ACS Matters Fall/Winter 2016-17

The American Community School Beirut Magazine

Fall/ Winter 2016 - 17

A Trip Down

Memory Lane

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ACS Matters XXXXXXXXXXXX

Damon Rickett (ES Assistant Principal)

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Student artwork XXXXXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXXXXX, XX, XXXXXXXX

Contents ACS Matters - The American Community School Beirut Magazine

Fall/ Winter 2016 - 17

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cover story

A Trip Down

Memory Lane

Three alumni recount distinct epochs of the school before, during and after the Civl War. 20 Pre-war ACS Alums Share Fond Memories 22 Student Experiences at ACS During the Lebanese Civil War: 1975 - 1990 27 ACS in the Aftermath of the Civil War

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from the Head of School ACS Matters is prepared and produced by the Development and Alumni Relations Office

Greg L. MacGilpin, Jr.

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Alumni Footprints editor

Alison Skelton contributing writers

Maria Bashshur Abunnasr ‘84 Nicholas Boke ‘63 Lina Mounzer ‘95 Daniel Saint James

Lara Ariss ‘03, Nasser Nakib ‘80, Omar Naim ‘95, Karen Kalou ‘99 and Walid Shibbani ‘02

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Knights give back to ACS

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Early Years Program Builds a Nature-Themed Playground

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What is the ACS Alumni Association?

Middle School Science Floor Becomes STEM Friendly

& layout Nada Fawaz

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photography

Melinda Brunger ‘68

design

Amer Assi Johnny El Khawand ACS Faculty/ Staff & Archives

ACS Beirut AA

Alumni Profile

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Community Question Six Word Memoirs

Please send your anecdotes, fondest remembrences, entertaining stories and photos of your memories at ACS to: news@acs.edu.lb

Faculty Spotlight

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Campus News

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Capital Campaign & Endowment vs.

Annual Fund

Greg L. MacGilpin, Jr.

What’s the difference?

Meet the New Head of School

Student artwork

Letter from the Head of School

Dear ACS Community, Even prior to the start of my tenure at ACS, I was meeting ACS alumni. When word of my hiring reached the community, I received notes and emails from alumni in the States and in Lebanon congratulating me and using the opportunity to provide words of wisdom about ACS. In Boston this past August, I was fortunate to further that foundational knowledge by meeting some of the 300 alumni that enjoyed our triennial alumni reunion hosted by our Alumni Association. Each interaction began with an interest in my life and then a story of how ACS impacted them and what they do today.

This issue of ACS matters features voices from that part of our community. We are fortunate to have alumni leading in their fields across the globe and willing to share what they do with us.

Whether in the traditional professions or through an entrepreneurial spirit, alumni at ACS tend to gravitate toward leading by doing, by going after what you are passionate about, and being willing to work towards those ends with an un-abandoned fervor. Through their interviews with us, we found that their time at ACS was transformative because there were people here that guided them, challenged them and encouraged them to learn.

And setting such an environment for our students is evident on our campus today. Our faculty and staff are engaged on a daily basis with improving their approaches and deepening their understanding of how to best support learning. We set an example of sustained practice, such as an ongoing photovoltaic solar panel project as part of our Go Green 2020 School Wide Plan. Our science students tinker, experiment and explore in labs that reflect both the rigor and vigor of project based approaches. Our youngest ones enjoy an outdoor space that focuses on the power of natural play, instilling an early disposition of curiosity and exploration.

Through it all is the idea of connection. How our students connect to the greater world, with the elements of their physical environment, and most significantly with each other. Through my conversation with alumni, whether in New York, Beirut or London, they speak of their ability to work with others, to solve problems through a lens that began at ACS. As you will read in this issue and when you observe our students on campus, working on these connections is at the heart of what we do.

The strongest way you can keep connected is to stay in touch with our School, whether through our alumni office, on social media or a visit on any given day.

Enjoy this issue of ACS Matters.

Greg L. MacGilpin, Jr.

Alumni Footprints ACS Alumni - A look at where they are today

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The point of an education is to make your mind an interesting place in which to live for the rest of your life.” - Unknown Freshly minted ACS grads set off into the world with a passion for learning, a framework for problem solving, and a desire to help others.

It should come as no surprise that many go on to become leaders of their respective fields. From arts to finance, medical, non-profit, education and legal fields, ACS grads pursue careers that are as diverse as the school itself. Here we profile the careers of five ACS alumni.

Bleu, Lara gained practical experience by working at Cocomaya chocolatier and The Wolseley, London’s grand tearoom.

Lara

Ariss ‘03

ACS Matters Fall/ Winter 2016 - 17

Lara Ariss is no stranger to great food. Growing up eating seasonal, fresh produce from her family’s farm in Sarafand, Lebanon, Lara developed a taste for flavorful foods at an early age. What started out as a family hobby—farming, harvesting and cooking meals from the fresh ingredients of their garden— established a sturdy foundation on which Lara has built her professional career.

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But Lara wasn’t always sure that this would be her path. Three years out of college and uninspired by her work in the advertising industry, Lara longed to leave it all and follow her passion. She took the first step by quitting her job and enrolling in culinary school at Le Cordon Bleu London, the world-renowned academy for French cuisine. While at Le Cordon

Now, five years later, she is the published author of “Levantine Harvest: Flavors for All Seasons.” The cookbook, released in Fall 2016, was inspired by the place where it all started— her family’s farm. Lara simplifies complex, traditional Levantine recipes in her book to make them more accessible to a modern, fast-paced lifestyle. “My cooking style is very fresh and seasonal,” says Lara. “It is not fussy. I don’t believe cooking should be difficult or boring or have 10,000 inaccessible ingredients. My objective is to inspire people to be in the kitchen and to create food that has flavor and tastes good.”

Lara describes ACS’ impact on her life, sharing: “My closest friends now are the friends I made at ACS… We never left each other. They helped me with the cookbook, they are part of my food tastings, they give me feedback and moral support.” They also were her support system when she decided to make her career change. “They encouraged me to do what I wanted and not to feel bad leaving the corporate world.” That same sentiment is reflected in how she describes ACS as a whole. “ACS encourages students to try different things, experiment a little until you find your forte,” Lara explains. “And, if you know what you want, they help you go in that direction.”

contemporary modern and classic modern while New York City is classics.” Much of Nakib’s work in New York involves renovating interiors while preserving the exteriors. “When working in historic areas in New York City, you are renovating. You go in and tear everything out until it’s down to a complete shell.”

Nasser Nakib ‘80

Nasser Nakib was a high school senior and captain of the ACS basketball team at the height of the Lebanese Civil War in 1980. By the time he graduated from high school in June 1980, he was one of 16 students remaining in his grade at ACS, as more than half had fled the country with their families to escape the war’s violence. Upon graduating from ACS, Nakib left the country, too, and enrolled in the cold climes of the University of Minnesota (U of M). It was during his time as an undergraduate at U of M that he pursued his interest in architecture, and obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture followed by a Masters from the Southern California Institute of Architecture.

After completing his education, Nakib moved to the Big Apple and shortly after started his own architecture firm in 1993 specializing in high-end residential work in New York City and Beirut. More than 80 percent of Nakib’s work is in residential homes, having designed over 50 homes himself in the span of his career so far. You can find his work all over Manhattan in neighborhoods like the West Village, on Park Avenue, and the Upper East Side, as well as in high-end areas of Beirut like Achrafieh and along the Corniche. Nakib has also designed vacation homes for his clients in the Hamptons, the Mediterranean, along the Rocky Mountains, and more.

When describing the difference in style between Beirut and New York, Nakib says: “Beirut [design] is more contemporary. The design is mostly continental,

Employees of Nakib’s firm work remotely and collaborate via Skype, FaceTime, and through virtual drawings. With no physical office, the firm employees have the flexibility to work from wherever they want.

Nakib himself lives half the year in New York and the other in Beirut. “I get to enjoy both aspects of life,” says Nakib. “I have the best cheeseburgers in New York and I come back to Beirut and have my kibbeh.”

Nakib’s favorite part about the job? “The fact that you are working with real stuff—brick and mortar—is very gratifying. The plan starts out as intellectual and moves into the physical. I still remember the first time that we did a project—a multi-million dollar project—it was raining and there was mud everywhere. I remember thinking to myself, ‘what have I done? What if I do it wrong?’ I was so scared looking at this big mud field.

You really affect a lot of earth.”

Nakib has been listed in House Beautiful as one of the “Top 100 US Designers” for several years running and has been featured in Home and Garden, Gotham, Vogue, Living, Town & Country, Byzance, and Elle Décor, among others. You can visit www.nassernakib. com for a look at his work.

The interior of a residential home designed by Nakib in Byblos

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just have some fun?’ But then I discovered he was totally right. That film really made me understand Lebanon better and made me discover documentary as a whole new medium.”

Omar

Naim ‘95

Screenwriter and film director Omar Naim got an early start to his career during his time as a student at ACS. Naim was on the newspaper and in theater club, and starred in the ACS theater production of A Streetcar Named Desire in high school. Never would Naim have guessed that one-day the beloved actor Robin Williams would star in one of his films— and when Naim was only the age of 26.

Naim grew up as part of a self-described “theater family.” The son of a Lebanese actress and playwright, he was naturally drawn to the arts. “Since I was 12 or 13, I’ve been wanting to do film and writing, so I was always trying to find ways to explore those things,” said Naim. His mother, Nidal Al-Ashkar, founded Masrah Al-Madina in 1996.

ACS Matters Fall/ Winter 2016 - 17

After graduating from ACS, and with encouragement from former ACS College Counselor Laila Alamuddin, Naim enrolled in Emerson College, a school specializing in communications and performing arts in Boston, Massachusetts. Naim created his first film—a documentary— while at Emerson for his senior thesis about the Lebanese Civil War entitled: “Grand Theater: A tale of Beirut.” The documentary received much acclaim, and was selected for the San Francisco Arab Film Festival as well as nominated as a finalist for the Student Academy Awards.

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Although hesitant to make his first film about Lebanon, he later decided it was a good idea. “My professor would tell me, ‘you’re from an interesting place, why don’t you make a documentary about Lebanon?’ And, at first I thought, ‘whatever man, you don’t think we can write fiction and that everything has to be journalism from the Middle East? Can’t we

Fresh out of college and with confidence gleaned from the success of his senior film thesis, Naim moved to Los Angeles in 1999 to start his screenplay-writing career.

He worked on a script for a year that eventually became his first feature film, “The Final Cut.” A science fiction film where memory implants record people’s entire lives, the main character is an editor who cuts out life’s unsavory moments. The families of the loved ones then watch the favorable, edited memories at funerals to remember the lives of those who passed away.

Naim describes the film as a metaphor for Lebanon.

“I feel it was inspired by Lebanese-ness and Lebanese people’s relationships to their own memories, particularly in regards to the war because we can’t agree on a history.”

The script was floated around to different actors, which is how Robin Williams came across it. Williams loved the script and signed on as the lead character.

