Volume IV; Issue 4
May 2011
King’s Academy, Manja - Madaba, Jordan
Campus Expansion in Progress University Counseling Office to stay in the Admin Building; Plans for new buidling taking shape By JOOHO SHIN ‘12 NEWS SUB-EDITOR
Scores of students pass it by every day; and scores of students ask the same question, “What is that building?” In between the Gallery and the Auditorium, stands an unfinished building with an ominous presence. For a while, the identity of the building had been a complete mys-
tery, and the truth had eluded the King’s Academy community for a couple of years. Rumors between the students about the identity of the new building ranged from a headquarters for a group of bodyguards for assorted alumni to a third dining hall meant for the staff. Luckily, Ms. Sheena Nabholz took her time to inform the King’s Academy comMS EMILY HAUG
munity, and offered a wealth of information about this mysterious building. The new building is in fact… a new building. Rather than one particular reason for its construction, the building was built for a variety of smaller uses and applications. see BUILDING on page 8
February: a Month of Overseas Democracy
Students Create an iPhone App for Jordanian Tourism
Groups of students participate in Havard Model Congress and Model United Nations abroad
Five KA students took a week off of school to attend a computer science seminar-but not just any seminar. They were learning how to design, develop and create an iPhone application. The students had until March 1st to complete their application- and enter it in a government sponsored competition between Jordanian schools. The application is intended for tourism; designed to help tourists in Jordan make the most of their experience. The students selected and guided by AP Computer Programming professor Nadim Sarhan: Rama Al Nakib ’12, Katrina Nemri ’11, Ali Shajrawi ’11, Karim Habbab ’11 and Ziad Lababdeh ’12 went to SAE (The School of Audio Engineering) Institute and attended a seminar delivered by a CEO of an application development company who is also a professional programmer. Each team was given a Macbook, an iPhone and a $50 iTunes gift card to use for the duration of the competition. They have been working hard to keep up with the tight deadline. The other schools competing
By JUDE SABHA ‘12 STAFF WRITER
Students spray painting the “wall of freedom” on a recent trip to Ramallah, Palestine.
Global Outreach Recent and Upcoming Community Service Initiatives By NADEEM MADANAT ‘12 STAFF WRITER
Kings academy prides itself on having amazing privileges for its students, but it also prides itself on helping those less fortunate than us. King’s Academy is based on five guiding principles, and one of them is Global Citizenship. Guided by that principle, King’s Academy goes on community service trips both abroad and close to home, taking trips to Thailand
, India , South Africa , Palestine and even within Jordan and the regions around school. The program is headed by Mrs. Tessa Fairbairn, who works around the clock with Mrs. Salwa Manaja to organize community service programs for the school. The school offers community service as a co-curricular as well, branching out the program into smaller activities that allow
Is There an App for That?
This past February, two groups of students participated in Model United Nations Chicago and Harvard Model congress; two experiences that teach about democracy and how it is applied in the world. Eleven students Traveled to Boston with the magnificent Mr. John Leistler to participate in Harvard Model Congress, which is a simulation of the American Congress. The students were divided into houses and senates where they discussed various issues. The student congressmen and congresswomen worked together to pass bills that they believed were the best for their states and the whole country. The topics of the bills ranged from improving health care to legalizing prostitution. Talal AbuGhazaleh ‘11, Jonathan Al-Khoury ‘11 and Jamil Madanat ‘11 created and fought for a bill to decriminalize urinating in public. Surprisingly, they passed the bill with plenty of signatures! People in the house, especially the girls, loved the bill, though perhaps they loved the boys more than the bill itself. Johnny summed up his feelings about the experience with three simple words, “It was foshizzle!” Although the students had no experience with American government procedures, they accomplished a lot. Mounir Ennenbach ‘12 and Abdullah Khalayleh ‘11 won the best team for Supreme Court, and Rami Altawil ‘12 served as
see SERVICE on page 2
see TRIPS on page 2
By RAMA AL-NAKIB ‘12 CONTRIBUTING WRITER
see iPHONE on page 9
Table of Contents Pages 2 NEWS Page 3-4 OPINION
Page 5 HEALTH
Perfect for a Week: The Accreditation Visit KA Under the Sea A KA Time Capsule 5roofing your Teachers Senior Committees Need Some Work College Counseling for Sophomores Ending “The Cools and the Drools” The Curse of the Jacket Lions Hunt in Prides The Benefits of Athletics Once On Your Lips, Forever On Your Hips Moving is Grooving Teacher of the Issue
Pages 6-7 LIFE
Page 10 FUN PAGE Page 11 OUTTAKE Page 12 SPORTS
A “Powers”-ful Interview Do, Re, Mi, Mansoor Hard Work Pays Off: The Senior Lounge Saga From Hanadi’s Kitchen: Banana Muffins Horoscopes Games, Riddles Comics Poll: How would you improve the Dining Hall? What Happened to Frisbee? Strange Co-Curriculars Basketball Overview MS LARA Al-MASRI
Ms. Lara’s Marine Biology class diving at the Coral Reef in Aqaba. See article on Page 2 for more details.
NEWS
Page 2
Diving into Marine Biology in Aqaba By ANNIE KLNIK ‘13 CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Imagine diving through the crisp, turquoise waters of Aqaba to see the abundance of colorful corals and marine life, while simultaneously receiving credit for a science course. This dream becomes a reality in Ms. Lara’s Marine Biology class. The class is designed to inform students about the intricacies of the oceans and the animals that inhabit them. Through Ms. Lara’s fantastic teaching, the students in Marine Biology will learn to respect and care for the oceans. In order to dive deeper into their understanding of the material investigated in the classroom, the students in Marine Biology recently took a field trip to Aqaba. While there, the students tested the chemical properties of the Red Sea and observed the coral reefs and the marine life. The students discovered, through provocative discussions and observations, that the coral reefs are an integral part of marine life; thus, they must be protected. Unfortunately, as the students noticed, the corals are being subjected to stress related to tourist activities; mostly littering. This stress is causing serious complications for the corals, which goes on to affect the marine life in the Red Sea. During the remainder of the course, the students plan to continue to discuss the carefully balanced marine ecosystem, and brainstorm different ways to protect and conserve the oceans.
COURTESY OF MS LARA Al-MASRI
A literal “Fish Tank.”
TRIPS
continued from Page 1 the Director of National Security, the most important forum in the Congress. Some students also attended a math class at Harvard, where they studied probability in gambling by playing poker. The second group of students that traveled from King’s Academy was the Model United Nations (MUN) group that went to Chicago with Ms. Fatina Al-Ahmad. The students went as the delegation from Colombia with the exception of Officer Abdelmuiz Shawar ‘12 who served as the Vice President of China. Abdelmuiz said “It was an amazing experience with diverse points of view and interesting debates. I also really enjoyed Chicago; it’s an interesting city.” Ms. Fatina enjoyed the trip as well. “I learned a lot, including an idea from their Security
The Rexonian
Council, which we plan to use in our own mini conference.” Founded only a few years ago, the MUN program has flourished as a result of opportunities like this. Participating in conferences like HMC and MUN Chicago is one of
the privileges that King’s Academy students value. Mounir believes that everyone should participate in HMC and other conferences. “Harvard Model Congress was a life changing experience that made us grow politically, socially, and culturally.”
COURTESY OF MS FATINA AL-AHMAD
Students participate in Model United Nations in Chicago, IL.
