Volume 3. Issue 3. December 2012
THEEXPRESS
Our mission is to produce an up-to-date,
fun, fresh, and fierce newspaper that
will be liked by many, cussed by some,
but read by all! Enjoy!
Express Yourself!
AISA Students get a “Close-Up” look at Washington D.C.
Ali AlMasaood
Fifteen high school students and two teachers’ ventured out into the world, over international waters to embark on an adventure of a lifetime.
On the 10-day trip, organized by History teacher Mr. Hansard and Mrs.Duffner, and cosponsored by non-profit education organization Close Up, students participated in workStaff Advisor: Miss Sarah
shops in which they interacted with different students from all over the United States. AISA
Edited by: Ms. Hanson Bhutta
was the only international school in the close-up program!
AISA VOICE: Ali AlMasaood, Alix Marionnet, After the workshops, students explored American history and American politics through the
city’s museums, memorials and seminars.
Reem Luqman, Sasha Richard Herbert, Sara
AlMahmoud, Tim Johnson
They went to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, the National History Museum, the
WHAT’S UP?: Jessica Smith, Latifa Al Mazrui, U.S. Capitol, the Washington Memorial, the Thomas Jefferson memorial, the Martin Luther
King Junior memorial, the Abraham Lincoln memorial, and on a special trip this year, the
Meera Romanos, Fahda Al-Saud
White House and the Pentagon. The students truly appreciate the hard work Mr. Hansard
COSMOPOLITAN: Mariam Al Jabrie, Danna
put into organizing the trip, which may not have been possible without his hardwork and
Atrak, Sarah Sheikh Ali, Dalia Al Hashmi
dedication.
THE SCENE: Ahmed Fardan, AlHanoof Al
Since this trip was scheduled for election week, the entire program was busy and filled with
Hamedi, Hadeel Dahlan, Mohamed Mubarak, anxious and excited students nationwide. Workshops were targeted on the elections and its
media influence, propaganda, political tactics, and other such things.
WE ARE THE LIONS!:
The students who went felt that the Washington Close Up program was a positive and influZaid Salamah, Mohamed Al Shaibani
ential experience. Make plans for next year for an experience of a lifetime.
The Trip To Romania
THECONTENT
The Creativity, Action, Service (CAS) program is designed to engage students in experiential learning. This year some CAS students were lucky
enough to travel to Romania to participate in the Habitat for Humanity project in Romania. This year, Miss Fleming and Mr. McKenzie chose to go to
Romania. Miss Fleming said, “In Romania, the habitat was not well established, there was a housing need, and it's an interesting and vibrant new
culture for students to experience.”
Page 1,2 - AISA VOICE

Washington D.C. Trip

Habitat for Humanity: Romania

National Day

Senior Lounge

Winter Break

Big, senior sized, decisions

National Day Poetry
Page 3 - What’s Up?

High School Drama Performance

Can collection: Environmental Science

Formula One

30 Hour Famine
Page 4 - Cosmopolitan

Charity Club/Community Service

Suggestion Box

Christmas Wish list

AISA’s Best Dressed
Alix Marionnet
The Purpose of Habitat for Humanity is to help families in need by providing simple, safe, and affordable housing. Participating families must contribute hours of “sweat equity” (building and working on the house) in return
for an interest free loan and assistance in building the house. All around
the world, families are gong through difficult economic conditions and the Habitat for Humanity program seeks out those families
and tries to help.
There were many activities for the CAS students in Romania. Part of the team worked on dry walling, interior insulation and the other part of the team worked on digging a trench and installing the water pipe for the home. This fulfills the service portion of the IB
“CAS hours” and provides the students with an amazing opportunity to learn how to be contributing members of society. For recreation time, they went hiking, visited historical sites like Bran Castle, and experienced new food and culture.
Grade 11 IB student, Carlotta Saenger said, “It was truly a great experience. Romania is beautiful and the people there are so nice.
We all had such a good time and even working on the building site was fun. We all bonded so well and I would definitely go next year
and encourage others to come too. We went to an Italian Opera, canoed, went site seeing. It was an amazing trip!”
The Spirit of the Nation
Reem Luqman
Every year, on the second of December, the nation starts the preparation to commemorate a very special occasion. That occasion is
National Day. National day takes a deeper meaning in the hearts and minds of the Emaraties. It celebrates the nations progress and
advancement since His Highness the Late Sheikh Zayed, may God rest his soul in peace, took the rein of power to lead the UAE. This
is a great nation, which holds many values rooted in the Arabian and Islamic Culture. A nation that has been held strong and maintained by the late Sheikh Zayed, from 1971 - 2004. The UAE has maintained its strength, even though its great leader, the man of
wonders, passed away. The United Arab Emirates still stands high by the leadership of its amazing leader, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa
Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Page 5 - The Scene

Smoking in School?

