Content - American International School of Abu Dhabi

THE EXPRESS
“The Express -Your best source for exciting, diverse and bold news about AISA’s multicultural community.”
VOLUME 3. ISSUE 1
OCTOBER 2012
WWW.AISA.SCH.AE
“The Express”
Our Mission is to produce an up-to
date fun, fresh, fierce newspaper that
will be liked by many, cussed by
some, read by all. Enjoy!
Staff Advisor: Miss. Sarah
AISA VOICE Contributors: Sara Al
Mahmoud,Tim Johnson, Mariam Al
Jaberi, Alix Marionnet, Mohamed Al
Shaibani
WHAT’S UP? Contributors: Dalia
AlHashmi, Jessica Smith, Latifa Al
Mazrui, Ms. Loughran
COSMOPOLITAN Contributors: Fahda
Al Saud, Meera Romanos, Hadeel
Dahlan, Sasha Richard-Herbert and
Alhanoof Al hameli
THE SCENE Contributors: Reem
Luqman, Sarah Sheikhali, Danna Atrak
and Mohammed Al Mubarak
WE ARE THE LIONS! Contributor: Ali
Al Masaood
It is my pleasure to welcome all AISA students back to school for the 2012-13 academic year. We are starting the year with more students than we have ever had – currently 1,267 – and more teachers. Twenty two new teachers arrived in mid-August. We have new
principals in the elementary and secondary schools. Mrs. Pittman-Jones has taken over in elementary after having been assistant principal for three tears. Mr. Ravesi has come from the Toronto area to be our new secondary principal. We also have two new assistant
principals – Mrs. Hansen in secondary and Mr. Lewis in elementary. Mr. Morley and I are here to provide some continuity in the administration!
As usual, we have had some maintenance work done on the campus; this year more than usual, with
all the gates and the shading being replaced. Much of the paving outside has been renovated and a lot
of painting done. The last remaining portable building has been removed and our support staff accommodation has been moved off-campus.
On the academic side, our KG2 students are now working a full day so that they will be well-prepared
for grade 1. At the other end of the school, we have doubled the number of students who are enrolled
in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program. After a stunning graduation ceremony last June,
last year’s seniors have gone off to universities around the world. This year’s seniors are meeting with
our counselor and making their applications. We expect another excellent round of college acceptances.
I give you all my sincere best wishes for an enjoyable and successful school year.
Gareth Jones, Director.
New Student Leaders are Ready to Shake-Up the School!
Sara Al Mahmoud
It’s that time of the year again when we are introduced to four new senior student leaders. Working side by side throughout the
entire school year, both the student leaders and student council committee strive to make school a more enjoyable and exciting
environment for us students. All seniors go through a variety of procedures in order to get selected as the top most suitable candidates of both the girls and boys side, but only 4 are selected.
These candidates soon get their positions as either President or Vice President of the school. The second group of committee
members is run by 10 junior leaders that collaborate with the senior leaders. I have experienced myself being a junior leader and
found that it helps the juniors develop a sense of responsibility, which prepares them for their senior year. It’s a very enjoyable
task to commit to and at the same time, it strengthens many leadership qualities of those juniors. Throughout the year students
face a variety of challenges, but in the end, learn to overcome successfully. This year’s student leaders in the boy’s side are known
for being previous student council heads when they were juniors. President Mohamed Al Sawaleh and Vice President Darwish Al
Murar are excited to be working together as they lead this school year. They said, “We feel that it’s a big responsibility and we
are confident because our peers trusted us, and with that trust we can make change.”
On the girls side, President Noor Al Mehairbi and Vice President Diala Ghneim are as excited to pump up the school’s spirit and to
be working with the student body. In an interview, President Noor Al Mehairbi shared the following, “I'm really interested in cooperating with students and coming up with new ways to build AISA spirit.”
Content
NYUAD Summer Academy
As head of student leaders, Mr. Morley strongly believes that this year’s group of leaders are capable of handling the responsibility of leading the school. He mentioned that each year he had witnessed a lot of different ideas being proposed and that the leaders were working hard to change those ideas into reality.
President Mohamed Al Sawaleh welcomed student new ideas for school improvement when he said “all the ideas that were
shared with previous leaders in previous years have turned out to be a great success and I am sure that this year the students will
enlighten us with better ideas.” You heard it AISA! Let your student leaders know what your thinking… they are eagerly awaiting
your ideas.
