The Rexonian (February 2013)

Volume VI; Issue 2

February 2013

King’s Academy, Manja - Madaba, Jorda

Spirit Week Round Up

An exciting week that lifted the spirits of the student body

BY ZEID QABAR ‘13 CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Spirit week: a marvelous and prosperous week that all members of the King’s Academy community look forward to every year. Spirit Week has left its impact on the winter term of the 20122013 academic year here at King’s. From the twin day competition to the house competition, the week was full of energy. Twins, classes, and even dorms competed with a rivalrous spirit that haunted the weaker people.

The seniors, of course, had the best costume for twin day: The 70’s Boys. With their marvelous hair, clothes, glasses, and bling, they ruled the atmosphere. They were simply the best. The end of lunch featured a cat walk in the middle of the dining hall, which the seniors ruled with The 70’s Boys and The Gangsta Boys. There were a lot of other memorable twins from other grades including The Anands, The M7ajababes, Mario and Luigi, Ward-Alejandro, Cleopatra and her mummies, Sherlock Holmes and Watson, The Cheetah Girls, and the list goes on and on.

Seniors, as expected, found the treasure and

consequently won class clash day. Teachers make false claims saying that it was due to their abundance of frees, but everyone knows that it was their spirit, unity, and dominance that allowed them to win the competition. The seniors showed these during the school song. Hugging each other, and going back and forth, they rocked the auditorium. They are known for getting anything that they are determined to get. Simply put, seniors were the highlight of the week.

The day of the House Competition was long awaited for. Without surprise, though, Meissa came out victorious against the underdog Nihal.

The lipsync competitions, from Lorin Kurdi turning into Talal Sisalem to Mr. Mazen covering his face in laughter-filled-shame as Zaid Jarrar strutted across the stage in a dress, was arguably the most fun part of Spirit Week.

Spirit week’s joyous activities passed by smoothly. The ending of spirit week was disappointing, yet the level of energy and spirit for classes, twins, and houses remains high.

Table of Contents Pages 2-3 OPINION

Pages 4-5 LIFE

King’s Going Green SATs Too much homework?

Falafel Letter to The Freshmen Crown Jewel of The Sciences

Page 9 WORLD

Page 10 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Pages 6-7 FUN

Carly Rae Jepsen Healthy Diet Vocabulary & Songs of The Issue

Sudoku Winter Scramble Pages 11-12 SPORTS

Page 8 ARABIC

Greece and Europe Parliamentary Elections

NBA - A New Era Coach of the issue

‫وصفي التل‬ ‫اللغة العربية و املؤسسات التعليمة‬

Amouneh Larisa AbuGanam ‘14

OPINION

Page 2

Kings Going Green

The Rexonian

Noticed the new bins around campus?

How close is King’s to becoming an eco-friendly school?

By XU ZHAOYING ‘15 LION CUB

Have you noticed the new couples hanging around these days, the one with red hair and the one with a blue hat? I’m sure that you have seen them a lot in every corner on campus. Yes, they are the paper and plastic recycling bins, brought from outside of Jordan by the green club’s “Clean up the World Campaign”. Under the organization of Dr. John, Ms. Tessa, Ms. Lara and her green club members, these recycle bins will accompany us through this school year with an enriched plan called the “Green School.”

As a matter of fact, the recycling bins are just the beginning for the start of a green, recycling-filled school year. The green club members have started to work on new projects, aiming for a greener school environment. At first, I personally anticipated the arrival of these recycle bins at King’s because of the lack of a project involving Green Club. However, after learning about the upcoming schedules of the green club, I started to feel very privi-

leged and proud to be a part of this green community, because what they are trying to do is spread the idea of “green” not only all across campus, but all over Jordan.

Sadly enough, a lot of the students are still confused with what they should do to make the school a greener place, and some of us don’t even know how to use the recycling bins properly. I have seen students walking by the recycling bins with an empty water bottle, and still throwing it in the normal trash can, while some students stuffed their juice boxes (paper) into the plastic bins.

As a consequence, members of the green club have to take the misplaced products out of the recycle bins themselves, and move them to the proper bins. This takes up a lot of time and effort for green club students, so paying enough attention on how to properly use the recycle bins should be advocated around the rest of King’s community.

Although most of us don’t know what’s exactly going on, Rajaa’ Al Borqan, a junior green club member is most willing to introduce us to the various activities they

are working on. According to Rajaa, many projects and cleaning trips have been put into action already this year. Clean-up trips, including a trip to Aqaba, down to the local beaches have been made, while some teachers even dived down to the ocean floor to pick up plastic products and take pictures of how the sea floor looks like with garbage on it. Last year they cooperated with the marine biology class to learn about the pollution of the Red sea, and this year, they’re going to learn more about how to deal with plastic pollution. Other than doing projects inside the green club, they also printed out spread sheets and signs which can raise awareness in the rest of the student body, so that all of us can take part in this well-designed Green School plan.

“Actually,” said Rajaa, “not only students are involved in making this school a cleaner space, but also the faculty members.” She mentioned that the green club had been to one of the faculty meetings and propagated about reducing the use of plastic cups in the faculty lunch, which

was really considerate of the green club, since usually, most faculty members don’t get to know a lot about what students are doing within the school, nor do they get to cooperate with them on their projects.

In addition, Rajaa mentioned the green club expectations for the rest of the King’s community to cooperate with the “Green School Project.” “We don’t just want the idea of green to stay within King’s Academy, but we want all of you to help spread this idea.

