May 2012 - American International School of Abu Dhabi

Vol. 2, No. 7
May 2012
“The Express here -- your best source for exciting, diverse and bold news about AISA’s multicultural community.”
Athletes Rack Up Awards
Inside: Collectible Int’l Night, Cricket Posters
Yearbooks! Seniors: June 4, Everyone: June 5
Boys: Saif Sleiman, Faris Salamah, Sam Jovanovic, Farouk Abdul-Karim, Ali Cheikha, Jasper
Saenger, Mito Owino, Khaled Al Shaikh Ali, Jonathan Saenger.
Girls: Danielle Cobrand (not pictured), Xenia Williams, Dana Aghabi, Farida Rady, Sonia Iqbal,
Melinda Knowling, Elli Repo, Clare Lee.. / Photos by Mr. Baron
By Zayed Al-Nahyan (Grade 12)
We Are the Lions! Co-Editor
Now that the sports season has
come to an end, it is time to praise
the student athletes who have represented the school in a positive
manner on and off the field.
On April 26, the school’s athletic
director Mr. Hornblower and
coaches handed out sports awards,
including team MVP, grade MVP
and overall athlete of the year.
(Check the AISA website for the
full list of MVP’s.)
Seniors Danielle Cobrand and
Saif Sleiman were named overall
athletes of the year, which was
renamed the Tim “Syndy” Synoground Award last year.
Cobrand played on the varsity
volleyball and soccer teams. As
varsity soccer captain, she was also
named MVP of the team.
“It feels great to win the overall
MVP,” she said. “I wish I was there
to receive it, but it’s still something
I’m very proud of accomplishing.”
Sleiman played on the varsity
volleyball, soccer and badminton
teams.
“It felt amazing,” he said. “This
is my last year at AISA, and I
worked really hard with three
sports. It was challenging organizing my studies, especially traveling
to Kuwait and Malaysia. But it was
a really fun year, and it’s something for me to remember my time
at AISA. I’d like to thank my
coaches.”
Mr. Hornblower said:
“Athletes are athletes no matter
where you are in the world all are
ambitious and have a competitive
spirit,” said Mr. Hornblower.
“Players practice hard then take
what they have learned in practice
to a game situation; tournaments
build up the experience, techniques, sustain pressure in a better
manner on the other hand building
team work causes the student athlete become more outgoing and
socialize more.”
¡Qué Viva La Noche Latina!
Mixed Reactions on School Going Co-Ed
By Lamees Al-Makkawy
(Grade 12) AISA’s Voice
After being open for 17 years, starting next school year, the school has
again received approval from ADEC
to become co-educational, with the
girls’ side remaining segregated.
But are students and staff ready?
“AISA is going co-ed because we
believe it gives a better education
experience and it’ll allow us to offer
more subjects,” said school director
Dr. Jones. The 2006-2007 school
year also started with co-education,
but it only lasted for six weeks.
Following this, the school closed
briefly to rewrite schedules and hire
more teachers.
“Within a couple of weeks, parents
said it had been rushed, there wasn’t
enough discussion, and they didn’t
like the idea,” said Dr. Jones. “So
ADEC said to go back to being a
segregated school.”
Over the past month, forms were
sent home, in which parents were
asked whether they would prefer to
enroll their children to the segregated
or co-educational side.
“The results have been different in
different grades,” Dr. Jones said. “In
middle school, it's 50-50 in regards to
By Steffanie Sanders (Grade 12)
The Scene Co-Editor
Nearly 50 people saw the school's
talented Spanish-language students
own the stage at this year’s secondannual Latin Night in mid-April.
On April 18 in the TimGym,
High School, IB-1 and IB-2 Spanish students all gave a variety of
performance . Last year's Latin
Night was also a variety show, with
songs, skits and a cooking show.
Overall, the event – organized by
Spanish teacher Mrs. Aida Montenegro-Loughran – was a noteworthy success.
“Every year our Spanish students
present a Latin night to celebrate
the diversity of our culture, and I
am proud to present this sample of
their work,” said Mrs. MontenegroLoughran.
The variety show started with IB1 student Jagan Srinivasan as MC,
who introduced the IB-2 girls in a
classroom, then the IB-2 boys in a
travel explaining a PowerPoint
about traveling to Latin America.
This led to the IB-1 girls in an
interview show, hosted by Xenia
Williams. Emila Repo then performed a song on acoustic guitar.
Her final guest was “Shakira y el
leon” – the senior girls with Reem
Lari as Shakira, and her backup
dancers performing “Waka Waka
(This Time for Africa).” The IB-1
boys — Los Cool Rappers —
closed out the student portion.
5 MONTHS
since support staff were
supposed to move to
new housing.
girls going to the co-ed or girls only
side. In high school, there are more
girls going to the co-ed side than
staying on the girls’ side.”
Plans for next year are that the girls
-only section will be on the second
floor girls side, while the second
floor boys side and third floor will be
co-educational. The Admin are still
planning teacher's schedules for next
year.
Freshman Fatima Shaker is excited
for next year.
“The world isn’t segregated, you’re
going to have to see boys and deal
with them, going to school with them
every day will help with that in the
future,” she said. “It’ll be interesting
to work with the boys again, see how
they’ve changed and hopefully grown
up since the fifth grade.”
Sophomore Ahmed Nadeem
agreed. “Now the students will behave more, especially the boys, because they can’t be stupid around
girls and have more competition,” he
said. “I would perform better. Afterwards, we’ll be going to university,
which is co-ed anyway, so going coed now is better for us for the future.”
In regards to the seniors, they are
Armand Gurgu (IB-1) said, “I was
proud of how our Spanish rap group
managed to perform despite the stage
fright of a number of our performers.”
IB-2 Spanish student Mohamed Shaker agreed, “The IB-1 students in particular really showed how much effort
they put into it.”
After the student performances, special guest performances made the night
even more memorable. The first guest,
Amarita Vargas, performed a captivating solo Flamenco dance with rhythmic
foot tapping.
The finale was a group of Mexican
dancers from La Sociedad Mexicana en
Abu Dhabi. Their performance excited
the crowd by twirling their colorful
dresses and shouting while moving
from the old gym floor to the stage.
Both guests provided a more cultural
experience, as did the Mexican dessert
presented at the end of the night.
