The WestgateStudio

PeaceAndConflict

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Get InvolvedThe next edition of The Westgate Stu-dio is the Easter issue! We want your poems and stories, whether real or imaginary on the theme of New Be-

ginnings.

Send all submissions to either:

ai@westgate.slough.sch.uk or cd@westgate.slough.sch.uk

The Westgate Studio

Welcome to the third edition of the The Westgate Studio; the first ever student magazine at The Westgate School! This edition has been a success because of the hardworking and dedicated Journal-ism club that I am grateful for.

It hasn’t been easy at all. The first meeting of the Journalism club was attended by lots of year 8s with a couple of year 11s. The following week, it was the same... These students have met week after week, discussing ideas, writing, proofreading and editing. It has been a very long process.

The Westgate Studio is a core example for the im-mensely talented students we have here. There is a real sense in this issue of some of the things that you are talking about and have probably seen on the TV. Our junior reporters like Emanuela and Niamh have both explored the extremes of war and how it can affect people. However, to every conflict there is peace. This will be portrayed in this edition so you are in for a treat.

The Westgate Studio is not just about a bunch of lonely people who go to an extra-curricular club but it is about having the power to make a differ-ence. That is why we want your articles, opinions, poetry and creative writing. As one distinguished writer has said: 'words can light fires in the minds of man' so we want your voice, your input, your words.

The Westgate Studio

Shadows I glare at it while it creeps Shrouding the atmosphere It stalks my mind while I sleep Instilling into me a horrendous fear I can’t wait for the sun to perish the gloom It hides in the corner its silence shouts night-mares The darkness continues to linger and cling to walls of my room My heart pulsates to tell me one simple thing I’m scared Gripping my chest and legs tightly. It whispers and whines and never leaves This monster doesn’t go away it happens nightly I lay on my bed exhausted and grief. I cry in the torment and wonder why the shad-ows are so heartless My mother opens the door and asks the matter of my cry She listens to my unfortunate night and says go to bed silly its just the darkness I lay back down relaxed and brave as something whispers into my ear...Die

Jai Chauhan

DivisionDivision, why does it separate us?Race, ethnicity and creed,Why do all these things matter?Should I be defined by my dark skin?Or the country I come from,Can’t you see what’s beyond that?It’s tearing apart what’s left of us!

Peace, oh peace will you ever fill the hearts of vic-tims? We’re all hostages of division,We’re a broken people,Compassion fix our shattered hearts,Love make us whole again,Love has journeyed so far away it may never re-turn!

We’re all bound by hate,so we can never love even if we tried,What will have to happen to bind us again?The tears are flooding the land,Blood is crying out from the ground,Learn to love before your wrath consumes all that’s left of you!The Westgate Studio The Westgate Studio

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WW1 recipe - Fruit Cake

Ingreedients •3 med. sized apples, cubed•2 cups. raisins•1 cup. white sugar•1 cup. brown sugar•2 cup. water•2 tbsp. lard •Boil together 5 minutes. Cool.•2 tsp. baking soda•1 tsp. cloves•1 tsp. cinnamon•1 tsp. nutmeg

Method•Soak raisins in warm water until plumped.

•Sift together dry ingredients with 1 cup flour. Add to fruit mixture. Stir togeth-er using a wooden spoon (do not beat).

Add enough additional flour to make a liquid batter of the same consistency as a cake mix.Add nuts, if desired.

•Transfer batter to a greased pan and smooth over the top with the back of a spoon or spatula.

•Bake in a preheated 325°F oven un-til a toothpick inserted in centre of cake comes out clean (in Civil War times, a broom straw was often used to test the cake). When cake is done, it will spring back in centre when touched lightly with fingertips.

