Trip 1-6- All 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 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 , a suburb north of 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