the_rexonian-may_2012

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Volume V; Issue 5

May 2012

King’s Academy, Manja - Madaba, Jordan

King’s Academy HMCE A trip for young politicians! BY OMAR MEGAHED ‘13 CONTRIBUTING WRITER

town of Antwerp, a more modern side of the country with wide walkways and colossal shopping malls, and the town of Brudges, a sweet, small city where one can take a soothing boat ride to explore its old buildings and its history. Hani Akasheh ’12 summed it all up by saying, “If I could, I would go on the trip again and again! I met new people, had great chocolate and

my interest in history, one which I though never existed. It was probably one of the best experiences of

Brussels, Belgium, a city replete with artwork, historic buildings and lots of chocolates. The Harvard Model Congress trip to a fascinating city excavated a lot of interests from students acorss all grades at King’s Academy. After a selective students, under Mr. John Leistler’s supervision, found their way to Brussels, Belgium. The conference hosted students from a plethora of students from countries such as France, Germany, Greece, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, India, and South Korea. “We were there for serious business; to debate, compromise and write resolutions and bills that could help the world through our

Tala Soror. We had Aser Juma ‘13 and Talal Soror’13 in G15 representing Sri Lanka, Divij Mehra’12 and Omar Halawa’12 in G8 representing France, and David Ernyey enacting the role of a Congressman in the House of Representatives. Notably, Amina Awad ’14 was recognized for her hard work and was awarded with a distinction for her prowess as a prospective Senator. The trip, which stretched over the course of a long weekend, was also full of tourism and other fun opportunities. The group went to the Brussels Art Museum, saw paintings centuries old while listening to Mr. John’s fabulous explanations. The group was excited about comparing paintings and noticing the difference in their colors, eras and the stories behind them. Another brilliant experience was seeing two sides of Belgium, the port Belgium in spring!

Focus breeds success

ROBOKINGS in Lebanon The lions prevail in the ring vis-a-vis their persistence BY MOHAMMAD TOBOLAT AND SAMMY MASRI ‘14 CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Fakher el-Fayez ‘12

TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE 2 NEWS

PAGES 3-4 OPINION

FINAL DAYS WITH SENIORS INTERVIEW WITH PARIKA KAMRAA MAPPING YOUR SENIOR YEAR FRESHMEN EXCURSION TO JERASH KONY 2012 FROM PAPER TO THE SCREEN MR. BOZZI’S NEW AP COURSE

PAGE 6 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

PAGE 7 SPORTS

PAGE 8 PAGE 5 LIFE

DORM FEEDS SNOW DAY

SENIORS

Ayman Barghash ‘12

THE HUNGER GAMES SONGS OF THE ISSUE MEISSA V. NIHAL FOOTBALL MATCH

MORE ON DEAD2RED BASKETBALL TOURNAMENTS IN LEBANON

WHERE ARE THE SENIORS HEADING NEXT YEAR?

ROBOKINGS, King’s Academy’s robotics team, represented Jordan in the Open Arab Championship for the

" # #

$ (SUMO), the team went to the Lebanese American University on the 9th of March with other Jordanian teams competing and teams coming from other Arab countries. In the competition, the team had to execute various % & "##

petition became more intense. Despite what seemed like a low score, the team actually reached remarkable heights. In the past, FLL teams would often get perfect scores; as a result, the League really had high expectations. The SUMO team had one of the best designs and a great program. Therefore, the team passed the preliminary ' competition gave the team an opportunity to compete with teams that were equally talented; after all, some of the best teams from the Middle East had convened to prove themselves. King’s Academy placed an admirable fourth place in this component of the tournament. The team also experienced the historical side of Lebanon on their trip. They visited monuments in the ancient city of Byblos. Ziad Lababdeh’12 acted as the local guide, taking the team to less popular, but equally impressive tour *

+ / said Rakan Momani ’14. One of these included an expanse of ruins that were from the Phoenician people of Byblos. Ziad guided the team off the beaten path and exposed the true extent of what used to reside there (in this case, a large castle). All in all, the trip to Lebanon was multifaceted. The Robotics was great, the people were welcoming, and the sites were exhilarating. And the Tabbuleh wasn’t half bad either!

