Newsletter - December 2012 - Verdala International School

Fort Pembroke, Pembroke, PBK 1641, Malta
www.verdala.org vis@verdala.org +365 21375133
December 2012 Newsletter
Welcome to the Verdala International School Newsletter! If you would like to contribute to future
issues, or have any comments or suggestions, please email either Jill Kirkstadt at jill@verdala.org or
Jess Droscher at jessicad@verdala.org. Do you have some exciting family news? Do you know of a
past (or present!) student or staff member who has had an achievement that should be recognised?
Do you have an interesting hobby that you would like to introduce to the Verdala community?
Please email us with any news from inside or outside Verdala, so we can share it with our readers.
Many thanks from the JQ Newsletter team (Jill Kirkstadt, Jess Droscher, Jesmond Navarro, and Joseph
Borg).
Inside this issue:

Elementary News

Middle School News

IB News

High School News

All-School News

Board News

Booster Club News

Community News

Alumni News

Announcements

Classifieds
Inside
this
issue…
….
Page 2
Elementary News
Grade 4 and 5 Handball Tournament
After practicing for many weeks, the Grade 4's and 5's had a
volleyball competition in the High School Gym. This was a very
special event as it involved not only the players, but cheerleaders
from both classes as well as many parents in attendance. The
matches were all very close, but in the end the Grade 5's came out
with a victory.
Host Country Day
In October 2012, the Elementary school took off to explore Malta for their bi-annual Host Country Day
field trips. Each Grade visited a different location to learn about, enjoy and celebrate our Host
Country. Throughout the Elementary School, we visited the following places:
Pre-Kindergarten – Inspire
Kindergarten – Mdina and the Museum of Natural History
Grade 1 – Bird Park and Piscopo Gardens
Grade 2 – The Limestone Heritage Museum and Buskett Gardens
Grade 3 – Fort Rinella and the Malta Maritime Museum
Grade 4 – Grand Master’s Palace and the Great Siege
Grade 5 – Archeology Museum, The Malta Experience and Hagar Qim
“We went to the Bird
Park. We had fun.
We saw a flamingo.”
Charlie Crabbe,
Grade 1.
Page 3
Everyone had a great time, and thankfully the weather held out for us.
Thanks again to Ms. Maggie for organising another great day out!
Grade 5 Timeline Project
It took a long time and a lot of work, but we, 5th Grade students, managed to put together a long,
long, long timeline of different things that have happened in history. First, we were all assigned one
person, one place and one event. We had to have the name, date and picture of what we were
assigned to on our paper. Then we made our papers. Next, we put them in chronological order.
After that, we taped them all together. And finally, we hung up our timeline in front of our classroom.
All together we used 50 sheets of paper taped together. You can come and see the real thing here
at Verdala in front of the 5th Grade classroom! You will be amazed!
Cameron Christie, Grade 5
Page 4
First we thought of different people, places and events that changed the world. Then, we crossed
out all the ones that we didn’t want until we came to exactly 17 of each. After that we were all
assisgned three of them and we had to print out one page for each of them including their name, a
picture, and the date that they happened. Next we brought all the pages to school and taped
them together in chronological order. We had to tape it in the library because it wouldn’t fit in our
classroom. Then Mr. M folded it up and brought it outside where we all held it up. It was 51 pages
long! Mr. M took a couple pictures before we brought it back inside and pinned it up.
Clare Kirk, Grade 5
Page 5
Middle School News
Booster Curtains for the Middle School
Joyously trying out my new data projector in the Drama room to watch a video, I encountered a
problem:
The sun was too bright and shiny, we couldn’t see the film.
Help! I called, we need a blackout curtain!
Boosters to the rescue!
