Principal’s Letter to Parents – 7 Sept. 2026

Dear Parents,

Welcome to a new school year and a very warm welcome to those of you who are new to the school and whose children are arriving at the school gates for the very first time. I hope that you have had a pleasant summer with your families and that your children are eager to get started on their learning journey, or its continuation through Brummana High School.

Numbers in school:

We have 1,260 children in school for the new school year, as opposed to 1,254 in 2025/2026; the school is full, and we are looking forward to a great deal of hard work, endeavour, and activity in the year ahead. You will be pleased to know that this year we have teaching assistants in all classes from KG1-KG3, and have appointed a psychomotor therapist and speech therapist to work especially with children who may need their help (KG1-G6). We hope for a balanced routine of teaching and learning, sport and the Arts, sustained effort from the students, and commitment from everyone associated with the school in the best interest of your children and of the school’s prosperity in the year to come.

Who to talk to: 

Of course, not everything will go smoothly all the time; so, it is important that you should know who to turn to if things go wrong or if you have a concern:

Infants’ Section: In case of concern, please contact
1-            The Homeroom teacher.
2-            The Head of Section (Mrs. Racha Murr – racha.murr@bhs.edu.lb)

Primary Section (Lower): In case of concern, please contact
1-            The Homeroom teacher.
2-            The Head of Section (Mrs. Shatha Abu Khalil – shatha.abukhalil@bhs.edu.lb)
3-            The Director of Studies (Mrs. Youssra Abi Haidar – youssra.abihaidar@bhs.edu.lb) for matters of an academic, curricular nature.

Primary Section (Upper): In case of concern, please contact
1-            The class advisor.
2-            The Head of Section (Mrs. Shatha Abu Khalil – shatha.abukhalil@bhs.edu.lb)
3-            The Director of Studies (Mrs. Youssra Abi Haidar – youssra.abihaidar@bhs.edu.lb) for matters of an academic, curricular nature.

Upper School: In case of concern, please contact
1-            The Advisor. 
2-            The Head of Upper School Academic, for academic matters (Miss Aline Alam – aline.alam@bhs.edu.lb)
3-            The head of Upper School Pastoral for health, well-being, and disciplinary matters (Mr. Rabih Aouad – rabih.aouad@bhs.edu.lb)

The Vice Principal, for curricular matters and issues, which refer to academic programmes (for example, changing a subject or course) (Mr. Georges Rizkallah – georges.rizkallah@bhs.edu.lb).

If your child has special or specific learning needs about which you are concerned, you should contact the Head of Support for Learning (Mrs. Nadine Abou Assaly – nadine.abouassaly@bhs.edu.lb) .

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New staff:

We have appointed a number of new staff to school this year, some of whom replace former members of staff, while others, such as the psychomotor therapist and speech therapist, are entirely new appointments. They are, as follows.

Aya AboulHosn (TA primary Section), Tanya Haykal (TA Primary Section), Pia Bitar (PE Lower School), Jad Milaneh (Mathematics Upper School), Yara Sayegh (Psychomotor Therapist), Elie Jreij (Arabic Upper School), Fida Alayli (History in English Upper School), Michelle Mehawej (TA Infants’ Section), Ziad Mitri (Lower Primary Supervisor), Melissa El Khoury (Speech and Language Therapist), Sandress Dagher (Playground Supervisor in the Infants’ Section), Aline Rizk (French Lower School), Zeina Daou (Arabic Upper School), Nathalie Khoury (French Upper School), Rita Ghssoub (TA Primary Section), Joyce Bou Doumet (French Lower School), and Celine Khairallah (Psychology Teacher).

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Work done over the summer:

Much has been done to maintain, upgrade and improve school facilities over the summer. Apart from painting and decoration, some of the highlights are:

1- The Akl building has been refurbished, as the second part of OSA refurbishment of the Primary Sections, begun last year with the Upper Primary Section. General refurbishment, a new Supervisor’s office, new Counsellor’s office, and the implementation of a new outdoor classroom have all taken place.

2- A sensory room and offices for the psychomotor and speech therapists have been established in the Infants’ Section building, with installation of new flooring in the B1 indoor playground. Installation of new play structures in the KG2 playground and the KG1-KG3 playground have also taken place.

3- Upper Primary Building: Installation of new student lockers, and creation of glazed vision panels in classroom doors have taken place. Installation of 3M protective film on windows and glazed structures, (and in several buildings), have also been established.

