Harrow Hong Kong The Harrovian Issue 8

THE HARROVIAN

Student Newspaper

Issue 8

Leadership for a better world

May 2016

Long Ducker 2016

This year, we are grateful to Friends of Harrow who succeeded in combining elements of the School’s International

by Kalina Milenova (Y11, Ward) Day with Long Ducker. Upon our return to the School, we were enticed by 15 different international food stalls selling delicious food from around the world. Children (and adults) were also invited to take part in a variety of exciting activities: from bubble football, to abseiling from the 6th floor and learning how to jive, there were plenty of thrilling opportunities. The diverse musical entertainment ranging from a saxophone ensemble performance to a glee club concert added to the cheerful atmosphere.

All participants, sponsors and organisers came together to ensure that the Long Ducker was a great success, with over 170,000HKD raised for the charities. Miss Delaney, who organised the event, said the traditional Harrow event “enabled us to come together as a community to raise money for those less fortunate than us” and people, regardless of age

On Saturday 12th March, the Harrow Hong Kong and fitness, can “enjoy a wonderful day on the MacLehose community came together for Long Ducker, an annual trail knowing that they are making a difference.” fundraising event aimed at supporting the School’s nominated charities for 2015-16: The Crossroads Foundation, Feeding Hong Kong, Lifelong Animal Protection, Kids4Kids, Nepal Youth Foundation and Half the Sky Foundation.

This year, 806 people, including teachers, family members and friends attended the event, eager to walk or run the Long or Short Ducker, both scenic routes along the MacLehose trail. We were delighted to be joined by elite athletes Mr Thomas Kiprotich and Ms Baby Marites S. BitBit. Spirits were high as everyone set off, some in fancy dress following the ‘international’ theme. The walk took us along the Tai Lam Chung reservoir, where the rocky forest trail became more challenging. Despite the cloudy weather, we were rewarded by picturesque views of the Tai Lam country park.

“ The challenge of the walk gives us a sense of achievement and encourages us to invite our family and friends to take part in the Long Ducker.” -Emma Bilney (Y11, Ward)

Don’t Duck the Ducker!

by Ho Hui (Y4, Dragon)

A bus collected people from the Gold Coast and dropped them off at Harrow Hong Kong for the Long and Short Ducker. It was a cloudy and rainy morning, but this didn’t dampen people’s enthusiasm. There were a lot of trees along the route, with the majestic Mount Davies overlooking the School. The event was well attended by parents, students, teachers and dogs. Actually, I wanted to bring my pet turtle but Mrs Gower said that you could only bring dogs… Oops!

One new feature of Long Ducker was fancy dress and many students were in different types of funny clothing.

A lovely T-Rex and a magical Harry Potter stood out. By the way, I saw two seven-year-old dogs - that equals 49 years old in human age. They certainly were up to the challenge of the long walk! In the end, it took me one and a half hours to finish the Short Ducker. I was very proud of myself and really happy that I could raise some money to help people in need.

The other focus of this event was to raise money for charity by selling food and drinks from different countries.

People purchased Ducker Dollars and then used them to pay for the food and drinks as well as the games like Bouncy Castle, Sumo and Bubble Football. The food was delicious and the games were fantastic! Everyone had a lot of fun and at the same time we raised a lot of money for charity. I’m so glad I didn’t duck the ducker!

set off on any path we see fit.

Much appreciation goes towards Friends of Harrow.

It was inspiring to see and hear about different personal anecdotes from these professionals as thinking about the future can be terrifying when we are so young. Speaking to these professionals increased our confidence and extended our field of view towards choosing a suitable career path and many other aspects of life outside the school.

To Boldly Go

by Matthew Leslie (Y11, Waterman)

The Careers Fair

by Joelle Chan (Y10, Tutt) and Amelia Lee (Y10, Tutt)

On 2nd March, a group of high profile professionals from various areas of expertise gathered in the Sixth Floor multipurpose room. These people, some of whom were parents of Harrovians, answered our questions regarding their professions, their experiences, and prospective universities.

For us, the fair was a very insightful peek into how our futures could pan out. As Year 10 students, we do not necessarily feel the urgency to choose a career path, and the fair enabled us to talk to professionals without feeling pressured to pursue a certain profession. We spoke to people in finance, and discovered that it is okay to have no idea what you want to do in the future, because many careers can help you start off and gain that much needed work experience. With an open mindset and a desire to have a range of experiences, one could work not only in finance, but in many other careers that appeal to you. Most postgraduates have more than one job during their careers and it is not uncommon for people in this generation to pursue more than one career path.