Much to Naim’s surprise, Williams was a fan of science fiction. “Turns out he was a big science fiction nerd,” said Naim. “He’s read all the books and played all the video games. So we got to ‘nerd out’ with Robin Williams and that was fun. He was extremely prepared, full of good ideas, really knew what kind of movie we were making, generous with all the other actors and just hilarious between takes.”

Naim reflects on his time at ACS, stating: “Lebanon is [my ACS classmates] for me. It’s my family and my group of friends from ACS.” Not only have his ACS classmates been friends for life, but they have helped Naim in his professional life. “I collaborate with them constantly professionally. Several of my friends are now artists, writers, filmmakers, and they are the first to give me notes on my scripts. They’ve known me since I was 14, at sort of the nascent point of my creative self, so it is hard to find someone you trust who has good taste and will be willing to be critical of you without destroying you.”

Naim is currently working on a documentary about Masrah Al-Madina in honor of the theater’s 20th anniversary, and has directed and penned several screenplays throughout his career.

of Photography. It was there that she acquired the skills she needed to become a commercial and fine art photographer, and returned to Beirut in 2008 to start a business. Two years later, she and her colleague Josette Youssef won $10,000 Euros from the Deutsche Bank Creative Awards and their work was put on the map.

Karen Kalou ‘99

“Basta #1” from Kalou’s 2011 Rain Series (detail)

For professional photographer Karen Kalou, establishing an art career was something she had to push for, and Kalou credits former Head of School Catherine Bashshur for giving her the confidence to do so.

While at ACS, Kalou excelled in art and social sciences, but struggled in biology and chemistry. Ms. Bashshur, Kalou’s advisor, recognized Kalou’s talent in the Zephyr magazine and the ACS yearbook. As Kalou recalls, “I’ll never forget [Ms. Bashshur] for this because she saw my strengths and instilled me with a lot of confidence at a time when my confidence was going because of my sciences.” Ms. Bashshur met with Kalou’s parents to try to convince them of sending her to art school, although unsuccessful.

Kalou went on to receive a B.A. in Women’s Studies and Human Relations from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, and shortly thereafter enrolled in a photography program at Dawson’s Institute

Kalou now balances her time between her two photography entities —Karen and Josette Photography for commercial photography and Karen Kalou for her fine art work. Her first fine art exhibit, entitled “The Rain Series,” debuted in 2011 at the Running Horse Gallery in Beirut, and later travelled to Turin (Paratissima Gallery), London (Royal College of Art) and the Boghossian Art Foundation in Brussels.

Kalou’s focus on her commercial photography business is to keep things natural. “My business partner at the time and I wanted to do something in the Middle East that was not being done, which was a real, natural approach to commercial photography,” says Kalou.

“So no glamour, minimal retouching, and more light than dark in our work,” she adds.

Kalou now independently owns and operates Karen and Josette Photography, and her commercial work covers the gamut from editorial for international magazines to portraiture, documentary wedding, family photography, and corporate—all with a Karen and Josette aesthetic style to it.

While a new personal website is underway, please visit kkalou.blogspot.com and www.karenandjosette.com for her commercial work.

“Post-Apocalyptic Scape #5” from Kalou’s Post Apocalyptic Scapes

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Walid

Shibbani ‘02

Walid Shibbani proves that hard work, discipline, and passion pay off. A capital markets lawyer at the Bostonbased firm State Street Global Advisors, Shibbani wears dual finance and legal hats in his position as Vice President of Marketing Compliance.

ACS Matters Fall/ Winter 2016 - 17

Fascinated by both the financial and legal worlds since a young age, Shibbani put in twice the effort to attain the skills he needed to work in both domains.

Facing obstacles finding a U.S.-based job in capital markets due to the troubled economy of the Great Recession, Shibbani returned to Beirut in 2010 after graduating from law school in Boston. He looked for career opportunities that would allow him to remain marketable and found work as a legal advisor for the Bank Chairman of the Middle East and Africa Bank.

He later headed up an oil venture based in Lebanon and Iraq. These unique opportunities harnessed the skills and exposure he needed to bring something unique to the table, and by 2015, Shibanni was back in Boston working for investment advisor State Street Global Markets.

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Shibbani’s key to success is to embrace the big picture.

“As Middle Easterners I think we have it built in us to build bridges,” Shibbani observes. “We are very good at building bridges on the personal level. And what I’ve found is that if you approach multi-dimensional job with only one dimension at your disposal, than you’re hoping that there is another person who will compliment you perfectly, and that they can make up whatever dimension you lack. I have found that when you approach my job with experience deeply rooted in both [legal and financial] dimensions, you actually see a lot of bridges that others may not be able to perceive.”

Shibbani’s dream job is to one day be General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of a mid-size investment advisor. “It’s the dual capacity of being an attorney and Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) where you’re dealing with the daily business day in and day out. You can’t succeed if you’re only an attorney without understanding the bread and butter of investment management. And you can’t succeed if you’re just an investment advisor and you don’t master the regulatory realm you operate in. So it’s that dual capacity that is ultimately where I’d want to be.”

His advice to ACS students and grads interested in pursuing this type of work is to “do it because you absolutely love it”. “The reason you have to do it because you love it is that it requires a lot of commitment and discipline. And, generally, my experience is if you do something that you are not personally driven to do, that discipline is going to wane at some point, and that will put you behind the curve.”

Shibbani’s work schedule is not for the faint of heart— he clocks in approximately 70 to 74 hours each week.

Nonetheless, he is careful to build in downtime and stresses the importance of living a balanced lifestyle: “The more demanding the work lifestyle becomes, the more important it is to do things that relax a person whether it is taking your dog for a walk or feeding your goldfish…whatever it is, you need to have that downtime because, believe it or not, it boosts productivity like nothing I’ve experienced,” shared Shibbani. n

What is the ACS Alumni Association?

Kareem Kombarji ‘09

The Alumni Association of ACS has long been a part of ACS’s history and, in the past three years, has embarked on a robust journey to re-establish itself as an all-encompassing entity tasked with representing all alumni, serving their needs, connecting them with one another, and supporting the school we all love. As a Governor of the Association, I am often asked some basic questions by my fellow alumni.

What exactly is the Alumni Association?

Who does the Alumni Association serve?

Having served on the board for the past three years, and as I get ready to serve another three, I find myself answering this question with an analogy. The Alumni Association of ACS is something like a typical, loud, present, Lebanese family composed of ACSers going back generations, each with their own stories and experiences, all stemming from the common stock that is ACS. The Alumni Association strives to connect these alumni, this intergenerational family, through various programs, initiatives, and reunions.

We are here to serve you, our ACS family. Our alumni body is unique and different from that of most other international schools. The Lebanese Civil War was a defining moment for ACS. Prior to the war, ACS was a boarding school attended primarily by Americans and expatriates. At a point during the war, total school enrollment dropped to just 12 students and, as a result, the school’s leadership was forced to make the bold decision to shut down ACS’s boarding department and open its doors to Lebanese citizens as well as Americans and expats. In so doing, they ensured the continued existence of ACS for what they hoped would be generations to come. Thankfully successful, ACS’s enrollment and resulting alumni has since recovered and is today comprised of an extremely diverse group of leaders. It is the Alumni Association’s duty, first and foremost, to serve and represent all these constituents regardless of age, background, nationality, or geographic location.

What does the Alumni Association do?

The Association has made a tradition of hosting a reunion in the US every three years. We publish a quarterly newsletter, The Diaspora Potrezebie, that provides updates and news about ACS alumni. We also raise funds to support the alma matter we share.

While these are all activities the Alumni Association has undertaken for years, the current board is actively pursuing a slew of enhancements to refresh our presence and become more relevant to younger alumni who have typically been less engaged. We are actively increasing our social media presence and are finding ways to expand our communication to more digestible digital media. We look forward to introducing some of these revamped services to you very soon.

How can I, as an Alum, play a larger, more active role? Like any good family member, I’d ask that you keep in touch. Make sure we have your most up to date contact information, ensure you keep us abreast of your news and accomplishments, and let us know how we, the Alumni Association and your ACS family, can help you. n 13

Alumni Profile Melinda Held Brunger ‘68

Board of Trustees member and former student Melinda Held Brunger ‘68 shares with ACS Matters how the school shaped who she is today.

Support from the Brunger family helped to sponsor the recently opened Brunger Family Music Room at ACS. Where did you grow up?

I was born in Nebraska. My father became a diplomat in the U.S. Foreign Service and we moved to Lebanon when I was 5. I then lived in Saudi Arabia and moved back to the States for boarding school.

Why did your family move to Beirut?

My father, Colbert Held, was a regional Middle East specialist and the Geographic Attaché for the region.

He has a PhD in Geography and before he went into diplomacy, he was a professor. He wrote a book called Middle East Patterns, now in its Sixth Edition, which has maps and a chapter on Lebanon as well as every other country in the region.

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What grades did you attend ACS? I attended ACS for Kindergarten and 1st grade, then French school, and then went back to ACS for 4th and 5th grade. My husband was there from 7th grade through high school. My sister went to ACS; my husband’s three siblings also went to ACS; his brother married someone from ACS; and her brother went to ACS— so that’s a lot of people in our extended family, more than 40 years of ACS education in all.

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How did you and your husband meet, as most of your time at ACS did not overlap?

When I was in 5th grade at ACS and he was in 7th grade, we overlapped for a year. Later, at Middlebury College, we were introduced through our families who were friends in Beirut. The fact that I married someone who spent time in Lebanon is not coincidence. You end up very shaped by your time there.

What brought your husband’s family to Beirut?

His father did refugee relief work and worked with the international YMCA. They’d been in Hong Kong and then moved to Lebanon because of the large number of refugees then – and now.

Tell me about your experience at ACS It’s a special place with a lot of incredibly dedicated teachers, who are there for a reason. It was one of the shining expat schools. There was a strong and talented American community, including American University of Beirut faculty.

Everyone else was a mix of people who either wanted an American education or planned to attend American universities. Many of the parents had compelling reasons to be in Beirut.

What made your time in Lebanon special?

It’s a close community in Lebanon that is hard to get in an American city. Being in Lebanon is just a much more intense way to experience life. The Lebanese people are famously warm and dynamic. And history is all around you.

How did you reconnect with ACS? I reconnected with the vibrant ACS alumni group that was established independently from the school. It’s a lot of people in the U.S. who had strong and warm memories of their time in Lebanon. We just started having reunions, about 20-25 years ago.

The ACS experience is not something most people outside of the expatriate community understand very well. I’m lucky because my entire extended family went to ACS—so we are a mini-reunion in and of ourselves.

How long have you been on the Board of Trustees?

About two years ago, I joined the Board. I really admire the other trustees. It’s an accomplished group of people with great insights and commitment to the school.

What drew you to join the Board of Trustees?

Many reasons. ACS is educating new leaders with an understanding of the Middle East, which is a worthy mission. ACS is also building new programs and facilities while honoring more than 100 years of history. It’s an exciting time, and the support of the wider ACS community really counts.

What are some of the similarities you see between ACS when you were a student and now?

When I was there, when it was an expatriate school, you knew you were going to be moving around. You might be moving every two to four years. And when new people came, you knew next time it could be you.