School Renovations
Elementary Open House
The Co-Ed Catastrophe
CAS Romania
Junior’s on Taking the SAT’s
Preparing for University
What’s Wrong With the World?
Spanish/Film/Photography Clubs
New middle/high school students
AISA’s New Teachers
Ask Bob / Suggestion Box
Back to School Tech Advice
Sports Update / Spirit Week
In 1981 the United Nations established what is now
known as Peace Day. AISA celebrated Peace Day on Thursday, September 20th. Clad in symbolic white, staff and students gathered to celebrate a dream for a peaceful future.
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The AISA VOICE EDITORIAL
AISA’s Little Lions by Mariam Al Jaberi
With the beginning of the new school year, AISA’s
elementary department planned the annual parents-teachers open house for the 2012-13 academic year. The open house was held on Sunday,
September 9 from 6:30 untill 8:00 p.m. Mr. Gareth
Jones, the director, opened the night with a welcoming speech followed by a speech by Mrs. Mary
Pittman-Jones, the Elementary Principal and PYP
Coordinator. Mrs.Jones’s speech explained the
Grade 2 teacher, Mrs.Allison Lackie with one of her students
academic programs and plan that the school will
follow this year. The elementary assistant principle
Mr. Seith Lewis, who is also responsible for student services, talked about what the school is expecting
from both students and parents.
After the welcoming speeches in the gym, parents headed to their children’s homeroom classes to meet with their teachers. Teachers then gave a brief explanation of the curriculum they will follow, which gave the parents an idea of what their children would do and learn in class this year. Teachers also explained the classroom rules to make the parents and their children aware of them. “The open
house is very informative for us as parents,’’ said a parent of two students in the school, “ I liked going
to the homeroom classes to meet the teachers and know what does the teacher teach our kids and do
every day. The Open House is like a guide for me as a parent!” Other parents also complimented the
night and said that it made them more confident and relaxed to send their children to school every day.
“The Open House gives a chance for parents to meet their child’s teacher and also find out about our
curriculum program for the year, and it also gives a chance for the teachers to establish that first connection with the parents” said Mrs. Jones. She also added that the event went very successfully and
that the number of parents was beyond her expectations. It was another successful AISA event!
NYUAD Summer Academy Changes Lives
By Mohamed Al Shaibani
This past summer, twelve AISA seniors and juniors took part in the New York University of Abu
Dhabi Summer Academy (NYUAD).
NYUAD is a two-year program that prepares outstanding high school students for college. The
program aims to provide students with invaluable experiences through critical thinking and writing,
mathematical reasoning for the sciences, SAT preparation and leadership development. The classes
take place in Abu Dhabi, Florence, and New York City, six days a week.
The juniors who completed their first year with the program, Mariam Al-Ameri, Fakhra AlFoulathi, Mohamed Al-Nahyan, Alanoud Al-Shamry, Meera Al-Shamsi, Mohamed Eriqat, and Abdul Jalil
Al Fahim all seemed like they had a positive experience. They spent eleven days in Abu Dhabi and eleven days in Florence. Meera Al-Shamsi described the summer as “A wonderful experience and no regrets. I met friends who I can call family.” They also developed new academic skills. Mohamed Eraiqat
said that the leadership classes allowed him to speak comfortably in public. Why did they spend 22
days of their summer studying when they could’ve been doing something else? Abdul Jalil Al-Fahim replied, “So I can become a responsible young adult and learn how to live on my own.”
“A Great Fillip to Our Physical Culture”
Tim Johnson
It was a very long and hot summer in Abu Dhabi,
and while all the students were on vacation there were renovations going on inside the school. However, when the students returned from their summer, the renovations were still
incomplete. The students returned to a school with no tables
outside or shaded area’s to get away from the hot sun. They
did manage to paint the ceiling in the rotunda, put up a
sparkly chandelier and install a 40 inch plasma screen above
the desk of the secretary. Many students wanted to know
the reason for the incomplete renovations so I went and
spoke to the boys Assistant Principle (Mr. Morley) to find
some answers. When asked the reason for the renovations
Mr. Morley said, “To briefly put it, it was a donation by a very
generous donor so we figured, why not?” When asked why
the outside shade covers still weren’t up after a two month
break he informed me that the renovations started quite late
into summer and the outside covers required a lot of maintenance. When asked about the chandelier and whether or not
it was necessary his response was “We painted the roof of
the rotunda to spruce it up, and there were two wires hanging from the ceiling so we figured we could either rip out the
wires or hang something from it, so we put up a chandelier.”