You can tell your family and friends about our project, and convince them to take part in making this world a greener place.”

In return for all the hard work put in, students are starting to become aware to green issues and are giving positive feedback. Most of the students have noticed signs about reducing the use of paper in library and other printing places, and students think that the green project is greatly improved and well organized this year.

Surely with all this effort, King’s will move step by step closer to being a Green School.

Flashbacks of Spirt Week!

2012-2013 Executive Editor Managing Editor News sub- Editor Opinion sub- Editor World sub- Editor Arabic sub-Editor Life sub- Editor Arts & Entertainment sub- Editor Sports sub- Editor Ads Manager Fun Page sub- Editor Photography Editor Copy Editor Layout Editors Online Editor

Lion Cubs BARAKAT ELSAQA ’ 13 SUN WOOKIM ‘15 LEILA SHABAN ’13 SEOUNJHUNG SOHN ‘15 NIHAD AL-YOUSFI ‘13 SEO YOUNG PARK ‘15 AMINA AWAD ‘14 EUN SOL JUN ‘15 SAIF ABU HASHISH ’13 XU ZHAOYING ‘15 MOHAMMED ABU DALHOUM ’13 FARAH KILANI ’13 OMAYMAH ALHARAHSHEH ’14 LAYTH ISMAIL ’13 Faculty Advisor SANAD ZUMOT ’13 MR. BOWMAN DICKSON SEUNGJONG PARK ‘14 TAMARA NASSAR ’13 SALINDI HERATH ’13 AMOUNEH LARISA ABU GANAM ’14 SAWYER OWENS ’13 HAMZA ADISA ’13 Amouneh Larisa AbuGanam ‘14

OPINION

February 2013

The SAT, the Skills of Success?

Does College Board’s SAT truly measure “the skills required for success in the 21st century”?

By FARAH ALHADID ‘14 CONTRIBUING WRITIER

“… The SAT and SAT Subject Tests keep pace with what colleges are looking for today, measuring the skills required for success in the 21st century.” College Board clearly prides itself on presenting standardized tests like the SATs that supposedly measure the skills required for success. Many people and independent institutions firmly disagree with College Board’s assertion regarding its test. What do you think?

We have all taken the PSAT at some point in our high school careers, and some of us have taken the SAT. Is it truthfully a test of intellect or a test testing how well one can take the test?

Each year, an increasing number of universities are making admissions test-optional, with the number of universities right now standing at around 850, including top-ranking universities such as The American University in DC, New York University and Texas A&M. But why are so many universities joining this movement? According to Princeton’s dean of admissions Janet Lavin Rapelye, “Admission officers understand that standardized tests measure quantitative ability, critical reading, an understanding of some subject areas, and writing skills. Combined with [students’] grades, they only partially predict first-year performance in college. They do not predict, however, other values we hold in high esteem at the college level, such as motivation, creativity, independent thought, intellectual curiosity and perseverance.”

Many other universities have made the same claim. Bob Schaeffer of FairTest, the National Center for Fair & Open Testing, said: “No test can measure the skills that matter most in life: creativity, perseverance, collaboration, vision, self-discipline and the like.”

I asked SAT-prep expert Tourkan Abulzahab whether she thought the SAT was truthfully a test that can measure the level of students in math, reading and writing.

She answered shaking her head firmly, “No”. She went on to explain how a “good” test would be both effective and valid, meaning that students should get the same marks each time they take it, and that, for example, strong math students should do well on the Math section, when n reality, neither happens. “It’s full of tricks and traps” explained Ms. Tourkan, which is why there are books and classes to teach students the tricks to take the exam. Another important point she added was that College Board is a for-profit organization, as in, it is in their best interest for students to take the exam multiple times. She concluded by acknowledging the revisions that College Board has been trying to implement, like adding the essay section, and the way College Board is trying to lessen the cultural bias of their test.

Why then, are we still taking the tests, and why are colleges still placing SAT scores at a cutoff point for admissions? The reason is simple: SATs still prove to be successful in determining the relative level of students in comparison with their peers around the world. Psycchologist Paul Sackett of the University of Minnesota and his colleagues examined data from 143,606 students at 110 colleges and universities. Their findings are reported in a new article published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. They found that in all the data sets, both the SAT and high school grades contributed to predicting academic performance in college. Thus, although flawed, the SAT remains a useful indicator of performance for university admissions officers.

Page 3

The endless pile Do you think you get too much homework?

Look at it from another perspective

By SEO YOUNG PARK ‘15 LION CUB

“Miss! No way! Please!” - A wave of outcry heard from each and every class right after the bell. Have you ever complained to your teacher or your advisor about having too much homework or having more homework than last year? Almost all of the people I’ve talked to about this topic so far have complained excessively. Well, in my opinion, I think this IS how it should be. As we get older, and go into higher -level classes than before, we have to become more responsible. We should be mature enough to handle the homework that teachers give us, instead of whining. They are not giving us this much homework to burden us or to make us fail the course; it’s for our own benefit.

The very first reason why I think there should be more homework as students go up a grade each year, is because this will prepare us for our future life, simply. For instance, if a student practices a lot in writing essays at school for his/her homework, he/she will at least feel confident on the SAT tests which they have to take in order to get into a college they want to get in, when others who didn’t practice as much struggle on a problem that he/ she is confident on. Another thing, if students get more homework assigned from their teachers than the year before, they will develop their skill to manage their time wisely, knowing or unknowingly. This will affect their future career tremendously, and since it’s a very tough skill to develop, there aren’t

many who actually can. The problem is, people tend to get lazy in front of distractions easily, like watching TV, playing computer games, sending BBM messages, gossiping, etc., but if they are trained from when they were a student to finish what they are supposed to on time, it will help them when they grow up to control themselves.