NEWS

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The Rexonian

Final Days for the Seniors Interview with Parika Kamra Great rejoice for the departing class

One exchange student’s perception of schools throughout the world

BY JOOHO SHIN ‘12 EXECUTIVE EDITOR

The last few weeks of the school year can be hectic for any graduating senior class. Not only were the

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7<=7 marked with high-energy, sometimes notorious showcases of their

assortment of exciting events and activities. In the boarding aspect of things, to commemorate (or to celebrate?) the coming departure of the seniors, each dormitory organized a senior send-off for their senior students. > @ @ music and burgers chargrilled to perfection, Nihal organized the traditional sit-down senior dinner for its departing graduates, and the girl’s dorms gathered at the Castle courtyard to watch slide-shows of the past year to a cascade of food and music. The proctors honored the departing seniors in their own way. Q

X[ exams of the year, the proctor community traveled to Wadi Rum and Aqaba on an overnight trip. Highlights included scrambling up and rushing down steep desert dunes (with more than a couple stu-

Planting trees!

@ into the sand) watching the beautiful desert sunset and enjoying each other’s company with interesting (?) card games and a delicious dinner. Of course, the seniors were not to be undone by the rest of the school in celebrating the end of the year. Perhaps most infamous amongst the entire school community were the pranks carried \

% of school. On the 20th of May, a number of seniors dressed up in morph-suits stormed the auditorium during all-school meeting with cans of Silly String, spraying faculty

% &

of classes for seniors, a number of backpacks around the school were tied together, suspiciously enough, with ropes and the courtesy of an American knot. Although the 22nd of May %

seniors, this did not mean the end of all events until graduation. The senior class can look forward to the camping trip in Wadi Rum with His Majesty Abdullah II, multiple graduation rehearsals at the Landmark hotel and at school, a facultysenior barbeque and a special session where they will express their gratitude for the faculty. At the time of writing this article, graduation is but a week away. It will a week of great excitement and joy for the departing senior class, but also of in remembrance for every opportunity that the King’s Academy community has given them in the past few

Courtesy of Communications

BY FARAH AL-HADID ‘14 STAFF WRITER

The Rexonian sat down with Parika Kamra, King’s Academy’s newest exchange student from Punjab, India. She told us about her school, her country, and herself. Rex: We are so glad to have you here in Jordan, and at King’s Academy! Welcome. Where are you from? Parika: Thank you so much, I’m very happy to be here as well, well, I come from Chandigarh in the state of Punjab in India; it is on the foothills of the Himalayas. Rex: What about your school? Could you tell us a bit about it? Parika: I attend Vivek High School; there are actually a lot of similarities between it and King’s. We have co-curricular as well; only we have those 8 till 9 in the morning most weekdays, then 2:30 until 3:30 on Thursdays and Fridays. They have to be an athletic activity though. Similar to King’s, we learn mostly in English but we take another language, either Hindi or the student’s local language. Rex: How is your school different from King’s? Parika: We are a day school, which is a huge difference. In fact this boarding experience is very new to me. I like it, although I’m away from home, it’s a great experience and it really keeps you focused on school. I also like the feeling of independence that

comes with boarding. My school is also different form King’s in that it goes from nursery until 12th grade. Unlike King’s we stay in one class room, which is about thirty students, and the different subject teachers come into class. I actually prefer the more focus a single student gets here because of the lower amount of students in class. Rex: What do you like and dislike about King’s? Parika: I haven’t really found anything to dislike yet! The people here are very nice and welcoming. I like the co-curricular program here, especially community service, it was a really rewarding experience playing and teaching little girls, I’m really happy King’s is doing this for these little girls. I also like the interactive classes, at my school, we read the book to study, however, here we read the book and discuss and I’ve really enjoyed that about learning here. You get to hear a lot of different opinions, and those lessons from discussions are really worthwhile. Rex: why did you decide to do the exchange program? And why Jordan? Parika: I am actually involved with round square at home, and I thought this would be a great opportunity. Also, I am really fascinated with Arabian culture, and this looked like a good experience to explore that culture. I’m really glad I came here!

years. And insha’Allah, they will depart with fond memories for and by the KA community as they enter the collegiate world and forge their own paths for the future.

