late nights - jss international school, dubaijssisdubai.com/document/uploaded/checked rhapsody...
TRANSCRIPT
LATE NIGHTS It was the beginning of a new academic year. On the very
second day we were called in by one of the English
teachers. Needless to say, we were slightly scared. Had we
done something wrong?! Turned out we were part of the JSSIS
Editorial Board. It was so unexpected. We had walked into
the room thinking we were in trouble and had instead been
given a new responsibility.
Our heads were buzzing with ideas that we immediately put
to action. There definitely was a lot of work to be done.
It was not going to be easy but we were up for the
challenge.
There was a lot of running around, a lot of time spent in
front of screens, late nights spent reading stories and
poems. But we don‘t mind at all since that hard work has
paid off. We would like to thank everyone who helped us. Of
course, we wouldn‘t want to forget our lovely teachers who
gave us this opportunity. So a big thank you to all!
Finally, we are proud to present our very own school
magazine: RHAPSODY.
THE STUFFING
THE COVER:
Investiture Ceremony
Declamation
Senior Plays
Assembly
HMI
THE LITERATURE:
How Important is Literature?
Poet-ree
Storytellers
Book Reviews
We Recommend
THE LIFESTYLE:
Life’s Purpose
Sports Everyday
Defusing Stress
Cook in your Kitchen
My Working Life
THE VISUALS:
Get Artsy!
Gallery
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5
ALL ABOUT ENGLISH Zane Monteiro, 11B
The modern tongue of the country
The universal sound in the world
English is the language
Which has, like a flag become unfurled
It is a funny language to many
Yet it amazes your imagination
When cough can end with off
Yet through rhymes with blue and no interrogation?
English took centuries to form
And it still is ever changing
I hope that the youth of today
Can save it from decaying
Self-expression through music, literature and countless
others
That‘s what English can be used for my sisters and brothers
Hopefully you will see this too
Because the future of the language is up to you.
Before we get started and give you a rundown of the most
exciting events that occurred this year, we want you to
read this short poem about the beauty of the language that
we all speak; no, not Hindi. It‘s English time!
Investiture Ceremony
"Great and marvelous is the creation of God; the crown and
the masterpiece of it all is none other than Man. And great
indeed are the people who are chosen to lead others and
light the life of those around them."
The Investiture Ceremony at JSS International School was
held on the 1st of May, 2016 to entrust the student council
members with the responsibility of sharing a common
commitment to uphold the dignity and honor of the school.
The programme started with the invocation to the Almighty
with a recitation from the Holy Quran followed by the
school song.
The newly appointed School Captain is Mr. Vishal Meyyappan
and Sports Captain is Ms. Prithika Tabithe. All the council
members received their badges and sashes under an oath to
fulfill their responsibilities with the utmost dedication.
And here we are with the cover stories of this year! Hope
you enjoy reading through these articles and going back in
time to revisit these moments.
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"Talent wins games but teamwork and intelligence wins
championship" - Michael Jordan.
The joint efforts of the Housemaster and students of
Wordsworth House won them the trophy for the best house of
2015-2016.
The ceremony came to an end with the new School Captain -
Vishal Meyyappan's vision of a promising future for the
school and students through hard work and dedication. We
hope to see our new leaders take us to new heights or as
our school says, ―Above, Ahead and Beyond.‖
JSSIS DECLAMATION Zane Monteiro, 11B
A declamation speech is the term used to describe the re-
giving of an important or famous speech. It could be a
political, graduation or commencement speech, a eulogy, or
a sermon. The speaker re-interprets the original,
reproducing its power afresh. Students of JSS International
School find a lot of opportunities come their way in
subject to co-curricular activities. One such opportunity
was the Declamation Competition.
Students are encouraged to communicate, listen and
understand. Public speaking, stage fright and general
interactions appear as hurdles to some and what better
way to overcome it than through practicing declamation.
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Declamation is definitely a confidence booster and allows a
person to get into character and practice different speech
styles to boost the morale of the audience or dampen it as
the case may be.
On April 25th JSS International School held its very own
Declamation Speech Competition. The requirement of the
speech was that it should be a famous speech by an Indian.
The students felt invigorated by the powerful speeches
delivered by Subhas Chandra Bose‘s at Burma to Jawaharlal
Nehru‘s ―Tryst with Destiny‖, not to mention Kiran Bedi‘s
speech at TED Talks and many other great speeches - all
these were orated by students who were willing to try their
best. Everyone was truly inspired and hope to have many
more events like this in the future.
―Words are actions as well, they can influence people
beyond imagination and should be used wisely‖- Anonymous
In JSS International School we believe that through these
types of activities we can learn to speak and influence
those around us for the better.
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Plays of 2016 The Shakespeare Trio
Raveena Kichlu & Navya Rawtani,
10th
Grade 10 Plays
The 10th graders of JSSIS presented three of Shakespeare's
greatest tragedies - Hamlet, Macbeth and Othello.
Inspite of several hindrances like
actors forgetting their lines,
microphones suddenly falling
silent, the students were able to
present the plays beautifully.
Students from all three classes won prizes for best actor
and actresses. Nayantara, from
10A, received the Best Actor
Award for her role of ‗Ophelia.‘
Marvellous acting from Neha
Shine, Rhiya Bhiji and Sumira,
enacting the role of the three
witches, stole the entire show
The two grades of our school that are giving their board
exams this academic year put up a fantastic array of
plays. Come let us see what grade 10 and 12 performed for
us this year.
and attained best actor in their class, 10B.
Three students from 10C made
their entire class proud by
bagging the prize. Abdul Samad,
who played the antagonist, and
Deval Patel who played the main
actor, Othello, won prizes for
best actor. Merilynn Joseph
also did a tremendous job at
playing Brabantio‘s role and
won the Best Actress Award. The hardwork of the students
finally payed of with 10 B being declared the winner and
10C was in second place and 10C was third.
Third Time is a Charm Grade 12 Plays
The students of Grade 12, put up marvelous plays on the
28th of April for their juniors. It was truly a brilliant
experience seeing all the students take a break from their
hectic schedule and come out of their shells to put up
three different plays.
These plays were meant to enlighten Grade 11 on their
upcoming literature lessons. Grade 12 received immense
support from the English department in organizing these
plays and adding another memorable event to their calendar
last year.
The three plays put up were based on:
1. Lamb to Slaughter by Roald Dahl
2. The Lost Jewels by Rabindranath Tagore
3. The Stolen Bacillus by H.G. Wells
Dramas truly bring out the ability to improvise and let go
of one‘s stage fears, and as with every drama the best
Actor awards given out by the judges‘ panel. The best
actors respectively were:
1. Pooja Ramesh for ‗Lamb to Slaughter‘
2. Chrislynn Joseph for ‗The Lost Jewels‘
3. Vishal Meyyappan & Varcky Ben George for ‗The Stolen
Bacillus
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The JSSIS family truly hopes that this will bring out the
latent talent of budding actors on our stage and will
motivate students to actively participate in dramatics.
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HMI Trip 2016
Prithika Tabithe, 12B
Our journey started on the 12th of March. It was a long and
exhausting one but nothing compared to what we would face
in the next few weeks. We boarded a flight from Dubai to
Delhi after which, we took another flight to Bhagdogra.
Once we got there, a long road trip lay ahead of us. The
four hour journey went by in a
whiz. The picturesque sights as we
went uphill to the Himalayan
Mountaineering Institute,
Darjeeling, never ceased to amaze
us. By the time we reached the
institute we were all drained
completely, and all we could do
was hit the sack.
The next day, we were all asked to
wake up at five in the morning;
something we would never have dreamt of doing usually. We
were split into patrols and given a warm welcome. That day
was the day we learnt more about HMI's history and what
we'd be doing there. At the end of it, some of us were a
little intimidated by what lay ahead of us but tried not to
let it show. On the second day, we were taught the
Principle of Rock Climbing and were actually given the
chance to scale a rock - the Tenzing Rock. This exercise
definitely helped boost our self- confidence for the eight
day trek that lay ahead of us. That night, we went out to
purchase the necessaries for our Sandakphu trek which we
were leaving for the next day.
We started off our trek, the next
morning, marching forward like
warriors. But soon the trek started
to take its toll on us. The first day
was definitely one of the hardest. It
was all so new to us and the uphill
route only made it more challenging. The heavy - almost
twenty kg - rucksack felt like a burden. Eating out of our
own mess tins, washing them, and carrying them safely with
us was definitely a new feeling. Once we finished the 14 km
trek to Garibas and were done for the day, we couldn't help
but feel a sense of achievement. Our trek, the next day,
seemed significantly easier. Most of us had got accustomed
to the weather conditions and the altitude. Our journey to
Kalpokhri went by with ease. By now, we had learnt to help
others who needed it and had started think of ourselves as
a team. No one gets left behind.
