st andrews session 2

THE ISSOS TIMES
ST ANDREWS SESSION 2
24th July – 14th August 2013
The Story of ISSOS
ISSOS was established in 2005 by St Andrews University
graduate, Jen Munro. While working as a summer camp
counselor in North Carolina, Jen realized there was a gap in
the market to provide students from all over the world with a
balanced summer program.
St Andrews was the obvious choice for the summer school
location due to its safe atmosphere, historical setting, visual
beauty, the reputation for excellence and the world wide
recognition of both the town and University of St Andrews .
In July 2006 ISSOS welcomed its first group of 51 students from
a wide selection of countries. In the second year of the summer
school ISSOS ran two sessions and attracted 180 students from
over 50 nationalities.
“ISSOS is a unique experience and we are
very proud of all the students who have
chosen to spend their summer with us.”
ISSOS has evolved over the years and is now highly regarded
and recognized amongst educationalists, some of the worlds top
international schools, parents and students. Every year ISSOS
attracts new students, recommended to us by parents of alumni,
alumni students and their schools but more importantly ISSOS
has an increasing number of students returning every year.
In 2011 due to increased demand ISSOS opened a second
campus at Queens College, Cambridge. ISSOS, Cambridge has
been a huge success and we have seen a lot of students who
attended St Andrews one year choosing to go to Cambridge the
following year and vice versa.
2
THE ISSOS STORY
UNDER
JEN MUNRO, FO
ISSOS was created to offer a safe, unique and balanced
summer program for students, with a combination of academics,
electives and activities that cannot be found anywhere else. The
motivation behind ISSOS was to create a place that students felt
safe in order that they may learn and grow and develop life long
friendships with students from all over the world.
The most important and valued entity that ISSOS has is its staff.
Every effort is made to make sure that not only students enjoy
their time at ISSOS but that staff also enjoy their summer.
Our staff are as international as our students and we endeavor
to find the best staff possible to impart their knowledge and
enthusiasm on the students. ISSOS works hard to make sure
the atmosphere and environment in and out of class is one that
students feel safe and happy in and when those from outside of
ISSOS visit the summer schools they always comment on how
much laughter there is.
ISSOS is a unique experience and we are very proud of all
the students who have chosen to spend their summer with us,
ISSOS is a family that grows every year – we are so happy to
welcome every student in to that family, knowing that their ISSOS
experience will last far beyond the three weeks.
If by our words and actions we inspire our students to dream,
learn and become more, then we have succeeded.
We work together, we play together, we
live & grow together. We are the ISSOS
International Family.
A Chat With The Staff...
It was the final night of ISSOS St Andrews
2007. Everyone was crying. Kids were
singing songs and swapping numbers
and email addresses. Despite our
deepest wishes, ISSOS had finally
come to an end. I had experienced the
something approaching a brochureworthy summer school experience. New
friends from across the world, newfound
passion for film, and even a sweet, shy
summer romance with a beautiful girl.
On the bus trip back to the airport I was
gripped by one overriding thought ‘This
is not the end’.
Ken Plas, Film
Now I am back in St Andrews, teaching
the film course that I took six summers ago. Much
has changed. 8 years of experience have crafted a smooth and professional
operation. At times when I was a student, things seemed to be held together
by the sheer will and good humor of the counselors and staff. I remember clan
activities as a occasionally entertaining backdrop to my summer, whereas now
they are now a fiercely contested rivalry that can define a session. From a film
perspective, the kit has all been upgraded, with editing becoming a vital part of
the process rather than something the teachers did for us.
“What strikes me more than seeing
what has changed, is how much has
stayed the same. The counselors are
the same enthusiastic, caring and
involved people I looked up to.”
But what strikes me more than seeing what has changed, is how much has
stayed the same. The counselors are the same enthusiastic, caring and involved
people I looked up to. As a student I could see that my teacher was excellent,
now from the other side I see that all my colleagues are excellent. I can see that
the expansion and improvements made have not come at the expense of the
good humor, the camaraderie and the sense of fun that I felt as a student.
