Inside IC Winter 2021

Issue 7 December 2021

Active Agent of Change Christian Altawil TL 5 student, addressed the very important audience consisting of the US Ambassador to Lebanon, Dorothy Shea, Former Deputy Minister Zeina Akar Adra, Vice Chairman of IC’s Board of Trustees, Imad Taher, Chair of IC’s Advancement Committee of the Board of Trustees, Mutaz Sawaf, IC President Joel Peinado and Director of the Jaber El Sabbah

public school, Ghada Azar. During the inauguration of the STEAM Innovation Center funded by USAID/ ASHA, Christian stated, that IC has encouraged him to “engage in community service projects that will allow me to act as an active agent of change and give back to my community.”

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Inauguration of the STEAM Innovation Center US ambassador to Lebanon, Dorothy Shea, was obviously captivated with IC’s new Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) Innovation Center as she toured the various rooms of Sage Hall and looked at the state-of-theart equipment during the inauguration ceremony on November 12, 2021.

“I am thrilled to be here and to help you inaugurate these amazing labs,” she said. “I had no idea how impressive this was going to be.”

The labs were funded by USAID’s (United States Agency for International Development) American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA) initiative, which assists overseas schools, libraries, and hospital centers to highlight American ideas and practices.

As Director of ERC (Educational Resources Center) and Director of Technology, Dr. Mahmud Shihab led the tour around the center explaining the functions of each room including Coding, Electronics and Digital Arts Lab; 3-D Design and Printing Lab, Makerspace, Laser Cutting, Drone Lab, LEGO Robotics Lab, Vex Robotics Lab, Audio Studio, and Film Studio. He explained that IC follows the ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) Standards designed to empower student voice and ensure that learning is a student-driven process by building global

collaborators, digital citizens, creative communicators, knowledge constructors, computational thinkers and innovative designers.

The inauguration of the center was a poignant moment for IC as the actual work in Sage Hall began two years ago and would have been ready for students’ use. Unfortunately, the center remained empty and unused as the October 2019 events and the pandemic kept students at home.

And then came the August 4 explosion, which caused considerable damage to the labs. Work had to start once again. After seeing pictures of the damage, Shea expressed her admiration for IC in keeping its high standard of education despite the economic collapse, the pandemic, and the blast.

“We congratulate IC for continuing to educate students in these challenging times,” she continued.

“We applaud your efforts.”

She also commended the efforts of IC to invite public and underprivileged schools in the area to use the STEAM center.

Taking the stand, IC President Joel Peinado probed into the skills, qualities, and knowledge that IC should impart to prepare its students for productive and successful lives.

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“Students need to be flexible and adaptable; therefore, they need to have empathy so that they understand issues and understand other people’s perspectives,” he said. “They need to be creative, inquirers, team workers, critical thinkers, and problem solvers.

Finally, they need to have highly developed emotional intelligence. And these are exactly the skills that IC will nurture in its new STEAM Innovation Center for IC’s students and students from schools with which IC will partner.”

Student Christian Tawil, a scholar student from the Ali Ghandour Center for Leadership, Diversity and Civic Engagement, also spoke, expressing his pleasure at knowing that the labs will be at the disposal of public school students.

Based on IC’s guiding statements, the STEAM center empowers students and guides them through an innovative learner-driven technology program. Ten state-of-the-art STEAM labs in Ras Beirut and Ain Aar campuses serve middle and secondary school students.

STEAM, an interdisciplinary hands-on future-focused learning approach, is an essential component in guiding learners to develop personal qualities and skills leading to international-mindedness, intellectual curiosity, adaptability, effective communication, creative expression, compassion, community building, responsible citizens, and an appreciation for cultural diversity.

It develops their ‘soft skills’ (personal characteristics that allow us to interact well with others) by encouraging them to ask questions, interview experts, collaborate in teams, and present their work to an audience. It allows them to explore their creativity

by giving them the opportunity to find solutions to problems that they may encounter in the real world.

The ‘A’ in STEAM stands for art. It sparks creativity, spatial awareness, observations, tones the different senses, adds beauty to any project, and expands students’ growth. A STEAM program must include artistic expression as it is central to the creative mindset of the approach. In addition, multimedia projects such as filmmaking, digital design, and photography now require scientific and technological skills.

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STEAM jobs are projected to continue growing at a very high rate. The need for creative problem-solving and innovative workers is at an all-time high. New graduates are expected to understand and function in a STEAM-driven environment. (To familiarize students with STEAM in their younger years, IC created ‘makerspaces’ - collaborative workspaces inside a school- and robotics and coding clubs in the Elementary School a few years ago).

IC educators have established a customized curriculum and allocated a well-trained group of teachers to implement the STEAM approach. Their main task is to design updated lessons as dictated by the ever-changing STEAM world. They will train and coordinate with other teachers to help “STEAM-ify” their lesson plans. The objective is to integrate STEAM components into all programs and at all levels at IC Ras Beirut and Ain Aar. The two centers in both campuses are equipped with the latest digital equipment, including computers, robots, electronic devices, digital design and 3D printing tools, woodworking and metalworking equipment, in addition to creative and professional software curriculum resources. Each activity has an allocated workspace with seating, tables, and presentation equipment.

The goal is to encourage students to become active learners. They will learn to design and implement their visions and ideas and build and present their prototypes to their communities. Students are encouraged to question the world around them, identify the problems, and confidently find ways to approach and solve them.

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Christmas Spirit at IC

A Call to Action This Christmas and Beyond This year at IC, it’s Christmas with a sustainable twist! As part of our “IC Responsibility” program, the school is launching the “Wrapping around Christmas” initiative.

Every year on Christmas, we produce as much as 83 Km2 of gift wrapping papers that are unfortunately not being correctly recycled. These gift wraps can cover four times the area of Beirut! The “Wrapping around Christmas” initiative aims at valorizing these gift wraps (waste) produced during Christmas through upcycling.

As an IC community (students, teachers, administration, staff members, and families), we invite you all this year to make a difference! How?

We encourage you to collect in a bag (and not throw away) the gift wraps you produce during this holiday season and bring them back with your kids when classes resume in January. These wraps will be disinfected appropriately at school and then used to produce sustainable objects (tables, laptop/mousepads, Mache paper for arts, indoor decorations, etc.), in collaboration with the arts’ departments of Ras Beirut and Ain Aar. These products will be kept and used at school in different areas (administration’s offices, teachers’ lounges, libraries, etc.) or ultimately sold next Christmas to collect donations. This initiative is original and innovative, given its sustainability aspect.

