Esprit De Corps. Word Power and much more! Science Exhibition. Environmental Management One School. One Voice. Students Newsletter

Transcription

1 Esprit De Corps Students Newsletter Volume 8 Issue 1 January 2014 Word Power 2013 Science Exhibition Environmental Management and much more! One School. One Voice. Dear Readers, Assalamualaikum Season s greetings.... and a warm welcome to the plethora of news, views, writeu ps a n d ph ot ograph ic moments that this edition of the senior school newsletter brings to you via our students pens. True to its name, every issue of Esprit De Corps is unique since it attempts to be fully representative of the most important entity at Al Waha - the perspective of the student body. However, this particular edition of the newsletter is really special to me for two main reasons. The first reason is personal, so please bear with me for a moment. Although I have been on leave since the beginning of this academic session, the imagery of the vivid and descriptive accounts of this term s activities has kept me wired to life on campus in spirit, physical absence notwithstanding. Students and colleagues, in particular the members of the Editorial B o a r d. a b i g thank you for this intangible connection! The last several months will undoubtedly go down as one of the most turbulent phases in the history of, not only Al Waha, but of all international schools in the Kingdom. In fact, the uncertainty regarding the future of international schools and their ability to continue to function, is still not completely over and many more legal, financial and administrative issues remain to be resolved before school owners can breathe freely again. It is at these times that the true mettle of an institution is established and it s a matter of pride that the invincible Al Waha spirit has reigned supreme even in these trying times. Academics, activities, projects, exhibitions, tableaus etc. all brought to you through this very special edition (the second reason, you see!!!) - have all continued so that students learning continues unhampered despite the operational hiccups that the school has felt ever since the issue of legalizing the status of expatriate workers in the Kingdom began early this year. Special efforts have also been continuously made to ensure that coverage of the IGCSE, AS and A Level courses remains on schedule so that students of s 10, 11 and 12 can be fully equipped to face their CIE examinations in May/June While liaising with the r e l e v a n t g o v e r n m e n t departments to ensure full compliance for continuity is on -going, work on procuring the requisite approvals for the remaining wing of the new campus continues unabated so that the Girls Section can soon be relocated to its permanent abode. Best wishes, Rubab Azad Senior School

2 P A G E 2 HIGHLIGHTS OF THE CIE RESULTS As always, the commencement of a new academic session is marked by the release of the CIE results of our senior students and I take this opportunity to share with you the highlights of their outstanding performance in the CIE May/June 2013 IGCSE, AS and A Level examinations. This year, out of the 42 students registered for the IGCSE examinations, 21 targeted the ICE award. While 13 of them have received the certification in the Distinction category, 8 have been placed in the Merit category. Maintaining the tradition of academic excellence, performance in individual subject streams has been outstanding and an impressive array of A* and A grades have marked student achievement in the Languages, Sciences, Mathematics, Humanities and ICT. Out of a total of 309 subject entries in the IGCSE program, 89.32% of the grades lie between A* - B and 99.35% between A* - C, with 114 A* s, 88 A s and 74 B s. While the entire group of students has upheld the school name and kept the banner flying even higher this year, we are all extremely proud of the outstanding feat achieved by two of our students, Hibbah Irfan and Asma Mubashir, who have led the honour roll in the IGCSE program with 8 A* s, i.e. the top-most grade in each and every subject that they have written the examination in, followed by Zargham Zia, Faizan Khalid, Ammar Loya and Sarah Shaikh with 7 A*s and Hammad Shafique, Nameer Khan, Shahbaz Haroon, Hania Habib and Rabia Farooq with 6 A*s. All the 20 students registered for the AS examinations successfully kept the graph of academic E S P R I T D E C O R P S performance moving upwards this year as well! Out of the 52 subject entries in total, in the AS program, 65% of the grades lie between A C with 19 As and 10 Bs. The reason why there is no A* is because this grade is not awarded at the AS level. Salma Zacky led the batch with 4As, closely followed by Ayesha Ather and Jasirul Qadir with 3As and a B and Tasneem Jarin and Mustafa Arif with 3 As. The A level program is getting stronger each year, alhamdolillah, and it gives me immense pleasure to share with you that out of the 45 subject entries, 69% of the grades lie between A* C. Sana Nasir and Uzma Anam Riyaz, the torch-bearers of the A Level program, have scaled the top position with 2 A* s and an A in their examination subjects followed by Azaina Shaikh and Tayyaba Baig with 2As and a B and Maria Masood with 2Asand an A in English Language and Literature as an AS subject.

