At the Secondary, the school is making simple steps to pave the way into modern learning using more technology in education, hoping that next year there will be a shift in the conversation among Faculty in sharing ideas about the technology used in classrooms.  

Many teachers have shown eagerness to get on the wave of integrating more technology into classrooms in all different disciplines, some examples are: BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), Online assessment and immediate feedback, Overlaying colored layers of the world map, the use of shared Google Docs, flipped classroom, online games and Flipgrid (the Snapchat for education).

Many promising new EdTech tools are coming along the way for next year too, like the google apps for education, the grade book software, and an attendance software.

Les premiers Jeux Francophones de IC – Ain Aar, mars 2018.

Comme tous les ans et partout dans le monde francophone, le mois de mars est consacré à la célébration de la langue française. IC – Ain Aar n’a pas dérogé à la règle : le département de français s’est mis sur son trente-et-un pour faire la fête avec les élèves. Dans un esprit festif et ludique, l’équipe des organisatrices a opté pour le culturel ludique en préparant avec soin et minutie, et sans omettre un seul détail, les premiers jeux francophones de IC – Ain Aar. Des lettres et des lettres, Taboo, Ptit Bac, Scrabble, Boggle … ont intéressé les jeunes francophones qui se sont plu aux jeux auxquels ils ont tous participé avec un grand enthousiasme. Les compétitions différentes ont fini par propulser sur la scène de l’auditorium du collège les deux équipes finalistes qui, pour sélectionner le/la gagnant(e), ont participé au fameux Questions pour un champion. Le match serré entre Carlos Daou, élève de 6^e et Tara Chahine, élève de 5^e, a été, au final, remporté par la jeune Tara, applaudie par la foule en liesse des élèves et des enseignants ! Rendez-vous l’année prochaine, même date pour une nouvelle saison des Jeux Francophones de IC – Ain Aar.

Un premier essai, une grande réussite !

Congratulations to Ryan Abdallah, Haig Baitarian and Issam Youness, Grade 9 students in Ain Aar - 1st Prize winners in the web computing category at the LAU Science Fair in Jbeil.

The Environmental Pioneers in Ras Beirut Middle School enjoyed identifying trees as they hiked in Jabal Moussa Biosphere Reserve in Kesserwan.

Pour promouvoir les études de Philosophie, le laboratoire Sophia du Département de Philosophie de l’Université Saint Esprit de Kaslik (USEK) a proposé, le 16 mars 2018, aux élèves de Terminale, un concours autour de la pensée de Sénèque. Cette pensée, toujours d’actualité, aborde les thèmes de la vie, de la sagesse, du bonheur, de la maîtrise de soi… Trois de nos élèves de Terminale ont participé à ce concours et ont porté haut et fort les couleurs de l’IC en remportant des mentions : Sondos Osman (TSM), mention excellent, Aya Goraieb (TSV), mention très bien et Lynn Abboud (TSM), mention bien. Nous sommes tous très fiers de nos jeunes penseurs !

On Friday 20th April, the LMC welcomed yet another Literary Cafe after school. Around a dozen Secondary students presented various pieces they wrote, and one student presented a movie he made. The event was well attended, in particular by IB students. Stay tuned for the dates of the next Literary Cafes!

As part of our annual library activities this year in the Elementary Library, we invited authors to read and do a book talk with our students during National Reading Week. Our students thoroughly enjoyed the visits of authors Mrs. Jinan Hashash, Dr. Karim Ali and Ms. Maria Matar.

Interhouse is an activity coordinated by Nichole Swink on Tuesdays and Thursdays for Middle school students during second break. It aims to promote students’ wellbeing and encourage being active through playing sports. The program is held for each grade level and urges students to organize their own teams, show responsibility in coordinating lineups and strategies, and display teamwork, respect and sportsmanship. Each year kicks off with football. Tuesday, April 26, began the Grade 7 tournament where each team will play each other to earn points. They will then have a play-off for the first through fourth placed teams. Teams who place in first, second and third are awarded medals. Photos below highlight the medal winners from Grade 8.

Grade 8 First Place Winners of 2018

Grade 8 Second Place Winners of 2018

Grade 8 Third Place Winners of 2018

April was an outstanding month for IC Cougar athletics. We had some very notable achievements for our student athletes. Our gymnastics team dominated in the Lebanese Schools’ Championship organized by the Ministry of Education. With over fifty medals won in this tournament alone, our students represented us with pride and dignity. Lynn Domiati being the only girl to compete in level nine brought home first overall. Cyrine Khatib placed first overall in level eight and Yasmine Ghutmi got first overall in level 5. In level three, we secured the podium with Celine Rafeh placing first, Rawan Soubra second and Mia Khayat third. A huge congratulations to the team and coaches for their valiant efforts. 

Another great showing was at the annual Alton Reynold’s basketball tournament held at IC. Our Varsity and JV boys both brought home the championship after hard-earned wins in their games. The stands were full of students cheering them to their victories and went wild when senior Fouad Sheikh drilled a three-pointer in the varsity championship game.