Let’s all take part in this responsible action and make this season as sustainable as possible!

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Christmas Spirit at IC

Santa’s Workshop In collaboration with a group of IB1 students, the preschool common areas and learning spaces were transformed into Santa’s workshop. Students had the chance to visit three of the following stations: Creative Art, Body percussion, the Puppet Show, Physical Activities and Fitness, and Storytelling. The IB1 students were dressed up as Santa and the team (Mrs. Claus, elves, gingerbread man, reindeer) to add to the joyful spirit.

The COVID-19 guidelines regarding usage of material and distancing, were taken into consideration.

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Christmas Spirit at IC

La cambo me fai mau Ain Aar Preschool and Lower Elementary festive song, “La cambo me fai mau” sung by the students.

Voices of the students are raised very high!

Wishing you and our beloved country a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year

Spreading Joy This Christmas As part of celebrating the upcoming Christmas holidays and spreading joy to the rest of the community, ESRB engaged in a series of activities, events and initiatives.

Our Visual Arts and Performing Arts teachers helped showcase the Christmas spirit by preparing a performance and Christmas songs and an Art exhibition by all grade levels. Meanwhile, our parents showed their generosity by giving food items and other non-perishables to be shared with other families in need, during these hard times.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Christmas Initiatives at Ain Aar

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Christmas Spirit at IC

La Parade de Noël à Ain Aar « Vive le vent, vive le vent, vive le vent d’hiver, qui s’en va sifflant, soufflant, dans les grands sapins verts. Vive le temps, vive le temps, vive le temps d’hiver, boule de neige et jour de l’an, et bonne année grand-mère. » Grands et petits, nous attendons tous impatiemment cette période très spéciale de l’année. Cette période qui nous rend tous plus heureux et plus festifs.

Le vendredi 10 décembre 2021, tous les élèves et tous les professeurs des classes de Petite Section jusqu’à la classe de CE2 à l’IC Ain Aar ont participé à la Parade de Noël. C’était un véritable succès

parce que tout le monde a chanté en Français, en Arabe et en Anglais en marchant autour de l’école.

Les élèves et leurs professeurs ont chanté et dansé sur des chansons de Noël avec beaucoup de joie, d’amour et d’enthousiasme. Nos voisins ont apprécié énormément cet évènement plein d’innocence et de bonheur et ils ont chanté avec nous à distance de leurs balcons. Nous vous souhaitons de très belles vacances pleines d’espoir et d’amour. « Joyeux, joyeux Noël, aux mille bougies, quand chantent dans le ciel, les cloches de la nuit. »

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Christmas Spirit at IC

Christmas Story Reading Christmas is just around the corner, and we can’t wait! A good Christmas story is a joy ride for the imagination!

Our Ain Aar Preschool library is always open. Even when our little ones are at home, we open our virtual doors and set a daily date for Christmas story reading.

Monday, December 6th to Thursday, December 16th, at 6:30 PM and from the comfort of their own homes, our students are one click away from joining “Christmas Story Time!” They can enjoy stories read in the three languages from under the Christmas tree by the teacher, librarian and other members of our school community. Stories are read and discussed.

Ideas are shared and honored, with maybe a few side conversations - here and there - that are always a great way for us all to connect.

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Independence Day at IC Students Learn to Appreciate the Culture and Uniqueness of Lebanon Independence day was an occasion to allow Ain Aar Middle School students to know and appreciate their country, its culture and its uniqueness. The objective of the activity was to emphasize Lebanon’s many unique features, such as products made in Lebanon and phrases and idioms that are special to our beloved country.

Throughout the activity, students deepened their sense of nationalism and belonging and spread positivity on this national day of pride.

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Independence Day at IC

A Charming and Pleasent Research

This year, at IC Ain Aar’s Preschool and Lower School, Independence Day was celebrated in a very special and authentic way. Each class participated in a 7-day challenge. Classes from KG1/MS to Grade 3/CE2 randomly picked a Lebanese city/ village from a jar containing names of different cities and villages around Lebanon. They research the selected place, inquired into its characteristics of their chosen area.

IC community members who wandered in the charmingly decorated hallways could observe the wonders of Jezzine, Beiteddine, Zahle, Batroun, Jeita, Jounieh, Cedars of God, Tripoli, Baalbeck, Saida, Faqra, Byblos, Tyr, and Beirut. What made the decorated hallways charming, pleasant, appealing, and amiable, is the fact that our little ones were involved in the process. They voiced

their thoughts and opinions out and decided which elements to include on the door and how to go about decorating. Not only that, our little ones took personal action. They returned home and told their parents about city/village they researched in class and what made it special. Some curious learners went on a weekend excursion to explore Byblos. Some other inquirers asked their parents if it was possible to plan a trip and visit the city/ village they learned about.

The culminating result was that despite the difficulties and challenges our country is currently facing, our explorers were able to celebrate Lebanese Independence Day and Lebanon in an imaginative and ingenious manner.

IC Ain Aar’s young learners are definitely proud of their beautiful nation!!

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Independence Day at IC

Unis sous les couleurs du drapeau libanais A l’occasion du Jour de l’Indépendance, les élèves de l’école élémentaire ont mis en couleur et en musique le drapeau libanais. Vêtus de rouge, vert et blanc, ils étaient tous unis sous les couleurs du drapeau libanais et ont été sensibilisés à la valorisation et à la protection du patrimoine.

Plant a Seed and Nurture it The future of any country depends on its students. Your perseverance and commitment to your life and your country will determine the future of Lebanon. At IC we plant a seed and nurture it. We watch it grow in you as you become responsible citizens capable of serving your country and impacting the world.

