Teachers Archive
  • 2003
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  • 2004
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    2004

    A talented team of teachers and young counselors worked together to make Al-Bustan Camp 2004 a fun and enriching experience for everyone.

    Fadwa Kashkash: Arabic

    Fadwa has a degree in literature and education, with diplomas in Arabic language instruction, art, interior design and calligraphy. She is currently tutoring children and adults in Arabic. She has over twenty five years experience teaching kindergarten and elementary school students in Kuwait. She is also an artist and has exhibited her paintings in the Chestnut Hill area of Philadelphia. This is her third year volunteering at Al-Bustan Camp.

    Leila Barclay: Storytelling/Drama

    Leila, an Arab-American, grew up in Beirut, Lebanon, and has visited Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Palestine. She studied mathematics as an undergraduate and German literature as a graduate student at Bryn Mawr College. Leila loves the Middle East because of the amazing spirit and strength of the Arab people, and her website www.al-hakawati.net is an attempt to convey this to children in the Middle East and beyond. Part of this website presents different stories from the region -- folktales, fairy tales and stories from A Thousand and One Nights ­ which were researched over a three year period at university libraries in Beirut. She hopes to soon have these stories illustrated by children and posted on the website.
    Aissa Deebi: Art

    Aissa is a New-York based Palestinian artist working primarily in photography and video art. He completed his MFA in theory and practice from Liverpool University and has exhibited his work in the U.S., Palestine, Israel, Italy, China, Germany, Austria, and U.K. He is currently the Director of Visual Arts at ArteEast; art curator in New York, the Middle East, and Europe; and designer and art director for various clients in the U.S. and abroad. He has taught art courses at The Arab College of Sakhneen, Israel; has illustrated numerous Arabic childrenıs books; and has conducted several workshops on Arabic calligraphy and traditional arts at the Long Island Childrenıs Museum, the Brooklyn Childrenıs Museum and the Museum of San Francisco.
    Daniel Dalseth: Art

    Daniel is an artist who received his Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He has exhibited his work at the Reading Terminal Head House and Fox Gallery in Philadelphia, as well as the Korean National University of the Arts in Seoul, and the Techno-Art Center and Museum of Non-Conformist Art in St. Petersburg, Russia. He has been a teaching assistant in sculpture and printmaking at the University of Pennsylvania and an artist in residence in St. Petersburg. Fluent in Russian and Spanish, he has traveled extensively in Europe and Asia and spent time in Katmandu, Nepal as a volunteer primary school teacher. This is his second year at Al-Bustan Camp.
    Joseph Tayoun: Music

    Joseph, a Lebanese-American, is a music teacher, an accomplished Middle Eastern percussionist, and a certified elementary education teacher in New Jersey. He taught music for several years to Pre-k through 8th grade students at the University City New School in Philadelphia. He has participated in several residencies with Zakir Hussain and with Simon Shaheen at Swarthmore University and The Painted Bride Art Center in Philadelphia. He has been playing over the past ten years at ‘Concerts for Peace’ with the Arabic/Jewish ensemble Atzilut which has performed all over the U.S. including at the United Nations. This is his third year at Al-Bustan Camp.
    Michele Tayoun: Dance

    Michelle, a Lebanese-American, is experienced in the traditional, folklore dances of the Arab region and has conducted numerous dance workshops with children and adults. She also sings in Arabic and has had vocal instruction with Simon Shaheen. This is her third year at Al-Bustan Camp.
    Linda Hanna: Nature

    Linda, a Syrian-American, is an experienced environmental health scientist with her own consulting firm, focused on integrated risk management in the areas of ecology and human health She has traveled in the Middle East region where she has observed the local cultural and political realities as related to environmental issues, and upon her return has documented her visits in Israel and the West Bank and Gaza. As an avid gardener, she has been a long time member of the Morris Arboretum and is familiar with its varied landscape. Over the past two years she has taken the lead in development of the campıs Community Garden located across from the Arboretum entrance. This is her second year at Al-Bustan Camp.
    Joseph Kulkosky: Nature

    Joseph Kulkosky Ph.D. is Assistant Professor and the Chair of Biology at Chestnut Hill College. He is a new faculty member at the College and previously had been in scientific research studying the molecular aspects of HIV-1 replication at Cornell Medical Center, Fox Chase Cancer Center and Thomas Jefferson University. He obtained his B.S. degree in the Biological Sciences at the University of Scranton and his Ph.D. in Biochemistry/Biophysics at the University of Pittsburgh. He is also a musician and will be working with young children this summer teaching the Art of Nature program at Chestnut Hill Collegeıs Summer Arts Camp.