Once we made it to Kalpokhri, we were faced with the
highlight of our trek - Sandakphu. Though this was an
optional trek, almost everyone was determined to make it up
to the highest peak in West Bengal at 12000 feet. With all
our layers on, we moved up moving against nature's forces.
There were points when the fog was blinding and we'd have
to make stops, but no one let that deter us. After quite a
climb, we finally made it to the top. For us Dubai kids,
the lush green mountains were a welcome break from the
barren desert. The journey was definitely worth it. We made
it back to Kalpokhri for that night's stay.
The next three days went by pretty quickly. We faced no
major challenges and had all adapted to the environment. We
made it to Rimbick for lunch and were lucky to be given an
oppourtunity to visit the local market. The next day, we
made our way to Kainjaley, and the day after, to Goak. Both
these days we stayed at school and spent the evenings
playing outdoor games. It helped us all bond and get to
know each other better. During our stay at Goak, we had an
extempore speech session that helped all of us let go of
our inhibitions.
On the sixth day of our trek, we moved downhill towards
Singla. The numerous activities lined up for us over there
excited us. When we reached our destination, we were taught
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to pitch tents, something most of us had never done before.
Later, that evening we were taught how to light a fire and
were given the necessary ingredients for our patrol wise
cooking competition. We definitely learnt a lot from that
competition, and also started really appreciating people
who made cooking seem effortless. The next morning, we had
our cross country race which got us all warmed up for the
day's events. The waterman ship training and kayaking were
both definitely thrilling experiences, and everyone wanted
to stay there for as long as possible. We spent the last
night of our trek around a campfire singing songs and just
letting it all soak in. We had actually done it. We were at
the end of our 108 km trek. It brought out the spirit of
sportsmanship and competitiveness in all of us.
The graduation ceremony left us with mixed emotions.
We were proud of ourselves and glad we'd done it but also a
little remorseful that it all came to an end so quickly. We
ended the day with a farewell dinner with our instructors
that we had all contributed towards as a way of showing
gratitude. We spent our last day at camp at the town
market, buying souvenirs and other knick knacks. We
definitely wanted to buy something by which we could
remember our trip.
On 26th March, the day had come. It was time for all of us
to say goodbye. And though we all missed the luxuries of
Dubai and our mothers' food, we had become so used to a
different way of life that
we were reluctant to let
go. We left with heavy
hearts. But we knew we'd
have plenty of stories to
recount to our friends and
family back in Dubai; and
none of us would trade the
memories we made there for
anything in the world.
LITTING UP WITH RAPTURE Tashyaa Mehrotra, 11B
Can you imagine a world without literature? It‘s hard,
isn‘t it? It has been and still is an integral part of the
world we live in. Believe it or not, literature has helped
in shaping the world and humans. It has played a major role
in the development of society, in exposing injustice, in
connecting all of us at different levels and so much more
than we can imagine. Literature has been one of the pillars
for this world. It‘s where beauty of existence lies. It has
helped us understand not only the world around us, but
built another one for us.
Literature is one of the most interesting and significant
expressions of humanity. It is the channel through which
one can escape the present world to experience another one.
It is as simple as opening a book and getting lost in the
words. That is the gift of literature. Literature makes us
empathize and connect with others. Often it has been seen
that many of us develop a bond with a fictional characters.
Not only do we paint a picture of them in our head but we
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cry and laugh with them. We think of them as our friends.
The author, the book, as our friend, is our escape from
reality.
Literature gives birth to an open mind and heart. We learn
that there is more to a person than they might be showing.
We learn not to judge a person by their exterior but to dig
deep into their interior as well. It has taught us much
more than JUST that. Through literature we have learnt the
complexity of human emotion and behavior. We have come
across situations in pages and tried applying their
solutions in our reality. Literature has taught us how to
handle reality in a better way.
It has unconsciously triggered our analytical thinking and
imagination. You start analyzing a character, the story,
thinking how they function, what effect a certain event has
had on their story. You use your imagination to fill in the
blanks, to feed your curiosity.
Words have power, they can inspire. Through literature,
great authors have done just that. They‘ve inspired. Be it
in the British Raj, or a mere lost soul, literature has
shown us the path to enlightenment and sustenance. It has
not only held out a hand for us to discover ourselves but
to the world, to societies, to justice too. It has made
them to re-discover, given us the nourishment we require as
a person.
We all have opinions about at least a few things, if not
everything. Literature has given us that privilege. It has
either fabricated our opinions or strengthened them or even
gone as far as dismantling our belief system.
Boris Pasternuk said, ―Literature is the art of
discovering something extraordinary about ordinary people,
and saying with ordinary words something extraordinary.‖ He
couldn‘t have been more accurate. I know not everyone is a
fan of reading, and if you aren‘t you are missing out. Like
it‘s famously said – there is no difference between a man
who won‘t read and a man who cannot read. So go. Find your
extraordinary.
WONDER: BOOK REVIEW Aisha Shaikh, 11B
Review:
August Pullman is a
young boy of 10 who has
been given one of
fate‘s most gruesome
face abnormalities.
When people look at
Auggie, all they see is
―a sign from God.‖
People look at him and
are grateful that
they‘re not him. They
pity him, they bully
him, and they just
Title: Wonder
Author: R. J. Palacio
Genre: YA/ Middle Grade
Contemporary
Type: Standalone
Recommended Age: 8+
Rating: 5/5
Synopsis: You can't blend in
when you were born to stand
out.
August Pullman wants to be an
ordinary ten-year-old. He
does ordinary things. He eats
ice cream. He plays on his
Xbox. He feels ordinary -
inside.
But Auggie is far from
ordinary. Ordinary kids don't
make other ordinary kids run
away screaming in
playgrounds. Ordinary kids
don't get stared at wherever
they go.
Born with a terrible facial
abnormality, Auggie has been
home-schooled by his parents
his whole life, in an attempt
to protect him from the
cruelty of the outside world.
Now, for the first time, he's
being sent to a real school -
and he's dreading it. Can he
convince his new classmates
that he's just like them?
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stare at him. But Auggie doesn‘t want to be pitied, or
bullied, or stared at. He just wants to be the cute little
kid next door that always makes sweet jokes and gives nice
smiles.
This book teaches you so much more than you could ever
learn about gratefulness, empathy and kindness. This book
gives you a perspective into the mind of a young child that
is forced to go through problems that not even adults
should face. We often don‘t give a second thought to the
maimed, the crippled, and the handicapped. ‗Wonder‘ forces
you to come out of the little shell that you‘ve created
around yourself and really look out into reality.
Wonder feels so real, it‘s like you‘re watching a 3D
movie. You don‘t even realize when you become a part of
Auggie and Auggie a part of you. Palacio has written the
story with such adeptness that it shocks you. The
characters are all very real and their emotions are felt by
you. The way the author uses words to manipulate ideas is
simply marvelous.
‗Wonder‘ is interesting to more than just a fictional
level. It changes something inside you to be more kind and
forthcoming to others. ‗Wonder‘ breaks those walls down.
That is the reason that it is such an important read. It
tells us to do things in such a passive and beautiful way,
it is inspiring. It must be read by children and adults of
all ages because of the message it sends across.
A LETTER FROM ANONYMOUS
Hello my readers, friends, thinkers, dreamers, writers,
students, teachers, parents, others who are just going
through this article because my name isn't mentioned and
they want to figure out who it is.
Why am I writing this, you may think (or not!). Well, good
question. But I don't know the answer. I am doing this on
the spot. Jotting down random points and thoughts is one of
my marvelous talents. (Though, often, my talents are
misinterpreted to be useless characteristics, which I of
course, first handedly disagree.) I guess, I just thought,
'Hey, why not try out for the e-magazine?' and after 3 hours
of intense procrastination, here I am, in front of my as-
old-as-me-laptop, writing. I have so much to write, in fact,
too much to even... I am kidding.
I have - nothing!
Hey, I am not what you would call a 'cuckoo'. Well, at
least, not yet. Like the other day, when we were having our
clinic checkup at school, one of my friend was looking at
the eye chart and was able to read the very last line or in
other words, had amazing eyesight. Reacting to this, one of
my friend shouted out, ―You haven't been watching enough
T.V. I will complain about you to your mother. As an amazing
friend, I am honestly worried.‖ Let me tell you this, that
amazing friend is going to become the next President.
Anyway, I realize that this letter has no purpose, and life
without purpose,(or letter for that matter) is like Ellen
DeGeneres without humor!
I have to wonder, where will I end up working in the future?
I was thinking McDonald‘s, but I wouldn‘t say no to a
promotion to Burger King either. Jokes apart, thinking of
the future is something children of all ages face. I won't
tell you what to do. Just do what you want to do, be who you
want to be. But whatever you become, become someone who is a
good person. Someone who is respected, and knows what is
right and what is wrong. It doesn‘t matter what you do, as
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right in your heart. Accept who you are and embrace
yourself, that is, unless you are a serial killer. Then, by
all means, you should change. But as I was saying, you
decide your future.