As far as the spiffy new plasma t.v. in the rotunda, Mr. Morley said, “It’s a great way to communicate with parents and
helps distract them from the busy school and also is a way to
communicate with them through the school website. It will
also, later on in the year, play videos of newsletters etc.”
When asked why all the windows had been surrounded by bars he said, “We had to put bars on the windows after an incident at another school involving a boy falling out, so ADEC made the school install them for safety”.
After asking student’s their opinions on the new bars many
agreed they did little to add beauty or ambiance to the
school atmosphere, although ADEC can rest-assured there
will be no AISA students tumbling out of the windows any
time soon.
The renovations outside will hopefully be complete
in a couple of weeks. When Mr. Morley was asked what he
thought of AISA’s summer school renovations he said it was,
“A Great Fillip to our physical culture”. Thank you Mr. Morley for your insight and time.
This year’s seniors, the inaugural class of the NYUAD Summer Academy, Abdulla Al-Harmoodi,
Darwesh Al-Marar, Noor Al-Mehairbi, Abdulla Al-Mutawa, and Mohamed Al-Shaibani all found the experience extraordinary. Like the juniors, last summer they travelled to Florence and this year they
spent their summer in New York. Abdulla Al-Mutawa called it, “the best trip ever.” The students built
on what they had learned in the previous summer by doing more critical thinking and writing and more
math and SAT preparation. Darwesh Al-Marar, the boys Vice President, viewed it as an “experience of a
lifetime.” One memory that sticks out in Noor Al-Mehairbi’s mind is meeting John Sexton, the president
of NYU. It was not all work and no play. Abdulla Al-Harmoodi got to visit the original Shake Shack and
loved it. Al-Mutawa loved exploring 5th Avenue while walking in a rainstorm. One can safely say that
the NYUAD Summer Academy provided these students with an unforgettable experience and that AISA
was well represented.
Co-ed Catastrophe—Alix Marionnet
The American International School of Abu Dhabi made a serious attempt to become a co-ed school, but problems soon arose in later June. Mr. Gareth Jones, the
director of AISA, kindly answered our questions as to why co-ed was proposed and then segregation re-instated. According to Mr. Jones, AISA has been trying to become a
co-educational institution as he believes that “For most students, having boys and girls together is better socially and academically, however there is some evidence that
suggests that girls do better academically in girls’ only classes.” The segregation of the school does limit the school in terms of class options available. With segregated
sections more teachers and space is needed to teach a course in 2 sections instead of 1 co-ed class. Mr. Jones said, “As an American School we feel it’s more natural to be
co-ed, but the laws of the country say that boys and girls should be separated and you have to get special permissions to be coed. So, we’ve been waiting for that permission. Up until June we were ready to be a co-ed school until the Ministry of Education withdrew permission because some parents didn’t feel comfortable mixing their
children with the opposite sex.” Even though there were plans to maintain a girls only section, the parents of some girls didn’t feel like it would give their daughters an
international experience as most of the expat children would likely choose to be in the co-educational classes.
Mr. Jones can’t explain why our school cannot be co-educational when the other American schools (whom have been around longer than ours) are permitted, but
must follow the wishes of the Ministry of Education and respect the will of the parents.
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C.A.S. Romania
WHAT’S UP? AISA News
Dalia Al Hashmi
Juniors on Taking the SAT’s
Jessica Smith
The AISA C.A.S (Creativity, Action, Service
Club) is organizing a trip to Romania to help build
houses. Romania is a country located in Central Europe, bordering the Black Sea. Bucharest is the capital, which was once known as the ‘Paris of the East’.
