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1 AIC EDITORIAL CLUB MOSAIC THIRD ISSUE Please feel free to comment, feedback or ask questions at Editorial Welcome to the third issue of MOSAIC. This issue has a wide range of writing including reviews, articles on scientific and environmental issues and entertaining puzzles We hope it will continue to interest you all. We are again very fortunate to have another very successful AIC alumnus, Alexander Simmonds, following Henry Wang in the last issue, to share with us his valuable experiences at university. Moreover, we are fortunate to have an article written by Mrs Nelson. We certainly believe that every one of us in AIC will benefit from reading these articles. We would like to express our deepest thanks to both Alexander Simmonds and Mrs Nelson and we very much value all the other contributors who write insightful and stimulating articles just for the joy of being published. We hope you will all enjoy reading the third issue of MOSAIC and find it worthwhile! Bosco Feng, Phillip Xuran Zhang, and MinJae Cho the United States, the Athletics Department In is usually one of the largest and most well-funded components of a university s organization. Sporting success is recognized as crucial not only to the development of the individual student-athletes who take part in the wide range of inter-collegiate sports, but to the strength of school spirit amongst the broader campus population and further to a University s reputation as a balanced institution. Athletics are an avenue for schools to demonstrate the diversity of their student body s interests and abilities, as well as secure continued alumni donations! The importance of athletics is clear at all levels of American colleges: from the (American) football teams of large state universities such as Florida State through to the basketball teams of private research universities such as Duke. For me it has been most evident at the very highest tier of American universities: the Ivy League. Indeed, the very term Ivy League refers to the sporting conference in which these eight universities compete against each other. Want to know how to get into the Ivy League without stellar SAT & IB scores? Play a sport, and play it exceptionally well. Play it so well that you are able to get recruited by the head coach at one of the Ivies: these coaches are typically allowed to bring in several athletes who bypass the highly selective admissions process in return for their commitment to play for the school s varsity team for the duration of their studies. Of course, competition for these spots is cut-throat! But even if you are not recruited, some college sports take walk-ons : people who weren t good enough to get into the university on their sporting prowess alone. One sport in particular, rowing, takes students who have never even rowed before in their lives but who are nevertheless athletic, competitive, and willing to put in the time and effort to become inter-collegiate varsity athletes. At Columbia, the rowing team takes walk-ons: I should know, I walked on when I arrived last fall and I The Student-Athlete Experience stayed on. Next year will be my second year of university and I plan to continue to row and represent Columbia throughout my college career. Rowing at Columbia is a division one sport: competing for Columbia means that you are racing against the best teams in the country. This means that each member of the boat has to be one of the best rowers in the country, and we certainly put in the time for that. It s not a joke: 3 hours a day, 6 days a week is just the scheduled practice, and if you want to make the top boat and compete for Columbia you need to put in at least another hour a day on your own. That means getting on the water in all weathers and spending hours upon hours on a rowing machine during the winter. But it also means getting free Columbia gear and clothing and free trips to Florida twice a year (during Winter break and Spring break) to train in a warmer climate. It means travelling around the East Coast every weekend in the spring to compete against our Ivy League rivals. And it means access to the support of the Athletics department (free tutoring, early registration appointments so that we get the first pick of class schedules, and dinners which recognise athletic accomplishment). If you can juggle a sport and your other academic commitments, student-athletics is a fantastic way to develop personal fitness as well as skills such as teamwork and timemanagement. If you re headed to the US for university, I fully recommend you check out which sports take walk-ons at your institution and... give it a go. The opportunity probably won t come again in your lifetime, so college is the best time to do it. You ll make life-long friends along the way! By Alexander Simmonds, AIC Graduate (2009), currently studying in Columbia University ISSUE 3 PAGE 1

