Ahliah School hosted its first Virtual Open House on January 23, 2021. The event aimed at shedding light on the school, and acquainting the audience with its history, programs, curriculum, pedagogy and environment. In addition to shedding light on the school’s online and hybrid learning modalities, and, adoption of new health and safety measures.
Ahliah School principal, Rida Ayache, thanked the attendees for their interest in Ahliah. She introduced a main attribute of the school’s mission “to develop young minds to their best abilities” in a safe healthy and diverse environment. Mrs. Ayache explained how Ahliah is an inclusive, not-for-profit school that lives up to its name “Al Ahl” in all its programs and practices and the involvement of its community in the school life. She explained that a Board of Trustees oversees the school. It constitutes of prominent people who are passionate about the school’s mission and volunteer to support it. Then, she ended by emphasizing the commitment of Ahliah to its continuous development through its journey of excellence which made it earn the joint accreditation from the Council of International Schools and the New England Association for Schools and Colleges.
Director of Academic Affairs, Rabih Murr, followed by generally introducing the curriculum objectives in Ahliah’s academic programs; the Lebanese Baccalaureate program and the College/Freshman Year Preparatory program. Ahliah designs its curriculum to develop students’ acquisition of critical and analytical thinking skills, creativity, inquiry, collaboration, and knowledge. The curriculum integrates international standards such as the Common Core, NGSS, International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and the UNESCO Global citizenship (GCED). He added that Ahliah has variety of co-curricular programs and extra-curricular activities that provide students with the opportunities to pursue and develop their interests and talents.
Head of Preschool Division, Mrs. Elissar Jalloul, then followed by briefly introducing herself and the school, and presenting Ahliah’s preschool division. Mrs. Jalloul stated that parents look at all aspects of a school, such as academic excellence, acquisition of skills for learning, character building, diversity, openness, trustworthy communication, transparency, and more. She then affirmed that “Ahliah provides each child with the opportunity to create, socialize, explore, enjoy learning and prepare for a lifetime of discovery. Ahliah preschool is a welcoming and safe environment that helps each and every individual develop cognitively, physically, socially and emotionally.” Mrs. Jalloul then discussed the preschool curriculum, ensuring quality of education and various student-centered teaching strategies that Ahliah’s learners experience through their daily school lives. She talked about the languages of instructions, subjects, and activities, as well as qualifications of our preschool teachers. Mrs. Jalloul concluded by highlighting the health care program implemented in the preschool division.
The speakers’ presentations were then followed by testimonials from Ahliah students and parents who wanted to share their experience at Ahliah with the audience. They shared genuine words that emphasized the strong sense of community at Ahliah and its unique and supportive environment. They make us proud and honored to have such members as part of the Ahliah community. A Q&A session with the audience then followed, allowing everyone to share their questions and comments.
