THE VOICE Issue 3 March/April 2012 BREAKING NEWS: FAREWELL DEAR SECOND YEARS! The end of one amazing journey…. By Marthese Grech On the occasion of this year‟s second years‟ last few days at the college, I decided to interview some of them, so that they can share their experience with all of us. The students interviewed were Francesco Grasso, Matthew Buhagiar, Julian Mizzi, Erik Gollcher and Lisa Mifsud. If you could describe your experience in this school in one word or sentence, what would it be? All those interviewed said that their two years at college were the best two years of their lives. Some also described their experience as amazing because of the fact that all the students were all united together like one big family. Of course, none of them regret choosing SAC and claim, that if they were to choose again, they would surely choose SAC again. Mention some activities in which you took part during these two years which you will always look back to: Of course, the annual event of Soiree was immediately mentioned. All those interviewed, said that Soiree is a memorable experience which they will surely never forget. According to them, both the 2011 and the 2012 ones were amazing and they always enjoyed taking part in any way possible as it was also a way to make new friends and socialize. Another event mentioned was „Unplugged‟ which was described as „an event >> cont. on pg 9 The end of one amazing journey… Page 8 Chocolate: Deliciously Healthy Page 3 Aloysians in ESU Team Page 2
Transcript
THE VOICE Issue 3
FAREW EL L
March/April 2012
Lassyt
BREAKING NEWS: FAREWELL DEAR SECOND YEARS!
The end of one amazing journey…. By Marthese Grech
On the occasion of
this year‟s second
years‟ last few days at the college, I decided
to interview some of them, so that they
can share their experience with all of
us. The students interviewed were
Francesco Grasso, Matthew Buhagiar, Julian Mizzi, Erik Gollcher and Lisa
Mifsud.
If you could describe your
experience in this school in one
word or sentence, what would it be?
All those interviewed said that their two years at college were the best
two years of their lives. Some also
described their experience as amazing because of the fact that all
the students were all united together
like one big family. Of course, none
of them regret choosing SAC and
claim, that if they were to choose again, they would surely choose SAC
again.
Mention some activities in which
you took part during these two years which you will always look
back to:
Of course, the annual event of Soiree was immediately mentioned. All those
interviewed, said that Soiree is a memorable experience which they
will surely never forget. According to
them, both the 2011 and the 2012 ones were amazing and they always
enjoyed taking part in any way possible as it was also a way to make
new friends and socialize. Another
event mentioned was „Unplugged‟ which was described as „an event >>
cont. on pg 9
The end of one amazing journey… Page 8
Chocolate: Deliciously Healthy Page 3
Aloysians in ESU Team Page 2
THE VOICE | Issue 3 2
Aloysians in ESU Team By Yanika Borg
The English Speaking Union has been operating in Malta for more than a year now. It is a charity encouraging spoken English, organizing meetings and competitions mainly for students. By building skills and confidence in communication, it gives people the opportunity to realise their potential.
This year a Public Speaking competition was held at the Old University in Valletta on the 29th February. St. Aloysius‟ College had three participants; Thomas Bartolo, Jodie Bonnici and myself. We delivered a prepared, five-minute speech in front of foreign judges. Last year‟s competition was won by Aloysian, Luisa Cassar Pullicino. This year Martha Zammit won and will be representing Malta in the United Kingdom next May.
ESU is also organizing a debating competition, held in Parliament. Debating classes are currently being held to prepare all the participants for the competition next April. The Aloysian debating team consists of Adrian Micallef, Gianluca Busutil and I.
Personally I think that this Union is doing a great job on this bilingual island. It encourages young people to have a wider knowledge of English, not only in writing but also in speaking.
>> Aloysians in the ESU Debate
Yanika Borg (left) Thomas Bartolo (centre) and Jodie Bonnici (right)
THE VOICE | Issue 3 3
How Great are your Expectations? By Jodie Bonnici
Many people have a
very serious and
common problem in
their life. They expect
too much of it.
This makes it harder to
deal with
failure. However,
failure is a daily
component in our life and it is from these
mistakes that we learn and improve
ourselves. As we grow older we
understand this more due to our
experiences in life. Yet it seems as if the
older we grow the more disappointed we
are when we make a mistake, no matter how inevitable it is.
