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THE RISING TIMES The Rising Times aims to provide the latest news, tips, and

advice through various sources by

students for students. The Rising Times expresses

students’ opinions on school safety, health, and politics. A

newspaper which envisions improving RSA student writing

skills and engagement in current events and issues.

Issue Number 4, 2016 Our Staff

A Bittersweet Farewell, Page 1

Increase Your Iman, Page 2

Ramadan Eats, Page 2

Traditional Katyif Recipe, Page 2

The Last Ramadan Nights, Page 2

A Ramadan poem, Page 2

A Month of Fasting (Arabic poem), Page 2

Sleep for the Good Grade, Page 3

Quiet Power, Page 3

The Ultimate Support System, Page 3

The Legacy of Mu-hammed Ali, Page 4

“High School Every-one’s Dream”, Page 4

School Life, Page 4

Editor & Chief: Nida Alam, 12th

Grade

Co-editor: Khawlah Nazzal, 11th

Grade

Staff Writer: Hassan El-said,

10th Grade

Thank you to the readers and

writers who contributed to the

first year long publication of

The Rising Times!

Advisors: Sr. Fadia Darwish, Sr.

Ahlam Yassin

For questions, comments or submis-

sions email: therising-

times@gmail.com.

A

Bittersweet

Farewell

Congratulations

All Graduates of 2016!

After three years, it is with a heavy heart that I bid RSA farewell. I'm incredibly grateful to have been a part of something so spec-tacular, but alas, life is a journey that takes us to different places. There is an endless list of things that I hope I effectively taught you--elements of history, current events, humanitarian aid, eco-nomics, and general “human-ing” skills. However, the most im-portant lesson that I hope you take from me is this: dignity is your key in life. Maintain your dignity and build the dignity of others. How? Educate your-selves, and not simply through books. Educate yourselves in the way that I have been edu-cating you in my classroom. Value and learn from your per-sonal, academic, and profes-sional experiences. Craft and voice informed opinions. Do not shy away from challenges or close your mind. Always re-spect people of all back-grounds. Share your culture and religion. Do not know things, understand them. Find people who share your values but who are different from you. Surround yourself with people who challenge you, who make you the best you that you can be.

Continued on page 3

Mission Accomplished! RSA is now officially accredited by the Middle States

Association of Colleges and Schools!

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Ramadan Mubarak!! Increase your Iman

There are common steps we should all take in order to be ready for Ramadan for example, fasting prior to Ramadan, giving charity, make more du-aa than we usually make, etc. These are tips that are given to the general public, but we are all extremely different, espe-cially when it comes to the way we in-crease our Iman. Iman is the most per-sonal and complex piece of each of our lives, thus each person needs to take specially designed steps to increase their Iman before this Ramadan. No one can tell you how to increase your Iman, it is you who has to do something in order to feel Allah’s (SWT) presence everyday, and this is not an easy task. Iman is not an easy thing one can acquire by just doing one thing its an ongoing battle between your desires and what Allah (SWT) has prescribed for us. In conclu-sion my tip to you this Ramadan, is make a personalized plan to increase your Iman the way you choose, and stick to this plan, it will be hard and it may never get easier, but it will not be in vain for Allah (SWT) knows and sees all.

~Marah SIyam, 11th grade

Ramadan Eats!

1. Drinking "rooh afza" on a daily basis

- Why: It contains high amounts of sugar, additives and colorants

- Solution: If you have to, drink it twice a week maximum

2. Drinking large amounts of water at iftar time

- Why: Filling the stomach with water is more strenuous to it than with food.

- Solution: have a few sips at iftar then a glass after every two hours.

3. Exercising directly after iftar.

- Why: the body's blood flow is concentrated around the stomach at that time.

- Solution: Exercise after two hours of eating to ease digestion.

4. Chewing and swallowing food fast.

- Why: chewing food slowly can speed up digestion and help main-tain your weight

5. Having dessert directly after iftar

- Why: they make you drowsy and sleepy

- Solution: leave at least a two hour gap between iftar and dessert to stay fresh and awake for isha and taraweeh prayers

6. Consuming foods with high amounts of sodium

- Why: Sodium triggers thirst throughout the fasting hours of the day

- Solution: instead, eat foods that are high in potassium, they retain water and suppress your thirst.