The end of the World -2012?

Ask Bob.

Kickstarter: Website Review
Page 6 - We are the Lions

Soccer

Basketball

Publications Bios
The Express—December 2012
The UAE was once just a desert with no greenery. Sheikh Zayed once said, "They used to say that agriculture has no future in the
UAE, but with God's blessing and our determination, we have succeeded in transforming this desert into a green land."
National Day is celebrated with flags and streets filled with lights and colors. Children enjoy watching the fire-works as well as
attending the traditional "Maseera." The Maseera is when everyone takes their decorated cars to the streets of all seven cities and
celebrate as a nation. Schools make a day of celebration, where the students prepare performances such as: reading the Quran, performing poems and dances and eating traditional Emirati food. The girls dress up in the traditional Thoub and boys in the Kandoora.
Animals are also brought to the school events such as falcons, horses, and camels.
National day is a day where we look back to our past and reflect upon it. Seeing ourselves rise and prosper as a nation of seven Emirates after being a place filled with nomads roaming the desert is a great achievement that all Emaraties behold high. National Day is
a day of remembrance, to the founder of our country, and to our forefathers who helped him build such a magnificent place. It is a
day where we all share happiness, locals and non-locals, foreigners and non-foreigners and stand as one big family filled with
dreams, hopes and ambitions.
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A Perfect Winter Break
The Senior Lounge
What the Girls have to Say
Op-Ed by: Sasha Richard Herbert
Senior Meera Romanos with friends
Sara Al Mahmoud
Time passes by in front of our eyes, and now the most anticipated break is
here. With 3 weeks out of school, students and teachers use this precious
time to get away from school and work. The winter break starts on December 14 and lasts to January 5. We will all return to school on the 6th of January, 2013. This winter break is known to be the longest and the most suitable to leave the country for a small family vacation to refresh yourself.
What are AISA students going to do for this long break? Apparently, AISA is
a well travelled group of students. One sophomore student said, "I'm going
back home to celebrate Christmas Eve and New Years as soon as our break
starts". While another said, "I'm going to spend this time relaxing right here
in the UAE. I'm going to use this time to have fun, so that I can forget about
school for awhile."
Last year the student council committee had the great idea that the senior class
should have their own lounge in which they can hang out during breaks and their
free periods. This lounge would strictly be for seniors only; the future seniors will
have their chance when they are seniors. We decided to ask all the girls to pay a fair
share of money in order to build up the lounge. Most of the senior girls refused, saying they did not see why they should pay and were not interested. The rest of us decided to take charge and try to do different things to get the large amount of money
that was needed.
To raise money for the lounge, the girls baked goods and others bought goods to sell
during the lunch break. They made more money than they thought they would, however, it was not enough!
Some of the girls are now threatening to take back their money. The boys already
have their lounge, but the girls senior lounge now seems like it might not happen.
Reem Luqman is the senior in charge of organizing and collecting the money for the
girls lounge. She said, “I made sure that they (seniors girls) were willing to pay the
fair amount that we had all discussed; they cannot back out last minute”.
Despite the recent setback, there are many senior girls that are still trying to achieve
the goal of a senior lounge. Hopefully, the girls will be as successful as the boys.
To all who are going back home to see their families, and to those staying
here in Abu Dhabi, we hope that you enjoy your holiday. When we return
we can all start the new year off fresh and relaxed. This is the only long
break that's going to take place this year, so enjoy every second of it!
Students, try not to forget about school and the classes you've taken during
this time because mid-year exams will follow this break. Although not fully
confirmed, exams will be given sometime at the end of January.
Big Decisions,
Little Time!
National Day at
Tim Johnson
AISA
With approaching college applications deadlines, senior students are
starting to stress about where they are
going to study and what they are going
to study. Most students are beginning
to panic as the deadlines draw closer
and closer.
41st Year of UAE
By Muhammad Redza bin Roslan
This land, United Arab Emirates
Had the unification of the states
Occurring 41 years from this date
In this desert, rivers of oil were found
