Student Magazine December 2011

2011 Chr istmas Edit ion2011 Chr istmas Edit ion2011 Chr istmas Edit ion

September-December 2011

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foreword ·································································· 3

the inside story ························································ 4

Mrs. Carroll’s Christmas Trivia ································ 5

interview with Dr. Oliphant ···································· 6

the art trip ································································ 8

the history society ···················································· 9

the drama club ·························································· 10

student induction ···················································· 11

Brighton trip····························································· 13

football tournament ················································· 14

trip to St. Paul’s Cathedral ······································· 15

ice-breaking party ···················································· 17

national poetry day 2011 ··········································· 19

awards ceremony 2011 ··············································· 21

singles night event ···················································25

interview with the new students’ committee ·········· 26

the Orthodox church ················································27

open day—Saturday October 1st······························ 30

a memory of a young entrepreneur ························· 31

t’was the night before implementation ··················· 32

the festival of Diwali················································· 33

CTC treasure hunt ··················································· 34


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First of all, let me say well done to the College Magazine team for putting together

yet another excellent edition. I hope that you will enjoy reading it and that you will

show it to your friends and family. It would be good to know what they think of

what we get up to here at the College.

It has certainly been a busy term and one which got off to a terrific start with our

first ever three-day induction programme for our new AS and GCSE students. It

was, by all accounts, a successful introduction to life at CTC and, with activities

ranging from t-shirt production to a full-day excursion to Brighton, I suspect it had

something for everyone and that one or two “barriers” were broken down along the

way. It was clear from the start of term the following week that our new first years

felt happier and more settled as a result of their participation in the induction pro-

gramme.

As the new term got into full swing, university applications became the main preoc-

cupation of our second year students whilst for our first years it was all about estab-

lishing good work patterns but also a good work-life balance so it is good to report

that participation in extra-curricular activities remains very high and that this year

we have added Drama, Art, Photography and Current Affairs to our offering, as well

a range of Saturday activities. What next, I wonder?

As for last summer’s leavers, well we could hardly forget them and at the end of

November we celebrated their fantastic achievements at our Annual Awards Cere-

mony at the Croydon Park Hotel. With half of all our summer 2011 examinees hav-

ing achieved 3 or 4 A/A* grades and almost 70% of all A level grades awarded being

A or A*we were right to feel immensely proud of our students and our staff during

the Ceremony and a good time was had by all, as the selection of photos on our

website clearly indicates.

We have much to look forward to in the coming months, starting with the arrival in

January of around 40 new students who have enrolled on our 18-month A level pro-

gramme. Knowing CTC students, they will settle in quickly, enjoy their studies,

make a positive contribution to life at the College and hopefully go on to fulfil their

terrific potential. But, first things first, we will also need to make sure that they get

to see this edition of the College Magazine, a great example of what we do at CTC

and of who we are.

Best wishes to all and have a wonderful Christmas and New Year.

Mr Di Clemente, Principal


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by Sandra Carroll, Librarian

the inside story

Have you ever wondered about the process of the making of the CTC Magazine? How it appears at least twice a year as if by magic? ‘Yes’, well read on, ‘No,’ well you might find it interesting anyway.

Each year students are asked to volun-teer their services to be part of the prestigious editorial team that brings CTC news and events to you. Luckily many students enjoy being part of this procedure. At the moment the team comprises: Mrs Das Gupta (who has tirelessly run the editorial team for many years), Dr Drew, Vice-Principal, Mrs Gollop, I.T. Technician and Mrs Carroll, Librarian, who are all relative new comers on the scene. This year there are 12 students who have proffered their help.

The inaugural meeting for the first (Christmas) issue takes place at the start of the new term in September and from then on meetings are held fortnightly to discuss developments, such as which articles need to be written, photos to be taken and any other ideas which can be included in the magazine. Minutes are taken at each meeting and then distrib-uted to each editorial member as a reminder of their particular duties.

As the weeks progress, the students take on editorial responsibilities for the various articles to be incorporated in the magazine. This is accomplished by participating in and attending college

events, interviewing, information gathering and then writing about them. Gradually as the articles trickle in they are emailed to Mrs Gollop and a hard copy given to Mrs Carroll. After an initial proofreading by Mrs Das Gupta they are then sent on their way to the student whose role it is to complete the design and layout of the magazine ready for printing.

The nearer publishing time approaches, the more frantic it becomes. Last minute articles are chased up and hurriedly remitted to meet the ensuing deadline.

With the copious amount of proofread-ing finished and alterations completed, with great trepidation the magazine is ‘put to bed’; which is exactly where the editorial team would like to be after all their hard work!


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Mrs. Carroll’s Christmas trivia Did you know?