You could be the one who was new. So there was this constant mix of people in the expatriate community and it made people welcoming because that just became the norm and a necessity.

That welcoming spirit is unchanged. What’s really the same at ACS is this close feeling among the students.

I’ve gone to some reunions of current ACS students in Beirut, and they’re very supportive of each other.

The school now has real stability in terms of students staying from Pre-K to 12, which is a big strength for the school now compared to then. The students are tied long term to Beirut and each other.

ACS now has a broader scope of academic programs, including Honors, Lebanese Baccalaureate and French Baccalaureate. Then as now, the talent and dedication of the ACS faculty and leadership stand out.

What do you do for work?

I’m a corporate lawyer for Andrews Kurth, a law firm headquartered in Houston, Texas. We have a Dubai office, which is exciting for me because that’s another relationship with the Middle East.

From left to right: Hamilton Clark (former Head of School), Dr. Bill Brunger ‘66, Melinda Brunger ‘68 and Nina Joukowsky Köprülü ‘79 (BOT President) at the dedication ceremony of the Brunger Family Music Room in 2015

Brunger family ACS alumni at a recent reunion. From left to right: Melinda Brunger ‘68, Dr. Scott Brunger ‘64, Muriel Brunger ‘73, Dr. Bill Brunger ‘66, and Rev. Ann Owens Brunger ‘65

How did you end up in Houston?

Bill has spent his career working for airlines. He does revenue management—a.k.a. forecasting. He started at American Airlines in Dallas and then moved to Continental Airlines in Houston. He is now a consultant for United Airlines, as well as some airlines internationally, including in the Middle East.

Would you say your international background helps inform your work as a corporate lawyer?

Yes, very much, because energy companies are everywhere. The fact that you can more or less jump in and talk to anybody and understand their perspectives is a good thing—and also very rewarding. n 15

Sure, your life story could fill a thousand pagesbut sometimes a few words are all you need.

If you could distill your life into six words, what would you say?

Each day is a fresh page.

- Susan Larson (HS English Teacher)

Music isn’t important as is life.

Learn to color outside the lines.

- Jeffrey Wenz

Make a mess.

Clean.

Rinse.

Repeat.

(Music Teacher)

Reflect, let go, coffee, flowers, hope, grow.

- Nada Fakhoury

To thine own self be true.

- Dyane Stillman (HS Drama & English Teacher)

- Simon Barakat (MS Science Teacher)

- Greg L. MacGilpin, Jr. (Head of School)

“You want me to do What?”

- Debora Carreras

(ES ELL)

(College Counselor)

It is all about the journey not the destination.

- Talar Partiyan (HS Biology Teacher)

Obfuscated, Obnubilated, Objurgated, Obligated, Obturated, Obliterated!

- Samer Madbak (HS Chemistry Teacher)

Love nature though stuck in city.

- May Najjar Hamade (Homeroom Teacher)

Traveling the rest of my life.

- Nicolas Marlin (MS French Teacher)

Left, returned.

Left, returned.

Left, stayed.

- Thomas Pederson (HS Math Teacher)

Always grateful to the unconditional love in my life!

- Wafa Kays (Arabic Teacher)

Born.

School.

Job. Marriage.

Soon baby!

- Eric Triche (MS Language Arts Teacher)

Life is about people and experiences, not things.

- Tracie Landry (HS Library & Information Technology Integration Coordinator)

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ACS Matters Fall/ Winter 2016 - 17

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Pre-war ACS Alums Share Fond Memories

ACS Matters Fall/ Winter 2016 - 17

Nicholas Boke ‘63

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Nicholas Boke spent his seventh to tenth grade years at ACS (1957-61), when his mother was Deputy Program Officer for USAID and he lived near Raouche. He visited Beirut several times before returning to ACS to teach English and History in 2007, after which he was Training Manager for Teach For Lebanon. He continues to work on a variety of projects in Lebanon and the Middle East.

Students who attended ACS before the civil war have much in common. They agree that they received a good education at ACS, enjoyed living in Lebanon, and, now, appreciate staying in touch with others who

shared the experience. Most important, they feel that their time at ACS and in Beirut made them the person they became.

For some, the ACS/Beirut experience influenced their career path. For others, it generated a love of travel. For all of them, however, it opened their minds to how the world works, and their hearts to how people operate.

Karen Hunt, who spent six years at the school and whose class graduated hurriedly in 1975 as the war got under way, says, “This experience shaped me in terms

of fundamental principles. It affected how I think. I’ve been in human services all my life, in part because of what I saw in the Palestinian refugee camps.” Robert Reeves, who graduated in 1970, after three-plus years at ACS, comments, “I wasn’t really happy about leaving my small-town school in Texas, but I realized later that it had changed my world view.” To Joann Atwood, who attended ACS from 1965 until her graduation in 1972, it boils down to what she learned about Lebanese culture: “What Beirut showed me was about generosity and that whole Lebanese spirit that I try to weave into my life.”

Jay Bruder ’74 emphasizes the connection between what he saw as a student and what he saw when he visited the school recently: “There’s a tremendous continuity between the students of ACS today and students of ACS of past generations—we all face this reality of adjusting between two cultures.”

Patrick Hind ‘56 has been involved with the Alumni Association and Board of Trustees—recently serving as Board President—says, “It opened me up to the world. When my classmates and I get together, we don’t just talk about our reminiscences, but about the problems of the world.” And, Betsy van den Berg Toperzer says that the experience “informs, in every way, who I am now.”

Today, whether they live in New York City or San Diego, Alexandria or Austin these alums stay closely connected with ACS friends. Reeves, who has attended several reunions and mini-reunions, is especially pleased at the doors that social media like Facebook have opened, so he can stay connected to old ACS friends and make new ones. Bruder notes that, “the best friends in my life came from ACS. I can pick up the phone and call two dozen people from my time at ACS and have deep conversations.” Hunt says that three of her classmates came to her wedding, and Atwood says she stays in touch with her “Gruesome Foursome plus one” friends at ACS. But it wasn’t just the students they remember.

Everybody has a favorite teacher. History teacher Peter Gibson—who went on to found the alumni association—was mentioned by several, as was drama coach Richard Pellet, about whom van der Berg Toperzer says, “I’m in theater to this day, and that’s all Richard Pellet’s fault.”

All the interviewees emphasized the quality of the ACS education, either comparing it with the schools they where they’d studied before, or with their college experience. Hunt says that the teachers “were phenomenal at identifying our strengths and helping us work on our problems.” Bruder calls Mr. Oliver’s Modern Middle East class was “like an upper division college level class.” Van der Berg Torperzer explains that her ACS music theory course and literature courses were more rigorous than similar classes she took in college.

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But the teachers weren’t recalled only for their work in the classroom. Bruder recalls going on Peter Gibson’s “Greece trip with him and I have never been able to duplicate it.” He adds that math teacher George Khattas took students on weekend trips to the Lebanese countryside and even as far as Aleppo.

Even without the teachers, though, the students— whether they lived in the Boarding Department (or

For some, the ACS/Beirut experience influenced their career path. For others, it generated a love of travel.

For all of them, however, it opened their minds to how the world works, and their hearts to how people operate.

BD, from which the building which currently houses many of the high school classes got its name) or in Beirut itself—got around quite a bit.

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Reeves, a boarding student, says, “When I think about my experiences at ACS, I think of camping on the river in Damour and swimming there. A trip to Cyprus and another to Greece. Tooling around Damascus on a bus where we visited a friend. Even just walking through AUB when it had just rained. So many amazing things.”

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Boarding student Van der Berg Torperzer wishes she had gotten to know Beirut better, but recalls being taught “the Hamra cruise” as she learned how to navigate the crowds and the traffic.

Memories of ACS and Beirut abound, sometimes playful, sometimes profound. Several have visited the region since graduating, such as Hinds, who has come back a number of time in his roles on the Alumni Association and Board of Trustees. He recalls bringing his wife with him in 2005. “We were walking down Rue Hamra when a Lebanese woman approached my wife,” Hinds says. “‘Are you American?’ the woman asked. My wife, with trepidation, replied, ‘Yes.’ ‘Oh, we’re so glad you’re coming back,’ the woman said.”

Atwood says, “I would go back in a heartbeat if I could make a living there,” whereas Hunt has made her fondness for the place very tangible— and visible. “I just got a tattoo, a cedar of Lebanon, for my fifty-eighth birthday,” she says.

Student Experiences at ACS During the Lebanese Civil War: 1975 - 1990 Maria Bashshur Abunnasr ‘84

In the fall of 1975, the year the Lebanese Civil War began, my parents moved me to ACS for 4th grade.

My mother Catherine Bashshur taught 7th and 8th grade English and Social Studies and ACS was much closer to home in the increasingly unstable political environment. My memories of elementary school are blurry, but I distinctly remember the transition to the new world of high school in 7th grade where I spent the next 6 years until 1984. At that time, 7th though 12th grade students shared the high school building.

From a 7th grader’s perspective to brush shoulders with upper classmen (and women) was exhilarating, all the more so when a 12th grader teasingly insisted that I be his prom date. Like today, we moved from

one class to the next and during breaks there was the Rabbit Field for ball games, but we mostly hung out in the high school courtyard or went down the street to Kamil’s. Nancy Bakht ’85 remembers, “I played pinball every day with my friends down at Kamil’s sandwich shop. I became so adept, all I needed was a 25-piece piaster coin to play for the entire recess or lunch break, downing a za’atar manoushee and a Nejem lemonade in the process. I enjoyed congregating with others around the tree in the courtyard and listening to the students in higher grades talk about life, relationships, and politics.”

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ACS Matters Fall/ Winter 2016 - 17

The 11th and 12th graders seemed much more grown up then. Some male students, and at least one female, parked their motorcycles in the courtyard, smoked cigarettes around the tree, left campus between classes, and took part in strikes for various causes.

My mother’s social studies classroom strategically overlooked the courtyard, so her ever-watchful eye kept me under constant check. The few times I dared skip class to join the strike, my mother’s voice would ring out across the courtyard, “Maria Ann Bashshur, get back in here right now!” I’ll spare you the details of my constant teenage angst when students asked her as Student Activity advisor to chaperone every single high school dance, and there were at least six dances a year not including the prom.

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In those years, the war’s most significant impact was the utter insularity it imposed on our school-centered social lives. We kept so busy planning school events, as if the busier we were, the more we’d keep the war at bay. Melissa Reynolds Williamson ‘85 remembers, “All of the extra-curricular activities such as Spring Fair (Carnival), Field Day, high school plays, basketball games, Talent Show, dances... it always felt like a very cohesive community in

that I remember always attending events that included students of all ages and each event felt very spirited and positive and communal.

Though the school got much smaller during my time there, there was no loss of community - I remember stopping in Kamil’s or working side by side at the Spring Fair (Carnival) with students of all ages and backgrounds - age and grade didn’t seem to matter in regard to friendships.”

And Makram Hamdan ‘84 remembers, “the dances we always had and the plays like A Christmas Carol.”

Ninth grade, 1980-1981, was a particularly full year.

For one thing, student numbers were up to 118, an all-wartime high. And 9th grade was the first year of real high school when I finally made headway with my English teacher, Mrs. Anne Lockwood to whom I credit whatever writing skills I have until this day.

