The Showcase Magazine | Spring Term

HUMANITY

STEM

POETRY

EDITORS’ NOTE

In this Spring issue of the Showcase Magazine, we reflect on the theme of Pride, in all its multifaceted ways. In the coming pages, you will read articles, poems, and book reviews that reflect our students’ pride in their communities, cultures, and sexualities. In our artwork section, you will discover various multimedia pieces that display pride in friends, family and the various ways in which LSC students feel comfortable expressing themselves.

On behalf of the Library and Showcase team, we would like to extend an immense thank you to all our contributors, who (many for several issues running!) have submitted artwork, articles on topics they feel passionate about, book reviews and poems.

We feel immense pride in being able to showcase our students’ talents in this magazine twice a year. The works collected in the magazine continually show the incredible and diverse talents of Leyton Sixth Form Students. We hope you enjoy reading this edition as much as we have enjoyed putting it together!

The Library & Showcase Team

CITY OF SPIES BY MARA TIMON

Mara Timon's "City of Spies" unfolds against the backdrop of war-torn Paris during World War II, delivering a gripping and atmospheric historical thriller that immerses readers in a world of espionage, danger, and resilience.

A young woman - Justine - is given missions and embarks on a perilous journey, knowing full well that she is receiving life-ending threats. During this time, her father has gone missing and she is in Nazi occupied Paris.

Timon's style of writing is quite unique compared to most of the other thriller authors I have read, as she explores different themes, through certain situations and conversations between characters. The exploration of themes include resilience, sacrifice and even bravery being shown in the most unnatural ways.

I thoroughly enjoyed the way Mara Timon grabs the intense moments whilst also spilling true historical facts to the readers at all times. The suspense and irritating anticipation had me hooked and always desperate for more. I didn't want to put this book down. The truth about Justine's father's disappearance was truly a shocking plot twist I did not expect, as absolutely 'no one is who they claim to be'.

Aleesa Khan

SONGBIRDS BY CHRISTY LEFTERI

A young girl named Nur embarks on a journey to discover truths about her past and family history. She delves into finding out more about her heritage and culture. She wants to find out who she really is as a person and what makes her who she really is. As Nur delves further into her family history, she discovers that she is half Kurdish and, surprisingly to her, half British too.

Christy’s style of writing is simple yet sophisticated in its descriptions. There are many themes discussed throughout ‘Songbirds’ but Pride and

heritage stick out the most. In my opinion, the way Christy explains and describes these themes specifically is the best.

Culture and heritage is what makes us all up as people and plays a massive part in our identity because without this, some people believe they are nothing and no one.

Aleesa Khan

THE COLOR PURPLE BY ALICE WALKER

Alice Walker's The Color Purple is a book I never would have picked up if it was not a part of my school syllabus. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t know much about it except it contained very mature content, which isn’t really up my alley. However, while this book isn’t for the young or faint hearted, it was nothing like the steamy romance I had assumed it’d be – in fact, it was quite the opposite.

Set in the early 20th century, The Color Purple is a beautifully written novel recording an African American

Hana Amaan

woman’s journey to belonging and self-discovery. Before beginning, I would like to reiterate that this review contains the exploration of mature themes and explicit events that may be uncomfortable for some readers.

Contrary to many other books, The Color Purple is written in the form of an epistolary, which just means a series of letters. These letters are first addressed to God, and in letter number 1, we are introduced to our protagonist, Celie, who documents how she has just been sexually assaulted by the man she calls "Pa". By the end of the letter, we come to the shocking realisation that Celie is pregnant. At the mere age of 14, Celie has experienced a complete loss of innocence, and is forced to take a motherly role at such a young age. I had to put down my

book for a second after such a heavy read, wondering how her life could get better after an experience like that.

BUT I MEAN, THE ONLY WAY IS UP AFTER AN EXPERIENCE LIKE THAT, RIGHT?