I expect the final night this year to be much like the one I saw all those years
ago. The tears, the friendships, the proud teachers and counselors. And as the
sessions winds down for another year I am comforted by one fact. This is not
the end.
We
ISSOS
”
”
Thank you very much ISSOS for really good
3 weeks right here and I will be back here
next year!
Egor Gorelov
ISSOS is the best summer school
I have
ever been to. It is such a good way
to learn
English and have fun doing it. Also
, it is a
wonderful chance to meet new peop
le from
all around the world.
Emmanuelle Bellemare
”
gone after
All the worries you may have are
made
have
I
.
the first day you spend here
the
nd
arou
all
from
a lot of new friends
, make
world and we all come here to learn
e of a
rienc
expe
the
have
and
ds
frien
new
lifetime.
Stefanie Grimus
ISSOS means a lot to me. It mea
ns a
beautiful country where you enjo
y every
sunny day. It means people I wou
ld never
have met if I hadn`t come here
. It also means
crazy moments, interesting disc
overies and
amazing three weeks!
Steph Auclair
www.issos.com
A CHAT WITH THE STAFF & WE LOVE ISSOS
3
ISSOS News
“I personally really enjoyed the
section about the mind and all the
interesting interactive stations
they had at the Science Centre;
some of them were mind blowing”
Fashion Show
BY MEGAN CRAWFORD, KINGLASS COUNSELOR
Hollywood. The bright lights. The diversity. The controversy.
The biggest stars. All potential inspiration for the student
groups to dress their counselor for the ISSOS Fashion Show.
Some are kind and others are cruel to their counselors, who
are thrown into the limelight and onto the catwalk. Many
stars graced the stage, old and new, beautiful and beastly,
factual and fictional. There was an actual life size Oscar,
Katie Perry and Paris Hilton, James Bond and Marilyn Munro,
Borat and the star of the Dictator, as well as Dorothy and
Toto- to name a few! However, it was a tight battle for first
place between the Kinglass girls who dressed the best with
counselor Megan appearing as Princess Leia from Star Wars
and the Skye boys who dressed Ken as Simba from the Lion
king, the former only narrowly winning.
The next section of the evening saw the teachers ganging up
and dressing the counselors for a short skit about a chosen
film. First up was Romeo and Juliet crossed with the Jerry
Springer show and with a Scottish spin, which could only
lead to more trouble than normal. Next up was an unusual
take on the movie “Mean Girls” and maybe showed members
of the audience how NOT to make friends. The Wizard of
Oz were then up on stage to give a moving performance of
how Dorothy helped the tin man, the scarecrow and the lion
to discover themselves. And last, but certainly not least, a
fantastic display of Aladdin was put on, with genies, magic
lamps and flying carpets. And that’s a wrap!
4
AT ISSOS...
Science Center
BY ANNA KNELL
On the 31st of July students from ISSOS went to visit the
Science Centre in Dundee. After a fun bus ride, they had
an hour to explore the fascinating exhibitions. The current
main attraction is about monsters and myths. Many found it
fascinating to see these creatures come to life in real live size
rather than just reading about them in old myths.
I personally really enjoyed the section about the mind and all
the interesting interactive stations they had at the Science
Centre; some of them were mind blowing, The permanent
exhibitions covered a range of topics, from optical illusions to
robotics. I especially enjoyed the mind wave detector, which
measured the alpha and theta waves your mind sends out
and the goal was to try to relax as much as possible while
competing against another person, the person that thought the
least won.
Afterwards, the students met up and went to see a
presentation about monsters and how their existence has
developed into myths. Even if you don’t believe in monsters
or these creatures, it was interesting to see how things could
have been mistaken for monsters and how over centuries
monsters and myths have been part of our history. Overall
the trip to the science centre was a mind opening and
enriching experience and we all enjoyed it.
