SAMIS Chronicle | Issue II Vol. 1

After a 2-year hiatus

SAMISians elect new SC members

by Yousef Yasser

NEWS NCSEE signs accreditation agreement with SAMIS

EDITORIAL

The Student Council Reborn: Setting New Standards?

CENTER FOLD

SAMIS Timeline and Progressive Community

In-depth news

SAMIS and Cognia on the Growth of Learning

by Rezkallah Fadi Douna

Cognia — the world's leading accreditation body — has accredited and recognized Shorouq Al-Mamlakah International School (SAMIS) for years. But what exactly is "Cognia," and how has it helped SAMIS grow?

Cognia is a non-profit organization responsible for certifying, assessing, and accrediting education systems all over the globe. Now marking its 125th anniversary, Cognia has recognized over 36,000 institutions in over 80 countries. Getting accreditation by this organization is no easy task, and SAMIS prides itself on being recognized by Cognia. “SAMIS pursued Cognia’s accreditation to improve the overall learning expereince based on set standards,” Mr. Leo Mendoza, the school’s Head of Coordinators, noted.

Initially accredited in 2014, SAMIS worked hard to receive certification from the organization. “We’ve been in contact with Cognia two years prior, making sure we have all the facilities and qualifications for external review,” Mr. Mendoza stated. “We received certifications in 2014 and 2019 after they rebranded from their previous name as AdvancED,” he says, as the school continues to exceed

Continue to page 2...

KSA reps win silver, bronze in KGL

by Moaz Ibrahim & Mohammad Aydin

Continue to page 3...

SAMISians compete in WRO qualifiers

by Awab Abdallah

SAMIS students have once again proved their excellence by achieving top ranks during the previous SABIC's World Robot Olympiad (WRO) final qualifiers, achieving a top 10 result by all four participating teams, held at King Salman’s Science Oasis in Riyadh from October 11-13, 2022.

Continue to page 3..

EPIC MYTHICAL CREATURES - SAMIS summons the four mythical creatures as students clash in a showdown of wit, strength, and talent during the first day of foundation week celebration.

Photos by Ehab Ahmed Memon

Thessaloniki, Greece

- Muhammad Aydin Khan and Mohammed Ibrahim Elfar emerged victorious after bagging silver and bronze in the Kangaroo Global Linguistics (KGL) Contest held from September 23 to 26, 2022.

The roles for the Student Council have been filled out for the year. Ahmed Essam, grade 12, handily won the election in a landslide, with 106 votes proclaiming him the president for this year’s SC. While Ijtihed Khilani, grade 11, was declared as the vice president securing 82 votes.

SAMIS

and Cognia...

expectations as an international school.

Ever since, SAMIS has worked hard to improve its educational facilities and students’ learning experience, as it must keep up with Cognia’s quality assessments. “It’s like a collaboration,” he mentions, “If they suggest to us to change part of our strategies or facilities, we will change them.”

This change goes beyond just the benefit of the students. “Not only would students benefit, but all the stakeholders of the school would do—from parents to teaching and nonteaching staff, and the administration,” he stated.

In November 2022, seven SAMIS heads and administrators traveled to Abu Dhabi to represent SAMIS in Cognia’s workshop conference. This workshop consisted of 30 “standards assessments,” discussing different strategies like culture, leadership, engagement, and learning growth. “The conference’s main focus was research and advanced learning in practice; we were required

from page 1

to present surveys and data on whether we were conducting proper research, learning, and conferences as a STEMcertified school.”

This is not temporary. SAMIS aims to constantly improve and uphold its standards and excellence as an international school. “The good thing about being accredited by Cognia is that they keep track of our facilities. We use platforms such as ‘MyJourney’ to hold surveys, record data, and take recommendations from Cognia.” Sir Leo also mentioned that things like student and parent surveys enable them to take notes on the learning experience in SAMIS.

Mr. Leo ends the interview with the following words, “Cognia has helped us grow in many ways. Now that we’re known internationally—winning global contests like WRO, FLL, and KGL—our aim is to improve our record and become an international and accredited learning institution.”

SAMISians elect new SC members...

frompage1

On November 3, 2022, students from middle school and high school gather to vote for this year’s SC members. The other newly elected members are Abed Alrhman Akkad, the Executive Secretary; Saif Abdulelah, the Director for Values, Peace and Order; Zeyad Kamel, the Director for Sports and Competition; and Abdulaziz Alzahrani, the Director of Finance.

“I plan on making this [batch] one of SAMIS’ best Student Council, and to do so, we must make sure to walk as much as we talk. Being the first batch with new [SC] rules, we cannot rely on past platforms or plans because they are irrelevant when compared to this new system,” Essam stated.

Some of the platforms of the new SC members are focused on personal and academic growth. These ideas include the search for multiple activities and competitions inside and outside the school. Essam also assures the student body that they will be shoulders for students to lean on.

The president even gave a hint on an event that is coming up.” I cannot

say a lot, buT all I can convEy is that an event is coming up, so stay prepareD and eXcellent.”

Essam was asked what he would do when he is opposed by his members and expressing his open-mindedness, he stated, “I always like to come to a middle ground. I was chosen to accept or deny proposals and to act on them”. Essam promises that every idea will be heard, and meetings will be held to make them realistic, but decisions will be made in accordance to the school’s vision, mission, and goals.

Mr. Martin Kit Guzman, the Student Council coordinator, states that the results are satisfactory. Prior to the election results, Mr. Guzman expressed trust in the candidates stating, “the school is in good hands whoever wins”.

As for the hopeful Abdalla Sabir, Grade 8, he said, "I am are loooking forward to what the new student council members can do. I can't wait to what projects they can implement and accomplish this school year for the benefit of all the SAMISians."

SAMIS enters a new era of technology

Following the latest announcement about plans to adopt three new electronic systems, Shorouq Al Mamlakah International school is ready to utilize technology’s full potential.

The first system being the Expert Solutions System which is an academic platform for students that aims to show

by Abdallah Sabir

students all the things they need to know about how they’re doing in school. This includes their homework, test reports, tasks, their schedule for classes, etc.

The second service is the BlueRide system, an app for bus service and student departure. It seeks to provide students with a quick and secure pickup experience. The BlueRide bus

management system also makes it easier for schools to have real-time access to information about students' attendance. Another benefit is that the bus arrival is shown on the app without any distracting noises for neighbors.

Finally, we have the Student Performance Report System, this is a monthly report that shows the teachers’

views on the student’s academic and behavioral performance. It is aimed to show parents how their child is performing in school.

Many seem to look forward to the positive impact that these new systems will bring. This will be a much needed step to raise the quality of education and to propel SAMIS towards the top.