The BAU annual archery competition was held allowing our girls to bring home first place and our boys third place. No mean feat at all, especially considering they were competing against university students from BAU and AUB. All that hard work training on the Imad Taher Court certainly paid off.

The girl’s rugby team played a touch match against Brummana High School winning both games during the day. Player of the match for IC was Zoya Haroun scoring two tries helping lead the team to victory. Another distinguished achievement was from the captain Nicole Nsrallah who was the youngest player chosen for the Lebanese women’s 7s team. She spent the month training and ultimately playing in the West Asia Women’s 7s tournament where they placed second amongst Syria, Qatar and Lebanon. 

Between 16^th to 18^th May IC’s Ras Beirut campus hosted a large Book Fair, with seven publishers in the country showcasing their books for our students.  The three-day event was a real success and a big thank you to all those members of the IC community who helped make this happen.  The participating bookshops and publishers were Librarie Samaha, Asala Publishers, Samir Editeur, Librarie Antoine, Al-Hadaek Group, Librarie du Liban Publishers and Turning Point Books.  Thank you to them for investing their time and effort in offering IC students a special view into their books and, indeed, highlighting to them what locally-authoured books have been published in the country.  

Cette année, l’élève Haya El Achkar, en classe de 4^ème à Ain Aar figure parmi les lauréats du concours Le Plumier d’Or organisé par l’Association pour la Défense de la langue française. Plus de dix- huit mille candidats en France et dans le monde ont participé à ce concours. Haya a reçu son prix et son diplôme au cours d’une cérémonie grandiose organisée par la Marine française dans les grands salons de la Maison de la Musique à Paris et présidée par l’ancien ministre de l’Education Nationale et membre éminent de l’Académie Française, monsieur Xavier Darcos.

Haya s’est distinguée par sa connaissance profonde de la langue française, son esprit créatif et son style métaphorique allègre. Le sujet proposé portait sur le thème du « silence ». Pour elle, le silence est polysémique, il se métamorphose et revêt différentes formes.

Visiting the Silk Museum in Bsous by KG2-GS classes has become a yearly field trip during the month of May.

Prior to the trip, each class receives a few silk worms to feed, observe, record changes and learn about their needs as part of their inquiry into “the local environment” under the PYP transdisciplinary theme Sharing the Planet. Through this inquiry, the students understand the delicacy of silk worms, their tenderness and the specific food they need. They also learn about hard work and persistence when they observe the worm working relentlessly for three consecutive days to form the cocoon and dorm inside it. The white butterfly is the learning reward: students are amazed to see it come out of the cocoon!   

In the museum, the students learn about the origin of the silk worms and their complete life cycle. They see how silk threads are extracted, colored and manufactured into clothes and carpets.

Six girls from the Ras Beirut Middle School auditioned and were chosen to participate in the Amis European Middle School Honor Girls' Choir that took place at the International School of Düsseldorf in Germany.

The students showed exemplary behavior and stood up to be good representatives of the well-rounded IC student and a citizen of the world. They showed professionalism and dedication in singing, moving and communicating with other. Their experience will be remembered for many years to come, making friends with fellow students from 40 different schools around the world.

The concert was outstanding and was streamed live. They sang in five different languages, including German, Zulu and Spanish.

The students also had an opportunity to tour Düsseldorf and had a boat ride on the Rhine.

Comme chaque année, les rencontres autour des ateliers scientifiques permettent aux élèves du réseau de se retrouver, d’échanger, de manipuler, de réinvestir, d'argumenter et de se « défier » autour de notions scientifiques simples, ludiques et en rapport avec les programmes.

Par leur organisation, ces ateliers permettent également de construire une véritable démarche innovante et commune aux établissements du réseau.

Cette action repose sur un principe simple : une action présentée par les élèves et pour les élèves. Les échanges langagiers, les rencontres, les manipulations et les découvertes y sont aussi importantes qu’une volonté absolue de vérité scientifique.

C’est pourquoi, les élèves de la moyenne section du groupe jaune ont eu l’occasion de s’engager avec volonté et motivation pour montrer leur compréhension de la manière dont les matériaux se comportent et interagissent à travers la préparation de la pâte à modeler.

At the Ras Beirut Middle School, a joint activity between the Science department (Biology) and the Middle School counselor was coordinated. Students made presentations in the Irani Auditorium and then were engaged in a discussion with the counselor and Biology teacher.

A collaborative 60 metre mural involving the Upper Elementary and Middle School students of Ain Aar has been completed. Local artist Rami Chahine, art teacher Kim Wright and Community Service Coordinator Chantal Mailhac organised the mural with the intention to connect students of IC with each other through art. The students were challenged with different artistic tasks to lay a black foundation, to color, to emphasis and, finally, to elaborate. The wall is a strong reflection of the highly creative, engaged and artistic students at IC.