    Gordon Witty: Nature

    Gordon has lived in Egypt for two years. He is currently an Instructor of Arabic at Temple University's Critical Languages Center, while also     completing his doctoral degree in Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He hosted the television program “Marhaba: Welcome to the World of Arabic”, which is still in re-runs on the Philadelphia School District cable TV channel. He loves the outdoors and is an avid bug collector. This is his third year at Al-Bustan Camp.
    Thea Abu El-Haj: Education Research & Evaluation

    Thea Abu El-Haj, a Palestinian-American, is an educational researcher and teacher educator. She grew up in Iran and Lebanon, lived in Egypt and has spent extensive time with her family in Palestine. She began her career in the field of education developing cross-cultural curriculum and then working as an elementary school teacher for many years. Since receiving her doctoral degree from the University of Pennsylvania in the anthropology of education, she has been researching, writing and teaching about socio-cultural processes and education. She has a particular interest in conducting collaborative research with educators to document and evaluate programs.

    Hazami Sayed: Director/Architecture

    Hazami, an Arab-American, is an architect and has worked in the fields of architecture and urban development in Philadelphia and New York City. She is also a photographer and has exhibited her work in the Philadelphia area. Over the past few years she has been involved with school children in a number of educational initiatives related to understanding the cultural, religious and socio-political realities of the Arab/Muslim world. She is the founder and president of Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture.
     

     

    Camp Counselors:

    Zehra Alsarraj, an Iraqi-American, will be a high school student at Great Valley School in Malvern where she is a member of the National Junior Honor Society. She plays the violin and piano and is an avid swimmer having participated in many swimming competitions. She is a Girl Scouts member and enjoys spending time with young children. This is her second year volunteering at Al-Bustan Camp.

    Jamal Alsarraj, an Iraqi-American, will be a senior year student at Great Valley School in Malvern where he is an active member of the schoolıs debate team. He has a passion for current and foreign affairs, plays the piano and enjoys art and creative writing. He is a black belt in karate and is the recipient of the Good Citizenship Award of the Union League of Philadelphia. This is his second year volunteering at Al-Bustan Camp.

    Camilia Kamoun is a fifteen year-old high school student at Lower Merion High School. She was born in the United States to parents of Tunisian and French heritage. She is fluent in French but has yet to master Arabic, while also learning Spanish in school. Her hobbies include playing the flute, soccer, lacrosse, acting, and windsurfing. She spends most summers visiting her extended family in Tunis, but this summer is looking forward to being a counselor at Al-Bustan Camp.

    Millan AbiNader, sixteen years old, will be a junior this fall at Friendıs Central School in Wynnewood. She is an avid reader, and her favorites authors range from Jane Austen to Phillip Pullman and Naomi Shihab Nye. She also enjoys running, cooking, photography and writing. Millan grew up in Washington, D.C., and her fatherıs parents emigrated to the US from Lebanon in the 1938 while her motherıs family traces their American ancestry back to 1636.

    Patrick McNabb will be a senior at Haverford College in the fall. He is a history major with a view towards a possible career in law or government. He has taken courses on Islam and the Arabic language this past year. Outside of the classroom, he runs for Haverfordıs track and cross-country teams.

    Barbara Ann Saba, a Lebanese-American, graduated this spring from Temple University with a Bachelors degree in History and Spanish. Next year she plans to spend a semester in Lebanon studying the Arabic language and then return to America to pursue graduate studies in Middle Eastern history. Barbara enjoys reading, gardening and spending time outdoors.

    Angela Hanna, an Arab-American, will be a senior at St. Joseph's University in the fall. She is studying psychology with an interest in education. She is a member of the St. Joseph's University field hockey team. Angela enjoys playing sports and loves spending time with children.