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excelsior

Spot the swimming

champ!

won second prize in the

Mrs. Biggs’ English Essay Competion of

1980!!!

Wrack your brains!

Inter-House Quiz in the Senior Division brought with it a

lot of excitement and audience participation. The audi-

ence came alive with a flurry of hands shooting up in the

air during the Chocolate round. The participants sailed

through the rounds exhibiting intelligence and awareness

(and sometimes wild guesses!). It concluded with the fol-

lowing results:-

Allen– 60 Condon– 76 Foy– 120 Powell– 155 Our guess quiz masters Mrs.M.Arya, Mr.K.Singh and

Ms.I.Keskar prepared a variety of questions that surely

expanded our horizons.

“Vaad-vivaad” in Hindi!

The Sir Kirby Laing Auditorium had something new to

offer as first timers participated in the senior Hindi de-

bate! The topic was rather contemporary and evoked an

enthusiastic response from the floor; “E-books can take

the place of books.” The results were as follows:-

Individual positions:- 1st:Harmony Singh (Allen) 2nd: Manu Sharma (Foy) 3rd: Marisha Panwar (Condon)

Though the Euro Cup concluded some time back, soccer

fever seems to prevail on the grounds of Allen flat. After

school, it is truly an exhilarating sight seeing the senior

girls air out their lungs, lending their support to the Soccer

Team. It then becomes tedious to literally drag them away

from the cheering mode and remind them that they have

a place to return to – Wynberg!

Talents being showcased!

With the Independence Day Cultural Programme and the

Talent show recruiting scores of talented enthusiasts, it is

a common sight in the evening to hear a lively song being

played in the Hooper Hall, students scurrying about, try-

ing to arrange for their musical instruments and

Mr.Sharma being harassed to download songs for each of

the events! And if you take a sneak peek into the girls’

dormitories, you would also be able to experience the

immense excitement of girls flocking to the common

room to see each performing group perfect their moves

and vocals! And the chance to get an entirely entertaining

show free of cost which will keep you glued to your seats

(in this case, the tops of desks.) cannot be missed!! Not to

forget the many Class Assemblies that are coming up one

after the other, filling the audience with a sense of relief

that that day there will not be a regular morning assem-

bly. Wynberg-Allen’s got talent!

Study-mode!

Though it may seem as if the students of Wynberg-Allen

are totally engrossed in the various activities that are

coming up and neglecting their academic work; on a quiet

evening you can spot, in the dorms a little late at night, in

a snug place beneath the blankets, or perhaps a quiet

spot under one of the myriad trees on campus or even in

the washroom (!!), the children with textbooks in hand

trying to suck in as much information as they can from it.

Oh and the night studies...They are abuzz with anxious

discussions and consultations regarding the next day’s

test. And our best wishes to the students of Class 11 and

12 C who have their exams just round the corner! All the

best!

-Harmony Singh 12-S

Overall House Positions:- 1st: Allen 2nd: Foy 3rd: Condon 4th: Powell

Final scores:- Powell– 429 Foy– 424 Condon– 410 Allen– 366

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EXCELSIOR SHE IS SAD TODAY

There are no smiles today,

Today her teeth don’t shine, Her eyes seem dull,

Even the shape of her ear is sad today! My boat will not sail today, Today my kite will not fly,

Bound as a stone I am today, Because SHE IS SAD …

-Sanya Nayak 8-A

I was so excited to come here as I had heard a lot about it from my moth-

er as she has studied here. The first day here was very welcoming but

there are too many rules to follow. I was pretty nervous to attend the

classes as I am not used to co-education but now I have realized it’s not

so difficult to cope with. One change which I have brought about in my-

self here is to pay “extra attention” in class. The teachers here teach real-

ly well. How can I forget to mention about the food!? It is really good and

tasty. The students here are helpful and I have really made very good

friends here. It is my pleasure to be a part of Wynberg-Allen School.