Ms.Fleming, Mr.Mckenzie and the juniors Pragya
Gupta, Tiffany Ghosn, Carlotta Saenger, Dara Al Kayyali, Naz Merza, Andres Lopez, Varun Patni, Neal
Cardoza, Zachary Conner, and Ali Bouran and the
sophomore Chloe Magnuson will be travelling together to the central part of Transylvania, ClujNapoca. Discussing the trip with the girls, they
seemed to be really excited for this trip. Tiffany
Ghosn said, “I think this trip will be a good experience
in two different ways; one being that we’re going to
be interacting with other students and two we’ll all
probably be doing something that we’ve never done
before. It’s something we’re all looking forward to
and we hope that it’s going to be a trip that we’ll never forget.” Ali Bouran said, “I’m super excited and I
think it’s going to be anexclusive experience for me
and everybody else.” The students will depart from
AISA on October 19 and will return on the 1st of November on Romanian Airways. On behalf of AISA we
wish them a safe trip and we hope they return with
great stories and photos to share.
The 11th graders at the American International School of Abu Dhabi are expected to take their
SAT’s this year and everyone is feeling the pressure. The SAT’s are standardized tests that many universities require to see when a student applies to their school and even if it doesn’t, some kids are taking
them just in case. I interviewed 11 junior girls to see how they feel about taking their SAT’s later this year
and if it was their decision or their parents. Many of them feel very nervous to take this long and vigorous
test, since the test is over 2 hours long with many challenging sections. Others aren’t so shaken up by the
thought of taking this test and know that they will be prepared for it. Only two said that it was their
parent’s decision for them to take this test, seven of them said that it was a mix decision and the other
two said they aren’t even sure they are going to take this test.
Students interviewed said, they know that the SAT’s are going to be different from the PSAT’s
and that studying is absolutely mandatory. They know studying should start now and need to take this
test very seriously. To ensure success, most of them are going to take the prep classes. The prep classes
are classes outside of school that give you extra help. 11th grade IB1, Dahnia Asfour comments about the
prep classes, “ I am gonna take the classes because even though the PSAT’s are good practice, the SAT
classes are like that extra push so I can do just that much better and get to know the test and what to
expect of it”. Lastly, we got some advice from Senior, Lisa Saman on ways to prepare for the test besides
studying, “Taking the SAT’s can be a stressful time of the year but don’t worry because with a few simple
tips you’ll be totally fine.”
Lisa’s SAT Tips
1. Pick a good location for taking the test, you want to be comfortable and a new location might add to
the stress that you already have.
2. It might sounds cliche but yes, get enough sleep. Your body and brain will thank you later.
3. Have a good breakfast to keep your mind working and snacks with you, because during breaks you can
eat here or there.
4. Doing some Practice SAT’s will always prepare you for what is coming and you will be familiar with the
format of the questions.
5. Don’t forget that magical pencil! Always have your own and extras just in case. Stressing about SAT’s is
not productive. Study hard and study smart. Plan for success and you will have nothing to worry about.
Good luck Juniors!
READY FOR UNIVERSITY?
Latifa Al Mazrui
As senior year started most students were struck quickly with some big decisions to make.
The university application process is lengthy and starts in the second week of school. The process is
mainly managed by the high school counselor, Mr. Chalmers. He leads students through the whole process, reminding them of deadlines and different tests they need to have ready for their application. As Mr.
Chalmers said, ‘’I meet with students and their parents individually to introduce the college application
process’’. This gives students a chance to introduce the application timeline and inform the parents about
the procedure taken. Students should do their research and complete their community service, as well as
filling up some papers like the activity worksheet and the parents’ incite form. The more organized a student is, the easier and faster the process becomes: “it’s part of our job to assist students in becoming organized’’, said Mr. Chalmers. By being organized and collaborating with both parents and students on a
regular basis, the counselor is able to manage the big number of seniors applying for university. The application process usually takes about six months and each university has a unique set of deadlines that need
to be met.
On the other side, students are also working hard to organize their time and finish what is required for
their university application. This process has a different impact on different students. Senior student Mariam Al Marzouqi said, ‘’ Applying to university is a stressful process,
but you can make it less stressful by being organized and setting your own deadlines before the actual ones so that you don’t cram everything until the last minute’’. She herself started getting ready by taking necessary tests like the SAT and IELTS, in addition to taking classes that are related to her major. This would help her while applying to universities. I asked Mariam Al Marzouqi about how she feels the school and councillor are helping in the university applying process and she replied, ‘’I think that Mr. Chalmers is
doing a great job at helping the seniors out, especially because he met with them several times before their senior year. He also helps you make sure that you are ready to apply to universities and assists you at the various stages of this important process’’.
