Notre Dame de Louaizé school
in Time and Space

The Maronite Mariamite Order, founded in 1695, committeditself, alongside with its spiritual mission, to a human mission, that of teaching and education.

For more than three hundred years, the Maronite Mariamite monks (the Aleppines at that time) founded, in various Lebanese regions, schools in which they taught Syriac and Arabic languages, as well as the basics of arithmetic, thus contributing to the alphabetization campaign, and initiating youths to the service of the church and of society. Time after time this mission developed with the development of knowledge and science; and as teaching gradually became professional; these incidental schools became establishments with definite rules and regulations, an administration, teachers, and a definite program…

Notre Dame de Louaize, a Mariamite establishment founded at the beginning of the 60’s and occupying the eastern quarters of the convent, opened up ways to the boys of the neighborhood, after having limited itself to the formation of seminarists ever since the 30’s. In 1964-1965, the Mariamite monks built on the western side of the convent a two-floor block (demolished in 2003) to receive the students who had been particularly motivated.

In 1968, a new building, the French-medium school, was inaugurated to receive all the students. Thus NDL became a school that fulfilled all the requirements of the modern norms and comprised all levels, from Nursery to 3rd Secondary classes.

Today, enjoying a history of more than 40 years, NDL is preparing about 4000 students to explore new horizons of plenty of promises.

  • The college (area 40.000 sq m) constitutes one of the three sides of the Louaizean triangle: the Convent, the School and the University.
  • On the northern side of NDL, lies the convent of the MMO with its rich patrimony: the Lebanese Congress of 1736, whose most important recommendation was “compulsory learning for all”; the museum, with its rich collection of valuable objects belonging to MMO; and the library, comprising thousands of manuscripts and valuable books.
  • On the eastern side, parallel to NDL, lies the university, NDU, that has an important standing among the Lebanese and Arab universities.
  • NDL consists of six blocks (area 10.851 sq m), separated by yards (4.000 sq m), open spaces (about 10.000 sq m), pinewoods, flower-beds and vast parking areas (25.000 sq m).
  • In 2002-2003, NDL received 4 155 boys and girls, issued from 2 459 families from different socio-cultural backgrounds. These students are distributed between two big sections: the English section (the 4th of the students), and the French section (the rest).

NDL is sufficiently equipped on various levels. What is still lacking unfortunately is an up dated and well-equipped center of documentation and information (CDI), a larger theater, and a bigger number of covered terrains (which have already been started).

On the educational level, NDL follows the general objectives of the official curriculum and works in conformity with the General Secretariat of the Catholic Schools.

NDL is presided by a clergyman Rector, assisted by two Directors of sections, and a director of finance. It comprises 289 teachers, educators, directors of cycles, assistants and coordinators, 20 employees and a devoted service personnel.

NDL is situated 15 km from Beirut city, at 100 m of altitude. It dominates the Mediterranean on the west side, Nahr El Kalb with its famous historical sites on the south, the city of Geita on the east, and the two cities of Antoura and Zouk Mosbeh on the north. It can be reached from Beirut through the highway leading to Faraya, two kilometers from the tunnel of Nahr El Kalb.

The region where NDL is located comprises many sectors whose economic life is in perpetual evolution: industrial, touristic, commercial, and cultural. Its 50000 inhabitants live in 6000 apartments.

We cite:

2.020 enterprises (firms, clinics, offices, laboratories, bakeries, pharmacies, restaurants, cafes, hotels, spas, amusement centers, clubs, museum, school, university, workshops, and factories working and producing: wood, aluminum, iron, furniture, food products, medicaments, etc.)

This wide range of diversity is a real source of wealth for NDL. It can be the object of research works and cultural activities, which can be achieved in collaboration with the local official authorities. Nevertheless, one cannot forget the damages that such demographic and industrial richness engenders on the environment and on public health. An awakening of the students on this issue is definitely required.

The history of NDL, its geographic location and the neighboring regions can contribute to the elaboration of a new educational approach, which has so far confined itself to the school premises, almost totally separated from the outside world. If our objective has always been “make our students succeed their exams,” we are all now convinced that we have to work, according to the terms of the educational project, on the formation of a balanced human being, and on the development of the learner’s personality in a perpetually changing world. We have sensed therefore the urgent need of preparing our students to the confrontation of various situations, maintaining at the same time their balance and bloom.

To make the first step towards these objectives, NDL presents at the beginning of this year, the first stage of its school project, an expression of the educative team’s will, which obeys as much as possible to the criteria of feasibility. The continuous evaluation throughout the achievement of the project will allow us to rectify and better plan the next stages.