This does not mean that you go to your parents and say,
―Mom, the magazine says I can choose what I want to be. I
want to work at Nandos. I don't need a qualification.
Hence, I don't need to go to school anymore.‖
Your parents, teachers and other elders are merely the
candle, lighting the right way. Of course, you get to
choose, but they will help make sure that what you have
chosen is the right choice. I know that school is hard.
Believe me, I am a student, I think I have the right to
know how you feel. But as hard or difficult as it may be,
you just need to face it. I also know that deep down
inside, there is that little part that actually doesn't
mind school. After all, we just claim it to be hard, but in
reality, it‘s probably just 1+1=2. Okay, maybe not, but I
guess 5(-3x - 2) - (x - 3) = -4(4x + 5) + 13) is easy too?
No? Well then, that‘s your problem. Literally!
But this is all for your future! There are millions out
there who wish to be in your place. Okay, maybe I sound
exactly like all the others and I want to be unique, so I
guess I‘ll leave you with this final thought said by Bill
Gates:
‗Life is not fair, get used to it!‘
And that says it all.
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WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF LIFE? Aisha Shaikh, 11B
What is the purpose of life? This is a question that will
surely get a multitude of answers because of how subjective
it is. You might say that the purpose of life is to get a
good job and have a fit bank account. The friend sitting
beside you may have a different view as to what the purpose
of life is. They might say that the purpose of life is
happiness; to always have a smile on your face. Maybe the
person you don‘t really like thinks that life is all about
vengeance. Getting revenge, which, ultimately may lead to
their happiness and you in the hospital with a broken limb.
Your religious mother most likely thinks that the purpose
of life in the short-term is a peaceful family and, in the
long-term (she‘s a little selfish here) it‘s all about
going to Heaven, the ultimate abode.
Well I, for one, am that friend sitting
next to you. I think it is all about
happiness. It‘s about being happy in
yourself, in your surroundings, in what
you have and what you‘ve become.
Happiness is not simple to acquire and
nor will it stay with one person for
too long. Happiness is fleeting. It
comes and goes but I think that‘s the
beauty of it. If happiness were
abundant, we wouldn‘t care for it like so many other
things. If you had happiness all the time, you wouldn‘t
treasure it. And I think that‘s why happiness is so
important. It‘s scarce.
With all this being said, the road to happiness has a lot
of stops along its way. To get to your destination, you
have to fill in many forms. You may still not get to your
destination. Who knows? But you‘ll certainly be a step
closer to happiness.
One of the prime aspects of happiness is acceptance.
Acceptance is hard, I agree. But you have to do it. You
have to accept that you have bushy eyebrows, that you have
the worst sibling in the world, that your parents can‘t
afford to buy you everything you want. You have to accept
that you are a boy with no friends, that you have a phone
that‘s outdated, that you don‘t have grandparents anymore.
I think you realize what I‘m trying to say here. Whatever
it is, big or small, significant or not, accept it.
Now another one of those stops along the way is belief.
Believing in yourself is absolutely necessary to happiness.
You have to take a moment, maybe two, and take to believing
in all the things you do. At the end of the day, if you
aren‘t ready to believe that the decisions you‘ve taken are
right, why would others? If you don‘t think you‘re capable
of singing, dancing, laughing, drawing and countless other
things, why would others? You need to stop constantly
critiquing everything you do. There are people around you
to do that for you. It is your job to be confident and
their job to talk.
Another recipe for happiness is forgiveness. As the old
saying goes, ‗Forgive and forget.‘ We don‘t realize how
true that is until we are plagued by that seemingly
everlasting hate and want for revenge. Holding grudges
never brought anyone pure, unadulterated joy. Forgiveness
is healthy too. The more you forgive, the lesser stress and
tension you have. So, forgive your father for scolding you,
forgive your friend for not being there for you and most
importantly, forgive yourself for doing something you‘re
not proud of.
And finally, do what you want to do. If your heart is
asking you to do something that you‘re not doing right now,
do it. Listen to your heart and what it wants. Don‘t let
others push you to do something you don‘t want to do. You
don‘t need to end up miserable just to fulfill someone
else‘s expectations. You don‘t deserve that. Nobody does.
So you have dreams? Bring them to life because only you can
do that. You may not want to upset the people you love, but
if they truly love you and want you to be happy, they won‘t
stop you from achieving the happiness you have earned.
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YOU SURRENDER
Freyance Wadia, 11B
Hi, I am Depression. I am your worst enemy disguised as
your best friend.
I make you feel complete as I empty you out. You let me get
to you. You dwell in me as I make a home out of you.
I make you leave everyone who you love and who loves you. I
make you despise all the things you once craved, the people
you loved, yourself...till everything is gone and it's just
the two of us.
Then, I call my aide, Anxiety.
Anxiety and I, we torment you.
Remember that time you misplaced a book and just that led
to so many irrational thoughts about how you are
'worthless', 'good for nothing' and a 'disappointment' that
you slept that night with tear-strained cheeks, soar eyes
and three deep, crimson scars on you wrist? We did that.
We made you isolate yourself, we make you debate in your
head over the petty things, we made you question your
value, your worth, your pride, we make you who you are and
who you're going to be.
Sweetheart, don't be misled by what other people say. They
never cared for you anyway. We are what's good for you. We
make you realise WHAT YOU ARE (even if that's a waste of
space). We bring you down from that cloud you were floating
on, the one your family and friends set you upon. We bring
you where you're supposed to be (even if that's hell).
You used to love basketball, didn't you? You know why you
stopped playing? Because We made you realise that you're no
good (even if others say you are) and that you're not
improving either, so what's the point of playing, really?
Logical, isn't it?
You loved all that buzz of new clothes and shopping, didn't
you? You know why you hate it now? Because we made you
realise all the faults in your face, your appearance, your
body and how you're not good enough to wear the clothes you
want to.
Those online tests you took last night, the ones that
diagnosed you with us, they were right. But sweetheart,
what can you do about it? We make it impossible for you to
come out to anyone. The CBT apps you downloaded the day
before, what's the use of those? At this stage, we are so
strong that nothing can get you rid of us. We are deep
rooted in you. We are your better part. To kill us, you
have to die and that is exactly what happens.
You surrender.
SPORTS EVERYDAY
Mark Ronad, 11B Sports are a part of many people's daily lives. It has been
a part of my life from a very young age. There is something
about sports and a physical activity that just consumes
you. Sports enhances our mental capabilities, makes us
think faster, sharpens our reflexes, makes us more alert
and refreshes our body and mind.
The number of sports played all over the world are
uncountable, from contact sports like boxing mixed martial
arts to Raquel sports like table tennis and badminton to
sports like basketball and football which are widely
enjoyed by billions of people all over the world the or
track and field where athletes get to display amazing feats
in speed and stamina.
Let‘s face it, how many of us really works hard every day
to achieve that self-confidence we ache for? Almost none.
So maybe these tips will spur you to move from that screen
you‘ve glued yourself to and get some calories burned.
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Here are a few tips to help you get a little more moving.
1. Develop a "move more" mindset.
Carving out a specific hour of a day for a workout is great
but first, start each day with the mindset to move more. By
reminding your body to get more movement throughout the
day, you will be more likely to do it. So sit less and
stand more. Take more steps and stairs. Walk to talk with a
coworker instead of emailing them. Stretch in your chair,
squat to pick something up and so on. Begin each day with a
move more mindset and you will find them.
2. Think of how exercise boosts your sense of well-being.
You probably know exercise can help you live longer and go
a long way to disease prevention, but what you might find
more rewarding is to think about all the immediate benefits
exercise provides to your well-being. All of us can use
exercise today to get more energy, alleviate stress,
increase productivity, improve our outlook, sleep better
and feel happier—today! Think about what you stand to gain
if you work out today. Just give it some thought or better
yet, make a list.
3. Remind yourself daily of your why.
It‘s easy to get off track if you aren‘t reminding yourself
of why working out and eating healthy is important to you.
This goes back to your core motivation that we addressed
earlier. If you make it a routine to wake up and remind
yourself of why exercise is important to you, you will be
more likely to keep your commitments to yourself. Wake up
thinking of what exercise you will do today and it becomes
a priority.
Sports is something that needs to be taken seriously,
something that you need to put in your 100% ,something in
which no matter how hard it is, you never give up. Every
day you strive to better yourself, and achieve your goals.
DEFUSING STRESS
Karan Chauhan, 11A
Being a student, all of us have come across moments where
the pressure is too much and the stress level keeps rising
up. In moments like these, we talk to ourselves for a
minute and feel its all-fine and go back to what we were
doing, neglecting that rising stress level. Stress is a
psychological issue and most definitely can be overcome.
There are different types of stress relievers ranging from:
Physical stress relief
Interpersonal or introspective stress relief
Behavioral stress relief
1. PHYSICAL STRESS RELIEF
Are you tired and stressed after a long day at school or
work? If yes, then this article will be perfect for you as
it has loads of little tips that you and your loved ones
can use when in a little more pressure.
