Volume IV; Issue 2
October 2010
Bow-man becomes Bow-men and women The bow tie trend sweeps campus By JOOHO SHIN ’12 NEWS SUB-EDTIOR
September 30th, a lazy Thursday afternoon, a mysterious individual visiting King’s Academy was on the custom tour around the campus. He abruptly stopped after seeing a group of students. “And here I thought the King’s Academy uniform was quite dull,” he chuckled. What caught his eye was the bright colored bow ties decorating the uniforms of many King’s Academy students. Bow Tie Thursdays has become a sensation among the King’s Academy community. The craze was brought to life when Mr. Bowman Dickson, faculty member in Physics and Mathematics, made an announcement during a whole-school meeting about the establishment of the Bow Tie Club, and that the sup-
ply of bow ties were just waiting to be taken down from the shelves. Not only this, the normally strict guidelines for dress code waved to allow bowties to be worn on Thursdays. Witnesses report that as soon as the school meeting ended, students were seen dashing off to the student union to get their very own, dandy, King’s Academy bow ties, in three different colors. “They blasted through the doors into the student union,” reports Sami Sawalha ’12. “It was unbelievable,” says an employee in the Student Union, “we had kids just begging for a particular color of bow ties, and frantically asking if we knew how to tie them. Not to mention that while we hardly see many students in the shop, within a see BOW TIES on page 2
The Board’s New Leader By JOOHO SHIN ’12 NEWS SUB-EDTIOR
Since September 1st, 2010, King’s Academy has had the honor of welcoming His Excellency Karim Kawar as the new head of the Board of Trustees, replacing Founding Chairman Professor Safwan Masri. His Excellency Karim Kawar has numerous prominent reputations, including serving as Jordan’s ambassador to Washington between 2002 and 2007, president of the Kawar Group of Companies, chairman of IrisGuard Inc, trustee of the Jordan River Foundation, a member of the Economic
Consultative Council and much, much more. HE Karim Kawar above all else, is also a King’s Academy parent, who saw his son Faisal Kawar ’10, a member of the pioneering graduating Class of 2010, graduate last year and enroll in Yale University. His daughter, Abla Kawar ’12, is currently a junior also enrolled in King’s Academy. HE Mr. Kawar gave the IZEDEN ARYAN ’14 King’s Academy commuHis Excellency, Mr. Karim Kawar, nity a delight by appearing the new head of the King’s Acadin a school meeting to intro- emy Board of Trustees. duce himself and his visions for the future. With a small upon the community as a speech and presentation, whole, and will continue to he left a lasting impression do so in the future.
Dancer Films in Petra
A first hand account of faculty member Ryuji Yamaguchi starring in a film project By Robert Bahou ’11 Executive Editor
ROBERT BAHOU ’11
Mr. Bowman, left, adjusts a bow tie as Rumz Madanat ’12 waits for help in tying it around his neck. Qxhna Titcomb ’11 looks on, having already tied hers.
King’s Academy, Manja - Madaba, Jordan
On Thursday 21st of October, Filmmaker Claire Scoville came to Jordan to continue the shooting of her project entitled “Dancer, Jordan, Ryuji Yamaguchi” that was to be filmed in Petra. Claire and Mr. Ryuji were accompanied by Mr. Tristan Stringer, Reema Lateef ’12, and me to observe and participate in the production process. We left right after school and arrived 30 minutes late for the “Petra by night” tour. This proved to be a good thing as we walked through a completely empty Petra lit solely by candle and moon light. This emptiness soon faded away as we arrived at the end of the Siq to see the Treasury, crowded with seated people, and hundreds of brown paper bags with lit candles in them, it was truly majestic, but we hadn’t realized that this was not
going to be the highlight of our trip. After a pleasant dinner at the Red Cave Restaurant, we called it a day and slept at the Rashid Hotel, checking in at about midnight. We woke up at 5 the next morning to catch the sunrise in Petra, but also to try and avoid the masses of tourists that would soon flood the gates. With exception of a dedicated group of Dutch tourists, we were the first to enter Petra that morning. Mr. Ryuji was dressed in the outfit that Mr. Tristan dubbed “The marshmallow”, because of his all white getup and Claire was following Mr. Ryuji’s warm up into Petra with her camera as if she was a persistent paparazzo, or so it seemed. The rest of the day was characterized by the travelling to some pretty amazing locations and having Mr. Ryuji dance in them, see FILMING on page 3
Table of Contents
Pages 2 -3 OPINION
Page 4 HEALTH
Pages 5-6 LIFE
Snapshots Co-Curriculars Valuing our Education Our Integrated Lives Eminem and Rihanna
Drinking: an Epidemic How to Train for a Marathon New Teacher Profiles Full Boarder Moving Woes Review: The Social Network A Letter to the Freshman Gaming with your Parents
Page 7
FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Pages 8-9 FUN PAGE
Page 10-12 SPORTS
World Cup Celebrations in Spain The Expulsion of the Roma from France A Creme Brulee Recipe
Separated at Birth Games Horoscopes
Volleyball Tournaments World Cup Recap Soccer Season Opener A New Sports System
Mr. Ryuji Yamaguchi dances on a cliff above the ancient city of Petra.
ROBERT BAHOU ‘11
OPINION
Page 2
SNAPSHOTS SNAPSHOTS Meissa House residents prepare for an unexpected slumber party when a physical problem in the dorm forced them to evacuate and spend the night in Nihal and Sulafat.
The Rexonian
Our Changing CoCurricular System The new co-curricular system gets students involved in activities, but restricts those who want to do more than two By MOUNIR ENNENBACH ’12
find that there isn’t enough time for school activities anyway.” Indeed, Whether you are on the school’s it does seem that much effort was soccer team, a member of KAMUN, put into creating the new system, or just like to dabble around in the especially in terms of the availability vast number of activities that King’s of activities. Furthermore, many Academy offers, you’re sure to have co-curriculars are available in both noticed the massive overhaul of the minor and major form, thereby giving school’s co-curricular system. Last students an even wider reach. year, the system was more flexible The reason for many of the overall, with shorter meeting periods changes is the lack of seriousness and a greater amount of activities per students exhibited last year in terms day. This year, however, each student of attendance. Many students is limited to two activities, a major, feel that co-curriculars are just an which meets three times a week, and extension of the school day, and a minor, which meets once a week. should not be considered obligatory. In addition, students must choose at For this reason, many day students, least one sport. who constitute around half of the Dean of Students Ms. Julianne school’s population, used to leave Puente, the driving force behind the before six o’clock last year. This year, revamped co-curricular however, day students schedule defends this The reason for are not given permission change saying that “the many of the to leave before six. goal of the new co“I feel that the new changes is curricular system is to system of co-curricular the lack of fulfill the mission and activities is too rigid,” vision of the school” one student, who wishes as well as “putting the remain anonymous, exhibited last to students in the greatest says. He continues, year in terms of “Although there are position for success.” Many students are a greater number of happy with this new activities to choose system, but it is not from, the fact that you without its critics. Some feel that it can only choose two is what makes limits them to too few activities and me prefer last year’s system.” that they cannot get the most out of Although the system does seem it. Ms. Julianne, however, mentioned rigid, there is an add-drop session that many exceptions have been at the beginning of every term. made and will continue to be made Students are given a week to see throughout the school year. She which activities they enjoy the most. stresses that co-curricular activities This method has proven itself at least are a part of the integrated life that for this term, as there have been over King’s Academy tries to bring to its two-hundred and fifty switches the students and that they are “inseparable first week of school alone. Despite from the normal school day.” a few limitations presented by the “A lot of thought and work from inability to choose more than two the staff went into finding the right activities, it looks like this new cobalance,” Ms. Julianne went on. “I curricular system is here to stay. OPINION SUB-EDITOR
Jamil Madanat ‘11 is hoisted on the shoulders of his classmates while a Syrian band plays a traditional wedding ceremony. The event was part of orientation at the beginning of the year.
“
Young children from the area enjoy a soccer match at King’s as part of the Round Square community service program.
seriousness
”
attendance.
Members of the Senior Class enjoyed a brunch at Dean of Students Ms. Julianne Puente’s apartment while the underclassmen toiled away at the PSAT.