We met an educator who spoke to us about teaching others, making a difference in their lives, and setting up a successful teaching business. She told us that once you set up an established school or learning centre, the next step is to have a business mindset and run the centre well. Therefore, it is important to have a business background or to have learnt about business. She stressed that a wide range of skills and a degree would be very useful throughout our careers. However, she also emphasised that we should not put too much pressure on ourselves, and that we should just believe in ourselves and

Like most Mini Enterprise ideas, it seemed near impossible to begin with. A Formal evening for Years 9 to 11 right off the back of a week of mock examinations? Planning would have to be immense, and the marketing push even more so. Would people turn up? We doubted whether we were even capable of organising an event on this scale. The Formal had uncertain beginnings, but we stuck with the idea because, well, that’s the entrepreneurial spirit.

After a term of pitching presentations, organising logistics, and establishing a plan of action, it seemed as if we were finally ready to unveil the prospect of a charitable Formal to the Harrow Hong Kong community. A five minute window in Assembly was all we needed, ­a slick presentation to grab people’s attention and to create hype for the event. It felt as if we had finally set the Formal ball rolling.

But were people electrified at the possibility? To begin with, not really. When asking students whether they would be attending, the usual excuses arose: “it’s too expensive”, “I’m busy on Friday”, “no one’s going”. The question I got asked most frequently was “but what do you actually do in a Formal?” For a while, it seemed as if my answer: “you eat and socialise”, even deterred some from going. About halfway through the term, we checked in with House Masters and House Mistresses to see just how many people had signed up - a grand total of eight!

The Mini Enterprise team regrouped at this point: how were we going to make Years 9 to 11 students say yes to attending a Formal? We offered to accept cash payments instead of cheques, and sold tickets at lunchtimes in the Temple. We urged people to take the initiative: by signing u­ p to the event; more people would follow. We hoped to address the most prominent obstacles that were discouraging people from going, which, as it happened, seemed to have worked.

Miraculously, student sign­up had a snowball effect: within the space of days, friends signed up, and friends of friends signed up, until eventually, the week before the Formal, we had 70 people attending the first Harrow Formal.

I think everyone can agree that the event was a great success. The design and lighting of the 5th Floor Multi­purpose Room was remarkable, and the Mini Enterprise team was very grateful to Mr Wingate for providing music for the evening. But in the end, it came down to those that attended, who, as it turned out, could ‘eat and socialise’ very well. The atmosphere was great, and we hope that all students enjoyed the event as well.

For me, what has been most interesting is how the profile of the Formal changed from the start to the finish. It required the entire Mini Enterprise team to commit to the idea in the first place, to organise and plan for possibilities that one can never always predict. It shows that while people may

have been reluctant to attend at first, it only took initiative from some students for the Formal to quickly become a well­attended event. After all, an event is only as good as its participants, and I am more than confident that the Formal will only be bigger and better next year.

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Humans of Harrow Hong Kong

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A photographic census of the Harrow community, one story at a time. Inspired by Humans of New York.

by Sophie Yau (Y13, Tutt)

“Keep calm, I’m a nurse.”

Mozart’s Requiem

by Zeli Wang (Year 11, Nightingale)

The Spring Term Concert was held on 4th March, 2016 at St. John’s Cathedral. It was the first of its kind in several respects, with the Choir involving students, parents and staff (the Choral Society); the concert was performed outside the School and was open to the public of Hong Kong.

The classical music celebration opened with a lively arrangement by Mr Penfold of the Anvil Chorus from Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Il Trovatore. The chorus narrated the Gypsy workers striking their anvils at daybreak and praised aspects of life such as diligence and Gypsy women. Next was the elegant first movement from Schubert’s Symphony No. 5 directed by Mr Thomas. The principals, led by Katrina Tse (Y9, Smith), did well to make the Senior School Orchestra work cohesively with Mr Thomas and Mr Penfold. Malcolm Arnold’s Little Suite No. 2, also directed by Mr Thomas, came shortly afterwards. The Suite comprised three movements: the brassy Overture, the calmer Ballad, and the light­hearted Dance. To perform such a complex composition by the prolific English composer to a high standard, the Orchestra rehearsed extensively, during which it split up into sections (strings, woodwind, brass, and percussion) to practise and refine their parts in sectional rehearsals. All sections then came together to make the orchestra sound as one in full rehearsals.