35
Go outside.
There's something about natural light that's tremendously
soothing to humans. It just takes off the edge. And hey,
even if it doesn‘t work for you, at least you get to do
something other than study!
Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)
Progressive Muscle Relaxation teaches you to relax your
muscles through a two - step process. First, you
systematically tense particular muscle groups in your body,
such as your neck and shoulders. Next, you release the
tension and notice how your muscles feel when you relax
them. This helps you release the tension in your muscles
and ultimately removes that stress.
2. Interpersonal or Introspective Stress Relief
Talk to someone.
The most effective stress relief comes from speaking with
friends, but only the ones who you know have the best
interests at heart. They are great listeners, supportive,
and almost always come up with strategies to cope with the
stress or, at the least, put it in perspective for you. If
nothing else, they can point you in a better, less
stressful direction.
3. Behavioral Stress Relief
Don‘t rush.
Don't rush into problem-solving mode. Whenever you feel the
need to go faster, think of that as a signal to slow down.
Learn to sit quietly, and listen to yourself. Listening to
yourself helps you to get to know yourself. Knowing
yourself is the first step to managing yourself, and your
stress.
COOK IN THE KITCHEN
BROCCOLI TOTS
Ingredients
• 1 bunch of broccoli, equal sized florets (around 3-4 cups)
• 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/3 cup onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• 2 eggs
• salt and pepper
Instructions
1 .Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2 .Pour 1 inch of water into
You must be feeling quite hungry after all that scrolling
and reading. But don‘t worry, we have got you covered!
Your mouth will be watering after just the first dish. But
be careful, students! These recipes may need adult
supervision.
37
a saucepan; bring to a boil. Place the broccoli into
the boiling water, cover, and reduce the heat to
medium. Cook the broccoli for 5-6 minutes, or until it
can easily be pierced by a fork. Drain the broccoli and
set aside to cool slightly.
3. Lay the broccoli out onto paper towels. Press down
firmly on the broccoli to absorb as much moisture as you
can. Finely chop the broccoli.
4. In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and
season with salt and pepper. Stir everything together
until well mixed. Fill each muffin cup in a mini muffin
tin to the top, pushing down on the filling with your
spoon so it's nice and compact.
3 . Bake for 18-20 minutes in preheated oven. The top will change to golden. To easily remove from the pan (without
scratching it to death), run a plastic knife around the
edges of each tot and they should come out easier.
CHEESY CHICKEN PASTA
Ingredients
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 12 ounces chicken breasts cut into 1-inch cubes
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup orzo
• ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 tablespoons butter
• ¼ cup milk
Instructions
1. Heat olive oil in a
large skillet.
2. Add chicken pieces to the skillet, season with salt and
pepper, and cook over medium heat until done; about 10 to
15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
3. Bring a pot of water to boil, and stir in the orzo.
4. Cook for 5 minutes, or until orzo is tender.
5. Drain.
39
6. Put the orzo back in the pot and stir in the cheese,
butter, and ¼ cup milk; add more milk if needed. Continue
to stir until smooth and well combined.
7. Stir in the cooked chicken.
8. Taste for salt and pepper.
9. Serve.
ICE CREAM BITES
Ingredients
1. Ice Cream (any flavor)
– softened
2. 2 Cups Chocolate Chips
3. 1/2 Cup Coconut Oil (use
refined coconut oil for a
neutral taste)
4. 1/3 Cup Crispy Rice
Cereal
Instructions
1. Spread out softened ice cream on a wax paper lined
baking tray. Cover with wax paper and press down to evenly
spread and smooth. Freeze overnight.
2. Remove ice cream from tray, peel off the wax paper and
cut into bite size squares. Return to the freezer until
ready to dip.
3. Microwave 2 Cups of Chocolate Chips with 1/2 Cup Coconut
oil for 90 seconds – stopping to stir every 30 – until
melted and smooth. Allow chocolate mixture to come to room
temperature. Mix in rice cereal.
4. Working quickly and in small batches – coat ice cream
cubes in chocolate mixture and return to the freezer to
harden up. Enjoy!
41
MY WORKING LIFE Mark Ronad, Tashyaa Mehrotra, Freyance Wadia and Zane Monteiro, 11B
When did you start teaching this school?
-The morning of March 27th 2011.
How did you start teaching in this
school?
-I initially came for an interview to
this school for a position in JSSPS but
the interview fell on a national holiday
so I had to come the next day, my
interview was taken the next day, by our
first principal Anthony Joseph.
What was your first impression of the
school?
-It was an upcoming school, so I had a lot of expectations.
Were your expectations matched?
-Initially, my expectations were matched.
When did you first start teaching?
-1995.
With so much of information about the students, we felt
the need to show you something that is more teacher
oriented. We decided to interview two teachers at JSSIS. A
teacher who has been teaching in our school for a long
time, and one who just joined. Let‘s see what they have to
say.
Did you always want to be a teacher?
-No. before I did my B.Ed., I had a job as a teacher but I
always wanted to be a doctor.
What made you continue teaching?
-One of my teachers in college saw the qualities of a
teacher in me and it was my father’s dying wish. It was a
dedication to him.
If you had the chance to go back and take up medicine,
would you?
-No. I want to be a singer now. I dream about my picture
hung on the karama billboards instead of Kalyan Jewellers.
What was your first teaching experience like?
-A 7th grade class in Kochi.
Do you want to leave the school? Why?
-Yes, I do. I feel I have given whatever I could, to this
school. Another school now needs me and I wish to help
them.
Do you like teaching?
-Yes, I love teaching. As soon as I enter class, I forget
everything and I just want to be in between students. It’s
my love and passion.
What would you say was the highlight of your teaching
career?
-I think my biggest highlight would be when a KHDA
inspector complimented my teaching style.
What is the biggest thing you‘ve learnt from your students?
-To be cool and have a young heart.
What message would you give to aspiring teachers?
-Everyday should be a new day, but you should always plan
and enter the class.
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When did you join this school?
Recently, in March 2016.
Are you enjoying it here?
Yes, I am. I have only taught Cambridge
curriculum before this. It is my first
time teaching the Indian curriculum and I
really like the literature that is taught.
Do you miss your previous school?
Yes, I miss it a lot. I loved teaching
there.
What was your first impression of the
school?
Welcoming.
Were your expectations matched?
Yes.
When did you start teaching?
September, 2005.
Did you always want to be a teacher?
No, I wanted to be a psychologist. I studied educative
psychology. Teaching was an impromptu experience, it was
just a time pass till I figured out what to do.
What made you continue teaching?
I fell in love with teaching. I could get my message across
by teaching and I always wanted to do that.
Do you like teaching?
I like bringing small changes into people’s lives. Through
teaching I can change a student’s perspective about life
and widen their scope by not only ticking to the syllabus.
What would you say was the highlight of your teaching
career?
I helped one of my students get through a very difficult
time with his parents. His parents were very restrictive.
He was ostracized by his teachers, peers and parents’
managed to council the boy and his parents, trying to make
them understand each other. I changed his negative outlook
to a positive one. I managed to bridge the age gap between
my student and his parents.
What message would you give to aspiring teachers?
A little bit of advice I have for aspiring teachers or
anyone taking up teaching as a career would be- a good
teacher should be a good psychologist and understand the
student’s psychology.
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STORYTELLERS
We, here at JSSIS have a strong imagination.
So strong indeed that, when we asked them to
write us stories, we received an overwhelming
response. Though there were numerous stories,
we could include only a selected few due to
space constraints. Therefore, don‘t fret if
your story isn‘t in here, there are probably
greater things destined for you.
So, enjoy reading this bundle of imagination!
The Boy and His Dragon
Eric A. Abraham -3E
There was a boy called Thomas. He was a good boy.
There was a dragon called Redbell. It was a fine
creature. This story is about them.
On Tom‘s 10th
birthday, he was playing with his
little brother Jerry in the garden after the
party. Suddenly, Jerry found a little red dragon
toy under a bush and gifted it to Tom. Tom was
very happy as the dragon looked cute with a small
golden bell hanging around its neck. ‗Redbell‘ was
written. That night, before going into bed, Tom
played with it and left it near his bedroom window
saying ―Oh! Redbell, Redbell, Redbell, I am so
happy! I wish you were real. You stay here near
the window and watch the shinning full moon.
Goodnight!‖
Next morning, Tom woke up late and had to rush to
school. He forgot all about the dragon. When he
opened his snack box at lunch time, he could not
believe his eyes. There were only crumbs! He knew
his friends and brother would not play such a
trick on him. Then he had a strange thought about
a dragon.
After school, he ran home and rushed to his room.
The dragon was not near the window! Nobody had
seen it! Tom felt upset. At night, he tried hard
47
to sleep, but could not. He heard the clock striking
twelve. Then he heard another strange sound. He felt
scared, but decided to find out. Tom listened
carefully. The sound was coming from the kitchen! He
tiptoed down the stairs and peeked into the kitchen.