2 PAGE 2 ISSUE 3 MOSAIC AIC EDITORIAL CLUB The thief of time I have spent all my days stringing and unstringing my instrument, while the song I came to sing remains unsung. -Rabindranath Tagore ( ) Indian poet and philosopher Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task, said William James, the USA born psychologist and philosopher. From Hamlet to Holden Caulfield, from Leonardo da Vinci to Albert Einstein, procrastination has bedevilled lives. The word procrastination has Latin origins: pro-, forward; and crastinus, of tomorrow. Many of us are masters of the art of putting it off until tomorrow. I have to admit to guilt in this area, in fact for the past three years my New Year s resolution has been to not procrastinate! IB is full of opportunities to procrastinate Research Essay, logging CAS hours, Extended Essay, Theory of Knowledge presentation, World Lit essay, study for exams. the list goes on and we all know the consequences! So why do we procrastinate? Maybe one of these is your reason: The task seems too big The task seems too hard We re afraid of the outcome of failure? We re too busy to start We don t quite know how to do it But from my experience, procrastination is to be avoided. Why? It is a major stressor, sitting in the back of the mind, nagging away It may mean we miss out on opportunities, or on the maximum enjoyment of something We may sell ourselves short with a last-minute, rushed job Or open ourselves to risk in a last-minute situation the computer crashes, the network is down, the other person isn t free. We may argue that all the time we have been deferring, our ideas have been maturing, and that is quite possibly true. Often rushing into doing or saying something can mean we haven t quite thought it through and the consequences can be disastrous. But if we wait until our ideas are crystal clear, we will never begin. Getting started allows us to further process the ideas. It may be that we justify our procrastination by saying that we work best under pressure, when the adrenalin gives us an extra sharpness. But when others are relying on our input, this is hardly fair, and as that intelligent, much-quoted anon observed, A decision delayed, is a crisis invited. Convinced? Need help in how to break the procrastination habit? Try one of these approaches: Tell someone you are going to do it, and set a completion date Break the task down into achievable steps Make a list of what needs to be done and mark it off, so you can see progress Find help to get started Motivate yourself with a reward So don t come up with excuses, make a start NOW, and feel the relief! As Rita Emmett, writer of the Procrastinator s Handbook observes, The dread of doing a task uses up more time and energy than doing the task itself. Mrs Nelson Dragonflies Ever since coming to AIC I have wondered why the dragonfly is the logo of Auckland International College. Is it because of the success of our Dragon-boating? rowing group? Or do we have this logo simply because it took our founder s fancy? After asking several teachers, I have found that the dragonfly was chosen for its many symbolic meanings. My research suggests that dragonflies represent courage, strength, happiness and prosperity. I think that in Japan, especially, dragonflies are considered to be sacred and pure creatures. There is a legend in Japan in which its mythical founder Emperor Jinmu was bitten by a mosquito which was promptly eaten by a dragonfly. Because of this legend, dragonflies have been regarded as creatures of good fortune and protection. Another example I have found of the high regard Japanese in which dragonflies are held is that the archipelago of Japan as seen on the map is thought to resemble a dragonfly. Through its symbolism in Japan and the good fortune associated with it, I am not surprised that a dragonfly is our logo. I believe that dragonflies are also intended to teach us a lesson: to make the most of life and to enjoy every single day as if it were our last. Dragonflies only have four weeks at most to live and during this time they appreciate and live their lives to the fullest. As students of Auckland International College, we should all follow their example and make the most out of every opportunity and enjoy our time at this prestigious school. Melody Li A Brief Reminder Everybody has probably noticed that Term 4 is passing by slowly and quickly. Time really flies. Year 12s are now on the brink of Year 13, and Year 11s still have one more year to go. Even though it seems a long time (a year, or even two years), we know better than anyone else that procrastination does not belong in the IB. Each and every minute we spend on games, movies or MSN is a waste of time that we could have spent on other beneficial activities that will increase our chance of having a better future. The truth is that it cannot be helped. Although we always bear in mind that time is precious, we still play games, watch videos and go shopping. In fact, entertainment is crucial, that s why we need to use our time wisely. That s why we need plans. Now that we ve received most of our results, it s high time we start thinking about next year. We are either happy or motivated (or we should be). Especially for current year 12s, there are tons of deadlines coming up: EE, TOK, World Literature, Eco Commentaries, University applications (just listing them makes me tired). We d better be prepared or we will be overwhelmed, and it s up to us to decide whether we want to succeed or not was a busy school year. Teachers keep reminding us that we will be even busier in year 13 and I am having a feeling that they are right. Here are some techniques I have thought of work more efficiently: Keep