After a short interval came the much­ -anticipated Mozart Requiem. The Requiem was largely unfinished due to Mozart’s untimely death, and the version performed was the completion by Mozart’s pupil Franz Süssmayr. The Introit was a calm prayer for the dead and the Kyrie was a double fugue using the Greek text.

The Sequentia (including six movements) is based on extracts of the Latin hymn Dies Irae, describing the wrath, punishment, and pleas for mercy on Judgment Day. The lyrical Domine Jesu then precedes the ponderous Hostias and the grand chorus­-like Sanctus. The airy and serene Benedictus was then followed by the solemn prayer to the Lamb of God (Agnus Dei). Finally, Lux Aeterna completes a circle with a repeat of the opening movement. The Senior Choir and the Choral Society put great effort into preparing, with rehearsals and sectionals, ever since the beginning of the Autumn Term. The result was an 80­strong Choir, working with four accomplished soloists, accompanied by a professional orchestra led by Ricardo Zwietisch, conducted by Mr Thomas. Impressively, Alexa Fung (Y11, Smith) and Christy

Cheng (Y11, Ward) played their cello and violin among the professionals and performed the challenging accompaniment at short notice.

The musicians handled the demanding work as a team, and their performance under pressure in an unfamiliar environment was clear for all to see (and hear).

“Kyrie Eleison, Christe Eleison, Kyrie Eleison.”

Harrolympics

by Nia Milenova (Year 13, Ward)

On Wednesday 9th March, Harrow Hong Kong’s Prefect team hosted the first ever Harrolympics, in which students from Years 8-­13 participated in a variety of sports ranging from Tug of War, Dodgeball, Capture the Flag and a three-­legged race. Behind the scenes, frantic Prefects were organizing the assortment of activities, working to coordinate all of the students in their teams efficiently.

Nevertheless, as the games commenced, the chatter and chants of students demonstrated the vivacious spirit of the event, both on the field and from supporters on the sidelines.

With the aim of integrating and introducing Year 8 students into the Senior School, the oldest Prep School students were allocated a Senior House to represent. Indeed, Year 8 students were quick to take ownership of their role in their allocated Senior Houses to become valuable and dedicated team members.

Whilst enthusiasm and participation levels were high amongst all the Houses, Smith and Cale came through as the 2016 Harrolympics victors. Judging by the success of the event, students like myself are keen for the continuation of such entertaining school­wide competitions.

The World Scholar’s Cup

by Madeleine Duperouzel (Year 13, Ward)

On the 5th and 6th of March, twelve students from Harrow Hong Kong participated in the World Scholar’s Cup at Po Leung Kuk Choi Kai Yau School. This thrilling and challenging event is designed to test students’ knowledge in six different areas – Science, History, Social Studies, Arts and Literature, Music, and a “Special Area” which this year was themed around “Crime and Justice”. This all relates back to one key theme that encompasses the others – “An Imperfect World”.

Students were expected to debate, write, and be quizzed about these different areas. The focus was on teamwork, collaboration, and understanding better the links

between different topics, and how we can find solutions to fix our “imperfect” world. Overall each team from Harrow Hong Kong scored extremely well, all qualifying for the ‘global rounds’ held this year in Bangkok and Prague. Due to unfortunate timing, the teams will most likely be unable to attend. However, the knowledge that we had qualified was highly rewarding and made us appreciate our own talents and skills. There were some particular highlights in the Scholar’s bowl (a team quiz) where one of the teams scored over 20,000 points. We also scored particularly well in the writing and debates, with a team from the School placed third overall in both categories. Our ability to work together cohesively and bounce ideas off of one another was a key reflection of the School’s leadership attributes, and I fully believe these helped ensure our successes on the day.

I was lucky enough to be asked to participate in the final debate, which showcased the best debaters, posing the question: “Is Hong Kong becoming more imperfect?” Being on the affirmative side for this question was difficult, as Hong Kong is one of the world’s most advanced and successful cities. However, I soon found that working with people I had never met on this topic wasn’t as hard as I had thought, and we were able to bring together different aspects of our knowledge to create a thorough and coherent argument that expressed how and why Hong Kong is becoming more imperfect, and even some of the things we can do to fix this.

