Editor ’ s note
Editor ’ s note
Learning to Live . Living to Learn .
Let me take you to a mysterious castle , overlooking a large loch , a place no ordinary muggle would be able to find . This boarding school , hidden in the Scottish Highlands , is called Hogwarts . If you are talented and lucky enough to receive the acceptance letter by owl , you can board the train on Platform 9¾ and be whisked away to a new life at Hogwarts . When you arrive , the Sorting Hat will be placed on your head to look into your personality so that you can be put in one of the four houses ( Gryffindor , Hufflepuff , Ravenclaw or Slytherin ) that make up this magical institution . Then , you will meet your housemates : the friends you will board with as well as the classmates with whom you will be studying subjects including flying , magic , charms , divination and defense against the dark arts . Remember though , no matter where you are on campus , you have to wear the school uniform . But if it ’ s Quidditch season and you are on the squad , then you will have to wear your house kit , as you get ready for the famed ‘ Inter-House Quidditch Cup ’.
This fantastical description is perhaps familiar to anyone who has ever read any book from the Harry Potter series . Keystone is similar in many ways , especially as a boarding school , which is one of our key guiding philosophies . In past editions of The Keystone Magazine , we focused on life in the classroom . In this issue , we take a look at what happens after class – not just by simply observing the students through a microscope , but also by relating their lives to our own salad days .
Over the last few months producing this issue , I feel that I have ( re ) discovered a whole new side to the people with whom I share the campus after hours . I only have my own school days to draw comparisons with , and the differences far outnumber the similarities . Nowadays , students have to race against multiple deadlines for all kinds of projects and assignments . They come into their own even as they grow to express themselves , while being considerate of others – roommates , floormates , classmates and others . Balancing work , life and friends have steeper learning curves for some . They choose to engage in leadership training and community work . School life is so much more than just what happens in classrooms , and every part of this school life is of great importance .
6 The Keystone Magazine