This made the lives of locals turn around
And UAE rose to become a great
This nation, UAE, is proud to be
41 years old as you all can see
Oh people, please do understand the fact
That everyone here, they stand compact
In order to assist the helping hand
That repairs the nations that have been cracked
So today we all came to celebrate
And honor the structures that fascinate
The decision on which university to
attend and what to study will affect
the students for the rest of their lives.
Senior Azfar Farooqui
It’s hard not to worry about such a big
decision, but students have to just take a step back and breathe and get their heads
straight so they can make the correct decisions without regret .
Most students are feeling the pressure from their parents to get accepted into a
good university. It’s daunting because no one wants to let their parents down. Some
students put pressure on themselves and others have external pressure from their
parents. A little pressure is good as it pushes you to make tough decisions.
All schools have different criteria for college applications. Students have to send in
their applications and essays, followed by their grades.
Ahmad Abu Hijleh had this to say, “I m finding it stressful due to the fact that schools
have different dates that they expect the application’s due and it’s putting a lot of
pressure on me to get them in on time.” Azfar Farooqui said, “I’m really feeling the
pressure from my parents to get accepted into University of McMaster.
What do you want to do when you grow up? It’s a question dreaded by most teenagers that must eventually be answered. It’s a tough one for some to answer because
it seems like your childhood is disappearing, or maybe you don’t feel you are ready to
make that big decision yet. Well, it’s time to grow up. The time has come, applications are due and decisions must be made. Good luck on your applications!
The Express—December 2012
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AISA’s Can Collection
Meera Romanos
Mrs. Shreebanu Kalyanakrishnan’s grade 12 Environmental Science Class were given
a mission by the Emirates Environmental Group to collect a certain amount of aluminum cans. They were supposed to collect 200 kg of cans, which is about 15,000 cans.
If they did, they said EEG they would plant a tree in the name of AISA.
We collected more cans than any other school! For all of our hard work, The Emirates Environmental Group planted not 1 but 16 trees at our school; Ten trees on the left and right of the girl’s side gate and six trees outside. This
shows how much our school cares about the environment and would do anything to make the U.A.E a better place.
Even if that means standing outside in the heat, digging holes to plant 16 trees.
What was nice was that the director, Mr. Jones, even helped us and plant a couple of trees with his awesome suit.
He also gave a very nice speech about the can collection. “It was a very fun experience and I really enjoyed interacting with my classmates and other students during the can collection and the tree planting,” said Dalia Al Hashemi. Congrats AISA, we have done it again.
Formula 1- Abu Dhabi 2012
Latifa Al Mazrui
The F1 race is hosted, for the third year, by the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. This is a race that drives thousands of people from
around the world to watch. This year more than 50,000 people were in attendance during the phenomenal race weekend. It is an unusual race with cars of extreme speed and drivers with the amazing ability to drive such cars. The top cars racing included Red Bull driven by Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari by Fernando Alonso, Lotus by Kimi Raikkonen, and McLaren by Lewis Hamilton. The Formula 1 was
three days starting Friday November 2nd to Sunday, November 4th. Each day, the race took about one and a half hour to two hours’
time until the final racing lap was over. Lotus GP, driven by Kimi Raikkonen took first place in the final race, winning the ultimate prize.
After each race there was a live concerts in the du Arena, walking distance from Yas Marina Circuit. There were huge crowds of fans
for the concert. On the first day Australian singer Kylie Minogue performed, followed by Nickelback on Saturday. The grand finale was
Sunday night with a performance from the infamous Eminem. Senior Dalia Al Hashemi attended the Eminem concert and described it
as, “awesome with a loud crowd.’’
I asked one of AISA’s senior girls, Fahda Al Saud, on her experience attending the final F1 race. She said, “It was a very entertaining
event and I had so much fun cheering with the crowd for the racing cars.”
It seems like everyone had a great time during the Formula 1 this year, and are looking forward to it again next year. Not everyone is a
fan of car racing but it was a great opportunity for people to enjoy some time with family and friends.
30 Hour Famine
“Employees Must Wash Hands…
Before MURDER”
Jessica Smith