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‫«أريدك يا لبنان»‬ ‫بمناسبة ال ّذكرى الـ‪ 87‬لعيد استقالل لبنان في عام ‪،1943‬‬ ‫اإلنكليزي ب ‪B7‬‬ ‫السابع‬ ‫السابع‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫قام تالمذة ّ‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫الص ّف ّ‬ ‫والص ّف ّ‬ ‫الفرنسي س ‪ 5èmeC‬في مدرسة انترناشونال كولدج ‪ -‬رأس‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫بيروت بتصميم عرض شرائح في صف اللغة العرب ّية‪ .‬ص ّمم‬ ‫ك ّل طالب شريحته مع عبارة أو جملة للبنان تبدأ بـ"أريدك يا‬ ‫لبنان ‪ ."...‬وفي ذلك دعوة صادقة من القلب للنّهوض ونفض‬ ‫الصعاب والمِ َحن‪ .‬فكثي ًرا ما تواجهنا ظروف قاسية‬ ‫رماد ّ‬ ‫الغياب عن بيوتِنا وأوطانِنا‪ ،‬واالبتعادِ عنها‬ ‫َض َط ُّرنا إلى‬ ‫قد ت ْ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫أنفسنا عائدي َن إليها بمح ّبة‬ ‫د‬ ‫نج‬ ‫ّنا‬ ‫ن‬ ‫لك‬ ‫ا‬ ‫ي‬ ‫نفس‬ ‫أو‬ ‫ا‬ ‫جسد ًّي‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫ًّ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫وحنين بمج ّردِ أن تسن َح الفرص ُة بِذلك‪ .‬التّعلّ ُق‬ ‫بالبيت واألهلِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ويجب أن‬ ‫البيت والوطن مِ ن اإليمانِ ‪،‬‬ ‫وحب‬ ‫ضروري‪.‬‬ ‫والوطنِ‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫ُّ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫حب الوطنِ إلى التّضحية‬ ‫نشع َر باالنتماء إليهما‪ .‬أال يدف ُع بِنا ُّ‬ ‫الوطني‪.‬‬ ‫هم‬ ‫وحس‬ ‫والصبر واالرتقاء؟ فخورةٌ بتالمذتي‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫لينا المعلّم عويدات ‪ُ -‬مد ّرسة اللّغة العرب ّية‬

‫‪Issue 7 | December 2021‬‬

‫‪Independence Day at IC‬‬

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IC is committed to empowering its learners to become global citizen leaders of tomorrow thus ensuring its students are socially responsible. They are accountable for fulfilling their civic duty, and benefit the whole of society.

At IC, Social Responsibility is integrated in the learning, school strategies and plans. It encompasses all school subjects and extends far beyond the classroom. It gives students real-world skills they can use to improve the planet and provides them with the self-sufficiency they need for tomorrow.

Through the Ali Ghandour Center’s program, students are mentored through a sequenced journey, beginning with extensive volunteering with an array of grassroots organizations and culminating with students leading Community Service Projects.

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IC Responsibility

Honor Code Campaign International College promotes an environment of honesty, respect, responsibility and trust. It encourages students to take pride in themselves, their talent and ability, their school, their teachers and classmates. The following are conduct and honor expectations for all IC students.

Honesty • A commitment to truthful words and actions • A commitment to academic honesty and integrity Respect • A commitment to appreciate others, their views, and values • A commitment to honorable and respectful behavior • Attending all classes on time, contributing positively to discussions, meeting academic deadlines, and performing to the best of one’s ability • Following school and classroom rules and procedures Responsibility • Assuming ownership for one’s work, words, deeds, and actions • Exercising personal courage to do the “right” thing by taking action against wrongdoing, regardless of peer pressure • Accepting accountability for one’s choices Compassion • Exhibiting kindness, caring, and a willingness to help others • Having empathy for the feelings and emotions of others

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IC Responsibility

The Ali Ghandour Center for Leadership Diversity and Civic Engagement (AGC) The Ali Ghandour Center for Leadership, Diversity, and Civic Engagement (AGC) is now in its 3rd year and on track to graduate its first cohort! The AGC, for those who aren’t familiar, is a program jointly funded

by IC and the Ghandour Family that offers a threeyear extracurricular intensive leadership and social citizenship program for IC Secondary School students.

Half of the program’s participants are scholars recruited from underserved schools and communities across Lebanon who receive tuition assistance to attend IC under the tutelage of the AGC. The program is rooted in a Community Engaged Learning (CEL) model, which aims to educate students through socially impactful, reciprocal, and hands-on learning experiences to support them in becoming agents of change. The AGC program reinforces the IC’s ethos

and mission “to empower learners to take initiative, think critically, and serve as role models in a global society.” The program is divided into three levels, each building on skills and insights from the years prior.

Level 1 (Grade 10) fosters students’ soft skills, like creative thinking, problem solving, and teamwork, through tailored training sessions. Participating students are also required to volunteer for a wellestablished grassroots organization of their choice to gain exposure to social outreach and successfully reach leadership and civic engagement milestones, with a special focus on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The AGC team was thrilled by the high number of grade 10 applicants for the 2021-22 academic year and their impressive presentations! In order to accommodate

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IC Responsibility

the demand and the different levels of skills and commitment demonstrated by the applicants, we are offering a new branch of the program: the “One Year Certificate Program”, in addition to the existing “Three Year Diploma Program”. The main difference between the two programs is the level of commitment required and rigorousness of capacity building components.

Level 2 (Grade 11) students continue to cultivate their civic awareness and soft skills. They start developing their own Community Service Projects (CSP) and work in teams to conceive of, design, and implement their own social outreach initiative that benefits the Beirut community writ-large. Alongside their CSPs, students are taught on how to assess the needs of their society with and for the communities through a mutually beneficial relationship.

The AGC Level 2 students began the 2021-22 year by attending several “Project Planning and Proposal Writing” workshops. During these sessions students learned how to gather accurate information and data to identify the needs of a community and determine issues for action, a necessary first step in designing and planning CSPs. This fall, the AGC also collaborated with the Center for Civic Engagement and Community Service (CCECS) at the American University of Beirut (AUB). Through this collaboration, the students were

introduced to the CCECS’ scope of work and were paired with AUB students based on interests for a mentorship opportunity.

Five groups have since been created. Their projects focus on the following themes: sustainable environment, health care, differently abled persons, public health, street insecurity, and livelihoods and mainly targeting senior citizens, people with physical disabilities, public schools, and teenage girls. The projects will be carefully designed and implemented on a larger-scale throughout the next year and a half.

Level 3 (Grade 12) Third-year AGC participants are in the final stage of their capstone projects. The students brought their leadership and management skills to life by working in small groups to envision and realize innovative solutions for real-life problems in the Lebanese context. Their projects address issues of electricity, pollution and the environment, and the isolation of senior citizens and related mental health struggles. You can learn more about these incredible initiatives by visiting their Instagram accounts “Pedal Power”, “Climinds”, and “SAWA”.

The AGC is now home for a group of motivated, creative, engaged, and civically aware students who will soon become agents of change in their community. Our students’ energy and drive positions the center for a strong year ahead!

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IC Responsibility

First Aid Training with the Lebanese Red Cross:

Life Skills for Responsible Citizens

Within the context of the Civic Commitment and Service Learning Program’s (CC&SLP) Life Skills programing, Grade 10 students attended the first day-long workshop, a first aid training with the Lebanese Red Cross. The training is designed to educate all Grade 10 students on the core principles of first aid, introduce them to a number of life-saving skills and outline how to respond in an emergency situation.

