The International School - Al Koura was founded in 1985 to cater to the growing population of Lebanese families who wished to place their children in an international based schooling system. The idea of creating an international curriculum (leading to a High School Diploma) stemmed from the need to provide Lebanese students with foreign passports the same quality of education as that of students in the Lebanese program (leading to the Lebanese Baccalaureate Official Government exams). Students are enrolled in Kindergarten (as of age 3). Formal schooling begins in Grade 1 as of six years of age and students graduate from Grade 12 (both programs) by the time they are 18.

I.S. Al Koura is part of the AMSI group of schools in the United Arab Emirates.

MISSION STATEMENT:

At I.S. Al Koura, we collaborate to link learning to life in order to develop in our students a mindset of responsibility, courage, empathy, tolerance, self-control, and integrity.

We guide our students to be independent, self-sufficient, and well-rounded critical thinkers capable of taking initiative and solving real-life problems.

OUR CORE VALUES:

At I.S. Al Koura we want our students to be productive, happy citizens, good friends, good parents, respectful, and honest. To do that, we must focus on teaching not just academics, but also habits of mind that reflect 21st century skills. We will continue to focus on academics, of course, but these constitute the floor rather than the ceiling of anyone’s education. We aim at teaching our students integrity, self-control, courage, responsibility, empathy and tolerance. This is us building character, habits of mind, for what is needed to achieve success in the real world. We need to prepare our children to be adaptable and flexible to meet a future in which the only constant is change. Only people who have the knowledge and skills to negotiate constant change and to reinvent themselves in new situations will succeed.

Personal intelligence (which constitutes confidence, motivation, problem solving, responsibility, effort and work habits, appreciation of diversity, and teamwork) is the real success skill that makes a candidate employable. It is also what will differentiate a student of I.S. from any other. Our core values, stated below, speak for our commitment to character building and good citizenship.

As soon as I began my career in teaching, I realized that what I had embarked on was not a career, but a calling. I learned to measure my success by the difference I was making. I believed in myself, I believed in my students, my colleagues, but above all, I believed in something bigger than myself. I believed that I had the ability to create something incredible. Throughout, I experienced the freedom of learning that comes when one takes risks, when one is given the space to experiment, fail and try again. I experienced work driven by kindness, courage, responsibility, empathy, tolerance, self-control, and integrity. The vision for I.S.ALKOURA2020 stems from my conviction that instead of teachers devoting time and effort to teaching knowledge and skills, they must devote their efforts in finding ways to empower their students to believe that they, too, are capable of creating something great. In addition to the learning of skills and knowledge, we also want our students to value what they are learning based on how much the world needs what they are working on. They are, after all, responsible for the world we are preparing them for. We must, therefore, allow our students to explore, to take risks, to problem-solve, to develop the confidence needed to be creative.

For that, and because we are in the most technologically advanced period of our time, technology is an essential tool. However, technology is not about devices or software. Technology is about what we can do with it. Compounded with our core values and redesigned approaches in education, we developed an understanding, that as educators, we are required to model creativity, collaboration, critical-thinking, character-building, and communication (21st century success skills). The best way to model these skills is to use a Project Based Learning (PBL) approach . And so the journey began. Through PBL, our students will learn that learning is not confined to the classroom. Through PBL, we would be allowing our students to gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to authentic, engaging, and complex questions, problems, or challenges.

Our purpose, ultimately, is to use all possible tools available in the world to provide positive, good, and constructive value to ourselves and to those around us. We wish our students to be driven by a desire to do good in this world, in whatever field of study they will choose to pursue in life after I.S.

Beyond information and knowledge acquisition, beyond official government exams and standardized testing, we need our students to develop the creative confidence to accomplish incredible things in this world. They need to also believe that they can. We see many students who have mastered the ‘game of school’ but not of life. Through PBL, electives, core values, new software (the list can go on), we are helping students become more self-aware thus tapping into their passions. It is only when they become engaged and passionate that they may convert abstract potential into something actionable, into something measurable, into something good.

Keep the faith.

Rima N. Nasr Ayach

The International School - Al Koura is part of the AMSI group of schools in the United Arab Emirates where four campuses Al Mawakeb Al Garhood, Al Mawakeb Al Barsha, Al Mawakeb Al Khawaneej, and the International School of Arts and Sciences cater to over nine thousand students.

AMSI schools in the UAE have been dedicated to transforming the lives of students for over 30 years. AMSI schools have graduated over 6,000 students and have been home to over 200,000 students at one time or another. As parents, all we want is the betterment of our children’s education. As educators with a wealth of knowledge and international expertise, we have a daily quest for the betterment of our schools. As a management company that combines family values with a professional approach, we developed a sense of the urgency at both the school and the investor levels. We became the solution provider we set out to be. For more information check out the website at www.amsi.ae

At I.S. - Al Koura, we pride ourselves on being parents first, educators second. From that stems our belief that a strong home-school connection ensures that our students, our children, and their well-being are at the forefront of all our decisions.

Parents’ Committee members assist parents with the general aspects of school life as well as the social side of being part of a school community, keeping parents up to date on the Parents’ Committee activities, and generally being a central point of contact for communications.

The Parents’ Committee is open to any parent who would like to offer their time.

The school boasts a unique campus that spreads over 43,000 square meters of buildings and greenery. Among the many facilities, the school has 2 cafeterias, a spacious infirmary, a bookstore, an indoor gym, a grass soccer field, and several outdoor playgrounds. It also has 2 science labs, 2 computer labs, 2 libraries, a conference room, a multipurpose room, 4 art rooms, a senior lounge, and a music room. The corner stone of a new building and auditorium was laid down in April 2017. The building will have ten additional classrooms and the state of the art auditorium will house 400 seats.

The school is an SAT test center. Our students benefit from familiar surroundings and easy access. We are responsible for operating the test center so that all students have a fair and standardized testing experience where testing conditions are guaranteed for all.

The test center number is 54301.

“I have always been a shy person. And as a student, test anxiety was a major source of stress for me. I was so happy to learn that my own school was an SAT Test Center. I mean, I was going to sit for a major test in familiar surroundings and familiar faces. Best thing ever!” -- P.T. Class of 2016

“I.S. is a real example of a community that believes is diversity, tolerance, and inclusiveness. As a parent to a child with special needs, neither myself nor my son once felt excluded or shunned. Everyone at I.S. worked together to create the best possible learning environment for my son. With everyone’s help, my son developed a confidence in and an understanding of his abilities and is now a happy, productive individual who contributes to society. I will forever be grateful for I.S.’s unconditional support — both on the academic and emotional levels.” -- N.I. Proud mom of an I.S. Graduate

"PBL work is our teachers' best kept secret. Although our teachers guide us on our projects, we are the ones who are actually doing all the hard work. There is so much learning going on but we don't realize it until after the project is done. Teachers keep asking us 'ungooglable' questions that force us to think about the problem or task at hand. Doing a project through PBL is not easy...but it sure was fun." -- M.D. Grade 8HS

"Initially, I did not want to choose any elective course. One of my teachers enrolled me in debate class. She thought I would enjoy it. Guess what? I did. I enjoyed this course more than any of the academic courses I was forced to take. Being in that class gave me the opportunity to explore topics that are of personal interest to me (I am a reader and I have strong opinions about almost everything) and I was given the opportunity to learn how to express myself and to be heard. I found out I was very good at 'debating'. Taking that elective course helped me decide on a major." Y.A. Class of 2020

Are you a passionate, dedicated, and committed educator? Are you looking for an opportunity to grow your potential? Submit your CV at [email protected]