GUESS THE STUDENT AND WIN A HOMEWORK PASS!
SAVVY STUDENT TIP #823 If you forgot your homework , don’ t say th e dog ate it—it’s old now. Try something like, “I lost it while running away from a heavily armed Nazi zombie soldier.” Tha t should work!
Vol. 1, Issue 2
See Qui C’est contest, pg. 2 The Middle-School Newspaper of King’s Academy
12 January 2017
Mystery of the missing scroll
Independent study period and the art of finishing HW
By Aman Serhan It was twelve o’clock in King’s Academy’s campus when a shadowy figure creeped to Mr. Eric’s classroom. It produced a paper clip. After fiddling with the lock, it was finally able to break into the room. The figure was tall, wore a face mask that covered its face and head.
By Aman Serhan Some people think that Independent Study is a chance for them to finish all of the homework at school. However, others think that it is just a waste of time. Which is it then?
The figure tiptoed over to the Chinese scroll on the wall and carefully took it off. Then it went to Mr. Eric’s desk and took something else from it. It then left, carrying the scroll and the other mysterious object with it. It carefully replaced the lock and took off.
Middle School Dean Ms. Reem said, “So I think Independent Work is a great place for students to take ownership over their own time and say that they’re going to invest in this time in a way that will pay forward into their education later on.”
It was seven o’clock on King’s Academy’s campus when another shadowy figure-- no, that was Mr. Eric. He went into his room, stretched his arms and looked around. The room looked relatively normal. Except, where is the Chinese scroll?! Mr. Eric searched everywhere for it. He darted from here to there. He doesn’t remember taking the scroll off.
Seventh-grader Rashed AL’Zoubi said, “You get to finish your homework in school and, because like, you feel that you’re going home late but actually when you go home, you have nothing to do.” However, not everyone does that.
He went to grab a cookie from the tin. It was surprisingly empty. Mr. Eric was certain of the fact that there were at least three cookies in there last night. Something is definitely wrong. Mr. Eric was sure of it. Maybe someone broke into his room last night and stole both the scroll and the cookies. But why?
Some people finish all of their homework while others don’t. Rashed, for example, claims to finish around one third of his homework. On the other hand 7th grader Janti Yamek, claims to finish all of it and sometimes has some time to spare.
Mr. Eric decided to go out and have some fresh air. On his way out, he noticed some cookie crumbs on the floor. The floor was clean when he left last night. Mr. Eric shook his head and went out the door.
Janti said, “ If we don’t a lot of homework, yes.” Different people mentioned various ways of being distracted. As Rashed stated, some of them include music, people talking, the break and the “long stuff.” He also mentioned that he sometimes wastes his time helping other people. However, Janti, on the other hand, claims to get distracted by his own friends talking to him. He was honest enough to mention that he sometimes joins the conversation as well. Some people think assigning us to different rooms is helpful. Rashed said, “If you are not with your friend, you, will get less distracted and you can focus more on, like, your homework.” However, even when the rooms are mixed up, you are bound to end up with some of your friends. Rashed said, “In the Harkness table upstairs, I have with me, Awn, and Michael and Rakan. Yeah, yeah, those ﺍاare, are my main friends in the room.”
Janti Yamek and Mustafa Al-Karbooli wire a circuit together for the Minimester digital bookmark project. (Photo by Abeer Nammari)
MS GRADING SYSTEM EXPLAINED By Abdullah Al-Ashram King’s Academy Middle School launched earlier this year with a new grading system different than the standard grading system in Jordan. King’s claims that this system will help a student become a deep learner. They believe this new grading system will make students insightful about school. This grading system consists of a mastery level scale that is not considered as grades, but as feedback. The main goal of this scale is to help a student reach mastery, according to English teacher Eric Hansen. They believe this method will help a student truly know his level without being pressured with tests. But how effective is this novel and unique grading system? Some students have complained about the new grading system and its implications toward students. “I believe it isn’t as effective as expected. It discourages students and isn’t different than the common grading system. They both negatively impact a student,”said Ahmad Al’Zubi. On the other hand, other students have actually said great things about this new system. “I think it’s good. It helps me know my academic progress. The only problem is that parents mistake it for marks and not as feedback,” stated Haseeb Haddedeen.
Another person agreed with Haseeb’s idea and clearly showed her affection toward this grading system. “I really like it, because it is clearly different than other school’s grading system,” said Tara Abughazaleh, a seventh grader. “I really like how each teacher has a goal and want to pursue the objective of making students deep learners.” The only thing that doesn’t ring a bell to students is the fact that this grading system wasn’t implemented at the high school. Many have pondered and contemplated on why high school have a totally different grading system than middle school. Mr.Nadim Sarhan had an answer to this ongoing question. He said, “I think high school has been there for ten years. They have followed a specific grading system for a long period of time. I think I would have done the same thing if it was in my hands. High school would become chaotic and it would be too late to change student’s mindset.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
Out on the lawn, Mr. Nadim was sitting on a picnic table, using his laptop. When he saw Mr. Eric, Mr. Nadim took a double take. He pulled himself together and went over to Mr. Eric asked him what’s wrong. Mr. Eric told him about the theft. Mr. Nadim gulped. When it was time for English class, eight grade students filed into the room. They noticed the scroll was missing. When Mr. Eric told the class what happened, they all felt sad for him. Except for Abdallah, who was frowning and looked very uncomfortable. When Mr. Eric was tidying up his room, he found a piece of paper he never saw before. He unfolded it, an eight-grade level math quiz. The whole middle school was talking about last night’s incident. “Who do you think the thief is?” asked Maya. “I don’t know,” says Taline. “It can be anyone.” “But why? Why would someone want that scroll?” “I agree. The scroll is valuable to Mr. Eric just because it was a gift.” All of the students and faculty members are confused. Except for two, who look very uncomfortable and try to drift out of conversations. However, another student was absent that day.