-Soha Parvez 11-H

The first day that I came to know that I’ll be joining this school I was so

happy that I burst into tears. I have not been here long but have realized

that whatever I had heard about the school is true; this is indeed a great

place to study . Then came my first Fancy Fair. I think it was one of the

best experiences I’ve ever had as I had made new friends and had a great

time with them. Now ,honestly, I don’t feel homesick at all as the teach-

ers, aunties and students are very welcoming. I feel great and I am proud

to be a part of Wynberg-Allen School.

-Arzoo Zoe 11-H

NEW EDITION WITH NEW ADDITIONS!

A complete “novice” in the subject of Psychology

Taking Psychology as an optional subject was quite fascinating in the beginning, but………

Believe you me, you would not be all that fascinated and it definitely does not turn out to be all that intriguing once you have started getting along with it. Sitting for the first class was good- like every first class is- solely because of the reason that you don’t study a bit and the whole period goes in INTRODUCTION” ......Another thing is that at first it is all very inspiring and even more because the teacher- who is a “psychology” teacher- makes you feel that it is all just a piece of cake and very “scoring” indeed!!!......but let me tell YOU , it is not at all as easy as that . - Adriel David 11-C

PASTURES GREEN

When I lived in pastures green ,

It was like a fairy dream I would just hop about With my mother as the

scout.

When I came to the city, I felt a lot of pity, For it was a land

Filled with dry beds of sand.

Rivers flowing with wa-

ter impure, Men exploiting Nature’s

great store . Trees being cut to make

space for malls, Pollution and more con-

crete walls.

I wish to be in pastures green,

Lofty mountains, a river- an amazing scene!

Give me a village or a small town any day,

Healthy food and fresh smell of hay!

-Abhishek Goel

8-B

Boss: Someone who is early when you are late and late when you are early.

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excelsior fiction & horoscope excelsior books sports entertainment Downright Bizarre!

The other day I sat and analyzed some of the phrases and slang I (and a lot of people) often use in my daily communication. Then I went on the internet and realized that they are the pet peeves of grammar Nazis across the world. But people continue to happily use them. Shall I tell you something my dear ‘buoys’? (from Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara) . It struck me that some of the most common expressions we throw in so randomly into our day-to-day language don’t mean anything at all. Starting today, I’ve decided to cleanse myself off of verbal nonsense. My dedi-cation to the cause is such that I’ve spent quite a while compiling the following phrases ... and how I, or some of those who’ve written about these on the Net react to them. Hand me a negative slip if you find me dishing out these from now on …. only after you allow me to do the same to you. 1. What’s up?: Ha! All ‘cool’ dudes greeting everyone by saying ‘Whassup’, please come here. Tell me what on earth do you want the other person to answer. What could possibly be up? The ceiling? The sky? The roof? 2. To be honest: I use this one a lot. Well, not anymore. If you say ‘to be hon-est’ before saying something, are you suggesting that you are normally dis-honest about the other things you say? 3. You know what I mean: Yes, I do Einstein. But that won’t keep you from saying it anyway, will it? 4. I thought to myself: Hmm … could you have thought to ‘someone else’? Would you like the lead role in the next Ramsay Brothers’ film if you have those kind of powers? Consider, please. 5. Are you coming, or what?: What, what, what? What was the need to add ‘or what’ here? Are you crazy or what? 6. You can’t have your cake and eat it too: Well, this is supposed to be a fa-mous saying. If it’s my cake, of course I’ll eat it. What else am I supposed to do with it? Try stopping me. 7. This is my only choice: Are you really ‘the mantally ,the challenged’ to say this? The definition of choice is to have an alternative. If you have none, say ‘I have no choice’. There’s nothing like only choice. -Pranvi Manglick 10-A

“HORRORSCOPE” ARIES The movie that you will get to watch this weekend will be disappointing, so don’t bother and focus on Physics instead. TAURUS Don’t talk too much in class or you might get the opportunity of enjoying a stimulating con-versation with the Headmas-ter where he will be doing all the talking. GEMINI Stop living in a fool’s paradise and come back to planet earth as you might not have the most pleasant experience dur-ing the exeat. CANCER Do not go anywhere near the Biology laboratory as the skel-eton there is lying in wait for you. It just might stretch its bony hand and pull your cheeks. In fact, just stay away from the Science block be-cause you said something that offended the ghost in the li-brary. LEO Beware ! Beware! A monkey might just come and hug you today! VIRGO Lady Luck has decided to be generous to you, so the morn-ing runs will most probably be longer than usual. LIBRA If it snows today, you will surely get what you have been longing for. SCORPIO You are lucky and because you have been so good the Gods are rewarding you with the Second Terminal Examination. SAGITARIUS Stay away from the soccer field because your head might come in the way of a stray soc-