Accreditation: A Background A brief introduction to the process of accreditation and why it is so important By BARAKAT ELSAQA ‘13 STAFF WRITER
Accreditation, according to the NAIS (National Association of Independent Schools) website is defined as “a system of accountability that is ongoing, voluntary, and comprehensive in scope”. In other words, if a school or any independent learning institution is accredited that means that it is able to stand on its own and has the efficiency to achieve its purpose. The NAIS has member institutions and associations that are capable and allowed to accreditate schools, some internationally and some are permitted to certain areas and regions. The CIS (Council of International Schools) is the organization that is accrediting King’s Academy. The CIS arrived on campus the week of April 8th – April 14th. During this week, the accrediting institution examined every part our school; as Miss Julianne has said “They will investigate every single aspect of our community”. They will look at everything from academics to facilities to safety to co-curriculars; they will not leave anything not evaluated or accounted for. The representatives of the CIS have sat with us in classes where they observed teaching techniques and
styles. In the classroom, they also took account for the facilities and the attentiveness of the students. They also could have talked to anyone on campus and asked them questions about the school. The safety procedures are one of the things that matter the most. They took a very close look at the security and safety of our campus in addition to closely evaluating the emergency procedures and administering a fire drill Some people might wonder why our school’s accreditation is important. The answer lies here, referring to the NAIS website “Accreditation of a school indicates that it meets or exceeds standards and criteria for the assessment of institutional quality periodically applied through a peer group process. An accredited school is one that has available the necessary resources to achieve its stated purposes through appropriate educational programs, is substantially doing so, and gives reasonable evidence that it will continue to do so in the foreseeable future”. When applying to a college in the future, and they notice that you are applying from an accredited school, they would know that you would come from a respectable and high standard school. This, in turn will make all the students’ hard work accounted for and valued on college applications.
SERVICE
continued from Page 1
Executive Editor Managing Editor News sub- Editor Opinion sub- Editor Foreign Language sub- Editor Life sub- Editor Fun Page sub- Editor Sports sub- Editor Faculty Advisor
ROBERT BAHOU ‘11 IMAN ABU ALIA ‘11 JOOHO SHIN ‘12 MOUNIR ENNENBACH ‘12 OMAR HALAWA ‘12 SEEMA SAMAWI ‘11 REEM AL HADDADIN ‘11 ZACK SAMAWI ‘11 MR. BOWMAN DICKSON
MS. MIA DESIMONE
Students on the community service trip to Ramallah pose near the wall separating Israel and the West Bank.
students to do projects of their choosing. In the past month or so, a group of students attended a community service trip to Ramallah in Palestine. The trip allowed them to go through the daily routine of a normal Palestinian citizen’s life, including a 6 hour border stop to spray painting an 8-meter high concrete wall. The trip proved beneficial to the community at the Friends school in Ramallah and the students themselves, emphasizing each student’s appreciation for their life at King’s. During spring break, there was a trip to Thailand where students will spent 6 days in and around the region of Chiang Mai where they helped build a school from scratch for the local children of that region. In these trips, the school hopes to branch out and help the global community, providing the education that this village would have never had, while simultaneously enriching and informing the lives of its students.
OPINION
May 2011
Monkey See, Monkey Do Should we mimic everything our teacehrs do? Or should we respect them and decide our own fate? now, they are adults and have earned their right to live their lives with the flexibility that we students In an after school session we had during O block have not yet earned. “When I think about teachers with one of my teachers, some seniors came in flus- being role models [for students], I think about mytered from a talk they had in their senior meeting self at [their] age,” as Miss Dragana expressed. “For with Ms. Julianne. It all started with one student me, I knew who I was, so I didn’t need someone to from the senior meeting who asked, “If teachers be my ‘role model’. But nowadays, teenagers want to can have a designated smoking area, why can’t stu- be like this singer or this actor because he or she is dents have one?” My fellow classmates carried this in the spotlight and when I hear this, I think of the discussion from their class meeting to our O block show “Paris Hilton’s My New BFF”. Why would you AP Calculus discussion. One wish to be like someone else? student commented how the Teachers are adults whom Wouldn’t you like to find yourseniors do not really want a self ?” I completely agree that we admire and learn from. smoking area, but they find it students need to learn to conBut are they our true role struct their own personalities. If difficult to cope with the fact that teachers enjoy this privimodels? one of our teachers chooses to lege. They cannot help but spend four hours watching TV wonder why teachers are given at home, that does not mean we the privilege to smoke on campus but students are should do the same. We cannot simply sit back and not allowed to follow their “models”. This mind- say, “Well, my teacher is my role model. If he does boggling situation begs the question, “Are teachers it, so can I!” We do not have a “monkey see, monkey our role models – people who’s lives and actions do” relationship with our teachers. we should struggle to imitate – or are they simply As Miss Dragana said, “Teachers have an approadults that students must respect within the school priate way of behavior [in the classroom setting]. environment? Although teachers must behave properly, it does Let’s clarify who teachers are whilst in class. They not make a role model of me.” I have noticed that are adults, they teach us, and they guide us towards as teachers move from their classes to their perour goals. As Mr. Imad, a Math teacher, stated, sonal homes, something almost magical happens. “[Teachers are] a positive influence in students’ lives, We no longer see them only as adults who lecture who should model studentship and responsibility.” to us about integrals in calculus or the syntax used Although this is true, we cannot follow our teachers in an essay. On the contrary, they become adults in everything they do in their personal lives. At some who give us advice, who we sit down at lunch with point in their lives, our teachers were teenagers as and crack jokes with, and who we vent to about our well, who also had to abide by a set of rules. Like us, see ROLE MODELS on page 9 they were never allowed to pick up a cigarette. But
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What’s Your Madeleine? A Time Capsule for King’s Academy
By REEMA LATEEF ‘12 STAFF WRITER
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Graduation on the Mind Are the Senior Committees actually being run by the Seniors? By MAYA DAMIRJI ‘11
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The things is, although the senior committee is not fully in charge of planning the whole event, the miniature details are what the senior committee deal with. And the group members themselves don’t even know the specific details of
what is happening on the day of the events either. The parents of the seniors and the administration are involved and plan what will be happening on the day of graduation, and any specific events held before or after.
We are less than one month away from graduation, and the closer and closer we get to the day, the more bittersweet the feeling is. The more seniors talk about graduation day, the more we realize, that we know nothing about graduation day! As well as prom, and along with the graduation dinner. But isn’t that the senior committee’s job? Shouldn’t they be informing us and letting us know of what we should expect? “To be honest, the senior committee hasn’t really been putting much of an effort. I would appreciate it if they stepped up their game and actually got all seniors involved in what they do.” says Rawan Saraireh ’11. Although senior committee group member Leen Hajjar ’11 “we’ve been meeting several of blocks, however it has not been a full class meeting, just individually run by the group members to help decide on what is best for the YASMIN DARWAZAH ‘11 events.” Abdelkareem Sheraif ‘11 tries out the graduation gown with Yasamin Taylor ‘11.
By ABLA KAWAR ‘12 STAFF WRITER
In Swann’s Way, Marcel Proust describes biting into a madeleine -- a French cookie -- while drinking tea, and he says, “And suddenly the memory revealed itself.” For Proust, this bite of the cookie contained a vivid memory of his childhood. And so emerged the idea of a time capsule at King’s Academy. A time capsule, essentially, is a large container that holds an object that is unique and personal to each student. Once a student places something in the time capsule, it is buried on campus only to be dug up by future students. When the graduating class comes back in ten years for their high school reunion, the time capsule could provide for a bittersweet trip down memory lane. Yasamin Taylor ‘11 suggests to put in “a picture, because you can see the picture change over time! When the capsule is opened, you can see how everyone has grown up and changed. It’s the best preserved kind of memory.” If I were to choose my own madeleine, I’d place a pair of my shoes that are not meant to leave the squeaky wooden floors of my room. Why, do you ask? And so I answer, “why not?” Now you see that? That’s the reason why I’d place it in the time
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Everyone can place into a time capsule an item that would encompass their memories of their time at King’s.