BOW TIES continued from Page 1 few minutes of the meeting a good ten to fifteen students ran in for them!” Mr. Bowman, as his name might suggest, took up the initiative to have bow tie tying sessions throughout the week, in areas such as the dining hall so that all students would have a chance to participate. The meeting presented a new challenge of difficulties for the school as our most talented students were perplexed as to how the approach this new puzzle. Moans and groans of students were heard throughout the week about the difficulties and complexities of tying a bow tie. “I had to spend close to an hour to finally get the loop right,” says Rumz Madanat ’12. “It looks hilarious when it’s done right, but horrible when done wrong.” In the
dorms, boarders were also seen in their rooms, grunting as they fruitlessly try to put together a bow tie, and some screaming in exhilaration upon completing it. While the cause of this craze is still being researched by experts in the field, squeals of “It’s adorable,” has been heard around campus from students and teachers alike. The student union confirmed that although they are being sold at a slower rate than before, the bow ties remain the most popular item in the school store. “Although it is a deviation from the standard King’s Academy uniform, the bo wties seem to bring the school closer together in the spirit of community, and establishes a great rapport among students and teachers alike,” an anonymous faculty member said. “Mr. Bowman actually did something right,” she joked.
Executive Editor Managing Editor News sub- Editor Opinion sub- Editor Life sub- Editor Fun Page sub- Editor Sports sub- Editor Faculty Advisor Faculty Advisor
ROBERT BAHOU ‘11 IMAN ABU ALIA ‘11 JOOHO SHIN ‘12 MOUNIR ENNENBACH ‘12 SEEMA SAMAWI ‘11 REEM AL HADDADIN ‘11 ZACK SAMAWI ‘11 MR. BOWMAN DICKSON MR. PATRICK O’BRIEN
OPINION
October 2010
Page 3
The Price and Value of an Elite Education You ought to be thankful of the opportunity you have here – not everyone can afford it By SANAD ZUMOT ’13 STAFF WRITER
It all started as a dream, in one mind, but not any mind, but one of the most spectacular, brightest mind ever… The mind of our beloved King Abdullah II. The idea of King;s academy is not one that is easily stumbled upon, and in essence, King’s can create dreams for those who otherwise would never had an opportunity to get such a great education. Though I am not going to praise the school any more, I will present the reality, the truth about every unfortunate applicant who was not accepted into this institution. The greatest feeling overcomes one when they get accepted here, and the greatest disappointment drowns them when financial aid isn’t that much of help to them. When their prayers get recognized but their parents disappoint them with the truth about their financial situation,
there really is not much that can be done. We are all blessed by the fact that we were accepted into King;s, though even more so that we can pay for it, either with our own family’s means or through financial aid. We gain the time, experience and education of our lives. Many bright Jordanian minds applied to King’s, and many got accepted, but what determines if one can actually go to the school relies on the financial situation. We all have potential to step into this “Heaven of Education” but many of us lack the financial resources to do so. How would you feel if suddenly, next year you could no longer afford the school’s tuition? Would you want to leave this school? If you are anything like me and most of the other students here, your answer would be no. We are wasting our time indeed by studying normally, waking up sleepy, or even not eating our breakfast; I think it is a sin!
Is Your Life “Integrated?” Ideas for all of us to help achieve one of the schools guiding principles By RAMY BADRIE ’12 STAFF WRITER
Integrated life, one of the King’s Academy’s five Guiding Principles, is presented as one of the goals that all members of the community should work towards. On a typical school day, students find themselves exhausted from the day’s activities, ranging from academics between 8:05 A.M to 3:30 P.M to co-curriculars from 4:45 pm to 6:00 P.M. With the new emphasis on co-curricular activities this year, one of the main issues students generally face is finding the time and energy to complete their homework assignments come study hall. After this exhausting period, students are expected to be in bed by 11:00 pm; however, it is no secret that a high percentage of the student body stays up longer than this and has to struggle to stay awake and fully alert throughout the next day. With an infinite amount of complaints about this year’s new schedule, we find it highly important to dedicate a part of the Rexonian’s Opinion section to sharing with you efficient, thorough and active studying methods that can help you work productively and efficiently when you find yourselves limited time- and energy-wise. To begin with, having a productive presence in class by listening attentively, participating actively, taking thorough notes and always asking critical questions is one such valuable study method. Employing this method makes it easier to complete homework assignments, as it saves time that is usually used re-
FILMING continued from Page 1 whilst being filmed by Claire and photographed by both Reema and me. I’d say the highlight of the trip would be a tie between two things. The first being the last place we shot, which was dubbed by thee locals as “the end of the world”. We were there till sundown and there really aren’t any words to describe it. For those of you who don’t know what it is, it’s a deep
learning material covered in class. Dividing up your work will make studying easier and more efficient. Try using your free periods to finish or to begin homework, as an extra half an hour makes all the difference. Through this method, the student can better retain learned material and not drown in work as a result of procrastination. Almost all high school students know that this translates into cramming the night before the assignments are due. Third, use your study periods efficiently. Countless students find themselves barely completing assignments that should take barely 10 minutes, in an hour. Try not to let anything distract you, whether the distraction is music, your friends, etc. Lastly, don’t allow yourself to give up much-needed time for sleep to complete assignments. Getting around eight hours of sleep a night is essential to maintaining a high energy and concentration. Exhausting yourself will only make it harder to relax and remain focused on assignments. However, if you feel forced to sacrifice a few hours of sleep a night, try to make it up by taking power naps. It is scientifically proven that 20 minutes of snoozing leads to a heightened focus level. So, while you will find yourselves struggling to complete your homework assignments at one point or another because of a lack of time or mental and physical exhaustion after a long days’ worth of activities, making use of these study methods will help you focus better on completing assignments thoroughly and efficiently.
canyon extending very far into the horizon, but those words can’t possible do it justice. The second highlight was the walk back from the Monastery at moonlight; we stayed very late so we were the last people left in Petra. As we descended the 900 steps of stairs we broke into song singing a bunch of random songs led by the fabulous Mr. Tristan. Walking through an abandoned Petra at moonlight is truly indescribable. In Petra, everybody sees that same world wonder,
but nobody sees it when the gates are closed, and that’s probably why it was so special. Everything just looks so different when you know you’re there on your own, without tourists contaminating the scene with their painfully intrusive camera-flashes (I didn’t use a flash in case you were wondering). In the end, we got two hours of tape, four hours of sleep, seven hours in the car, fifteen hours in the city of Petra and many thousands of pictures.
Lots and lots of people dream about being in our shoes, and we are skipping classes, fighting or smoking, changing Study Hall to Counter Hall (a counter-strike epidemic has spread through some of the hallways in the dorms). Instead of changing the little things that would make big differences, like doing our 10 minute homework assignment, waking up 30 minutes before class instead of 30 minutes after class, throwing garbage into the trash cans and generally just living up to the responsibility that our names carry. All those things could impact our lives greatly, with hardly any effort on our behalf! Why not apply our minds to creating our future, instead of using them to create our temporary teenage life. Why don’t you be the change you want to see in the world? In our school? Think of what effortless things you could do, that would please your parents, surprise your teachers and attract friends. Think of what you can do to show that you are thankful of the opportunity to be at this place that many cannot afford.
“Love the Way You Lie” Reading between the lines of our favorite pop songs By RAMY BADRIE ’12 STAFF WRITER
“Just gonna stand there/And watch me burn/But that’s alright/Because I like/The way it hurts/Just gonna stand there/And hear me cry/But that’s alright/Because I love/ The way you lie […].” On the surface, these lines from the legendary Eminem’s second single, “Love the Way You Lie,” featuring Rihanna, from Eminem’s seventh studio album, Recovery, seem to be glorifying the violence that sometimes emerges in romantic relationships. But that’s just it: only on the surface or with a narrow perspective can this song be interpreted in this manner. When one closely analyzes the song’s lyrics, it becomes apparent that the real story it is telling is a gloomy one, which many people have undeniably encountered in their lives: that of how love turns into abuse. Such people find themselves trapped in a precarious, inescapable routine, as this perceived “love” is one of the few things they have in their lives that keep them going, that keep them alive. This is evident when Eminem continues to sing, “[…] High of a love/Drunk from the hate/It’s like I’m huffin’ paint/And I love it the more that I suffer/I suffocate/And right before I’m about to drown/She resuscitates me […].” Rihanna’s sad and seemingly exhausted tone, which emerges as she sings the song’s opening lines and chorus, sets an alarmingly icy mood for listeners. Interestingly enough, more than a year prior to the song’s release, Rihanna endured an abusive relationship with singer Chris Brown, which it seems she has never quite fully recovered from, so it is not unexpected for Rihanna to take part in this song. On another note, as Eminem picks up from where Rihanna leaves off, he raps his verses in a high-paced manner filled with painfully raw feelings where he is undoubtedly expressing his pent-up frustrations on his own abuse-filled relationship with ex-wife Kimberley Anne Scott. Indeed, this highly contemplative song is a truly ingenious one about the abuse many people encounter in their romantic relationships and their futile attempts to either improve or escape from them. Finally, while many attack the song for its repeated and explicit allusions to violence, it is important to note that when compared to other contemporary songs dealing with this issue, “Love the Way You Lie” shares with its audience one of the truest and most important lessons that can be gained from romantic relationships: when love is on the brink of transforming into abuse, a person must escape before the situation becomes more dangerous.