2011-2012 EXECUTIVE EDITOR JOOHO SHIN ‘12 MANAGING EDITOR RAMY BADRIE ‘12 NEWS SUB- EDITOR OPINION SUB- EDITOR ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT SUB- EDITOR WORLD SUB- EDITOR LIFE SUB- EDITOR FUN PAGE SUB- EDITOR SPORTS SUB- EDITOR

DIVIJ MEHRA ‘12 FAKHER EL-FAYEZ ‘12 MAHEERA HUSSAIN ‘12 HAMZA NAGHAWI ‘12 JIN SEUL JUN ‘13 LUNA ABU RMEILEH ‘12 JUMAN TABBALAT ‘12

PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR SHUROUQ HIJAZI ‘12 COPY EDITORS MUTASEM AL-DMOUR ‘12 TALA ARABEYAT ‘12 LAYOUT EDITORS HENRY REYNOLDS ‘12 RAMA NAKIB ‘12

STAFF MEMBERS LARISSA ABULGHANAM ‘14 FARAH AL-HADID ‘14 MARAH AL-JU’BEH ‘13 YOUSSEF AL-MUGHRABI ‘15 TYMA AL-NIMRI ‘15 MUNA AL-RIFA’I ‘13 NIHAD AL-YOUSFI ‘13 BARAKAT EL-SAQA ‘13 HEIDI HANKIN ‘14 KHALED JARWAN ‘13 FARAH KILANI ‘13 TAMARA NASSAR ‘13 NORA NESHEIWAT ‘14 FAISAL NIMRY ‘13 FACULTY ADVISOR MR. BOWMAN DICKSON

Proud senior spirit!

Courtesy of Communications

OPINION

May 2012

Page 3

Mapping Your Senior Year The new minor co-curricular in depth BY KHALED JARWAN ‘13 STAFF WRITER

Everyone is wondering why the juniors have disappeared from the minor co-curriculars this term. The * become the buzz of this term. Going around the campus, hearing questions such as who came up with the idea, why did they chose the name * ] actually do in that co-curricular. The idea was devised by our headmaster Dr. John Austin. He wanted the juniors to have the opportunity to prepare for the challenges they would face in their senior year, academically and socially. “Next year you are going to face some challenges such as the college applications process, writing your resumes, and keeping up with school. This Minor co-curricular was created for you, so you can prepare \ ^ $ Senior year is arguably the most important year of any high school \ tion and self-evaluation. Since King’s Academy is a school that tries to prepare students for college, adding this co-curricular was a necessary step. Dr. John correctly envisioned

that the challenge of preparation is an important life skill that is essential to one’s future success. During the minor co-curricular period, the juniors sit in the New Academic Building. They are divided up according to their college counselor and placed in different rooms. Every junior is advised and guided to work on his or her college applications, resume or anything concerning the college process with the help of the entire University Counseling Of- Wordsmithing at its best * \ chance to work on them along with the time to work on or even think _ about my college applications and \=` _X $ \=` that was my biggest concern; but these thoughts by saying “This minow, this co-curricular offers me the nor curricular offered me the change

Freshmen Excursion to Jerash The freshmen ďŹ eld trip is a great success! BY LEEN MADANAT ‘15 CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The freshman class went on a historic tour to Jerash on Thursday, March 22. They toured all around the site and saw numerous ruins including Hadrian’s Arch, the Hippodrome, Temple of Zeus, Southern Theater, Oval Plaza, the Crossroads, Nymphaeum, the Temple of Artemis and the Churches. The freshman were full of adrenalin in every activity they did and every academic challenge they confronted, from singing and dancing on the buses to running across Jerash in hopes of winning the Scavenger hunt. When the freshman arrived in Jerash, they waited for their tickets while sitting in the scorching morning sun. After the students got their tickets, they entered and started their tour. They started with Hadrian’s Arch, continued through to the Temple of Zeus, and ended at the Nymphaeum. While all of these sites were impressive in their own right, their 4th destination, the Southern theater, was the most exciting. The Southern theater is huge and whoever stood be heard from all the way at the top. Entertainment was one thing offered at Jerash! To make things even livelier,

two men started to play the drums and bagpipes. Everyone eventually joined them and started dancing and singing. X > { ily told the freshman about the scavenger hunt. The students were divided

some very fun instructions, to take creative pictures with the whole group of the artifacts they found at certain sites! The group of Khalil Abdulrazeq, Lara Labadeh, Sara Taha, Leen Madanat and Wendy Dudley won, with 7

Freshmen scurry around the Roman ruins by Jerash

Mutasem al-Dmour ‘12

to know where I am regarding the

[ drawback is that the Class of 2012 is jealous that they were not gifted with the same opportunity! photos. After the tiring run trying to win the Hunt, the freshman walked down to the buses for lunch, thanks to dining hall staff and Miss Reem! But, the fun didn’t end there; the bus ride back was full of enthusiasm as well. Mr. Tommy certainly enjoyed it all, he tapped his feet to the rhythmic Arab music and danced as much as he could, setting the mood for everyone else.