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capsule. I would like to come back in ten years and open up the time capsule to unravel the past-- a pair of shoes to me would have a plethora of memories of school. Wondering what our senior class would choose as their madeleine? A few of them mentioned the following: Karim Zeine ‘11 said, “I would put a letter to myself in which I would predict what would happen in the future. I would put my goals that I want to achieve and how I think the world will become and see how close my predictions are. I’ve always wanted to do it because I’m curious and it will motivate me to achieve my goals.” While Karim chose more practical predictions, Yusra Bitar ‘11 on the other hand chose more tangible items: “It’s a hard question, but I think I would say all my music (cd’s, cassettes, iPods) because it would be worth a lot in the future and it would get the people of the future feeling mellow.” “A Backstreet Boys CD” mentioned Ghayth Sandouka ‘11. In proof of diligence, we have Omar Al Khoudary ‘11 adding, “My first college acceptance letter, so in ten years I will remember the time I had to worry about colleges and laugh!” Samiha Al Fayez ‘11 stated “I would put an iPod, to see how we kept ourselves amused.” Opening the time capsule would help the past of King’s Academy “[take] shape and solidity, [spring] into being,” just like Proust’s memory did when he bit into the cookie. King’s Academy has grown to be a part of us and with the burying of a time capsule, we can leave a part of ourselves in this place where our memories took shape.
OPINION
Page 4
The Rexonian
Ending “The Cools and the Drools”
The stars of matriculation in the University Counseling Office.
Time to make time for everyone around you, not just your closest friends By RANA ABU LABAN ’11 STAFF WRITER
ROBERT BAHOU ’11
Stars Off in the Distance Advance college counseling for sophomores
By FARAH KILANI ’13 STAFF WRITER
Recently, we sophomores have been emailed regarding college counseling sessions at the UCO, just to help us define where our lives are heading after high school. Many of the upperclassmen took this as a total surprise, regarding the fact that some of them haven’t even began considering their options while we were determining our whole future, in tenth grade, two years away from graduation. So here’s how we reacted… Most of us walked out of there with a maximum of 9 or 8 AP’s spread between junior and senior year. The two year graduation plan was quite stressful for many of us and it caused a lot of worries. What troubled us even more was hearing that some seniors had to give up their lifelong dreams because they didn’t do so well in junior year, leaving us with countless questions and anxieties. To many of you who are not undergoing this pressure, this might be considered ridiculous but with two years ahead for us, we really don’t know what to expect and it strikes us as shocking to face such big decisions, having to think ahead in order to determine what our future would be. Several sophomores are thinking of summer programs and jobs or pretty much anything
aside from “King’s Academy” on their applications to make it look better, well maybe not just for that purpose, some genuinely want the experience. It’s literally been a race to get those signatures for AP courses, and what was even worse was realizing that a certain grade would not be good enough for the course. And then there were all those big questions on where we’re planning on studying and what we’re planning on becoming, the realization that you have no clue on what to say to these questions is more frightening than seeing 9 AP’s on your schedule. Yet I guess those meetings were a big wakeup call to all of us, hardly anyone complains now of the great load of work knowing that we’ll be dealing with AP’s next year. And we’ve all shown great improvement and commitment to our classes, but many of us don’t really believe we stand a chance in places like Harvard or Yale anymore. It might just be pointless worrying but then again the phase we’ll be facing soon is not easy and everyone agrees on that. I was with a couple of friends in the UCO the other day and Ms. Nancy passed by, she asked us what we were doing and we all said that we had college counseling meetings, her reply to that was something in the context of “Good luck with that, it’s going to take you a lifetime to determine your life.”
bers of individuals just happened to converge together and unite as one single unit of friendship. This left me a little flabbergasted; however, I also followed the unfortunate trend.” Rawan Sararieh ‘11 has
Walking around King’s Academy from the first day of classes until the day of graduation, the different groups that have formed throughout the four years of our young history are very eviI hope that younger dent. Although generations attending our the different school will be open to all cliques may truly be harmdifferent kinds of people less, most people tend to stick to their group of friends and also been a member of our stay clear of mingling. Many community since she was a people have seen the movie tenth grader. “Throughout Mean Girls, and many seem 10th and 11th grade, I never to think that our school re- felt that the strong bonds flects the same attitude. between every single person When a student is involved in each clique would die out. in one of these groups, it is However, I came to realize hard to realize that subcon- that in 12th grade everyone sciously everyone sticks to- came together to enjoy their gether. This limits people final year at King’s Academy from expanding their social as one.” circle and stepping outside Some advice to the their comfort zones. younger classes comes from Looking closely at the one of our senior girls, Iman senior class in particular, Abu Alia ‘11. She states: “I the transition that I’ve no- hope that younger generaticed along with other fel- tions attending our school low classmates since our first will be able to be open to all year as sophomores here is different kinds of people and particularly interesting. Sally make friends with everyone Shaban ‘11 a.k.a. Camel Girl from the start, but to always claims “I thought it was quite keep a small circle in which fascinating how small num- they can confide in.”
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The Curse of the Jacket Senior Jackets change people By REEMA LATEEF ‘12 STAFF WRITER
Is that a bird? A plane? Superman? No it’s a 2011 King’s Senior! The new superhero has arrived to King’s! It is the 2011 King’s Academy Senior…Jacket! They are red and blue and have arrived at King’s. Don’t be mistaken, it’s not the person himself that makes the Senior Holy…it is the jacket that has graced the shoulders of these Stellar Seniors that make them sparkle. Just like Clark Kent isn’t superman without his cape, the seniors cannot have the super awesome senior powers without their Senior Jacket on. Previously characterized by their rowdiness, yet eager to learn, the seniors can now be identified by sporting their
new red and blue “Super Senior Jackets”! Each jacket is specialized with a ___ quote in order to enhance the vamp of each senior. But don’t be fooled…when they are worn by seniors…they begin to change… The jackets’ calming effect keeps the seniors not only engaged in class, but also keeps them engaged in school meeting by making them sit up straight and probing them to ask intellectual questions. And when the jackets exhaust their energy and the seniors’ energy by using most of it for studying, engagement in class, and for sprinting to classes (so, of course, the senior jacket won’t be marred by a tardy!), the senior jackets motion the seniors to retire into their cave, which is
next to the Student Union. The senior jackets are refueled here, while it and the seniors sit back, relax, and “chill” with fellow classmates. The senior jackets enable the seniors to walk with glamor. The air they breathe has now become sacred and the ground they walk on is holy. Students cannot even ROBERT BAHOU ’11 look at their awesomeness withMembers of the Senior class right after the senior banner was unveiled on out being blinded by the senior the clock tower. jackets’ power. The Senior Jackets powers are beyond the class- allow the Senior Jacket to pass nessed to have been pushed to room, as well. (No, they do not by. Sophomores and freshmen the ground after a Senior was enable flight, but rumors have it- give their last, precious Cheese running late to class. Are seniors the 2011 Senior Jacket’s cousin, Manakish to tame the growling using their jackets to abuse its the 2012 Senior Jackets carries noise beneath the jacket. But with power? Or is there something this power). But, the Senior Jack- great power, comes great respon- about the Senior Jackets that we et has hypnotizing power. Juniors sibility. see JACKETS on page 9 move out of the way in order to One poor freshman was wit-
HEALTH
May 2011
Question Time: Why should I bother playing a team sport? By SEEMA SAMAWI ‘11 LIFE SUB-EDITOR
What is a team sport? A team sport is a sport where a group of individuals on the same team work together to win the game and is usually achieved by outscoring an opposing team. A group? Oh no! Now you actually have to share your workout with other people, more competition. That’s one negative attitude towards team sports but actually, team sports are great for you. Of course team sports like all sports are good for you because you condition yourself aerobically which is very good for your physique but there are also many more benefits to being a team player. First of all, being part of a team requires a lot of leadership and responsibility. Even if you aren’t the main leader, you will definitely be selected to lead certain activities every now and then. You need to be responsible and show up to be there for your team and be dedicated. Being a team player isn’t about being on your own, you have to work together which takes responsibility. Team sports also strengthen social bonds; because you are not on your own, you rely on others for help to play the sport which means that you will interact with them, strengthen your social bonds and make new friends. In turn you will have better relationships with others as you are used to interacting with others which will make you more confident in yourself. With all this comes loyalty, you have to be loyal to your team to do the plays that work best for the entire team, not just yourself. The other great thing about team sports is that you will be influenced by positive peer pressure. You will naturally hang out with your teammates and when they see you getting yourself into a bad situation, they will help you and advise you against it. A simple example is if you’re chilling out at the mall and get hungry, you decide to go to McDonalds but your friends will talk you out of it and convince you to go eat from the Chinese restaurant next door because it’s healthier. This will also spill into your academic life, your memory and concentration will improve so your learning ability will also improve as you have many teachers and mentors around you – not just your coach. Also as you are on a team, you will desire to stand out as MVP or team captain. Thus you will push yourself further and strive for self – improvement which is great. While you might think that you will only improve yourself in the sport, self-improvement actually takes over everything and improves all aspects of you, not just the athlete in you. Of course this means that your communication skills will improve as well as your sportsmanship and resiliency. Team sports are also a great stress and anger relief because you “fight” against opponents to win which demands aggression from you. Finally, an interesting fact to know is that women who play team sports are far less likely to smoke because they have the entire team behind them not smoking. Team sports are great, they have so much to offer to make you a better person. So go find a local basketball team and join – you might surprise yourself and end up loving it!