THE GIRL IN THE RED CLOAK One day my brother and I went to the market to buy some things for the house . My brother was busy buying things when I saw the girl in the red cloak . She had dropped a bag and was running away. I picked up the bag and started running behind her. To my horror, I saw a bomb inside the bag . I was yet in the running mode, but in the direction of the police station. I told the police about the contents of the bag . The inspector looked inside and said, “It is not a real bomb, boy! It is just a toy!” My brother reached the police station and we had good laugh. -Dev Nagarkoti 7-A

Classic: A book which people praise, but do not read.

Soccer superstitions... David Beckham is rumoured to be obsessive, and especially fussy about how some items in his kit are arranged, especially the items in his fridge. And he requires an even number of Pepsi cans, so if there are three in the fridge, he will throw away one.

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excelsior Poems and stories excelsior news & entertainment VOCABULARY AT YOUR DOORSTEP

The other day our English teacher just randomly asked us the meaning of a word – “bucolic”. A few conjectures were “a veg-

etable” (perhaps ‘broccoli’ flashed in their minds), “related to botany”, “a crazy person”, etc. A light round of laughter en-

sued when we learnt that it meant “pastoral”; a far cry from what we had guessed. The teacher pointed out that perhaps

why we had no clue about words, or in other words, we do not get the ‘feel’ of words is because we are not well-versed in

Latin and Greek roots. Here are some to just get you warmed up!

ANIMAL-O-SOPHY

Ever felt an element of boredom creeping into your compositions when you can’t find the right word to describe something and then using hyphenated words which end with ‘-like’? The more commonly used cat-like, dog-like, bear-like? Here, use these instead! BOVINE- pertaining to cows or cattle. URSINE- like a bear. OVINE- of or like a sheep. HIRCINE- goat-like. FELINE- of, or pertaining to, the cat. CANINE- of or like a dog.

ROOTS MEANING EXAMPLES

am friend, love amity, amorous

bas low debase, basement

tract draw attract, extract

ver true veracity, aver

plic fold, bend complicate, implicate

man hand manufacture, manual

loc place dislocate, local

gen kind, race, birth generate, generic generation

fer bear, carry confer, fertile

duc, duct lead induce, ductile

fac, fact, fect, fic make, do facile, factory, infection, fiction

ced, cess yield, go cede, procession

dic, dict Speak, say indicate, contradict

curr, curs run current, cursory

Compromise: The art of dividing a cake in such a way that everybody believes he got the biggest piece.

It’s all about drama

All the houses, Allen, Condon, Foy, Powell, teachers and students , have been running around in circles trying to

finalize their play script even though the Inter-House Dramatics Competition is about TWO months away! So much

for enthusiasm and foresight…

Yet another drama…

Korean fever seems to have gripped the girls of the senior school for the past few months. It all started with the

innocent viewing of a TV series “Boys Over Flowers” starring Ku Hye Sun and Lee Min Ho. Poof! The girls were

found printing pages and pages filled with pictures of these Korean stars . On the request of a few fans, Mr.Kurian

earned good profit during the Fancy Fair by selling the photographs of these actors! It doesn’t end there! The girls

have finished seeing yet another Korean serial – “Heartsrings”.

