1

CADENCESe

ptem

ber 2

8, 201

1

Issue #1

Photos by: Sarah Borland

Visit Our Website: https://sites.google.com/a/acs.sch.ae/cadence-online/

Welcome to a New Year of Cadence!Hello ACS! With Gabby leaving us for ASD Dubai, I volunteered to take the reigns. Now who might I be?My name is Priya and I’m a senior this year.

Cadence is ACS’s very own literary magazine. This year it my hope to make Cadence more widely known and read throughout the school. We here at Cadence really feel that Cadence is a platform through which everyone can have their voices heard and their opinion out there.

Feel free to just send me your submission under an anonymous name if completely required. It’s always nice though to be able to associate a name with a piece of work!

We meet in Room 222, Wednesdays at Lunch.

See you there!

Priya

Tyre Treads in Sand by Abhishek Goyal

Turn to the Back Page to find out how to subscribe!

CADE

NCE Se

ptem

ber 2

8 20

110

In this week’s issue...3 The Rise of the Planet of the Apes by Anna Lawlor

4 Picnic, Talent and Gala - the best entertainment by Sara Mousa

5 Welcome to the IB by Rebecca Reuter

6 An Array of Aesthetic Appeal by Priya Goyal

7 A Summer in Lebanon photos by Omar Akileh

8 A Holiday Ritual

by Saja El-Weshahi

9 Alas, Summer is Over

by Zac Berry, our Alias

10 The Fall of Acreed by Sachin Krishnamoorthy

CADE

NCE Se

ptem

ber 2

8 20

110

Don’t know what to do this weekend? Why not call your friends and see The Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Apes taking over the world may sound a little clichéd, however not in the new film directed by Rupert Wyatt.

The expectation of a hackneyed plot may derive from the previous Planet of the Apes series and the Planet of the Apes, a 2001 film, which received poor ratings. However, this years’ The Rise of Planet of the Apes proves to be a successful comeback with stellar reviews.

The story revolves around a pharmaceutical scientist, Will (Franco), who is researching a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. One particular Chimpanzee experimented upon, Caesar, becomes highly intellectual and human-like as a reaction to the medication. Other characters include Will’s Father, Charles (Lithgow) and his girlfriend Caroline (Pinto).

The viewers see Caesers' development from infancy to a full-grown ape and leader of other apes. His character evokes both sympathy and disdain, as he misbehaves and yet is an innocent animal whose life is predetermined by humans. His human ways also make him a rather relatable character.

The atmosphere in the movie theater was great – there was laughter, ‘ooos’, and ‘awws’ throughout the entire movie. As the audience saw the young Caesar for the first time the responses were endless.

The Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a movie worth seeing for both boys and girls. It meets all expectations and is a film not easily forgotten. So how about that phone call?

The Rise of the Planet of the ApesA Movie Review by Anna Lawlor

CADE

NCE Se

ptem

ber 2

8 20

110

With all the work we get daily from high school, we all need a break every now and then. ACS may be a school that gives a lot of work but it gives one thing in return: entertainment.

Since my freshman year, I’ve been involved in picnic in the park, the talent show and the gala of giving. I have only three words: different, fun, and relaxing. I’ll explain why I think so. Let’s start off with a picnic, shall we?

Picnic in the park is an evening of fun for all ages: you can throw sponges at teachers, win prizes, enter raffles, but most importantly you can watch great performers doing anything from dancing in a group to stand-up comedy. One thing’s for sure; it’s a relaxing evening outdoors when the weather’s perfect.

The talent show isn’t just a talent show; it’s a series of acts by people who will one day have their names in the newspapers. These young, skilled performers offer not only an unforgettable evening of awe inspiring shows, but also a way for high schoolers to let loose and express themselves

in any way they want. It’s a show with a panel of judges from our own faculty as well as a fair voting period by the audience at the end of the event. Remind you of any popular shows?