4- The volleyball court has been completely replaced and resurfaced, while the outdoor basketball court has been relined, while renovation has been carried out of the Upper School and Lower School tuck shops.

5- Library building: Glazed vision panels in classroom doors have been created.

6- In process: A tropical biome donated by former Quaker Trustee, David Hickok, is being established adjacent to the gardening club, while a guard rail around the Mother tree, and a passage to the Wollemi pine, are also being installed.

7- While work was going on around them, many students from BHS and far beyond it benefited from our summer camp and summer educational programme. Throughout the summer we had around 1400 students on campus, all busy in some way or another!

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Surveys:

Later in the term, in conjunction with the Parents’ Association, we shall be sending you surveys asking your opinions of the services you receive at school. Your responses will help us shape further school developments and services we provide to improve the education we aim to deliver to all students at Brummana High School. The survey will also help us since Brummana High School will be inspected by EDT (The Educational Development Trust), with which body we are accredited, later in the school year. They will be able to draw on your responses as they put together a picture of the school and give recommendations for its development.

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Development Plan:

Each year the school draws up a development plan, having identified key priorities which it wants/needs to focus on in the year ahead. You should be aware of these so that you know our immediate objectives. We form working parties to address these priorities. I shall report to you on progress in meeting these objectives in the course of the school year and at the end of the year, with, I hope, the objectives achieved. Here is the plan for 2026-2027.

Brummana High School

Whole School Development Plan 2026-2027

1- To prepare for the EDT inspection of Brummana High School, due to take place in 2026-2027.

2- To examine and determine the use of AI tools and platforms to facilitate both teaching and learning from KG1–G 12.

3- To explore more extensive use of technology in the classroom, particularly in terms of resources, in preparation for the introduction of digital examinations and to support teaching and learning.

4- To consider preparatory steps to be taken from an educational perspective in shaping a Masterplan for the future of Brummana High School.

5- To implement all aspects of the “Arabic Initiative” established in 2025-2026 in order to raise interest in Arabic and standards of performance in the learning of the subject.

6- To implement all recommendations from the working party of 2024-2026 on the “excessive use of time spent online” by students.

7- To implement all recommendations of the working party of 2025-2026 on “unifying the BHS curriculum”.

Infants’ Section:

To establish a sensory room to support students’ development, using their senses in a calm environment.

Primary Sections:

To Listen to Your Body – Building resilience and preparation for learning.

To review the content and deliver of assessments of admission to the Primary School.

Upper School:

To implement the recommendations of the inspection report of the International Baccalaureate Organisation 2025-2026.

To continue to consider student wellbeing in the Upper School.

I would particularly draw your attention to work being undertaken on our Arabic initiative (KG1-G12), for which we have also appointed a consultant, Mrs. Alissar Abi Haidar, and the work we are carrying out on AI.  Apart from AI being taught in ICT lessons from Grade 6 upwards, we shall also embark on a pilot AI scheme for teaching and learning. The company employed will establish an online platform, and about 200 students and 15 teachers will be involved in exploring the platform and its benefits during 2026/2027.

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Academic outcomes:

I have already written to you with academic results of examinations in our International and IB programmes. (The Lebanese Baccalaureate and Brevet examinations were cancelled this year). Now I can add to these, impressive results in the DELF examinations in French, a distinct improvement on last year.

DELF 2026

Number of Candidates: 245

2026	No. of Candidates	No. of passes	% pass rate
A1	100	92	92%
A2	58	58	100%
B1	52	42	80.8%
B2	35	18	51%
> Total >	245	210	85.7%

 

Last year’s equivalent results
Number of Candidates: 273

2025	No. of Candidates	No. of passes	% pass rate
A1	128	108	84%
A2	52	50	96%
B1	67	54	81%
B2	26	5	19%
> Total >	273	217	79.5%

In addition, Cambridge Checkpoint results have been published; certificates of achievement will be distributed to all students individually at assemblies during September, while DELF awards will be distributed in the same month. All students are to be congratulated on their progress, whether in French, Arabic, English, Mathematics or Science.

The year ahead promises to be one full of action as schools generally are. Please encourage your children to be well organised, hardworking, enthusiastic and to get involved in all aspects of school life. And they should remember too to practise our Quakerly values of respect, tolerance, peaceful resolution, equality and environmental stewardship for a peaceful, productive and prosperous year ahead.

Yours sincerely,

David Gray
(Principal)