Charity Visit 57357NIS students Visit the 57357 Hospital There are two fields of work that cannot be compromised or endure a lack of moral integrity: Education and Medicine. You see, both affect people’s future; one shapes it, and the other protects and heals it. Students at NIS are no strangers to the concept of community. Each NISian lives with the understanding of what it means to “give back”. Yesterday, our students proudly participated in a school gathering hosted by the doctors and managers of Hospital 57357. In the midst of donations and networking, an array of spokespeople from the hospital and various schools offered speeches as part of the day’s agenda. In the NIS tradition, it was our students, Farid Omar and Shaden Mohamed Fathy, who orated a soul-touching message to the tone of Hope, Responsibility, and Unity. Junior, Youssef Fayed, was the recipient of a lauded certificate of appreciation on behalf of the hospital to NIS. NIS Magazine 51
Giving A Hand To The ElderlySome of our Grade 9 students had the pleasure of getting to know a few of New Cairo’s oldest residentswhen they visited Dar al A’ila Retirement Home last month. The home’s residents were thrilled to meetour students and have a chance to share stories and jokes with a new audience. Our students also reallyenjoyed the visit and are already planning to visit again. A big thank you goes out to Mr. Amer Ibrahim.for organizing this extra special extracurricular activity 52 NIS Magazine
Arts Ballet The Annual Exhibition of East Nasr City Educational Administration Drama NIS Magazine 53
NIS competes at The Annual Exhibition of East Nasr City Educational Administration with a sample of work inspired by Picasso’s famous artwork. Artwork By Amal El-Naggar54 NIS Magazine
What You Need To Know About OurNew Ballet Teacher By Ahmed LabanHere are the 4 things you need to know about our Ms. Victor visited Egypt as a tourist in 2000, whennew ballet teacher: she met her husband. She decided to move to1. Her name is Ms. Oksana Victor. Egypt in the same year and has been here everDid you know that Oksana actually means “praise since.be to God” in Russian? 4. Ms. Oksana tutors at 3 different institutes.2. Ms. Oksana was born in Lipetsk, Russia. On top of teaching ballet at NIS, Ms. Victor is aShe was born in Russia and decided to move to fitness instructor at Heliopolis Sporting Club and aEgypt when she completed college. ballet tutor in Shirley Shalaby’s institute of ballet.4. Mrs. Oksana tutors at 3 different institutes!3. Ms. Oksana has been living in Egypt for the last On top of tutoring ballet in NIS, Mrs. Victor is a18 years! fitness instructor at Heliopolis Sporting Club and a ballet tutor in Shirley Shalaby’s institute of ballet. NIS Magazine 55
Is Fame Really Worth All The Hype? By Nadeen Abdel-KaderAll celebrities embark on a journey to stardom, but recently opened up to us about her experiencedo they really enjoy the ride? with life in the spotlight. From child actress to“When you become famous, being famous teacher, Ms. Ibrahim endured many challengesbecomes your profession.”-James Carville throughout her life due to her fame at such an early age.Has it ever occurred to you that this popular “There’s a funny thing about fame; the truthphrase, “lights, camera, action” could have more is you run as fast as you can towards it becausethan one meaning? For instance, when most it’s everything you want. And then you getpeople hear these words being uttered an image there and it’s shocking how immediately youof a stage or the silver screen may come to mind. become enveloped in this world that is incrediblyCelebrities, however, view these words differently; restricting.” – George Clooneymost believe the words carry a pessimistic The idea of having no privacy, always beingmeaning. Don’t get it? Think of it this way. monitored, and having to appear as thoughLights stand for the flashes of the cameras the everything in your life is going perfectly well ispaparazzi bombards them with. something that can terrify any human being.Cameras represent personal moments of their lives Celebrities continue to live their lives with thebeing photographed and broadcasted, negative aspects of fame. It’s a challenge to keepand the word action refers to the predestined up a spotless image in order not to receive anyimage they try to constantly uphold. negative backlash that could possibly harm or“I don’t like fame, it turns into something else. destroy their careers.Some people like the idea of fame but I don’t,” - So, it’s important to ask one’s self, is fame reallyVanessa Hudgens. worth living in a constant state of stress or distress?One of NIS’ very own educators struggled with Well, Ms. Ibrahim does not think so.her time in the spotlight. Ms. Nourhan Ibrahim, “I’ve not been human for the past 20 years becausewho joined NIS this year as the drama teacher has of my acting career,” said Ibrahim. Sure, celebrities get some reimbursements for all56 NIS Magazine
