Professional Documents
Culture Documents
MS Magazine December 2013
MS Magazine December 2013
From Left to Right: Ben Faulkner, Bennet Wahlers, Marcus Cope, Michel Knaff, Braden Davila, Colton Summers, Gray Barrett -2-
Table of Contents
MS Magazine Team 2013-2014 Trimester 1 2 Middle School CASCADE Programme 4
Braden Davila Michel Knaff
: Christin PIcture By
Benjamin Zephaniah9
Katie Swesey Katie Swesey Lucas Frank
Visiting Author Chris Bradford 9 My First Time in the Atacama 10 Grade 8 Trip to Plaine 11
Colton Summers Kyla White
PIcture By: C
line Wagner
The Love for Green Paper 15 Upper School Winter Band and Choir Concert16 Children of War 17
Song written by 7C Derek Mohos Maria Diss
Mandala Project: Learning About Myself 18 The Running Birds 18 Mandala`s Message19
Nina Valenbreder Ian Kearns
The Man Who Sailed Around the World in 11 Months 20 Sailing Blog21
Rakel Sveinsdottir William Painter Emmanuel Diss
Picture b
y: Ashley
Brownle
Model United Nations 23 Word Splash: English Journal Creative Writing 23 U14 Boys Soccer NECIS 2013 24
Ron Schickendantz Elena Perticucci
Events in Luxembourg 28
Braden Davila Marcus Cope Marcus Cope Ben Faulkner Ben Faulkner
PIcture B
y: Cara O
Sullivan
December 2013
Table of Contents
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Braden Davila
Creativ Action ity Service Commu Awaren nity Discove ess Explora ry tion
*Yoga *Wonders and Mega Structures of Our Industrial World Yearbook *Tea and Talk with Jane Austen *YTC! (Film Making) *Do It Yourself Arts and Crafts *Beginner Luxembourgish *Beginner Spanish
Scien ce To d
ay
December 2013
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1192 Number of students enrolled in school 47 Nationalities represented 32 Languages spoken US 82+ LS 66 Number of classrooms 238 Number of staff (not including cooks and security) 29 Nationalities represented 24299 Number of books in the Upper School Library 925 Number of lost books in the system
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Leading a Moral Life on Facebook... Middle School CASCADE - Philosophy The Middle School Philosophy CASCADE group examined the themes of privacy, democracy and identity through philosophers such as Heidegger and Aristotle. They came up with some general rules for leading a moral life on facebook. Here are a few of them... -Dont set up or endorse hate groups/messages -Check with friends before posting photos of them -If an event is public, feel free to share information about it -If an event is private, check with participants before sharing
-Its complicated is not a viable relationship status: attentionseeking! -Avoid political messages, show-off and feeling-sorry-for-myself statuses: also attention-seeking! -Think about whether the general public of your facebook friends actually care about what you are sharing -Remember that technology is a supplement to - not a replacement of - real-life contact with friends
December 2013
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What was your childhood like? Well, I was born in Birmingham, in England. My mother came from Jamaica, a Caribbean island, and my father came from Barbados, which is another Caribbean island. And we lived in this part of Birmingham, called Aston, and it was like a really, really poor area. Houses in those days didnt really have inside bathrooms or inside toilets. The toilets were in the garden and the bath you had a tin thing and you put water from the kettle in there and then put cold water in and you know the houses were full of mice and stuff like that. But to be honest I thought everybody lived like this, you know if you dont know anything different then you just think its all the same. So, you know looking back at it now, people analyse it and they say it was really poor. But I thought that everybody was like that. What I do remember, I think it was really different from the kids nowadays. Nearly all the toys that we had we made ourselves. My first bicycle, made it myself. Got the frame, got some wheels, got some brakes, and you know just made it up. Go-karts we made them myself. And if my parents bought me something and it broke, we fixed it. We didnt just go and throw it away and [say] Can I have another one. I remember sitting in the house one day and just fixing radios and fixing stuff like this. So thats a major difference from today, but obviously there werent any computer games and all that stuff. So it was a hard time but I didnt really remember it as that hard at that time but just looking back at it now and thinking how easy it is for people now. Basically you had to make your own fun. One of the greatest things a boy of like 10, 11, 12 could do was like climb trees. I mean we used to do an adventure we couldnt do now in England, we used to leave our house and say right what we gonna do today: we gonna get lost. That was it. And that was what we were doing. Wed leave the house and try and get lost and then when we were lost, wed try and find our way back. Do that now, and your parents will be calling the police and it would just be impossible. But there wasnt all the worries and all the gun crimes and child abusers that everybody was worrying about on the streets. Wed get lost for hours and if we didnt find the way home wed just go to the police station [and say] Please take us home. And they would take us home. So I remember it was really creative and really playful. At the same time I loved poetry, but I didnt call myself a poet. I just made up rhymes in my head One of my favourite pastimes was just going up to girls and saying Whats your name? and making up a poem with their names. And they would go Wow that guy is cool. Its the kind of childhood I remember. If you werent a poet what would you want to be? Id like to be a Kung Fu teacher. Im Kung Fu crazy. Every morning I get up and do Kung Fu. I have a gym at home and people that I teach already but just informally. Id love to have my own Kung Fu school and teach properly. But its not gonna happen. I go to China every year and study with my teacher but Im just Kung Fu crazy. I love pushing the body to the limit when youre training it. I love the accuracy that you learn with Kung Fu. Its all about the discipline and I love the control that you have Its not about the fighting. Kung Fu when you translate it from Chinese it doesnt mean fighting, it means hard work, it means dedication, it means discipline, self-control. And so when I teach people Kung Fu, youre not teaching people how to fight. Youre really teaching them how to control yourself, control your anger and control their body.