He was shocked to see a little red dragon munching
greedily on some cookies. Seeing Tom, it ran behind a
cupboard. Tom understood and said, ―Come out Redbell,
I will not hurt you‖. Slowly it peeked out. Tom gave
it more cookies and some milk in a small cup. After
its tummy was full, the dragon sat back, smiled at
Tom and shook hands.
The dragon sadly explained, ―My home is far away
in a magical land. One day I fell into a strange
hole and ended up in your land. When you said my
name three times in the full moonlight, I became
alive.‖ Big tears fell from Redbell‘s eyes. Tom
felt sad and promised to take care of it. He made
a cozy home for the dragon in his toy cupboard.
Soon they became best friends and every full
moonlight Redbell took Tom on great magical
adventures!
Honesty is the best policy
Abhinav Aswath, 3C
There was once a boy called Rahul who stole some
money from his mother’s purse. He went to the
grocery near his house and bought a chocolate. When
his mother came home she noticed some money missing
from the place she used to keep it. She asked Rahul
about it but he was scared and lied that he did not
know about it.
Later, his mother went to the grocery to buy some
milk and bread. The shopkeeper told her that Rahul
had come there to buy chocolate. Rahul’s mother got
home very angry. She told her son that the habit of
lying is extremely bad. One should always speak the
truth. “You are grounded for two weeks”, Rahul’s
mother said. He could not play football with his
friends or play computer games.
Rahul learned a good lesson. He decided never to lie
again.
49
Tom and Peyton - Mystery Solvers
The Case of the Haunted Castle Sanjay Panicker, 5B
One day Tom was in his house reading a newspaper
and Peyton was sitting and watching television.
Tom said, “Oh no! Look at this news Peyton! Danger
in a haunted castle, missiles and rockets has
blasted on their own. Police suspect criminal
activity here”.
“Let’s go.” said Peyton.
At the haunted castle the Chief, the Defense
Minister and various constables were there. Peyton
asked the Defense Minister if Tom and she could
enter the castle. The Minister nodded. So they
went upstairs, which took some time and then
suddenly… “Peyton! Look! Footprints!”
“Woah, these footprints are odd. We must follow
them.” said Peyton.
They followed the footprints, which went up and
up and up and finally reached the top.
Unfortunately, when they found their next clue,
they were trapped in a large cage. The Defense
Minister came out of nowhere and was actually
Jumbo - the Clown of Terror. They were both
surprised and confused.
“You fell in my trap and I shall kill you with
my laser eyes!” Saying this, Jumbo started
laughing like the maniac he was.
Tom found a piece of glass and placed it in
front of him to protect Peyton and himself. The
laser bounced back at Jumbo. He yelled and in
pain as he fell down the stairs. Peyton removed a
hairclip from her hair and unlocked the door.
Peyton and Tom ran down the stairs and jumped
upon Jumbo who was trying to run away. The police
upon Jumbo who was trying to run away. The police
took out their guns and surrounded Jumbo. All of
a sudden, Jumbo turned into a sage and said,
“Both of you freed me from this curse, thank
you.” The police praised Tom and Peyton and
called them the best mystery solvers ever.
51
I am really Rich
Namit, 6B
―I‘m going shopping in the village‖, George‘s
mother said to George on Saturday morning. ―So be
a good boy and don‘t get up to mischief‖. George
nodded his head and walked up to the attic. He
was just looking at all the junk, when suddenly
he saw a key made of gold. He looked at the key
and said, ―Ooh, a key. I wonder what it‘s used
for.‖
Then he remembered that his family had found a
chest in the attic that had been thrown onto the
sofa. Excited, he put the key inside and turned
the key around. The chest opened and he found a
map inside the chest. The map showed that there
was a treasure located somewhere in the colony he
lived in.
In the map it was written that to find the
treasure you would have to take 36 steps south
from a river. Alas, there was no river there. He
quickly understood that this map must have been
written in the past. On the top it was written
4th Bendour (Now August), 1231.
So he dug and dug until he found some water
underground. He found out which way South was and
took 36 steps in that direction. He dug and dug
and found another chest. The chest didn‘t need a
key so he opened it up and found many diamonds
and rubies. He had become very rich. He never
told his parents what happened because he used it
all for a year‘s supply of jelly (he liked jelly
a lot) and he lived his life happily ever after.
Search For The Meteor
Raina Susan Roopak, 8C
Nature‘s glory held me captivated and I stood
there motionless, thinking how beautiful it was.
The bright moon, and the starry skies. All so
calming and relaxing. The night sky filled with
a million tiny stars. I have always wondered why
this world can‘t be this way forever. Without
any pollution, corruption or any sort of
disturbance to Mother Nature. Humans only think
about fulfilling their own needs. Greed and
cunningness overtake their mind. They never
think beyond their own. By now, I was so
indulged in my thoughts that I completely forgot
the purpose of me being there.
On April 1st, 2015, I was offered an
opportunity to fly to space and capture a
picture of the rarest meteor. It was quite a
long journey from earth and by that I mean
pretty long. I am still searching for the meteor
and I am surprised by the fact I‘m not dead by
now. I have very little food and it‘s very
difficult to survive in space. I was given this
mission because I was the top astronaut at NASA.
They said that only an experienced astronaut
like me could go on this mission. To find this
meteor, you need to put in a lot of time and
effort. I did a lot of research on this
meteor and have been searching for it for about
a year now.
I miss my family tremendously and I wish I
could go back but I will not give up. Many
meteors just pass by my spaceship but none of
them are the one I‘m looking for. Seeing the
moon and the stars from here is a total delight
and a whole different experience. It‘s always
53
and a whole different experience. It‘s always dark
but the sun lights up everything. I just wish
everyone could enjoy this sight. When I get back to
earth, I want to start a program where space is
going to be a tourist place and we take hundreds of
people to space and show them around.
Now-a-days people are so interested in destroying
nature that they forget to focus on its beauty.
People need to stop cutting trees and killing
animals. So many protest against this but all in
vain. Many awareness programs are held and still
people tend to throw garbage on the roads.
There is nothing much we can do about what others
are doing but we can stop what we ourselves are
doing. Earth is meant to be a beautiful place for
all human beings, animals and plants. All of us
have our own rights and duties.
Well, I‘m going to go back to my meteor watching
and my search for this rare meteor.
THE DRESS Rohini Kichulu, 9C
My mother was making a dress. All through the
month of November I would come home from school
and find her in the kitchen, surrounded by cut
up velvet and scraps of tissue paper. She worked
at a sewing machine pushed up against the wall.
Every day I would come home and ask her to
rest and stop working but she seemed determined
on making that dress. I didn't know why she was
making it or for who it was for but she worked
day and night to get it done.
My father passed away when I was a little girl
and ever since then it was just mother and me.
We were the broken pieces left of a once happy
family. My mother worked really hard but with
the rent, electricity bills and my school fees,
we barely managed to make ends meet.
One day while shopping in the market, my
mother left me on my own to buy food. I found
myself in front of an extremely posh boutique
all my friends were talking about. It was then
that I laid my eyes on the most beautiful dress
I had ever seen. I ran and called out for my
mother.
"Mom! The dress, it's still there!" I said
excitedly. My mother's face remained
expressionless as I continued. "Can we please
buy it now?" I begged her.
"Dear, you know I would love to buy it for you
but we're in no financial position to get it
right now. Maybe next year?" she said as her
eyes filled
55
with remorse.
"That's what you said last year too!
You're never going to buy it, are you?" I
questioned angrily.
"No dear-" she tried to explain but I cut
her off, "You just don't love me!" I
exclaimed with tears in my eyes as I ran all
the way home.
I didn't stop or look back, I sprinted
home leaving my mother behind and didn't
stop running until I reached my room. I
could feel the hot tears running down my
face. I stopped crying when I noticed a big
box wrapped in shiny,
silver paper and laced with a deep red
ribbon. I wondered what it was as I opened
it. To my surprise, it was the same red
dress I wanted!
"Happy Birthday!" A voice from behind
said.
The tears trickled down my face and I was
hit with a pang of regret.
I was truly loved after all.
FLASH FICTION STORIES
Flash fiction is a style of fictional literature
of extreme brevity. With an attempt to explore
and nourish the talents of the students in our
school, the English department arranged a Flash
Fiction Competition on 12th April 2016, for
students from Grades 3 to 12. The purpose of the
Competition was to endow the students‘
imagination, giving them a chance to demonstrate
their writing skills. The competition was
designed to nurture, enhance and demonstrate the
writing skills of our students as by writing and
creating a story, children learn to organize
their thoughts and use written language to
communicate in a variety of ways.
The children were briefed as to how they had to
write, and what was expected for the competition.
Many writers have done well to craft their work
and create something fresh and distinctive.