Courtesy of Communications

OPINION

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The Rexonian

Kony 2012 “Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come, whose time is now� BY OMAYMAH AL-HARAHSHEH ‘14 CONTRIBUTING WRITER

At 12 noon, March 5th 2012, Jason Russell, one } * 6 *~ 7<=7 `<@ that spread the world widely within minutes and got promoted by millions of people on different social networks such as Twitter and Facebook with % * % & Winfrey, Mark Zuckerberg, and Angelina Jolie. The purpose of the video was to “change LRA and their leader Joseph Kony. Kony and his Uganda’s rebellious guerrillas have been responsible for the kidnapping of over 30,000 children in Africa during the last 20 years. The boys have been taken from their homes and families, lacking the rights of education and safe life and forced to join the LRA. By joining the LRA, these children killing their own people unthinkably and unrea-

sonably. The girls, on the other hand, have been enforced into sexual slavery. Neither their families, nor them were able to say or do something to stop this bru

~ \ and impose power, is now on the world’s list of the worst criminals held by the ICC (International Criminal Court). Using the head of the ICC - Luis Moreno Ocampo’s words, Kony’s crimes are “crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed against the civilian population, including murder, sexual slavery, rapes and abduc € Â

*the problem is that 99% of the planet doesn’t know who (Kony) is�. Thus, the goal of Invisible Children now is to raise the awareness of people all over the world, and to ask the governments to

From Paper to the Screen The main problem with turning books into movies BY YARA RAWASHDEH ‘12 CONTRIBUTING WRITER

There comes a moment in a readers life (a reader of this generation, of course) % that pretty soon, a movie will be released. That reader goes to see the movie in a state of extreme anticipation, but by the end of the 2 hours or so, the movie is nothing more than a colossal disappointment. Yet, even though this happens almost all the time, we still get excited for the next one. Albeit Harry Potter is argued to be an exception, I think we should just give up hope. And even Harry Potter is a bit of a ƒ pared to the books. Those who choose to argue are probably fans of the movies rather than fans of the books. And that brings us to the point: The movies aren’t bad. They just seem bad to those who have the story, the acute details of the book, and the characters’ features in mind. If you have the entire story played out in your head, and you walk in to a theatre with that perspective, chances are that you won’t share that approach with the director, hence the dissatisfaction. A paramount problem with turning a story from a book to a screenplay is the details. A book that probably took you a % be pressed into two hours. So much gets you’re going to think of sitting in that the

*

% / a part that might have been momentous to you, but clearly not the screenwriter. This is a big problem because there are different parts to a story that appeal to different people. Therefore, you can guarantee crestfallen readers, no matter what. A huge ex books, and they weren’t too bad. But when the movie came out, it seemed to me as if the producer was thinking “Okay, lets take

out all of Bella’s emotions, and magnify the % weren’t tawdry enough. And though revenue seems like a good enough excuse for an author to give a producer consent to destroy a story, they shouldn’t allow someone to botch their book that much. The resolution being that Twilight had more thirteenyear-old hormonal girls as fans rather than actual readers, towards the end of the saga. And this happens in nearly every movie, leaving many readers disgruntled. There are many movies, including The Lightning Thief, Eragon and My Sisters Keeper, where the book and the movie aren’t even closely related, where screenwriters had removed important characters like Julia and Kronos, where antagonists change, and different characters have different fates, where you’re angry at the end „ rectors fail to realize is the fact that the reason you’re making a movie of a book is because that story was probably a bestseller. So why would they change it for money? It was already perfect! We all know what should happen from now on. When an author hears from a producer that a movie is to be made of their book, they should have that producer hire Peter Jackson. Peter Jackson was a director whose movies were the absolute closest to the books. They were long movies, yes, but to the point. It’s actually perfect considering many of the fans of Lord Of The Rings are fans of both the books and the movies. And though I’m not exactly a huge fan of LOTR, I have read the books and seen the movies, and I think Peter Jackson should release a tutorial, so other directors can learn a thing or two. However, if it were my book, it would probably be action packed, and I would rather have Martin Scorsese or Michael Mann direct its movie, after they take Peter Jackson’s tutorial, of course.

