A Periodical issued biannually by Senior School StudentsIssue 9 - 2014

TECHNOLOGY ENTERTAINMENTFASHION9 1510

As students we stand face to face with life matters. We approach our local community according to what we learn through our experiences in school, these experiences are gained through the collaboration and dealings with colleagues, teachers, administrations, and most importantly with our principals. The biannual newspaper Oracle illustrates several accomplishments that we achieve as students showing our growth and maturity as we engage in activities in order to build our character, perception, and knowledge in several fields. The techniques of which students use to approach certain topics are significant. Therefore, as members of Oracle we collaborated and interacted with several teachers and students as we exchanged our knowledge on certain issues in order for us to come up with conclusions. Oracle granted us a chance to be exposed to new responsibilities, and gaining new techniques and skills. This experience was definatley sensational and fruitful.

Editor in chiefSara Al-Ashqar

PREPARING A FIVE YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN (2013 – 2018) Littleford & Associates a leading global consultancy in education was commissioned to conduct a strategic planning

project at Mashrek International School. The Project was led by renowned consultant Mr. John Littleford. In order

to develop our Strategic Plan, Littleford met with parents, teachers, students and members of our community to

recognize each group’s areas of concern and areas of fulfillment. Succeeding a number of key meetings and workshops,

five main objectives were developed and approved. A comprehensive Five Year Strategic Plan was then derived from

these objectives. The following are the objectives and their domains: (To read more refer to page 5)

MMUN PAGE 7

This whole journey began on Thursday 19th of September 2013, when we were all gathered at school excited for this three day/two night

trip. It started with us plunging in a long river in Wadi Hassa, holding plastic bags in order to gather litter within the river and surrounding area. The river was very dirty and in extreme need of sanitation. As a team, we managed to clean as much of it as possible and we did not leave until the situation showed a vast improvement. This was followed by the hike to Al Shobak, our campsite location. By the time we got there, we were extremely exhausted; yet we overcame all our exhaustion and stayed up all night just enjoying every moment together and relishing in our first camping trip as a class. Our excitement and countless laughs kept us all wide awake. As we headed to Wadi Rum the next day, we slept on the bus like we had not slept in days.

-Haya Bashiti

Some of us sleepless, yet wide awake, headed to Wadi Rum to climb a mountain that seemed endless. We hiked in silence keeping our eyes on the farthest point we could see and moving our legs in what seemed like synchronization. We finally arrived at a tiny waterfall that dripped fresh water from between the cracks in the rocks. You could probably hear the sighs of relief from miles away when we drenched ourselves from head to toe, with our faces to the sky and our mouths wide open to get as much water as we could into our scorched throats. We then proceeded to prepare a delicious meal and ate while enjoying a breathtaking view of this natural reserve. We walked to a nearby point on the mountain and as we looked up, one of the instructors was looking down on us from above. They told us we would be descending the mountain to learn to overcome fear. Some grabbed at that opportunity with open arms, while others shied away. Personally, I could not hear any other voice except the one in my head telling me not to look down. While it was not exactly my “talent”, it was an amazing experience. You hear your heartbeat in your chest as they strap you up and feel the adrenaline pumping through your veins. Your breath quickens and just like that, you find yourself doing something you never thought you would! As I reached the bottom, I had the biggest grin on my face –regardless of the fact that I was the farthest thing from a professional. As we all basked in the afterglow of success, our joints ached and our eyelids drooped. Before I shut my eyes, I looked around me at the sleeping faces of the people who I considered my second

family, and realized that there was still so much to learn about every single one of them on that trip. We arrived at the campsite and had a satisfying dinner. Afterwards, we headed towards the open arms of the desert for a night walk under the brilliant stars of Wadi Rum. We walked and walked, sometimes in silence and other times in laughter. We then heard the coach telling us to sit down in a circle. I could see the faces of those around me bobbing their heads, half asleep and half wishing they were! Nevertheless, as soon as the coach started talking, we were all eyes and ears. We learned about the stars and how important they were to figure out directions. The instructor then pointed to a distant place which he said was our camp and with complete conviction we walked back. That night, I am sure we all put our heads on our pillows reflecting on the significance of our experience and knowledge gained that now seeps through our skin into our souls

-Rama Ramahi

On the third day of our trip in Wadi Rum, we all woke up at around

7:00am and had breakfast, then the coaching team gathered us altogether to participate in various activities. Following that, we rode a 4 by 4 Jeep which was really amazing, as we got to see the beauty of the desert and the surrounding mountains. Moreover, during the ride we stopped at a cave and a fortress. After the drive, we went back to

the camp, gathered up our belongings and got ready to head back to Amman. On our way back, we stopped for a break to have lunch and then continued the trip to our destination back home. The expedition was such a marvelous experience full of diversity, especially since we got to participate in this journey as classmates. It enabled us as teenagers, to get acquainted with the types of environments that surround us, other than the daily familiarities. Furthermore, the expedition helped improve our teamwork skills and brought us as classmates closer together. In addition, we all met new people who had outstanding personalities, not to mention the experience we gained. There is no doubt that the environment, location and surroundings we explored were completely different than what we are accustomed to,

but this did not change the fact that we were united as a team and that the atmosphere itself was spectacular. As a matter of fact, we expanded our knowledge through teamwork, communication, experience and most importantly, responsibility. The whole expedition, the camping and adventures that we encountered were an experience of a lifetime and I personally would be willing to live it all over again.

By: Lina sharabi, Rama Rammahi,Haya Bashiti

THE EXPEDITION

This whole journey began on Thursday 19th of September 2013, when we were all gathered at school excited for this three day/two night

trip. It started with us plunging in a long river in Wadi Hassa, holding plastic bags in order to gather litter within the river and surrounding area. The river was very dirty and in extreme need of sanitation. As a team, we managed to clean as much of it as possible and we did not leave until the situation showed a vast improvement. This was followed by the hike to Al Shobak, our campsite location. By the time we got there, we were extremely exhausted; yet we overcame all our exhaustion and stayed up all night just enjoying every moment together and relishing in our first camping trip as a class. Our excitement and countless laughs kept us all wide awake. As we headed to Wadi Rum the next day, we slept on the bus like we had not slept in days.