ALL SET - The Academic Heads of SAMIS BS and GS attended the Cognia IMPACT Conference 2022 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates last November 12. This conference aims to to introduce Cognia's new 30 performance standards. Source: Ms. Reem Fattah

STUDENTS' VOICE - (Top) Ahmed Essam, SAMIS Congress presidentiable, shared his platforms to the high school students. (Bottom) Mohammed Ibrahim Elfar, Managing Editor of Chronicle, asked questions about students' concerns to Ijtihad Kilani, SAMIS Pentagon vice presidentiable. Photos by Ehab Ahmed Memon and Loay Mostafa

NCSEE signs accreditation agreement with SAMIS

by Abdurahman Mohammed Ibrahim

The National Center for School Evaluation and Excellence (NCSEE), an Education and Training Evaluation Commission (ETEC) affiliate, signed a cooperation agreement with Shorouq Al Mamlakah International School (SAMIS) last October 21 to start implementing school evaluation and accreditation processes.

The agreement aims to promote a standard-based evaluation that ensures the school’s provision of quality education. It also measures the school’s performance in terms of fostering creativity and innovation, and its capacity to meet developmental and social needs.

This is part of the school’s constant effort to achieve its vision which is to be in the top 5 international schools in the kingdom. It also increases confidence in the school from all sides, especially potential enrollees and colleges.

“A lot of the parents that come

here are doubtful and hesitant as it’s tough to tell whether a school is of good quality. This is the reason we went for this accreditation as it’ll make the parents feel confident in their school choice,” Mr. Badr Alsufyani, SAMIS Boys Section Principal, said.

The path to this accreditation is almost over, as the school has already completed most of the conditions needed. However, the school has not given full details yet as to what specific areas have been accomplished.

“I can only tell you one thing and that is they are very strict in evaluating. Despite that, we’re almost there, and I believe it’s only a matter of time before we get it,” Mr. Alsufyani said.

Although it makes the accreditation more difficult for the school, the standards set by NCSEE ensure that the SAMIS has the quality required to be accredited and gives the accreditation itself value and trustworthiness.

SAMISians

All four SAMIS teams achieved the top 10 ten ranking in the national contest, with the Girl’s Section's "Robo Power" and "SAMIS Robo GM" achieving 4th place and 6th place in the Junior Category, respectively. The Boys’ Section's "AI space" and "True AI" received 4th and 2nd place, respectively.

With the theme, “My Robot, My Friend”, more than 200 students participating from different parts of Saudi Arabia were able to showcase their creativity and problem-solving skills.

The school's faculty carefully chose the teams representing SAMIS to compete in this open robotics contest. They were given an all-expenses paid trip to Riyadh to compete in the competition where the students had to work under immense time pressure, pulling all-nighters to complete their assigned tasks.

Each team had to create a prototype and code it. Along with a presentation in which they explained their product and its practical uses to a band of judges. The teams were given five days to complete the projects before their trip to the capital. Upon their arrival, the groups were escorted to the hotel where they would stay for their visit.

from page 1

On the first day, the contestants were shown their hotel and allowed to see the venue where they would present their outputs. That night, the participants had to fully prepare their project for the next day's mock presentation. "None of us slept, "we stayed up all night finishing the presentation and the code," Ijtihad Kilani, a member of SAMIS’ AI space team, said.

On the second day, the team waited a couple of hours before presenting the mock presentation to the judges and national television. The judges approached them with several revisions to further improve the production. The representatives returned, fixed the display, and practiced for the big day.

On the day of the actual contest, the teams did their best and presented for the final time before the panel of judges before breathing a sigh of relief and waiting for the results of their hard work.

"At that point, I was just glad for it to be over with, we did all we could, and the rest was for the judges," Ijtihad inquired about it.

Later that same day, the judges revealed the winners and proved that SAMIS was a rising star that could not be stopped.

KSA reps win silver, bronze...

The competition was participated by thousands of students from different schools across the globe. After two elimination rounds, only 106 qualified for the finals, after which only three qualifiers per level were declared winners.

Despite giving their best, Aydin and MIM did not expect to make it on top, considering the number of participants who joined the competition. They were surprised when their names were called during the winners' announcement.

"It was a great experience filled with excitement around every corner," Aydin said. "It was a life-changing experience." Mohammed Ibrahim added.

Mr. Majed Al Rubaian and Mr. Aldrin Bulatao, country managers, supervise the two delegates on their KGL journey in Greece.

The participants’ mentors, Mr. Kristian Lego, Mr. Klarc Luis Tamayo, and Mr. Jhaymarth Ortiz were very proud of Aydin and MIM’s achievements, emphasizing that their hard work and efforts paid off.

This event will open doors of opportunities as SAMIS is expected to make the KGL contest open to different international schools in Taif City for the coming years. The next competition will be held in February 2023.

A1 Level

from page 1

Global Winners 2022

1st Place - Boryana Angelova (Bulgaria)

2nd Place - Alexandra Isaac (Romania)

3rd Place - Umay Ayda Dogan (Turkey)

A2 Level

1st Place - Leylanur Simavli (Turkey)

2nd Place - Avina Ayanifard (Iran)

3rd Place - Muhammad Aydin Khan (Saudi Arabia)

B1 Level

1st Place - Rex Alphonse Reventar (Philippines)

2nd Place - Nadezchcia Dyulgerova (Bulgaria)

3rd Place - Hung Pham Thanh (Vietnam)

B2 Level

1st Place - Chindanai Ponsing (Thailand)

2nd Place - Mohammed Ibrahim Elfar (Saudi Arabia)

3rd Place - Thu Vu Anh (Vietnam)

QUALITY ASSURED - Mr. Badr Al Sufyani, BS Headmaster, signed an agreement with the National Center for School Evaluation and Excellence to ensure the quality of education in SAMIS. Source: Mr. Abdullah Ashmawi

INNOVATIVE MIND - The members of TRUE AI team presented their masterpiece - Voice Activated Robo Nurse - to the judges of SABIC World Robotics Olympiad at King Salman Science Oasis in Riyadh. The team won 2nd place in the Senior Category of the event. Source:Mr.RomarP.Pascual

WAIVE OUR FLAGS - KGL delegates - Mohammed Ibrahim Mohammed and Muhammad Aydin Khanraised the flags of Saudi Arabia and SAMIS after winning silver and bronze medals in the Kangaroo Global Linguistics competition in Thessaloniki, Greece. Source:Mr.MajedAlRubaian

Shorouq Al Mamlakah International School

The Student Council Reborn: Setting New Standards?

The Student Council — one of the most anticipated organizations of the year to represent the students’ voices — was known for not following through with their promises and being passive. Now, after a 2-year halt due to the pandemic, the Student Council has been reborn. Will history repeat itself, or will they break their infamous past like we hope for?

Originally established in 2014, the Student Council was held every year for students to vote for who represents the voices of the student body. Their aims and objectives focus on improving the learning experience in school, both for the students and teachers. They held rally campaigns, debates, and various promotions to win the students over. They have made many promises that are “beneficial” to the student body, but many of these promises went unfulfilled.

Year after year, Student Council representatives were elected and wished for many changes that never saw the light of day. For instance, the Student Council of 2019 promised many things like “e-sports competitions” and “extended break times”, when none of these came into effect. Another example would be the Student Council of 2016, when the elect-president promised to get rid of “mistake of one, mistake of all”—a former disciplinary rule wherein an entire class gets punished for the misconduct of one student. These promises contributed greatly to these representatives’ success in the elections, yet they never did what they promised.

