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The Penguin PressNumber 2 aas.point@gmail.com 24th October, 2011

Sports

Activities

Arts

Features

Editorials

Although we Se-

niors have been settled back into the wonder-ful daily routine of IB life for two weeks now, the memories of Cyprus are as fresh in our minds as if we had just landed at Sherem-etyevo Airport last night. Arriving just after the first storm in five months, we had the most beautiful weather imaginable. The sun shone bright overhead, sending us the magnificent UV rays we needed to tan our skin to perfection.The accommodations were great, albeit not what everyone had expected. Peppered throughout the village, it could take anywhere from a few steps to several minutes of walking to get to our nearest neighbor’s

house. Toilet paper didn’t flush, shower water wasn’t always heated, some rooms couldn’t fit suitcases and people at the same time, but they grew to be our little homes while we were on the island. However, it was not all fun and games. Upon arrival for the natural scienc-es group, there was a stream study of life in the different parts of a small stream – a good 45 minute hike from the village. While we were out collecting our specimens, study-ing them under micro-scopes, and writing up our labs, the physical sciences group ar-rived just in time for dinner at the local Taverna. Day 2 for the natural sciences (1 for the physicals) was the whole reason we

were in Cyprus in the first place – to do our Group 4 project. While some groups’ experi-ments were a blissful success, other groups weren’t as lucky. How-ever, we all managed to make it through and do those experiments, even if that meant ad-justing them to the conditions we were in. When finished with the labs, we had free time to roam around the city, take pictures, and relax in the sun until dinnertime. The rest of the days went by fairly quickly; the natural sciences did labs with tidal zones while the physicals did energy and pH labs, we went to the beach for an afternoon, a nearby town for din-ner, spent a several hours at a water park, and simply took on the

Cyprian lifestyle for a few more days. The grade also managed to get themselves into a couple’s wedding album!! (Congrats to Robin and Lily for catching the bouquet!) Overall, it was an amazing experience, very different from anything I, personally, have had the oppor-tunity to do. Now, we look forward to less than 200 days until ex-ams start, and approxi-mately 220 days until the day we’ve all been waiting for – gradua-tion. Although Cyprus has come and gone, we can’t let its warm memory fade into the back during these cold times. We can do this, class of 2012!

Cyprus - Sun, Sand and Science - Kayla Fahy

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Series of Unfortunate Events for the Cross Country Team - Hanne Staertzel

This year’s cross country team is fac-ing quite a dilemma concerning their CEESA meet. As for the previous years, all CEESA tournaments usually made its way around the corner dur-ing the second week of November. Yet this year, the cross country tournament will take place one week ear-lier. Although this may seem as not a great dif-

ference, yet for those students counting down the days until November break…Bingo! The first week of November is an all school break but not for the other CEESA schools. Seeing as the Cross country tourna-ment will be smack in the middle of this break, runners with prior plans to go on a nice tropical trip away from the freez-ing, awaiting winter,

may not take part in the race. Not only is the fact that students cannot part take in this events due to family obligations, some stu-dents have registered for the SAT the Sat-urday of the race. Al-though you may think this is a coincidence that will only happen this year, according to the schedule, next year’s CEESA race will once again be during our November

break. Let’s hope the team can figure out an-other way so that the

entire team can race together, and see how their hard work and

Finally, Model United Nations Has Begun!

While students are loaded

with their academic work, the chilliness of the weather has marked the beginning of the fall season of after-school activities.Unlike other years, this year seemed to be the year for MUN

– Model United Na-tions. We received the news just previ-ous week that AAS was finally accepted to the BEIMUN in Beijing. Some may ask; What is MUN? MUN is a conference in which groups of young people gather together, representing various countries, to

discuss and negoti-ate with each other on global issues. This is about meeting a wide range of people from other schools around the world commit-ted to solving global problems. Basically, it is about putting one-self in other people’s

shoes and seeing the world from differ-ent perspectives. This involves the use of a wide array of skills in order to research and to speak in pub-lic. Thus, research is a valuable tool. Also, having the confidence to speak about a wide range of global issues from a particular per-

spective is essential. Seeing this on paper may sound easy. How-ever, don’t underesti-mate. It is challenging and will be a lot of work. Yet, once one has participated, he/she will feel that he/she will always want to do so again. One will begin to enjoy to face these challenges, and soon find oneself being an active partici-pant at several differ-ent conferences. AAS is a growing com-munity internally and externally. It is also expanding and devel-oping in its MUN pro-gram; now, we have 4 conferences being attended, which are BEIMUN – the most recent addition, PA-MUN, BISMUN, and HELIMUN – expand-ing from Europe, now towards Asia. Though MUN only had been introduced to our school few years back, our MUN program is set on a solid track and it is evident that

