Spring Break Revisited at the American School of Doha

From left to right: Supporting Habitat for Humanity in Veles, Macedonia ; Visiting a Masai Guide School in Masai Mara, Kenya;The demoiselles of ASD do Paris, handbags and all (photos: ASD).

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Over Spring Break this year (2011), the American School of Doha (ASD) closed for a week before the final rush towards Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate examinations in May, and graduation exercises thereafter. Although school was out for the week, learning continued for many of ASD’s high school students and faculty as they journeyed “beyond the walls” into the world at large.

Over the course of the week, nearly 200 ASD students embarked on various experiential learning opportunities, made possible by the volunteer efforts of ASD’s faculty and administration. Six overseas trips took groups of multinational participants to foreign shores, different cultures and creeds, and new experiences.

In Macedonia, on ASD’s Flagship Service Trip (Habitat for Humanity), 20 students worked in a village to construct affordable housing for a needy family. Students spent five days at the Habitat site in Veles, Macedonia, where Habitat was constructing 102 apartments for local families. ASD students were charged with leveling the ground in front of the apartments, cutting and cleaning the insulation and prepping and painting the apartments.

In Zanzibar 50 students worked to refurbish and renovate a rural school, in a country where education is a scarce commodity—especially for girls. The school where ASD worked had the unique distinction of having more girls than boys enrolled! ASD students proudly donated much-needed supplies to this rural school, and also spent time learning about Indian Ocean and African History in Zanzibar’s Stonetown (a UNESCO World Heritage Site).

In nearby Kenya, 12 ASD students worked to support a conservation project in the Naibosho Conservation Area in the Masai Mara Game Reserve. Students helped gather data about predator populations, in order to evaluate and revise conservation practices. ASD students also worked with a Masai Guide School, which trains local Masai to become certified Kenya Wildlife Service Guides.

In Ethiopia, ASD has been raising money for the past four years to build a school through the African Children’s Educational Trust (A-CET, http://www.a-cet.org). This spring, six ASD middle and high school students visited Gumselasa Elementary school for the first time. The ASD students purchased notebooks and pencils for all 250 students at Gumselasa, as well as soccer and volleyballs for the school. During this visit, ASD students also visited the homes of the Ethiopian students; experienced traditional Ethiopian music, dancing, and food; and visited the historical rock-hewn churches of Lalibela.

In Paris, 20 students lived for a week in the city of lights. Students visited the Louvre, Versailles, the Eiffel Tower, and the Champs-Elysées, becoming metro experts and escargot connaisseurs.

In Verbier, Switzerland, 20 students were hosted by Les Elfes Ski Camp, for a week of skiing and snowboarding (“sport for life” is an enduring component of the ASD curriculum). In the evenings, students had the opportunity to interact with students from many other international schools.

ASD hopes to continue these international trips in the future; they have brought the school’s vision to life!

Mr. Shang has undertaken an action research project to measure student learning outcomes from these trips; look out for a follow-up in The International Educator.

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