The Booster Club decided to equip the Drama room in the Middle School with a new set of curtains,
and work began. Seeing the beautiful new red curtains, other Middle School teachers were
impressed, could they have some too? Well, thanks to the Boosters and a generous benefactor,
plans were soon underway for a new set of curtains for classrooms in the Middle School. Serving a
dual purpose, the curtains primarily block out the sun and its heat, but they also make the
environment much more pleasing to the eye!
Two Booster members, Ghislaine Verges and Vjollca Trapnell, have been spending every available
minute in the Middle School sewing, cutting and putting up curtains, to the gratitude of students and
teachers alike. When you are in the area, do have a look! They have done a wonderful job! A big
thank-you to all involved!
Lucienne Agius
Page 6
7th Grade Robotics Trip
The seventh grade was able to participate in the EU Robotics Week symposium. They learned the
basics of robotics and were able to try programming their own robots.
Scott Hofstetter, 7th Grade Science Teacher
Page 7
IB News
Candidates for the May 2013 examination session have now been registered. Any changes to
registration data after this week carry an additional charge.
Please note that the school reserves the right to withdraw candidates from the Diploma programme
(may still sit for certificates) if they do not meet the deadline dates set by the school. As a reminder,
here are the deadlines for November, December, and January.
(MSP=Maths Studies Project, BMP=Business and Management Project)
2012
November
EE Final copy (early Nov)
A1 ST first draft (early Nov)
MSP: Deadline for first draft (Meet with supervisor to discuss)
English B orals
A1 ST final draft (Mid-November)
TOK presentations
MPF question due
December
French, Italian, Spanish orals
English A1 Oral Commentary
CAS status reports (approximately 135 hours should be completed)
MSP: Deadline for second draft
Theatre, Final Draft RI
2013
January
French, Italian, Spanish orals
MSP: Deadline for third draft (polish and complete final draft)
Psychology Research Study
English B oral
English A1 2nd World Lit assignment
9th, BMP: 1st full draft
Theatre Arts – Final Draft PPP
Jan-Feb-Mar Working on 2nd (3rd?) HL/SL MPF
Working on TOK essay
Theatre, working on IPP and TPPP
Page 8
High School News
El viaje a Barcelona – The Barcelona Trip
During the October holiday, we did an amazing trip with my Spanish class.
We went to Barcelona! The trip was from the 20th to the 25th of October - a
period too short for such a wonderful place. But we enjoyed every
second of this trip!
On our first day we took the touristic bus to see the
best of Barcelona. We stopped to visit the Sagrada
Familia. What a magnificent building! With such
beautiful, colourful windows!
We then visited the Park Guell. Gaudí's design
impressed all of us. The sculptures, the houses...
everything looked so nice! At 8 pm, we enjoyed
ourselves watching a flamenco show and eating some
typical Spanish tapas: ‘Patatas bravas’, some Paella,
fried fish, Spanish omelets, and Russian salad.
On Monday, we had the best trip ever! We went to Port
Aventura, a theme park with lots of roller coasters such as
"Shambhala" which is also
known as the tallest roller
coaster in Europe! And
"Furious Baco" - the fastest
hypercoaster with 134km/hr!
And yes, we were all brave
enough to go there (Well,
maybe not Ms. Brincat).
The next day, we visited the Dali museum (his art is brilliant, really). And we
also had a flamenco lesson in the afternoon. I think we all did pretty well!
On Wednesday, we visited the Casa Batllo which is a magnificent building
designed by Gaudi. Then we went to the Boqueria market where you can
find absolutely anything you want!
We also went to the aquarium
and
the
Picasso
museum.
Afterwards, we had a short break in a chocolate factory
where we had chocolate or coffee with ‘Churros’ (if you
don’t know what they are – go to Spain and try them!). As
the grand finale, we all had a dinner with lots of delicious
tapas!
Page 9
