Volume III; Issue 3
In Memory of Ahmad
May 2010
Haiti Relief Effort Giving back to the Global Community
By TAMEEM SAMAWI ’13 STAFF WRITER
PHOTO BY MR. TOM VERDE
Students and Faculty alike gather in the King Adullah II Spiritual Center to mourn the loss of Ahmed Tarawneh ‘10, who had passed away a few days earlier in a tragic car accident. Please see “IN MEMORIAM” on page 8 for the Rexonian’s tribute to Ahmad.
Successful Community Service Trip in Ghana
In recent months, since the devastating Haitian Earthquake on January 12th, 2010, the King’s Academy student body and faculty members have been organizing several events to raise money for the Haiti earthquake victims. These ranged from Haiti bracelet-selling (with proceeds going to the country), Coffee House Nights, as well as several feeds. The two-hour Coffee House Night took place in the Gallery and featured refreshments and snacks. Some of the acts included in the Coffee House night included Mr. Tom singing a song (which pretty much rounded up King’s Academy in little more than 3 minutes), some exotic Indian dancing, a hilarious comedian who really “brought the house down”, beat boxing, and other performances. The event was organized by Nariuz Al Ajlouni ’10, Zaid Al-Nassir
STAFF WRITER
On Thursday, March 11, around 30 students and 5 teachers awoke early to catch their flight to Ghana. The plan was to spend 9 days working with underprivileged children at the New Life Orphanage, located in Ghana, as part of King’s Academy’s Community Service program. The students performed several tasks at the New Life orphanage such as teaching the orphans Mathematics and English, playing with them and helping out with sport activities. The school at the orphanage is still under construction, so the students also helped with cleaning and building the school. The children were split into groups, according to academic ability, and
each student helped teach a group. For other activities, the orphans were free to roam about and meet the students. The orphans were aged between 1 and 18 years old. The official language of Ghana is English, and, despite having good comprehension of the language, the orphans did not speak it very well. “Whenever I go to Africa and see how people live, I remember how blessed I am,” said Jin Seul Jun, “The trip was amazing; it was all I could have hoped for and more.” Before the trip, the students underwent a standard medical procedure; everyone had to be vaccinated against several diseases, such as Malaria. The long layover in Cairo see GHANA on page 2
Table of Contents Page 2
News in Brief
OPINION
Horoscopes
FUN PAGE
NEWS Page 3-4
Page 6
Theft on Campus Student Government Internet Blockage
Page 7 SPORTS
Talking to the Captains
The Day is Too Long Mother’s Day Page 8 Page 5 LIFE
My Experience in Ghana Featured Teacher: Ms. Sandra
IN MEMORIAM
Dedication to Ahmad Tarawneh ‘10
’10 and Fadi Hamati ’10 who also had their own acts. Thanks to their organization skills and the performers’ talents, the event raised 1035 JDs which all went to the families of the Jordanian victims of the earthquake. The event and the performers received many gracious praises from the audience, and this made the organizers very happy with the outcome. When asked if he would have another one of these Coffee House Nights, Zaid Al-Nassir ’10 responded with “Absolutely, events like this one are what King’s Academy is all about, raising awareness and helping the people, it is the perfect example of being a global citizen.” Another fundraising event King’s Academy had on campus was the Haiti Relief braceletselling. Several volunteers went around lunch tables selling bracelets that were engraved with see HAITI RELIEF on page 2
Zaid Al-Nassir ‘10 and Nairouz Al-Ajlouni ‘10, two of the organizers of the Coffee House Night, perform for a full house in support of Haiti relief efforts.
King’s Academy Students travel to Ghana to assist orphanage By SEEMA SAMAWI ’11
King’s Academy, Manja - Madaba, Jordan
PHOTO BY ROBERT BAHOU ‘11
Familiar Faces Return Mr. Tristan Chirico and Ms. Nancy Sykes return to teach at King’s By RAFAT NESHEIWAT ’13 STAFF WRITER
The year is almost at an end and the next school year is just around the corner. When everyone returned to school after spring break, Familiar faces reappeared. Who are these faces? One may ask. Well, it suffices to say they are teachers who taught at King’s in earlier years, and this will also happen next year. One of the teachers returning this year is the beloved Ms. Nancy Sykes, who taught American History at King’s last year. “She left to continue studying about the Middle East. What most people don’t
know about her is that she used to be a lawyer and studied the Middle East in the States after she left King’s Academy,” said Mansoor Ghotto ’11. Mr. Tristan Chirico, a teacher who inspired many students at King’s from its birth till last year, will be returning next year to teach Theater and Philosophy, courses that were made popular by his methods of teaching. Abdullah Khalayleh ’11 said that Mr. Tristan is “a very, very good teacher..” Not only are there teachers who are returning next year, but some who already came back quite recently. The constant return of
Mr. Tristan Chirico COURTESY OF COMMUNICATIONS
teachers to King’s shows the strong bond that teachers and students had in years that passed, and one can only wish that this will forever be a quality that King’s Academy’s students and teachers possess.