# Bananas are high in potassium. A banana at Suhoor time can con-trol your thirst level through out the day.

# Best sources of potassium for Suhoor time:

- bananas - milk - dates - peas

- avocados - dried peaches

- pistachios - pumpkin - dark chocolate

# Worst choices for Suhoor:

- Biryani - kebab - pizza

- Fast food in general

- cheese - Haleem

# Best choices for Suhoor:

- Potato - rice

- Dates - banana

- Whole grain bread

~Nida Alam, 12th Grade

Traditional Katyif Recipe

Ingredients:

-1/2 Cup Fine Semolina Flour

- 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour

- 2 Tablespoons sugar

-1 Tablespoon Corn starch

-2 Teaspoons Baking powder

-1 Teaspoon Rose water

-2 1/2 Cups water

Directions:

-Add all ingredients in a mixer or blende,

and mix until it appears watery. After done mixing

let the mixture rest for one hour. After the hour is

over bake on pancake pan and stuff with cheese or

crushed walnuts.

The Last Ramadan

Nights

Ramadan should be every Muslims favorite

time of the year, but even more specifically

the last 10 days should hold an even more

special place in our hearts. These are the

nights that the Prophet (peace be upon him)

would spend in constant worship even

though he was already promised Paradise.

Ayesha tells us: "The Prophet would exert

himself in worship during the last ten nights

more than at any other time of the

year." [Sahîh Muslim (1175)] which is why

it became Sunnah to put forth your greatest

efforts in worshiping during these last ten

nights. And let’s not forget among these

nights is Laylah al-Qadr; a night more

blessed than a thousand months. Did you

know: that you can earn more good deeds on

Laylah al-Qadr than you would if you were

to worship Allah for eighty-four years

straight. Wow. We should have an immense

feeling of gratitude for this blessing of

Laylah al-Qadr (greatest night of the year)

that allows us to have our previous sins for-

given. So let us spend these last ten holy

days by trying to get closer to Allah (swt) by

making sincere prayers/duaas, reading

Quran, forgiving/spreading mercy, soul

searching etc. May Allah (swt) accept our

siyam and salah, Ramadan Kareem!

~Nour El-Zant, 11th Grade

The holy month of Ramadan For all Muslims has begun. Praising Allah through the day, From dawn to dusk we fast and pray. We pay zakah (charity) for those in need, Trying hard to do good deeds.

When the sun has set, and day is

done-

I'll break this chain, but only one.

By the end of Ramadan, this whole

chain will be all gone!

It's time for Eid and lots of fun!!!

~By: Donna Sibaai

A Ramadan Poem

شهر الصيام، لقد كرمت نزيالً = وشفيت من كـل القلوب عليالً

دـومه = والحور فيه تـزينت تحفـــــيالً فيه الجنان تفتّحت لق

وبليلة قد قــــام يخـــــتم ورده = متبـــــتالً إللــــــــهه تبتـــــيالً

فأجهد، عساك تنالها فيما بقى = بالجد، وأحذر أْن تكون

غفولا

* * * * *

شهر األمانة والصيانة والتقى = والفوز فيه لمـــــن أراد قبولً

طوبى لعبد صح فــــيه صيامه = ودعا المهيمن بـــكرة وأصيالً

شهر يفوز عـلى الشهور بليلة = من ألف شهر فضلت

تفضيالً

شهر الصيام

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The Ultimate Support System

Farewell to RSA Continued

Know that ideas are the most powerful weapons. Do good things not for praise or out of fear. Rather, because Allah blessed you with life and He has given you every tool that you need to be a decent human being. Have pride in your culture, your faith, and your being—and be sure that you are living in a way that makes that pride justifiable. When making personal and professional choices, do what you truly believe Allah put you on earth to do, and you will find success. That is how you bring human dignity to its peak. That is how you impact people and change the world. Upon leaving RSA, I’m embarking on two adventures: I am pursuing my mas-ter’s degree in International Educational Development at Columbia University and I am starting a job at the Lebanese Ameri-can University, in advancement of their informal education programs. You should know that my statement of purpose in my admissions application to Columbia was about all of you. It was about the personal and academic development I have seen in you in my time at RSA, about how much I have learned teaching you, and how these experiences have helped me to clearly fashion my goals. So thank you. Thank you for listening to

me for the past three years (even though

you were technically a captive audience

without much of a choice). Thank you for

helping me to grow and for allowing me

to be a part of your growth. Know that I

am proud of you and I wish you success

in everything good that you do. And if

you ever need help or guidance, I am in-

debted to you.

~Sr. Sarah Shedeed

Stereotypes are everywhere, but the one in

the household is by far the most lethal.

You have definitely heard or will hear

“my parents want me to be...” at least once

in your life. As a high school student, I am

essentially shaping my future in its entire-

ty and my aspirations are completely

based on what I deem fit for myself.

That’s how I believe it should be and there

are no words to express how grateful I am

for the amazing support system I have.