This makes life far more complicated than it should be. The
solution? Don‟t expect too much of yourself or of others,
especially if it‟s obvious that it is useless. For some people
this comes naturally while for others it is one of those bad
habits that take ages to break. When you are about to start
making great expectations stop, think, and consider whether it
really is worth the probable disappointment. While it is always
important to aim high and to push your limits, don‟t put
yourself in a situation where you end up questioning your
whole life, past and future. This might cause not only
frustration to the person, but can also cause uncertainty and
doubt in one‟s life.
Maybe your life will turn out better if you keep your
expectations under control instead of letting your imagination
get the best of you.
Chocolate: Deliciously Healthy!
By James Mula
Yes, you read the title right. As insane as it sounds, studies prove that chocolate, apart from being delicious, tasty, yummy, and to die for, is indeed healthy. This must certainly be good news
for chocolate lovers and chocoholics around the world.
Despite the fact that chocolate is high in calories and sugar content it is good for the heart as long as you exercise daily. Studies
also say that it decreases the risks of heart attacks. According to Suzanne Steinbaum, director of women and heart disease at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, chocolate improves heart health if you add it to your everyday lifestyle which should include exercise and moderation in diet. She also says that “chocolate does not add to weight gain, but in fact, might help control it.”
Experts still urge moderation, so don‟t you even think that after reading this article you can gobble up all the chocolate you find as an excuse that it is healthy. Nancy Copperman, director of Public Health
Initiatives at the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System in New York had this to say, "Before you start eating a chocolate bar a day to keep the doctor away, remember that a chocolate bar can contain over 200 calories which mostly come from saturated fats and sugar... Consider limiting your chocolate fix to a one ounce (28 grams) portion of dark chocolate or adding cocoa powder which is very low in fat to your food once a day."
THE VOICE | Issue 3 4
WE WILL
THE VOICE | Issue 3 5
MISS YOU!
THE VOICE | Issue 3 6
Half Way There!
So summer is
getting closer and closer guys and
girls! The weather‟s changing; our
lifestyle is changing and were finally
seeing people
daringly wear short sleeves and
sporting a lighter, more carefree Spring/Summer look!
This is all the motivation you need to keep on pushing hard with your
diets and exercise regimes! Plan carefully as there are around 10
weeks left till summer properly starts and the beach becomes the
new playground…so here are some
vital tips!
Get more ab-work in your routine to keep your midsection tight, hard and ready
to hit the beach! Increase the intensity of your cardio and keep that stubborn fat melting off you! Drink plenty of water as you will start to lose more as the
weather becomes warmer!
Go easy on the carbohydrates and consume more quality foods rich in fibre, protein, vitamins and minerals.
Some great ideas are tuna salad, chicken-
ceaser salad, pasta salads, bruschetta, brown bread sandwiches, etc.
Believe me; a burger will never taste as good as success! It‟s time to step up to the plate my friends, let‟s do this!
Great Expectations, a timeless novel By Amber Duivenvoorden
Few writers
have written so movingly
or captured the inner
workings of a
child‟s mind as Charles
Dickens. Great Expectations is spellbinding in its
intensity, it leads the reader
into a vivid portrayal of childhood fears and
anxieties, rich in humour and sorrow alike. It is
regarded as perhaps grotesque or tragic and ultimately, Pip‟s tragedy is that he follows falsehood and becomes a snob which is something nowadays audience
can relate to. Pip dreams about becoming a prince charming and his dream
comes through he thinks, the intervention of his fairy-godmother, Miss Havisham. Pip hopes to marry his princess, Estella, in belief that together they
will live happily ever after. This is perhaps a very idealistic image of love and once again pains to point out that life is not really a fairy tale. Miss Havisham,
far from being a good fairy-godmother is really a tormented woman and Estella
is no beautiful princess but a flint-hearted temptress.
Pip finally discovers that in order to „live happily ever after‟ he must first undergo
the painful process of finding out who he really is. Seeking out our true identity is a process we all go through in life and as readers we sympathize with Pip
completely at the end of the novel when his idea of being comes crashing down
and he is struck by the realization of
how mistaken he was. The fact that Great Expectations applies to
nowadays as well is emphasized further through the 1998 modern
version of it. It is a story of the love
of a man for an unreachable woman. Updated to modern day
New York City, the story concerns a man of modest background who
falls in love with a rich girl. But
when a mysterious benefactor green lights the man to make his
dreams come true, everything done has the ultimate goal of making
Estella fall in love with him.