Shaker said, “There were a lot more
cultural elements in this year’s night
and the variety of events and the level
of organization far exceeded last
year’s.”
“It was a wonderful night, filled with
a truly Latin atmosphere,” said IB-1
Spanish student Ralph Young . “Señora
Aida was amazing in organization and
management and the show went
smoothly.”
(From top to bottom:) Group shot; the Mexican Society of Abu Dhabi performing a
traditional dance; Samantha Kettle, Jessica van der Walt, Tzu-Hsuan “Queenie”
Chao, Reem Lari as Shakira, Zahra Lari and Kevin van Hoogstraten as the Lion;
Armand Gurgu and “Los Cool Rappers;” Flamenco dancer Amarita Vargas.
/ Photos Aisha AlHajeri.
Senior Trip and
Students Enjoy First
Amazing Alice in
Spirit Month / P. 2
Formal Dinner P. 2
Wonderland Jr. / P. 5
Senior Figure Skater
Makes Headlines P. 6
Illustration by Lamees Al-Makkawy.
either unaffected, disappointed, or
skeptical.
Jordan Murray said, “If I was here
next year, I would go on the co-ed
side because I always went to co-ed
schools until grade 11, when I came
to AISA.”
However, she did not think it
would last.
“Hearing that AISA tried to make
the school co-ed before and then
went back to segregation gives me
doubts that it will last this time as
well.”
Senior Hana Al Ameri would have
remained on the segregated side if
she had been here next year.
“I prefer working with girls,” she
said. “We work better together.”
Best of luck next year, AISA!
Desert Safari
By Hamdan Al-Nahyan
AISA’s Voice (Grade 12)
More than 75 high school students
enjoyed the second annual desert trip to
Al Khazna in mid-April.
On April 17, students had a lot of fun
as they chatted, listened to music and told
jokes as they journeyed there.
Once the students arrived, there were
many activities to choose from, including
dune bashing, sand skiing, camel riding,
falcon show, horseback riding, henna
hand-painting, quad bike riding and
dinner buffet. Students paid AED 150
each to attend.
Abdulla Romaithi from Student Council said: “The purpose of the trip was to
show students UAE culture.”
Students such as Mansour Al Romaithi
(Grade 10) enjoyed the trip.
“I love a challenge and I love speed,”
said “So of course for me it (my favorite)
was the ATV’S. A few of us went dune
bashing. That was wild, but really, it was
so much fun. I was laughing so much and
sometimes I caught myself screaming.
“You know, it is always different when
you are doing this stuff with your buddies from school,” he continued. “Of
course I had to go camel riding. No one
can go to the desert and not do this. Man,
I had a blast.”
Mrs. Huner, secondary school guidance counselor, found this trip exciting as
well, as it was her first time riding a
camel.
“I like camels, they really are very
nice,” she said. “I also drank lots of tea, I
like tea. I had so much fun here, out in
the desert, although it was quite hot. I
also climbed to the top of the sand dunes.
That was a lot of hard work, but it was
worth it. I’d like to do this trip again next
year.”
How did Badminton teams
fare at ISAC? / P. 6
AISA’s Voice / What’s Up?!
2
May 2012
Seniors Enjoy Trip to Dubai Mall, Global Village May Day Lilies From French Dept.
By Ahmed Al-Ketbi (Grade 12)
AISA’s Voice Co-Editor
Nearly 100 seniors enjoyed traveling to
Dubai for their class trip, to get their
minds off studying for once and have a
little fun, in late March.
This year, on March 21, students set off
from school at 12:00 pm. where it was
organized by assistant principals Mr.
Morley and Mrs. Jones. Last year's
senior trip was to Ferrari World.
Students first headed to The Dubai
Mall, where they spent their time shopping, having lunch and playing at Sega
Republic.
Their second destination was Global
Village entertainment center, where
students had a wonderful time going on
the rides and buying souvenirs from the
county shops . When the sun started to
set and students were drained of energy,
they headed back to Abu Dhabi with
smiles on their faces.
Juniors Teach Arabic to ES
By Rami Shoukih (Grade 10)
On April 22, the Arabic staff chose and
sent a group of juniors to teach the fourth
grade students the Arabic language.
The students — Omar Al Oraidi, Muhammad Al Mubarak, Abdullah Al Harmoodi, Kareem Ismail, Khalid Al Daheri,
Kareem Al Saoudi —- enjoyed teaching
the fourth graders the language and used
different ways of interaction by using the
means of technology (Smartboard and
computer), and by physical means
(talking).
The fourth grade students were delighted by the lesson and a connection was
established between the two grades. Both
groups enjoyed the lesson and had fun.
Omar Al Oraidi said: “I was excited
about teaching young fourth graders the
Arabic language and it was a fun experience playing the role of a teacher.”
This experiment will be continued in
the future using other high school students.
The Express
Managing Editor: Mr. Baron
AISA’s Voice (Editorial)
Ahmed Al-Ketbi (Co-Editor)
Lamees Al-Makkawy
Hamdan Al-Nahyan
Kairine Maharajh (Co-Editor)
What’s Up?! (News)
Rana Alsaadi (Editor)
Shahd Elghazali
Mahynoor Mohamed
Tanya Tarazi
The Scene (Arts & Culture)
Greg Brown (Co-Editor)
Steffanie Sanders (Co-Editor)
Teguh Zulian
Cosmopolitan (Beyond AISA)
Khalifa Al-Fahim (Co-Editor)
Salama Al-Khumaisi
Noor Al-Mehairbi
Alia Youssef (Co-Editor)
We Are the Lions! (Sports)
Sakhr Abdullah
Aisha AlHajeri (Co-Editor)
Khalid Al-Mansoori
Zayed Al-Nahyan (Co-Editor)
Marcela Cuadra
Muhammad El-Amin
"The students were well behaved and
nobody caused any trouble,” said Mr.
Morley. “This was a very enjoyable trip,
although some students were late and had
to work on the punctuality."
"This was one of the most amazing
trips I ever went on thanks to the seniors
and Mr. Morley,” said Khaled Al Hashemi. “Its a shame this senior year is coming to an end."
