The 7th annual Back to School Campaign took place in September, supporting 840 students in Grades 1, 7 and 10 across nine schools in Thuwal and Qadimah. Building on the success of previous years, the 2018 Back to School Campaign broadened its scope, while still involving departments across KAUST and the assistance of KAUST volunteers of all ages, co-ordinated by Social Responsibility.
Grade One students again received backpacks complete with essential educational supplies, to help give the best possible start to their school year. These backpacks are now a very welcome tradition and the younger volunteers at KAUST particularly enjoy preparing them. Through collection baskets at Tamimi, the KAUST community donated backpacks and supplies worth over SAR20,500. A team of 72 child and adult volunteers assembled the backpacks over two days at Island Rec and the Community Hub. Distribution to five elementary schools in Thuwal and Qadimah took place over three days, with the assistance of 44 volunteers including students from TKS.
For Grades 7 and 10, the Back to School project was centered on a theme of Sport and Wellness, designed to complement the increased focus on physical education in schools. Social Responsibility provided sports kit for 440 male and female students, to ensure they are suitably equipped to take advantage of the new sporting opportunities in the school curriculum. The uniform was carefully designed to meet the Department for Education requirements to give the students freedom of movement in all sports. To try out their new sports kit, the students were invited to participate in a wide range of sporting activities at Harbor Recreation Center and were joined by 12 teachers and 50 pupils from TKS. Students had the chance to try a range of activities including bowling, badminton, netball, martial arts, yoga, table tennis, volleyball and cycling.
During their day of activities at KAUST, the students were given individual health and well-being assessments, managed by Al Nahdi. The assessment is the first stage in an ongoing initiative by Al Nahdi, in a joint venture with KAUST, to raise the students’ awareness of the benefits of healthy living and an active lifestyle, with follow up information sessions planned, to offer targeted guidance. As with all KAUST Social Responsibility programs, the aim is to offer projects with sustainable benefits, knowledge and skills that can be integrated into daily lives.
The Back to School Project is only a success because of the fantastic support it receives – thank you to all community members who contributed towards the backpacks; Tamimi for co-ordinating the necessary supplies; the staff at Harbor Recreation for organizing the two days of sports activities; and, all the volunteers from the KAUST community and The KAUST School that helped with the assembly and delivery of the backpacks assembly and the co-ordination and provision of sports activities. Thanks also to the departments across KAUST – Community Life, Facilities & Community Intranet, Marcom, Matjar and Procurement.
Part of the Young Learners' Development Program - read the Program Overview here.
September 30, 2018
