Lyceum Debaters make it to the Pakistan Nationals Camp.
The Lyceum’s Debate team showed unbelievable growth and determination by reaching the semi-finals of the 2020 Raziuddin Sheikh All Pakistan National Debating Championship. In the largest and most competitive nationals of all time, the team of Aimen Memon, Anam Fatima Areesha Saif, Muzammil Kamran and Ummehani Murtaza were among the final four teams in the tournament. In addition to this, Anam Fatima, Areesha Saif, and Muzammil Kamran Sattar (who finished as the 10th Best Speaker of the country) all qualified for the Pakistan National Team selection camp where they will compete for the chance to represent Pakistan at the World Schools Debating Championship.
This is the best performance in the school’s 8 year history of attending the senior nationals and a remarkable achievement in and of itself, but the context in which it was attained makes it even more so. 4 out of the 5 members of this team had never done parliamentary debates before their A Levels (making them the least experienced team in the top 8, let alone the top 4). The last time that Lyceum qualified for the national knockout rounds was in 2013 when they made the octo-finals and this is the first qualification in 6 years of attendance (2018 was not attended), to get to where they did they eliminated well established teams such as LGS 55 Main Campus (former champions and last year’s semi finalists), Beaconhouse Liberty Lahore and former Champions, top ranking team and one of the most formidable teams in the past half decade Beaconhouse Defense Campus Lahore. Having joined Lyceum as coach at the same time as the A2’s in this team, it has been a genuine pleasure to watch them grow at such exponential rates from a point where they were considered the ultimate underdog team which hadn’t even attended the last nationals to being one of the best in the country in just a year and 3 months.
The students showed immense character by not letting difficult circumstances define them, balancing their rigorous academics and defying all expectations, I could not be prouder of each and every one of them. This would have of course, not been possible without the support of our wonderful Patron Mrs Shereen Khan, Mr Shahriar Ahmad, and the incomparable Ms Amal Mujahid who helped the team at every turn, in every way they could.
– Mahad Akbar
Debate Coach
***
Perhaps the main drawback of getting to participate in Nationals from the comfort of your room is missing out on the pleasantly cold Lahori nights, the daily takeout and the memorable getaway with friends. Entering the tournament, feeling a little antagonistic about missing out on a unique experience, we did manage to create matchless memories at Nationals in the forms of hours of procrastination on the Zoom call a night before Nationals, complaining about just how hard A2 life is, when we were supposed to prepare cases for upcoming rounds, hypothetical scenarios of what we would be doing if we were in Lahore, and from beating the best Lahori team, Beaconhouse Defence Campus in the quarter finals, to all of us landing in the top 40, headed to Pakistan International team selection camp, we left our mark at Nationals.
Due to COVID-19, this year at Nationals, the best 24 teams were announced, 8 of whom directly progressed to the Octosfinals, while the next 16 had to compete against each other to reach the Octos. We weren’t even expected to make it into the top 8 but thanks to round 4 where a sociology based topic, “This House believes economic class is more important than other forms of identity”, where all my sociology notes were finally of use, we beat Beaconhouse Liberty Lahore and made it into the 8 best teams, being the first Lyceum team in the last 6 years to break at Nationals.
The credit of all of this goes to one person, the person who coerced us into daily practice sessions before Nationals, gave us detailed post-debate feedback, never complained about repeating himself 20 times for us to understand something, helped us build up our arguments till the very day of the tournament, sent us motivational and strategic voice notes before every match, and most importantly, believed in us throughout: Mahad Akbar, our coach. We didn’t manage to get him the Nationals win, but if it weren’t for him, we would be farther than two debates away from the win.
This one’s for Mahad, and this one’s for the dream team: Anam, being the “best speaker internationally” and the glue holding our team together, Muzzammil, being the “content hog”, forcing the judge to raise our scores with his unparalleled style, Hani, being the “Mom” making sure we had our cases right, Aiman, the “economic advisor”, putting down our case so we could strengthen it, and me with my constant “case batao guys”— this one’s for being so close to a Nationals win and this one’s to the awaiting Pak camp.
– Areesha Saif
Debate Chair
Best Delegation at Montreal United Nations 2020
The Lyceum’s Model UN Team showed remarkable character and drive in persevering at the Montreal United Nations Conference where they claimed Best Delegation. This team had students working in the wee hours of the night and balancing their tests, whilst also being the most independent bunch of students I have ever worked with as a Coach. Truly a remarkable achievement and a display of teamwork that embodies the Lyceum ethos through and through. Insha’Allah a start to a great year!