their hard work, but they most certainly do not live have thought?]. But more than anything, this was aan easy life. Ms. Ibrahim enlightened us with a tale woman... who is a mother. And as such, she didn’tabout her son; her own flesh and blood. A while want her son to adopt the ideology that it wasback, when she would take her son out, they would alright to slack off and be rewarded with privilege.both be offered free gifts because of the value her It’s not the life she lived, nor is it the practice shename held. Her son enjoyed these privileges, and advocates for.she slowly discovered how fame can corrupt her Had she been able to put a wig on and act likefamily by teaching her son wrong values like being Hannah Montana, she would have. But life is nospoiled. She mentioned a story she’ll never forget, movie after all, and we cannot always get the bestabout the first time she feared the loss of his morals of both worlds. You can however find yourselfdue to fame. This was when they’d gone out for ice having one really good world, by discovering newcream... passions and talents every day.“Mom I want to be famous like you, why do you Ms. Nourhan believes she’s at, exactly, the rightget to have free ice cream, and why do you get cool place at NIS, and strives to teach students all aboutgifts every time you enter a shop?” her son had good acting so they can grow to make their ownasked. decisions about the realities of her career field.In response to his words, the statement “everything “It’s strange, you don’t have a normal life anymore.comes at a price” echoed in her mind. This was a You spend much time trying to fight it, but inwoman who worked strenuously hard to achieve the end you find another way to live.” – Robertwhat she has, today, with her acting career. She’s Pattinsona woman who has lived with absolutely no sociallife throughout most of her years [would you ever NIS Magazine 57
Athletics Crossfit Eagles: Meet our Varsity team58 NIS Magazine
Let’s play a little game..... NIS Magazine 59
Crossfit: How Passion Leads to Purpose By Youssef AymanWhat would your parents say if you tell them you’re going to quit being an Englishprofessor because you’ve “found your calling”... and it’s not English? Will they callyou crazy? Irrational? Probably. No, definitely. Or at least that’s how Nevine el-Baz’sparents reacted when she let the proverbial cat out of the bag.El-Baz taught English at MIU for a very long time. Though she graduated with anEnglish degree, nothing ever made her feel more alive than engaging in CrossFit. It’sthe wrenching of your gut and the tugging at your heart. Such is the undeniable call ofpassion when your time has come. Passion is a summoner that will not be denied.CrossFit tests a person’s durability and determination. It’s a sport created for “thedevoted” and “the dedicated”. Those are her words, not mine. Those are the wordsof passion. El-Baz is a renowned Cross fitter, triathlete, and certified trainer with theInternational Sports Sciences Association (ISSA), who has earned 1st place in Egypt60 NIS Magazine
for two successive years as of 2015, and 2016, and has earned 22nd in Africa in 2015, and 23rd the yearafter.Before she considered transferring to CrossFit, she played tennis. And while she found a great joy in thegrilling stamina demanded by tennis, fate would turn it’s hand and along the way, el-Baz suffered a backinjury. This led to a long road of walking and swimming as her prescribed physical therapy.Crossfit has helped me conquer many things in life, it taught me what it is like to be determined andto achieve one’s goals. Feeling the way that have felt due to Crossfit and all that I have accomplishedbecause of it, I wanted to help others feel the same way, make a change in someone else’s life, and teachsomeone how determination can transform them into anything they want,” said el-Baz.As the years passed, El Baz continued her journey to prove to the world what it means to be a cross fitter.However, it was only after her friend’s passing that she came to discover her inspiration to what wouldlater become one of her biggest accomplishments: The “Gladiators” Club.He called me a Gladiator, as a nickname, for my consistency and deep interest into fitness,” said el-Baz.Gladiators won many championships over the years, however the longer el-Baz coached, the more shediscovered her endless passion for bringing strength to those who were in her previous fragile position.It’s been a long road for el-Baz, and I’ll be the first to invite anyone to try and walk a mile in her shoes.From suffering injury to being accused of insanity for choosing to walk away from a lauded career, thiswoman has held tight to courage and conviction and shown the world that it is indeed.... her prerogative.El-Baz has coached at NIS-American for approximately 2 years, and has both instructed and trainedalongside her students and colleagues [even the staff couldn’t stay away from all the excitement]. At first,the Crossfit craze took over the high school, then it spread to the Middle and Elementary school. Forreal! Crossfit