Peak Perspectives - 2nd Edition

PEAK PERSPECTIVES EDITION 2 October 2023

Contents 1.

Editorial

2.

An Interview with our new Director General

3.

Our Student Council

4.

Welcome to the big school, Grade 6!

5.

Go Back To Now Tomorrow

6.

Earth Overshoot Day

7.

Grade 10 Project Week

8.

Francophones En Herbe

9.

Junior Maths Challenge

10. The History Of The Swiss Flag 11.

A Quintessential Mexican Recipe

12. The Worry Dolls/Le Régent’s Agony Uncle 13. Cartoon Corner 14. Contributors To This Edition

Editorial This second edition of Peak Perspectives looks back with fondness at sweet memories made last year and also looks ahead to another school year full of adventures. In this edition, we welcome a new Director General, a whole cohort of fresh Grade 6 faces, new students and staff from all over the world… even a new magazine Co-Editor-In-Chief and a new Agony Uncle!

Mr Philips has generously agreed to reply to your worry doll letters. You can anonymously complete the form at the end of this issue or pop an unsigned letter in the Peak Perspectives box outside the restaurant. We will publish his advice to you (again, anonymously) in the next magazine.

If you’ve written an interesting story, taken a stunning or funny photo, made a video, penned a thought-provoking article, designed a puzzle, drawn a picture, or created anything else you’d like to share in the magazine, please don’t hesitate to send it our way. We want this magazine to allow our whole community to shine. lrismediateam@regentschool.ch Katyayani Datla and Daniela Frenkel - Co-Editors-In-Chief (With support from Mrs Shaw)

Interview with our Director General, Mr Westermeyer What pulled you to this school?

Uh, well the fact that it is very young and there are very many enthusiastic teachers and boarding staff, parents and students, that all want to ll this school with life. I have always worked in schools that were very famous or very traditional, up to 500 years old, where it is kind of dif cult to change things. But here, there is a willingness to be different, and I think we, as a school, shouldn't try to copy other schools, we should try to be something you cannot nd anywhere else. And the kind of environment we have, very few schools in the world have this beautiful nature so close, that could be a major asset in the future, to say “Ok, we are an IB school, but the IB is not our main focus, our main focus is to really develop the whole person, and help everybody nd their passion in life.” We will also develop, because Mr. Bredow is so enthusiastic and other people in the art department are keen to make the arts very strong here, the music and the visual arts and also theatre so I'm sure this will draw a lot of people in. The world is changing now, the schools we had in the past will not be possible in the future. Now we have these creative labs already and it would be great if the whole school could become a creative lab, it would give our students a huge advantage over those that go through the kind of old-fashioned, typical school. I know, long long answer.

What do you want to accomplish during your time here? What is the end goal?

There is no end goal, the school is… there was somebody called Comenius, Comenius lived in I think the 16th century and he wrote the rst book on education: The Great Didactic, and he said, ‘a good school has to always be changing, it is never ready’. So I just want to try to write a small chapter in the hopefully very long history of this school.

What are your initial thoughts on the school and some of your favorite parts of working in an establishment like this?

The staff is much younger than average which is super nice because people have a lot of energy and ideas. The school is also so international which is also super because it is a microcosm and the world outside is dif cult, people kill each other because of religion or I don't know what, and here people learn to live together and they realize hopefully that a lot of politics is just propaganda and that humans are the same even though they might come from different countries. And yeah, to make a difference, I mean that's the aim of this school because we are so privileged to live in a country with stability and peace and democracy. I mean, we take our students seriously and want them to be future leaders. In the future, you will be the ones to go through unknown doors rst and we have to prepare you for this.

How is this school different from others you may have taught at before?

It's so young, I mean it's so young and nobody knows it, but I think when nobody knows you it is much easier for you to surprise people. The other schools were much bigger, my last school was twice the size and everybody was a boarder so to have an almost 50/50 balance between day students and boarders is new to me because I always had 100 percent boarding but i think we can make the boarding so attractive that people who are day students will want to join us in boarding.

I think boarding is a very special experience, it's much more than just having a bed in a school building.

What do you like doing in your free time?

Well, I like to do a lot of sports and I need it actually because I can be very emotional. I have to work this off, you need to get rid of these energies. So sports, music I like, I like listening to music, but everything, depending on my mood, could be AC/DC but could be classic as well. I like to play the guitar and sing as well, I think most people can sing. They just don't dare to or don’t have the courage but it's fun.

If you could only listen to three songs for the rest of your life what would they be?

