9.2) IAS Times Issue 4

This summer was a special one: not only was it an Olympic year, but the games were held in China for the first time. Athletes from every cor-ner of the globe gathered in Beijing for the ulti-mate test of sporting prowess. Beginning and ending with spectacular ceremonies at the awe-some Bird's Nest Stadium, the games featured sports as diverse as archery, synchronised swimming, weight-lifting, rowing and track & field athletics. The host nation topped the medal table with 51 gold medals although the USA actually won more medals in total: 110 to China's 100. Following the USA (36 golds) were Rus-sia (23), Great Britain (19) and Germany (16). Poland came in twentieth, securing 3 golds, 6 sil-ver and 1 bronze. This may not sound much but the Poles performed better than Brazil, Den-mark, New Zealand and India. The main stars of the games were without doubt record-breaking Usain Bolt (Jamaica, three golds: 100m, 200m, 4 x 100) and Michael Phelps (US, eight golds, swimming) but there were also some interesting stories from less well-known competitors. Rohul-lah Nikpai won Afghanistan's first ever medal -

t a k i n g b r o n z e in men's tae kwon do. Kirsty Coventry, a swimmer from Zimbabwe who won all four of her country's medals, recieved a $100,000 reward for her efforts. Leryn Franco, a Paraguayan javelin-thrower became a worldwide pin-up after compet-ing in front of the cameras. Although she failed to qualify for the javelin finals, her career as a model has certainly been given a major boost. Students and teachers from IAS were equally glued to the games. IAS staffer Stephen Fleming confessed that he actually prefers the winter olympics but was "proud" of countryman Michael Phelps. Samantha Mckenzie of grade 11 "espe-cially enjoyed the tennis and gymnastics." Princi-pal Steve Johnson was was "impressed by the number of records broken this year." The gauntlet has now been laid down for London 2012. Beijing 2008 is going to be a tough act to follow!

Golden Memories of SummerIAS TIMES

Issue 4 Autumn, 2008

Record breaker and gold medalist Usain Bolt.

Javelin-thrower/model Leryn Franco

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School News


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HalloweenSchool Halloween Day took place on 31st October. Students from 3rd to 8th grade were decorating their classes helped by seniors from the higher grades. All the classrooms on the top floor looked fabulous. Mr. Johnson then announced the best decorated class which belonged to 6th grade. Later on the best cos-tume competition took place, with competitors pa-rading down the main staircase. 1st prize was won by Aristiana from 5th grade, 2nd prize by Aristotles from 8th grade and the 3rd place prize by Pawel from 3rd grade To wrap up the day there was a disco - every-one had a great ( but slightly scary) time!Divya Amarnani

School ElectionDuring October and November, there are have been several notable events going on within the the Inter-national American School. These events were for the benefit of everyone and included the school elec-tion. As the United States voted for their president and vice-president the students also voted for theirs. The candidates were: Emmanuel Asiegbu & Antonis Petridis and Natasza Rakowska & David Do-browolski. On the day of election, the two candidates made quite persuasive speeches and at the end of the election the students made their vote. The results were very close (84 votes to 78) but Natasza and David were victorious. A few weeks later, when the USA had their election, the school wanted the students to feel part of the process, so we set up a mock election. The student vote had the same result though with numerical dif-ferences. Barack Obama, who is now President Elect, had 94 votes and John McCain received just 4! The student body were pleased with the result of both elections. Rejoice Azuka.

The IAS Times TeamThe more observant among you will have noticed that this issue is bigger - and hopefully better! As al-ways we depend on the students to contribute and they have excelled themselves this time. I would like to particularly thank Pawel Raptis; his tireless efforts over the last three years have been invaluable. With IAS staffers Aneta Grcywacz and Matthew Krasner also on board, the future of the newspaper looks bright. Nick Brown.

NOTE: IAS TIMES is a quarterly paper so its hard to stay up to date with current affairs. Obviously the US Election has been and gone but on page 4 is an article about one of the pre-election debates. It was such a good piece of writing that we decided to leave it in. Hope you enjoy it!