The Westgate Studio The Westgate Studio

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Hope is a bird With wonderful feathers Sits on the boughs of the soul And sings the song of how to remain alive

It sings when the dream breaks It sings when ships overurn You are at the bottom and Far away is the shore At that time it teaches you How to rebuild the broken wings of your dream How to ride from bottom to top How to swim to reach to the shore

Then you get an energy inform of a wind in the tune To be alive strongly better than before And it will continue to sing till you want to listen. By anonymous

“Hope Is a Bird” Memories I remember I remember the time I went down on my knee I cried till I could barley see I was devastated. Me why did this happen to me Me out of all the other people that I could see Me not just me all my family Me Alessia Francischelli. The thought running through my head The things that have been said can’t be true The feelings thumping through my heart These things are just pieces of broken art to me. I remember it like it was just yesterday There heart and soul won’t just die away They will always stay with me through thick and thin I can’t just let them be thrown away Like they have the meaning of a metal bin, they are everything. All I’ve got is memories From all of my long lost family I will hold on to my memories forever They will always be there beside me Cheering me on through my life I love you forever and always , My long lost family up in heaven x

By Alessia Mia francischelli.The Westgate Studio The Westgate Studio

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At 9.37am US time (2.37pm UK time) A third hijacked plane, American Airlines Flight 77, crashed into the US military headquarters in Washington DC. By this time the world was glued to their TV screens, shocked at what they were witnessing.

At 9.59am US time (2.59pm UK time) the south tower col-lapsed. Many people were killed and some jumped out of the window to save them-selves. Firefighters and emer-gency workers were killed as well as the people working in the building.

On the 11th of Septem-ber 2001, the world was shocked as the Twin Tow-ers of America were de-stroyed by terrorists. It was a devastating event that left the world shocked and the people of America were devastated by the loss. They closed off their boarders to planes and tourists and many have still not recovered.

This event started at 8.38am US time (1.38pm UK time) when US air traffic controllers con-firmed a passenger plane, American Airlines Flight 11, had been hijacked by unknown people.

Many Americans didn’t re-ally register the news. How-ever when the hijacked plane crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Centre in New York 7 minutes later, many were shocked and up-set. At 9.03am US time (2.03pm UK time), a second hijacked plane crashed into the south tower. The American peo-ple were in despair and the president (George W Bush) made a TV statement to peo-ple in the US, saying: “We have had a national tragedy. Two aeroplanes have crashed into the World Trade Centre in an apparent terrorist at-tack on our country.”

At 10.03am US time (3.03pm UK time) the fourth (and last) hijacked plane, United Airlines Flight 93, crashed into a field. At 10.28am US time (3.28pm UK time) the north tower collapsed, causing the deaths of thousands of people. 9/11 was a tragedy that shocked the whole world, not only America. The country as a whole was relieved when the per-son responsible (Osama Bin Laden) was captured and killed. That ensured that America would never endure a tragedy like the horrifying…..

The Westgate StudioThe Westgate Studio

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Remembrance

They sacrificed their lives for us,Saved our country from destruction,

Served the Navy too,So we wear little red poppies,To show that we remember.

We wear little poppies,As red as can be,

To show that we remember,Those who fought for us.

For we are here,Because of them.

Anonymous

In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.

By John McCrae, May 1915

Flanders fields

The Westgate Studio The Westgate Studio

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Gaza WarOn July 30th, innocent lives of at least fifteen children, were unethically taken away when the school in Jabaliya, refugee camp, was tragically hit by five shells during a night of relent-less bombardment across Gaza by the Israelis. Pierre Krähen-bühl, commissioner-general of the UN agency for Palestin-ian refugees, UNRWA openly states that ‘the world stands disgraced’. The world is becom-ing a place where humans are losing their humanity and are heartlessly murdering children who are peacefully sleeping on the floor of a classroom which they are not able to learn in but are forced to use for unreliable shelter. What is the purpose for putting upon this ‘universal shame’? It is for land; land that the conflict between Israel and Gaza selfishly revolves around.