Well, yes, and no. Life doesn’t get any easier for Celie; her two children are taken away from her, she’s married off to a man she barely knows, and she loses contact with her younger sister/ best friend Nettie, who is forced to leave their home. But as the story progresses, she learns how to face her fears thanks to some of the people that she meets in her life. Not only that, but she learns what it means to be in love, a concept she struggled to understand no thanks to the tyrants of men that tormented her life.

One thing that stood out to me was how Celie’s narrative is written in Ebonics. I loved this detail as it was not only unique, but also highlighted how Celie had not received a formal

education. Walker is clearly giving a voice to those often marginalised in literature in her historical fiction novel.

In addition to this, the revelation of Celie's sexual identity would have been a controversially viewed plot point for readers in the 1980s. Homosexuality was just starting to be decriminalised, so I applaud Walker for her bold efforts in breaking the conventions of her time to write this work.

However, I would not consider this novel perfect - it does hold

Alice Walker

Still from the 1996 movie adaption

its fair share of weaknesses.

First, because of the ideological differences between myself and the novelist, the ending left me with a somewhat bitter taste in my mouth.

I don’t want to spoil too much, but one prominent character of the novel leaves (but eventually returns to) Celie for a reason that would have me up in arms.

Additionally, when letters were written from a perspective other than Celie’s, I was bored to death.

However, these criticisms are very subjective, and I don’t doubt that other readers would be entertained by the aspects of the

novel that I felt fell flat.

Overall, The Color Purple was a fascinating read exploring Celie’s journey to find belonging and pride within herself and her loved ones. While I initially thought that I wasn’t the target audience for this story, I learnt there isn’t one.

Celie’s story is one that can connect with anyone (excluding those of a younger age), displaying a life so different to our own. Are Celie’s children alive? Where did Nettie go? How will Celie confront the men that abused her?

If you want these questions (and more) answered, I recommend that you pick up this book immediately.

Life

Abubacar Saho Fofana

Life is time: each one of us has our own time and each one of our times will end.

We shouldn’t fear death because it’s not in our control. What we should fear is wasting our time on unnecessary things.

We should understand that what we receive from others is opinions, not facts.

If they try to anger you, walk away - true strength is not he who answers every disrespect he receives from others, but understands human views are natural. We cannot control each individual, but we can control ourselves and ignore their views so that we can live our lives in the way want.

If they ignore you, do not waste your time. Walk away from them, your time is important.

Value people and respect their desires. Enjoy your life - every day is a new day for you and every day is a new opportunity for you.

Your happiness depends on you.

Your good personality will be copied by others

Facing challenges makes you strong

Rejection wakes you up to your worth

Your sacrifice will be paid depending on what you sacrifice for

THE AIDS CRISIS

HIV/AIDS emerged in the US in the early 1980s - it was officially identified by the CDC in 1982. The disease primarily affected gay men, intravenous drug users, and racial minorities.

HIV spreads via blood or sexual fluid but prior to its official identification, the initial reaction to the crisis was rampant with misinformation and homophobia.

AIDS AWARENESS

In the US, state run campaigns against AIDS often relied on fear mongering

From 1981-1990, 100,777 deaths from AIDS were reported to the CDC Image

rather than pushing for vaccines; President Reagan only acknowledged the AIDS crisis in 1985.

Awareness and action was spread by influential individuals and protest groups - the biggest of which being ACT UP, who used methods of direct action to push for medical research and treatment.

Zoya May Arif

HOW DOES THIS ALL RELATE TO ART?

A new generation of artists sprung up from the intense emotions felt within the LGBT community in the wake of the AIDS epidemic - a notable project stemming from this being Silence=Death.

Silence=Death was founded by a collective of New York artists and writers as a consciousness-raising movement following lacklustre responses to the AIDS crisis by successive US Presidents Originally intended as a mutual support group, the motivations quickly became political as the iconic poster was wheat pasted around NYC, in a fashion that has inspired many modern-day graffitists.