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Junk the Junk
“Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are” - Anthelme Brillat-Savarin By ZEIN ABD AL RAZEQ ‘13 CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Junk food is defined as “food that is low in nutritional value, often highly processed or ready-prepared, and eaten instead of or in addition to well-balanced meals”. However, why do some people prefer eating junk food? It might be because junk food is available and eaten instantly, appealing to your appetite, and tastes great. So what are some examples of junk food are the major effects that we should be aware of ? Some people might not know how to differentiate between junk food and nutritious food. A few examples of junk food are ice cream, donuts, potato chips, sweets, soda, and food provided by fast food restaurants. Eating junk food is a threat to everyone’s health and leads to obesity. There are many obese individuals nowadays; both young and old. This situation is very frustrating because obesity leads to a number of diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure etc….Children in particular are at risk because junk food is readily available at school cafeterias which
offer cheese burgers, fizzy drinks, chocolate bars, and so on. Aside from obesity, heart diseases and high cholesterol levels are also major effects of junk food. Junk foods have low nutritional value as well as being high in fatty acids and other undesirable fats in our body. These undesirable fats deposit fatty plaque which blocks the arteries. Cholesterol is processed in the liver, and if a person has a lot of bad cholesterol, their liver will have a difficulty breaking down the cholesterol in their body, damaging their livers. It’s alright to eat junk food once in a while as long as you are generally following a healthy diet . Our bodies are strong enough to battle minimal sugar, salt and cholesterol from occasional junk food. However, addiction to such unhealthy food is hazardous to our health. It is crucial to eat ample amount of fruits, vegetables, and drink 6-8 glasses of water a day; not to mention regular exercise. So if a person eats healthy food, they are a healthy person, and if that person eats predominantly junk food, then they are an unhealthy individual, and you know what they say: “You are What you eat!”
No Pain, No Gain The benefits of sports and athletics By ADEL NESHEIWAT ‘11 CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Yes, it’s true; I’m advocating the other side. As some of you may know, I wrote my declamation on the benefits of obesity, and that it is actually good to be heavy. Now, I still believe that, (don’t get me wrong). As hard as it is to believe, there are some benefits to sports and athletics. First of all, athletics are an important part of any school curriculum. Sports allow students to interact and engage with each other outside the classroom. Sports and athletics teach us about commitment and perseverance. They also improve our fitness level and instill healthy habits among us. Most competitive sports, from dancing (Majd) to football (Johnny) and basketball (our Tennessean superstar), require a level of agility and coordination that may otherwise take years to develop. Sports can help us develop greater coordination and muscle control at an earlier age. Ultimately, with greater coordination and muscle con-
trol, we would be more organized, skillful, and have more self-confidence. Physical activity requires focus from our part. Muscle memory (a type of movement with which the muscles become familiar over time) allows us to play sports more easily, but getting that focus requires discipline. Discipline in sports may also result in us becoming more focused and disciplined. A good coach can direct us in a way that enhances our ability to focus on both body and mind. Being more focused and disciplined will help us in school when it comes to being in class and studying during study hall. I’d bet that we would make better time of study hall if we actively played sports. Competitive sports are heavily focused on communication and strategy. Although younger children may not have these skills, over time, competition helps children to develop them. Communication involves talking both to teammates and opponents, problem-solving and sportsmanship. Those who learn these skills early on in life are
likely to apply these skills to many areas of academics, such as group projects, and their social life. They have better social skills then those who have not participated in team sports and are over all healthier people, as the Study of Youth Sports at Michigan State University found. Moreover, when playing sports, we learn how rules work. We see how groups need rules to keep order – the individual athlete must accept the rules for the good of the group. This can help many of us in avoiding causing problems and getting in trouble. Our activeness in sports will be for the good of the community at King’s as a whole. I still believe that one does not have to be thin to be healthy. But I also believe that sports and athletics are an integral part of life, and you should too. They keep us active, disciplined and focused. Sports implant commitment, perseverance, problem-solving and communication skills, and will essentially help us in and out of school.
Moving is Grooving How dance can be beneficial exercise By SEEMA SAMAWI ‘11 LIFE SUB-EDITOR
Dancing is one of the most enjoyable ways to keep fit. It’s fun and usually preformed in company of others; just about anywhere you go, people are dancing, from parties to plays to school dances. 3 styles of dance great for getting in shape and having fun: Hip Hop, Salsa and Tap Dancing. So what exactly is so great about these types of dance that makes them perfect for keeping fit? Well the one thing these 3 dances have in common is that the dancing is constant and the
moves require a lot of energy and use large muscle groups. Hip Hop and Salsa dancing are social dances as they are performed with a partner or in a group while Tap Dancing is usually a solo type of dance but it can be performed in duets or groups (as seen on Broadway). Regardless of how you perform the dance, it is equally beneficial to your fitness and health. Dance is a great way to get in shape because it strengthens you inner muscles – your core, which is the key to becoming fitter. Your core includes your abdominals, your lower back, your neck muscles, see DANCING on page 8
LIFE
Page 6
TEACHER of the issue: MR. WIN ROBERT BAHOU ‘11
By SEEMA SAMAWI ’11 LIFE SUB-EDITOR
To those who know him, this man defines awesomeness, and even those who don’t know him can feel his affability emanating from his character. This is a man who has been through many experiences and mastered several skills. By popular vote, you’re teacher of this issue is … Mr. Win! Mr. Win is truly an interesting person: he teaches math, he’s an avid boxer, he loves Harley Davidson’s and has a powerful operatic voice – quite a collection of attributes. His advisees really look up to him and their eyes glow with pride when they see him. His students constantly try to succeed because he makes them want to learn. “Mr. Win is one of the best math teachers ever. He truly makes me look forward to math – even if you hate the subject you have to love it because Mr. Wind knows how to make it fun. He’s a teacher who truly knows how to teach and engage the students in a fun way without getting too out of hand.”, comments Raneem Al-Droubi ’13. Many students commend him on his ability to take the class further than just a lesson, “His voice makes the walls vibrate (in a good way) and I love his classes; they’re always so funny. I think he should be a comedian” vaunts Dunia Al-Rabadi ’11 who is one of his Choir pupils. “I have to say my favorite thing about Mr. Win is the fact that he is Mr. Win. Without him, gym would just be boring, there wouldn’t have been a boxing team and the choir would have been in ruins. I’m sure a lot more students would have hated math too!” reflects Seema Samawi ’11. Just about anywhere you go – the tall charismatic smiling giant is there. Mr. Win you are a wonderful teacher, friend and mentor to us all here at King’s and we just want to thank you for everything you have done for us!
