2015

INSIDE:• Gold Medal at Toronto Science Fair• Wrestling Team Achieving Tremendous Success• Camping and Adventure

B O Y S ’ H I G H S C H O O L

It was another wonderful year at Nile Academy Plunkett. The 2014-2015 academic year was filled with many accomplishments for our students.

We have to say goodbye to another graduating class of talented and intelligent young men. These young men have been accepted into prestigious universities such as York, Ryerson, Trent, Ottawa and Toronto. While wishing them the best for their future endeavors we also want to look back on a successful year.

This year was especially rewarding for our wrestling team. Our wrestling team under the auspices of their coaches Mr. Yasin Kaya and Mr. Brock Curtis won 15 gold medals, 15 silver medals and 17 bronze medals.

At the 2014-2015 Toronto Science Fair, Mert Serinken and Gurhan Uzum were awarded the gold medal. While at the 2015 Canada Art of Physics Competitions our students won both the 1st and the 3rd place awards. At the UOIT Robotics Competition our students won the 3rd place award and the semi-final cup.

Meanwhile, on the international scene our students won silver at the INFOMATRIX Computer Science Competition in Kazakhstan and an honorable mention at the 2014-2015 i-SWEEEP Olympiads in Texas.

Awards weren’t the only thing of importance this year, Some of our dormitory students undertook a challenging and educational internship with SEO NET. Our students also attended the Change Your World Conference, an inspiring and motivational event that pushed them to do better by their environment.

All in all, it was a successful and memorable year. We hope that next year will bring more adventures and successes.

Sincerely,

Dear Parents and Students,

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EXPLORING THE ART OF PHYSICS

We are very pleased to announce that three students from Nile Academy Plunkett campus won awards. Berkay Sahin and Mesut Yanikgonul won First place in the High School/CEGEP Class Project category with his project entitled, “Upside down, smaller and real image in the same scene”. While Muhammet Kurkcu was awarded the Third place in the High School/CEGEP Individual category with his project entitled, “Spring Melt Icicles”.The students could not have achieved this level of success without their teacher Mr. Anthony Senzel.

Nile Academy got 1 Gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze medal from the Toronto Science Fair Project Contest.Our students competed at the Toronto Science Fair from March 27-28. Mert Serinken and Gurhan Uzum from Plunkett Campus won a gold medal with their project “Preventing Formaldehyde Emission in the Particle Boards while using Cupule (bur) of Endangered American Chestnut (Castanea Dentate)”.Bahar Samadi from Blue Haven Campus recieved silver medal with her project “Nature in Bottle”. Feyza Lafci from Blue Haven Campus won a Bronze Medal with her project ”Organic Citrus Essential Oil”.The gold medal project will represent our school at two competitions in Toronto. One of them will be the Ontario and Canada Research Chairs Symposium on April 2nd the other competition will be World Congress 2015 on Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering on June 10th.

G OLD MEDAL AT TORONTO SCIENCE FAIR

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We congratulate Nile Academy student Berkay Karadag with his silver medal in INFOMATRIX (International Computer Science Project Olympiad) in Kazakhstan.

SUMOBOT ROBOTIC ENGINEERING COMPETITION AT UOIT

SUCCESS AT INFOMATRIX

Two teams representing Nile Academy Plunkett Campus won awards at this year’s Sumobot Robotic Engineering Competition at UOIT.

Overall our students placed 3rd among 44 participants from schools all over Ontario. Kaan Celenk, Taha Cicek and Bahadir Baktim made up our team which placed 3rd.

Baris Gunlu and Necmi Parlar made up our second team which secured a place for themselves in the semi-finals.

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The ESLCO & ELS2O classes went to the historic Maple Leaf Garden’s for the celebration of the 50th year of the Canadian Flag! Students wore red shirts and were part of a photograph that will reside in the office of the Lieutenant

50 YEARS OF CANADIAN FLAG

NILE STUDENTS ARE REALLY GOING PLACES

Governor of Ontario! They also got to stand on the ice of Maple Leaf Gardens, one of the original 6 hockey teams of the NHL! Refreshments were served and even a few Canadian celebrities were in attendance including fashion mogul Jeanne Beker, Mississauga Mayor ‘Hurricane’ Hazel McCallion and CFL athlete superstar and coach, Michael ‘Pinball’ Clemons!

