SAN ANDREA SENIOR SCHOOL NEWSLETTER Issue 9

June 2008

FROM THE HEAD ~ Celebrating Learning at Senior School Recent educational studies have seen extensive efforts in many countries to ensure that the right to educational opportunity is extended to all members of the community. The children and young people of today live in a world of remarkable interest and excitement. Many have opportunities to travel, whilst even those who do not are accustomed to a rich diet of stimulation through television, films and computers. In this sense they present a challenge not faced by earlier generations of teachers. Faced with this challenge, of including the presence of students who come from all types of backgrounds, have a mixed ability or may even experience barriers to their learning within conventional arrangements, San Andrea School tried hard to think of ways which ‘reach out’ to all our students. Our ambition and challenge as educators is to help our students prepare themselves through an education which guides them to make a success of their life. The senior school aims at giving every young person the opportunity to make the most of their talents whilst ensuring that they are exposed to the curriculum which will give them all the tools needed to achieve school leaving certification results. Qualifications and the curriculum have a key role to play in meeting this ambition, guiding what young people study and how that learning is assessed and recognised. Along every grade, all our young people work towards the end goal of obtaining qualifications as well as work towards achieving various skills in line with the holistic ethos our school embraces.

Within the various initiatives that are taken along the senior school years, which stimulate the love for learning in a stable learning environment, there are many instances where our students are given the opportunities to become analytical creative and critical thinkers; enhance their scientific enquiry through a pedagogy based on questioning and not a pedagogy based on answers; learning by doing and a process that involves looking at the problem amongst many others. All this is presented through a curriculum which encourages a process of continuous search. May I take this opportunity to share with the reader a few highlights of the cocurricular and on-going activities organised along the school year. Each Department organises an annual activity, namely: Interactive Activities between Houses within the School for:

Ms Audrey Galea

matics lum.

Curricu-

Maths Olympiads

Science Week & Science and Technology Soiree: An interactive feast of science experiments and hands-on activities based on science and technology content and knowledge was organised this month. Students could show off their scientific aptitude in a vast range of interactive activities with their audience. Stephen Hawking Science and Technology Project: This is an annual event

Maltese – Jum Nicolò Isouard English - Readathon Italian – Campionissimo French – Question pour un Champion Mathematics – Maths Olympiads. This year we also saw the onset of Humati-Kynigi, an interdepartmental activity organised by the Humanities and Mathematics Department. All the senior school students, who were placed in groups of seven, toured the old capital city of Malta, Imdina. They gathered useful information and used the knowledge they acquired along the years from their History, Geography, Religion, Environment Studies, PSHE and Mathe-

in the school’s calendar which triggers in the students an interest to discover the scientific principles and laws that govern the world around us. (continues on page 2)

CONTENT: From the Head (p. 1-3); A Deeper Look (p. 4); Famous Inventions (p. 5); The Bible (p. 6); Photography (p. 7); Drama (p. 8); Comenius Project (p. 9); Art (p. 10); Farewell Gr. 12 (p. 11); Gr. 10 Students’ Opinion (p. 12); Euro 2008 (p. 13); Sport (p. 14-15); Celebrating Science (p. 16); Author’s Section (p. 17); Poetry (p. 18); House Masters (p. 19); PSHE (p. 20); Student Council and Student Exchange (p. 21); Activities at the Library (p. 22-23); In danger of extinction (p. 24); Intervista ma’… (p. 25); Ms Felicienne (p. 26); Summer Cool ~ Our Summer School 2008 (p. 27) .....

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(continues from page 1) It also aims at encouraging the development of skills such as researching, analysis, public presentation, discussion, group work and evaluation. The House System at the school has been developed over the years to suit the increasing population of the sector. It aims at motivating our children to improve in their academics and in their physical education skills and also motivates them to participate more actively in the hands-on activities organised by

Pastoral Visit by the Archbishop Paul Cremona as part of the 15th year Anniversary of San Andrea School This year’s St. Andrew’s celebrations were more special than the previous years. The Archbishop of Malta Mons. Paul Cremona accepted the invitation to honour us with his presence and gave us his pastoral blessing on the 29th November 2007. The students greeted him, and following the reading of the gospel, the archbishop shared with the congregation his thoughts and gave us a message. He gave us all his pastoral blessing. The archbishop then visited the exhibition based on different themes prepared by the Grade 8 – 10 students and he spoke to the students who were waiting for him to present their work. The grade 12 students had the privilege to have a private audience with the Archbishop, who answered all the concerns and queries these adolescents have in their every day life. He then blessed Shekinah – the

House Colour Blob the various subject departments. This proves to be a successful motivating tool for all those students who might need to feel part of a group to be engaged in the learning process. Presidential Visit at San Andrea School During the first term, the school was honoured with a visit by the President of Malta, Dr Edward Fenech Adami. The President was greeted by all the students in the amphitheatre and a short programme followed. The students from

room dedicated to quality alone time with God. Following his visit in senior school the Archbishop also visited the other two sectors of the school. Physical Education and Sports We are proud to say that our students participate and achieve very good results in national and inter school competitions, in tennis, table tennis, rugby, athletics, hockey, swimming, handball, football, basketball for both our girls and boys teams which are held regularly during the school year.

different countries greeted the president in their language and a short sketch related to How We can Make the World a Better Place was presented by the drama option students. This was a memorable experience for all the school community. Page 2

The School organises in-house tabletennis as well as football, basketball and handball tournaments during school day and 2 sports days based on athletics annually. Besides all the skills gained in these sports disciplines students are also exposed to cricket, rugby and hockey.

Our Rugby Team Together with these annual activities a walkathon and an annual school crosscountry for the different ages of our students is organised. Personal, Social and Health Education Along the year various seminars were organised. Topics tackled along the year focused issues related to Substance abuse, Cyber crime, Career choices and others. Anti-bullying was tackled through a whole week of activities. Guidance to the grade 9 and grade 12 students was given by the guidance teacher in order to assist them in their option choices and choices of postsecondary institutions respectively. The latter were also taken to post-secondary institutions such as Bighi Restoration Centre, Middle Sea Insurance, Institute of Tourism Studies, S Training Centre and others. Talks were also organised and held by diverse speakers from sixth forms. The grade 9 students were assisted to make the right option choices through a vast array of talks and visits all aimed at exposing them to the different facets of work. Grade 9 students also worked in groups and together participated in various activities of their choice to help the school community. Amongst these activities, we had students organising a sports day for teachers, students wrote their own big book and presented a puppet show to the grade 2 students whilst others helped out in maintenance. Experts on the field were invited to address the issues raised by the students or their parents. President’s Award Scheme Students aged 14 years and over this year were also given the opportunity to participate in the President’s Award Scheme (previously known as the Duke of Edinburgh Award). The Award is committed to providing an enjoyable, challenging and rewarding programme of personal development for adolescents. (continues on page 3) THE INSIDER

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(continues from page 2) It helps instil citizenship qualities within young people such as self-belief, perseverance and leadership skills. It is an International Award equipping young people worldwide with life skills to make a difference to themselves, their communities and their world.

On-site Educational Visits / Field Work A number of educational visits were organised by teachers teaching various subjects. The aim of these visits is to enhance what is learnt at school through a more hands-on approach.

Trips abroad A student exchange with France and a trip to Toscana, Italy were organised along this scholastic year. These intra-cultural exchanges with students from France and Italy serve as an opportunity for our students to live first hand the cultures and the language of the two foreign languages studied at school.

Trip to France (above) and to Italy (below)

and situations that helped them to experience a more exciting and maybe more effective way of learning! All students reaped the benefits of participating in an activity which aims at enhancing self-esteem and language skills, besides targeting other areas like facing an audience, instilling in our students the love for performing and achieving high standards in other aspects such as art, movement and music. Another event presented by the students specializing in Drama was held during the first term.

Comenius Project 2007 – 2009 – Europe goes to Theatre This project began in October 2007 and will continue for two years and aims to improve students’ foreign language skills and help them use the foreign language more effectively and actively by enriching the learning environment through drama activities. This project has been realized by the partnership and cooperation of Italy, Germany, Bulgaria, Turkey and Malta as coordinator of the project. Teacher-student visits have been planned to raise culture awareness among the students. Project partners countries explore and discover each other’s social and cultural background through the various activities organised. Fairy tales and folk tales of the various countries were translated to English and in the other foreign languages. All tales will be presented at the end of each year in one final performance. San Andrea Senior School hosted the first visit which was held between 7–12 April, 2008 with the participation of 6 students and teachers from Bulgaria, 8 students and teachers from Germany, 8 students and teachers from Italy and 8 students and teachers from Turkey.

Break Time Clubs Along the year Break Time Clubs such as Chess, Woodwork, Sports, Art and Crafts, Prayer and Action Group, Drama and Movement, Science Club and many more are organised during break time. These aim at extending extra-curricular and co-curricular skills during the students’ free time.

Spirituality

The Drama production Over 200 students participated in the annual school production. This year the theme chosen was Fantastical Tuition. The story was about a group of students who created TrekO-Matic, the latest gadget to help in their learning experience. Together with their teachers they travelled to some strange places

Issue 9

Developing the spiritual dimension of all our students is given its due importance in our school. A mass is celebrated weekly and all the liturgical dates in the Roman Catholic calendar are celebrated as a school through activities, talks and mass. Besides these, other activities are organised. In the month of May a procession of Our Lady is held as an event for the whole school community.

council regularly holds Woodwork Club meetings where students voice their concern on various issues. Students can also be chosen as school monitors. At the end of Grade 10 they submit their letter of application. They are then selected following an interview. The school monitors help in the management and logistical running of the school.