The Rexonian
A Man of Many “Powers” Mr. David Powers tells the Rexonian about his well rounded life as an English teacher, Admin Staff, coach and model By HANADI SABEK ‘11 & RAWAN SARAIREH ‘11 STAFF WRITERS
David Powers joined the King’s Academy community in the year of 2009. We were both fortunate enough to have Mr. Powers as an English teacher throughout our junior year. Our first impression of Mr. Powers: a handsome, arrogant, yet down to earth kind of guy that would join our junior class. However, throughout the first five minutes of class we came to realize that he was instead our English teacher. As soon as we had come to that realization, Hanadi and I exchanged glances completely taken by shock. Soon enough, Mr. Powers had won period A’s hearts through forming individual relationships with all of his students. Our entire class, filled with cliques soon forgot our differences and bonded on entirely new levels. From books to class discussions to interactive games, period A made English class a memorable experience. Due to what was mentioned before, we chose to interview Mr. Powers as he transitioned from being a teacher to working in administration. We discussed the pros and cons of teaching along with the pros and cons of working in administration, all of the mandatory with one question you’ve all been wondering about. Check out our results! H&R: How was the transition from working as a teacher to working in administration? Powers: First of all, I really like the fact that my day ends at 4:00 as opposed to teaching, which never really ends. I also never experienced a job that separates my personal life from my working life entirely as all I’ve ever done in the past was teach at boarding schools. The first few months working in admin, I didn’t even know what to do with all the time on my hands in the evening as I got to do so many things that I haven’t been able to do while teaching such as going out with friends more, exploring Amman, reading for fun, and sleep
wasn’t really comfortable with the idea. (laughs). H&R: You’re basically saying you H&R: As opposed to coming to would never want to take modeling seclass grouchy? riously? Powers: Yeah exactly! Powers: No. I mean I used to want H&R: So would you say you like to be an actor…(grins) your admin job more than teaching? H&R: Aright now that we’ve got Powers: I don’t really think it’s that simple because I really miss certain as- the modeling story covered, tell us pects of teaching such as the fact that about your coaching? Powers: Yeah, I mean I love coachevery day is different and you never really know the way class is going to go. I ing and I’m extremely passionate about also miss literature and class discussion; it. I used to love playing sports and however I don’t really miss the overall now I have a kind of competitive void lifestyle because I never figured out at times, so coaching is a great outlet for me. I also how to manage my time and find balAll of a sudden, this girl love the proance when teachof a team approaches me, introduc- cess ing, and as a result coming togethI got burned out ing herself as a founder of er throughout a modeling company... easily. I needed a the season. I break from it this love the guys year. As for the fuon the basture, I might go back to teaching and ketball team here; they’re some of my I might not but this was definitely the favorite students at King’s. Honestly right decision for me at this time of my I never expected basketball in Jordan life. But I do miss setting people up and to be anything great; I thought it was telling imaginary stories about my stu- going to be a step down, however, the dents. talent level has surpassed my expectaH&R: Okay, how is it balancing your tions, and I see a lot of potential on my admin job with modeling? team. Some of my best memories here Powers: My modeling career? in Jordan have been with the basketball (laughs) Unfortunately my modeling team. career is non-existent! H&R: Are you planning on staying H&R: You can’t lie in an interview here next year? Tell us about your fuMr. Powers, we saw the pictures! ture plans. Powers: Oh are you talking about Powers: I really have no idea about the Sims pictures? Alright so basically next year. However I’m looking into my first week in Jordan I was shopping graduate school, one of them for jourat City Mall and I was like standing out- nalism and another for journalism and side one of the stores. All of a sudden, international relations. Let’s say it’s this girl approaches me, introduces her- a 50/50 chance of me leaving King’s self as a founder of a modeling com- Academy. It would be nice to go back pany in Jordan and asked me if I have to being around more people my own ever had any modeling experience and age and also to be closer to my family. if I was interested in a modeling career. H&R: Perhaps to find a potential Since I had heard that there was good soul mate? money in the modeling business, I dePowers: (laughs) we’ll see about cided to at least follow up and see what that. came of it. I agreed to have some picH&R: Thank you so much for your tures taken, but ultimately I didn’t pur- time Mr. Powers! sue it because I didn’t have time and I Powers: Yeah, no problem.
“
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ROBERT BAHOU ‘11
Coach Powers addressing the Varsity Boys’ Basketball team in the ACS Beirut locker room.
LIFE
May 2011
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From Mozart to Mansoor The Rexonian highlights Mansoor Ghoto’s ‘11 inspiring passion for music By SEEMA SAMAWI ‘11 LIFE SUB-EDTIOR
From the land Pakistan comes one of our most intriguing students… Mansoor Ghoto is quite a distinguished student here at King’s. He has many interests ranging from music to academia. Mansoor is currently a senior at King’s and is one of the Open Mic Proctors. He plays the drums, the piano and sings bass in the choir. He is also a member of the cross – country team and has participated in many marathons and races including (most recently) Dead2Red. He excels in his school work and balances his hectic life between sports, school and music. I recently caught up with him to see how his senior year is going. S: “How did you first get interested in music?” M: “In my old school, in 8th grade, there was a door with a large poster of musical instruments. One day, I decided to go into the room and I found a grand piano there. The music teacher approached me offering me lessons, initially there was a language barrier as I did not speak English, but I took about
2 weeks of lessons never having learned piano in my life. Then I got really bored and I just stopped taking lessons but I got caught up on the drum set – reading music for drums was much easier. I kept playing drums and took on other percussion instruments and I eventually joined the band. I later heard the “Brave Heart” soundtrack and that truly inspired me to go back to piano. That’s when I went more into music, I went into piano and then I wanted to make my own songs and since last year I just create my own songs and now I have 3 or 4.” S: “How do you know where to go?” Mansoor pract M: “People always ask me that question and the answer is I do not, I just be pre-med and my minor will be music.” S: “As a musician, how welcome do sit down and it flows from me. I draw on emotions and memories from major you feel at King’s?” M: “At King’s I have this opportunity events that have happened to help me. ” S: “What is your personal goal with to explore myself and explore my music. It is very welcoming and it gives me the music?” M: “I imagine myself conducting an chance to explore my passion which is orchestral piece that I composed myself great.” S: “Who is your favorite musician/artin front of a large audience and at the same time be a doctor, with my own hos- ist so far?” M: “Josh Groban, he is actually a singpital and I work (as a doctor). Thus when I attend college in the fall, my major will er, but he made one song which is called
ROBERT BAHOU ‘11
February Song. He is one of the people that have inspired me in music, singing and everything aside from soundtracks from music.” S: “How did you get into singing?” M: “In 10th grade I took choir to fulfill my music requirement. I ended up being really good at it and I really enjoyed it. How I transitioned into solo music is that my class was with juniors and during AP see MANSOOR on page 9
Caution: Seniors at Work How the Class of 2011 cooperated to achieve their Senior Lounge
Banana Bread Recipe
By HANADI SABEK ‘11 & SALLY SHABAN ‘11 STAFF WRITERS
Four months prior to graduation, the class of 2011 proposed their ideas for senior privileges and supported them by keeping up with their hard work, eventually leading to the materialization of their requests. The senior lounge was requested last year; however, it was not established until this year by the class of 2011 due to their determination and persistence. Johnny Khoury ‘11 and Jameel Madanat ’11 represented the entire class, proposed the ideas to the deans and followed up with perfect attendance, behavior and devotion to academic work. The senior lounge is Abdal ‘11 enjoys the pool table in a place where seniors claim their own pri- Abdullah others just hang out. vate territory, where they can spend private time together whether they are doing as Miss Tourkan said, “I think it’s a fantashomework, watching television, playing tic way to assume responsibility, keeping it cards or pool, or having a snack while so- clean and build class pride and bond before cializing. The lounge has given the seniors you all graduate”. It added an entertaining the opportunity to treasure memories and vibe to the lounge and made the class even become closer as a class before they all happier with their special space. To sum it separate into different routes around the up, the class of 2011 is more than pleased world. “It’s a cozy place for senior friends with the result of their hard work and the to bond since it’s our last year together,” cooperation of the deans. As Yousef Alirsays Hani Murad ’11. Even though the se- eza ’11 spoke on behalf of the senior class, nior lounge is yet to be improved with its “I love the senior lounge!” With the stress that comes along with embellishment, it’s considered a comfortable and enjoyable hangout for the senior senior year, a new idea arose among the class. As Rashed Al Qudah ’11 proves, “the class of 2011. Hanadi Sabek ’11 and Rana long couch is good for sleeping,” the new Abu Laban ’11, with the help of Jameel lounge satisfies all the senior needs. The Madanat ’11 and Johnny Khoury ’11, seniors were surprised by the new pool ta- thought a good way to help seniors keep ble given to them generously by the deans, up their grades would be to exempt them
By HANADI SABEK ’11 STAFF WRITER
Ingredients:
YASMIN DARWAZAH ‘11
the senior lounge while Malik Al-Jabori and
from final exams in their spring term if, and only if they maintain a B average or higher in their yearlong classes. As Dr. John Austin officially proclaimed, “seniors who have a grade B (83%) or higher for the spring term and who also have a grade of B (83%) or higher on the Effort and Participation Rubric for the spring term will be exempted from the final spring exam in that course. In lieu of final exams, teachers will assign alternative forms of assessments: projects that allow students to apply what they have learned to real life situations, presentations, and essays.” This idea was suggested in January and was approved by the faculty in March due to the logic and diligence required for successful exemption.