has taken over the school!For the majority of the time, el-Baz would give out workout plans, starting off with warm-ups, and thenmoving to exercises of choice, training all sections of the body, including the chest, back, shoulders,arms, and legs. The school leaders were elated at the interest shown by students [who usually cringed atthe idea of P.E. class and hid in the cafeteria]. They were fully vested in financing the sport by providingthe required weights, weightlifting bars, plates, kettlebells, TRX, and a whole lot of other equipmentnecessary for training the young Cross fitters [it worked; they got us out of the cafeteria and onto thetraining field.... willingly.... happily!]For a lot of students, the introduction of CrossFit into our school was considered a major improvisation;one that really paid off. It’s a great addition to the existing activities being held on campus, and has [andstill is] building, and shaping the participants physical litheness to the better, and stronger. CrossFit tothe moon! NIS Magazine 61
NIS Eagles: Soaring to VictoryHey NISians, hope you all had a nice, quite break Tournament in Gouna to win, and when theybecause we’re back, and we’ve got insider news finally triumphed, it was well worth the hard work.about everything! Because everyone knows the greatest gifts areWord is that our Eagles won, once again. Could feelings of accomplishments (though if you ask me,‘luck’ be the reason why? Definitely not. How do we that trophy was pretty shiny).know? well, we were there, that’s how. “We’re more determined this time around to win“Never give up on something that you can’t go a day and there is not an ounce of fear in our bones,” -without thinking about.” - Winston Churchill. NIS Eagles.You win some you lose some, right? Not always. NIS With a fixed mind-set on winning, the eaglesEagles continue to prove to us that dedication and conquered all. They soared towards the end of thedetermination pave the road to endless victories. tournament with a consecutive winning streak withNothing good comes easy. The Eagles did not motivation from not only their coaches, but alsojust stumble upon their victory, it took a couple from their numerous fans. The Eagles certainlyof failed attempts on the road to The States Aimz outdid themselves at this tournament as they came out victorious in each of the six matches they played. 62 NIS Magazine
However, like any interesting tournament there were a few altercations that took place. You would assumethese issues would hinder the Eagles’ true potential [nope, you’re wrong] the Eagles are far too committedto let anything stand in their way.They’re not just athletes, they’re sportsman and gentlemen. While other teams behaved violently duringsome of the games, the Eagles remained focused and made certain to avoid any and all conflict and kepttheir eyes on the prize. These guys don’t joke around when the championship title is on the line.“Some teams played in an impudent manner which inevitably caused some harm to our players who onlyshowed good sportsmanship,” - Yousry Mohamed, Team Captain.We love you, Yousry! This is a captain that knows all too well that injuries can be quite the norm in theworld of sports, especially soccer. But, while some players may give up after obtaining major injuries, ourEagles Captain, Yousry Mohamed is always there with a pep talk and a shared vision. Even when hurt, ourEagles refuse to stand down. They have all the support from their coaches and team to quickly help themget their mojo back and play the game they love so much.“Hard work beats talent, when talent fails to work hard.” – Tim NotkeThe Eagles had a long journey that led them to a beautiful destination. Going through countless hours oftraining proved to be the key factor for the Eagles’ glory. The next time you want to ace something, justlisten to your coaches, put in the extra effort, and sit back and watch the good results follow naturally. NIS Magazine 63
Outstanding Students Aly Labib64 NIS Magazine
That Guy’s a Genius! By Ziad AlwarehGraduating Senior, Ali Labeeb, has been a student Growing up, Labeeb spent his free time reading,at NIS-American since his preschool days. Born and saturating his brain with knowledge. Little didto an American mother and an Egyptian father, he know, this knowledge would later serve himLabeeb’s diverse upbringing inspired within him when he signed up for the Geniuses program.a love for history, geography and cultural diversity. On this television program, Labeeb competedHe knows all the famous landmarks in the world, as part of an NIS team, in front of a live studioand excels at all sorts of geography-related trivia. audience, with other schools and, has since, gainedHe can even draw each continent, down to the recognition from viewers all over Egypt for hiscountries and their borders. As for the History undeniable intellect.part, according to Labeeb, he became entirely To date, Labeeb is the youngest contestant toenamored with it starting the sixth grade. ever participate