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IC Responsibility

Quality Education:

a Right for Every Child The Secondary School Civic Commitment and Service - Learning Program Team collaborated with the NGO Bassma for the “Back to School” campaign, in order to provide less advantaged students with the essential school supplies and to ensure they have the necessary tools to excel upon their return to school.

The NGO Fair, an Engaging Experience by All Means!

The Secondary School Civic Commitment and Service - Learning program hosted its annual NGO Fair on Tuesday, December 7th. More than 10 NGOs took part in the event. Students, from different grades and programs, had the opportunity to meet with various NGOs, learn about their work, and get inspiration for their own volunteering experience and design their community support projects.

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IC Responsibility

An Initiative by the Ain Aar Middle School As an IC graduate with only the fondest and happiest memories of my time at school, I decided to visit the Ain Aar campus again for the first time in almost ten years. Overcome with nostalgia and reminiscence, I walked down to the playground that I spent so much of my time in, and saw students gathered round, talking and interacting with one another.

This was the first session of the newly instated Community Service program’s ‘Play it Fair’ initiative, in collaboration with the Lebanese Red Cross Youth.

The theme for this session was Cooperation. The Standing Committee – comprised of students who volunteered to lead the community service initiative at Ain Aar – interacted and took part in the various games and discussions, making it noticeable to those

observing that they were energetic and eager to learn.

These students will then take the skills and lessons they have learned from these sessions and pass them on to their fellow students, as well as apply them to different life situations.

The activities presented gave the students a chance to put into practice skills and traits such as leadership, communication, critical reflection, respect, empathy, trust and positive values.

I only wish that these initiatives were present at my time because it was truly an honour to observe how IC takes an active role in shaping and building up the leaders of tomorrow.

Juliette Jabra Class of 2015

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IC Responsibility

IC Students Take Part in the Earth Prize Competition

Under its IC Responsibility initiative, IC has registered this year to the Earth Prize competition (https://www.theearthprize.org/) organized by the Earth Foundation (https://earth-foundation.org/).

It’s an international competition between schools worldwide, revolving around environmental sustainability. More than 90 schools are participating.

At IC, 2 groups of students from the secondary

school in Ras Beirut have registered. Both groups are currently developing innovative solutions tackling current local and/or global environmental challenges. Students are engaged, passionate and committed. They will submit their project proposals by the end of January to the Earth Foundation. If shortlisted, they will take their project to the next level and start communicating, advertising, and implementing their idea. Good luck!

Lifesaving Box CCCL’s Lifesaving Box is a new fun fundraising concept created by the Children Cancer Center (CCCL) to encourage the young generation to combine their creativity and their social responsibility!

AT IC Ain Aar, all Grade 4 to Grade 9 students got engaged by creating a piggy bank (tire-lire) made from recyclable material and collecting money to hand to the Children Cancer Center of Lebanon to support the children.

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IC Responsibility

Student Council Representatives The Upper School Student Council representatives, in addition to representing their respective classes, have also opted to serve on a committee at school, in order to assume more responsibilities that are global. They have chosen to participate in School Life, Community Service or on the Sustainability committee. Some representatives have taken on an extra responsibility as “intermediaries” at the football pitch during recess time, while playing and interacting with other students. A much-appreciated initiative!

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IC Responsibility

AGC Students Take Part in the AUB Neighborhood Initiative On Sunday November 7th, the AGC students took part in cleaning Bliss street (the area around IC) in an event coordinated by the AUB Neighborhood Initiative in collaboration with other schools and NGOs. The aim of engaging our students in this activity is to highlight the issue of littering and garbage and reflect implementing more longterm sustainable solutions.

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IC Sustainability

Ziad Abi Chaker’s Actions Speak Louder than words How many plastic bags do you need to make an eco-board? How do the shredded pieces of plastic transform into eco-boards? What makes the eco-board sustainable? Ain Aar Grade 2 and CE1 children bombarded Mr. Ziad Abi Chaker with tons of questions as embarked on the Who We Are unit.

Who better than Mr. “lead by example” (Mr. Abi Chaker) to help students understand the central idea: Our individual characteristics help us make a contribution to our community. He explained to us that by thinking of waste as a resource, we can help solve the garbage crisis in our country and help save our planet. The children were extremely impressed by his creativity and his determination.

As a result, they currently continually refer to him and his perseverance when they face a problem.

They also quote him frequently in class and repeat “actions count”.

Thank you, Mr. Abi Chaker, for making a difference and inspiring the youth of Lebanon.

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IC Sustainability

SDGs Presentations In the ID&SLP class students of Grade 11 Lebanese and CPP programs were introduced to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In groups of 4-5, students each selected 3 SDGs of their choice and researched their meaning, scopes and targets, before presenting their findings to their respective coaches. Students carefully depicted how these SDGs were interrelated and showed important statistics and data related to these SDGs on global and local levels.

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Ain Aar News

Les Aztèques Connaissez-vous les Aztèques? May Harb, élève de CE2 de Ain Aar nous explique qui sont-ils et d’où est ce qu’ils viennent.

Faites attention, vous devez répondre aux questions qu’elle pose à la fin de la présentation.

Courage !

A l’IC, l’apprentissage des élèves est lié au monde réel. Il s’est toujours étendu au-delà des quatre murs de la classe. Les apprenants conçoivent des projets pour de vrais publics, avec des concours, des présentations et d’autres expositions authentiques d’apprentissage.

Des moments de musique Les élèves du Upper Elementary et Middle School de Ain Aar vous présentent des moments de musique.

Un moment de chant, d’échange, d’écoute, de rythme et de projets de classe.

Le thème musical de cette vidéo est aussi une création et un enregistrement de nos élèves de 3ème A.

Monday Morning PA Announcements SincethebeginningofNovember,wereestablished the Monday morning announcements at Ain Aar. In addition to singing the National Anthem and Alma Mater, a Student Council representative shares new with the community. Some of the topics tackled: Independence Day, I am IC, Christmas projects …

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Ain Aar News

La Sainte Barbe à Ain Aar Célébration ! Célébration !

Princesse, Spiderman, Obélix, clown … des déguisements de tout genre pour célébrer une fête pas comme les autres… Une fête à laquelle participent grands et petits pour aller dans le monde de l’imaginaire et avoir la joie au cœur, sûrement

vous avez deviné que c’est la fête de la Sainte Barbe.