School Monitors Along this scholastic year, senior school students also participated in 2 national competitions. A group of Grade 10 students made us proud with their achievements and performance in the TV quiz Kontra l-Hin which was organized between all state, Church and independent Schools. Our school team faired very well and reached the Semi-Final. Another national initiative which the school participated in was the EuroChallenge National Competition. 5 teams of 4 participated out of which 2 teams were chosen to present their project. Our 2 school teams placed 5th and 6th respectively out of a total of 70 schools. All of the above mentioned initiatives as well as others are only possible through the students’ own hard work and the skill and commitment of their teachers, together with the partnership of the parents; these initiatives offer opportunities to progress further in learning through a quality education which is relevant to our students’ life.

Students’ Voice

This year once again students voted for their representatives on the Students’ Council. This

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A Deeper Look: becoming human by trial and error When we are impressed with the behaviour of animals we compare them to actions humans do. But when we are shocked by certain actions performed by humans, we compare them to animals even though it’s not the case. What is the case, though, is the fact that we find it difficult to perceive the traces of humanity in such atrocities connected to places like Beslan, Ruanda, and Auschwitz, or dates such as 9/11. And yet, on such occasions, pictures of children holding each other’s hands to overcome fear in Beslan and messages of care to loved ones from planes heading into disaster on 9/11 flicker in the darkness and give hope in the possibilities of humanity. And this leads me to a simple message: all attempts to be human are risks worth taking. And taking time to learn from others what it means to be human is quite specific to us humans (animals become completely independent in a matter of a few days or weeks). One of those who inspire me on a personal level is Pope John XXIII. Coming from a small town in the North of Italy, from a peasant family, he became a priest and spent a number of years working in Bulgaria, Turkey, and France before becoming Pope when he was 77. Even at that age he brought about far reaching changes in the Church and the world. It is enough to say that he convoked the Second Vatican Council and set an agenda of renewal. “We are not here to be curators of a museum,” he used to say, “but of a garden ready to flower”. He was able to look realistically at the world, distancing himself from those he called “prophets of doom” who saw nothing good in the present age, and thus be able to be instrumental in diffusing the tension be-

Fr Jimmy Bonnici

tween Kruschev and Kennedy in 1962 in what’s called “The Cuban Missile crisis”. Interestingly enough, the communist regime in the former USSR made a bust of him in their “museum of atheism” with the words “man of peace” underneath. What was the secret for his “success” in being so human? Here is his “manual” developed over more than eighty years of trial and error. I am very much inspired by his list: Only for today, I will seek to live the lifelong day positively without wishing to solve the problems of my life all at once. Only for today, I will take the greatest care of my appearance: I will dress modestly; I will not raise my voice; I will be courteous in my behaviour; I will not criticize anyone; I will not claim to improve or to discipline anyone except myself. Only for today, I will be happy in the certainty that I was created to be happy, not only in the other world but also in this one. Only for today, I will adapt circumstances, without requiring all circumstances to be adapted to my own wishes. Only for today, I will devote ten minutes of my time to some good reading, remembering that just as food is necessary to the life of the body, so good reading is necessary to the life of the soul. Only for today, I will try to do one good deed and not tell anyone about it. Only for today, I will do at least one thing I do not like doing; and if my

Pope John XXIII feelings are hurt, I will make sure that no one notices. Only for today, I will make a plan for myself: I may not follow it to the letter, but I will make it. And I will be on guard against two evils: hastiness and indecision. Only for today, I will firmly believe, despite appearances, that the good providence of God cares for me as no one else who exists in this world. Only for today, I will have no fears. In particular, I will not be afraid to enjoy what is beautiful and to believe in goodness. Indeed, for twelve hours I can certainly do what might cause me consternation were I to believe I had to do it all my life? I believe that those who adopt this wisdom can be a source of joy as Pope John hoped that every Christian would be: “Every believer in this world must be a spark of light, a core of love, life-giving leaven in the mass: and the more he is so, the more he will live, in his innermost depths, in communion with God”.

A direct call from the Bible

Mr Peter Pace O’Shea

TRUE LOVE 'LOVE IS ALWAYS PATIENT AND KIND; LOVE IS NEVER JEALOUS; LOVE IS NOT BOASTFUL OR CONCEITED - IT IS NEVER RUDE AND NEVER SEEKS ITS OWN ADVANTAGE. IT DOES NOT TAKE OFFENCE OR STORE UP GRIEVANCES. LOVE DOES NOT REJOICE AT WRONGDOING BUT FINDS ITS JOY IN THE TRUTH. IT IS ALWAYS READY TO MAKE ALLOWANCES, TO TRUST, TO HOPE AND TO ENDURE WHATEVER COMES.' (This reading was taken from the first letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians)

I think we all need reminding of what love is really all about. Page 4

THE INSIDER

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Famous Inventions The Ambulance During the Crusades of the 11th Century, the Knights of St John received instruction in first-aid treatment from Arab and Greek doctors. The Knights of St John then acted as the first emergency work-

Mr Gilbert Fenech Crossword puzzle

with equipment moved out from the field hospitals to give first-aid to the wounded on the battlefield and/or carried them back by stretcher, hand-carts and wagons to the field hospitals.

A crossword puzzle is a game of words where the player is given a hint and the number of letters. The player then fills in a grid of boxes by finding the right words. Liverpool journalist, Arthur Wynne invented the first crossword puzzle. Arthur Wynne who immigrated to the United States wrote the first crossword puzzle for an American newspaper called the New York World. It was published on Sunday, December 21, 1913.

Motorized ambulance vehicles have been in use since the beginning of the 20th century. In the 1950s the United States pioneered helicopter-ambulances during the Korean War. Will Keith Kellogg

ers, treating soldiers on both sides of the war of the battlefield and bringing in the wounded to nearby tents for further treatment. The concept of ambulance service started in Europe with the Knights of St John, at the same time it had also become common practice for small rewards to be paid to soldiers who carried the wounded bodies of other soldiers in for medical treatment. The Surgeon-in-Chief of the French Grand Army, "Baron Dominiquie Larrey" created the first official army medical corp. in 1792. Trained attendants

Will Keith Kellogg was the founder of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, founded in 1906. In 1894, Kellogg was trying to improve the diet of hospital patients. He was searching for a digestible bread substitute using the process of b o i l i n g wheat. Kellogg accidentally left a pot of boiled wheat to stand and the wheat became temp e r e d (soften). When Kellogg rolled the tempered or softened wheat and let it dry, each grain of wheat emerged as a large thin flake. The flakes turned out to be a tasty cereal. Kellogg had invented corn flakes.

Arthur Wynne' s crossword puzzle was initially called wordcross and was d i a m o n d shaped. The name later switched to cross-word and then crossword. Wynne based his crossword puzzle on a similar but much older game played in ancient Pompeii translated from Latin to mean magic squares. In 1924, Simon and Schuster published the first collection of crossword puzzles in book form. Reference used: http://inventors.about.com

Farewell Speech To all San Andreans - whether teachers, students, maids, handymen or even the occasional cat who sits in the amphitheatre. I' m not such a well known a person in San Andrea. I' m not a monitor or part of the school council. I' m not that great at sports and I don' t get straight As. Mostly my contribution to the school is through this newsletter, which I have contributed to ever since the first issue. Now that I' m leaving, I can' t help jumping for joy. Honestly, I' ve always wanted to get over with the ‘O’ levels and ' start'my life. I' ve known this place for 5 years, and even though I' ll leave, this place will always bring back memories, good and bad - I' ll always remember singing the "Morning Report" song in grade 8 in the school play, reading out poems for every single Colour Blob I' ve ever attended, joining in games and interschools competitions, scribbling my name on some lone corner of the school or trying to escape Ms Felicienne at going-home time :) ... But one thing I' ll remember at this school was that it made me who I am today. I wouldn' t be the same person otherwise. Issue 9

Natasha Singh

People here have made me happy, made me sad, changed my mind so completely about certain things; they' re things I' ll never forget. And I think I' m speaking for all Gr.12s when I say that we' ll all have things we' ll never forget here. We spent the life we know so far in this place, we know every inch of this building and its community. This place is embedded in us, our characters, our person.