I am taking this opportunity today first day of May to offer
to all of our AISA community “un bouquet de muguet” qui
vous portera Bonheur j’espère! -Ms. Merazi
It's a tradition in France on May 1st (the day we celebrate
"labor day" - la fête du travail) to pay a visit to our relatives
and Bring them un brin de muguet (a Lily of the Valley
stem), this cute little white flower that is supposed to bring
luck (Porte-Bonheur) and celebrate the arrival of spring.
Seniors Celebrate Class Spirit
By Shahd Elghazali
(Grade 12)
Seniors have only a few
weeks left of school, and have
been commemorating the end
with many memorable activities and events.
The biggest event was the
first annual Senior Dinner, on
April 30 in the TimGym, in
which seniors ate pizza played
sports, and received badges
with nicknames.
“I thought the badges were a
good idea,” said senior Sumaia
Aqtash. “There were some
funny ones such as 'fluffiest
senior.'”
Seniors also enjoyed “Dress
a Senior Day,” which was held
on May 3. High school students bid on seniors, and whoever won could dress the senior for that day. More than
AED 1,000 raised, and about a
dozen seniors were dressed up.
Outfits included Menat El
Abd in blue face paint as a
Smurfette, Will Smith as a
caveman and the “Locoz” in
nannies outfits .
“No one knew who I was!”
said senior Ameilia Fox who
had an extreme makeover by
her fellow senior Afi Baaqi.
“Everyone thought I was new
in school because of the extremely bad makeup they put
on my face!”
Fellow senior Mariam Nabulsi enjoyed the day. “It’s
always funny,” she said. “as
long as it’s happening to
someone else.”
Seniors were upset and
disappointed that the rest of
“Spirit Month” was cancelled,
though they get to keep
Wednesday as jeans .
“I think the seniors have
done an awesome job this
year!” said Mrs. Jones, girls
assistant principal. “My favorite event was Senior Night. I
think seniors are going to
finish off really strong this
year.”
Left to Right: Menat El Abd as Smurfette, and Ameilia Fox in an unconventional outfit. / Photos courtesy Shahd Elghazali.
Staff Photographers:
Aisha AlHajeri, Teguh Zulian
AISA Director: Dr. Jones
Secondary School Principal:
Mr. Godley
Assistant Principals:
Mrs. Jones, Mr. Morley
The Express is produced by students
in the Publications elective for
Grades 11 and 12.
It is published eight times/year, with
additional content in print and
online. Read past issues online:
bit.ly/aisaexpress
Every issue is approved by Admin
before being sent to the printer.
The Express by American International School in Abu Dhabi is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercialShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
School Continues Push for Sustainability
By Kairine Maharajh (Grade 12)
After the Environmental Science class
discovered the shocking fact that the
school throws away nearly 50,000 water
bottles per year, they are pushing for the
school to become more sustainable.
According to results from a water audit
conducted by the Environmental Science
class and shown at an assembly on April
17, roughly 45,000 water bottles are disposed yearly by the school, with several
thousand that are not empty.
The school also uses a startling amount
of water on the football field, along with
250 water bottles being purchased everyday from the school canteen. Earlier results also showed that water is being
wasted from washing floors, long showers
and in science labs.
“As the girls suggested in their presentation, finding a solution to the quantity of
water being used on the field is essential,”
said Environmental Science teacher Ms.
Moloney. “Also reducing or eliminating
entirely the sale of plastic water bottles in
the canteen.”
Now the school is urging the school
community to cut down on the consum-
mation of water, with recommendations such as taking shorter showers,
using less water when washing
hands and throwing out only empty
water bottles.
Although students praise the
school’s effort to become more
sustainable, many are still skeptical
of the push from Eco Club and the
Environmental Science class to ban
bottled waters sales in the canteen.
“I think it is exceptional what the
school is doing,” sayids Saif Sleiman
Seniors Samuel Jovanovic and Nick Overkamp
(Grade 12). “But it is unreasonable
parody Titanic in the water conservation video.
for them to ban the purchase of
water bottles in the canteen.”
The video presentation (see above) did
More upperclassmen – students such as help spread the message of sustainability.
Nenad Stefanovski (Grade 11), Farouk
“I felt the presentation appealed to the
Abdul Karim (Grade 11), Meeneshwer
school community as it involved students
Madhu (Grade 12), Sarah Al Zaabi
from across the school and contained
(Grade 11) and Afi Baaqi (Grade 12) -humor,” said Ms. Moloney. “They made
agreed with Sleiman.
their point quite strongly and effectively.”
“Instead of banning water bottles to
Al Zaabi agreed. “The presentation
become more sustainable, students should made us aware of how little clean water
stop wasting water on water fights in
there is in the world,” she said, “and just
school or even spending too much time
how by pushing the right flush button, we
washing their hands,” said Baaqi.
can make a change.”
Students Focus on Future at
First Ever Career Day
Letters to the Editor
The Express encourages letters, send them to sbaron@aisa.sch.ae.
Students, include full name and grade. Teachers, include grade and
subject. Letters may be shortened for space requirements.
Congrats to Athletes, Coaches
By Mr. Godley
Secondary School Principal
AISA has had another excellent year
of athletics and I would like to take a
moment to congratulate Mr. Hornblower, all of our coaches and all of our
student athletes.
AISA is known in the region as being
well prepared, hardworking and tough
to beat.
I have heard it said that, "Teams that
spend a lot of time learning the tricks of
the trade will probably never really
learn the trade."
Our teachers and coaches operate in a
manner that focuses on teaching our
students the “trade” and not the
“tricks”.
This results in confident students,
tenacious athletes and a successful
student body.
Once again, congratulations on a
successful year of athletics. I am proud
of the reputation that you have helped
to create.
May-June Birthdays: May 14: Pauline Achhab (16); May 15: Zahra Abba Omar (14)
Kevin van Hoogstraten (19); May 16: Mariam Muzaffar (13); May 22: Jasmine AlMehairbi (13), Laila Kherallah (15), Carlotta Saenger (16), Aruja Singh (17); May 25:
Summia El-Awawdeh (18); May 26: Mohamed Al Zarouni (16); May 27: Merihan
Dobiea (15); May 28: Mr. Stewart (29); May 30: Leena Oubeid (16); June 1: Meera
Al Neaimi (15); June 4: Ayoob Mohammed (14); June 6: Fakhra Al-Foulathi (16);
June 8: Arjwan Abduallah (18), Sarah Al Zaabi (16); June 10: Mariam Alharmoodi
(16); Jun.15: Abdualla Al-Mutawa (17); June 17: Elena Jovanovic (17); June 20:
Ellise Roth (13), Deema El-Dasher (18); June 22: Reem Al Shamsi (14); June 26:
Karim Farra (14), AlReem Bin Jerais (15), Mrs. Kelly Robinson (32); June 27:
Kathrin Harb (17); June 28: Nada Al-Massry (13); June 29: Shubhankar Misri (17).