Now you might say “That’s for the future, and even if I do it when I get older, it won’t be late.” Here’s what you should consider now, your GPAs. The more homework you get the higher grade you will earn in that course. Of course, this only corresponds to those who actually hand in their homework on time. More homework means more practice, and more practice will enable you to tell which part you do understand and don’t. Then you will be able to work on your weaknesses and fully understand the materials you covered in class. This will lead you to get high scores on tests, which will boost your grades up. From a C to a B+. From an A- to an A. Even from a C to an A. How about submitting your work on time? How about you stop whining, and think positively? How about standing in your teacher’s shoes for at least once and seeing what’s good for you?

Try these things and you will definitely see the difference, perhaps on your next term grade report. Think of it this way: you are the one who can make the difference on your report card, not the amount of homework you get assigned from teachers.

GO LIONS!

Amouneh Larisa AbuGanam ‘14

Page 4

LIFE

SENIORS GET THEIR

JACKETS.

The Rexonian

LIFE

February 2013

Page 5

A letter to the freshmen What should the fresh mint know?

By XU ZHAOYING’15 LION CUB

Dear Freshmen,

An entire term has passed and I have finally accepted my identity as a sophomore. I know for a fact that it will take you guys a while longer to adjust to the new atmosphere; it is never easy accepting that you are now part of a new community. I can almost imagine how you complain to one another about the workload and sleep deprivation. Despite having to spend so much time on work every night, I still insist on writing this letter to all of you, not because it’s my responsibility to get it done, but because of a question raised from a freshman girl I know: “How did you survive your freshman year? How are you able to live through the rest of your hectic years?” This letter is not only addressed to you, but also, to the past me.

You are who you are. However, at this age, I can honestly say that only a few of you have managed to become acquainted with your own self. There’s still a misevaluation of your identity that may lead you to the illusion that the school and teachers are controlling you and trying to re-shape who you are.

blink of an eyelid, and you will realize that things get tougher as you move along. So don’t just chill on the grass whenever you’re free. Engage in activities and discover yourself with the opportunities that the school presents; they are many, I promise you. Take your time to read a book, finish up your work before study-hall, there is so much you could do for a stress-free year.

Freshman year is the time for introducing yourself to the new community!

I want you all to keep in mind that you are part of a very unique experience. Remind yourselves of this whenever you feel like Tammara Nassar’13 you’re about to give up. There is still a Teachers here offer opportunities long way to go but you will grow to love it and for you to figure out your identity, and these four years will shape your passions as an eventually feel tremendous growth in the person individual. Whenever you feel like your life has you have become. been dominated by routine, remind yourself that Sincerely, Xu you determine the path you want to take, and picture your life as an empty canvas: you are a painter and your life is your masterpiece.

Try to discover new things while you’re still a freshman, because, trust me, time will pass in the

The Crown Jewel of The Sciences

By NIHAD AL-YOUSFI’13 NEWS SUB-EDITOR

Calculus is a craft of the mathematical world- it beautifully integrates geometry with algebra in an unparalleled manner, and simultaneously differentiates between ways to maximize your required yield in life.

This alluringly constructed branch of the scientific arts has brought to our world unequaled information, which would have been near impossible to obtain without calculus. I became a master of this field of mathematics and will forever be grateful for its boundless uses in the world and my life.

I first learned that calculus was discovered simultaneously by two of the greatest minds our world has ever seen: Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz. They uncovered a cryptic language key to the success of the world that could help us in ways we could not imagine.

I was surprised by the eminence of the discoveries of the many figures instrumental to the success and development of calculus and observed the amount of hard work they had to put in just to solve a problem or enigma, which is completely written off by ignorant

people of the modern world; they do not comprehend the grandeur of the material they are looking at therefore refute it.

Calculus showed me a multitude of analytical skills which I could use to evaluate situations and problems in my daily life. Calculus is not only about finding the area of solids of revolutions or obtaining the maximum velocity of a particle, but it teaches you another way of looking at life.

Stuff was cash.

Tammara Nassar’13

FUN

Page 6

The Rexonian

Sudoku

Word Scramble Theme: Winter

Answers: 1. Snowma 2. Carol 3. Rudolph 4. December 5. Cold 6. Frost 7.

Gingerbread man 8.

Hot chocolate 9. Radiator 10.

Ice skating

1.MWONNSA 2.ALCOR 3.LHUROPD 4.MBERDCEE 5.DCLO 6.SOTRF 7.GREDBEGNIAR AMN 8.THO TEOCAOHCL 9.IARAOTRD 10.EIC ATISGNK

FUN

February 201

Frida Kahlo

LOOK-ALIKES Compiled by Marah Al-Ju’beh ‘13

Farah Kilani

Sheldon Cooper

Kassab

Thorin Oakenshield (The Hobbit)

Walid Salah

Dylan O’Brein

Farouk Ghandour

Wolverine

Jason Stratham

Page 5

Muheb Esmat

Mr. Matt

Toadstool

Loki

Adrian Genier

Zaid Ajlouni

Mr. Mo’ammar

Ahmad Ahmad

Abdullahtif Bunnia Robert Pattinson

James Franco

Talal Toukan

The Geico Caveman

Moutasem Huneidi

‫العربية‬

‫‪The Rexonian‬‬

‫‪Page 8‬‬

‫في ذكرى استشهاد وصفي التل‬ ‫شهيد األردن وأفضل رؤساء الوزراء على اإلطالق‬ ‫أميمة احلراحشة‬