I wish I could go again. I loved every
moment of this trip - all the card games
we had every night, all those trips, and
activities we did… Thank you Mr. and
Mrs. Simpson, and Ms Brincat! Thank you
so much!
Caroline Schiller (Grade 12)
Evita Otigbah
Teresa Marras
Valerio Pellicciari
Tatiana Torriani
André Moazed
James Kohout
Dylan McCormick
Julia Sergeeva
Anne-Mieke van Hemert
Polina Kravtsova
Caroline Schiller
Page 10
UNIVERSITY OF MALTA – OPEN WEEK
TIME, EINSTEIN AND THE COOLEST ATOMS IN THE UNIVERSE
On Friday the 9th of November, Nobel Laureate William D Phillips gave a talk at the University of
Malta, Valletta Campus. He spoke about his experiences exploring some of the coldest atoms in the
Universe, and how they are using these super-cold atoms to create incredibly accurate atomic
clocks. The talk was full of exciting live experiments followed by a once-in-a-life-time opportunity to
discuss
physics
with
Prof.
Phillips.
This event was supported by the University of Malta, the Ministry for Justice, Dialogue and the Family,
the US Embassy in Malta, The Malta Chamber of Scientists, Malta Cafe Scientifique, and the Malta
Council for the Voluntary Sector.
Some of our teachers and students were lucky enough to attend this very inspiring lecture. If you are
interested in what Professor Philips discussed, here is a posting on YouTube of a similar talk that he
gave to the Office of Naval Research (ONR): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i53E1A5VC-E
COMPUTER SCIENCE PRESENTATIONS
During Open Week at the University of Malta, the 10th grade Computer Studies class, and the 11th
and 12th grade IB Computer Science classes attended presentations on recent developments in
technology, from how computer graphics are used in various applications from television production
to robotics.
Page 11
The 10th Grade Students participated in a presentation on "Multimedia Signal Processing".
Andrea Amato Gauci, Christina Bartoli, Alexia Debono, Murtuzali Gadzhiev,
Naomi Gradel, Jean-Philipp Kunkler, Cosmo McNamara, Elizabeth O'Donnell,
Francesco Otigbah, Benjamin Said, Savannah-Maria Sant, Isobel Walliker,
Omar Zahra, Sophie Hackenbruch, Liam Sproule, Gianluca Trapani
The 11th- and 12th-Grade students participated in a presentation on "The New World in ICT", including
future career opportunities in IT fields.
Kalean Agius, Andrew
Graham, James Kohout,
Dylan McCormick, Max
Micallef Attard, Caroline
Schiller, Ryan Stott,
Cornelius Dahling, Hazim
El-Hejaji, Enaam
Elhouderi, Manuel
Fajardo, James Rulli,
Daniel Seifert, Alec
Anthony Zammit
Matthew Tomich
IB History, IB Computer Science, IGCSE ICT/Computer Studies, IGCSE Geography
High School Social Studies Coordinator
Page 12
YOUNG ENTERPRISE
There are two VIS teams this year. Both teams have been busy
drawing up their business plans, carrying out market research, setting
meetings, and bonding. The business plan has to be presented by 4th
December and the teams have to face a judging panel on the 8th.
Our students will be competing with as many as 18 teams from 8 different schools.
“BRUSH AWAY”
Saida Ryazapova
Hannah Veltrup (CEO)
Cornelius Dahling
Francesca Zingales
Phil Kyu Jeong
Leia Room (absent)
Their product is called Twist & Brush and it is
a handy carry-along toothbrush equipped
with toothpaste and dental floss.
“PLUGGEDIN”
Manuel Fajardo
Corrine Graham
Maria Paola Micallef
Jonathan Schulz (CEO)
Pavel Vedernikov
James Rulli
Their product is called Paddock which is
an alternative charging station.
Scott Hofstetter, MS and HS YE Link Teacher
Elaine Gili, HS IB Business Teacher
Page 13
College Counsellor’s Corner: Highlights of ongoing activities
The last months have been indeed very buzzing for the College Counselling department, where
intensive work focused around the preparation of applications sent off to UK and USA Universities. We
are receiving very encouraging acceptances from a variety of Universities of our students’ choice.
More applications are still being processed, particularly those for Universities in the USA, Canada and