HEALTH
Page 4
The Rexonian
Drinking: Another Teen Epidemic The real deal about drinking alcohol By ADEL NESHEIWAT ’11 STAFF WRITER
Question Time: How should I train for a half marathon? By Seema samawi ’11 LIFE SUB-EDITOR
Here’s where the newspaper is open to you! E-mail in any health related question to seemasamawi11@kingsacademy.edu.jo and find the answer in the next Rexonian issue!
Q.
I’m not the most athletic person. I’m probably an average athlete, I walk when I can. Recently a friend asked me to run a half marathon in February. This gives me 7 months to train to run/jog 13 or so miles. How would I train for something like this? Since I’m not normally a runner to begin with, is this something I could actually accomplish? Anonymous
A.
Hi there! Let me start by telling you that it is possible but it will not happen overnight. It will require a lot of effort and dedication and if you work hard at it you will accomplish your goals. Probably one of the most important things to keep in mind is keeping a healthy diet. Food is your fuel and by eating different food you gain different kinds of energy. You want to have a sustainable form of energy, and this comes from grains and fruits, or in other words, carbohydrates. You should also have a source of protein, as carbohydrates without protein are not a good energy source. You should keep hydrated by drinking between 6 to 8 cups of water a day. I’m sure you know that food such as sugar and saturated fats give you a energy but do not last long. A balanced diet is essential to get the most out of your training. If you need any more help on that then you should check out www.mypyramid.org – it has a lot of information about healthy dieting. However, diet is only half of the work you must do. If you walk, try to gradually increase your tempo and eventually start jogging. Jogging is great; it gets your heart beating, you burn fat and by staying at an elevated heart level, you increase your cardio endurance which is necessary for marathon running. By running at a pace challenging to you, your heart gets trained into pumping blood faster around your body. Cardio also has many benefits including increased lung capacity, better sleep, lowered risk of heart disease and so on… You should get to the point where you jog for about 20 – 30 minutes four times a week. If you have time and ability to go beyond that, that’s great, but if not, don’t worry. Gradually add more time to your jogs to give you the endurance you need. The average jogging pace of a human is 6 miles per hour, or 10km/h, and the average running pace of a human is anything over 8mph so doing the math the marathon should take you just over 2 hours to complete if you have an relatively good level of fitness. So you will need all the endurance you can get. Ideally you’ll be able to jog for two hours on the weekend as you’ll have more time available to you. Try it, because you’ll be able to see how far you can go. However, that being said, you should aim to jog for 2 hours without walking. If you’re not at see HALF MARATHON on page 6
Additionally on alcohol, people who drink regularly often have problems with school. Drinking can damage a student’s ability to study well and get decent grades, as well as affect a student’s sports performance (coordination). Those who continue drinking heavily well into adulthood risk damaging their organs, such as the liver, heart, and brain. In the end, alcohol destroys one’s liver, reduces memory and focus, damages brain cells, dries up the
Last time, we discussed the problem of Big Tobacco and its effect on the youth of this generation, and how they try so hard to get people to smoke so they may profit by them killing themselves; similar to how some big companies in the world invest in the lives of their employees so that when an employee dies, they make money from the insurance companies. They become nothing more than a piece of property, an investment for big companies like Hershey and Nestle. In this article, we are going to discuss drinking and the danger alcohol poses to people, not only for the youth. First of all, alcohol refers specifically to ethanol. Ethanol has been made and used by humans for thousands of years, as industrial solvents, car fuel, cleaning material, antiseptic, a sedative, and more. In this article, I’m going to talk about ethanol in beverages such as beer and wine. Even though alcohol is a natural product, people, especially teens, need to be concerned about drinking it. When one consumes alcohol, it is absorbed into one’s bloodstream. It then has various effects on the central nervous system (which concern the brain – which controls all body functions - and spinal cord.) And the brain is still developing and growing during our teen years. How does it affect the central nervous system? Firstly, alcohol is a depressant, which means it will slow down the function of the central nervous system. It actually blocks some of the messages the body Alcohol and tobacco blood, can cause cancer, hypertenis trying send to the brain. In companies want to sion, and much more. For these reathe end, this will alter one’s make , and sons, experts say that the benefits of perceptions, emotions, movement, vision, and hearing. In they make their mon- moderate alcohol consumption are outweighed by the increased risks. short, it will mess you up. ey off of the The pharmaceutical industry and Large doses of alcohol can of their customers. alcohol industry have been involved result in something called intoxication. Those who have It’s nothing personal, in exaggerating the health benefits over consumed alcohol may strictly . of alcohol; which, as mentioned before, have been argued by experts to stagger, their pupils may dilate, be outweighed by the increased risks they may lose their coordination, and they may also slur in their speech. They by alcohol. Hence, kids would see advertising meswill simply be confused and disoriented. Interest- sages showing beautiful people enjoying life with ingly, depending on the person, intoxication can alcohol. And because there are cases of parents and make someone very friendly and talkative or very other adults who use alcohol socially, like having aggressive and angry. And when people are intoxi- beer or wine with dinner, alcohol may seem harmcated they may think they’re moving properly and less to teens. To conclude, alcohol and tobacco companies feel fine when they actually aren’t. And when large doses are taken over a short period of time, alcohol want to make money, and they make their money poisoning will most likely be the result. With alco- off of the lives of their customers. It’s nothing perhol poisoning, the symptoms would include violent sonal, strictly business. vomiting, extreme sleepiness, unconsciousness, dif[Thank you to Mr. Michael Kussaim, and Dr. Steven ficulty breathing, dangerously low blood sugar, seiDowshen for information] zures, which may result in death.
“
money lives
”
business
LIFE
October 2010
How well do you know your new teachers?
New teacher profiles by Nora Nesheiwat ‘14
Mr. DEVON O’Rourke
Mrs. Jackie O’Rourke
Mr. Devon was born just outside of Toronto. His family moved a lot and by the time he graduated high school, he had attended 8 different schools. When he wasn’t at school, he would be at the rink playing ice hockey. Mr. Devon and Mrs. Jackie both played ice hockey in college. Mr. Devon plays the guitar, albeit poorly, but he enjoys playing. Favorite food: Potatoes. Favorite Color: 450 nm (nanometers). Free time: Also playing with his dog Jackson. Interesting Facts: Mr. Devon was a model as a child and likes to stack things.
Mrs. Jackie was born and raised Cape Cod, Massachusetts. She is married to Mr. Devon O’Rourke. She is an avid surfer and ice-hockey player. She attended boarding school for 4 years. Favorite food: Chocolate and cookies. Favorite Color: Blue. Free time: Reading and playing with her dog Jackson. Interesting Facts: She can build a house out of wood and cement and she likes climbing.
Mrs. CASSIE O’BRIEN
Mr. PATRICK O’BRIEN
Mrs. Cassie was born in Florida and was raised in Georgia. She has a younger brother and sister. She went to a public school. After graduating, she went to North Carolina to Duke University. She is a passionate supporter of the Duke Basketball team. In college, She majored in physiology and minored French, and she also studied abroad in Paris. Favorite food: Sushi Favorite Color: Green and Blue. Favorite City: San Francisco – she met Mr. Patrick there! Free time: Traveling, scuba diving, and outdoor activities! Interesting fact: Mrs. Cassie loves driving in Amman. She enjoys the traffic, the more the traffic, the bigger the smile on her face!
Mr. Patrick is from New York and went to Hofstra University where he studied English. He loves California, lived in LA, where he met many famous people, and in San Francisco he met Mrs. Cassie. He is a professional photographer. Favorite food: Sushi. Favorite Color: Green and Blue. Free time: Photography Interesting fact: Mr. Patrick likes to eat bugs. Mr. Patrick and Mrs. Cassie had Elvis sing at their wedding in June! They are also Wii champions on campus!