On Wednesday, November 21th,
this year’s teacher-lead production, “Employees Must Wash
Hands…Before Murder,” was
held in the ‘Tim gym’. The drama
teacher, Mr. David Gallichan
chose and directed this year’s play. The actors and actresses in this
play were mostly seniors, with two juniors and one freshman. The seniors were very eager to participate as it’s their last year and they want
to experience the most they can. The practices were constant and
long to make sure that this play was nothing but perfection. All of the
hard work paid-off as both performances were quite successful.
The 3:00 performance had a full audience, with many teachers and
students showing support for the kids who were performing. Some of
the AISA administrators even made guest appearances in the production. The second performance was mostly attended by parents. Everyone in the audience enjoyed the sassy play and laughed at the appropriate times.
Senior, Nadia Jacobson (who played Celia, the assistant fry cook) said,
“ The play was a great experience. It was lots of fun to perform and
hear the audience laugh. Sometimes it was hard not to laugh with the
audience. Though it was fun to perform, it’s sad that the play is over.
Hopefully, if there is a student-lead production at the end of the year, I
can participate.”
Fahda Al Saud
The 30 Hour Famine sheds light on a critical issue that hundreds of millions of people suffer
from every day: starvation and malnutrition.
AISA students wanted to raise awareness and money for the Heifer International Charity (a
grassroots organization that helps to promote sustainable development and agricultural endeavors around the world). The 30 hour famine took the form of a big slumber party that
took place in AISA gyms, between 6.30 pm, November 22 nd and 8:00 am, November 23rd.
Students were under supervision of AISA teachers: Ms. FlemingMs. Levi, Mr. Lukonen, Mr.
Hansard, Mr. Stewart, Mrs. Stewart, Mr. Huner, Mrs. Huner, Mr. Ugalde, Mrs. Aida, Mr.
McKenzie and few more.
Participating students were not allowed to leave the school once they have checked in and
agree to participate in the famine activities planned for the evening. Students fasted together, but were allowed to drink water or juice provided by the famine committee, breaking the
fast together in the morning. Nothing prevented the students from enjoying a lovely night of
dancing, playing games and participating in sports competitions.
Ninety-two people participated in the famine. The sleeping arrangements were great, 38
girls shared the new gym, while the boys had to share the old gym. In the early morning of
the next day, the sun woke up more than 90 people, announcing the end of the battle
against their feeling of hunger, and to tell a story about a renewed belief in human kind’s
ability to extend the hands of giving to those who has nothing to offer.
Ms. Fleming said, “The 2012 famine was a great success. The students did a fantastic job and
had a great time. The student organizers did an amazing job organizing the event and a big
thank you for the teachers who chaperoned the event.
A thank you must go out to Jan Ramirez, Mrs. Glenda Hornby and their
stage crew for their work as costume and stage designers. Each of the
characters were decked out in quirky costumes and the Burgertorium
was perfectly grimy. The performance was a truly unique dining experience.
The Express—December 2012
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COSMOPOLITAN
AISA’s Mini Money Makers for Charity
Mariam Al Jabrie
Aisa's first ever charity club is off to a great start. The club, run by senior girls and
boys, has been actively working on raising money since the beginning of the year,
starting with AISA's Halloween night. Although the club's participation in this event
was only planned a couple of days before the event, the seniors still managed to set
up a booth selling food and bracelets and were successful in raising more than
Dhs2000.
The Charity and Community Service Club aims to make a change, and help give AISA
students a chance to contribute in helping others. The club comes up with different
ideas to raise money in order to help people in need everywhere. The money raised
is going to be donated to different charity centers, from autistic children to people
who have suffered from natural disasters.
When asked about the club’s goal, the leader of the club, Abdulla Al Mutawa, said,
“Every club member has his/her own goal to achieve. Whether it's raising awareness with one's friends or volunteering to help kids with special needs, the club has
a universal belief and we stick to assisting the world as we see fit.”
The club also participated at AISA’s annual Talent Show, selling raffle tickets and
beverages, which helped raise more than DHS2000.
Abdulla said, “This is a newly formed club and we're
seeing progress. We've raised enormous amount of
money dedicated to charity, which is all thanks to the
members' hard work. I believe we can go even further