Variety Show
BY CAT, CLYDE COUNSELOR
The variety show this session was impressive to say the
least, with a broad array of talent on show from both
students and staff alike. Kicking off the show we had
a testosterone fueled, kilted counselor performance
of ‘The Haka’. This set the pace for the evening with a
variety of incredible singing and musical performances
to follow. Daria, Sophie, Sophia, Hugo, Faizel and Faleh
displayed their musical talents covering a wide spectrum of genres, with everything from melodic ballads
to rap compilations to acoustic guitar covers. Lucrecia
and Jamie took the cup song to a new level with a mash
up of different tunes – now that is multitasking! A few
hilarious jokes were told to earn some extra clan points
(Nice one Macdonald!) as well as an intense round of
chubby bunnies. 18 marshmallows! The Sky boys staged
a memorable performance of the YMCA (leaving the
ladies in the audience a little flustered) whilst the pre-IB
class got up and showed us their moves with the Hokey
Cokey. What an array of gifted students! The staff had
their moments in the limelight as well, with some rather
daft dancing, not the mention the debut performances
of our very own ISSOS band! Elaine and Ken were stars
in their own right, doing a fantastic job at hosting a night
that no one will forget anytime soon.
Coastal Walk
BY SABRINA, TEVIOT COUNSELOR
The night of Wednesday 7th August saw the most highly
anticipated evening event of the session – the coastal
walk. Staff rushed to lead this event and over fifty
students were signed up. While the weather was not
delivered as ordered, spirits were high and everybody
was excited to explore the scenic coast. Geared up with
our wellington boots and anoraks, we set out on the wet
path towards Castle Sands.
Alongside the walk, students enjoyed a personal
tour from Skye counselor Kenny. The students were
engrossed with stories about the Loch Ness monster
and told us their theories of the myth. With the tide
www.issos.com
out, we enjoyed a beautiful view of Castle Sands. After
appreciating the sight, we continued down the path
towards East Sands. After being momentarily distracted
by East Sands’ Playground, our large group ascended
the hill towards the caravan site.
Looking out over the city of St Andrews, the cathedral
was magical as the sun shone in crepuscular rays
through the heavy clouds. Students and staff alike
enjoyed the sight, and we all thought of three things we
are grateful for in life. I don’t know about the students,
but one of my three was the beautiful view I was gifted
with this evening.
AT ISSOS...
5
Clan News
Clan Calling
BY MADELEINE VAZIRI
The Clans!
BY KAYLEE, TIREE COUNSELOR
Over the course of the past three weeks there have been several
intense events occurring, drawing out all the finest and most
ferocious levels of competition amongst the staff and students at
ISSOS. What could this be? It all boils down to clan events. Time
at ISSOS is forever spent in the finest company but on certain
evenings it includes the donning of a particular coloured shirt.
If you’re blue, you must be a Stewart, gangster at heart and a
great team player. Should you be green, then you to belong
to the Macgregors, full of chants, cheers, and spirit. Perhaps
you’re dressed in yellow, in which case you are a Wallace, filled
with passion and drive, never willing to give up. Finally, if you’re
dressed to impress in red, that means you are a MacDonald,
always giving 100% and never falling short.
The collections of clans gather on many fine evenings to
compete in a wide array of events, from athletic to artistic, clever
to creative, all areas are covered and all strengths are displayed
with talent, cohesion and utter respect. Munro, the head staff
clan, made up of teachers, head counselors and the program
director umpire and adjudicate all clan games to make sure there
are played fairly and promote good sportsmanship.
This session they played hard, shouted louder and never quit,
all in the name of their clans. Stewart, MacDonald, MacGregor,
and Wallace continue to battle to gain clan points,, until the final
day of ISSOS brings about the presentation of the coveted Clan
Cup. In addition a shield is given to the clan for the best spirit,
this is the clan with the most enthusiasm, most dedication, good
sportsmanship and general all round “spirit”.
6
CLAN NEWS
This fateful Friday initiated the distinctions of friendships and
rivalries as ISSOS recreated clan dynamics. The spirits of MacDonald, Stewart, Macgregor, and Wallace became instilled in
each student that night on Castle Sands. More captivating than
the beach was the tartan clad councilors sporting their clan
colors. Megan and Kylee rocked their grass skirts and red while
Kenny and Robbie worked green morph suits and body balloons.
