Tuesday, May 8, 2018 ~ Rita Stoess
This morning we had the opportunity to visit some of the students at the Mar Elias School.
Our group has been hosted at the Mar Elias guest house for the past few days so it was an easy walk to the school. The guesthouse is on the top floor of the elementary school.
“I know, I know!”
Some of us visited a 4thgrade English class and others of our group visited students at the middle school. I had requested to visit the 4thgrade since I used to teach that level.
The students were excited to see us and I felt sorry for the teacher, Shadia, who had to work hard for them to pay attention to her. I sat next to two very polite boys—Mojd and Marsel.
First the teacher had the students take turns reading a story from their book in English and then they had a workbook where they had to answer questions about the story.
Fourth graders with Ursula
While the students were working in their workbooks, some of them got the idea to begin asking us to write our names for them. This, of course, led to all of the students wanting our autographs with much noise and disruption, but the teacher eventually got them back on track.
The students all seemed so happy and were excited to learn, which is a true testament to the success of this school.
The Mar Elias Education Institution was founded in 1982 by archbishop Elias Chacour. It is located in Ibillin, an Arab village in northern Israel. Arab students from all over the Galilee attend this school. The school includes a nursery, a pre-school, a kindergarten, an elementary school, a middle school and a high school. In all, nearly 3,000 students are enrolled, 1200 of which attend the high school. High school students are bussed from a 50-mile radius. The student population is approximately 60% Muslim and 40% Christian. The teachers are Christians, Jews, and Muslims, all working together.
Church of the Sermon on the Mount, Mar Elias Campus, Ibillin
Later in the morning we visited the beautiful Church of the Sermon on the Mount which is part of the Mar Elias campus. The church was completed in 2005 and has the most beautiful icons and stained glass windows. It was a special time for reflection as we read once more The Beatitudes and remembered our visit to the traditional site of the Sermon on the Mount on Sunday.