reminders of deadlines in a visible place Try to spend at least 15 minutes each week writing up a To-do list and stick to it Replace one of your time-consuming habits with something useful. For example, if studying Mathematicss becomes the replacement for playing games, whenever you want to play games sit and do your Mathematics exercises. You might be a bit reluctant at first, but over time it will become a habit, probably a better one Gaining an insight and a new perspective to add to your understanding of a book is always interesting and exciting. This was the opportunity given to a group of 120 Year 11 and 12 AIC students on Thursday 13 May through attending Auckland s Writers & Readers Festival. This annual festival invites a number of renowned authors and writers to New Zealand to talk about their writing and share fascinating opinions on wellknown stories. Our students attended four sessions over the day. The first speaker, John Carey, emeritus Merton Professor of English at Oxford University, gave the audience a fresh new view on the novel Lord of the Flies written by William Golding. Carey has studied the life of Golding in depth through the Golding family archives, Golding s unpublished writings and interviews with those who knew him. Carey offered the audience many new ideas on the novel: for instance, the actual Lord of the Flies written by Golding was edited and many religious references in it were deleted. Golding was a very superstitious and fearful man owing to his childhood and experiences in World War II and this motivated his detailed descriptions of the fear in the boys in the novel. This session was of particular benefit to the 12A2 class who are studying the novel for IB. Dave Armstrong, a successful New Zealand playwright and television scriptwriter, gave the audience interesting reflections on his life and his thoughts on writing. He emphasized that passion and AIC goes to the Writers and Readers Festival Bosco Feng and Phillip Zhang share their experience creativity are the most important factors for a writer. Through his series of vivid descriptions of life as an underachiever in school, a Mathematics teacher and a writer, the audience was able to enjoy the lecture. The third presenter, Leon Davidson, author of Zero Hour, based his stories on actual war experiences of several people. I hope we all figure out ways to use our time more usefully. Put some thought and effort into it and turn next year into a blast!!! :) Nguyen Thanh Thanh Phan He said that his goal was to enable every reader to experience the true horrors of war, to be aware that it is not glorious but an experience in which a vast amount of time may be spent in the trenches, every minute in fear of an enemy attack. He also made us aware of the confusion of the experience, and death. This session was very interactive with many questions posed. The final session with Anne Salmond and Thomas Kennelly was one of the most memorable lectures, combining wit with discomforting facts. It acknowledged the uncomfortable truth of the brutality of Australians to the Aborigines when they first settled and broadened into a commentary on the unfair treatment of indigenous people by colonizers and extolled the importance of culture, particularly that of indigenous people, in a modern community. All of this was conveyed quite starkly yet balanced with humour, with Kennelly starting off by labelling himself an old fart which greatly appealed to the audience. The experience was an ingenious performance by the two writers. Overall, the experience was not only informative and insightful but was also humorous and interesting. The authors and writers were professional and managed to answer each question with decisive clarity, which made the day enjoyable and worthwhile. Bosco Feng and Phillip Zhang AIC EDITORIAL CLUB MOSAIC ISSUE 3 PAGE 3

3 PAGE 4 ISSUE 3 MOSAIC AIC EDITORIAL CLUB There is no doubt the heart is one of the most important organs in our body. Everybody knows that it pumps the blood around the body in order to provide oxygen to each organ and on the other way around, it takes waste products such as carbon dioxide from those organs and transfers them back to the lungs where it is exhaled. Most people think they know all about the heart: its structure, its function but have they wondered how a small organ like the heart which is a size of a fist works restlessly through our entire life? That s magical. There is lots of interesting information about the heart that is not mentioned in text books so far. Let s look at some. When someone asks you to count the heart beat, most people would place their Heart Our magical organ hand on their left chest. Is it true that our heart located on the left? The answer is no. In fact, the heart is in the center of your chest, between the lungs. The problem is, the bottom of the heart is tipped to the left and taps slightly on the left chest. Therefore, it is easier for you to feel it on the left instead of in the center. Have you ever wondered how much force your heart uses when it pumps blood around the body? Well, imagine you are holding a tennis ball and trying as hard as you can to squeeze it. That s about the same force the heart uses every time you hear Lub-dub, Lub-dub It is amazing to know how a small organ like the heart can exert