Left to Right: New York University-Abu Dhabi’s CIO Dr. Asfour talks to Mrs. Jones, Student
Ambassadors helped out, NYU AD’s Brady Smith talks about education, while Geoff Batzel
talks about urban planning. / Photos courtesy Mr. Baron.
By Tanya Tarazi (Grade 12)
The first-annual Career Day kicked off
in mid-March, with high school students
started to thinki about the horrifying
question , “What do you want to be when
you grow up?”
On March 14, each Advisory on both
the girls and boys side visited three different presenters. Each presentation
lasted for about 15 minutes, and students
learned about different careers while
asking questions.
“Students learnt that there are a lot of
options out there, our goal was to motivate them” said Mrs. Jones, secondary
school assistant principal.
Although some students found it a
terrifying experience, others found it a
learning experience.
“With twenty-four different speakers,
and each advisory only visiting three, it
was hard to figure out our future then and
there,” said senior Menat El Abd. “It
really got me to think about getting my
future set.”
Senior Joumana Asfour also found it
useful. “I personally enjoyed career day
because I learnt about a lot of different
jobs that I never thought existed,” she
said.
Her father Dr. Asfour was one of eight
parents of students. They were: Dr.
Zineddin, an engineer and Zayed University professor (Ahmad, Grade 9 and Ali,
Grade 6); Mr. Abba Omar, the South
African ambassador to the UAE (Rabia,
Grade 10 and Zahra, Grade 8); businessman Mr. Al Hamiz (Alia, Grade 6), businessman Mr. Al-Saudi (Kareem, Grade
11); Mr. Magnuson (Madeline, Grade 10;
Chloe, Grade 9; Robert, Grade 3; Jack,
KG-2), CEO of Revenue Cycle, which
works with Abu Dhabi hospitals; veterinarian Dr. Daneri (Maite, Grade 10; Roy,
Grade 1); and urban planner Mr. Batzel
(Marwan, Grade 4 and Ramzi, Grade 2).
Dr. Asfour is Chief Information Officer
at New York University - Abu Dhabi,
and is responsible for all technology
including research, projects, development
and basics at the campus. Two more
NYU-AD representatives joined Asfour:
Peter Dicce, director of athletics, and
Brady Smith, associate director of academic enrichment.
“I volunteered because I wanted to
share my experience with the newer
generation,” said Dr. Asfour. “I thought
it was very well organized and enjoyed
the inactivation with the students who
were keen to learn about my job.”
May 2012
5th Annual International Night
3
Performances, Fashion Show & Food!
By Rana Alsaadi (Grade 12)
What’s Up?! Editor
More than 500 students and staff enjoyed the sold out fifth annual International Night an event that showcased the
school's diversity while raising nearly
AED 20,000 for Syrian people in need, in
late April.
On April 25, more than 30 cultures
were represented in performances, a
fashion show and food stalls. The International Club worked closely with Mrs.
Martin, elementary reading specialist, in
organizing the event.
“I was overjoyed at how successful it
was,” said Mrs. Martin. I enjoyed seeing
the AISA community having fun and
learning about each other’s cultures. The
process had been wonderful, students
were supportive and organized.”
Attendees paid AED 30 to attend, and
about AED 17,000 was donated to the
nonprofit humanitarian organization Red
Crescent, which is aiding war-torn
Syrians.
“I am really happy that the money was
donated to the Syrian people this year,”
said Kuwaiti senior Mohamed Al Buaijan. “They need all the support they can
get.”
Advisories decorated paper globes for
students to showcase what culture and
diversity means to them, and an international-themed free dress day was also
held.
Performances
The night started with the singing of
the National Anthem of the UAE .
Mathilde Bienseant (Grade 8) sang Adele’s hit “Set Fire to the Rain,” followed
by Ms. Moloney playing the Irish concertina.
Mrs. Lewis sang the American national
anthem “The Star Spangled Banner,”
followed by juniors Youssef Chehab and
Kathrin Harb who recited a speech on
Lebanon.
A mix of Arab girls – Yara Hashem
(Grade 9), Rawan Kassim (Grade 7),
Farah Hashem (Grade 9), Dina Ham-
moud (Grade 9), Dara Al-Kayyali (Grade
10) and Haidy Nabawy (Grade 9) –
performed the Palestinian dabke dance,
followed by junior Emilia Repo who
sang a Mexican song.
Next, Melinda Knowling (Grade 8)
played a classical piano piece followed
by freshman Lana Ghneim and Farah
Hashem, who recited an emotional
speech about Palestine.
Siblings Eisa and Sarah Al Mazrouei
sang another Mexican song, followed by
freshmen Haidy Nabawy and Merihan
Dobiea, who recited an inspiring speech
on the Egyptian revolution.
Leaving the attendees speechless was
Hana Al Makkawy (Grade 6), who
breakdanced in an all-black leather outfit,
followed by a Bollywood dance performed by Amira Anthonijsz (Grade 12)
and Pragya Gupta (Grade 10).
The performances ended with a showstopping hip hop routine performed by
seniors Teguh Zulian and Kebure Assefa.
Fashion Show
After the performances came the Fashion Show, with pairs of students walking
down the runaway wearing traditional
clothing of countries such as Syria, Canada, and Sudan.
Senior Meeneshwer Madhu, who hosted for the second straight year, designed
the final dress made of flags for senior
Kairine Maharajh.
“I am interested in fashion and I have
always wanted to make a professional
fashion show,” he said. “The show was
really good and the walking on the runways was a payback for my hard work.”
International Food Booths
Afterwards, attendees visited the various all-you-can-eat food booths of 15
countries including the UAE, Malaysia,
South Africa, and Egypt.
“The event was better than I had expected,” said Al Buaijan. “I like how it
brings all of us together in one place to
experience the multicultural aspects of
the school.”
