April to June at the Primary School

As for children almost everywhere, the 2020 - 2021 school year had its share of challenges, with false starts, sudden stops, and attempts to overcome the difficulties through virtual classes and new methods. During springtime, the school managed to stay open for a longer period, but then was affected by the outbreak of hostilities between Israel and Gaza in May.

The national days

As usual, spring is a time to commemorate the national days, including Holocaust Remembrance Day, Memorial Day ("Yom HaZikaron") and Nakba Day ("Day of the Catastrophe").

These days are commemorated with varying degrees of joint activity. On Holocaust Remembrance Day, the activities are held in common by all of the children. On Memorial Day, Israeli Jews remember both the loss of loved ones as a result of warfare and hostilities. The day precedes Independence Day, which is a time of celebration. It is difficult or impossible for Palestinians to think of these days in the same way. The same is true in reverse for Nakba Day, when Palestinians mourn the loss of their national homeland. Although the events that these days commemorate are related, Nakba day is normally marked according to the Western calendar, whereas Memorial Day follows the Hebrew dates. This year, Nakba Day was commemorated even later due to school holidays, the Coronavirus and school closures due to the threat of missiles.

Since some of the activities need to be held separately, the school seeks creative ways to bring the children together . This year, the school day started with an assembly of all the classes, and then each group held its own ceremony, led by the sixth graders. Afterward, the children held discussions in the classrooms with their teachers – one Arab, one Jewish. Finally, they came together again in an activity that reinforced the idea that despite all obstacles, peace is possible.

Multicultural happening

On June 18, the school hosted a multicultural happening for families of students and prospective students. The event was organized by Nir Sharon, Director of Educational Institutions and Youth Club, together with the parents’ group and teachers from the school. Participants enjoyed science and art workshops and food stands, as well as a bilingual play presented by the Elmina children’s theater of Jaffa. Further entertainment was provided by Saz – a rapper from Lod. “After the events of May, we wanted to give the community of students something extra. We wanted to reinforce the idea that our shared life works – that this school is still a unique oasis of mutual respect and understanding in the country,” says Sharon. “The event was a huge success,” he adds.

Day to welcome incoming first graders

For pupils who will be joining the school in September, the teachers conducted an event in which they created stations – language, math, art, music and movement – to introduce the children to the school, their teaching staff and group; as well as to get an initial evaluation of these kids before the year starts.

Farewell to Carmella; welcome Neama

The primary school is saying goodbye to Carmella Ferber, who has been its principal for the past seven years.

During this time, she served as the primary school principal, Carmella increased the student population so as to create two classes for each grade. She brought in children from villages and cities all over the area, and she worked to right the balance between Jews and Arabs, between boys and girls.

Under her leadership, a successful music program was instituted in all the grades, and a modern library and computer center was built for the school.

The crowning achievement of her term was the publishing of the curriculum “HOTAM, Education, Culture, Tradition” for grades 1-6. Encompassing the issues taught in the primary school ̶ humanistic and universal values as well as each group’s national and religious holidays ̶ the curriculum presents the material in an age-appropriate manner and ensures that the subject will be taught in a uniform way in all classes throughout the year.

Taking over as principal is Neama Abo Dalu. Neama has 16 years’ experience working as an educator and guidance counselor in the Hand in Hand bilingual school in Jerusalem. Over the course of her time there, she worked with children from the 7th grade to the upper levels, and she sees joining a school for younger children as a natural continuation of her work. As a teacher, she underwent intensive training in teaching multicultural, bilingual material, and she has gained valuable experience in working within a system based on these factors. As a guidance counselor, she worked to nurture students and discover the unique potential of each, to help them on the scholastic, social, personal identity and emotional levels.

More importantly to the parents of children in the primary school and the selection committee, Neama sent all three of her children to the bilingual school out of a belief in the value of education that is multicultural, humanitarian and egalitarian for individuals and for society as a whole.

“All my life, I have believed in shared living, built on honest relationships that arise from values of respect, empathy and dialogue,” says Abo Dalu. “I believe these values are important to all education, and they are crucial to our school.

“I stress the importance of personal relations, listening and being sensitive to cultural differences. I have always enjoyed good relations with students, parents and teachers, Jews and Arabs alike. Those who have come to me with various dilemmas have valued my opinions. I think my educational vision is strongly aligned with that of the Wahat al-Salam / Neve Shalom primary school.”

End of year parties

Fortunately, the children in the primary school were able to finish the year with parties for each grade, culminating in an event for the graduating sixth graders. Due to Coronavirus restrictions, each grade held its party separately.

The first graders prepared a presentation for their parents and teachers, with two songs in Hebrew, one in Arabic. Their party was held at Kibbutz Nachshon (from which some of the students come), at the swimming pool.

The second graders held their party at the school, and they also prepared a presentation in which they played music, sang and danced.

The third graders’ party was held at the Nachshon pool; while the fourth graders had a slumber party at the school. Their teachers prepared activities for them and they finished up at the village pool. The fifth graders put on a musical performance, and then they had a treasure hunt in the evening that sent them searching all over the village.

The sixth grade graduating classes put on a play in front of their parents and the school teaching staff, which they had been busy writing and rehearsing for the entire previous month. One group’s skit made fun of the Zoom classes, as they gave silly excuses for not attending lessons. In another, Jews and Arabs argued about who can claim humus and falafel – a skit that became a way of talking about the ethnic violence in the mixed cities the previous month. In another, they fantasized about where they would be in the future. The evening ended with music, song and dance.

At the end of June, all the children were happy to leave for the summer break, though some continued at the school into July, to attend a state-provided summer camp given as a way of compensating for all the missing school days this year.