such a force. If you imagine how much it has to work for your entire life without resting, you would be astonished. Without the heart, we wouldn t be able to live because our cells wouldn t work properly without oxygen. Everyone knows how important it is, but most don t worry much about it because they think that the heart is very strong and therefore there nothing serious can affect it. If you look at how many people die each year because of diseases involving the heart, you would be surprised. Thousands! So how can we keep our heart as good as it can be? Of course we have to have a good diet with no cholesterol which Becoming a Global Issue Becoming a global issue, AIDS can be said to be the most fearful epidemic disease in the world. Millions of people in the world are victims of AIDS. Unfortunately, part of that huge number is children. According to the UNAIDS, at the end of 2008, there were 2.1 million children living with HIV around the world. It is so unfair that innocent children who have not even had the ability to differentiate between black and white in the world have a terminal illness and endure isolation. They have not ever committed a crime which deserves to be punished. They are just the consequence of their parents who contracted HIV. Those children look like all the other children in the world. They still have hopes, dreams and happiness. Whenever we see them chasing each other on the play ground, we are reminded of our own childhood. So why are they treated differently from their peers? Why are they abandoned by their parents, by their families? Why are they left without any promise for the future? They are just blameless souls that have the misfortune to carry the invisible disease which the whole society seems desperate to eliminate. Since they are the products of their previous generation and since they are also children, our mission is to love, to protect and to encourage them to keep their paths alive and keep their fire of passion flaring. HIV cannot spread through hugging so let society gives them a hug, a shoulder to lean on. A little support can make a difference. They can still become a creative and confident generation in the world. Tuong Pho Bui can block our blood vessels. Of course we have to take exercise to force it to work more, which makes it more powerful. The best thing, however, that not many people really know is that with a good laugh you can actually make your heart stronger and healthier. Scientists have found that a burst of laughter can makes the blood vessel walls (called endothelium) relax. That means that the blood flow speed will increase and more blood will be pumped around for up to 45 minutes after the laugh. That s amazing. Of course, there is a lot of interesting information about the heart that we don t know yet. But from what we have found out, we can see how an amazing organ the size of a fist can work and influence our body. Therefore, in order to make it as powerful as it can, take exercises everyday and have a good diet and, especially, laugh. Harry Tuan Hung Do Fun Facts 1. If you hold out your hands and make a fist, you will know your heart size. If you are a kid, then it is as large as a fist. If you are an adult, then it is twice as large as your fist. 2. Your system of blood vessels (arteries, veins and capillaries) is km long. That is long enough to travel around the world twice. 3. Blood takes about 20 seconds to make a full cycle of your circulatory system. 4. Capillaries are so small that it takes ten of them to equal the thickness of a human hair. Have you ever seen a wild Kiwi? The word kiwi can mean 3 things: PEOPLE in New Zealand, a KIWIFRUIT, and a BIRD. Here, I am going to talk about kiwi as a bird. Kiwi birds, New Zealand s native birds are in danger of extinction and very difficult to see in the wild. If you go to the Kiwi reserve, however, you can see kiwi up close. BNZ Save the Kiwi Trust supports kiwi conservation through the funding and promotion of conservation efforts. Recently their mission was to move eight brownspotted kiwi birds from one of the kiwi sanctuaries and release them on Motuihe Island so that kiwis can breed there. My friend and I went on this trip in the hope of seeing kiwis up close. We took a ferry from Auckland to the island early in the morning. After about 30 minutes, we arrived. We started our walk to the site where the kiwis were going to be released. When we arrived, some Trust members talked about the kiwi and then shared their experiences of trying to capture them in the kiwi sanctuaries. Other members took the kiwis one by one out of their boxes and showed them to us. The birds were actually bigger than I had expected. The Trust members said kiwis have their nostrils at the end of their beaks and, because I thought that this would be my first and last chance to see wild kiwi, I took photos of them. I wanted to touch them as well, but we were allowed only to look at them. I believe this reserve offers visitors a great opportunity to see New Zealand s native kiwis. You can also stay on the island and enjoy swimming and tramping. Support the kiwi conservation effort: plan a visit to Motuihe Island. Soye Cho 日本での漫画ブーム 今日本には百種類をも超える様々な漫画がある 男性も女性も子供から大人までみんな漫画を読むのを楽しんでいる 多くの男の子がアクションの漫画を好み 女の子が恋愛漫画を楽しみ すべての漫画が愛されているが その中でも特に皆に注目されているタイトルがいくつかある 