‫محررة قسم الفنون و التسلية‬

‫ال ميكن ألي أردني أن مير عن التاريخ ‪ 28‬من تشرين الثاني\ نوفمبر‬ ‫دون تذكر الشهيد البطل وصفي التل رئيس وزراء األردن األسبق‪ .‬ملن ال‬ ‫يعرفه فهو ولد في كردستان العراق عام ‪ 1919‬وترعرع في كنف والده‬ ‫الشاعر الكبير مصطفى وهبي التل امللقب بعرار‪ ،‬وتنقل معه لعدة‬ ‫اماكن مختلفة منها العراق‪ ،‬وبعد ذلك عاد الى مسقط راس أبيه اربد‬ ‫وذلك بسبب أحوال والده السياسية‪ .‬درس وصفي في مدرسة السلط‬ ‫الثانوية‪ ،‬وأنهى دراسته منها في عام ‪ ، 1937‬وبعد ذلك أكمل دراسته‬ ‫اجلامعية في اجلامعة األميريكية في بيروت‪.‬‬ ‫كان يعرف عن وصفي حبه الشديد لوطنه من خالل أفكاره‬ ‫السياسية وتأثره باحلركات القومية العربية‪ .‬التحق وصفي باجليش‬ ‫البريطاني لكنه لم ميضي مدة حتى مت تسريحه من اجليش ومن ثم‬ ‫استقر في القدس لبعض الوقت حيث عمل في املركز العربي وعني‬ ‫مأمور ضرائب ومن ثم موظفا ً في مديرية التوجيه الوطني وهي‬ ‫مختصة في مجال االعالم‪.‬‬ ‫تزوج وصفي من املدعوه سعدية اجلابري وهي من أصول حلبية‬ ‫وبقيت على ذمته حتى استشهاده علما ً بانه لم ينجب منها أي طفل‪.‬‬ ‫تدرج وصفي في العديد من املناصب احلساسة واحلكومية ومنها مديرا ً‬ ‫للتوجيه الوطني في عام و‪1955‬سفيرا ً في بون حتى عام ‪ 1961‬وشكل‬ ‫حكومته األولى عام ‪ .1962‬في عهد تلك احلكومة تأسست اجلامعة‬

‫االردنية‪ .‬وشكل حكومته الثانية عام ‪1965‬و الثالثة عام‪. 1970‬‬ ‫يعد وصفي التل أفضل رئيس وزراء شهده تاريخ األردن بال منازع‪،‬‬ ‫حيث كان متواضعا‪ ،‬رفيع اخللق‪ ،‬بسيطا‪ ،‬محبوبا كثيرا من قبل‬ ‫الشعب‪ ،‬يستمع آلراء الناس جميعا ويتحدث مع الكل باستمرار حيث‬ ‫لم يغير مسكنه بعد تكليفه بتشكيل احلكومة بل بقي على حاله‬ ‫طوال الوقت‪ .‬كما كان معروفا عنه عدم ارتداء البدالت والسترات‬ ‫الفاخرة‪ ،‬بل أنه كان يرتدي بدلة عادية جدا دون قميص بل كنزة بسيطة‬ ‫من الصوف وبالطبع الشماغ األحمر األردني‪ .‬ومت في عهده بناء مدينة‬ ‫احلسني الرياضية ومدينة احلسني الطبية وهي أول مدينة من نوعية في‬ ‫املنطقة‪ .‬عرف عن وصفي بأنه رجل نظيف اليد وشديد البأس على من‬ ‫يثبت عليه الفساد واحملسوبية‪.‬‬ ‫في أيلول\ سبتمبر من عام ‪ 1970‬اندلعت حرب أهلية بني النظام‬ ‫األردني ومنظمة التحرير الفلسطينية خالل ما يعرف “بأيلول األسود”‪.‬‬ ‫حيث كان الهدف هو احداث فتنة بني الشعب واالستيالء على مقاليد‬ ‫احلكم في البالد‪ ،‬لكن وصفي التل كان لهم في املرصاد جنبا إلى جنب‬ ‫مع أبطال اجليش العربي األردني وعلى رأسهم هزاع اجملالي‪ ،‬وبالفعل‬ ‫فقد انتهت احلرب بطرد تلك الفئة من األردن‪.‬‬ ‫لكن يبدو أنهم لم يهدئ لهم بال ألنهم عادوا لالنتقام من رئيس‬ ‫الوزراء‪ .‬ففي العام ‪ 1971‬كان هنالك اجتماع لوزراء الدفاع الدول العربية‬

