NCV Wedding! Another First

There have been many firsts in our short four year history as a residential community, but surely one of the highlights must be celebrating our first all NCV wedding. By this I mean a wedding between two NCV residents who met when they came to live with us in the community.

Patrick & Viv exchange their wedding vows

On the 12th December 2012 (12.12.12) at 12.00pm, about 30 friends and family gathered to witness and celebrate the wedding of Vivian Shek and Patrick Chan. Both Viv and Patrick joined us in 2009 as foundation residents. Patrick came from the USA to study medicine and Vivian came from Queensland to undertake a PhD in musicology. Both have made significant contributions to the life of the NCV.

There was a video link to the USA to allow other relatives to witness the event. There will also be another celebration in San Diego (at the San Diego Zoo) later in January.

LtoR: Carmen Cairney, Trevor Cairney (Master), Viv & Patrick, Premilla, John Quinn (Dean of Residents)

The wedding took place at the Headquarters of the Lutheran Church of Australia at Rhodes (Sydney). It was a moving service that involved a short formal ceremony, a message, prayer, hymns, the exchange of vows and the signing of the marriage register. It was followed by an afternoon tea that provided the chance to wish Viv and Patrick well, before they left for a short honeymoon and then their return to Sydney where they will live in Kensington (near UNSW).

LtoR: Theresa, Sandra, Viv & Patrick, Karen (& Oliver), David & James (all residents or former residents)

Congratulations Vivian & Patrick!

NCV Wedding! Another First

Thanksgiving at NCV

Some of the residents enjoying Thanksgiving

NCV is home to students from all over the world, including quite a few from the United States of America. At Thanksgiving time (25th November), a group of our residents (led by Melissa Duell and Michael Sturm) put together a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner for the NCV community. This was of great interest to the local residents, as Thanksgiving is not really celebrated in Australia. The dinner had all the Thanksgiving essentials: turkey, cranberry sauce, roast vegetables, sweet potato, pumpkin pie and apple pie. Pumpkin pie is a rarity in Australia, but once residents overcame their apprehensions they enjoyed a delicious treat.

Dr Quinn enjoying Thanksgiving

This was our second Thanksgiving dinner at NCV, with the event becoming something of a favorite on the NCV Social Calendar. As last year, Thanksgiving at NCV gave some fantastic glimpses into American culture – yet another benefit of living in a diverse and enriching community.

Thanksgiving at NCV

NCV Formal Dinner Aug 2011

Three times each year NCV residents gather for a Formal Dinner.  These events involve a three course meal, a musical item (or two) and a speech on a topic of interest to a higher education community. The evenings typically go into the night as residents enjoy coffee and conservation, not to mention a photograph or two! At NCV’s August Formal Dinner on the 4th August, the guest speaker was Mr Ton van Amerongen. 
 

Mr van Amerongen is currently the CEO of the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre (SCEC), a position he has held since 1994.  In addition to his responsibilities at the SCEC, Ton is also a former director of the Sydney Chamber of Commerce and is an advisor to Business Events Sydney. He is also a founding director and the current treasurer of the Darling Harbour Business Association, and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

At the NCV Formal Dinner, Ton spoke about his extensive career in hotel management, which had taken him to cities all across the world. He also gave an overview of his current role as CEO of the Conference and Exhibition Centre, explaining the importance of the SCEC to Sydney and NSW. Ton encouraged residents to make the most of the NCV community’s cultural diversity, arguing that the ability to work with people of many and varied cultures would stand them in good stead for the future.

We were also fortunate to have resident Wayne Yang give a piano recital for us.  Wayne is one of the original members of NCV, having moved in when the building opened in 2009.  On the night, Wayne showed beautiful touch playing Mozart’s Variations on "Ah! Vous-dirai-je, Maman". It was a delightful performance.

NCV Formal Dinner Aug 2011

Cultural Night a Great Start to Semester

The NCV community is highly culturally diverse, with over 40 different nationalities represented.  At present there are residents from every continent, as well as from Pacific nations such as New Zealand and French Polynesia.  With such a diverse community, living at NCV provides a unique opportunity to meet people from many other places and learn about different cultures. 
 

As part of our Semester 2 O’Weekend, NCV hosted its Annual Cultural Night.  This event provided students with the opportunity to showcase their various cultures through food, dress, national symbols, general info, and music.  Countries represented at the 2011 Cultural Night were Australia, Bangladesh, Chile, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, The Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Sri Lanka.  

A particular highlight was provided by those residents who donned their traditional dress for the evening.  To see residents in traditional costumes from India, Saudi Arabia, and Bangladesh highlighted the rich multicultural tapestry of the NCV community.