昨年行われた大手ゲーム会社 JUMP の漫画人気度調査によると 日本で一番愛されている作品は宝を求めて世界を渡り歩く海賊たちの生きざまを描いた one piece で 37% の票を獲得した 続く二番には忍者の物語である NARUTO が選ばれ 32% の票を獲得している ブリーチ 名探偵コナン テニスの王子様などの新しい漫画だけでなくこち亀の名で知られるこちら亀有公園前派出所などもランキングの中に含まれていた なぜ日本の人々は漫画を読むのが好きなのだろうか 新聞や教科書のまじめな文章を読むのが面倒くさいからか? いや 違う それは日本のアニメが素晴らしいからだ これは勉強から逃げるために行われる行為ではない 漫画の面白さが人々の心をつかまえるのだ 最近では海外の書店でも日本の漫画を見かけるようになった 英語やその他のさまざまな言語に翻訳され始めたのだ オークランド市内では クイーンストリートの BORDERS の地下フロアでナルトなどを買うことができるようだ もしあなたが日本の漫画を一度も読んだことがないのならば ぜひ一度書店に行って一冊手に取ってみることをお勧めする 一冊を読み終わるまでの 30 分間その場からあしが動かなくなることはまず間違いないだろう 中本崇弘 Comics boom in Japan Now in Japan there are over 100 kinds of comics. They are popular among people of all the ages (especially teenagers). Both men and women enjoy reading comics. Boys love reading action and adventure comics which contain violence and killing, women love reading romance comics. All people have their favorite one but there are some really popular comics which are loved by many people, women and men, adults and children. For example, according to the statistics from the comic company JUMP, the most popular comic was One Piece, a story of pirates who travel around the world to find a treasure called one piece. This comic scored 37% on the popularity poll. It is followed by NARUTO (32%) which is the story of the ninja, the ancient warriors in Japan. Other comics such as Bleach, Detective Conan, and Price of Tennis also had their names on the list. Why do people in Japan love to read comics? Is it because they are too lazy to open text books and study? NO!! It is because the comics in Japan are interesting, exciting and amazing. Japanese comics are so good that some of them are translated into other languages. You can find some NARUTO books at the BORDERS in Queen Street, for example. All the comics are really interesting and if you have not read any before you should go to the bookstore and read one of the Japanese comics. You will love it. Takahiro Nakamoto AIC EDITORIAL CLUB MOSAIC ISSUE 3 PAGE 5

4 PAGE 6 ISSUE 3 MOSAIC AIC EDITORIAL CLUB タイタニック号沈没の真相 1912 年 海難史上最大の事故が発生した 超豪華客船 乗客 人をのせたタイタニック号が処女航海一日目にして跡形もなく姿をけしてしまう この海難事故は一般的には 船の氷山衝突によって起こったといわれているが 真実は実際 いまだに謎に包まれているのである 真相は様々な研究者や科学者によって数多く予測されているが そのなかでも 私が個人的に最も興味深く 納得のいくと思える一説を紹介しよう それは 史上最大の海難事故が実は史上最大の保険金詐欺だったということである 当時 タイタニック号に瓜二つの姉妹船であるオリンピック号何度も事故をおこし 修復はしたものの当時の造船技術では耐久性能は格段に下がってしまい 使い物にならないほどの破損を受けていたため 完成からほんの数カ月で すでに保険も受けられない無保険状態になっていた ホワイトスター社は オリンピック号の事故の賠償責任も問われる一方 船の建造費用の回収さえメドがつかず 経営不振に陥っていた そこで 窮地に立たされたホワイトスター社が外観がそっくり同じタイタニック号とオリンピック号をすり替え タイタニック号 ( 実はオリンピック号 ) を氷山に正面衝突させ タイタニック号にかけられた多額の保険金を受けるために計画的に沈めた これが恐るべき真実の全貌である 保険金詐欺というのは 非常に大胆な推測で まるで現実感がないように思えるが 写真を比べてもわかるように この 2 隻ならば船名の塗装部分を変えるだけで容易にすり替えが可能だったはずである また これを立証する証拠は十分にあり 実際 完成当時のタイタニック号の写真と 処女航海に出発した時の写真を見比べると 窓の数が違っているのが確認されている さらに 事故後の査問会においても 造船所側 設計者 上院をはじめとした証言者の言動には買収の疑惑がささやかれるほど不自然な点が多くあるという たとえば船の中から双眼鏡がひとつ残らず消されていたこと 船長が再三の氷山接近警告を無視したこと ホワイトスター社社長がよりにも寄ってアルコール中毒であることが噂されていたスミス船長をタイタニック号の船長にしたこと などなど そして 実際にホワイトスター社がこのタイタニックごうの事故で受け取った多額の保険金のおかげで経営不振を乗り切ったことは事実である もちろん これが真実だとは断言できないが もし これらが真実なら タイタニック号沈没の悲劇は 保険金詐欺をもくろんだ末に引き起こされた無差別大量殺人である タイタニック号は 2004 年に定められた タイタニック保護条約 により 以来捜索されることを禁止されたが ぜひ研究者たちに全力で調査に取り組みいつか真実を見つけ出してほしい 小濱弘己 The Possible, True Story of the Titanic In 1912, there was a big tragedy: A huge, extravagant ship with 2224 people, the Titanic, almost instantly disappeared without leaving any trace. Generally, it is believed that the reason was that she crashed into a big iceberg. There are, however, also some researchers and scientists who believe different reasons. This biggest shipwreck is still wrapped in a mystery and there are a lot of different reasons that many different people believe. What I want to introduce to you here is the most interesting and surprising reason that has been ever suggested, and also what I personally think is the most convincing conjecture ever, one which is based on a lot of evidence at that time. The new conjecture reveals that the Titanic was actually sunk deliberately for insurance fraud. It was revealed that, at that time, there was a sister ship of the Titanic called Olympic which was fairly similar to the Titanic in terms of her appearance, ornaments inside and so on (see the pictures). Also, the Olympic was uninsured because of its repeating accidents in which she had been seriously damaged. As a result of this, the White Star company (which built both the Titanic and the Olympic) was in a big business slump for they were responsible for making repairs to the damaged Olympic. What they came up with was intentionally to sink the Olympic disguised as the Titanic so that they could get a lot of money from the Titanic s insurance. They switched ships. This is an overview of their horrible machinations. If we say that the reason the Titanic was wrecked is insurance fraud, it may seem unrealistic. However, as you can see from the pictures, the Olympic and the Titanic were almost indistinguishable because they look almost exactly the same, so it might have been easy to change the Olympic into the Titanic for that final trip. As proof, in the comparison between them on the day the Titanic left on her maiden voyage, it can be seen that the number of windows on the side of the ship is different in each picture. Also, there are heaps of contradictions and strange facts that lead us to suspect that the White Star