Last but not least, gala of giving; this is truly the “cherry on top of the year” for ACS. It’s the biggest event of the year with one goal; raising money for numerous charity clubs and service groups we have at ACS. Not only do we have the top performers at ACS showing off their skill, but ACS also provides a multi cultural dinner. Our service students and other volunteers serve as your waiters and standby waiting for your orders. We have presentations promoting clubs such as Habitat for Humanity and raffles where you could win a flight on Etihad airways. What more could you want?So there you have it; the best entertainment a school could provide right at your fingertips. Details about the events are normally posted around school and on the channel. Keep an eye out for messages so you know how you can get a ticket to these great shows!

Picnic, Talent and Gala - the best entertainmentBy Sara Mousa

Photo by Lucyna Mierzejewska

CADE

NCE Se

ptem

ber 2

8 20

110

My name's Rebecca Reuter, I'm 16, starting Junior Year at ACS Abu Dhabi. Actually all the information about my life I'll give anyone for the next 2 years, will be following: I have started the IB Diploma. Welcome to IB. To many of the 11th graders hearing this sentence from their new teachers over and over again had the same depressing effect of a priest's speech at a funeral. We are all saying goodbye to something. Not only something, actually more than that. Most of us have tried to make summer 2011 the best summer so far, because of the simple reason that IB will take up a big part of our social life, life in general.And it's leaving already scars. It's 8:20 pm, friday. Last year at this time I would be anywhere but in this room, sitting at this computer, writing about my depressing situation, in this room. Let me tell you more about my weekend. Yesterday I got started on the beautiful 150 hours CAS that we will be attempting to tackle within the next two years, by running after kids in the heat for three and a half hours. On a thursday. Friday morning I woke up at 8 to start my homework. I went out and came back at 6 to do my homework and stay in for the rest of the night. Saturday. This one is really good. Wake up at 9 to go through your lines for play rehearsal, go to school to attend a 5 hour IB meeting and then 2 hours play rehearsal. Estimated time arriving home: 6 pm. Sunday. This one I love because all the teachers were saying how we are lucky that we have Sunday off. Well we don't. Study whole morning just to go to school again at 12 to do CAS for Mom's Day Out until 3:30. Estimated time arriving home: 4 pm.Rest of the day is sacrificed to studying. Okay I might be exaggerating a bit, but you get my point. Welcome to IB.

Stress Relieving & Yoga

Adding on to my already mentioned program of Saturday, I'd like to repeat some things that were said at our first IB meeting.

We should always have time for ourselves, half an hour every other day, just 'you' time. Thing is the time for 'you' time will make our grades go down after a while, which makes the whole process contra productive. Yoga. It is relaxing, imagining that you're standing on a white beach with amazing turquoise water glittering in front of your eyes and a warm breeze messing up your hair, but it makes you so tired! After the yoga everyone was up for going home, ditching the IB meeting and having a nice, proper nap. Despite all that, I'll give it a try, many adults have been telling me that a half an hour nap in the afternoon after school saves brain cells, so why not give it a shot. If my grades go down, I'll blame it on the yoga. We also learned about another expectation of the IB, the EE a.k.a. Extended Essay. A 4000 word answer to a question, about whatever you want. Mr Fernandez mentioned he had a student once who wrote her EE about the affect of tan lotion on different skin types. That gave me enough confidence to say: This will be one of the easier things to tackle in the next two years. It's all about finding a topic you are really, really, really interested in and want to know as much as possible about. Brainstorming should be finished before the deadline in upcoming November. Time management tips included: Think in chunks, meaning days, weeks, months (without wanting to commit suicide at the thought). One tip I can give myself and everyone else: Have the right priorities, be a balanced risk taker, yes all the things an IB student should be. After only 3 weeks in this diploma I recognize that those 10 characteristics hanging at every classroom's wall are perfectly connected to what is expected from us.Sacrifice is a big part of the challenge as well and I bet for many, the hardest thing to accept. Want to hear the good news? Every day that passes brings us closer to graduation. 2 years. That fact always makes me smile.

Welcome to the IBby Rebecca Reuter

CADE

NCE Se

ptem

ber 2

8 20

110

Imagine: a marvel that can expose you to a world brimming with stimuli that assault your very senses. The aroma in the air that tickles the nose upon walking into a restaurant. The crispness of mountain air with the freshness unrivaled by any other. My summer this year was full of such sensations. It was a time to unwind. Cleanse. Explore.