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excelsior Poems and stories excelsior news & entertainment A Memento of Tribute to the World’s Most Extra-ordinary Guild of Teachers Crowning you companions rather than teachers would more appropriate be, In you, the unwavering virtues of patience, care and hope we see. Arrive to you helpless children with distorted bodies, some dumb, while some lame, But your caring guidance makes them walk down the “Hall Of Fame”. Psychologists, ocu therapists, physiotherapists also count in the list, As before the tender eyes of the children, you raise the mist. Exceptionally and meticulously, your skilled engineers invent the therapy tools, They cannot afford to divert from strict rules. The special children with less knowledge and understanding come, But this irreplaceable guild enlightens their minds with learning of a gigantic sum. You lean your strong, loving shoulders for children not very fit, Your forbearing souls shed drops of sweat to ensure that the children perfectly stand or sit. Though the toddlers scream with annoyance a hundred times a day, Your tough warriors take it in their stride through therapy tools, keep their disabili-ties at bay. When the going gets tougher, reaching an unbearable height, Tiny glimpses of impatience appear, but against the forces of “failure” you fight with all your might. Making learning fun and effective is your aim, Like adorable mommies and daddies, you sing, recite stories and play often a thrill-ing game. Till the children don’t get it right, Their worried mentors won’t let them get out of their sight. You ungrudgingly travel to the remotest villages in the extreme hot or cold, Your home visits lead to their lives being enriched and made as bright as gold. Your duty seems to be more tedious than a doctor’s on-call rounds, But the children’s step-by-step success causes your joy to have no bounds. If we ever lose our patience and hope, Memories of the strong-willed warriors of the guild will help us to cope. If the path is full of trials and thorns and all we can see is night, Observing your unwavering banner of faith, will lead us to light. God’s reward for you is not known to us now, But jewelled crowns and more you’ll receive when before God’s throne we bow. ‘Cos not only did you inspire patience, love hope and trust, You also formed for the special children a paradise out of the Earth’s crust. Merin volunteered at the Herbertpore Christian Hospital, where she helped in-taking care of special children and this is the tribute she paid to the teachers who teach them. -Merin John 11-H

SOCCER TRAINING Faster! Faster! Faster! Mr Champa’s voice rang out like a resounding gong in the small field of our school. It was evident that the soccer sea-son had begun. The students were excited and so were the teachers. Everyone ran hither thither, some for soccer boots, some for the soc-cer kit, while some just chased after the ball practising for the upcoming matches. But what they forgot was the wrath of Mr.Champa. If the training ses-sion had begun, it would be incom-plete without physicals and runs. The ‘Mr.Champa-fearing’ students gathered for roll call, with fingers crossed because if his mood was good then there’d be only runs oth-erwise the much dreaded 30 minutes on the killer steps. The training began with selection of soccer stars for the two school teams. Team A has seasoned play-ers and Team B players that are nearing perfection. Our coaches Mr.Champa and Mr.Hatwal arrange practice sessions for us every even-ing and these are followed by friendly matches with the local clubs. We are truly grateful that they take such a lot interest in train-ing us so well, in building our stami-na and we feel confident that we will do our school proud in the matches that are to be played real soon. We sometimes complain about our rigorous routine but deep within we do realise that successful people or sportsmen are formed through hard work .Many matches have already been played and out of those many have been lost or won but through victory and defeat the words that ring clear in our ears are: “SHOUT ALL HAIL FOR

WYNBERG-ALLEN!”

-Aryan Chawla 11-S

Lecture: An art of transferring information from the notes of the lecturer to the notes of the students with-

out passing through "the minds of either".

Mr. William Mckay Aitkin (popularly known as-- Mr. Bill Aitkin) A travel writer, Mr. Bill Aitkins, is the famous author of books like

Seven Sacred Rivers, Shri Satya Sai Baba, Nanda Devi Affair, Exploring

Indian Railways, Diving the Deccan- A Motorbike to the heart of India

Touching upon the Himalayas, Riding the Ranges, etc. These books are based deeply and subtly on the geography and history

of India. Originally from Scotland, this daring, exuberant author has

traversed wide and far on his motorcycle to reach out to great personalities

and their lives in India. He worked for the Maharani of Jind and has now

inherited her home in Mussoorie, just a 2 minute walk from Allen. Ganga Shinghal 12-S

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excelsior fiction & horoscope excelsior books sports entertainment

cer ball and leave a lump. CAPRICORN Do not use the excuse that you’ve been saving up for the incomplete assignment be-cause your best friend has al-ready used it and got deten-tion. AQARIUS Red is your colour this week and it stands for danger, so be-ware of anything red! PISCES A trip to the main office is on the cards although the reason remains unknown. –Aishwarya Bhagat 11-C

Etc.: A sign to make others believe that you know more than you actually do.