Mr. Robert Foss taught us college-level French; we read French novels (by Camus, Ionescu, Voltaire), translated the newspaper (L’Orient le Jour), and gave oral presentations about French history involving the flamboyance of Louis XIVth that I can never forget.

Donna Holland, our algebra teacher was particularly memorable. Nancy Bakht, remembers,

“Donna Holland, a tough redhead from Kentucky, was often irritated by the interruptions caused by sniper fire. One day, she decided she wasn’t going to let the shooting outside stop her from teaching a lesson. The entire school had evacuated to the basement classrooms of the building, but our 9th grade class, more afraid of her than of gunfire, was still at it, solving problems at the board!”

invaded Lebanon by land, sea, and air.” Undeterred, we went to school the next day. And at one point that day, as my friend Nina Ibrahim and I dashed from the Gym to the HS Building, we hurled insults at the Israeli jets that swooped low over us. A few days later, ACS closed early for summer as many scrambled to escape Israel’s vicious scorched earth drive north to Beirut.

Most of my ACS friends left Beirut that summer, but some stayed on and endured the Israeli siege of Beirut.

Towards the end of the 1981 school year, “the situation,” as we called it, got much worse. Makram remembers,

Returning for 11th grade in the fall of 1982, I learned of the harrowing experiences of my classmates, Vaira Harik, Pia Ward, and Noureddine Beyhum. They had volunteered with the Red Cross and witnessed horrific sights, including the aftermath of the Sabra and Chatila massacres. I couldn’t imagine how they could continue with the everyday life of school, but they did and for that I truly admired them. In April of 1983, I remember sitting in Ms. Holland’s math class when we heard what we later learned was the bombing of the US Embassy on the Corniche. Only Noureddine was allowed to leave class for Red Cross duty. That year we had a small Prom and then I left for the summer for what I thought would be the usual stateside visit with my mother’s family. But by late August of 1983, my father told us not to return to Beirut. So my mother enrolled my brother and me in the public school that my cousins attended in Durham, New Hampshire.

I begged my father to let us return to Beirut and he finally acceded sometime around October. ACS was even more of a safe haven, I realized, as much from the war as from the anonymity of US public schools!

“The fear was that ACS could get shut down. I recall that being a common and regular discussion.

Teachers were leaving and funds was tight (the German school rented part of the buildings). ACS was our safe haven, and if we would lose that, it seemed like everything would fall apart.”

As in years past, Field Day in the Spring of 1982 ended at Long Beach because our art teacher Elayn Rifai’s husband owned it. After a sweaty half-day of track and field events at AUB, we went to the beach to swim and sunbathe for the rest of the day. At one point, I remember the surreal moment of sitting on the beach watching the foreboding black plumes of smoke rising under a swarm of Israeli F16 fighter jets bombing the coast south of Beirut. Then on June 6th the BBC ominously announced that “Israel has

Alas,1984 was a short year for many of us. It opened with the tragedy of the assassination of AUB President Malcolm Kerr on January 18, 1984. We heard the news while at Kamil’s and Malcolm’s son, Andrew, then in 10th grade, dropped the sandwich he was about to bite into and bolted out of Kamil’s up the hill. Needless to say, that was the last I saw of him.

Then in February 1984, the war took over our lives.

The USS New Jersey, the most powerful ship of the US 6th Fleet, was parked out in the sea in clear view from my parents’ bedroom window as it pounded the Shuf with Volkswagen-sized shells. The morning of February 6th, we went to school as usual, but before noon, it became clear that the Lebanese Army battle against the PSP and Amal militias was more than a skirmish. My father came down from his AUB office to help my mother and other teachers round up students and get them home. They sent me with my friend 25

Nina, who lived in the AUB faculty apartments. Then they set the students up in the BD, cooked a spaghetti dinner, and kept everyone in the corridors away from windows. That was the only night of the war I wasn’t sure we would survive. The next morning, Nina and I walked from AUB to ACS and the air was so thick with smoke that we couldn’t even see the sea. Not having had any contact with my parents, we weren’t sure what we would find at ACS. Although the school suffered a great deal of physical damage, luckily no one was hurt.

around after dark, the only source of entertainment was sleepovers. Nancy recalls in her

A few days later, my parents decided that my mother, brother, and I should join the US evacuation to Cyprus. As we waited with many other ACS-ers on the Corniche for a lull in the fighting that would allow the helicopters to land, my history teacher, Mr. Lockwood, surprised me with the news that he gave me an (undeserved) A for the year. That was the last I saw of him or his wife, my English teacher. Once in Cyprus, my mother enrolled my brother and me in school in Nicosia. I missed my ACS graduation; out of our class of 15, amazingly 8 walked for the ceremony.

ACS enrollment numbers dwindled so much in those years that all high school classes were held in the library so that floors in the HS building could be rented to other schools, such as Louise Wegmann and Elite. To John, the library became all the more unique a space, with its double volume ceiling and Paradise Theatre, our veritable in-house cinema.

My mother led ACS from the fall of 1984 through the last 6 years of the war. John Nohos (class of 1988) remembers the different militias that ruled the neighborhood, so you never knew which street was secure and since there was no question about moving

“Junior year we had at least four or five different English teachers for our class, as none could stay for the duration. Robert Foss, our French teacher, became our 12th grade English teacher. We read 1984, by George Orwell, in the fall of 1984, and it had a profound impact on all of us, especially in the context of our war.”

When I returned to ACS as a teacher in 1993, I often found myself comparing now and then. To a certain extent, I envied the continuity and the certainty of my students’ ACS experience. They moved from one year to the next growing together through steadfast friendships that outlasted their school years. Our cohort didn’t lack steadfastness, but the war wrenched us so far apart that our ACS years seem like a distant dream. Makram, who left suddenly the summer of 1981, describes ACS as, “The best 4 years of my childhood. And the hardest part about leaving was not being able to say goodbye to any classmates and friends and not knowing if we would ever reconnect. The uncertainly of a future unknown and the emotional devastation of leaving the comfort of home, extended family and dear friends without closure.”

Nancy Bakht adds that,

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“By the time I graduated, I felt that we had all lost something that was taken away by the war.

When I returned to ACS as a teacher in 1990, it was a chance to try to rebuild some of what we had lost.”

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These sentiments go a long way to explain why, until today, our ACS war generation is so difficult to rally.

Scattered and disconnected, the trauma of separation made our collective sense of continuity with ACS challenging at best. Only recently, thanks to the magic of Facebook, we are reconnecting one person at a time. Who knows, maybe by the time of our 35th ACS reunion we will gather again.

ACS in the Aftermath of the Civil War Lina Mounzer ‘95

Coming back to ACS in 1993 during my junior year was, in all senses, a homecoming. When we left Lebanon in 1989, fleeing the Aoun war like so many other families who had the means to do so, the hardest goodbye I’d had to say was to ACS. To my friends and teachers, yes, but there was also the school itself. Classes had been indefinitely suspended during the heavy fighting, but Mrs. Catherine Bashshur, our principal and the guiding spirit of the school, had set up a system whereby we could finish out the requirements of the year by having our parents pick up stacks of mimeographed lessons from school.

These we completed at home, often by candlelight and to the sound of falling shells.

I remember my last visit to the school in the summer of 1989, a few days before we packed all our belongings into a car and drove across the border to Syria and then Jordan, from where we would fly out – Beirut International Airport having been shut down back in March of that year. I walked through the elementary school playground, running my hands across the rusty chains of the swings and taking one last swipe at the monkey bars. There was a huge-trunked old willow tree in the middle of the playground; I placed both palms against it and cried, the entirety of my sense of loss distilled into this heartbreak of having to leave the school behind. Even before leaving I was already vowing to come back: not just to Lebanon, but to ACS, 27

which had been the one safe and stable haven for all of us kids during the uncertain years of the war.

In the fall of 1993 I did just that, having somehow convinced my parents that I should return to Beirut on my own to live with my grandmother and finish high school. Many friends and relatives were shocked that my parents might allow such a thing, but Mrs. Bashshur’s name was often invoked to allay everyone’s worries. “She kept them safe during the war,” my mother said. “She’ll take care of them now.” Such was the sense of familiarity and family we had with the head of the school, who had in fact personally taken care of so many of us that her very presence was a guarantee of safety.

I began my eleventh-grade year surrounded by new faces and more than a few old ones as well, classmates I’d known in fourth, fifth and sixth grade, many of whom, like me, had left and come back. After four years in Canada surrounded by people who had mostly known one language and one home, rediscovering this new, hybrid, post-war ACS was like a revelation.

There were students who had come back from all over the world: the US, England, Cyprus, Algeria, and the significant contingent who had attended international schools in Saudi Arabia and who had been sent back, like me, without their parents to live with relatives and finish high school, as the Saudi schools at the time only went up to 9th grade. After the sectarian nightmare from which we had just woken up, the school was diverse and inclusive, with students from all religions and sects thronging its hallways.

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It was a heady time, and the school was a mirror of the country during that period: in some ways chaotic and lawless but saturated with a sense of immense possibility and dynamism. Yasmin Murad ’97 recalls how classes held in the basement would be canceled when the electricity cut, as there was not enough light coming through the windows to continue the lesson.

“We’d all be crossing our fingers for a cut,” she said, “especially if there was a test, because it meant an automatic free period.”

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Free periods became less frequent when Mrs. Laila Alamuddin ‘62 took over as dean of students and brought more order with her, but there were still enough gaps in that order to make us feel like we were getting away with something. In 11th grade, we had three different math teachers, the second one disappearing in the middle of the year the very day

after cryptically asking one of us: “How long does it take to get a visa to Canada?” The ensuing weeks of free period instead of math class cemented the bond between my lifelong friend Omar Naim and I, and we spent those hours in the courtyard discussing music and Alan Moore comics (the introduction to which I remain grateful to him for) and plotting to change the world with our art – him as a filmmaker (which he has since become) and me as a writer (ditto). We paid for those free periods later though, when Mrs. Alamuddin caught on to our teacher’s unannounced departure and we had to cram a whole semester’s worth of algebra into three weeks of intensive lessons in order to pass the final exams. (We didn’t; this led to the implementation of a new class in 12th grade called Business Math, which may as well have been called Math for Dummies.)

But while there were some classes we were happy to have canceled, there were others that we lived for. The still-amorphous boundaries in the country at large in part extended to the camaraderie between students and teachers: they forged relationships with us that

made us feel respected, like we were all part of a team rather than being ruled from above by authority figures. Miss Randa Cardwell taught me English in 11th grade, and remains at the top of the list of favorite teachers for many, many students there during the time in which she taught. I am proud to still call her a friend to this day. She encouraged us to reach beyond our comfort zones, and pushed some of us to apply to a writing competition sponsored by an arts college in the United States, which made us feel like we were fit to compete with a world beyond the borders of our country. When I declined to compete the second year, citing my lack of a printer (when really it was cowardice), she drove over to my house on a Sunday and took me to school, forcing me to edit and print my story and stuff it into an envelope. I got ninth place.

