Stage Challenge 2010

Bring It On

Aunt Agatha

Hello my dears! My name is Aunt Agatha and I’m here to help you all through tough times in your adolescence! I have done everything there is to be done and experienced many issues that still trouble people today. From troubled friendships to relationship troubles, I can offer you some advice to help make your life that much easier. We already have some questions from readers who we will share with you today:

1. I recently found out that my group of friends regularly hang out together during the weekend but they never invite me along with them. I’m really upset and wonder if I should still be friends with them. What should I do?

Oh deary! That would be very upsetting! Maybe if you want to spend more time with them, you should organise to do some activities together in the weekend. Maybe invite them around to your house or to a movie or something all of you would enjoy doing together. Your friends might have a lot of fun with you and start inviting you along to more events they do. However if they’re not interested in spending time together, it might not be worth it. Remember your group of school friends don’t have to be your close friends you see on the weekend!

2. My parents just told me they’re getting a divorce and my dad moved out three days ago and I haven’t seen him since. I’m really angry at my parents and just don’t want to go home. What should I do?

Oh my! I am so sorry my child! You must be feeling very horrible, but just remember that you shouldn’t be angry at your parents. Just because they don’t love each other as much as they used too, doesn’t mean they don’t love you. They will want you in their lives right now and you should be with them too. But if you really don’t want to talk to them about it right now, maybe you should talk to an adult that you trust, or a friend who has gone through the same experience. Not going home would not solve the problem but make it worse and make you and your family more upset through this tough time.

3. My best friend has recently got a girlfriend and now spends all his time texting her and every weekend with her. We hardly talk now or spend any time together and when we do he’s always texting her. I’m sick of it and feel like we’re losing our friendship. What should I do?

Oh pumpkin! Teenage relationships are tough, especially since they seem to get in the way of friendships! I think the best thing for you to do is talk to you friend. If you’re best friends like you say you are, you should be able to communicate with each other. Just voice your feelings and say you want to spend more time together and maybe just tell him to not text her every time you two are together. You don’t want to lose your friendship over it, as relationships come and go, but you need to let him know that you are missing him.

4. I do everything right, behave properly, do all my chores and homework, but my parents still don’t trust me. What should I do?

A good idea for this, my dear, is to get some more responsibility. Try getting a job, or taking on a role outside of home which shows commitment and responsibility. Trust doesn’t grow overnight, but by showing to your parents that you are a responsible child, you can gain more freedom from them.

5. Even though it’s still only the start of term, I feel very tired and overworked from all my homework. How can I fix this?

This is very common for teenagers! The answer is you need more sleep! Try going to bed earlier and get around 8 hours sleep a night. Maybe you should make a timetable of your day so that you can have as much sleep as possible! Also eating a good, balanced diet will help you get through the day easier. If this doesn’t seem to help, you should see a doctor and see if he could help you out.

That’s all for this week! If you would like me to help you out with some problems, contact the MAGS Roar and I’ll offer my best advice.

Getting a Job

So I’m writing this article, curled up in my bed with sore feet and a headache, chowing down on a piece of chocolate cake – a reward for my tiring day. Why was my day so strenuous that it warranted cake therapy? Well, today I officially joined the ranks of the working, and let me tell you, it was no mean feat. First of all, getting a job as an unqualified, unlicensed high school student these days is akin to winning at one of those games at a carnival – it does happen but it’s pretty rare and when you get your prize, you realise it’s nowhere near as cool as you thought it would be.

The main obstacle for students seeking part time work is that most positions require previous experience in their field. The obvious question so few people ask is; “But if you won’t give them a job, how can they get work experience?”

In my opinion, the best way for students to acquire part time work is not to apply for a specific position but go for the broader approach of handing out your CV to a wide range of employers. Just like casting a net into the ocean is more likely to get you a tasty dinner, than waiting around with just one rod; you’re more likely to be offered a position by one of several employers than get one specific job.

Then comes the interview. For me, it was a pretty nerve-wracking process but in all honesty, interviews aren’t something to be nervous about. The employer wants to know if you’re the right person to hire, so it’s important to display the qualities they’re looking for. If you’re going to be interacting directly with customers, make sure you come off as friendly and approachable. If you’ll need to be speaking a lot, make sure you’re clear and articulate. For the kinds of jobs students will be applying for, the questions asked are likely to be general and won’t require any previous knowledge, but it’s probably a good idea to do a little research about the place you’re hoping to work, to avoid any embarrassing situations.

If you’ve made it this far in the process, I congratulate you – Welcome to the work force, you are now earning your own money (minus what the government steals from you), of course your social life is now severely diminished, and I’m pretty sure that within a few weeks you’ll loathe your job and possibly your workmates (depending on how lucky you are). Like I said, it’s nowhere near as cool as you thought it would be, but hey – as adults will tell you, and they certainly tell me: Welcome to life.

