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16
SUMMER
2013
November 2012.
Hana Bekdache, the
Assistant to the Director at the Ras
Beirut Elementary school and Celine
Abou Rahal from Ain Aar meet with the
International Day committee.The com-
mittee is made up of eight Ras Beirut and
Ain Aar teachers, chaired by IC President
John Johnson. Together they must choose
eight countries - one from every conti-
nent.This year’s selections were: Kenya,
Jamaica, Belgium, Mauritius, Mexico,
Egypt, Hungary and Sri Lanka.
There are many details to iron out and
many people to coordinate with. Books
on the selected countries are ordered. In
only four months, teachers and students
will start their research. Music teachers
are immediately notified. It is now up to
them not only to research the traditional
songs and dances of the countries but
to teach it to their students. Traditional
costumes for 450 students must be sewn.
Parents will be asked to help out.The
physical plant personnel – around 40 of
them – will be brought into the fold.The
scouts must be notified. Certain jobs must
International
Day
What only started out as an idea eight years
ago is now a firm IC tradition which at-
tracts more than 2,000 people every year.
Moreover, it has become the social event of
the year where the IC family gathers and
chats into the early hours of the evening.
The basic idea behind International Day is
that students of grade 3, CE2, and 1st in-
termediate, 6ème, from both campuses (Ras
Beirut and Ain Aar) not only research every
aspect of a selected country but actually try to
live the experience as much as possible which
includes learning the national song and
dance of the country, wearing its national
costume and tasting its ethnic food.
From the surface, it may all seem like a
wonderful show followed by an enjoyable
reception. But little does the audience know
that, if you dig a little deeper, behind the
scenes, hundreds of students, teachers, par-
ents and IC personnel have been working
diligently for the past five months for this
one important day…