NCV Mid Year O'Weekend

At the start of each semester the NCV community welcomes its new residents with an O’Week program. The aim of the O’Week program is to help students familiarize themselves with Sydney, the University, and, most importantly, the NCV community. For Semester Two we hold an abbreviated “O’Weekend” program, which in 2012 ran from Friday 13th July – Sunday 15th July. The program included a Pizza and Karaoke Night, a day trip to Circular Quay, our Annual Cultural Night and a Games Night.

Some of the wonderful food

The weekend kicked off with Pizza and Karaoke in the Main Common Room. Residents enjoyed mingling, music and pizza, before the karaoke machine fired up and residents sang their own versions of AC/DC, Kenny Rogers, Avril Lavigne and Vanilla Ice (to name a select few)! It was a fantastic start to O’Weekend as people got to know one another and shared their considerable (or in some cases questionable) musical talents.

Shot taken from a Sydney Ferry (TC)

Wangari in traditional Kenyan dress

The day trip took students through the CBD to the popular tourist destination and transport hub of Circular Quay. After a few snaps in front of the iconic Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge, residents took a look around the Harbour, enjoyed a short walk and made new friends. Sydney has one of the world’s most recognizable harbours, and for many new residents they were seeing Sydney’s most famous attractions for the first time.

On Saturday night 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 2012 Cultural Night were Australia, Bangladesh, Chile, Egypt, India, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Jamaica, The Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and the United States. The Cultural Night is a major highlight on the NCV calendar, and it is always fantastic to see people proudly representing their culture and history.

Sunday night saw O’Weekend draw to a close with some games in the Main Common Room. Between computer games, card games and board games there was something for everyone, not to mention some snacks and drinks as well. Monopoly was keenly contested, with one game continuing till well after midnight. With the end of that game the curtain came down on O’Weekend 2012, and rose on Semester Two!

NCV Mid Year O'Weekend

Curry Night

NCV is home to residents from all over the world, including a good number from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. On Friday 11th May a group of residents, led by resident Ria Dev, hosted a Cultural Night showcasing various aspects of sub-continental culture. MC-ed by residents Vinam Jain and Vivien Lee, the evening started with a series of video presentations about each of India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Resident Shaupnil Khan then sang two Bengali songs, accompanied by Shamila Vijayanmohar on piano and Pesila Ratnayake on guitar. Ria then performed some Hindi songs with Gagan Singh and Adheesh Ramani, again accompanied by Shamila and Pesila.

The formal part of the evening concluded with a fabulous set of dances by the NCV dance troupe of Ria, Geetha, Ashi, Zeynep, Vivien, Tamara, Sumi & Geetu.

To conclude the evening resident Geetu Vanjani taught the hundred or so residents in attendance a few simple dance steps. Afterward, residents moved out into the NCV Courtyard to enjoy some delicious Indian food prepared by resident Uma Chellapandi and her team. The evening was a great showcase of sub-continental culture. Being able to participate in events like Curry Night is a great benefit of living in a community like NCV.

Curry Night

Formal Dinner with Angela Pearman

On 22nd March the NCV community gathered for the First Formal Dinner for 2012. Formal Dinners are an important part of life at NCV, where the community hears from a distinguished person in the university or wider community. In 2011 the speakers had been public health academic Ms Anne Bunde-Birouste, Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre CEO Mr Ton van Amerongen and prominent UNSW law academic Professor Jane McAdam . This time the invited speaker was Ms Angela Pearman, barrister and former ABC Television newsreader.

Angela is a well-known Sydney barrister with an extensive practice in planning and environmental law, commercial law, administrative law and equity. Since 2000 her practice has focused on matters in the Land and Environment Court where she has advised government departments, councils, developers and community groups.

Prior to her legal career Angela was a presenter with ABC Television News in Sydney from 1988 to 2000, during which time she hosted various bulletins broadcast nationally and internationally. Angela was also the inaugural presenter of the “Compass” program in 1989. Prior to 1988 she presented and produced documentary programs for Radio National’s daily “Offspring” program, and presented various live shows on Radio 702 and ABC Classic FM.

During her presentation, Angela reflected on the trajectory of her career, from working initially as a languages teacher, through the media and ultimately to the law. She identified confidence and resilience as two qualities that were important in having a successful career. Additionally, she gave some fascinating reflections on the impact of social media on the law, highlighting the Kony 2012 and Rush Limbaugh campaigns as having important implications for justice. After Angela’s address, Shamila Vijayamanohar, law student and NCV Senior Resident moved an excellent vote of thanks to her for sharing her wisdom with the NCV community.

During the evening attendees were also able to hear a beautiful piano recital by resident Tan Hsuan. Tan is currently completing his Master of Optometry at UNSW, but continues to play piano at a high level in addition to his studies. At the dinner Tan played Schubert’s Impromptu in B Flat. It was a lovely performance.

Formal Dinner with Angela Pearman

O'Week 2012

The year kicks off at NCV with an O’Week program. The aim of O’Week is to introduce our residents to each other, to the local community and to Sydney. It’s a great time of building new friendships and finding your feet, with a little help, in a new place. One of the challenges at NCV is that some of our residents (PhD and MBA students) have already been at uni for a month or two by the time O’Week rolls around. Even so, a week of organized social events can be the perfect way to break up the relentlessness of study!