Le préscolaire et l’élémentaire à l’IC Ain Aar l’ont célébrée cette année au terrain Al Mulla avec un défilé pour apprécier l’originalité des costumes. Chants, applaudissements et joie régnaient pour confirmer notre attachement à nos coutumes et à notre culture.

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Ain Aar News

Ain Aar Founders’ Day On Tuesday, November 30th, IC Ain Aar celebrated IC’s Founders’ Day. To launch the celebration, our young learners sang the Lebanese National Anthem followed by the IC Alma Matter. Next, our director, Mrs. Zeina Abou Khalil, engaged the learners in a variety of activities related to IC’s history and development. IC alumni members were invited to take part in our virtual celebration. Alumni parents, students, and faculty members shared their IC stories.

The celebration brought back many beautiful memories and strong emotions. These memories marked the alumni as students and defined who they are today as adults. The students sensed the strong bond and pride that the alumni developed towards their school.

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Ain Aar Upper School News

L’immigration Dans le cadre de l’unité de recherche sur l’immigration, les élèves de CM1 et Grade 4 de Ain Aar ont interviewé Maroun Salim, un étudiant parti en France, à Poitiers, pour étudier.

Le carnet de lecture Le carnet de lecture permet à chaque enfant de garder une trace de ses lectures tout au long de son parcours scolaire.

Ecoutons ensemble les lectures des élèves de la Middle School de Ain Aar.

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Ras Beirut Preschool

Earth Life Cycles Under the theme, How the world works, Nursery students explore the natural world and its laws, focusing on how behaviors are impacted by natural cycles. On a nature walk around the campus as frontloading for the new unit of inquiry, children walked around the school and observed their interactions with the environment. They noticed

plants and trees, different sounds, and elements of nature. They listened to birds chirping and collected natural items like: leaves, rocks and sticks. These will be our starting point to launch further exploration and discoveries to help them understand the connection between changing natural cycles and behaviors.

Change Change might be scary for some people. By definition, change is the act of process of when something becomes different. It is dynamic; it is also transitional and transformational. Joining a new place might be overwhelming. However, change in a place with a vision and a mission is neither scary nor overwhelming.

When members of the community collaboratively join forces and are in unison, the transition is smooth and solid. How does joining IC look like and feel like? This experience is described by sustainability and continuous growth. This includes development and striving towards excellence for all members: students, teachers, parents and leaders. This continues to be visible through core values and striving towards enhancement of best practices and engagement for all.

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Ras Beirut Preschool

Mark Making-On the Road to Writing Children have an innate drive to explore and experiment.

They make sense of the world through making marks and we have begun this investigation with various writing utensils. Through rich multi-sensory and physical learning experiences, students start understanding symbols. The scribbles that they make are the starting point of their writing journey. Kindly check the video to the right to see the writing progression in action. This well-designed progression allows students to move from pre-writing into writing. It promotes eye hand coordination, creativity, and communication. Initially children take pleasure from the physical activity of mark making, but as they develop, they realize that they can control their marks and their creativity starts to thrive.

Hundred Languages “A hundred, always a hundred ways of listening, of marveling, of loving, a hundred joys for singing and understanding, a hundred worlds to discover, a hundred worlds to invent, a hundred worlds to dream. The child has a hundred languages and a hundred, hundred, hundred more” (Loris Malaguzzi, Reggio Emilia Approach).

During the hundred languages classes, preschoolers engage in experiences that help them respond, express and create by learning about, and through, music and visual arts. They are immersed in authentic experiences that deepen and broaden their understanding of the arts.

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Ras Beirut Preschool

Agentic Learners How do we promote research skills in our children?

How do we empower our students to think and ask questions, to investigate their queries, and to use their observational skills to collect data? And how do we help them make connections and reach generalizations?

These are all questions that our preschool teachers critically reflect on. Below is a learning story that the preschool team would like to share. It shows how our young preschoolers are researchers who pose questions, identify hypotheses, collect data, and then come up with conclusions.

During the Who We Are unit, the KG1/MS students inquired into how interactions impact relationships.

In one of the Moyenne Section classes, the students decided to observe the interactions between the Petite Section students during centers.

The Moyenne Section students were fascinated to see that the Petite Section students were interacting positively with each other. They observed them taking turns, communicating, and sharing. The teachers

then decided to create a problematic situation by removing some toys.

The Moyenne Section students watched, as their younger peers grew uncomfortable due to the limited number and availability of toys and resources.

The Moyenne Section students suspected a conflict would arise and the Petite Section would start to argue over the remaining toys. They noticed that the Petite Section students were less engaged and dissatisfied with the situation. Having questioned how actions affect relationships, the older students decided to take action and teach the younger ones how they can all play together. They played a game with them whereby they had to share the toys available.

This learning story written from the teachers’ perspective shows how the students are actively involved and committed to supporting their peers in the learning community. Despite the fact that the Moyenne Section students’ aim was to simply observe and collect information, they felt the responsibility to take action and support others.

The Youngest of Learners Protect All Living Things A small action can make a huge difference! How do we keep Earth safe and healthy? What can we do to protect animals and plants? What about ways to save water? These are questions asked in Nursery as we explored both Sharing the Planet and How the World Works. The youngest of learners came up with individual action plans and drew them on posters. They then presented their action plans to their classmates.

Actions ranged from keeping the oceans clean, to picking up trash, recycling, as well as making sure to

throw garbage in bins and not on the road. Next, the little water superheroes drew ways to save water, from turning off the faucets to using old water in bottles to water plants. To raise awareness, the students made sure to hang their posters in places around the house that can be seen or sent pictures of their action plans to families and friends. Even though the youngest of learners decided to make small changes, starting from their homes, they have big ideas to save Earth’s water and protect all living things!

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Ras Beirut Preschool

Blended Learning at Preschool COVID-19 brought distress and augmented life’s uncertainties; however, the situation also presented an opportunity to transport school into the new digital era. Blended learning within a brick-and-mortar environment is being implemented. Station rotation is one of the models that is being used in some classes.

Students work independently in an online station where they engage in self-paced learning. We are very proud of this initiative! Implementing it will extend our understanding of blended learning further as the teachers tweak and modify the model according to their students’ needs.

Assessment Capable Learners As educators, our goal is to nurture lifelong learners who are self-driven and motivated. The term lifelong learners is used in different contexts and sometimes it is difficult to describe what it entails.

Lifelong learners are agentic inquirers who seek to continuously develop their potential. They are assessment capable students who have the ability to move from self-assessment to self-adjustment.

Such learners are aware of the learning goals, monitor their progress, reflect on their learning, and set personal goals to extend their education.