‫وبحكم الدستور االردني فان رئيس الوزراء هو نفسه وزير الدفاع‪ ،‬لذا‬ ‫كان على وصفي التل أن يذهب إلى ذلك االجتماع في القاهرة‪ .‬و على‬ ‫الرغم من النصائح التي قدمت للشهيد وصفي بعدم الذهاب هناك إال‬ ‫ان طبيعة شخصية وصفي ال تقبل ذلك‪.‬‬ ‫وصل الشهيد الى العاصمة املصرية ونزل في فندق الشيراتون إال‬ ‫انه وبكل أسف لم يكن هناك احلرس الالزم حلماية رئيس الوزراء األردني‬ ‫وصفي حيث كان مستهدفا ً من قبل منظمة أيلول األسود حيث كانوا‬ ‫متربصني له أمام مدخل الفندق وكان الشهيد قد عاد من االجتماع‬ ‫ألخذ قيلولة ‪ ،‬وعند خروجه من الفندق لم يكن هناك أي من أفراد‬ ‫احلرس املصري سواء داخل الفندق أو خارجه‪ ،‬وعند درج املدخل الرئيسي‬ ‫للفندق خرجت هذه الفئران اخملتبئة وأطلقت عليه الرصاص من األمام‬ ‫واخللف حسب ما أفاد املرافق العسكري األردني للشهيد وصفي وكان‬ ‫قد استخدم سالحه الشخصي وأصاب احدهم وفر الباقون‪.‬‬ ‫بقي الشهيد ينزف قرابة النصف ساعة حتى جاء االسعاف ومت‬ ‫نقله الى املستشفى إال انه استشهد ولقى ربه راضيا ً مرضيا ً وإننا‬ ‫نحسبه عند اهلل من الشهداء األبرار ونحن نكتفي بحديث رسول اهلل‬ ‫صلى اهلل عليه وسلم‪”:‬بشر القاتل بالقتل ولو بعد حني”‪ .‬وفعالً مت‬ ‫قتل كل من ساهم بقتل هذا الشهيد البطل الذي قيل عنه لم يلد‬ ‫بطن مثل وصفي‪.‬‬

‫اللغة العربية وجتاهل‬ ‫املؤسسات التعليمية‬

‫‪ Collegeboard‬واللغة العربية‪..‬هل يجب أن كون هناك ‪SAT Arabic‬؟‬ ‫عمران للو‬

‫كاتب مساهم‬

‫في ظل تط ّور اللغة العربية و‬ ‫انتشارها الواسع في شتى بقاع‬ ‫الكرة األرضية‪ ،‬أصبح للغة مكانة‬ ‫خاصة بني اللغات العاملية مما أدى‬ ‫الى تدفق العديد من املؤسسات‬ ‫لتجهيز امتحانات خاصة بالعربية‬ ‫لفحص مستوى الطالب‪.‬‬ ‫وعلى الرغم من املرحلة‬ ‫املتقدمة التي قطعتها لغة الضاد‬ ‫سواء بكونها إحدء أقدم اللغات أو‬ ‫من خالل تلك اجلهود احلثيثة املبذولة‬ ‫في سبيل خدمة هذه اللغة‪ ،‬مازلنا‬ ‫في انتظار تللك املؤسسة املزعومة‬ ‫ا مل د ع و ة ب ـ ـ ( ‪)C o l l e g e b o a r d‬‬ ‫لتطرح فكرة امتحان للغة العربية‬ ‫ضمن برنامج امتحاناتها الدول ّية‬ ‫‪.SAT‬‬ ‫حيث تقدم هذه املؤسسة‬ ‫تسعة امتحانات دول ّية في لغات‬

‫‪Amouneh Larisa AbuGanam ‘14‬‬

‫العالم اخملتلفة وهي‪ :‬االسبانية‪،‬‬ ‫األملانية‪ ،‬الفرنسية‪ ،‬الصينية‪،‬‬ ‫اليابانية‪ ،‬الكورية‪ ،‬االيطالية‪،‬‬ ‫الالتينية‪ ،‬و العبرية‪ .‬و الغيريب‬ ‫في األمر أن العربية هي اللغة‬ ‫السادسة من حيث اإلنتشار حيث‬ ‫يبلغ عدد ناطقي و دارسي اللغة‬ ‫العربية ما يقارب املئة و خمسة‬ ‫و سبعني مليون شخص متفوقة‬ ‫على اليابانية‪ ،‬الفرنسية‪ ،‬األملانية‪،‬‬ ‫االيطالية‪ ،‬والعديد من اللغات‬ ‫األخرى‪.‬‬ ‫فلماذا ال يكون لها صدى ً في‬ ‫رحاب تللك املؤسسة؟ أما أقنعت‬ ‫العربية جهابذة لغات العالم؟ أم‬ ‫أن للضعف السياسي للشعوب‬ ‫العربية تأثي ٌر على اللغة؟ أسئلة‬ ‫ٌ كثيرة ٌ تطرح نفسها فهل من‬ ‫مجيب؟‬

‫‪Courtesy of AlGhad.com‬‬

‫‪Round Square Conference: Distrubuting bags with Jordanian designs‬‬

WORLD

February 2013

World Issue: Will Greece Leave Euro?

By SEUNGJUNG SOHN‘15 LION CUB

Greece’s 2013 budget forecasted another year of recession after 5 years of debt crisis. So far, Greece has been in a serious debt crisis and has implemented various austerity measures such as cutting public sector pay, pensions, and welfare benefits. These cuts have stunted Greece’s economic growth, landing Greece in five years of recession. Currently, a quarter of Greek workers are unemployed. Moreover, according to The Telegraph, Greece’s 2013 budget predicts that public debt will reach 179.3% of GDP next year, and economy will continue to shrink by 3.8%.

With the prediction of continual debt and economic decline, Greece has asked help from “troika”, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), European Commission (EU), and European Central Bank (ECB), for a much needed loan. However, troika has not been satisfied with Greece’s efforts of reform, as only 22% of the troika-supported austerity program for Greece was implemented so far. For another bailout –a loan –, the troika urged the govern-

ment for more cuts from public sectors and firing 15,000 employees in public service. Already in a deep recession and many Greek citizens out on the street protesting, it is nearly impossible for Greece to carry out another round of cuts. Nonetheless, without meeting the troika’s requirements, Greece will not get its loans and will run out of cash in mere weeks. Then, Greece won’t be able to avoid being thrown out of euro.

