Save Hewar Alternative Arab School in Israel!

At the beginning of February this year, Hewar welcomed some 30 potential new families to an Open Day at Hewar’s school and kindergarten. Staff and parents showed the visitors round the facilities, answered questions and provided information about Hewar’s work. This event was part of our efforts to improve our outreach work, and to counter some of the misconceptions and reservations prevalent in our community about alternative forms of education.

Visiting families were also presented with new publications, offering information about Hewar’s activities, goals and methods. One of these was a recently completed introduction to ‘Hewar’s Method of Learning’, a short handbook which is currently being developed into a comprehensive and detailed Teachers’ Manual. The full version is due to be completed by the end of this academic year, and forms an important part of our work to further develop and improve our teacher training programme.

Students and teachers at Hewar were also excited to find out that two new projects will be carried out at the school, in cooperation with Al Nayzak and supported by Welfare Association. The ‘How to Think?’ programme aims to promote the skills of logical and critical thinking inside the school environment, whereas ‘Between Wires’ is a programme that deals with the relationship between technology and society. The projects also include extensive teacher training in these subjects, and offer an important opportunity for Hewar to further develop its capacities as an innovative and creative school.

Children and teachers at Hewar are now well into the new academic year, which started at the beginning of September.  The first day began with a Hewar tradition: the gathering of all children and parents in the schoolyard, and welcoming everyone back to kindergarten and school with a balloon release! This year the balloons were sent off in memory of those who died during the war in Gaza this past summer.  

At the end of the previous academic year, 10 of our students graduated from 8th grade and they have now moved on to study at the Arab Orthodox High School in Haifa. This group is the third class to complete their 8th grade at Hewar, and all previous graduates have managed the transition very well, demonstrating not only good academic results, but also achievements in extracurricular activities. They have taken on leadership position within the schools student council or class committees, excelled in sporting events, and taken part in international exchanges. We hope our latest graduates will also continue their journey with much success!

In the meantime, we have welcomed a new group of 16 kindergarteners aged 3, who have just completed their first month with us at Hewar.  In total there are currently 48 students in our three kindergarten groups, and 105 students in our school classes.  

Since the rejection of our recent Supreme Court petition regarding state funding for the school, we have however been more worried than ever about the future financial sustainability of the project.  In the last couple of months, we have therefore focused on developing alternative income-generating activities, in an attempt to increase our long-term sustainability of our work, as well as to relieve the pressure on the Hewar families.  In the first of these initiatives we organised the first Bazaar@Hewar, opening up our schoolyard for a public second-hand market on a Saturday afternoon.  Students and parents donated items and volunteered their time to organise the bazaar.  

While more new initiatives are being developed and due to be launched soon, we are still in need of support.  We will be happy for you to spread the word about our work or perhaps consider signing up for a recurring, monthly donation through Global Giving.  Every small donation helps.