Travelling to the mountainous ranges of Ladakh in the Himalayan Alps, it was as though I had taken a step out of India and into a world where the people spoke Hindi and yet were somehow...different. Ladakh is a place that has had a considerable influence from Tibet along with it’s prevalent Buddhist religion and features that have differentiated from the traditional India features and yet are not Asian enough to be confused.

With India, travelling to different places within one sub-continent is like being faced with an array of different realities with different languages and cultures. Through my time in Ladakh, I scaled mountains, immersed myself into a new way of life and a whole different cuisine.

It seemed that everywhere we looked, there was yet another photo opportunity or a different angle to an alp that looked breathtakingly different. Growing up in Sydney in Australia, I was stranded in a place that never snowed. I have found since then that snow in different countries looks infinitely different. The icy brilliance that permeates the air with its chill and it’s unparalleled crispness.

Another thing that strikes me time and time again about India is the people’s friendliness. The Habitat for Humanity trip to Pondicherry was the first time that I had been faced with this humble happiness. Coming back to Ladakh, I was faced with this phenomenon once again. The year before, the people of Ladakh had been faced with a flash flood that had submerged most of their housing. And yet, the smiles on their faces and their excitement in helping as much as they could and their fervent cries of “Juleh” (hello) as we passed made me marvel.

It seems that the less people have, the more content they are.

Isn’t that food for thought?

An Array of Aesthetic AppealBy Priya Goyal

CADE

NCE Se

ptem

ber 2

8 20

110

A Summer in Lebanonby Omar Akileh

CADE

NCE Se

ptem

ber 2

8 20

110

As I step into my grandparents’ house from the extreme cold, a part of my heart is filled with enchantment. The aroma of various types of food is filling the air, opening up my appetite to a night of my Grandma’s remarkable Middle Eastern food. The warm and cozy feeling of my grandparents’ house is comforting, like a fuzzy stuffed animal. Family by family enters through the thrilling doors into a great evening. We hug and kiss, leaving many slobbery marks on each other’s faces. After everyone arrives, we know that the soon-to-be extraordinary night has begun. We chatter about each of our lives, and discuss topics that never and will never end. As the night goes on, the men sit down in the living room, telling stories and laughing with each other. The children scurry around, and the noise of the house comes together, eventually sounding like an orchestra playing a piece of music that lasts for hours. Then, we all gather in the family room, handing out and receiving presents. The older kids thank the adults for the money, and the younger children grab their presents and immediately scramble through the wrapping paper, like a pirate searching for his treasure. The kids gather around in one area showing one another their presents and the adults start to trade theirs. Later on, Grandma and Grandpa start to make their rounds and begin to spoil the children.

The girls, blissfully content, stand up and head for the kitchen, where they grab plates, forks, spoons, and knives to help set up the dining room table. The kids start to get hungry and the noise in the house begins to quiet down. Then, finally we all hear “Please help yourselves” and we all pile up on top of each other for the big feast, like a pack of wolves that just found food. My Grandma gives me a full plate of Homos and Falafel and I dig into a scrumptious meal that excites my appetite for more. After my first plate, I run down the dining room for more food. This time I try the rice and vegetables that grandma put on my plate. The first bite was marvelous, the veggies were not over cooked or under cooked, they were perfect. I can taste the

garlic, and spicy sauce that my Grandma put on them. That is one meal I will never forget.