It is morally wrong to think that just because we are not suffering through this war as it is not taking place in our country, we should not get involved and raise awareness or even tell our children about it. Apparently, the topic of this conflict is ‘too dark’ (quoted from a parent) for these children to be informed about. However, since they are moving into year 7 and will be learning about WW1 and the Holo-caust in History, are these topics ‘too dark’ for them too? The majority of the people who answered ‘No’ believed that Britain ‘has got enough on its plate’ and we should ‘not get involved in other people’s battles’. Well, it is not like they have senseless manslaughter happening on every street corner. On the year 7 induction day, I

volunteered to help out in the RMS department along with oth-er fellow years 11s. During the course of this evening, I assem-bled a survey consisting of the question ‘Do you think that we should get involved with the Is-rael and Gaza conflict?’ From the results I collected, I concluded that the majority of people who stated ‘I don’t know’ were mostly year 6s.

Facts about the Conflict:

• Aftertheholocaust,moreJewish people wanted their own country. They were given a large part of Palestine but the Arabs who already lived there and in neighbouring countries felt that was unfair and didn't accept the new country.• AgroupcalledHamaswon elections and took con-trol of Gaza after the Israelis left. Much of the world calls Hamas a terrorist organisa-tion; it refuses to recognise Israel as a country and wants Palestinians to be able to re-turn to their old home.• Israelispokesmenhaveexplained how the Israelis have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them civilians, compared to the three civilians killed in Israel by Hamas rocket and mortar fire. • Theconflictstartedinthelate 19th century when the Zionist movement started with a group of secular Eu-ropean Jews to establish a homeland for the Jews in Pal-estine. Before that Jews lived in peace with Muslims and Christians in Palestine for about 1300 years.

This suggests that the younger generation of today’s society are not getting educated enough about serious problems that affect the world that they live in.

Nevertheless, other adults had perhaps more understanding views on why they chose to answer ‘no’; they believed that if we take a risk by getting involved in the war through more warfare, this con-flict may backfire therefore putting our country at risk which could end in de-struction and more deaths, for example, of the British soldiers who would be in-volved in this armed conflict.

Have you noticed how many of these facts or other background knowledge on the conflict is proclaimed on the news on a regular basis? The media have their manipulative methods of shading in the parts of these facts that they do not want the public to be aware of so that the readers or watchers will be swayed onto their biased opinions. The media and the news have the power to do this because of the large network following they have; the whole western world is connected by the media.Ultimately, there are many ways of making our actions have an impact on helping these innocent civilians whether it is through fun-draisers, creating charities, participating in protests or just simply spreading the word though blogs or videos. Notwithstanding, there still are people who want to help but have no idea where to start. Primarily, I urge you to educate yourself on these conflicts – read newspaper articles from Palestine and Israel and notice the similar or contradicting points. Subsequently, you will expand your knowledge on questions which you are con-fused about now and as a result, you can then decide to let your actions reflect your beliefs towards this conflict. For example, if you de-cide to take action, you could look at the pe-tition regarding the ‘UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon’. This petition wants people to call on the UN Secretary General to do all he can to put ‘permanent ceasefire’ in place and speak out against the use of explosive weap-ons in populated areas, working towards a lasting resolution to the crisis, so that chil-dren in Gaza and Israel no longer have to suf-fer the terrors of war.Individually we may be little, but together we have the power to make our message heard to bring peace. Senior Reporter

Aliza AsadThe Westgate Studio

I remember, I rememberI remember, I remember La Guiche

In the centre of France, near Blois,

A ruined abbey, an old house, my French family holidays.

I remember the smell of the lavender

The earthy old wine cellar full of dusty old bottles

Drunk by men long ago.

I remember the sound of crickets

Singing at night looking for love

And the cockerel’s crow in the morning

Star Writer

Waking me up every day.

I remember the sight of the hot air bal-loons

Blue, red, yellow, green, orange, purple

Floating above us at teatime.

I remember my holidays at La Guiche

And the long hot summers in France.

By Raphael Comberousse

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The WestgateStudio