I would like to wish all seniors good luck in completing their applications and let’s hope everyone gets into the university of their dreams!
Want to be the next AISA star?
AISA
Clubs
HOMEWORK CLUB -Sunday, Room 220, 2:50—3:30, Grade 6-12
If you think that you’ve got what it takes, join the
AISA Film Production Club. The club is always in need
of talented actors, editors, scriptwriters, directors and
anyone one that can be helpful. All interested applicants can contact Ms. Levi, Mr. Luukkonen or myself
senior Sheren Abou-ouf. Don’t miss the chance of
being the next AISA star!
PHOTOGRAPHY CLUB -Mondays, Room 310, 3-4pm, Grade 6-12
MODEL UNITED NATIONS CLUB -Mondays, Room 305, 3-4pm, Grade 9-12
CO-ED MS. BOOK CLUB, Mondays, Room 216, 3-4pm, Grade 6-8
CREATIVE WRITERS GROUP –Tuesdays , Room 212, 2:55 — 3:45, Grade 9-12
MANGA CLUB -Tuesdays, Room 325, 3-4pm, Grade 9-12
DRAMA CLUB –Tuesdays, TBD
SMART GIRL CLUB –Tuesdays, Room 219, 3-4
Puerto Rico: Presented by
Native Speakers
The Talks will focus on Fi Culture,
Art & Music in the Spanish speaking countries around the world.
Please register at [email protected]
Every Tuesday 2:50 –3:30pm in the Spanish classroom
New Gym
To learn more about Spanish visit our website @
http://ibspanish2aisa.edublogs.org/
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AISA’s New Leaders
COSMOPOLITAN
Hadeel Dahlan
With each new AISA student brings a new perspective, a
new voice and a new member of the team that grows stronger (and
bigger) every year. The more students we get, the more new ideas,
culture, and creativity is brought to our school. This year we have 57
new high school students from all around the world. As our previous
students graduate, and start their journey, new ones take their
place.
Al Hanoof is a new high school student from a coed Australian school in Abu Dhabi. She said moved because she likes the
AISA high school program better. Al Hanoof said, “I thought it would
be hard for me to adapt to the new school and new environment
having moved from a coed to a segregated schools. Turns out it was
way easier for me to make new friends than I thought. People are
very friendly!”
New Middle School Students… Welcome to AISA! Sasha Richard-Herbert & AlHanoof Al Hameli
Sarah Debbi is a new sixth grade student who has transferred here from a school in Barcelona
Spain. Her first impression of AISA were positive. She said she loves the new friends she has made and
is happy to be in her class. It is always a little nerve-wracking moving to a new school where you don’t
know anyone but she has made quite a few friends in the first two weeks of school. Sarah Dehbi was
asked what has been hardest for you to adjust to in the school. Her response was the timing of when
school starts! In Spain most schools start later than 8:50 and Sarah would like to sleep in a little more.
I’m sure everyone would like the same! Overall Sarah is happy at AISA. It won’t be long before AISA
becomes her second home, just like the rest of us.
Hassan Alnowais is also new to AISA. He is a senior who has
joined us from Raha School. He is excited to play football and tryout
for the team. He is from UAE, and enjoys listening to music and
hanging out with friends. He says, "I like AISA better because people
are easy to get along with and the school is more eco-friendly. It
does not put as much pressure on students as my old school. Teachers are easy to understand and work with. "
These are only 2 of the wonderful new students who have
joined the AISA team this year. Welcome to AISA!
Meera Romanos and Fahda Al Saud
AISAs New Teachers
This year AISA has more than twenty five new teachers from around the world including two new
principals, Mrs. Hanson and Mr. Ravesi. Mrs. Hanson is the new Assistant Principal in the girls section coming from America. She was very excited to be interviewed and
was happy to answer a few questions. She has been in Abu Dhabi for only a month and she really enjoys it here. We asked her how she feels about working at AISA and
she said, “I love AISA, it’s a great community, the kids are awesome, the staff is great.” Mrs. Hanson is not only a principal at AISA but she is also an AISA mom. Her son
is new to grade one and her husband Mr. Shawn is also one of the new teachers joining the AISA team this year.
