We write today with an enormous sense of responsibility. It had been our fervent hope since the outset of the coronavirus pandemic that public health measures and increased availability of testing would allow us to offer our students an incredible learning experience this fall that, by including more remote learning, social distancing, and other safety precautions, would enable all the students to learn on campus.
Unfortunately, COVID-19 continues to spread at an alarming rate across the country, with approximately 400 new cases reported daily over just the past few days. As we have previously announced, the vast majority of instruction for MYP and DP students will be online, with limited exceptions for Early Years and Elementary students.
Our team has been working vigorously over the last 5 weeks to place a solid schedule to start the academic year. We have thought of almost everything and we will be conducting a "Hybrid" scenario for the first few weeks of school.
Below in this newsletter, you will find all the important dates, the methods of learning, and the schedules for your children. We know that there will be many questions that arise because of the changes we are announcing today. We will be holding a Q&A session next week for all parents that need more clarity.
I also want to let you know of a few changes to the administration. Cendrella Kettaneh, who has been part of the Eastwood team since 2004, has been promoted to Associate Director. She will remain the IBDP Coordinator as well. We are extremely confident she will continue to raise the standards and include creativity to teaching methodologies to her team during these times.
All of us at Eastwood are deeply grateful for the patience that families and students have shown as we have navigated the rapidly changing landscape of this evolving global crisis. We sincerely believe that the educational experience that students will receive this fall will be among the finest available in the world. We will do all that we can to keep each class involved and connected virtually so that they can continue to interact and share their Eastwood Experience with classmates in a safe and productive way.
I want to thank every parent that stood by us over the last few months, and over the years. It's because of you, we are still fully operational. Thank you for your trust in Eastwood with your (our) children.
A few notable dates for this year will be the IB Middle Years Program authorization visit that will take place virtually as well as the CIS accreditation visit that will also take place virtually. Our teachers have been working around the clock to make sure that we pass with flying colors, as usual.
Thank you for being part of the Eastwood community,
Sincerely,
Dr. Michel A. Khoury
Eastwood is a truly amazing school that treats children like family. The teachers are extremely well trained and the administration is stellar. It has a huge amount of expats and is truly an international school in every way!
Loubna Sabbah
I moved my youngest son 3 years ago to Eastwood Mansourieh from his old school and he immediately fell in love with it. The atmosphere, staff, administration are all wonderful. They pay extra attention to him and the communication between teachers and parents is excellent. I highly recommend this top school.
Ghassan Kreidly
Amazing school, the best in Beirut! The ethos of the school, the learning environment, and the attention paid to each student are all unsurpassed elsewhere. This is a school which really cares for everyone in their community.
Simon Hall
Choosing a school for our kids is one the hardest decisions we have to go through because we simply always want the best for them. Well Eastwood International School made this choice so easy on us. We are very grateful and happy for trusting them with our son’s future. Our son is always happy to go to school and full of smiles when we pick him up. We attribute this to the exemplary teaching and community feel of the school. The teachers are truly fantastic, extremely professional, vibrant, always smiling and ready to assist.
In short, it is exactly the home we want our son to be raised in.
Rita Bizri