Zakaria Nour is a rising sophomore who is looking forward to classes and electives
next year. He is taking three honors classes next year just as he did this year.
“[I’m] shooting to make the honor roll,” Nour said. “If I continue to work hard I think
I can make the honor roll.”
This year Nour did not join clubs so that he could focus on his academics. Prioritizing
is a choice every student has to make. Each person knows themselves best and has to
make that decision for himself. He says choosing academics over clubs was both a good
and bad decision. He was able to focus on academics, but clubs could have taught him
useful skills as well.
Apart from his academics, Nour played basketball this year as a guard. Nour is
glad he played basketball.
“[Playing basketball helped] me improve my basketball skills and make friends,”
said Nour. He learned to balance school activities with school work. This ability can only
be learned through experience.
“As the year progressed it taught me how to manage my time well,” said Nour. “It
helped me improve my skills and make friends.”
He is considering doing track and cross country in addition to basketball next year.
Next year he is planning on contributing to AHS through Peer Mediation. He did
Peer Mediation in 8th grade. Peer Mediation is a club to help students with conflict
resolution, a useful skill for everyone. Peer Mediation is sponsored by the ESOL teacher
Ms. Mounteer.
In addition to peer mediation and sports, he is also looking forward to joining the
Business Club and the Key Club. AHS has many clubs, and in this multitude there is
one for everyone.
Before the year began, Nour’s sister, an AHS alumni, advised him to take his
freshman year seriously. Many counselors would agree with this sage advice, as many
colleges look at freshman grades.
Nour’s biggest challenge freshman year was time management.
“Know your priorities. Get the important stuff done before the less important. Make
a list of the top five most important,” said Nour.
Prioritizing helped him with his academics during his freshman year.
