three Wise Corporate Men arrived, one bringing a logo, the other a powerpoint presentation and the last one, a contract. Every year when this festive time comes around, millions of people celebrate it by wearing this completely irrelevant footwear. My point is: Its not a snow shoe! Its a glorified sand sock!

You’ve got the holiday spirit all wrong.

Don’t buy UGGs is what im trying to say here… The Christmas market offers plenty of appropriate substitutes, like microwavable stuffed animals!

Maybe music embodies the true meaning of Christmas? But perhaps not. Lets analyse the lyrics of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. It might appear at first glance as a fun, little holiday song, but no! Let my open your eyes. Firstly; blatantly stating Rudolph’s obvious physical difference is not the tone we want to adopt during Christmas time. What are teaching our children? That this type of behavior is acceptable in your society? Furthermore, “if you ever saw him” is presenting Rudolph in an objectified manner. Rudolph’s abuse does not stop here, “all of the other reindeer (...) laugh and call him names”, how has no one interfered with the bullying? Line seven then uses strong diction on the word “poor” Rudolph to bring out a sympathetic response from the reader. These horrible, oppressive reindeer never let their comrade “join in any reindeer games”. The reindeer world is conveyed as an unequal society, perhaps reflecting the reality of our own… Stanza three then presents a shift in tone; “then” marks this change.

Santa is characterised as an exploitive user of Rudolph’s physical defect.

What seems to be a kind and honourable request, is actually sleigh-ve labour in miserable “foggy” conditions.

Only once Rudolph has completed the task at hand, or at hoof, is he given any recognition. He is only given worth by this. Also, why is it Rudolph and not Rudolpha?

It seems as if Christmas is not defined by the consumer values we have projected upon it, but the communal experience of it. But whatever, man, put a tree in your house, I don’t care.

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Horoscope Madame Big D knows what’s inside your stockings

month. If you don’t, blame your parents and not me.

Libra Sagittarius

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t’s all about you right now! Eat up all this attention before the end of the month and everybody forgets about you and thinks only about Christmas.

You may be over the moon excited for the next month with all of the free time and winter activities there are to do. So yeah.. Keep it up.

Scorpio

Better be on your best behavior right now to make up for all of the trouble you’re going to get into these holidays.

The holidays are about family and friends, be kind and spend more time than money on them, especially your parents, since you won’t live with them forever.

Leo

Aries

Taurus

Instead of dwelling on all of the work there is to do après the holidays, think of everything you have accomplished so far and be proud! Unless you aren’t in year 13. If that’s you, then get ready for the piles of work.

Virgo

Gifts, gifts, gifts. Get ready to receive the best present of your life during the

This cold weather means more sweaters and boots. You are at risk. Refer to the style tips in this newspaper to make sure you don’t look ugly according to Alice.

Cancer

Capricorn

Help out a friend with their current problem or struggle and they will repay you with a sarcastic comment or two, but deep down they will be grateful, I know.

Gemini

Find some sort of job or chore that will have you raking in the cash, the stars tell me you will be spending a lot of money in the near future.

Pisces

You lucky fella, the stars tell me that no matter what, you are going to have such a good holiday that everyone else will be jealous.

Aquarius

Try to find joy in everything you do, even that difficult test. If you don’t, your negative attitude will drive friends away.

Try something new soon or risk a boring couple of weeks ahead as you fall into a rut that will leave you unsatisfied.

Fashion Police: Winter Trends Alice Jeavons thinks that stockings are so last year

use the skirts you’ve pushed to the side.

Or you could continue the seeminglyendless tartan trend and throw on the pleated schoolgirl skirt.

Sweaters

Sweatpants

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his season is all about cosiness and conquering the cold by feeling like you’re constantly wrapped in a blanket. Whether it’s that fluffy sweater you pull out of the back of your closet each year or the scarf your grandma knitted for you last christmas - the time has come. An alternative to pairing an oversized sweater with the classic skinny jeans is to wear it with some tights, maybe adding a little edge with some boots. Another option is to find a cropped sweater and match it with those high-waisted jeans from this year’s previous trends.

Skirts

On a similar note, why not transform those summer skirts into key winter pieces by adding some tights or high socks?