3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed 1/3 cup melted butter 1 cup sugar 1 egg, beaten 1 teaspoon of vanilla 1 teaspoon of baking soda Pinch of salt 1 1/2 cups of flour 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and nutmeg (optional) Directions for Banana Bread Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in with the cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the flour last, and mix. Pour mixture into a loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve. Hope you enjoy!
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BUILDING
continued from Page 1 “When the building was originally designed,” says Ms. Sheena, “the plan was to move College Counseling to the second floor of the new building.” Students might empathize with the stifling, enclosed space of the frequently visited College Counseling office. “However,” continues Ms. Sheena, “Dr. John feels that if they were to move out from the admin building, then there would be no students in that building and the admin staff would be even more isolated from
CONTINUED the “school” side of school,” words that accurately describe the only reason students tend to visit the administration. Instead, “I think they will stay in the admin building and another department, perhaps communications and publications will move in there,” comments Ms. Sheena. “There are also 3 new classrooms and a lab for the animations equipment on the ground floor. There are two large multipurpose rooms as well - one on each floor - that can be used for exams, faculty meetings and workshops, class meeting, college presentations, etc., that up until now we had trouble
The Rexonian
finding space for.” At last some light is shed on that elusive building that students pass by every day. Since the opening of the school in 2007, there have been numerous additions to the campus, from the faculty apartments to the second dining hall behind the first. As the school continues to grow annually, more facilities and areas are needed to accommodate the growing community. But even so, King’s Academy makes sure to design and plan such commodities based on the needs of the community, similar to Dr. John’s proposal regarding the college counseling.
YASMIN DARWAZAH ‘11 & SAMIHA AL-FAYEZ ‘11
The empty interior of the new building on campus.
DANCING
continued from Page 5 your hip flexors, your upper hamstrings, your buttocks and your hip abductors – basically a lot of very useful and important muscles. Dancing also increases your metabolism and as it is like a marathon (because you are working out at high intensity for a long time) it also increases your endurance. And the benefits of dance don’t stop there; dance is a cardio type of exercise so it also benefits your heart and respiratory system as discussed in one of my previous articles (http://purplepjs.com/ site/article/cardio). Dancing also im-
proves balance, posture blood circulation, reduces stress and risk of heart disease while increasing flexibility and reducing high blood pressure. Furthermore, dancing exercises your brain because it engages your brain to think and execute the next moves as well as drawing on your creativity to piece together the dance routine and invent the steps. Hip Hop Hip Hop dancing is probably the most versatile of these three types of dance. It has many different subtypes incorporated in it such as breaking, popping and locking. It emerged around the 1970’s and was brought into the world of dance by the Black and Latin Americans of the time. Hip Hop became really popular when it
was performed in “dance crews” where street battling occurred. Hip Hop is a lot of fun as it can be danced to many styles of music due to is versatility. Hip Hop is a fast moving dance that has both aerobic and anaerobic benefits – both of which benefit the individual greatly. The other great thing about Hip Hop is that you can use the dance moves you learn at just about any party or function you attend making it a great life skill to have. For more information on the benefits of Hip Hop Dance visit: http:// www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/cardio/the-aerobic-and-anaerobic-benefits-ofhip-hop-dance.html Salsa Salsa dance originated in the 1920’s com-
by Mr. Bowman Dickson
ing from Cuban Son dance. It is based on a few basic steps from which a variety of flair and movement arise. The great thing about Salsa dance is that it can be either choreographed or improvised, since all you need are the basic steps, you can let your imagination run wild with the music! Salsa dancing is like a team sport as you always need a dance partner. So the good thing is that you will have a good friend that you dance with. Trust with your dance partner is very important so you form a close bond with your dance partner. Many dance clubs and restaurants often have Salsa themed nights so you will definitely be able to take your dance with you for a night of fun. Salsa has also the same benefits of Hip Hop but the thing it really targets is your hips and legs. Since most of salsa dancing is with the motion of feet you will get really toned legs and hips. The important thing with Salsa Dance is to ensure that you have a certified Salsa Dance teacher because Salsa is a very delicate form of dance and you do not want to risk injury. For more information on Salsa visit: http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/ fitness/cardio/the-aerobic-and-anaerobicbenefits-of-salsa-dance.html Tap Dance Tap dance is very intense. It requires a lot of fast footwork which generally builds your calves giving you toned and strong legs. There is no single origin of tap dancing; there are many influences, the main ones being African dancing, English dancing, Irish dancing and Spanish dancing. Tap dancing really took off in the 1930’s with the introduction of the Lindy Hop. Tap dancing is a lot of fun because you get to make your own rhythm by dancing. The main element of tap dancing is syncosee DANCING on page 12
May 2011
CONTINUED
iPHONE
Page 9
Screenshots of the iPhone App Team’s application “Jordanize me” to promote Tourism in Jordan.
continued from Page 1 are Amman Baccalaureate School, King Abdullah II School for Excellence, Amman National School and Jubilee School. “We have a good chance of winning because from day one, we divided the work between us professionally where we had a designer, a researcher, a programmer, a tester and finally a consultant. This division of work is the key to win” said Ali Shajrawi ’11. The competition is an initiative that offers our young generation a new experience and exposure to one of the most rapidly growing markets. After the competition, students will be able to create their own applications and have individual access to the market as young entrepreneurs. Or, in the words of Katrina Nemri ’11, “This is an incredible and rare opportunity for students to have hands-on access as emerging entrepreneurs, designers, and developers to the technological world of the twenty-first century.”