– Humza Nadeem Jami
MUN Coach
“Dream… your beginnings maybe humble but prosperous will be your future”
The Lyceum Debate Team started off as a dream and today is a name that sends chills every time you hear it. We’re not just a team, we are a legacy and a family.
The start of this year brought an inevitable gloom and the prospect of any online MUNs seemed quite daunting. The Montreal United Nations Conference was no different. Competing against delegates from 45 countries, on an international platform was not an easy task, but the only thing that kept us going was this team. The sense of belonging coupled with endless messages and never-ending zoom calls was what enabled each of us to overcome our personal fears and challenge whoever stood against us.
The rules of procedure were quite different to what we were traditionally used to and adapting to them was not easy at all but all of us had a responsibility. A common responsibility to challenge all odds and perform to the best of our abilities. Despite the odds being stacked against us, the challenges were nothing insurmountable to the dedicated members of the team. It was never about our individual interest but always about the team. Maybe that’s why when “Best Delegation” was announced, all of us were truly euphoric. That night it was not 23 kids from Lyceum that won. It was one team, one body and one soul. The Red Army.
And this is just the beginning.”
– Javeria Ehtesham and Rayyan Ikram
MUN Chairs
We are incredibly proud of the entire team:
Berlin Conference
Rayyan Ikram
United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC)
Javeria Ehtesham
Kazim Abro
Shahmeer Hussan
Paransha
United Nations High Commission Refugees (UNHCR)
Rahimeh Durrani
Mahnoor Gul
Eisha Baqar
Javeria Aziz
Leena Hameed
Yashal Ruman
Mahad Mir
World Food Programme (WFP)
Naheel Rehman
Awab
Aleeya Rizvi
Sarah
Azman Moorani
Incia Saleem
World Health Organization (WHO)
Tarfa Siddiqui
Zara Zahid
Hammad Hassan
Taha Ejaz
Salwa Farid
Hall of Fame link button: https://www.m-unc.org/hall-of-fame
Iqbal’s Forgotten Message
An Iqbal Day special Lysias article by Areesha Saif | Class of 2021
parray hai chargh e neeli faam say manzil musalman ki,
sitaray jiski gard e raah hon woh karwaan hai tu
beyond the blue sky, is the Muslim’s destination,
you are the explorer for whom the stars are like the dust on your path
Envisioning a country that would be a safe space for Muslims in India who felt isolated, Iqbal proposed an Islamic state that sheltered them against discrimination. Today Pakistan proudly showcases the “Islamic Republic” in its name, claiming to stand up heroically for Palestine but once its streets were flooded with millions chanting “Shia Kafir” and stones pelted the walls of a sacred Imam bargah, a peaceful space; one that provided refuge to the displaced during the heavy rains, it was clear that the Islamic Republic of Pakistan chose to protect those whose Islam fitted a narrow version deemed as appropriate by the state, for it has been easy to stand up for the Kashmiris and the Palestinians, but the cause of the Uighurs has been conveniently brushed under the rug.
Iqbal dreamed of Muslims channeling their energy towards uplifting their situation by promoting science and innovation. Entangled with daily political brawls amongst politicians within the parliament, Pakistan’s focus has hardly ever been education. With a defence budget largely exceeding the education one, and a federal education board characterised by rote learning, corruption and undermarking students, Pakistan has grown so distant from science that when its neighbour was planning a Mars mission, Pakistan was busy criticising it using nationalist rhetoric, almost assured that its Mars mission won’t fail because it never would try launching one.
As a nation, we celebrate Iqbal Day every year, but we barely know Iqbal. We may read his poems, or memorise a paragraph about him when studying Pakistan studies, but we don’t have left within our country anything Iqbal stood up for. Perhaps in the end we can only hope, hope that the power of our solidarity and the boldness of our voice may lead our country forward. As Iqbal said,
nawa paira o bulbul k ho tere tarannum say,
kabutar k tan e nazuk me shaheen ka jigar paida
it’s a new dawn, o nightingale, through your song
the fragile spirit of pigeon will transform into the soul of an eagle
***
The Lyceum celebrates our national poet, Dr Allama Muhammad Iqbal every year on his birthday. Born in 1877 in Sialkot, Iqbal was a poet, philosopher and thinker par excellence. His commentary on the social, political and cultural conditions of Muslims in India is considered foundational to the Pakistan Movement.
As per tradition, the Lyceum paid homage to Allama Iqbal with a short virtual programme, on his birthday, the 9th of November. The programme featured Lyceum members speaking about different aspects of the poet’s life and rendering some of his work. Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/dhWP1V3JS3g
LYCAS: Registrations are Open
Liceo, The Lyceum’s Science Society is delighted to announce its upcoming online inter-school science competition “LYCAS”, which is open to Secondary and High-School students. The prime objective of this event is to inculcate hands-on learning and problem-solving skills with a sustainable solution. We also provide a platform where not only knowledge and intellect will be put to test, but also the critical thinking and writing skills of an individual.