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Visiting Authors
Benjamin Zephaniah
Katie Swesey
A few weeks ago we had world famous author, Benjamin Zephaniah, come to our school and tell us about his life. Benjamins full name is Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah. Benjamin was born and raised in Birmingham, England. His first public performance was in a church when he was 10 years old. Benjamin writes poems, books and songs. One of his most famous poems is called Talking Turkeys. Most of Benjamins poems are rather fast. He writes poems or novels in any genre. When he writes his novels or his poems he looks for the very simple things in life. Benjamin is a vegan (that means that he does not eat any dairy products or meat at all). He is a twin and even though his sister was supposed to be born first, he was born first. Benjamin is dyslexic and he memorizes his poems to compensate for this. Benjamin Zephaniah became a writer because he wants to speak for himself, he does not want anyone helping him with what he has to say. At the age of 22, Benjamin published his first book.
December 2013
Visiting Authors
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the walls retreated and we were looking out at miles and miles of dunes, some 50 metres high. The group continued down a worn path (the same route had obviously been used before), the ground turning to sand. We came to the base of one of the dunes. I bent down and scooped up some of the sand in my right hand. Surprisingly the sand wasnt hot. It was warm and super smooth. I uncurled my fingers, letting the grains race back to the ground. The group started walking up the dune. I took a swig of water before running after them. Scrambling up the dune was an ordeal because the sand sucked at my feet as if it was trying to swallow me. After a lot of stumbling and grumbling I made it to the top panting for breath. The sun was just peeking over the sandy horizon, sending rays of musty orange and pink across the sky, the edges already a dark purple. I sat there as the sun bid the world goodbye and the moon greeted it, bringing along with it, the stars. And the onyx sky didnt seem so lonely nor empty, but full of life. We were off again walking in the starlight and when we reached the bus I stumbled up the steps and fell into the seat. Despite its hardness and the rugged road I had no trouble drifting off to sleep.
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December 2013
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you also feel its not enough. I was told many times by teachers and eighth graders who had participated in the International Forum the year before that once you start that morning, it all comes together and you have a great time. Although I did not believe them at the time, they were right in the end. That morning, you are supposed to wear nice and business-like clothes to the Forum as if you were going to a real United Nations meeting. Then, we kick off the event by having an opening assembly and this year we had a guest speaker who was a diplomat. After, we went back to our committees and each country gave their speech by alphabetical order. After the speeches was the debate. You could ask any country in your committee questions and they would have to answer. You could then ask for a follow up question or agree and sit back down. For the chair to call on the countries, the countries had to raise the placard with their countrys name on it, then, the chair could call upon that delegation or choose someone else. Following the debate, there was a lunch break. This does not happen every year but this year we had the Middle School Lunch on the same day as our Forum. Following the international lunch was the Resolution Writing. Countries were to get together with their allies and prepare their thoughts on what solutions could there be based on the views of those countries and the committee they were in. One team member then spoke the resolutions for each group of allies. Each committee was to vote on a resolution that ALL delegations could agree on. This winning resolution was spoken at the assembly to conclude the conference. After all resolutions were spoken the chairs of each committee chose a Best Delegate. The Best Delegate was someone who worked hard, showed they did their research, used no personal pronouns etc. Four Best Delegates were chosen. Those who were given this award were Juan Moreno, myself-Kyla White, Georgie Brockelhurst, and Tom Verlaque. However, all students did a great job with the Forum and were congratulated for their success. The day was done and so was the forum. It lasted all day but most students wished for more time! It was an amazing time to work together and see the many different points of view of various countries with a variety of cultures. Im glad I got to be a part of this event and I know other students thought the same. Middle School Magazine
FINAL RESOLUTION
NAME OF COMMITTEE: Drug Trafficking TOPIC: Drug trafficking around the world. SUBMITTER: Thailand, Sweden, Netherlands and Mexico. Preambulatory Clauses: 1. Is alarmed by how many drugs are produced in the world as of today 2. Noting with Deep concern that the amount of drugs consumed and dealt with is increasing. Operative Clauses: 1. Proposes that all UN donate a small portion of their yearly income to help set up drug addiction clinics around the world. 2. Requests an increase of security in major airports, train stations, and harbours. 3. Refuses to buy goods from countries that have major drug trafficking issues. 4. Strongly recommends for a punishment in jail to take place, depending on the amount of drugs trafficked.
