Dhahran School

The Dhahran School is an international school K-9 owned and operated by the Saudi Aramco Schools district. It is privately used by children of Saudi Aramco employees. The students are known as Wildcats, the school mascot.

History

The school was first opened in 1940^[1] to cater the education needs of children whose parents were working for ARAMCO (Arabian American Oil Company).

Campus

The school has four main buildings. One building houses the 7th and 8th grade classes, located almost on 3rd Street. Another building houses the 3rd Street Gym, the Library Media Center, the 9th grade classes, Drama department, and the Foreign Language department. There is one building that is divided into two sections: the 6th grade classes, and the Central Office. The Ibis Gym is next to the Central Office. The latest addition to the campus is the productive Learning Lab Center adjacent to the Ibis Gym. This is now the rock band room. Coming fall 2014, a new 5th grade building shall be erected, and the large building adjacent to the school shall be renovated and reintroduced to the school's campus.

Curriculum

The school follows an American education curriculum^[2] but also meets the needs of non-American students. As of the 2010-2011 school year, the school has started a house program like that of a Greek college. The program divides the school into four section which mainly include 2 homeroom classes from each grade, but also has the rest of the school staff divided within. Each section also has a different mascot, each of which is the Latin name of a type of wildcat. The names are: Indomitus, Torva, Agrestis, and Ferox. Since the first day of school, the houses have been competing against each other during period 9 on Thursdays for the Cammal Cup, which includes a giant trophy and the honor of being the best house in the whole school. The competitions to gain points for their houses range from playing volleyball(homeroom against homeroom) to bringing in food to support a Pakistan flood food drive. There is also a field day, usually in March, in which the students and teachers are put into teams with their houses.

Technology

The school has over 6 different computer labs, with every computer from Lenovo with Windows 7. Every classroom is equipped with a Promethean Ltd Activboard, which is an interactive touch whiteboard.

Culture

The school's Student Council and Helping Hands club regularly hosts culture programs, which lets different students show some of their culture. More than 35 countries are represented by the Dhahran School.

References