The week began with a tour of Sydney. On Sunday 19th February, students set off to Circular Quay, to check out Sydney’s iconic Harbour Bridge and Opera House. After that, the group hopped on one of Sydney’s famous harbor ferries, and headed across to the seaside suburb of Manly for a walk along the beach… and an ice cream.

On Monday, new residents were officially welcomed to NCV by the Master and Dean. After the formalities, the students joined a “Supper Crawl”, moving from floor to floor of the NCV building to meet the Senior Resident team. Residents enjoyed a different snack on each floor as well as the opportunity to meet other NCV residents (both new and old).

Tuesday of O’Week saw the inaugural Fat Penguin Night, NCV’s own original “ice breaker”. Borrowing from “speed-dating” but without any romantic objective, residents circulated, spending two minutes with each other before moving on to the next person. The evening was preceded by drinks and canapés in the MCR.

For Wednesday night’s activity, residents descended on the Main Common Room for an O’Week favorite, the annual NCV Trivia Night. Residents competed alongside their floormates for trivia supremacy. Level 4 snuck home in a thriller, beating Level 2 by one and a half points.

On Thursday night residents hit some of the classy cocktail bars in the city, at NCV’s annual 5-Star Hotel Crawl. Destinations included the Shangri La’s Blu Bar on 36, the Opera Bar at the Sydney Opera House and the ECQ Bar at Quay Grand. Residents enjoyed a quiet drink with great company and magnificent views.

On Friday afternoon interested folk gathered for the Local Church Services Introduction (at 5 pm), at which the Senior Ministry Resident gave new residents some guidance in what to look for in a new church. Residents also promoted their own congregations, and introduced some of the various ministry opportunities available on campus and within NCV. After this the Senior Resident Team cooked up a delicious barbecue of steaks, chicken fillet, sausages and vegetarian patties. This was followed by karaoke in the Main Common Room. Nathan and Michaels’ version of Thunderstruck by AC/DC was a hit, along with the Senior Resident Team’s version of Kenny Rogers’ The Gambler.

Early on Saturday evening the researchers of NCV gathered in the Main Common Room for some wine and nibbles. NCV is home to a number of PhD, Honours and ILP students, and effort is made to get the researchers mixing together from early in the year. At 8 pm focus turned to the Roof Top Terrace for the NCV Wine & Cheese Night, where residents could sample a range of wine and cheeses from across Australia.

Sunday afternoon saw NCVers head to Kensington Bowling Club for a quiet afternoon of Lawn Bowls. It was the perfect way to round out an enjoyable week of getting to know each other.

O'Week 2012

NCV Christmas Service

Some of the residents who attended

The 2011 NCV Christmas Service was held in the Main Common Room on Monday 12th December. This provided an opportunity for residents to gather and consider the meaning behind the Christmas season. The Master of New College and New College Village, Prof. Trevor Cairney, spoke on Luke 19:1-10, not a passage which people regularly associate with Christmas but one that speaks directly to the reason for Jesus’ earthly ministry . Trevor drew some important conclusions from the passage, challenging residents to look beyond the Christmas narrative and instead to consider the person of Jesus and the claims that he made.

The Master adds the star to the tree

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, 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”, “O Little Town of Bethlehem”, “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”, “Once in Royal David’s City”, “O Holy Night”, “Joy To The World” and “O Come All Ye Faithful”. To finish the evening residents joined together in decorating the NCV Christmas Tree and enjoyed some traditional Christmas food: pannetone, Christmas cake, and fruit mince pies. Two residents, Tim Amos and Laura Sharpe brought along a most impressive gingerbread house which they had made to share. It was an impressive structure, and delicious, too! As always, the NCV Christmas Service was a great way to start the holiday season with the NCV family!

NCV Christmas Service

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

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!

Professor Jane McAdam

At the last Formal Dinner for the year on 13th October 2011, the guest speaker was Professor Jane McAdam. Prof McAdam is a prominent Australian legal academic with research interests in international refugee law, international human rights law, forced migration, and displacement due to climate change. In addition to her duties at UNSW, Prof McAdam is also a consultant to the UNHCR on the international law aspects of climate-related displacement. She has also worked on a variety of projects for the European Union, Green Cross Australia, the Refugee Review Tribunal, Amnesty International and the Refugee Council of Australia. Having Prof McAdam speak to the NCV community at a time in Australian history when both climate change and asylum seeker policy were in the news was a great privilege.

Prof McAdam began her talk with some reflections on the importance of research and the benefits of pursuing a research career. She went on to talk about her own research, giving residents a window into some of the important and interesting questions around environmental refugees. The talk generated a lot of interest, prompting a number of questions from the floor and spirited after-dinner conversation.

At the dinner we were also fortunate to have resident Christopher Chen play the piano for us. Christopher is a graduate of the University of Melbourne and is currently completing postgrad studies in information technology at UNSW. On the night, Christopher demonstrated his considerable piano skills by playing the Edvard Grieg’s Sonata Op. 7, 2nd Movement.

NCV Formal Dinner