3 P A G E 3 It seems like just yesterday I entered 9, nervous, yet ready to face the newest challenge in academics- the IGCSE program. Look how time flies by! End of 2013 and I am already more than halfway into the AS program and, once again, preparing to battle the mocks, re-mocks and, eventually, the AS exams. Whew! A levels. First year and I am already too preoccupied with studies. But, as you turn the pages of this edition of our muchawaited newsletter, you will find how Al Waha makes learning fun at every step of the way! The Word Power, special assemblies and the science exhibitionacademics never really does leave amusement much far From the Editor s Desk behind! I thank Allah for giving me such a beautiful team to work with. Our school has really polished the writing skills of its talented students! This newsletter has introduced me to such amazing people- diligent, determined and devoted (please notice the use of alliteration here- I really tried). This year has brought responsibility to a whole new level. From signing in and out each day, to being the Editor- in- Chief, my life s turned over a completely new leaf. The Editorin- Chief! Such a fancy title being linked to my name scares me, at the same time, gives me pride and satisfaction (Alhamdolillah!). I guess that s how I would describe growing up- full of responsibilities, though you might be fearful of not succeeding, you cannot deny ERRATUM Ms.Alima s name was missed in the list of Graduation Committee members last time and the Esprit De Corps team regrets this error. EDITORIAL BOARD E S P R I T D E C O R P S that the sense of accomplishment, satisfaction and contentment, when you live up to someone s high level of expectations pays off for your worries. I will now conclude my rant in hopes that this edition, much like the others, does not fall short of your expectations. Happy reading! P.S. Oh, and I really hope you all are enjoying the cool and pleasant breeze, which honours us with its much- anticipated presence every now and thenmakes it all the more exciting! Welcome to Waha, Winters! (cough notice the alliteration cough) Till the next newsletter, - Hania Habib, 11G Editor- in- Chief From left to right: Subeditors - Imtesal Javed, Amal Azhar, Elaf, Editors- Rabia Farooq, Hiba Irfan, Subeditor - Asma and Editor-in-Chief - Hania Habib. Al Waha won the coveted position out of 17 international school globally. Anam Razak designed a web page for the subject Global Perspective in the month of November. Mr. Simon a CIE representative crossed the seas to award her the ipad she had won. We are both proud and humbled by this achievement. Congratulations Anam!

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6 P A G E 6 E S P R I T D E C O R P S Special Assembly well the name says it all! It is an assembly which is extremely SPECIAL!! And why exactly is it so? Yes! That s right. These special assemblies are a huge package of Islamic as well as moral values delivered to us on every Tuesday by a different grade level. The students of Al Waha eagerly wait for their turn to stun the audience with an interesting presentation, which serves as a reminder for us all. This tradition of Al Waha has the simple, yet the vital objective of reminding students as well as teachers of important things that seem to slip out of minds. I am sure that all would agree that we all need reminders all the time. We need reminders to do our homework, carry out our chores and everyday responsibilities. These special assemblies remind us all, of our responsibilities as students, Muslims and being responsible individuals at all times. The mighty package is then, wrapped up in beautiful verses from the Noble Quran and Ahadith of With authority comes responsibilities... THE INVESTITURE CEREMONY announced the main board on the 26th of September. It was the day two students from each class were crowned and bestowed with the honorary posts of the monitor and the assistant monitor. Suspense froze the moment in place, as our headmistress, Mrs. Seema Anis, delivered a motivational speech, which highlighted our monitors as being both visionaries and leaders of the school and role models for others. Finally, it was time to disclose the names of those who had secured the posts of monitor and assistant monitor of each class. Sweaty palms and beaded sweat- adrenaline pumped through everyone s veins. As the names of those who had been selected were announced, applause rang out from all directions as they walked up to the stage. As the badges were pinned onto their uniforms, their faces shone with pride and happiness, a sense of achievement surging through their hearts. It was indeed a moment of glory! the Prophet Muhammad (salallah u allaihiwasallam) to keep us motivated. Special assemblies on Tuesdays have taught, and will always teach important lessons, through unique presentations. These assemblies have reminded us of the importance of salah, its prerequisites, the value of truthfulness, respecting others with dignity and the worth of pursuing knowledge. In addition, it has motivated us to follow our dreams and learn from our experiences at Al Waha and go ahead in life with these wonderful memories. All these are aimed to help the student body of Al Waha to grow to be caring, compassionate and responsible adults. We all look forward to lessons that will be coming our way in the weeks to come! To conclude... Have a nice day and back to your classes! -SaimaTaha, 8G2 The applause came to a standstill and silence prevailed, while the members took the oath to hold true to the school s motto of loyalty, honesty and honour. Thundering applause, the soft feel of the breeze against their cheeks, the morning sunlight falling through the leaves on their radiant faces, and hundreds of fellow school mates looking up to them- this moment in time, the ceremony, the cheers, and the wishes which followed - their crowning moment will be a forever cherished memory. Congratulations! -Maryam Faizer, 8G An Irreparable Loss Today, as we bow our heads to the will of the Almighty, Al Waha has lost an invaluable member of the family and well-wisher, Mrs. Nusrat. Let us all pray for Mrs.Nusrat s maghfirah, May Allah s.w.t. grant her the highest place in Jannah and sabar to all members of the bereaved family.

