| NSWAS Week-by-Week | ||||
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~ May 2 - 8 ~ |
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Bulletins:On Wednesday, May 12 Mrs. Weizmann, Israel's first lady (wife of the President), will pay a formal visit to NSWAS. On Friday, May 14 NSWAS will host a visit by some 50 mayors from around the world, as part of the 19th Jerusalem Conference of Mayors. In Britain, on Friday, May 14 at 12:30 PM, BBC radio 1 (97-98 FM) will broadcast a short interview with NSWAS Secretary Rayek Rizek. NSWAS Resident
Abdessalam Najjar will represent the Community at the Hague
Appeal for Peace Conference, in the Netherlands The CommunityBuilding projectsWork proceeds with planning the expansion of the Primary School. A new building is urgently needed in order to cater for increased enrollment. Classroom space must grow in order to make it possible to extend the school beyond the current six grade levels - to the junior high level, since this will require a larger group of children to make it viable. Owing to the special features of our school (such as bilingual teaching) it is better to increase enrollment at the first grade levels. For the last three years, therefore, we have been bringing in a larger number of pupils at the first grade level. For the new school building we have commitments from the American Friends and keen interest from a foundation in Britain. We are also trying to obtain State support. In the meantime, work has also begun to add a new classroom next to the existing building. The Primary SchoolThe Year 2000On Sunday, May 2, Hezzie Schuster, who teaches media arts in the school, filmed the children in order that they could be considered for an appearance in a program planned by the Nickelodeon TV network of the USA, which is to be screened on January 1, 2000. The program will feature children from around the world, who will relate their fears and dreams for the coming century. Besides taking part in the preliminary film, the children also prepared an exhibition of drawings. We have already heard that, on the basis of the presentations prepared by the children, the Network has decided to feature our school. The production team will visit in the coming month. New softwareThe Primary School has decided to purchase customized software that will handle the increasing complexity of the school’s class schedule - something that has till now prevented the finalization of the schedule till two or three weeks into the school year. Summer campOn Monday, the teachers worked on the plan for this year's binational summer camp, which will be open to all the pupils, as well as children from the area. Also on Monday, the home room teachers discussed the Lag b'Omer holiday and its historical significance. Tuesday was a holiday for the Jewish children. Teaching of ArabicOn Wednesday, Boaz Kita'in - the School's educational director - and several other teachers, attended a study day in Tel Aviv on the teaching of Arabic as a second language. The Tel Aviv University, with the support of Israel's Ministry of Education, has managed over the last four years to advance an ambitious program in the city that involves the teaching of Arabic to Jewish children from the 3rd grade level, rather than the 7th grade, as is usual throughout the country. Furthermore, the program is based on teaching spoken Arabic (rather than literary Arabic, as is usual elsewhere). Today, the program has spread to 38 schools in the Tel Aviv school district and, according to research conducted by the Tel Aviv University, has proved to be a success. Prof. Ilana Shohami of the University responded to questions of participants on the study day, and was able to point to surveys that show, besides an increase in language proficiency, an opinion change among the pupils. Students questioned on the importance to them of learning Arabic made statements such as, "When I grow up I would like to be Prime Minister, and if I want to make peace with the Arab countries I must know Arabic." Or "when I grow up I would like to be able to speak to important Palestinians." Such statements reflect an elevation in the status of Arabic language and culture as conceived by the pupils. The NSWAS School staff also visited an Education Ministry unit where Arabic teaching programs and materials are developed. The school is constantly seeking ways to improve the teaching of Arabic in the school since this is a subject so fundamental to the success of our bilingual educational system. The KindergartenThe kindergarten is currently dealing with the subject chosen by Israel’s Ministry of Education as the theme for this school year: "The right to respect - the duty to respect." This is naturally a subject which feels close to home in our binational educational framework. To enrich their teaching skills, Aishe and Eliza attended a training session and received a kit from the CRB Foundation, which has been helpful. The kit features photographs, letters, an audio cassette and other materials put together with the help of six children from different kindergartens in Jaffa. They represent various groups: a Russian immigrant, a religious Jewish child, a secular Jewish child, an Arab child, and a handicapped child. The children here are encouraged to talk about the material, identifying