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The Bible: The origins of the New Testament The early church received from its Jewish heritage the notion of Sacred Scripture but not that of a closed “Canon”. When speaking of canon in reference to the New Testament literature, the focus is specifically on that limited collection of Christian writings that was recognised by the Church to be Inspired by God. Originally, the English word “canon” is a transliteration of the Greek word kanon which is derived from the Hebrew word qaneh which means a “reed”. This was used for measuring as now we use a yardstick. Thus, the word for reed came to denote a measuring rod. The term “canon” or norm may have first referred to the standard beliefs of the Christian communities. Ultimately, the canon of Scriptures came to mean what we understand by it today: the collection of Inspired Books received by the Church. A canonical book is one that the Church acknowledges as belonging to its list of Sacred Books, as Inspired by God – that is, having God as their source – and as having a value for faith. Not all believers accept the same list (canon). With regards to the Old Testament, for example, the Jewish canon, later taken over by the Protestants, contains only 39 books, all written in Hebrew or Aramaic languages. On the other hand, for the Catholic Bible, the canon contains 46 books, seven more than the Jewish canon. From the beginning, the teaching of Jesus, circulated among the Christians in oral form. Some of this tradition was written down quite early (ca. 35-65 A.D.), but much of it remained in oral form for a considerable period of time. Papias, as late as (ca. 120-140 A.D.) could still say that he preferred these oral communications to the written message of books, namely, the Gospels according to Matthew and Mark. It is largely with Irenaeus that the move of the centre of authority away from oral tradition to a fixed normative text began to take place. It is clear that the sayings of Jesus had a Scripture-like status from the very beginning of the Church. An example of this is the importance given to the words of Jesus in 1 Cor 7, 10; 1 Thess 4, 15; and Matt 28, 18. Paul’s epistles also seem to appear with a Scripture-like authority in the churches as seen in 2 Peter, where the apostle writes: “Look on our Lord's patience as the opportunity he is giving you to be saved, just as our dear brother Paul wrote to you, using the wisdom that God gave him. This is what he says in all his letters

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when he writes on the subject. There are some difficult things in his letters which ignorant and unstable people explain falsely, as they do with other passages of the Scriptures. So they bring on their own destruction.” (2 Peter 3, 1516) This passage compares Paul’s letters to “the other Scriptures”. Paul surely would have avoided such a description of his occasional letters to the churches, but it is clear that within a relatively short period of time after Paul’s death, his letters had a function within the Christian churches similar to that of Scriptures. The author’s manner of speaking of “all his letters” presupposes that Paul’s letters had been collected together. Although the mid-second century Church was gradually recognising the usefulness of a body of Christian literature for its life and worship, there were as yet no fixed collections to which one could appeal. Irenaeus of Lyons (writing ca. 170-180 A.D.) gives no list of New Testament books, but it is clear from his works that he proved the four Gospels, the Book of Acts, the Pauline letters, some other letters, and the Book of Revelation, that is, 22 out of 27 books in the New Testament. It seems that he was the first to use the terms “Old Testament” and “New Testament” and he claimed that both Testaments were Scriptures and, therefore, authoritative for Christian faith. Contemporary with Irenaeus was Clement of Alexandria (ca. 150-215 A.D.). Clement accepted the four Gospels, but had no objection in citing other gospels. Origen (ca. 185-254 A.D.) was one of the most important teachers in the ancient church. Like Clement of Alexandria, Origen held that the canon of the New Testament was made up of four Gospels, fourteen letters of Paul, one letter of Peter, one letter of John and the Book of Revelation. Eusebius (ca. 260-340 A.D.) bishop of Caesarea, came up with the idea to classify the New Testament books into three categories. This shows that in the Church of Eusebius’ time, the set of books that had to form the New Testament were not yet put together. Athanasius (ca. 296-373 A.D.) was probably the first to use the term “canon” in reference to a closed body of sacred literature and also appears to be the first to list the 27 books of our current New Testament canon.

Mr Jonathan Muscat The Roman Synod of 382 A.D. convened during the reign of Pope Damasus (366-384 A.D.) under the influence of St. Jerome, promoted a canon of the New Testament which contained the same 27 books cited by Athanasius, although in somewhat different order. With Augustine, whose influence upon the Western Church was even greater than that of Jerome, we come to a natural end to the debate concerning the New Testament canon. Augustine said that nothing should be read in Church under the name of divine Scriptures, besides the books that made part of the canon. It was through the Council of Florence (14391443), that Pope Eugenius IV stated that the Old and New Testament should be considered together and that they are inspired works by God. At the time of the Protestant Reformation, there was an awakening of earlier uncertainties concerning the authenticity of several books of the New Testament. Martin Luther decided to relegate the Letter to the Hebrews, the Letters of James and Jude, and the book of Revelation to a lesser status than that enjoyed by the other 23 books of the New Testament. Luther included Hebrews, James, Jude, and Revelation only as an appendix to his German-language New Testament. Luther rejected also the canonical status of 7 Old Testament books. But he could not be blind to the fact that these books had been read as Scriptures throughout the history of the Church. He accordingly printed them in his Bible, but together in a group before the New Testament. The disrupting influences of opinions about Scriptures expressed by such figures, prompted Pope Paul III, to convene a Council at Trent. In 1546, the Council of Trent issued a decree De Canonicis Scriptures, in which, for the first time in the history of the Church, the question of the contents of the Bible was made an absolute article of faith. This document of the Church’s Magisterium fixed definitely the canon of the Sacred Books for both the Old and New Testaments. Christians have decided that this is their Bible and that the canon is closed. Once closed, a canon never reopens. The present Bible therefore cannot expand to include other works, whatever their quality. The Church made use of the following five criteria to distinguish the true from the false writings. The criteria are Apostolicity, Orthodoxy, Antiquity, Inspiration, and Usage.

THE INSIDER

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Basic Photography Imagine taking a great holiday picture. The scene is perfect and the persons in the photos are just in a perfect pose except for their eyes…. Instead of their usual colour we are able to see a batch of bright red which in fact ruins the photo. This is the famous Red Eye effect. How does this red eye effect occur? The red that you would be seeing is actually the reflection of the flash light inside of the eye where blood rich cells are present. Therefore, it is obvious to state that the flash on your camera is what causes red eye, so the simplest way to eliminate it is to take away the flash! Now some pictures will need the flash, so I' m not suggesting that you never use it. Red eye can be avoided by taking the following measures: If shooting indoors try to increase the lighting of the room so that the eyes become less sensitive to light. You could try to take a photo without using a flash at all. However this could result in a shaky or low quality picture if you’re not careful. On the other hand if taken correctly some of the best indoor shots are those taken without a flash Ask the persons not to look straight at the camera. In doing so the photo will also have an artistic effect. A photo taken with

all the subjects looking at the camera is anything but original. Assuming you do require a flash for a photo, think about where that flash is. Many modern digital cameras have the flash right next to the lens. This means that when the photo is taken, and the light from the flash bounces right back towards the flash, it shows up in the lens. If the flash can be distanced from the camera, then this will greatly minimise the effect of red eye. One way to remove the flash from the lens is to use external flashes (if your camera is capable of having one attached). These don' t have to be too expensive, and can be a great asset if you take a lot of portrait photos. If the flash direction on your camera is adjustable, then why not try bouncing a flash off the ceiling? The best way is to experiment a little, and see what differences you can make by removing that direct reflection of the flash into the camera lens. (Figure 1 shows an example of a typical external bounce flash). Some cameras which do have the flash close to the lens also contain a red eye reduction feature. This feature causes the camera to emit two large flashes, one as the picture is taken and one just before. Some

How to Avoid a Big Kiss from Mum or Dad up a slimy frog in front of your face when you see it coming. ∗Wear a fishbowl on your head . ∗If your parents are superstitious, walk under a ladder or pet a black cat and they won’t come near you. ∗Eat a lot of onions. ∗Watch James Bond 007 movies and learn to slip away from your parents like he does. ∗Get married and leave home. ∗Wear XXL jumpers to cover your face. ∗Never wash your face or teeth. ∗Make up a story that you have been in the sun and your face burns when it is touched. ∗Move to another country.

Mr Daniel Cordina

cameras even produce a series of minor flashes before the main flash. These ' preflashes' cause the subject' s pupils to contract, which reduces the light which can t ra vel Figure 1 through the pupil, to be reflected back into the camera. Even turning up room lights can reduce red eye, as in a brighter room the person' s pupils will contract. The Bottom Line One must remember that it may not always be possible to eliminate red eye. Most of the time however, the effect can be eliminated, or at least reduced. As a last resort one can always use computer software which can try to avoid this effect when one downloads his or her photos onto a PC. However, prevention is better than cure.

Patrick Farrugia (Gr 8)

∗Hold

Issue 9

Well, let’s hope that all these will help you avoid kisses from your parents and remember that when your parents approach and you are unarmed, think of the James Bond 007 films and slip away like he does!! Page 7

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Fantastical Tuition Everyone knew that extra bit of effort we could give a performance of a lifetime. And in fact, everyone did.

Fantastical Tuition was a fabulous experience for all the students who formed part of the large cast that together worked to create a magical evening for the audience present. This year the drama evening was held at St. Agatha’s Auditorium in Rabat and this created a lot of new challenges for the show. The scenery had to be much bigger to fill such a large stage, the backstage crew had to work with actual blackouts which made it quite difficult for them to set up. The students had little time to get used to the stage as opposed to previous years when they could rehearse in the school’s amphitheatre. However despite all these difficulties the whole team worked very hard to put up a brilliant performance.

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Ms Daphne Said A big thank you to you all Grade 8, Grade 9 and of course the Drama Option student

The story was about a group of students who create Trek-O-Matic, the latest gadget to help in their learning experience. Together with their teachers they travel to some strange places and situations that help them to experience a more exciting and maybe more effective way of learning! Apart from acquiring knowledge they do understand one very important lesson on the way. Together as a team we achieve greater things! And that is exactly how we all worked, together, and I’m sure that Fantastical Tuition will be a show we will always remember. In conclusion I would like to thank all the people that helped to make the show a great success. I would also like to congratulate myself with all the students who felt worried about getting on stage but who still tried their very best to overcome their fear and gave an excellent performance.