Time span: October 2020 to January 2021
Platforms: Youtube, Google drive
Format: Inter-school Science Event
Participants will choose between one of these two:
Module 1: Tesla’s Opus
In this module, participants are required to construct a prototype and make a video to display fabrication and working of the product. The video must consist of each and every step of construction. Along with video, a word document of one or two-page is also required which consists of a project summary, circuit diagram/block diagram of the prototype and a list of components.
Module 2: Vinci’s Compendium
Participants are required to prepare a research report describing the concept, their findings and conclusion on a topic of their choice. Students may opt for the ideas related to recent issues of Pakistan such as curbing the spread of covid-19 and flood relief, and may provide effective solutions to these issues.
We will also hold a virtual event via YouTube Stream in which we will display projects constructed by our participants and conduct a voting round too. We will also provide our sponsors the opportunity to run their ads during the event. It will be on 16th January 2021.
Register through this form:
Lyceum Alumni Owais Awan Wins Historical Animal Rights Case
Owais graduated in 2010 and now works as a lawyer. He gained recognition after winning the case for the freedom of Kaavan, an elephant in a zoo in Islamabad.
What was your time at the Lyceum like? What subjects and CCAs did you
take? Did you have any memorable teachers?
Lyceum was a different experience for me especially coming from a boarding school where I used to wake up at 5:30 am, six days a week, so coming to Lyceum was a refreshing experience. It was tough adjusting but then I became part of the cricket team, dramatics society and was also the drummer for the Lyceum school
band. I took Law, Urdu, GP and Psychology (dropped Maths after AS). My favourite teacher was Sir Omar Sial, who taught Law and Ms Ayesha Samad who helped me a lot in Psychology. I was lucky to have Ms Durdana Sial as my counsellor who was extremely supportive and caring.
I also miss Bashir Bhai’s Khousuey.
Have you always wanted to be a lawyer? Or is that something that just
happened?
Law is different in theory and in practice. When you enter the profession you learn the tricks of the trade and because I was a part of the dramatics society I was comfortable with public speaking. I was not a very good student but I remember Sir Omar Sial telling me one
day after class that even though I might not be a good student, I would become a
good lawyer. When I entered the profession I was 101% sure. In fact, it was the first time that I took an adjournment that I realised that it was a fun profession.
Have you always been interested and involved in animal rights?
I have always been an animal lover but never imagined myself being involved in animal rights. I have a regular law practice but on a lighter note, after filing Kaavan’s case, I found out that my
birthday is on World Animal Day i.e. 4th October.
American pop singer Cher was campaigning for Kaavan. The world’s attention was on this case. Did you feel the pressure as you were preparing for it?
Definitely, many people were dismissive of my idea of filing a petition on animal rights since they were prioritizing human rights. There was pressure because I asked many other lawyers for
advice and the usual response I would get was: “humans are facing such a hard time so why are you working for animals?”To be honest even I was a little nervous on the first date of hearing. I thought the lawyers in the back of the courtroom would laugh at me because I
was fighting a case for an elephant but now that I’ve won the case they congratulate me.
What was your thought process directly after Kaavan was released?
I was overwhelmed by the support and wishes from so many people around the world. My family was so happy with me; I was really happy and I hope to keep on contributing as a useful member of this society. There’s still a long long way to go because our animal rights laws are redundant. They were made back when Pakistan was a colony and were never revised
afterwards. We don’t have regulatory bodies looking after our animal rights issues. There is no animal police or a society for the prevention of cruelty towards animals.
Kaavan’s case is the first-ever case in the history of Pakistan that has recognised the rights of animals within the constitutional framework.
Source: Lysias Issue | August 2020
Virtual Milaad 2020
The Lyceum hosted a virtual Milaad Programme which was screened on the 12th of Rabi-ul-awwal, Friday, the 30th of October.
Eid-e-Milaad-un-Nabi (s.a.w) is an auspicious Islamic occasion celebrated world over by Muslims to mark the birth of Prophet Mohammad (s.a.w) in the holy month of Rabi-ul-Awwal which is the third month of the Islamic calendar.
‘Milaads’ which include the recitation of poetic eulogies or naats and mention of the qualities of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) who strove to bring communities together, stood up for the rights of the dispossessed despite facing extreme hardships as he helped those who were considered the weakest in society. In these trying times, let us try to follow in his footsteps by emulating his excellent conduct, his resilience and spirit of service towards the creation of Allah.