As everyone gathered on St. Andrews’ rocky shore, the councilors performed funny skits to excite recruits and intimidate the
other clans. The MacDonalds presented their musical retelling of
their history of the clans. Stewart followed the act with some of
Scotland’s finest rap. Topping it all was Wallace’s magical story
of “Harry Wallace.” Last but not least, Macgregor reenacted the
conquering of the Loch Ness Monster, a heroic chapter in their
history. Finally, everyone was assigned to a clan. Immediately the
students assumed the insanity that comes with clan spirit as they
piled on face paint and chanted cheers! The night concluded with
the commencement of the first competition, a cheer-off. Stewart
took home the first victory, but everyone began the mastership
of the rallies that would echo through St. Andrews for the next
weeks.
“This fateful Friday initiated the
distinctions of friendships and rivalries as
ISSOS recreated clan dynamics.
Danish Longball
KARL PAUL & LOÏC STRUYVELT (MCGREGOR) ENGLISH LEVEL 3
We went down to the open field with fire in our hearts and full
of spirit: we were finally going to get the clan points we needed
so badly! When we were split into smaller groups to compete
we saw who we were going to play and the only thing anyone
could hear was our chant of “McG, McG, McG!”. MacGregeor was
ready to beat all the other clans. There were a lot of victories
but there could be only one champion. We fought to death each
time we went on the field. The players of MacGregeor wanted to
be the champions for once and so they played their hearts out.
At the end of the battle there was only one clan better than the
enthusiastic MacGregeors, it was the clan with the red T-shirts,
AKA MacDonald that took the victory. It was a close call but
unfortunately, this time we came second.
Sandcastle Building Competition
BY JAMES TUPLING
During the competition we shed blood, sweat and tears while
digging with our hands, feet and whatever we could get hold of
to create our sandtastic clan masterpieces, forging our perfect
worlds from the dunes beneath us.
On one edge of the beach was the mighty Stewart forming
their very own peace filled Stutopia, incorporating various
buildings and monuments to St.Andrews. After we had the strong
McGregor with their island loch protected by the legendary
Nessie, ruled by the fearless Princess who would take the hand
of no man. The Wallace clan brought us tales of the amazing
wizard, Harry Wallace. However, winning over all three other
contenders by only one point was the MACDonald clan, with
their animal for each point on the compass. The sandcastle
competition is by far one of the most interesting, relying on
creativity, imagination and team work.
ISSOS Highland Games
Review of Highland Games
BY AARON SCOULAR, IONA COUNSELOR
ISSOS HIGHLAND GAMES
7010
4
Wallace
3
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ers
ards Winn
Spirit Aw
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MacGregor
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Clan - Stew
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– Chiara Sch
Individual
www.issos.com
Final Clan Scores
Stewart
Under the watchful eye of the Munro clan,
the games reached a dramatic finale with the
clan tug-of-war, requiring all the strength and
team work the clans could muster. For the
amusement of the students the counselors took
to the ropes to face off against the Munro clan.
The Munro’s started with their usual “Munro
Hakka” attempting to intimidate the counselors,
however unfazed the counselors decided to let
go of the rope and watched the whole Munro
WINNER!
9450
A range of traditional games including the
Welly Toss, the Egg and Spoon race and the
balloon stomp contest saw all clans compete
as the clan chants filled the St Andrews air.
The games required skill, speed, strength and
most importantly team work within the clan.
Each clan displayed these skills in abundance,
resulting in a fairly even distribution of points
and everything to play for going into the
final event.
clan fall like dominos to the ground, a result met with roars of laughter from everyone
watching! This ended a day of great excitement and excellent sportsmanship between
all the students. It was then left to the head counsellor to total all the points from the
three weeks, as the clans filed into the dining hall for the final dinner. The Clan Cup
sat at the head table for all to admire and everyone was eager to hear who had won.
Rarely has St Salvators Dinning Room played host to such a loud and excited event; with
each clan sitting together and chanting, the atmosphere was electric. Finally the results
were announced with Spirit Shield being given to Stewart and The MacDonald clan
deservedly named Clan Cup 2013 winners to cap three terrific weeks of clan competition.