even may have bribed all the crewmen on the Titanic: the sudden disappearance of the binoculars, a captain who ignored every warning of an iceberg, the watch, and so on. And, actually, it is also a fact that the White Star finally rebuilt their business that was in a slump using the insurance money they got from the Titanic wreck. Of course, I cannot completely affirm this is the truth, but if this is true, the world s biggest ship wreck was actually the world s biggest single massacre and all because of an insurance fraud Since 2004 when the treaty of protection to the wreck of the Titanic was made, researching the Titanic underwater has been prohibited. However, I strongly hope that researchers find out the truth some day. Hiroki Kohama Someone once commented on this book: This book may not be very popular, but it will definitely be long-lasting. We may not read it when we buy it, but we will need to read it some time in our life. Around Two thousand years ago, a person wrote it. After two thousand years, there will still be people reading it. Reading Marcus Aurelius s biography, we see that what is amazing about him is that he may be the one of the few in history who was both a successful emperor and a knowledgeable philosopher. This book can undoubtedly be considered valuable. From it we learn about the thoughts of Aurelius as well as life lessons. Aurelius reflects on himself and on his past. At the very start of the book, he comments on all the people, for example his father, mother and tutor, who helped him to develop those qualities that he treasures. On his father he writes: From my father, Book Review: The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius Eminem s Comeback Runs Dry The white rapper who speaks black, was the identity Eminem discovered, embodied and manipulated on his journey to wild fame. In his time, he was the epitome of unique, the white Obama of music; symbolising mobility between two races for one purpose - rap world domination. His vulgar style, shameless remarks and truthful insights served to elevate his popularity and, to some extent, his respect in the rap community. He was the Moses who led a generation through the sea of anarchy and problems during that era, giving hope and support to the isolated, underprivileged minority through rap. Rap is a religion: to non-believers it is a violation of the verbal capacity of a human beings but to its adherents rap is a powerful expression of their hard lives. Eminem, to them, was rap god. Despite his fruitful career and blinding limelight, he managed to slip behind the curtains of time, clearing the path for common amateurs. Eminem s comeback, though much anticipated, was cordoned by a phalanx of critics which led to mixed reviews about his new single. And it was clear - his comeback was futile. Why? Because of time. Eminem didn t change, he was still the same bad ass; but time changed, music changed and we changed. A new world was born, populated by a new generation of problems, fashion and genres. What had been overcome before had been forgotten, lost in the tides of history. The King of Rap will nevertheless be the greatest but his reign has ended, his fight has ceased and time keeps on ticking, stopping for no one, not even kings. Kirsten Carlaw mildness, and an unshakable adherence to decisions deliberately come to; and no empty vanity in respect to socalled honours; and a love of work and thoroughness We also see his wish to live an austere and calm life with no desire. Aurelius writes about his respect for qualities that we still aspire to today: modesty, determination, courage and generosity. It is through reading this book that we gain maturity, build our minds, learn to respect both others and ourselves and, more importantly, have the right attitude towards life. Sometimes even reading one sentence in the book helps us reflect on the things that we take for granted in our everyday life. We realize that behind those ordinary things, there is always logic and thought, often where we don t notice it. Phillip Zhang To reach a port, we must sail Sail, not tie at anchor Sail, not drift. -Franklin Roosevelt Although this quotation uses jargon related to sailing, it is clearly a reference to life and the ways in which we must approach it. Roosevelt, one of the most successful people of all time, expresses the idea that to achieve or accomplish something we must set ourselves goals and ensure that we are actually travelling towards that path. If we drift and allow ourselves to be side-tracked, we will never actually reach that path. By tying at anchor and keeping ourselves stationery, we are also not achieving anything because we are just allowing things to be as they are and not actually getting anywhere. In order to reach that port or goal we must understand exactly where it is, exactly how to get there and then actually do the hard work which is required to steer ourselves in the right direction and not just in any direction. Everyone has goals, dreams and ambitions but those that actually reach them are the ones that have taken control and steered themselves in the right direction towards success. Arun Chockalingam Shanmuganathan AIC EDITORIAL CLUB MOSAIC ISSUE 3 PAGE 7