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“EUROPE GOES TO THEATRE” ~ Comenius Project 2007 - 2009 Karl Bonello (Gr. 10)

The Comenius project “Europe Goes to Theatre”, which is being co-ordinated by the Departement of Foreign Languages and Drama, successfully held its first project meeting for teachers and students at San Andrea Senior School in April 2008. The teachers used the 3 day meeting to discuss project details, evaluate the work carried during the first project year and plan for the second year.

The welcome noticeboard of the “Europe Goes to Theatre” exhibition held at San Andrea Senior School. Whilst teachers attended these discussions, students coming from the five participating countries participated in a workshop related to the topic. Four Grade 10 students were chosen by lots to represent San Andrea Senior school. The following is Karl Bonello’s experience as a participant

Some of the foreign students participated in the workshop.

who

in the “Europe goes to Theatre” workshop. This project meeting proved to be a fruitful experience for us students as we had the unforgettable opportunity to meet and communicate with foreign students from various countries around Europe. Apart from this, it was fun learning a word or two in the different languages which are not taught at school such as Bulgarian, German and Turkish. The workshop consisted of the production of a short play based on fairy tales or folk tales originating from the various countries where the students live. As a conclusion to our play, all of us played traditional Maltese games which was especially interesting for the foreign students. During the lunch breaks, we all had the opportunity to communicate with the students and in no time at all we became best of friends. Unfortunately all good things come to an end and three days flew by, and soon it was

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

time to say goodbye. Numerous photos were taken so that all of us can remember this wonderful event. We all enjoyed the last day to the full and found it extremely hard to say bye, even though we only knew each other for three days. As the Turks left early, they were unable to join in the fun of strawberry picking at Mgarr, which was the last activity before everyone parted ways. We made sure that every student had adequate e-mail adresses for further communication in the future. Thinking about how much I have learnt while making new friends, I definitely do not regret taking part in the Comenius project and I am glad that I applied for it just in time. I thoroughly thank all the teachers who coordinated this event for giving us such a great opportunity to meet new people and improve on our foreign languages.

The Italian teachers and students together with Ms. Sharon Abela, project coordinator, at Upper Barakka Gardens.

Ms Anna Abela

“ Once there was a great forest fire, and all the birds and animals rushed to escape. Little Humming Bird went to the river and collected a drop of water. The other birds laughed. 'What are you doing?' they asked. She replied, 'I'm doing what I can.' ” Native American Proverb Issue 9

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Young Artists at Work

Ms Nadine Briffa

Rebecca Cassar (Gr. 10) Chloe Waterfield (Gr. 12 )

Angel aVella Zarb (Gr. 12)

Diana Fridelova (Gr. 10)

Sophie Debattista (Gr. 10)

Thea Vella (Gr. 12)

Jeanelle Chetcuti (Gr. 12)

Megan Buttigieg (Gr. 11)

Ruth Vella (Gr. 12) Page 10

Sacha Cutajar (Gr. 12)

Maria Attard (Gr. 11)

Susanna Calì (Gr. 12) THE INSIDER

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Grade 10 students voice out their opinions Rebecca Cassar - Discrimination There are many different people in the world with interesting cultures that they should be proud of, but they are still not being accepted in social groups because of the colour of their skin, gender and physical appearance. And this is preci sel y wh at really irritates me. Although we have a better awareness of people’s rights, we are still faced with discrimination of different kinds. Even amongst young people we find discrimination in the form of bullying. I am not referring to physical bullying, but to emotional bullying. It occurs amongst children who may leave out their peers for various reasons which may include the fact that the child may look or act in a different way.

exact reason that the previous canteen operators left our school still remains unknown. It could have been the new law requiring only healthy food to be sold; it could have been difficulties encountered during the e u r o change-over. What we are sure of is that although tenders were issued, no one has taken the job. Luckily for us, groups of people do organize Hot Dog Day, Pizza Day, Healthy Food Week, but these last only a day or a week, and these activities often do not cover drinks. How long can this go on for? Do we have to remain begging our classmates for some of their lunch until the end of the year, or are we to remain hungry and thirsty until three o’clock?

Alexandra Alden - Media

Julian Bajada - Litter

Too many teens and children admire people who are size zero, or look up to idealistic images of beauty which, in reality, are most likely to be heavily photo-shopped. What are you going to get out of life if you’re going to live a dream directly out of photoshop? You have one life so lead it the way you want. Ultimately, you are the one you have to please, and not anyone else. If someone criticises you, the likelihood is you have something they don’t have and they want to put you down out of jealousy and spite. The human instinct is to beat the competition and people don’t care how they do it even if it causes eating disorders or severe self-esteem issues. Darren Grixti - School without a canteen

We have been for over five months without a canteen. Many of us here have been for all this time either making their own lunches or remaining without. The

Page 12

The one thing I cannot stand in this modern world is that people litter just because they are too lazy to hang on for a while and throw it away in the next dustbin they come across. Just because other people litter, it doesn’t mean that it is okay to do so. Litter creates problems as sea animals are killed and it also damages our natural environment. Apart from that, there are obvious problems. It does not look good if a tourist had to see a park or beach full of someone else’s rubbish. Think twice before throwing away your favourite bottle of Pepsi! Sarah Xuereb - Balance in life We should keep a balance in our lives and also keep our priorities more or less equal. Everything has its importance. At school we must learn, study and obtain good results. When we practise a sport, we train regularly so as to perform better. Our parents might tell us that the more

Ms Simone Zammit

priorities we have in our life, the better it is. However, we need to make sure we can keep up with everything. There are two extremes. Some people have absolutely no activities to look forward to, while others have a packed timetable of activities. The best is somewhere in between. Think about this and try to bring a balance in your lives. Erika Vella - Homework To many of us homework is the most boring thing in the world. To a few, it may be something fun, educational, worth doing. Well, in my opinion, I know that homework is important, but I would rather spend my time relaxing. The amount of homework we get is taking away precious time from our hobbies. Teachers should perhaps give us less homework so that we have time to study for our annual exams. Diego Borg -Car exhaust Picture this. You’re driving, feeling relaxed and enjoying a breeze in your hair, and suddenly a big puff of black smoke surrounds you. I can’t stand this. Exhaust just engulfs you and you can’t get rid of it. Every time I see a truck or a bus approaching, I immediately think about the exhaust that will eventually blow in my face. The worse thing is that if you wind up the windows, the smoke and smell get trapped inside your car, and if you leave the window open, more smoke just keeps on coming in.

THE INSIDER

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Euro 2008 ~ Best players

Romania: Adrian Mutu (Att. Midfielder)/Birth date: 8.1.1979/ Team: Fiorentina/Appearances: 60/Goals: 27/Country rank: 12

Poland: Artur Boruc (Goalkeeper)/Birth date: 20.2.1980/ Team: Celtic/Appearances: 32/ Country rank: 27

Croatia: Niko Kranjcar (Midfielder)/Birth date: 13.8.1984/ Team: Portsmouth/Appearances: 39/Goals: 6/Country rank: 13

Italy: Alessandro Del Piero (Striker)/ Birth date: 9.11.74/Team: Juventus / Appearances: 85/Goals: 27/Country rank: 3/Italy top scorer (21 goals)

F r a n c e : F r a nc k R i be r y (Winger)/Birth date: 1.4.1983/ Team: B.Munich/Appearances: 25/Goals: 3/Country rank: 7

Greece: Theofanis Gekas (Striker)/ Birth date: 23.5.1980/Team: Bayer Leverkusen 04/Appearances: 25/Goals: 6/Country rank: 8

Austria: Alexander Manninger (Goalkeeper)/Birth date: 4.6.1977/ Team: Siena/Appearances: 24/ Country rank: 101

Spain: Cesc Fabregas (Midfielder)/Birth date: 4.5.1987/ Team: Arsenal/Appearances: 23/ Goals: 0/Country rank: 4

Netherlands: Ryan Babel (Winger)/Birth date: 19.12.1986/ Team: Liverpool/Appearances: 24/ Goals: 5/Country rank: 10

Czech Republic: Petr Cech (Go a l ke e pe r )/ B i r th da te : 2 0 .5 .19 82 / Tea m: Chel sea / Appearances: 56/Country rank: 6

Aleandro Borg (Gr. 10)

Russia: Andrei Arshavin (Att. Midfielder)/Birth date: 29.5.1981/ T e a m: Ze n i t S t. P e te r s b u r g / Appearances: 33/Goals: 10/ Country rank: 25

Turkey: Ihat Kahveci (Striker)/ Birth date: 23.11.1979/Team: Villarreal/Appearances: 51/Goals: 18/Country rank: 25

Germany: Michael Ballack (Midfielder)/Birth date: 26.9.1976/ Team: Chelsea/Appearances: 79/ Goals: 35/Country rank: 5

Portugal: Cristiano Ronaldo (Winger)/Birth date: 5.2.1985/ Team: Man. United/Appearances: 54/Goals: 20/Country rank: 9

Switzerland: Philippe Senderos (defender)/ Birth date: 14.2.1985/ Team: Arsenal/Appearances: 26/ Goals: 3/Country rank: 48

Sweden: Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Striker)/Birth date: 3.10.1981/ Team: Inter/Appearances: 49/ Goals: 18/Country rank: 23

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INTER-SCHOOLS COMPETITIONS

Mr Kevin Mamo

San Andrea has once again been involved in several inter-schools competitions this scholastic year. All school teams in different disciplines have worked very hard along the year and this has shown in the very good results our school has obtained throughout this scholastic year. The following are the successes our school has obtained this year: Football Girls U/16 – 1st Place