Courtesy of Invisible CHindren

take care of this issue. To achieve that aim, a date has been set: April 20th, 2012. On this date, people from all around the world will meet at sunset with posters of Kony’s picture covering all the streets of all the cities until the sun rises and on April 21st the world will wake up to be alerted of who Kony is and what his terrifying actions are.

Mr. Bozzi’s New AP Class

One of the new opportunities in next year’s schedule BY SABAL AL-MADI ‘14 CONTRIBUTING WRITER

What motivated you to start an AP here even though ‚ I was approached, some people in the school wanted to see the class happen and so they thought it was a good idea because it is important to compare governments. People wanted the course and Mr. Leistler approached me with it. I read about the course and found that I really liked it. What should we expect? A Typical class. Students taking the class fairly vigorous schedule, reading every day but reading that encour zation and repetition. Come to class with our reading Like our typical day in class? Yes, discuss the material intelligently What AP are you teaching now? AP Euro and comparative Gov. If you had to choose one AP to teach which would it be? I love both With all the events happening in the Middle East, do you think course will give people a different perspective, government wise or politics?

Not my aim for a different perspective, but and informed perspective, through the region what form of government, political theory, different forms. Have you taught this class before? First time, I haven’t taught the class before but the content of AP Gov. I have taught in different classes. John F. Kennedy institute for government. Who should take the course? People who are genuinely interested in government and politics, current events and international relation and people who will not shy away from hard work and exceptionally high expectations Personally, I would like to go into political sciences in

‚ Absolutely, the course is essentially intro course for political sciences Will the course go on? I hope so, with the number of people who signed up for it this year, also MUN at Kings academy a lot of people who are interested they should enjoy the AP. Any closing remarks? I promise an exceptionally challenging but inherently worthwhile course.

LIFE

May 2012

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Dorm Feeds A little grub goes a long way. BY AMINA AWAD ‘14 CONTRIBUTING WRITER

While living in any King’s Academy dorms there are two words that excite everybody and will cause them to leave their rooms hurriedly and they

… *^ Q dents will quickly gather in the common room; listen to dorm announcements all while waiting for the food and then the dorm feasts. To many it is one of the many things More food! Shurouq Hizaji ‘12 they look forward to after study hall. The feeds are than others. After taking opinions almost a reward for students; after from students in different dorms sitting in their rooms and com- it is clear that there are some pleting an exhausting amount of dorms that have feeds less than homework in study hall. Students others. However, this can be easget to take a break and eat food and ily be solved by simply asking your interact with others in their dorm dorm parent or reminding them and to really feel that their dorm is about these feeds. After talking to there home away from home and a teacher as well, I concluded that not a prison to which they are con- these infrequent feeds are the re percussions of misunderstandings Dorm feeds also serve to help between the teachers. Since it is students get to know each other important to the students maybe more, especially in the beginning one of the proctors should be in of the year or for newly transferred charge of the feeds to make sure boarders. They provide an oppor- they happen. Through what I have tunity in which students can mingle experienced in my dorm; asking with their friends freely without the teacher about weekly feeds having to deal with the impedi- helps them remember and provide ment of time. In each dorm there feeds. To those who feel that there is a different ritual and different should be feeds more often; the food. The feeds themselves vary solution is to simply talk to your greatly from dorm to dorm. They dorm parents about it. All and all can vary from mansaf to brown- dorm feeds are one the unique exies. In some dorms the dorm par- periences in kings academy. They ents are the ones who provide the are also one of the big pros of dorm with food by baking things dorm life and they help encourage like cakes, cookies and brownies students to be boarder and give while others order from outside them a sense of belonging to their King’s campus. dorm and to the school. Although However, the different feeds in feeds in the dormitories may seem dorms have caused some unrest. like a trivial occurence, in fact they Some students believe that some are a vital part of the boarding culdorms have feeds more frequently ture.

Friendship runs hand in hand with food.

Shurouq Hizaji ‘12

Even the snowman is in dress code!

