DATES TO REMEMBER

• Infant Section Graduation - Friday, 19 June
• Nursery Graduation - Thursday 25 June*
• Upper Elementary Graduation - Friday, 26 June
• BHS OSA 18th International Convention - 3 to 5 July
• Upper School Speech Day - Sunday, 5 July
• Summer Camp:
• Nursery: Monday, 6 July - Friday, 28 August
• Boarding Camp: Tuesday, 7 July - Monday, 24 August
• Day Camp: Thursday, 9 July - Wednesday, 26 August
• Educational Programme: Monday, 13 July* - Friday, 21 August

* Please note change from the yearly calendar.

STAFF DEVELOPMENT
US Arabic teacher, Dr. Lilian Nehmeh, attended a workshop titled “Première Congres Libanais sur les Dyslexie, Dyscalculie, Dysorthographie, Dysgraphie, Dyspraxie” at the Centre Culturel Français on 24, 25, and 26 April 2009.

REPORT CARDS
Please note that in order to receive report cards, all books on loan must be returned, and all fines and tuition fees must be settled.

TUITION FEES 2009/10
Next year’s tuition fee invoices will be given out with the report card for the eldest student in each family. First payment of tuition fees and the bus registration fees are due by 15 September.

SWIMMING POOL OPEN
The swimming pool opening hours are 9:00am-4:45pm Tuesdays through Sundays (closed on Mondays for maintenance). The pool is fully supervised by a qualified lifeguard. Swimming after school hours is free for BHS students. At the weekends and during school holidays, there is a charge of 5,000LL for BHS students and 10,000LL for others.

LIBRARY
There were 278 books donated to the Upper School Library between 7 July 2008 and 2 June 2009. Many thanks go to the students, parents, and friends who support the school library.

UPPER SCHOOL NEWS
English Department
News from the English Department: We are proud to announce that two students won prizes in the recent LAU writing competition. Grace Abou Abdallah (Int. III) won second prize for her essay and Jane Abi Farah (Sec. II) won second prize for her poem. Congratulations to Grace and Jane and to all who took part. There is still time for any budding poets to submit entries for another competition. Check notices in school for details.

Secondary Section
The Secondary Section continues to celebrate success. Honour Roll certificates were awarded to the following students: Abdulrahman Alhazmi & Hersho Barazi (Gr. 10), Nicole Saba & Maya Maria Rizk (Gr. 11), Mohammad Haydar Al Zayat (Gr. 12), Eddy Labaki & Tareq El Homsi (Sec. I IP), Clara Abou Samra, Jane Abi Farah, Kareem Chamseddine, and Lea Zeinoun (Sec. I LP), Patricia Al-Masri (Sec. II H), Andrew Barakat, Joy Chamoun, Majid El Ashkar, Christina Nakhle, & Lea Nehme (Sec. II S). High Honour Roll Certificates were awarded to: Frederic Abou Jaoude, Celia Youssef, Lea Salem, & Dana Rahbani (Sec. I LP), Billal Diab, Daniela Barbara Nofal, & Reine Khoury (Gr. 12). Congratulations.

The May Festival 2009 revealed many talents. Singing Talents: Karim Atassi (Gr. 9) and Hersho Barazi on the guitar (Gr. 10) won 1st Prize, Daniel Ltaif & Tatiana Khabbaz (Sec. III SE) won 2nd Prize, May-Lee Melki, Christel Sakr, & Clara Abou Samra (Sec. I LP) won 3rd Prize. Dancing Talents: Rima Bajuneid (Sec. II IP) won 1st Prize & Hersho Barazi, Nicholas Bsaibes, Omar Abd Al Kader, and group (Sec. I IP & Gr. 10) won 2nd Prize. Playing Music: Celia Youssef & May-Lee Melki (Sec. I LP) & Cynthia Youssef (BHS Graduate) won 1st Prize. DJ: Anthony Khalil (Sec. I LP) won 1st Prize and Walid Toutonji (Gr. 10) won 2nd Prize. Well Done.

The May Queen for this year is Georgina Farran (Sec III LS) and the runner-up is Reine Khoury (Sec. II IP). The Queen received a pearl necklace from Riad Haddad Jewellery. All May Queen candidates, and their friends, celebrated the occasion at the jewellery shop in Brummana. Congratulations.

