SCHOOL
HOUSE CUP QUIZ
How to bread? Hand, apparently, according to this year’s House Cup Quiz team. Random questions and an inexcusable number of One Direction references aside, however, it was a very amusing quiz, apart from the fact that I never got thrown a chocolate during one of the breaks.
As with every year in the past, the House Cup Quiz was a huge success and the perfect way to end 2012 on a high- note. I would certainly enjoy seeing year seven student, Alexandros Chelmis, chasing year 12’s Stephanos around the hall whilst wearing a Jesus Quintana suit again; there’s a sentence I never thought I would say.
Furthermore, the video preceding the quiz was possibly the most entertaining I have ever seen to date, however, I do feel that it could have been made quite a bit longer. A punny title would have also helped. Catsablanca, Reservoir Cats, Finding Marco to name a few.
In conclusion, jokes aside, I believe that the 2012 House Cup Quiz was possibly the best in the school’s history, despite being cut short to a length of only two hours. It must be said, however, that the wrong team won; I believe I speak for the whole school in saying that seeing Revenge take the trophy for the fourth consecutive year, rather than Victory making their first ever win, would truly have been the best Christmas present anyone could have wished for.
Deree Debate Tournament
On the 9th of November 120 debaters gathered at Deree College to participate in the annual Deree College Debate Tournament. It consisted of 5 rounds which were spread out over the duration of two days. After a slight delay the debating soon began and the first motion was revealed.
- This house would prohibit the sale of children’s toys as part of fast food meals
Proposition said that by including toys in the fast food meal we are taking possible customers away from the toy industry and so toy stores will become less popular. They also said that by doing this we encouraging more children to buy fast food and so this may cause obesity. In addition, the proposition mentioned that the government will be seen as endorsing fast food despite all its negative effects on society.
Opposition said that including the toys in the fast food meals was a business strategy to maximize profits. They also said that if the government allows them to use this tactic they will collect more revenue from tax. In addition they questioned if it was the role of the government to intervene in this issue as no one is being harmed by including these toys.
-The second round had an open motion, this means that the motion given is very ambiguous and can be interpreted differently by each opening government team. As the other teams may have a vague idea of what the topic will be interpreted into they cannot prepare properly and so must prepare during the debate. The open motion was, this house would walk away and never look back, this was then interpreted in all sorts of ways ranging from Greece leaving the Eurozone to, this house would not allow a country to interfere with conflicts of two other countries.
-The third motion was; this house would not allow pensioners the right to vote
Proposition justified this by saying that this will make the country progress and evolve towards a better future. They also said that many of these pensioners have brain deterioration and cannot make correct and informed decisions as they no longer are functioning correctly. In addition they brought up that since elderly people do have brain deterioration they can be manipulated and guided into voting for a party that does not represent them but instead represent the needs of others.
Opposition said that we are undermining the essence of democracy as we are taking away one of the basic human rights. They also said that if pensioners do not vote their needs will not be represented by the government and so pensions will not be of top priority. This may lead to the government lowering the pensions, thus the elderly people have a lower quality of life.
-The fourth motion was; this house believes that Disney should make an animated motion picture with a clearly gay protagonist.
Proposition said that this will lead to a more open minded society, as well as showing the many benefits to the children who watch these movies. They also brought up the fact that the gay community will feel more accepted within the community as they will see that they are accepted in all aspects of society. The proposition also brought up that by implementing this it will have a positive effect on the government’s image as it will be portrayed as accepting and not marginalizing minorities.
Opposition said that this may offend religious groups; they also said that Disney may actually cause offense to the gay community in the process as they could portray the main character in an offensive way.
The fifth motion was set out in a different style then all the above mentioned motions. These sorts of motions are becoming more and more popular and so the organizers believed it would be beneficial to us if we learn about them. The fifth motion was; you work for the Greek ministry of Economics, and you have access to indisputable highly classified information that would overthrow the Greek government. This house would publish it.