-Haya Bashiti

Some of us sleepless, yet wide awake, headed to Wadi Rum to climb a mountain that seemed endless. We hiked in silence keeping our eyes on the farthest point we could see and moving our legs in what seemed like synchronization. We finally arrived at a tiny waterfall that dripped fresh water from between the cracks in the rocks. You could probably hear the sighs of relief from miles away when we drenched ourselves from head to toe, with our faces to the sky and our mouths wide open to get as much water as we could into our scorched throats. We then proceeded to prepare a delicious meal and ate while enjoying a breathtaking view of this natural reserve. We walked to a nearby point on the mountain and as we looked up, one of the instructors was looking down on us from above. They told us we would be descending the mountain to learn to overcome fear. Some grabbed at that opportunity with open arms, while others shied away. Personally, I could not hear any other voice except the one in my head telling me not to look down. While it was not exactly my “talent”, it was an amazing experience. You hear your heartbeat in your chest as they strap you up and feel the adrenaline pumping through your veins. Your breath quickens and just like that, you find yourself doing something you never thought you would! As I reached the bottom, I had the biggest grin on my face –regardless of the fact that I was the farthest thing from a professional. As we all basked in the afterglow of success, our joints ached and our eyelids drooped. Before I shut my eyes, I looked around me at the sleeping faces of the people who I considered my second

family, and realized that there was still so much to learn about every single one of them on that trip. We arrived at the campsite and had a satisfying dinner. Afterwards, we headed towards the open arms of the desert for a night walk under the brilliant stars of Wadi Rum. We walked and walked, sometimes in silence and other times in laughter. We then heard the coach telling us to sit down in a circle. I could see the faces of those around me bobbing their heads, half asleep and half wishing they were! Nevertheless, as soon as the coach started talking, we were all eyes and ears. We learned about the stars and how important they were to figure out directions. The instructor then pointed to a distant place which he said was our camp and with complete conviction we walked back. That night, I am sure we all put our heads on our pillows reflecting on the significance of our experience and knowledge gained that now seeps through our skin into our souls

-Rama Ramahi

On the third day of our trip in Wadi Rum, we all woke up at around

7:00am and had breakfast, then the coaching team gathered us altogether to participate in various activities. Following that, we rode a 4 by 4 Jeep which was really amazing, as we got to see the beauty of the desert and the surrounding mountains. Moreover, during the ride we stopped at a cave and a fortress. After the drive, we went back to

the camp, gathered up our belongings and got ready to head back to Amman. On our way back, we stopped for a break to have lunch and then continued the trip to our destination back home. The expedition was such a marvelous experience full of diversity, especially since we got to participate in this journey as classmates. It enabled us as teenagers, to get acquainted with the types of environments that surround us, other than the daily familiarities. Furthermore, the expedition helped improve our teamwork skills and brought us as classmates closer together. In addition, we all met new people who had outstanding personalities, not to mention the experience we gained. There is no doubt that the environment, location and surroundings we explored were completely different than what we are accustomed to,

but this did not change the fact that we were united as a team and that the atmosphere itself was spectacular. As a matter of fact, we expanded our knowledge through teamwork, communication, experience and most importantly, responsibility. The whole expedition, the camping and adventures that we encountered were an experience of a lifetime and I personally would be willing to live it all over again.

2

How many times have you said the words: it isn’t my fault? How many times have you stood and convinced yourself that someone else

should be held accountable for your mistakes? How often do you blame the world around you for everything that goes wrong in your life? We all do it; we sit and blame everyone and everything around us for all the problems we’re facing. We blame our teachers for our bad grades; we blame our parents for not raising us the right way, we blame our friends when we aren’t happy. We seem to have the ability to blame the entire universe and yet the one thing we can’t do is take responsibility for our own lives. At the end of the day you make your own choices, you’re the one responsible for how your life turns out. We need to learn to accept the fact that we are the ones who determine how our lives turn out, we are the ones responsible for our own happiness and well-being, not our parents, teacher or friends.

Many of us drift through life, waiting for things to happen and reacting to events that occur around us instead

of taking control ourselves. This is where our problems begin, if we let life happen to us instead of taking action. We end up without any power over our own lives. The issue is that so few people know how to do this; how to take responsibility for themselves and their futures. There are three steps to do this. The first step is to stop relying on others and learn to be independent. Stop depending on teachers to give you all the information you need to pass and instead take initiative and be responsible for your own learning. Stop depending on your friends to make you happy and instead learn to be happy on your own by finding a hobby that brings you happiness and dedicate yourself to it. You can’t always be sure that the people around you will live up to your expectations, so live with this idea in your mind and work around it. Be sure that if worse comes to worse, you’ll always be able to depend on yourself. Next, you need to learn how to admit when you’re the one at fault. Own up to your mistakes instead of trying to put the blame on others. Accept your errors as part of you and learn from your faults instead of running from them. By taking responsibility for your faults, you stop making as many mistakes. Finally, you need to stop sabotaging yourself. We have this way of ruining our

own lives by procrastinating endlessly on every piece of work, we avoid challenges that scare us and we avoid so many

opportunities that come our way. We are our own self-sabotagers and we do it every day. This needs to

stop! In order to take control over your life, you need to stop playing the victim, stop sabotaging

your own life, stop procrastinating and stop avoiding change. Stop it all and instead learn to make decisions that will change your life for the better.

At the end of the day, the only person you can blame for your unhappiness is yourself.

No one forced you to make the choices you made and no one is stuck with them but

you. You are the only who has to live with the decisions you make. Thus, learn to take command

of your own existence and work towards finding your own joy, instead of blaming others when you don’t end up

where you want to be.