ANDY WARHOL

Andy Warhol was both a devout Catholic and a gay man, factors which led to exacerbating his fears surrounding the AIDS crisis. Where panic was rising surrounding AIDS, the artist turned to Christ as a form of salvation.

“I’vegotthesedesperate feelingsthatnothingmeans anything.AndthenIdecide thatIshouldtrytofallin love...butthenit’sjusttoo hard.... . ” WARHOL’SDIARY

Warhol’s ‘The Last Supper’ series combined Catholicism and commercialism

KEITH HARING

Haring was an American artist who made graffitiinfluenced art. He had previously used his art to relay important political messages, such as his antiapartheid work ‘Free South Africa’.

When he was diagnosed with AIDS in 1988, Haring similarly used his art to spread awareness around the issue. The expression of his political beliefs coupled with the simplicity of his style made important political messages accessible. Harring died in 1990, age 31, due to complications from AIDS.

FÉLIZ GONZÁLEZ-TORRES

González-Torres was a CubanAmerican artist who employed minimalist visual techniques in his work. “Untitled” (Portrait of Ross in L.A.) is one of his most famous works, comprising of 175 pounds of individually wrapped candies.

The weight and title reference his lover, Ross Laycock, who died of AIDS in 1991. Visitors are encouraged to take sweets from the pile, emulating the depletion of the body by AIDS. The artist died in 1996, age 38, from AIDS-related illness.

LEGACY

Many of the artists whose works were informed by their sexuality and its relation to AIDS ultimately died from the disease. Their activism through the medium of art “lives on forever”, and continues to inform viewers’ reception and interpretation of their art.

Image Credit: The Art Institute of Chicago

“Untitled” (Portrait of Ross in L A ), 1991

Image Credit: The Keith Haring Foundation

WHAT DOES NEURODIVERSITY MEAN TO YOU?

JONAH S. & ANISA M., WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM JAMES HANKEY

Written in dyslexia friendly font

Dear staff and students of LSC, do you realise you may have met a neurodivergent pupil, within your lessons or around the building?

I would be proud to educate you on the topic of Neurodiversity and answer the questions asked during the Neurodiversity Celebration Week event.

Q. ARE THERE DIFFERENT TYPES OF DYSLEXIA?

A. There are - the most common of which being: Visual, Phonological, Surface, and Developmental.

To discuss one of the common types in depth: surface dyslexia affects a person’s ability to read, recognise words and process information. I would say it feels isolating; you’re left alone to figure out for yourself what is being portrayed through a simple book or what your teacher is trying to explain to you that your peers already understand.

Q. ARE NEURODIVERGENT CONDITIONS DEVELOPED FROM BIRTH?

A. Autism is genetic, you are born autistic and do not develop it later on in life. Other learning difficulties such as Dyslexia or Dyspraxia can be developed later in life; all of these neurodivergent conditions

Q. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PEOPLE WITH AUTISM AND PEOPLE WITHOUT AUTISM? are linked together.

A. People with autism have difficulties with: social communication and interaction; processing information; sensory processing through repetitive behaviours like ‘stimming’; emotion regulation. People without autism would find that they can process information at a faster pace than those with autism do.

Q. HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT A NEURODIVERGENT CLASSMATE?

A. Neurodivergent people have different sensory needs - they can find bright lights and loud noises overwhelming. You can help with this by reducing the amount of sensory input you create in lessons - whether that be sound, sight, or touch.

Q. HOW DOES ADHD AFFECT YOUR INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER PEOPLE?

A. I sometimes zone out when people are talking to me and start looking at or thinking about something else. Friends who are used to this know that I do it and accept that. A lot of ADHD people also get the urge to interrupt people in conversations, and have to work hard to limit how much they do this.

Q. HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT YOUR NEURODIVERGENT FRIEND/FAMILY MEMBER?

A. One method of support is understanding they might find it difficult to regulate their emotions. This can lead to them not understanding their own emotions as well as their friends or other family members’. Patience goes a long way.