December 2013
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Malala Yousafzai
- YOUNGEST EVER RECIPIENT OF THE SAKHAROV PRIZE FOR FREEDOM OF THOUGHT
Danica Torrens
students on the bus could tell by the look of the man, who was talking to the bus driver, that he was a Talib. Another Talib boarded the bus. Who is Malala? he demanded. The whole bus went silent and a few of her friends looked at her. He followed their gaze and lifted his gun. He fired three shots. One went right into Malalas left eye socket. The other two hit her friends who were sitting next to her. When she woke up, she was in a hospital in Birmingham. She didnt know where she was. She had no idea where her family was. She was unable to talk because of the tube in her throat. Nobody would tell her anything, in fear she would go into shock. Malala had to undergo a series of operations. In the course of the past year, her life and the life of her family have been changed drastically and irrevocably. Malala, her father, her mother and her two brothers now live in Birmingham. Malala continues to fight, even from afar, for the right of all girls to go to school. She dreams of returning to her home in Swat some day.
There is poverty, lack of freedom, fear and terrorism, but there is hope, because we are all here together united to help these children, to speak for them, to take action. On the 20th of November 2013, Malala Yousafzai became the youngest ever recipient of the Sakharov human rights prize, awarded by the European Parliament. Malala Yousafzai was born in the beautiful Swat Valley in Pakistan. Her father, unlike most others in her region, was happy about having a girl. When Malala was born he asked friends and family to give her their blessing, something usually given only to boys. Her father is a liberal and had been fighting for girls right to education and established a girls school in their village when Malala was very young. Malala followed in her fathers footsteps and started campaigning for girls education at a very young age. Malala and her father became progressively better known in Swat and throughout Pakistan because of their fight for girls education and fearlessly speaking out against the Taliban. Because of this, BBC radio correspondent, Abdul Hai Kakar, asked her to write a blog about how life was for a girl under the rule of the Taliban. With her fathers encouragement, she agreed. Writing the blog was very dangerous and risky even though she had a pen name, Gul Makai. On Tuesday the 9th of October 2012, Malalas life changed forever. She was on the usual bus ride home from school, talking to her friends. The bus was stopped, as was usual at the checkpoints. The
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SAKHAROV PRIZE The Sakharov prize is a human rights prize awarded to people and organisations who fight for human rights. Previous winners include Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi. On the 20th of November 2013, Malala Yousafzai became the youngest ever recipient of the Sakharov Prize. It was awarded to her in Strasbourg, with her father present, by the European Parliament. In her acceptance speech, she asked the European countries to support the suffering countries. She expressed that she found it unfair that, in Pakistan and many other countries, some children werent going to school because they couldnt afford it. She believes that all children should go to school free of charge. She believes education is a superpower and that a countrys strength should be measured not by its army, but by the number of educated people.
Middle School Magazine
Malala Yousafzai
One child, one teacher, one book, one pen, can change the world.
Through the broken lines of deep, Our palms are sinking fast in snow, Summer clouds in torment show. Skies of same in every place, Faces locked in eternal embrace, Taking in the far off sound, Of dying light for life around, They drop the keys of favored cars, And tightly hold last family bars. The tinkle of metal on concrete ground, The women spared, The men all proud, But day will come despite postponed, And hope they plan to drop the coins.