Profiles

Name: Mr. Stephen Fleming( biology teacher best known for his tie)Age: 40 years oldWhere are you from: I am from PennsylvaniaReligion: ChristianHobby: Playing hockeyLanguages you speak: English and a little PolishFavorite color: BlueFavorite book: “State of Fear” by Michael CrichtonFavorite movie: “Big Fish”Websites you use the most: www.Discovery.com www.Cnn.comWhat kind of sport you like: HockeyOpinion about poland: Bright future! But sometimes they think a lot about the past.What do you like in school: Students’ success and my subject-scienceCountries you'd like to visit: Spain, Belize and anywhere in south America

One way to improve the school: I think there should be a more mod-ern laboratoryWhat was your favorite subject in your school: Earth science and geometryWhat was your dream job in childhood?: I wanted to become a biological en-gineerFamily: I have a Polish wife and twin boys who are 14 months oldFuture plans: Whatever’s best for my familyHow can you describe yourself (negative and positive points): The positive thing about me is that I am a relaxed and an adventures per-son. I like to meet people and travel around the countries. The negative thing about me is that I think i don’t have any negative point!


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http://www.Discovery.Com

http://www.Discovery.Com

http://www.Cnn.Com

http://www.Cnn.Com

Name: Mrs. Sylwia WójcikNationality: PolishCountry: PolandReligion: CatholicHobby: Reading booksLanguages you speak: Russian,english (little),ger-man,polishFavorite color: BlueFavorite book: I have lots of books that I like, but one of my favorite is "jezioro osobliwosci"Favorite movie: “Przemineło Lato z Wiatrem”Favorite website: I don't have a favorite web-site, I mostly check my email.Favorite sport: swimmingOpinion about Poland: I love Poland and wouldn’t move to a different country

Withkeenphotographer Hakeem

What do you like about this school: There are less students in each class which is a good thing because it makes it easier for me to teach themCountries you’d to visit: Spain ,Mexico,GreeceOne way to improve the school?: I think lunch breaks should be half an hour, 45 min it too longFavorite subject: Polish biology What was your dream job in child-hood?: Teacher....... Luckily I amFamily?: I live with my husbandFuture plans?: Nothing plannedHow can you describe yourself (negative and positive):- Positive point - punctuality and I always think before talking- Negative point - I am too conservative about others

Profiles


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Your Space


Hakeem & Mr. Johnson Hakeem & Mr. Macho

10th Grade during chemistry class

Ben Kiss - IAS TIMES reporterWant to see your photos in our magazine?

Send them to

[email protected]

Emanuel gets in touch with his feminine side

Hakeem, Hira and “Captain” Fleming

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mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Halloween Halloween is the night of 31st October when children dress up as skeletons,witches,vampires and ghosts trying to scare one another. It is particularly popular in USA where you can see a lot of strange and scary creatures running about the streets. Children wearing masks or costumes" Trick or Treat": going from house to house col-lecting sweets,fruit or money. The origins of Halloween go back to the Celts who, on 1st Novem-ber, celebrated their New Year - marking the end the season of the sun and the beginning of the season of darkness and cold. The Celts believed that on on the eve of that day, the 31st October - Samhain: the Lord of Darkness would call all the dead people's spirits and take the sun prisoner for the next few months. But today's halloween is not only a recollection of the Celts' holiday: it is also a mixture of the Ro-man Pomona Day-festival of the goddess of fruit and gardens-and the Christian All Saints' day, both of which were celebrated at the same time. Guy Fawkes Day

The night of 5th November is the night of bon-fires,fireworks and burning effigies across England - to commemorate GUY FAWKES- the country's most fa-mous traitor. In 1605 Guy Fawke and a group of conspirators tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament and kill King James I.The conspirators wanted to take power from the king and give it back to the Catholics in the country. How-ever they were caught, tortured and executed.Today this event is commemorated on Guy Fawkes Day,which is also called Bonfire Night. Children make effigies which are simply called" guys", place them on the top of bonfires and watch them burn!

A contemporary engraving of the conspirators, Fawkes is third from the right.

Strange Holidays


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PoliticsWhich Direction Are You Heading In America?

Finally it happened. After months of political fights, silly video clips, attack ads, and out of context quotes, it happened. The first Presidential Debate occurred Saturday the 26th of September at the University of Mississippi. The Democrat Barack Obama and Republi-can John McCain stood face-to-face to discuss the fu-ture of millions of Americans.

In fact, the same day nobody was sure if the debate would happen at all. For the past week, Senator McCain suspended his campaign and like Superman flew back to Washington DC to rescue the country from the current financial crisis. For two days he pranced through Capitol Hill as "The Savior" (or "The Vietnam War Hero, Continued") to gain more points from the electorate. The visit didn't do much. We know now that the $700 billion (yes billion) bailout from the government didn’t pass the Congress due the protest of... Republicans!

(The bill passed a week later).