the Netherlands.
In addition to this our Grade 12 students are receiving support to ensure the smooth finalizing of their
CAS Journals. Most of them are well on track, requiring only minimal improvement. Amendments that
are being suggested at this stage can easily be dealt with during the Christmas recess. Grade 12
students will continue to receive support with their CAS Journal up until the deadline for submission
and completion of the minimum 150-hour requirement, before our Easter break. In the meantime
Grade 11 students are reminded that they would need to log in a minimum of 45 CAS hours by the
end of the 1st Semester.
Grade 11 students are being coached on the admissions procedures for American Universities where
strong weight is given to one’s GPA, SAT scores and the attainment of the American High School
Diploma, as a minimum entry requirement. Students taking the SAT tests, both the Reasoning and the
Subject tests, are reminded to register online though the USA CollegeBoard website. Students can
register for SAT tests in January 26th, May 4th and June 1st, 2013.
As part of student’s academic planning for University, please be reminded that one’s performance
throughout the four years in High School will have a bearing on one’s GPA and eventually on the IB
predicted grade that will be sent to the Universities of one’s choice. Whilst different educational
systems have different application procedures, it is well in place to highlight the weight given to a
student’s Transcript covering Grade 9 through to Grade 12 by American Universities.
By now Grade 10 students are focused on choosing and preparing for their IGCSE Examinations.
During a presentation on the implication of IGCSE qualifications to University applications, students
understood how their academic work in Grade 10 has a bearing on their GPA, the American High
School Diploma and the IGCSE Examinations.
The month of January will see the start of “A day in the life of a professional” series of presentations by
parents. This is part of the Career Readiness Counselling Programme with the goal of connecting
students to the VIS community resources, ensuring that students acquaint themselves with personal
experiences of practitioners in the field of work.
For more information, you may contact me via my e-mail address at visgo@verdala.org
Ms Rose-Ann Trapani
College Counsellor, CAS Coordinator & SAT Administrator
Page 14
All-School News
The 9th Age Group Swimming Meeting
The 9th Age Group Swimming Meeting – 2012 was held at the
National pool Complex on Saturday 3d, November 2012. A
great
overall
performance,
personal
best
swimming
achievements and an outstanding sporting behavior were
demonstrated by our newborn VIS Swim Club’s swimmers and
by Maltese club swimmers from Verdala International School.
HOCK Callie
PRATT Sebastian
REEVES Samuel
GRAY Cameron
KEYS Liam
GADZHIEV Gamid
GADZHIEV Murtuz
MAILANDER Chris
BOFFA Jacques
BUSUTILL Jaimie
Results on line http://www.cis-online.net/
Congratulations to all of the athletes! Keep it up!
Page 15
FIRE!! (Prevention )
On Thursday, 18th October, Mr Mike McMahon from
the US Embassy agreed to organize a workshop on
Fire Prevention for the Verdala Staff. We had a
session where we learned about important safety
measures, and then we had a go at using the Fire
Extinguishers.
Huge THANKS to Mr McMahon for organizing this
workshop, and thanks to the US Embassy for
providing the ABC Fire Extinguishers!
Our Fearless Leader! 
ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL ART
Kindergarten students are starting their large self-portraits. There is some completed art work on
display in the Elementary School based on their IPC unit entitled ‘Ourselves”.
Page 16
Grade 1 Artwork is based on Vincent Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” and their IPC unit on Day and Night.
Page 17
Grade 5 Artists are working on different art styles and techniques; Abstract Expressionism, Aboriginal
Art, Impressionism and Photomontage.
Page 18