Basketball Girls U/16 – 2nd Place

Basketball Girls U/13 – 3rd Place

Handball Girls U/16 – 1st & 2nd Place

Handball Girls Team B – 3rd Place

Football Girls U/13 – 1st Place

Athletics Team Girls – 1st Place Handball Girls Team B – 1st Place

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(continues to page 15) THE INSIDER

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(continues from page 14)

Rugby Boys U/15 – 2nd - Place

Football Boys U/13 – 3rd Place

Handball Boys U/14 – 3rd Place

Basketball Boys U/16 – 3rd Place

Hockey Boys U/13 Football Boys U/12 – 4th Place

Tennis Teams Boys/Girls

Tennis Boys U/15 – 1st Place Swimming Team Boys – 2nd Place

Swimming Team Girls – 1st Place

Issue 9

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Celebrating Science at San Andrea Gus Tuberville, the President of the William Penn College once said that: ‘’For learning to take place with any kind of efficiency students must be motivated. To be motivated, they must become interested. And they become interested when they are actively working on projects which they can relate to their values and goals in life.’’ This has been the main idea behind this year’s science extra curricular activities. As a team, the Science Department has worked towards teaching Science with a more hands on approach. Some of the activities involved were: Science Club This year, the Science Department launched a New Science Club which was held every Wednesday during second break and was open to all grade 9 and 10 students. During this time the students had the opportunity to take part in hands on experiments which were not always strictly in their syllabi but which helped the students understand various scientific concepts and have fun at the same time. Such experiments were then performed by the students themselves during the science soiree. Trip to La Roch Sur Yon in France Between the 22nd and 31st of March, a group of grade 11 students had the opportunity to attend an exchange trip to France. During the first couple of days of this trip, the students met other students their age and exchanged cultural ideas, while at the same time made new friends and visited various places in France. During the last 5 days of this trip the students presented a project which they prepared in a science exhibition. During this science exhibition various projects were on show with participants from various countries including Germany, France and Italy. The title chosen by our students was that of Bioprospecting which involves the extraction of compounds of interest from plants and animals, for medicinal use. This trip has been a valuable experience for the students both on an academic as well as on a social level.

Page 16

Ms Debbie Vella

Stephen Hawking Science and Technology Project The title of this year’s Stephen Hawking Science and Technology project was: ‘The What, the How and the Why’ of various things around us. At the beginning of the scholastic year, all the grade 11 students had the opportunity to pair up and together choose an object from a sealed box. Each pair had to then prepare a short assignment and a 15 minute presentation on the object chosen keeping in mind the main title given. These presentations were held in April and May 2008. 6 finalists were short-listed from all the groups

and these students performed their presentation in front of 5 external judges on the final which was held on the 22nd of May. These judges chose the winning pair (Ryan and John Cascun with a project entitled ‘The Egg’). I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Ryan and John Cascun for winning this year’s prize, the other 5 finalists for their very good work and effort and all the grade 11’s for participating in this event. This project was a learning experience for everyone. Science Soiree The Science Soiree was held on the 13th of May, 2008 and was a whole school activity as it involved all the students in Senior School. Grade 8 students prepared the section entitled ‘’ The Science Hall of Fame’’. Each student prepared a chart about a particular scientist and his invention. These charts were placed in chronological order and the students had the opportunity to present their ideas to the visitors of the soiree. Grade 9 students prepared an impressive exhibition about the Universe. This exhibition included information and pictures related to, amongst others, the Big Bang, galaxies, lifetime of stars and satellites. Two grade 9 students also gave a presentation on the life of the Scien-

tist Stephen Hawking. Grade 10 students were involved in various activities including Chemistry, Biology and Physics hands on experiments, an exhibition about alternative energy and a wonderful show related to the heart. This section was an expression of all three sciences, whereby a live dissection was carried out, together with various experiments to try and explain as many aspects as possible about the heart. Grade 11 students were involved in the Stephen Hawking Science and Technology Project and during the Soiree each team, had the opportunity to exhibit and explain their project to the visitors of the soiree. Various students from different grades were also involved in the Computer Studies section (in which the students explained and used various computer programmes), Technical Design section (in which the students had the opportunity to show and explain their drawings and models), the Energy Terrace (a terrace which is entirely dedicated to energy and alternative sources of energy), Bioprospecting Section, and the section dedicated to the open yet fully functional computer. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the large number of students who participated in this year’s science soiree. Their enthusiasm was contagious and made every minute of work a pleasure as through this activity they have learnt so much. I would also like to thank all the teachers forming part of the Science Department, who, together as a team, have worked so hard to make the soiree the success that it was. Last but not least I would like to thank the administration for all their effort in helping us at all times and all the teachers who helped us in any way.

THE INSIDER

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The Author’s Section RICK RIORDAN Rick Riordan is a teacher and a writer, but at the beginning he was a singer. He has won many awards for his mystery novels for adults. He taught Greek mythology at a middle school in San Francisco. He lives in Texas with his wife and two sons. He was born in June 1964. In fact he is the multi-award-winner author of the Tres Navarre mystery series for adults and the New York Times bestselling Percy Jackson and the Olympians series for children. In 2002 he was honoured with the school’s Master Teacher Award. He even won the top three national awards in the mystery genre for adults fiction book – the Edgar, the Anthony and the Shamus. He is mostly famous for Percy Jackson and the Olympians series for children. His series is about a twelve-year-old dyslexic boy who discovers he is the modern-day son of a Greek god. His ideas about his novel came to him while he was teaching Greek mythology in San Francisco.

Percy Jackson Series The first book of Percy Jackson and the Olympians series is called The Lighting Thief which came out in 2005. Percy Jackson is a 12 year old dyslexic boy who suffers from ADHD. Unfortunately he had the tendency of getting expelled from schools. In fact he got expelled from six different schools in six years. His recent school was Yancy Academy in New York where he realises he is completely different from other kids. He comes across a lot of dangerous demons who are sent from the depth of the underworld one of whom was his teacher of Yancy Academy. He gets to know from his mother that he is a demigod, meaning half God and half human. So with the help of his friend Grover, half goat and half human, he goes to Half Blood Camp where he learns how to control his superb powers given to him by his father who is a God. Unfortunately, Percy had to embark in a quest to get back a lighting bolt which was stolen from his uncle, one of the “big three gods”. Someone had stolen the lighting bolt and Percy got the blame because his father had a deal with his two other brother Gods not to have children with humans. And so Percy embarked in a quest to get back the lighting bolt. With the help of Glover and his other friend Annabeth he went

Issue 9

Aaron Abela (Gr. 10)

through a quest. Many battles against demons lie along his quest. Will he succeed or fail? …. The second book of the series is called The Sea of Monsters. It came out on 1st April 2006. It is again about a dyslexic boy who is called Percy Jackson and who has to rescue Half Blood Camp from being utterly destroyed by monsters. The tree which protected the camp for many decades was poisoned by a traitor who was in their midst. And again Percy and his friend Annabeth, and this time Tyson, had to embark on another quest to save his friend Glover and to get a fleece that may heal the tree. A quest that will take them deep into the sinister “Sea of Monsters”. Will Percy suceed or meet with failure? ... The third book of the series is called The Titan’s Curse which came out on 1st May 2007. The third book is a Percy who receives a distressful call from his friend Grover. He prepares for a battle. He knows he will need his powerful demigod allies, Annabeth who becomes more than just a friend and Thalia (this character is mentioned at the end of the second book), at his side; his trusty bronze sword ….. When they arrive, the demigods find more than just mythological monsters awaiting them ….. Perhaps a curse? The fourth book of the series is called The Battle of the Labyrinth which came out on the 6th May 2008.The fourth book is about Percy Jackson who has become a first year student at university. In his college he isn’t expecting it to be fun. But when a mysterious mortal acquaintance appears followed by Demon Cheerleaders, things move from bad to worse...... A war where he finally confronts his sinister rival Krono and gets to know his most terrible secret. Book five will come out in 2009. I encourage all students to read this series. It is a combination of an incredible story with Greek mythology. It will keep anyone in suspense till the very end of the series. I’d give this series a five- star rating.

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Mr Clinton Xuereb

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These pages are filled, with words that keep on going, Going, going, with no-one ever knowing, What they mean or what they say If they sigh or gasp or smile or pray, Whether they cry or weep with joyous laughter, Whether they came before or from sometime after, Whether they were written, in pencil or in ink Whether they're sporadic, or contain some secret link, Whether they're black, white, pink or maybe blue Whether these words are many or whether they are few, Whether they're short and simple, easy to understand Whether they're difficult, and longer than my hand, Whether they're just random words or even part of a song, Whether they're typed or they printed or the spelling's all wrong, Whether they're from a selected article or a passage from a book Whether they're about Einstein or about Captain Hook, Whether they're truths, lies, facts or fiction Whether they signify, permission or restriction, The words they themselves, they don't differ; But the way that they're said, changes their reason for being there.

THE INSIDER

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Interview with Ms Lara Jake Galea, Darrelyn M. Bartolo, Sandie Von Brockdorff, Rebecka Lundquist, Lara Zammit (Gr. 8) How long have you Do you like sports? What is your favourite sport? Yes, I love sports. All sports really but my favourite is swimming and waterskiing, running and playing squash. Do you like being a house master of the yellows? Or would you prefer being of the Blues/ Greens/ Reds? Why? I am very happy and proud to be the House Master of The House of Auvergne. No, I do not because this is the house that I was given to take care of four years ago and would not change it for any other House and besides yellow is one of my favourite colours, it is bright like the sun, just like my yellow cadets. How long have you been teaching?