While it may seem like the Student Council’s “irresponsibility” is the root of the issue, it is arguable that they have struggled to hold their ground in school. In previous years, many have mentioned that they did want to fulfill their promises, but instead got rejected in the face of the school’s administration. Instead of being the students’ voice, they were just as voiceless. In addition, the Student Council of 2019 mentioned that they had no budget to execute their plans, and the recent pandemic shutting them down entirely. These faults were something out of the Council’s control, but now that we have recognized and fixed most of said faults, the Student Council should have no issue executing their agenda.

All in all, it is looking hopeful for the new and “reborn” Student Council. Our new representatives have colorful visions for the future of SAMIS, and now more than ever, they have the power and determination to execute it. Let’s hope and believe that this council marks a new legacy and sets the proper standards for the future councils to come.

Adviser's Note

First of all, I would like to congratulate the new members and newly appointed editors of SAMIS Chronicle for this academic year. Your honesty, integrity, and determination have made you deserving and worthy of your spot in the publication. Remarkably, you were able to produce the 2nd Volume, Issue No. 1 of the school newspaper. Commendable, indeed.

While deserving the praise of being campus journalists, please be reminded of the power of humility and wisdom as a leader. Never forget that the organization exists to serve the studentry by providing unbiased and true information and developing reasonable opinions that directly affect you and/or students.

Remember that your work greatly contributes to the betterment of the institution. You matter. You are a solution. What you do is worthy of recognition. I can’t wait to see your creativity and critical-mindedness in the next issue of SAMIS Chronicle. Kudos!

Mr. Klarc Luis D. Tamayo School paper Adviser

The Space Race: Not a Sprint, But a Marathon

Outer space—the epitome of human curiosity— has been wondered about for millennia, from the ancient Mesopotamians to Aristotle and Ptolemy, to Copernicus and Galileo. It was an unreachable dream for them, and now we are going above and beyond these dreams. We stepped foot on the moon, put rovers on mars, and even traveled past Pluto, outside our solar system. Yet, albeit the momentous distances we have traveled, we still trample each other over who gets to feed this "curiosity" first.

This so-called "Space Race" is actual and has been around since the mid-20th century, during the Cold War. The United States, Russia, and China—known as the Big 3—have been competing for who can pioneer the space exploration industry. "We put a man in space first," and "We set foot on another planet first" that we have hindered our collective advancements by trying to fulfill our individual wants. This egotism could plateau our progress, rendering all our efforts in reaching the unreachable useless.

In their efforts to "win" this space race, many aeronautical organizations have hastened their projects and sent missions way too early. Especially in its early stages, overlooking any minute detail could lead to unprecedented outcomes, which was, unfortunately, the case for many space missions. These outcomes ranged from minor casualties to catastrophic fatalities, tarnishing aeronautics' reputation and crushing many's visions for space travel.

For instance, one of the first space missions to send a man into space—the 1967 Soyuz 1—was supposed to set the Soviet Union as the domineer in human-crewed space missions. Unfortunately, due to the Soviet Union's neck-in-neck competition with the United States Friendship 7 space mission, the Soviet Space Program hastened its procedures

and tried to launch the task as fast as possible. Unaware of the consequences, they launched astronaut Vladimir Komarov into orbit. After a series of tribulations—from the left solar panel malfunctioning to the reentry parachute failing—Soyuz recorded the first fatality in spaceflight.

Another disaster caused by the contest between the Big 3 was the United States' Challenger space shuttle, which was even more catastrophic than any failure seen before at that time. In 1986, the United States wanted to send the Challenger space shuttle carrying seven astronauts and a second relay satellite, wanting to be the first of the Big 3 to observe Halley's comet passing close to the earth. However, a fire started and destabilized the rocket due to their computers' miscalculations that went unverified and unexpected weather conditions that day. The rocket eventually broke apart, taking the lives of all seven astronauts on board.

Some might argue that this competition for the "pioneer" in space travel may give more drive and motivation to strive higher and do better. While this partly holds, the current space race is unhealthy and provides a way for egotistical beliefs. Instead, space organizations can and should collaborate to launch more prominent and successful space missions to go beyond and discover new parts of our space. Exploration aside, we have consistently achieved more united together rather than independently, and this holds for most of human history.

All things considered, what we have advanced in space travel is a momentous feat, taking us to lengths we did not know was possible. However, to keep our progress rising and protect it from plateauing or falling behind, we must work together to develop our shared future. This "space race" is not a sprint for who's first. It's a marathon we all finish together to reach the future.

Cyber Bullying: The Biggest Threat to Mental Health

Mental health often goes under the radar for many people. It’s seen as a secondary and trivial thing, while it should be a necessity of life. An instance of giving it little value is when others commit bullying.

Bullying is one of the most destructive things to mental health. While bullying can be prevented in a classroom environment, with teachers keeping watch, it can’t be as easily prevented in an online environment, which is devastating to students’ reputations and well-being.

Students utilize social media and instant messaging applications.

Through these applications, they can message each other and create friend chat groups, where they can help with homework or hang out; however, as beneficial as these applications can be, they also have a sinister side.

These applications can send harsh, inappropriate, and insulting messages to students. Unfortunately, it is not as easy to report these things, as the perpetrator can unsend their messages, which breeds distrust among classmates. In addition, teachers and guidance counselors can’t quickly tell

who’s lying since there aren’t any visible signs of abuse; most of the time, they ignore the allegations.

It allows for the harassment to get worse. It can escalate to blackmail and the leaking of private or sensitive situations. It can destroy a student’s reputation and cause them to become outcasts. The emotional trauma is confirmed. The sadness or guilt experienced isn’t any less damaging than actual bullying. Cyberbullying leads to mental illnesses and, in the

worst cases, can lead to self-harm and suicide. The people being cyberbullied have no one to talk to. This act needs to stop; people need to be aware of the dangers of cyberbullying and how it isn’t a joke that’s to be brushed off. We need to make people aware of the power of words. We need to make people aware that their actions can have devastating responsibilities.

It doesn’t have to be this way. We can help people through their pain and bring awareness to this obscure topic. Take action, and help people turn their lives around.

Faith: Keeping One's Morality Intact

Everyone has had to choose in life, and most of the time, an essential contributor to that decision is whether it's "right" or "wrong." When we were kids, we always thought this matter was straightforward. We always thought it was clear what was right and wrong, and we were wholly unreasonable and illogical to pick what was wrong and be the "bad guy" in the shows we watched. Why would you want to harm the world and others? Why would you like to cause destruction and corruption? Why would you be that selfish?

However, growing up, we realize that the situation is much more complicated than black and white. That is because there is no true morality in logic and reason, as worldly humans are ultimately selfish and can justify any act given the proper conditions. The only thing that can stop this justification process, however, is the outside.

If you straightforwardly ask people, most normal people will say they would never choose to be evil. However, many of those same people would falter, given the perspective of someone who chose the other side. For instance, if you

or any other person watches a show or a movie from the perspective of a hero, you will side with the hero. The shocking thing is that if you watch the same performance with the same characters and story from the opposite perspective, chances are you'll side with the villain. That is simply due to the person's reasoning process in each scenario.