POETRY PLACE

proud and unafraid

For her, life was about trying new things and enjoying it to its fullest. But sometimes, she found it impossible to be accepted for what who she was. She was shunned for loving things that she wasn't "supposed" to love. She felt the burden of society's expectations beginning to seep into

her bones thoughts soul.

Soon came a point where she could take it no longer, and she

so loud that the

SULAEMAN REHAN

her feelings emotions beliefs

became so clear to everyone, that others who felt the same spoke up and let everyone know that they, too, stood with her.

That they were

of who they were, and that they were

heard everything she had to say.

to let those who didn't accept them know.

CLEMENTINE RUSSELL

i want to bury the girl i used to be but when i dig the grave i can’t seem to push her in i can’t help but remember being her - this little rag doll thing

my battle scars were once her war wounds and i hear her timid voice in everything i do

i see her messy mosaic of choices, every step i take and when the sun hits my stained glass skin, you can see every mistake she made

i want to brush her curly hair and warn her not to bleach it and sing into her unpierced ear that she is worthy and that i mean it

a tapestry of me

i want to thank her for choosing life

all those dark winter nights and tell her of the joys that come if she just learns to fight i want to remind her to always take her meds and go to her appointments and when she’s cant get out of bed

i want to make her a cup of tea and promise her she isn’t a disappointment

i want to tell her about all of the amazing books she will one day read and i want to thank her for making me a poet by writing rudimentary poetry

i want to sing out from the rooftops you’re such a perfect girl

and there’s nothing wrong with you we just live in a stupid world

i want to hug her so tightly that she bursts at the seams

And then i want to sew her into a patchwork quilt made up of every scrap of me

and when i’m feeling harsh about myself and the person that i am all i do is think of her and i’m no longer mad because when i am dead and buried my body won’t just be me for a moment encapsulated in time she will be every single part of me even the parts i sometimes wish would die.

ART SHOWCASE

Fan art for ‘Revitalisation of the Fu Yao Sect’ - a beautiful novel with themes of found family, tragedy, and xian. The couple illustrated are unafraid of stereotypes, fighting against them to live peacefully together in their sect.

ART SHOWCASE

This piece is a digital illustration of a girl looking at her reflection, trying to find pride in her identity.

For this drawing I wanted to showcase different types of relationships; them smiling is a way to show their pride.

I was inspired to create this piece because of the pride I had for my previous painting [submitted in the Autumn issue]. Seeing that I could come up with something like this from my imagination motivated me to try the same thing again but to create something quite different.

ART SHOWCASE

ART SHOWCASE

ART SHOWCASE

This short comic is about the fear of the artist. When an artist produces any work, they have a vision and a criteria, though it is often only understood by the artist themselves. There is horror when an artist loses pride in their work. It is terrifying to be utterly dissatisfied with your work especially when people praise it. This internal dissatisfaction will always be isolating, others will never see the flaws in the same way the artist does. People often mistake this for perfectionism, it's not.

‘HAS IT ALWAYS BEEN THIS UGLY? IS THIS UGLINESS EXPECTED FROM ME?’

No one could ever comfort you out of this feeling, because they can't see it - how incorrect it is. They will never be able to see it...

ART SHOWCASE

“From my perspective, having pride in who you are means accepting all sides of yourself - whether it be cheerful, emotional, listless or zany. This psychedelic piece attempts to connect with the stranger side of my subconscious ”

HANA AMAAN

ART SHOWCASE

A collection of 3 ceramic vases/sculptural forms. These are all sunken reliefs, created by removing clay from the surface of each sculpture. One of the vases is painted blue by using a coloured slip

PUZZLE PARADE

walthamstow pride

lions

howarth

hitchcock heritage meridian orient identity diversity equality acceptance confidence love stonewall july freedom resilient power

ACROSS

1 Common British waterbird (not a duck)

3 Rico

8 Precise

9 Decimal System, a type of classification system for library books

10 Cheaters

12 Possessive punctuation mark

16 Excuse

17 Ibid

18 Loathe

19 'C' in 'CMYK'

DOWN

1 Salad or dictator

2 Anime fan

4 Freshers and finalists, for example

5 Boatperson

6 Black mineral used as a gemstone

7 Field of data study

11 Fame

13 Make a hard copy of

14 Wittily terse

15 eagle

Debate Club

Hone your critical thinking and problemsolving skills by participating in discussions on a range of issues – serious, imaginary, light-hearted and hypothetical. Learn how to win an argument and see things from another perspective

“Is Social Media a force for good?”