5 PAGE 8 ISSUE 3 MOSAIC AIC EDITORIAL CLUB 2010 World Cup Down 1. Who was the top goal scorer of 2006 World Cup? 3. Who won their first world cup in 1966? 4. Who is the current captain of the NZ soccer team? 5. Who is the head coach of Argentina? 7. How many countries qualify to the group stages? 8. Who won the first ever world cup in 1930? Across 2. Who is the current FIFA player of the year? 6. Which team is currently ranked number 4 in the FIFA world ranking? 9. Where is the 2014 World Cup going to be held? 10. Which country is the current World Cup champion? Arun Chockalingam Shanmuganathan Sudoku by Minh Duc Phan and Hoai Phuoc Truong Solutions to Last Issue s Puzzles Crossword: Mathematicians Sudoku Miss Ormandy Minh Duc Phan and Hoai Phuoc Truong

6 AIC EDITORIAL CLUB mosaic Welcome Year 11s My name is Kate Dutton and I am very happy to be your Dean. I have been teaching since 1992 and have taught in London, Qatar and New Zealand. AIC is a wonderful school! The students are friendly and motivated, and the staff are approachable and knowledgeable. You have a year of new experiences ahead - the Research Project, Year 11 Camp, International Day and the Talent Show to name but a few. My advice is to make the most of the opportunities available to you at AIC, get involved, try new things and aim high! THIRD ISSUE INSERT This insert in this issue of Mosaic has been put together by last year s Year 11 students from Ms M Ormandy s class. We hope it will help you settle into AIC quickly and happily, and that you will make lifelong friends and achieve some of your dreams here, and prepare yourself for your life-journey. Some Basic Rules Never Always - Arrive at school on time - Wear your uniform properly (top button closed) - Bring all textbooks to class - Speak only English - Greet others with a smile - Eat only in classrooms or in the cafeteria - Ask questions if you do not understand something in class because teachers are friendly - Talk to your Dean if you have any problems - Bully others - Slote (speak languages other than English) - Eat in the corridors or while walking. - Use your phone in class - Chew gum - Wear make-up - Dye your hair - Mix up your formal and informal uniforms - Smoke, drink alcohol or use drugs The Reception The reception office is on the ground floor on the right-hand side. The receptionist is Ms Alex Mak and she is very friendly and helpful. She is the person you need to talk: - if you feel unwell - she will make sure you are looked after - if you need to lie down - she will show you the room to go to - if you lose anything - she will help you find it - if you are late to school or have an appointment - she will enter your details - if you are late to class (after interval or lunch) - she ll give you a note - if you need information on fees, uniform or anything else AIC is your Pathway to the World AIC will prepare and lead you through the challenges waiting for you, and your hard work will be repaid. It will broaden your outlook on the world and introduce you to people of different cultures. In the school there are two university counsellors, one for the UK and one for the USA and Canada, and every year we have students who go to top universities. Credo If I am not for myself, who is for me? If I care only for myself, who am I? Our personal goals Cultural diversity - accept others differences Difficult does not mean impossible Actions are more important than words Learn from our mistakes Set a good example Look for ways to help each other without being asked Be friendly and kind; see the best in others The Library The Library is the kingdom of Mr Mills. You can see him in the picture on the right, welcoming you with wide open arms and a big smile. He is always cheerful, friendly and humorous. He is very helpful and it is always a pleasure to talk to him. You can borrow as may books as you need. There are many books that are helpful to your study, and many books that are funny and interesting. The library also has desks and computers you can use if you need them. BUT you need to remember that Mr Mills loves his books and his library, so there are some rules to remember: - look after the books: don t tear or break them, or lose them - never eat or drink in the library because you are likely to hear a loud voice shouting OUT! - you need your ID card to check out books - you must check your book out with a librarian or Mr Mills - do not walk out without doing this becausue the alarm will ring and Mr Mills will lose his smile - be quiet, polite and studious

7 The Boarding System Our boarding system has two parts. One is AIC Tower where some Year 11 girls and all the boys live; the other part is the Loft at the top of the school where girls in Years 12, 13 and 11 live. Boarders get good care from our superviors 24/7. The Tower is an inclusive area so you need to use the inclusive language - English. It has 10 floors - from LG to Floor 8. LG is the common room and music room (where you can practise). G is where you have meals and can go online. Floor 2 is for girls only and the other floors are for the boys only. We ususally wake up around 7.30am but you can wake up earlier or later if you want to. But you have to remember that you have to leave the Tower by 8.00am except on weekends. You need only about 5 minutes to walk to school. For all our meals we are provided with fresh, nutritious vegetables, meat and fruit. Lunch