She supervised the journalism club and helped us start up a literary magazine, The Zephyr, which challenged us to polish up our work in order to showcase it. In 12th grade, Miss Nancy Bakht’s demanding reading curriculum forced us to apply ourselves, and her

enforced program of regular public speeches made us all get over our fears of it. “Those speeches have served me so well in life,” laughs Murad. “I can stand up before a whole roomful of clients now and deliver talks without a hint of nervousness.”

At a time when so many other schools were placing emphasis only on academics, struggling to make up for the slack of the war, ACS thrived with classes that stressed the equal importance of the arts. A creative writing class was added to cater to just four or five students. Drama was an actual course, not just an after-school activity. Community service was compulsory. We had a wide pick of clubs and activities.

And athletics helped put the school on the map when Joe Kaado was hired to coach the basketball team in 1992. Rami Rajeh ’95, recalls the game that changed everything: “We were playing against Rawdah High School, whose principal was obsessed with basketball and would recruit the best players from around the country and give them scholarships just 29

so they could play on the school team. At the time, there were only three people who ever watched our games: a senior student, the father of one of the players and his friend. No one expected that we’d win, least of all ourselves. But Joe Kaado talked us through every strategy, and we won by two points with a threepoint shot that sunk in right when the buzzer went. It was like a movie.”

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After that, the basketball team went on to compete in a regional tournament in Amman and won every single game. Basketball became a phenomenon at ACS in the 90’s; that our scrappy team could win against a behemoth like Rawdah was the ultimate victory for the underdogs. “That’s because we were a real team,” explains Rajeh. “Kaado built team spirit and taught us to play together as such. Rawdah was just a collection of strong players, but we were a whole unit working together.”

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This sense of community and well-roundedness remains what many remember most fondly about their time at the school. Yasmin Agha ’04 gushed when asked to recount her ACS experience. “Everyone was so warm,” she said. “I was taught to take risks, exposed to so many different things and pushed to open my mind to all kinds of people and experiences.

And in my life now, with my work, I am always trying to recreate that sense of community that I had there.

I’m also really grateful for all the public speeches I had to give!”

Murad and Agha both talked about the friends they made there. For Murad, Ramzi Nakad ’97 remains “my best and lifelong friend.” Agha spoke of the group of girls who have taken their gatherings from the high school courtyard to regular reunions every week. For my part, over twenty years after graduating, there are friends from high school who I am still in contact with almost daily, the aforementioned Omar Naim and Rami Rajeh being only two of them.

Rajeh I first met in fourth grade at ACS during the war: friends for over thirty years now and counting. Today, his daughter Layla attends ACS and is set to graduate in 2028 as what they call a “lifer.” Though the school has changed much physically over the years, what hasn’t changed at all for Rajeh is “how much the school invests in their teaching staff, curriculum and facilities.”

Much, if not all of this, is a tribute to Catherine Bashshur, who sadly passed away in 2013, but who sustained the school’s sense of community throughout the worst of the civil war and helped make it even stronger during the post-war period. At every junction, the school used the country’s surrounding chaos to remind us that we needed to engage, with one another and the world around us, filtering that chaos so that we saw it only as possibility and not hindrance. To say that this in particular has shaped the entire way I see the world would not be an exaggeration. Bashshur also guided the school through the accreditation process in 1993, making it the first English-speaking academic institution in the country to receive the distinction.

“I’m so sad she didn’t stay through our graduation,” says Agha of Bashshur, who retired in 2003. “But I’m so glad to have known her, and I will always remember her striding through the halls with a smile on her face.” n

Capital Campaign & Endowment vs. Annual Fund

What’s the difference?

Think of ACS as a large investment, like buying a house. You have to make payments on your mortgage, but you also need to keep the lights on. In the world of ACS fundraising, the capital campaign and endowment are like the long-term investment of mortgage payments, while the annual fund is like the immediate need to pay the utility bills.

Capital Campaign & Endowment

be the difference. www.acs.edu.lb/give

Annual fund

Knights Back to ACS ACS Matters Fall/ Winter 2016 - 17

This section highlights the lives of alumni

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who have dedicated themselves to ensuring a strong future for the school.

Alison Skelton

“It takes a whole village to raise a child.”

– Nigerian Proverb

ACS’s culture of giving empowers students to serve Lebanon and the world with understanding and compassion. That same spirit of giving is naturally reflected in the school’s alumni, as many volunteer their time and resources to ensure that ACS provides the same high quality educational opportunities to those who follow. Whether coaching, mentoring, participating in online fundraising challenges, or donating to the Annual Fund, alumni of all ages are central figures in caring for the school. Below are three passionate alumni supporters who exhibit dedication to ACS for their own unique reasons.

Bill Crays ‘56 of Lafayette, Louisiana, and President of the ACS Alumni Association Board of Governors, attended ACS for 10th, 11th, and 12th grade. Prior to ACS, Crays grew up “wherever there was an oil field.”

That meant South America until he was 8, then Saudi Arabia shortly thereafter. Bill and his family moved around the world for his father’s work, and after living in Venezuela, his father joined Aramco, the stateowned Saudi Arabian oil company. In the 1950’s to 1970’s, Aramco schools did not educate children past the 9th grade, so Crays boarded at ACS his 10th- 12th grade years along with a slew of other Aramco kids.

Crays estimates that more than 88% of the 31 students in his graduating ACS class were boarders from families who were working overseas. He developed a great bond with his ACS classmates that has stayed with him through the years.

“It’s only with the passage of time that more and more of us began to realize that a great deal of what we became later in our lives came from an educational institution that required you to learn and become more of a critical thinker. You carry that all throughout life and you look back and think ‘Gee I am who I am today because of the time that I spent [at ACS].’

As President of the Board of Governors, Crays donates his time by connecting with alumni and encouraging them to take the leap to become supporters of the

school. “It’s the alumni in the long run who need to support the school,” says Crays, “to pay back an educational institution that had a great deal in making them who they are today.” Despite the revenue that comes from tuition, the school must raise an additional $1 million each year to keep faculty and staff salaries competitive; finance scholarships and financial aid awards; and maintain its buildings. The school is also in need of a comprehensive facility upgrade.

“The school has not had any kind of major physical plant renovation in decades with the exception of the recently completed faculty apartment and school building,” says Crays. “The whole campus needs to be majorly reconstructed. And where is that financial support going to come from? It has to come from alumni and friends of the school.”

The Alumni Association is encouraging more alumni to give, especially in their post-family years.

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The termination of ACS’s boarding department in the 1970’s meant the end of funding from large oil companies like Aramco that sent the children of their employees to be educated at the school. To make up the amount needed to fuel the school without relying too heavily on tuition increases, ACS must rely on parents and alumni.

“The Alumni Association is encouraging more alumni to give, especially in their post-family years,” says Crays. “Some people hit the homerun early in life and they make a ton of money. They’re still raising kids and putting them through school but can be financial supporters at that time in their life too.”

The majority of substantial supporters, however, donate later in life. “For the most part, you have people supporting the school at a high level once they get to be in their 50s. Their kids are up and grown and gone, and they’re still believers in the school. They are active participants in the Alumni Association, and now its time to think about what has to be done financially to support the school.”

Bill Crays ‘56, President of the ACS Alumni Association Board of Governors

Amer Ghandour ‘06, now living in Dubai, is an “ACS Lifer” who spent his grade school and university years in Ras Beirut attending ACS and AUB. The close proximity of AUB allowed Ghandour to stay in close touch with his teachers and return to ACS frequently for alumni games and campus visits. He is the first to admit that his closest friends to this day are his former ACS classmates. “People who graduate from ACS like to stay together,” says Ghandour.

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Like Crays, it is important for Ghandour to stay connected to ACS due to the impact the school had on who he is today. “Whenever I sit down with an ACSer, it’s a bond. Everything comes back like it was yesterday. I feel that with everyone from ACS, not just my classmates from the Class of 2006,” says Ghandour.

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Now co-owner of a sports center and operations officer at a construction firm, Ghandour lives in the Gulf and assists ACS in organizing reunions in the region. He also reaches out to his friends to encourage them to donate during school fundraising campaigns and shares his donations on Facebook so that his former classmates can see what he is up to.

“It’s never too early to give back,” says Ghandour.

“I graduated 10 years ago from ACS and have been benefitting from the school ever since. I know people like to take a break from their schools sometimes,

Mona Chalita ‘04 and Amer Ghandour ‘06

but after college, there’s no reason not to get back involved.”

As a recent ACS graduate, he donates what he can.

“Now that I’m an alum and I’m not paying tuition, I can help out,” Ghandour says. “A small amount at the end of the day is good enough. It’s about getting as many alumni to participate [in fundraising campaigns] as possible,” he relays, “whatever that amount may be.”

Linda Handschin-Sheppard ’68, also from an Aramco family, attended ACS as a boarding student

from 10th through 12th grade. Sheppard’s experience at ACS expanded her worldview.

“I left Aramco as the eldest of five children from a very protected little community. I was an academic success but I wasn’t an inquisitive person. I strived for good grades but I wasn’t particularly curious about the world around me.

Going to ACS exposed me to a different style of teaching. You had to think for yourself, not just regurgitate information…The school planted such fabulous academic ethics in me that I feel grateful continually. I passed this [ethic] on to my family, and I am working to pass on the same ethic of being curious world citizens to my grandchildren. ACS did that to me.”

After graduating from ACS, Linda studied Arabic at the University of Washington in Seattle. It wasn’t until 38 years later in 2006 that she returned to Lebanon to visit the ACS campus. “I brought my husband who had been hearing about Lebanon for 30 years, and later I brought my adult son. I wanted them to know why I was the way I was about Beirut and ACS.” Linda first got involved with the ACS Alumni Association in 1988, which was based in the States back then. She established the group’s membership services soon after joining and has since held nearly every leadership position on the group’s board. “Even though I work full-time, I still devote a lot of time to the Alumni Association and to the school because I think its invaluable,“ she says.

Linda and her husband participate in alumni giving each year. “We are not a couple that makes large

gifts to ACS but every year we participate by making donations,” says Linda. “I would like to encourage other people to participate at whatever level is comfortable to them. It doesn’t have to be a large, noteworthy gift to be worthwhile.”

ACS alumni donors play a pivotal role in passing down a top-notch educational experience to future leaders to come. The school would not be where it is today without the immense support of its invaluable alumni, as indeed it takes a whole village to not only sustain but make a world-class institution thrive. n

“Going to ACS exposed me to a different style of teaching. You had to think for yourself, not just regurgitate information…

The school planted such fabulous academic ethics in me that I feel grateful continually. I passed this [ethic] on to my family, and I am working to pass on the same ethic of being curious world citizens to my grandchildren.

ACS did that to me.”

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Meet the

new Head of School Greg L. MacGilpin, Jr.

New Head of School Greg MacGilpin at the September 15th Installation Ceremony

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ACS Matters sat down with the 24th Head of School to discuss work, family and what he likes most about the Middle East.