When Greece’s deficit becomes too much to handle, Greece can voluntarily leave euro by declaring default, stating that it cannot pay back its debts, or Greece can be forced out of euro when euro countries decide that it is too much of a burden to keep helping out Greece. Either way, if Greece is out of euro, it could lose its credibility in foreign relations, but as it will have its own currency, it will therefore be free to carry out its own monetary policies that were previously authorized only by ECB. That way, Greece could have a better possibility of reducing its debt without foreign loans. Greece’s se-

cession, however, will not affect Greece alone.

If Greece declares its inability to pay back its debts, then the countries that gave loans to Greece, such as France and Germany, will be greatly affected. Furthermore, Greece’s Secession could lead to depreciation of euro. With several other European countries already in similar deficit and economic decline, Greece’s secession will indicate possible instability and secession of other euro countries. This instability will result in decreased amount of trust and investment in euro, leading to depreciation, and possible appreciation of US dollars. Depreciation in euro will exacerbate the already declining economic situations in euro countries, and quite possibly the world economy in the end.

This controversial topic of Greece’s withdrawal from euro will be discussed among the euro countries in November. The whole world, not only Greece or Europe, is eagerly waiting for what is going to happen, and how it will affect the economy, because we are the so-called “global world”.

Parliamentary Election

By ALA HADDAD ‘13 CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Going out on protests and different demonstrations against governments and political parties has become a hobby for many citizens in the Arab region. In a country that is often criticized by its own people for the lack of governmental stability, the Jordanian elections represented a chance to get things right. Taking into consideration the excess of unrest that is happening in almost every country that is bordering Jordan and in the region as a whole, Jordan is moving in the right track to form a parliament that fairly represents all the political views that are being formed in Jordan, and therefore representing every citizen justly.

As Jordan is moving towards a political ideology similar to that of proportional representation of each party, it brings so much relief to see that my

country and its people are finally waking up to their rights. It also brings joy to see that the people are taking the right step towards better standards of citizenship and away from the frightful idea of this beautiful country breaking down.

Shattering all records of Jordanian history, a smacking over 2.25 million citizens registered for voting and received their voting cards, which allowed them the chance to take part of the reform that is making Jordan a better country. I am very proud to say that I myself have participated in this process by going to the local post office and picking up my family’s voting cards.

Even though that doesn’t seem like a very difficult task, it really meant a lot to me that I am taking part of a pivotal period in Jordan’s history.

Page 9

Page 10

ARTS

& ENTERTAINMENT

The Rexonian

Music News

By XU ZHAOYING’15

Carly Rae Jepsen

LION CUB

The recently famed pop star Carly Rae Jepsen, most renowned by her billboard number one single “Call me maybe” delivered in 2012. Lately, Carly has come to another peak of her singing career with her second version of the music video joined

by Justin Bieber and other pop star such as Selena Gomez, hitting the first spot on billboard with the same song once again. In favor of her forerunner and compatriot in the show buisness, Carly will continue her teamwork with Justin Bieber in further recording process.

Facing such success, of this Canadian singer has been exposed to some commenter’s expressions clear distain in her meretricious melody and meaningless lyrics.

They consider her style a trend of modern pop music that is superficial and fatuous, most likely to be attention grabber. However, looking back to Carly’s career, this young woman is more valuable than she looks like she is. Carly first popped into people’s sight in 2007 by winning the third place on Canadian Idol. One year after the victory, she released her debut album Tug of War. In this album, Carly showed the side of her being a gentle and mature girl, humming through the morning light and the color of sunflower. Her sweet voice was mixed with a bit of nasal sound, with took people back into further relaxation and the memory of old time. This

album didn’t bring her immediate success, but nevertheless it brought millions of sights on her and provided her early opportunities performing in public. Having converted to a brand new style, Carly broke herself into everyone’s life with a lively beat and witty tone, releasing her famous song Call me maybe. The release of this song three years after her debut album was definitely an enormous success, which also made her the third female singer with a number one single for the first hit of her album, coming after Lady Gaga and Ke$ha.

Looking back on her change during these three years, unlike other singers, Carly made herself a process going from a mature woman to a young vivacious lady. Going from the old light make up from her juicy red lips in the music video, she surprised people with her freshly released energy, which was more close to the public taste nowadays, and added a special kind of taste, the simply foolishness that smells like the sweetness of lollipop, to modern dull city life.

Carly’s next step is to further spread her electrical voice and her sweet kiss, like her latest popular single “The kiss”, put together by Carly、Matthew Koma、Kelly Covell, RedFoo, and all her fans are looking forward to the next milestone of this magical, remarkable love singer.

Healthy Diet

♫ Songs of the issue ♫

ATTENTION GIRLS: no more starvation!

1.Lykke Li - I Follow Rivers (The Magician Remix) 2. PSY - Gangnem Style 3. The Script - Hall Of Fame 4. Calvin Harris ft. Ne-yo - Let’s Go 5. Ellie Goudling - Lights 6. David Guetta - Little Bad Girl (feat. Taio Cruz & Ludacris) 7. Swedish House Mafia - Don’t you worry child 8. Kid Cudi - Pursuit Of Happiness 9. Florence + The Machine - Spectrum (Calvin Harris Remix) 10. Mashrou’ Leila - Imm El Jacket

By SEUNGJUNG SOHN ‘15 LION CUB

OMAR SHAWA (DJ UNPLUGGED) ‘14

Vocabulary of the issue Ignoble = adj. bad, of low grade and quality, not noble Example) Betraying a friend is an ignoble action.