My family is one of the biggest reasons I

have for aiming for a higher education. As

they’ve supported me through the years, it

only made my love and respect for them

grow. I choose to work hard in school for

them because, as my backbone, they keep

me going. High school, as a prerequisite to

college, is pretty hard because you’re es-

sentially sealing your fate. So heed my

advice and choose your own path.

Good luck to this year’s graduates! Your backbones aren’t going anywhere anytime soon!

~Shatha Al-Hussein, 10th Grade

Book Review: Quiet Power: The Secret Strengths of Introverts

Recently I was given a book by my lovely teach-

er, Sr. Ahlam. I was really curious about it when I

read the introduction and thought ‘Wow. This

sounds a lot like me.’ The book was basically

about introverts. These aren’t necessarily shy, an-

tisocial individuals, though there are shy intro-

verts. They just are people who tend to like being

by themselves or with a few friends. They aren’t

as attracted to huge parties or gatherings as their

opposites, extroverts, do. This novel expressed

that being introverted is not a setback but some-

thing to embrace and is actually an advantage. It

gave amazing stories of teenagers and other indi-

viduals who are introverted and have accom-

plished incredible feats, like sailing around the

entire world,

found- ing an

organi- zation

known as

Teach for

Ameri- ca, and

invent- ing the

Apple comput-

er, not in spite

of but because

of their intro-

version.

The author,

Susan Cain, is

in fact an in-

trovert herself

and she today is

known as an

amazing Ted Talk speaker and co- founder of

Quiet Revolution. Even individuals we know to-

day, such as Beyoncé, Emma Watson, and Der-

rick Rose are in fact introverts despite how they

act on the cameras. The novel also gave the sci-

ence behind introversion which was a great in-

sight. It gave tips on how to navigate life in

school, at home, in the social world, and so on. It

describes the strengths you have as an introvert

such as being a great listener, intense focus, deep

thinking, and comfort with solitude. Before read-

ing this book, I always thought something was

wrong with me since I loved being alone and be-

ing mostly in my head, but now I understand my-

self and truly am proud of who I am. This is one

novel I believe everyone should read to either

learn about themselves or others around them

whom they think are different.

~Joammi Abbasi, 9th Grade

Sleep for the Good Grade

Exams, homework, projects and research papers. These

are just a few things many students deal with on a daily

basis. Not to mention on top of this the stresses of just

being a teenager or child. Many times we delay these

stresses of projects and assignments due till late night,

claiming we only need a few hours of sleep, or even no

need for sleep at all and still make it through the day. I’m

afraid science says a different story.

Many of us sleep a few hours, wake up just in time for

school and enough time to grab ourselves a cup of coffee.

The coffee (if it’s not during Ramadan) keeps us up for a

few hours but by the middle of the day, we’ve completely

ran out of battery. Not only does this make us want to

sleep the remainder of the school day, but it also affects

our brain’s ability to absorb and learn knowledge. Our

body’s energy is focused on the core functions, there is no

energy left for our brain to focus on the lesson being

taught. And not only does this affect us negatively, teach-

ers who see students napping usually assume it as disre-

spect, that their lesson is just too boring. When in reality,

all he/she needs is a much-needed nap.

When we learn our brain rejuvenates and helps keep it

fresh. Like it goes, “if you don’t use it you’ll lose it”. This

is certainly true, especially in the case of sleep. When we

deprive ourselves of sleep, not only are we going to be

miserable for the rest of the day, we also allow ourselves

to be prone to numerous sleep disorders, symptoms and

lifestyle disturbances such as:

-Narcolepsy -Depression

-Grumpy attitude -Blood Pressure

-Less Cognitive Activity (Can’t focus)

-Diabetes

Sleep is one of only activities that affects all of the body’s

organs and has the ability to affect them both negatively

and positively. It’s one of the only things we just aren’t

sure how it works. How nightmares and dreams come to

be and if they mean anything. All we know is a lack of it,

is just plain unhealthy.

~Hassan El-Said, 10th Grade

Summer time has come, but that’s no ex-

cuse to not learn. Books are to be read, and

new things should come to mind. Learning

comes all days of the year, not at a specific

time. Now here is a link to the RSA website

please do your summer work and have a

great time.

http://www.rsanj.org/rsa/Quick%20Links/

Summer%20Reading%20Assignments/

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The Legacy of Muhammed Ali “High School: Everyone's Dream”