Great Expectations is undoubtedly
an irrepressible enthusiasm for
people and places, examples of rattling dialogue or gripping action
are to be found on almost every page. It is weirdly eccentric,
awesomely threatening and
colourfully comic characters are plentiful.
THE VOICE | Issue 3 8
Monday Morning by Enya Tanti
Grown-ups never stop nagging about how they long to be young again. They
seem to have forgotten the wild mood swings and our individual quests to find
our true identity in this ever-changing world. Call me negative but I feel as if i want to just fast forward and lead what one would call a secure life. But in
reality is age linked to that state of mind? As we're all unique one must not assume. So I might have to just accept the fact that this cycle of thoughts might
be a crave that will never be satisfied...
This is a clear example of a set of thoughts that flood my mind during a
monotonous lesson. I foolishly feel satisfied by the fact that even though the teacher feels as if he is in complete control over the class, my imagination helps
me create my own little world that is a key to help me bamboozle any authoritative figure. I slap myself and try to concentrate once again but this time
my belly starts to grumble and i long for a double chocolate chipped cookie that
could instantaneously melt and tingle on my tongue. I feel as if my face has been programmed to increase its red tint whilst i get embarrassed by the roars
that emerge inharmoniously from my stomach.
My name gets called out, I walk
straight up to Mr.Dorethy and hand
over my homework. It's around seven pages long ... that should be
a good enough deterrent. I sit down and stare at all the vulgar language
that had been written on my desk. I cringe and grip my heart
whilst seconds appear to be going
by sluggishly. Two minutes left and I'll be free. I then realise that I
should just be grateful and I should censor the number of movies I
watch weekly as they seem to have
embedded a melodramatic strand in my DNA. After all, just like Wendell
Willkie once said: ''Education is the mother of Leadership''
Up This Month…
THE VOICE | Issue 3 9
(The end of one amazing journey cont.)
„SAC Fest‟ was also mentioned
as one of the best experiences
they had during these two years. People can take part as
well as join Stage Crew in this activity. Stage crew is a totally
different experience than that of
Soiree and even those who weren‟t in stage crew during
soiree can take part. They also highly encouraged all the first
years to take part in SAC Fest as it‟s truly a once in a life time
experience. Matthew Buhagiar
and Julian Mizzi, who attended St. Aloysius‟ College Secondary
school, said that they took part in it for 6 years and it was
always a different yet
unforgettable experience.
These students also praised the
college chaplaincy for its innovative ideas, as well as for
all the help and good advice it has always given them.
How did you feel when you
first entered the college? Did you take long to get
used to the system of the
school?
They all said that they didn‟t find it hard to get used to
everything. The way that all students helped and welcomed
each other helped everyone feel
at home easily. Even those who weren‟t at SAC before didn‟t
take long to get used to everything at the college.
Do you think that it will be difficult to adapt to the
environment of university or of
any other place that you are heading to?
They all said that they will surely adapt to everything. They
are positive that they are
capable of facing new experiences and new
challenges. However, they also claimed that they will miss this
school and its environment.
Now that you’re leaving,
what will you miss most
from this school?
All the students said that they
will mostly miss the SAC spirit. It isn‟t just a school where you
only go to learn, but it‟s also
like a second family so much so that there‟s „the same beat of
the heart‟. They also said that they will surely miss the co-
curricular aspect of college. As already mentioned above, there
are several memorable events
that will surely be missed by all of them.
The council was also praised by all of the students interviewed.
They said that the council became more innovative especially during this last year, as they have organized several new activities such as the Chinese night. The council was also given credit for all its hard work and for the fact that they always strive to listen to all the complaints.
THE VOICE | Issue 3 10
Because of this, the uppers all said that they were very sad to
be reaching a conclusion to this
amazing journey. Be it 7 years or 2 years, they were years that
will remain in their hearts forever.
What message do you want
to pass on to all the first years, teachers and
administration?
To all the teachers and administration, they insist that
they should „keep doing what
they do best‟. They also thank them for all the advice and help
given throughout the years.
To all of the first years, they
highly encourage them to take
part in all co-curricular activities without forgetting the academic
aspect of school. If you‟re careful, you can find time for