Zeina Rehani

Snow Day Romance, war, snow structures, ďŹ nals, and more! BY HENRY REYNOLDS ‘12 LAYOUT EDITOR

The rafters rung with joy as King’s Academy students arose to % the air. Amid the glee, spontane

Kevin Riskiawan ’13 gazed in awe at the coruscating wintry mix while Sajed Foda ’13 chucked lumps of snow at passerby. Ms. Linda helped a few members of Meissa West try to build a wall of snow on a hill as a protection from the projectiles as the snowballs whizzed by. Jin Seul Jun ’13 adroitly evaded most of the snow while Bara’a Al-Wahidi ’12 lobbed snowballs high into the sky. X

many students began rolling huge snowballs in order to create snowmen; some snowmen even wore King’s Academy ties! Mohammad Sarhan ’12 and Mutasem Al Dmour ’12 tossed huge amounts of snow on their peers as they attempted to make their snowmen. Ensconced in photography, Nadim Sarhan and Steve Morison ambled along making sure to capture the moments of joy on this rare day. For many people, March seen substantial amounts of snow. School was delayed for a few hours, but faculty and students alike were somewhat disappointed that most

of the snow fell on the weekend. A few students elected to spend their time sliding the slopes of campus on the Dining Hall trays, although the sleds were largely unsuccessful. The layer of snow was so thin that the sleds would carry most of the snow with them, so that each sledding path was visible because it cleaned the snow away to expose green grass. Many King’s Academy Lions decided to warm up in the Dining Hall with cups of hot chocolate before venturing back out into the chilly greyness. Jae Sok Surh ’13 slept through most of the day, so in the late afternoon he stood astounded, even though at that point the weather was old news to most of King’s Academy. Nick Jonsson ’14, among others, smartly wore plastic bags over his shoes to protect his feet from the frigid snow. By the afternoon, much of the grass was once again visible but a puddle the size of a swimming pool remained to separate Meissa and Nihal. Students at King’s were elated to take a break from studying for their

enjoy the snow. The powdery mix assuaged the biting chill of winter and allowed students to congregate around a common activity. Hopefully it will snow again next year!

Perhaps he will be on the next Arabs Got Talent!

Zeina Rehani

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ARTS

& ENTERTAINMENT

The Rexonian

Hunger Games Craze What’s all the fuss about? BY SABAL ALMADI ‘14 LION CUB

There has been so much chaos lately and you hear people speaking about a book and you wonder, is the discussion over Twilight or Harry Potter? Then you come to realize that it isn’t any of those books but rather a much more thrilling and thought-provoking book. The cover looks somewhat odd but when your eyes hit the title, your read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. It is true that the books came out a couple of years ago and the movie just a couple of weeks back but the books are much better, and there-

Ę— Songs of the Issue Ę—

fore you decide to read it before you watch the movie. And once you open the crisp page, you can’t seem to loosen your grip of the book. The Hunger Games is a book about courage, friendship and leadership. It is a book in which the reader can somehow connect to. The book brings people together to Scene of “The Reapingâ€? from the movie realize that the intribute. The dilemma of the story is that she falls of books on people is still very palpable as we live in a in love with another tribute who is Peeta Mellark. world where almost everything is incorporated These games are hosted live on TV just like the with media. You might wonder what this book is Olympics, and it anticipates only one survivor. By the end of the book you cannot wait about. Well without spoiling it, here it goes‌ to get your hands on the second one. I walk in The book takes place in an alternate future and out of the library, as frenzied students ask in North America in a state called Panem that for the second Hunger Games book; “Sorry, they arouse from the ashes of the United States of America. The main character and narrator, Kat- are all out replies the librarian. Hopefully we niss Everdeen is a tribute, in other words, she is continue to obsess with fascinating books such a participant in these games. She is sixteen years as the Hunger Games, rather than TV shows and old when she volunteers instead of her sister as a movies.

Meissa v. Nihal Soccer Match

BY RAMA NAKIB ‘12 LAYOUT EDITOR

1- Caraluna - Bacilos 2- Linger - The Cranberries 3- Quelqu’un M’a Dit - Carla Bruni 4- Thinking About You - Frank Ocean 5- Heart Skipped a Beat - The xx 6- Did I Let You Know - The Red Hot Chili Peppers 7- Sun is Shining - Cafe del Mar ft. Bob Marley 8- Big Bank Dank - Olu 9- King Without a Crown Matisyahu 10 Volare - The Gipsy Kings