Grade 8 Artists are working on Elements of Design-space, texture, line, shape, while assembling
together a balanced composition based on their class work: ‘taking a line for a walk….’
Middle and High School Honours Lists – Scholastic Year 2012-2013
Middle School High Honours First Quarter
GRADE 6
Mindy Alfvegren
Alana Clements
Gabriela Cremades Izquierdo
Clemens Rattasits
Paula Von Jagow
GRADE 7
Hannah Brown
Olivia Cooper
Quinn Kirk
Carl Sundelius
Middle School Honours First Quarter
GRADE 6
Rory Kirk
GRADE 7
Anneke Narain DeTar
Felix Hackenbruch
Heather Smith
GRADE 8
Heidi Cao
Ita Nudelman
David Salge
Sigrid Svanberg
Page 19
High School High Honours First Quarter
GRADE 9
Liam Narain DeTar
Tereza Petrovicova
GRADE 10
Sophie Hackenbruch
Elizabeth O’Donnell
Isobel Walliker
GRADE 11
Maria Paola Micallef
Valerio Pellicciari
James Rulli
GRADE 12
Gabriela Cruz
A In Kwon
Dylan McCormick
Evita Otigbah
Caroline Schiller
GRADE 11
Corinne Graham
Phil Kyu Jeong
Damiano Lagana
Xiaoyu Lou
Andre Moazed
Saida Ryazapova
Jonathan Schulz
Pavel Vedernikov
Hannah Veltrup
James White
Zuzanna Zajac
Alec Zammit
GRADE 12
High School Honours First Quarter
GRADE 9
Johanna Benndorf
Giulia Palmieri
India Raniolo
Kim Sundelius
Albert Svanberg
Ipek Ulker
Pauline Verges
Oceane Visser
Spirit Week Fun!
Pajama Day
GRADE 10
Murtuzali Gadzhiev
Simon Kravtsov
Lidiya Murakhovskaya
Andrea Amato Gauci
Samantha Cassar Ellis
Ghada Dbouba
Andrew Graham
Yuliya Isakava
James Kohout
Polina Kravtsova
Teresa Marras
Kimberly Merten
Max Micallef Attard
Valentina Spiteri
Tatiana Torriani
Page 20
Page 21
Class Theme Day
Grade 12 – “Ganstas”
Grade 7 – Famous
Grade 9 – Cartoon Characters
Grade 3J – Roald Dahl Characters
Grade 6 - Gangsters
Grade 5 – Happy Families
Page 22
Grade 8 – Pink Nerds
Grade 10 – James Bond
PreK – Animals
Grade 4 – James and the Giant Peach
Grade 9 – Gangsters
Grade 2 – Dr Seuss and the Things
Page 23
Supernatural Day
Page 24
Page 25
Snow White in the 70’s
Watching the whole cast & crew, all 42 of them, stand on stage on
Saturday at 10pm brought about mixed feelings...
Some of
relief...because the late afternoons and evenings of rehearsals were
now over... And some of nostalgia...because even though theatre is
hard work it is something I truly enjoy doing… But the strongest feeling
was that of pride in the VIS students. You could tell they all worked
amazingly well together, they were such a strong team and it is that
teamwork that made Snow White in the 70's a huge success!
Samantha Cassar Ellis who played Snow White was also the Assistant
Director. She wrote in the performance programme: “directing Snow
White in the 70’s has proved to be a most challenging yet rewarding
experience. The production has almost entirely
stemmed away from the original text we
obtained, as the whole style of the play had been altered. I was excited at first
until Ms. Said had this ‘brilliant’ idea that we would be putting on a Pantomime
this year! This was a great opportunity to bring a different type of production to
Verdala International School”
The best thing about this production was that the audience seemed to have
enjoyed it just as much as the cast! They all wanted to be up on stage dancing
to those fabulous 70s tunes!
Thanks so much to the whole VIS Community for all your help and support!
Ms Daphne Said
Page 26
Page 27
Board News
Dear Fellow Foundation Members,
The community- both parents and teachers- requested from the current Board a more efficient
communication style. We hope that through summaries of the Board achievements and work in
progress, posted regularly in the Newsletter, we will take one step in the right direction.
For those interested to find out in more detail what was discussed and decided in the monthly open
sessions, our comprehensive Board meeting minutes will continue to be available online on the
intranet.
1. New Head Search: it was decided to approach several recruiting agents. At the next Board
meeting, on November 19th, the Board will choose from three agencies the one that will conduct the
search for us.