MacDonald
The highly anticipated grand finale of the
pursuit of the illustrious Clan Cup, culminated in
the ISSOS Highland Games.
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8
PHOTOGRAPHS
www.issos.com
PHOTOGRAPHS
9
Academics
Youth Leadership
BY BRAD SYMONS
Debate class
Debate
Debate com
FINAL DEBATE, CHRIS HARPER,
DEBATE TEACHER
petition win
ners
The final night debate provided an opportunity for
members of the debate class to showcase the skills
they had been working on. Across two days and
four rounds of debate every member of the class
discussed topics as wide as paying for surrogate
mothers and teaching rap music in schools. The
standard of speeches was high and everyone
demonstrated how keenly they had listened
throughout their three weeks with us.
Ultimately four teams made the final, debating
the motion that This House Would enforce trade
embargos against countries with poor protection
of human rights. Marina chaired the evening,
ensuring that everything ran smoothly, and the rest
of the class took various roles in the running of the
event. A thoroughly engaging debate provided
entertainment and food for thought for all present.
Esteban and Marina presented a model for
structuring embargos so that they would target
those with the most ability to change the human
rights situation in a country. They went on to
consider the alternative ways of promoting rights
abroad and compare those to their policy. Fabienne
and Marcel challenged that the model presented
would be ineffectual and would harm only the
most vulnerable. John and Tim supported the
first proposition team and did particularly well
in comparing historical examples. Finally Lucie
and Janet considered the effect on the countries
enforcing embargos and examined the situation in
Iran.
In the end, and while contributions from the
audience took the discussion even further, the
judges considered all four teams as potential
winners for various reasons. In a close decision,
Esteban and Marina walked away as champions.
The final was as high quality as any debate ISSOS
has seen and capped a strong competition.
Everyone in the class can look back with pride at
what they achieved, certainly their teachers were
impressed with them.
10
ACADEMICS
Youth Leadership is a very
unique course, offered at
ISSOS, St Andrews. The aim of the
class is to help students in their
own personal leadership, looking
at
life and saying “I am the author of my own life, now how do I want my story to read”.
Students learn and grow so much through this class and it is amazing to watch their
confidence grow when they realize and understand how they can achieve anything
they put their mind to. I am honored to be able to teach youth leadership here
every summer!
In Youth Leadership students realize that they possess everything that they need
to create an amazing life for themselves. The Session 2 class this year, really
picked up on what was being presented very quickly. They were on the “same
wavelength” with what I was presenting in class. The atmosphere became more
and more electric every day! I could tell, from the questions that the students were
asking, that they were very interested in a complete understanding of the topics
being presented.
The Session 2 2013 Youth Leadership class may have ended … but the journey of
self-discovery for each student has only begun! I look forward to hearing about the
progress of each one of the brilliant students that made up this amazing class!
What We Do In Creative Writing
BY ISHBEL MCFARLANE, CREATIVE WRITING TEACHER
How is it that we go from children who love to make up stories to grown-ups who
feel we have ‘no imagination’? This is a question that I asked myself again and
again while I was planning our creative writing course for ISSOS. What I decided
was that nearly half of the battle of writing is actually sitting down to do it. Most of
the other half of the battle is redrafting, so the writing itself is no bother at all! It’s
about gaining the confidence in your abilities to ignore the doubting voices in your
head that tell you that you can’t do it. Those voices are wrong!
With this in mind, we have been focusing on finding inspiration: for stories, for
characters, for relationships. We’ve used everything from eavesdropping in
St Andrews cafes to researching a painting in a gallery, we even watched and
analysed a clips from ‘Mean Girls’, music videos and Batman. It was great to have
the students themselves lead these analysis sessions, I was so impressed by how
they took on board the idea of status interaction as a part of comedy and drama
and were able to scrutinise the films they loved with new, evaluating eyes.