Mr. Ravesi is the new Secondary School Principal at AISA coming all the way from Niagara Falls, Canada. He visited Abu Dhabi in April to see the school and meet
some students and staff. We asked him about what he thinks of AISA and he said “I think AISA is a wonderful place, look how happy and smiley you two are, the students
are very friendly and courteous and very respectful. I find the teachers very caring for the kids and it’s a very nice place to be learning and I think the standards for education are pretty good”. An interesting and very interesting fact about Mr. Ravesi is that although he is from Canada, he does not like snow.
My partner Fahda and I went around school interviewing some of the new teachers. They all seemed super nice and happy to be working at a school with over
seventy nationalities. They were all very funny and kind. We hope that the new teachers enjoy this year and many more at AISA. Welcome to the family!
Mr. Ravesi
Mrs. Hanson
Ms. Kruetz
Mr. Smith
Mr. Bissell
Ms. Khalifa
Mrs. Repo
Ms. Mandy
Mrs. Duffner
Ms. Eroum
Ms. Sarah
Mr. Wolger
Ms. Shaw
Mr. Zwicher
Ms. Romero
Ms. Gray
Mr. Key
Ms. Moon
Ms. Smith
Mr. Shawn
Ms. Clasper
Mr. Crown
Ms. Harrison
Ms. Oderman
Ms. Hayes
Ms. Maoed
Ms. Shahid Loan
Amber Tyner
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ASK BOB?
Anonymous
As a start to the new 2012 -2013 academic year
we decided to add a new fun column to the school newspaper The Express. We hope the new column will be a
warm welcome to the new students at AISA.
ASK BOB!! What’s ask Bob? It’s a new column
that will answer any of your anonymous questions, and
when I say any I mean ANY. These questions will be answered by an anonymous person presented as “Bob.”
The questions can be funny BUT they must be appropriate. If there are any questions that are inappropriate
there won’t be any answers to them. Your questions
don’t have to be school related. No question is too
strange or funny for Bob… trust us, he can take it. You
may ask about relationships, embarrassing questions you
would like answered anonymously, random things out of
the blue or ask for the hot new gossip (Bob’s resources
are unlimited)!! Don’t be shy and start asking Bob. You’ll
see the box by Mr. Chalmer’s office. Stop by any time
and drop an anonymous question in the “Ask Bob” box!
The only question Bob cannot answer is to reveal the real
Bob. Bob knows you, but you will never know Bob!
P.S. Bob has worked hard on the box so please no
VANDALISM!
Suggestion Box
The SCENE
Danna Atrak
This column is all about the voices of the AISA students! It’s time for everyone to speak up and say
what they think. Have you ever wished for things to change or improve? Even though they might not
change tomorrow, your opinions matter and we want to hear them. This year we want to hear more from
the students and what they would like to see improve. If anyone has an idea, make sure to put it in the suggestion box! It’s simple, outside Mr. Chalmers office there will be a suggestion box where students can
write down what they feel. If you wish for it to be anonymous then place a star on your paper! This column
is not about criticizing the negative aspects of the school but more about suggesting improvements so we
can get the most out our time at AISA and make our voices heard.
Students are already filling us in with their voices like Keshav Dalela who says, “I really wish there
was better canteen food.” He wasn’t the only one who complained about the food though! Meera Romanos, a senior says, the food in the canteen needs to improve for sure.” Other student’s stress that the canteen is just not big enough! Do you guys think that the canteen should get bigger? Reem Luqman, another
senior, suggested that the school gets a bigger canteen or at least another one so everyone has a cool place
to sit and eat comfortably! Hopefully in the future, the school can build another canteen so everyone can
sit happily and enjoy lunch together.
While some students stress about the canteen and the food, others are more concerned about
the interaction with the administration. Alia Youssef, a senior says, “I really wish that there is more communication and interactions between students and administration.” She was not the only one who stressed
about administration and students getting to know each other more. Many other students stressed how
they didn’t know the administration as well as they wish they did. Hopefully in the future the new administration and students will make the same important connection that existed with the previous administration team.