How that reasoning process works is very simple: I am in these conditions, so it would benefit me to do this and this. So it is the primary thought process of humans to use only worldly logic, even if their conscious fights this decision and even if it comes at the expense of others. That consciousness will be convinced once the conditions are severe enough.

Let me demonstrate everything I said using a simple example. When we were kids, we all watched Batman, and we always rooted for him as he is the good guy. We also always wanted the Joker to fail as we hated the destruction he caused to Gotham City. However,

when the new movie depicting the Joker's perspective was released, watchers surprisingly sided with him as they saw all the abuse he received that put him on a crazy revenge mission on "the unsympathetic people" of Gotham City. Showing his perspective instantly convinced people of his actions and even led them to cheer him on. This situation reached the point that police needed to go undercover in theaters to ensure no acts of violence occurred after the film (The Washington Post). The only way to keep morality from going into the abyss is through religion and remembrance of the afterlife. After all, if you remove those two from your thought process, there is absolutely no reason to do "good," and there is almost no definite way to know what is "good." This is because it reaches a point where it is simply pointless to care about others or whatever happens to them unless that directly affects you. That is simply because the conditions can put you in a place where this choice, for example, killing a person, is a choice

that is very beneficial to you while there is no downside to doing it. After all, why would the person be more important to you than yourself under those severe conditions; his death isn't going to affect you ultimately. So you can get away with it, your life will be better, and you'll completely forget about it. You might even tell yourself that they were going to die anyways; it was only a matter of time.

I understand that you might be utterly shocked by what I wrote, but that is because I wrote it out of mere logic and reason to show you how far everything can be justified without religion. With the faith put into consideration, the whole cycle I went through gets shut down from the beginning as you cannot get away with an evil act like that since you'll pay for it in the afterlife, making it completely unreasonable. And doing good, even if it inconveniences you in this world, will benefit you in the longer run. It's as simple as that. This is the only way to keep one's morality intact, as logic and reason can allow everything under the right circumstances.

Video Games: The Internet’s Double-edged Sword

“Hey! Stop playing those video games so much, they are bad for you.” is a sentence I’m sure we’ve all heard at least once or twice before, but have you ever stopped to think about why they’re bad for you? Well, contrary to popular belief, video games are actually pretty good for you. Video games have long been recorded as having negative effects, from causing violence to desensitizing children to horrible things. However, new studies that have been conducted show that video games have positive effects on children and adults alike.

In the past, we have made and produced games that give a bad reputation to gaming itself (think Grand Theft Auto, Call Of Duty etc.). These games have a violent nature—which is okay for their intended audience of players age 18 and up—and are not marketed towards children. The problem starts when news and media outlets report on these games and “conveniently” exclude the games’

age rating, thus tarnishing the gaming industry.

Looking past their reputation, video games are a workout for your mind disguised as fun.

First Person Shooter games (FPS) games can improve spatial awareness and muscle memory as well as reflexes. Puzzle solving games help with improving problem solving and analytical skills alongside boosting creativity. Story based games help improve instantaneous and accurate decision-making skills and help build a decisive mindset. These skills are important in our daily lives, and are proven to be further enhanced by positive effects of video games.

In a study published by C. S. Green & Bavelier in 2012, participants who played shooter type games showed faster and more accurate attention allocation, higher spatial awareness

and enhanced mental rotation abilities, meaning an improved sense of one’s surroundings and adaptability. A meta-analysis (Uttal et al., 2013) found that the benefits of video games on spatial awareness were comparable to formal (High school and university) level courses aimed at improving the same set of skills.

Regularly doing puzzles and playing puzzle games helps to establish new connections inside your grey matter, which improves your shortterm memory. A University of Michigan research discovered that participants who did puzzles for 25 minutes a day improved their IQ scores by four points. This helps with real life decision making and problem solving. Most of our daily tasks are repetitive but some require said problem solving skills.

Now some might say that video

games cause addiction and while that might be true in some cases, most people are not addicted to video games. The brain can develop and addiction to anything that causes the release of dopamine, the brain’s “happy” chemical. This means that anything enjoyable activity could be addictive so it’s best to enjoy things—like gaming—in moderation. Setting a limit on the amount of time played as well as engaging in other activities outside gaming helps to stop addiction.

At the end of the day, video games have had a bad reputation that has affected their ability to do good in our society but they can help with our day-to-day lives as well as our mental abilities. However, like most things, video games should be used in moderation to take advantage of their positive effects without causing negative effects that might out weigh them.

SAMIS: Years of Successful Endeavors SAMIS: Years of Successful Endeavors

20

07

Shorouq Al Mamlakah International School was founded in 2007. It is recognized as one of the schools in Taif City that provides the highest quality international education. It comprises Boys and Girls Sections from kindergarten to 12th grade.

20

14

Mr. Majed Al Rubaian presented the plan for the new construction site of SAMIS for the Boys and Girls Section to cater to the increasing population of enrollees.

20

16

20

19

COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global outbreak of coronavirus. It is an infectious disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus.

Schools, including SAMIS, closed because of the rapid spread of the virus.

First Virtual Graduation

SAMIS created the Media Department headed by Miss Reem Fattah from the Girls Section and Mr. Kristian B. Lego from Boys Section. The department's objective is to disseminate news to the masses concerning vital occurrences or information about the school. The team organized the First Virtual Graduation in the middle of the pandemic.

SAMIS Chronicle and Journal

SAMIS assigned Mr. Klarc Luis D. Tamayo and Miss Jonalyn D. Manalac as the school paper adviser of SAMIS Chronicle (Boys Section newspaper) and SAMIS Journal (Girls Section). Hazem Gaber and Sedrah Mohammed were the first Editors-in-Chief. They produced volume one of the newspapers during the Graduation Ceremony

Kangaroo Global Linguistics: Greece

SAMIS representatives for the Kangaroo Global Linguistics (KGL) marked a legacy in Greece.

Mohammed Ibrahim Mohammed won 2nd Place in B2 Level, while Muhammad Aydin Khan won 3rd Place in A2 Level. The school will continue the KGL Competition in Saudi Arabia. They will invite other schools in Taif to join the prestigious competition.

Philippine Curriculum to American Curriculum

To achieve its goal and fulfill its mission of spreading quality education, SAMIS utilizes the American curriculum following the international standard under the supervision of the Cognia organization (known previously by AdvancEd). It is the first school in Taif City and one of the best schools in Saudi Arabia that accomplished the Cognia accreditation in 2013.

New Building; New Beginning

SAMIS community

20

20

20

20

celebrated its 13th Foundation Day in the new Boys Section building. The school had a football field, four Science laboratories, a computer laboratory, an art room, a canteen, a student cafeteria, the main hall, offices, and big classrooms.

SAMIS Virtual Learning

20

21

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, online learning has been adopted in all stages of education. To continue the quality education to the students, SAMIS signed a contract with Classera company to implement an online learning management system to help teachers and students interact via online lectures, use online courses, and to do activities uploaded by teachers.

