Trip 1-6All grades one through six had

an enjoyable trip to the north of

the country, and it was
educational as well. They
learned about the olive press
and the old tools and methods
of farming and irrigation. They
also experienced the traditional
transportation means of the carte and mule

Art Exhibition
At Al Hoash Art Gallery grades 4, 5 and 6 lived the memoirs of
the Palestinian artist Mustafa Hallaj. Hallaj who had lost his
homeland like most of the Palestinians in 1948, lived after the
Nakba between Syria and Lebanon. His art work, done through
carving on wood and then printed on paper and cloth depicted his
love and longing to his homeland. After having an enjoyable
time at the exhibition and listening to the life story of the artist,
the gallery asked the children to fill out a questionnaire to assess
how much they actually benefited from the visit.
Fundraising dinner To help meet the financial crisis, a Fundraising Dinner was held at
the Terra Sancta Centre in Beit Hanina, a suburb north of Jerusalem on the 8th of
November 2012. The response of the local community was beautiful and very
encouraging to start planning for another one next year. The General assembly and board
of Rawdat El-Zuhur worked with a lovely spirit as a team to make the evening enjoyable
and successful. Mrs Rania Elias Khoury, the MC for the evening, led the guests through
the historical journey of Rawdat El-Zuhur by means of photos and caption, followed by a
quiz show. Not only the desert was good, but the real desert for the evening was the
beautiful singing of Maha Khoury Meo, a former staff member, accompanied by Wafa
Zaghal, the music teacher at the school, on the oud. An auction on precious items
presented by members of the community was a great success. We were privileged to
have with us for the dinner Elizabeth Knott and Connie DePond, our supporters from Pal
Craftaid whose presence and sense of humor added a special flavor to the evening.

Mardi Gras- Through the

initiative of the French
teacher, the children
celebrated Mardi Gras for
the first time at the school.
To them the whole idea was
very exciting and they were

very creative in the choice of costumes and make up..

Science day- A day to be remembered as the children

worked in groups on their science experiments. The
silence was so loud with everybody concentrating on
what they were trying to achieve. They witnessed the
power of wind ,
the color of gases,
mixing colors and
even succeeded
into launching a tiny shuttle into the high orbits of
the school area. It was a day to be repeated and
will definitely become a yearly event.

Basem and Muna Foundation- The Muna and Basem Hishmeh Foundation has
renewed its commitment to Rawdat El Zuhur for the fifth year to support programs that
are vital for the educational process to be a wholesome one. For the school children in
Jerusalem this is more important than ever as they are becoming isolated daily from their
surroundings, and exposed to harsh measures because of their identity. Through art,
music, drama and speech therapy, the children are able to cope and find a way to express
themselves.

United Palestinian Appeal

Through a project supported by the UPA, the school alumni who have transferred to
other high schools, will now be able to enjoy a monthly program of a variety of
activities at Rawdat El-Zuhur; the school where they had spent their childhood and
where they always felt safe and protected. The activities will focus mainly on
personality building, identity development, and empowerment. This will also give them
an opportunity to interact with their fellow classmates and schoolmates in a safe and
caring atmosphere.

Science Club
Through the Faisal Husseini
Foundation, the sciece lab was
equiped and is in full use now. A
science club was also

established, and the students enjoy a variety of experiments every Friday. The science
club also plans field trips where students can enjoy the science of nature like rocks with
different formations, or the large variety of seeds and plants. So at the end of the day the
children come back loaded with samples to observe and write about.

In Memoriam
For the lives of the friends of Rawdat El-Zuhur who have passed away lately, we give
thanks, and may God bless their souls.
Rev. Alan Reid, Victoria, Australia, Oct 2012. Rev. Reid, and his late
wife Janet have been good friends of the school and the Palestinians. He
sponsored children at the school, and was very kind and generous with a
grandfather image.
Mary Tomlinson Jones, Stratford-Upon-Avon, UK, died in February
2013 at the age of 96. An amazing lady, who had been the head of a
school in the village of Ilmington from the 1940s until 1951, and had been involved in
education right up to her retirement. She was always very interested in the activities of
Rawdat, and looked forward to a report from Neville Usher upon his return from his
yearly visit to Jerusalem. Neville wrote: Her funeral was like none that I have ever
attended before, for she had planned it down to the last detail, from hymns, readings and
poems, and at the end we were treated to a group of Morris dancers (old country dancing)
to lead us from the church to where a splendid meal was arranged really more of a
celebration than a funeral."

Mrs Aida Nazzal, E. Jerusalem, Palestine, passed away on

the 26th of January 2013. She was a supporter and a friend of
Rawdat el Zuhur and was always looking forward to
activities held at the school. She suffered throughout her
last years from emphysema. Her family and friends
requested donations in her memory to Rawdat El-Zuhur in lieu of flowers. Aida will be
greatly missed by the Jerusalem community.

In memory of Bahghat Tarazi, who passed away in New York, his brother Charlie made a
donation to Rawdat El-Zuhur through ANERA for the art and music activities of the
younger children.

Visitors
We would like to thank the following friends who stopped by to visit the school:
Archbishop Attala Hanna
Disciples of Christ and United Church in USA and
Canada
Mr. Jeff and Randy Whitman
Mr. Jim Moos
Mr. Nicolas Camacho
Ms. Connie DePond
Ms. Joanna Hubert Bergen
Ms. Kelli Whitman
Ms. Leslie and Ms. Judy Kemp
Ms. Megan Giesecke
Ms. Rachel McCarthy
Rev. Elizabeth Knott
Rev. Karl and Rev Janet Whiteman
Visitors pictures

Donations- We take this opportunity to express our thanks and appreciation to the
following friends who made a donation during the period of the 27th of October 2012
until the 28th of February 2013

BibleLands
Dr. Jill Evans
Faisal Husseini Foundation
Friends of the late Aida Nazzal
Friends of the late Dr. Rajai Dajani
Jeff Wright Group
Mr & Mrs Osama Faris
Mr . & Mrs James and Susan Meyer
Mr . & Mrs Pauline and Robert Coffman
Mr. Cyril and Mrs. Roxanne Bennis
Mr. & Mrs Lutuf and Gisele Ghantous
Mr. & Mrs Nazih and Kathleen Nasir
Mr. & Mrs Ralph Doermann
Mr. & Mrs Rizek and Alice Abusharr
Mr. & Mrs Suleiman Seikaly
Mr. & Mrs Tayoo and Frances Kang
Mr. & Mrs Terrence Davidson
Mr. & Mrs. George Baramki
Mr. & Mrs. Peter Nasir
Mr. & Mrs. Raji Khoury
Mr. & Mrs. Shafiq Nasser
Mr. Edward Karkar
Mr. Jeff Whitman
Mr. John & Mrs. Brenda Spencer
Mr. Karl Whiteman
Mr. Sami Joseph
Mrs. B. Weller
Mrs. Bernice Youtz
Mrs. Dina Basha
Mrs. G. Kohn
Mrs. J. Hughes
Mrs. Nahla Assali
Mrs. Penelope Harley
Mrs. Ruth Thomason
Mrs. S. Hargraves
Mrs. Salwa Zananiri
Ms Leslie Meyer
Ms. Doris Anfous
Ms. Ghada Nasir
Ms. Joan Overton
Ms. Rola Bordcosh

Pal Craftaid
UCC
UPA