Watch the video:
Distribution of June 2020 CAIE Provisional Results
The CAIE Examination Provisional Results will be released on Tuesday, August 11, 2020. Due to the current health situation, your A and AS Level Provisional Results will be sent to your Lyceum e-mail address after 2:00pm.
If the following have not been completed then your result will be withheld:
Class of 2020:
- Ensure that all Accounts Office and Library fees are cleared by Friday, August 7, 2020.
- Submit the University Application Record Google form. You have already received an email from College Counselling with the link to the form.
Class of 2021:
- Ensure that all Accounts Office and Library fees are cleared by Friday, August 7, 2020.
Attestation
Students may have their Provisional Results attested by forwarding a soft copy of their results to Mr. Clifford Nazareth at clifford.nazareth@lyceumschool.edu.pk. He will then e-mail back an attested copy within one working day.
Grade Break-ups
CAIE will NOT issue any component level grades for these assessed results.
Re-check and Re-exam
Information will be sent to you about requesting re-checks and planning for new exams.
Certificates
Certificates are normally issued by the end of the month. You will be sent an e-mail with instructions for picking up your certificates when they have been received by the school
Read MoreTeachers have access to:
- New Modules: CLIL Assessment and Engaging with Motivational Activities have been released in November
- Discussion forums: online discussion groups for teachers to hold conversations related to the training modules.
- Monthly PSGN Newsletter for Teachers: a monthly newsletter customised for teachers to update them on the latest resources and activities from around the world.
- Free monthly webinars: monthly online training webinars for teachers in which participants will able to interact with other participants from around the world and take part in live polls related to the theme. Webinars themes are taken from modules released on the OSS.
- ‘MyResources’ Section: teacher and leadership resources will be available on the OSS in the new ‘My Resources’ section for teachers to download for themselves. The resources are mapped to the online training modules and new resources will be released each month on the platform
- Online Self-Assessment Tool (SAT): teachers will be able to take the SAT to discover skills areas that they need to develop. They will be assessing themselves against the 12 professional practices on the British Council CPD Framework for teachers. If your teachers have still not registered on the PSGN Online Support for Schools Platform, then please encourage them to do so as soon as possible and join this fast growing community dedicated to professional development.
Click here For more information
KBC Outdoor Interschool Regatta
The Lyceum Rowing Team participated in the Karachi Boat Club Outdoor Interschool Regatta 2020. The results are as follow:
U21 Girls 4+:
Silver- Hania Imran, Sahar Fatimah Nanjiani, Fizza Moazzam Kazmi, Mariam Kanchwala, Cox: Maryam Meraj
U21 Girls 8+:
Silver: Sahar Fatimah Nanjiani, Hania Imran, Fizza Moazzam Kazmi, Mariam Kanchwala, Maryam Meraj, Alizeh Kazmi, Fatima Puri, Natalia Khan, Cox: Danial Sistanwala
U21 Boys 4x:
Bronze- Danial Sistanwala, Abdullah Ahmed, Huzaifa Bawany, Hassan Africawala
U21 Boys 8+:
Bronze: Abdullah Ahmed, Huzaifa Bawany, Mustaali Aamir Vasi, Malik Abdullah Faisal, Hassan Africawala, GM Afzal, Asil Zulfiqar, Abdul Hyssain, Cox: Maryam Meraj
U21 Girls 1x:
Bronze- Bilqees Baloch
U21 Girls 2-:
Bronze- Natalia Khan, Aaisha Siddiqie
U21 Girls 4x:
Bronze- Alizeh Kazmi, Maryam Meraj, Bilqees Baloch, Fatima Puri
Lyceum Football team makes it to the KUSC final
The Karachi United School Championship started out quite smoothly for the Lyceum, contrary to expectations. A dominant performance in all 3 group matches helped the team top the group as intense training followed. A thumping win in the round of 16 eventually set Lyceum up for a hard-fought victory against Bright Success in the quarter. With the team in the semi-final, chances to lift the KUSC trophy, that seemed real bleak at the start of a year, now looked like an actual possibility. A convincing 3-0 win over Agha Khan, the team that beat the current champions Cedar, set the stage for one last showdown against Nixor college. With nerves taking over and the crowds cheering, a thrilling final ensued; an equally matched performance took the match to penalty shoot-outs where Nixor prevailed as Champions. It was an unfortunate, heartbreaking end for the Lyceum team that grabbed the fair-play award in addition to the runners up trophy. Raneem Ul Hoda (C) was declared as the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.