things they can relate to themselves, and then to draw pictures and write letters they would like to send to the children in Jaffa. The experiment aims to show children that even though there are obvious differences between themselves and the children who are featured in the kit, they share many things in common with them too. The children showed much enthusiasm for the subject, and parents too lent a hand in helping them to write letters. Here are two examples:An Arab Child (Rina) "My name is Rina Al-Khuduri. My mother’s name is Kamle. I am six years old and learn in the kindergarten of NSWAS. Next year I will go up to first grade. I have one brother, Mohammad, and a sister, Maisoon who are twins. I like to watch TV - the children's channel - and to listen to children's songs. I also like to swim in the pool. When I grow older I would like to learn the piano. I like to eat peas and rice (bazella m'aroz), okra and stuffed vegetables. When I grow up I want to be a children's doctor." A Jewish Child (Dana) "I like to play. I like to eat spaghetti, sausages and schnitzel. I like to play with Rotem, Nadine, Shir, Kerem, Amit, Lior and Idit. We are a family of four and I have a brother called Amir. I like to go for trips with the whole kindergarten." Also this week, the children attended a play ("The Goldfish") in Beth Shemesh, and on Monday they celebrated the "Lag b'Omer Jewish holiday. As is traditional to this holiday, the children celebrated with a bonfire. On Tuesday, the Jewish children had a day off for the holiday. The School for PeaceNew facilitator training courseOn May 6, with a formal reception, the School for Peace opened a new facilitators' training course. The 150-hour course takes place on an annual basis. This year, there is a particularly promising group of 16 trainees, with eight Arabs (five of which are women) and eight Jews (with the same gender balance). Several of these are already involved in field work with other organizations that deal with Jewish - Arab issues. One, who comes to the course from the "Tolerance" organization, is particularly interested in extending SFP methods to the Ashkenazi - Eastern Jewish encounter. Another, an Arab woman, works on women’s empowerment among the Bedouin. Another good point is that two of the Jewish participants are fluent in Arabic. All of these factors bode well for the success of the course. Taking part in a long term school projectThis week six facilitators from the School for Peace traveled to the Negev, to facilitate one session of a long-term project taking place there. The project was developed by an educational counselor of a school in Sderot and involves two other schools - one in the Bedouin settlement of Hura, and the other in Kibbutz Sha'ar HaNegev. The year-long program focuses on the development of democratic values and consideration for human rights. Though the course is quite independent of the School for Peace, the SFP was asked to conduct the session focussing on the Jewish - Arab conflict. Michal, of the SFP staff, sees such requests by other organizations to assist in their work as an important direction for the SFP. It points to recognition of the professionalism of the SFP and the applicability of its methods to various frameworks and settings. Course for Jewish-Arab student club in Haifa UniversityIn April, the SFP staff were invited by the Jewish-Arab students' society of the Haifa University to initiate a course for its members. On May 3, SFP facilitators conducted the third session of the course, which will conclude on May 28-29 with a weekend in NSWAS. Friends' AssociationsUSA - Robert Nathan Anniversary Dinner funds a new building for the SFPAhmad Hijazi has just returned in an upbeat mood from the USA, where he had been invited in order to speak at an important event arranged by the American Friends. This was an anniversary dinner for senior US diplomat Robert R. Nathan. With the approval of Mr. Nathan, the event was arranged as a benefit for NSWAS. It took place on April 27 in the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington DC. In attendance were many distinguished guests, such as Under Secretary of State Stuart Eisenstat, Assistant Secretary Martin Indyk, former senator Howard Metzenbaum and others. Our good friend US ambassador Samuel Lewis served as the master of ceremonies. The patron was Mrs. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who graciously sent a video message that highly praised both Mr. Nathan and NSWAS. The President, too, sent a letter to be read which commended Mr. Nathan for his long years of service and for his choice of NSWAS as a beneficiary of the event. Indeed, a significant amount of money was raised - enough to build a whole new building for the School for Peace. This extension to the existing premises, to be called the "Robert R. Nathan wing," will make it possible to conduct an even greater volume of activity. Ahmad, returning home, says that he sees this as the most important event yet to be organized by the American Friends of NSWAS. Much praise goes to David Hitchcock of the American Friends of NSWAS, for his enormous efforts in organizing the event and making it a success. Thanks, too, go to all those who so freely contributed of their time and money. |
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