7 P A G E 7 V O L U M E 8, I S S U E 1 GYLC- An experience of a lifetime This year is coming to an end, yet I am still stuck in summer. How did you spend your summer? Sightseeing in a foreign country? Shopping with friends? Visiting your home countries? This year, I had the most awaited summer experience of my life. From July 1st to July 10th, I attended an international assemblage called Global Young Leaders Conference (GYLC) in the United States of America. GYLC, as the name suggests, is a program that gathers young and upcoming leaders from all around the world to further hone their leadership skills. It is a great forum, not only to share your own ideas and opinions, but also to know and understand others beliefs - advancing your perspective to a global level that makes you more confident with your decision-making skills. With more than 250 scholars attending from over 60 countries, it is a rare opportunity for people to explore the many cultural differences in our world firsthand, and discover those few things that make us all so alike, so united, despite the differences. At the start of the conference, we met our group members, each of us representing a particular nation. We were then handed over a packed schedule to follow. I was in the Japan group and there were approximately twentyfive of us under one supervisor. In our Leadership Group Meetings (LGMs), we discussed the national interests of Japan, as if we were the UN representatives of Japan ourselves and prepared for a Global Summit at the actual United Nations Headquarters in New York. Apart from that, we also got to know about each other's cultures by exchanging gifts or presenting a cultural item coherent to the country we came from. I still have my bracelet from South Africa, penny from Australia, and fossil rocks from Trinidad and Tobago - all treasured in my room! In addition to a multi-cultural experience, we got to listen to speeches by the likes of Dr. Gary Weaver, a college professor and Khurshida Begum, an incredibly inspiring lady, who is a humantrafficking survivor. We were taken to embassies of different countries along with visits to the numerous memorials and museums in the Washington DC. The Holocaust Museum there, left the most prominent impression on me, because of the heart wrenching loss of life exhibited there. Later, at our LGMs, we discussed our opinions and the things we learnt from what we saw and heard throughout the day. It was truly hectic, starting our day at 6 o'clock in the morning and ending it at 10 o'clock or later at night. Although I am sure you have heard the phrase Work hard, play hard! Well, in the midst of the simulations, speeches and the global summit, we had the opportunity to visit tourist attractions in New York and Washington DC. Away from the many superb memorials of Washington DC, we witnessed the glamorous, florescent and bustling streets of Times Square in New York and had the opportunity to watch Matilda, the Broadway show - a completely mesmerizing and magical musical. Our 10-day conference ended with a breathtaking cruise around NYC, passing by the Empire State building, the Brooklyn Bridge and of course, the Statue of Liberty- just as it hit sunset. I took away a lot from this trip, learnt many lessons, made a bunch of new friends, and now that I have a different point of view towards things, I look at the bigger picture. What I'll never forget is that, if we are all willing to work together, then no differences can come in our way of doing good. On our departure, we spoke or shall I say cried our farewells, realizing how close we strangers had become in a matter of a week and few days. However, I believe in what Dr. Suess says, "Don't cry, because it s over, smile because it happened!", and I do, every time I remember it. -Shuruq Saraswala,10G2 Professional Development Topic: The Effective Leadership Teachers Training Workshop Facilitator : Mr. Tony Swainston Arranged by : British Council