Overall, it was a fantastic, fun, and very challenging two days, where we learnt a lot about not only the world around us but ourselves as well. A huge thank you to Agnes Fung (Y13, Smith) who organised the teams and spent hours training and preparing the rest of us for our topics. Her enthusiasm and zeal for the event did not go unappreciated.

Well done to everyone for such whole­hearted participation!

Keep Calm

by Serena Kwan (Year 10, Tutt)

One of the most important issues affecting our education today is stress. Students have to deal with more incoming information than ever before, especially with the ubiquitous smartphones and computers, now considered a necessity in our lives. With many students facing examinations this term, it is important that we learn how to manage stress levels well.

We now see different ways of life globally and we have countless amount of resources available at our fingertips and at the push of a button. Arguably, our complex modern society has greatly increased the amount of stress students are

exposed to, with more pressure to achieve and more pressure from the media to look and act a certain way.

By no means am I implying that we should be cutting down our exposure to new knowledge and information. On the contrary, I believe that we should learn how to minimise stressful situations as it can disrupt our learning and memory development.

Earlier this year, a monk named Tan Dhammavidu visited the School. He is an English monk who for 20 years has given the Meditation and Dhamma instruction at the Suan Mokkh International Centre in Southern Thailand. We had a very interesting and relaxing meditation session with him; some students described it as “life changing” and “eye opening.”

Most forms of meditation centre on the concept of mindfulness, which makes you aware of your moment to moment experiences, noticing and accepting your thoughts, feelings and emotions. This kind of meditation can be used in school to make students and teachers aware of how their daily experiences of school life are affecting their state of mind and hopefully, to calm their reactions and thoughts throughout the rest of the school day.

Anyone can practise meditation as it is simple and inexpensive. If stress has made you worried and anxious, why don’t you spend a few minutes out of your busy schedule in mediation? You can use the information available at your fingertips on your smartphone or computer to find out more about it and help decrease your stress. Try it - it might help restore your calm and inner peace in this information-drenched world.

Sports News Boys’ U20 Football

by Oliver Otten (Y10, Lloyd)

This half term the U20 football teams have so far been successful in two competitions, the cup and the league.

The teams have been developing steadily, and are starting to play together as a unit.

On the 1st March, the U20 B team played the quarter final of the interschool plate competition where we beat the International Christian School in a thrilling 2-1 victory.

During the game, we started to press the ball as a unit and look for easy options to keep possession of the ball. This led to a through ball by Harwood Lee (Y10, Lloyd) that was chased and finished nicely by Carson Ching (Y13, Nightingale). The opposition then scored and won a penalty, which was well saved by Harry Ledger. In the last five minutes of the game, we sent the ball into the opposition’s third, when Oliver Otten (Y10, Lloyd) delivered the victory with a curved chip over the goalkeeper. All in all, we deserved this close win due to the efforts of all players.

The U20 A team played their first league match against Kellett on the 10th March, where we were again victorious.

In the first half, the team scored a total of three goals. The first was scored by Oliver Duffy (Y12, Lloyd) following a great through ball by Blake Tankersley (Y10, Nightingale) and a good finishing strike. The second goal was scored from a deflected shot by Simon Klaus (Y10, Nightingale), which went into the goal the opposite side of the goalkeeper’s dive.

Our last goal of the half was a hard powerful shot into the back of the net by Blake Tankersley (Y10 Nightingale). In

the second half, we conceded two goals, resulting in Mr. Thompson calling it ‘a game of two halves’.

Boys’ U16 Rugby

by Archer Lam (Y10, Cale), James Wright (Y10, Cale), Johnathan Ip (Y10, Lloyd), and Matthew Leslie (Y11, Waterman)

On Thursday 25th February Harrow Hong Kong played Kellett at home. After an intense hard hitting first half the score stood at 19-5 in Harrow Hong Kong’s favour, but the team wanted to make the margin safer in the second half and not to get complacent. After an inspirational half time talk from the U16 coach Mr Hamon, the team went back out onto the pitch to only concede one more try but score four more.

The second half performance really embodied the strength of this developing U16 squad that mainly consist of Y9 and 10 boys which is great to see for next season’s prospects. The overall effort and determination shown by the whole squad in this match by maintaining their structure and staying composed throughout the whole match proved that they can achieve more success this season.

On the evening of 18th February the U16s played West Island School. Harrow Hong Kong won an early penalty within the first minute so kicker William Moore (Y10, Nightingale) had an early opportunity to add the first points.