So don’t forget to share your great ideas and suggestions in the school suggestion box. The best
suggestions will be published in The Express and we will follow closely to see how our suggestions impact
the school environment throughout the year.
What’s Wrong With the World? Op –ED Sarah Chekhali
How many of us actually take the time and join our families to watch Al Jazeera in the evenings?
Here’s what’s been going on, that you may have missed…
Mohammed’s Tech Advice
Mohammed Al Mubarak
With the back to school season in full effect, there
are many choices to choose from in tech. Here are a selection of laptops that deserve to be on your shortlist:
Portability:
-MacBook Air: A no brainer for most, this piece of art is a
great ultrabook, blending portability, practicality, and performance without sacrificing any of them. Buyers with cameras
should opt for the 13 inch model for the SD card slot.
Pros: Elegant design, fast performance bundled with superb
software, very portable
Cons: Not so good in the gaming performance department,
shallow keyboard may result in subpar typing experience
Performance:
-Performance usually either means Image and video editing
prowess, or gaming performance. The following laptops are
good at both of these things, like really good.
Punk Band Is Convicted of Hooliganism in Russia (Aug. 17): An all-female punk band gets sentenced to prison for 2 years for annoying citizens with their graffiti and chaos. If we’re
putting annoying people in jail we might as well put away the whiney toddlers and people
who wear socks with crocs.
Syria sinks further into civil war (Sept. 1): Prime Minister Riyad Farid Hijab and two or more
other ministers left from Syria to Jordan. “I admit to supporting the opposition,” says Hijab,
and the two others agree. Also, The United Nations Security Council revoked its observer
from Syria due to the increasing violence and Obama vowed military action against the Syrian government if biological /chemical weapons (like the ones in WWII!) are moved. It’s the
biggest threat of US involvement so far.
Ecuador Grants Asylum to Julian Assange (Aug. 16): Ecuador announced it will grant political
asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Assange has been staying at the country's embassy in London while waiting for the decision. The decision further strains relations between Ecuador and Great Britain. Each country has its own punishment in mind for him…
scary! He might even face the death penalty if tried in the US. For those who don’t know,
WikiLeaks is a website that leaks all these government’s secrets…uh-oh, somebody
should‘ve kept quiet instead of airing people’s dirty laundry. We must admit though, he’s
got guts.
Apple launches iPhone 5 but... (Sept. 12): The long awaited iPhone has arrived! Some are saying that Apple is losing its magic and the new iPhone isn’t very competitive. It may look and
feel nice, but Apple has always been about the outside rather than the inside anyway. We
need to launch an inner beauty campaign against these people; maybe
they’ll up their software instead of hardware every time.
Rover Lands on Mars (Aug. 5) (SEE IMAGE!!): A plutonium-powered rover
named Curiosity lands on Mars! Curiosity will spend two years on Mars,
looking for evidence that conditions are fit for life. Forget Seychelles,
senior trip to Mars anyone?
Samsung Series 7 Gamer: The name says it all, Samsung has disrupted many industries, and when we
learned that it's delving into the gaming laptop market, we knew it was going to be big (pun intended). The
quad-core processor coupled with a high-end graphics card works wonders in both the gaming side and the
content editing side.
Honorable Mention: Macbook Pro 15 inch Retina Display:
Okay, I lied. This laptop isn't so good on the gaming side, but it's so good at everything else it I can't disregard it. Amazing screen, amazing dimensions, amazing everything. Except for the graphics card, what the
heck Apple?
The All-Arounder: So you don't want the best and the fastest and the lightest, and that's o.k. Just a tad
weird. There are a whole lot of laptops for you, here are some of the best:
Pavilion G6-1331: The ultimate budget laptop, this 2400 ish laptop uses a dual graphics system, which
makes this great for people who want to play pc games on a budget.
Pros: Good performance, graphics power, decent connectivity, sharp screen
Cons: Subpar keyboard, mediocre Speakers
We Are the LIONS!
Sports
SportsTake
TakeOff
OffRight
Right Away
Away
Ali Al
Ali Al Masaood
The Varsity and JV volleyball was the first AISA sports team to have tryouts, starting on
the second day of school. Mr. Hornblower, the athletic director and the coach to the varsity
volleyball team said “I’m excited about this year’s volleyball team despite the fact that few
students tried out.” Ahmad Yacout, a newcomer in volleyball said that the volleyball team is
solid this year. We all appreciate the hard work of the coaches and players in representing our
school. Swim team tryouts have also begun.