4
May 2012
Cricket Showdown
Students, Support Staff Tie in Inaugural Fifteen15 Exhibition
Match Officials: Mr. Morley, Mr. Holloway.
Top Row: Jagannath Srinivasan, Sridhar Desai, Omar Aamer, Shamil Saeed, Kebure
Assefa, Lars Sattanathan, Ahmed Nadeem, Ralph Young, Ahmad Yacout Saleh,
Shubhankar Misri, Stefan Krismann.
Front Row: Dawar Ali, Aarav Balsu, Akshaay Hendricks, Shyamsundar
Srinivasan, Keshav Dalela, Azfar Farooqui, Armand Gurgu.
Advisors: Ms. Fleming, Mr. Huner, Mr. McKenzie, Mr. Stewart.
Not Pictured: Ankita Prajapat, Omar Khalil.
Students: 123 runs for 7 wickets.
Batsmen: Omar A. 50 runs (4x6, 3x4), Azfar F. 10 runs.
Bowlers: Akshaay H. 3 wickets for 18 runs off 3 overs.
Shubhankar M. 2 wickets for 9 runs off 1 over.
Back Row: Rashid, Shaman Salam, Musthafa Kuddukil, Khaleel Ambathayil,
Dhamodharean Renganathan, Ayyappan Mathu, Semeer Chakkungal.
Front Row: Mino Veluchamy, Rasel Mahmud, Abu Thare, Raju Miah, Chhetra KC.
Staff: 123 runs for 8 wickets.
Batsmen: Khaleel A. 30 runs (1x6, 2x4), Shaman S. 27 runs (1x6, 2x4).
Bowlers: Khaleel A. 3 wickets for 13 runs off 3 overs,
Dhamodharean R. 2 wickets for 20 runs off 3 overs.
Man of the Match
Khaleel Ambathayil
30 runs (1x6, 2x4)
3 wickets for 13 runs off 3 overs
“I was a player in my home country ten
years ago, in Kerala, India. It gives us a
time to shine again.”
By Mr. Holloway and Mr. Baron
Nearly 100 students and staff participated in the inaugural Cricket
Club vs Support Staff Cricket Showdown, as part of the Support Staff
Appreciation Dinner on March 20.
“It made them (the support staff)
feel more important, and they were
having a blast out there,” said Mr.
Morley, boys assistant principal. “It
was great seeing the interaction between support staff and students,
especially during the dinner.”
The staff team of support staff and
cleaners, batted first, and started out
slowly by scoring only one run in the
first over.
After a collapse in the middle order, with the students taking eight
wickets — including two ducks (zero
runs scored) — the staff came back
with a competitive 123 runs.
Students, mostly from the new
intramural Cricket Club, started off
strong, scoring nine runs off the first
over.
Opening batsman Omar Aamer
(Grade 11), in devastating form,
finished with 50 runs, including
4x6’s and 3x4’s.
But students batted slowly, losing
steady wickets without scoring many
runs. A couple of late wickets from
the support staff pulled the game
close at the end.
In the last three overs, students
needed 23 runs to win. Shamil Saeed
(Grade 12) hit three 4’s in the 13th
over before going out on a wicket in
the 14th.
Ahmed Nadeem (Grade 10) hit two
4’s to bring the students within eight
runs in the last five balls.
Off the last over, students needed
five runs to win. Security guard
Dhamodharean bowled the last over,
giving up two runs and a bye rune,
with one wicket. The second-to-last
bowl was a “dot ball,” with students
not scoring.
Down to the final ball — with students needing two runs to win. The
batsman missed the ball, the wicketkeeper caught the ball, and the batsmen started running.
The wicketkeeper threw to the
bowler, but the bowler mishandled it,
fell over the wicket, and lost the ball.
Both batsmen were safe — but
students scored only one run.
“It was perfect,” said Aarav Balsu
(Grade 11), who served as scorekeeper. “It was intense and there was
drama. At the dinner, I heard the
support staff talking, and they said
the food was really nice.”
May 2012
Cosmopolitan/The Scene
5
Amazing ES Musical ‘Alice in Wonderland, Jr.’
By Greg Brown (Grade 12)
The Scene Co-Editor
More than 500 people enjoyed the elementary
school's second annual spectacular musical
performance, of Disney's “Alice in Wonderland
Jr.” at Abu Dhabi University in mid-April.
Directed by Ms. Al-Jenaibi, the show on
April 18-19 turned out to be a great success and
the entire cast thoroughly enjoyed their time on
set. They had been rehearsing since January,
and their hard work paid off after the performances.
The musical follows the adventures of Alice
(Ashley Young, Grade 4), as she travels in a
dream to the magical world of Wonderland.
There, she meets the White Rabbit (Amber
Boulton, Grade 5), the Cheshire Cat (Natasha
Esterhuizen and Allisa Castro, Grade 4; and
Sara Selim, Grades 5), Tweedle Dum (Jacob
Marelid, Grade 4) and Tweedle Dee (Uzair
Zaidi, Grade 5), the Mad Hatter (Akshay de
Silva, Grade 4) and the flower girls (Desire
“Cookie” Kirabo and Saskia Roth, Grade 4;
Amanda de Groot and Rasha Asfour, Grade 5)
and a rapping Caterpillar (Kaho Emman, Grade
4). In the end, Alice is on trial against the stunning Queen of Hearts (Joelle Ling, Grade 4).
Also in the wings were Ms. Byers
(choreographer), Mr. Abdelsalam (stage manager), elementary school Music teacher Mr.
Mays (music), and Art teacher Ms. Ramirez (art
director).
“I personally really enjoyed watching the
play, and the costumes were excellent,” said
senior and fashion designer Meeneshwer
Madhu. “This is definitely one for the books.”
Successful Support Staff Lunch, Dinner
Students Enjoy 1st Formal Dinner
By Alia Youssef
(Grade 11) Cosmopolitan Co-Editor
More than 100 students enjoyed the school's
inaugural High School Formal Dinner, in midJanuary, whose profits of nearly AED
5,000 were donated to the support staff dinner.
Originally planned to be an “Islamic New
Year and New Year’s” formal dinner, Student
Council changed the theme to strictly “no
jeans.”
Students – including players being hosted for
the JV soccer ISAC tournament -- were treated
to a catered buffet,
Student Council advisor Mr. Thomas said it
was a successful event. “We wanted to pull one
off last year, but we weren’t able to,”
he said. “This year it was pretty successful.”