there are further de-velopments that can be made. There are many more that people that can get themselves involved. It presents great opportunities to

grow and develop as global citizens, which contributes to a great learning atmosphere at school. PAMUN, which is held in Paris

in December, has al-ready begun. How-ever, don’t think that it is too late to join our MUN program. BEIMUN is coming up and will start very

soon, as will BISMUN and HELIMUN. So, stay updated to the news, and come, join us. All are welcome!

- Ji-Ye Yoon

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Steve Jobs died six weeks after resign-

ing as CEO of Apple

Inc. on wwOctober 5 at age 56 due to pan-creatic cancer. Jobs lead an extremely successful life as an inventor and entrepre-neur; he was most well

known for being the co-founder, chairman, and chief executive of-ficer of Apple Inc. Jobs, along with the other co-founders, de-signed and marketed one of the first suc-cessful personal com-puters, later named the Macintosh in the 1980’s. Later, the iPod, iPhone, and iPad were developed from 2004 onwards. Nowadays, it is diffi-cult to go a day with-out seeing an Apple product. In this way, Steve Jobs lives on through the products

he invented and devel-oped. The success of Apple is exemplified through AAS: almost 90% of high school students own at least one Apple product. Steve Job’s creations have dramat-ically improved how the world communi-cates information and consumes content in the Digital Age.

Steve Jobs Lives On Through His Creations - Elan Code

Knitting Frenzy - Sasha Parodi

Attention please! The knitting frenzy has spread to AAS. Every Monday after school a group of dedicated knit-ters, experienced and new, come together to make the world a bet-ter place by creating hats for infants in Af-rica, whilst relaxing from the stress and tri-als of school and being creative at the same time. Sound like fun? YOU could become one of us. Come to Ms. Robertson’s room 40

Its slightly addicting

Winter creations

FIND OUT, Monday after school, from 3:45 to 4:45. Still not con-vinced? Want to know more about knitting? Read on.

“Knit-pearl-knit-pearl-knit-pearl-knit-pearl…” in the world of knit-ting these words are as common as the usual Hello. With just these two words you can de-scribe a whole creation, whether it be a hat, scarf, sweater, mittens - anything. You set the style, you set the pat-

tern, you design the creation – all by us-ing only two magical words. Knit. Pearl.

Knitting has been a part of the lives of people for an incred-ibly long time. Origi-nating in the Middle East and Egypt in the 11th to 14th centuries CE, the art of needles and thread has spread across the world and is now a popular pastime by many. Relatively easy to learn and ex-tremely relaxing, knit-ting allows anyone to release their creativity in a useful and highly rewarding way.

So please come and donate only an hour of your time to knitting a hat. I promise you, there will be no regrets.

Come to the knitting side.

Discover your creative potential.

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CAS Satire Breathe Deeply

Teacher Band- Annie May

- Xenia Rakovshik

Rumors have been going around school about a rock band consisting of AAS teachers. Theres nothing

more to say than: It’s true! After interviewing Mr.Pickering, high school Social Studies teacher who plays in the band, everything

became much clearer. The band joined together around February/March 2011 and it consists of seven teachers altogether. Most teach in elementary and middle school, with Mr.Pickering being the only high school teacher. Some of the other teachers include: Mr. King on lead vocals, Mr. Marks on vocals and rhythm guitar, and Ms.Fox on keyboards and vocals. Mr.Pickering plays rhythm guitar and sings as well. Mr. Pickering described how the band came

together to rehearse in Mrs.Wanamaker’s band room, but they had found it hard to set up the equipment each time and then put it away. Now, they actually have a rehearsal studio which makes it more convenient and fun to rehearse. The band has a list of 20 songs, which are covers ranging from the 60s to fairly new songs. Mr.Pickering’s explanation of this is “we want the audience to know their music and to be able to dance”. Speaking of audience, the band has already played two gigs. One

at AAS director Mr. Alexanders farewell party, and one at the welcome barbecue for teachers at the beginning of this school year. Unfortunately, students have not gotten a chance to see the band play, but Mr. Pickering spilled that there is a chance they will be playing at the High School Prom this year! So don’t put this new band at the back of your mind, because you just might be seeing them around Moscow’s many music venues in the near future.