The word Christmas is old English, a

contraction of Christ’s Mass

The first president to decorate the

White House Christmas tree in the

USA was Franklin Pierce

Germany made the first artificial

Christmas trees. They were made of

goose feathers and dyed green

Electric lights for trees were first

used in 1895

The first Christmas cards were

invented in 1843, the Victorian era

In 1843 “A Christmas Carol” was

written by Charles Dickens in just 6

weeks

“The Nutcracker” is the most famous

Christmas ballet

If you received all the gifts in the

song “The Twelve Days of Christ-

mas” you would receive 364 gifts

The first company to use Santa

Claus in an advertisement was Coca-

Cola

Christmas Island is in the Indian

Ocean

Marsh-whorts are used to make

cranberry sauce

There should be 4 candles on a

Christmas wreath


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by Yodsapon Chirawut (Ton)

interview with Dr Oliphant

Profile

Name: John Oliphant

Birthday: January, 3

Birthplace: Adelaide, Australia

Subject Taught: History

Years Teaching: about 30 years

Years at CTC: 5 years

Favourite Historical Event:

My research interests are in North

America during the 18th Century, main-

ly to do with the British relationship

with the native Americans, so I have

done quite a lot of work on this and I

am still doing some. It is not just about

fighting but about how they organized

their relationships; some of the ap-

proaches are quite constructive. The

whole area is very complex.

What is your opinion about the cur-

rent history subject curriculum at

GCSE and A level?

My favourite complaint about GCSE

history is that it is too narrow. You tend

to focus on a particular thing in 20th

Century. There is very little opportunity

to go back further and that is partly

because the exam does not cater for

this. It is also partly because few suita-

ble text books have been written on

earlier periods. It is hard to get a text-

book on earlier periods, making it a

little bit narrow from what it really

ought to be.

I am old-fashioned. I like students to

write essays. Today the emphasis has

moved away from that and so there will

be a series of structured questions ra-

ther having to write a long essay. In the

old-fashioned O-level exam, you had to

write three essays. That was not perfect

either, but the essay is valuable training,

very good for students.

A-level… I think the new syllabus intro-

duced in 2008 was a great improvement,

but it is still a little sad that the topics

were also arbitrarily broken up. For ex-

ample, you know we study Italy in the

19th Century, but you will only be exam-

ined on the period between 1848 and


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1871. It would be nice to go wider and

study the unification of Germany at the

same time. So I think it becomes a lit-

tle bit too prescriptive. They tell you

what will be taught and what will be on

the exam rather leave it open for teach-

ers. I think that is a pity.

Do you think it will be changed in

the near future?

I do not think there will be much

change for the time being.

As many students complain history

is very hard, do you have any rec-

ommendations?

Read a lot beyond the textbook in the

classroom, and don’t do anything I

would not do. Do not panic which is

what I always tell all of my students.

In your opinion, which one of your

features resembles Cavour, the

prime minister of Piedmont in

1850s? (Look at the these two pictures,

one is definitely Dr. Oliphant the other

is Cavour. See any likeness?)

Any physical resemblance is purely in

the students’ mind except for the glass-

es. Apart from that nothing of mine

resembles him at all.

Should people be able to recall what

happened in the past in their coun-

tries and why?

I think they should have knowledge, so

they know where they are from. If you

know where you come from, you un-

Dr Oliphant

Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour


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derstand where you might be going. It is

important to have some knowledge of

national history as well as world history.

Have you ever been to Hampton

Court Palace before?

Yes, I have been there several times. It is

so famous that I knew about Hampton

Court long before I came to Britain. It is

one of the places that for years I was

determined to get to. I have been there

on several occasions. It is one of my

favourite London places, a lovely place

to visit.

Why do you like Hampton Court Pal-

ace?

Well, of course, it is associated with the

Tudors. That is interesting in itself. But

I also like the feeling of the place. I love

the architecture and the garden. It is

still a nice place to be, apart from its

history.

Finally, is there anything you would

like to say about history?

Well, history is fun. It is not a difficult

subject, it might not be as difficult as

you think. It has the best stories with

the most fantastic characters. So I like

the students to think of it as demand-

ing, rewarding, challenging, and enjoya-

ble. There you go!

The Art Trip

by Cassie, Sarah, Wicky

In September the school organized for

CTC art students to go to London to

visit some galleries, aiming to bring

them closer to a variety of work.

They visited many galleries which are

quite different from one another. Some

of them focus on modern art while

some of them are about Old Masters.

The various galleries and amusing

works took the students by surprise.

They were all moved and influenced by

the artists and their works. Cassie, one

of the students, told me that the most

outstanding work in her opinion was

the work in the gallery named HAUSER

& WIRTH. In that room, there were

many "trees"-consisting of a stick in the

middle, some plastic cement on one

side and Perspex on the other side. She

said when she walked under the "trees",

she felt rather depressed. She said,"

Similarly, we live in such a modern and

busy city, so we are always put under

too much pressure which makes us feel

depressed and tired. The development

of science and technology improves the

quality of life. However it makes life

more predictable. As a result, more and

more people seek psychologists' advice."