What do you prefer, being an English teacher or the Yellows house Master? I like both equally, they are very different roles and that is what makes it more interesting; being an English teacher allows me to use what I studied and being a house master gives me the opportunity to show my love for sports besides I get to know the students beyond the four walls of the classroom. Did you ever work at other schools? Which? Yes, St.Joseph, Sliema, ITS and various English Language Schools. What is your aim in life? To remain House Mistress for the yellows for a very long time. Apart from this, I try go abroad every year and I always try to give the best I can to all the students I teach. What is your motto? I have a few, here are some; do good, fear none; honesty is the best policy; and your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.

Nine years. Are you proud of the yellows? Why?

Interview with Ms Elaine

Luke Zammit & Julian Mangion (Gr. 11)

Why did you become the house master of house of Castille once again? I became the House master of House of Castille once again because I like the challenge of guiding students through different tasks and interacting with youngsters on different levels that are not academic.

School?

Yes, very proud because they are eager and determined to gain more points for the house in a fair way. They accept defeat with honour and rejoice with passion their victories.

How many years have you been teaching at San Andrea

Did you always want to become a teacher? If yes, what encouraged you to become a teacher? No, that was the last thing on my mind, but I decided to go into teaching when I did some voluntary work with children and I really enjoyed it. What encouraged you to teach a Science subject? (Biology) Biology is the study of life and I love life, so I’d like to pass this love on to others. When you were young did you like school? No. This is because I did not like the teachers. What was your favourite subject in secondary school? My favourite subject was Chemistry believe it or not.

I have been teaching at San Andrea School for eight years.

Do you have any hobbies? If yes what are they?

Do you like animals? Do you have any pets?

Yes, I have hobbies. My hobbies are anything to do with sports (the wilder and rougher the better) and spending time with animals. A simple walk with my son is also something I relish a lot lately.

Yes, I love animals. I have 1 bird, 2 cats (which live inside) and I have 26 cats outside. (By the way who ever wants some kittens please contact me). I do not consider them pets, but part of the family.

Which is your favorite season and why?

What is your favourite food and what is your favourite dish?

My favorite season is summer because it is holiday time, there is a lot of sun and it's hot so I can swim.

My favourite food is anything which has meat in it! My favourite dish depends on my mood but I like Chinese food a lot.

What do you like and dislike about being a teacher?

Why did you choose to teach Biology and not another subject which is not related to Science? I chose Biology because I find the way nature works to be perfectly amazing. There is a reason for everything in life. I find Science as a whole to be the most remarkable eye-opener in life.

Issue 9

I like everything about it. One of the reasons I like it is because I can interact with youngsters. What I dislike about teaching is when students take us (teachers) for granted. When you were younger what did you like and dislike about school? I liked meeting my friends and I also liked doing pranks for teachers. I disliked lesson time and having to sit still.

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Anti – Bullying Campaign The Guidance Department in collaboration with the PSHE teachers organized a whole school Anti-Bullying campaign. Unfortunately bullying happens everywhere but this does not mean that it should be accepted. Therefore a lot of effort has been made to organize a fun week (actually two!!) to promote awareness about bullying and ways and means of reducing it as much as possible. Both PSHE teachers did the lessons together to make the lessons more fun and at the same time promote the Guidance services in the school. The students watched short movie clips about bullying and then had a class discussion about the topic. Most of the students became aware of the harms bullying inflicts in the victims while others learnt that

Mr. Matthew [PSHE] Pamphlets distributed to all the students during the lesson.

play at MITP theatre, Valletta.

PSHE and Guidance notice board promoting an Anti-Bullying environment.

we all can do something about it. We have to join forces and break the chain of bullying together. If we all said no to the bully he/she would lose all her/his power. Apart from the PSHE lessons, the students had workshops which were followed by a

The Drama department also staged an excellent sketch about the topic during assembly. A pamphlet was handed out to all students showing facts about the topics and what skills are needed to stop it. Some of the language teachers changed their essay titles to bullying related topics. As a guidance teacher I can say that the campaign was very beneficial as people became more aware and therefore some are seeking help.

Grade 9s Community Service (as part of the PSHE Annual Assessment) Mr. Matthew [PSHE] This year the PSHE department launched an assessment for San Andrea students. For their annual assessment they were asked to group themselves in groups of 6 and think of a community service they could carry out in school for 10 hours during the month of April.

Group responsible for the Big Book and puppet show about Bullying for Grade 2s A proposal sheet was filled in and Mr. Matthew and Ms. Audrey had a meeting to go through each and every proposal checking which was viable. The students then checked on the PSHE notice board if their proposal was accepted and then the sleeves were rolled up. During the breaks the students met to discuss how they were going to put their

Page 20

written proposal into action. All the projects were extremely beneficial for the school as they either helped the aesthetics of the school, helped teachers or collected money for their PSHE room. Projects varied from cleaning the area around the Fun Day for teachers: a fun school, writing a break for all the school Big Book and performing a puppet show about Bullying for the Grade 2 students, cake week, fruit salad day, helping individual teachers, organizing a ‘Go Green campaign’ to help safeguard the environment and organizing a Fun Day for teachers, amongst others. All the students worked really hard on this project, some even opting to do more than their requested 10 hours. At the end of the month the students then wrote an individual logbook about what their experience was, how it felt to work in a group and what they think they have learnt. It was very interesting noticing that every one enjoyed it and that students realized that after all Community Service can be fun and very satisfying. The

period chosen for this project was April so that the students do not have increased stress during their annual examination period and their skills, attitudes and knowledge were assessed through the logbook questions and constant observation during their team work.

The Cake week group trying to catch up with the huge demand for cakes and muffins

To conclude I must say that I am very proud of the Grade 9s as they showed that young teens can be very responsible and take on a challenge very enthusiastically when given the opportunity. It is not easy working in a group but they managed very successfully, sitting down and talking their disagreements through keeping in mind that they had to finish their project on time. On top of all this their level of commitment and motivation was to be encouraged.

THE INSIDER

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Evaluation of the operation of San Andrea Student Council Year 2007/2008 Mr Trevor Templeman

Dear Parents and students, As you are all aware the SASC is currently without a Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson as these officers have completed grade 12. Next year there will be elections for a Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson following interviews. Moreover, current SASC members of grade 9’s will see an end to their contract next year. (NB. Elected students will have a two-year contract). However, next scholastic year, there will be elections for the newcomers (grade 8’s), and grade 10’s. I would like to point out that if a student council member would like extend her/his contract, s/he will have to be elected again. The SASC is planning to decorate the student council room so as to transform it into a true office during the summer holidays. I would like to express a very big well done to all Student Council members who I feel have tried with all their might to follow the system and provide you the students with the solutions to your complaints. A spe-

cial thanks goes to Chloe Gambin (exChairperson) and Jianni Grima (ex-ViceChairperson) for all their hard work, effort, time and service dedicated to the SASC. I look forward to seeing you around, as valued members of San Andrea Student Council. Throughout this scholastic year, the Student Council has tackled several issues including, Canteen, Lessons, Subjects, Time-Table and Safety at School. The SASC is aware of many of the changes that have been done or are still under-going and they are greatly appreciated. The SASC would like to thank Ms Audrey and School Administration for their time, support and contribution. While looking forward to improve San Andrea further and to work in close collaboration with the head, school board and students I would like to thank every one for their support and contribution. I look forward to working with all involved, as always, to improve our school in each and every possible way. I wish you all a happy year-ending and enjoyable summer holidays!

The Student Exchange to France What an experience!! Twelve students from Grade 9and Grade 10 accompanied by Ms. Sharon Abela and Ms. Allison Curmi, participated on a French exchange during the month of April. The host school is in Vallon Pont d’Arc, a very small town in the Ardèche region. The name of the town carries the name of this natural bridge, the Pont d’Arc (shown in the photo). This was an exceptional experience as it gave our students the opportunity of living the life of a French person for a week. In fact, amongst the objectives of such an exchange, one finds linguistic objectives as well as cultural: Le Pont d’Arc the school, eating habits, hobbies and life style. It was interesting to discover rural life, where families grow their own crops and make their own “confiture” (jam)! Amongst the highlights of this trip were the visits to the Caves Chauvet datIssue 9

Ms Maria Louis Kara

ing 31 000 years BP; the Pont du Gard, a world heritage site; the picturesque town of Avignon; canoeing on the Ardèche; and visiting the Town Hall of Vallon.

Cave painting at Grotte Cahuvet in Valon Pont D’Arc

Ms Sharon and Ms Allison with the Maltese students

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Activities in our library

this quiz served as a unique exercise where students brushed up their research skills through reference books. Marie Claire Dalli of Grade 9 was awarded a consolation prize for managing to get the most points from her school. A special presentation ceremony was organized by the School Library Services on 23rd April (World Book Day) where the Minister of Education, Mrs Dolores Cristina, was invited to present the awards to the winners.

To visit our library and find it completely empty except for the librarian is very rare at San Andrea. In our library there’s a lot happening because we believe that the library should be the hub of the school.

Students visit the library to exchange books, to do research, to read and study, to do projects, to do photocopies, to buy subject booklets, to order past papers and revision lists, to check football scores in the newspapers… etc.