Following the big feast, we all exhale thanking Allah for the blessing of food that he has given us, followed by a long thank you to Grandma who has worked hard all week making the delightful dishes. Before we sit down to watch TV, we all line up in the kitchen to get a serving of my aunt’s magnificent Arabic cake called Knafe. When it is my turn, my aunt gives me a big piece of the orange cake, the cheese oozing out of the middle, and the syrup running down the sides. We sit down in the tight family room and begin to talk to one another. Grandpa tries to watch TV, but the sound of so many people talking makes it hard for him to hear the news. He turns up the volume, but just we get louder. Throughout the night, the TV and the family play a game of Guess who’s louder. Finally, all the men exit the room to pray, and Grandma turns the TV off so we could actually carry on a conversation. As the big grandfather clock rings to indicate that it is midnight, we know it’s time to leave. We all gather at the door, put on our shoes and heavy coats to prepare for the cold and wish each other a happy holiday. Once again, our faces begin to get slobbered on from various family members, and the night begins to fade. We thank Grandma and Grandpa for such a great evening of celebration, and quietly leave the house, remembering the night that will never end in our hearts and memories.

A Holiday RitualBy Saja El-Weshahi

CADE

NCE Se

ptem

ber 2

8 20

110

Alas, Summer is OverAn Op-Ed by the not-so-typical Alias

The long afternoons of lazing about on the sofa, the blissful feel of the sheets as you spent a languid morning secure in the knowledge that you could get up whenever you so pleased. Sprawled on a chair biting into a succulent chocolate brownie and reading your favourite book. Happy? Content?

Now open your eyes.

Slowly your breathing quickens and you realise with a dawning of startling realisation that summer really is over and you really will not be doing any “sprawling” or “lazing” for a while now.

Hearing accounts from the newly burgeoning IB1’s describing their horror and the amount of work load they have to go through, I can’t help but let a little chuckle escape. Ah the naiivety of children..those were the days when 7 hours of sleep seemed live the greatest injustice possible.

Now I could continue this blog on the same vein waxing poetical about the horror of school but I feel that it is now my time to step back and really let myself succumb. Time to come to reality and let you know about a little something that has caught my attention.

No, it’s not related to summer but yet it is related to a genre called “steam punk” or “urban fantasy”. Being an avid reader myself, I was shocked to discover that here was a genre that I had not thoroughly scoured to death. At it’s essence it is a subgenre of fantasy that alters history and denotes an era where steam power is highly prevalent. This slightly urbane concept is mixed with fiction and fantasy.

Suffice it to say, this style of writing enthralled me and gripped me into it’s throes of alternate reality and a plot that was not one that I usually think of as “straight off the conveyor belt”.

Tickle your fancy? Such titles that depict this idea are the “Parasol Protectorate” series by Gail Carriger, “The Iron Seas” series by Meljean Brook any many more. They’re the sort of books that are hidden behind the visage of typical fantasy and yet they are...something more.

In the meantime, I shall return to my current steampunk fancy

Punkish-ly yours,

Zac Berry

CADE

NCE Se

ptem

ber 2

8 20

110

The Fall of Acreed A short story by Sachin Krishnamoorthy

The phone was ringing, it was always ringing, but Ray Dorson had never heard his phone ring at two in the morning. The 57 year old man growled and told the phone to shut up. The phone didn’t shut up and instead chose to continue ringing.

“Who the bloody hell is this?” grumbled Ray as he picked up the phone.

“It’s me, your assistant.”

“What assistant?” yawned Ray.

“Your assistant. Judy Flet? From the Southern Archeologist Society?”

“Oh yes, that assistant.”

“There is something you need to see Mr. Dorson.”

“Really?” inquired Ray “How nice, I shall see it tomorrow afternoon. Good night!”

“Please Ray, I need you to see this.”

Ray sighed, “Fine, but it better be quick.”

“It will be quick depending on how well you use the computer.”

Ray groaned. Computers were not his friends.

“Right Judy, what’s this all about?”

“It’s about this journal we found at the new archeological site near a number of islands in the center of the Atlantic Ocean. We managed to translate a journal that was discovered there.”

“This is what you called me at two in the morning for? A translated journal?”

“Yes, since we just discovered a lost civilization that seemed more sophisticated and older than the Egyptians! I did think it would be important.”

He sighed again. “I assume you sent it by email.”

“Yes, I did.”

Groaning again. Young people and their internet.

“Did you find anything interesting?” Ray asked.

“Interesting? More like horrifying, this book scared me to death.”

Ray paused. “Really? Why?”

“Read and see.”