Here we have works of grade 10-12
57
SUSPICIOUS BEHAVIOUR
Raj Maheshwari, 10A
It was midnight .The woman closed the curtains
and huddled on her bed .Tim should've been home
hours ago .Why hadn't he called ?He normally did
so as far as she knew him ,being married for
about 8 years now. A few days later it would be
9. He was usually home late after work,
sometimes even at midnight. But he would always
call and say so. Tim didn't speak much, he liked
to listen to people and observe them. His
profession wasn't dangerous at all and he could
-- if he wanted to -- do it at home.
He was a painter ,and a very fine one indeed .
He was not very famous and painted nearly
everything in the world .But he liked to paint
people's faces best.
All of a sudden, the doorbell rang. Tim's
wife, Rubella, got off the bed hoping that it
would be him. She wanted
to yell at him for not informing her about his
late arrival beforehand, but she wasn't too sure
if it would be him. As she reached for the
doorknob, the bell rang again.
If it hadn't rung again, she would've opened
the door but now she was suspicious. Tim would
never (even if he had to wait for hours) ring
the bell twice. Moreover, he had the house key.
Rubella looked through the peep hole after
contemplating for a minute, but by then the
visitor had left.
It wasn't really something that usually
happened and with Tim not picking up the phone,
happened and with Tim not picking up the phone,
she grew more worried. Rubella knew that she
wouldn't be able to sleep with this stress so
she decided to watch television instead. She
flicked through the channels a many times but
the thought of Tim was burning in her mind.
Something like this had never happened before.
She didn't expect him to pick the call but she
kept calling him every few minutes anyway. She
couldn't help it.
Tim worked quite a distance from home where
all pleasant so as to not disturb him .His
workshop contained pictures
of people he wanted to paint. He drove a car and
worked alone, but his paintings were worth it.
Although they sold for high prices, Tim never
sold them with his own name. He would take the
money and with each of his paintings that were
sold, Tim had a new name.
The doorbell rang again and this time Tim came
in, but Rubella was not in the house anymore.
She had gone in search of him. He had been
waiting all this while to tell her about how his
car had crashed and why he was late.
59
The Explorer Inside Me
Jenita, 10B
The swell was gently lifting and lowering the
boat. My breathing grew slower falling into
step with the creaking of the hull until I
could no longer tell the difference between
the faint rhythmic motion of the cabin and
sensation of filling and emptying my lungs. I
took a shaky breath and a hesitant step onto
the wooden floor boards of the abandoned boat
-- or at least I think it was abandoned. It
has been years since anyone has come to the
Island of Bones. Although, I liked to call it
the Island of Coconuts. ‗Bones‘ sounds too
creepy.
All I‘ve seen since being stranded here are
brown hairy seeds. The last time human
civilization set foot on this legendary
summoned abode of Captain Jack Sparrow (yes,
he is real) was over seven years ago when I
made the foolish decision of coming here to
search for him with the traitor of a friend.
The floor boards shook beneath my careful
steps. I tried to keep quiet, unsure of my
surroundings including 'explorers' who came
for vain answers and irrational dreams like
me. The creaking flooring and my sudden gasps
for breaths did not really help my mission of
'operation stealthy‘.
The sails of the boat were torn, as though
the boat were a soldier, battling a great big
enemy--a hurricane. Let‘s throw in some fire
breathing dragons and a swarm of locusts and
the boat looked like it had been attacked by
the boat looked like it had been attacked
by these plagues too. The torn sails and
the broken paddle were signs screaming at
me to turn around and run away from the
mysterious boat to save myself, but the
long extinguished little explorer in me
decided to show herself after seven long
years.
After countless shudders and numerous
falls due to the watery boards, I found
myself standing in front of a cabin, the
Captain‘s maybe? This made me tingle with
excitement. I hesitated though. The very
reason I found myself stranded
on this island was because I had broken
into a sailor‘s room and borrowed the map
to Jack Sparrow‘s treasure and blindly
followed it.
I was scared that I would not be able to
surpass the explorer inside of me from
rising as I had managed to do before by
telling myself that the gold coins and
priceless jewels were all made up. Lastly I
was terrified that I would find a half dead
zombie pirate sitting in there waiting to
devour an unexpected girl‘s brain. But as
usual, me being me, (I never learn) I soon
found myself turning the rusty gold knob
and taking a step inside, tightly shutting
my eyes not wanting to be the first victim
of a zombie apocalypse.
The decor of the room took me by
surprise. It wasn‘t gruesome like I
expected it to be. No rotting flesh hanging
from the ceiling or mangled bodies on the
floor, instead I was surrounded by four
bare white walls and on the wall directly
in front of me was a huge picture framed in
61
in front of me was a huge picture framed
in black. The room itself was bare, with
no furniture whatsoever. I walked down
the long room, picking up the frame of
the wall with extreme care because it
looked so ancient.
The black paint brush strokes took me
by surprise. I flipped the painting over
and instantly realized it was a map. A
bright red X was imprinted on it with
drawings of skulls and bones at the
bottom of it; next to a familiar looking
stone-hedge rock. They were rocks I found
myself standing by at the age of eighteen
watching my 'best
friend' leave without me. I bit my lip in
a useless attempt to drown my memories
and forget my explorer days. The flame of
curiosity consumed me and took control of
my thoughts and action.
I carried off the picture frame and ran
out the cabin, determined to set foot on
the golden sand and determined to see
those ominous rocks surrounded by palm
trees. A deep sickening feeling in the
back of my mind reminded me of what had
happened and filled my mind with negative
thoughts of failure. But I didn‘t care.
Seven years later, I was more mature and
a different me. I didn‘t know what this
'X' was. For all I knew, it could be a
pile of coconuts, but my curiosity went
haywire. They say curiosity killed the
cat, but satisfaction reassured it. I am
the cat, and I refuse to stay put until I
find my satisfaction to resurrect myself
63
TIMOTHY
Sarah Ronad, 10C
It was midnight. The woman closed the curtains
and huddled on her bed. Tim should have been
home hours ago. Why hadn‘t he called? She lay
in silence for the next few minutes trying to
recollect what Tim had said before leaving. She
tried to think back to the recent visit of her
ex-husband and all the activities that had
occurred so quickly.
She remembered how he had yelled at poor Tim
for hanging out with the wrong crowd. She
couldn’t bear to see her only son being
manhandled and treated so violently. She had
decided to step up and protect him, but that
only resulted in him pushing her away and
stalking out the open front door yelling about
how he would no longer fund them for their
daily activities.
“Mom, are you okay?” asked Lilly. Lilly was
Tim’s 9 year old sister. She had been awake
through the entire drama. She had come down
only to see her dad storm out of the house, Tim
standing by the stairs, raging with anger, his
fists clenched, and her mom on the floor. No
one seemed seriously injured, but the silence
in the house was unnerving. Her mom saw her at
the base of the stairs and immediately
collected herself and embraced Lilly while
kissing her forehead. Then another slam was
heard. The door was swinging wildly again, only
this time, Tim was the one
who had stormed out.
“Timothy! Timothy come back!” Anna yelled.
The poor single mother of two ran out the door,
but her son was nowhere to be seen. Clutching
the handle, she sank to the floor, unable to
felt a small pair of hands wring around her
control her tears, she burst out weeping. A
few seconds later, she felt a small pair of
hands wring around her neck and wipe her
tears. She thought to herself, No, I can’t
cry, I must be strong for my Lilly.
With those words in mind, she got up and
carried Lilly to her room. She took a few
minutes to decide how to tell Lilly about the
current situation. But as she opened her
mouth, she saw Lilly scramble out of bed to
hold her tight in her little arms. Lilly
assuring her mother said, “It’s okay Mommy.
Timmy will be back.” Anna slowly knelt down
and tucked a strand of hair behind Lilly’s
ear, kissed her nose and said, “I know baby,
I just want him to be safe.” With that, she
picked Lilly up and walked to her bed, lay
her down, pulled the comforter up to her chin
and tickled her neck. This was the daily
routine. After she said goodnight, she
switched off the light and partially shut the
door.
She walked down and reached for her phone.
She had decided to call Jackson, Tim’s best
friend. When the call finally reached
Jackson, no good news was heard. A mother’s
tears kicked in as she thought of the most
horrid things that could happen to her
sixteen-year-old son.
She decided to clear up the mess. She
picked up the kitchen items that had
clattered to the floor because of her ex-
husband. Suddenly, she heard a crackle of
lightning and the beat at thunder, it had
started to pour. She feared for her son. He
was all alone, in the dark of the night when
it was pouring cats and dogs. She glanced up
at the clock just to see it strike 11.
into a chair and waited for the door to swing
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She sank down into a chair and waited for
the door to swing open bringing her Tim
back.
Timothy had stalked out, fuming with anger.