and allow the needy to fill themselves with joy
through our effort and commitment to serving the
community.”
Suggestion Box: “Where’s our School Spirit?”
Danna Atrak
An anonymous AISA student recently said, that
he is confused and wants to know where the
school spirit is? He says, “AISA is always dull,
quiet, and not uplifting. School used to be so
fun and exciting, but now it’s just the same routine every day”.
Senior Meera Romanos said, “This is my last year at AISA as a high school student, and
my last year to be a kid and it’s a shame that I’m excited to leave this place as soon as
possible. I see other seniors in other schools loving every day and don’t want their year
to end. I’m jealous and wish to have the same.” This should not be how anyone feels!
Another AISA freshmen said, “No one smiles anymore, they just don’t care.” Ninth
grade is the first year of high school for students and should be viewed as new and
exciting. The last thing anyone wants to do is make the freshmen students feel unwelcomed or sad.
The question is why are the students at AISA feeling negative? Why are students feeling bored and empty when coming to AISA? Why are seniors counting down the days
to leave? The school promotes spirit in a lot of different ways. There are tons of AISA
events; such as talent shows, National Day, sports teams, clubs, assemblies, and decorating around the school. If the school is doing all that, then what’s missing?
As students we need to stop and think about what the students can do to make this
experience more thrilling. Remember, it’s all about the vibe each student brings to the
school. In the end, the teachers can plan events, the student council can organize
events, but if the rest of the student body is apathetic, they are to blame for the lack of
school spirit. Therefore, it’s up to the students to promote a happy cheerful atmosphere! It’s time to make a change. Smile in the hallways and scream out the name of
our mascot – Go AISA LIONS!
If you have an idea on how we can lift AISA’s school spirit, put your ideas into the suggestion box by Mr. Chalmer’s office. Let’s start contributing and stop complaining!
Fashionistas at AISA; Op-Ed
Careful What You Wish For, It Might Come True
Sarah Sheikh Ali
We all wear the uniform because no one really wants the teachers and admin
following them around school and giving them the “where’s your white polo?” death glare. However, AISA rules weren’t made to be broken, they were
made to be bent. At least a little bit. Many girls do follow the rules and get up
every morning and pull on their navy blue oddly fitting pants and not-so-bad
white polos, but they do put their own spin on the uniform. Some girls tuck in
their shirts and put on belts, forming that “high-wasted pants” look that we
all—ehh—most of us love. Most of us, however, tend to play it safe and just
put on our choice of presentable looking jacket.
Sheren Abu Ouf, a senior at AISA, likes to take the uniform and twist up the
style until it suits her. For example, she wears colorful long sleeve undershirts
under her white polo, because she wears a hijab. She will also try to match
her hijab to the long sleeve undershirt she’s wearing. She tailors her pants
(sorry AISA, all the girls do, we just don’t like the look of bell bottom pants—
so 70’s, if you ask me) a little bit tighter from the bottom, to give that straight,
boot cut look. Sheren is also annoyed with the quality of the uniforms saying,
“They’re fine when you first buy them, but after one wash, it looks like you
bought a pair of capris and a belly shirt. Not a good look.” Us AISA’ers know
to buy our uniforms one or two sizes too big, just in case, but the poor new
kids who aren’t as experienced with the uniform don’t know what their in for!
Overall, the girls don’t mind the uniform; we just like that the admin grants us
some flexibility and lets us personalize our uniform. Thanks
Admin! We would appreciate it
though, if we could get better
zippers on the pants, and maybe
a material that doesn’t shrink as
much. Overall, we give the uniform a B+ for effort.
Dalia Shihab Al Hashmi
Christmas is celebrated annually on December 25, by billions of people around the world.
Christmas is an important part of the winter break. This year, AISA will be on winter break
from Friday, December 14th until Saturday, January 5th. School will resume on Sunday
January 6th in the new -year.
Families that celebrate Christmas often have a large family dinner. On Christmas Eve,
young children eagerly await the arrival of Santa Clause. These gifts are often wrapped
and placed under a tree to be unwrapped on Christmas morning. As is customary, young
and eager children often publish their wish lists and send them to Santa and his elves and
reindeer in the North Pole. Of course, the benevolent Santa then checks his list of children and takes note of who has been naughty and nice. Gifts are then distributed accordingly.
