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12
Winter
2013
Inauguration of the
Elementary School
International College officially inaugurated its new
Elementary school buildings on Tuesday June 18, 2013
under the auspices of Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
Also present were several government ministers,
mayor of Beirut, IC Board of Trustees, school president
and administrators.
IC President John Johnson first took the stand and
traced back IC’s rich history to 1891 and marveled at
how the school kept its mission of producing open
minded and liberal students. Amazingly, this was the
first official inauguration held for IC since 1914 when
the official IC campus was built in Smyrna, Turkey,
before relocating to Lebanon in 1936.
Imad Taher, head of Buildings and Grounds Com-
mittee, then explained the intricate details of the
environmentally friendly buildings which earned it a
Leed Gold certificate.
Chairman of the Board, William Turner, remem-
bered the many trials that IC went through since he
took over the board 37 years ago. There were many
difficult decisions to make and he came under a lot of
pressure to decide one way or the other. At one point,
there were even ideas to move IC to another country.
But Mr Turner insisted that IC will remain where it
is until it runs out of money. He also announced the
latest Board decision: to build a new Preschool and
Middle school.
Mayor of Beirut, Bilal Hamad, thanked IC for provid-
ing such a wonderful education to both Lebanese and
foreign children. Most important, he said, it taught
students to think outside the box.
Finally, Prime Minister Mikati, whose children at-
tended IC and grandchildren are current students, said
that education is key to alleviating sectarianism in the
country. IC is an example of coexistence and has given
Lebanon and the international community its best
leaders thanks to a curriculum which enforces building
a strong personality, loyalty and integrity. He called on
students to feel patriotic and to spread the message
of peace and love among themselves.
The IC Parents Committee of Ras Beirut
organized a fundraising dinner under the
theme of a traditional Lebanese night at-
tended by IC parents, administration and
board of trustees. The event took place
in the Elementary School Playground. IC
music teacher and singer Tina Yamout
performed accompanied by a pianist. The
dinner was prepared by Souk Al Tayeb.
A draw was held and many attendees
walked with valuable gifts.
The dinner revenue will be go towards
purchasing equipment to benefit the
entire student body.
Ras Beirut
Parents
Fundraising Dinner