This CAS project is centered on student-led breathing tutorials for all students of the high school and members of the high-school staff. Three times a week, a group of chosen students will lead a 10-minute breathing exercise that will help participants clear their minds and work to improve their overall mood and productiv-ity level.Leaders of this group: (Name I), (Name II), and (Name III), have already taken a summer course at the (Insert generic mind/body/soul center here) that have certified them as being able to teach others the basic principles of proper breathing in order to improve clarity of thought processes and relief of stress.

The seminar will take place three times a

week about thirty-five minutes into the lunch period in the fifth floor area. Participants in the seminar will learn the following basic steps to independent breathing practices:

Finding your own rhythm in your breath Remembering to breathe Using breath-ing techniques to lower heart rate

Participants will be required to rate stress levels on a scale of 1-10 (1 being the calm-est) both before and after the exercises to rate the effectiveness of said exercises and give leading members a chance to reflect upon what kind of improve-ments could be made to better accommodate the needs of the subjects. By participating in the campaign, individuals will learn to not only

be more aware of their own personal state of being, but also the en-vironment around then, a feat that is proving more challenging as modern life becomes increasingly hectic and demanding.

Improvements in breathing rates will also increase carbon-diozide output from the resipiratory system, thus allowing the foli-age around said indi-vidual to grown and realease increased lev-els of oxygen into the

atmosphere. This por-motes increased levels of global awarness. Learning outcomes in-clude: Ultimately, the program will extend to non-school-based groups such as Prokovsky residents and the hos-pital patients of (insert hospital here) by Febru-ary of 2012 as a part of the “Breathe Deeply” campaign.

Learning outcomes include:

Increased awareness of

strengths and areas for growth

Undertaking new chal-lenges

Planned and initiated activities

Working collabora-tively with others

Show perseverance and commitment

Consider ethical impli-cations

Develop new skills

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High School Stockholm SyndromeDavid Awtrey - Science Department - Xenia Rakovshik

Where did you at-tend high school?

Public school in La Crosse, Wisconsin, class of ‘81. I think there were 600 people in my graduating class.

How would your teachers describe you as a student?

Well, I thought I was bright and endlessly en-tertaining. (I still do). I guess it depends on the teacher. My biology teacher is one of the rea-sons I entered this pro-fession. He wanted us to realize our potential because he saw things we might not have seen in ourselves. My chemistry teacher on the other hand, thought I was hopeless. Hon-estly, I thought the same of him. So, maybe: bright, sarcastic, under achieving, but full of potential.

What would you have

“That 70’s Show got the hair right.” - David Awtrey

done differently hav-ing the experience as a teacher you have now, as a student then?

Big list. Learned a lan-guage or five. Paid at-tention. I just did not seem to make the con-nection between school and the rest of my life until university. I think I could always recog-nize the teachers who had the gift of passion about their subject mat-ter, and I learned a lot. But I was always afraid to fail at anything. I would challenge myself in arts, literature and music. I was missing a creative outlet and love the discipline and self reflection required of performers. Oh, I would definitely have asked out Janet Craig in grade 9 too.

What did you want to become upon leaving high school?

I wanted to become as far away from home as

possible.

Rumour has it that you are married to Ms. McPherson. Is this true, and if so, where did you meet?

Let’s have a scandalous rumor if we’re to have one. Mr. A and I were married last summer in New York State. Ac-tually, my wife is Peggy Smith, Director of Cur-riculum. We met teach-ing at the same school in Wisconsin 19 years ago. If you ask me we met playing darts in a bar af-ter school, but don’t tell her that.

Often in class you mention past students who exhibited certain strange behaviors. What is one of your favorite stories to tell?

We had a valedictorian that did not graduate. We declared valedic-torian for scholarship purposes after the first semester. He won,

checked out, failed a class or two and had to finish in the summer. His younger brother was even more talented. I could see what was coming and actually helped him finish school after grade 11. He went to university a year early. I know this odd, but I feel like it was one of the best things I have ever done for a student.

You are quite open about your past his-tory with cancer. How has the experience contributed on your perspective on life to-day?

Illness takes your daily life from you. The little routines and worries are gone and you can’t imagine how wonder-ful it is to care about normal things until they are missing. Actually, I have always been pretty happy to be alive. It made me less bothered by little things. I was in isolation for 22 days. I will never forget the feel of the breeze on my skin the day I left the hospi-tal.

