2022-23 School Year Opens

Up until the evening before, it was unclear whether the school year would start on time (due to a possible strike), and the first-graders missed out on the traditional teacher-and-class get-together that would have occurred the day before. This year, the primary school opened one first-grade class of 25 children.

Despite the last-minute reprieve, the school year started with fanfare and ceremony; the rainbow arch at the school’s entrance was decorated with streamers and the first graders lined up in their white shirts to come down the steps and take their place in the school community. This was the first time in three years that the entire school could participate in this ceremony, and children from various classes sang songs to welcome the new kids. The sixth-graders all took on tasks – welcoming them at the entrance to the arch and on the stage, where the new first-grade class filed in to sit in a row looking out on parents, teachers and schoolmates. They also heard short speeches from Neama, the primary school principal; and the head of the parents’ community.

The first of September was a Thursday, the day before the weekend, so the kids barely had time to meet their new teachers and talk about their summer vacations before getting another two days off.

There are 211 children in the primary school this year, and 25 teachers. Arab children are the majority – 138 – and the other 83 are Jewish. This imbalance is the result of a regional school established for Jewish children two years ago. Some 36 are from WASNS, while the other 175 come from 21 different communities in the area.

The teachers and students are especially looking forward to the opening of the new Language Center. In the final stages of construction, the center will open after the Jewish holiday of Sukkot (in the middle of October). It will be fully operational at that point, and classes will already begin to enjoy a range of activities aimed at helping them communicate and interact in two languages.

Principal Neama Abo Delu has identified three key issues that she and the staff will be working to address this year. The first, she says, is creating a school community in which every child feels they belong. To strengthen ties between the Arab and Jewish students, they will be engaged in group challenges and activities that are both multicultural and which cut across age groups. The school’s unique extracurricular classes will also present opportunities for different students to participate together in enjoyable activities.

Abo Delu will also be emphasizing work on individual identities and coping issues that face many of the children. That is, the teachers and staff will nurture resilience while teaching students to respect one another and to listen. Tools will include SEL (social and emotional learning), mindfulness to help students deal with anger and frustration, and life skills classes.

Finally, the HOTAM, Education, Culture and Tradition curriculum will continue play a crucial role, helping students reinforce their own identities while learning about others and developing a sense of respect, acceptance and friendship for them.