I would like to share with you an example of how our teachers nurture the above-mentioned capabilities. The KG2 students are inquiring into the concept of choices and healthy lifestyles.

Through rich learning engagements, they were able to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy food. They examined their lunchboxes, assessed

how healthy their snacks were, and then set goals for themselves regarding what to bring the following day. Seeing how the children reflect on their learning and make informed decisions is always rewarding, as it proves that our students are fulfilling IC’s mission.

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Ras Beirut Elementary School

Message of ESRB Director, Kathy Khayatt As we approach the holiday season, one cannot but reflect on all that has been going on since we started school. Until the first day when we saw the teachers and then the students, the many scenarios we created for this school year continued to be points of discussion.

Online? Hybrid? Full face to face?

The challenges of each scenario and the genuine nostalgia for what it meant to have a regular school environment with children and teachers in the same room kept us all apprehensive. Finally, it was confirmed: we will be back to school face to face.

I have never been happier to see children running in a corridor, talking to me face to face and not through a screen, enjoying the small things of being able to see their teacher and their classmates. All of this made the start of the school year an immensely positive one.

At Elementary school in Ras Beirut, we have continued to build on this positivity despite all the challenges.

The students settled in well after a long period of confinement and isolation. Though challenging, the teachers spent a significant amount of time on building school habits again while teaching, but for all of us we’d rather have the children at school with us than see them through a screen.

In the absence of being able to have performances and gatherings in the auditorium, we tried to celebrate the

return of the children and normal school life through creating monthly theme days which added a smile on the face of the children and the adults in the school.

We had our Independence Day celebration, and we will also have a small Christmas celebration before the break. Of course, we miss having the parents as our guests for these occasions, but for now there is not much we can do about this, so we make sure that we share our days with the community through our social media platforms.

I wish you all a relaxing and safe holiday, a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Séance de Yoga avec les élèves de CP

Dans le cadre de notre unité de recherche “Qui nous sommes” , nous avons invité Miss Lulia Turk pour animer une séance de Yoga . Durant cette séance, les élèves ont découvert 3 techniques de respiration pour développer leurs compétences d’autogestion en apprenant à gérer leurs émotions.

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Ras Beirut Elementary School

Zoom Session with Lebanese Basketball Player Wael Arakji in Gr4 To support the first and third lines of inquiry of our unit “Where We Are In Place and Time” (reasons why people migrate, and effects of migration on communities), we invited the Lebanese Basketball Player Wael Arakji, who currently resides in Kuwait, to share his experiences.

The students were very excited and engaged in the discussion, asking questions and taking notes. After the zoom session, they reflected on what they had learned.

Crazy Face Paint Day” ESRB has monthly theme days! October was “Crazy Face Paint Day”, and students and teachers showed their creativity by painting their faces with lots of spooky and fun designs.

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Ras Beirut Elementary School

Captain Rola Hoteit Grade 2 Visit Empowering Women in Our Community As part of their unit, Who We Are, Grade 2 team invited Captain Rola Hoteit to speak to the students about her achievements and challenges faced during her journey in becoming one of the first Lebanese female commercial pilots. The children listened to her story in awe of her success and enthusiastically participated in a Q&A session afterwards. Many were so inspired that they expressed their own dreams of becoming a pilot or entrepreneur. We hope that this opportunity planted one of many seeds in our children to become impactful global citizens, and we will always encourage them to pursue their dreams, no matter what challenges they see ahead.

Zoom Live Webinar with the International Peace Institute, MENA Bahrain Grade 2 was invited to participate in an International Peace Institute live webinar, addressing MENA’s Youth and the Environment. Students heard welcome remarks

by Mr. Nejib Friji, Director of the IPI MENA Bahrain, and listened to a reading of “Tom Alien and the Plastic Mess’’

by Sara Ghannoum. The children participated in a small discussion along with other students from the MENA region on the environment and the big role young people play in saving it. We hope such experiences help to instill a greater sense of responsibility that our children need in order to face the global environmental challenges of future generations.

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Ras Beirut Middle School

MSRB Journalism Club Since returning back to IC after the summer break, a small group of students - Tamer Imad (Grade 9), Lana Rabah (Grade 10), Aya Safa (Grade 9) and Jana Younis (Grade 8) - have regularly attended a journalism club every Tuesday after school. They have achieved so much in their own time to produce articles that are a pure student voice. The students have researched for their articles using Google Forms during their

Advisory sessions, interviewed members of the public to report back a truth, that they wish to voice, and practice their young, budding thirst for being a journalist using the skills they have learnt from attending the club. Their dedication makes me feel a sense of pride.

Club Advisor Ms. Kelly Harris

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Secondary School News

Council of Student Leaders 2021-2022 The election of the 80 class leaders On October 5th, Mr. Chirazi and Mrs. Jibaii launched the election process for the Council of Student Leaders (CSL) for Grades 10, 11, and 12. Interested students completed an online application form that was forwarded to their class advisor and the Student Life Leadership Team. Eligible candidates prepared a speech that was delivered to their classmates on October 12th. Students voted for their class leaders at the end of the advisory session. Two students from each of the 40 secondary school classes were elected as the class leaders.

The election of the four Student Program Leaders On November 10th , an email was sent to the Grade 12 Student Leaders inviting them to apply to become one of the four Student Program Leaders (SPLs).

Once their candidacy was approved, the candidates met with Dr. Khairallah, Mr. Chirazi, and Ms. Jibaii, to go over the expectations for the campaign. They were also informed of the role and of the responsibilities

of the Program Leaders to include chairing the CSL Leadership group and acting as the liaisons between the students of their program and the Secondary School Administration, as well as serving as student representatives at official IC events and/or when welcoming official delegations and dignitaries to the campus. The candidates were given the green light to start their online campaign and were asked to submit a 90-second video that creatively outlines their program. They took part in an online panel where they were asked to answer one common question.

The videos were screened during the advisory period on November 16th. Our students had the chance to celebrate during the lunch break at the green field where they danced and cheered. The online voting started at 2:30 pm and the polls were closed at 6:05 pm. The results were announced on November 17th at the lunch break.

The following is the list of the Council of Student Leaders for the academic year 2021-22.