2. Bursar search: the position has been filled and the new Business manager will be presented to the
community once he will formally join the school, later this month.
3. Health and safety list: majority has been completed- including the resurfacing of the Middle School
playground, as well as the chain link fence separating the parking lot from the basket ball area next
to Elementary. The rest is in process and on target for the end of December deadline.
4. The registration of the School's Statute: the necessary papers have been handed to the School
lawyer and the next step is for Mr Trapnell, our Chairman, to appear in front of the Notary to register
the Statute.
5. Taxation issues: responses are pending from the relevant departments - taxation and legal- within
E&Y.
6. Pedestrian Crossing and Signage: following a meeting of the HoS and the MS Principal with the
local council, the school has high hopes the signage and the flashing Belishia beacons will be put up
shortly.
7. Curriculum in MS: the IMYC (International Middle Years Curriculum) is currently tested in MS and the
results so far are encouraging. IMYC is the program that follows the IPC and the hope is that it will
ensure both a smoother transition of the Grade 5 to Grade 6 and a more structured learning in MS,
leading to a better integration into Grade 9.
8. Food catering system: a contract has been drafted, a meeting with Brown and Rye has taken
place and the process has been started for the re-introduction of the hot lunches, hopefully by
January. The selection of snacks/drinks available at the MS and HS points of sale will be addressed by
B&R in order to comply with the “Healthy Eating Lifestyle Choices” published by the Ministry of
Education.
9. Gratuities: The Gratuities for next academic year were unanimously approved and as from the
beginning of the present scholastic year, teachers' salaries will not be less than those in state schools.
For the Board of Directors,
Monica Binder
Page 28
Booster Club News
Halloween Event
Just when you thought that Verdala’s events couldn’t get any better...they did!
Hooray for the Booster Club who once again delivered a fantastic Halloween
Carnival this year, with the aid of an amazing team of volunteers whose efforts and
goodwill brought the whole affair to life.
It was touch-and-go at one point on the day of set-up as strong winds threatened
to ruin the arrangements (several activities were moved to alternative areas and Pre K-1’s Miss Suzy
had to battle with the giant ghost which almost squashed her!) but thankfully, as usual, the weather
was ‘alright on the night’.
“The ultra-juicy burgers and delicious pizzas were always served with a smile”, “the minute you
walked in, the decorations really made you feel like it was Halloween” and “children were running
about squealing with delight” are just some of the comments made by attendees at this year’s
event. Fortunately, much of this Halloween magic was captured on camera by Nancy Generelli and
Jill Kirkstadt.
Of course, what would this popular long-running event be without the all-important games? Selfconfessed ‘big kids’ Sam Brown and Kath Reeves were the masterminds behind the entertainment,
painstakingly devising 5 brand new activities to add to the regular favourites. Thanks to their energy
and creativity, these were all a big hit with the children...and apparently a few adults too... Swamp
Fishing was a total success with kids screaming in terror and delight at Robin Pratt and Alex White's
piraña impersonations. Konstantine, the Hexbug king, was simply great (does anyone know who had
the most fun: him or the kids?). Henning’s Halloween Golf went down really well and the face
painting was an inspired addition delighting the younger children. The award for most memorable
feature surely goes to the utterly hilarious (and slightly brutal) Splat the Person - although one can’t
help wondering if Kath Reeves, who suffered with a smile in the name of entertainment, now wishes
she hadn’t thought of it!
Finally, some interesting facts and figures for you:

Eur 2,969 was the final profit

70 volunteers helped make all the fun possible

500 people attended

3 ½ = the number of hours super-troupers Kath, High School’s Miss Elaine and Kinder/G4 dad
Frederick spent being pelted by wet sponges.
(And we’re still trying to calculate how many hours G2/G4 mum Maggie Andersen dedicated to the
decorations...)
And now it’s ho ho ho...towards the Christmas Event we go!
Prabjit Chohan-Patel
Page 29
Page 30
Community News
We’ve got SUCH a TALENTED STAFF!!!
Benny Curmi sat had for an art exam held by the University
of Malta and has passed the exam with flying colours! In
the coming weeks he is to attend a prize day where he
shall be receiving a prize for finishing First In Class.
Well done to Daphne Said who has just earned
her second Master’s Degree – this time from the
University of Leicester in Educational Leadership.
Page 31
And SUCH TALENTED STUDENTS!!!
Frankfurt International Piano Competition
Dmitry Ishkhanov from Grade 2 competed in the “Golden Key” International Piano Competition in
Frankfurt last month, and he won First Prize! And this is not his first international competition - last year
in Italy he also won First Prize in an international competition in Italy. Congratulations Dmitry.
http://www.goldenetaste.de/index.php/wettbewerbe
This are photos of him from Frankfurt:
Verdala’s Got Talent!!
Celine Schmid will be singing in this
exciting competition (similar to “The
Voice” and “The X-Factor”) on 1st
December. If you are able, do go
along and support this talented Grade
9 student!
GOOD LUCK CELINE!!!
Page 32
YEAR 11 VIS STUDENT SUMMITS MT. KILIMANJARO FOR A WORTHY CAUSE
James Rulli from Year 11 took on one of
the biggest challenges of his life during
October half-term break.
Together
with his dad Brian they climbed the
highest mountain in Africa and whilst
achieving a life-long dream James also
took the opportunity to raise much
needed funds for the High School
Charity – Emerging Voices which is a
charity in Columbia to help blind
orphans have a better life.
Talking about his achievement James
said “There were moments when I
didn’t think I would make the summit due
James taking VIS to the top!
to altitude sickness and fatigue so to
have stood at the summit felt really
amazing. It was a challenge both physically and mentally as we took on a more difficult route and
climbing Western Breach the day before we summitted was a real achievement. I feel proud to
have reached the summit but also to have been able to raise the funds for Emerging Voices. We
raised over EUR 6,000 and I would like to thank everyone who sponsored and supported me in
achieving this goal.”
Alumni News
There is a Facebook Group called “Verdala Reunion 2014”. If you are an Alumni, or know some
Alumni then ask them to join. They are planning a Big Multi-Class Reunion for the summer of 2014.
I recently put a post on the Group’s Homepage asking some of our FABULOUS ALUMNI to send me
news! Here are some of their replies:
Tequila Jade Murray – Class of 1999
Jade graduated in 1999 and went to HOSTA Hotel Management school in Leysin,
Switzerland where she earned an Operations Diploma. She is currently working
from home as a Personal Assistant for a few companies in Abu Dhabi, United
Arab Emirates. She has been there for 11 years and she met her Scottish husband
Alasdair there. They have a 16 month old daughter, Summer Leigh and number 2
is on the way! She is planning on attending the reunion and is looking forward seeing quite a few
people again after all these years.
Page 33
Ina Džeba – Attended VIS from 6th-9th Grade and then her family moved away.
Although Ina did not graduate from VIS, she looks back very fondly on her time
here.
She left VIS in 2000 and went to Doha, Qatar. She stayed there for less than 2
years, and then returned to her home in Croatia. Ina graduated with a degree in
Early Childhood Education from the University of Zagreb. She has just starting
work in kindergarden - first in a one-year intership and then for "real".
Julie Edo – Class of 2003
Julie went to the Université des Lettres et Sciences Humaines in Limoges, France,
after she graduated from VIS. She now runs her own Travel Agency with her
boyfriend. It is called Celie Sport Travel, in Zaragoza, Spain.
Jenny Haynes - Class of 2003
Jenny went to the University of Birmingham and graduated with a degree in
Business commerce with Spanish. She then attended South Tyneside Nautical