I was so inspired by the work the class created, and I truly have learned something
from each of them: Marc’s eloquent poetry; Katja’s arresting turn of phrase; Paul’s
use of the mythic; Andrea’s subtlety of English; Sophie’s explorations of a moment
in time; Jamie’s mature evocation of grief; Patricia’s shape-poem format; Camille’s
sharp status shifts; Sophia’s ability to create tension and excitement; Anna’s
insights into the transience of life; Stephanie’s punchy and powerful opening lines;
Lucy’s delicately structured storytelling; Walter’s ambitious thrillers; James’s epic
fantasy worlds; June’s well balanced and enthusiastic reporting style; Madeleine’s
beautiful rhymes; Katrine’s narrative arcs; Lucrecia’s use of different voices; Jan’s
general enthusiasm for all things writing.
Thank you to all of you. You have been a joy to teach – just keep writing!
Edinburgh: Big Little Town
Fife, Seaside
BY MARC DORPEMA
The stacked waves are
what matters.
The stacked
rocks grafted to the
swimming seaweed sanctuaries...
Balloons:
Helium liquefies and pours
from pores
in
pearls of tidal
salinity.So
ripe the seagulls might
drop from diaphanous
I,
branches.
the troglodyte
whose
sordid bones are
flagpoles for
a tumour of cloud.
You,
whose looming
chimneys fail
A POEM BY ALL OF THE CREATIVE WRITING
SESSION 2 CLASS
A city that’s a museum in itself
Strong old man that envelops the younger society
The architecture pulsing with aged zest
The spark of ideas
Inspirational people who walked these vennels
A new story on every street
Musical performances create everlasting symphony
Three heart beats
Old blended with modern
Animals in the museum
Colours vibrant
Expression ferocious
Ancient yet modern
Old and unique
Picturesque but monochrome
Time travel
Ruminant, apocryphal
Mysterious island story
to blow me away,
me.
but dissolve
Edinburgh (Forth Bridge)
BY LUCRECIA DE LA PUENTE
I like bridges. I’ve always liked them. They overcome. They unite.
Since I was younger, I’ve always finished giving directions to
my house like this: “Just past the cute little bridge, to the left,
wooden fence.”
The bridge through which we drove into Edinburgh, Forth Road
Bridge runs parallel to another bridge, a cantilever railway
bridge called Forth Bridge, which is no cute little bridge. It would
practically be a sin to call it, in my infantile vocabulary, a cute
little bridge.
Forth Bridge is alive. It has got a pulse. The red, bloody steel
grows and shrinks three times, three heart beats take you into
the torrent of unique streets that come together as Edinburgh.
www.issos.com
The duality of the city is noticeable from the very start of it. Just
as the Old Town has it’s modern reflection on the shiny, more
organized New Town, Forth Bridge’s pulse has a reflection
inside itself, creating three beautiful rhombs: diamonds as an
introduction for a jewel city.
My mind always keeps a moment, a sound, or an image, as the
impression of a great city. There is one single moment in time
where I know: “I’m here. This is the very essence of this place.”
It does not have to be at the entrance. It doesn’t even have to
really represent it. I just know it.
Forth Bridge is what I am taking home as the city’s moment,
my mind’s realization image of it: the three bloody diamonds
of Edinburgh.
ACADEMICS
11
Electives
Film
SCOTT P. HARRIS & KEN PLAS
St. Andrews always comes alive on film
night, and this year was no exception. The 27
students taking film worked in groups over the
three weeks to produce five original short films.
It was a tight window, as always, but the audience on film night
was as impressed as ever, and it presented the secret jury with a
difficult task of awarding the “Best Film.”
Theatre
VICKIE BEESLEY, THEATRE TEACHER
Maggie opened with two performers explaining in a rather
embarassed manner that the Theatre Elective class had not
created a theatre show. Instead of creating a show over the past
three weeks they had been looking for a girl called Maggie.
Maggie was supposed to be a student at ISSOS but she didn’t
arrive. So, instead of going to their Theatre classes, this group
of students went looking for Maggie. When they eventually
found her she told them of her unusual journey to find her friend
Sam. Given that they had nothing else to show the audience on
Creative Night, the class had decided to re-tell Maggie’s story
on stage.