What do you believe to be the most interest-ing aspect of biology? Why?

Biodiversity. Living things are fascinating. (Even nonhuman ones) From coral reefs, to rainforest trails, to des-erts, to tundra, I would go anywhere to see new life or intact ecosys-tems. We know so little about the complexities; it is just endlessly amaz-ing to me.

If you could take the place of any scientist

on a particular day, whom would you pick, when, and why?

Alfred Russel Wallace He walked the Amazon basin for four years in the mid 1800’s. He was a brilliant biolo-gist, tough as nails and more than a bit crazy. He saw things that will never exist again and was truly doing work in remote places. At one point he was robbed and abandoned by his na-tive guides and left to die. He made his way to a settlement, some-how got new clothes and set off again. The experience warranted two sentences in one of his books. I just can-not imagine that life so I would choose a good day on his voyage.

If you could change one thing about the AAS high school what would it be?

I’d love to see us all have what I didn’t, the connection of learning to our lives. We need to appreciate and take advantage of what we have here at AAS. The power of education and thinking for yourself is the one thing no one can take away from you.

Do you have any ad-vice for current high school students?

Be who you are. As Kurt Vonnegut said: “We are what we pre-tend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”

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Delve into a world of complete nonsense where nothing is im-possible. Join stub-born little Alice on her adventures where she meets the Mad Hat-ter, the March Hare, the Cheshire Cat, the Queen of Hearts, and many other characters that are utterly mad. Curiosity leads poor Alice into trouble. One fall down the rabbit hole and she is in deep trouble. She dives into the mysterious ways of Wonderland, only to lose herself com-pletely. She loses her identity and her way back home. She needs to find her way back, but how? That is the

question. Nothing goes her way here, all goes the Queen’s ways. One little white rabbit in a waistcoat causes Al-ice huge problems, she can’t find her way from Wonderland back home.

Will she ever find her way back? Or will her curiosity have finally gotten the best of her, and will she be stuck in Wonderland forever?

TV Shows - Alexander Rakovshik

House (Hugh Lau-rie) returns with his 8th season running, starting off with his lifestyle of the prison. If you have not watched season 7 of House, we watched him destroying his ex-girl-friend, Cuddy’s (Lisa Edelstein), car. We now drop in with his current

life in prison where he has sort of rubbed in with the wrong crowd, and currently waiting to be released. With all new cases and an all-new team, House tries to cope with his new life and get back on his feet in his overconfident and persistent manner.

Back with all new laughs, Ted Moseby and the rest of the gang is back with the 7th sea-son of How I Met Your Mother. We start off with Marshall and Lily finding out that they are going to have a baby, as well as that someday in the future, the all play-boy and no work Bar-ney is getting married! Back in present time, it appears that Robin still has feelings for Barney left over, but Barney has

fallen for Nora. Ted is now the architect of the new Goliath National Bank HQ building, but still is searching for the perfect one. As the story of how Ted met his soul mate continues, more adventures and laughs unravel along the way.

The new TV-show that shows all the lifestyles, adventures, and romanc-es of the Pan American Airways stewardesses. Based on the year of 1927, this shows brings

House - Season Eight

How I Met Your Mother - Season Seven

Pan Am - Season

One

out the adventures and secrets of the elegant Pan Am stewardess’. The characters consist of: Laura (Margot Rob-bie), a runaway bride who fled from her own wedding so that she could travel the world, her older sister Kate (Kelli Garner), who ap-parently has joined the Cold War of informa-tion retrieval, Colette (Karine Vanasse), who can be considered as the French flirt, and fi-nally Maggie (Christina Ricci), the lady who takes charge with a little fun at the side. Within this TV-show, you may find out that the beauti-ful stewardesses of Pan Am may not all be what seems to the eye.

Book Review - Alices Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll - Christine Church October Concerts

Kroc-Rock Festival, 22nd October, Izvestiya Hall - One of the big-gest Russian under-ground rock festivals, Croc Rock is only get-ting bigger with ev-ery year. This time the headliners will be one of the most famous American punk-rock bands - Good Charlotte. As well if you love to explore new still undis-covered indie rock, this

might be a good choice for you as there to be expected a lot of new Russian talents, most of which actually sing in English.

- Alisa Ruzavina

HushPuppies, 27th Oc-tober, B2 Club - A beau-tiful French garage rock band, straight from Paris is going to perform their most well-known tracks inspired by the sixties, like “You’re Gonna” and “Say yeah!”, for

the true lovers of good-quality music.

