Smart and Athletic

By Seif Zahran

Seif El Attal made every sports team possible in his four years at Schutz. He is one of the most athletic students in High School, with an award “Athlete of the Year” received last year in addition to a good academic standing. On top of all that, Seif also has the appetite of an elephant! He does not eat to live, he lives to eat!
Seif has many plans for his educational future because he believes that he is a successful person with many achievements in life. He plans to get a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering and later on an MBA. All of this studying and hard work he will pursue will be in the United States with his friend Ali Seif. Seif has high hope to get accepted in a good college there. His favorite subjects in school are Math and Physics.
His favorite sport of all is Volleyball. He wishes to continue doing various sports in college, just as he did in school. The EMAC and ISAC tournaments that are held are the two things he will miss most.
Pasta and chicken panne are his favorite food. He could eat his three meals a day with just that. If there is no pasta and chicken available, sushi is an alternative. If he were to change one thing in Schutz, he would change the canteen for it does not satisfy his big appetite.“I would take the canteen so that they can get a new one,” he stated as the only thing that he would take with him from Schutz when he graduates.
He seems to be a busy student with a lot of things on his hand, but he manages to do more. Not only does he keep up with school and sports, but with friends and family as well. Socializing is on his list too. He likes to go to his friends’ houses, to the movies, or just to chill somewhere with his group of friends. Aly, his brother, and Zeina, his sister, are the two people that he will miss when he leaves Schutz. Seif is planning to visit Schutz occasionally so that he remembers the days that he cherishes.

Long Journey Comes to an End

By Omar Zahran

Kartikya began his journey in Schutz when he was in the second grade. Now he is a senior, and it is his eleventh year at Schutz. When he first joined Schutz, many people described him as shy and quiet. I think we all agree that he has changed a lot since then. He has become very outspoken and is often one of the loudest voices heard on campus.
Most people would even call him the school's jester. You could always see him running around campus energetically telling jokes. Many people will remember this about Kartikya after he is gone, and Kartikya will also miss many things about Schutz. However, the thing he says he will truly never forget about Schutz is the fact that it is such a small school and that he knew everybody and everybody knew him. He has many things he says he loves about Schutz. He said that he would miss things like participating in extra-curricular activities and goofing off at lunch.
He plans to continue his education in Canada where he could be closer to his older brother, Vinayak, a Schutz alumni. He said he would like to go into the field of Engineering. Even though he was lazy during the first three years in high school, he is working hard to get into a college in Canada. We all hope the best for him as he goes on into college life. Now as he is finally leaving Schutz, he will be remembered for many things mainly his fun-loving attitude.

Roba's Diaries: On Bullying and Bullies

By Roba Mahfouz
Special to The 83rd

A lot of young people have a good idea of what bullying is because they see it every day! Bullying happens when someone hurts or scares another person on purpose and the person being bullied has a hard time defending himself or herself. Usually, bullying happens over and over. It can take many forms such as punching, shoving and other acts that hurt people physically, or spreading bad rumors about people, or keeping certain people out of a "group", or teasing people in a mean way, or getting certain people to "gang up" on others. There are all kinds of reasons why young people bully others, either occasionally or often. Does any of these forms sound familiar to you?
- Because I see others doing it
- Because it is what I need to do if I want to hang out with the right crowd
- Because it makes me feel, stronger, smarter, or better than the person I'm bullying
- Because it is one of the best ways to keep others from bullying me
Think about what you are doing and how it affects others. If you think calling others names is really harmless, or if you think pushing, hitting or stealing from other kids is funny, you probably have forgotten what it feels like to be hurt yourself! Teasing, hitting, and keeping others out of a group, all of these things are examples of attempts to harm someone. All of us have been hurt at one time or another and we all know how it feels - awful!
If you have ever heard an adult or anyone else say that bullying is "just a fact of life" or "no big deal," you need to know that they are actually wrong! Too often, people just do not take bullying seriously until the sad and sometimes scary stories are talked about. According to facts, it can mess up a kid's future. Young people who are bullied are more likely to skip school and drop out of school than those who do not get bullied. They are also more likely to smoke, drink alcohol and get into fights. According to established research done in the United States, as many as 160,000 students may stay home on any given day because they are afraid of being bullied. It can lead to huge problems later in life. Children who bully are more likely to get into fights, vandalize property, and drop out of school. Sixty percent of boys in the United States who were bullies in Middle School had at least one criminal conviction by the age of 24.
Kids who bully like to pick on kids who are by themselves a lot; it is easier and they are more likely to get away with their bad behavior. If you spend more time with other kids, you may not be an easy "target" and you will have others around to help you if you get into a difficult situation! If the person who is bullying you thinks you will not do anything about it, they are more likely to keep picking on you. This does not mean you should fight back or bully them back. Instead, tell the person bullying you that you do not like it and that they should stop! Keep it simple. You might just say, "Cut it out!", and then walk away. If possible, try to talk to them in a calm voice. Kids who bully often like to see that they can make you upset. If you are afraid to talk directly to the person who is bullying you by yourself, then you might want to ask someone else to be there with you.
Bullying should not be mistaken for a show of power over someone else. It is an act of fear, a feeling of inferiority and low self-esteem that pushes someone to bully someone else to prove they are stronger and to draw so much attention.

