Hajj Photo Essay Three share their personal accounts of their first time at Hajj. Page 4
Kite Runner Review This movie has no need for big-shot actors or expensive special effects. The story stands alone. Page 6
Brighter Horizons Academy
Volume 5 Issue 3
Technology Review
Editorial
Apple releases the thinnest notebook, the MacBook Air Page 6
Lack of student participation in sports tournaments. Parents need to step up to the plate. Page 7
January 2008
Garland, TX 75044
Getting the paper from the trash to the recycling bin Blue bins in every classroom serve as reminder to recycle
By: Aziz Hammoud Staff Writer Nothing screams out “please recycle” like a blue bin with a recycling symbol in the corner of each classroom. Recycling is not a new trend at the Academy; however, greater emphasis has been placed on recycling paper this year. The Recycling Program, headed by Denise Gonzalez, chemistry teacher, distributed a total of 56 recycling bins into classrooms, lounges, and front desks of both campuses. Daily, a team of volunteers stop by each class after school to collect recyclable materials. “Most of the trash that we throw away at school
is paper. So the goal of this program is to get these papers from the trash cans to the recycling bins,”
Gonzalez said. Late in the previous academic school year, Gonzalez proposed the program as a major noncurricular
Recyling Percentages
According to a recycling habits survey conducted at the academy the trend shows that those who do recycle tend to recycle: 46% paper, 33% plastic and 21% aluminum. Graphic by Javariah Khan
project to school officials, who accepted it and offered their assistance to ensure its success. “We are eager to help preserve the environment by keeping both the school atmosphere and the outer atmosphere healthy,” Dr. Adnan Omran, school principal, said. Freshmen regularly volunteer to do the pick-up routine at the end of each day. “Asim Jetpuri [freshman], Usman Asad [freshman], and I go from class to class and take the small blue bins and empty them into a bigger bin which we empty into the dumpster. This routine usually takes 20 minutes,” Es-Haq Hassanin [freshman] said. Volunteers often sort through recycled items to find non-recyclables.
See PROGRAM page 2
Abitibi Consolidated based in Arlington provides two bins for the recycling program. Prior to this academic year only one bin was used, however, recycling awareness now has more parents bringing in their recyclables necessitating another bin. Photo by A Zidan,
Maintaining standards of accreditation
Moving towards the next level By: Zeena Alkurdi Editor-in-Chief
It has been one year and two months since the academy became accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges & Schools (SACS). Since then, BHA and its academic system have undergone many changes, improvements, and alterations. The academy must maintain the seven standards of accreditation: vision and purpose, governance and leadership, teaching and learning, documenting and using results, resources and support systems, stakeholder communications and relationships, and commitment to continuous improvement. The maintenance of these standards has been the focus of the past year. “Since obtaining accreditation, the academy has been in compliance with these standards,” Omran said. “As documented in the standards, continuous improvement must always take place.” Many of these improvements, such as the development of the Quality Initiative, have already begun taking place. “The focus of this initiative is the quality of education that students receive to enhance the learning/teaching process,” Omran said. “Each department will be reviewed and observed by an independent consultant that will give the academy a comprehensive report of
See SEEKING page 3