Students enjoyed playing “Tug of
War” and “Musical Chairs,” And
participating in raffles for prizes ranging from a lunch at the Beach Rotana
Hotel, or a voucher for a manicure and
pedicure.
“It was better than AISAFest,” said
freshman Haidy Nabawy. “We had
lots of food, and fun games. The raffle
was fun as well.”
Next year, Student Council hopes to
solve lighting issues and make it more
fun.
Students enjoyed good food and
“We could use more decorations in
fun games. Photos courtesy
the gym next year,” said Mr. Thomas.
Aisha AlHajeri.
“But besides that, it was pretty good.”
Students Debate Int’l Law
of Georgia-Russia War
By Teguh Zulian (Grade 12)
The Scene
Nine students tied in a
debate on international law at
the second annual debate, in
the Political Issues and Debate upperclassmen elective,
in late March.
Shakr Abdullah and myself ;
On March 20, seniors deand defendants of Russia
bated on the rights of Russia were Khalid Al-Mansoori,
aiding breakaway province
Khalifa Al-Fahim and Khalid
South Ossetia, and the rights Al-Hashemi . The time keepof Georgia being violated by er was Mr. Waldman, and the
Russia. The mock trial took juries were teachers such as
place in Room 312, with
Mr. Gallichan and Mr. Holthe class' teacher Mr.
loway.
Waldman as the host.
Mr. Waldman praised AlThis was a tie, with the
Hashemi .
prosecutors winning the
“I felt like I was the stronglists of evidence, and the
est speaker, somehow it was
defendants won with their one of my many talents,”
verbal argument.
Khalid Al Hashemi said. “I
“It was a very difficult
think with my well based
and eye opening experiargument I have defended the
ence.” Mr. Waldman said. rights of Russia.”
“The students worked very
hard.”
The judges were Kair- Left: Mr. Waldman with Kairine
Maharajh. Below: Khalid Aline Maharajh, Greg
Mansoori, Ahmed Al-Ketbi, Greg
Brown and Zayed Al
Brown, Mr. Waldman, Teguh Zulian,
Nahyan. Prosecutors
Khalid Al Hashemi and Khalifa Alrepresenting Georgie
Fahim. / Photos by Mr. Baron.
were Ahmed Al-Ketbi,
Clockwise from top left: Cleaning staff
were treated to a lunch. / Student Council
and Student Ambassadors worked together. (Left to Right: Reem Lari, Maitha Al
Fahim, Alia Youssef, Sara Al Mahmoud,
Claire Taylor, Diala Ghneim, Lisa Saman.) / Support staff at dinner in the new
gym. / Photos courtesy Mr. Baron.
By Noor Al-Mehairbi
(Grade 11) Cosmopolitan
Dozens of students and teachers enjoyed serving the school's
cleaning and support staff during the inaugural Staff Appreciation Lunch and Dinner in late
March.
On March 20, nearly 50 combined teachers and students –
including IB students receiving
CAS community service hours,
Student Council members and
Student Ambassadors – set up
and served lunch for the cleaning staff and dinner for the
support staff. The dinner was
held after the inaugural Cricket
Showdown of Staff vs. Students
(see pull-out poster on page 4).
“This was a great way of
showing our appreciation to the
support staff members,” said IB
-1 student Ankita Prajapat. “We
not only worked at the event,
but we also enjoyed working
together.”
The lunch and dinner were
splendid ways to thank all the
cleaning and support staff for
their hard work in school. The
school employs 28 total support
staff, including 17 who live on
campus, according to a February 2012 Express article.
“This includes: cleaning staff,
maintenance, bus drivers, classroom assistants, photocopiers,
supplies-uniforms and stationary, laboratory assistants,” said
CAS coordinator Ms. Fleming,
the main staff organizer.
Almost everyone was able to
contribute, bringing a dish to
share at the dinner potluck.
Students served Indian food and
Miss J's cake. Students and
teachers also donated money
for the event, which funded this
year's event and has a solid
foundation for next year's.
Members of the support staff,
like Mr. Aboo Backer, uniform
and stationary officer, really
enjoyed the event.
“I liked watching the cricket
match and the food was very
tasty,” he said. “I liked the
biryani and shwarma sandwiches! Even the fruit salads. I
would like this to happen again
next year!”
Students such as junior
Kathrin Harb were pleased with
the results.
“The dinner was definitely a
success!” she said. “It was a
good idea to have the dinner
after the cricket match, because
that way everyone can relax
afterwards.”
Students and staff are expecting this to become an annual
event.
Harb said: “It felt good to
give something back to those
that surround and help us every
day.”
Students Enjoy
Religious Trip to Mecca
During Umrah, a lesser but
still important pilgrimage
compared to Hajj, Muslims
perform Tawaf, which is
circling the kabaa – the building built by Ibrahim and
Ismael, and is considered the
most sacred site in Islam.
They then did the sa'ee, the
Alia Al Muhairi (10), Sheren Abou Ouf (11),
Ms. Ghofran, Maitha Al Fahim (11), Farida Nassar ritual walking back and forth
between the hills in Mecca.
(12). / Photo courtesy Sheren Abou Ouf.
Many of the boys were junNearly 40 students and staff eniors, including Rashid Al Rumaithi
joyed the Umrah, the pilgrimage to
(Grade 11), Darwesh Al Murar
the Muslim holy city of Mecca in
(Grade 11), Abdullah Al Rumaithi
Saudi Arabia, in mid-April.
(Grade 11) and Mohammed Al
From April 11-14, 31 boys and
Sawaleh (Grade 11). This was the
three teachers with three chaperones fourth time that Al Murar had gone to
went to Saudi Arabia. The main goal Mecca.
of this trip was to perform Umrah,
which was successfully done.
“It changed a lot since the last time
I came,” he said. “The improvements
in the Haram made it easier for us to
perform our Umrah fast and efficiently rather than getting stuck with the
crowds of people.”
Arabic and Islamic teachers Mr.
Odat, Mr. Hafez and Mrs. Jamal were
the teachers who chaperoned.
Later, from April 18-21, the four
girls – juniors Sheren Abu Ouf and
Maitha Al Fahim, senior Farida Nassar, and sophomore Alia Al Muhairi
– went along with Ms. Ghufran Mohamed, the Islamic studies teacher.