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Shape of My Heart, by Sting, is a piece, Locus Iste, by Anton Brookner, it's a composition from the 19th century. Hmm, it's not easy, maybe, there is a song by an artist Udo Lindenburg, he’s a German kind of rockstar, he’s 70 something now but his lyrics are very provocative and very good, the song is called Blaues Auge.

Our Student Council We are very much looking forward to working with the other student leaders to make this academic year as successful as possible. We are excited and willing to hear your suggestions, concerns, and feedback on the school to create a positive and inclusive community. We hope everyone has a splendid academic year and please feel free to talk to us anytime. - Wakana and Johan

Welcome to The Big School, Grade 6!

Grade 6 made this video with Mrs. Snell and Mr Yussef last June to say goodbye to their friends in Junior School. It’s great to have them up in the senior school now!

Go Back To Now Tomorrow Music and Video by Django Shaw, IB1 Flashback to 15th June 2023

INTERVIEW How many songs have you written?

I've written a lot of song lyrics and have plenty of music recorded or remembered, but I've only really nished around 10-15 songs. That's because I usually make a decision early on in the writing process about whether or not a song has the potential to be something I, and other people, enjoy.

How do you write your songs? What's your process?

When I write songs, I usually start with an idea of how the song will feel or I come up with some chords while playing around on a piano. For Go Back To Now Tomorrow, the chord progression "imagined itself into being" while I was taking a Computer Science block test. So, I nished the test as fast as possible so I could write it down on a separate piece of paper. I didn't do as well on the test as I could have done, but I'm glad that I did what I did, because Go Back To Now Tomorrow has turned out to be a song I'm happy with.

What advice would you give someone else who wants to learn an instrument or write songs?

If you want to learn an instrument, the most important thing is to really want to do it. I've seen motivated people make more progress on the piano in six months than I did in six years. Once you know your way around your instrument, you can really start to play around and have a good time. If your aim is to write songs, read as much poetry and literature as you can, and just write anything you think of down. You can refer back to these ideas later when you're stuck. The most important thing is that you're enjoying what you're doing. If you're interested in playing music AND writing songs, then that's great, and you should do exactly that.

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(Ed: Make sure to check out Django’s newest track, Over Here, released 20th August 2023, soon to be played on World Radio Switzerland and our new favourite!)

EARTH OVERSHOOT DAY: August 2 IB 2 Digital Society Class

The IB2 Digital Society Class was asked to research and present their nding on Earth Overshoot Day. Following their research, they sought to utilize Arti cial Intelligence (AI) to present their ndings. “We made the entire presentation using the help of AI, the script was generated by ChatGPT, the images were selected by Photor AI, the VoiceOver was generated by Speechify, and the video using the help of Canva.”

Pre-IB Project Week, 12th-16th June 2023

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Grade 10 worked all week in teams to come up with creative business solutions to environmental problems plus a mini-project to creatively communicate understanding of the ten IB Learner Pro le attributes. (Principled, Caring, Knowledgeable, Risk-Taker, Open-Minded, Balanced, Communicators, Inquirers, Thinkers, Re ective).

They were judged in Dragon’s Den-style by a panel of Mrs Cogbill and Miss Thexton. It was really hard to pick winners, as they all did such an excellent job. Read on to nd out who actually won!

Tiger, Leonardo, Alex and Anastasia

For identifying a local environmental problem (overuse of taxis by Le Régent students) and presenting a service as a solution:

Manon, Yizhen, Natlia, Miyu and Jolie

For an excellent pitch of an environmental problem (plastic medical bottles) and presenting a realistic business solution, including website, business cards and advertising video:

View their slideshow here.

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For creativity in the representation of the IB Learner pro le: Guy and Henny (produced 10 pieces of music for each of the • pro les) For accurate and creative representation of the IB learner pro le: Alice, Asia, Tanja & Olga •

Félicitations à nos francophones en herbe!

Le samedi 15 mai 2023, 25 élèves se sont rendus à Lausanne puis à Rolle, au Rosey, pour passer les épreuves du DELF A1, A2 et B1. Pour certains, ce diplôme clôture leur apprentissage du français puisqu'ils étudieront d'autres langues pour le bac international, selon les conditions d'admission de leurs futures universités.

Junior Maths Challenge, 26th April 2023 Grades 6 and 7 participated in the UKMT Junior Maths Challenge and we are very proud to report that some of our students were awarded bronze awards. These are very dif cult to achieve, so we would like to congratulate the following children: Grade 6 Matthew Williams - Best in G6 Max Kallinski Barney Goodright

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Grade 7 Raphael Frasca - Best in School and Grade 7!