8 P A G E 8 E S P R I T D E C O R P S FILL YOUR PAPER WITH THE BREATHING OF YOUR HEART, WILLIAM WORDSWORTH. In the English Handwriting Competition, the students were dictated an essay on the World s Current Affairs another opportunity given by Al Waha to acquire knowledge, as the teachers clear their throats to dictate, students who squirm in their seats clutching their best pens in their hands- their minds flooding with questions.ballpoint or ink?...cursive or manuscript? As well as the Competition of handwriting for English, our penmanship skills were also tested in our Second Languages namely Hindi, Urdu, French, and Arabic. In order to make it a challenging competition first position is only allotted to those who only deserved it. I Hamail Mashkoor and M. Taha Siddiqu Urdu Handwriting Competition Raya Zafar Ullah Osama Tariq Maraab Zaheer and Mohammad Osama II Taha Yousuf Marukh Khan Daniyal and Usman Zahaid Arabic Handwriting Competition Faaz Khan and Faizan Naeem Shireen Rahman Rehan Shams Maheen Wajid Areeba Ather and Hamail Siddiqui I Fiyaza Rizmy - Injila Jawed - Minnatulah Ahmed Fatima Kamal II Ahlam Madaniya Amani Azhar - Amal Amgad Shuruq Ibrahim Lama Nizam I Zainab Juniad and Hasham Ayaz Shamim II Shiza Haleema Masir Mohd Javed Hindi Handwriting Competition Afnan Zubair Bushra Rehman Saima Liaqat Khan Jasir Alam Tashif Hanif Faisal Riyaz Sarang English Handwriting Competition I French Handwriting Competition Saima Haque and Habeeb Misbah Ayesha Sohail Anusha Jeelani II - Mohammad Jaseem Ramsha Nizar Ahmad Amina Rafiq - Marwa Oozeerau lly I Syed Faraz Uddin Nimra Imtiyaz Hussain Osama Tariq Aliya Sarfaraz Maheen Wajid Hamail Siddiqui II Shiza Haleema Faizan Irfan Maha R. Saima Liyakat Khan Syed Ammal Shoaib Eqbal Sultan

9 P A G E 9 V O L U M E 8, I S S U E 1 MOVING TO THE NEW CAMPUS GETS SHIFTED Assalamulaikum. I am Anusha Rizvi of 6G2 and in these two years I have spent at Al Waha Senior Girls section, I have experienced several different and exciting things. So I have a lot to talk... err... write about. Unfortunately, I have been given an allotted time, and an allotted space. So I m going to talk about the topic that has been on everyone s mind, since this academic year started. Shifting to a new campus! As you can tell from the title, this shifting got shifted. But this line has a story behind it and a story to come. Let me start with the story before shifting got shifted. The students of Al Waha were told that they would be moving to a new campus! I can tell you that I personally passed by our to-be campus several times, trying to get a sneak peak at the campus that was going to be our new home. We received the good news that we were going to shift after hajj break. The excitement made us count-down till the end of Hajj break. But when we came back on the 22 nd of October, we all found out that the school was still in its old location! Hmm something didn t smell right and it wasn t just the chemicals from the science lab. The students of Al Waha let curiosity take over and set about looking for answers. After looking in every notch and asking every teacher, we still didn t have an explanation. Finally, during the assembly, our troubled minds were set to rest as Mrs. Seema Anis, our Headmistress, informed us that shifting had been shifted. We were supposed to shift, but for certain reasons shifting had been postponed. The packed boxes supported this theory and we were all a little disappointed with the news, but overall excited for when the Day would finally arrive. While in the present campus, there is no denial of the truth that we are happy and cannot keep the joy off our faces at the thought of shifting one day! After all, we have every reason to be excited. It means we will be having our library periods again, a bigger, better campus and loads and loads of new memories just waiting to be made! It certainly is a package with all benefits! As for the story that comes after. Well we ll just have to wait for it to unravel! Until then: Sayonara!... TOO GETS SHIFTED! Ahhhhh!!!!!!! The weekend is finally here. It's Thursday and I am going to draw, paint, I am going to go outside, to the beach, to the mall, I am going to visit my friend... Oh, the list goes on and on. Wait! Did I just say Thursday? OH MY GOD! I have to go to school today!!! This is just not fair! Our weekend has been shifted! Ugh! It is going to take ages to get used to this change! I bet you feel the same, but changes are always made for a reason for the betterment. So, let's find out the benefits in the shifting of our weekend. On 23rd June, 2013, King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia issued a Royal Decree, that clearly stated the change of the common weekends, Thursday and Friday to F riday and Saturday. This was done for the sake of putting an end to the negative effects of the loss of economic opportunities due to the difference in the work days of Saudi Arabia and the rest of the world. This of course, is beneficial to Saudi economy. You might probably think from a student s perspective. That s not such a good reason to change the weekend for all of us! However, as responsible individuals of the society we need to make our final decisions, keeping everything and everyone in mind the society. If looked at from this angle, we can understand how crucial it was to change the days we had as weekends. Nevertheless, just because we have come to terms with it, it does not mean that we are going to easily adjust to it! Every Saturday, when I woke up at 9:00 AM, I used to go frantic at the thought that I had missed school. At first, it would seem bizarre or more outlandish, but you have to settle down with it. It took me a little while too, but in a few weeks time, I did grow used to it. Everything was just like before, only a shift of certain days. Well, for now let s stop worrying about the weekend being shifted and think and feel happy about the present weekend. I don't want to waste mine, and I hope you don't want to waste yours either. Because for everyone a week passes by like this: M.O.N.D.A.Y. T.U.E.S.D.A.Y. W.E.D.N.E.S.D.A.Y. T.H.U.R.S.D.A.Y. Friday, Saturday S.U.N.D.A.Y. Therefore, weekdays are always long while weekends are always short. Oh, and you know how people say that second world things last for only a little while? Well, weekends must be a second world product because they do not last long! - Maarab Zaheer, 7G

