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IC NEWSLETTER -
SPRING 2009
10
Feature
It’s a saga that’s finally coming to an end. The IC elementary
school will be ‘moving home’ on campus after years of
residing in the former British Embassy. The plans have been
made and details are currently being worked out. It’s the
first phase of the Capital Campaign that was launched last
year to rehabilitate the entire campus.
In the beginning
In the late 1970’s, IC purchased the small campus of the
British High School in Bshamoun. The idea was to relieve
the pressure in Ras Beirut and move elementary school
children to the hills. And for a few years, children were
shepherded back and forth. Space was ample in Bshamoun
and students thrived. But during the civil war, the children
were brought back to Beirut and had to make do with
makeshift classrooms around the campus, mostly in the
underground dressing area of the football field.
In 1985 and as enrollments continued to grow, the
elementary grades were moved to the former British
Embassy building on the Corniche.
And there they remained.
Today
For a building that was not meant to be a school, wonders
have been done here.
“We have done what we can here,” said Julia Kozak, the
Elementary School director.
And indeed it was Kozak’s biggest challenge when she
took over the school seven years ago.
Under her guidance, grey walls were whitewashed, small
classrooms were pulled down to make larger ones, storage
rooms were eliminated to enlarge play areas. No stone
was left unturned, as they say.
An even bigger challenge for Kozak was finding enough play
areas for 775 active youngsters. Threemajor terraces including
a roof have been turned into playgrounds. Every single corner
is used in some way. In the school itself, ping-pong tables are
pulled out in a conference room during recess.
“Children have choices where to go and what to do,” said
Kozak. “They like that.”
But still the playgrounds are undeniably crowded. The
noise level can be deafening.
“The kids are space deprived,” said Kozak. “When they go
out and play, it’s almost inevitable that they bump into
each other. I can’t tell them don’t run. They don’t have an
after school garden at home where they can run or ride a
bicycle. So some children at recess go out screaming and
running just like that because they’re out of a small room.”
Fortunately, students seem unaware of this lack of space as
they wiz cheerfully from one place to another.
They’re happy and learning so why change
things?
If IC was an ordinary school, Kozak’s changes to the school
may have been enough to support the schools curriculum.
But IC is not an ordinary school. Its PYP (Primary Years
Program) curriculum requires ample space to create
centers, quiet areas, computer areas, reading corners, paint
stations and much more in one classroom alone.
As it is, an average of 25 students are crowded into a 40m²
room. Manipulatives and materials are not permanent
features in a classroom but brought out when needed.
“The facility is not the key to anexcellent elementary school,”
said John Johnson, IC’s president. “The facility supports
the program, it doesn’t make the program. We make the
program. But our facility doesn’t support all the things that
we do and all the things we want to do. We’re doing very
well with what we have, but with better facilities we’ll be
able to do it even better.”
Johnson is also acutely aware that much of the traffic in the
Ras Beirut area is caused by IC’s arrival and dismissal times.
“It’s a nightmare,” he said. “A new elementary school on
campus will provide an overall safer environment for the
students.”
The Vision
In 2007, IC and AUB completed a historic deal: IC signed
an agreement to acquire the campus and become a
completely independent school.
This means that IC can build a much needed modern
elementary school on its very own campus.
Two US architecture firms which specialize in designing
schools were commissioned. Flansburgh Associates and
Ellenzweig Associates Inc, in a joint venture with Khatib
and Alami, began designing the new structure taking into
account the input of trustees and school directors.
As a result, the new building will be a modern structure up
to American standards.
“This building will be the anchor of the new campus,” said
Board member Imad Taher, the head of the Building and
Ground Development Committee, “It will be custom built
and designed to cater to the needs of the elementary
school.”
The school will have all the modern facilities imaginable
including heating, proper ventilation, air conditioning,
technology friendly classrooms, environment friendly
the
New
Elementary
School