Nile Academy students got Honorable Mention at the 2015 International Sustainable World Energy, Engineering, and Environmental Project (I-SWEEEP) Olympiad in Houston Texas.I-SWEEEP, held in May this year, is organized by the Cosmos Foundation, a non-profit educational organization in Houston. The event welcomed over 1,000 young scientists from over 70 countries.Our Grade 11 students Mert Serinken and Gurhan Uzum , Ontario won Honorable Mention in the senior Environment category for their project, “Preventing Formaldehyde Emission in the Particle Boards while using Cupule (bur) of Endangered American Chestnut (Castanea Dentate)”.Nile Academy would like to congratulate these young innovators for their success at I-SWEEEP and wish them many more to come.

GREAT SUCCESS AT I-SWEEEP

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The 11th graders took a trip to enjoy the outdoors in Owen Sound, Lions Head and Tobermory…

CAMPING IN TOBERMORY

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A group of students from Mr. Yasin Kaya’s class went camping over the Thanksgiving Day weekend to Tobermory. They soaked in the last of the summer sun in beautiful Tobermory and bid a fond farewell to

summer in Ontario.

THANKSGIVING IN THE BEAUTIFUL BRUCE

PENINSULA

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Students from our dorm went on a camping trip over the winter break to Bluewater, ON Canada.

It was a wet day, but the rain and fog made the ghost stories even spookier. In honour of Halloween, the grade 9 FSL and ESL students went downtown for a ghost tour. We toured around the Distillery District and learned about hauntings reported in this old area of Toronto. We finished off the day with coffee at Balzac’s to warm up before heading back to the bus.

DISTILLERY DISTRICT HALLOWEEN HAUNT

WINTER BREAK CAMPING

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On September 24th, the ESLAO (Level 1) and ESLEO (Level 5) classes went to MABELarts to be involved with Toronto’s Culture Days celebration. The students were presented with traditional and modern artforms, invovled in an art activity and listened to a local artist describe her work. It was a beautiful day for a field trip and a great way to practice English skills with people outside the school!

The 9th and 10th graders took some time out over the break to paintball…

PAINTBALL FUN

MAPLE SUGAR

MABLEarts

On Monday, March 9th, Nile Academy students got to explore one of Canada’s true icons – The Maple Leaf. Just a short bus ride away from the school is the Kortright Conservation Area where students went on a guided tour of a maple sugar bush and learned the pioneer and modern methods of creating delicious maple syrup from the sap of maple trees. Some

students sampled pancakes and maple syrup at the end of the trip to truly explore this Canadian cultural experience. The day was warm (for March so on the + side of 0 degrees!) and the sun was out. Ideal conditions for collecting sap and exploring the wilderness.

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On Saturday, April 18th, 2015 a group of students from Nile Academy visited a Mennonite village in Kitchener. The students had a lively conversation with the residents. The students were able to visit the local Mennonite Church, bazaar, museum and university. The day ended with a very tasty barbque that the Mennonite hosts had prepared for our students.

VISIT TO A MENNONITE TOWN

A group of students from Nile Academy Plunkett Campus spent their Family Day long weekend in Montreal and Mont-Tremblant. The students, accompanied by their gym teacher Mr. Kaya took in the winter chill of Montreal on February.

Above, Nile Academy Plunkett Campus students with Hon. Andrew Scheer, the Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons at the Second Turkic Convention in Ottawa.

Below, our principal, Saadettin Ozcan, presents the Speaker of the Senate, Noel Kinsella, with a gift.

MONTREAL AND MONT-TREMBLANT

SECOND TURKIC CONVENTION IN OTTAWA

DOWNTOWN WALK AROUND

Today we took a walk in downtown Toronto, travelling from Bloor St. down to Polson Pier in the Portlands. We were able to see many different neighbourhoods and get a first hand look at different types of land use. We also got a look at a wide range of advertising installations and this added to our discussion of the place of advertising media in society, and how it is used to engage target audiences. The weather was beautiful and we were rewarded with a great view of the city at the end of a long walk.

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Nile Academy Plunkett students visited Thunder Bay with their coach and gym teacher, Yasin Kaya for the Easter holiday. Students traveled some 3000 km in a matter of just four days, ushering the Spring season with the spirit of adventure and renewal.

EASTER IN THUNDER BAY

Over the Thanksgiving Day break our 9th graders took a trip out to Niagara Falls…

VISITING NIAGARA FALLS

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The boys (ESLBO, ESLEO and the Grade 10 History class) showed excellent behavior on the trip and we had fun learning about Casa Loma’s origins. They all enjoyed the secret staircase and Burak Toprak found another secret closet in one of the bedrooms! After the tour, we had lunch at the cafe and there was a prepared photo scavenger hunt with the winners getting a Tim Horton’s gift card to share. Hasan Dogan, Talha Saruhan and Berkay Oral (who hates photos so he wouldn’t appear as a winner!) were the winning team. It was a great time learning about Canada’s castle!