Proposition said that it is the duty of the individual to inform the Greek citizens of the crime that is being committed by their government. They also said that by releasing this information it will cause the public to have more faith in certain members of the government as they will see that they can trust them to tell them the truth.
Opposition said that by releasing this information will lead to social unrest and chaos; they are said that Greece’s reputation worldwide will be tarnished without redemption. Opposition also said that this will encourage people to vote for more radical parties that will do things to reform the country that may in fact harm the people.
Congratulations are in order for Francesco Lovascio for placing 4th on the speaker tab, along with Zoe Kalos for placing 10th. Also congratulations to Achilleas Sarantaris and Memos Kattis for making it to the semifinals and to Panagi Zepos and Costas Mourselas for placing 9th on the team tab. As always the Deree Debate tournament was a surprise filled tournament with many interesting motions. Hopefully there will be an exciting debate competition in the near future.
By: Erato Kallitsas
Blood Wedding
As most of the school has heard already, this year’s senior play was nothing short of amazing. The cast themselves believe it to be the best performance they’ve ever put on. The teachers that were involved (Ms Raikopoulos and Ms Gunn) could only grin with pride as the cast and crew gave their all on these performances. By the end, all most of us wanted was an encore.
Blood Wedding is by the Spanish playwright Federico Garcia Lorca. The play is about two families that arrange a marriage between a high class young man and woman that ends up going completely wrong. The Bride is stuck between a rock and a hard place as she has to decide whether to follow her heart and go with the tempting ‘dark river’ that is Leonardo, her ex-lover, or keep her pride and honor by marrying the Bridegroom. The Mother of the Bridegroom, always suspicious of the Bride and protective of her son, was just waiting to get revenge on the Felix family, who murdered her husband and first son, by finding any flaw to the wedding. She got her wish when the Bride decided to follow her heart and run away with Leonardo (a member of the Felix family) during the wedding reception and was viciously hunted down by the Bridegroom. The play ends with the mourning of both the Bridegroom and Leonardo as they kill each other for love of the Bride.
But of course where would the cast be if it were not for the brilliant crew that was discreetly working backstage to support the cast. The best comment that went around backstage was that if it wasn’t for Iris Gioti especially, we would have had to go on stage naked because all of our costumes and props would be scattered all over the school. They were all they needed to be and better as they went around backstage getting everything ready for the next scene whether it was striking the set or preparing props and costumes. Lots of congratulations also to Morris Gormezano who did an excelled job with lighting and sound. A big thanks goes out to them from everybody involved in the play. Special thanks to Ms Gunn who spent hours on end making us look great on stage and also Ms Burbidge who made the set look perfect for the performance... and also for that huge tree that miraculously disappeared the next morning.
Speaking of miracles, it was amazing that we managed to perform to the level that we did when the rehearsals were simply dreadful. By the time we all managed to learn our lines properly we were one week away from the performance. This of course, was agony for the teachers involved but most of us remained calm because the performance usually turns out great if the rehearsals go badly. The serenity did not last long however because as we crept closer to the performance, the rehearsals were still pretty bad. This resulted in us getting it together and trying really hard to bring it up to the standard that many saw in the performance. Congratulations to all involved for making it all come together.
It feels great to be complemented by the audience at the end of the play and we certainly got plenty of them. Even the people who performed on stage for the first time managed to pull off such a brilliant performance that even more experienced actors were skeptical as to if this really was the first time they were performing. In the end, it all worked out and our combined effort to make this play great certainly paid off. Congratulations once more to all who participated and let’s make sure there are plenty more where they came from.
Bonfire Night
As soon as you enter the school site the candy floss, the hot dogs and the doughnuts tickle your nose pleasantly, whilst the decorations remind you that you are about to face a chilling evening where your fears will come true. Imagine this, as you walk down the pathway on your left you have the Haunted House and on you’re right there is the Trick or Treat and the pitch full of other interesting activities. Let me take you to the Trick or Treat first. The rooms are dark and you do not know what to expect behind the doors covered in ghosts and spiders, something frightening? A sweet to sooth your tongue? You will never find out until you open those doors and take the risk to face anything that might be behind them which will either terrify or make you happy.