Joe Al Adem (Sec. II H) will represent the school in a conference about Policies in Climate Change which will be held in Turkey on 28 June. Joe was among the 14 participants from various universities and three schools in Lebanon and was selected by IndyACT NGO. We are proud of you Joe. We hope you can make a difference.

On 12 June, Secondary students will receive “Achievement Certificates” for their hard work and perseverance. The advisers reminded students of the promotion requirements and the exemption policy.

On 3 June, the graduating students held their Prom Night at the Phoenicia Hotel in the presence of a number of teachers.

Students elected Marianne Khalil (Sec. III LS) as Prom Queen, Michael Abou Chedid (Sec. 3 SE) as Prom King, Rema Bajunaid (Sec. II IP) as Prom Princess, and Omar Nouheid (Sec. III SE)  as Prom Prince. The students enjoyed the dinner, danced, and continued the fun at the After Prom Party.

The graduating students had their first rehearsal for the Speech Day on 29 May. They are expected to be at the school at 4:45pm on 5 July for the second rehearsal and a photo session. Students who have official exams should get their admission paper from the Registrar on 15 June.

We wish the Secondary students a good summer vacation. We expect them to read the books assigned by the English and Arabic Departments. Secondary students should seek the opportunity this summer to prepare for the SATs. Students interested in applying to overseas universities should research the universities of their interest and check out the admission requirements and deadlines. Have a nice summer vacation.

Intermediate Section
TRIPS: On 22 May Grade 8 students went with staff Ferial Naimy, Aline Alam, Mona Sarkis, and Elie Ghanem to the National Museum of Beirut. Two hired guides gave our students a detailed explanation of the related history. The trip ended with a lunch for all at a location of fast food restaurants on the Zalka Highway.
29 May was the Grade 9 trip to Jbeil. These students enjoyed a full day with staff Mouhana El Hajj, Mayssaa Haidar, Edmond Joukhdar, Zeina Nakhel Fares, and Elie Ghanem. The trip began with a stop on the highway for a traditional Lebanese breakfast followed by the visit to the ruins in Jbeil. The highlight of the trip was a fun boat ride along the coast of Jbeil city after which the students headed for lunch at a fast food restaurant in Jounieh.  

NON-SMOKING CLUB: The 17 members of this club held their awareness raising campaign during the break of 21 May. The students wore the T-shirts they had designed and printed themselves. They set up a stand on which they displayed their poster work of the year depicting the dangers of smoking and explained the dangers of smoking to the students who gathered to watch. They also sold home-made baked goodies to raise more money for next year’s campaigns.
This club also represented our school at the National Non-Smoking Competition which was held at the “Beit El-Tabib” (Doctor’s House). Our school was amongst 47 other schools which participated and brought home the 3rd place trophy for “Best Club Efforts in Raising Awareness Against Smoking”. Congratulations to all of the members.

RECYCLING CLUB: We are proud of the members of this club who have been diligently gathering items at the end of the lunch breaks for recycling. The items are collected in cardboard boxes which are emptied into the large Sukleen containers every Friday afternoon.

ADVISORY: In last week’s sessions, advisers worked with the students to support the recycling and non-smoking clubs by doing “on the ground” work to get the students involved with the work of these clubs.
This week the advisers will sit down with their advisees to help them plan their study schedule as the final examination week approaches. They will be working on test taking techniques and test anxiety remedies. We wish all the students the best of success in the upcoming final examinations.

GRADE 6 VISIT: Grade 7 students are in the process of preparing to greet Grade 6 students who will be coming up to visit the Upper School on Tuesday, 16 June. Together these two grades will sit and discuss the differences between the Lower and Upper Schools and a tour of the classes will be given. This is designed to ease the transition for these younger students into the upper level.  