We have students who frequent the library more than others. Amongst these are those students who do not take particular subjects and they are allowed to use the library during these lessons. Others prefer to pass their break-time in the library, and this is not a small number. Actually we had to allocate certain days for certain grades for library visits during break-time because there simply wasn’t enough space to accommodate all users. It is with great pleasure and satisfaction that I say this because that is how I always envisaged a school library should be. Besides these daily happenings, there are other special activities that happen along the year that makes the library even busier. This year was not unlike previous years. Page 22

Ms Lina Farrugia

We started off with Jeremy Strong’s visit in November. As with previous experiences, having a foreign author meeting our students has without fail proved to be a unique opportunity. Mr Strong’s visit, through collaboration with Merlin Library, was a thoroughly enjoyable experience for our Grade 7 and 8 students. They also had the chance to buy books and have them signed by the author himself. This year Miller Distributors introduced a new scheme were parents were given a 50 cents (old currency) token for every Lm10 they spent on purchasing textbooks. 523 tokens were collected, equivalent to LM261.50. With this amount we acquired 90 new non-fiction books. A big thank you goes to our parents.

Our school participated in the annual national quiz organized by the School Library Services for all secondary schools in Malta. The students participating in this quiz had to try and answer as accurately as possible twenty questions from various fields of human knowledge. They also had to state from which source they got that answer. They were not allowed to use the internet so

In conjunction with World Book Day which was celebrated on Wednesday 23rd April, this year’s Book Week Activities at San Andrea School took place during the week between Monday 21st and Friday 25th April. World Book Day has become firmly established as the biggest annual event promoting the enjoyment of books and reading. Various activities were organized during this week to celebrate the book and reading. Such activities included a visit by Ms Marisa Attard, who managed to captivate our Grade 8 students with her

skills as an illustrator. They were given the opportunity to try out her tips on how to create different facial expressions and movement to her characters. (continues on page 19) THE INSIDER

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(continues from page 18) Ms Ariadne Massa met our Grade 9 students to give a talk about her work as a journalist and the work involved in writing for a daily newspaper. Our students were intrigued by the various situations that a journalist like Ms Massa meets in her line of work, and obviously inquisiguided around the premises to experience the complete printing process from pre-press to the finished book.

tive questions were expected. These were willingly answered by our guest. Besides giving them a good background to appreciate more of what is written in a newspaper, this meeting proved to be beneficial in presenting our students with another work opportunity which they might consider for their future. Another guest for our Book Week was Ms Greta Borg-Carbott, who met our Grade 10 students and talked about her work as a book illustrator and article writer. Ms Borg-Carbott presented her

To celebrate World Book Day on Wednesday 23rd April, all students and staff at San Andrea Senior School stopped for 15 minutes to read. This happened at 12.20pm (the last 15 minutes of the 6th lesson).

firmly believe that students should participate in the choice of books acquired by the library, and even more if they have to buy the books themselves. The books were sold at 15% discount. The Readathon The results of the Readathon were announced on World Book Day. The Readathon is an established annual event where students are encouraged to read books over a given period and gain points for their house. Readathon 2007-8 final results 1st – House of Auvergne [yellows]– 124 points 2nd – House of Castille [blues] – 93 points 3rd – House of Aragon [greens] – 92 points 4th – House of Provence [reds] – 40 points

Individual winners of this year’s Readathon 1st placing – Aaron Abela – House of Auvergne – 41 points 2nd placing – Thea Busuttil – House of Castille – 37 points 3rd placing – Nicole Bugeja – House of Aragon – 35 points talk on Powerpoint, so the students could easily relate to the different situations that an illustrator encounters when he/ she is commissioned to illustrate a book. Ms Borg-Carbott illustrates mostly children’s books and it was very interesting to see how she applies her illustrating skills to bring out characters and situations for different age groups. The visit to Gutenberg Press for the Grade 10 students proved to be a very interesting experience. They were they Issue 9

We also encouraged parents to join us at this time from wherever they were to read. Our students are always looking forward to end the Book Week with the usual book sale in the library. The books I chose to sell in this book sale were titles chosen by the students themselves. I Page 23

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In danger of extinction ...

BLUE WHALES

Aaron Abela (Gr. 10)

Mating starts in late autumn, and continues to the end of winter. Little is known about mating behaviour or breeding grounds. Females typically give birth once every two to three years at the start of the winter after a gestation periodof ten to twelve months.

Blu e Whale

Blue Whales are astounding animals. A blue whale is known as the largest animal in the world. Fully grown, these incredible animals reach a length of over 30 metres and weigh, as much as twenty- four large elephants, or more than 1,500 men.

Blu e Whale tail

Their heart is more than a metre in diameter. The Blue Whale is a marine mammal. It lives mainly in the cold waters of the Artic Ocean, the Southern or Antarctic Ocean, the North Pacific and the North Atlantic Oceans. The Blue Whale has a long body that appears stretched in comparison with the other whales. One strange body feature is there dorsal fin. It is very small and is briefly visible during diving. (A dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of fishes, whales and dolphins).

The calves of a Blue Whale grow about 1000 times faster in the womb than human babies. The calf weighs about two and a half tonnes (2.75 short tons) and is around 7 m (23 ft) in length. Blue Whale calves drink 380–570 litres (100– 150 US gallons) of milk a day. Weaning takes place for about six months, by which time the calf has doubled in length. Sexual maturity is typically reached at eight to ten years by which time the males are at least 20 m. When a Blue Whale is on the surface in order to breathe it raises its shoulders and blowhole out of the water to a greater extent than other large whales such as the Fin or the Sei. Some Blue Whales in the North Atlantic and North Pacific raise their tail fuke when diving. When a Blue Whale breathes, it emits a spectacular vertical column blow (up to 12 m), typically 9 m that can be seen from a great distance on a calm day. Its lung capacity is 5,000 litres. Blue Whales mainly feed on krill(shrimp-like marine invertebrate animals.)They also take small numbers of copopods (small crustaceans).

Blu e Whale diving

Page 24

Blu e Whale breathing

The species of the Blue Whale consists of five types. These are the Humpback Whale, the Fin Whale, Bryde’s Whale, the Sei Whale and the Minke Whale.

Blu e Whale dorsal fin

The major difference normally between them is their territory . Scientists estimate that Blue Whales can live for at least 80 years but since whales are being killed so rapidly this will not be possible. Blue Whales were abundant in nearly all oceans until the beginning of the twentieth century. Blue Whales are endangered because for over 40 years they have been hunted almost to extinction by whalers until protected by the international community in 1966. They are also endangered because they’re colliding with ocean vessels as well as becoming trapped or entangled in fishing gear which is resulting in many of them being wounded, sometimes even fatally. A 2002 report estimated that there were 5,000 to 12,000 Blue Whales worldwide located in at least five groups. THE INSIDER

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Julian Grech (Gr. 11)

referiment jew b ala “playmaker”. Intervistatur: X’inhu n-numru tat-“TShirt” tat-tim attwali? Michael Mifsud: Nista’ ng idlek li dejjem kien in-numru sbatax. Dan in-numru huwa g a i g ax il-jum meta twelidt. Intervistatur: Tajjeb. Meta bdejt tilg ab il-futbol?

Intervistatur: Nilqg u lit-telespettaturi g all-programm tag na “Persuna i Maltin”. Din id-darba g andna intervista esklusiva ma’ persuna ta’ fama internazzjonali, spe jalment fil-futbol fl-Ingilterra. Jekk g adkom ma qtajtux min hu ... nilqg u mag na lil Michael Mifsud. Michael Mifsud: Nirringrazzja lilkom talli stedintuni. Intervistatur: Allura... nibdew billi nsiru nafuk a jar. Meta twelidt? Michael Mifsud: Twelidt fis-sbatax ta’ April fl-1981. Intervistatur: Fejn twelidt? Michael Mifsud: Il-Pieta’ Intervistatur: X’inhu l-laqam tieg ek? Michael Mifsud: Ma - mien smajt afna laqmijiet. Hemm min laqqamni “Il-Messi Malti” u anke min sejja li n-“Nemusa Maltija”. (“Maltese Mosquito”) Intervistatur: Min tak dawn illaqmijiet? Michael Mifsud: Na seb il-“Messi Malti” tahuli l- urnalisti, waqt li l“Nemusa Maltija” (“Maltese Mosquito”) tawuli Sir Alex Ferguson meta skurjajt kontra l-Manchester United. Intervistatur: X’ inhu r-rwol tieg ek? Michael Mifsud: Jien attakkant. Nista’ nilg ab bhala punta ta’ Issue 9

Michael Mifsud: Bdejt meta kont g ir mas-Sliema Wanderers. Bqajt mag hom sakemm k e l l i log ba ma’ l-ewwel tim fl-1997 ta’ sittax-il sena. Sliema Wanderers huwa tim g a i g alija g ax xe itni f’dil-karriera tant sabi a. Intervistatur: Imma nistg u ng idu li ksibt fama tajba kontra l-Albanija meta lg abt ma’ Malta... Michael Mifsud: Iva. Dak veru. Hemm rawni xi skawts ta’ Kaiserslautern, u kif ng idu, kont fil-post tajjeb fil- in tajjeb. Kaiserslautern xtrawni u spi ajt ilermanija. Stajt nilg ab ma’ nies b al Altintop u Klose. Kienet esperjenza sabi a. Intervistatur: I da ma kinitx damet...