TAKING RESPONSIBILITY By: Fern Williams

By: Ahmad Al Mommani

The Group 4 Project is a mutual student engagement that examines a scientific and a technological topic, allowing for concepts and

perceptions across the disciplines to be shared by students from various

group 4 subjects. It focuses on uniting the different sciences together, which include Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Design Technology This year, we the class of 2014 worked on ‘Crime Scene Investigations’, demonstrating blood traces using utilization of varying tests and questioning how a killer can hide tracks when commit a crime through using sciences, the collection of evidence collected or apparent in a crime scene and how this proof is engaged to track down criminals.. The Group 4 project was a great experience for me. I had a lot of fun\ working with my group of 4 other members as we brainstormed for weeks before we finally filmed and made a great short movie. I had helped in filming, acting, and editing the movie we had made. Of course we weren’t a perfect group and we had our hardships along the way. On the day of the presentation we had to decide how we were going to present since we couldn’t work in a room as they were already being used. We ended up being the first project seen in the hallway and had received a lot of attention from many of the parents. All in all the experience was something to remember. I know my entire group had fun working together to make sure we did the best we could possibly do. I know that this project will be one of the many things that really stands out in my

GROUP 4 PROJECT !

3

Rama Zaatarah: My advice to juniors would be never to procrastinate. The worst you could do to yourself is to postpone today’s work till tomorrow! Finish your tasks as soon as you can because you won’t have time later. In addition, never forget to laugh and take things easy while showing consideration for other people’s feelings.

Hussien Al-Rubaye: A piece of advice I would give to junior students is be wise. By being wise, I mean that they should realize how important these two years are and the fact that they will determine your futures.

Abeer Ansari: Use your time wisely, yet breathe. IB is stressful yet it is not impossible. If you’re able to balance your time between studies and social life, you’ll do fine. IB has changed me to become a better person. My organizational and time management skills have increased, I’m a lot more open-minded and I’ve gained vast knowledge that I’ll definitely need later on.

Talah Al-Sharqawi: Work on yourselves from the beginning; don’t convince yourselves you have time because you don’t. Finish your tasks in the summer holiday and don’t waste your time, as you will regret it. Finally, enjoy your time during your senior school years by having fun too. Make it a year to remember!

Sarah Hattar

When Ms Mirna said her new motto is “NO EXCUSES”, she knew exactly what she’s talking about, and sticking to it is the best you will do, if not, let’s just say you sentenced your own death. Enjoy this year to the fullest and don’t get caught up in all the drama, because it will always be there!

Emma Evidisan: My advice would be to study on a daily basis, not because IB is extremely hard, but because it makes studying for tests and exams so much easier and faster. People do not joke about the pressure in grade twelve, so if you don’t finish the extended essay and give in your internals during the summer, grade twelve will become a burden.

ADVICE TO JUNIORS

It’s an ending, marking a new beginning. The path for IB2 senior students at Mashrek International School is about to come to an end. For 12 years

these students have been nurtured and raised by their teachers; now they have become mature, bloomed members of the school community preparing to go off to university.

Throughout their years of schooling, senior students have developed intellectual, personal, emotional and social skills to live, learn and work in a rapidly globalizing world. When they reached the IB Programme, they employed their past knowledge and experience to keep up with this hardcore system. Students were aware of the stress and challenges they may face, but they were also certain that they are capable of overcoming them. When I spoke to the senior students, they told me that “keeping up with deadlines and balancing daily studies with life activities is the most difficult aspect of the IBDP. Nevertheless, this can be overcome by working hard and maintaining an up-to-date schedule of school work other tasks”. Despite the overwhelming life of an IB student, many admit that the program is truly a life-changing experience. “The IB shapes a

well-rounded young individual with an outlook of the world from all possible angles, to prepare us for the next chapter of our lives”.

The Seniors welcomed the beginning of the scholastic year with a handful of work and assignments, yet they managed to find leisure time. The School witnessed their enthusiasm and overwhelming energy through their display of their logo jackets, to their rally in the school’s hallways. Senior students celebrated their new logo jackets in an untraditional way. They gathered in front of the Senior Hall wearing their logo jackets for the first time and danced along the Senior School hallways playfully singing and clapping. One student described it as being “an ultimately overwhelming five minutes. I’ll never forget the emotions that rushed through me”. Another student said: “it was silly, crazy and got us into a bit of trouble”.

As junior students, we look up to the seniors in hope of reaching and building on their achievements. Class of 2014 is a distinguished and remarkable group of young individuals, who deserve the best. We wish you the best of luck!

By: Hadeel Al-Sharqawi

CLASS OF 2014

4

PREPARING A FIVE YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN(2013 – 2018)

Littleford & Associates a leading global consultancy in education was commissioned to conduct a strategic planning project at Mashrek International School. The Project was led by renowned consultant Mr. John Littleford. In order to develop our Strategic Plan, Littleford met with parents, teachers, students and members of our community to recognize each group’s areas of concern and areas of fulfillment. Succeeding a number of key meetings and workshops, five main objectives were developed and approved. A comprehensive Five Year Strategic Plan was then derived from these objectives. The following are the objectives and their domains:

Strategic ObjectivesStudents’ Learning & Well-Being

Being the Leading Employer within the Educational Sector through Professional Development & Salary Competiveness

Safety & Availability of Facilities

Financial Sustainability

Parents’ Communication & Partnership

Strategic Objectives’ DomainsStrategic Objective 1: Students’ Learning & Well-BeingDomain 1: Students’ Learning Environment (Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment)

Domain 2: Fostering Students’ Leadership & Voice

Domain 3: Physical, Social & Emotional Well-Being

Strategic Objective 2: Being the Leading Employer within the Educational Sector throughProfessional Development & Salary CompetivenessDomain 1: Professional Development

Domain 2: Recruitment

Domain 3: Increase Teacher Retention & Salary Competitiveness

Strategic Objective 3: Safety & Availability of FacilitiesDomain 1: Safety & Security

Domain 2: Availability of Facilities & Maintenance

Strategic Objective 4: Financial SustainabilityDomain 1: Sustain the Enrollment Rate of Students (1000 – 1200 students)

Domain 2: Establish a Financial Planning & Budgeting Process between School Departments

Domain 3: Establish other Revenue Streams

Strategic Objective 5: Parents’ Communication & PartnershipDomain 1: Parents

Domain 2: Students

Domain 3: Community

5

As we all know, every scholastic year elections are held for Student Council. Students get the chance to elect their President and Vice

President, in order to make a difference and share the ideas, interests, desires and requests of the student body. Last year during the scholastic year 2012-2013, we, without a doubt had an amazing student council. As we recall, Lina Qutaishat was our responsible President, who till today remains committed to the position she had and thus should be commended for all the hard work, time and effort she invested to make a difference within our school. Moreover, the whole Student Council should be thanked for all the hard work they demonstrated last year, enriched with activities and entertainment. Thanks to Juman Abdo (Vice President), Hussein Al-Rubaye, Talah Al-Sharqawi and of course, the rest of last year’s Student Council representatives.

