First Day of School - September 2001

First Day of School - September 2001
Sep 25, 2001, 6:37pm

International Baccalaureate students ready to pioneer a program.

At I.C. different age groups and curriculum tracks have different beginning dates, all with the same excitement. Reunions and not yet met friends, familiar and newly arrived teachers. We all have memories of these feelings close to the surface at this time of the year.

The first to start are the French and International Baccalaureate programs in the secondary school. The French Bac is well known and accepted as an option while the International Baccalaureate is being offered at I.C. for the first time this fall. The IB is a program instituted in 1968 in Geneva, Switzerland by international schools as a means to establish a common curriculum acceptable to universities around the world. Students in these two programs began classes on Wednesday, September 19.

French Baccalaureate students reunited for another academic year.

On Thursday, September 20, the pre-school began with orientation for parents of nursery and preschool students, I.C.’s youngest. The first day in preschool is often the first school day of a child’s life. Everyone involved in this process is acutely aware of the potential contained in those first days and years of a child’s education. The experience of this period may influence a life long attitude toward learning. All care is taken and thought given to preparation for that important day.

In an address to nursery parents, Ras Beirut pre-school director Randa Khoury

Ras Beirut preschool director, Randa Khoury addresses nursery parents at orientation.

quoted Louis Pasteur as illustrative of an I.C. philosophy: “When I approach a child, I must have tenderness for what he is and respect for what he will be.”

Parent orientations are a foundation of communication for school and families and help establish continuity for the children. Preschool directors and teachers meet with parents to address every possible aspect of a child’s best interest from safe shoelaces to snacks. Then parents receive a handbook for future reference in all matters discussed at orientation.

Preschool parents visit their children’s classrooms to meet teachers and gain an understanding of what the young students will be doing and what their surroundings are like.

Extra attention is also given to children making the transition from preschool to the elementary level. They come to the preschool area where everything is familiar including teachers and staff. These familiar and trusted people then guide their former students to their new environment. This plan gives them an opportunity to experience the new space

The transition from preschool to elementary is made more comfortable for first grade and douzieme students.

and try out the new facilities

Movement and exploration help these students adjust to the change.

without the hustle bustle of the older children who will have a different first day.

Tuesday, September 25 and classes are in session for everyone at the College. Elementary, Middle and Secondary students return for business as usual with enthusiasm as usual.

The social aspect of the return to school adds to the pleasure.

Secondary students, rested from summer break, are ready to study again.

Students and teachers begin to build the specilal relationship that grows through the rest of the year.