in the Geniuses show. The NIS“I started reading a lot of History books, and community was overwhelmed with joy when heeventually I became good at it,” said Labeeb. was selected to compete for the Geniuses SuperOn the course of his academic journey, Labeeb Bowl Cup, in which he did very well, but lost duewas awarded the 1st Place prize in two science to a faulty buzzer, allowing others to answer beforefairs [G7 and G9]. Today, Labeeb attends in class him.12A and sits on a solid 4.0 GPA (Mashaallah!). He As Thomas Edison once said, “There is noearned an outstanding SAT score of 1200 on his substitute for hard work,” and Labeeb is no strangerfirst attempt, without the use of private tutoring or to that. From all of us here in the news room: Wellcenter-classes. He aspires to a degree in Political done, Sir, well done!Science with a focus on international relations. Butwait! There’s more... NIS Magazine 65
After NIS Rana Afifi66 NIS Magazine
The Bagel BrothersThere’s nothing like love your food]the smell of freshbaked pastries in Happily, for thethe morning. Oh, students and staff,the bread, toasts, they debuted theircookies, rolls, and business by partneringmuffins - their with the NIS schoolsucculent scents waft administration, whoto your nose and say agreed to host theirit’s time for breakfast. culinary genius on campus.For the masses of desires, and took off to Aviationpeople who adore Sciences in New York to become a Amazingly, it tookthe delicacies of commercial pilot, and came back only two weeks tothe “patisserie to Egypt to be an airline pilot. set up, and openuniverse”, you have to indulge in a Sherif, however, reveres to business, the place in NIS’s American Newbite of bagels. Our bet is that you’ll and decides to take on a similar Cairo branch. The brothers havefind yourself chomping through path with his brother to make this already made plans to expand to theeverything the menu has to offer. company happen. And thank God Sherouk campus. they did, because otherwise, we’d beMeet Shady and Sherif Abaza, two dreaming of their bagels instead of What’s amazing about the Bagelbrothers returning from the United eating them from breakfast, lunch, Brothers is that they use the freshestStates, with bagel recipes to die for. and everything in between. ingredients and still keep their product affordable. Most of theirSo, why call their delicious company VCU’s Monroe Park campus foodstuff is purchased at EgySwissBagel Brothers? Well, it turns out Having lived abroad, these guys ate [tah ya Misr!], and ensures the bestthat Shady and Sherif share more bagels for breakfast for years! One quality for bagels in the country.than just a last name. The DNA day, after returning to Egypt, theytest results are in, and yes... they are were in the Zamalek area and were With their overwhelming successindeed brothers. excited to find a bagel joint. That on campus, of course they’re excitement waned, however, after considering to open outside theBut that’s not all, you’ll be excited to their first bite. That is not what a walls of NIS. They’ve been tolearn that the gentlemen are actually bagel should taste like! Shady and several places including Waterway,NIS alumni! That’s right, Shady and Sherif were not going to be quiet el-Gouna, el-Sahel, and Diplo, butSherif belong to the Class of ‘09 and about this. No, they took matters have yet to decide where to openthe Class of ‘11, respectively. into their own hand. They took their first establishment. out cookbooks, spell books, andAfter graduating, the brothers everything they could find in efforts Here is the menu in case any of youleft to the US for their studies, of conjuring the perfect bagel; and, are considering to try a bite of whatwhere Shady attended Virginia indeed they did. [Thanks, guys, we might possibly become your favoriteCommonwealth University in snack.Richmond, USA, then to MountSaint Vincent University (MSV) NIS Magazine 67in Canada. Sherif had different
Rana Afifi68 NIS Magazine
The Unexpected Journey of Life By Lily TarekSometimes even though where you end up is not When asked a couple of questions about how shewhere you plan to be, you end up finding out it’s thinks the education at NIS has changed since shewhere you wanted to be. - Rana Afifi we was a student, she talked about how much theOne of NIS’ notable Alumna is Elementary School education system has improved over the years andPrincipal, Ms. Rana Afifi. In an interview with this how it is on “a whole new level now”.reporter, Afifi was asked a series of questions that “NIS strives towards the evolution of education,”shed light on exactly how she ended up back at NIS said Afifi.after she graduated from the school. Afifi explained She believes that her daughter, who is currentlythat after NIS she attended at the ‘American a third grader at NIS [following in our alumna’sUniversity in Cairo’ and graduated with a Master’s footprints], is getting an even better education thandegree in Education. Before that, she had gone she received when she was her age.to