Saint George School - Zalqa

Purpose

In addition to securing high academic levels in sciences and humanities and guiding students to have faith in God and understand Church teachings, Saint George High School "instructs students to be responsibly autonomous, abide by human principles and open up to various civilizations so as to interact with their society in a human and civilized manner."

Establishment and evolution

Saint Georges School was established in the early sixties, when Sheikh George Samrani and his wife, members of Notre Dame de la Delivrance parish, decided to take part in educating their neighborhood children and schooling them on Christian and patriotic principles. Thus, the republic decree No. 6361 dated 24-12-1966 allowed the then Cyprus Maronite diocese- Antelias Diocese now- to establish the Maronite Mar Jerjes School which became by virtue of decree No. 179, dated 16-3-1973, the Saint George High School.

When it first started, Saint George was a middle school that admitted male students only. In 1969, it became a unisex school whose classes and students grew to provide the entire secondary stage of education. In 1977, Father Antoine Gemayel established the Saint George Technical School by virtue of decree No. 175, dated May 26, 1977. The school program combines technical baccalaureates in commercial studies, secretary, and nursing.

In 1993 the "Saint George Technical School" turned into the "Saint George High Technical Institute" by virtue of decree No. 2033 dated 1-12-1993. New parts were added to the premises, and the school was coupled with the "Chartereau" school in Lyon-France as part of the twining agreement between the dioceses of Antelias and Lyon. This twinning project promotes spiritual, cultural and academic exchanges and encourages mutual visits between the students and teachers of the two countries.

In 2003, a large rehabilitation workshop was launched in the school and special attention was devoted to the restoration of kindergartens.

The Saint George High School operates in alignment with the instructions of the parish education board and within the scope of Catholic education secretariat.

Status quo

The main and only branch of the school is located in Zalqa, and it consists of three buildings the first of which is dedicated for the administration, the second for elementary and intermediate students and the third for secondary and technical classes.

The school houses several playgrounds and sports clubs to meet the students’ needs and offer them a suitable environment for recreation and exercising.

• 􏰖􏰁Sports clubs including basketball, football and handball clubs.
• 􏰖􏰁Laboratories including physics and chemistry laboratories that help students understand and apply the theories they study.
• 􏰖􏰁A library including a great variety of science and literature books to educate students and promote reading.
• 􏰖􏰁A computer lab used during computer sessions.

Curriculum and education

Being a francophone school, Saint George focuses mainly on the French language, albeit it adopts three education languages- Arabic, French, English and abides by the Lebanese official educational system.

According to the administration, Saint George school aims at fulfilling the following :

• Creating a spiritual environmentat school through student guidance towards Christian values and rethinking educational techniques so that they fall under the special educational program of the diocese.
• 􏰖􏰁Taking care of the behavioral and moral practices of the students and providing a suitable climate that facilitates instruction and success.
• 􏰖􏰁Focusing on advancing French language levels, with due consideration to English as well.

School structure and student population

The Saint George’s administrative committee consists of 6 members against 64 members in the instruction committee which includes both, male and female teachers, distributed according to the courses, the classes and the cycles.

There have been around 593 students at the Saint George School in the past five years. among these, 572 were􏰁 distributed in the academic division at around 26 to 30 students in every class and the rest were studying nursing.

The annual fees range from LBP 1,985,000 and LBP 3,150,000 depending on education cycles and classes. Mindful of the modest living conditions of some Lebanese families, the school offers discounts and financial aids to needy students.

Activities

• 􏰖􏰁Sports activities: the school sports committee organizes volleyball, basketball and football tournaments encompassing a wide range of participants from different schools.
• 􏰖􏰁Arts activities: Saint George students won awards of the Fabriano painting and drawing contests.
• 􏰖􏰁Intellectual and literary activities: Saint George High School holds cultural and literary lectures to accompany students in their quest for knowledge.
• 􏰖􏰁Values education: the school holds lectures that raise the students’ awareness over their social role, physical growth and sex perception.
• 􏰖􏰁University fair: the school organizes an annual university fair to guide students towards the available majors in the market
• 􏰖􏰁Environmental activities: various environmentalactivities are incorporated within the science lessons given to students.
• Social spiritual days: students visit social foundations (senior home care, reformatory...) as part of the social service program in the school.
• 􏰖􏰁Annual festival: the school crowns its yearly activities with a three day festival that summarizes the social and educational projects carried out throughout the year. It also features poetic soirées, plays, exhibitions and different contests between the students and the parents.

Qualities

Despite being a Catholic school that focuses on teaching evangelical values, Saint George High school-Zalqa is an integrated family at full readiness to receive all students regardless of their confessional belonging. Besides the spiritual purposes sought by the school, Saint George aims at achieving academic, national and social goals that result in the production of a student that abides by sublime human values, and learns to develop love for his land and responsibility for his actions.

Central to the fulfillment of these goals are the following entities :

• 􏰖􏰁An education board consisting of education experts including priests and laymen responsible for running the school
• 􏰖􏰁A parental committee tasked with applying the educational and financial policies set by the administration.
• 􏰖􏰁Ateachers’union responsible for managing the teachers’ affairs in collaboration with the administration.
• 􏰖􏰁A student alumni union serving as a bridge between former students and graduates and responsible for organizing cultural and social activities.
• 􏰖􏰁A twinning committee consisting of 15 members that represent the administration, the teachers, the students and the parents.
• 􏰖􏰁A sports club responsible for bringing the youth together and fostering the cooperative spirit among them.
• 􏰖􏰁A group from the Lebanon’s scout association responsible for infusing students with the scouting spirit.