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12 P A G E 1 2 E S P R I T D E C O R P S INFORMED ANALYSIS: AN ESSAY WRITING WITH A DIFFERENCE Indeed, the new academic year has a lot in store for the young learners of Al Waha. With activities like Science Exhibition, Story Telling and Word Power emphasizing the importance of team spirit and co-ordination, Al Waha also strives to bring out and improve individual skills and talents in its students. Yes, poetry and essay writing competitions are exactly what I mean! Every year, the students from grades 4-12 brush up their writing skills as the essay writing competition is around the corner. Our school constantly striving for excellence never fails to introduce new elements in the annual activities to make them more challenging and exciting. This year, instead of a general theme on which the essay title would be based - a list of 3 topics were provided to each class - one from the following three categories: Islamic/Moral Values Current Affairs Literature This initiative was not without its benefits. The objective behind transforming the competition into a more enriched teaching -learning process was to enable students to get an insight into a varied range of topics through exploring and researching. This allowed them to adopt an informed perspective, while penning down their thoughts and opinions. Not only did the students have better time management, but also the information they had gathered and retained enabled them to write a quality essay, laying more emphasis on language. Out of the three topics, one was selected for the competition, which was held on Wednesday, 9th October The students of Al Waha used words as their swords, sharpening them with the skills they learnt in class and embellishing their pieces with knowledge they gained. -Sana Nadwi, 9G A glimpse of the essays on informed analysis. The following are the well-deserved winners of this activity: Essay Writing Competition I Aliya Kidwai Ramya Varshini Ahmeduddin Maarab Zaheer Saad khan Hera Abdul Wahid Raj Magesh Hibba Irfan and Hania Habib Tahafa Taha II Hamail Mashrour and Zaid Qadri Shaza Ahmed Omer and Injila Jawed Mohammed Beshara Saima Taha Marya Talha Imtesal Jawed and Salman A.M Rabia Farooq Salma Zacky