Leaving the trick or treat area on the opposite side of the path the Haunted House has been set up which is full of memorable experiences which will horrify you, and remind you of the Halloween atmosphere of the day. Darkness is what surrounds the Haunted House, you are walking through the labyrinth and black individuals come up to you and touch you, follow you, you escape from them but you don’t want to know what comes next. The door is shut they open it for you, looking at you with those demolishing eyes, around the corner another black individual follows you trying to catch on to you and devour you. But as soon as you get away from that there’s worse coming, as you walk up some stairs there’s a gorilla coming at you, you scream and run down the stairs quickly. You see a frantic woman in the corner speaking to you in her disturbing voice and a mad scientist shrieks in your ear, you feel as if your nightmare is over but there’s more as you walk towards the exit there’s a box and a half dead person on the floor. You’re walking towards them, you’re sweating, suddenly a person jumps out of the box and the person on the floor clings onto your foot, a third person hidden in a tall black cupboard like box looks at you with his evil eyes and knowing that you will not survive this attempts to grab you but you run off from all this and come out to the pathway again.
Walking down the pathway there’s a DJ playing music on the left creating a tuneful atmosphere and you start forgetting about what you stood facing to in the Haunted House. The evening gets darker and as you enter the hall you can see the interesting pumpkins created by different families set on stage in order to be admired. There are stalls with food and jewellery, there’s a photo booth where pictures are taken to remind you of the night. There is a face painting stand where you go and ask for different Halloween concepts to be painted onto your face, and hands. You ask for a spider, the helpers take their black paint, their brush and start drawing the spider smoothly on your right cheek, the brush delights your cheek with the soft movement it produces. Your spider is done you are ready to head off to eat and drink something. As you walk around the hall you see some delicious miniature sandwiches you take one, you enjoy its appetizing taste and the smell of the STARBUCKS coffee plays with your nostrils, you are lead to it by the delicious aroma. You drink it and continue walking around trying other delectable cooking and the other drinks provided. Exiting the hall from the main entrance there’s a reading room down the corridor on the left, there is a fire place and hanging on the black walls are hand-made paper dolls. The stories heard there are interesting and complement the ambiance of the evening.
At about 7 p.m. you are invited to go outside and watch the fireworks in order for this marvellous night to reach the end. Your eyes are observing the sparkles from the different coloured fireworks and the sound is deafening, this Halloween night has the perfect ending. All these different colours from the fireworks mix together creating a painting in the sky, the whole school has gathered together and by watching this you unite with them enjoying the moment. The Bonfire night has come to an end and you’re going home with a smile on your face, looking forward to next year.
Christmas Bazaar
Although the Christmas Bazaar is usually a relaxing and tranquil experience, this year the St Catherines School Senate decided to change that. A football match was organized with over 40 children from Years 3 to 9 participating. By the end the score had reached something close to 27-31 and yet it seemed as though it was a draw. The footballers were worn out by the end however after they saw the chocolate prizes they seemed to “wake up” once again. We look forward to organizing a match again next year with more space, more equipment and more students.
In general the Christmas Bazaar was a huge success as many different people attended to enjoy to the open stalls and Christmas raffle. This year a few year 12 students participated in the organization of Santa’s Grotto, and did an excellent job in coping with the desperate children waiting to see Santa.
Christmas Music Concert
This year, just like every other, our school held the Christmas Concert featuring the musically orientated students of the Upper School. Firstly, I would like to give special thanks and offer congratulations to Ms Kandilaki and Ms Morsink for once again putting together our annual Christmas Concert. There were a number of memorable performances, including solos, duets, the choir, the orchestra and performances by the Year 7’s and Year 8’s.
We heard a range of different styles of music with various instrumentation. There were flutists, violinists, guitarists, pianists and many singers, from whom we heard pieces ranging from the Classical period to modern music.