Q Life Magazine Q Magazine (US) December 2015 | Page 51
Sports |
National
Sports Day
Coming Together
To Play Sport
On a windy day in February this
year, staff from the Embassy of the
State of Qatar joined the School
Without Walls at Francis-Stevens,
a public elementary school near
the Embassy, to commemorate
a Qatari holiday known as
National Sports Day.
To mark the occasion, the Embassy
brought gifts: bags of soccer balls
and soccer jerseys of various sizes
and celebrated National Sports Day
by playing soccer with the Francis-
Stevens students.
Investing in the Health
and Wellness of Students
“We were so excited to get the
call from the Embassy about
this amazing donation,” school
Principal Richard Trogisch said.
“We try to incorporate health
and wellness programming and
encourage physical fitness among
all our students. This partnership
with the Qatar Embassy is a major
investment, not only in our soccer
program, but more importantly,
in the long-term wellness of our
students. We could not be happier
that they chose our school.”
National Sports Day is celebrated
throughout Qatar. The government,
private businesses, and educational
institutions use various events
to promote health, wellness, and
physical fitness — goals shared by
schools throughout the D.C. area,
and across the United States.
“National Sports Day is a tradition
that continues to grow in popularity
in Qatar and we hope by sharing
our celebration with communities
in the United States we will continue
to embrace a vibrant and healthy
future for us all,” said Deputy Chief
of Mission Mr. Ali Al-Hajri, who
took part in the soccer practice with
students from Francis-Stevens.
“We hope the equipment we
provided today for our neighbors will
encourage more interest in sports,
fitness, and overall healthy lifestyles.”
A Fun Way to Learn
About the Middle East
“The visit from the Embassy staff
was pretty fun for the kids,” added
Philip Tavares, Administrative
Officer at the school. “They enjoyed
it, and really appreciated the gifts.”
School Without Walls at Francis-
Stevens is a high-performing public
school that serves as a feeder to
Francis-Stevens High School, one
of the top-rated public secondary
schools in the District of Columbia.
It has about 450 pre-kindergarten
to eighth grade students, many from
low-income families.
Funds for sports activities are tight,
so the donation will go a long way.
And there are other benefits.
“Most of our students are not
too familiar with Middle Eastern
countries,” Tavares says. “It’s cool
for them to have that exposure, to
learn about different countries and
backgrounds. And the Embassy
enjoys doing it too. It’s pretty neat.”
51