He had grabbed his skateboard and ran down
the street. He didn’t have any particular
place in mind but he just wanted to get
away. How he dare push over my mom, he
thought to himself. He felt a tinge of guilt
for not attending to his mother first. He
had even seen Lilly by the staircase, but
hadn’t wanted to act out, so he had decided
it was best to leave. He had stopped by an
old shed. He had sat with his head in his
hands. Time had flown by as he thought about
the dealing he had been in. He had heard his
clock, as it had struck 11:30. He then
decided to go back home. And so, he made his
way back home, stopping by the market to buy
his mom a peace offering.
When he reached home, it had just struck
12:15. He walked in to find his mom sitting
on the bed with her head in her hands. He
called out to her and she looked up and ran
to hug him. He then confessed that he was
wrong to walk out and he should’ve attended
to her first. Anna hushed him and just held
him. He apologized and promised not to let
down his family, being the man of the house.
His mom assured him that it was okay and put
him to sleep.
That night Timothy promised that he would
be the man his mother and sister expected.
An Eye For An Eye.
Ridha Fameen, 11 A
She scratched his face from the photograph.
She would get her revenge. Sara could see Dr
Liya enter the room through her peripheral
vision. She sighed and got up. Sara‘s
bloodshot eyes met Liya‘s bright blue ones.
―Sara, your- ―Liya began gently, but Sara
cut her off.
―She is dead isn‘t she?‖ Sara questioned.
Liya frowned slightly while Sara was glaring
at her. Liya gave in and turned to face the
door. ―Follow me,‖ Liya beckoned. Sara
reluctantly obliged and plodded behind her.
They reached room 344. ―She has just come
back from the ICU, so do not make any
noise,‖ Liya whispered, gave Sara‘s hand a
small squeeze and left.
‗She is alive,‘ Sara thought and thanked God
under her breath. She was not sure if she
could go in and face her. It was too
painful. Nonetheless, Sara looked through
the small glass piece on the door and almost
felt like breaking down. Her mother was
lying on the bed, motionless. She looked
fragile, and was partially covered by the
numerous tubes going in and out of her body.
Sara grasped the handle of the door, wiped
away a few tears that were rolling down her
cheeks and slowly made her way in. She took
cautious steps and finally reached the bed.
She was shocked when she saw the condition
her mother was in.
The warm caramel skin which clothed her
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The warm caramel skin which clothed her
mother‘s flesh seemed to have melted off in
numerous places. Her stormy grey eyes were
sunken in and it was difficult to
distinguish between her lips and her nose.
Her thick brown hair was reduced to wisps as
the rest was clearly burnt.
Sara‘s blurry vision landed on her mother‘s
bulging stomach. Liya said that her little
sibling was safe and didn‘t get affected
because of this horrific incident. Just for
a second, a small smile made its way onto
Sara‘s face as she thought of her sibling
resting peacefully inside her mother‘s
womb. She always marveled at the fact that
there are two hearts beating inside one body
when a woman is pregnant. But when her eyes
landed on her mother‘s face, or at least
what was left of it, she felt a slap of
reality again. The desire for revenge burnt
bright within her, as she wanted to destroy
the man who brought her mother to this fate.
The very man who threw acid on her mother.
Her mother‘s body stirred slightly. Sara,
immediately looked at her mother in panic.
―Sara,‖ her mother called out in a raspy
voice. Tears cascaded down her cheeks and
she was unable to say anything, so she just
wrapped her hand around her mother‘s.―I know
you feel bad,‖ her mother began and after a
long pause continued, ―But an eye for an eye
only makes the world blind, my child.‖ Sara
bit her lip in an attempt to stop the sobs
from escaping her lips. Silence made its way
into the atmosphere for a few minutes before
her mother asked, ―Sara darling, do I look
her mother asked, ―Sara darling, do I look
that bad?‖
That was Sara‘s breaking point. She kissed her
mother‘s hand numerous times and replied, ―You
are the most beautiful woman, Mom.‖
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CHANGE FOR THE BETTER Jhanvi Dargar, 11B
She scratched his face from the photograph.
She would get her revenge... on those who
murdered him. He was the rock she could lean
on when anything went wrong, but he was gone
now. Gone because of those people who called
him a 'freak'. His personality was different,
he was like no other person in her school.
People judged him because he was unique and
had opinions unlike anybody else's.
It was a cold winter day. The sky was
painted black. It was the first day of her new
school. She stood by an old, rusty house
waiting for her bus to come. The bus arrived
shortly. As soon as she got onto the bus, a
feeling of uneasiness washed over her. The
kids were staring at her. She knew why
everyone did. She had a scar running from the
top of her forehead to her chin. It made her
look slightly
deformed.
Amongst the crowd of faces staring at her,
only one boy
had the decency to invite her to sit beside
him .She walked down the aisle and sat down ,
self-conscious.
"Hello, my name is Jace," the boy said.
"I'm Rachel," she replied and cracked a
smile that stretched across her face.
They talked about their likes and dislikes
among other things. Soon, their conversation
was cut-short by the bus coming to a halt.
Jace got off the bus after her and asked
Rachel if she wanted to tour the school once.
Rachel if she wanted to tour the school
once.
She said, "Yes, that would be amazing!"
As soon as they walked through the doors of
the school, Jace was met with unfriendly
stares and rude words like freak and stupid.
He did nothing but ignore them and walk on.
He asked her to follow him around the school
and that was how they became friends.
He was her very first friend in a sky of
vultures. He showed her around the school,
explained everything to her
and talked to her when no one else did. But
he was killed
by the people who bullied him.
Some mistakes last a lifetime and it's
true. They can even take your life. That's
what Jace did, he made a mistake. He made a
mistake of listening to all the abuse that
was thrown at him. He bore it. He bore it
with patience. That is, until he couldn't
take it anymore. She watched him laugh and
cry, but she couldn't save him.
She would remember him forever. He would be
engraved in her heart for the years to come.
And for him, she would change for the better.
UNEXPECTED HAPPENINGS
Varcky Ben George, 12A
The thick yellow envelope sat in the middle of
the table as I stared at it. It mocked me,
daring me to open it. My fingers were in my
mouth as I bit on them, wondering if I had
gotten in. Wondering if my high school career
was going to change with the words on that
paper. With a deep breath,
I pulled out the letter and began to read, my
heart beat picking up as the words arranged
themselves in my mind.
‗Your Etisalat bill for this month is 69
AED.‘ I was mildly annoyed at having picked up
the wrong letter. Suddenly I realized with
shock; my mother and I had switched letters in
the morning. So the envelope that she has with
her is my actual college application result.
Panic hit me as I had not informed her that the
result would be released that day. My master
plan was to surprise her with the good news, if
I was accepted or to hide the result in the
worst case. Desperate times call for desperate
measures. I was going to have to pickpocket my
mother!
A few months ago, my mother had installed an
app in my phone that would've allowed her to
track my movements. Sigh! Obnoxious parents
worry too much. But with a little tinkering, I
reversed its function and soon it became a non-
alert device. Now the hunter became the prey. I
checked the app and saw that she was in a
grocery store near our house. Wearing a
jumpsuit, shades and armed with my deft fingers
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jumpsuit, shades and armed with my deft
fingers and sense of urgency, I set out to
reclaim my application letter. After ten
minutes of intense running, I reached the
grocery store only to find that my mother
was nowhere in sight. I was perplexed! If
the app was to be trusted, then my mother
was supposed to be barely a few meters away
from me. Unless...
I called her phone and heard her familiar
ringtone from across the counter. But
instead of my mother, I saw an unkempt,
scared man frantically trying to silence my
mother's phone. What an irony! I had set
out to pickpocket
my mother and now I had to pickpocket her
pickpocket.
Stealthily approaching the man from the
back, I pulled the phone out of his left
pocket. For humor's sake I even left a
paper that read ‗Better luck next time!‘
With a smug smile, I left the grocery
store.
Eventually I contacted my mother, who was
grateful to receive her phone, but also
annoyed at hearing my plan to fool her.
Thankfully, my story was extraordinary
enough to make her laugh and calm down. I
decided to open the letter
with my mom. The words, ‗You have been
accepted‘ placed before my eyes as I leapt
with overwhelming joy. It was the perfect
end to a most extraordinary day.
DON‘T GIVE UP
Prithika Tabithe, 12B
The thick yellow envelope sat on the middle of
the table as I stared at it. It mocked me,
daring me to open it. Wondering if my high
school career was going to change with the
words on that paper. With a deep breath, I
pulled out the letter and began to read, my
heart started pounding as the words arranged
themselves in my mind.
"Dear Prithika,
Your works were deeply invigorating and
definitely gave us a lot to think about.
But..."
As soon as I laid eyes on the word 'but', I
knew the letter was one of rejection. My heart
sank. Being an aspiring teenage artist, living
in the twenty-first century - a world filled
with cultural norms that chained your freedom
of thought, was definitely not easy. Being the
child of two utmost orthodox parents did not
help either.