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Q&A

Q. How did you become interested in education?

A. Up until I was 16, I wanted to be a pediatrician because I knew I wanted to work with kids and my grandfather and uncles were all doctors. My uncle Doug, however, by way of explaining to me exactly what medical school entailed, unknowingly convinced me otherwise. I remember telling him, as he himself was a pediatrician, that I didn’t think I would have to do surgery or cut people on the job.

He just laughed. Once I knew the truth, I thought, ‘maybe I’ll be a teacher.’ My 12th grade year I was part of a community service project and studied under a second grade teacher, Liza Meltzer. I loved working

with the students on writing. I went to college and enrolled in an elementary education program, and I was one of only two men in my program.

Q. What was your first job in education?

A. My first full-time job was as a kindergarten teacher at an independent school in New England. I also coached high school sports for three seasons. However, prior to my first official ‘job,’ I had worked in the summers during college as a lead instructor at a New York camp under the umbrella of the Fresh Air Fund; assisted a literacy program; and fully taught under the guise of a student teacher program for two and half years.

Q. What made you take your first international job?

A. After I was a kindergarten teacher, I found myself teaching middle school and working under a dynamic principal named Chris Boone. Chris had lived and taught abroad in Morocco and Cyprus. We started talking about what I wanted to do career-wise and he kept on saying to me, ‘You should live and teach abroad to expand your mind.’ The other factor was that I’d never traveled outside the country before and I was 27 years old. I had always wanted to experience more than what I had known, but it just hadn’t been feasible from a financial and timing standpoint until then. So I took a job in Costa Rica and left the country for the first time. My parents were supportive but thought I was a bit crazy for moving abroad as most of my family all live within a few hours of each other.

Q. Did your job in Costa Rica start a string of international jobs?

A. No. I worked in a middle school in Costa Rica for two years, but decided I wanted to return to the US to continue graduate work. I had known my soon-to-be wife for a long time, from back in high school, and we decided to get married. After getting married, we picked a city in the US to move to based on which graduate programs we both were accepted to and chose Columbia University. I received my Masters as a Klingestein Fellow from the Private School Leadership program in the Teacher’s College program, and she studied her Masters from the Columbia School of Social Work. We loved living in such a large city and had discussed the idea of doing so in the future.

Q. When did you decide to become a Head of School?

A. I came out of my graduate program believing I was ready to be a principal, but I wasn’t. I needed more experience working with faculty who had varying

viewpoints and needed to gain a greater understanding of what I wanted in a school.

My first leadership position was at the Peck School in New Jersey as the History Department Chair. It was an incredible school, struggling with the duality of tradition and innovation. A few years after, my wife and I decided we wanted to start a family, so we moved to Connecticut to be closer to our parents. I worked as the head of a middle school, a head of a high school, and then became the Director of the Country Day School in Costa Rica, the same school where I had taught previously.

Up until I was 16, I wanted to be a pediatrician because I knew I wanted to work with kids and my grandfather and uncles were all doctors. My uncle Doug, however, by way of explaining to me exactly what medical school entailed, unknowingly convinced me otherwise.”

Q. You mentioned you weren’t originally interested in Lebanon until you came to visit ACS. What made you change your mind?

A. I hadn’t focused on the Gulf or the Middle East previously. I knew I wanted to live in a community where I would not be limited in my daily life, and I wanted my girls to live in a place where they felt empowered to do what they wanted to do.

I mentioned what I was looking for to Art Charles, a former head of IC who is now a recruiter at a search firm, and he convinced me to take a look at ACS. I came here to visit and what solidified it for me were two specific moments: 1) a meeting with 11th and 12th grade students, and 2) a middle school facilitators meeting.

The high school students came at me really fast with some specific questions about change and transition.

And, the fact that the 12th graders were interviewing 37

ACS Matters Fall/ Winter 2016 - 17

Head of School Greg MacGilpin with his family (from left to right): Greg, daughter Abigail (grade 8), daughter Sydney (grade 2), wife Melissa and daughter Mallory (grade 5)

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.MacGilpin at Qurnat as Sawda’ during ACS alumni hike in September 2016

me even though they had one foot out the door spoke volumes. I came to understand that there is an interest here in making sure the school succeeds beyond yourself. The facilitators meeting struck me as the right balance of focus and, honestly, fun. They were clear on what worked here and had a positive attitude about what needed to be fixed.

originally looking for, is the diversity. It’s the sense that many different ideas— many conflicting ideas at times— are at play here. If our girls and our students can learn to embrace these different ideas, they will thrive by the time they graduate. In Costa Rica, there was a lot of diversity of background represented, but not at the level that I see in Lebanon and ACS.

Q. What do you aspire for your girls by being educated at ACS? A. Ultimately, I want my girls (and all students) to be independent and happy people. I know that statement might not sound academically rigorous, but it is.

In order to be independent, my girls have to learn how to be courageous and to have the skills it takes to be on their own. They also have to go through a journey of finding out what they are passionate about in order to be, well, happy. I see that ACS provides those pathways and complements the values we are providing our daughters at home. I don’t say this often, and I don’t know if I live this all the time, but I completely believe in the idea that children are loaned to us. Our children aren’t ours, we’re just helping them on their way for a while. They are ultimately their own individual human beings.

Q. What are your plans for ACS’s future?

A. I don’t think I can say definitely what needs to happen because I’m still learning the context.

However, that being said, I’d like to see ACS continue to align itself in its instructional practices from our youngest to oldest students. I’d like to see the Reggio Emilia approach that we use in our Early Years program, which is focused on play and a childcentered approach to learning, woven all the way through our school.

Q. Why do you think ACS is a good environment to instill those values?

A. The school’s mission embodies these values to me.

Teaching students how to have balanced lives, live compassionately, and solve problems provides critical training for the future because they will have to do these things on some level every day. Another part of it, and this goes back to what my wife and I were

The vision for ACS also has to include a strong facilities plan. In five years’ time, I’d like to see all of our facilities renovated, or at least be on their way, to the extent that the space supports what we want to accomplish. And if we don’t have that space, we need to consider the possibility of building something new.

I think my job is to quickly upload whether or not that is going to be possible for the school.

Q. What kind of student were you?

A. If I liked the topic, I would focus on it and flourish.

If I didn’t like a topic, I did the bare minimum. I enjoyed my classes in high school but didn’t enjoy, for example, all of math or all of history. I only liked what I found compelling.

Getting to

know greg Favorite place in Beirut Probably walking the streets of Hamra, although I went to Bourj Hammoud two weeks ago and loved it.

It was fascinating. I enjoy the concept of making things with your hands, and I saw shoemakers, machine shops, shopkeepers fixing watches and glasses. Really, though, I don’t have enough knowledge yet to say for sure. I know in two years’ time, I’ll look back and say this was such a ‘beginners’ response.

Favorite City Boston because its home, and I’m a Boston sports fan.

Favorite Movie I am a complete “Star Wars,” fan, with perhaps a sleeper favorite being “Lagaan,” a four-hour Bollywood movie that I can’t get anyone in my family to watch.

Favorite Food My brother says my favorite food is free food, and I guess I agree. My favorite dessert is a Chipwich (vanilla ice cream sandwiched between two chocolate chip cookies).

Least favorite food Beets, or embarrassingly, olives.

Favorite book Growing up my favorite book was Watership Down by Richard Adams. It’s hard for me to choose a favorite book now, but perhaps the most influential book in the past five years I have read was Omnivore’s Dilemma

by Michael Pollen. It opened my mind to where food comes from, my approach to food and to systems. Our Schools, Our Children by Alfie Kohn is most likely the most influential educational book I have read.

First job A newspaper delivery route for the Worcester Telegram & Gazette from age 11 until about the 9th grade. I’d get up between 5 and 6 am to deliver 130 papers before school. I remember one Christmas morning my parents went out and delivered all the papers for me as a gift. I’m sure I’m adding on to this now, but I’m pretty sure it was snowing and miserably cold outside that day.

First class to get a “D“ on an assignment in high school In high school? Because my mind went to 5th grade right away with a horrible book report. In high school, it was most likely Latin on a subjunctive quiz. And I did earn one in college in Macroeconomics. It was an 8:00 a.m. class my freshman year, which was not very forward thinking of me to take. I think I should have earned a D just for choosing that schedule.

First class to get an “A” on an assignment I don’t recall my first A, but one class I was particularly excited to get an A in was a Bio-Ethics class in college. We were assigned a group project to design a conceptual representation and we choose to construct a large-scale DNA molecule with spiral strands.

The teamwork, write-up and model building were all exciting for me. The structure turned out to be enormous and stretched the length of the freshman hallway. Our teacher loved it. n 39

Early Years Program Builds A Nature-Themed

Playground Daniel Saint James

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At the start of the 2016-2017 ACS academic year, the Early Years program unveiled a new playground for our youngest students.

Composed almost entirely of natural elements, the playground encompasses the theme of nature and play.

Built by landscape and urban design company Scapeworks, the recreational structure incorporates play habitats that revolve around adventure, discovery and creativity. As described by architect Karim Bacha: “Each habitat caters to different activities and youth development goals. The whole playground unfolds as children intuitively follow arbitrary play circuits offering a rich variety of development opportunities.”

It is the only of its kind in the Middle East.

The design was created with the goal of breaking free from play limitations that arise when adults implement their own idea of playgrounds. “The objective was to design the space through the eyes of a child,” said Bacha. “We wanted to introduce a naturalized space that integrates plants, trees, flowers, water, dirt, sand, mud, animals and insects as inherent to the design.”

Inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach, which informs the Early Year’s curriculum, the playground allows children to take control over their environment and explore using all five senses.

The intuitive quality of the play circuit allows children to spontaneously hop on and embark on loops they create for themselves, facing new experiences with each interaction. To make use of space restraints, the playground incorporates the courtyard’s large trees to establish an extra elevated playing platform. The multi-level facility provides a fresh take on the area for the students and adds much needed grounds for running, a must for children who are full of energy.

Scapeworks worked hand in hand with ACS to develop the plans over the course of three months. With the 41

“

ACS hopes to inspire all of its children as they grow into a world in need of outdoor stewardship.”

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plans approved and in place, playground construction began the third week of June in order for the space to be complete by the start of the new school year.

The architect team returned to ACS to observe the kids in action once school was in session. “We are so excited to see that the children have completely embraced the playground’s conceptual essence and brought it to life in more ways than we could have imagined,” says Bacha. “To see them roam around the different play habitats and interpret the space in their own fashion is very rewarding.”

While the playground was built for the Early Years program, it can still be enjoyed by individuals of all

ages. “We can’t speak for everyone, but we’ll just say that as adults, we’ve really enjoyed fulfilling the last part of our contract, which was to test and commission the playground,” confessed Bacha.

ACS hopes to inspire all of its children as they grow into a world in need of outdoor stewardship. Bacha concludes by reiterating the importance of nature and play. “The playground’s different activities and settings appeal to basic, human interaction with nature. The ‘Biophilia Hypothesis’ suggests that there is an instinctive bond between human beings and other living systems. It is good for our psychological wellbeing to interact with nature, and is something that is inscribed in our DNA.” 43

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ACS Matters Fall/ Winter 2016 - 17

Middle School Science Floor Becomes

y l d n e i Fr Alison Skelton

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Middle schoolers came back from summer vacation to a brand-new, state of the art science facility. Replacing the previous lecture-style classrooms, the new Middle School science space is one of the first of its kind in Lebanon with more than 500 square meters of open floor designed to inspire creativity and innovation.