However, he narrowly missed. Harrow was then put under pressure by West Island. After a few consecutive penalties, the visitors scored a try, which was not converted. The score was 0­-5. Harrow Hong Kong then replied with a try and conversion by William Moore who skipped through their defence with an excellent run. The score was now 7-­5. The middle period of the match was scoreless, but Harrow Hong Kong demonstrated a gritty defence as most of the ball was in West Island hands. However, Raphael Lajeunesse (Y10, Cale) kept Harrow Hong Kong in the match courtesy of his gutsy defence and ability to win the ball back. Unfortunately, in the last five minutes, West Island managed to score a try and snatched the lead back 7­-10. Harrow Hong Kong relentlessly hammered away at a formidable West Island defence, throwing every possible attack at them. The match was in its final moments when Raphael Lajeunesse crashed over the line to seize the win 12-­10 to end this thriller of a match.

The team continued its winning streak, beating several schools in quick succession after half term. These victories seemed to have paid off, because in the first week back after the Easter Holidays, we were through to the semi­finals, playing a familiar foe: West Island School. The match began with aggression and intensity from both sides, neither wanting to allow the other any headway. But within the first 10 minutes, Harrow had inched through with a try from Will Moore. It was a great confidence boost. West Island still fought back with determination, and after several penalties conceded by us, their number 8 managed to bring the score equal. The match continued in a back a­ nd ­forth fashion, each phase seeming to bring both sides closer to victory. After yet another try from West Island in the closing stages of the match, it was fair to say many in the team thought it was over.

However the team kept fighting, slowly picking away at the West Island defence, until an unbelievable turn of events saw Johnny Ip (Y10, Lloyd) score in the corner to bring us to victory and secure our place at the final.

On 22nd April, the U16 bus drew away from the Harrow campus for the last match of the season. The team that had made Harrow Hong Kong history as the first rugby team to make it to a grand final were now headed for King George V School, where we would play their team for the title. The apprehension was palpable.

We arrived in good time for the match, and were raring to go when KGV kicked off at 4:30. The first 10 minutes of the game really tested our defence and ability to keep the KGV offence at bay, particularly on the try line. We communicated well in defence, and managed to make several hard­hitting tackles, but KGV kept good control of the ball, and scored in the corner. Harrow bounced back, making several attempts with offensive play, but unfortunately we were unable to convert the progress we had made up the pitch into points.

A knock-­on here and a penalty there prevented the Harrow Hong Kong try that would have equalised the scoreboard.

Meanwhile, the KGV offense continued, managing to score two more tries in the first half. Half time was a chance to recover and regroup.

The second half began in a similar fashion: Harrow Hong Kong would throw phase after phase at the KGV defence, but to no avail;­the ball would get turned over, and KGV would score again on the counter-attack. In the closing stages of the game, the prospect of victory seemed to slip away. But did the team resign themselves to a 43­-0 loss? As Mr Hamon says, ‘Good teams bend, they don’t break.’ The team continued to play with commitment and determination right up until the final whistle, and were rewarded with a well ­earned try in the final play of the game.

Admittedly, it was disappointing, to have come this far and not come back with some silverware. For many, it was their last game of U16 rugby, and for some, their last match for the School. But to put it into perspective, Harrow Hong Kong has managed to send a rugby team to the championship finals.

This should give Harrow Hong Kong rugby great confidence going forward.

Girls’ U12 Netball

by Henrietta Morris (Y7, Matthews) and Catrina Kean (Y7, Duffner)

On Monday 22nd February, the A team and B teams went to a tournament and played against many other schools in Hong Kong at Wong Chuck Hang.

The B team played four games, each lasting ten minutes. Our first game was played against Renaissance College which we won 13-0. The second game was against

Island school which we won 7–1. Our third game was close.

We were playing against KGV and they were an efficient team, able to use the space well and shoot cleanly. Then the rain hit us heavily, but as a team we pushed through it.

Suddenly, two more fantastic goals from Eloise Beattie (Y6, Keith) and Lara McWilliam (Y6, Matthews) allowed us to win the game 8-5. It was the last game, and we were filled with confidence. We played Nord Anglia School, and the score was 9-0 to us. Having won all our games thus far, the final game was upon us against GSIS and we won 9-0. Our strengths were our passing and communication, but we definitely need to work on defence when it comes to gameplay.