Elementary student Abanoub said, that for the winter holidays, “I wish that I can play forever, I wish that I can stay with my best friends, I wish to be happy forever. Senior student Sasha Richard said, “Christmas is the best part of the year, it’s all about family and
friends, I CANT WAIT!”
WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!
ENJOY YOUR WINTER BREAK!
Below: AISA ‘wish lists’ released by the elementary students of AISA.
Left: Hadeel Dahlan
The Express—December 2012
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The Scene
Mudwakh in
School Bathrooms?
Ask Bob
Anonymous Bob will answers your questions again. There were many sad
and inappropriate questions put in the box, which we are not allowed to
answer. But try Google, it should help.
Ahmed Al Fardan
Smoking is a commonly found habit among many school students all around Abu
Dhabi. It has gradually become something that many young people do in school.
Mr. Morley said that he has caught 3-4 people smoking already this year, and it’s only
December. When I asked him how many students he thought might be smokers, he
ominously said, “I suspect everyone.”
Cigarettes are becoming less common among student smokers and the mudwakh
tobacco pipe seems to be taking over. This is likely due to the fact that a cigarette
takes a significant amount of time to smoke therefore the likelihood of being caught
smoking a cigarette is quite high. On the other hand, devious school smokers often
prefer the mudwakh pipe as it can be smoked in one or two short puffs and then concealed in pockets and bags.
I spoke with two young smokers in this school. When I asked why they smoke, one
said peer pressure, and the other said that it was something to do to waste time.
Smoking in school is taking a big risk. Not only will you be suspended from school for
a fair amount of time, but you will also be harming yourself both physically and mentally. People who smoke have been known to suffer from breathing problems, kidney
issues, and some even get cancer as a result of smoking. People get so addicted to
smoking that they just can’t stop, even if they try their hardest.
Some physical side effects of smoking are bad breathe, wrinkles, black/yellow teeth,
unable to run as much as before, lung cancer, heart disease, etc.
Smoking is an addiction that actually has no cure, other than will. So if you are willing
to stop, then you can, but if there is no will, there is no way.
1. “Can we make a cheerleading team at AISA to cheer for the lions?”
The senior girls last year tried to make a team, but failed to get all teachers permission. This year, if enough girls are interested and can audition
with enough enthusiasm and talent to make it worth while, then they can
seek out permission from the administration. You must keep in mind that
the dances must be appropriate to show the teachers, and be appropriate
to be performed in front of the entire school to rally AISA support.
2. “Where is the senior trip this year?”
There have been meetings going on with the senior students about where
they would like the trip to take place. The choices that were given were
discussed were Thailand, Egypt, India, and Dubai.
3. “How do I ask this girl I like to prom?”
It’s too early to ask a girl out to prom right now. It depends on how the
girl is, and what she likes. You should ask her friends for advice, but in
general girls would like something different. Do not text or Facebook her,
if you do, expect a NO J
4. “How do I convince my parents I don’t want to study in AUS?”
The best way to talk to your parents about college decisions is to show
them the options you have and explain why you would like to attend a
different university. Learn more about the universities that you like and
show your parents you are educated and willing enough to work hard for
what you want. Support your university choice with comparisons between
the university your parents want you to attend, and the one you would
like. If you need any extra help you may talk to Mr. Chalmers. He is very
helpful and may talk to parents as well.
If you have any other APPROPRIATE questions just slip then into the ask
bob Box in front of Mr. Chalmers office, and you will get your questions
Is it true that 2012 is the END of the world?
Al Hanoof Al Hameli
The Mayan Calendar spans about 5,125 years. It determines that December 21st 2012 is the
last day in the world. We will all be on holiday on the 21st of December. What should we
expect? Is it really going to be the end of the world? What’s going to happen? These are
the questions everyone wants answered.
Lately, many people are worried about what they are hearing and wonder if the prophecy is
true. Others are just waiting for this day to come so they can prove the Mayan calendar
wrong. It’s hard to ignore the prophecy as so many movies have been made to show what
might happen if it is true, and 2012 is truly the end of the world.
