Boarding School life is a central tenet of Younited learning. This becomes your home as well as your school, and we want all students to feel secure, comfortable, and happy.
At Younited you will find an international community that celebrates multicultural voices. Lifelong bonds will be formed with your peers as you share experiences with people who are both similar to you and different. You will be responsible for your extracurricular life, planning and coordinating educational and social activities. Each aspect of boarding life is geared towards helping you achieve your educational and personal goals while at Younited, and to continue growing outside the classroom.
A key part of boarding life are our weekly meetings when we come together for activities ranging from intentional community building, to workshops on sexuality and racism, and dialogue circles about current events.
Led by the boarding team, these activities serve as an opportunity for our counselors and gap year students to share their wide range of skills with the Younited community.
Students are involved in the running of the school, making decisions that affect them and finding solutions to problems that arise. The Student Leadership Council is elected twice a year to represent the student body and give feedback to the Younited administration and boarding teams. The council meets weekly with a representative from the boarding team, the head of school, and the head of boarding to discuss ongoing campus events, community building, and ideas for enhancing community life.
Since Givat Haviva is recognized as the main center for shared society in Israel, it hosts many international politicians and dignitaries. Younited students are routinely invited to present the school to visitors, giving them high-level experience in public speaking while offering unique opportunities to network with international influencers.
Committees are an important part of student life at Younited because they enable students to take an more active role in shaping a particular aspect of the community.
Committees work together to create programming for the student body, ranging from holiday parties to culture theme weeks, from election information sessions to recycling campaigns. They provide another path for students to determine their extracurricular programming and daily life at school.
With the support of the school administration, students have developed a set of guidelines that each member of the Younited community commits to every day. These ensure that we create the safe, welcoming, and warm environment we value so much.
Living side-by-side with students from different backgrounds develops intercultural awareness, which is further enhanced through a host family program in local towns and villages. International students are assigned a host family by the school, providing them with important home-away-from-home experiences while in Israel. During off-campus weekends we recommend international students stay with their host family. In addition, Israeli students are encouraged to invite their peers to their family home.
If you are interested in hosting a Younited student, please call Hadas at 054 216 8182.
Younited dormitory buildings are separated between males and females. Dorm rooms accommodate two to three students each and include a private bathroom. Rooms are equipped with everything needed for personal relaxation, individual study and independent growth. There is a common area in each dormitory with a refrigerator and coffee/tea facilities.
At GHIS, we provide a variety of nutritious food choices. Based on a Mediterranean diet, students enjoy three meals per day and snacks are available at all hours. Givat Haviva maintains a kosher dining hall. We provide vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options at every meal, as well as special accommodations for those with food allergies. Students are encouraged to organize cooking as a group—a popular activity to create and share favorite national dishes.
Givat Haviva is a pluralistic campus that welcomes people from all religious denominations. Students who wish to practice their religious tradition and require school support are encouraged to discuss their needs and coordinate appropriate conditions with the boarding team.
The boarding team includes the director of boarding and boarding counselors. Boarding counselors live with the students on campus providing 24/7 support and guidance. The boarding team is responsible for pastoral support, health care and nutrition, as well as for extracurricular activities and in particular the CAS program and the community-building program.
There is a nurse regularly on campus and 24/7 medical care is available at a local clinic.
At Younited, we appreciate that a student’s emotional health is as important as their physical well-being to enable them to reach their leadership and academic potential. An educational counselor and therapeutic counselor work together to offer individual and group therapy for social and emotional support. They are available for ‘drop-in’ sessions for students. The school also provides workshops on subjects such as time-management, managing stressful periods, and adjusting to new situations.
Extracurricular programs take advantage of Israel’s natural diversity and rich biblical history, offering unique cultural and religious encounters, maritime education, group hikes, archaeological expeditions, and field trips in Israel from the Sea of Galilee in the north to the Red Sea in the south.
The meeting will be held via ZOOM on Sunday
March 12th, at 6:30 PM Israel time (GMT+2)
admissions@gh-is.org | +972 52 327 0727
For more than seven decades, Givat Haviva has provided educational programs aimed at developing a just, equal, and inclusive society. In 2018, we created GHIS as an educational incubator to develop leaders for the future of our world, the Middle East, and Israel—to help move from competition and struggle between nations to a shared, egalitarian society that operates in peace.
GHIS students study the complexity of global conflicts, the differences, and the similarities between them. They learn that individual identity can exist while accepting the identity of the other, and that conflict can be transcended through greater mutual understanding.
Our school draws on the insights of the IB program and the experience of our students from around the world, and supplements it with conflict resolution knowledge accumulated over more than 70 years in Givat Haviva. With this formula a responsible cohort of young people is being created that will one day lead our shared society.
As CEO of Givat Haviva from 2012-2021, Yaniv was one of Israel’s primary leaders of shared society. In this role he created programs that promote these values and educate as many citizens as possible to the benefits of working together.
David joined GHIS because he was looking for the right educational establishment to develop personally and professionally. As soon as he heard about GHIS, he realized that it suits his values.
“As someone who has always been committed to coexistence in Israel, I see GHIS as a great vehicle to bring young people together in an accepting and non-prejudicial way.”
As well as being a teacher, David is also trained in special needs education at all school levels.
David holds a joint Honors B.Ed. in Special Education ages 6 to 21, and BA in Literature at Oranim College
