RFS brought back the Afterschool Programs on both campuses in September after the programs had stopped for more than a year due to Covid19 pandemic. Programs include a variety of sports, fencing, art, music, English drama, Robotics, among others.

Some of the many highlights of this past month at the Ramallah Friends School (RFS) include the Student Council and Parent Teacher Association elections- both elections represent the best of our values at RFS, where as a community we exercised group decision making in a democratic process.

As a values-based school, RFS has a responsibility to prepare students to become engaged citizens. Activities like the aforementioned, are part of a multifaceted strategy across all education levels to embed leadership skills and democratic values in our community all the while empowering and involving students and parents in many key decisions. It was a joy to witness the many creative campaign posters around campus, and seeing students channel their creativity to attract votes through their platforms and goals.

The Parent Teacher Association (PTA) elections also had some of the highest turnout in recent years, reflecting the continued passion and level of commitment RFS parents have for the School and their children.

Another highlight that really touched my heart was seeing the passion and innovation of our teachers at the School and witnessing how they can steward the resources we have in imaginative ways. I was very proud when our Upper School Librarian and Biology Teacher collaborated to help raise funds and establish a community garden at the Upper School campus.

The project serves so many of our students’ needs- it offers them a chance to learn about biology and agriculture, it gives them an opportunity to do physical exercise, and it allows them to do service hours for their International Baccalaureate (IB) diplomas among other things.

We also hope that the food that will be grown in the garden will be sold in the nearby farmers market, with the rest possibly being used by our cafeteria.

I am also happy to report that we are continuing to operate largely in-person. While we have had some minor COVID shutdowns for some classes, we fortunately did not need to completely revert to school-wide online learning. This is largely because of the high vaccination rate among our faculty and staff, and our 10th, 11th, and 12th graders. We continue to practice health and safety measures, despite how difficult they may be sometimes, so that we may prevent another school-wide closure and ensure that the many upcoming sports tournaments, activities, and a bonfire that finally happened last week, where only the high school students attended as they were all vaccinated, it was indeed a celebration for them!

By Besan Omary-Jaawan / Communciations & Development Manager

Meet Walid Batrawi, a member of Class of 1987, and known Palestinian journalist who has worked for many international news outlets including the BBC, Al Jazeera English, Canadian and Australian TV channels, and now works in training journalists here and abroad.

Recently, Walid took the initiative to reactivate the historic RFS Alumni Association and is now a member of its preparatory committee. He believes strongly that alumni need to have a committed role towards the school, not merely financially, but morally as well. He says: “I am confident that each individual graduate of this school has a story to tell, no matter where they are or what they do…And now is the time for us to extend our hand to help the school as we can.”

Arriving at RFS as a high school student, Walid fondly remembers the daily activities held in Chapel every morning. Listening to various lecturers, watching documentary films and discussing them freely, were not usual activities held in other schools at the time.

 “Our school was the first to initiate a Student Council among all other schools in Ramallah. We experienced elections and freedom of expression at a time when that was not exercised...We had two Dabkeh dance troupes, soccer and basketball teams, and the bonfire was a great tradition we enjoyed every year.”

In the 1980s, RFS sole and original logo was an English abbreviation of each campus, surrounded by a drawn shield; FGS for the Lower Campus and FBS for the Upper Campus. Walid was a witness of how the historic Arabic RFS logo came to be in 1986 when his school teachers asked his father, a well-known calligrapher, to design the logo we know today. The graduating Class of 1987 was the first to wear the logo officially on RFS’ first graduation robes.

Walid says he met children of Palestinian expatriates at RFS for the first time and the school consisted of small classroom communities as high school students were distributed among three major divisions; Tawjihi science, Tawjihi arts, and English speaking. With about 11 students in each section, the school encouraged individual students to pursue hobbies they enjoyed including music, art, and even calligraphy which Walid enjoyed and excelled at.

After graduating from RFS, Walid had received a scholarship to study engineering in Moscow, but he decided to transfer to Birzeit University a few years later to major in Sociology. He began working while studying as an interpreter for foreign journalists when the second war on Iraq broke out. Mastering three languages; Arabic, English and Russian, led him into a long career in media and journalism. He witnessed and covered major local and world events as a news reporter which included the peace process, the return of the Palestinian Authority and Yasser Arafat to Gaza and the West Bank, the Second Intifada, among many others.

Now a proud father of an RFS graduate and another current student, Walid says “At RFS you know that you will receive a quality education. The school’s introduction of the IB program has helped in developing the student’s personality as well.

Student Council and Parent Teacher Association elections. The beginnings of a community garden on campus and the high school Bonfire tradition...

Within the community of Friends, there are many values. Some are hung as plaques on the walls of the auditorium and others make up colorful signs around the campus. Some are wrapped up in papers here and there. As soon as you step on our campuses, you hear about the testimonies of integrity, equality, simplicity, among others. At the first glance, these values appear to make up a life of constitution inspired by the Bible, if it were applied in details we would be living in a more just and equitable world.
To keep the meaning of Friends from stirring away from its values amongst a world and individuals of accelerating change; we have to stop for a moment to self-reflect and study whether these values are implemented within our community. 

An educational institution that has gotten its glory from people who had dedicated themselves to serving it and establishing its values, is in dire need to self-reflect. Those of us who care about its survival should not hesitate to criticize themselves. That is a step we need to take confidently towards the right direction for all, for the sake of RFS.