The A team also enjoyed a successful tournament; they won all of their matches. Daisy Ledger (Y7, Keith) and I (Catrina) both scored goals and there was lots of great play between Lily Haik (Y7, Duffner) and Harriet Green (Y7, Duffner). Also Charlie Corr (Y7, Duffner), Keira Overington (Y7, Matthews), Asia Peel (Y7, Matthews), and Lulu Mansfield (Y7, Keith) worked extremely well together as they all defended and made sure that they got the ball back from the other team. The best game was when we won 8-0 as we all worked really well as a team.

On Monday 7th March, the U12 netball girl’s team went to another tournament at Aberdeen Sports Ground.

The weather was great and it was warm and we quickly got stretched and ready for our first match. It was tough and we sadly lost by a few goals. We all powered through it and we connected really well, running into the space and giving great passes. The highlights of the match were the times when we all communicated well and ran into spaces, calling for and intercepting the ball. Finally, after a long, but extremely fun tournament, we got ready to leave, all of us happy as the As won all but one of our matches and the Bs won all five of theirs.

Netball International

by Madeleine Duperouzel (Y13, Ward)

On Wednesday 16th March, a group of Harrow Hong Kong netball players faced their first international game. It was against Thomas More College, a touring South African side from Durban. They had played a few games before us, and had three more to go after us. We played valiantly, with some excellent goals from Serena Kwan (Y10, Tutt) and Divyani Duggal (Y13, Ward). A huge congratulations to both Tanami Penfold (Y9, Smith) and Louise Craven (Y9, Ward)

who were playing up two age groups but held their own against a very competitive and tall team. Both managed to intercept some fantastic passes, as well as using their smaller size to their advantage to claim some hard passes. Our centre court players were highly effective, often managing to get the ball to our goal circle after intercepting the opposing team’s centre pass. All in all, it was a valuable experience, and all of us enjoyed getting to know the other team and playing a netball game that was far more challenging we’ve ever played in Hong Kong.

Year 6 Culture Walk

by Lydia Daly (Year 6, Matthews) and Sammie Zhang (Year 7, Matthews)

On Wednesday 16th March Year 6 students went on a geography culture walk to explore the local culture of Hong Kong. This term, Year 6 students have been learning about the Physical and Human Geography of China and this culture walk lead them to a local market in Yan Oi and Sam Shing, which allowed them to experience local Hong Kong.

All the students went to the local small shops and the amazing fruit market. During the walk the students walked on part of the MacLehose Trail and used their five senses to observe things around them. They passed different types of landscape and learned about the physical and natural environment of Hong Kong.

Students also worked in pairs to sketch a bird’s eye view of Tuen Mun. This helped them to develop their fieldwork skills and teamwork. Everyone also got the chance to buy many different local foods to try and share with their friends. This helped them to deal with small amounts of money which they were allowed to bring on this trip. After the long journey, the students went to the beach near the School to enjoy and take photographs of the beautiful scenery.

This half­ day trip allowed the Year 6 students to express themselves and learn more about the topic that they have been learning in class. This trip also let them know what people do for a living in the Tuen Mun local community outside of school. Overall, it was an enjoyable interesting trip for all the year 6 students.

Mock Trial

by Joelle Chan (Year 10, Tutt)

During the first weekend of the Easter holidays, Harrow Hong Kong sent a team of eight students to Hong

Kong University to compete in the Hong Kong Inter School Mock Trial Competition. The competition was a new experience for most of us and it was very exciting, although at times it felt a little overwhelming too. Between us, we would take on the role of barristers and witnesses, and along with another team and a judge we replicated a courtroom to battle out a case. This year’s case was about a young boy who swallowed a bead which contained 1,4­butanediol, a precursor for a controlled substance called gamma­hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), and died shortly thereafter. With barely two weeks of preparation, and a limited understanding of the competition and how it worked, it is safe to say that many of us did not feel up to this challenge at all.

Stepping into our first “court room” was terrifying; the opposition had already arrived and set up their entire area.

After around three hours of competing, closing statements were made. The judge then scored each individual on their performance and the team with the most points would be the winner of the round. The first round helped us settle in and get a feel of the competition and the diversity of the judges and competitors. By the end of the first day we had been victorious with wins in both rounds and had the night to reflect on how to improve in the following two rounds the next day.

We strode into the second day with confidence, and understood that these last two rounds would be where it really got tough. There were many moments where we believed we had lost a case. However, we won both of them. Our oppositions were well versed in their arguments and we had enjoyable hours with both of them. After seeing the scores and comments for all four rounds, we hoped we wouldn’t return empty handed.