Schutz’s Pride in a Blonde

By Marina Guirguis

Kara Michelle Newell is probably known by being the significant blonde in Schutz’s high school, but she is anything but the stereotypical blonde. She is a smart girl enrolled in AP classes, such as AP US History. She enjoys reading in her free time, hanging out with friends, as well as listening to music.
She spent the first nine years of her life in Charlotte, North Carolina, before moving to Alexandria, Egypt. As a young girl, ballet, dance, gymnastics, and piano lessons dominated Kara’s elementary years. The first school she attended was called Covenant Day School. Her first memory involved “My best friend Shanna sleeping over. So much fun!” Kara and Shanna Van Beek have known each other since the day Kara was born, and were often mistaken for twins. “We still joke about that now. In fact we refer to each other as twin or sister sometimes, “Kara explained. In 1994, her family and a few other families started a church in uptown Charlotte called uptown Christ Covenant Church. This is where Kara goes to visit when she returns to the United States and where she spent last summer tubing, wakeboarding, swimming and water fighting at Lake Norman.
The Newells moved to Egypt in 1999. The hardest thing about moving according to Kara was, “not seeing friends and family on a regular basis.” Her dad wanted the family to have an overseas experience.
In time though, all good things come to an end. This is Kara’s senior year, meaning soon she will pack up her bags and leave what she loves once again. Her first choice for college is Elon University, about twenty minutes away from the university her brother attends. She dreams of one day being a kindergarten teacher because she “loves kids and wants to help them grow and discover new things.”
Kara is known among her friends for giving great advice and being a caring shoulder to cry on. You are surely guaranteed hours of fun if you spend time with this girl in or out of school. Some advice that Kara leaves with us is, “Let go, jump into life! Try something new at least once a day, everyday. Don’t let anyone say you can’t do something. Try and you might prove them wrong!”