CATCH THE THIEF!!!

I saw a man quietly creep into a small house nearby and soon his shadow dis-

appeared into the dark night. I had never seen the man before but I thought to

myself, he may have been a guest or was just surprising someone. I had totally

forgotten about all this when at 11.30 p.m the following day I saw the same

man with a backpack filled with something. I followed him and then shouted,

“Thief! Thief! Catch him fast! He is a robber!” Before anyone could hear my

voice, he ran towards me and shut my mouth. I tried to loosen his grip, but it

was tight. Then I saw his eyes; we were in an eye-lock for what seemed like an

eternity. His eyes were troubled and black. He was about two years older than

me. He told me he had to do this; it was a matter of life and death. I obviously

did not trust him and somehow, I did set myself free and ran home. I told noth-

ing to anyone, remembering his words and eyes.

The following day I had a gut feeling that he would be there and I went out at

11.30 p.m. and found him right there. At first, I began turning back home but

he called out to me. I was hesitant to go to him but I gathered all my courage

and walked towards him, scared ,but preparing a lecture in my mind to throw

at him for stealing. When I reached close to him he asked me to sit down and

introduced himself as Veer. He asked me not to worry and told me that his

mother had a terrible terminal disease which had to be cured soon. His father

had been killed in a shoot-out and he had been a gangster. Since Veer had the

surname of a gangster he was not offered a job. No one wanted him close by.

He was ostracized by society and all he had left was his beloved mother, for

whom he could do anything and go to any extent. My eyes were moist and I

was about to burst into tears when I felt a vibration and BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ …My

phone rang. It was my mother. I told her I would be back soon and so.. Veer

continued…

He wanted and needed his mother badly, so I made up my mind to help him. I

took his cell phone number. I pondered over this matter day in and day out.

Here I was, a person who had everything and still wanted more and there was

this man who just wanted one thing and was at the point of losing it.

After about three or four days I called Veer and told him that we needed to

meet up. This time I had a plan. Veer was so shocked at what he heard. At

about 11.30 PM I was letting my dog out when suddenly someone came in and

robbed our house. A little of my mother’s jewellery was gone along with some

cash and other expensive items. My parents called the police, but it was too

late. Our plan was successful. Veer had got enough to start the treatment. We

both were happy. But since my parents were well known, the police decided to

investigate further. This scared me as I had kept some jewellery out for Veer to

take.

We were safe for now. As I was in touch with Veer, our bond grew deeper and

stronger. He promised to return every bit of money and jewellery he had sto-

len. I told him it was useless but he felt guilty. So for his happiness I agreed.

We had lost touch…

Suddenly one day the name Veer flashed on my phone. I quickly received the

call and heard Veer sobbing and wailing on the line; his mother had not re-

sponded to the treatment and had been in the last few stages of the disease

and had passed away an hour ago.

The police had found out about him and

were looking all over for him. Soon post-

ers of him would be out. I had to do

something for him so all the money I had

collected for a new laptop I handed over

to him and via some contacts got a ship

ticket for a place far away from this place

where he could live in peace, away from

the police. I just prayed that we would

stay in touch as we shared a close and

special bond. It would be years before

they learnt the full truth!

-Diya Maitra 11-H

More Soccer superstitions Tiresomely eccentric French manager Raymond Domenech has supposedly said that he isn't superstitious, as it brings bad luck. But superstitions are rife among footballers. Simple lucky habits such as putting on one specific sock before the other aren't rare, but some other rituals are a lot more elaborate. The importance of being last Several players, such as William Gallas of France, insist on being the last player out onto the pitch, and some have been known to sit in the loo until everyone else has left, to ensure this. Arsenal play-er Kolo Toure, once missed the start of the second half of a championship match, waiting for Gallas to go on field, so that he could himself be the last play-er to emerge. -Pragun Ratna Tuladhar 12-S