Extracurricular activities crucial to enhancing schools’ role in local communities

Her Majesty Queen Rania said Sunday extracurricular programmes implemented by Madrasati partners are crucial to enhancing schools’ role in local communities and encouraging critical thinking among students. Her Majesty made the remarks during a visit to Ein Jannah Secondary School for Girls, one of the schools covered by phase two of Madrasati initiative, which has dealt with 300 schools across the Kingdom to date. Queen Rania checked on the various extracurricular programmes implemented by the Madrasati partners, and stressed their importance in improving students' daily life skills. The Queen also checked on the vocational classroom programme, which introduces healthy eating habits by having the students cook healthy food sold in the school's canteen. Commending the initiative, the school’s principal, teachers and students said it played a significant role in bettering the school environment and reflected positively on students’ performance. “The initiative boosted the morale of students and teachers. We formed several committees at the school to preserve what the initiative has done for us. Students and teachers feel at home here,” the school’s principal, Wafaa Al Qudah, told reporters Sunday. During the visit, the Queen checked on a workshop held by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, whereby volunteers work with kindergarten teachers to help them gain new educational tools, skills, and methodologies to deal with children of that age group. Her Majesty also visited the teachers' room, and was appraised by students, members of the Kafa Youth Committee, a programme implemented by the Royal Health Awareness Society, on the efforts exerted to promote road safety awareness among their peers and students at neighbouring schools. The Queen also toured the school's garden created by teachers and students. Madrasati implements programmes at the Ein Jannah Secondary School for Girls in collaboration with Jordan Education Initiative, Royal Health Awareness Society, the Jordan River Foundation’s (JRF) Safe School Programme, Parents-Teachers Association, the Queen Rania Teachers’ Academy, and King Abdullah II Award for Physical Fitness. Madrasati Director Dana Dajani told The Jordan Times that work on the 4th phase of the campaign, which will cover 100 schools in Mafraq, is scheduled to start in July, while the 5th phase will start in 2012 and cover schools in Irbid. Also yesterday, Queen Rania met with several representatives of local charities and societies working in the area who briefed her on projects they implement as well as on their needs and demands. During the meeting, which was attended by JRF Director General Valentina Qussisiya and JRF Deputy Director General Ghaleb Al Qudah, Queen Rania stressed His Majesty King Abdullah's attention to the Ajloun Governorate. The Queen said she was touched by the people’s warmth and their love for their country, and by the fact that they are able to overcome the many challenges they face. During the meeting, representatives of the associations talked about the importance of creating income-generating projects that can help reduce poverty and unemployment rates.