Of course, the Theatre Elective class had actually been working
very hard to create this show over the past three weeks, and
there was no doubt that this was the case. The students shone as
they performed, taking the audience on an adventurous journey
through a variety of unusual lands, including an underwater
land, lands of invisible people, doppelgangers and people who
can’t smile, and a land where two clans of bird-people are at
war. The excellent imagination and creativity of these pupils was
evident in this exciting piece of theatre. As well as creating this
wonderful and wacky journey, they had spent time crafting the
beautiful character of Maggie and developed a strong, believable
relationship between her and Sam. The story was often moving
and the audience were left desperately wanting to know what
happens next.
At the end of the evening, three students from the Theatre
Elective were given Achievement Awards. Jamie Burnett, Horace
Chaix and Katy Thoene were awarded for their commitment
to team spirit, willingness to ‘give things a go’ and for being
supportive of their class mates.
The Theatre Elective worked extremely hard over the three
weeks of Session Two and their hard work certainly paid off in
this charming and enjoyable piece of theatre.
12
ELECTIVES
The show started with “Death Stare,” the story of two ISSOS
counselors who are a little too competitive. Next up was “The
Ice Cream Race,” about a would-be-Romeo who has to find some
ice cream for his Juliet. The third film was a classic instructional
video on “How To Be Scottish.” The film night then returned to
it’s frozen desert theme with “Ice Cream For Love,” about two
counselors who should be together, only they have an ice cream
incident in their past they need to resolve first. And finally, the
night ended with “Turnover,” the story of a new student who runs
afoul of the school’s bully when he hits on his girlfriend and has
to prepare for an epic fight.
All fine films, and true achievements (especially when you
consider the limited time frame). The jury was turn, with three
different films receiving votes for first, but they ultimately
chose to recognize “Death Stare” with the Best Film Award.
This session two individual awards went to Tim Ritzen and
Faleh Alomani.
We hope that all of the students are as proud of their
accomplishments as we are, and for those who decide to
continue making films, we hope they keep us updated on
their efforts.
BEST FILM
DEATH
STARE
Achievement awards for:
Art
Chiara Schlösser; Heloise Schmutz; Katja Osterwalder
Theatre
Jamie Burnett; Horace Chaix; Katharina Thoene
Film
Individual Achievements went to
Tim Ritzen and Faleh Alomani
“Session 2 ended with
an art exhibition in the
Barron Theater, where
we displayed all of
our artwork that was
produced throughout
the session.”
Art
KATJA OSTERWALDER
Art at ISSOS helped the students to explore their own interests
in a wide-range of different aspects of the visual arts. We were
encouraged to pursue topics that were challenging yet enjoyable
to approach, in an atmosphere which was extremely supportive
by peers and Scott (our Art Teacher).
The course focused on the different aspects in which each
individual wanted to explore. That included oil paints, clay, plaster
or the classic pencil and paper. The students were examining the
multiple ways we choose to express ourselves and the role art
plays in this expression.
We were fortunate to have the opportunity to work with artist,
Louise Ritchie, in which the students produced ‘Art Books’: an art
piece in itself filled with pages of various artistic techniques that
we were developing in class.
Session 2 ended with an art exhibition in the Barron Theater,
where we displayed all of our artwork that was produced
throughout the session. The diversity of artwork that was
created was a reflection of how each individual was creative and
expressive in their own way.
www.issos.com
ELECTIVES
13
ISSOS: Stepping
Stone To University
“The ISSOS students are well prepared
in their pre-IB course and have an
excellent introduction to the demands
of the challenging and worlds-leading
IB Diploma Program.”
Dr Michael Carslaw (St Leonards)
Every summer we have students interested in
applying to some of the UK’s top universities
and this year has been no exception.
ISSOS is proud to have amongst its staff
members a number of graduates from the
UK’s top ten Universities who are happy to
share their experiences and memories with
interested students.