What a challenging experience for her!

From the art trip, students gained prac-

tical and creative experiences which are

different from those in a class room.


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by Yodsapon Chirawut (Ton)

the history society

The ‘History Society’ is held in room A45 on Tuesday at 1 pm once every two weeks. It was founded by our history teacher, Dr. J Oliphant who would like to involve people in the fun of history. The name ‘History Society’ does not mean you have to actually study this subject in order to take part. Enthusiasm for history is more than enough.

At the ‘History Society’, each person brings in his or her interest in certain periods and talks to the rest of us. Then we have a discussion about the topics to learn how the historical events affect us today, as well as simultaneously explor-ing magnificent sometimes hilarious aspects of history. For instance, the British Empire is called the empire on which the sun never sets because in 1901 it covered one-quarter of the surface area of the world. When tea was first intro-duced into England, people threw away the liquid and ate the leaves, seasoned with salt and pepper. In the Society, history does not lie boringly on paper, but comes alive through our enthusiasm.

Moreover, there have been several outside speakers such as Prof. Ronald Hutton from Bristol University. There-fore we have a great chance to learn of the latest research contents, and you do not have to be a history student to enjoy it.

There are also many trips organised by Dr. Oliphant to which everyone is welcome. As we know, the recent trips

have been to Hampton Court Palace where the infamous Henry VIII was once a resident, and to St. Paul’s Cathedral and the museum of London. Here we walked through those fascinating places soaked in history, along with friends from different counties.

According to Dr. Oliphant’s remark, what students will get from attending the ‘History Society’ is, basically, fun. The Society gives us the opportunity to enjoy enthusiastic discussions with each other, to listen to talks from the experts and to visit interesting places. These are the reasons why it is worth joining the ‘History Society’ on Tuesday afternoons.


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by Tran Phuong Anh (Cris)

the drama club

Imagine the day is Wednesday and you have just finished your tiring day full of lessons. What would you decide to do to relieve your stress from studying?

Just walk over to the Cybercafé where you will meet Mrs Drew and ask her to sign you in. Now you are welcome to the Drama Club!

At first, you may nervously look around, pondering how terrible you are as an actor, and find out that other people seem a little anxious as well. Mrs Drew will tell everyone to stand in a circle and ask in a friendly way how they are. Then it is the time for the club’s first activity. This is when excitement and joyfulness begin to replace your nervous feelings.

The name of an action may be given to you to demonstrate and others must guess what you are trying to show. Or you might get a random picture and be requested to invent a storyline based on that picture and act it out. During the session, there are a number of chances for you to work with other people in a group in order to create a scene. Last but not least, at the end, everyone will co-operate to improvise a story against a given background and perform a short, but hilarious play. Guess what? Your imagination is free to expand in Drama Club! Chairs can become airplane seats, walls can turn out to be pigeon holes, scarves are transformed into curtains, clothes and other props!

Reading to this point, you may think

there must be some awkward moments during the time. Other people some-times laugh at you, but you know, that means everyone is entertained and enjoys what you are doing. Do not be afraid because no one is going to criticise you; no one superior. Moreover, there is no rule of acting that you have to follow. Just let yourself float on a stream of creativity. All you have to do, says Mrs Drew, ‘is follow what your heart says’.

After the session finishes, you definitely feel so relaxed and go back home with great memories from the school day!

So, hesitate no more, come to join the Drama Group at 5.15pm every Wednes-day in the Cybercafé . Welcome, and let your mind be blown away with imagina-tive acts!


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by Hanyang Ge (Star)

student induction

I am an AS student. I have studied at CTC since September and I can still remember clearly that I had a lot of fun during the “new student induction programme”.

Because CTC is an international school which has students from all around the world, lots of students have to live far away from their country and begin quite a different life. I believe that every student who doesn't come from England may feel anxious and be afraid of their future life here. For instance, before I came here, I worried about how to make friends with people from different countries, especially from the local area,

and how to adapt to the life in England as well. However, the new student induction programme gave us a good platform not only to get to know others, but also to feel the atmosphere of college.

On that day, we were divided into several groups and I was in Group A. There were people from Vietnam, China, Malaysia, and England. Surprisingly, all the teachers were so friendly and lively that it made us feel like a big family. Additionally, everyone was required to introduce themselves with a strange movement in order to let other people remember them. Moreover, we played a


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game called grab a chair which consist-ed of putting a chair in the middle, the other in a circle. When the teacher asked a question, everyone moved to another chair. If someone didn't get a chair, then he would be punished by being put in the middle chair, and we all enjoyed it very much. More importantly, we had a competition for everyone. It was answering some questions about different countries including their culture, and including some pictures which had been distributed around the college. Fortunately our group won, and the Principal gave us a present.

