A quiet summer campus burst into life last weekend as King’s Academy celebrated the start of the 2022-2023 academic year, starting with two days of orientation for Upper School students. On Friday, King’s Academy rolled out its traditional red-carpet welcome, complete with balloons, music and smiling faculty faces, for 147 new students and their parents, and again on Saturday for returning students.

Making up the student body for King’s 16^th school year is a total of 570 students — including 131 seniors — from 40 countries, including for the first time Mexico and Rwanda. In addition, King’s boasts 106 faculty members hailing from Jordan, the United States, and other nations around the world.   

There was an added sense of excitement to orientation this year as, after two years of restrictions due to the pandemic, parents were finally able to come to campus to help their children prepare for the start of school and move into the dorms — this year, 70% of Upper School students are boarders.

Whether for new or returning, residential or day students, orientation was jam-packed with activities: meetings with advisors, raucous house-welcoming ceremonies, fun ice-breaking activities, a scavenger hunt to help new students get to know campus, and a spirited welcome from Head of School Peter Nilsson who addressed new students and parents in the Abdul Majeed Shoman Auditorium.

Sharing with new parents stories of his own past as a boarding school student, Head of School Peter Nilsson spoke to them about how King’s Academy will also be “a place of self-discovery, a place of deep and joyous learning from impassioned educators, and a place where your children will develop friendships that will last a lifetime.”

“This was the experience that His Majesty King Abdullah II had at Deerfield Academy almost 40 years ago, and his experience there became his vision for this school here,” Nilsson added. “This school exists to provide the highest quality education in the world to the most capable and motivated students, here and abroad. It is excellence in academics and in character. And at the core is a celebration of Jordanian and regional language and culture.”

“If we provide the highest quality education to a wide diversity of students then we foster in them the curiosity, compassion, and commitment not only to succeed in life, but to succeed in ways that lift other people up, and not only oneself,” said Nilsson. “It instills care for our shared communities, small and large. This is at the heart of the vision for this institution.”

Saturday afternoon kicked off the Madaba Games, an annual inter-house athletic and arts competition with activities ranging from sports to an egg-drop contest from the clock tower and a cupcake-baking event. After a long day, students made their way to the Hess Family Dining Hall to dine on diverse dishes from around the world at the international food fair. Dinner was followed by the first open mic night of the year, where those confident enough to showcase their talents took to the stage. To end the evening, the community wound down together with hot tea around a bonfire.

On Sunday, the morning started with a spirited dabkeh party to celebrate the “last first day of classes” for King’s Academy’s seniors. Following a short first day of classes and the first advisory lunch of the year, students returned to the auditorium, where the Madaba Games concluded with house skits. 

And on Tuesday, the Middle School kicked off the year with an afternoon orientation session and welcome barbeque dinner for its 85 students and their parents.

“This event was particularly special,” said Dean of the Middle School Zina Nasser, “as it marked the first time in two years that Middle School parents, faculty and students were all able to come together as a community, in person, to kick off the school year.”

Over the next two days, amid the excitement of meeting or reconnecting with friends, teachers and advisors — and a fun ice cream social — the 39 seventh graders and 46 eighth graders familiarized themselves with what to expect from school life through a series of workshops. Entitled Getting Organized, Kindness Matters, The Little Things Matter, Privileges and Responsibilities, Academic Honesty and Integrity, Mindsets, First Minute Ready, All Things Tech, and Understanding the Middle School, the workshops covered everything from tying a school tie, to class schedules, to reflecting on the school theme this year, kaizen, inspired by the Japanese philosophy of continuous improvement.

With a full cohort of Middle and Upper School students and faculty back to infuse the campus with their enthusiasm, engagement and love of learning, King’s Academy’s 16^th school year is officially up and running!