Tianli Hou So ia Kotenko Jorge Sánchez Ùbeda

The History of the Swiss Flag

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By: So a Kotenko

By: Garv Singh

A Quintessential Mexican Recipe Shared by Alessandra Nohra One of the most popular appetizers in Mexico is nachos with cheese, guacamole, and chili with meat.

Ingredients to make a portion for 4 people: • 200 g of nachos • 200g chili with carne or meat substitute (such as mushrooms or soy protein) • 100 g grated mozzarella • 50 g red pepper • 50 g green pepper • 100 g of guacamole • A few coriander leaves

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https://imag.bonviveur.com/ nachos-mexicanos-con-quesoguacamole-y-chili-con-carnepresentados-en-un-plato.webp

How to make them?

1. To start the recipe, prepare a dish suitable for the oven on which we put a layer of 100g of nachos. On the nachos, we put 100g of chili with meat and then cover with 50g of grated mozzarella.

2. We repeat the previous step with another layer of 100g of nachos, 100g of chili with meat and 50g of grated mozzarella.

3. We put the plate with our already prepared nachos in the oven for 15 minutes at 150°C. Next, we bake for 5 more minutes at 200 °C, this time with a grill. With this, we want the mozzarella to melt and prevent our nachos from burning.

4. Once ready, we take the plate with the nachos out of the oven and continue with the recipe. Chop 50g of red pepper and 50g of green pepper into small squares and add them on top of the nachos.

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Next, we add 100g of guacamole. This will certainly give a very fresh avor to the dish.

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Finally, we chop some coriander leaves and put them on top to nish our plate of Mexican nachos with cheese, guacamole and chili with meat. Enjoy!

Agony Uncle Mr Philips has agreed to be our agony uncle, which means that you can anonymously send in any questions about life, love, or school, and he will answer them.

These will be posted for the whole school to view in the following editions.

Use the form to submit any questions or you can drop them in the Peak Perspectives box outside the restaurant.

Google Form https://forms.gle/ mzUosEde6rE93ZmC7

Cartoon Corner

Riddle Cafe Voucher for the Winner!

The English ship leaves at six and carries coffee.

The ship in the middle has a black chimney.

The Greek ship leaves at nine.

The French ship with a blue chimney is to the left of a ship that carries coffee.

5. To the right of the ship carrying cocoa is a ship going to Marseille.

6. The Brazilian ship is heading for Manila.

7. Next to the ship carrying rice is a ship with a green chimney.

8. A ship going to Genoa leaves at ve.

9. The Spanish ship leaves at seven and is to the right of the ship going to Marseille.

10. The ship with a red chimney goes to Hamburg.

11. Next to the ship leaving at seven is a ship with a white chimney.

12. The ship on the border carries corn.

13. The ship with a black chimney leaves at eight.

14. The ship carrying corn is anchored next to the ship carrying rice.

15. The ship to Hamburg leaves at six.

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Which ship goes to Port Said? Which ship carries tea?

Contributors

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Alessandra Nohra Alex Ma Alexandra Sghaier Alejandro Nemer Calvet Alice Wei Aline Nemer Calvet Andrei Stepanenko Aranzazu Viced Aria Jacob Asia Wei Barney Goodright Benjamin Wood Bernt Westermayer Carlin Siguencia-Paunescu Chi Vocat Christina Devine Christine Goodright Dan Shaw Daniela Frenkel Dasha Johnson Django Shaw

Emma Thomson Garv Singh Georgy Lifshitz Hana Le Cam Hazel Tseng Heather Thexton Henny Wang Jamie Holden Jay Calvoz Cordon Jenny Cogbill Jing Yi Sun Jonathan Snell Jorge Sánchez Úbeda Katyayani Datla Lara Tatiana Ruth Mueller Leonardo Crisciotti Visintin Lenie Siepel El Hizaz Leonardo Facchini Lucy Shaw Margot Mutton-Bruck Maria Retana Harb Maria Rogacheva

Marie-Elisabeth Meyer Zu Bentrup Matthew Williams Matias Pataro Radjen Maya Sondhi Maximilian Kalinski Miranda Gudino Natalia Sánchez Úbeda Nina Mutton-Bruck Olga Tunik Ophelie Behem Raphael Frasca Raymond Phillips Romy Shaw Ruby Pullich Ruth Bermudez So ia Kotenko Sofya Moskolenko Tanja Rruga Tianli Hou Véronique Kampmann Wakana Kuroda

lrismediateam@regentschool.ch

Cover Art by Sofya Moskolenko