This scholastic year 2013-2014, two students from grade 10 ran for Vice President: Noor Aladdin and Noor Agha and only one student ran for the Senior School Student Council President: Lina Sharabi. The competition was close between Noor Aladdin and Noor Agha with Noor Aladdin elected as the Student Council’s Vice President by only eleven votes (Alladin got 113 votes while Noor Agha got 102 votes).

Although Noor Agha did not get the position of Vice President, the experience was undoubtedly great for both candidates. We are all still

Faith connects people together no matter what the cause is. Masherk Senior School Students took part in the Face to Faith, a Conference

about Women’s Rights. Face to Faith is a school program for 12-17 year olds that connects students from different nations via video conferences and allows them to interact with one another and discuss global issues through a diversity of faiths, beliefs and perspectives. Face to to Faith was one of my greatest experiences. This year, the Face to Faith video conference was held with a school in India, during which we connected through sharing our cultures with each other. We built arguments according to our cultures and the surrounding environments of our societies. Each school shared the festivals that are celebrated by their culture and what they represented. As for our school we represented the Jordanian culture and society. We shared our customs, traditions and festivals and what they represent. This experience was remarkable and I personally developed communication skills through being open-minded throughout the discussions. Most importantly, we learned how to communicate with other people representing different cultures. Participating in this event was very beneficial in many ways.

young and have several opportunities ahead of us and one loss cannot be the end.

On another note, congratulations to Noor Aladdin and I would personally like to thank everyone who has supported me throughout the elections; it is deeply appreciated. I hope everyone is looking forward to an enjoyable year and hopefully a year to remember.

-Lina Sharabi

My goal this year was to create change and establish it. Therefore, I figured out that running for Vice President will help me achieve this. I did not want to be elected at first, but after the encouragement of my fellow classmates I signed up. I had no ideas about my campaign and I did not know what to do. All I knew is that I was to represent the voice of the students. Election day was intense, reading my speech was frightening and looking down at all those students made me feel pressured. As the votes were counted and the names were being read out, I became more anxious. However, when the final count was over I ended up as Vice President. During my wonderful experience, I realized that these elections create leaders and build a democracy among students. I personally encourage every single student to try running for the Student Council.

By: Lina Sharabi, Ali Qassab

-Ali Qassab

By: Ghazal Abu Sheikh By: Yahya Sammarai

SCHOOL ELECTIONS

FACE TO FAITH ! FACE TO FAITH !

On a very pleasant o c c a s i o n ,

Kindergarten students appreciated the finale of the first term’s events, under the theme: ‘How We Organize Ourselves’ during the KG Occupations Day. Several occupations were represented by various stations within

the KG. Our KG students were capable of role-playing a variety of professions that they learned about throughout the course of this

theme. This event allowed them to gain organizational skills and prepared them for a future full of hard work and responsibility. Furthermore, it demonstrated how much easier it could be if they were taught organizational skills at an early stage of their lives.

HOW WE ORGANIZE OURSELVES’

6

The11th Annual Mashrek Model United Nations was approaching. 10 years well spent in this student lead simulation, 10 full successful

years and we were on the verge of starting the next 10 years, and I was nominated as this year’s General Secretary. The pressure was building up as the time grew shorter and it was mainly a test of endurance and patience.

The four day simulation was to be planned by a team of 15 elected students lead by myself and my colleague and Deputy, Fern Williams. This being my third year in the MMUN, I was fully up for the challenge to face this and make it happen with my team. The school put faith in me and my team and I wasn’t about to let them down, so the planning was initiated in time.

The plan was to get as much work done as possible two weeks ahead of the actual conference. With Fern, I made an Action Plan that proved to be very helpful for the coming three weeks of the planning phase. Dividing the work amongst the Admin Staff, the work began and it was smooth. From experience it was essential to recall every single detail in the MMUN from previous years to have a successful MMUN. From the candy on the delegate’s tables, to the Hands on Project, it was all written somewhere to ease the planning. This planning was very accommodating and eased everything that was to come.

The Admin Staff was very helpful and compassionate. I recall some of the members calling me after school hours asking for more work to ease the pressure on me; this kind of compassion was overwhelming to say the least. We bonded over these three weeks and developed a friendship

KG SPORTS DAY As part of a well-balanced community filled with enthusiasm and

cooperation, KG students along with their parents and teachers enjoyed engaging in the KG Sports Day by exercising and rotating through various international sports activities, such as bowling and aerobics. KG students, their parents and teachers communicated within the playground, to reflect the theme of “Who We Are” and to represent a vigorous lifestyle, while savoring healthy snacks and juice. This activity enhanced the relationship between parents and their children as well as demonstrated a healthy lifestyle. Children developed their communication skills by collaborating with other classmates and learned the concepts of teamwork and understanding through the activities they engaged in.

–Juman Abdo

that was well built for the pressure that was awaiting us. I made it clear in our weekly meetings that this is a group effort, not my effort nor the school’s. Thus we were all equally important to make this conference a success and give the delegates something they’ll never forget.

The biggest problem faced with every General Secretary every year is dealing with the new-coming and excited Ninth graders. Being recently inducted into the “high school” atmosphere, they are overwhelmed with the amount of events that occur on weekly bases. I remember the MMUN being my favorite when I was a mere ninth grader as well. I thoroughly remember how I idolized the Seniors of that year for their intense debating and magnitude. Consequently, I fell in love with the MMUN from that year on, thus I made it my aim to give the ninth graders the same experience I was given. This year’s ninth graders worked very hard and I was personally very satisfied with the outcome from them. They were engaged in the debate where they asked question, points and actually merged resolutions with other students. This is what brings me the joy I need at the end of the day, the satisfaction of seeing them working hard to be heard is what I seek and I wasn’t disappointed.