During that time, I gained a lot from the programme and I recall lots of time when the Principal said HELLO in more than ten languages. I think that is the attraction of CTC, a warm welcome for the whole world.


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by Lynette

Brighton trip

On September 3rd, all of the AS new students went to Brighton, a very nice place. After one hour travelling by bus in the morning we got there. That was really fabulous and the people there are also very relaxed and friendly. The first view was a piece of beach which was so nice. Then we split into several groups to do what we want. Some students went to the beach to enjoy the wind and sunshine. Some went shopping in the town centre while some travelled around the town to experience the local culture and lifestyle. We ate the most famous food in the UK, Fish and Chips. It was so tasty and it was my first time to eat the very English food. We all had fun, met a lot of friends and talked much about our

future life in CTC. At the end of the day we took a photo of all the new students before we left.


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by Le Quynh Chi (Kate)

football tournament

Did you know that our college is com-mitted to charity? Let me tell you then. On the 1st of October our Economics teacher, Mr. Torres, organized a football activity to raise money for charity. “10 o’clock at Monks Hill Sports Centre. Lateness is unacceptable.” These were our precise instructions. No sooner said than done. Almost everyone arrived on time with the exception of some hope-less people like me!

Well, the real match started. The boys were superb as always. Actually this can be a very good way to impress “someone” if you are a really good player, of course. With all their enthusiasm and passion they showed everyone what the beautiful game is really like. It must also be mentioned that Mr. Torres was no less than superb. On the pitch everyone is equal, no matter whether they are teachers or students. So, nobody felt guilty stealing the teacher’s football during such a tense game.

Then it was the girls’ turn. I can certainly say that there is nothing more hilarious than being a witness to such a “show”. Without rules, without penalties, without any strategies, absolutely opposite to the boys, the girl teams were just randomly running along the pitch with no clue of when, how and where to shoot. In desperation to score, every player, except for the 2 goalkeepers, was chasing a rebel ball that seemed to be ever faster than the players themselves.

“It would be cool to take a video of you from above!” – said my friend after the match. But never underestimate girls. They also have their unique tactics to win. Who would use her shoe as a distraction to confuse rivals and then, taking a moment when everyone is still trying to figure out where the ball is, to shoot gently into an open goal? That was seriously epic!

Yes, it was a charity fund raising activity. Six pounds for enjoying such an amuse-ment is not much, especially when that money may bring at least a little happi-ness to some other, less fortunate, people.


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by Sarah

trip to St. Paul’s Cathedral

St Paul's is London's cathedral and embodies the spiritual life and heritage of the British people. Cathedrals serve a wide community. A cathedral houses the seat of the bishop, making it a centre for Christian worship and teaching and the Christian mission.

St Paul's Cathedral acts as an important meeting place for people and ideas, as a centre for the Arts, learning and public debate.

Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. The present church, dating from the late 17th century, was built to an English Baroque design of Sir

Christopher Wren, as part of a major rebuilding programme which took place in the City after the Great Fire of Lon-don, and was completed within his lifetime.

The cathedral is built of Portland stone in a late Renaissance style that repre-sents Wren's vision of a rationalised English Baroque. Its impressive dome was inspired by St Peter's Basilica in Rome and Mansart's Church of the Val-de-Grâce which Wren had visited. It rises 108 metres to the cross at its summit, dominating both the historic and modern City of London through the Baroque device of axial perspectives or 'viewing corridors' across the cityscape.


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Wren achieved a pleasing balance between interior and exterior by con-structing three domes nestling one inside the other: the tall outer dome is non-structural and raised above the mass of the cathedral to suit distant views; the lower inner dome provides a harmoniously balanced interior; between the two a structural cone supports the apex lantern and the outer dome. Wren was said to have been hauled up to the rafters in a basket during the building of its later stages to inspect progress.

The nave has three small chapels in the two adjoining aisles – The Chapel of All Souls and The Chapel of St Dunstan in the north aisle and the Chapel of St Michael and St George in the south aisle. The main space of the cathedral is centred under the inner dome, which rises 108.4 metres from the cathedral floor and holds three circular galleries – the internal Whispering Gallery, the external Stone Gallery, and the external Golden Gallery.

The Whispering Gallery runs around the inside of the dome 30.2 metres above the cathedral floor. It is reached by 259 steps from ground level. It gets its name because of the acoustic effects peculiar to domes; a whisper against its wall at any point is audible to a listener with an ear held to the wall at any other point around the gallery. A low murmur is equally audible.

The base of the inner dome is 53.4 m above the floor. Its top is about 65 m above the floor, making this the greatest height in the enclosed space. The cathedral is some 175 m in length, of which 68 m is the nave and 51 m is the choir. The width of the nave is 37 m and across the transepts is 75 m. The cathe-

dral is thus slightly shorter but some-what wider than Old St Paul's.