COURTESY OF MR. NADEEM SARHAN
JACKETS
MANSOOR
don’t know about… in a recent study, conducted by two of our very own scientists on campus, Mr. Michael Kussaim and Mr. Mazin, concluded that the Senior Jacket, in trying to be more perfect than our previously perfect Seniors, got overloaded by the amount of work and malfunctioned. This phenomenon, also called “Senioritis”, which slowly gets worse as the end of the years draws near, causes seniors’ performance to decrease, whether in class, from the amount of homework, or attendance in school meetings. Seniors are using the invisibility power of the senior jackets to sneak away from class and school meetings. They are using the senior jackets super lightning speed to cut in line at the Student Union. And they are using the senior jacket’s bright red color to hypnotize their fellow juniors to let them copy off of their homework. And, unfortunately, the senior jackets enable the seniors to use its ultimate, “disappearing-from-Miss-Tourkan” power in order to not get caught for improper dress code and tardiness. Though this “Senioritis” seems to be at its worst lately, the senior jackets seem to have a reverse affect… if done correctly… that is. Once a senior goes to class, the power to become invisible to teachers disappears. So if seniors continue, until the end of the year, to be in best behavior, they can be their “Super Jacket Seniors” once again!
season I was the only person in my class. I had just heard a Josh Groban song and I really liked it, I was then asked to perform it during parent’s weekend and it was a success, so I just went from there, people like my singing, I sing and when they do not I do not sing. I want to be a tenor but that will happen, eventually I hope.” S: “What is your response to people who say that you’re singing voice M: “One time someone asked me is singing really hard, I replied singing is not hard, anyone can sing – you just have to choose the voice that suits you. I think with me I have chosen the right voice and it happens to be Josh, which is why I might sound like him” S: “Why do you want to be a doctor?” M: “Back at home, medicine is rather corrupt. Doctors continuously prescribe the wrong medication to keep patients coming back so they have an income. Eventually the patients die and I just want to be a
continued from Page 4
continued from Page 6
doctor to go home and build a relationship with my community built on trust and do what a doctor should do – help others get better. This has always been my dream from a young age and I am lucky that my dad shares it with me.” S: “What are your feelings about senior year, the transition that’s coming?” M: “I was thinking about the break in April and once we get back from that we only have one month, that’s not long and I will really miss this school. Whatever King’s has given me I would not have gotten anywhere else. Even the guests from the U.S.A. that visit agree that this is one of the greatest places to be which is why I will absolutely miss this place. That’s why graduating from here will, yes be a great thing, but also a sad thing because I will miss it so much.” S: “What are you summer plans?” M: “Travelling! I have not travelled very far going to Dickinson in the states is a very exciting thing for me so I plan on travelling this sum-
ROLE MODELS
continued from Page 3 “oh so stressful” lives. They are more like easily accessible confidants, rather than perfect, rigid role models. As Jooho Michael Shin ‘12 said, “In a boarding school environment, I think students expect their teachers to be role models both in and out of the classroom. Take my advisor, for example: he does not teach me a single class, but he is one of the greatest role models I have ever known, both as a teacher, and as a person.” Teachers are adults who we admire and learn from. But are they our true role models? Mr. Imad coveys to us their appropriate role: “Most kids want to be told what to do. They need guidelines, not orders, but advice that tells where to lay boundaries for which the students to build.” This emphasizes how our teachers, mentors, friends - or whatever other name you decide to ornament your teacher with - serve as an example mainly in our school setting. But once outside of these grounds, both teacher and student walk along their separate paths. As Miss Dragana concluded, “What you see on the outside isn’t always what’s on the inside. We only have images of people, of our teachers, not pictures.”
mer, Scotland maybe. I also want to work in a hospital, or in my old school in Aramco.” S: “What first got you interested in running? Why are you so passionate about the Dead2Red?” M: “I started running when I came to King’s, before that I was very bad at running. Here I realized that running was so helpful. Even when I was sick, I went running and after running I would feel perfectly fine, It really helps me and while I am running I try to improve myself. Being physically strong is being mentally strong. One of the quotations I made up for running is: every step I take is one step closer to my destination.” S: “What would you say to the new generation?” M: “You should never be forced to do anything. You should and must choose what you want to do- and do it with passion, concentration and that is the only way you’ll be successful. DO what you want and love to do, because at the end of the day, you are doing it.” S: “Thank you very much!”
FUN PAGE
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HOROSCOPES VIRGO Want to learn something new today? Take your big to-do list, put it in a blender and press ‘puree’. It’s time to mix things up a bit! Try to do something exotic and away from the school routine, because your life needs some wild moments.
GEMINI Someone from the past will come back into your life today, and you’ll find that this person has radically changed. Give him or her the benefit of any doubt, and make some time to find out what caused the transformation. Foreign influences can have a positive impact on your life, so reach out to them.
CANCER Teamwork can be a magical thing that helps a group of people create new, innovative ideas where only opinions existed before. But collaboration can also cause a lot of tension and conflict if tender egos are involved. Therefore, try to take benefit from all opinions to get the result you want
TAURUS Making order out of the chaos that surrounds you today will bring a deep sense of accomplishment, not to mention clarity. Finally, the increasingly weird actions of a loved one will make more sense. This person wanted your attention — and has certainly got it now!
ِARIES آew ideas have a way of intimidating some people, but definitely not you — you have the insight and wisdom to recognize a good thing when it comes along. Today, keep your eyes peeled for a crowd of people running and screaming — and then go see what they were running from and screaming about. Chances are, it’s the brilliant new idea you have been searching for.
PISCES Lately, your eagerness to please other people is at odds with your available time — it looks as though you are due for some major reprioritizing. Figuring out whom to assist could be a little difficult — and it’s not the squeakiest wheel that should get the grease first!
The Rexonian
by Reem Alhaddadin ’11, Photos by Yasmin Darwazah ’11 & Samiha Al-Fayez ‘11
LEO You need to start taking things more seriously or you may face some consequences that would cost you a lot. Quit some bad habits and welcome some new good ones.
LIBRA Make up your mind! Today spending too long making decisions won’t benefit you. In fact, it could cause you some unnecessary grief. That’s because today you’ll tend to overanalyze your options. The simple solution to this problem is to make decisions more quickly, especially on unimportant matters.
SCORPIO You may feel pretty optimistic about your role in the world right now. Although your place may not seem to be overly important in the big scheme of things, you can see the positive impact that you have on a day-to-day basis!
SAGITTARIUS I think it is time to relax and take things easy, because it might be time to put your dancing shoes in the closet, and then dig out a comfy blanket and a nice juicy novel.
CAPRICORN This is not a very good time for you to be starting something new, especially if the new venture involves a great deal of risk. So be wary of new schemes or opportunities that arrive on your doorstep or in your email inbox today. Be careful!
AQUARIUS Weird ideas are exploding in your brain and it’s challenging to figure out what to do today. Try to be on the safe side, crazy ideas may lead you nowhere.
OUTTAKE
May 2011
If you could change Faisal Al-Kabariti ‘11: More variety of dessert, mufarakeh potato with meat, wara2 dawali Rana Abulaban ‘11: Cleaner Cups Leanne Conway ‘11: Sandwich station at dinner every day and more variety of cheese at breakfast
one thing
Page 11
Compiled by and Compiled photos by by Robert Hanadi Bahou Sabek ‘11
about the Dining Hall
What would it be?