Querulous = adj. complaining, grumbling, whining Example) The querulous students exasperated the teacher.

Putative = adj. commonly accepted; supposed; reputed Example) The putative reason for placing the monument behind the buildings was that nobody wanted to see it.

Faux = adj. false, fake Example) The crown turned out to be made of faux gold.

Quixotic = adj. romantic or idealistic to a foolish or impractical degree.

Example) Many criticize UN resolutions for being quixotic.

SEUNGJUNG SOHN’15

As the ‘diet wave’ sweeps across the world, even King’s Academy cannot get out of its way. Foods are turned down at lunch, and the gym gets packed after school. As the number of people on diet increases, so does the amount of concerns for this phenomenon. Most of the times, declaration of ‘on diet’ is met with concerns and negative comments rather than positivity or encouragements. Especially at high schools, students on diet are faced with more worries and reproachful looks. Responses to teenage diet range from ‘Disturbs studying’, ‘inaccurate and exaggerated view of beauty’ to ‘Unhealthy for growing teenagers’, and these teenagers are exhorted to quit their diets.

These drawbacks of the diets are true. They do result from the media’s exaggerated illustration of beauty which lowers the teenagers’ self-esteem, and if done excessively, diets could disturb studying and damage one’s health. Plus, there are plenty of evidences that back up these problems of dieting: people dying or being badly injured from excessive diets and workouts, models dying from anorexia, teenage girls feeling self-loathe comparing themselves to the celebrities on the screen… These reasoning and horrifying examples are perfectly logical to make people quit their diets. However, despite these problems of diets, there are still millions of dieting girls in the world, including King’s Academy. Thus the next best thing to do is not to force the girls to quit their diets, but to help them do healthy diets.

King’s Academy is a good place to promote healthy diets. Our campus is very capacious with many buildings quite distanced from one another. There is a gym with all types of machines, courts, and swimming pool, in addition to coaches who are more than willing to help with anyone’s workout plans. We have a nutritionist whom anyone can go to for advice on healthy dietary plans. If the students of King’s Academy are willing to take advantage of what King’s Academy has to offer, then King’s Academy is a paradise for dieters.

In addition to taking advantage of King’s Academy’s facilities, there are many other things that dieters could do for healthy, efficient and long-term diets. First, eating breakfast is essential. Many skip breakfast for more sleep or due to lack of appetite in the morning.

However, when one does not eat breakfast, they cannot function well during the day, and one could end up eating more than necessary at lunch or having unnecessary snacks that are disastrous for diets. Second, drinking a lot of water is also very important. In addition to the fact that water is necessary and healthy, having enough water in the body helps the metabolism which consumes calories. It is recommended to drink about 1.5 – 2L of water, which is about seven glasses of water. Finally, regular stretches and little muscle workouts are very helpful. Immediately after waking up in the morning, during school when feeling tired, after hours of sitting down and studying, little stretches and small exercises such as sit-ups, push-ups, etc. can be very effective.

A rambuctious rebel, Joseph takes on Open mic night

Ms. Zeina Rihani

SPORTS

February 2013

Page 11

2012-2013-The NBA- A New Era The scoop on the NBA this season By: Muhannad Abbasi ‘13 CONTRIBUTING WRITER

As the day approached I got more and more excited, as did any other NBA fan. The 2012-2013 NBA Season was coming to a start. October the 30th finally arrived and I was hyped. The games were finally streaming live! It was intense to see the major changes that occurred in the teams. The Lakers acquired guard Steve Nash and center Dwight Howard, Miami acquired guard Ray Allen and the Hornets got the 1st draft pick Center Anthony Davis from the University of Kentucky along with guard Austin Rivers from Duke! These were only some of the major changes and the difference was obvious. There were three opening games that night: the Lakers vs. the Mavericks, the Cavaliers vs. the Wizards and finally the most thrilling game of the night the Miami Heat vs. the Boston Celtics, a replay of last year’s Eastern conference finals. The Lakers lost to the Mavericks despite having an all-star team composed of Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Metta World Peace and Pau Gasol. The Mavericks played amazingly beating the Lakers while missing All-Star power forward Dirk Nowitzki due to injury. Cavaliers guard and Rookie of the year Kyrie Irving gave a speech at the beginning of the game in which he addressed all Cavaliers’ fans and thanked them all for their support. He went on to score 29 points which helped the Cavaliers outlast the Wizards (along with Varejao’s 23 point effort). Finally, the reigning MVP Final and All-star MVP Lebron James led the way for the Miami Heat who defeated the Celtics by double digits. It was an intense game and nobody was more eager to play than Ray Allen was. After being traded by the Celtics at the

end of the last season he was hot and he turned this heat into a scoring rampage on the court. He had 19 points and went 2-3 from beyond the arc while being 5-6 from the free throw line.

As I flipped through the games’ recaps I could only help but notice that the benches on these teams were contributing greatly; bench players were getting more playing time! This is not something that we had seen much last season and for this reason I think that this season in the NBA will be one where we see more teamwork playing and less showing off, hopefully. As for predictions, it is too early to make any. But, one thing is clear; the players who worked hard in the off-season are getting more playing time now and that was especially seen with the Lakers when guard Jodie Meeks and Forward Antawn Jamison got 15 minutes of playing time each!