While the location of the classes remains in the basement of the Upper School building, just about everything else has changed. Sixth, seventh and eighth grade students no longer have assigned science classrooms—let alone desks— and instead rotate to different areas of the floor depending on their lesson for the day. A coding lab, a workshop/makerspace, two multipurpose areas, a common learning lounge, a multimedia room, and a conference room make up the new facility’s specialized learning space. Synchronized audio systems allow for announcements to be broadcasted to the entire floor, which comes in handy for science fairs, and padded walls buffer individual conversations so that sound does not carry.

Designed in collaboration with ACS science teachers, the wing transports students into a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) world of wonder.

The upgraded space brings the learning center in alignment with the STEM curriculum that was adopted by the Middle School science team three years ago.

“We started little by little, “said Simon Barakat, Middle School science teacher who served as the faculty lead for the renovation project. The teachers first reworked their curriculum to include the new STEM standards but found they faced limitations in their lessons due to the outdated facilities.

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“We were working in a traditional school physical setup but teaching with advanced learning approaches and materials,” said Barakat. “The floor was not adequate to meet the needs of our team’s new teaching methodologies.”

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Fast-forward five months, and the renovated space now meets the needs of our school for today as well as for the future. Funded in part by a grant from the US AID American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA) program, the new floor allows students to design products, code, program, build prototypes, use 3-D printers, conduct laboratory experiments, create multimedia presentations, video conference with classrooms across the world, and much more.

Perhaps the most modern features are found in the coding/robotics lab and the workshop/makerspace.

“We are moving away from the concept of having teachers solely in their own classrooms.

What we have now are spaces for learning, and teachers will use these spaces based on their needs...A lot of collaboration happens between students when they are no longer confined to four walls.”

Micro-computers and micro-controllers allows students to program robots, and 3-D printers and power tools give students the opportunity to create anything they can dream of, from electric circuits to renewable energy sources.

The renovation reflects a rising trend in education explains Barakat. “We are moving away from the concept of having teachers solely in their own classrooms. What we have now are spaces for learning, and teachers will use these spaces based on

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Ramy Charara, Grade 3 A

their needs...A lot of collaboration happens between students when they are no longer confined to four walls,” relayed Barakat.

that the upgrade is important for her future. “The new space is modern and allows us to be creative. It teaches us 21st century skills that we will need to use later on.”

With STEM jobs growing at a rate of three times that of non-STEM jobs, there is a need for students to develop these skills to be prepared for the modern workforce.

“This is a space where kids will be prepared for real life problems and challenges, in accordance to our mission statement… I’m hearing now that many new majors have opened up at universities that require exactly what we are teaching. There are at least ten science majors now that I did not have the option to explore while I was in school,” said MS science teacher Maya Mouhaidly.

Aya is most excited about the makerspace, where she can use the 3-D printer to make visual representations for her science projects, and likes the columns in the common learning area that double as white boards. Students can use dry-erase markers to write directly on the columns when collaborating for group projects.

These new majors include robotics, sustainability, computer game design, and cybersecurity, just to name a few. Eighth grade student Aya Abu-Alfa agrees

The science faculty kept these details in mind during the design phase to ensure that the floor is a place where kids want to be. Indeed an exciting place where problem solving, collaboration and entrepreneurism come to life, the science wing engages middle schoolers in skill-based lessons that will serve them well beyond their years at ACS. n 49

Faculty Spotlight Daniel Saint James

ACS Matters Fall/ Winter 2016 - 17

ACS Literacy Coach Cohort

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First grade teacher Jennifer Tustin Park, former ACS teacher Maysa Boubess, and second grade teacher Nour Jalloul are currently taking part in the Central and Eastern European Schools Association’s literacycoaching cohort. Joining 23 peer instructors from schools across Europe, Asia, and Africa, the teachers meet with their program cohort five times over the course of the year to improve instructional practices and observe schools across the region. This year, the meetings will take place in schools in Istanbul, Zurich, Amsterdam, Barcelona, and Sofia. To date, the cohort has dug into the workshop model, essential components of literacy instruction, and reading/ writing units of study. Drawing from the curriculum of Literacy Coaching Essentials, as well as from a variety of supporting professional texts, the cohort evaluates student work and sets literacy goals using a number of protocols. When visiting schools, instructors in the cohort conference with students, receive coaching, and coach a partner.

The purpose of a literacy coach is to design and facilitate professional learning for teachers. “Think

about any great sports coach you have worked with,” Jennifer explains. “They know their athletes well and they work closely with the athletes to move them closer toward their goal. It’s the same way with literacy coaching. The literacy coach works closely with teachers either one-on-one, in small groups, or in large group/staff meetings to improve instructional practice and raise student achievement.” The cohort’s goal is to continue to improve the strong literacy program provided here at ACS.

Erin Mukri becomes an International Math Specialist Fourth grade teacher Erin Mukri is working towards becoming a Math Specialist for international schools.

“Although I am in the middle of the Math Specialist training, I currently share pertinent information with grade levels during ACS school meetings or one-on-one that might be useful to their day-to-day teaching,” says Erin. “I am also the math representative for my grade level as well as the team leader.” A Math Specialist at an international school is responsible for supporting effective mathematic instruction and student learning, while also making sure that the school follows the American Education Reaches Out (AERO) standards. The Math Specialist collaborates with teachers to advance student mathematical knowledge and to strengthen the math program at the school. The math specialist may co-plan or coteach lessons with a classroom teacher, demo lessons for new teachers, introduce new manipulatives and models, provide professional development and review student work.

Last year, Erin traveled to Amman, Jordan with Hania Kobrosly to collaborate with ACS math consultant Erma Anderson and fellow international teachers to create unit “placemats,” which serve as a guide to help teachers plan more effective instruction. Placemats

help teachers easily identify enduring understandings and standards in each unit, and to focus on rich task questions rather than basic arithmetic. Over the summer, Hania and Erin attended the AERO Math Institute where they used “placemats” and original EngageNY assessments to create new assessments centered around complex and relevant word problems geared towards an international population. Erin and Hania continued this work in November, again in Amman, along with Elementary school teacher Alexa Kumbier, who served as the lower elementary representative.

The focus of math at ACS is to teach students arithmetic through complex, real-life problems. Erin says parents can help support teachers by modeling to their child how they use math in their everyday life.

“If you are at the store with your child, have them help you add up a couple items,” Erin suggests. “Have your child measure out ingredients for a recipe. If you are planning a catered party, ask them to help you order.

Let them help plan a vacation. These are just a few examples that will help your child understand that math is used on a daily basis outside of school. This partnership between home and school is critical to long-term student success.”

Elementary Principal Diann Osterlund Presents at the NESA fall Leadership conference Elementary School Principal Diann Osterlund presented to school leaders at the NESA (Near East South Asia) Council of Overseas Schools’ leadership conference in Doha, Qatar in October. Her presentation, “Clarify Your Vision with an Innovation Configuration Map,” discussed the utility of creating an Innovation Configuration (IC) map in establishing a shared vision of change for a school and what that “change” looks like when fully implemented.

Diann was introduced to IC maps from “Learning Forward,” a professional development organization that advances instructional learning for educators.

The first time she used the IC process was to clarify a

vision around literacy instruction while working as an instructional consultant. She now uses IC maps in the Elementary School, and recently asked homeroom teachers to employ them to self-evaluate their writing instructional teaching practices.

Diann relayed recent IC success stories at her presentation to demonstrate the effectiveness of the model for clarifying a vision and supporting faculty through a change process and enjoyed sharing this method to fellow school leaders, remarking: “I was honored to be selected to present at the NESA Fall Leadership Conference, and to share the excellent work our teachers are doing here at ACS Beirut!”

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Elementary Assistant Principal Leads Photo walks around Beirut Elementary School Assistant Principal Damon Rickett shares his passion for photography with the ACS community and others in Lebanon by leading photo walks around Beirut, an activity that he has engaged in for many years. “I have conducted official photo walks in my former home of Bulgaria and now in Lebanon,” Damon said. “I walk around with a camera everywhere I go.” The two walks he has led so far for the ACS community have been in Hamra and Bourj Hammoud.

ACS Matters Fall/ Winter 2016 - 17

Damon believes that photo walks serve many purposes. First, they connect people. Whether you are a professional photographer or someone who enjoys snapping photos with your phone, photo walks are an opportunity to meet and socialize with likeminded people who appreciate the art of photography.

Second, it is an opportunity to learn from and share skills with others. Every time Damon leads a photo walk, he picks up a new trick, skill or approach related to photography. Finally, Damon believes that photo walks are a great way to explore a city. They allow

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longtime residents of a community to slow down and appreciate the small details while encouraging new folks to get out and explore their surroundings.

Damon advises photography newcomers not to get caught up in the gear. “It is the photographer who takes the picture, not the camera,” Damon explains.

“Learn about light. Photography is the art and science of painting with light. Share what you learn and give back to the photography community. Think about why you are taking photographs. This will help you create compelling, powerful images that deliver important messages.”

Anyone interested in joining Damon for future photo walks, whether you’re a beginner or expert, is encouraged to contact him at drickett@acs.edu.lb. He is also planning to expand the range of his offerings.

“I just purchased underwater housing for my camera,” Damon reveals. “This has me thinking that I would like my next photo walk to be more of a photo float. I haven’t thought about a location yet but a nice, sunny beach in paradise sounds wonderful.”

Lower School Counselor Aline IskandarBaba Performs Armenian Folk Music Lower School Counselor Aline Iskandar Baba wows audiences as a member of ‘Garabala,’ an Armenian folk band. Her love of music and performing began at an early age while singing in a choir and grew into gigs for different bands playing mainly English songs (alternative, soft rock, indie, etc.). Her Armenian folk project started about five years ago when she joined a friend for a small-scale musical performance.

The band has continued to grow and is now made up of six members who perform in their free time. While their busy professional lives can be a challenge, they still make time to practice at least twice per week.

When asked what she loves about the Armenian folk music, Aline explained, “I love many things about the music we perform. I love the fact that our fan base and audience ranges from 8 year olds to 80 year olds.

I love how we’re able to attract youth to Armenian culture and make them proud and appreciative of their heritage. I love that we have a style of our own and that we strive to mix different styles to revive and modernize old forgotten Armenian songs. Most of our

repertoire revolves around Armenian folk music, but we also embrace other cultures by including tsigane, jazz and more in our musical arrangements. It’s a new experiment with each song!”

The group performs regularly in Lebanon and recently performed in Russia. “We represented Lebanon in the International Pan-Armenian Song Contest ‘Tsovits Tsov,’” Aline said. “It was a unique project designed to revive Armenian national music in combination with modern trends of world music. The experience was out of this world and the performance was at the Kremlin in Moscow. We spent four days with incredibly talented musicians from all over the world and performed for an audience of 2,000!”