Hakazo’s Journal

JOURNAL FOUND ON UNKNOWN ISLAND

NEWFOUND PROOF AND EVIDENCE OF ACREEDIAN KINGDOM

Entry 1

My name is Hakazo and I am 16 years old and live in the Acreedian Empire. This is the first time that I am writing in a journal. Of course I am only doing this to get the full credit of the Academy, so that one day I may join the military. On that note, I must leave, my instructor calls me.

CADE

NCE Se

ptem

ber 2

8 20

110

The Fall of Acreed Cont. Page 2Entry 2

The Great Lord of our nation has ordered the expedition of the new island that was found off the coast of our colony in the east. I forget the name but it is a recent colony. I wish I could go! Adventure and glory is what I need!

Entry 6

News so far is that sickness and plague is spreading across the islands, of course with our medicines, things have not been too bad. However this outbreak is quite strange and the priests are baffled by such a large epidemic.

Entry 8

There are rumors that the explorers found a great temple on an abandoned island, but once excavating had started, all contact with the explorers and villages in that part of the empire has been lost. The troops that were sent have returned and reported that the colony near the island is destroyed! What could possibly do such a thing? Who dares to challenge the Empire of Acreed?

Entry 10

Things are getting very tense in the Empire as more cities fall silent to this … wave of destruction. So far colonies the Empire controlled have been crushed but the enemy shall soon find out that the native Acreed cities shall not fall. The border is now being sealed, the armies are marching through the lands, and the High Order has been summoned to destroy the foe hidden in shadow.

Entry 13

An Acreed city fell yesterday, the first to fall in 100 years. The Great Lord has called upon all men over the age of 14 to fight for their country. I myself am being stationed at the impassible city of Gradtoke. The cowards who invade our lands, our seas, shall not take another step.

Entry 16

Several more cities have fallen in the coming weeks, and no survivors have been found. The High Order which commanded our greatest armies is thought to have been destroyed defending a city. Riots have broken out in our cities as the people demand the Great Lord does something about this. But what can he do?

SECTION OF JOURNAL DAMAGED

Entry 20

Gradtoke is in ruins! Everyone but except my men are dead! We were out on patrol near the back of the city when we heard the screams, the horrible screams. We were racing around the city when we saw a huge figure. He was clad in black, his skin was black, and his mount was black. He was a monster, he simply raised his arms and the city exploded in flames, these flames spread across the land, killing and burning everything. We knew we could not do anything so we did the only thing we could do. We ran.

Entry 25

We reached the capital and reported what we saw to the Great Lord himself. He told us that seven other cities had been obliterated during the time we made our way back to the capital.. Once we told the Great Lord what we saw he spat at us and called us mad, as things like demons and black magic only existed in stories. We were removed from duty and were branded as madmen. We went back and told our families what had happened and they believed us. Together that day we left the capital and that night I saw the flames engulf another city. The last one.

CADE

NCE Se

ptem

ber 2

8 20

110

The Fall of Acreed Cont. Page 3REST OF JOURNAL TOO DAMAGED TO TRANSLATE

END OF REPORT

Ray closed the computer file. “Do we know anything else about the Acreed kingdom?”

“No, this was the only written piece at the site, the only other thing there were bodies.”

“This really is the most disturbing piece of history that we have ever come across.”

“I agree.”

Silence for a moment.

“Ray?”

“Yes?”

“Would you agree that whatever that crisis was, it started with the opening of the temple mentioned?”

“It would seem so.”

“I hoped I was wrong.”

“Why?”

“We had sent a team of researchers around the island and they had sent a message that they were entering a temple they had found.”

“What! You didn’t stop them?”

“No! We had no idea what would happen. It was before we found the journal. ”

“What did they say when they came back?”

There was silence.

“Ray, they never came back.”

CADE

NCE Se

ptem

ber 2

8 20

110

Subscribe to Cadence!Want your very own copy of Cadence?

Itching to have something to read in the bathroom?

Subscribe to Cadence by:

1) Signing up on the sheet on the Cadence board outside Room 222OR2) Email priyagoyal@acs.sch.ae or annalawlor@acs.sch.ae