These new trades, new teams, new tactics and ways of playing can only keep an NBA fan excited for the rest of the season and especially excited about the playoffs! I look forward to the 2012-2013 season and I hope that every NBA fan takes a vow among each other to keep themselves updated with their favorite team’s score and record!

Oman 2-1 Jordan in FIFA World Cup QualificationsAsia The second official denies Jordan a point as they fought for a late comeback

By MOHAMMED ABU DALHOUM‘13 ARABIC SUB-EDITOR

October 15th witnessed the fifth fixture of the last round of the Asian qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup. Jordan plays in group B alongside Japan, Australia, Iraq and Oman, and they entered this away game against Oman standing in the second place right behind Japan.

Jordan was looking for the second consecutive win after defeating Australia last month. However, it was not an easy game like we thought it would be as Oman showed a real class and put in a huge effort and emerged victorious.

Almost 40000 fans filled Sultan Qabous national stadium in Masqat, and they realized that this game meant all or nothing for the home side.

The first half was pretty much equal, a little bit of a boring performance from both sides. But excitement in the second half did not wait a single minute to entertain everyone.

Star striker Ahmad Hayel (Jordan) missed a golden chance to score when Amer Deeb put

him just a couple of steps away from the empty target, but Hayel missed widely and surprisingly (minute 46).

Oman then took the lead when Ahmad Mubarak Kano received Al Hosani’s header and put it in the back of the net giving the home side a reason to start their celebrations (minute 62). Jordan looked disorganized and could not cope with the fast pace of Oman’s confident passes.

The final 5 minutes of this game were crazy as Oman doubled their lead by Jumaa Darwish who was standing in the right place making use of Jordan’s goalie wild mistake. However, Jordan, finally, started to fight back a

little too late though as striker Thaer Bawab put the ball in the back of the net (minute 90.)

The official added 3 minutes of extra time despite the 6 substitutions and 3 goals. However, these minutes were enough for Jordan to score again when Captain Amer Deeb scored the equalizer just to see his effort denied by the official, seconds later from celebrating this goal and even adding it on the television screen!

Jordan traveled next to Doha and played Iraq in a game that was even more frustrating for Nashama.

Jordan hoped to get back on the right track; however, they lost once again 1-0 this time. Nashama looked fresh this time and put in a real fight; the players wasted the chance over another before Iraq scored a killing goal in the last 5 minutes. This defeat made things worse for Jordan and put them in the bottom of the group but only one point away from the second place which qualifies to the World Cup. The next game is against Japan on March 26th.

SPORTS

Page 12

The Rexonian

Coach of the issue: Ms. Fatina A talk with the MUN head

By AYA ABUOSBEH‘13 CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The reason behind any successful athletic team is an extremely dedicated and good coach.

Often times, coaches of “other kinds” are neglected, so we have decided to put the coach of one of the most eminent non-athletic clubs at King’s Academy, the MUN club, under this issue’s spotlight. We sat down with Miss Fatina AlAhmad after reaching a consensus that she has been an undeniably dedicated coach for over four years.

The MUN club has become one of the most popular clubs, not only in Jordan, but all around the world. Our interview went as follows: REXONIAN: How did the idea of MUN at King’s start?

MISS FATINA: During the first year at Kings, a group of students came together and decided on creating an MUN club after doing it in their previous schools. They approached me since I was their history teacher, and asked me to be the faculty member in charge of the club. At that time, it was not really a co-curricular but rather a club.

REXONIAN: How do you manage to deal with your personal life, teaching, and being the head of MUN? MISS FATINA: It’s not easy. I just try to focus on one thing at a time, so I’d have a separate day for everything, literally!

REXONIAN: What’s your favorite memory related to MUN? MISS FATINA: I’m really proud of the KAMUN conferences that were organized by students, and I believe they were extremely successful and I was generally happy with them as they turned out

to be better than what I had expected.

REXONIAN: What do you think of the conferences we’ve had or participated in so far?

MISS FATINA: I really like how on normal days we would see the students with their ties down and shirts not tucked in and a bit messy, but in MUN conferences, we see them all in formal suits and looking very polished, which is always something that makes me happy. I think that the conferences so far have allowed the students to talk about things and express their views on topics that might not be proposed in other places especially because they’re mostly political debates.

REXONIAN: Why has the MUN club become so popular?!

MISS FATINA: I think it’s because it makes delegates and people involved feel mire empowered as they are not only representing themselves, but they are representing a whole country or nation, which gives a great feeling of pride and power, which makes it more interesting for them to attend the conferences and be part of a club such as MUN. REXONIAN: What do you think of preparing for the conferences?

MISS FATINA: It’s not about the conference itself, but it’s more about the logistics; you know, transportation, time, chaperones, food and everything else. This is the part that takes up most of our time, but once we’re done and we are already in debate, we don’t have to worry about anything else!

As a previous delegate in MUN conferences, I

The Varsity Boys’ Vollebyall Team enjoys a moment together before their successful season comes to a close.

think that Miss Fatina was right when she said she was satisfied and happy with the KAMUN conferences organized by the school since they were truly successful and simply amazing, and it is true that we feel more empowered when we get into these debates. We would like to wish Miss Fatina and her MUN delegates and organizers the best of luck, and we can’t wait till our next KAMUN conference. Good luck!