“It was my first time to ever go
there and it was a really nice experience,” said Maitha Al Fahim. “I
finally performed Umrah and I’m so
proud of myself.”
Seniors: Crunch Time for College Decisions
By Khalifa Al-Fahim (Grade 12)
Cosmopolitan Co-Editor
Seniors are counting down the final
month of school, and are excited to
graduate and go on to university –
though now they have to decide where
they are going.
Most seniors have been accepted to
the universities they have been longing for all their lives, and the Admin
and teachers are very proud of the
students since they have been accepted into top schools across the globe.
This is really special since we all
come from different parts of the world
and go an international school in one
of the fastest growing cities in the
world.
As of early May, it was expected
that half of the 95 seniors will be
studying in the UAE, at universities
such as New York University-Abu
Dhabi (NYU-AD), American University in Dubai (AUD) and the American University of Sharjah (AUS).
About one-third seniors will be in
the United States and Canada, and less
than a quarter to European and British
schools like Regents Business School
in London, Richmond University
London and Royal HollowayUniversity of London.
Mr. Chalmers, high school college
counselor, is proud of five students
being accepted into prestigious NYUAD -- the most form any high school
in the world. The university bills itself
the world’s top honors college, and
had 15,000 applicants for 150 positions.
Senior (and Publications student)
Zayed Al Nahyan is going to NYU
AD and majoring in International
Relations. “I am glad that I will study
in NYU-Abu Dhabi and face new
challenges,” he said.
All the seniors are very excited to
leave and go to different universities
locally and internationally but are also
a bit upset since they will leave all the
teachers and school friends behind.
Even though they will take all these
memories with them and cherish them
all their lives.
6
We Are the Lions!
Boys Badminton Wins Medals
Girls Badminton Wins Medals
By Khalid Al-Mansoori
(Grade 12)
The boys badminton teams had a
successful ISAC tournament, both
finishing with medals, at the ISAC
tournament at Abu Dhabi's Al
Nahda School in late April.
This was the second year in a row
that the varsity boys won the ISAC
tournament.
The team played a whole of 192
matches last weekend and won 131
of them. Last year's JV team had
also won the ISAC tournament and
were pleased with this year's second
place finish.
“The team has improved a lot
throughout the year, particularly the
new players to badminton that are in
Junior Varsity,” said coach Mr.
Crowe. “The team improved in
Girls Varsity: Lamees Al-Makkawy, Kairine Maharajh, Mahynoor Mohamed, Mariam AlHammadi. / Girls JV: Thussheeta Singh, Sonia Aamer, Farida Rady and Dana Aghabi.
Boys Varsity: Quosain Memon, Teguh Zulian, Omar Aamer, Fares Salamah.
Boys JV: Jagannath Srinivasan, Sameer Nadeem, Vijay Marupudi, Ahmed Nadeem.
Photos courtesy Dana Aghabi.
By Marcela Cuadra (Grade 12)
The girls Badminton teams had successful performances at the ISAC tournament – the school finished in second
place overall -- at Al Nahda School in
late April.
The varsity team won second place,
while the JV team won third place. The
teams played a total of 192 games during
the tournament from April 18-22 .
Coaches Mr. Crowe and Mr. McKenzie both had high expectations for the
teams. Last year, the varsity team had
won the championship, while the JV
team had also won third place.
Coaches pointed to outstanding performances from seniors such as Mahynoor
Mohamed and Mariam Al-Hammadi
(and Publications students) who are
experienced, hardworking and motivated.
“I’m going to miss the team and specially playing badminton,” said AlHammadi. “I had extremely fun and I am
so proud of all of us.”
“I love this sport and I enjoyed this
three-day tournament,” said Thussheeta
Singh (Grade 9). “It was a really fun
time!”
Next year, the coaches are hoping for
championships from both teams.
Mr. Crowe said: “You need to practice
hard, learn new skills, play in competitions and you’ll achieve.”
New Sports Contracts a Win
By Sakhr Abdullah (Grade 12)
Students and coaches have said that
the new sports contracts have been
helpful for this school year.
This year, every student athlete and a
parent or guardian had to sign a sports
contract that said they could only participate in one sports team per season.
For example, students could not play
both soccer and basketball since they
overlap.
“The positive of the contract is to let
the students know ahead of time what
are their expectations and it won’t be a
shock to them,” said Mr. Hornblower.
“The negative of the contract is it's
brand new to this school and students
are not aware of the different aspects of
it. They are aware because every coach
goes over the contract with the players
before signing and handing it in.”
Nobody refused to sign the contract
or had an issue with it, according to
Mr. Hornblower.
Mr. McTigue , who coached boys JV
volleyball, said the sports contract have
been helpful.
“I think study hall is helpful because
students could get their work done,” he
said. “I think the sports contract is
good because all the students have to
meet the same criteria and reach their
academic goals, and that student’s
education come before the athletic.”
Mrs. Huner, one of the coaches of
Track and Field, agreed.
“The sports contract have affected
our team positively, and it gave students standards to be accountable too,”
she said. “The sports contract is good
because it holds every athlete the same
standards and they promise to be committed.”
Samuel Jovanovic (Grade 12), the
captain of the varsity soccer team, said
the sports contract is good.
“Athletes must complete their work
and they all have to meet the same
specifications,” he said. “I had no
problems with it.”
By Aisha AlHajeri (Grade 12)
We Are the Lions! Co-Editor
Nearly 100 barefoot students and staff
took to the burning hot Corniche sidewalks in their light blue shirts as part of
the school's first-ever One Day Without
Shoes walk to raise awareness for people
in need of proper and protective footwear,
in mid-April .
On April 10, the 70 students, mainly
Student Ambassadors wearing shirts that
read "On April 10, I'm going without
shoes so kids don't have to," participated
in the third annual One Day Without
Shoes event.
The event was started by TOMS, a nonprofit that donates a pair of shoes for
every pair that it sells to help millions of
children in developing countries facing
injury and disease due to lack of proper
footwear.
The school sold 67 TOMS t-shirts and
raised about 1,500 AED, which will be
donated to TOMS's partner company in
Peru known as Coprodeli, according to
Mrs. Huner, secondary school counselor.
who organized the school's fundraising
and walk.
