SOS Schools in Morocco

SOS Nursery School Ait Ourir

The number of children enrolled for the 2007-2008 academic year was 77.   The supervisory staff made up of three female teachers and an assistant female teacher benefited from some training seminars organised by the French Institute of Marrakech: creative activities, physical and motor therapy and learning disabilities, as well as other training sessions organised by the National Observatory of the Child’s Rights and monitoring of the annual programmes.     

 

The set programme introduces three main fields of activities that the children are presented with during the three years of pre-school. One programme aims to adapt the children to the school environment and offers them opportunities to express themselves (language, painting, drawing, songs, and dances) thus helping them develop.  The nursery school has many new educational tools such as games which can be used in classes (puzzles, construction games, dominos, ball…) and a playground funded by the National Initiative for Human Development). 

 

Activities

• Exchange between the nursery school and the nursery school of Lamrani Institute in Marrakech.  This exchange included correspondence and visits with a rich hand varied programme.
  
• Celebration of Achoura, a feast which allows the little ones to discover certain Moroccan traditions and to receive presents. 
  
• Day devoted to road security
  
• End of school year party celebrated with songs and dances. 
  
• Celebration of World Children Day by organising a painting workshop. 

 

 

SOS Primary School Ait Ourir

The SOS Primary School opened in 1999. It currently has over 200 pupils.  In 2007-2008, the number of students enrolled at the SOS School was 258 including 70 from the SOS Children's Village Ait Ourir and 188 from outside.  

The school results were satisfactory. The rate of success for the last year of elementary school was 100%. One of the 6th grade students was rated first among the schools of Ait Ourir and 4 students from the village were accepted to the military school.  The students with difficulties benefited from catch-up sessions during the school vacations and during the school year. They receive extra help from the teachers and the group leaders thanks to the new organisation of the school schedules. 
 

Activities

With the aim to increase a sense of knowledge and learning in our students and to develop their capacity to cooperate, our school is working on an array of projects, including the following:

• Since its creation in 1949, SOS Children has been working in the spirit of the International Convention on Child’s Rights. Our school, by creating a child’s rights project and by participating in the Child’s Rights Caravan in 2008, is committed to instituting a participative approach by encouraging the children of the village to participate in making decisions related to matters that concern them and to ensure that their rights respected.
• Through our Eco-Schools project we are working on the theme of water, a vital element that must be better rationalised and protected. Through this project our children learn about sustainable, efficient and equitable management of this resource. Our goal is to inform our children about environmental education and obtain the Eco-Schools label. 
• With the same desire to give our children the possibility to go beyond their capacities, to learn, and to develop, our school conducted many activities during the school year including: sports activities (football tournament, marathon), cultural activities oriented towards arts and crafts, cultural competitions between schools, excursions, participation in an ecological festival at Tahanaout, awareness raising about the dangers of the road as well as of tobacco and AIDS.
  

 

Reaching out to the outside world

Reaching out to the neighbouring community is one of the prime objectives of our school.  A group of 15 children in difficult situations (orphans, sick parents, very insufficient resources) benefit from free tuition.  The literacy project initiated in February 2008 allows the 30 women beneficiaries to learn to write and read and thereby also allows for social and personal development. 

 

 

SOS Primary School Dar Bouazza

In this new school year 2008/2009, 85 children were registered. To face such a large number, we had to think over our pedagogical organisation.  

We are currently functioning with 4 classes, one for the small section, 2 for the middle section and one for the big section.  

 

The predominant number of the external children made the involvement of the inhabitants of the neighbourhood in the village life more important. For this reason, the nursery school at Dar Bouazza insisted on inviting the children’s parents to most of the events that were celebrated in the village, in addition to the usual meetings with the students’ parents at the beginning of the school year or in case new measures need to be spread among the parents.

 

Important Events

• The celebration of Mothers’ Day, Achoura feast, collective birthday parties. Spring Carnival, celebration of the end of school year.
• Inauguration of the new canteen, which was constructed and equipped to the generosity of all the staff of Milupa Suisse, which is a Swiss branch of the Infant Nutrition Division of Danone group.  The mothers can now plan real meals for the children.  Nutrition has its share, but conviviality, too. 
  

    The spectacle that was presented for the occasion was varied and very entertaining for the little ones as well as for the adults. 

 

The INDH (National Initiative for the Human development) offered us a new vehicle for the transportation of the nursery school children. 

 

Opening on the envirnonment

This year, the nursery school continued its partnership with Lamalif School, which organised many visits for different classes as the agricultural project which ties us together progressed.  Another school insisted on making our children participate in one of their projects on the theme "Child’s Rights"

by organising different educational workshops, and closed it with a great party that brought together students’ parents and guests.

 

 

 

SOS Primary School Imzouren

The SOS Primary School Imzouren opened in 1999. It currently has over 210 pupils. After the earthquake that affected the region in 2004, the SOS Primary School worked with UNICEF to suport children and pupils affected by the trama. There is also an SOS Nursery School for about 130 children.

The 339 students go to the SOS School. This represents an increase of 14% in comparison with last year. The success rate is 99%.  Our school system is based on a bilingual education in Arabic and French, which helps develop the students’ competencies in these two languages. 

In the twelve classes of general education, and in the three educational workshops specialised in computing, languages and plastic arts, we aim to develop in our children civic-mindedness and awareness of child’s rights.   Concerning the protection of the environment, our school is a stakeholder in the environmental schools’ programme which is piloted by Mohamed VI Foundation for the protection of the environment. 

Training

In order to achieve the objectives that we have set for ourselves within the school’s annual action plan, our staff was invited to attend training seminars thanks to our collaboration with the local Delegation of the Ministry of Education and the French Institute.  These training programmes are opportunities to learn new work methods and new ideas on how to deal with issues related to educational activity: children with difficulties, making the most of the new technologies, etc.   

Within the framework of a convention that we have signed with the ANAPEC (National Agency for the Promotion of Employment and Competences) and in coordination with the Regional Academy of National Education, eight young university graduates benefited from educational and teacher training and three of them were recruited as teachers by the two SOS Schools. The others were recruited by local schools. 

Reaching out to the outside

Using the school radio, the school invited the President of the Urban Council of Imzouren and the Director of Operations of Pizzorno Environment to the village to discuss matters of interest to the surrounding community.   Our school organised educational, cultural and sports activities in collaboration with local public schools in favour of students and teachers to celebrate the world days relating to the child and to education.