Admissions

Introduction

     Al-Hayat International School (HIS) is an International Baccalaureate (IB) world school that is licensed through the Lebanese Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE).

   HIS Admissions Policy ensures proper admission procedures for each new candidate submitting an application to join HIS. It highlights selected internal and external transparent, fair, and consistent criteria and requirements.

A.   Statement of Admission

     HIS serves the educational needs of the local and international community in Beirut and its suburbs.

     Admissions are open to all students willing to benefit from a challenging, international bilingual education which prepares them for the real life. HIS admits students whose academic, personal, social, and emotional needs meet the school’s offered programs and services.

     The Admissions Committee, led by the Curriculum Director, and consisting of: Programme Coordinator, Programme Principal (PYP Principal, MYP Principal, or High School Principal), Programme Core Teachers (PYP/MYP/High School), abides by admissions policy requirements and selects potential candidates based on academic eligibility and vacancy per
class/section. Special considerations apply to students eligible for inclusive assessment access.

     To register in Al-Hayat International School, please Apply Here.

B.     Admissions Procedure

Process	Parents	Student	School
1	Fill in New Student Application form	–	–
2	Prior to scheduling an appointment for the student interview, the guardian should submit a signed and completed New Student ApplicationForm supported by the required documents: 1.       Health Record Form with photocopy of Lebanese Ministry’s Health Record or vaccination card 2.       Complete Psychological Health Record Form 3.       Official promotion letter certified from MEHE 4.       Complete transcript and all report cards for the last two school years 5.       Complete Recommendation Form (starting Elementary), signed by the previous school staff and administration 6.       One dozen of recent passport photos. Kindly upload one photo here 7.       One photocopy of student’s valid passport and/ or National ID card 8.       One photocopy of the family record (issued within the last 3 months) 9.       Birth Certificate for Early Years (EYI, II, III) applicants 10.    A non-refundable application processing fees of 25 $. *Additional documents will be required by the Admissions Office in case the student is transferring from a school located outside Lebanon.	–	–
3	–	–	Admissions Office: Schedules a meeting for parents and student
4	The Leadership Team conducts the Entrance Interview with the parents		Applicant meets the Admissions Committee (PYP/MYP/High School Coordinator and programme core teachers)
5	–	–	Admissions Office confirms vacancy for grade level requested or adds applicant to waiting list
6	–	–	Admissions Office shares admission decision via an Acceptance or Rejection Letter HIS reserves the right to contact any person  or institution to verify the authenticity of information provided or documents received, whether mentioned in this application or in any other HIS formal documents.

 

C.   Age Guidelines

School	Class	Age	Boundary
PYP School | Early Years Classes	Early Years I	3 years old	By December 31
	Early Years II	4 years old
	Early Years III	5 years old
PYP School | Primary Years Classes	Grade 1	6 years old	By December 31
	Grade 2	7 years old
	Grade 3	8 years old
	Grade 4	9 years old
	Grade 5	10 years old
MYP School | Middle Years Classes	MYP1	11 years old	By December 31
	MYP2	12 years old
	MYP3	13 years old
	MYP4	14 years old
	MYP5	15 years old
High School	High School 1	16 years old	By December 31
	High School 2	17 years old

D.   Admissions Requirements

              a.     Admission to the PYP School

Admission to the PYP school is based on the assessment of student’s learning readiness, language literacy, reasoning and math skills, programme support eligibility, and grade-level vacancy.

    1.  Entry to the Early Years Classes

    It is expected that students joining Early Years One (3 years old):

      –       Are fully toilet trained

      –       Are able to feed and dress themselves with moderate levels of independence

      –       Are able to communicate (minimally) with others

      –       Are able to perform appropriate gross motor skills (walking, going up and down stairs, running,…)

      –        Exhibit age-appropriate physical fine motor skills

  It is expected that students joining Early Years Two and Early Years Three (4-5 years old):

         ·        Are Able to communicate with others (children and adults)

         ·        Are able to dress and undress themselves & use the toilet with advanced levels of independence

        ·        Are able to perform appropriate fine motor skills such as in-hand manipulation, eye-hand coordination, and grasp strength with self-care          function and mobility.

     2.     Entry to Elementary PYP Classes (Grades 1 till 5)

As stated under section B.3 in the admissions policy, students and parents conduct in-person entrance interviews. During the interview, programme core teachers asses the student’s English and/or Arabic literacy skills (verbal, reading, writing, & comprehension), Mathematical understanding and skills, age appropriate computation, problem solving, reasoning, and analysis.

     3.     Scope of PYP Admissions Evaluation

Language (Arabic and English)	Math
1.       Listening & Speaking: listen, understand, and respond appropriately to teachers 2.       Reading: read and comprehend class-level texts 3.       Writing: write independently to communicate ideas and thoughts (age appropriate: ideas, conventions, organization) Throughout the interview, the teachers also observe the applicant’s Thinking Skills: critical and creative skills	1.       Patterns: extend, create and analyze patterns 2.       Numbers: place value, operations, and computation strategies         Throughout the interview, the teachers also observe the applicant’s Reasoning Skills, Analytical Skills, and Logical Thinking

                     b.     Admission to the MYP School

Admission to the MYP school is based on the student’s admission interview, reports of two previous grade levels academic performance, recommendation letter from the previous school, in addition to the results of the oral and written proficiency assessments[1] performed during the Student Entrance Interview.

([1] Proficiency requirements for each MYP grade level are available at the Admissions Office.)