Many students attending ISSOS have started to think about
what University they may wish to attend and thought the
year we receive emails and phone calls to ask our advice on
which university to attend for specific subjects or the entry
requirements for some UK Universities. With this in mind we
decided to offer a university admissions workshop to answer any
questions students may have and talk students through writing
a personal statement. The workshop was delivered by David
Allen, Managing Director of Global College Counselors with
over 20 year experience in advising student and working with
some of the best schools and universities in the world. David
advised students on how to apply to UK, American and European
Universities and ran a workshop on how to write a good personal
statement. The feedback from students on the workshop was
14
ELECTIVES
fantastic and many students said they now felt more prepared
and excited about applying to university.
Not only do many ISSOS students choose to study at a UK
University, many choose to attend a boarding school in Scotland.
We enjoy strong links with a number of British boarding schools
and we are happy to recommend schools to parents depending
on their needs. A number of students who attend ISSOS come in
order to prepare for their IB Diploma, this has been recognized
by a number of schools and in particular St Leonards. Dr Micheal
Carslaw, Headmaster of St Leonards said of ISSOS recently “The
ISSOS students are well prepared in their pre-IB course and have
an excellent introduction to the demands of the challenging and
worlds-leading IB Diploma Program”
Although ISSOS is a summer program we do not believe our
responsibility to students ends when summer ends. We are
dedicated to assisting students who wish to apply Scottish or
UK based University or wish to interview at a British boarding
school. For students who do gain entry into a Scottish University
we hold an ISSOS alumni drinks party in Edinburgh, Glasgow or
St Andrews in September to welcome them back to Scotland
and make sure if they need anything that ISSOS is only a phone
call away.
Tennis Review
CALLUM FERGUSON , LEWIS COUNSELOR
Over three weeks of kind Scottish weather, the motivation of
the students and the high quality of coaching came together to
create an outstanding session of tennis from all involved.
From the outset the standard of tennis was identifiably high,
with many potential stars being noted at all levels and on
the twelve busy tennis courts vast and rapid improvements
were made. Head Coach Andy Thompson commented on
the general positive feeling within the 2013 Session 2 group
and the confident attitudes and willingness to learn made
the job a whole lot easier and more rewarding for Andy’s
expert coaches.
Acheivement Awards
Most improved – Anton Sviridkin
Most helpful – Karoline Gudbjerg
During the tennis elective, students are categorized into
beginner, intermediate and expert groups and at the end of
the session the whole class competes in a final competition.
2013 session 2 competition winners were Madeleine Vaziri
& Stephanie Auclair from the beginners group, Peter Stahl
from the intermediates, and Alara Demirag from the advanced
group. After many drills, practices and competitive games, an
achievement award is given to the student who has shown
the greatest improvement in their game and another for the
student with the best and most helpful attitude.
After another successful year in the tennis elective with
students showing up the staff and counselors with their
superior skills, we can only look forward to next year’s session
where we hope to see many new and returning faces looking
to further improve their tennis with ISSOS.
Golf at ISSOS
BY WALTER SHERRY
Playing golf in St. Andrews is something every golfer
wants to do in their lifetime and both beginners and the
advanced are catered for as part of the very popular ISSOS
golf elective. Our coaching focused on instruction of the
full swing as well as short game, and playing on the Duke’s
Club at St Andrews: a heathland club about 10 minutes from
where we stayed. Our coaches set up a handicap match
play tournament for us to play; it was a lot of fun for some
of the less experienced players in the group to be able to
play against some of the better golfers in short matches.
Overall we had 11 sessions, where we had the opportunity to
learn from knowledgeable coaches, and many chances to
play the Dukes. The coaches made the sessions fun as well
as informative, and gave us a lot of individual instruction. I
thoroughly enjoyed playing golf as my elective at ISSOS.
Award winning golfers:
Filippo Alfieri, Will Robinson & Alistair Welford
www.issos.com
ELECTIVES, SPORTS
15
St Andrews
Session 2
24th July - 14th August 2013
Tel: +44(0) 3300 777 247
Fax: +44(0) 3300 777 248
Email: info@issos.com
www.issos.com
69 St Vincent Street, Glasgow G2 5TF, Scotland, UK