December 2013
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Children of War
Song written by 7C Family torn apart This is how it starts War destroys the nation No more education The ones who are affected Need to be protected Chorus Children of war what are they all for Torn from their home, left all alone Tears run down their face, they need a better place Options there are none, so soldiers they become These kids dont go to school You probably think thats cool But what if they cant learn, What will they then earn? Chorus Children of war what are they all for Torn from their home, left all alone Tears run down their face, they need a better place Options there are none, so soldiers they become Homelessness starvation Bullying and fights This must not continue These children all have rights A life like you and I, is what these children need All of this trouble was caused by others greed Chorus Children of war what are they all for Torn from their home, left all alone Tears run down their face, they need a better place Options there are none, so soldiers they become
December 2013
Children of War
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Mandala Project
A Mandala is a tool used by Tibetan monks to tell what they are sentimentally feeling. It is a representation of a persons personality, made with colors and symbols. Recently, our class made Mandalas for the same reason as the monks. The Mandala helped me learn about myself, and I found out more than I knew before. A person is made of their positive aspects, negative aspects, the places theyve been and what they like to do. Working with my own feelings helped shape me and my self awareness. Because of this, I believe that Mandalas are simple but effective to help teach people about themselves. My Mandala is made of different colors, as I have different sides of myself. Red represents being energetic (at times) and lively (possibly angry too). Blue represents calmness (again, at times) and relaxed. Yellow represents happiness and joy, and green means a combination of blue and yellow. The colors were placed close together, because I can quickly go from one feeling to the other. The small colors in between are how I am once in a while. The outside layer can be how I look at different times on the surface, but the inner layer shows how other people see me. My ideas for symbols first took me to what I liked, then my bad side, then to my good aspects. The symbols of what I like are the plane, because I like traveling, the video game remote control, to show that I like electronics, and the book, symbolizing I like to read. The symbols that depict the dark side of my emotions include the eye, which tells that I am easily provoked and will be mean to lots of people once I get angry. The vortex means that I can be selfish at times and want only what is in my own best interests, and the rock means I can be very stubborn. The positive symbols in my Mandala are the ice cube, to signify I am normally calm, the Mexican revolutionary with the gun, who is Emiliano Zapata, who symbolizes two things: that I am proud of the Mexican half of my heritage and that I fight for what I think is right. The light bulb means creativity, and the smile signifies that I have a sense of humor. The green arrow is my future symbol, and that means that I want to change the world when I am older. The Ohio flag symbolizes home; it was where -18-
I was born and lived the first six years of my life. Mandalas are great for visiting the area of ones own heart, and all of the good and bad things about it. My Mandala sparked my spark of selfawareness, and it has kindled a small flame in the caverns of my feelings. The Mandala, at first, confused me, and I only saw the easier things to see. But as I progressed further, the Mandala showed me more of myself and my feelings. How one goes further is up to them, but to achieve knowledge of one as a person, a person must be prepared to map out his whole heart.
etz
Ive seen a walking bird, They taught themselves to run, They catch up with the flying birds, Looking longingly at the sun. Ive seen a flying bird, That landed near a walking bird So if you see a running bird, give it a wing
Mandala Project
Mandala`s Message
Nina Valenbreder Have you ever wanted to let yourself loose, and just go crazy? Well you could always make a Mandala. The right way to express yourself is to draw the real you. But that can only show if you take some time to think about what is inside of you. Then you can paint a portrait of your soul. Making this Mandala helped me express these feelings, and helped me acknowledge the real me. Throughout my journey to express the real me, I discovered a good side, a bad side, and who I would like to be. The light side shows what I have accomplished, my expectations, and what I like about myself. The colors in my Mandala represent the lively, and creative part of me, they are the piece of me that I am proud to say, and keep me happy. The blues and purples are the colors that represent the ocean. The ocean means a calm happy place, but the ocean is also unpredictable, which I love about it. The ocean is my life symbol, it keeps my family together, (in fact, many people said that our old house in New York, smelled like the ocean). There are also a lot of other colors in my Mandala that represent creativity, like neon green, or orange, and pink. My Mandala also shows many symbols that represent me. For instance, the fireworks represent creativity because they remind me of bursts of life and energy. The surfboard also represents the sea, but in a different way. The surfboard represents my heart (in this case, the surfboard) is leading me into the right direction, and will have me ride the wave. The stage represents bravery, because getting up on a stage is not an easy thing to do, and for many people it is scary at first, but once you get into it feels really magnificent. Last but no least the half-moon halfsun represents balance, because if you dont have a balance of good and bad, you become tired of yourself. I chose the seashell outline for my Mandala because to me the seashell represents luck and protection. As I have said before, the ocean is also unpredictable. Keep your hats on, because a storm is coming! The light side of my Mandala may be very pretty, but that doesnt mean everything about my inside is pretty and joyful! But this Mandela project gave me enough courage to continue, and December 2013