In addition to the t-shirt sales, the
school held a shoe drive and collected
more than 60 pairs of sneakers. Adultsized shoes will be donated to Old Soles
for Good Souls, an organization in Dubai
that distributes the donation to labor
camps in the UAE. The kid-sized shoes
will be donated to the Bright Kids Uganda
orphanage .
High school Student Ambassadors
played a large role in raising awareness
about the walk.
"At an assembly, we presented TOMS's
One Day Without Shoes video, as well as
a presentation on why people should take
part in the walk," said Maya Yang (Grade
9), the Student Ambassador with the most
t-shirt sales at 25. "We also had to sell as
many TOMS shirts as we could."
Not only was the One Day Without
Shoes walk successful, but the participants enjoyed explaining to passers-by the
purpose behind their barefoot walk.
"The walk was a really great experience
because we got to tell people about what
we were doing," said Megan Sanders
(Grade 9).
"It was also fun to hold up signs and run
across the hot pavements while actually
raising awareness for those in need of
shoes."
Student Athletes
Outside School
Right: Samuel Jovanovic, captain of the varsity
soccer team, said the sports contract has
helped. / Photo courtesy Kairine Maharajh.
Lari was inspired by the Disney film
"Ice Princess" at the age of 11, about a
high school student who becomes a
champion figure skater. One week
later, her father took her to the ice rink
at Zayed Sports City. Since then she
has been working with her coach.
“My parents and family are very
supportive,” Lari said. “My Mom is
the one that takes me to the rink everyday, and sits there and watches me
practices for hours, early morning and
later in the afternoon.”
Lari said many people are shocked at
first when they see her, because they
never expect an Emirati girl to be
involved in this sport.
“But I always get positive feedback,
my friends are very supportive and the
staff of Zayed Sports City are always
next to me and, trying to help me improve and get better,” she said. “I also
got sponsorships from Zayed Sports
City and Abu Dhabi Sports Council.”
While on the ice, Lariwears an hijab
and conservative outfits.
“Religion plays an important role in
my life,” she said . “As a practicing
Muslim I believe that my participation
in sport does not affect this. Sport is
one thing and religion is something
else.”
Lari’s main goal is to represent the
UAE at the winter Olympics one day.
She is looking forward to more inter-
many aspects, their skills and understanding of the game and how it’s
played and how to play matches and
tournaments.” Mr. McKenzie served
as the fellow coach.
On the varsity team, senior Saif
Sleiman won all his matches and has
now been undefeated for two
straight years in ISAC.
“I just tried my best, and didn’t
worry about my up-coming opponents,” he said. “I just focused on
being fit enough to compete in the
tournament and keep my undefeated
title.”
On the junior varsity team, new
player Vijay Marupudi (Grade 9)
was also undefeated.
Mr. Crowe also said: “The team
was ready for the tournament and
did a good job.”
Students Walk Barefoot for Kids Charity
Emirati Senior Sets Figure Skating Records
By Mahynoor Mohamed (Grade 12)
Zahra Lari (Grade 12) made history,
becoming the first Emirati girl to represent the UAE in an international ice
skating competition – and made headlines for doing so while wearing an
hijab.
At the 24 Coppa Europa competition
in Canazei, Italy from April 9 -14 ,
Lari placed an impressive 4th out of 50
in the interpretive category; then 13th
out of 260 in the short program and
15th out of 260 for the long program.
“The competition went really good,”
she said. “I was nervous at first; there
were a lot of competitors.”
Lari, 17, has been ice skating for five
-and-a-half years, and improved a lot
this year. Her coach Noemi Bedo
thought it was finally time for her to
compete internationally. Bedo was
impressed with Lari's finish.
“The event has been a great learning
experience for Zahra and a door opener for many other Muslim skaters from
around the world,” she said.
Lari trains before and after school,
waking up at 4:30 a.m. to go to the
rink, and skates after school until 6:30
p.m.
“I love the artistry of it, the best part
is when you land a jump that you have
been working on for a while, and just
kept on falling,” Lari said.
May 2012
Lari at a competition in Italy. / Photo courtesy
AFP. Background courtesy Relz Reviewz.
national competitions, and is practicing for the last competition of the season: the Desert Open Figure Skating
Championship in June.
Lari will be studying Human Resource Management next year at
Zayed University, and plans
to continue with her passion; figure
skating.
“You never give up, you just get up
and try it over and over again, till you
get it right,” Lari said. “And when you
do, it’s the best feeling ever.”
By Muhammad El-Amin
(Grade 12)
Though sports seasons
are over, students continue playing sports outside
of school.
Three top athletes include rugby player
Tsotne Papavadze (Grade
10), tennis player Michael Najjar (Grade 12)
and Danielle Cobrand
(Grade 12).
Papavadze, a center or
fullback, plays one match per week for
the Abu Dhabi Harlequins. He started
playing rugby here in the UAE, at 12
years old.
“I started playing rugby because I
thought it would be a great sport for my
personality, and its never too bad being
able to hurt people without getting in
trouble,” said Papavadze, who is also on
the boys varsity soccer team. “Football is
my life and rugby is a game that I admire.”
Najjar also first started playing tennis
here in Abu Dhabi seven years ago when
he was about 11 years old, and practices
four days a week at the Abu Dhabi
Health and Fitness club with a private
coach. Though Najjar does not have
many official matches, he has played at a
few competitions at Zayed Sports City.
“My grandfather has always watched
tennis on TV and he’s always talking
about it even til’ this day,” said Najjar.
“It just made me want to go and try it
and I really enjoyed it because it’s really
exciting and enthusiastic.” Najjar said
his coach has always told him, “Don’t
practice until you get it right, practice
until you can’t get it wrong.”
Cobrand, who won the Tim “Syndy”
Synoground award for Athlete of the
Year, and was MVP and co-captain of
Clockwise from top left: Tsotne Papavadze,
Michael Najjar, Danielle Cobrand.
the varsity soccer team, started playing
soccer since she was 8 years old.
“The pictures on the sports booklet
probably inspired me at that time,” she
said. “As I got older I became inspired
by my coaches and my parents.”
Outside of school, she plays for the
Arabian Leopards , which practice once
a week at the Jebel Ali Golf Resort and
Spa's shooting club fields in Dubai.
“I really enjoy playing soccer,” she
said, “and hope to be able to continue
playing next year in university and in the
future."