13 P A G E 1 3 V O L U M E 8, I S S U E 1 Penning down the Eternal graffiti written in everyone s heart Connection, rhythm, emotion, rhyme... what else is needed to create a thought provoking, splendid poem? (A good pen, indeed! Maybe Fountain?). Poetry is an excellent way to pen down and spread thoughts, awakenings and descriptions, to become the marvelous, successful poets of tomorrow! Now, hold on to your horses. We all need a base to begin with, right? Well, Al Waha International School, our school that always strives for excellence, true to its mission and vision, holds the intersection Poetry Writing Competition every year, across the grades 4 to 9. Once more, this year on the 23rd of October, the students of Al Waha were given the opportunity to showcase their poetic skills. The much awaited, though nerve-racking event took place during the first two periods in both the sections, when the students zealously attempted to beautify their thoughts, through words and pen them down in the best possible poetic parameters. Teachers came with a list of topics written on chits and placed them right in front of us. We waited with our fingers crossed for luck to favour us, by letting us select the best topics ever. It s always an extempore event. In order to test the understanding and quick thinking of the students, a number of topics were laid on several chits and the topics were allotted based on the calibre of each grade level. Students were And, ofcourse, the future Wordsworths are: Poetry Writing Competition asked to randomly pick a chit, which would hold the lucky topic that was to be transformed into a beautiful poem. The topics ranged from parents and motivation to beauty and emotions. The shuffling noise of the chits being curiously opened, was followed by exclamations like Oh, what did you get? Teenage? I got Passion! Or I got Clouds! What could I possibly write?! The very next moment, the class became as silent as the dead; the clock was ticking as pens raced, mind wheels turned and the poets visualised - the students tried their level best to fit their masterpieces in the given space. The Poetry Writing Competition was a great opportunity to open new doors to imagination and improve poetic writing styles - along with proving Wordsworth right, when he said 'Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings recollected in tranquillity.' Hopefully, this competition will continue with the same enthusiasm in the following years. I II Muhammad Mamoor Hamayel Mashkoor Nourain Anusha Rizvi Saima Haque Yara Ahmed Areeba Ather Ibrahim Hashmi Asriany Afni Saima I. Khan Adeel Maqbool Hamza Maqbool

14 P A G E 1 4 E S P R I T D E C O R P S BUILDING VOCABULARY BIT BY BIT Whilst 27 th of October was getting closer, the students of grades 4 to 9 were anxious to face their upcoming challenge. From the 27 th to the 31 st of October, the students of Al Waha were seen carrying thick dictionaries of their respective second language. Yes! You ve guessed it right! The Looking into the Dictionary Competition was held for all the second languages. Al Waha is proud of its multi-national student body. To celebrate the presence of such diverse cultures, Al Waha offers the languages: Arabic, Hindi, French, and Urdu. Yes! That is quite an impressive list of languages. Every year the students of Al Waha are given the opportunity to discover new words and learn their meanings. This competition had students scanning their dictionaries for the meanings of all the words given to them. The list was long and the clock ticked on- each passing second reminding them of the limited time they had to complete the task. This activity, like all others at Al Waha, is not without foresight. The main objective - to make students capable of using dictionaries to find words under pressure and without assistance - was successfully achieved. The 4 th graders, having their first year in the senior school said, It was fun and interesting, but at the same time it was very challenging. The competition also helped us learn new words. Likewise, Fatima Kamal of 9G1, who is enjoying her first year at AlWaha had this to say, It is the first time I have come across such an activity, which was fun and challenging at the same time. We had to look for words in the dictionary sprinting against time. It was something unique! Mrs Beena, the Urdu teacher of Senior Girls section said, It was a very beneficial activity for the students, as they learned new words and their meanings. It was a fulfilling experience to watch the tensed expressions of students, their eyes continuously moving in search of the words and the sound of the pages of the dictionary flipping over quickly. It created an intense atmosphere, which I enjoyed immensely. Urdu Looking into the Dictionary I - Mahrukh Khan Yusra Khalid Shavana Yousuf Basma Farooq Mostajab Akhtar II - Saad Khatri Ahsan Yusuf Maarab Zaheer Maheen Wajid Hifza Riaz The competition is only complete with the announcement of the results. So the much- awaited results are: Arabic Looking into the Dictionary Hera Abdul Wahid I Sefana M.Abdella Amani Azhar Zainab Mohammad Sohail Elshaimaa Ibrahim Yara Ahmed Aseel Mahmood II Saneeya Nazir - Hindi Looking into the Dictionary I Faisal Sarang Saima Haq Amina Rafiq Tashif Haneef II Abdul Moiz Habib Misbah Mohd Razeem Sara Tabassum French Looking into the Dictionary I Zahra Sajjad Yusra Noor Mariam Faizer Ayman Jeelani