The swim team is new to AISA starting only two years ago, but from the looks of the
athletes the AISA swim team might just take home gold.
On November 11, soccer tryouts will begin. The AISA varsity soccer team succeeded in
Malaysia last year with the girls winning four of their five games and the guys clinching sliver.
Both Varsity and JV games begin the next weekend after tryouts.
Varsity and JV basketball start two days later on Nov.13th. Last year three of the four
teams brought home silver. Ahmad Abu Hijleh, the co-captain of last year’s varsity team, is
enthusiastic about this season and says “I’m sick of getting silver and I’m hopeful on coming
home with gold this year.”
The next sport is badminton, which starts late February with PE instructor Mr. Crowe
leading the team. Mr. Crowe says, “We need to fill some holes, but we’re always open to anyone
who wants to join.”
Track and field is the last sport to take off, starting in late February. Last year Mr. Huner,
one of the four coaches of the track team said, “The kids did very well. Next year, with more
meets, they could achieve amazing growth to their game.” Well its next year and with any luck
we can again show the strength and hard work of our AISA athletes. Don’t forget to check out
the updated athletics calendar to find game times so you can go and cheer on our athletes. GO
AISA LIONS!!!
JV Girls Volleyball Team
Varsity Girls Volleyball
JV Boys Volleyball Team
Varsity Boys Volleyball
Coach Erin Hayes and Jackie Romero
Coach Ashley Kroeger
Coach Shaun McTigue
Coach James Holloway and Daniel Becker
Dina Hammoud Gr. 10
Madi Brandes Gr. 10
Jasper Saenger Gr. 10
Ralph Young Gr. 12
Farida Rady Gr. 10
Sara Al Zaabi Gr. 12
Mohammed Kassim Gr. 10
Ahmed Yacout Gr. 12
UNDER 14 BOYS
Elli Repo Gr. 8
Xenia Williams Gr. 12
William Cossette-Sharkey Gr 9 Zaid Salamah Gr. 12
Adam Habash, Ahmed Osama, Arnav Wadekar,
Belal Kherallah, Cameron Bradley, Jonathan
Saenger, Omar Korayem, Patrick Wong, Yousef
Korayem, Zaid Deus, Omer Shaikh
Michell Mejia Gr. 9
Dahnia Asfour Gr. 11
Heidi Pavlic Gr. 10
Jasmin Eberle Gr. 11
Kaitlin Maharajh Gr. 9
Rebeka Frueholz Gr. 11
Yara Hashim Gr. 10
Julia Zakrisson Gr. 10
Gabriella McClymont Gr.8
Meet the Swim Team
Coached by Ms. Rumbolt and Ms. Robinson
UNDER 14 GIRLS
Camille Duchateau, Fatema Mohammed, Jade
Bienseant, Marion Hanquet, Sarah Habash, Yara
Aghabi, Sarah Dehbi, Anke Ledda
JV BOYS
Fadhel Al Marar, PJ van Heerden, Samer Akileh
JV GIRLS
Maggie Simmons, Reeba Khan
Arjun Kamra Gr. 9
Zeid Sharif Gr. 11
Mohammed Eter Gr.9
Omar Aamer Gr. 12
Ayoob Mohamed Gr. 9
Youssef Chehab Gr. 12
Dean Carstens Gr.9
Ali Cheikha Gr.11
Abdulla Al Blooshi Gr. 9
Nenad Stefanovski Gr.11
Jude Al Hajeri Gr. 10
Khaled Al Hammadi Gr. 11
Rami Shoukih Gr. 11
Melinda Knowling Gr. 9
Khadidja Dehbi Gr. 12
Yazan Akkad Gr. 9
Farouk Abdul Karim Gr. 12
Sonia Aamer Gr. 9
Jamie Jackson Gr. 12
Shyamsunder Srinivasan Gr. 8
AbdurRahman Kebach
Gr.10
Megan Jackson Gr. 9
Heidi Pavlic Gr. 10
Jasper Saenger Gr. 10
Megan Jackson Gr. 9
VARSITY BOYS
Aareav Balsu, Avery Mullen
P6