Summer 2012 Projects

The summer holiday 2012 was a very busy time in JLSS. Many projects were executed in preparation for the next academic year.

With a grant kindly donated by EVS member, Mr. Hans Becker, we replaced the old windows in BBH 1 (Boys Boarding Home 1 housing our youngest boys) and the Intermediate and Secondary classrooms. The new double-glazed aluminum windows save a lot of energy because they are properly insulated. This will reduce our heating expenditure. The boarding home and classrooms also look much nicer with the new windows and are much safer (not prone to accidents like the old inside-opening metal windows with very dangerous corners).
We express our most sincere gratitude to Mr. Hans Becker.
We still have one boarding home (BBH 2) that needs its windows replaced in addition to a few classrooms in the Junior School.

A short stretch of the water pipes running from the Schneller water-spring to JLSS needed replacement. It was passing through private property and was prone to abuse. We replaced that link with a new one that was installed along-side a road which is the property of the municipality if Khirbet.

Three dangerously leaning walls needed demolition and rebuilding. All three walls were replaced with new well-built concrete ones.

BBH 4 (Boarding Home 4 housing our older academic boys) had a very bad damp problem caused by water leaking from the toilets. The floor of the toilet was dug out and the water leak was found. The old pipes and drains were replaced with new ones, and the floor was retiled.

The central heating systems of BBH 2 and BBH 3 were upgraded to allow restricting heating to the floors of the boarding homes instead of the buildings as a whole. Both options are still available, but we now can restrict the areas of heating in order to save on diesel expenditure and prevent wasting energy.

BBH 3 also needed a water duct to be constructed around it to protect the foundation and stop water and damp problems. This was also done this summer.

With a kind donation by Beirut board member, Mr. Sami Mousa, we constructed a rain sheltered area for students of the vocational school. This was badly needed in winter especially when it was raining as the students had no area in the playgrounds to shelter from rain. It will also be useful as a shaded area in summer for students and trainers not only during recesses but also for constructing huge projects or welding training sessions as this new area is very suitable for such activities. We thank Mr. Sami Mousa for this very kind donation and for his continued support of our school.

The trees around the buildings had a major trimming job. We removed all the branches that were preventing sunlight from reaching the buildings. Other branches that were too close to the buildings damaging the roof-tiles when it was windy were trimmed. More sunlight means less heating needed and reduction of water and damp problems.

Having built the water duct around St. Michael's church two years ago to protect its foundation, it was due for a renovation job on the inside. The floor tiles were in a terrible state with a drop of 15 cm in many locations. The old tiles were removed and the floor was fitted with new tiles. The cracks in the walls and alter area were also fixed. The electrical wiring was also replaced with new and safe wires and fixtures. The lighting system was also replaced but the lights were suspended from the ceiling in accordance with the original design of the church. The walls and windows were painted. The church was restored to its magnificent original beauty.

After a long wait of one year, the solar water-heating systems for BBH 1 and the Girls Boarding homes were installed. The project was sponsored by the Lebanese Ministry of Environment and the Italian Development Program. The project was executed by Ghaddar Solar Energy Systems. We were very impressed with the efficiency and professionalism of this company's team. The job they did was excellent and was executed in record time without any interruption to the school programs. The systems installed were the best fitted in our school so far. The parts they used were of the highest quality. We express our sincere gratitude to the Lebanese Ministry of Environment especially former minister Mohammad Rahhal, Ghaddar Solar Energy Systems, and the Italian Development Program.

We praise God for the completion of all those projects, and we thank JLSS staff who worked tirelessly through the summer holiday in order to have the school ready in time for the beginning of the new academic year.