15 P A G E 1 5 V O L U M E 8, I S S U E 1 Hajj an experience Labayk Allahuma Labayk Labayk. La shareeka laka Labayk. Innal hamda wannimata laka wal mulk. La shareeka Lak (Here I am at your service, oh Lord, here I am - here I am. No partner do you have. Here I am. Truly, the praise and the favor are yours, and the dominion. No partner do you have.) These are the words chanted by almost two million people from across Saudi Arabia and throughout the world, heading- as if pulled by a magnet- to one single spot on Earth. As has happened every year for 14 centuries, Muslim pilgrims gather in Makkah to perform rituals based on those conducted by the Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wasallam) during his last visit to the city. It was my first time performing the Hajj, and all my preparation and anticipation still had not primed me for what was, literally, the most wondrous experience of my life. I returned home irrevocably changed, yet at times frustratingly still the same person I had always been. And it s that dueling nature that spurs me to remember that feelings I had while performing my Hajj pilgrimage and remember the lessons I learned as I move forward in my life. Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, incumbent upon every Muslim who is physically and financially able to do so. It is a series of rituals performed during the first ten days of the last month of the Islamic calendar, Dhul Hijjah. During the Hajj, pilgrims flock to Makkah and its surrounding lands to perform a pilgrimage that ends in the sacrifice of an animal in remembrance of Prophet Ibrahim. At the conclusion of the Hajj, I had a profound feeling of having gone through a life-transforming spiritual experience. I returned with pride in having successfully performed a ritual dedicated to God and in belonging to a huge family of people that share the same religious beliefs. I have acquired a sense of humility, inner calm, brotherhood and strength that will last for lifetime. There is simply no replacement for the happiness and peacefulness you feel. Hajj is meant to change a Muslim s lifechange his bad ways and become a better Muslim. The reward for Hajj is forgiveness for all of one s sins and thus Hajj provides a clean slate with which a Muslim can literally start over, and live a good life unmarred by bad deeds and habits. May Allah accept the Hajj of those who have performed it and give all Muslims the opportunity to perform Hajj. Ameen. - Warisha, 9G Hajj Facts Hajj (the pilgrimage to Makkah) is one of the five pillars of Islam. Every adult Muslim (male or female) who has the ability, physically and financially, is required to perform Hajj once in their lifetime. The rites of Hajj may include but are not limited to: Putting Ihram, performing supererogatory (Sunnah) prayers, making several types of Tawaf, reciting Talbiyah, doing Sa ee between Safa andmarwah, trimming and/or cutting hair, praying and staying in Mina, praying and standing in Arafah, praying and staying in Muzdalifah, throwing pebbles in three Jamrahs, sacrificing an animal, praying behind Maqam Ibrahim, and drinking from the well ofzamzam. On e of my mo st cher i shed memories is visiting the Sacred House of Allah (Subhanahu wa tallah) during Hajj. It was my first time to perform Hajj. Five days in the house of Allah totally altered my life forever. I have not only become a more caring and responsible person but also have more faith in Allah, never leave my prayers and have started praying on time. The best thing about performing Hajj is that you forget all your worldly matters, as you devote yourself to Allah a n d i n d u l ge i n p r a ye r a n d supplication. I was amazed and immediately said Subhan Allah, after seeing the beautiful Arafat Mountains and the replacing of the cloth of the Ka aba. The house of Allah is a unique and indescribable place- and Hajj is probably the most life- changing e x p e r i e n c e I v e h a d, Alhamdulillah.. - Maryam Ismail, 9G H a j j w a s a n i n c r e d i b l e experience for me as it reminded me of the rewards of sacrifice and patience. I felt as if I went there with an empty spiritual wallet and returned with an unbelievable amount of richness that even if I spend the rest of my life saying Thank you to Allah, it still would be insufficient! I m indebted to his kindness and beneficence. May Allah accept t h e h a j j o f a l l t h o s e w h o p e r f o r m e d i t a n d g i v e a l l Muslims the opportunity of to perform it. Ameen! - Saneeya Nazir, 8G

16 PAGE 16 ESPRIT DE CORPS Splashing Good Time As November had begun already, most of us started our week with hopes and prayers for rain. That day was finally witnessed by the students of Al Waha. On the 2nd of November, Jeddah was blessed with the gift of rain. All the students were extremely overwhelmed by the dark clouds. Everyone rushed out of their classes to see the very first rains in Jeddah after a period of three years. Every drop reaching the ground added to our happiness and our feelings were just indescribable. Students were seen jumping in puddles and playing their very favourite games in the playground. Mixed feelings filled the atmosphere. Some were just too happy and others were worried about the devastating after effects of heavy rainfall. Teachers enjoying the weather were at the same time worried about the academic loss. Conditions were expected to get worse, so the ministry declared a half day in all schools. Fortunately, conditions did not reach the extremes, and it was a beneficial rainfall. -Uzma 10G "As we all know, rain in Saudi Arabia is a rarity. Finally when it rained, it was wonderful to watch the wahaites come together and enjoy the simple pleasure that the rain brought. It was more of a bliss as was enjoyed with friends and teachers. Rabia Farooq 11G "We had been waiting for rain for so long, when it finally rained I felt back at home! Thank God, our prayers were answered Mrs. Nishat. "We got a little break from our studies and were able to come back refreshed! Truly, a rejuvenating experience Almas 9G1 "It was so much fun to play in the rain! It should happen every day! -Aneeza 4G1 The best part was, we missed our I.T. test! Aaliyah 4G1