Overall, I can safely say that the 11th Annual Mashrek Model United Nations was a big success. The students’ enriched spirits and magnificent cooperation is what led to this success; seeing them so engaged in the conference and in serving their community to enhance their own knowledge and skills is very rewarding in the end, and I ask that coming General Secretaries also make their aim’s similar to mine, because in the end all what matters is leaving an impact on the students.

By: Tariq Shahrouri

MASHERK MODEL UNITED NATIONS 2013

KG EID AL ADHA CELEBRATIONOur School has always enhanced the IB Learner Profile since we were

young as well as constantly allowed us to be open to the real world and what is going around us. Our KG students celebrated Eid Al Adha through engaging in a Community and Service activity, which made them more aware of the less fortunate people and strengthened their awareness of their responsibility towards them. The KG students were passionate about the thought of caring for others and helping them out. Hence, these KG students were caring, responsible and principled throughout this activity. Some of the KG Class Parents participated in this charitable event by assisting in the distribution of the donated gift boxes to several less fortunate families through Tkiyet Um Ali.

-Sara Al-Ashqar

7

A green flag has been awarded to Mashrek International School for the 2nd consecutive year. This is considered an outstanding achievement.

Compliments to the management, staff, students and volunteers, whose hard work and dedication has attained this acknowledgment of excellence. This Flag is a result of fruitful efforts throughout several years, under the guidance of Mrs. Randa Battikha. With this Eco-Schools Green Flag comes great responsibility as well. We are from here on forward,

a model of ecological education to those around us, and recognition such as this only validates what the School has been working hard towards achieving. It gives us the incentive to become a leading school throughout the country, to collaborate with other schools and spread the word outside our school’s premises as well as within. The ceremony was very fruitful, during which the Green Flag was presented to us by a delegation from The Royal Marine Conservation Society of Jordan (JREDS) within the presence of guests from both the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Environment.

Source: http://www.mashrek.edu.jo

By: Tala Sadeeq

GREEN FLAG PRESENTED TO MASHERK FOR THE 2ND CONSECUTIVE YEAR

�إن �لتكنوجليا فكر و�د�ء وحلول للم�سكالت ، فهي جزء �أ�سا�سي من حياتنا �ليومية �إذ تلعب

دور كبري يف تب�سيط �لق�سايا و �مل�ساكل �لتي قد نو�جها يف حياتنا �ليومية، فهي تقدم خدمات

�لتي تغني �لفرد �لوقت و�جلهد �لذي قد يبذله يف �لتفتي�ش عن حلول لها يف مكان �أخر.

لقد �تاحت �لتكنوجليا لكافة �أفر�د �ملجتمع فر�سة �لتنقل و�ل�سفر لأي قارة وبلد حول �لعلم

مبجرد كب�ست زر ب�سيطة. فبا�ستطاعة �لفرد �أن يعرف �أخبار �أ�سخا�ش يف �جلهة �لخرى من

�لكرة �لأر�سية بو��سطة �لنرتنت، فهي تقرب �لعائالت و�لأ�سدقاء �إىل بع�سهم �لبع�ش بعدما

فرقتهم �مل�سافات.

�إن �لتكنلوجيا تفيد جميع �لفئات �لعمرية و�لطبقات �لإجتماعية، ولكنها تفيد بالخ�ش

فئات �ل�سباب �لذين ي�ستعملونها ب�سكل يومي للدر��سة وي�ستعملونها للدخول �إىل مو�قع �لتو��سل

�لجتماعي للتكلم مع ��سدقائهم و�قاربهم. تفيد �لطالب كرث� خالل �سنو�ت �لدر��سة لأنها

توفر �لوقت �إذ ت�ساعد �لطالب على �جاد �ملعلومات �ملطلوبة مبا�سرة بدل عن ق�ساء وقت طويل

بالبحث بالكتب وم�سادر �أخرى. �إ�سافة �إىل ذلك فهية ت�ساعد �لطالب وتنمي عنده قدرة

�لتعليم �لتعليم �لذ�تي.

رغم وجود �لكرث من �ليجابيات للتكنوجليا، فلديها �لكثري من �ل�سلبيات. من �أبرز

�سلبياتها هيا �أنه قد يق�سي �لفرد �ساعات طويلة على �لنرتنت مما قد ي�سبب �إدمان. �إ�سافة

�إيل ذلك، قد ي�سل �ل�سخ�ش �إىل مرحلة �أنه يبد�أ بو�سع كامل �عتماده على �لتكنولوجيا، فال

يعد قادر على مو�جهة �لعلم �حلقيقي.

بالتاأكيد �إن �لتكنوجليا هي من �أ�سا�سيات �حلياه �لتي ل ن�ستطيع �ل�ستغناء عنها. �أ�سن �نها

�أد�ه فعالة، و�أنا �سخ�سيا ل ��ستطع �ل�ستغناء عنها. ولكن يجب �أن ن�ستعملها بحكمة لأنها

بقدرما ميكن �ل�ستفادة منها، ميكن �لت�سرر منها.

عمر �سعاده

قبل خم�سون عاما كانت �حلياه

ب�سيطة ومل تكن �لتكنلوجيا

متطورة كما هي �ألن يف �أيامنا.

قبل �أن نعرف �لتلفاز كنا فقط

ن�ستمع �إىل �لر�ديو كل يوم كنا

ن�ستمع �إىل �لر�ديو...مو�سيقى...

�أغاين...�أخبار و م�سل�سالت...

ر�ديو فقط ل غري.

بعد ذلك ب�سنو�ت تعرفنا

على �لتلفاز ... �أ�سود و �أبي�ش.

كنا و نحن �أطفال ننتظر حتى

�ل�ساعة �ل�ساد�سة م�ساء كي

ن�ساهد �ل�سور �ملتحركة على �لتلفاز �لأبي�ش و�لأ�سود. بعد ذلك �لتطور �ل�سريع... كهربائيات

بانو�عها، �لتلفاز �مللون بانو�ع خمتلفة و�أحجام خمتلفة، �أجهزة �لت�سالت �ل�سلكية ومن ثم

�لأل�سلكية و �ألن �لأجهزة �خلليوية بانو�عها... �لكمبوتر و �لنرتنت.