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Secondary School News

Name

Student Program Leader

Class

Karim Baraké

International Baccalaureate Program

IB2 E

Mark Hadife

French Baccalaureate Program

Tle 1

Celine Slim

Lebanese Baccalaureate Program

GSE

Talia Tannir

College Preparatory Program

12 CPP

Name

Lebanese Baccaluareate Program

Class

Tamaya Zaidan

Grade 10

5th A

Mazen Jaber

Grade 10

5th A

Katelyn Fawaz

Grade 10

5th B

Arek Bedros Kalaydjian

Grade 10

5th B

Berj Hadjinian

Grade 10

5th C

Aya Labban

Grade 10

5th C

Hind Mourad

Grade 11

6th B

Sam Chaaban

Grade 11

6th B

Hadi Kanso

Grade 12

ESE

Ryan Chidiac

Grade 12

ESE

Celine Slim

Grade 12

GSE

Malik El Sabbagh

Grade 12

GSE

Mia Mawla

Grade 12

LSE

Mohamad Ali Wehbe

Grade 12

LSE

Name

College Preperatory Program

Class

Raya Arakji

Grade 10

10 CPP 1

Leah Wali

Grade 10

10 CPP 1

Naya Jomaa

Grade 10

10 CPP 2

Jad Abbas

Grade 10

10 CPP 2

Hatem Madi

Grade 10

10 CPP 3

Raya Abdul Rassoul

Grade 10

10 CPP 3

Hadi Chahrour

Grade 10

10 CPP 4

Layla Ayass

Grade 10

10 CPP 4

Jude Chahine

Grade 10

10 CPP 5

Lana Rabah

Grade 10

10 CPP 5

Thea Bakkir

Grade 11

11 CPP

Talal Dagher

Grade 11

11 CPP

Amer Mashmoushi

Grade 12

12 CPP

Talia Tannir

Grade 12

12 CPP

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Secondary School News

Name

French Baccalaureate Program

Class

Maria Diab

Grade 10

2nde C

Mohamad Sinno

Grade 10

2nde C

Luka Chirazi

Grade 10

2nde D

Chahine Ephrem Boustani

Grade 10

2nde D

Yasma Abdouni

Grade 10

2nde E

Elias Azar

Grade 10

2nde E

Clara Maria Zantout

Grade 10

2nde F

Tarek Nassar

Grade 10

2nde F

Aya Fawaz

Grade 11

2nde G

Rena Maria Papadopoulo

Grade 11

2nde G

Sari Naamani

Grade 11

1re 1

Kinda Siblani

Grade 11

1re 1

ClaraNour Bekhazi

Grade 11

1re 2

Joseph Abousleiman

Grade 11

1re 2

Adam Serhal

Grade 11

1re 3

Joanna Atallah

Grade 11

1re 3

Adnan Kassar

Grade 11

1re 4

Kim Khoury Awad

Grade 11

1re 4

Andrea Azzi

Grade 11

1re 5

Laura Sehnaoui

Grade 11

1re 5

Mark Hadife

Grade 12

Tle 1

Thalia Zorkot

Grade 12

Tle 1

Omar Natour

Grade 12

Tle 2

Aya Noueihed

Grade 12

Tle 2

Mohamad Saadeh

Grade 12

Tle 3

Lea Asfahani

Grade 12

Tle 3

Alex Matar

Grade 12

Tle 4

Aya Chatila

Grade 12

Tle 4

Ahmad Choujaa

Grade 12

Tle 5

Souraya Matta

Grade 12

Tle 5

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Secondary School News

Name

International Baccalaureate Program

Class

Ziad Mattar

Grade 11

IB 1 A

Syrine Assi

Grade 11

IB 1 A

Yahya El Hariri

Grade 11

IB 1 B

Chelsea Haddad

Grade 11

IB 1 B

Hadi Zoghaib

Grade 11

IB 1 C

Yara Kharrat

Grade 11

IB 1 C

Nadim Ezzeddine

Grade 11

IB 1 D

Samaya Soufi

Grade 11

IB 1 D

Michel Omar Shammaa

Grade 11

IB 1 E

Eana Melki

Grade 11

IB 1 E

Fahd Chehabeddine

Grade 11

IB 1 F

Nassim Abou Habib

Grade 11

IB 1 F

Nicolas Satel

Grade 12

IB 2 A

Sasha Jneinati

Grade 12

IB 2 A

Daniella Asfour

Grade 12

IB 2 B

Rayan Saoud

Grade 12

IB 2 B

Lana Alashkar

Grade 12

IB 2 C

Kim Dahan

Grade 12

IB 2 C

Mageda Hajj

Grade 12

IB 2 D

Mounir Arayssi

Grade 12

IB 2 D

Karim Baraké

Grade 12

IB 2 E

Sophia Hajali

Grade 12

IB 2 E

Congratulations to all the CSL candidates for demonstrating honesty, compassion, responsibility, and respect during the campaigning month.

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Secondary School News

IC Athletics The athletic program kicked-off the 2021-22 season on October 11th with +550 students trying out via social-distanced training sessions for Football – Ultimate Frisbee – Track & Field – Archery – Swimming – Tennis programs for Phase 1 at RasBeirut. The Phase 1 program covers grades 5-12 IC’s outdoor sports facilities including the brand new Greenfield. Swimming classes are taking place at LAU-Beirut.

All indoors after-school athletic activities are on hold, pending the decision of the Ministry of Education.

Online Exchange Program IB students were selected by their French teacher, Mrs. Ghinwa Sabra, to participate in an online exchange program with Woodstock College in the US and two other schools in Tunisia. This program is a cultural exchange where students will have the opportunity

to communicate in French with students of their age, discover and connect with new cultures, traditions, and background. This is a foundational aspect of the IB DP program where IB students are trained to be open-minded, tolerant, and inquisitive global citizens.

At the end, all the participating students will create a podcast related to the project.

The exchange program is spread over four sessions.

Each session will last for 90 minutes. Students are divided into groups of three, in which they engage in discussions facilitated by participating teachers and supervisors.

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Secondary School News

Lebanese Universities Fair IC organized the Lebanese Universities Fair giving students the opportunity to explore the admission process, academic offerings and collegiate experiences of different Lebanese universities.

American University, Notre Dame University, Université La Sagesse, Université Saint-Esprit de Kaslik, Université Saint –Joseph, and University of Balamand.

Students, from Grades 10-12 got the chance to meet representatives from the American University of Beirut, Ecole Supérieur des Affaires, Lebanese

They learned about all the different colleges and what they had to offer and gained a better understanding of the schools’ unique application processes.

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Congratulations

Congratulations Leen Bou Alia IBII student and Ali Ghandour scholar, Leen Bou Alia won the Rakiza’s Value and Values award. Rakiza is a Lebanese NGO dedicated to furthering economic opportunities for the financially disadvantaged in the Arab world.

Over 100 people applied to the award.