20

21

20

22

New AY after Pandemic

20 22

20 22

SAMIS opened its door again to the students of the Middle School and Hgh School departments by following the Health Precautionary Measures prescribed by the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education. After six months, the school allowed the Elementary Department to have its face-to-face classes. The school also organized Family Day, Foundation Day, Arabic and Islamic Competition, English Caravan, and Graduation Ceremony. The school also joined competitions such as Kangaroo Mathematics, Bebras Competition, Gulf Day for Creativeness, and the Kangaroo Global Linguistic Competition initiated by.

WRO Winners in Riyadh

The Reasearch and Science Department spearheaded by Dr. Siraj Alharti and Mr. Romar P. Pascual sent delegates for the SABIC's World Robotics Olympiad in Riyadh. The Voice Activated Robo Nurse by True AI team won 2nd Place in the Senior Category. The Autonomous Drone Germ Detecting and Disinfecting of AI Space vwon 4th Place in the Senior Category.

by Ali Eslam Mohammed Tayeb

Imagine deciding to devote a third of your inheritance to charity. That’s precisely what Princess Al-Anoud, at the age of 27, may Allah have mercy on her, did. That generous act eventually gave birth to the Princess AlAnoud Foundation.

The Princess Al-Anoud Foundation is built on the core value of supporting Saudis in projects, knowledge, or networking. Not to mention their tremendous effort in promoting empowerment and volunteering. With Princess AlAnoud Foundation’s support, the lamp will never stop shining in Saudi. Their outstanding support for projects and organizations gives ambitious Saudi citizens hope that they should never

give up on their ideas. It gives hope to the many organizations partnered with Princess Al-Anoud Foundation that the support is always there. This hope will keep Saudi citizens thinking, finding new ideas, and discovering. The dedication of the Princess AlAnoud foundation may hopefully fulfill their first vision: fulfillting the will of Princess Al-Anoud. Their non-profit charitable efforts also support the empowerment of Saudis, as they have helped over 150,000 people, helped 2000 orphans every year, donated over 8 million bottles of water, built over 507 housing units, and, to top it all off, built over 17 mosques. These efforts should be noticed.

For these many years, progress has been immense. And they aren’t slowing down, as every other day, you could see recent news stories about their new agreements and new support for different programs. With this, to strengthen the community service program and to support volunteerism, SAMIS signed a community partnership agreement with the Association for Civil Development in Al Qeem and Princess Al Anoud Foundation on September 8. Then, to welcome the foundation, SAMIS presented a theater play with the theme “Expressing Belongingness to the Homeland” It’s truly inspiring how far they have gotten. The dedication from

start to finish was incredible, and the progress happened in just over two decades. This foundation is the future of Saudi and will hopefully continue for years to come.

For more information, check the websites of the Association for CivilDevelopmentorscanthisQR code.

Progressive Community

Princess Alanood Foundation: The Light that Never Goes Out Creating Opportunities for the Future

by Kareem Mohammed (Kareem Waleed or Mohammed Sir?

As high school students, we are bombarded with so many choices we need to make for our future. One of them is choosing the best and top rank universities such as Harvard, Cambridge, Yale, Stanford, etc. But how do we get into these top-ranking universities? Well, Misk Foundation is extending a helping hand for us.

Misk Foundation is a non-profit organization that was founded in 2011 and has been supported by HRH Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Abdulaziz. Misk Foundation aims to create a dynamic ecosystem for young Saudi talents that nurture and empower them to shape the future of Saudi Arabia and the world.

SAMIS, represented by Mr. Majed Al Rubaiaan - General Manager, and Dr. Mohamed Eid Bin Mahmoud, former professor in the Faculty of Medicine at Taif

University, attended the meeting of the Misk Foundation for Distinctive College Preparation Program.

The Distinctive College Preparation Program is a 2.5-year journey that builds capabilities and supports ambitious and high-performing school students securing places at prestigious toptier universities such as Harvard University, Yale University, Stanford University, Princeton University, and more.

SAMIS students showed interest in this scholarship program. According to the criteria, applicants must be Saudi nationals. He is currently a Grade 10 high school student. He demonstrated top-level academic performance in Grade 9 with a GPA equal to or above 90% (similar to or above 80% for IB and British System). He can write and speak English equivalent to a TOEFL IBT score equal to or above

75, IELTS Academic score similar to or above 6.0, or a Duolingo test score equal to or above 100. The applicants are involved or have been involved in at least one extracurricular activity. He is committed to participating in the program. To assist the students in increasing their chances, they’ll be able to take part in a variety of summer programs, standardized exam preparations, personal development coaching, and admission consulting. The participants will be immersed in an active, intensive, and experiential coaching programs that will help

them become highly desirable candidates for top universities.

The registration started last August 29 and closed last October 22. Our applicants for this program will have their orientation on April 2023, and the program will end in June 2025.

This program offered by the Misk Foundation is a great opportunity that we should not let go. It will not only help us increase our chance of getting a place in prestigious universities, but it will also be a way to hone our skills and improve ourselves holistically.

The World of Graffiti

MeettheArtist

Mr. Elyas Abdulhaq

He studied Chinese language and Mechanical Engineering in China. He came back to Saudi Arabia to study Islamic Religion and Saudi laws at Taif University.

He founded Art Club at Taif University and he participated in the Souq Okaz Art Exhibit in 2017 and 2019.

He is currently the Art teacher of Shorouq Al Mamlakah International School.

A sorrowful farewell, a new beginning

Keep on thriving, never stop learning, and chase your dreams!

The teacher adored and admired by the SAMIS community is taking the next step in his professional career by going to the United States of America!

Sir Aldrin A. Bulatao is achieving his dream of becoming a teacher in the USA.

Early Life and Career

Sir Aldrin Aquino Bulatao was born in the historical land of Bataan. Sir Aldrin finished his Bachelor of Secondary Education major in English at Bataan Peninsula State University. He worked as a Customer Service Agent in a call center company in the Philippines. Sir Aldrin also worked as a Service Crew at Jolibee Inc. - a fast food restaurant. After passing the licensure examination for teacher, he immediately applied abroad and started his teaching career at SAMIS in 2017. In 2018, he became the English Supervisor

by Mohammed Ibrahim Mohammed

during the pandemic. Then, Mr. Leo Mendoza passed his position as High School Coordinator to Sir Aldrin in 2021. He also served as the Kangaroo Global Linguistic Country Manager in 2022.

Hopes For The Future

Sir Aldrin looks forward to experiencing new professional growth. He looks forward to knowing and working with other experienced teachers in the core curriculum of America. This dream was challenging to achieve; the decision to apply took a lot of thinking and planning. Sir Aldrin decided to bite the bullet, prioritizing his goal and professional career, and embraced the unknown. This paid off in the end. The application process went very smoothly, being completed in only five months. Sir Aldrin prepared for the next chapter in his life, but he didn't forget the wonderful community of SAMIS.