“Human cloning should be legal”

“Has Cancel Culture gone too far?”

Tuesday H10 (12:30 - 13:30)

Contact: jordan.fenton@leyton.ac.uk

Book Club

Join us monthly as we discuss all things book related! Reading materials are set a month in advance to give you plenty of time to enjoy the material. Develop your critical thinking skills, decrease your stress, grow your social circle & expand your understanding of fiction

Once monthly on a Friday (12:45- 13:30)

Contact: millicent krantz@leyton ac uk

WHAT'S ON: WIDER COLLEGE

Board Games Club

This is a quiet space for students who want to be away from the hustle and bustle of lunchtimes in a busy college but would still like to socialise Run by a neurodivergent student, and set up with other neurodivergent students in mind, but open to anyone who respects the space!

Thursdays 12:30 - 13:20

Location: HE14

Duke of Edinburgh

Gain experience with outdoor skills and support for your sporting and volunteering endeavours with Duke of Edinburgh! We offer Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards here at College, and the program is a fantastic way to gain workplace-ready skills and enhance your university applications

Contact: tracey rogers@leyton ac uk

WHAT'S ON: WHAT CAN THE LIBRARY DO FOR YOU?

Catch-Up Tutoring

Visit one of our many Catch-Up Tutors for additional support in your subjects! Whether you’re looking for study skills and essay-writing techniques, contentspecific questions or revision workshops, our Catch-Up Tutors will be able to help you Pop by the Main Desk to talk to our tutors and book a session, or visit the Library and Hub page on the Moodle to find the booking system yourself.

Location: Library/The Study

Leyton Sixth Form Blog

Interested in writing about books, films and all things creative?

The LSC Library Blog is interested in all your thoughts on the above and more. Without a set issue deadline, the Blog is updated frequently. Fancy becoming a columnist? Get started today

Location: Online

Library Ambassadors

Develop your interpersonal, communication and teaching skills; Gain artistic, design and research skills; Give yourself an advantage in your UCAS applications; Encourage students to learn, promote literacy and be a friendly face to your mentees

Location: Library

Contact: Library@leyton.ac.uk

Academic Skills Certificate

The Academic Skills Certificate is a free course designed to support students with the independent development of their academic skills. Completion time is on average 3 hours, with the option to save as you go so no stress about lost progress. At the end of your course, receive a certificate

Contact: Library@leyton ac uk and add the experience to your personal statement!

Location: Online

Contact: Library@leyton ac uk

PUZZLE PARADE SOLUTIONS

wordsearch solutions

crossword solutions

GET FEATURED!

The Showcase is a platform to elevate your voice and a chance to celebrate your creative efforts.

We would love to share your work with a wider audience.

If you would like to contribute to a future issue, please send your pitches to our email, or visit the library to discuss your ideas

LIBRARY@LEYTON.AC.UK

HTTPS://SHOWCASEMAGAZINELEYTON.HOME.BLOG/

WRITERS:

HANA AMAAN

MAY ARIF

ALEESA KHAN

ANISA M.

SULAEMAN REHAN

CLEMENTINE RUSSELL

JONAH S.

ABUBACAR SAHO FOFANA

ARTISTS:

HANA AMAAN

SUMAIYA BEGUM

AMINA IMRAN

MARS TINS & KUTS

MAYA LEWIS

GEORGIANA MARIA VRINCIANU