stay with her parents in New York. Afifi talked Though Afifi’s passion for her work at NIS was notabout how she dreamed of working on Wall Street the least bit odd, we were interested to find out howwhen she was in New York, she told us that this was someone with such big goals can abandon the Bigher dream job... at the time. Apple, and be so elated somewhere they had neverEducation is the most powerful weapon which you thought they’d end up at.can use to change the world. – Nelson Mandela She went on and explained that the opportunity to “the journey of life can truly be one’s destination.”work at NIS presented itself when Dr. Nermein, We wondered if working on Wall street was still herwhom she had known for a long time, approached dream job, and if she would pursue it if she had theher with a job offer to work as a teacher. Afifi chance. Afifi said that it is not what she wants to dogladly took the job, and pursued it for many years. anymore, not even close to it.Throughout those years, Afifi taught grades one, “My dream is to help underprivileged students inthree, and four. She taught almost everything: remote areas receive the proper education theyEnglish, Math, Social studies, and Science. Afifi deserve,” said Afifi.talked about how she loved teaching Elementary This final sentence by Rana Afifi highlighted theschool students. When asked why she explained vivid change that transformed Afifi from the eagerthat she loved making a difference in their lives young adult, ripe out of college, who wanted to[and, of course, they’re cute]. work on Wall Street to the strong, independent“Teaching is the only rewarding job. You enter class woman who has become one of NIS’ mostin the morning and feed them information, you feel remarkable administrators.the passion, support, and love from the students, “Sometimes even though where you end up is notand when you walk out you can see how much they where you plan to be, you end up finding out it’sabsorb this information. You know that you have where you wanted to be.” -Rana Afifitruly made a difference in their lives,” said Afifi.Education is the key to success in life, and teachersmake a lasting impact in the lives of their students.– Solomon Ortiz NIS Magazine 69
New Infants Swimming Pool By Maya MazharLearning How To Swim: Throwing Kids Headfirst Into A New LessonNIS aims to educate students to become the best that they can be by providing the mostadvanced, progressive facilities for a higher knowledge and education in almost all aspects of life.Not long ago, we’ve had a pool at each NIS campus available for middle school and high schoolstudents only. We’ve never had an infants pool; one that is designed specifically to teach littleones how to swim. However this era has come to an end, after what seems like the longest time,NIS is opening a pool specifically for infants at the 1st settlement campus (located right next tothe Kindergarten playground, with its own locker rooms and everything)Kindergarten kids are so excited and can’t wait to jump right into learning how to swim! So keepan eye out for the new Micheal Phelps because our little NISers are diving in.“It’s nice! I don’t know how to swim so I’m really looking forward to learn how!” - Kindergartenstudent Agani Afifi. 70 NIS Magazine
NIS Magazine 71
A Message from the Editor-In-Chief Dear readers, I am honored to have been chosen as the first editor-in-chief of NIS Today and am thrilled to share my vision for the future of our distinguished magazine. They say that the journey of a thousand miles starts with one step. For over 20 years, NIS Schools has been a beacon of educational advancement. It has long been one of the most influential schools in the field and remains by far the mostlauded. In addition, NIS Schools maintains the highest level of ethical integrity, ensuringconsistency and academic rigor in each of its school branches. My desire is for NISToday to act as the medium by which we can celebrate our academic community with theworld outside our campus walls.As writers, we are the authors of our social landscape, and the world is ever changing.Across divisions, new demands and expectations from both authors and readers haveencouraged the formulation of new creative outlets. My primary goal as editor-in-chiefis to ensure that NIS Today remains lithe in attending to the rapidly shifting communitysetting, while also maintaining and intensifying the high standards of academic excellencefor which our school is known.As always, my highest priority, and that of our distinguished editorial board, is ensuringthat NIS Today continues to publish the voice of a generation. I am dedicated to leadingthe board’s mission in providing authors with a productive review experience.I genuinely hope that all our students will eagerly access NIS Today, as both submittersand readers, for the discerning and stimulating voices that will shape our future withextraordinary literary excellence. By Amira Awaad72 NIS Magazine
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