Mr. WIN FORD
Mrs. Jennie FORD
Mr. Win grew up in Boston. He went to Grover High school. He studied music and religion. He has a master’s degree in opera. Favorite color: Periwinkle Favorite food: a pile of meat. Interesting Fact: Mr. Win was supposed to be the first American heavy weight full contact skit fighter in the Philippines but didn’t end up fighting that match. “Who’s stronger you or Mr. Nick?” I asked. “All I know is I’m better looking!” says Mr. Win.
Mrs. Jennie was born and grew up in Chicago. She moved to Jordan from New York. She majored in history and minored in medieval studies. She enjoys theatre. Her favorite role was Cinderella’s evil stepmother. Favorite Color: Pink Food: Cheese burger and fries Interesting fact: Mrs. Jennie used to compete in kick boxing in jujitsu.
Summer Troubles
What full boardera go through to get their life to and from campus
Page 5
MS. RAND ABDEL NOUR Ms. Rand is a Jordanian woman of Palestinian origin who was born and raised in Amman. Her artistic talent lead her to teach art, drawing, and sketching. Ms. Rand started drawing at a young age; starting as a hobby and later developing into a passion. At college, she studied studio art which now is the core of her profession. She also designs studios, is a makeup artist and a very talented painter. Favorite food: Shish Barak. Favorite Color: Black and red. Free time: Drawing, Sketching, chilling with friends. Interesting Fact: She happens to be a total klutz!
Dr. GARY KLEIN Dr. Gary was born in New York. His piano teacher was Steve Taylor’s father but he can’t play piano. He has a Bachelor’s degree in history at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Gary has been teaching for 16 years. Favorite color: Purple (it is the color of royalty) Food: sushi and ice cream filled profiteroles with Belgian chocolate sauce. Most embarrassing moment: 20 years ago, Dr. Gary was teaching in an all-female high school. He taught a class that he had been evaluated on with a HUGE hole in the back of his pants!
MS. MARIA SCHREIBER Ms. Maria was born in Bonn, Germany and is of German and Philippine origin. She moved to U.S.A. at the age of 6. She attended Brown University and graduated in 2010. She majored in Biology and German studies. Favorite Color: Green Favorite meal: tomato mozzarella salad (appetizer), shrimp asparagus risotto (main dish), tiramisu (dessert). Hobbies: Yoga and Ballet (which she did throughout high school) Interesting Fact: Will NOT let anybody touch her music collection. Ms. Maria is very private about it and would stop the car if somebody touches it while driving!
MS. COLETTE SALEMI Ms. Colette was born in New Jersey. She studied at Williams College. She played basketball throughout high school and a little bit in college. She loves to cook and bake. Favorite Color: Maroon Food: Her mother’s red sauce. Hobbies: writing, traveling, and exploring the Middle East. Interesting fact: She always wears a ring which was given to her by a stranger physic lady that said it would bring her good luck.
REVIEW: The Social Network: “You Don’t Get to 500 Million Friends Without Making a Few Enemies”
By TAMEEM SAMAWI ’13
By RAMY BADRIE ’12
STAFF WRITER
STAFF WRITER
Moving into your dorm, moving out of your dorm, holidays, moving back in, everything you could possibly think of to do with summer vacation from the eyes of a full boarder! This summer was great! It was relaxing, exciting and extremely long, but there is one thing that wish could have been changed. That was the moving back and forth from Jordan to Syria at the beginning of the summer, and then back to Jordan at the end of the summer. Granted, I didn’t expect myself to use some five star transport to commute between homes, but sitting crammed in the back of a car with a guitar above my head and a backpack on my lap for four hours wasn’t exactly what I expected either. The first problem was the packing. It sort of went like this in my mind: ‘ I’ll take everything in my drawers first…no wait I need to take that whiteboard… what about my laundry…and my bed sheets’. I literally didn’t know where to start but unfortunately, that wasn’t the least of my worries. I didn’t have enough suitcases. Getting ready to leave took me an exhausting nine hours. Between all the packing, getting all the files off my laptop and on a hard drive, returning my laptop, making sure my room was in the same condition as when I got it and getting it approved by Public Safety wasn’t that hard for me, but some students found it difficult to get rid of their other mattresses and thus resorted to throwing them out of the window, by accident no doubt. After completing everything on my checklist I was ready to go, with four suitcases two backpacks and my sister’s massive arsenal of baggage. After being
David Fincher’s The Social Network, an adrenaline-charged, gloomy and dramatized account of the world’s youngest billionaire, Mark Zuckerberg, and his creation of the world’s most successful social networking site, Facebook, portrays Mark as a onetime ordinary Harvard student turned youngest billionaire in the world. However, underneath it all, there is nothing ordinary about Mark. He may seem to be greatly lacking in the social department, but he more than makes up for it by being astute and cunning. He is undoubtedly superior among the nerds of his league and can be considered the twenty-something-year-old equivalent of computer program creating tycoons such as Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. And the film’s vivid representation of this is what lends it the most cinematic value. While this may sound a bit cliché, the Mark in The Social Network is truly a round character. Underneath all those layers of pure genius, Mark is an ambitious and scheming young man who like many of us truly cares about the way
see FULL BOARDERS on page 10
people perceive him. It is Mark’s internal desire to gain back the respect and acceptance of his Harvard peers—after humiliating several Harvard women by using their photos on a self-created “ugly or hot” Internet game—that results in the creation of Facebook. This is because Mark meets a pair of twins who tell him they will help regain acceptance if he creates a social networking site for them. Indeed, Mark is an appealing character and while his manipulative and conniving nature will definitely alarm some, it is the different facets of Mark’s personality, particularly those “evil forces” lurking beneath his computer geek self that make the film feel more like a thriller than a fictionalized biography. Each of these negative layers, such as his scheming desire for revenge, helps move the film along at an adrenaline-charged pace while at the same time telling the tragic story of ambition. Furthermore, Mark goes from being a socially awkward and distant young man with little, if no, enemies, to one of the most popular people on the planet, Facebook-wise, with see SOCIAL NETWORK on page 10
LIFE
Page 6
For all you Freshmen out there ... Tips for our newest community members from those who just finished their first year By FARAH KILANI ’13 STAFF WRITER
“Freshmen year, socially, is a test. It’s the journey where you begin to discover who you are. It may be the place where we fit in as “cool”, or the “not so cool”. It can be hard succeeding in the social world, but in the end, everyone adapts to who they want to be. So try your best and also hope for it. The education and the classes in freshmen year are like the appetizer of the whole meal. If you don’t try hard, then don’t expect to do well in the following years, so put in as much effort as you can. “Try hard, hard, hard. And good Luck.” -Rifaat Samawi ‘13 “During Freshmen year (la Allah sah) we did everything that we were not supposed to do. If you are a freshman be proud and don’t be afraid to get picked on. If you got picked on by sophomores its okay, just remember that experience when you are a sophomore yourself. And by the way, do NOT skip classes, seriously don’t, you’ll regret it.” -Khalid Jarwan ‘13 “Freshmen year is like the superlative phase you would experience at King’s, because your surroundings aren’t like anything you’ve experienced before, for example; the dorms, being away from home, or even just meeting new people are all completely new experiences that you aren’t yet accustomed to. But give it time, as everything you do will become normal, a daily routine that you might even get bored of next year” -Sanad Zumot ’13 “Freshmen year… where do I begin? If I had to summarize that year in
one word it would be; “Galag”, I think I grew a few grey hairs over the year. My piece of advice would be to ignore jeers from the upper classmen, you’re freshmen and khawa you might get picked on but hey it’s a fact of life, have fun while you can but don’t take it too far because you will probably regret it. But don’t expect all your problems to fade away next year. Sophomore year will be tough as well though, and you don’t know what you really have until it’s gone.” -Awn Al-Hadeed ‘13 (3ammak Abul-H). “My advice to you all is to have fun as much as you can, for this year is going to be a step forward, a new year to challenge yourself new things and to gain more experience that you will never forget. But don’t lose track of time, study well and do what is expected of you. Set yourself goal and try your best to achieve it and I guarantee that being in this school is a chance in a lifetime that you shouldn’t squander.” -Faris Naffa ‘13 “I believe that lot of the reasons you guys get picked on by upperclassmen is because last year you were the “Kings” of Middle School and you still believe that you are.. eh? Well now, you’re at the bottom of the food chain.” -Tammara Nassar ‘13 “Freshmen year is when you find your close friends. So try to get to know everybody and make the right choices. There are no boundaries so don’t be afraid to meet upperclassmen. A piece of advice; take care of your homework, but don’t take it too seriously. Stresssee FRESHMEN on page 10
HALF MARATHON continued from Page 4 that level yet, it’s alright to walk during your run, just don’t stop, and when you catch your breath again, start running again. A good idea would be to get a pedometer which you should be able to find at any pharmacy/sports shop, so that you can calculate the distance you ran and at what speed you ran it, so you can have the information a treadmill gives you with the added bonus of running outdoors. Once you feel you can run comfortably without walking for extended periods of time you should consider increasing your pace. At first it may be difficult to keep a faster pace but eventually you will be able to manage without a problem. The golden rule for your training is to resist walking as long as possible, until you can’t run any longer, then walk. You need to push yourself to the limit to get to marathon fitness. As long as you make an effort to train, be it on a daily basis or not, you will be able to complete the marathon. But ideally with your long jogs 3-4 times per week you should try and squeeze in some runs on the rest days, such as a fast paced run for 10 minutes, which shouldn’t be hard to fit into your busy days. You should also try to strengthen your core muscles.