College and earned a BSc in Marine Operations. She is currently working on a
Private Yacht – the Eclipse as Second Officer.
Moe Krimat – Class of 2003
Moe went to Brunel University in London where he got his BSc Hons in Industrial
Design.
He is currently still in London working as a Senior designer and studio manager at
Harlequin Design (London) Ltd.
Linda Szekely – Class of 2004
Linda graduated in 2004 and went to Staffordshire University in the UK. She did
an undergraduate degree in Psychology and then she went to Keele University
and did a Master’s in Counseling Psychology. She is currently working in
England as a psychotherapist with looked after children.
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Kevin Schembri Orland - Class of 2006
After VIS, Kevin undertook his BA in International Journalism at the University of
Central Lancashire. After that he took a year out and did some travelling. He
then decided to undertake his Master’s in Magazine Journalism at the University
of Sheffield. He just finished several weeks ago and he is currently awaiting the
results whilst job hunting in Malta.
Christine Schjoettz - Class of 2006
Christine Brix Gyldenstjerne Schjøttz went to Kingston University and earned a BSc
in Civil Engineering. She is currently doing her MSc in Petroleum Engineering at
Denmark's Technical University.
Francesca Fenech – Class of 2008
After graduation, Francesca went to The Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts
where she earned a BA Hons in Acting. She is currently signed to an acting
agency and auditoning for work in and around London. She is writing the music
for a pantomime and teaching singing to children. Francesca has been in a few
shows since graduating and she was the musical director for a new musical last
month.
Jonathan Boffa – Class of 2010
Jonathan Boffa is currently attending North Carolina State University. He
received a scholarship in swimming, and he is studying Graphic Design.
Jonathan a phenomenal sophomore season which included breaking the
school record in the 100 freestyle. He was part of the ACC Champion 400medley relay team, he hit NCAA "B" standards in seven different events, he
qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle…AND
he qualified for the US Olympic Trials in the 100 freestyle! Jonathan has been
selected for the All-ACC Academic Team for the second-straight year.
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Announcements, School News and Congratulations
WELCOME TO OUR NEW BUSINESS AND FINANCE MANAGER!!
Mr Ivan Camilleri joined VIS this month in the capacity of Business and
Finance Manager. His main responsibilities will involve overseeing of the
finance and the administration function of the school.
Mr Camilleri gained valuable experience in the finance and administrative
fields working for three multinational companies , namely United Arab
Shipping Sag , Executrain Corporation and Arriva plc . Mr Camilleri has a
degree in accountancy from the University Of Malta and holds a CPA
warrant.
Mr Camilleri is married to Tania – who also works in a school , overseeing students with special needs.
They have two children Samuel and Nathaniel. Ivan also has a passion for culinary arts – Let’s hope
that someday he will cook something yummy for us!
Got a group project to work on? Is your little brother causing too many
distractions for you at home?
The High School Library is now open for After-School Study Time on
Mondays and Tuesdays until 5:30!
“Pitazz u Lapes”
Do you have a spare notebook and pencil lying about? “Pitazz u Lapes” is an
initiative being run by The Association of Lyceum Past Students in Malta to assist
less fortunate children by providing them with some notebooks and pencils for
their schooling.
Page 36
This year, for our annual
Thanksgiving Food Drive,
we collected food and
toys for the refugees and
their families at the Good
Shepherd
Convent
in
Balzan.
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Classifieds
If any member of the
school community would
like a ‘small ad’ in the
newsletter please send
the details to the JQ
Newsletter Team at either
jill@verdala.org or
jessicad@verdala.org.
ROBYN’S CORNER
South African Food now available online !!!
Robyn’s Corner is Malta’s only South African online food store. We have all the
flavours from South Africa, we recommend trying our famous NikNak chips,
chocolates and of course you can order your biltong.
Simply log onto www.robynscorner.eu to order your mouth watering sensations.