تطور �سريع جد� يف جميع �ملجالت، تطور �أ�سرع من ��ستيعابنا نحن �لذين ولدنا يف

�ل�ستينات... و��ستيعاب كل هذه �لتكنوجليا يتطلب منا �جلهد و�لوقت و�ل�سرب. �سئنا �أم �أبينا

يجب �أن نتم�سى مع تطور �لتكنوجليا لأنها �أ�سبحت �سرورة لبد منها ولأنها بدون �سك توؤثر يف

حياتنا تاأثري� كبري� ولأنها مفيدة جد� �إذ� ��ستعملناها بطريقة حكيمة.

طارق �سعاده )�أبو عمر(

التكنولوجيا

8

In my opinion, coming from a 15 year old, I think technology has its advantages and disadvantages. Social networking is a big issue all

around the world, as us amateurs have become increasingly addicted to these networks and are always pulled towards them. They steer us away from our goals, focus points and reduce our concentration skills. Additionally, technology in general is bad for our health and can destroy our brain cells little by little. It is very sad to see how we are so dependent on these products. Furthermore, it is also disappointing that the first thing we do in the morning is check all our applications on our mobiles rather than picking up the newspaper and reading something important. We waste more than 3 hours just sitting and checking our messages and other “apps” instead of working on something that would help us contribute to our community, school work, family and goals. As students at Mashrek International School, we are always complaining how we have no time to finish our tasks and that we are very pressured. In reality, we are wasting our time on social networks and other technological applications. Ultimately, there are many advantages to these networks and technology in general, since we can connect and share ideas, memories, events and many other fascinating things through the internet. We can learn from these devices and networks and read e-books. Furthermore, it is a great way to connect with others through emails and other great applications. I believe that if we use our new technology devices in a positive way we can achieve much more than we currently do.

- Rana Said

As a 37 year-old mother, I believe that technology is a “big thing” nowadays since we were not introduced to these new gadgets at our time. During my teenage years, I used to get involved in sports and I was a very active person, but now with technology I am always so busy updating

Facebook and checking in on my kids and their social networks. It also worries me as I do not know who could be talking to my children over the internet and how they are communicating. I can see that teenagers are very lazy these days, checking their phones and laptops every now and then and watching 3-7 hours of television on a daily basis. On the other hand, I do like how schools are becoming eco-friendly and sending homework through email and other websites so as not to waste paper. I think that this is something positive and very intelligent. I am also impressed by the latest technology tools and other devices, as I can connect with my family overseas and we can share photos, videos and various special moments and memories together while we are both on two different sides of the world.

-Randa Said

TECHNOLOGY

On November 6th, 2013, our School held a workshop about Spoken Word Poetry for all 8th graders. In addition, to inform us more about

this type of poetry, Aysha Shamayleh came to visit our school, not only to teach us about Spoken-Word Poetry, but also advise us about our own spoken words. Aysha Shamayleh is an award-winning Spoken Word Artist and Poet; she was born and raised in Amman, Jordan. During her visit, she taught us that poetry isn’t formal, as it is simple but effective, making it an everyday language. Poetry can be defined as a language that explains more and declares things more intensely than ordinary language. Furthermore, she taught us that spoken word poetry is a way to express the poet’s thoughts and feelings about a certain subject. What makes Spoken Word Poetry unique is that it doesn’t require a precise rhyme scheme or genre, making it modest for people to express themselves efficiently. She taught us that Spoken Word Poetry and Theatre are very similar, since they both contribute to enhancing facial expressions and performance techniques.

Moreover, Aysha performed two of her spoken word poems, which illustrated her feelings about two diverse topics. Her first performance was about the Zionist occupation (war in Palestine) and her other performance

was about a very personal topic; her father. In both of her performances, she used various performance techniques, as she constantly changed her tone of voice, pace and movement. She also had great use of figurative language, such as sound and poetic devices, which captivated our attention and portrayed her message effectively.

From this workshop, I learned that poetry is a way of expressing the inner workings of a human mind, as it relies on the poet’s feelings, history and perceptions. Poetry allows one to visualize through all five senses and the senses stir up memories and feelings. Therefore, poetry writing is relevant and interesting. Aysha advised us to write a poem about a topic which we are able to relate to our own lifestyle and experiences. Poetry takes all life as its authority. Hence, its main concern is not with beauty, not with ethical truth, not with encouragement, but rather with experience.

In my opinion, I think this workshop was very significant. It helped me in writing my own spoken word poem, as well as performing it in front of my peers, using different types of figurative language and performance techniques. Aysha indirectly taught us an essential lesson about poetry; it comes to us conveying life and emphasizes on giving us a better understanding of life itself.

SPOKEN-WORD POETRY By: Aseel Al-Ashqar

9

To all the girls out there, winter is here and we all know what that means! New season only means a new wardrobe!! But before even thinking of taking a trip to the mall why don’t you see what’s in trend first? This year, and if you all haven’t noticed, the edgy look has been in kicking in… However, most people picture an edgy look an outfit that must have studs, but that’s wrong! Edgy looks can be expressed in many other ways and that’s what

we’re here for. In this blog you’ll see that there are actually different ways to dress without overusing (or not even using) any studs at all! An example of an outfit would be an army sweatshirt, ripped jeans with combat boots or converse. Other examples of what to wear are shown above.

Dress to Impress

10

These colorful yet casual skirts are really in this season of winter, they’re everywhere! These skirts are easy to wear with a simple plain shirt or you can also create a more formal look by wearing a blazer with accessories. Either way you choose to wear them, they are exploding everywhere.Printed leggings are also booming this

season. From fierce tribal prints to girly floral prints-they’re all in! So go shopping and find yourself your favorite print and go for it! Forever 21 tend to have a lot of them so go ahead and buy your favorite! Make sure you wear simple tops with these fashionable prints, you don’t want to over-do it now!