Mohammad Al-Zibdeh ‘14: improvement with food spices (pasta and potatoes) Zein Al-Nemri ‘12: More healthy food, more variety of fish, boiled eggs every day at breakfast Reed Ghandour ‘11: Crab salad Hani Murad ‘11: Shrimps
Yasmin Darwazeh ‘11: Sushi Ali Shajrawi ‘11: Wara2 dawali with kosa, shesh barak, pizza Ismail Al-Tamimi ‘11: Kabsa, Ouzi, Qudrieh Karim Habbab ‘11: Msa5an Mr. Bowman Dickson: Good brunch
Tala Barakat ‘11: Hot dogs
Zack Samawi ‘11: Quesadilla and nothing rice oriented
Mr. Ryuji Yamaguchi: Miso soup
Ms. Jackie O’Rourke: Pizza with actual pizza sauce and lots of cheese
Abduallah Arabiyat ‘11: Pizza
Ms. Farah Abu Jazar: Pizza, more variety of salad
Hashem Alabed ‘11: wara2 dawali, beef and chicken escalope
Jamil Dababneh ‘11: More open hours for the Al-kazeyeh and the dining hall
Ms. Hanadi Makboul: Hot dogs and hamburgers Iman Abu Alia ‘11: Better salads (we can give them recipes), Calamari
NUMBERS
Try to fill in the missing numbers. The missind numbers are integers between 0 and 9. The numbers in each row add up to the totals on the right. The numbers in each column add up to the totals along the bottom.
MAZE
The diagonal lines also add up to the totals on the right.
Hisham Jazzar ‘12: Kabsa Hanadi Sabek ‘11: a traditional dish every two weeks and more sandwich stations
RIDDLES 1. There is one word in the English language that is always pronounced incorrectly. What is it? 2. Is half of two plus two equal to two or three?
COMICS
Maya Damirji ‘11: More variation of vegetables and fruits (healthy food) Leen Hajjar ‘11: Better salads and pizza Johhny Al-Khoury ‘11: Chicken Burgers Layla Al-Naif ‘11: More variation of salad
3. A boat has a ladder that has six rungs; each rung is one foot apart. The bottom rung is one foot from the water. The tide rises at 12 inches every 15 minutes. High tide peaks in one hour. When the tide is at it’s highest, how many rungs are under water? 4. There is a house with four walls. Each wall faces south. There is a window in each wall. A bear walks by one of the windows. What color is the bear?
by Nadine Zaza ‘12
ANSWERS TO THE RIDDLES: 1. Incorrectly 2. three (multiplication comes before addition) 3. None (boats rise with water) 4. White (it’s at the north pole)
SPORTS
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The Rexonian
Loco Co-cos Students participate in new co-curriculars such as skeet shooting and rugby By RAFAT NESHEIWAT ‘13 STAFF WRITERS
Basketball Teams Go For the Win Both the boys and girls basketball teams compete in various tournaments with great success By ZACK SAMAWI ‘11 STAFF WRITERS
Since the beginning of the Winter Term, basketball teams have been trying to get back in shape for the new season. In addition to having Varsity and Junior Varsity teams, a new Varsity B team was made for junior boys who want to continue playing basketball. Apart from the last three years, the basketball season is only running through the winter and spring term this year as opposed to last year where the season ran all year long. With old seniors and new freshmen in, the basketball teams have looked to rebuild and make the best of the remaining players at Kings. Ever since the beginning of the second semester, King’s basketball teams have participated in the AAC Basketball tournament, which is a tournament in Amman that includes
over eight school teams. The Boys’ Varsity team unfortunately lost in their first match against I.A.A., which went into overtime. The boy’s would essentially go on to lose by three points, but nonetheless, they showed that they’re able to compete with top teams in Amman. As for the girls, the tournament was held on our campus. Fortunately, they were able to place in 3rd with one win and one loss. Another tournament that King’s participated in was the ABS tournament that was held from March 17th -19th. At this tournament, the girls were much more successful by winning first place in the tournament, along with numerous awards given to individual players on the girls’ team. The boys also accomplished a certain level of success by winning two out of three of their games and being awarded the Sportsmanship
DANCING
continued from Page 8 pation and improvisation. The great thing about tap is that it’s equally gratifying alone or with a group and the harder you tap the more you tone your legs. The great thing is if you tap when you are mad, you can let off steam while getting in shape – a great thing for you! So the main benefits of tap dancing, as well as all the previously mentioned ones are that tap dance really gets the lower body, in particular your thighs and buttocks, which is many people’s problem areas! On an unrelated note, it makes you more musically aware so you have better rhythm and timing making you more musical! So go ahead, grab a pair of tap shoes and tap away! For more information on Tap Dancing visit: http:// dance.about.com/od/typesofdance/f/ Tap_Benefits.htm So next time you are thinking of a new way to spice up your workout, go find some dance lessons at the gym, they’ll do you a world of good!
award. Overall, the tournament was a success for both teams and allowed both teams to mature as players. Shortly afterwards though, the King’s Boys netted a special victory. On March 21st, one of the most exciting and longest games ever played occurred at King’s Academy between the Kings boys’ team and Petra University. After finishing the ABS tournament, the boys were looking to face new competition. The following Monday after the tournament, the boys played a game that lasted 4 overtimes with Petra University and eventually won 94 – 88. Stat records were broken when Hazem Hashem ’12 got a triple-double with 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists while Zack Samawi ‘11 scored a team high 37 points. The game unquestionably posed a challenge to our team who had to learn how to adapt to a new level of intensity.
Many of the students who play sports at Kings Academy, started out as kids who were just doing what they enjoy doing. Co-Curricular activities at Kings Academy encourage students to pursue what they love to do. Over the last years, Kings Academy’s activities have grown exponentially in number and will continue to grow over the coming years. The students in these ‘sport’ co-curricular activities claim to be well engaged and always active. “Ms. Ruba has done everything she can to improve our co-curricular’s, on top of that, I am pleased with the progress students and teachers have made in them. We realized that most students are engaged, which is a good thing, but I want all students to be fully engaged. It would be much better if students did not think they had to participate, but they wanted to,” stated Ms. Julianne Puente, Deputy Headmaster and Dean of Students. To begin with, Rugby is one of the popular sports here at Kings Academy, which is run by Mr. Iyad Abu Touq, Athletic Director. The sport only started at the beginning of 2010 and already has a team of twelve heavily engaged students who enjoy the sport. “Once we get a bigger team with more girls and have enough practice, we can start playing games outside of Jordan. We are having one in Dubai,” stated Mr. Iyad. Mr. Iyad has many plans for the future of the Rugby team. Amongst the smaller sports Kings Academy offers is Skeet Shooting, which began this term. Joining this club has a fee of 100 JD, but at the first day of tryouts, it was clear that everyone enjoyed it very much and that this cost was minimal at the expense of their enjoyment. “It was a lot of fun and I hope we can have more rounds.” stated Christopher Bossie, English Teacher and Junior Class dean. All in all the activity was rated great by the members and they are more engaged than what Mr. Chris expected. Walid Salah ‘13, a member of the Skeet Shooting minor, is a professional and practices quite often for the Skeet Shooting Olympics. Although only ten students are currently in the club, rumor has it that it will not be long before more students join.
What Happened to Ultimate Frisbee? By ZACK SAMAWI ’11 SPORTS SUB-EDITOR
Since the beginning of last year, ultimate Frisbee has become a common pastime for many of the full boarders and weekday boarders on campus. Students met and played almost every weekend since last year and the beginning of this year. However, recently things have changed – it seems everyone has lost interest in the sport that brought almost all the boarders together. Apart from football and other related activities, Ultimate Frisbee was one of the only sports that allowed boarders to foster some sort of affiliation together. But now, it seems they have lost it. Maybe people have the weather to blame for, or maybe college applications, but nonetheless, the level of interest in this sport has dropped significantly since the beginning of this year. Hopefully by the end of this year, boarders will regain their interest in Ultimate Frisbee and bring it back as a common and enjoyable after school activity.
ROBERT BAHOU ‘11
The group leaves early every Thursday at 6:30 am, but there’s always more to pick up.