In her essay, Leen emphasized how cultural and creative industries create value in the economy: “By promoting our rich culture and developing neglected museums, sports clubs and natural historic attractions, Lebanon can once again earn its moniker “Switzerland of the Middles East”. These industries are not only able to decrease the unemployment rate, but also boost tourism and improve our production possibility curve by unlocking new potential in our young artists and musicians, the core of our economic comeback.”

Mabrouk Christopher!

For the third year in a row, Christopher Rahbani, An Ain Aar Garde 8 students, topped his field and grabbed the title of Lebanese Champion in horseback riding.

Mabrouk Christopher!

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Congratulations Sara Mahfouz, Winner of the Bronze Panther Award for Artistic Excellence The ACI Biennial organizes a yearly event for students who are interested in art and in expressing their ideas creatively using a variety of visual forms reflecting current and universal events. The artworks from SEV American High School, Athens, Sofia, and Beirut of different grade levels were submitted virtually.

The most technically accomplished productions selected by the jury were awarded a Certificate of Selection and all participants received Certificates of Recognition.

The Secondary School is proud to announce that our esteemed and creative Sara Mahfouz, a student in 1ère Option Arts Plastiques/French Baccalaureate Program, was granted the Bronze Panther Award for Artistic Excellence/Special Mention for her ingenious painting “The Spirit Prevails”.

Let’s give a big round of applause for Sara’s masterpiece!

“The painting is based on a photography of a real Syrian girl, who has been forced to flee her homeland and became a refugee, facing impossible choices about her future, suffering the negative impacts of the war, ripped from her culture and loved ones, facing lack of food, health, care, housing and education.

This young girl represents thousands of children who became prisoners of their fate, forced to live a strange life poured in and found safe haven. The look of despair, sadness and uncertainty is draining her soul into an never ending exhausting struggle”.

Selected works for this entire exhibition is presented online, linked to a virtual exhibition space. https:// www.artsteps.com/view/60c60893e8bbbb882a8f99a9

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Yearly IC Calendar

The Art Department is proud to release the yearly IC Calendar, entitled Un Zeste d’Art, A Sprinkle of Art. Against all odds, and despite all the difficulties, we were able to deliver this colorful assemblage of our students’ work, from Preschool to Secondary, from Ain Aar to Ras Beirut, that is guaranteed to brighten your days!

A big thank you to all those who made this possible, especially Mr. Peinado, Mrs. Mufarrij, Art teachers and most importantly the students.

Health and Safety In its commitment to keep its students, faculty and staff safe, IC organized a training session for nurses, PE teachers and athletic trainers on the use of the Automatic External Defibrillators (AED) that may be used in emergency situations when sudden cardiac arrest occurs.

Ten AEDs are installed at both campuses. The AED used on Campus is an automated external defibrillator (AED) that uses voice prompts and visual indicators to guide the rescuer through a resuscitation sequence that may include defibrillation and/or cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

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Faculty & Staff News

In Service Art All College Meeting On Thursday November 18th during the last session of the In-Service day, Carine Arayssi Saad, Head of the Art Department, invited Ms. Souraya Naamani, an Oxford Certified Mindfulness trainer to guide the Art Department through a much needed session on Mindfulness.

Ras Beirut teachers attended in person while Ain Aar teachers attended through Zoom.

Ms. Naamani started the session by “We live in a frantic world, trying to keep balanced and sane as much as we can. We try to take care of our well being by doing all sorts of activities such as exercising, going out with friends, hiking, reading, etc… but when did we really take care of our mind? That mind that we rely upon to feel well, happy , content, focused, creative…When was the last time we checked in with ourselves? Although

we are called human BEINGS, we don’t allow ourselves to just BE. We are all the time busy doing , fixing and striving. With mindfulness, we learn how to be. We learn to witness our mind and embrace all its facets. We cannot control what happens around us but we can control our relationship to what life throws at us.

Mindfulness helps us reframe our mindset and cultivate attitudes that would help us deal with situations skillfully.

As teachers, you consume a lot of energy during the day delivering to the kids. It is only normal that you need to replenish this energy. Self care does not only help you recharge but also sensitize you more to the classroom and to all the interactions happening around you”.

We all felt that such sessions were much needed, both for us and for our students. Teachers suggested that we continue with this learning and do this more frequently.

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Faculty & Staff News

A Series of Workshops Middle school teachers were engaged in a series of workshops dedicated to each department (Art, Music, Social Studies, English, Arabic, Math, Science, Technology). This was prepared by the Middle School Learning Support teacher Ms. Bahera Abbas. After two years of online learning, teachers and students needed a restorative practice approach. Ms. Bahera planned the workshop focusing on the socio-emotional aspect.

The workshop began with relaxing music and included treats and coffee breaks. It was a fun, engaging and informative activity.

The activity implemented was called Carousel/ Graffiti walk, an interactive student-centered activity. Students with various difficulties to improve their active listening and collaboration skills, and foster their mastery of concepts. Moving from one station to another helps students with ADHD stay focused and allows them necessary walking breaks without feeling excluded. This activity focuses on executive function skills, working memory, organization skills and verbal expression skills.

Teachers were engaged in a fun working environment. The area had 4 stations, each representing a learning difficulty. Each learning difficulty had a clear description of the challenges facing the diagnosed student and tools that can

be used to accommodate their needs. On each station there was a fortune cookie representing the surprise factor that reveals the learning difficulty.

Teachers were able to differentiate the activities and lessons considering each strength and challenge area for different learning difficulty cases. Following the BBL (Brain Based Learning Strategy) which takes into consideration students cognitive development. For example:

• Skills embedded in spatial memory • Engaging students by expressing and talking • Emotions • Visuals • Using the entire physiology • Involving both focused and peripheral perception • Learning by actively paying attention • Following the learning style that suits students better

• Searching for the multiple intelligence in students

• Minimizing the cognitive load (example, reading something new and when multitasking)

• Students may have preferences, we will look at multiple pathways.

• Broaden our strategies with invisible pathways: sensory motor (visual, auditory, speech writing, motor), emotions, attention/memory

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Faculty & Staff News

Teachers excelled had so much fun visualizing the importance of reaching the strength areas in each learning difficulty in order to facilitate the learning path, despite challenges the student may be facing.

The goal is to see how the brain processes the information inside the curriculum. We study the challenges students face to better comprehend concrete and abstract information. Implementing BBL is a practice of basic processing skills visual, motor, auditory,...

When the brain is trained the ability to process abstract content is more effective.

We want to emphasize that learning is fun. The goal of BBL is creating a learning environment where all students can strive.

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