 

Cultural Night a Great Start to Semester

New Groups Building Community Life @ NCV

It has been a great thrill to see the development of a number of different groups at the NCV that have been initiated by residents with some shared interests. In recent months we have seen three new groups:

• An NCV Choir
• A Bollywood Dance group
• The NCV Orchestra

Thank you to the initiators of these various activities and the enthusiasm of all who have helped to build these wonderful groups to enrich community life.

The NCV Choir

 

Bollywood Dance Group

 

 NCV Orchestra

 

New Groups Building Community Life @ NCV

NCV Community Photo 2010

Below is the NCV Community Photo for 2010. We took the photo on the 27th October. We chose 10.00am to take the shot and unfortunately this wasn't a time that suited some. We hope to get everyone in the photo in 2011. See who you can recognize.

NCV Community Photo 2010

NCV Community Photo 2009

Below is the photo that we took in the central courtyard in 2009 to have a record of some of the people who were living in the building at the time. We asked people to rise at 8.00am on the 19th May 2009 for the photo and served a pancake breakfast cooked on the NCV BBQs afterwards.  See how many people you still know.

NCV Community Photo 2009

NCV Public Lecture

On Monday  (18th April), historian Dr Chris Forbes from Macquarie University came to New College Village to give a public lecture on the topic “Did Jesus Really Rise From the Dead”.

The event was open to anyone within the NCV and across the campus. It was attended by 70 people many of whom were Christian and some who were not. Dr Forbes drew on various sources to argue for the historicity of the resurrection. It was a fascinating and thought provoking evening for all in attendance.

NCV Public Lecture

Easter Choir Musical

On Saturday 18th April a group of NCV residents presented a special event for Easter, the inaugural 'NCV Easter Choir Musical'.  This event provided a retelling of the events around the first Easter using song and dramatic readings. 

The NCV Choir

A choir made up of 14 residents performed for about 40 people, with five members of the choir doubling up to perform dramatic readings as well. The residents rehearsed weekly for five weeks leading up to the event, providing an outlet for those residents with a vocal inclination.

Premilla's creations

As with all NCV events, food is always important, and afterward those attending and performing enjoyed a delicious supper prepared by John and Premilla.  Some intricately decorated chocolate cupcakes were on offer, along with toasty warm hot cross buns and chocolate Easter eggs. There was also plenty of delicious hot chocolate to go around, fresh off the stove!

Performing the Musical in the Main Common Room

Easter Choir Musical

NCV Formal Dinner

On the 7th April the NCV community gathered for the First Formal Dinner for 2011.  Formal Dinners are an important part of life at NCV, where the community hears from a distinguished person on a topic of interest to a higher education community.  In 2010 the speakers had been former UNSW Deputy Chancellor Dr Jessica Milner Davis, prominent Australian businessman Dr Ian Pollard and eminent UNSW physicist Prof. Michelle Simmons.  This time the invited speaker was Ms Anne Bunde-Birouste, UNSW public health academic and Founder of the Football United program for disadvantaged youth.

Anne is currently a Senior Lecturer in the School of Public Health and Community Medicine at the University of New South Wales.  She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, and a Master of Public Health from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health in Minneapolis.  Anne’s research interests are in the areas of health promotion, social determinants of health, refugee health and post-conflict societies.

In addition to her academic responsibilities, Anne is also the Founder and Executive Director of Football United, a program which uses soccer to provide leadership development for youths and young adults in disadvantaged areas by training them as coaches and co-ordinators.  The work of Football United has previously been featured in the Sydney Morning Herald, on ABC Radio and on SBS Television.

As part of her presentation, Anne gave a fascinating insight into the genesis of the Football United Program, and showed a short video presentation about Football United’s participation in the 2010 Football for Hope Festival in South Africa (coinciding with the 2010 FIFA World Cup).  After Anne’s address, Mark Dixon, medicine student and NCV Senior Academic Tutor moved an excellent vote of thanks to Anne for sharing her infectious passion with the NCV community.

During the evening attendees were also able to hear a beautiful piano recital by resident Michelle Kwok.  Michelle is currently completing a combined degree in commerce and law at UNSW, but continues to play piano at a high level in addition to her studies.  At the dinner Michelle played Chopin’s Nocturne Op. 9. No.2, and Prokofiev’s Prelude Op. 12 No. 7. After Michelle’s performance, one guest remarked “It’s wonderful to hear how great pieces like this are supposed to be played, rather the way amateurs like me tried to play them when we were learning the piano”.