tell you about my. DARK SIDE! The colors in my Mandala are also black and gloomy. For example, the color yellow might represent warning (like on those yellow pedestrian crossing signs). I used those colors to draw a Dead End symbol. This symbol is showing how sometimes I am afraid to make the wrong decisions, and then I hit the dead end sign smack in the face. Another dark sign that I drew was a row of clean organized trees. You might think this is funny because they actually represent the process in which I get stressed. I am a little of an organize freak and when something is out of place I freak out a little bit because I am scared that something will mess-up. Another piece of my bad side is the flower that surrounds the world. They start out as yellow, then to orange, and at the very tips they are red. I drew the flower as an example of my grumpiness. My phases can be yellow (dont make me mad), to red (talk to me and I will get angry!!!). On a happier note I do think about the way I want to be in the future. Some people dream of going to a great college, and getting a job that will pay for more than their rent, but instead of dreaming, I draw. The goldfish in my Mandala represents peace and fortune, and I hope that this will show you how I hope to be not rich, but to live a wholesome life. The world in the center represents how changing the world in any way is my top priority. I want to change something greater than me. Even if it is being eco friendly one day, everything helps. I am now going to talk about the man that inspires me, Nelson Mandela. His quote, Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. His words inspire me because of his actions in life. He lived a wholesome, full life, even if most of it was in prison (because of doing something he believed in). He became a stronger person, and is still living as former president of South Africa. This Mandala has shown me that if you try really hard, you can change the way you think about yourself, and become a better person. A Mandala lets you express the real you, and makes it easier to see yourself from the inside, different than from the outside. Lastly, Mandalas can help us express our soul, they let us open up our hearts to a piece of paper. Furthermore, I have noticed that it helped with my drawing skills too! -19-
Mandalas Message
09-08-2011, 4:56 pm - Newport, Rhode Island,U.S.A. Today was the day I finally set sail around the world. After what felt like hours (but was really only minutes) of checking, re-checking, and triple-checking the rudder and daggerboard, I was relieved to finally get into the boat. I made sure that I had ample provisions of food and water even if I was delayed getting to another port. Additionally, I had my safety equipment secured: flares, matches, thermal blankets, etc. The Coast Guard led me out for a couple miles to sea. All the while, my excitement was building. The first few hours passed quietly and easily, and I settled down and enjoyed the sail. However, once I had gotten comfortable, dark clouds began to build out of nowhere and grow in size above me until they looked like they would fall out of the sky on top of me. Within moments, the sky opened up, and rain began pouring down, gluing the flimsy jacket I had on to my body. The wind began blowing so fiercely that I was almost thrown off the boat! I caught the handholds just in time as the wind dragged me across the boat. The waves were overpowering the boat and before I knew it, I was ankle deep in water. It felt like an amusement park ride as the boat swung widely from side to side. Then, the sky opened and a bright flash caught me in the chest, knocking me against the wall of the cabin. Dizziness and blackness were all I could sense as I conked out while propped up against the wall. 10-08-2011 - Atlantic Ocean I woke up to the smell of the sausages my mother used to make for me when I was a kid. I could not identify where the scent was coming from but it was definitely making my stomach rumble. The first thing I felt was an extreme pain in my chest, like I was rammed by a horn at the running of the bulls in Pamplona. I was starving, since several hours had passed since I went unconscious. I raised myself to a sitting position and suddenly felt sick to my stomach. I threw up overboard repeatedly as I tried to figure out what exactly happened last night. I looked out into sea and suddenly had a flashback. The light, the roar of the ocean as I passed out, and the yell of the radio through the roar, screaming over and over, We are sending a cutter through, repeat, send out a flare. I looked to see if there was any sign of another boat. There was none. The sun was so bright, it was blinding, which was a drastic contrast to the darkness I had been in. As I pulled myself up the wall of the cabin to lean against it,