Extraordinary Life in SAMIS

Achieving your dreams can sometimes be bittersweet. Sir Aldrin, while doing what he always wanted to do, misses the entirety of the SAMIS community. He misses the staff, students, and fellow teachers' support. This supportive environment is what allowed Sir Aldrin to flourish. The love by the community was described as "like that of a family." He misses being able to relate easily with different people. The SAMIS community has left Sir Aldrin with a plethora of memorable experiences and events, one of which is the KGL Contest.The experience, from finding the contest to going to Greece, was a highlight in Sir Aldrin's career. He takes pride in allowing the students of SAMIS to compete internationally and will enable them to shine.

SAMIS was Sir Aldrin's first school, and it taught him many lessons, the most important of which was

learning to leave his comfort zone. "When you're out of your comfort zone, learning occurs, " which couldn't be more accurate. Sir Aldrin's most significant step out of his comfort zone was his departure from The Philippines. If he had stayed in his comfort zone, he wouldn't have been the person he is today. SAMIS allowed Sir Aldrin to advance in every aspect of his life. SAMIS gave him many responsibilities. SAMIS gave Sir Aldrin the support he needed to become more confident and experienced. He learned to be more effective and efficient; over time, he rose to the very top. Sir Aldrin became aware of many different cultures, allowing him to gain great insight into the many ways of living. The SAMIS community wishes the best for Sir Aldrin in his future endeavors. Who knows? Some of us might get the chance to meet him again very soon.

Aliens on our Planet

Written by Mohammed Radwan / Illustrated by Ziyad Mohammed

recruited Ambush, an entity that can kill at blazing fast speed, and he has 2 big scary eyes and 1 much bigger mouth he can use to swallow an enemy or an attack. Giga Chad also recruited Demogorden, who cannot see, but his other senses are much better, and if he hears an enemy, he will never leave you alone if he is close, he can listen to your heartbeat, so you must control your breathing.

So let’s see if he can defeat the 2nd invasion!

In addition, in his human form, she was surrounded by electricity. She would send out electro-balls, creating electroshock and sometimes a microcontroller burst that would go over the maximum energy of the chip and burn and burst the chip.

The legends are true; aliens are on our planet, haunting us mostly at 3:00 am and 6:36 pm.

Several astronauts are saying that they saw UFOs coming into Earth. Pilots also saw them surrounding the plane and destroying it with their Galaxy Auto Magnetic Lasers.

7.6 billion saw an alien, 4.3 billion people were suffering from it, their houses were destroyed, and they got a strange sickness called Zelienska. Half a billion died and were kidnapped from the invasion; this was only the first invasion.

The strongest countries’ militaries are fighting against UFOs and aliens on the ground. The countries US, China, Russia, Turkiye, Italy, and South Africa are in the invasion. Unfortunately, some aliens are camping on Earth, and Bolon Dusk, the wealthiest person and CEO of SpaceY,

SUDOKU

LEVEL: Medium

still needs to find a way to live on another planet and survive there.

The people are desperate for help; even Iron Man and Spiderman are desperate for the first time, and 3 billionaires are dead.

When the world thought they would die from desperation and be obstructed by the aliens, they forgot 1 legend, and he is Giga Chad. As a result, he reached his maximum potential.

He had flaming punches ready to attack anyone or anything in front of his eyes and path. He used his Hypera Static Jump at a UFO and BOOM, he killed all the aliens on the UFO (Which are 2,500 aliens) and smashed it. The problem is that he lives in Russia and must arrive on time.

The second invasion has begun, and now aliens are everywhere in the world! Giga Chad wanted to create a team, so he started recruiting. He

They started, and they separated. Ambush went to Europe and swallowed the aliens, and UFO is just 15 days all in Europe! Demogorgon went to North and South America because he hated those continents, and he ate, chewed the aliens, and shredded them with his teeth in just 35 days because he was not that fast. Giga Chad smashed the UFOs and Aliens with his bare foot and hands around Asia, Oceania, and Africa in just 2 weeks! After they were done with the invasion, they rested and planned for the third and final invasion, which involved a UFO or a MotherUFO, which was barely more extensive than the size of Taiwan!

Therefore, they wanted to recruit more legends, so they started. They recruited Darker, a small monster the size of a soccer ball with black entity slime around its face. The monsters look terribly horrifically bad, looking like monsters that lurk in dark areas, and if you don’t find them behind you in time and look at them, you will get eaten. However, this monster is still fast at attacking. He can shoot 750 aliens at a time!

They recruited Chi-Zi-Too, an animal-looking creature that can transform into an electro-human and a cheetah. She had bolts around his body, and she was yellowish orange and went very fast when she saw someone.

They finished recruiting, got into their max 2500 KTS plane, and went to Taiwan, where the invasion started. They went there, and there was trouble. Taiwan was going to be destroyed quickly, so they got out quickly and attacked!

Ambush swallowed the Galaxy AutoMagnitic Lasers with his big mouth and then reflected all that damage but 50x times more muscular at the MotherUFO and dealt 500 million out of 5 billion hit points.

Demogorgon got into the UFO and killed the aliens inside, and by shredding most of the aliens inside, he dealt 1 billion hit points and 1.5 billion out of 5 billion. Next, darker made the whole country dark and then bit the MotherUFO and sold 500 million hit points and 2 billion out of 5 billion hit points. Finally, Chi-Zi-Too ran around the MotherUFO, ate all the aliens inside, transformed, turned into his human form, sent out a gigantic electro ball, and made a burst, dealing 2.5 billion hit points and 4.5 billion out of 5 billion.

The MotherUFO is burning and collapsing, but it is still invading, so… Giga Chad got his GIGA KICK and kicked the Mother UFO, burning it and sending it to another universe, saving the world with his team. They finished! THEY WON! But only when Bolon Dusk saw this mega horrifying worse desperate for beautiful creature haunting his house and reproducing, but the legends didn’t know this, but they got the best rest of their life with a good ending but to a bad start of chapter 2

LEVEL: Hard

Elemental Warriors • Episode 1Mysterious Thing

Story by Izz Musaad / Illustrated by Ahmed Debsy

SAMIS@16: Celebrating Cultural Diversity

Cultural diversity is one of SAMIS’ many strong points. Appreciation for these cultures is necessary for maintaining unity and harmony in the SAMIS community, and Foundation Week is known for bringing acceptance in a fun and interactive way.

With the theme “Strengthening the Cultural Exchange in SAMIS,” SAMISians celebrated the school’s 16th Foundation Day from October 18-20, 2022.

The foundation day commemorated the school’s achievements. They reflect on these accomplishments by integrating a showcase of different cultures, clothes,

dances, and food. This delivers the important message that the success of the SAMIS community is not a solo endeavor, but it is the work of hundreds of talented teachers, staff, and students from all over the globe.

Students are tasked to represent the culture of a specific country with support from their adviser. The teacher and the students coordinate a dance that represents the themes of the culture.

In addition, the students are also tasked to create a costume that complements the dance and the country, as well as creating an expo that showcases the history, customs, and foods of the country.

“It creates a great opportunity for

students and teachers to interact and get to know each other on a more personal level,” Sir Paolo Azul S. Canicosa, Adviser and Mathematics teacher of Grade 10 Ambassadors, said.

