New Scholastic Year 2007-2008

The new school year started on 1st September 2007 with an increase in enrollments. The number of the students reached 300 from kindergarten to seventh grade. Most of the students this year come from the village of El Khader and the nearby areas. As a result of incredible efforts last year by our hard-working faculty and staff, the increase in the number of the students has been remarkable this fall semester/autumn term. 

Again, we are starting this new scholastic year under difficult conditions, in which most Palestinians are obliged to live with road closures, unemployment and poverty. With great hope and trust we are starting this new semester with a renewed aim to educate towards building a more peaceful world.

Educational Progress

We were active this summer with various summertime programs, which worked well. With your continued support and faith in us, the Hope Flowers School has made great progress and we have been able to continue successfully with all of our activities and programs.

Scholarships

Hope Flowers School’s mission is to protect children, and we are still working hard to keep children enrolled at the school when some are hampered by their families’ financial hardship. The school has increased the number of scholarships offered to deserving students. This year, 60 students benefit from full scholarships and 30 students are beneficiaries of partial scholarships. The school managed to increase the number of scholarships with a grant received from USAID. This grant was implemented through a support program USAID gives to private schools in the West Bank, supporting the education of students in need of assistance.

Taking into consideration the school’s educational progress and our successful outreach programs within the community, we believe the increase in enrollments demonstrates that our efforts with the scholarship program have been worth it.

Summer Activities

Training of school teachers in supporting war-traumatized children. This program started as a pilot project in 2006. During the pilot, we trained 15 Palestinian trainers and 30 teachers from 15 selected private and UNRWA (United Nations Relief & Work Agency) schools. The training program was divided into two parts. Part one was the training of trainers, in which Palestinian psychologists and school counselors received professional training in supporting war-traumatized children. Psychologists and school counselors were also trained as trainers and provided with skills and knowledge to conduct teacher trainings in supporting war-traumatized children. The pilot program proved to be a success, and the project was extended to three years, starting in January 2007. During the three year program 180 teachers and school counselors from 90 schools in the southern West Bank (Bethlehem and Hebron areas) will benefit from the training. The training program aims to provide Palestinian teachers with skills and knowledge in identifying war traumatized children, managing their special needs and referring them to the right kind of professional support.

 Continued here: Newsletter December 2007