 

NCV Formal Dinner

Christmas Day at the NCV

Because the New College Village was established as a postgraduate community, and the majority of residents are overseas students, many don't leave over the traditional Christmas period.

This year over 100 residents were still around for some of the Christmas period.  As a result, the residents organised a Christmas BBQ on the Rooftop Terrace.

Over 30 residents came along to enjoy the company of others on Christmas Day (25th December), to share good food and to celebrate. 

It was a wonderful time for people to enjoy wonderful warm, weather and sunshine without the pressure of classes. Residents shared food and helped to cook meat on the BBQ - Aussie style!

Summer is such a wonderful time at the NCV with plenty of oppretunities to enjoy the local beaches, big events like the New Year's Eve fireworks and the Festival of Sydney that runs through most of January.

Fireworks New Year's Eve 2011 (Sydney Harbour Bridge)

Christmas Day at the NCV

2010 Christmas Service - 9th December

The 2010 NCV Christmas Service was held in the Main Common Room on Thursday 9th December.  This provided an opportunity for residents to gather and reflect on some of the events which occurred around the time of Jesus’ birth, and the significance of those events for people 2000 years later.  The Master of New College and New College Village, Prof. Trevor Cairney, spoke on Matthew 2:1-12, a passage in the Bible which talks about the visit of the so-called Three Wise Men (more correctly, “The Magi”). The passage highlighted the response of the Magi to Jesus’ birth, and contrasted it with that of King Herod. Trevor drew some important conclusions from the passage, challenging residents to think about the real events which lay behind Christmas.

During the service the Dean of NCV, Dr John Quinn, also gave some historical background to the traditions around Christmas time: the use of conifers as Christmas trees, the tradition of decorating trees with baubles and lights, the association of red and white candy canes with Christmas and the origin of the term “carol” to describe Christmas songs. NCV’s always-able musicians led the residents in some well-known Christmas carols: “Silent Night”, “Away in a Manger”, “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”, “Once in Royal David’s City”, “O Holy Night” and “Go Tell It on the Mountain”.  To finish the evening residents joined together in decorating the NCV Christmas Tree and enjoyed some traditional Christmas food: pannetone, Christmas cake, fruit mince pies and candy canes. It was a great way to start the holiday season with the NCV family!

2010 Christmas Service - 9th December

Thanksgiving - 25th November

NCV is home to students from all over the world, including quite a few from the United States of America and Canada. At Thanksgiving time, a group of our American residents (led by Anetra Moore and Jaye Del Rosario) put together a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner for the NCV community. This was of great interest to the local residents, as in Australia there is no Thanksgiving celebration. In fact, such was the dearth of Thanksgiving-related products in Australia that many of the decorations were ordered in from the United States! The dinner had all the Thanksgiving essentials: turkey, cranberry sauce, roast vegetables, sweet potato, pumpkin and apple pie.

During dinner Anetra gave a short presentation about the origins of the Thanksgiving, which dates back to 1621.  There were also a number of interesting “Thanksgiving Facts” presented:  we learnt that Minnesota is the top Turkey-producing state of the US, while Wisconsin, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington lead the way on cranberry production.  Residents also learnt about the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Black Friday shopping specials and the host of football games that fall on Thanksgiving.  Anetra and Dino then showed a short clip of the Presidential Turkey Pardon, one of the more unusual Thanksgiving traditions.  Thanksgiving at NCV gave some fantastic glimpses into American culture – yet another benefit of living in a diverse and enriching community.

Thanksgiving - 25th November

Carols by Candlelight - 18th November

Unlike the in Northern Hemisphere, in Australia Christmas time falls in summer. Instead of snow, Christmas is associated with warm sunny days, long daylight hours, and the long school holidays. As a result, many activities around Christmas will be held outside.  Families enjoy barbecues together, play some outdoor games, go to the beach and generally enjoy the fantastic Sydney weather.

One activity which is held in communities all around Australia is “Carols By Candlelight”.  At “Carols By Candlelight” people gather outdoors around dusk and sing Christmas songs together. To help them see the lyrics, people hold candles as they sing.  “Carols By Candlelight” events are generally organized by churches, groups of churches or local councils.  A typical event might also include a talk about the birth of Jesus, a visit by Santa Claus, fireworks or a performance by a local band or well-known singer.  The two most famous examples of “Carols By Candlelight” are those held in The Domain in Sydney on the Saturday before Christmas Day, and at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne on Christmas Eve.