The Rexonian
Parental Control
Have your parents actually tried playing the video games they say they hate? Now my father has... troller in defeat, although he did manage to kill me a few times. I realized later that parents don’t When you see the parental control settings of your game console, hate video games; they hate what they what do you honestly do? You ignore do to us. They hate how they make us the setting and crank up the graph- stay up late for that trophy and wake ics. Companies like Sony, Microsoft, up early to finish an achievement to Ubisoft, Activision, Infinity ward and get the edge over a friend. They hate many more create games and it’s a seeing us drive a caddy into pedestriknown fact that they have hooked the ans or taking a sniper rifle and blowing someones head off customer for life a gory mess. with the kill shot I realized later that into The occasional of one fantastic parents don’t hate game of Call of game that will take or the weekup their your time. ; Duty end game session In the company’s is never bad, games opinion, hooking should be used in a customer to their what they do to us. moderation and as video games is a stress relief, but equal to scoring a this shouldn’t be goal in FIFA 11, in other words, easy, but satisfying. I am pushed too far. Games shouldn’t turn definitely not saying that I hate video into an escape from obligations and games, I am actually an avid gamer reality; there is a big difference bemyself so I know what I’m talk- tween one hour and five. ing about. Endless weekends on the couch with my surround sound and a plasma TV holding a controller in my hands and a drink in my lap, that’s all old news to me. A week or so ago my dad walked past me and looked at my screen and said “Get off that nonsense and go study”. This weekend I had him play that “nonsense” to see what he thought of it. After some fumbling with the controller and a quick tutorial, and by quick I mean half an hour, we started what would be my father’s first adventure in the realm of video gaming. He ran around the map following the little red dot on his radar which would also be his doom (in other words, me), and after about an hour of playing he put down the con- ROERT BAHOU ’11 By NADEEM MADANAT ’12 STAFF WRITER
Find 10 minutes a day for aerobic fitness exercise, ideally, do bicycle crunches. Start with three sets of 15 repetitions with 45 seconds rest in between them, and gradually increase until you reach 50 reps. Also do push-ups and other various exercises that can target your shoulders, as your shoulders propel you forward while you run. If you can’t do a full pushup, start by doing them on your knees, and then build up to full ones. Strengthening core muscles is essential because you use your abdominal muscles to keep your back a straight, and they are used when you run. And one last thing, always make sure to stretch. I cannot stress how important this is. You should most definitely begin your workout with a 5-10 minute warm up of fast walking and cool down with slow walking so you do not pull muscles, but please ensure to stretch because it helps loosen your muscles lessening soreness and preventing cramps. If you get a cramp while running, walk it off slowly and call it a day. Running with a cramp is dangerous. Cramps arise because of a buildup of lactic acid in a certain painful area which means that you do not have enough oxygen to break down the lactic acid and you are anaerobically respiring, which is dangerous. A couple of thing to note are:
“
video games they hate
”
Do not take diet pills, as they won’t do anything for you. Even if you’re dead tired, go out and run/jog to the best of your ability, it will make you feel much better. It’s simple science really, when you exercise, you release endorphins, which makes you feel better, the same happens when you laugh excessively, you’ll feel a strange feeling of happiness when you’re done. With time, running may become addictive for you which is healthy, but don’t over train, you can harm your joints. Your i-Pod/mp3 player will become your best friend. Make sure to have a good song list playing because running and jogging to music really helps keep you going, especially when you want to give up. My favorite running song is “Like a G6” by “Far East Movement” it’s got a great beat and is very useful when I want to stop. Try and look for songs that go at the beat of your running, they generally vary between 120 beats per minute, 140, and so on, the right one can really help you when you run. Make sure to take a water bottle with you. You need to also stay hydrated while running, but don’t drink too much as you can get a cramp, or a “stitch”. Other than that I think that should be enough to get you ready for your marathon in February. Enjoy running!
October 2010
¡ЯEЖØÑİÄИ!
Page 7
La Copa en Manos Españolas Como celebraron los triunfadores en las calles de España.
By OMAR HALAWA ’12 SPANISH CORRESPONDENT
COURTESY OF GETTY IMAGES
Finalmente, España ganó este verano la Copa del Mundo de fútbol en un partido bastante violento contra Holanda. Un gol fue suficiente para conseguir la victoria, esperada por 40.5 millones de españoles y por los hinchas del equipo de España de otros países del mundo. Hubo celebraciones en muchas partes del país ya que era la primera vez que España ha ganado el Mundial. El único gol del partido fue mar-
cado por Iniesta durante la prórroga. Las geniales técnicas utilizadas por el equipo y desarrolladas por el entrenador español, Vicente del Bosque, ayudaron a la Selección nacional a obtener la copa, a pesar de la violenta manera con la que jugaban los holandeses. 250 000 personas se congregaron en el Paseo de Recoletos de Madrid a las ocho y media para ver la final de la Copa del Mundo. Con el fin del partido, hubo fuegos artificiales en todo el país. Los hinchas de ciudades españolas como Ma-
drid, Barcelona y Bilbao celebraron el triunfo de la Selección en las calles, llevando banderas de España. Aunque la reacción general de los españoles fue de emoción y alegría, no han faltado las voces de los que piensan que el equipo no representaba a España, ya que en su mayoría los jugadores de la Selección eran catalanes (y jugadores del Barça). Este tipo de desunión presenta un problema no pequeño al gobierno central de un país, España, en el que hay importantes movimientos separatistas.
¡Hola! Ça va? Welcome to the new foreign language section
of the Rexonian. The three articles on this page have been written in Spanish and French. For those of you that don’t habla or parlez, above is an recap of the world cup celebrations in Spain, below is an article on the explusions of the Roma by Sarkozy in French, and for those of you that love desserts, to the right is a recipe for crème brulée in French. If you would like to submit an article in any other language, bienvenidos and bienvenue! All submissions should go to Omar Halawa ‘12, omarhalawa12@kingsacademy.edu.jo.
La décision française d’expulser les Roms de France
COURTESY OF GETTY IMAGES
Recette de crème brulée selon chef Paul Bocuse By FAREED HALTEH ’12 FRENCH CORRESPONDENT
By ISSA ASFOUR ’12 FRENCH CORRESPONDENT
L’un des sujets brûlant récemment dans les nouvelles françaises et mondiales est la décision de Nicolas Sarkozy d’expulser de France des milliers de citoyens Roms qui viennent clandestinement de Roumanie et de Bulgarie. La raison de cette décision contre cette minorité ethnique a été à la conséquence d’une attaque contre un poste de police effectuée par un groupe de Roms armés qui avait essayé de mettre à feu des voitures et des arbres dans la petite ville du Val de Loire à Saint-Aignan en France. A la suite de cette décosion, le gouverne-
ment français a reçu beaucoup d’objections locales et internationales spécialement de la Commission à la Justice de l’Union Européenne qui a considéré cet acte comme discriminatoire contre l’origine ethnique et raciale de cette population. En plus, elle a indiqué que c’est une violation claire de l’éthique et des idées de l’Union Européenne. L’action de l’autorité française, c’est à dire l’expulsion en masse des Roms est une infraction aux lois et aux idées de l’Union Européenne dont le but est la préservation des droits de l’homme et des libertés fondamentales pour chaque citoyen européen. Il devient alors indispensable que la France renonce à cette décision d’expulsion collective.