However, the illusion that McCain rescued America didn’t fool Obama. The smart Harvard law graduate insisted that the debate go on. In fact, he sparred with McCain, wondering why a presi-dential candidate couldn't do two things at once.

For most Americans, who now need to deal with the minor problem called the FINANCIAL CRISIS, the debate was supposed to provide the information of how to deal with it.

Unfortunately, both nominees didn’t have enough guts to come up with an honest rescue plan. Obama showed his opponent as the continuation of Bush administration policies, while McCain sold Obama as an irresponsible celebrity who doesn’t understand how to handle such a massive problem. The debate looked more like a polite gentlemen tea party, with little fireworks. Obama answered his questions courteously and concretely, but was sometimes too shallow. McCain spoke in simple language designed to reach the mass. Mostly it was the Republican on the attack; for example, citing Obama taking $932 million in government earmarks for his home state of Illinois. Of course the Senator from Arizona spent $3 million analyzing DNA code of polar bears in Montana while also supporting the Alaska oil drill! In turn, the Democrat distinguished his war policy from McCain's and stated that war in Iraq has cost 4,000 American lives and strengthened Iran and Al Qaeda.

After 90 minutes of question and answer, both parties announced their candidate’s victory. The truth: the Obama-McCain battle could be called a 0:0 draw. However, Obama still leads in the polls by 5-10 percentage points.

Dominika Kaczkowska


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Country Profile: Australia Most people love an image of Australia, such as the Opera House or Ayers Rock, but these famous sights do not show the country’s true cultural diversity. Australia offers great travel experiences, from the drama of the outback and the spectacle of the Great Barrier Reef to the cosmopolitanism of Sydney and what are probably some of the best beaches in the world. Australia is an enormous country, and visitors expecting to see an opera in Sydney one night and meet Crocodile Dundee the next will have to rethink their sense of geography.

ENVIRONMENT Australia is a vast continent situated south of Indonesia and Papua Guinea between the Pacific and Indian oceans. The world’s sixth largest country, Australia measures some 4000km from north to south. Most of the country is flat desert with very few people. The population lives mainly on the east and south-east

coasts. Australia has a large number of different plants, including gum tree or eucalyptus, wattle, banksias, bottlebrushes, paper barks and tea trees. Animals include the kangaroo, koala and emu as well as the platypus, wombat and dingo. There are also a number of interesting birds, such as parrots, cockatoos and kookaburras. Australia has some dangerous animals including spiders, snakes and crocodiles. There are more than 500 national parks, rainforests, deserts, mountain ranges and coastal beaches.

Australian Aboriginal society has the longest continuous cultural history in the world, with origins dating back to the last Ice Age. It seems almost certain that the first humans came here across the sea from South-East Asia. Europeans began to settle in Australia 18th century. Captain James Cook sailed along the eastern coast in 1770, stopping at Botany Bay on the way. He claimed the continent for the British and named it New South Wales. Other settlers came over to Australia over the next decades, with the discovery of gold in the 1850s and then after World War II.

CULTURE Australia is a multicultural society. Until WW II, Australians were mainly British and Irish, but that has changed dramatically. Large migrations from Greece, Italy, Yugoslavia, Lebanon and Turkey followed after the war and there have also been more recent arrivals of immigrants from Asia. Many Australians speak Italian, Greek, Lebanese, Vietnamese or Turkish as a first language. Sport is the Australian religion and “Aussies” are leading champions in cricket, rugby, swimming and cycling. Other popular sports are basket-ball, yachting and soccer. The Olympic Games were in Sydney in 2000.

PEOPLE

Kylie Minogue is the most popular pop singer to come from Australia. She once played in the soap opera “ Neighbours “ together with Jason Donovan. Kylie’s sister Danii also sings but works mainly for British children’s TV programmes. Other famous Australians include members of INXS, singer Nick Cave, Nicole

Kidman, Hugh Jackman (X-Men Wolverine) and the star of “ Braveheart “ – Mel Gibson.


HISTORY

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Financial Crisis: What can WE do ?

Have you ever thought about what does the Finan-cial crisis mean for us ? What can we do? How to get ready for a crisis ? We don’t really know , but how can we know if serious and respectful economists are not sure? How can we know if our leaders are not sure either? We don’t have experience. I , my family , and most people haven’t live during an era of such a great crisis.