Team Meissa

Emily Haug

Team Nihal

6-5 Meissa Prevails

Bowman DIckson

Enjoy! The two sides come together after a a heated match on a sweltering day

Bowman DIckson

SPORTS

May 2012

Page 7

More on the Dead2Red How our team overcame physical challenge BY TARIK BAHRANI ‘12 CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Dead 2 Red. A 275 km race spanning from the salty and sought after Dead Sea, to the tropical and  Q \ that requires skill, speed, muscle, team-work, and endurance. To sum it up, it is a man-creating experience, separating the weak from the strong, the feeble from the sturdy, the great from the small. The horn blows and the dust whips up behind the runners’ shoes, while they ‡<< stretch. The wind lifts their hair up if they have any hair, and dries the sweat off their head if they are bald. Night falls, and morale is low. The teams begin to tire, teeming road shall be their tomb. Yet, with all this, from some unknown source of energy, an inner sanctum of power, runners pant and push down the path toward the more temperate weather of the Red Sea. The roar of the bus behind each contestant drives them onwards grumbling “Move it you immense, overloaded,

Team members seem to be in

} 400 meter shares of the long road to the South; clambering on board swimming through pools of Red Bull Cans, candy wrappers, plastic bags, tissues, and blankets, yearning for the call of The Seat of Safety,

where they may rest their eyes and legs for a few minutes more, only to be woken up a few seconds later to … *ˆ \ ‰ *Š 6 / ‹ Grueling hours slog by, and injuries become more frequent, as each runner begins to stumble upon their shoelaces, sleep-deprived and yearning to snuggle into some kind of coma where they may never again wake up. But then, it arises. The sky begins to show its blue skin once more, and the contours of the Aqaba mountain range stand stark and proud along the horizon, as if to say “We are watching over you young child. Never fear, for you

Morale steadily rises, and the troops revive. Earphones are plugged in and inspirational rock

way to the heart of all, giving them the boost to carrying on. Pushing and persisting towards the goal, the the ground beneath them, instructing it to push away what was gone, and accept what little left is to come. The sun rises steadily higher, and the freezing air of the night is replaced by the scorching heat of the sun. However, the team only sees it as a minor obstacle. They have come this far. There is no turning back. The Exalted Sign appears *=% XŒ

Ayman Barghash ‘12

He’s going the distance!

whoops and cheers. The speed picks up once more and drive soars high. The home stretch is here, and we shall be seen as heroes. The city of Aqaba is in sight. Every last competitor realises that they must put every last ounce of energy into these last few meters. The tension rises. The bus moves forward. The team inches its way & And yet one more. No stopping. € % € tion. No sense at all. Just the incessant drive to reach the end. The bus rounds the corner. There it is. The inviting arms of the Red Bull sign, last seen 275 km away

at the Dead Sea. The team clambers out and they all dash the 100 meter run. Through the cold and through the heat. Through the pain and through the pressure. Every turn has been taken. Every meter

resting point. The combatants fall to their knees, kissing the ground beneath their feet. They look up. There in front of them is a shining medal. A token of honour for pushing through the mental and the

A scream of delight. A tear of joy. And whooping they enter inside to drink that much deserved cup of water. All is needed is to cross the street. And yet it seems too far.

Basketball Tournaments in Lebanon Lions succeed when returning to Lebanon for the METS tournament BY SARAH TAHA ‘15 CONTRIBUTING WRITER

King’s Academy showing off their medals outside Jordan. At METS basketball tournament in Lebanon the King’s Academy‘s team won numerous medals. Š place, the Varsity boys got the third place, and the JV boys got the fourth place. Our journey took place in Beirut, Lebanon on the 14th of March when we left campus and X X lot of teams participated in this tournament; the participated teams were consisted of King’s Academy, International college, American Community School, Amman Baccalaureate School, International Amman Academy, and Hariri High School. Games took place in American University Beirut, and American Community School. Starting on the 15th of March and reaching

goals to do even better next

=Žth of has ever experienced. As the teams returned to Jortime; their spirit grew stronger, March. dan, tired but proud for victories higher, and more advanced. King’s Academy teams played very well, and spread their they earned, they set up their strength between players reaching their goals. They gave the best they can do to win with a great enthusiasm and a big smile on face. However, we had fun, ate, enjoyed the beautiful view of the sea, and went to a lot of places leaving our foot prints in every single street. Our journey wasn’t just games; instead we created fun by our own, told jokes, and protected each other like one big family. In addition, this trip was one of the best trips each and every one of us King’s Academy Lions bask in their glory

Zeina Rehani

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