Les ingrédients pour 6 personnes : 10 jaunes d’œufs 250 grammes de sucre semoule (blanche) 1 litre de crème (non allégée) liquide 30% 1 gousse de vanille 40 grammes de sucre cassonade (marron) Progression : 1) Ouvrez en 2 votre gousse de vanille, raclez les graines et mettez les dans la crème, faites chauffer doucement. 2) Dans un saladier «blanchissez» les jaunes et le sucre puis ajoutez la crème bouillante remuez en tachant de faire le moins possible de mousse puis passez au chinois fin en posant délicatement avec une louche la crème sur votre passoire (toujours pour ne pas avoir de mousse sur les crèmes). 3) Allumez votre four à 100° 4) Versez doucement la crème dans vos petits moules (porcelaine ou terre cuite). cuisson 1h1/4, la crème doit être tremblante (juste prise). 5) Laissez refroidir puis au moment de servir pour caraméliser vos crèmes brûlées vous avez 3 solutions : soit sous le grill de votre four soit avec un petit chalumeau soit comme dans les bonnes tables avec un fer chauffé à blanc. P.S : Pour les gousses de vanille ouvertes ne les jetez pas, faites les sécher puis mettezles dans un bocal fermé et couvrez de sucre semoule vous aurez comme cela un sucre vanillé prêt pour toutes vos recettes de pâtisserie.
COURTESY OF GETTY IMAGES
FUN PAGE
Page 8
The Rexonian
SEPARATED AT BIRTH? Is that Michael Cera walking into the Student Union? Or Robin Williams teaching me Economics? Nope, just one of the many celebrity look-a-likes on campus
Photos by Izzeden Aryan ‘14 and Robert Bahou ‘11
Mr. Barry Nabholz
Tameem Samawi ‘13
Seth Rogen
Robin Williams
Elijah Wood
Mr. Win Ford
NUMBERS
Mr. Clean
Ahmad Ahmad ‘12
Yasmin Darwazah ‘11
(“Vince” from Entourage)
Adrian Grenier
Ahmed Alireza ‘11
Alvin the Chipmunk
Eva Longoria
Rifaat Samawi ‘13
Michael Cera
Farah Kilani ‘13
Selena Gomez
Mr. Bowman Dickson
Woody
Mr. Chris Bossie
Mayss Akasheh ‘14
Try to fill in the missing numbers. Use the numbers 1 through 9 to complete the equations. Each number is only used once. Each row is a math equation. Each column is a math equation. Remember that multiplication and division are performed before addition and subtraction
MAZE
Ali Abu Khadra ‘12
Katy Perry
FUN PAGE
October 2010
HOROSCOPES
ARIES: Aries are terrible losers and will desperately fight to the end. For an Aries, it’s ‘do or die’. If you play a game of poker against an Aries you can expect to get his house… or give him yours. Today: Gossip hounds are going to sniff your butt today. Play dead. Say nothing.
TAURUS: Taurus are the definition of stubborn. Once a thought gets into a Taurus’ head, it never ever gets out again. Actually, it’s very hard to get anything into a Taurus’ head in the first place! Today: The number 10 may be given added significance today and will randomly pop up in everyday conversations... 10.
GEMINI: Gemini lead pretty boring, mundane lives. However, it is in every Gemini’s destiny to one day discover something that will change their life forever. It could be a terrible family secret, a hidden talent, or simply the convenience of frozen pizza. Today: The day’s events will make you want to move abroad. Whilst you may think that this horoscope is completely useless... I have to admit - I have a very guilty secret. You see, all horoscopes are completely useless. There - I said it.
by Tamara Nassar ’13, Photos by Robert Bahou ’11 LIBRA: Libras are very peaceful and try to avoid confrontation at all costs. Pick an argument with a Libra and you’ll probably be given a rose the next day – in a pot, of course. If you ask a Libra who his best buddy is, the most probable reply is going to be a tree, a scruffy one-eyed dog, or a goldfish named Elton. Today: You are almost out of clean socks. Don’t sweat laundry. Just buy more socks
Jae Sok Surh ‘13
Today: An apple a day keeps the doctor away. That’s why you haven’t met a lot of doctors. Eat some cheesecake and mingle.
Today: Someone who loves you wants you to change. Humor them, but don’t fall for it.
Sally Shaban ’11
Owen Jennings ‘13
Suhayb Al-Jawhari ‘11 Suhayb Al-Jawhari ‘11
CANCER: Cancers are sensitive and sympathetic, always ready to listen and to help and are very well liked by all – for about 15 minutes. If there is one thing that Cancers are particularly bad at, it is disguising the scheming, manipulative, selfinterested intentions behind their every action. And because nobody likes egotistical jerks, nobody likes Cancers.
LEO: Leos are proud and pretentious and will take advantage of every opportunity to brag about the silliest of things – from the six cans of baked beans they bought for a pound from the supermarket’s bargain section, to the amorous exploits of their greataunt’s pet Chihuahua. Some Leos will even brag about being the best bragger in town.
Today: The Stain Fairy is out to get you. Do NOT wear white. Avoid eating or drinking in the car.
Today: You have two pairs of pants that look absolutely horrible on you in your closet right now. Throw them out. Just throw them out.
VIRGO: Virgos have a reputation for being incredibly humane, which incidentally is not stuck up French for ‘human’, but simply means that they don’t eat chicken and think that convicted criminals would be traumatized if they didn’t have satellite TV in their cells. Today: Spend your pennies today. This is the rainy day you’ve been waiting for. Ghayth Sandouka ‘11
SAGITTARIUS: One good point about Sagittarians is their generosity. Another good point is that they are very enthusiastic. And one bad point about Sagittarians is that what they are most enthusiastically generous with is in fact other people’s stuff
SCORPIO: Scorpios are very passionate by nature, but also very selfish in love. Fail to please a Scorpio and you will be dumped in the middle of the night. When a Scorpio gives a gift, he’s expecting 10 times back in return – plus interest. So if it’s a diamond ring or a trip to Hawaii, refuse it immediately.
Adel Nesheiwat’ 11
Rana Abulaban ‘11
Page 9
Sterling Beecroft ‘11
Jamil Madanat ‘11
CAPRICORN: Capricorns are generally very responsible. In fact, throughout history, they have been responsible for an incredible amount of stuff. For example, the lookout boy on the Titanic who saw the iceberg too late was Capricorn. So was the chief engineer at Chernobyl that fatal day. Even the baker whose unattended oven caused the Great Fire of London in 1666 is said to have been born under this sign. You get the picture. Today: This random crazy world makes sense today. Carry a pen. Take notes. AQUARIUS: Aquarians just love to go against accepted ideas and norms. Not surprisingly, they have come up with many of the world’s weirdest ideas such as lobotomy, break dancing and salmon flavored ice-cream. This freethinking trait lasts until around their 60th birthday, when they suddenly become stubborn, and eccentric. Today: Success is contagious, and you need to catch it. Look for some coat tails--FAST! Jaber Al-Sabah ‘11
Manaf Irani ‘12
PISCES: Pisceans are very caring, compassionate and emotional. In other words, they are total pushovers. They are weak-willed and can usually be persuaded to exchange anything, no matter how precious, (their autographed Beatles ‘White Album’ for example) for a couple of pizza discount vouchers if you tell them that it’s a matter of life or death. Today: An old crush comes back and crushes you some more. Khalook Al-Yassin ‘12
WARNING: May induce heart attacks or fits in those who take themselves too seriously.