By: Dina Abu Rahmeh

11

AMMAN ATHLETICS CONFERENCE - U16 BOYS AND GIRLS VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENTS 10/11/2013Our outstanding volleyball coaches: Mr. Tarek Khrisat, Coach Jehad Al-Alwan and Coach Shareef Al-Saeed have trained our under 16 Volleyball Team for the Amman Athletics Conference Volleyball Tournaments. Masherk International School›s Under 16 Volleyball Team won the competition at the Amman Athletics Conference Girls Volleyball Tournament, in which the Team played five matches against several school’s for two consecutive days and achieved victory in all 5 matches. As for our Under 16 Boys Volleyball Team in the Boys Tournaments, which involved 6 other schools, our Team achieved Second Place in the Championship. We commend our outstanding champions for their participation in these volleyball tournaments. Congratulations to the U16 Volleyball Teams’ members and special thanks to the parents for supporting them. Last but certainly not least, we would like to extend our appreciation to the volleyball teams’ coaches.

GIRLS ROUND ROBIN FRIENDLY VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENTA Round Robin Volleyball Tournament was held on Monday 3/10/2013 for the Girls Volleyball Team, which took place at the Amman Baccalaureate School. Our School’s team won first place in this Tournament. They have proved to themselves and everyone around them that they have developed their volleyball skills.

As usual, the hard work of Mashrek’s Track and Field Teams has paid off. The Girls Track and Field Teams

-Grades 5 to 10- coached by Mr. Hamdan Al-Mohaisin, Mrs. Mirna Al-Hamad, Coach Mohammad Hamdan and Coach Mohammad Al-Harasis, won the Championship at the Directorate of Education University District’s Girls Track and Field Tournament, which was held at the Amman Baccalaureate School. Girls from grades five to seven scored 38 points, winning by 10 points ahead of the team that achieved second place. As for the Grades 8 to 10 Team, they got a total of 124 points with 27 points ahead of the team that came in second place.

MASHREK'S GIRLS TRACK & FIELD TEAMS (GRADES 5-7 & 8-10) WON THE CHAMPIONSHIPS AT THE DIRECTORATE OF EDUCATION - UNIVERSITY DISTRICT’S GIRLS TRACK & FIELD TOURNAMENT

12

Running, sweating, and pushing your body past the breaking point, is what we runners do. Glory, triumph, and respect are

what we serious track athletes crave, wish, and yearn for; where that opportunity to turn our dreams into reality is like no other. Waiting in your standing block for the gun to go off, helplessly wondering if you’re going to become the next champion. And before you know it that gun goes off! Faster and faster your heart begins to beat, your body pushing itself toward that finish line, into glory. Marking Saturday November 9th, 2013; Mashrek international School for the second year in succession has organized and conducted its Second Annual Track and Field Tournament. The tournament was held

at the Amman National Stadium with the participation of twelve private schools, competing at thirty seven different races for four different categories held during the event. Participants showed outstanding performances, especially our track and field team. Taking home several gold medals and cups for different categories, both male and female. As they approached the podium students knew that their hard work and dedication to what most of them consider their passion paid off! This tournament had received much gratitude from the participating schools’ coaches, players, as well as parents who attended. The feedback was highly positive, and once again it can be said that it was such a fruitful event this year.

MASHREK’S SECOND ANNUAL TRACK & FIELD TOURNAMENT By: Nour Al-Nasser

�لقد�س

ل تبكي يا حلوة

ل تبكي يا بيت �ملقد�ش

ل تبكي يا كني�سة �لقيامة

فرت�بك زرع من جثث �ل�سهد�ء

و�سقي من دماء �لأطفال و�لن�ساء

غد� ، غد� يوم فرحك

غد� تلب�سني �لثوب �لأبي�ش

غد� �سنخل�سك نحن �لأطفال

لن ننتظر �لكبار

لن ننتظر �سالح �لدين

ل تهدري �لدموع

وكفي عن �لأنني

غد� غد� �ستفرحني

عماد �لدين �لنا�سر / 8�

�لبرت�ء

يا �أر�سا و�سط �ل�سحر�ء

ت�سحرنا

كما ت�سحرنا �ل�سماء

ل خ�سرة فيها ول ماء

�لبرت�ء

يا معجزة يف �ل�سحر�ء ياأتون �ليها

من كل �لأنحاء

ياأ�سرهم روعة �جلمال

ويخطفهم بريق �لألو�ن

برت�ء

يا �أعجوبة هذ� �لزمان

وكنز �ملا�سي وفخر �لإن�سان

يا برت�ء

قبلة للروعة وح�سن للجمال

و لوؤلوة وردية تخطف �لعقل

وي�سار لها بالبنان

برت�ء .. يا برت�ء

ليث فروخ

�نت �أمي

ياملكة يف كياين

يامن ت�سهر�لليايل من �أجل �أماين

�نت �أمي

على وجهك �أرى �لنور،وحتت �أقد�مك جناين

بك �أرى �جلمال كله،ومن روحك ��ستم عبق �أوطاين

بنظرة من مقلتيك، ت�ساهدي د�خلي وكل �أحز�ين

�أن�سى عاملي عندما �أ�سمك �إىل �سدري ويف عمق �أح�ساين

�أنت �ف�سل ما يف �وقاتي وزماين.........

�نت �أمي

من روح �أنفا�سك ينب�ش قلبي

فيك �أرى نورطريقي وم�سعل دربي

لميكن للكلمات �أن تعربعما يف فوؤ�دي

�دعولك من كل قلبي وكياين ......... �أن يحميك ويرعاك ربي

لني عريقات

13

Simple Alternatives

..…Instead ofTry

breadwhole wheat pita

ranchhummus

meat and cheesepeanut butter & fruit

baked chipspretzels

granola barsunsalted nuts

regular yogurt Greek yogurt

Okay, you’re only human so sometimes you might give into your

cravings, but here I will be giving you healthy alternatives for

the junk you crave and the best part is that you can eat more when

it’s healthy! So let’s hope you start craving healthy food!

When you go to school, try packing your own lunch so you won’t

have to wait in long boring cafeteria queues plus you save money!

When packing your lunch, make sure you foods that should be

kept cold are placed with freezer packs e.g.: dairy products, meat,

poultry, etc.