17 P A G E 1 7 V O L U M E 8, I S S U E 1 DOOM THE GLOOM, AND BLOOM! Organized by a handful of students, led by a single teacher, no one thought it would turn out to be such a mega event! Can you guess what I m talking about, I ll give you a clue - the beautifully designed title still is displayed on the auditorium wall. That's right, it s Doom the Gloom and Bloom! The name itself contains the message. We the Environmental Management students intended on conveying to the students the message Stop all wastage, conserve resources and preserve the environment', through implementing the well-known 3Rs: reduce, reuse and recycle. The EM students initiated the programme by organizing a competition, to get the whole school involved and excited. s 4-6 had to design posters on an environmentally related topic of their own choice. s 7 and 8 had the most challenging task, yet came up with comparatively the most unique and amazing ideas. They had to make a useful object out of recycled or reusable material. These young craftsmen displayed a variety of artistry, from lanterns made of paper to handbags stitched from dungaree and even a picture frame made of straws! 9 students were assigned to sketch and decorate slogans and quotes concerning the environment. The auditorium was then embellished with all these posters and crafts. As the day of the event dawned, the EM students were dizzy with excitement and nervousness. The comperes, Summaiya Moujood and Uzma Khan commenced the occasion, followed by a remarkable presentation by Elaf Ahmed, which illustrated every cause/source of pollution and its effect on the environment, along with solutions/alternatives to reduce pollution. Next came the video produced by Ayesha Aslam and Amal Azhar, the eye-opening explanation about food wastage gave a detailed account of how our careless act of dumping food into the garbage, wastes not only that food, but also the resources - time and effort used to grow it! Did you know that one third of the food produced in the world goes to waste? The event was concluded by Mrs. Seema Anis, the Headmistress, announcing the winners of the competition and Mrs. Fazeena Zachy, the Registrar, presenting the prize, which ranged from Body Shop lotions to painted mugs and water bottles made from biodegradable plastic. Apart from making children aware of waste management, the other agenda was to entice potential Environmental Management Students, by proving to them this subject is worthy of note. This article can never be complete without expressing the EM students heartfelt gratitude to Mrs. Tabbassum, whose guidance and support had made the event a great accomplishment. THE POWER OF WORDS! -Amal Azhar, 10G2 On 28 October, Al Waha s air buzzed with nervous tautness. The day before the Hajj break, every student of grade 4 11 received a copy of word list, to enable them master the words, meanings and the parts of speech The Word Power! Word Power is a challenging competition in which the students are required to learn the list of words, compiled from the various subjects of each grade level. In a series of three mind-boggling rounds, the students are tested on how well they can recall the words and their meanings and use them in the right context. The first round, held on the 28 th October, required students to spell out the words and write down their meanings as well. The victors of this round were then tested with scrambled words on 29 th October. With both rounds out of the way, the best of Al Waha s spellers took their places on the battlefield on the 30 th October. The set of rounds began, all as demanding and aggressive as the ones before. After the fierce battle between words and the participants, who were divided into four groups, aptly named after the well-known literary figures Byron, Johnson, Kipling and Dickens, vying against each other to prove their mastery over words, it was the audience s turn to take over the battlefield. A new round was introduced this year for the audience that comprised Idiomatic Expressions and their meanings. The audience participated actively and fired away the answers, which made one wonder how they all missed out a place on the stage.. Finally, the battle ended and it was time to announce the final victors of the Word Power. The auditorium erupted into applause as the winning team was announced Kiplings emerged as the winners! The members of the Kiplings team were: Roman Shakir 4G2 Nimra Imtiaz 5G2 Fatima Umar- 6G1 Khadija Naeem- 7G1 Anood Shariq- 8G1 Sumayya Azam- 10G1 Saadia Shah- 11G The runner-ups were the Byrons team. In the end, as everyone was filing out of the auditorium, there was only one thing on their minds- the battle of words has not come to an end. The students of Al Waha are poised to enhance their vocabulary and continue the battle by displaying their language skills throughout the year. -Natalia Islam, 8G

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