With the floral print coming back into style there is even more reason to re-

As we get further into the school year I know, especially being a year 13, how tempting it is to roll out of bed, pull on the sweatpants and call it ‘slobby chic’.

In my opinion, there is a fine line between looking like a pulled together, yet casual sweatpant-wearer and looking like you’re in last night’s pyjamas.

But the invention and retailing of formal sweatpants has created a fashion loophole which is perfect for those drowsy morning-afters with the ultimate combination of comfort and style.

UGGs

It’s hard to write a December fashion column in this school without mentioning the trend of Uggs that infect the halls of ISL annually. We’ve all heard it before, Uggs are Ugg-ly, but on the other end of the spectrum Uggs are undeniably comfortable and can be styl-

ish. The biggest faux-pas I hate to admit I’ve seen in the corridors myself are wearing Uggs with bare legs or nude tights. If it’s not obvious already, Uggs are designed for cold weather, therefore it makes no sense to pair them with skirts, dresses or shorts. Worn properly with a simple pair of skinny jeans and winter sweater, Uggs can look appropriate and stylish with all the comfort you bought them for in the first place.

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Movies of 2015 Edward Fraser hasn’t seen any of these, and neither have you

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s it’s almost the end of the year of 2014, it is time to start thinking about the exciting year ahead in films! There are many large titles that have been confirmed to come out next year featuring some great casts. The movies coming out next year with the most hype would have to be Star Wars: Episode VII, coming out on December 18th. As well as one I’m very excited

for, Avengers: Age of Ultron, which comes out on May 1st. Another sequel coming out next year will be Pitch Perfect 2, which has gotten a lot of the Pitch Perfect fans thrilled.

A new film, San Andreas, starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, depicts a helicopter pilot in Los Angeles during the apocalypse. By the trailer, I am not quite sure what to expect, but so far the movie sounds like it’ll be pretty good. Although, it did look very similar to John Cusack’s 2012. Another long awaited sequel with massive amounts

of attention recently is Jurassic Park, coming out on June 12th. With the last Jurassic Park movie being released in 2001, fans are really looking forward to this next installment of the series. A new Terminator sequel will be coming out, Terminator: Genisys, starring the one and only Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Some other very honorable mentions would have to be some I’m very excited for, including Furious 7, Kingsman: The Secret Service, and Birdman. From what has been announced so far, 2015 is looking like a good year for movies.

300 Cookies Johanna Ohlsson bakes a bucketload

Gingerbread Biscuit Recipe

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his recipe makes approximately 300 gingerbread biscuits (depending on the size of the biscuit)

Time: in total approximately 5 hours (but worth every minute!)

Important to remember: the dough should be made at least 1 day before baking out the biscuits

Ingredients

• 300 g butter (not margarine) • 5 dl sugar (normal white sugar) • 1 dl light syrup

• 1 tablespoon of grinded ginger • 2 tablespoons of grinded cinnamon • 1 tablespoon grinded carnations (can be excluded) • 2 teaspoons of grinded cardamom • 1 tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda • 2 dl water • 15 dl flour (normal white wheat flour)

Equipment

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

syrup and sugar and mix until smooth.

Add the spices and mix.

Measure out 15 dl of flour.

Pour the water onto the mix.

Add the flour, adding a little at a time and kneading It into the dough until all the flour as been mixed into the dough.

Wrap the dough in cling film and place in the fridge for at least one day.

• Rolling pin • Cookie cutters • Cling film

NOTE: a pre-prepared dough similar to this one can be bought at IKEA if you are too lazy to make your own dough!

Dough preparation

Baking

1. Measure out 300 g of butter and leave at room temperature in order for it to soften.

2. Once the butter has softened, add

1. Take a piece of the dough and roll it out until very thin.

2. Using a cookie cutter, or by making shapes using a knife, cut out cookies.

3. Remove excess dough around the shapes which you have cut out.

4. Rub butter onto a baking tray (to avoid the biscuits sticking to the tray during baking.)

5. Place cookies onto the buttered baking tray.

6. Bake in the middle of the oven at 200-2250c for 4-5 minutes.

7. Immediately after taking them out of the oven, place the biscuits on a flat surface to cool.

8. Once cool, place in a metal tin (not plastic as they will go soft).

9. Enjoy

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All I Want for Christmas Jocelyn Kwan has been naughty this year.

Winter Wordsearch