There are many people who believe and fear that all of these predictions of the world ending in 2012 may be true. Meanwhile, there are also many people who don’t believe that it
will impact their lives at all.
“ I don’t believe that the world is ending in 2012, no one can specify the end of the world
except for God”, said Lama Aboubakr. So, the big question is; what’s really going to happen
at the end of 2012? What’s going to happen to us? Are we all going to die? These are the
questions that can’t be answered, yet. Is it a joke or should we be scared?
Getting a kick from Kickstarter.com
Mohammed Al Mubarak
We all get those exceptional ideas before we go to sleep, but most of them
are lost when we wake up, either due to extreme laziness (that we all
suffer from) or because we are unable to make the transition from a simple
idea to a structured collage. Kickstarter.com vows to help those make the
transition through ‘crowd funding’.
Crowd funding is the idea that customers help fundraise money for a project instead of the maker going to third party clients that can hold a project
off or not accept it at all. This unique opportunity offers project spearheaders the ability to carve a specific product for a specific market. A lot of
successful projects are extremely smart and useful. Sure it’s a bit idealistic
to think that people would give money to your project. But astonishingly,
44% of all Kickstarter projects reach their funding goals. It’s free, at first. If
you reach your funding goal, Kickstarter gets 5%.
You need to have a clear goal. So if you’ve got a great idea, a film, an album, a game, a piece of art and you need funding. Look into Kickstarter and
spread the word, perhaps your project might be the next big thing!
There is not much time left until December 21st, 2012. If the end is
near, what do you want to spend your last few days doing?
Good thing we will all be on holiday!
The Express—December 2012
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AISA BASKETBALL TIPS OFF
Mohamed Al Shaibani
Another season of basketball has kicked off at AISA. Both teams held tryouts on the 13th and 14th of November and are eager to get to work.
Varsity Boys Basketball is back with a new coach, Andre Hansard. He previously coached JV Basketball two years ago. “Having Coach Hansard back
is a great asset because he is very committed to the team,” captain Zaid
Salamah said. He added, “His coaching methods make the players stand
out both as individuals and as a team”. Varsity’s first game was against
NYU on November 26th, which ended in a close victory for NYU, 61-60.
JV Boys Basketball is donning a new team this year. Gino Loutfi, the first
12 year old ever on a JV AISA Basketball team, believes that they have a
good team this year. He also praised Coach Ryan: “He really understands
the game and helps us improve as a team.” Gino is also “super hyped” to
be the youngest boy on the team and believes it’s a privilege to be on a JV
team. He also knows about the Abu Dhabi rivalry: “I’m excited for the
AISA vs. ACS game because it’s a huge rivalry and I want to show them
who’s boss!”
The Varsity Girls Basketball is also excited to be back with some of last
year’s players. Having played on the previous JV basketball team, Majd Al
Jaghbeer is excited to start the new season and is looking forward to work
with her new teammates. Majd also praised Ms. Dickman, as a very benevolent coach: “She’s been giving us all she’s got since day 1. She’s also
really passionate about the sport.”
AISA FOOTBALL (A.K.A. Soccer)
Zaid Salamah
AISA’s football team has always been a source of pride for our school, and this year is going to
be no different.
Varsity Football Captain Tsotne Papavadze believes that this years’ team is very strong: “We
have been very lucky with the new students joining the team including the JV players moving
up to the Varsity level.” Since AISA will be hosting the ISAC in December, Tsotne is looking
forward to playing on our home ground and believes that their dedication and hard work will
lead to a 1st Place ISAC trophy. Tsotne also praised Coach Mr. Mangan:” He has brought discipline and new tactics to the team. Those two things create the perfect equation for champions.”
The Varsity Girls Football team is feeling just as good. Xenia Williams feels very positive about
this years’ season: “We’ve got a lot of new faces and a lot of energy coming out to play with
us.” Xenia’s looking forward to see how they start playing when the season begins: “We’re all
really excited for the season but we can’t wait for ISAC. Although the ISAC is scheduled for
December, which is earlier than usual, it’s definitely a positive to have the home crowd cheering us every step of the way.” The team also hopes to do better in the ECC tournament in the
coming months.
As for JV basketball, Alma Chehab feels great to be here and is really excited for the season. Alma said, “I’m aware of the ISAC and ECC tournaments. Competing well and hopefully winning would be a great accomplishment. She believes that her teammates are hard workers and that it