Aline believes that the most important part of her music is sharing it with the community. “I’m a person who believes in giving back in life. I believe that my singing is a way of giving back to my community. I love that I can be an active member in preserving my culture and heritage by embracing my music and creating something new!” n 53

ACS Kicks Off 2016-2017 Alumni Reunion Tours in London and Doha

ACS Matters Fall/ Winter 2016 - 17

The ACS alumni reunion tours for the 2016-17 school year kicked off in October in London and Doha. The school will host a number of reunions this year to introduce new Head of School Greg MacGilpin to ACS alumni.

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The London event at the Savoy Hotel drew a big crowd of ACSers living in the United Kingdom (UK). Several alumni are currently living in the UK to obtain their Undergraduate, Masters, and PhD degrees. A large contingent are practicing law, and one is a professor of tax law at Oxford University. The oldest attendee was from the Class of 1964 and the youngest from the Class of 2016. ACS staff in attendance included Greg MacGilpin, Reine Youssef, and Danai El Hajj Ibrahim ’06.

“As a new member of the community and as the head of school, meeting alumni has provided me with the opportunity to see how the ACS experience resides now in their current lives,” shared MacGilpin.

“The tours also allow me to share what we are working on right now on campus and what our hopes for ACS will be in the coming year.”

The Doha alumni event took place shortly after London, and marked the first ACS alumni gathering ever to be held in Qatar. Three Shaaban siblings represented the largest showing of family members at the gettogether, and ACS staff in attendance included Greg MacGilpin, Phil Wendel, and Karim Abu-Haydar.

Special thanks to Samer Fleihan ’05 for coordinating the logistics of the event as the Qatar reunion agent.

Parents and Faculty Celebrate the Seniors Seniors, parents and high school faculty gathered together on the evening of Friday, October 28th in celebration of the Class of 2017. Beneath hanging lights and lanterns, the class reminisced about their time at ACS and excitedly looked ahead under the theme of “Catch Your Dreams.” Adorned with dream catchers for the occasion, the Rabbit Field also featured a photo booth, a table with cards for students to thank their teachers, and a signed Class of 2017 poster.

Senior class student Jana Assi, who is an ACS lifer, expressed mixed feelings about graduating. “There are no words to express how I feel right now. I’ve been here my whole life and I don’t know anything else but I am excited and ready to see what else is out there.” Jana hopes to study marketing in Lebanon or the UK next year.

Senior Robert Koeck is looking forward to “starting a more independent life,” although he will “miss the simplicity and ease of life” of his time at ACS. ACS parent Ziad Zebian spoke of the impact ACS has had on his son’s life, remarking “my son is confident, open, independent and expresses his own opinions.” Zebian’s son will most likely stay in Lebanon for college. “I will be more at ease if he is still under my supervision,” he exclaimed with a smile. But he says it is too early to think about graduation. “They still have most of the year to go. I hope the students don’t get ‘senioritis’ and think they’re done after this celebration.”

Indeed, others expressed similar sentiments, as this was the first year that the school has hosted the celebration this early in the school year. “Typically, ‘Celebrating the Seniors Night’ takes place at the end of the year, but based on feedback from years past regarding the non-stop schedule of graduation events, we decided to host the dinner earlier,” said coordinator of the event Danai El Hajj Ibrahim ’06, Director of Alumni Affairs.

ACS Hosts Annual “Harmony for Humanity” Concert Held each Fall at ACS in honor of Daniel Pearl’s World Music Days, the November 3rd ACS “Harmony for Humanity” concert was just one of a global network of musical performances played around the world within a 30 day period for the purpose of spreading tolerance and hope. With the tagline “where words fail, music speaks,” the global event has inspired more than 14,000 performances in 140 countries since its inception in 2002.

This year’s concert featured over 20 performances by Middle and High School students. The ACS Community Orchestra, Grade 8 Band and High School Band as well as 11 soloists participated in the event. Songs performed over the course of the evening included “Valerie” by grade 8 student Gaelle Ondrusek with vocal accompanists that included Head of School Greg MacGilpin; the pop-hit “We Don’t Talk Anymore,” by three grade 6 students; and the ACS Community Orchestra’s performance of a musical medley from Disney’s “The Lion King.” Standout piece “16” featured an original composition by student Riwa Saab.

Daniel Pearl World Music Days was created in memory of U.S. reporter Daniel Pearl. Pearl was a journalist for the Wall Street Journal and was kidnapped and killed during an assignment in Pakistan in 2002. He himself a musician, Pearl is commemorated by The Daniel Pearl Foundation every year around the time of his birthday by the global concerts, which according to the foundation that bears his name, “use the international language of music to encourage fellowship across cultures.” The purpose of the Daniel Pearl Foundation is to “promote cross-cultural understanding through journalism, music and innovative communications.”

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Sold-Out “Trolls” Movie Fundraiser Brings in Support for the ACS Annual Fund The ACS Parent Volunteer Committee held a special advance screening of the DreamWorks movie “Trolls” on Saturday, October 29th while raising funds for the ACS Annual Fund. The sold-out, family-friendly fundraiser at Beirut Souks Cinemacity sold more than 300 tickets and brought in over $7,500.

Parent Volunteer Committee members Chirine Haykel and Lamis Ballan welcomed the crowd and thanked parents, students and community members in attendance for their support. Elle & Vire and Pepsi Co. served as corporate sponsors for the evening, as well as in-kind donors the Girls Football Academy, Lebanese Elite Football Academy, Deek Duke, and Joue Club.

The ACS Annual Fund provides critical, unrestricted funding to the school each year. Donations to the ACS Annual Fund bridge the gap between tuition revenue and the actual cost of running the school by contributing to school salaries, facility upgrades, faculty and staff professional development, and much more.

ACS Celebrates Halloween Halloween celebrations were in full effect Friday, October 28th at ACS, as students from Early Years through Middle School dressed up in costume, and the hallways and courtyards were decorated with festive ghouls and ghosts.

Early Years once again participated in the tradition of trick or treating around the school in full costume as they visited classrooms, guards, nurses, and administrative offices.

ACS Matters Fall/ Winter 2016 - 17

Middle School students also dressed up for the day, taking it one step further by hosting a Halloween party that evening. A bounce house, boxing game, racecar video game, foosball and air hockey table, and maze kept students entertained well into the night.

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The Middle School Halloween party also doubled as a fundraiser for the 8th grade social studies’ “Create Change Project.” This year’s “Create Change Project” will build restrooms at a Sri Lankan school during a Spring 2017 “Classroom Without Walls” trip. The idea was generated by a student brainstorming session and became a reality with the help of the larger ACS community. “We really could not have done this without ACS parent Mirna Chamaa and the hard work she put into this party,” explained 8th grade social studies teacher Tom Livingston, one of the teachers who helped organize the event. The party was an overwhelming success with an estimated 200 kids in attendance and a total of $2,000 raised.

ACS Cafeteria Makes Eco-Friendly Changes Fifth graders Mina Adada, Tina Salem, and Aya Boumosleh learned firsthand what happens when you take action. As part of last year’s inaugural ACS chapter of the Roots and Shoots lunch club, the three girls learned how to go about identifying a problem, and the steps needed to address it, under the guidance of Elementary School Principal Diann Osterlund.

Founded by animal activist Jane Goodall, the Roots and Shoots program teaches kids worldwide how to take action and stand up for people, animals and the environment. Osterlund asked her students to choose a category and select one topic for the club to address. After some discussion, the club selected the environment, targeting the problem of waste.

The club then separated into small groups, and Mina, Tina and Aya joined together. Reminded daily of the trash crisis by the overcrowded dumpsters on the streets of Beirut, the three girls started out by researching just how much waste Lebanon creates per day. The results stunned them: the country alone produces 4,000 tons of garbage daily, with the average person generating as much as seven pounds each day.

Tree of Life, Aya El-Hout, Grade 4 A, 2016

The girls then decided to focus on what they could do to help reduce the waste generated by the ACS cafeteria.

After careful observation of the types of materials used in food packaging and presentation, they came up with a few suggestions on how Mr. Elie Sahyoun, Cafeteria Manager, could make the dining hall more eco-friendly and submitted a proposal to him.

When they arrived back on campus after summer vacation and saw that some of their suggested changes had been made, they were “surprised and happy,” exclaimed Tina.

The new changes that took effect this year — thanks to the girls and ACS’ catering company Cat & Mouth — include the use of washable containers instead of plastic for desserts and the elimination of paper placemats on the elementary student lunch trays.

Grade 12 Student Adam Zabadni Runs Beirut Marathon in Support of Mental Health ACS grade 12 student Adam Zabadni ’17 had an ambitious goal he wanted to achieve before turning 18 that would put him in the ranks of just 0.07% of the world’s population: run a full marathon.

Months of training and sore muscles paid off when Adam crossed the finish line of the Beirut Marathon on Sunday, November 13th, 2016. One of the youngest to enter the race, Adam not only tested his physical endurance by running the 42.195 kilometer course but also raised $6,000 to date for a cause that was close to his heart.

Diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome at a young age, Adam chose to run the marathon in support of mental health issues. All contributions made on his behalf were donated to the Lebanese non-profit IDRAAC, or the Institute for Development, Research, Advocacy and Applied Care for the Medical Institute for Neuropsychological Disorders. Funds raised in support of Adam will go towards a free mental health clinic.

ACS Community Service Coordinator, Hoda Shatah, helped connect Adam to IDRAAC. Seeking out Ms. Shatah’s advice for ideas of organizations to work with, Adam wanted to run for something that motivated him.

“Mental health is part of every person’s life but we as a society still shy away from talking about it,” said Ms. Shatah. “Adam wanted to change that by running for an organization that promoted mental health treatments and lessen the stigma of psychological disorders,” she said. Ms. Shatah connected Adam with IDRAAC, who was very supportive and excited to hear of Adam’s interest.

ACS Matters Fall/ Winter 2016 - 17

Fall Sports Pep Rally

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ACS athletes geared up for an exciting fall sports season at the all-school pep rally Friday, October 21st. Middle and High School Rugby, Swimming, Cross Country and Volleyball teams were introduced to the student body among cheers of excitement and anticipation for the season ahead.

Girls JV Volleyball coach Rawad Yared ’16 is looking forward to “improving results this year for the team.” He hopes to place in tournaments both internationally and locally this season, and is excited to see the girls’ progress. “So far, the team is putting up a challenge. The girls have steadily been improving since the beginning of the season, which has been a win on both sides. They enjoy it and I enjoy it,” he relayed. The team has a record of 1-0 after defeating Hariri III last week.

Boys JV and Varsity Rugby player Mohamed Hamoudeh ’19 spoke of his outlook for the season, exclaiming that he “expects the team to be better than last year.” Rugby is Hanoudeh’s favorite sport. “I like rugby because I like playing as a team, as well as running with the ball and scoring tries.”

As for Saad Samhoun ’18, he is looking forward to the winter season when he will try out for the Boys Varsity Football team. “It’s a very good team that is hard to make,” said Samhoun. The team lost only one game last year and hopes to be undefeated this time around. n

Clara Assi ‘15

1981

2016

Once upon a playground ACS Past and present playground Make a difference.

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