Dubai Leadership Conference: Bringing International Night Back

By Ingy Fahmy

Schutz students attended one of the most stimulating Leadership Conferences in Dubai (October 3-6). Schools from all around the Middle East flew into Dubai, and heads were put together in order for each school to create a strategic plan. Through the conference, a strategic plan was created to resume the festive tradition of International Night to Schutz American School. The Schutz students who attended the conference felt the urge to liven up the school by showcasing the diverse cultures that exist in Schutz.
In order to be able to come up with a strategic plan for each school, the conference organizers arranged for the participants to visit the Wild Wadi water park. During the time spent at the park, conference participants were separated teams to work on building the bridges from person to person and learning to be part of a squad. The objective was to have the ability to work together and cooperate within a group in order to have an effect on a greater cause.
Returning to the hosting school, the American School of Dubai (ASD), participants were sent off to find out more about their personalities and identities and getting acquainted with oneself helped with the developing of strategic plan through teamwork. Mr. Thomas Lungrin, a keynote presenter, talked about becoming true leaders and learning to work with what is available. Mr. Lungrin holds no college degrees yet he has managed to open one of the most leading retail furnishing stores, THE ONE (Total Home Experience), located all over the countries of Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Sweden, and the United Arab Emirates. Through his presentation, he gave the following message that participants should follow for the rest of their lives, “Nothing great has ever been achieved without passion.” He taught participants to look for what would make them happy in the end, not what would make them successful.
The HSSC Treasurer, Aly El Attal, reflected on what he learned, “A fine leader is a fine servant.” The HSSC President, Youssef Talaat, added, “In order to be a true leader, one must discover the potentials of one’s team and execute them through a methodical and meticulous plan.”
The Schutz participants succeeded in completing this task of planning for an International Night and proudly presented the action plan in front of all the other participants.
The International Night will be taking place shortly to Schutz, and all people attending will witness the effects of the Dubai Leadership Conference that impacted the organizers of this event. Finally, the Schutz Coach, Kelly Sullivan stated, “I was proud to accompany the Schutz delegation, and I was pleased with their participation and with what they learned. They represented Schutz very well.”

Science Genius Inspires Schutz Audience

By Shereen Hassan

Susannah L. Clary, a senior in Los Lunas High School, NM who was scheduled to give a lecture at the Biblitheca Alexandrina on October 24, met the Schutz students to talk about her motivation and success in her research. The beauty of nature, which attracted her to science at a young age, has captivated her. Her parents are the two people who inspired her the most. They supported her in conducting research and collecting data in institutes in Canada, where she was allowed to use the facilities.
In fifth grade, she started writing research papers on salmon. She was trying to distinguish between the male and female salmon because their growth rate was declining. The only way until now to figure out whether they were male or female was to dissect them, but dissecting them decreases their number which was endangering their species. However, with her discovery it is possible to distinguish between the male or female salmon by using the scale she patented, which was her first discovery. This scale measures the ratio between the head length and the body length, this determining the gender of the salmon.
She won several awards from 2003-2007, and she published 5 research papers, the first one in 3rd grade. Some of her significant achievements were Intel Foundation Achievement Award and Intel ISEF Finalist & Second award in Zoology in 2005. She also won Grand award in Life Sciences from 2003-2006, and then in 2007 she won full tuition scholarships from University of Alaska Fairbanks and University of New Mexico. She did SATR Summer Research Intern at Sandia National Laboratories last summer. She would like to go to the University of New Mexico to study Biology & Engineering.
The advice she likes to give to all students is, “Do not let little failures discourage you. You have to do things over and over. Have good background knowledge of the stuff you are dealing with and do something you are interested in.”

As Direct as it Gets

Dr. Martinez Meets the Schutz Community
By Marina Guirguis

The search for the new Head of School is on, and the first candidate introduced to the student body publicly was Dr. Joyce Martinez. Her short stay in Egypt (October 20-24) was packed with hours of meeting new people including Board members, teachers, students and parents.
Dr. Martinez has always had a dream of coming to Egypt. She stated, “This is where I want to be”. Currently working as Head of the American School of Las Palmas in the Canary Islands off the shore of Spain, Dr. Martinez would like to move on to another international school. She declares that her main qualities are flexibility, patience, love for other cultures, and pursuit of visions. These are also qualities that Dr. Martinez claims every head of an international school should have.
She took a year off her busy schedule in Florida, and wrote Eight Steps to a Financially Successful School before resuming her career in international education. In her past, she has worked in cities from Miami to Denver, Los Angeles to Mexico City. This has influenced her views as a leader due to her work with different environments and cultural backgrounds. She describes herself, “What you see is what you get, blunt, direct, consistent, and open-minded.” Her leadership style is collaborative, but Dr. Martinez does not hide that she can be a dictator when certain decisions need to be made.
Dr. Martinez left behind her a strong impression of a tough leader who loves to work on a vision and excels in the international crowd. She definitely came across as someone who naturally fits in a multi-cultural environment.