HELLO AND GOODBYE

For the past three months the Arab Institute, grade 11, have been busy doing many activities to practise their English. Recently they have been learning ways to improve their CVs and preparing for job interviews, in English, for University. Some of the students have also contributed to writing for the annual CADFA newsletter. Grade 11 took centre stage at break time in a rival football match between the Science and Humanities class. Also, a few weeks ago, one of the students offered to take me and Robert, the new volunteer in Abu Dis, around Jerusalem for the day, which we really enjoyed. Today the class were introduced to Lawson, one of the new volunteers here.

More recently Abu Dis has been affected by storm Alexa which has brought heavy snow and rain to many parts of Palestine. For at least 3 days the roads have been closed because they are dangerous or blocked with snow. Ramallah had at least half a metre of snow and the bus station there has been closed. I got stuck in Azuun, a town near Qualqelia because there were no buses back to Abu Dis meaning I missed my class at the Arab Institute.

Unfortunately it is not long until I pack my bags and head back to Britain. 3 months in Palestine has gone very quickly and I have really enjoyed teaching at the Arab Institute. The staff have been very welcoming and have given me a great experience, and the students are full of ideas and are very talented in lots of subjects, including speaking English. I hope you can welcome the new volunteers to your school and continue to improve links between the UK and Palestine.

Grade 11 say goodbye

The view from Arab Institute

ARAB INSTITUTE EVACUATED

Today (Wednesday) the boys at Arab Institute wanted to talk about their experiences of a terrible situation that happened near the school and University in Abu Dis. 

Soldiers came on Tuesday evening to destroy a house that was "too close" to the Separation Wall. By around 9.00 o'clock in the morning the local people came to demonstrate against the demolition of the house. 

In response the Israeli military fired tear gas and fired rubber bullets at the protesters. By 10.00 o'clock the University,  Arab Institute and Abu Dis Boys School, which are located near to the demonstration, had to be evacuated because the tear gas was suffocating the students and it was dangerous to stay.

Some students were in exams at the time and others were in lessons which caused distress and stopped them from learning. This has happened many times this year. 

The students have written a short account of what happened, which are uploaded below.

HELLO FROM ARAB INSTITUTE

Today the students from the 11th grade at Arab Institute were introduced to the twinning project. The class has around 15 students who speak good English and are excited about making contact with students in London. They all wrote a short message to the students in London to introduce themselves and to ask questions. Some of these messages are below…

“Hi my name is Ahmed. I’m from the West Bank, Palestine, and I’m 16 years old. I bet that you’re younger than me… anyway, I like playing video games and many other things.”

“Hi!! My name is Salamey and I live near Jerusalem. I’m 16 years old and I love many subjects in school such as English and Mathematics. I want to ask you what problems you have in your life ? Also, how do you think the Israelis treats us?”

“My name is Yousef and I’m from Jerusalem. I’m interested in sports. I’m 17 years old. I’d like to know how life is in London? I have a friend who is from London and we talk every day on skype. He is living in Bahrain now and he can speak Arabic, so we use Arabic when we are chatting.”

“My name is Amar. I am 17 years old. I live in Jerusalem in Isawia which is 30 km from the school and on the way there is an Israeli checkpoint. It takes me 40 minutes every day to get to school. I would like to know what school is like for you?”

“My name is Saleh and I’m 17 years old. I want to be a photographer like my father to post what happens in Palestine from the occupation. I want to ask the students in London, how do you feel towards Palestinian people?”

The beginning of a new term!

A new, exciting term is starting for the twinning groups in England and Palestine. Yesterday, Matthew and I (Mary), the two new volunteers in Abu Dis, had a tour of the schools where we will be facilitating the twinning links and met with the principals and teachers. We can’t wait to meet the students this week!

Goodbye schools.

Nothing to update this blog with. We with the buddies "usually students who join the Palestinian Lunch Club" were busy in the last two weeks with our Palestinian friends who visited London in a youth Drama exchange.

As it is the last few days of  London schools,  it is my last few days in London as well. I could not say goodbye to the kids because they're so active and busy doing other activities- will go and try to see them for the last time next week!

Our time in your school

Hello, we are Ahmad and Yousef from the Arab Insitute School in Abu  Dis. 

We visited your school Acland Burghley on Friday last week and we love it because it is very different and beautiful. 

We went to different classes. In the first class we spoke about Palestine  and then we went to a dance class and we learned some things. Finally we went to a cooking class and we made pancakes and ate them.  They were delicious.

The school is different from our school because it has boys and girls and also it is very big. The children to from one class to another. In our school, the teachers go between the classes not the children. The time in school is more. In Palestine we have six hours in school and a break of twenty minutes. In London thy have eight hours and a lot of break. Also they make food in the school in London but in Palestine they don't do this. They learn more subjects in London like dance, music and drama, and cooking. But in Palestine we don't. In London the children have lockers to keep their things in, we don't.

Another thing is that the summer holiday in London is six weeks and in Palestine it is three months.

We liked everything in your school. Thank you for having us. Please stay in touch.

Haverstock yesterday

The girls and their teacher, Ms Nadia, at Haverstock are really passionate about sewing and embroidery. Well, they started working on small purses for their oyster cards. Some of them want to do their original country's flag, others want to do their names. Pictures will be uploaded next time!