This had been my only chance. My one chance,
to show them that I did not have to become an
engineer or a doctor. A chance to prove to
them, that my talent was not worthless. But
alas, I had blown it. I slowly made my way to
the bathroom, dragging my feet along in
exasperation.
Now, trust me; I am not the type of person to
go about crying unnecessarily. But the letter
had hit me like a brick. I had never expected
such an outright rejection. Maybe a waiting
list or a request for more documents, but
this. This seemed plain cruel.
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this. This seemed plain cruel.
"Are you ready, Prithika?” my mom called.
I couldn't bear the thought of going to
school now. Hours and hours of quantum
physics and complicated calculus that all
just looked like a bunch of numbers squashed
together like Greek alphabets to me. My life
was a drudgery.
I had tried to follow my dreams; applied
for an art school. But look where that got
me. All I had, was a piece of yellow paper
that spelt failure. My motivation had been
drained completely. My will to live had just
decreased significantly.
I decided to take it like a man after about
fifteen minutes of contemplating. I was just
sixteen. I wasn't going to let a small,
insignificant piece of paper get in the way
of me living my life the way I wanted to. I
don’t know what brought out that spark of
motivation but I was glad for it. I packed
up, took my books, and headed to school.
Twenty years later and here I am,
successful in terms of income, but most
importantly happy. I was doing what I
wanted. And I think it’s extremely important
to never give up on your dreams. Just an
envelope should never have the ability to
make you forget your aspirations.
93
WE RECOMMEND…
A STREET CAT NAMED BOB James Bowen
THE CATCHER IN THE RYE J.D Salinger
WE RECOMMEND…
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD Harper Lee
CATCH-22 Joseph Heller
THE TRIXIES
Bhumika Rajani,6B
Whenever in dark
they will appear
Doing tricks on you
that they will never fear.
You'll never find them
how much ever you try
They are called ''The Trixies''
who laugh with all their might.
Their only job
is to trick others
Wandering at midnight
you might see some creatures.
As small as ants
with little elf hats
And they want to see
how tricked you can be.
Life without them
won't be enjoyable.
They are not bad
they are just tricksters.
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Life without them
won't be enjoyable.
They are not bad
they are just tricksters.
But beware, till they are gone
last but not least
In a humming birds nest they are
born.
Chronicles of Space
Harsh Ranade, 4C
Wearing my suit and picking up my backpack
at Noon, I have started my Journey to all
Planets and our Moon.
My first stop will be at the first planet
Mercury, Mercury has no atmosphere so I
should better hurry.
Wow! Look at the Venus known as the Evening
Star Has a beautiful surface; I wish I could
drive my Car!
I will reach the red planet Mars with a jump
very Long, Mars has Mountains, Craters and a
Volcano very strong.
I will pass through the asteroid belt with
an armor very tight, I will duck all the
rocks and fight like a brave knight.
The big giant Jupiter is a gas ball all
yellow, 64 Moons and a storm, this Jupiter
is a strong fellow.
6th planet Saturn looks beautiful with
rings. This mysterious gas ball with Moon, Titan, Saturn is the king.
Uranus is a frozen mass and has color Blue
and Green With its axis tilted, it will be a
sight to be seen.
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Neptune with 13 Moons is very far from Sun.
In that cold and windy weather how can I
have fun?
I will decide if I wish to visit the Pluto
so small, or go directly to our Moon to play
football.
I will catch the ball by jumping up very
high on the Moon, I promise you Mamma, I
will return home very SOON.
It‘s Lost! I can‘t find! -My Jacket Kavita Jayakrishnan, 4A
It was once always in my hand
In the frosty winter months
When everybody lost it,
It did not seem that I would ever lose it.
One day despair fell over me
To never see my beloved companion ever
I rushed past people looking for my
Jacket that once provided me warmth.
Never to see it again
I still search for the lost
Who was a companion of my journey,
From home to school and school to home
In the frosty winter months “lost not
found”.
I hope to see it again hugging my waist.
WHAT AM I THINKING? Madhumita Aluru 6-A
I bat my eyelashes,
and close my eyes ,
and think about something,
I really like.
Maybe a person,
or maybe a thing,
or maybe a bird,
spreading its wings.
Maybe a frog leaping around,
or maybe a coin making a sound
Maybe the stars twinkling in the sky,
and these are the things I think in my
mind.
POEMS Madhumita Aluru 6-A
You know how people write down verses,
they write about love and how a sword pierces,
With a pen and paper and thoughts that flow,
just wants to make a readers mind blow.
Oh, how they write such beautiful things,
things that we remember,
The next day we read another one,
a poem that we'll remember forever.
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Our resource come again
Aarav Kiran Nayak,4A
Our teacher told us, reduce some usage of plastic
And our world would become classic.
Then she tells us to reuse some old newspapers,
And turn them into beautiful gift wrappers.
Then she tells us to recycle some bottles and cans,
So that we could make them into metal pans.
If we replenish and restore our resources again,
Then we could save ourselves from lot of pain.
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Lost for words Dhanyatha Praveen, 9C
Today I feel…
As cool as a cucumber
As fresh as new fruit
Bouncy as a ball
Chirpy as a cricket
Clean as a new pin
Sweet as honey
Strong as a bull
Cute as a kitten
Warm as wool
Shiny as money
Lively as a monkey and…
Free as the sea
I’m so happy that I am lost
for words.
ONCE MORE
Zane Monteiro, 11B What do you do
On those lonely nights
Going to the airport
With no booked flights
Do you think about what could…
What would have happened?
If you had taken his hand
Before it had slackened
How long will you wait,
With no hopes of his coming back?
Just to linger in despair
until all did go black
An explosion in the sky
A rocket to the Moon
As the airplane crashed
In your heart's typhoon
Sorrow's endless river now stationary
Hold the souls of the remembered, not
forgotten
In its seaside cemetery
Holding the souls to whom ill fate
begotten
Your loss I'd painful, nonetheless
Time moves onwards
As the clouds drift in their fogginess
That loving hand is gone
But take adrift a new
Into the seas of turmoil
With your sully crew
Move forward and experience once more
That feeling, as your boat flows offshore
Honour the lives lost by continuing yours
Live it to the fullest
Feel it to the core
And do yourself a good turn
By living once more.
105
WOMAN.
Freyance Wadia,11B If I cover my whole body,
I am outdated and conservative.
If I choose to show some skin,
I am a prostitute.
If I party every weekend,
I am a spoiled brat.
If I prefer staying at home,
I am a misanthrope.
If I am a skinny, size eight,
I am never going to please a man.
If I am a plump, size eighteen,
I am unattractive and unworthy of attention.
WHY?
Since when am I what you label me?
I am water,
I'll adjust with you, take the shape of what
you put me in.
I am fire,
I'll burn you out.
I am ecstasy,
Cherish me while you still have me.
I am melancholy,
You'll find no cure once I inflict your soul.
I am clarity,
Dwell in me, shower me with your love and
kisses.
I am enigma,
You'll spend an eternity figuring me out.
I am harmony,
Beautiful and pleasing.
I am a loud silence,
A definite yet infinite extreme.
I am deserving of everything that the
universe can offer me.
I am not what you define me as.
I am a woman.
UNRAVELLING OUTPOURS Tashyaa Mehrotra, 11B
It was a rare thing
to see them fight,
but it was getting too frequent now.
The sky roared
and in response,
The clouds cried.
They had been holding it,
for too long now.
The sky just got louder and louder.
The thunder scared the city.
People’s faces lit up
on the appearance of their tears,
mostly because they were clueless.
If only they knew..
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DEEP BLUE EYES NANCY MARIA FERNANDEZ, 12A
As I looked out of my window,
I caught a pair of blue eyes.
Blinking and scrutinizing the meadow,
You were walking by a ripened field of rice.
Those eyes welcomed the raindrops,
And despised the dew drops.
How beautiful are your orbs!
But sanguinity and humbleness, your heart
never absorbs.
I’d like to go fishing in the brines of your
eyes.
Oh, your optics are so blue,
Much more delicate than melting glue!
They’re ethereal, those deep blue eyes.
Your eyes hypnotized me,
And shoved me into hallucination.
They brought me down to my knee,
And at once became my fascination.
Those eyes never fool.
Fiery anxiety, they would cool.
And if anyone dies,
Tears never roll down those aggressive deep
blue eyes.
I want to go for a voyage on the seas
inside your eyes,
And touch its waters,
Before it falters.
I love your deep blue eyes.
The clouds showered the land,
And moistened the sand.
Your eyes lulled the flight of a bird,
And let it go without another word.
As I stared at your deep blue eyes,
That looked up at the dark night skies,
I failed to realize,
That they never compromise.
I was ceded an icy glare,
Something that your deep blue eyes
wouldn’t spare.
You scorned at me,
And hid behind a cedar tree.
I wish to dive into the oceans within
your eyes,
And capture the oyster, inside which, the
treasured pearl lies.
To say this is unwise,
But I’m infatuated by your Deep Blue
Eyes.