The quire extends to the east of the dome and holds the stalls for the clergy and the choir and the organ. To the north and south of the dome are the transepts, here called the North Choir and the South Choir.

Among the events marked at St Paul's are royal occasions. In 1897 Queen Victoria chose to commemorate her Diamond Jubilee here. More recently, Queen Elizabeth II has celebrated her Jubilees at St Paul's and also her 80th birthday in 2006. Royal weddings have been held here as well: the marriage of Catherine of Aragon to Prince Arthur in 1501 and famously the wedding of HRH the Prince of Wales to Lady Diana Spencer in 1981.

As the nation's church, St Paul's has also been the site of state funerals of British military leaders, including Admiral Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington and of the wartime Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill. Services have also been held to mark the valuable contributions made by ordinary men and women involved in armed conflicts in the Falklands, the Gulf and Northern Ireland. A vast crowd also gathered at St Paul's following the terrorist attacks on New York on 11 September 2001, as London expressed its solidarity with the people of New York at a time of grief.

It definitely is a good place for students to visit who study Art, History and Literature. Students who have been there all think it is worth visiting.

http://www.stpauls.co.uk/

http://www.stpauls.co.uk


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by Rai Aung Zaw

ice-breaking party

Date: 30th September 2011

Time: 7-9 pm

This Ice-breaking party was the event organised by the Student Committee aimed at bringing closer the new GCSE, AS and A2 Students. This was like a welcome party for all the CTC students as this was the first party after the school term started. In the event, ice-breaking games were played which were then followed by dancing to party music. The games played were so much fun that the new AS students didn’t even realise that they were not in their home country: they were all feeling comfortable and adapting well to the college and also the people around them. During the event there was food and soft drinks sold by the DofE students.

At the start of the event, all the students gathered into a big circle and then pass the parcel was played. This game is played by passing the parcel when the music is on and when the music stops, the person who has the parcel has to go into the middle of the circle and is asked to choose a number and perform a forfeit.

After playing the parcel game, the students were divided into two different groups and then several group games were played. Each group was awarded points for every win. The games played included the ladder game, give me give me and others.


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After all the games had been played, it was time for some dancing. The lights were lowered and the excitement of the party was enhanced by the glow sticks, disco lights and party music.

The event ended successfully and the students left with smiles on their faces. There was no doubt that new friends were made during the event and home-sickness reduced to a minimum.


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by Mrs Carroll

national poetry day 2011

National Poetry Day was held in the library on October 6th. Students were invited to write a poem based on this year’s theme ‘Games’. A variety of poems were read out and then entered into the poetry competition.

Mrs Roberts very kindly agreed to take on the difficult task of judge and chose two winning entries.

A Level student Eeruj Shaikh was one of the winners with his poem ‘Addiction’. Mrs Roberts found his use of language ‘very interesting’.

GCSE student Emily Walker was the other winner with her poem ‘Agent Provoca-teur’. Mrs Roberts thought her use of imagery ‘was very evocative’.

A big thank you to all who took part and well done to Emily and Eeruj for their winning entries!

ADDICTION

By Eeruj Shaikh

I am like a rainstorm in a desert,

I am like an ocean blazing,

I am a fallacy that disturbs you,

I am the heaven of your desires,

Where the sky is the limit.

I govern your conscience,

And tickle your guilt.

Your privacy is my publicity,

Your isolation is my company,

Your demise is my eminence.

You cannot deny my intrusion,

I possess your intuition,

For I am the addiction to the game that

lubricates your mind.


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AGENT PROVOCATEUR

By Emily Walker

Lurking amidst shadows

Of the honest man

Slithers Sir Serpentine

With a master plan

Sergeant’s servant,

The great pretender

Deceiving the world

With his hidden agenda

So foul, the enticer

Claims he wants justice

He lies, he deceives

But is it just this?

No says the wise man

The deeply informed

He’s not here to help

Now you have been warned.

He’ll kill your judgement,

Cause you to do

The worst thing you could

But you have no clue

So heed my advice

The snake you meet in the night

Who so outwardly appears

That he wants what is right

Shall impose a plan of action

Donate prominent role

Trust what I say

All he wants is your soul


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awards ceremony 2011 Subject Prize Winners

Accounting Qianning Ong

Art Xi Xiong

Biology Mixayphone Bounvilay

Chemistry Watcharaphol Paritmongkol

Economics Maksims Beluss

English as a Foreign Language Rui Xu

English Literature Militsa Doneva

French Ksenija Omelcenko

Further Mathematics Feifan Chen

Geography Anna Robakova

Government & Politics Raweewat Ruechai


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History

Raweewat Ruechai

ICT

Anum Shami

Law

Quynh Chau Dang

Mathematics

Xi Xiong

Physics

Annan Yang

Pure Mathematics

Thuy Linh Le

Statistics

Jiajia Wang

No awards are made this year in:

Business Studies, Computing, Italian and

Spanish

Outstanding Contribution to

College life

Adeline Lou

Angela Skrabaka

Extra-Curricular Awards

Sports Prize Winners

Football

Sportsmanship Award

Myat Soe Maung


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Most Improved Player

Michael Akinwotu

Basketball

Sportsmanship Award

Ser Ying Tan

Most Improved Player

Sher Ee Tan

Duke of Edinburgh Award

All-round contribution

Hong Anh Nguyen

Art Special Award

Sichang Jia

(Won joint first prize awarded by the

Rector of the Royal College of Art in a

Young Art competition)

College Magazine

All-round contribution

Rajesh Bhusal


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What is the meaning of 11.11.11?

It’s Veterans Day in the USA

It’s Remembrance Day in Australia and

Canada

It’s... a nice day for wedding. Well, peo-

ple like sequences.

But more importantly, it was the Singles

Night at CTC, which was organised to

honour the single people in our college!

The occasion was inspired by a similar

event celebrated in China for single la-

dies and gentlemen. So what did we have

in CTC? Games, music, drinks and chats

all night. With a wide range of games

specially organised for single people.

There was actually some chances that

you may have came out of the room not

being single anymore!

The event started at 7pm. Each person

was given a card with a random name,

which later they had to find their

‘partner’ who gets the paired name with

them. There was noise and applause for

people who found their soul mate the

fastest (Nam and Trang, Dee and David).

Then group games were introduced in-

cluding popping a balloon by sitting on

it, protecting your balloon with your

partner, popping the balloon by hugging

your partner (sounds pretty like a bal-

loon night now). But wait, we had other

games (which was not about balloons,

no) like racing with each other while

keeping a banana safely between our

knees, and a Ladder game which brought

a bit of pain for people who were lining

up to make a ladder. Nevertheless, who

cares when we have fun? Refreshment

was provided by the DofE group. Chat-

ting and laughing sounds dominated the

room. Dancing music was on for a while,

enough for people to relax and enjoy the

night. What was the result? People went

home with a smile on their faces. Being

single? Great for parties though!

If you did not manage to go to the event,

you will have to wait 100 more years to

celebrate it again! Anyway, happy Sin-

gle’s Night and best wishes to those who

want to end the single life soon!

by Tran Phuong Anh (Cris)

singles night event


26

by Rai Aung Zaw

interview with the new students’ committee

The old and the new students’ committee on the Singles’ Night. Left to right, top to bottom: Ray,

Eric, Vera, An, Roberto, Vikas, Nay Chi, Mike, Cris, Happy.

— Hi, I am Roberto and I am the Sports Secretary on the Committee. I want to en-

sure the smooth running of all events and encourage friendships through sport.

— Hi, my name is Vera Costan. I am the Publicity Secretary of the Student Commit-

tee. I want to help organise school events because everyone should have fun. I want

to make sure that the students in our College enjoy their stay here. I want them to

have something to remember; I want to spice up school life. Also, without a doubt,

it makes me happy to see people from all different nations coming together and

having fun!

— I do not promise to make CTC life awesomely fantastic but with my desire to

bring CTC students together we can definitely make it at least unforgettable! —

Your NUS secretary, Le Quynh An.


27

by Artjoms Iskovs

the Orthodox church

Christmas is coming, which implies two weeks of fun, games and rest (or frantic study for January exams and being stuck in the airport because of snow - your mileage may vary). Of course, most students and staff dislike the idea of going back to college in the first days of January. There is, however, a group of people in CTC who have strong reasons to do so and in this article we shall investigate them.

It all started in 1054, when Pope Leo IX of Rome and Patriarch Michael I of Constantinople excommunicated each other and the once united state church of the Roman Empire split into two parts: West (Roman Catholic) and East (Orthodox). There were many reasons for that, including disputes over authori-ty and many religious topics and practic-es. For example, the Orthodox church used leavened (with pockets of air inside) bread for their services, whereas the Roman church believed in use of unleavened bread. Another disagree-ment was over the understanding of the Holy Trinity, the Christian definition of God as three divine people: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. According to the Catholic church, the Holy Spirit came from the Father and the Son. The Orthodox, however, believed the Holy Spirit to come only from the Father. These differences, although seemingly petty, still lead to several military conflicts, including the Crusades and the sack of Constantinople in 1204. In 1965,

Pope Paul IV and Patriarch An-thenagoras lifted the several centuries old mutual excommunications, thus ending the war between the two doc-trines.

