Al-Mabarrat's schools organized, via their electronic platform, the Spring Festival for 2021, with the participation of 2,036 students from all the teaching cycles in Al-Mabarrat's schools and institutes spread across the various Lebanese regions, with the participation of experienced judges and with families, teachers and educational figures following.
The festival included many contests, the most notable being: the science contest, which comprised items on scientific research, innovation, models, performance activity, operational projects and robotics; in addition to the mathematics contest, which comprised items on mental arithmetic, operational projects and complex arithmetic operations; the literature contest in the three languages - Arabic, English and French - which included the items of oratory, poetry, story writing, dictation writing and the storyteller activity; the environmental activities contest; the arts contest; the community service contest, which embodies Al-Mabarrat's mission of serving its society; religious competitions in memorizing and reciting the Holy Quran; and models of the values of love, responsibility and giving.
Fadlallah
The Director General of Al-Mabarrat Dr. Mohammad Baqer Fadlallah delivered a speech in which he affirmed “the continuation of the process of learning despite the health and social crises and the psychological crises and many problems that followed them, foremost among them the pressing economic situation”. He stressed “the importance of facing the epidemic and the crises with a strong spirit, because free life continues through those who are strong in their souls”.
He said: “We must be creative even in the darkest times, and must face the night and its darkness with serious work for the dawn's rising and its light.”
He addressed the students, saying: “Al-Mabarrat believed that knowledge is what lights the paths of the future, especially as the world is changing at an astonishing speed. We will continue to work in all circumstances and to invest every means - and this is what is happening today: up close we are with you at the study desks, and at a distance we are with you on the platform. We want you to be the foremost in the journey of knowledge, culture and the arts.”
He urged “scientific research and activities of creativity and distinction”, and pointed out that “making creativity is one of Al-Mabarrat's goals and the restless concern that keeps those working in Al-Mabarrat's schools awake - the administrations, the teachers and the supervisors - working on the curriculum that enriches a pupil's character with the experiences and new situations it offers them, with the knowledge and life skills it adds to them, with the refining of character, and with the development of the skills that help a pupil to be more flexible, more capable, more organized and more in harmony with anything new in today's world”.
Chibli
Then came a speech by the head of the measurement and evaluation office at the Directorate of Education Wassima Chibli, in which she held that “education in our world today is no longer confined to a particular aspect of growth; rather it is continuous, integrated and sustainable education, and student teaching activity forms one of its most important tributaries and components”.
She explained “that through the Spring Festival Al-Mabarrat's schools aim to activate the methods of expression and linguistic, artistic and scientific vocabulary and of learning, by creating conditions resembling life situations and improving study skills, as well as discovering students' talents and abilities and working to refine them - in addition to developing positive communication, cooperative work, relaxation and the renewal of vitality”.
Al-Sayed
For her part the activities director Rola Al-Sayed pointed out that “organizing the festival through the electronic platforms required many preparations to arrange the process of this large number of students taking part in each competition and presenting their activities”.
It is noted that the University of Sciences and Arts in Lebanon (USAL) offered a university scholarship for the first project in the science contest.