HISTORY AND ADVENTURE AT CASA LOMA

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On Friday October 17th our Grade 9 Science and Grade 12 Biology/Physics classes took a trip to the world renowned Toronto Zoo. Despite the call for a chance of showers, the weather held out and the animals were very active. The students had a chance to expand on their classroom education looking at sustainable ecosystems, conservation of species and the importance of biodiversity all while getting in a good walk. However, with over 5000 to see (including the visiting pandas) it was impossible to do it all in a single trip. Overall, it was a fun and education experience for all of the students attending.

FUN AT THE TORONTO ZOO

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On Tuesday December 9, our grade 9, 10 and 12 science students took a trip to the Ontario Science Centre. On this fun and educational trip our students got to experience hundreds of hands-on exhibits in Biology, Physics, Space, Ecology and Chemistry. An interactive “Physics in Action” demonstration show had a few of our students participating in live demonstrations including lying on a bed of nails! The day ended with a film at Ontario’s only OMNImax dome screen IMAX cinema showing a documentary about the Hubble space telescope. A thanks to all those attending for their exemplary attitude and behavior on this trip!

ADVENTURES IN SCIENCE

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WRESTLING TEAM`S TRIP TO THE USA

In the spirit of the holidays and sportsmanship, Nile Academy Plunkett students took part in a Gaming for Charity event right here on campus. The big finale is today. Students are playing each other in a wide-array of games. Each student pays $1 for a chance to get out of class and play a video game. So far we have raised $100. This is all thanks to Mr. Barter’s organization and our students’ generosity.

GAMERS GIVE BACK

Coach Yasin Kaya described the students’ 7 days in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania like this, “It was not just a tournament or a road trip; it was maybe one of the most beautiful visits of our lives. Amazing people & amazing moments we will never forget.”

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GUEST SPEAKERS SHARE THEIR IDEAS AT NILE!

Toronto Police Department’s Jamshid Habibullah spoke to Plunkett students today about internet safety and cyberbullying. The topic was particularly relevant as Mr. Habibullah pulled examples from the local news to illustrate his points.

The students were interested in the topic and Mr. Habibullah stayed for an extended question and answer session to address the students’ concerns.

Mr. Enes Kula visited Nile Academy on Thursday, Feb. 5th, 2015 to discuss the career path he chose, and the choices he made along the way and why, all in the effort to provide career guidance to our grade 11 and grade 12 students.

It was an engaging talk, and was focused on our students’ fortunate opportunity to be studying in Canada, a place where one can choose their career based on their own unique personality and interests.

The most important lesson learned, or perhaps emphasized, was for our students to get to know themselves. As is often attributed to Plato “Know Thyself” is the first step in our journey towards a fulfilling career, and indeed, a fulfilling life… God-willing.

INTERNET SAFETY & CYBERBULLYING

DEMIR DELENCHRIS LEA Chris Lea, former leader of the Green Party of Canada, visited the school to talk to the students about understanding different perspectives, and how our history defines us. He laid particular emphasis on the importance of communication in our understanding of the world, and the need for peaceful discussion between different faiths and cultures. Understanding that different cultures view different things as normal, and acknowledging that what is normal to you might not be to someone else, is the first step towards improving communication. He also challenged them to take an active role in changing the world; from changing how people view Muslims, to trying to fix the environmental and economic issues that plague the world today.

Friday, January 30th, Mr. Demir Delen spoke to Plunkett students about the “Armenian Genocide”. Mr. Delen focused in particular on his own research into the subject which illustrates that by and large what has been widely accepted as genocide was in fact something else. The lecture was attended by all the students of Nile Academy Plunkett Campus. At the end of the presentation Mr. Delen was presented with a bouquet of flowers by our student Kaan Celenk.

KNOW THYSELF

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On February 12, 2015 Mr. Michael Swan visited Nile Academy, Plunkett Campus, to inform students on what journalism entails and how one could successfully become a journalist. Mr. Swan and the students discussed freedom of speech, hate speech, religious freedom, and elements of democracies. Students asked questions surrounding the recent release and re-trial of Mohamed Fahmy, Charlie Hebdo, and a whole host of other problems surrounding investigative journalism. It was highly informative for students and a successful seminar.