will pay off in the long run: “Mr. Hornblower is a very good coach. He supports us at all times.”
Hopefully it’ll be a great year for AISA Basketball! Let’s go Lions!
Varsity Boys Basketball - Coach: Mr. Hansard, Team: Ahmad Abu-Hijleh, Zaid Salamah, Ali Al-Masaood, Jasper Sanger, Mohamed Al-Shaibani, Tarek Tarazi, Albin Karlsson,
Ahmed Nadeem, Ahmed Yacout, Adam Yousif, Mohamed Kasim
JV Boys Basketball - Coach: Mr. Smith, Team: Gino Loufti, Samar Akileh, Abdulla Bloushi, Rami Dabdoub, Karim Farra, PJ Van Heerden, Joshua Morico, Adib Khondker,
Yazan Akkad, Mohamad Abou Khamis, Godfrey Okafor, Fariz Anwar
Varsity Girls Basketball - Coach: Ms. Dickman, Team: Carol Abdul-Samad, Sheren Abou Ouf, Danna Atrak, Nadia Jacobson, Meera Romanos, Leila Seffar, Sarah Al Qahtani,
Carlotta Sanger, Julia Sarkissian, Majd Al Jaghbeer, Gabby Cuadra, Hanna King
JV Girls Basketball - Coach: Mr. Hornblower, Team: Rama Al Daker, Salma Youssef, Alma Chehab, Samar Green, Ivanna Castro, Oorja Majgaonkar, Min Wong, Camille
Duchateau, Cara Aghabi, Jasmine Dehbi, Yara Aghabi
Varsity Boys Soccer - Coach: Mr. Mangan, Team: Tsotne Papavadze, Nenad Stefanovski, Omar Al Hashemi, Moeen Al Sarraj, Kyujin Kim, Ali Bin Jerais, Youssef Chehab,
Omar Aamer, Ali Lari, Khaled Al Hammadi, Omar Loutfi, Zeid Sharif, Misri Shubhankar, Youssef El Sayad, Omar Zaghloul, Rami Shoukih, Ali Cheikha, Ziae Mustafa
JV Boys Soccer - Coach: Mr. Rasmussen, Team: Charles Bradley, Adam Sarafian, Naseen Alsadi, Samir Harb, Abdulla Sholi, Mohamed Abdel Karim, Saif Al-Sarraj, Mehdi Bellami, Rashid Elsunkaev, Ramazan Elsunkaen, Ali Baranbo, Noris Eter, Mubarak Alhajeri, Jamal Almuflehi, Khaled Alshaikhali, Eunchong Kim
Varsity Girls Soccer - Coach: Mr. Chalmers/Ms. Levi, Team: Sarah Al Zaabi, Jamie Jackson, Sarah Sheikh Ali, Xenia Williams, Latifa Al Hamed, Dara Al Kayyali, Raneem Eter,
Alix Marionnet, Shamma Thabet, Jude Al Hajeri, Yara Hashim, Heidi Pavlic, Taimaa Shouikh, Megan Jackson, Haidy Nabawy, Farrah Zaghoul, Ellie Repo, Dana Mawlawi
JV Girls Soccer - Coach: Ms. Gray/Ms. Duffner, Team Members: Jana Sayegh, Paria Ghofrani, Rawan Kassin, Dina Hammoud, Fatima Shaker, Sonia Iqbal, Amna Al Foulathi,
Gabriella McClymont, Kaitlin Maharajh, Farah Hashem, Galimira Georgieva, Farida Abdel Meguied, Ka yoon Kim, Megan Sanders, Cheyenne Fernandez Cano, Lana Ghneim
The Lebanese senior
student, Meera
Romanos also
known as
“Maroosh” has represented AISA for
almost 8 years now.
She says, “I have
really enjoyed all
Alix Marionnet is a 16 year old, 11th
my years in AISA
grader who has been at AISA since the
and I’m going to
5th grade. Alix is originally from France
miss it when I gradand fluently speaks English, French and
uate”. Meera speaks fluent English and Araonly some Arabic. Alix has lived in Abu
bic. Ever since she was young, her dream was
Dhabi for almost fourteen years now.
to become a fashion designer. Her best
Alix is a person that likes to be constantly
friends describe her as crazy, hyper, amazing,
outside of her house because she likes
caring and creative. She spends her free time
being active. Sports that she enjoys are
Blackberry messaging and playing basketball.
soccer and volleyball. Alix has been on
Meera is a very athletic person, she has been
the school’s soccer team for 3 years now
playing on the school’s basketball team for 2
and is planning to join this year too. She
years now and has played outside school for 5
also enjoys watching TV, going out with
years.
friends and working on her art.
The Express—December 2012
Hi my name is Ahmed Al-fardan. I go
by Ahmed because
well there are no
non-cheesy nicknames for my
name. This is my
first year at AISA,
and I’m in my junior year. I’m origiJessica Smith is in grade 11 and loves panda bears. nally from Abu Dhabi, but for the past seven
This is why her friends call her ‘Jessiebear’. She
years I have been in America. One of my greatest
likes to be called ‘Jess’ or ‘Smithica’. The phrase
accomplishments that I’m really proud of is my
that best describe Jessica is “a strange Asian child”. black belt in Taekwondo. Before I was not able to
This is Jessica’s second year at AISA. She is from
prefrom in any activites, I was taking taekwondo
Calgary, Canada. She likes to read, listen to music
classes for 2 years, I got to the belt before black
and watch shows. When Jessica was young, she
and became injured. I could not perform the
wanted to be a mermaid. Jessica says that what
black belt test, however on my last farewell to my
most adults don’t understand about her is that she taekwondo studio my teacher gave me his own
enjoys learning because she is a nerd. She loves to black belt because he said that I deserved itWhen
read and is not addicted to her cell phone. Her
I grow up I hope to have a medical degree and be
favorite excuse for not handing in her homework
a doctor.
late is that her bunnies ate it.
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