Let’s address the first question. What does it mean for us ? If you think about it as I did, you will see our position in the story. Trust me, it’s really not nice. The prices get higher and higher , people lose their jobs , their money , and some people will loose or already have lost their house. I don’t want this ! Actually , we don’t want this ! And here we arrive to the second question. What can we do ? How can we help to stop the downward spiral?

The right question is “ What are we supposed to do? “ , and the, basic answer is: DO OUR BEST. It’s really important that the younger people , students, we who read this newspaper now, under-stand the scale of the crisis. Younger people are more flexible , and could have a better response to this. And how do I respond to the crisis?

First of all I don’t panic. That’s the worst thing one can do. Also I don’t take my money out from the bank. But I don’t waste it. I think about what I really need , and try to save some money for the future.

But don’t save only money ! This is the perfect time to realize that we have to change our life-style. Protect your environment , save water ( e.g. turn off the water while cleaning your teeth ) , electricity ( e.g. turn off the lights when you leave your room ) , and the fuel ( e.g. do not use car to go three corners). These things could help us , and actually give an answer for the third question. You can say this won’t change anything ,but if we don’t give up and we work together , we can have some influence.

I’m just fourteen years old and not an economist , and what I see and understand about the crisis is really not much. I didn’t want to scare anybody. This crisis is totally different from the one in 1929. That time, only the U.S. president pumped money into the system , and Europe was not united. I just wrote my opinion for you to read what I will do, and hope you too will think about it.

Ben Kiss


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Jokes "I will never invite him to my parties again.Last time he did something I didn't like."" What was that?"" He came."

"Pardon me, miss,do you have this dance?"" No, I don't she replied willingly." Then hold me this cigarette for me." "Did you have any luck hunting tigers in In-dia?Marvellous luck. I didn't come across a sin-gle tiger."

Mother,tucking her little son into bed:" Now, honey,if you need anything,just call Mother, and Daddy will come."

The doctor was reassuring his patient:"You are going to live until you're sixty"." I am sixty."" What did I tell you?" Game

What are their jobs? The letters of names and surnames are hidden examples of professions: C.H.Reate- teacher S.U.Sensbinam............................................N.M.Aspot....................................................B.L.Lafertoo.................................................C.A.Rot........................................................E.S.Ring......................................................V.R.Reid......................................................E.S.tracery..................................................

Ambition I do not crave for riches

nor worldly pump and power

I ask for God's free air

and shelter from troubles

Give me three rights of man:

The right to think my thoughts

The right to say my thoughts

And call my soul my own

by Rejoice, Grade 10

Poems


Emily Dickinson Shouts From My Carpet Dust is everywhere--Look!It hovers your desk and holy books--Go to sleep soon, the hour is two--And whom do you suppose is waiting for you? Dust is you as much it is me--Remove our skins and sail free;Collect in berries or blackened rootForm knots to ladder a child's boot-- You, young poetharboring sea and swan--Arise, amused--it is the dust to which we belong.

by Matthew Krasner

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Polska Strona


THE IAS TIMES TEAM Layout & Design: Slim Paul

Supervising Editors: Nick Brown Matthew Krasner, Aneta Grzywacz

Lead Writers: Diksha Amarnani, Rejoice Azuka,

Roving Reporter: Divya Amarnani. Thanks to everyone that contributed to this

issue and to Dr. Hussaini for supporting

the project!

Olimpiada 2008

W tym miesiącu uczimy Pol-skich zwycięzców olimpijskich. Na zdjęciach widzimy wyżej wymienionych zwycięzców. U góry Leszek Blankik - akrobata, następnie, po prawej stronie grupa polskich kajakarzy na po-dium, oraz na dole Tomasz Ma-jewski - atleta.

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- An IB World School

Continuing your education at IAS will keep you on the winning team:

• IAS was the first independent international school in Poland, founded in 1989.

• IAS is accredited by the world’s leading education authorities: IBO, NAAS, CITA, MENIS.

• Teacher to student ratio of 1:4.

• Dedicated tutors for university guidance.

• 100% university placement.

• Dedicated staff from a variety of backgrounds, including Britain, America, Poland, France and Canada.

• Programs to enhance student progress, including ESL, PSL, and extra math, history, and science classes.

• A variety of after school clubs provided for all students, meeting every Monday and Wednesday.

• Fully resourced and staffed library, providing students with a choice of 30,000 titles.

• Zero tolerance to drugs and alcohol.

• Strong disciplinary policy conducted in a positive and friendly atmosphere

9.2) IAS Times Issue 4

Documents

Transcript of 9.2) IAS Times Issue 4