I saw that lightning struck the mast more than once. I painfully turned my head to look at the damage caused by the storm. The cabin had a dent where my head was and a burn mark where I was slumped when I was struck by lightning. I took myself into a standing position and limped into the cabin. Once inside, I felt my way along the inside wall and plopped myself into the computer chair. I noticed there was a long burn on my torso. When I finished bandadging my wound, which was 3 inches long, with supplies from my emergency medical kit, I sat at the computer and started typing 11-08-2011 - Unmapped location I limped onto the deck just as land came into view. I rushed as quickly as I could inside and grabbed my binoculars. It was an island for sure. The boat was coming toward it slowly but surely. I thought about my provisions downstairs and decided to check levels a couple minutes later. I had about 80% of the food I started with at the beginning of the trip. Idiot. Such an idiot for not protecting the food. Only three days in and 20% of the food was washed away. I hoped that there would be more provisions on the island, like tropical fruit and fresh water. As the boat neared the island, I saw there were many trees that I hoped might be mango trees and possibly a few with bananas. As the boat approached the island, I lowered anchor and used my dinghy to reach shore, with a bag in my pocket to load the supplies to carry back. Once on land, I started to run to the trees and shake them, causing the mangoes to fall to the ground and I quickly gathered them into the bag. It took me three trips in the dinghy to the boat to fully load the food. After the food was secured, I decided I could spend
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the day there. I rowed one last time to shore. Using my guide to plant life, I identified some red bananas along with the yellow ones, and found that they were AMAZING. The fruit was so fresh and flavorful, and I had a fantastic meal. When I finished, I walked inland into the island to see what I could discover. Inland was a thick jungle at first, but then a clearing appeared. I stumbled through the vines and trees, still hurting from my lightning strike, when I saw a huge mass. It seemed to be an airplane. I ran to investigate, and most definetly the tail markings indicated it was an American plane. It looked WW2-ish, and I scrambled up to see if there were any clues to what had happened. I could not figure out what brought the plane here and what had happened to the crew. After several more hours of exploring the plane and finding radio parts and maps, I continued to explore the island, but only found more jungle. Eventually, I went back to the dinghy. I suddenly remembered some paper I had found in the plane and had folded in my pocket. I scrawled IAN WAS HERE on a sheet, and I stuck it in the ground. I left the island before night fell, and sailed on to the next stop I was scheduled to make.
much that I gave her a name. Shes called Beauty!! I called her that because of course she was gorgeous. Last but not least, on April 27 at seven oclock, I was heading down to my cabin when I saw this wonderful sunset. The colours were red, yellow and orange. I cannot write to you every day because there is not always an internet connection on the boat, but when I have the chance I will try to write to you. 5/5/13 You wont believe what happened during the voyage. There was a huge storm and my boat was covered with water. I was so scared, but when the storm was finished I used a bucket and scooped out the water. After that I was a little bit relieved. I miss you guys so much. I wish that you could be here to share my experience. In about 10 days I might stop in Malta (an island). I heard that Malta is a very pretty place. I have to tell you some important information MY BIRTHDAY IS IN 12 DAYS!!!! Im so excited but I wish I could spend my birthday with you. Ill write to you in about 2-3 days. Bye 8/5/13 Only 9 more days until my birthday. Yay!! Ive planned that in 7 days Ill stop in Malta and Im going to stay there in a tent for 3 nights. On the 17th Ill celebrate my birthday on the beach. Is that a good idea or what? Do you know what I miss? I miss cooked food in restaurants. I also miss shopping and having a great time with my friends. 12/5/13 So basically what Ive been doing on this boat is sailing and exploring the world. Its quite fun when you have good weather. You can sunbathe and relax, but when its raining then you get wet and sometimes have to take care of the floods on the boat. But so far it has been good weather and I have been exploring, sailing and having a great time. As always, I wish you guys were here to see what Im doing and having a great time, rather than going to school or work. In about 4 days Im stopping in Malta. While writing this blog I have been going through the Mediterranean Sea. 14/5/13 I can see land! Its about 5 oclock now, but at 7 in the morning (tomorrow) I will reach land about 50 kilometres away (I did the math). I am so ex-21-
Sailing Blog
Sailing Blog
Rakel Sveinsdottir
25/4/13 My name is Rakel and I am 11 years old. So far everything is going well. I just stopped on an island called Rhodes, Greece. Here I can relax and think of nothing. You cant believe this but I saw a whale. It was so huge!! I think it was a killer whale. I was a little bit scared that it would attack my boat, but luckily it did not. The killer whale was beautiful; it jumped up in the air as if it was flying. I love it on the boat because I feel like I am free and out in the open. The worst part about living on a boat is that once in a while I get seasick and my stomach starts hurting, but I feel better once Ive stopped on an island. As I was saying, the island and the view is beautiful. I cant wait until I get back on the sea. 1/5/13 Hi! There are so many things I have to tell you and so many things that have happened (dont worry I mean good things). I saw a dolphin jumping out of the water. It was really beautiful. I loved it so December 2013
Sailiing Blog