Michael Mifsud: U aktar! Lg abt u mpressjonajt. Intervistatur: Nistg u ng idu wkoll li skurjajt l-isba gowl ta’ dik is-sena... Michael Mifsud: Na seb li kul add jista’ jiskurja gowls b al dawk. Intervistatur: U mbag ad bdejt dissena wkoll. Na seb li kul add jista’ jaqbel li kienet l-aqwa sena g alik. Ilfama tieg ek kibret kontra lManchester United. Michael Mifsud: Dik kienet l-isba log ba ta’ ajti. Dejjem ridt nilg ab kontrihom. Intervistatur: ewg gowls u li kieku ma lqatx il-lasta, kont tag mel l-istorja b ala plejer li skurja tlieta f’ “Old Trafford”. Kont taqsam dar-rekord ma’ Ronaldo tal-Bra il meta lag ab mar“Real Madrid”.

Michael Mifsud: Iva. Ridt nilg ab iktar. Niddejjaq meta fi mien daqshekk importanti fil-karriera tieg i ma kontx nilg ab b’kontinwita’. sibt li kont nispi a bilqieg da fuq il-bank g al dejjem. G alhekk er ajt n ilt Malta u lg abt ma’ Sliema Wanderers.

Michael Mifsud: Dawn il-gowls kienu bi ejjed g alija. Fer an b’dak li g amilt.

Intervistatur: Imbag ad kif spi ajt Lillestrøm, fin-Norve ja?

Intervistatur: U issa? futur?

Mic h a e l M i fsu d : D i k kie n e t esperjenza o ra memorabbli. Lillestrøm xtrawni u lg abt regoralment. I da mbag ad ridt inbiddel l-arja. Ridt nikseb fama f’ “leagues” kbar afna. Allura, meta ma iex rinnovat il-kuntratt ma’Lillestrøm, mort ma’ Coventry City fi - ampjinxip Ingli .

Michael Mifsud: Ma nafx x’inhu ej. Nibqa’ nag ti l-a jar li nista’. Nixtieq nag mel appell lil dawk ittfal Maltin li jixtiequ jsiru futbolers. Kunu bil-g aqal f’kollox, fl-istudju, fl-iskola u fil-futbol u gur kapa i li tirnexxu.

Intervistatur: Nistg u ng idu li hawnhekk l aqt l-aqwa tal-karriera tieg ek...

afna gowls u l-

Intervistatur: A na nirringrazzjawk talli ejt u nawgurawlek g all-futur tieg ek fil-futbol. Michael Mifsud: Grazzi lilkom! Page 25

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HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR SUMMER HOLIDAYS! It is the end of June. Exams are over at last and the holidays have started. It is worth planning your summer if you want it to be fun-filled, productive and exciting. It is helpful to make a rough plan of the things you want to get done. In this way you can avoid idling away your holidays. Your plan doesn’t have to be a minute by minute organised schedule but it can include ideas like decorating your room or meeting up with your friends. Here are a few suggestions you might like to try: Keep in touch with your friends. You may of course do this by using e-mails, texting, msn and phone calls, however getting a group of friends around to watch a video, go shopping or have a snack together are all appealing ideas that will make you stay in contact. Losing touch completely with your friends throughout summer can make you feel isolated and alone. (Always let your family know of any plans you have).

volved in what is happening around you.

Ms Felicienne Mallia Borg Spend some time with your parents.

Don’t waste the season watching TV every day. Enrol yourself in craft, swimming or dancing classes. Keep your mind active. Play board games, solve quizzes and puzzles and learn new things. Summer is an excellent time to get a head start on the next term especially if you are at the end of your secondary schooling. (Research shows that our IQ can drop significantly in summer when we tend to keep our minds inactive).

Read extensively. Books can transport you to a different world and let you see through the eyes of others.

Offer to do charity work.

Cook something healthy for your family and friends. Discover Valletta and Mdina and visit museums, gardens and chapels.

Play some sport. You can either try some new activity or practise a sport you already enjoy such as swimming, basketball, cycling or football. Getting ac-

Take up gardening. Get an adequate amount of sleep and eat healthy. Go to the beach (remember to use sun block and drink lots of water).

tive provides you with good physical activity and makes you feel good about yourself. If you do not enjoy sports a walk will do you just as good. long

You might enjoy keeping up with the latest albums, films and awards. Keeping up with what’s happening can make you feel really good and keeps you inPage 26

Have a barbecue and go camping. Organise your room - make it bright and fun to be in.

Whatever you do, do not make the mistake of wasting your holidays. Keep yourself busy and try to do something different each day. Happy Summer Holidays!

PS. Discuss your plans with your parents or carers before going ahead with them. THE INSIDER

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This year we’re extending summer School to 8 weeks. Starting Monday 14th July - Friday 5th September. Qualified teachers and assistants will ensure that priority is given to satisfying activities and that safety is present at all time. This year’s high quality summer school also guarantees excellent value for money.

San Andrea Summer School 2008 :

“Where fun is the order of the day” Sports, Adventure, Art and Craft, becoming a DJ, Drama, Creative thinking, Cooking, Media Skills, Science, Maltese Literacy, English Literacy and much much more.

Three Day Package (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) Five Day Package (Monday to Friday)

The theme for this year’s summer school is the Beijing Olympics 2008

Age Categories: Athens 2004 Group: Kids from 2 years 6 months – 5 years old Sydney 2000 Group: Kids form 6 years – 8 years old Atlanta 1996 Group: Students from 9 years – 12 years old Summer School times for the 8 week period: 8.30 a.m. — 12.45 p.m. You can also drop off the kids at 8 am at no extra charge.

Summer School 2008 will conclude with an expedition of oriental food, Olympic sport displays and drama with an oriental theme. This will be our mission in view of the Beijing Olympic Games. Sydney 2000 & Atlanta 1996 Group :

Athens 2004 Group Ages 2 years 6 months-5 years

Ages 6-8 Years &

The most popular programme amongst our students. Cooking, water play, story telling, arts and crafts, clay play, painting, play dough, horse riding, day at the beach, animal farm visits and other visits such as Popeye’s village Playmobil and much more. Teachers who already teach at pre– nursery and nursery will be guiding the kids. Every teacher will be having additional assistants in order to give safety a priority.

9-12 years.

Cost:

200 (3Day package).

270 (5Day Package)

8.30-9.45 Mon

9.45-10.00 Am:– Breakdance

A programme with a nice variety of activities which include fun & adventure, Maltese literacy, English literacy, ball games, swimming, gymnastics, cooking, drama, cultural outings, science, creative thinking, media skills, computer games. At the end of the 8 week programme these two groups will present a cookery booklet on the oriental cuisine and performs a play with the theme of the Beijing Olympics.

Cost:

220 (3Day package).

290 (5Day Package)

Hereunder one can find a typical week’s time table for the two groups. Obviously the tasks for the 9-12 years old group will be more challenging than those of the 6-8 years old group. 10.00-11.15

11.15-11.30

11.30-12.45

Break - Pm: Art and the mixing of Electronic Music

Tue 6-8 yr

Drama

Break

Cooking

Break

Swimming

Tue 9-12 yr

Swimming

Break

Swimming

Break

Drama

Wed 6-8 yr

Computer Games

Break

Gymnastics

Break

Creative Thinking

Wed 9-12 yr

Rugby

Break

Media Skills

Break

Maltese Literacy

Break

Environmental Issues

Thu 6-8 yr Thu 9-12 yr Fri

All Day: Cultural Trip to Valletta Art & Craft

Break

Art & Craft

All Day : Fire Building/Fighting & Cook out @ Valley next to San Andrea

Tel: 21438800 Email: [email protected] [The School’s board reserves the right to cancel any package/s if the demand is low]

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LIMERICKS There was a cat called BOO! Who danced like a giant baboon. He woke up one night And had a big fright! He was flying in a hot air balloon. Maria Lara Buttigieg

A man who was named Willow Dreamt he was eating an owl. He woke in the night. In a terrible fright. And found out it was his pillow.

Grade 8 students A Man from Dubai There once was a man from Dubai, Who thought he was able to fly, So he went on a tower, And jumped with great power, But soon realised it was a bad try!

Maria Rosa Thornhill Sarah Papagiorcopulo

GOOD TO KNOW (Source W.H.O.)

The Editor

False

True A tan results from your body defending itself against further damage from UV raA sun tan is healthy. diation. A tan protects you from the sun. A dark tan on white skin only offers an SPF of about 4. Up to 80% of solar UV radiation can penetrate light cloud cover. Haze in the atYou can’t get sunburnt on a cloudy day. mosphere can even increase UV radiation exposure. Water offers only minimal protection from UV radiation, and reflections from waYou can’t get sunburnt while in the water. ter can enhance your UV radiation exposure. UV radiation during the winter is not dan- UV radiation is generally lower during the winter months, but snow reflection can gerous. double your overall exposure, especially at high altitude. Sunscreens are not intended to increase sun exposure time but to increase protection Sunscreens protect me so I can sunbathe during unavoidable exposure. The protection they afford depends critically on their much longer. correct application. If you take regular breaks during sunbathUV radiation exposure is cumulative during the day. ing you won’t get sunburnt. If you don’t feel the hot rays of the sun you won’t get sunburnt.

Sunburn is caused by UV radiation which cannot be felt. Most of the heating is caused by the sun’s visible and infrared radiation and not by UV radiation.

Letters to the editor: [email protected]

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