Additionally, use a metallic lunchbox or plastic lunch bag to make

sure that your food is kept fresh until you eat it. Try to include a bit

of every food group, while packing enough food so your body can

make it throughout the day. Most importantly, AVOID junk food like

chips and chocolates.

HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

Advanced Alternatives

If you crave...What you really need is...Healthy foods that have it:

SweetsChromium

Carbon Phosphorus

Sulfur

Tryptophan

broccoli, grapes, cheese, fresh fruit, dried beans, chicken, beef, liver, nuts, eggs, fish, kale, cabbage, sweet potato, turkey, cranberries

BreadNitrogenhigh protein foods: fish, meat, nuts, beans

Fatty snacksCalciummustard and turnip greens, broccoli, kale, legumes, cheese, sesame

CoffeePhosphorous

NaCl(salt) Iron

chicken, beef, liver, poultry fish, eggs, dairy nuts, legumes

egg yolks, red peppers, muscle protein, garlic, onion, cruciferous vegetables,

sea salt, apple cider vinegar, seaweed, greens, black cherries

Carbonated DrinksCalciummustard and turnip greens, broccoli, kale, legumes, cheese, sesame

Salty foodChlorideraw goat milk, fish, unrefined sea salt

14

ENTERTAINMENT

Facts:* Mel Blanc (the voice of Bugs Bunny) had been in a serious car accident that put him into a coma. After many unsuccessful

attempts to get him to talk, a doctor asked “Bugs, can you hear me” Mel responded in the voice of Bugs Bunny: “What’s up Doc?” The doctors used this to lead him out of his coma.

* Water, electricity and gas have been free in Turkmenistan since 1991.

* The inventor of chocolate chip cookies sold the idea to Nestle Toll House in exchange for a lifetime supply of chocolate.

* Blind people smile despite having never seen someone smile before. It is just a natural human reaction.

* Norway allows any student from anywhere in the world to study at their public universities completely free of charge.

15

Editor in chief : Sara Al-Ashqar

Vice editor in chief: Nour Al Nasser

Design Team: Faisal Sharaiha and Anas Milhem

Newspaper’s committee: Hadeel Sharqawi, Juman Abdo, Faisal Abu Yassin , Dina Abu Rahmeh ,Rama Ramahi, Lina Sharabi, Haya Bashiti, Yahya Samaraii, and Tala Sadeeq.

supervised by : Mr. Ahmad Malhas, Mrs. Fadia Khoury

Photography: Sara Darwaza, Nour Salahat

editing teachers : Mrs. Faten Aranki, Ms. Zein Khalifeh, Mrs. Laila Al Ahmad & Mrs. Alas Haddad.

BLOOMING FLOWERS,

The sun shining content hours,

Sounds of laughter and chirping birds,

Streams of rivers,

Breathing fresh air every morning,

Getting ready for schools,

Offices all engaged and occupied,

Until one day, when peace died.

Poor peace was infected by the dreadful plague,

Suddenly everything became so vague.

Children crying,

Dying flowers,

The sun was dark all through the hours,

Sounds of fear and falling birds,

Streams of blood,

Breathing death, breathing horror,

A new plague, terrorism.

A sickness, a disease of the new world,

Millions are dying but can’t be heard,

Plague is like a wild fire,

Spreading around a lot of scare,

Putting people in shock and misperception,

Leaving everything for destruction,

That feeling of euphoria is now gone,

And it has been so long.

Dear governments,

You are the doctors, you can heal,

Peace needs medicine, can’t you feel?

Can’t you see it wants to conquer?

Please don’t allow it to last any longer,

We have no time,

Terrorism can end, terrorism can die,

Stop the torture in every child’s sigh.

-Aseel Al-Ashqar

عندما كنا �سغار� كنا ن�سع لأنف�سنا جمموعة من �ملقايي�ش و�ملعايري وحتى �خلطط مل�ستقبلنا.

فكنا نظن �أن كل ما علينا فعله هو �لإنتظار حتى تتحقق هذه �لأحالم فتتحقق حياتنا بذلك.

خرىولكننا بعد ذلك كربنا لنتعرف على �أ�س�ش مفهوم حياة �أ

فالن�سان ل ي�ستطيع �لعي�ش على �أحالم و�أهد�ف ل ي�سعى لتحقيقها . فمن دون �جلهد و�لعمل

ت�سبح تلك �لأحالم �إ�ستحالة. فكما قال �أحد �حلكماء؛ " من جد وجد، ومن �سار على �لدرب

فيقع منالها. �سعب مهما �أحالمه، ور�ء �ل�سعي فعليه �لعمر يف �لن�سان كرب و�سل".فمهما

�أمل حتقيق مر�ده. فاحلياة وينه�ش على قدميه على فيتعلم �أو ثالثة �أو مرتني مرة �لن�سان

مدر�سة وكلنا طالب فيها.

جملة �إن�ساء جتربة هي �لعزيزة مدر�ستنا لنا �تاحتها و�لتي �لعمليه �لتجارب �أعز ومن

"oracle" فاتاحت لنا �لفر�سة لعك�ش علم ��سرتنا �ملدر�سيه. و�لتي من خاللها قد ناق�سنا �لكثري من �ملو��سيع �لهادفة و �لفعالة من خالل عملنا �جلماعي كيد و�حدة ،تاركني ب�سمتنا

�خلا�سة يف هذ� �لعدد من �ملجلة، �آملني �إ�ستمتاعكم يف قر�أتها.

Vice editor in chief: Nour Al Nasser

During the winter holiday, some of our Mashrek students headed on a ski trip to

La Tzoumaz, Switzerland. The skiing trip took place from 3/1/2013 to 11/1/2014

with Les Elfes. The trip was a great experience for all the students where they

developed various skills, including: the essential skills of skiing, enhanced their

self-assurance, gained new knowledge and learned from real life situations.

Furthermore, they reinforced their self-management skills and enhanced

teamwork skills.

We look forward to the following ski trip next year.

MASHREK SKI TRIP 2014

16Tel. +962 6 5412203Fax. +962 6 5411143

P.O. Box 1412 Amman 11118 Jordan

Facebook.com/mashrekschoole-mail: administration@mashrek.edu.jo

www.mashrek.edu.jo