cited because my birthday is in 3 days! I changed my mind a little bit. I might just sleep in the cabin because I am a bit scared of spiders if I sleep in my tent. I also feel a little bit safer in the cabin because I am used to it. Ill write to you in 2 days. Bye! 16/5/13 Two exciting pieces of information I have to tell you. First of all its my birthday tomorrow!! And second of all, its beautiful here. The beach is awesome and the weather is amazing. I cannot wait to spend my birthday in this place. 17/5/13 Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday dear Rakel, happy birthday to me!! Its my birthday. I am so happy because the weather turned out to be brilliant!! It is about 20 degrees now (10 oclock) but its hopefully going to be hotter as the day progresses. Ive made my decision on what country to go to next. It is Spain! I am excited to try the food over there. When I was younger I always wanted to go to Spain. I might see some Spanish girls dancing in a show like senoritas. Im going to the beach, so I will write to you later. 20/5/13 I am back on my boat, sailing around the world. It was fun in Malta, but I am excited to go to Spain. I think it will take about 10 days. I dont know what else to do but steer the boat and take care of the sails. Before I left Malta I bought some soup and crackers, and soap. I also bought some clean water and toilet paper you know basic needs! Nothing fun happening at the moment, so I will write to you later. 24/5/13 You know what? I was washing my hands with soap and it was raining. I was scared the steering would go crazy, so I ran out of the bathroom, and the soap slipped out of my hand and into the sea! It of course sank. So from now on I have to dip my hands in the sea to clean them. I should have bought two of them! 28/5/13 There is nothing going on so far. Nothing but sailing. There is nothing new and amazing. Unfortunately my hands havent been clean for a while, -22-
so Im always scared that I might get sick, but I have been trying to be really careful. I calculated wrong; its going to take fifteen days to sail to Spain. I need soap now. I hope a miracle is going to happen, a bar of soap dropping from the sky. 1/6/13 Its 1st June and I have been living on a boat for two and a half months! I am a great survivor. I have celebrated today by giving myself a little treat, two more crackers than usual (usually I eat at least 3 a day). Of course the crackers arent chocolatey! They are whole grain, so its healthier. I also made myself soup and I am trying to do the best I can with only a little. 4/6/13 There is a big storm coming. I can see the clouds in view. Im going to head down to the cabin and take cover there. I have taken everything that is valuable and brought it down. Once I get there I am going to make a cosy bed and get to sleep. 4/6/13 I just heard a noise coming from the deck ... like a thumping noise. I walked up the stairs and there, standing right in front of me, was a pirate with a hook in his arm, a red hat and a filthy patched eye. I froze just standing there. As the wind blew, he took me by the arm and pulled me up the stairs. Not only was there one pirate, his crew were there, ready to attack me. The captain said, walk the plank. I looked over his shoulder and I saw that there was a plank ready for me. He pushed me nearer and nearer. Now I was at that point where I was 1 centimetre away from his face. I stood on the plank, not knowing what to do. Suddenly the captains mate pushed me into the water. Was that the end of my life or was I going to survive?
Sailiing Blog
This year in November 2013, ISL sent eighth and ninth graders to go to Istanbul for an MUN conference, but before I explain about the amazing trip, I will explain what the MUN actually is. MUN is a simulation of the UN. The UN is a place where all the countries come together and look at world conflicts and try to bring peace to these conflicts. This year the topic at Istanbul was peace and security. I was in the Historical Committee and we tried to resolve the Korean War that took place in 1950s. The resolution was that we bring North Korea and South Korea into one country. However I did not agree with the resolution as I thought problems would arise. This is a great trip and I recommend all students next year to try it out as it is worth it. Sadly, the weather was not as we expected it to be, but it was still warmer than here in cold Luxembourg. This is the most organised trips out of all Middle School MUN trips and it was my favourite one by far.
December 2013
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s t r o p S NECIS
U14 Boys Soccer NECIS 2013
Ron Schickendantz U14 Boys Soccer NECIS 2013
First of all, on behalf of our team, I would like to thank Coach Sam and Coach Kasey for making the whole season enjoyable for those who made the team and for those who didnt. This year, the U14 Boys had an amazing time in The Hague and we can all agree that it was an experience that we wont forget. Despite coming in 6th place, we all agree that with a bit of good luck we could have easily made the Top 3. Once again, Coach Sam was the best coach we could have ever asked for and also a good friend for all of us. Thank you Coach. Ron Schickendantz and the U14 Boys
Although we were the ones playing we couldnt have done it without our helpful and always smiling coach! Lucas Browne
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December 2013
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Pic
Grade 6 Pumpkins
Creative work
: Shao ture by
jun Che
Pictu
than R re by: E
ogers
a Brocklehurs
December 2013
Creative work
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Events in Luxembourg
December 2013 March 2014
Braden Davila
December 2013
Winterlights Luxembourg City Dates: November 23 - December 31 Festival of Lights and Animation at sites around the city, featuring Christmas markets, parades, rides, shows and concerts. Christmas Market Luxembourg City Dates: November 23 - December 24 Annual market that sells candles, toys, decorations, sweets, hot drinks and food. Buergbrennen Towns outside Luxembourg City Date: Evening of March 9 On Bonfire Day, bonfires in many towns around the city are lit with a large wooden cross in the middle. The signifies burn the winter.