Architecture is one of the differences between Orthodox and Catholic church-es. The usual style of Western churches is a basilica, a long hall with an apse at one end, whereas Orthodox churches are more centralised, with a central dome surrounded by four structures that represent a crucifix. Russian Orthodox churches, however, had a tall conical roof instead of a dome, which prevented snow from remaining on roofs. Another major difference is that unlike Catholic churches, most Orthodox churches have no pews inside them, as it was deemed disrespectful to sit during sermons. Some Orthodox churches in the west (such as in Bulgaria), however, do have pews or kneelers.

Easter is called Pascha in Orthodox culture. Just like the Catholic Easter, it celebrates the anniversary of the rebirth of Jesus Christ, however, the Pascha is the most important festival in the Orthodox liturgical year, even more important than Christmas (which makes sense - being resurrected is much harder than simply being born) and every other religious festival is considered a prelimi-nary to the Pascha. There is the Great Lent held before it - a period of forty days during which the Orthodox abstain from consuming animal products and


28

alcohol. The Great Lent concludes with the Great and Holy Friday, followed by the Great and Holy Saturday, on the night of which a service called the Paschal Vigil is held. Sunday comes afterwards, on which the usual greeting is "Christ is risen!" with the response "Truly He is risen!". Customary Paschal dishes include decorated chicken eggs, kulich (Easter bread baked in tall tins with white icing on top of it) and Pascha, a dish made of farmer's cheese and decorated with various religious sym-bols.

One might notice that all fixed Orthodox religious holidays happen about two weeks later than their Catholic counter-parts. This is also a result of the disputes between these doctrines. Before the 16th century, the world had been using the Julian calendar introduced by Julius Caesar in 45BC. This calendar assumes that there are exactly 365.25 days in a year and so a year in this calendar is split into 365 days with a leap day added every fourth year. It later turned out that a year actually has an extra an 11 minutes in it, which means that the Julian calendar gains three days every four centuries. The Gregorian calendar introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 fixed this issue and this is the calendar that is used now. The Orthodox church, however, refused to use it and still uses the Julian calendar to calculate the dates of religious feasts. The error accumulat-ed by the Julian calendar since its introduction 20 centuries ago is about 13 days. The Orthodox Christmas, there-fore, will be celebrated on January 7th.

Despite not being the principal Ortho-dox holiday, Christmas still is important in this religion. On Christmas Eve, Orthodox Christians do not eat until the


29

first star appears, after which a table is laid for the Christmas supper. It usually consists of a 12-course meal (called the Holy Meal) that symbolises the 12 apostles - mushroom soup, lenten bread, chopped garlic, honey, baked fish, fresh oranges, nuts, kidney beans with shredded potatoes, peas, parsley pota-toes, red wine and bobalki (sweet breads with honey and poppy seeds). Many Catholic Christmas traditions, however, are not followed in the Orthodox Christmas and are followed on New Year instead, the celebration of which is more important than Christmas for some Eastern European cultures. Decorating and leaving gifts under a New Year tree, for example, has been inherited from the Catholic Christmas, as has been the belief in Ded Moroz (Grandfather Frost) - the Russian version of Santa Claus (presumably renamed due to trademark disputes).

However, there are many conventions specific to the celebration of the New Year only, varying between different countries and even different families. It is customary, for example, to clean one's house on December 31st so that no trash is brought on to the next year. Every-body in the family usually stays up until midnight to see the Old Year out and meet the New Year. About 50000 people each year join the New Year celebrations in Red Square in Moscow with laser shows. Some people in the Baltic States also choose to celebrate the New Year by Moscow time, so hearing fireworks and screams of joy there an hour earlier than intended is quite usual. In the last minute of the old year, people make a wish with each chime of the Kremlin Spassky Clock Tower. Others write a wish on a piece of paper, burn it down

and drink the ashes with champagne, which is the traditional New Year drink. Tangerines are a recognised New Year food, this day being the only day they were eaten back in USSR. Another traditional New Year food is the Salade Olivier, a subject of many jokes that involve alcohol and people waking up with their faces in this salad several days after the New Year's Day.

There is also the Old New Year celebrat-ed in Slavic cultures - a tradition that often confuses foreigners. This is yet again tied up with the calendar differ-ences: January 14th, on which this holiday will fall in 2012, corresponds to January 1st on the Julian calendar, meaning that the Orthodox people get to celebrate the New Year twice. On this day, the New Year cycle ends and the New Year tree is usually disposed of. Although The Old New Year is not a public holiday, some people still get together with their friends and family to mark it.

So when you see angry, zombie-looking people who slowly traverse the college in the first two weeks of January, better not bother them. For them, the Christmas holiday is still far from over.


30

This year’s Open Day was well attended compared to past Open Days. This was in

part due to a greater interest shown by students looking to be supported by the col-

lege’s bursary scheme.

The bursary scheme is part of the college’s contribution to supporting home stu-

dents from families who would not normally consider private education.