LOWER SCHOOL NEWS
Elementary Section
The last quarter of our busy school year started with a flourish: the May Festival. Lower Elementary presented a bouquet of dances and sketches from the work of the Lebanese playwrights -  the Rahbani Brothers. The excerpts were chosen by the teachers and audited by Supervisor William El Roumouz and Music teacher Camille Khalil. The advisers, with the help of P.E. teacher Jessie Sawaya, student Yasmina Aswad, PA members Dina Bishara, Lina Khabbaz, and Janine Bader poured their hearts into training the children to make the Festival a beautiful arrangement of colours, movement, and excitement. The stage background was a typical Lebanese village in which all the events of the Rahbani scenes could have occurred. Special thanks go to all Elementary staff especially to: Vivian Schmaissani, William El Roumouz, and Rima Hajal for designing the backdrop, and to PA members Nahida Aswad, Dina Bishara, and Rania Zeinoun for providing all the costumes needed for the show.  This event was successful because of the collaborative spirit between students, teachers, and parents. This is the beauty and secret of the “I Serve” motto at BHS. 

Another highlight was the Maths contest which was held in the Lower Elementary on 9 June. The second graders who participated were: Majd Issa, Tarek Yared, Michel Sadek, Michel Ghaleb, Elias Haddad, and Walid Habib. Congratulations to Walid Habib who won 1st place and Michel Sadek who came in 2nd place.

Grade 2 students enjoyed a big plate of Fattouch salad which they had prepared as part of their Arabic curriculum. They were very proud to identify, taste and prepare their Lebanese traditional dish. Sahtein!

All classes are preparing for their final big event this year: The Field Day.

Infant Section
Playgroup teachers reinforced classroom teaching by taking students to visit a small farm.

They saw deer, chickens, ducks, geese, and chicks which they were allowed to touch. The children went into a greenhouse where each one of them planted a seed. They finished off the morning with a picnic and a walk in the woods. A big thank you goes to Mrs. Schachter, Mrs. El Hajj, and Mrs. Bohem for accompanying us and giving a helping hand.

KG II students visited the first grade classrooms. The purpose of this visit was to familiarize the children with their surroundings for next year. Be sure to “get the scoop” from your child on this exciting mini introduction to first grade.

Thursday, 11 June was our Field Day. It was an action-packed, fun-filled, non-competitive day for all. Parents and staff cheered for all the children.

Thank you for sharing your children with us this past year. We have truly enjoyed watching each and every one of them learn and grow. They have been delightful! Have a terrific summer!

STAFF NEWS
We express our sincere condolences and deepest sympathy to Ghassan Abu Fadel (BHS Services Manager) and Eliane Abou Fadel Nehme (Assistant Nursery Teacher) on the loss of their wife and mother, Jamal Stephan Abu Fadel, who passed away on Monday, 8 June 2009.

FROM THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT
With the onset of fine weather, it is important to remember to wear sunhats during break times and to drink plenty of water during the day to prevent dehydration. It is also advisable to wear safe footwear when playing to avoid trips and falls. Closed sandals are ideal. Our advice for the hot weather is:

• Use sunscreen (> SPF 15) when outdoors for prolonged periods and especially on trips. The sunscreen should be reapplied every 2 hours.
• Wear caps or hats whenever involved in outdoor school activities. 
• Whenever possible use the shade of trees, umbrellas, and covered areas.
• Avoid being in direct sunlight without protection between the hours of 10am and 2pm.
• Drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration.

THANK YOU TO…
- Student Maximilian Chamaa who donated a Chicco kitchen and student Henry Chedid for donating books, 5 audio CDs, 3 wooden puzzles, and a pop-up educational toy all to the Nursery.
- Grade 5 student Anthony Al Ashkar for donating 2 used books to the Infant Section Library.
- Parent Hoda Malhameh who donated 10 books to the UE Library.
- Principal Dr. Walid El Khoury for donating 4 books, former Head of Upper School Gillian Turner for donating 8 books, Friend in Residence Frances Keenan for donating 7 books, and parent Hoda Malhameh for donating 2 books all to the Thomas Little Memorial Library.
- Librarie du Liban Publishers for donating 12 books for the use of the school.
- Quaker Bronwyn Harwood and a group of three young Quakers, who visited the school in April, for their donation of $100 to the school.

The next newsletter will be published at the beginning of the academic year 2009/2010.

BHS Newsletter
4 June 2010
13 May 2010
23 April 2010
18 March 2010
25 February 2010
4 February 2010
14 January 2010
3 December 2009
5 November 2009
16 October 2009
12 June 2009