    1.     Admissions Interview

Led by the MYP coordinator or a designee, the admissions interview is a conversation with the MYP applicant regarding interests, learner attributes, willingness to transfer, and skills (communication, social, affective skills). The interview is followed by an English Language Proficiency Assessment, an Arabic Language Proficiency Assessment,and a Math Proficiency Assessment.

    2.     Proficiency Assessments

· Assessments of Arabic and English Language Proficiency in addition to Mathematics are necessary to determine eligibility to join HIS Middle Years Programme (MYP)

· Students that do not meet Language Proficiency standards are required to enroll into language support courses 

· Students that do not meet Math Proficiency standards are required to enroll into math support courses 

     3.     Commitment to HIS Middle Years Programme

· The school prioritizes admitting students who have been enrolled and have successfully completed all PYP requirements and have agreed to commit to the school values and educational beliefs.

· Lebanese guardian consent and results of admission assessments indicate that MYP candidates are willing and are able to:

• • • • study in a bilingual program model
      • meet the requirements of both: Brevet official exams and the MYP certificate.

· Guardians of non-Lebanese students have the choice to decide on whether the candidate would sit for Brevet and study for the MYP certificate or only study for the MYP certificate. In case of non-Lebanese guardian consent, results of admission indicate that the MYP candidate is willing and is able to complete the requirements of the selected program.

· All MYP candidates must sign an academic integrity contract indicating their commitment to HIS Academic Integrity Policy.

     4.     Academic Background

In reference to admissions requirement stated in the New Student Application Form, report cards for two previous years must be submitted prior to admissions interview. A history of satisfactory academic achievement is necessary for the enrollment into HIS programme(s).

     5.     MYP Special Rights Candidates

· If the MYP candidate has a diagnosed special educational, physical, or psychological need that hinders learning (e.g. dyslexia, autism, lack of interest in writing, slow learner, depression, etc), details of the case must be clearly communicated in the following forms:

o Application Form

o Health Record Form

o    Psychological Health Record Form

o    Psycho-educational Evaluation Report

· The aim of declaring the student’s status helps the school prepare a specialized program for the student to help them meet the programme’s requirements. Failure to do so will lead to cancellation of admission or termination of enrolment at any point of the year.

· For students diagnosed with special needs, the admission process is different and the Inclusion & Learning Diversity Department is included during the process. The process might require more than 2 interviews in addition to report follow up.

· MYP Lebanese Special Rights Candidates are required to apply and sit for special rights accommodated internal and external assessment (e.g. Brevet examination or MYP Inclusive Assessment). 

                     c.     Admission to the High School

Admission to the High School is based on the student’s attitude towards learning, reports of two previous grade levels academic performance, recommendation letter from the previous school, in addition to the results of the oral and written proficiency assessments performed during the Student Entrance Interview.

                     d.     Inclusion & Learning Diversity

As diversity is at the root of humanity, it is expected that students will not perform uniformly. Within each level, variability is tackled through differentiation. However, in cases where differentiation does not yield effect with students, a more thorough investigation must be performed, and an action plan must be constructed. In cases where a student performs significantly below class level, a different admission process is followed. Cases that will be referred to the Inclusion & Learning Diversity Department include, but are not limited to, students who:

·  Perform significantly below average

·  Perform significantly above average

·  Have difficulty concentrating or clear difficulty in memory-related tasks

·  Lack motivation

·  Show difficulty communicating (either verbally or non-verbally)

·  Demonstrate aggressive and/or oppositional behavior

·  Seem anxious to the extent that it affects performance

·  Demonstrate developmentally inappropriate behaviors

·  Seem depressed and unhappy to the extent that it affects performance

·  Have difficulty in following instructions

·  Have difficulty in remaining seated or still to the extent that it affects performance

·  Demonstrate a lack of social connection

·  Demonstrate significant difficulties in age/level appropriate reading, writing, comprehension, and/or calculation

·  Show incomprehensible writing

·  Show unintelligible handwriting

·  Show a difficulty in organizational skills, including organizing ideas and speech

·  Show any signs of emotional or psychological turbulence

     1.     Applicant’s Assessment and Diagnosis

·  Assessed and Diagnosed Applicant:

o  a copy of the report must be submitted

o  Based on the report, the Inclusion & Learning Diversity Coordinator and/or the School Counselor join the admissions interview to observe and assess the student’s level and needs.

o  Based on the student’s needs and the school’s services, an acceptance or rejection letter will be issued.

o  In case of acceptance, the student will have to be enrolled in the Inclusion & Learning Diversity Department

·  Applicants that not been previously assessed or diagnosed

o     In the case that core teachers in the Admissions Committee suspect that the student is in need of Inclusive Support, the student will be called for another interview

o     The interview will be conducted by the Inclusion & Learning Diversity Coordinator, in addition to the learning support teachers, and the School Counselor as per need

o     Based on the diagnostic assessment, the student will either be accepted, or will be asked to obtain a psycho-educational assessment.

o     Based on the report of the assessment, the school will either accept the student (either in mainstream or within the Inclusion & Learning Diversity Department) or will reject the student (in case the school does not have the needed resources to cater for their needs).

o     In case student enrolls in Inclusion & Learning Diversity Department, tuition fees vary on a case-by-case basis.

 

E.   MYP Proficiency Requirements

Middle Years 1 (Grade 6)
Middle Years 2 (Grade 7)
Middle Years 3 (Grade 8)
Middle Years 4 (Grade 9)
Middle Years 5 (Grade 10)