Conclusion of an Academic Year Like No Other

The Academic Year 2020 2021 was a challenging year all over the world, but in Lebanon it was a year we pray will not be repeated anywhere, ever!
With COVID-19 the world had a virus with spikes that was spreading suffering and death, but Lebanon also had politicians with spikes. They attached themselves to every element of the Lebanese economy and fused themselves to greedy personal gain, leaving havoc, destruction, poverty, and hunger. Lebanon succumbed not only to COVID-19 but also to COVID-POLITICIANS, and that is why it is now gasping for air and fighting for its life.
We cannot even start to tell you what running a school under COVID-19 and COVID-POLITICIANS is like. It is an ongoing nightmare fraught with suffering, tragedy, and danger. Yet, thanks to you our dear partners, we made it through this terrible year. We praise God for your wonderful and kind support that enabled us to carry on, in spite of the demise of our dear country Lebanon.
A very special thank you to EVS/EMS, SVS, Embrace, LBMS, Rotary, and all our friends and partners for your wonderful support.

Members of staff reported back to work on 19 April 2021 at the end of a long COVID-19 lockdown after Christmas.
Kindergarten and Grade 9 resumed classes in school on 5 May 2021.
Grades 1 to 8 returned to school with the two-shift system on 17 May 2021.
Classes ended for Kindergarten and Grade 9 on 11 June, and the rest of the school on 25 June 2021 after holding the final exams.
The cancellation of official exams for Grade 9 sets enormous challenges for vocational training for yet another year.
Although the Minister of Education was doing his utmost to do the right thing for Lebanon, he was continuously forced to change his mind. The last of which was cancelling his previous decision to extend the academic year until mid-July. It is a mystery how we Lebanese are united on making the wrong decisions, and yet when we need to make the right decisions we are always in disagreement. This is definitely a vindication for the politicians, as it proves that our challenges are at root levels.

The number of students in classes of the Academic School was suitable for the two-shift system. We had exactly the right number of classrooms to continue with lessons.
We were also very lucky this year in the Vocational School. The Minister of Education decided that students go to school for practical training in workshops, while continuing with theoretical lessons online. We would not have had enough classrooms for the large vocational classes had theoretical classes been held at school.
We are delighted that the hangar project will be ready for the next Academic Year 21/22 with the new carpentry workshop, giving us more space to accommodate our students. We express our sincere gratitude to EVS/EMS for supporting this very important project in addition to helping us buy the television screens we need for the vocational classrooms. We also thank LBMS for their kind contribution towards this project, the new furniture we acquired for Boys Boarding Home 4, and the solar panels for hot-water in Elizabeth von der Decken Hall.


The financial crisis in Lebanon with the enormous collapse of the Lebanese currency made it impossible for our vocational students to buy the tools they need for training. With a very kind grant from EVS/EMS and SVS we were able to buy tools for students to use in our workshops year after year, thus removing the financial obstacle for students to follow vocational training. Thank you very much EVS/EMS and SVS for supporting our students in this hour of dire need.


In spite of our efforts to help students catch up with what they missed during COVID-19 lockdowns, they still need more support to be ready for the next academic year. That is why we will hold a summer-school for all students in September for two weeks, to make sure they have a head-on start for the next academic year. This summer-school program will be provided to all our students free of any tuition fees or charges. Parents or guardians are not even managing to put food on the tables for their families. We thank SVS for their contribution towards this summer-school program in addition to other important projects they regularly support.


The Photovoltaic Project of the Rotary Foundation has perfect timing to help JLSS at this time of exceptional crisis. We expect it to be ready for the start of the new academic year. It will reduce our diesel and electricity bills allowing us to meet other urgent needs. It will help JLSS reduce its carbon emissions and be a model school for protecting the environment. It will also modernize the electricity program through incorporating photovoltaic training for students.
We express our sincere gratitude to:
Presidents Traugott Plieninger, Habib Saba, Adib Mounla, George Beyrouti, and all the other Presidents of the supporting clubs,
RC Bietigheim-Vaihingen,
RC Ludwigsburg-Alt-Württemberg, 
RC Backnang-Marbach, 
RC Feldbach in Austria, 
RC Beirut-Cosmopolitan, 
District 1830,
District 1910 in Austria and neighboring countries,
District 2452 Middle East including Lebanon, 
and the Rotary Foundation World Fund for this most wonderful project.

Rotary are long-standing supporters of JLSS. Among their many projects they also supported Phase I of this project.
The photovoltaic project is sadly being implemented after the passing away of the person who initiated it from the very beginning, our late dedicated board member, philanthropic Rotarian, dear friend and staunch supporter, Mr. Toni Asfour. It is so befitting that our Rotarian friends dedicated this project in his memory.

Hangar Project Stage 1

We carry on with our work trusting that our loving Lord will pull us out of this extreme crisis.
We sincerely thank our supporting bodies and partners for their wonderful support.
The sun will rise even after the darkest winter nights!