School trip and Farewell Rawdah high School

Today was my last day in Beirut and with the students from the high school. I had the immense pleasure of accompanying year 7 and some teachers on their trip to Beit el Dine, an historic palace in the mountain region of Lebanon about an hour from Beirut. 

Prince Bashir I built the castle for the Druze people and he called on Italians and Syrians to decorate it. It was built in 1814, 200 years ago. The local population were also invited to help build  the unique palace though legend has it that after completion, he cut off the hands of those who built it so it would remain one of a kind! 

Every year they celebrate festivals at Beit el Dine. These festivals have continued for the past two hundred years.

An ancient olive press

There are 160 rooms in this castle. In every room there is a water fountain which was strategically placed for when important meetings took place the sound of the water blocked others from hearing the discussion.

The writing on the wall is a quote by the Prince which translates to "he has to keep a watchful eye over his people"

The president's room who really does spend most summers at the palace.

An example of a mosaic which dates back to the 4th century. 

The gardens of the place with many cedar trees, which you will find illustrated on Lebanon's national flag. 

Our students design work on the wall at school.

Our Farewell meal with the English department and Mr Chaloub and his wife at the best Lebanese reataurant in town! And it was!  All in all, this has been an absolutely professionally and personally enriching experience and I hope that everyone learned something about this partnership visit which we no doubt intend to continue. I also look forward to sharing it all with students and staff upon my return to LSA.

Thank you Rawdah high school for an unforgettable first experience of Lebanon. I look forward to visit number two! 

Wit Katia, and Bassima at the restaurant and  With Eli, and Reema on the school trip. 

And with Hanadi. Though only a few of the great team of teachers at Rawdah.

Drama, art and cooking today! October 16th

Today was busy with classroom activites. From finishing the art project to watching a drama lesson where the students were all really engaged and trying hard at the same time as having fun. 

Today's cookery lesson was English scones! The students had never had them before and were very keen to get their hands dirty to bake. The girls and boys were in direct competition with one another while preparing them. We managed to create some very tasty treats! 

The evening was eventful! I just happened to be in town for the grand event which was the launch of a new resort project in Beirut called Eden Rock resort. Reema kindly took me as a guest. A very lavish affair and lots of important people in Lebanon were present including the minister of tourism. 

After that Reema and I went for a lovely meal to an Italian restaurant in town....delicious! 

The year 8 scone makers! 

Miss Sonia the art teacher

Adding jam and butter to our scones.

Drama with Rasha and year 5 teaching communication and self assertiveness through fun games.

A quick stop to the spice shop after school! 

At the launch of Eden rock resort. 

Nice resort planned for Beirut! 

Serving up the sushi! 

The minister and the owner (of Rawdah high school too)

And finally at the restaurant with Reema. 

Parlez-vous français! English ISA project lesson and and coordinators' meeting October 15

Today started with a french lesson. We played a few games and used an app, of course, that the students really enjoyed. I distributed letters that I brought from a year 7 french class to a year 8 class who will write back to their new pen friends! They were very happy to read them and are looking forward to writing their replies. 

I attended a fun English lesson where the teacher was talking about Edgar Allan Poe and introduced his lesson capturing the students attention well! 

Finally I attended the senior coordinator's meeting that takes place every two weeks. Here they discuss student progress and work on whole school policy. Sounds familiar! No different to LSA! I presented about our school to the team and Mr Chaloub thanked me for the contribution to the meeting and confirmed Rawdah High School's commitment to our partnership. 

The evening included a visit to Harissa located on the hillside north of Beirut. A lovely meal with two great hosts - Eli and Diana! 

French class with their letters! 

French class 8A

"Through the lens"project with grade 12. Questions were added about our lessons particularly out study of RE. Thank you Mr Spacey and Mrs Poutney for your contribution. They really enjoyed reading them.

 Lastly, I showed the videos created for the project the "LSA diary" by Caitlin and Emma on "walk a mile in my shoes", the Internarional school video from Assembly and also the Happy Holmes charity video which all teachers loved. Thank you Holmes college! 

My two tour guides from the graduating class. Two students who already know what they want to study and which profession they want to have - Physisist and Engineer! Impressive two very smart students! We certainly have many aspiring scientists and engineers at LSA.

Finally the head of departments meeting. 

Heading to Harissa ...

Teaching and learning at Rawdah high school

Today's timetable is all about lessons and discussions about future projects. I visited a maths lesson that was taught in English like all lessons at Rawdah. Despite understanding the spoken language, the mathematical concept was far beyond my capabilies and I have forgotten all my college maths skills! 

Though the very clever converse clad students of Graduating class 12s followed with absolute perfection! You can understand why they are a group of future Engineers and Physicists. 

What has impressed me by far is the mature attitude toward learning and their  motivation and dedication to achieving. Success in all subjects is the only option! It is for their future which is apparent in all students that I have met here at Rawdah. 

I spent the next two lessons playing basketball and tested my skills at foot with the year 7 class. The school does not have the space to support PE like we do at LSA so the students travel by bus about a kilometer up the road to a sports facility.

 The basketball court and AstroTurf are used by all year groups. Green space in Beirut is very limited. Certainly not on the same scale as in England.

After a short break it was off to art class where the students are learning to dre the eye and create some abstracts around it. The students are very inquisitive and want to all about our school and lives. I hope you look forward to some visiting LSA next year! 

Back at school and another selfie!

It was nice that all the kids wanted photos with me! Feel like a celebrity 😀

And the art class with miss Sonia where I attempted to draw an eye and who also gave me a piece of her own artwork ❤️

Miss Sonia is a very good teacher to have taught me to do this first attempt! There is one more lesson to complete it