We didn’t expect much going into the competition, and only saw this as a learning opportunity. However, we ploughed through the challenges and remained undefeated in all four rounds. We achieved second place which was a big surprise for us as a team, considering the various last minute changes and some people taking on the role of both a barrister and a witness. Mock trial is an activity that I would recommend to anyone, regardless of career path, as it not only strengthens your skills of public speaking, but is also a good starting point in opening up your options. Most of all, it is a truly rewarding experience.

Trip to the Galápagos

by Cassandra Cheung (Year 11, Smith)

Imagine this: you are standing next to an endangered giant 600-pound tortoise. You are burning under the hot Ecuadorian sun. You are diving into the depths of the ocean, swimming alongside hammerhead sharks and colossal schools

bond with them. We noticed the difference in lifestyles, as the slow-paced, relaxed atmosphere in the Galápagos was the complete opposite to the busy, bustling everyday life of Hong Kong. We were also able to work with the Charles Darwin Foundation and gain more insight into how people worked to preserve endangered wildlife on the Islands.

There is no doubt that all of us left with great reluctance. Never again will I get the chance to spot bluefooted boobies soaring through the sky, to trek through natural reserves, to see marine iguanas spitting salt from their noses.

And that, in a nutshell, was our trip to the Galápagos Islands.

Year 10 Art Workshop of fish. You are on a pristine, white sandy beach with sea lions playing in the water in front of you. Sounds surreal, doesn’t it? For some of us, this dream was made into a reality on the trip to the Galápagos Islands this past Easter break.

After a gruelling 50 hours (due to some issues with flights being delayed), we made it to the Galápagos Islands.

Many know of this place as where Charles Darwin founded his theory of evolution and natural selection. We were to embark on an intense eight days covering four of the islands in the path that Darwin would have travelled to explore the wildlife, geography and culture of the area.

Our first island was San Cristobal, where we went on our first snorkel and dive trip. The freezing cold of the water was overcome by our enthusiasm to see what the crystal blue waters of Kicker Rock had to offer. Fish of all colours and sizes were gliding effortlessly through the water, sea turtles were occasionally dipping their heads out of the water, and some of us were lucky enough to see a hammerhead shark that had swam up to the surface to bask in the sun.

After San Cristobal, we headed to Floreana Island and Isabela Island. Here we spent much time studying and learning about the giant tortoises. Each species of tortoise was indigenous to the island, making them unique and unlike any other. A lot of them were easily over 90 years old, weighing up to 900 pounds. We also went on a four-hour hike on Isabela Island to Sierra Negra, the second largest crater in the world.

Lava and volcanic ash had transformed after years into a scenic landscape, and we could do nothing but take in the breathtaking scene before us.

The last island to explore was Santa Cruz. Here we had the chance to interact with local children with a day to

by Nicole Pullinger (Year 10, Ward)

On the 27th April, esteemed artist Ian Murphy gave a seven-hour workshop at our school to Year 10 Art students.

First, we created grounds in his signature style; gluing newspaper and tissue to a sheet, then aggressively tearing it off to create a rough, textured surface. We then spent time learning about the process of visual decision-making and the importance of shape, tone, scale, and perspective in art.

After a short break, we spent some time practising drawing under time pressure; this was initially very stressful, but we soon fell into a rhythm with the clock and became less meticulous. Interestingly, we found that most quick sketches looked better if we didn’t spend time correcting mistakes; this was one of the most valuable insights we gained on that day.

We drew from photos of architecture; everything from balustrades and patterned walls to whole buildings and churches. Some of us preferred drawing large shapes, while others tended towards a repetitive pattern; but we all took turns drawing a wide range of objects, and in the end, became much more open-minded when choosing our subjects.

Our final task was to create massive pieces from photos we had used throughout the day; we were advised to focus on depth of shading rather than line, and to keep moving quickly and resolutely. Although many people found this difficult initially, everybody was confident working on a large scale by the end of the workshop.

At around half past four, we thanked Ian Murphy and said goodbye, having attained many useful skills throughout the day. We have yet to finish our final pieces, but armed with our new artistic knowledge, the task is far less daunting.

Writers and photographers out there, step forward and contribute to get your work published! Email the editors Nicole Pullinger and Zeli Wang at harrovian@harrowschool.hk!