January 2014
Tourism Fair Luxembourg City Dates: January 17-19 This fair offers over 200 tourist specialists.
February 2014
Luxembourg City Film Festival Luxembourg City Dates: February 28 March 9 Festival that aims towards films made in/with Luxembourg, offering feature and short films, documentaries and fiction films.
March 2014
Carnival Parade Diekirch Diekirch Date: March 2 Traditional parade featuring up to 50 floats and groups. Strimnnchen / Strifrchen Remich Date: Evening of March 5 Marks the end or Carnival by marching down in a procession down to the Moselle river bridge, with a straw man. They then light the scarecrow on fire and push the scarecrow into the river. This signifies the end of Carnival. -28-
Information and pictures taken from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg National Tourist Board Website. More Information can be found at: www.visitluxembourg.com
Imposs ible
Marcus Cope
Questio ns
What is the colour of nowhere? The colour of nowhere is both the blackness of nothing and something, it is the pale neither black nor white colour that shifts through realities separating the nothing of the desert, and the nowhere of the ocean. It is the black of the clear space and the colour of the things both seen and unseen. It is so dark, but too bright, too pale, yet so divine. - Emmanuel Diss What does silence sound like? An everlasting empty hallway full of the darkest and most abandoned dreams. -Marcus Cope Who is now? Einsteins inventions flying through the wind. -Afonso Carvalho What does an echo look like? It looks like ghosts, flying through the air. -Alex Starck What does silence sound like? Silence sounds like the mind of a sail, never talking. -Jesper Miquel What is the second biggest number? I think the second biggest number is a google -Francoise Betzen What does air feel like? Air feels like a bubble of security, waiting like a time bomb to be popped. -Emilie Bergling What is the second biggest number? The second biggest number is a grumpy competitive number because its never coming first. -Anonymous
Enjoy!
December 2013
Impossible Questions
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f l e s r u o y e r a p e r P
Question Joke
Marcus Cope
Jokes 1. What do you call a deer with no eyes? 2. What do you call a deer with no eyes and no legs? 3. What did NASA think of their party? 4. What did one Snowman say to the other? 5. What is Englands most friendly motorway? 6. Why did the paranoid guy quit Twitter?
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1. No Idea 2. Still no Idea 3. It was a blast 4. Do you smell carrots? 5.M8 6.He thought he was being followed
Jokes
By Marcus Cope
Middle School Magazine
f l e s r u o y e r a p e r P
Jokes
By Marcus Cope
You are on a horse, galloping at a constant speed. On your right side is sharp drop off, and on your left side is an elephant traveling at the same speed as you. Directly in front of you is a galloping kangaroo and your horse is unable to overtake it. Behind you is a lion running at the same speed as you and the kangaroo. What must you do to safely get out of this highly dangerous situation? Get off the merry-go-round, they are normally for children only!
December 2013
Jokes
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Ben Faulkner
Puzzles
Sudoku
Sudoku is a number puzzle that require s logical thinking. The aim of this puzzle is to fill in the squares with numbers 1 to 9, how ever every column, row, and 3x3 section, must contain all the digits 1-9. Sudoku puz zles are rated on a scale of 1 to 5 stars. This sec tion has a puzzle of each difficulty, plus a puzzle that is off the charts at 11 stars, for you to try!
rners of mbers in the co nu l al sm t pu - You can possibilities. squares, to show ctions, and ber 1 in all 9 se m nu r fo g in ok . -Start off by lo 2, 3, 4, and so on then progress to lumn, row, number in a co ng si is m e on t which -If there is ation to find ou in im el e us n, or sectio number it is.
Tips
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Puzzles
Puzzles
Word Problem
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December 2013
Puzzles
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Ben Faulkner
Puzzle Solutio
Sudoku
ns
Sources: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/
science-news/9359579/Worlds-hardest-sudoku-canyou-crack-it.html , http://www.4puz.com
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Puzzle Solutions
Puzzle Solutio
Word Problem s
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Source: http://www.ukmt.org.uk/individual-competitions/junior-challenge/
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December 2013
Puzzle Solutions
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Mind-boggling puzzles