“ Allah`s the Arabic for God. Stand up for God, fight for God, work for God, and do the right thing, and go the right way, things will end up in your corner.” Muhammed Ali was a champion boxer, a social activist, a philanthropist, and an inspiration to all. Through his religion, beliefs, and career he became a world champion and be-loved to all. Before he discovered Islam, or start-ed his boxing career, he was just Cassius Clay, a young child who lived in the segregated South. As a young child Cassius experienced segrega-tion and discrimination first hand. Which later inspired him to become a social activist. How did his childhood influence his boxing ca-reer? It was all a coincidence, one day someone stole his bike and he said that if he caught that person he would beat him up. The police officer told him at least learn how to fight before you challenge people. The police officer’s name was Martin, as well as being a police officer he was also a coach for young boxers. Cassius began to work with Martin and train with him, and soon began his boxing career. He won his first amateur fight, he went on and won a 1959 Golden Glove tournament . Cassius continued to win games, and he won a spot in the Olympics. Aside from becoming the greatest boxer of all time, he had his own beliefs. During his boxing career, he went on a spiritual journey and as a result joined a black Muslim group called Nation of Islam. From there he later converted to Orthodox Islam. Later after his conversion he be-gan to speak out against fighting in the Vietnam War. He believed that it was pointless and that,as a believing Muslim, Islam would prevent him from going out and fighting. As a result he was suspended from boxing and arrested for felony. Muhammed Ali , was almost stripped of his champion title. In 1985, Ali visited Palestine to see to the release of Palestinian and Lebanese prisoners. He later declared, “ In my name and the name of all Muslims in America, I declare support for Palestinian struggle to liberate their home-land and oust the Zionist.” In his retirement Ali turned to philanthropy, and helped many organi-zations. He was named the United Nations Mes-senger of Peace because of his work in other na-tions. The president granted him with the Presi-dential medal of Freedom. Later he announced that he had Parkinson's. As his Parkinson's worsened he still re-mained active, but in 2015 he was hospitalized . He was hospitalized again later in 2016 and passed away on June 3, 2016. He left a great legacy behind, even after his death he was still praised as an athlete, a spiritual leader, and an activist.

~Ayaa Essafi, 8th Grade

Recently, my friend in eighth grade described to me what high school would be for her. High school would be the place where she exercised her final freedoms as a teenager, where she would ex-perience pure exuberance. High school would be the place she would discover all kinds of new things about herself. High school would be the place where she developed her individualism, it would be the place she would decide her path in life. High school was when she would get her driver's license and be able to go anywhere, any-time she wanted. High school would be filled with friend hangouts, and unforgettable memories. High school would be the perfect setting of the many events that she would one day share with her children. High school is the place she would learn the necessary things needed to go to college and make a living. I mean, who wouldn’t want to go to high school? I, however, think high school is merely an-other four years of education, it will not be the place where I “discover” myself. Nor will it be the place where I will develop my individualism. These things I will find along the way, through my friends, my family, my peers, ultimately through my community. Yes, high school will give me the educational resources to succeed in college and provide some wisdom for the future but they will not be the “ Golden Years” of my life. I think high school, will spark the realization that growing up isn’t all that exciting and maybe being lost is okay. What I expect from my high school experience is quality education, some wisdom, and a bit of fun, the perfect way to start my life.

~Alaa Essafi, 8th Grade

There are the memories and the night-

mares, the happy moments and the sad

moments, the drama and the drama

free, all factors of your everyday

school life, no matter what school you

go to. Some people view the public

schools as waste land. I beg to differ,

lots of people claim that there schools

are better or different, wrong answer.

My perspective is the school is not

unique because its location or their

name or logo, it’s all about the experi-

ence. Though people view both Islam-

ic school and public schools in nega-

tive ways or they complain, it’s about

the experience, the people and feeling.

In public school though, I stood out, I

enjoyed it. I wasn’t going to hide in a

closet because I wore the hijab; I was

me, no insecurities. I didn’t mind it,

and my friends and teachers around

me didn’t mind it either.

Poland, Trinidad, Peru, Pales-

tine, is just some of the few countries

that my friends were from. My Polish

friend would talk about the food that

they ate back in Poland, though I

gagged in the process, I was fascinated

and disgusted by the discoveries. It

allowed me to understand the different

beliefs and viewpoints of people from

all around the globe. Though I’ve only

been in Islamic school for barely a

year, I felt different then I had felt in

public school. It wasn’t the school but

the people and the experiences, though

I liked being different, there were

some downsides. I have habits saying

Arabic words out the blue, whether

I’m frustrated, happy, and just being

downright sarcastic, yet I would be the

only person who would laugh or

smirk. In Islamic school I keep my

spirituality intact as well as having

some fun. The sense of community is

mutual between the teachers and the

students and I enjoyed that. It’s inevi-

table that I feel much more at ease in

Islamic School, but I still manage to

look back and smile at all the memo-

ries and think, this is the best of both

worlds.

~Ayaa E

School Life