SPORTS
Page 10
The Rexonian
Volleyball Off to a Great Start
open Both the Boy’s and Girl’s Varsity team their season with tournaments at ABS By ZACK SAMAWI ‘11 NEWS SUB-EDITOR
PHOTOS BY ROBERT BAHOU ’11
FRESHMEN continued from Page 6 ing yourself won’t do you any good. Be confident about yourself and don’t be afraid to express yourself. We were once told that there are no stupid questions, stupid questions are the ones that are kept to yourself. Have fun and try to enjoy every moment, because it isn’t time for you to get stressed and be under pressure. Just learn how to manage your time well and don’t take too much time off. This year is the year where your dreams start to become true…” -Shahd Al-Jawhari ’13 & Dima Arabiyat ’13
Dear freshmen, Guys take it from us, live up to every moment, work hard, live and let live. You only get to be freshmen in high school once in your life, so don’t ruin it, and don’t do things you may
a few In a tournament that took place just ll teams weeks ago, the boys’ and girls’ volleyba r to get played different matches at ABS in orde eyball voll ol scho an idea of the skill of high Faris by d teams in Amman. The boys, captaine against Batayneh ‘11, played 4 sets of games – King’s ABS. Fortunately, the results were good player sity Var gin. won all 4 matches by a fair mar lot all a by Hani Murad ‘11 said, “We beat them er players four matches and showed who the bett ed results were.” As for the girls, there were mix in the on y earl as the King’s girls lost to ACS tournament. ed The King’s Boys’ Volleyball team has gain ntries, reputation in Jordan and neighboring cou ple cou a ent nam winningtitles often. The tour com are weeks ago was a reiteration that they the by ing back this year to take it all. Coached will team ll eyba voll the talented Iyad Abu Touq, . “I year this ly easi hopefully spike through teams e ld’v cou never thought that the volleyball team I’m s; improved quickly throughout the year Saraian Raw said ” year looking forward to this reh ’11. perAs for the girls, despite their modest rove this formance on Saturday, they plan to imp Diab, year with their new coach, Ms. Ghadeer er play ll eyba voll who is rumored to be a previous been e hav on the Jordanian national team. They to get struggling these previous years but plan ur ’11. back up with new setter Reed Ghando ll teams eyba voll Only time will tell of the Lions The and their performance this year, but ytime! will stay hopeful and expect a win ever
regret later. We were in your place less than a year ago and we know how tempting it is to skip a biology or math class, but don’t, seriously, take it from us. Also, try not to get yourself kicked out, it really isn’t hard to stay here, just follow the rules and you’ll be fine. But the rules are not there to oppress you, they are there to represent guiding principles on how to live the rest of your life, but for now they apply to King’s . It’s your home, the place where your identity will be formed. Don’t be afraid to express yourself. Believe me, you’ll grow and learn almost all you need to know about the world out there in those couple of years, so start right, and end by making an influence on everyone you’ve encountered. Make memories, because trust me; your life will never ever be the same. It’s a once in a lifetime experience. -Sincerely, the Sophomore Class ‘13
SOCIAL NETWORK continued from Page 5 more than 500 million friends but many enemies. One of the film’s main ironies sheds light on how Facebook, whose main purpose is to allow people to “connect and share with the people in [their] lives,” was conceived by a creator whose social skills at the
time were highly lacking. Unquestionably, Mark’s scheming nature conquers him along his Facebook creation journey. Mark finds himself in a lonely world where fame and fortune contrast with a feeling of ambivalence towards the people that he has hurt on this journey. This becomes especially evident in the film’s closing scene where
Mark sends a friend request to his ex-Harvard girlfriend—one of the people who got hurt the most by his actions—and repeatedly refreshes the screen in an almost frenzied manner while waiting for her to reply. Indeed, the marvel of “The Social Network” is that it complements a thriller pace with Mark’s somber story of ambition.
FULL BOARDERS continued from Page 5
ROBERT BAHOU ’11
Packed and ready to go home.
crammed in the tin can that was our packed car, and going through the borders filled with Saudis and Kuwaitis we finally got home! The summer was great and really relaxing. Everyone thought it was exactly what we needed after all those tests and quizzes. Everything was going smoothly until we had to come back. Repacking everything was like thinking you’ve finished all your homework at 1 AM and then finding out you have another essay. In other words, it was very painstaking. After the strenuous packing up of my belongings, and waking up at Four AM for a four hour car ride to school, we were finally back again. Quizzes, tests, waking up early and homework all came back, but now 3 weeks later, we’re all settling in and it looks like this year is off to a far better start than last year.
SPORTS
October 2010
Page 11
World Cup Fever Spreads to Madaba A recap of the biggest sporting event in the world, with first hand accounts from two King’s Academy students By ABDULKAREEM SHERAIF ’11 STAFF WRITER
On the 11 of June 2010 football fans around the world rejoiced at the beginning of the 19th edition of the FIFA World Cup held in South Africa, the first ever on African soil. Breaths were held, tears were shed and nerves were wrecked from the start. Already the World Cup was full of surprises even before the start of the tournament. Turkey, Croatia, and Russia all impressed during Euro 2008 yet failed to qualify. Regular participants such as Asian giants Saudi Arabia were missing. Stars shined and others ridiculed, and with over 140 goals produced, the fans were in for an amazing tournament. The group stages offered many surprises. World Cup holders Italy and runners-up France were both unceremoniously dumped out of the competition, ending up a lowly 4th in their group, in embarrassing fashion. England and the Netherlands struggled but went through. Germany qualified even though they suffered an embarrassing and unexpected defeat to minnows Serbia, while Switzerland provided another shocker with their 1-0 victory over tournament favorites Spain. Diego Maradona’s underestimated Argentine side was aiming to prove the critics wrong and topped their group with ease. Portugal managed to thrash North Korea 7-0, while in the same group the Ivory Coast surprisingly failed to impress in a tournament they were expected to shine in. A huge blow by Uruguay, in the form of a 3-0 thrashing, ended the hosts’ hopes of qualifying. By the time the knock out stages was reached proceedings were well and truly under way. The pick of the round of 16 matches was the epic England vs. Germany match. At 2-1 to Germany, England’s Frank Lampard had a clearly good goal disallowed because the referee hadn’t seen the ball cross the line. England went on to lose 4-1. Argentina defeated Mexico 3-1, while Spain defeated Portugal 1-0, thanks to a solitary goal by David Villa. The quarter finals produced arguably one of the best matches of the tournament. With tournament favorites Brazil 1-0 up against a fine Dutch side, a Wesley Sneijder inspired performance set up one of the best comebacks and provided one of the biggest upsets of the tournament, in an unlikely 2-1 Dutch win. Spain went through after a hard fought match against Paraguay, who greatly impressed at the tournament, which produced a missed spot-kick for each side within 4 minutes of each other. Germany finally did the expected and dumped Argentina out of the competition with a 4-0 thumping. Finally, Luis Suarez of Uruguay produced one of the most controversial moments of World Cup history when he blocked a sure goal with his hand during stoppage time of extra time, with the score level at 1-1. Ghana somehow missed the resulting spot-kick, the last kick of the game, and bowed out on penalties. African hearts were broken, as Ghana were the last African team left in the competition. Germany had lit up the competition by playing the best football up until that point, however their young side played in a timid manner against Spain, in the semi-final, who ran out 1-0 victors. Holland then defeated a Suarezless Uruguayan side 3-2. The match had produced arguably the best goal of the tournament, a Giovanni Van Bronckhorst screamer from around 35 yards out. Germany then played out one of the most free-flowing and entertaining matches of the tournament in a 3-2 win over tournament dark horses Uruguay for 3rd place. The final was contested between tournament favorites Spain and the Netherlands. The game was a very tense and controversial affair. Holland played in a very rough manner and both teams should have had men sent off by the end of 90 minutes, with the score tied at 0-0. Chances went begging for both sides, including an ArjenRobben one on one opportunity. Both sides had done well not to concede, and both goalkeepers had impressed. In the 2nd half of extra time Heitinga was sent off for his second offence, and then with just 4 minutes to go till the end of the match, Spain somehow, in controversial circumstances, managed to breach the 10 man Netherlands’ defense. The 1st attempt at a cross should have been judged for offside, that attempt was cleared however and the rebound was crossed perfectly in for the inform Andres Iniesta to stroke in the winner and break Dutch hearts. Spain were champions for the 1st time, while the Netherlands were now for the 3rd time runners up. Thomas Mueller was named the best young player of the tournament and top scorer as well. Diego Forlan was handed the honor of player of the tournament for his astounding performances to help lift Uruguay all the way to 4th place. The tournament had provided many goals, assists, and brilliant moments, as well as controversy and surprise. It had been a success for the whole of Africa to put on such a spectacular show, and now all eyes are turn on Brazil to emulate or supersede South Africa in 2014. th