The represented countries this year were The Philippines (Grade 7), Japan (Grade 8), South Korea (Grade 9), Finland (Grade 10), South Africa (Grade 11), and Nigeria (Grade 12).

The winners of the Cultural Expo were South Korea (1st Place) represented by Grade 9 and their adviser Sir Kristian Lego; Nigeria (2nd Place) represented by Grade 12 and their adviser Sir Kenneth Sibal; and South Africa (3rd Place) represented by Grade 11 and their adviser Sir Klarc Luis Tamayo.

The winners of the cultural presentation were South Africa (1st Place); South Korea (2nd Place); and Finland, represented by Grade 10 and their adviser Sir Paolo Azul Canicosa.

“It was great seeing all our hard work pay off. It was really entertaining to see the other performances, and exciting when it was our turn to present,” Sir Kris said.

The event showcased the true unity of the SAMIS community, and it demonstrates the strong moral lesson that no one can achieve greatness on their own. We wish SAMIS greater success in the future, and the SAMIS community wishes to share this success equally.

Photos by: Ehab Ahmed Memon and Loay Mostafa

APPRECIATING OWN CULTURE - (from left to right) Grade 12 students presented a theatrical play about the history of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Elementary students joined the activities during the program. Photos by Loay Mostafa and Ehab Ahmed Memon

by Mohammed Babiker / Translated by Sir Aseel Antar

by Mohammed Ibrahim Elfar

Monkeypox, The New Unknown Disease

by Osman Mahdi

The new monkeypox disease is an enveloped virus with a double‐stranded DNA genome of around 190 kb. It is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients. Monkeypox virus is a member of the Orthopoxvirus genus in the family Poxviridae.

In more detail, monkeypox was discovered in 1958 when two outbreaks of a pox-like disease occurred in colonies of monkeys kept for research. Despite being named “monkeypox,” the source of the infection remains unknown. However, African rodents and non-human primates (like monkeys) might harbor the virus and infect people.

Most people are scared of monkeypox, but there is a vaccine for it. The vaccine is completely free. It has two

doses, each 28 days apart from the other. Many people might mix monkeypox and COVID, but they have a lot of differences. First, monkeypox does not spread easily, unlike COVID. Infected people with monkeypox are more accessible to identify than the ones infected with COVID. Finally, monkeypox outbreaks are more straightforward to contain than COVID outbreaks.

It’s easier to contain infected people with monkeypox because it does not transmit from human to human very efficiently. Also, since it is easier to identify people infected with monkeypox, it is easier to quarantine them. For this, it is easier to stop the spreading of the disease.

In the end, monkeypox is a dangerous disease, but if we are careful and take the vaccine, then preventing it is possible.

High school students compete at first SAMIS research colloquium

by Ahmed Abdelnasser

AI-controlled robots, comparison of miswak and tootbrush, and solar-charged cars were among the topics high school students presented at the first SAMIS Research Colloquium held last June 14.

Selected students of grades 1011 presented their research proposals supported by parallel research, while the grade 12 students presented a complete research paper.

"This colloquium aims to develop students' scientific ability and innate curiosity towards their surroundings," Mr. Romar Pascual, STEM Supervisor, said. "Those who didn't present were still immersed in writing a research proposal and learned how to start the research process," Mr. Pascual added. The research presentation was scrutinized and judged by Mr. Ibrahim

Mafouz, a former professor of the college of medicine at Taif University. He also talked about the significance and relevance of conducting research in the new milieu. Dr. Siraj Alharti, SAMIS Head of Research and Development, also attended the event.

This is an effort to make the students become research-oriented individuals and to make the school a center for research and excellence.

"I am in constant communication with the school's Head of Research and Development, Dr. Siraj Al-Harti, and we hope to publish more and more completed research." Mr. Pascual said, as for SAMIS's plans ahead, "We plan to make research a SAMIS tradition and to allow high school students opportunities for mental and psychological development for years to come," he further stated.

Sci-dept holds STEAM Research Expo

by Shady Ahmed

To encourage students to develop their scientific ability and critical thinking skills, Sci-Math Department organized Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) Research Expo on September 29, 2022.

Under the supervision of Mr. Romar Pascual and Mr. Abdullah Ashmawi, the Science and Mathematics Department came up with the STEAM Expo, an exhibit program in which the students from grades 7 to 12 were required to work together and think of creative and educational scientific research.

Dr. Ayman Al Harbi, a scientist by profession, a retired Physics teacher, an astronomer, and a well-known STEM trainer and consultant in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was the resource speaker of the program.

Dr. Al Harbi helped the participants to understand the importance of scientific research for future generations. "Right now, this generation depends on your youthful mind. You are the future for the upcoming years of this world," Dr. Al Harbi said.

Comments and suggestions were provided to the student-researchers to improve their work. “Sir Ayman provided feedback on how the projects can be better, and on how students can reframe their mindsets. One of the goals being sought in this Expo is for students to have an innovative, creative, and unique project,” Sir Romar, Science Department Supervisor, said.

SAMIS plans to make this program a yearly event. They will open it to different students from all grades

“In the future we want this Expo to be an annual activity. The rollout should be bigger. It will not only be for the selected students, but it will be open for all students ranging from elementary to high school with the help of their Science, Math and Computer teachers too. It will also be placed in a bigger venue to provide more opportunities for the students of SAMIS” Sir Romar stated.

Three groups were hailed as winners in the event. 3rd place were the Grade 6 students namely Omar Adel, Yamen Khaled, and Abdulrahman Khaled with their research topic “Micro Drone with Microbits.” They were coached by Mr. Robin Aler and Mr. Zacharie Meto.

2nd place were the Grade 10 students namely Abdullah Hajid, Ali Islam, Nour Ayman, and Shady Ahmed with the research topic “Extracting DNA from Fragaria Ananassa, Musa, and Actinidia - a Basis for Biotechnological Genetic Engineering”. They were coached by Mr. Paolo Azul Canicosa and Mr. Louis Guinto.

1st place were the Grade 7 students namely Mohammed Aydin and Saif Hesham with the research topic “SPARC - The Efficiency of Solar Panels as Alternative Source of Energy Compared to Rechargeable Battery.” They were coached by Mr. Felix Olarita and Mr. Mj Sadicon.

Other group of students presented the following scientific research topics: Grade 8: Flood Control and Monitoring System using Arduino; Grade 9: Exploring Chemistry with a Red Cabbage using PH Indicator; Grade 11: The Rubber Hand Illusion - the Science Behind the Mind-Body Connection; and Grade 12: Solar Powered Farm.