Laura J Garforth

First Editorial

Hello and welcome readers to the first issue of ‘The Roar’ student blog for 2010. It is my honour this year to be the editor along with Laurelin.

Some readers may recognise me from my past entries in ‘The Roar’, most notably the food reviews (This just goes to show it is, in fact, possible to eat your way to the top).

For my first editorial (ever) I want to speak about the opportunities that MAGS as a school provides for its students. Whilst more cynical readers may instantly raise their eyebrows and mutter something along the lines of “yeah right” the amount of activities one can get involved in here at the school actually quite amazing.

Whether it is sporting, academic, cultural or artistic the wide arrange of opportunities really are outstanding.

We have possibly one of the greatest choices in Auckland schools when it comes to playing a sport, whether it is one of the more conventional sports such as football or rugby to the more austere such as underwater hockey.

If the sports do not hold your interest, then there are a multitude of academic activities for those aimed towards the intellectual pursuits. For those with strengths in language we have debating, creative writing clubs, even this blog you are now reading. Or there are other areas where academic minded students can excel in such as the Brain Bee Challenge.

When it comes to cultural and artistic areas MAGS has only gone from strength to strength every year I have been here. It is possible to learn a huge variety of musical instruments in the music rooms or sing with one of the many choirs the school offers.

If you are more interested in acting we have many drama productions and rehearsals that take place throughout the year as well as having activities such as Kapa Haka where we see brilliant displays of cultural pride.

But this is not all the school offers. There are numerous leadership programmes where we have the opportunity to display our organisational skills; groups such as the Duke of Edinburgh programme or the model UN, which sit along-side such groups as Amnesty International and SADD.

So what is my point in all this (apart from trying to get approval form senior management)? It is to get involved, take any opportunity and give it a go. Speaking from experience I know how daunting it can be to try something new (in my first year here I did almost no extracurricular activities) but I gave it a go and have had huge amounts of fun, learnt new skills and made new friends. I’ve been to Christchurch with the MAGS underwater hockey team, learnt a lot about how the brain works in the Brain Bee Challenge and have become quite proficient at speaking with the debating team. So go on give it a go, you might just enjoy it …

Luke Wilson

Hollywood Copy Cats

By James Enright

A film I recently saw “Remember Me” directed by Allen Coulter and featuring Robert Paterson (best known from Twilight) reminded me instantly of a book I had just finished reading – an old literature classic entitled “A Catcher in the Rye” by J D Salinger. Coincidence?  With Hollywood’s notoriety I believe not.

Both the film and book have similar characters, plots and even settings.  In the movie the main character Tyler (Patterson) is a twenty one year old university student who lacks motivation and is depressed by the state of society around him. The only things that he lives for are his little twelve year old sister Olivia, a love of books, which he learnt from his late older brother and his addiction to nicotine. This is taken directly from Salinger’s book, where the sixteen year old student Holden Caulfield is kicked out of his school (Pency) also due to his total lack of motivation which resulted in his total failure in all school subjects except English. Holden is also depressed by the current state of society and lives for his twelve year old sister Phoebe, his books and poems (written by his late eldest brother and other still living older brother) and a nicotine habit which sees him smoking packs in excess of three a day.

The plots of the two works are fairly similar in the respect of following their main characters daily questioning lives. However, “Remember Me’s” plot and many sub plots are more detailed and complex. They involve a girlfriend (Carolyn Round), the police and increased family scenes and larger overall displays of emotion. This complexity is probably a result of huge differences in length between the pieces. The movie is over two and a half hours long while the book at only one hundred and ninety pages, would struggle to make something as long without extra cobbled on, clichéd bits of very little substance.

Finally the settings of both works are fairly similar to each other. Both are set in America in New York and the daily scenes are hugely similar as Holden and Tyler both reside in grungy, miniscule student residences while their upper class families live in classy apartments.  In fact the only point of difference seems to be the date and the quality of the work. The inferior ‘cobbled together’ movie is set around the summer prior to September the eleventh 2001 while Salinger’s vivid, emotive book is set around the mid 1900’s.

The reason, dear reader, why I draw your attention to this “coincidence” of sorts is to press the main point of this article; the sad lack of originality in today’s society. Everything done today seems to copy something done previously. What are the possibilities? That this occurrence of plagiarism (as no reference to Salinger was mentioned in the credits) was mere chance? One in a trillion I believe. Shame on you Hollywood, for stealing this beautiful classic and turning it into a mass produced block busting teen fiesta, especially with the addition of teen girl heart throb Robert Patterson. This movie will forever be an example of Hollywood copying at its lowest. For shame, Mr Allen Coulter, for shame.

Dream Whisper



Clash of the Titans Review

Anzac Day

Lest we forget

Anzac Day is a time to remember the soldiers who fought and the many who died during service for their country. Our school has too many Albertians whose lives were tragically cut short in wars. We should remind ourselves that this generation has much to be grateful for.

MAGS Photography Picks

Vs Auckland Grammar School: Final: August 22, 2009