As a non-profit making trust the college takes seriously its responsibility to provide

educational opportunities to families in the UK.

The idea behind the College Open Day is to attract home student families to come

in and have a look at the college. People living in the Croydon area are often sur-

prised that they have a high quality international college on their doorstep.

During the Open Day visitors are shown around the college by CTC students and

have an opportunity to talk to heads of subject areas. In addition they can talk to

the administration team about course choices and the logistics of applying to CTC.

My personal thanks go to all the tutors and students who made this year’s event

such a success.

by Dr Drew

open day, Saturday October 1st


31

by David Yang

a memory of a young entrepreneur

On the 4th October, our young entre-

preneur group was founded by 10

enthusiastic, creative and dedicated

young people.

First of all, we needed to find a name for

our company. Everybody put forward an

idea for our company name and we

decided by voting. Finally we chose the

name Eclat. And we designed our logo…

The logo means that we stand out from

our competitors. We will try to our best

to inform and be true to our customers.

The first big event for Éclat - Adding-

ton fair

On 18th November, in Addington, we

had the first big event for our young

entrepreneurs. Basically, we needed to

sell products at the trade-fair. First-of-

all, we had to decide what we were going

to sell. We had to remember most

people in New Addington are elderly or

children with their parents and it is quite

near Christmas. We therefore decided to

to sell sweets and Christmas decorations.

On that day, we were allocated a stall to

sell our wares. But some of the company

sold sweets in the street. That made

more profit for our company.

Now we are discussing what we are

going to make in future. Finally, we have

reached a decision. We are going to

make a special hairbrush which is quite

an ambitious venture and we are trying

to find a Chinese company to help us to

make manufacture this product.


32

T’was the night before implementation and all through CTC,

Nothing was working, but I told them “It’s nothing to do with me”.

The snow lay on the ground all bright, crisp and even

I said to them “Why don’t you go and ask Stephen?”

The Admin Team were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of un-answered e-mails filled their heads.

When out in the Server Room there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from my desk to see what was the matter.

And what to my weary eyes should appear,

But a Super Techy Angel so I had no need to fear.

With her IPad and IPhone and gadgets galore,

I knew I was in safe hands and need worry no more.

More rapid than reindeer, her programs they came,

And she cursed and muttered and called them by name.

On Update! On Add! On Inquiry! On Delete!

On Batch Jobs! On Closings! On Functions Complete!

Her eyes were glazed over, fingers nimble and lean,

From weekends and nights stuck in front of a screen.

A wink of her eye and a nod of her head,

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

She spoke not a word, but went straight to the Servers,

Then she stared at our new website which made me feel nervous .

And laying her fingers upon the “ENTER” key,

The system re-booted and worked perfectly.

The updates updated; the deletes, they deleted;

The inquiries inquired, and all jobs completed.

She tested each whistle, and tested each bell,

And lo and behold, everything had gone well.

The system was finished, the tests were concluded,

The users’ last changes were even included.

In the morning Mr Di Clemente exclaimed “This system’s so fast”

I smiled and enjoyed the moment for it was sure not to last.

by Judy Gollop, I.T.

t’was the night before implementation


33

by Radhika Patel


34

We hope you like quests. Solving countless puzzles and wandering around strange

locations in attempts to progress somewhere can be quite fun and this year we have

decided to make our readers do exactly that. Between now and the next issue of the

CTC Magazine, we are holding our own Treasure Hunt. There will be multiple clues

hidden around that you will have to follow. Whoever reaches the end first, wins a

prize. Or not. We will see how it goes.

Anyway, here are some tips for you in case you are stuck:

If you think you have to do something illegal, think again.

The Hunt can be completed using only the facilities available in the College.

The Magazine Team accepts no liability for any loss or damage (including to

your exam performance) caused as a result of participating in the Hunt.

The first clue is on this page. Do you see anything out of the ordinary?

by Nicholas Kirschenstein

CTC treasure hunt


35

CTC Editorial Team wishes you a Merry CTC Editorial Team wishes you a Merry CTC Editorial Team wishes you a Merry

Christmas and a Happy New Year!Christmas and a Happy New Year!Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Staff

Dr Drew

Mrs Das Gupta

Mrs Gollop

Mrs Carroll

Students

Phuong Anh Tran (Cris)

Artjoms Iskovs

Korlong Lee (Long)

Hanyang Ge (Star)

Nan Yang (Lynette)

Natassia Chin

Yi Yang (David)

Jia Qi Tang (Cassie)

Lingqun Jiang (Sarah)

Yili Chen (Wicky)

Yodsapon Chirawut (Ton)

Rai Aung Zaw

Magazine background

“Christmas Wallpaper” by

Lucy-Art

Student Magazine December 2011

Documents

Transcript of Student Magazine December 2011