Luckily, a number of King’s Academy students attended the World Cup in person. Haya Abdel-Hadi ‘11 and Ahmad Ahmad ‘12 courteously shared with us about their experiences. Who were you supporting? HA: Personally, I was supporting England, Brazil and Ghana but when it came to the final game Spain against Holland, I switched to Spain as I attended the Spain and Portugal game which made me enthusiastic and excited about the games to come. AA: I was supporting Spain since the beginning of the tournament, I kind of had a feeling they would win and they did! Can you describe how the country was like during that time? (Did they have World Cup fever?) HA: The country was packed with people of different cultures, all excited for the games. Everyone was colorfully dressed according to the team they were supporting. The energy that you would get from these people was definitely World Cup fever; it was an experience to be surrounded by such lively people. AA: Of course! They did have the World Cup fever, every company (MTN, VISA, McDonalds, Adidas, Sony etc.) who are partners of the World Cup had advertising about the World Cup all around Johannesburg. Everyone there was talking about the World Cup and nothing but the World Cup, carried their Vuvuzelas with them where ever they went, painted their faces with the teams they supported. How were the preparations? HA: Preparations were very lively and filled with decorations, flags and colors. People would attend matches two hours early because of security checks but all in all everything was prepared properly from the stadiums to the games itself wherever you were watching it. People were always enthusiastic about it. Posters were hung everywhere in South Africa. AA: I think FIFA did a pretty good job in preparing for the World Cup. For example, at half-time there were places where you can get food, chips, hot chocolate, chocolates, coffee. And there were stalls that would sell FIFA mer-
chandise like the Jo’bulani ball, shirts, vuvzelas and a lot more. How did you like the tournament as a whole? Would you repeat the experience? HA: I loved the tournament as a whole; just being there in the audience and supporting a team made me feel like I was a part of the team. It’s a definite yes to repeat the experience especially that it was in South Africa; the most beautiful country I’ve ever been to and I hope everyone can have the chance to go to a world cup game. AA: Besides Spain’s early slip up against Switzerland (0-1) I really enjoyed the tournament, but I should say I hoped for a better Final Game. Yes, I would definitely repeat the experience. My heart keeps racing every time I remember that I went to the World Cup. I would think to myself “Oh my god !!! I was actually in the World Cup final !!!!” How did they react to their team’s misfortune? and Africa’s as well? Ghana’s elimination? HA: They were devastated in a way because Ghana was Africa’s last hope of making it to the semifinals ever in the world cup. Watching the game in a place where half of the people were supporting Ghana shows how much the African countries are united as whole. AA: I wasn’t there to witness the Bafana’s heartbreak when South Africa was eliminated but I think it’s all about the love of the game. Again, I wasn’t there to witness Ghana’s elimination, that definitely hurt because all of Africa’s hopes were placed on Ghana, but then again I was really happy to see Uruguay proceed to the quarter finals because they wanted it more than Ghana and I guess the better man wins. Which teams had the best support there? I’m not so sure about this one. It actually depends on what game was coming up or where see INTERVIEW on page 12
COURTESY OF HAYA ABDEL-HADI ‘11
SPORTS
Page 12
Season Opening Tournaments Boys’ and Girls’ Varisty Soccer Teams face off against competition from around Amman
The Rexonian
A New Sports System By ZACK SAMAWI ‘11
By SUHAYB AL-JAWHARI ’11
SPORTS SUB-EDITOR
STAFF WRITER
On the second of October, King’s Academy’s Girls’ and Boys’ Soccer teams made their debut of the year a slight success at home. The tournament was a continuation of the soccer tryouts to see the players in a real-game situation. The morning started with schools arriving from all around Amman. ABS, ACS, AA, MAS, and several others were participating in the tournament. Boys’ Varsity A started well with a crushing 3-0 victory over ACS, while the girls varsity tied 2-2 against ACS, who were dominating their head- to-head record with large numbers. As the day passed Boys’ Varsity A were showing good performance with their clash with MAS, holding a 1-0 lead until the last 2 minutes, when former King’s Academy student Karim Sha’ban equalized King’s with a powerful shot to goalkeeper Talal Sisalem ’13. King’s couldn’t hold it off and ended with a loss in a last minute goal from a free kick. As for the girls, they continued their great performance with a 3-0 victory against IAA.
Hashem Ashour ‘12, a member of the Boys’ Varsity A Soccer Team, kicks the ball past a player from the International Academy in Amman. ROBERT BAHOU ‘11
The heat started to get to the players as they showed fatigue in the last match. Boys varsity A had their most important match against ABS at the end of their day. They ended their day with a 0-3 loss to the undefeated ABS in their head-to-head record with King’s. The girls had a slight defeat to ABS 0-1. “There were many players on our team and we couldn’t maintain an
understanding on the field due to the many subs, but after the cut I’m sure we will get much better and finally beat ABS and many others to come” said defender Malik Al-Jabori ’11 after the game. The girls, on the other hand, “had great communication and were able to understand each other on the field, and hope to improve throughout the season” commented goalkeeper Qxhna Titcomb ’11.
In previous years at King’s, the co-curricular schedule has undergone massive changes to try and accommodate the diverse interests of the student body. In the first and second years at Kings, students were obliged to stay in only one co-curricular which they did four times a week. In the third year, students were allowed to do two co-curriculars twice a week. This year, though, there’s a new system: students are obligated to do a major and a minor, and at least one physical activity within those two. With this new implemented system, students are allowed to balance their social lives more effectively and can show more interests in different activities. However, feedback from students hasn’t been as promising – people are complaining that they would rather have more student-run activities and more freedom to run their own clubs. One senior commented that they “Find the major/minor co-curricular to be too rigid. The over-achievers in the student body are the ones who suffer most from this system.” On the other hand, the new major-minor system has provided new activities for the student body which include rock climbing, rugby, and ultimate Frisbee. These activities were very popular last year in school and were finally made actual co-curriculars this year. Other changes include the new basketball schedule, which is now supposed to run from the second semester to the third. Despite the slight change in the co-curricular schedule, athletic teams are still able to practice and have been just as strong as they were last year. Hopefully, all these changes will help improve the social and physical life here at Kings.
INTERVIEW continued from Page 11
COURTESY OF AHMAD AHMAD ‘12
Ahmad Ahmad ‘12 supporting Spain at the finals of the World Cup in South Africa.
the people came from but if I had to pick one depending on what I’ve seen mostly around South Africa it would be Ghana.(Haya Abdulhadi) While I was in the stadium watching the final, I saw more Netherland flags than Spanish flags. Maybe it’s because this is not the first time Netherlands was in a World Cup final. But the majority of the fans where cheering for Netherlands. (Ahmad Ahmad) How were the stadiums? HA: The stadiums were huge and it could fit about 60 thousand people I think. And at every game, they would show us how many people are attending the game. The stadium was properly equipped and the field was special and fitting to the players and desirable to play soccer on. AA: I have only been to Soccer City and it was designed to perfection. All the FIFA partners had their own lounges with food, drinks and accommodations for their guests. We had transportation to and from Soccer City to the hotel we were staying in. Did any of the players seem very popular? HA: Not to my noticing, but Ronaldo and Casillas and David Villa, Schneider, Messi, Rooney and Kaka but I’m not quite sure about it. AA: At the beginning of the of the game between Spain and Netherlands, the teams lined up and when the commentator called on all the players names, David Villa and Fernando Torres seemed very popular because all the fans kept shouting and cheering for them. Was it a positive experience for you? For South Africa? HA: It was one of the best experiences I’ve ever been to so far. Watching the games live in South Africa made the country of Africa realized more often and it was the perfect place for the world cup. It increased the
economy and the world began to realize what South Africa has to offer to the world from culture to sightseeing to making the World cup a memorable experience to everyone. AA: I definitely think this experience is something I should be very proud of and I am extremely lucky to have witnessed the World Cup taking place for the first time on the African continent. Also, I think Africa should be proud of this achievement they managed to pull off and take pride in it. Which matches did you attend? Were you satisfied? HA: The matches I attended were two quarter final games Spain and Portugal, Germany and Argentina and the semi-final between Holland and Uruguay. I was satisfied with what I’ve seen, I have never seen people so proud or so excited or creatively dressed for any soccer game in my life till this summer. AA: I attended the Final game, yes I was happy to be there but I would have really liked a better game than what had happened. I also noticed that the time passed by extremely fast and I really hoped I could stay there for longer but I guess everything that is good has to come to an end. Anything else you would like to share? AA: Yes, I did go to the World Cup, but I only attended the Final(Spain v Netherlands). My father, who is the CEO of MTN in Yemen(FIFA partner) had 24 tickets, and he had to give them to the VIPs in Yemen. There was one extra ticket left and he gave it to me. As you might know ZiadLababdeh also came with me to the World Cup. MTN Yemen rented two private jets to carry the 24 people going to the World Cup, and we stayed at a very nice 5 star hotel. MTN Yemen guests stayed in South Africa for 3 days; Day 1: relax at hotel + dinner (we arrived late to Johannesburg) Day 2: breakfast, we spent the whole day in Soccer City (2 p.m. – 1 a.m.) Day 3: Safari outside of Johannesburg. We went back to Yemen the next morning.