JOURNALIST MICHAEL SWAN

TALKING ABOUT TOLERANCE

Passionate about aviation, Rakhmad has combined his interest in law and aviation in the pursuit of a meaningful career. After several years working as a lawyer on a national and international level, he decided to pursue his childhood dream - to be with aircraft. Currently dealing with international contracts related to aircraft sales at Bombardier Commercial Aircraft, Rakhmad is realizing his dream. Aviation, as an industry, offers many opportunities to fly high! Come and join us for a session to learn what career paths you can pursue in the aviation industry.

Today Mr. Oguz Sarkut, founder of SEO Net came to speak to the students about internet marketing and the way it works. Students got a quick glimpse at the multi-faceted world of internet marketing, giving them an idea of what a marketing expert does and how they can influence trends through their own actions. With some luck, the next generation of marketing experts may just have received the inspiration they need to set them off on their illustrious careers.

On November 13th award-winning film maker, Ms. Tina Petrova spoke about tolerance at Nile Academy Plunkett. She told our students about the importance of tolerance and how tolerance can help us all live better, more cohesive lives.Tina has spoken at the United Nations and given a TED TALK. She is a filmmaker, and educator in the field of social justice.

RAKHMAD SOBIROV TALKS AVIATION

INTERNET MARETING

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Our students have formed an Aviation Club with their teacher, Mustafa Cure, at the helm. During the winter, the students were busy building the planes. Their focus was a specific kind of rubber engine for their planes. In summertime once the weather clears up the Club is planning on going to aviation clubs.

AVIATION CLUB

On Tuesday, April 7th, students from Nile Academy attended the Change Your World Conference, hosted by York University. Here our students were able to meet with other like-minded students who want to make a difference in the world they will inherit. Students participated in lectures and workshops on environmental and social justice issues, which took various forms including, fair trade chocolate, dance, sport and inclusion, just to name a few. The key-note speaker for this event was Tzeporah Berman, who is a fellow of theBroadbent Institute and recognized as the Planet in Focus 2014 Canada Eco-Hero. Tzeporah spoke passionately about identifying the need for changing the way we think about resource consumption, particularly with respect to the forests of the world, of which Canada has a great deal.The challenge for our students now is to go out and change their world. With the passion and enthusiasm that many have shown, it will only be a matter of time…

GREAT THINGS HAPPENING AT NILE

CHANGE YOUR WORLD

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On Sunday, May 24th, 2015, Nile Academy had its annual Fundraising Dinner. The dinner was attended by Turkish and local dignitaries, Nile

Academy parents, students and staff members. We are happy to say that the event was a success and that we were able to accomplish what we set out to do. The event started off with a lively Turkish Sufi music and dervish performance. This was followed by a lovely homemade dinner. The night continued with an award ceremony

for various student accomplishments. The fundraising portion of the dinner came alive

with an exciting live auction conducted by Mr. Kemal.

Finally on September 27th we were able to have a reunion with the Nile Academy Alumni since 2009. Since 2009 135 students have graduated from the Academy. We were particularly proud to hear of our students in Canada and other countries of the world, including Turkey who are continuing their education. On the 27th of September students who were still in the greater Toronto area were able to attend our reunion which was filled with reminiscing over great food. Our principal, Mr. Saadettin Ozcan, gave an inspirational speech

NILE FUND RAISING DINNER

to those in attendance to encourage them to continue their education. This wasn’t just a reunion between students but a reunion of students and teachers. The students were overjoyed by the organization of the whole event and planned on continuing to see each other outside of the Academy’s walls.

PLUNKETT REUNION

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Nile Academy`s Second Swimming Championships Results: 47 Students, 4 winners, but only 1 Champion :)Grade 9: Abdulrahman OzkanGrade 10: Bora KansirayGrade 11: Kaan OzcelebiGrade 12: Burak Ali Gurel

NILE ACADEMY CHAMPION: BURAK ALI GUREL(wins race for second time in a row)

NA Tug of War Results:1st Place: Grade 12s2nd Place: Grade 11s3rd Place: Grade 10s4th Place: Grade 9s ----------- Tug of War Challenge of the Day :)Grade 12s VS The Whole School (1 - 1)

NILE SPORTS DAY

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1) IHSAN ATILAN (Team Captain)2) IBRAHIM ELMA (Team Captain)3) HASAN DOGAN4) BORA KANSIRAY5) BERKAY ORAL6) HABIB SOYLU

