Founder's Day Dinner 2009

 Founder's Day for Schneller schools is on the 11th of November of every year. Our schools commemorate the arrival of Johann Ludwig Schneller to Jerusalem and his founding of the Syrian Orphans' House, as our school was called  in 1860.
Among the austerity measures taken last year to deal with the huge deficit, it was decided to start holding the yearly Founder's Day dinner in JLSS and not in a restaurant as was usually the case.
Our kitchen staff worked tirelessly for days to prepare for this dinner which was held on Saturday 14 November at 8.00 PM. The dinning hall in the main kitchen building was prepared for the occasion. The church sound system was moved to the hall to allow for music that is needed for local folk dancing (Dabkeh) which is typical during this celebration.
The number of people attending was low. We only had forty five people. We apologized to teachers and members of staff for not being able to receive their children due to the limitations of space in the dinning hall. This influenced the number of people attending.
The food was delicious. And although the kitchen staff were busy serving dinner, they were able to eventually sit down and enjoy dinner with everyone else.
After the very good food was enjoyed, it was time for our Lebanese folk dancing (Dabkeh). It took a bit of encouragement to get a few started, then the floor was filled with our excited dancer to the delight of every one. The volunteers joined in and also had a very good time. Other than a few broken heels of the shoes of some of our ladies and a knocked down wine bottle, all went well. Many were remarking that they were enjoying it more than when it was in restaurants. The food was delicious in spite of the limitation of the MAZA variety. Music was selected in accordance with the choice and taste of our people. We had the whole hall for ourselves and we did not have to compete with other guests over choices as is usually the case in restaurants.
The director then congratulated everyone on the occasion and thanked them for their dedicated work.
Finally, it was time to enjoy the delicious cake bought for the occasion.
We express our gratitude to our kitchen staff and all others who worked very hard to make this dinner a very enjoyable one.