RESEARCH COLLOQUIUM WINNERS

Research Papers

Best Research Paper: The Efficiency of Utilizing AI Technology in Vehicles' Driving Automation through Unity 3D Simulation by Abdullah Gouiaa, Noah Motaz, Noor Eldin Mahmoud, and Mohammed Khidr

Best Research Presenter: Noor Eldin Mahmoud

Best Research Poster: Abdullah Gouiaa

Research Proposal

Best Research Paper for Grade 10: Utilization of AI Controlled Robot for Surface Area Disinfection and 3D Path Finding by Ijtihed Kilani, Fahad Mohammed, Awab Al Faki

Best Resereach Presenter for Grade 10: Rezkallah Fadi Douna

Best Research Paper for Grade 11: The Use of Isolated ACC Deaminase on Plants under Stress as Growth Treatment in Comparison to the Use of Nitrogen Fertilizers and Bacterial Fertilizers by Loay Mostafa

Best Research Presenter for Grade 11: Ahmed Essam

Published Papers

Medicinal Effects and Phytochemical Composition of Capparis

Cartilaginea: A Review ISSN 2218-3973 (Bioscience Research)

Proponents: Dr. Siraj Alharti, Mr. Romar P. Pascual, and Islam Mohammmed Islam Tayeb

RAS Gene Mutations and Their Prevalence in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Review ISSN 1811-9506 (Bioscience Research)

Proponents: Dr. Siraj Alharti, Mr. Romar P. Pascual, and Islam Mohammmed Islam Tayeb

Grade 3

Omar Ahmed Makram Salem

Grade 10

Ali Mohamed Eslam Tayeb

YOUNG RESEARCHER Nouh Moutaz, Batch 2022 alumnus, presented their research project to the panelists of the program. Photos by: Awab Abdalla

BEYOND IMAGINATION Rezkallah Fadi Douna discussed their STEAM project to the judges. Photo by Sir Kristian Lego

Morocco: The first-ever African nation to reach a FIFA World Cup semi-finals

by Safwan Emad

Morocco created a historic moment in the World Cup as the first African and first Arab country to advance to the semi-finals.

The Atlas Lions made a remarkable 1-0 victory over Portugal in the quarterfinals Saturday morning, December 10.

Morocco took the lead after Youssef En-Nesyri victoriously score a jumping header goal on the first half of the game putting Portugal among the shocked teams in Qatar.

Morocco maintained a strong defense while Portugal frustratingly tried to bury the ball in the back of

the net. A breakout success scene is when Bono saved from Joao Felix and Ronaldo as he tipped the ball behind for a corner.

This achievement has united the continent in celebration. Social media videos show car horns blaring late into the night in Casablanca; Moroccan fans dancing in Trafalgar Square in London and celebrating in Paris; and Rabat’s Street is crowded with people erupting in joy.

Atlas Lions Morocco will compete with the winner of England and France in the semi-finals on December 14.

eSports Scene in Saudi Arabia

by Hamza Kamran (Guest Sports Writer)

One of the main goals of the Saudi Vision 2030 is to diversify the Saudi economy, and what better way to do that than to invest in the leading trend of the entertainment industry.

Entertainment has been highly influential to us since man walked Earth, from cave paintings to Greek plays to English theatre to modern cinema, entertainment has been extremely profitable throughout the ages. The next and biggest innovation in the entertainment industry is gaming. Games have shown time and time again that they are the future of storytelling, entertainment, and competitions. And seeing that Saudi Arabia is currently home to 23.5 million gamers-equivalent to 67 percent of the national populationinvesting in gaming is exactly what the Saudi government has been doing for the past few years.

In late 2017, the Saudi government announced the Saudi eSports Federation, an organization in charge of nurturing an electronic sports system that connects the Kingdom with the world and enables champions to shine at the global level. Since its establishment, SEF has hosted many national and international tournaments and events and has gained investments both nationally and internationally.

Saudi Arabia puts an end to Argentina’s 3-year record breaking win streak

by Mohammed Rashid

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

makes history with a 2-1 comeback victory to defeat Argentina, ending Argentina’s chance to beat the world record and gaining a 3-point lead in their group.

Argentina was on the verge of greatness, being 1 win away from tying Italy’s record of 37 unbeaten games streak. Argentina’s FIFA World Cup opening matchup was against 2nd lowest ranked team of the Cup, Saudi Arabia, and it seemed almost inevitable that Argentina was going to tie the unbroken record. But remarkably, Saudi Arabia put a halt to it.

The match kicked off in the World Cup’s host Qatar. Argentina was looking solid, with Lionel Messi scoring a well-placed penalty to give them the lead early-on. The two-time champions,

however, struggled to crack through KSA’s defense line. Herve Renard, head coach of the Greens, with his brilliant strategy, caused Argentina to get 3 goals disallowed due to cleverly timed offside trap tactics.

During halftime, Herve proceeded to give them the pep talk of a lifetime, helping them regain confidence and passion.

Saudi Arabia scored only 3 minutes into the 2nd half, with Saleh Al Shehri out pacing Argentina’s Romero, and barely sneaking it past the goalkeeper’s gloves. But that wasn’t enough for the Falcons, because only 5 minutes later, Saudi Arabia’s mastermind Salem Al Dawsari pulls off a flawless dribble, getting past 2 defenders and proceeding to score the goal of the tournament.

The president of SEF Prince Faisal bin Bandar, said “Tens of thousands of passionate fans and gamers have come together in this short period to reaffirm the importance of working collectively in achieving our vision and goals in harmony with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030. By carrying this early momentum and investing in it, we are building a sustainable and inclusive esports scene that delights gamers of all kinds.”

The establishment of this organization and its backing by the government is leading the Saudi eSports leagues into global territories,

as a matter of fact, on the 2nd of November 2022, the Saudi eSports Federation signed a Memorandum Of Understanding with the Global eSports Federation under the agreement that each federation will use its assets to contribute to the global gaming and esports industry. Prince Faisal bin Bandar said “We will work together in this strategic partnership to accomplish and fulfill the plans and visions of the Saudi gaming and esports industry. In the interest of the community and the esports scene, we look forward to a productive and mutually beneficial partnership”. It is also reported that Saudi Arabia will invest 21B$ into this agreement by 2030. But this isn't the last of the billions Saudi Arabia is going to invest in this sector.

Recently SAVVY Gaming Group, a Saudi government-funded investment group acquired ESL gaming and FaceIt- two of the biggest eSports hosting companies- for 1.5 billion $. These two industry-leading giants will be merging into the ESL FaceIt Group. The merge will allow the organization to work towards “supporting more regions and grassroots initiatives, and provide further stability in a rapidly growing landscape.”

The CEO of ESL gaming said “ Our mission remains unchanged: to create a world where everybody can be somebody. Our merger with FaceIt along with the backing of SGG will give us more know-how, capabilities, and resources than ever before to deliver on this vision”. This acquisition means great things for Saudi eSports teams, they will now be on the map and will compete in larger events than ever before.

Saudi Arabia has obviously recognized the potential in the eSports industry and will continue to invest in this sector. Now, more than ever is the best time to get into eSports and make a name for yourself and your country.

HISTORY MAKERS - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Quarter Final - Morocco v Portugal - Al Thumama Stadium, Doha, Qatar - December 10, 2022 Portugal's Pepe misses a chance to score. Source: FIFA World Cup

GIANT SLAYER - Argentina’s Lionel Messi stands beside Saudi Arabia’s players celebrating their team’s 2-1 win during World Cup match play Tuesday in Lusail, Qatar. - Photo Source: Los Angeles Times