Une classe sans mur

Une journée en dehors du cadre classique d’enseignement, telle fut l’expérience de la « classe sans mur » qu’on vécue les élèves de Quatrième, le lundi 23 avril.

Un décloisonnement des matières, dans un projet interdisciplinaire, a marqué cette journée. Une interaction éducative ainsi que des activités de team building, de yoga et même des moments libres en pleine forêt au Parc Ain Aar ont favorisé un temps de détente, de communication et surtout ont permis le bien-être du groupe, objectif vivement atteint pendant la semaine du bien-être.

Une expérience inoubliable dont la photo jointe transmet en partie l’enthousiasme.

(Lara Kmeid)

Under the patronage of the Ministry of the Youth and Sport, the Lebanese Chess Federation organized the Inter-schools Rapid Chess Championships 2018 edition. The competition was hosted by Rafic Hariri High School – Saida.

More than 40 schools took part in this distinguished and well-organized event.

International College was represented by the following students: 

1. James Nasr (Boys - U8) – Score: 5 out of 7 points

2. Brian Nasr (Boys - U8) – 3 out of 7

3. Iyad Baghdadi (Boys – U8) – 4 out of 7

4. Daniella Dib (Girls – U10) – 5 out of 6 (Silver medal)

5. Maria Dib (Girls U10) – 4.5 out of 6 (4^th place)

6. Shafic Khalili (Boys – U16) – 2 out of 6

7. Zein Mroueh (Boys U16) – 3.5 out of 6

After calculating the highest four top scorers in each school, IC took 6th place overall in the final schools' ranking.

During the closing ceremony, a Certificate of Appreciation was distributed by the organizers for every participant.

A very nice ambiance of support  dominated among the IC players and their parents.

(IC Chess Coach: Charles Kayle)

Article submitted to and accepted for the Near-East South-Asia Council of Overseas Schools (NESA) Fall Newsletter Edition 2018:

International College Adopts the Danielson Framework

Beirut, May 24, 2018

International College in Lebanon has identified the Danielson Framework as its reference for the teaching and learning experience offered at the school. Since February, the school has been progressively adopting the Framework, initially with the school leadership team, and building to an In-Service professional development day for all administrators and faculty members from both campuses (Ain Aar and Ras Beirut) on May 24. Six consultants from the Danielson Group, Margaret Leibfried, Linda Goodwin, Lynn Sawyer, Peggy Olcott, Cody Claver, and Dr. Ron Anderson, joined Charlotte Danielson on this BIG Danielson training day. Through the Framework, IC is able to enhance professional practice and autonomous, engaged student learning. As part of this initiative, Charlotte Danielson, the creator of this framework, traveled to Lebanon, leading the training on IC’s Beirut campus.

“Our aim is to find common language and shared understanding of practice which permits conversation and dialogue, whilst creating a community of learners” commented Danielson.

The Danielson Framework is segmented into four domains pertaining to planning and preparation, the classroom environment, professional responsibilities, and instruction. Through this framework, a positive learning atmosphere is created. Teachers are educators who pave the way for students’ understanding and engagement. They are not simply transmitting facts anymore, but are facilitators who help students make their own arguments and assumptions.

The seven common themes of the Framework revolve around equity, cultural sensitivity, high expectations, developmental appropriateness, accommodating individual need, the appropriate use of technology, and student assumption of responsibility. Based on the framework and the themes, educators following the Framework can measure the level of performance by four elements, unsatisfactory, basic, proficient, and distinguished. At the distinguished level of teaching, teachers would create a community of learners whereby students are deeply involved in the learning and the classroom is self-generating.

“We have chosen the Danielson Framework because it is a valid instrument supported by several large research studies. These studies showed that when teachers demonstrate high levels of proficiency on the Framework, their students show greater learning gains. Secondly, the Framework applies to all disciplines from KG levels up to 12^th grade and this is based on the fact that teaching requires the same basic tasks,” explained Dr. Mahmud Shihab, Director of IC’s Educational Resources Center.

IC applies the Danielson Framework with the involvement of school parents, represented by the Parent Committee at Charlotte Danielson’s opening address on May 24. Indeed, part of the training provided is how teachers communicate with families about individual students and how to engage them in the instructional program itself.

The adoption of the Danielson Framework is just one step among many to accelerate the progression and growth of IC, both as a leading academic institution and as an engaged and thriving community. The school constantly identifies and pursues new opportunities to benefit all key stakeholders of IC and strongly believes that student learning is paramount to the success of IC as a whole.

IC is pleased to announce its successful re-accreditation with the Council of International Schools' (CIS). A full five-year term of re-accreditation has been granted (the maximum achievable). 

IC has dual accreditation from both CIS and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) in the US. Both agencies participated in a joint visit to IC in March. The role of the accrediting agencies is to ensure that schools offer quality educational programs and services for students and that they are supported by sound governance and appropriate financial resources. Accreditation ensures that IC students' academic achievement is recognized for transfer to other accredited schools and universities.