Zahran
Certainly, it is one of the most active iEARN school: Zahran Language School in Alexandria. This year marked a very dynamic year for the school students, and a turning point in the school’s long association with iEARN and other activities.
There are 33 iEARN students in the school, all working on YouthCaN projects. They are divided into four teams, 2 preparatory teams and 2 secondary teams. All four teams share one dream, which is achieving a clean, pollution-free environment where people live a healthy life. One of their leading values is showing genuine care and respect for others, and this is their key for success.
The Secondary boys’ team seek for achieving clean water in Egypt, so they have presented some solutions to the problems surrounding this cause. Also, they decided to cooperate with El-Orman language school, in order to come out with a great collaborative project and for making their vision clearer and more comprehensive. The i-FAW campaign is a new initiative for this year. It stands for “iEARN First Awareness Water campaign”, which is an online campaign hosted by iEARN to discuss and share opinions, ideas and solutions in relation to their project.
The secondary girls’ team chose “geothermal energy” to be the main idea for their project. They explore the facts about this type of energy. Their conclusion is that it is a preferable source of energy since it’s renewable and does not contribute to environmental problems.
The theme for the preparatory boys’ team’s project is environmental health concerning four main problems: water and air pollution, black clouds and car vehicles.
The preparatory girls’ team focuses on new, clean types of energy. It discusses the advantages and disadvantages of energy sources and the good ways of producing energy.
Apparently, environmental themes and issues take the priority on the minds of the students. They are passionate about reaching towards a sustainable and healthy environment in Egypt.
Some changes took place this year, for instance, the number of teams increased, and students outlined a new vision and goals. Zahran students make a personal choice to participate in iEARN. The reasons of their participation are that they get interested upon knowing the importance of iEARN and how they can help by being a role in achieving a better world in the future. Other reasons include iEARN’s great achievements in the last years, in addition to the limitless experience, the friends, the knowledge and benefits from iEARN, which they describe as “without borders”.
The school also gets involved in other activities and programs, such as UNESCO programs, Peace Trip 2008, Oracle and Microsoft programs, as well as computer courses. This is one busy school, which recognizes the importance of extra-curricular activities for the development of youth.
This is a model for a successful school. This is a challenge for all Zahran students and teachers to aim towards more accomplishments and higher objectives, and I believe we will hear of it all this time next year.