MEET THE NILE WRESTLING TEAM

EXCITING NILE ATHLETICS

7) ARDA ERYILMAZ8) ENES KORDIKANLIOGLU9) MUCAHIT CURKUS10) BURAK OZDEMIR11) TALHA SARUHAN12) MESUT YANIKGONUL

2014-2015 Nile Academy Wrestling Team

Freestyle Wrestling Coach: MR. BROCK CURTIS, Greco-Roman Wrestling Coach: MR. YASIN KAYA

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Nile Academy wrestling team had another successful year. They won 15 Gold, 15 Silver and 17 Bronze Medal in 2 Championships, 1 International Tournament and 6 Tournaments for this year.These results are fantastic and these young men are representing themselves and the school in extraordinary fashion simply by showing up and working hard, and that’s what really counts.We congratulate our students and their coach Mr. Kaya and Mr.Curtis and commend them for their dedication and hard work commitment.

WRESTLING TEAM MADE US PROUD THIS YEAR!

2014-2015 NILE WRESTLING MEDALS

GOLD SILVER BRONZE 15 15 17

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12 NOV 201421 NOV 201404 DEC 201413 DEC 201410 JAN 201517 JAN 20157-8 FEB 201513-15 MAR 201511-12 APR 2015

Mentor College Invitational - Mississauga, OntarioBishop Ryan Early-Bird Wrestling Tournament - Hannon, OntarioHoward Gairy Memorial Wrestling Tournament - Brampton, OntarioMatmen Classic/Turner Fenton Open - Brampton, OntarioK-Bay Open - Barrie, OntarioNational Capital Wrestling Festival - Ottawa, OntarioOntario Cadet/Juvenile Championships - Brampton, OntarioMohawk Valley International Wrestling Festival - Canastota, NY, USACadet/Juvenile Canadian Championships - Fredericton, New Brunswick

FreestyleFreestyleFreestyleFreestyleFreestyleFreestyleFreestyleFS & GRGreco-Roman

912111178773

DATE EVENT/LOCATION STYLE

TERRIFIC TABLE TENNIS TOURNAMENT

On October 17th, 2014 students from Nile Academy Plunkett Campus Table Tennis Team held an in-school tournament at Top Spin Table Tennis Centre. Elena Shkrab, a member of the Canadian National Table Tennis Team coached the students while they were there and shared some of her expertise. After a fierce but friendly competition, Ahmet Eren Yigit was declared the champion.

2014-2015 WRESTLING EVENTS

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Nile Academy Plunkett Campus competed in the 2014 Toronto Open Taekwondo Competitions. Under the coaching of Mr. Eyup Yalcin, Harun Artun was awarded the gold and Alperen Yalcin was awarded one gold and one bronze medal.

2014 TORONTO OPEN TAEKWONDO COMPETITIONS

NILE WINS BEST SCHOOL AWARD AT SPORT TAEKWONDO OPEN

Over the past weekend (March 28th-29th) our students competed in the Sport TKO (Taekwondo) Open which was held at York University. Our team competed in the High Performance Category. This was a national competition with close to 1000 students from all over Canada competing for the title. Turkey Sal performed superbly and we are proud to report that he won second place and Nile Academy Plunkett Campus overall got the Best School Award.

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On Friday June 12th, 2015 Nile Academy held its annual graduation ceremony at the Madison Event Center. The event was filled with bitter sweet moments. The graduating classes from both Blue Haven and Plunkett relived the past while they looked forward to the future. A representative from Hon. Judy Sgro’s office read remarks from her that highlighted the importance of this moment in the graduates’ lives.

NILE ACADEMY’S 2015GRADUATION CEREMONY

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We had one valedictorian from each campus. Habibe Dogan was the valedictorian from the Blue Haven Campus. Ms. Dogan gave a lively speech which brought the assembled class of 2015 to laughter and tears. Ms. Dogan will continue her education at McGill University where she has been accepted into the General Engineering Department. Mr. Bahadir Yucebas was the valedictorian from our Plunkett Campus. Ms. Yucebas’ speech focued on the debt he owed to his teachers and guardians at Nile Academy school and dormitory. He has been accepted into University of Toronto’s Computer Science.

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Another highlight of the event was an award ceremony for the academic year’s highest achievers in academic and sports competitions. Teachers and mentors who dedicate themselves to the betterment of the student body were also recognized with awards and gifts.

Once the graduates were individually called to the stage and presented with their diplomas the celebrations took off. Students and staff cut a cake and danced and posed for more pictures with friends and families.

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