Zaz, 31st October, Cro-cus City Hall - Another French artist, an unfor-gettable jazz and soul singer Zaz, with a voice of Edith Piaf and with a quirky rebellious at-titude at the same time, will make your Hallow-een a night to remem-ber.

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Horoscopes

Crossword Puzzle

- Sophi Loge

LIBRA: Look out for your own interests and pay no attention to those who say you should be helping them more. It means they cannot be bothered to make an ef-fort for themselves.

SCORPIO: You may be tempted to give up on something that seems to be taking up your time and energy, but if you stop now you will regret it later, so keep going.

SAGITTARIUS: There is a danger that you might spread yourself too thin, so be mindful of what you are doing and only do more if it is absolutely necessary.

CAPRICORN: You are remarkably ambitious at the moment, and that’s no bad thing, but you won’t be able to reach certain targets without

help.

AQUARIUS: Steer clear of other people’s battles. You cannot change other people, you can only live well and be a good example.

PISCES: Luck is cer-tainly smiling on you,

so if you have been thinking of taking a risk of some sort maybe now is the time.

ARIES: If you have fallen out with a partner, colleague, loved one or friend, your first priority is to get back on good terms with them.

TAURUS: Times may be hectic but no way can you slow down because there is still a lot to be done. There is no limit to what you can accom-plish, don’t limit your vision.

GEMINI: You will get an offer that could bring

you a lot more work, but you are no stranger to effort, either the physi-cal or mental kind.

CANCER: You may have to get tough with someone you are close with, but if you don’t they will most likely make a mess of some-thing that affects you directly.

LEO: Try not to get so close to something you are working on that you lose your sense of per-spective. Remember, often a small deviation in the way you do things can lead to huge chang-es over time.

VIRGO: Don’t limit yourself in any way, shape or form. Creative-ly and artistically you will be on top of your game, so do something truly extraordinary.

- Kristina Pham

This puzzle is not just any puzzle. The first five words that catch your eye, says a lot about you.Ready set go!

Sudoku Puzzle

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Spirit Week Schedule

This week the high-school has been given the oppoortunity to abondon their everyday attire in exchange for some truly inspired and

- Xenia Rakovshik

Monday, 24th October - Pajama Day Late to school due to anxiety ridden, early-morning descions over your wardrobe choices? Today’s the day to leave the distress behind. Get out of bed (perhaps take a shower), and step your slipper clad feet upon the linoleum of the hall-way. School’s never been this confortable

Tuesday, 25th October - Cross Dressing DayFor those of you have wanted to show up those girls walking on stilts, here’s your chance. Challenge gender roles or simply get ridiculous on cross-dressing day.

Wednesday, 26th Oc-tober - Pop Culture DayEmbody the style of your favorite artists, musicisans or even come to school as in-spiring actors, cartoon characters, and media moguls. Today’s the day to express your appre-ciation for some of the most iconic individuals in history.

Thursday, 27th Octo-ber - Nerd versus Jock Day Brains or brawl? You decide. Whether you be a muscular athlete or brilliant lab rat, both can find their niche within the confines of these brick walls.

Friday, 28th October - Halloween Celebra-tionLast day before break, and your last chance to exoricse whatever de-mon lies within. Come as creature, foul, fluffy, or simply freakish.

in some case, peculiar ensembles. The annual spirit week is a chance for each grade to earn some spirit points that will go towards a game of in-school laser tag

whilst allowing par-ticipants to ignore their inhibitions and release their inner child. Don’t miss out!

Advertising CAS ActivitiesHave a great idea for a CAS activity but lack the resources and man power to realize it? Ad-vertise your project in the school newspaper. Simply contact us at aas.point@gmail.com with your proposal and we’ll put it into out pub-lication. Here’s to a suc-cessful IB carreer.

Yoga Classes Sittin in class six to seven hours a day can cause some serious msucle cramps and back pains. Yoga, even for 15-30 minutes per day can help alleviate some of that stress and help in allowing you to do the vest you can do in day to day activities. Starting on the monday

after break, yoga classes are scheduled to take place in Mr.A’s classroom. However, input is needed by par-ticipants as to whether they’d rather participate in said activity before school (starting at 7:30) or during Lunch period. Please e-mail your pref-erence to aas.point@gmail.com

Announcements, questions, concernts, comments? Send your input to aas.point@gmail.com to advertise lost items, surveys and reccomendations to get the word around.

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