In 2010 NCV held its own “Carols By Candlelight” for the first time.  A talented group of NCV musicians prepared a program of Christmas songs including “The 12 Days of Christmas”, “Silver Bells”, “O Holy Night”, “O Come All Ye Faithful”, “Hark The Herald Angels Sing” and “Silent Night”, to name but a small selection of the songs sung. Candles were distributed and people enjoyed a warm, late spring evening singing traditional songs and hymns about Christmas.  Midway through the evening the program paused so that students could enjoy some food a drink together.  After this the band were then kind enough to take requests, singing some resident’s favorite songs late into the evening.

Carols by Candlelight - 18th November

November Drinks & Canapes

To finish off the year in style the NCV community gathered after the final exams for a Drinks and Canapés Evening in the Main Common Room.  Of course, being a postgraduate community one of the unique features of life at NCV is that it never really stops – there is no “end” per se to the year’s events. That said, for the significant number of NCV residents doing coursework programs the exams had finished on 15th November and so there were plenty of reasons to celebrate!

Students enjoyed a couple of drinks and a host of delicious short eats: spring rolls, cheese and spinach triangles, falafels, Cajun prawns, vol au vents, sausage rolls, vegetable sticks, corn chips and dips. The Dean of NCV Dr John Quinn made a few short remarks about the great year which NCV had enjoyed.  Dr Quinn posed the question “what makes for a great year?” and answered it with three key ingredients:  great events, great staff and great residents.  Dr Quinn paid special tribute to the Academic Tutors, Senior Residents, office staff and maintenance staff for all the great work they did responding to the various needs of the community.

The night continued on until about 9:30 pm, when the lights suddenly went up and the piano was opened. A group of residents gathered to rehearse for the next NCV event – Carols By Candlelight.  So much for “the end of the year”!! As noted above community life continues at NCV the whole year around.

November Drinks & Canapes

NCV Oct Formal Dinner

 On the 13th October the NCV community gathered for the final Formal Dinner for 2010.  So far in 2010 we had heard from former UNSW Deputy Chancellor and Pro-Chancellor Dr Jessica Milner-Davis and prominent Australian businessman and actuary Dr Ian Pollard.  This time it was the scientists’ and engineers’ turn to have the spotlight.

On 13th October the NCV community welcomed eminent physicist Prof. Michelle Simmons from UNSW’s School of Physics. Prof. Simmons is currently the Director of the Centre for Quantum Computing Technology and the Director of UNSW’s Atomic Fabrication Facility. Her research involves the development of novel electronic devices at the atomic scale.  Michelle spoke of her research group’s investigations into the development of quantum computing technology, with its promise of providing an exponential increase in processor speeds. The mixed audience of scientists and non-scientists could clearly appreciate the significance of Michelle’s research and its implications in a wide variety of fields which depend on ever-faster computers. Libin George, PhD student in the School of Electrical Engineering & Telecommunications moved an excellent vote of thanks expressing the community’s appreciation for having heard from such a distinguished scientist.

During the evening the NCV community was also fortunate to hear two pieces performed by resident Elina Yasumoto.  Elina is a graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and the University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Music, and is currently completing her Juris Doctor degree in UNSW’s Faculty of Law.  Elina played two pieces at the dinner, Franz Liszt’s “Gondoliera” and Australian composer Miriam Hyde’s “Study in Blue, White and Gold”.  They were fabulous performances.

NCV Oct Formal Dinner

NCV Cultural Night

The NCV community is highly culturally diverse, with 50 different nationalities represented.  At present there are residents from every continent, as well as from a number of island nations such as Mauritius, American Samoa and Fiji. With such a diverse community, living at NCV provides a unique opportunity to meet people from many other places and learn about cultures which are quite distinct from one’s own.

As part of our “O’Weekend” for semester 2, NCV hosted its inaugural Cultural Night.  This evening provided an opportunity to taste food from a number of different countries, as well as hear music from all over the world. Countries represented included India, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Iran, Japan, Australia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Chile, Korea and Japan. A wide variety of food was available for tasting, including savory snacks, main courses and sweets.  For the new and returning residents who attended the evening, Cultural Night 2010 provided a unique glimpse into life in distant places.  Of course, students also had the chance to try some local Australian favorites such as pavlova  and lamingtons.  There was even an opportunity to taste the popular Australian spread “Vegemite”, something only a few residents were courageous enough to try!

A particular highlight was provided by Senior Resident Karthigan Balasubramaniam, who, with the help of some Sri Lankan friends, performed some traditional drumming. There was also an opportunity to be dressed in a sari for a portrait. The night was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

NCV Cultural Night