is provided every day except for Monday and Friday: on these days we have to make our own lunch in the morning so if you wake up late you might miss both lunch and breakfast. Being in boarding is safe because there are name checks before every meal and room checks every night. If you leave the Tower or Loft you have to sign out. As a boarder you need to clean your own room and change your sheets every week. We wash and iron our own clothes, but our sheets are washed for us by a laundry. We have study time every night from 7.30pm to 10.00pm except for Friday and Saturday. (There is study time on Sunday night.) The best way to make the best of your time here is to be open to making good friends from all nationalities, and being friendly to everyone. The School Day The first lesson starts at 8.30am. Before that you can go to the library (but don t let Mr Mills see you eating, drinking or sitting on the tables). You have eight lessons a day. There are three lessons before morning interval. Then you have two lessons followed by quite a long lunch of about one hour. Then there are three more lessons and then you are free! As soon as you go back to the Tower you can do what you like - you can play computer games, practise music or go to your room. Remember that you have a Tower Meeting every Monday - this is when you will hear about duties like helping in the kitchen or serving dinner. At 7.30pm you have to go down to the ground floor for study time. This time is for study only: no gaming or watching movies. Eating Comments by AIC students Teachers are strict on the work but they are responsible and nice. Bill Zhang (Yr 13) There are lots of different programmes for students. Rui Ding (Yr 12) The teachers know everyone. Everyone knows everyone... You learn about different backgrounds from different students. Jiawen Choo (Year 12) Next to the school there is Mr Bon s restaurant which has been loved by our students for a long time. This is where students can buy ice-cream and coffee. In the morning, after three classes, during the interval many students relax in this restaurant. If you want to spend your lunch time doing something different, you could have lunch here. This is a good place for meeting and making friends because students from different countries meet here to talk and laugh together. In the school s cafeteria there is a vending machine where you can buy delicious candy, chips and drinks. Other places you should try are: - Value Market: this is close to AIC and is cheap because students get a 10% discount - Bien (down the hill on Mayoral Drive) where you can get quick and excellent quality sushi, Udon, Donburi. Their cooked food is fabulous. Our vending machine This is MOSAIC - a monthly magazine written by students for students and we would like to welcome all new Year 11 students to join us. We publish a wide range of writing and artwork. It was started by us in Year 11 last year and we need this year s Year 11s to make it even better. The goal of the Editorial Club is to create a multilingual, monthly magazine that covers a broad range of topics that interest readers and cultivate students writing talents. We hope to give a platform to both international students and fluent English speakers in articles that entertain, captivate, persuade and inspire all our readers. Our name for this publication is MOSAIC: it ends in AIC and perfectly fits our vision. A mosaic, a picture or pattern produced by arranging small pieces together. We hope that our magazine will become a big mosaic comprising little pieces from every student and group in this school; a meaningful, central publication that carries colourful bits of news, writing, art and ideas from all of us. The Editorial Club has functioned for two terms and, despite its short existence, has drawn together students from all cultural groups who share a common passion - writing. We very much value the experience and expertise of our Year 12 and Year 13 members and are particularly pleased with the relatively high ratio of Year 11s who write just for the joy of being published (their CAS credits do not begin to until next year). Welcome to the Editorial Club We would like to thank all our contributors: each issue so far has contained a wide range of writing including reviews on music, books and restaurants, articles on the environment and personal issues, and poems, art, mathematics and entertaining puzzles. In each edition at least one article has been written in a language other than English and published alongside its translation. One focus for the future will be to involve more of the international students who make up AIC by publishing a greater number of multilingual articles as well as translating our magazine s name Mosaic - into other languages. Overall, the Editorial Club intends to become a valued companion to all students studying at AIC. We have a growing and widening number of student contributors from New Zealand (AIC) and Japan (AICJ) as well as alumni presently attending top universities in America and the UK. We are determined to become one of AIC s major clubs. If you would like to join us, please talk to one of the Chief Editors (in Year 12) and keep an eye on your s because meetings will be advertised. We look forward to meeting you! Phillip Zhang and Bosco Feng (Chief Editors)