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September was a busy month at the Educational Resources Center
(ERC) at IC with various faculty enrichment programs. The academic
programof Performance-Based Learning andAssessment (PBLA) con-
tinues with Professor K. Michael Hibbard, Assistant Superintendent of
Ridgefield School district in Connecticut, for the fifth year. PBLA helps
the teacher to address various teaching and learning styles used in
classrooms and assess students’ work, based on "real life" presenta-
tions. The workshop was offered to the entire faculty.
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The Outreach Program continues for the third year. This program
allows teachers from the public and private sectors access to new
knowledge and skills that IC teachers acquire through the workshops
and conferences they attend locally and abroad. This program is
administered in different areas of Lebanon. Last year, 3500 public and
private school teachers attended eight days of workshops.
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Proud to host Mr. Andrea Sangiorgio, Vice-President of the Centro
Didacto Musicale in Rome, and Mr. Eric Lebeau, Dance and Music
Instructor in Salzburg, the IC music department and the Educational
Resources Center organized a music workshop entitled “Back to
School with Song and Music.” Mr. Sangiorgio and Mr. Lebeau, with the
assistance of the head of the ICmusic department Mrs. Randa Sabbah,
presented workshops to 13 IC teachers and other workshop partici-
pants who came from various schools, such as Kawthar High School,
ACS, Eastwood College, etc…
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Once again our students make us proud: IC won two awards in the
UNESCO short documentary competition, which took place on the 17th
of May:
1. The short documentary “A Day in the Life on Montasser,” by
Mohamad Saad 7th ES and Hana Mikdashi 7th LS won the “Student’s
Award”- 1st place.
2. The short Documentary “Charlie Chaplin - a Tourist in Lebanon,” by
Roupen Karaguezian 1ère B and Lorie Ajamian 1ère D won the
“Appreciation Award.”
The short documentary “Where’s the Family,” by Cyril Sader 7th LS
received a “Certificate of Participation.”
It may seem a bit unusual to be walking around Fairfax County's
Government Center on the outskirts of Washington, DC and sudden-
ly see Hala Yafi's name memorialized in a beautiful garden. Then
again, Hala was an unusual person.
Hala attended IC for most of her life and graduated in 1986. During
her senior year at IC, she presided over IC's Social Services club,
helping the poor and needy. It was not easy in war-ravaged Lebanon
to balance this responsibility with her studies, but Hala managed to do
so with flying colors, organizing a children’s play, a drive for clothes for
the poor, as well as several volunteer activities for the less-privileged.
Upon her graduation from IC, Hala migrated to the US to continue her
studies. She settled in Fairfax County, where she attended George
Mason University and majored in Sociology. Hala's giving spirit con-
tinued to follow her, and she soon volunteered for area organizations
such as Toys for Tots, Habitat for Humanity, and the Coalition for
Creative Non-Violence. It was quite common for those close to Hala
to be nudged out in the cold of winter to some DC park or shelter to
hand out food and warm blankets.
On December 23, 1993, having volunteered for Fairfax's "Adopt a
Family" program, Hala was bubbly with happiness: she had succeed-
ed in collecting a bunch of Christmas gifts from all her workmates for
her "adopted" family. That night while driving back home from work,
Hala had a fatal car accident. Her death shocked Hala's family, friends,
and the Fairfax community at large. How could such a beautiful, giving,
and young life be extinguished so easily? To many who knew Hala it
is still hard to believe that she has been absent all this time; it is com-
forting to know that her spirit has been kept alive through the Hala Yafi
Fund at IC. Since 1996, this fund has been giving annual prizes to out-
standing IC students displaying social giving and leadership traits. “The
family has met several of the recipients and is amazed at how well
Hala's spirit has been captured,” says Wissam Yafi, Hala’s brother.
Because of the fund's success in fullfilling its mission of keeping
Hala's spirit alive, and to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Hala's
passing, Hala's family and friends have launched a fund-raising cam-
paign to perpetuate the fund. Anyone interested in donating to the
fund can do so on the web at www.tidwit.com/haloul, by buying and
downloading some of Hala's and the IC Social Service Club’s digital
content. The proceeds in their entirety will go to Hala's fund at IC.
Anyone who may have relevant content to share with others and
which would help in the fundraising efforts, should send an e-mail to
Wissam at will@tidwit.com.
As for Hala's garden, it was dedicated to her by the Fairfax com-
munity and is situated right next to Community Social Programs. Hala
is still joyfully helping no doubt!
Hala Yafi’86 Memorial -
“She had the gift of creating joy and always leaving it behind”
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On July 27, 2003, former IC teacher
Robert Courson enjoyed a lunch in Syria
with graduates of ‘61 and ‘62 hosted by Mr.
Nicolas Chahine ‘61.
Standing (left to right) Said Bitar’61, Robert
Courson, Maurice Ghorra, Gaby
Chehade’61, Nabil Abboud’61, Nicolas
Chahine’61, and Souheil Metni’61.
Kneeling (Left to Right) Gaby Garzouzi’62,
NadimAfeiche’61, and Roger Azar’61.
IC
at a glance