Welcome to SMOC
Tuesday, June 09, 2026

Dear parent,


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General Information

 Historical Background Saint Mary’s Orthodox College: Around 1890, few years after the completion of the “Dormition of the Virgin” church, two elementary schools were founded next to it, one for boys and the other for girls. The two schools became known for impeccable discipline, transferring to the children a great deal of mental and physical strength in addition to a sound moral sense. They were subsequently rented to the Ministry of Education and transformed into public schools. The girls’ school was enlarged, in an answer to a growing demand for education; later, it was transformed into a mixed secondary school. The boys’ school stayed public till 1979 when it was re-appropriated and torn down to make way for a bigger church. Two floors were added to the girls’ school making what we know today as “Saint Mary’s Orthodox College” (SMOC). One of the original objectives of the school was to give a quality of education that was in line with the world’s requirement. Emphasis was also on the religious blending between different communities in an experiment that is rarely seen in Lebanon. The year 1970 witnessed the joining of an educator like no other, Mr. Kamel Deeb, who managed to open the school from the first year, with all its human resources, and all its classes. Since then, the administration changed but the constant that remained was the will to fulfill an educational and social role within its community. Educational Philosophy At the basis of the planning, teaching and assessing practices and methods adopted at our schools lie an educational philosophy which stems from the uniqueness of each learner as a person. We believe that education should be tackled with a holistic approach where the learning process integrates the body, the mind and the spirit and hence helps learners relate information to their acquired knowledge and lived experiences. Thus, adopting a learner-centered approach allows the persons to become responsible for their own learning and, as a result, construct their own understanding of the world and its components. Education, and consequently all the adopted methods of planning, teaching and assessing, are to assist learners in the process of continuous development and transformation, for them to become self-disciplined, creative problem solvers and analytical critical thinkers who participate actively and positively in their community. Education, from our perspective, is therefore a transforming process and not just simple transmission of information, a process where teachers play the most vital role. They mentor the learner leading by example; positive interaction is the best way to describe their cooperative effort and responsible presence. We thrive, through the “code of conduct”, to train learners to correct the flaws in their behavior, hence acquiring good conduct based on conviction and self-discipline, becoming responsible persons. Academic Process Our academic approach allows learners to go beyond the acquisition and development of competencies and skills to the proper use of know-how in real life situations. The learner-centered interdisciplinary approach enables learners to develop their multi-faceted potentials at their own pace towards the mastery of basic skills. Accordingly, our adopted teaching methods and strategies rely not only on the integration of cross-curricular transferable competencies, abilities, and skills but also values. As we believe that the world is to be perceived from a comprehensive perspective, we adopt curricula which guide learners through the interconnectedness between subjects, we highlight the relationships between the elements of each, and stress on the acquisition of complex abilities such as analysis and synthesis. Academic Departments have the primary role in the designation of these curricula and processes. They thus plan curricula which develop critical thinking, enhance problem-solving, integrate subject matters, and encourage creativity, taking into consideration the changing needs of the community. Curricula also align objectives and teaching strategies with evaluation techniques. In this matter, Academic Departments work in close collaboration with the Department of Assessment, Testing, and Measurement. Learners’ acquisition of competencies, abilities and skills, is assessed in order to provide a cumulative rate that reflects their on-going development rather than assigning a less meaningful grade that only shows instant performance on a task. This assessment philosophy along with our daily follow up on learners’ performance help secure an equal opportunity for them to accomplish educational goals. We thus closely observe and assess needs taking into consideration the uniqueness of each learner. Moreover, the Special Education Department helps in the early detection of learning difficulties and assists with providing solutions to help concerned learners achieve better through the intervention of a team of special educators who works together with parents and teachers.
    Special Programs:
  • Religious Education As our schools strive to form learners who believe in God and can discover His image in His creation everywhere around them, all are encouraged to reach deeper in the faith of their own family. And through maintaining an atmosphere of freedom and discipline, the schools become a space of encounter where learners get to know each other, and to accept each other, without prejudice simply as they are.
  • Advisory Program For a peaceful and calm start, every day begins with a 15 minute advisory session where learners discuss and debate, with their class advisor, issues of general interest, one of which is a weekly topic that falls under the yearly theme of the school. This is one of the educational non-academic programs that help build the personality of the learner especially on the spiritual and human levels, resulting in a positive awakening to social behavior and to matters related to family, school, society and hence to nature and humanity. Moreover, the advisory program encourages learners to communicate, and helps them acquire proper skills to express their opinions and defend them through discussing and debating. And since it addresses every group according to age characteristics, it also helps creating a relaxed atmosphere in class and increase homogeneity within the group.

  • Awareness Program This program sensitizes preschoolers on a variety of values, manners, and concepts related to their environment. Its main objective is to give youngsters the opportunity to practically experience and discover themselves and their surroundings. This is done through educational activities compatible with their age level and in accordance with the yearly theme.. It is through introducing learners to their bodies, families, environment, nature, etc… that they learn to appreciate, respect and protect God’s endowmentsto them, be it their body and soul, their social or their natural and physical environments.

  • Awareness campaigns As the name indicates, these are campaigns to awaken the school community to basic social, cultural, hygienic, medical, moral, ethical, and behavioral issues. Learners are directly involved in the activities through which the campaign is implemented. They thus understand facts through action and impact others through their standpoint on the campaign at hand. The campaign fosters team spirit, creativity, leadership, initiative taking, and application of cross-curricular competencies and other skills. The campaigns enhance learners’ ability to differentiate between proper and improper actions and behaviors and to come up with preventive and developmental measures and possibilities.

  • Youth Talk Program Since our academic approach is based on interactive learning, and in order to attend to the learners’ needs to share their thoughts and experiences, Youth Talk sessions are held for Intermediate classes. In these sessions, learners are given the opportunity to debate high-interest controversial topics which they usually think of but shy away from raising, within an educational, cultural and free yet guided framework.

  • Youth Stewardship Program This is a community service program which enhances Secondary learners’ sense of civic engagement, citizenship, and self-esteem as well as their social and humanitarian awareness. It helps them reach a personal understanding of the world around them and fosters their sense of respect and responsibility towards the peoples in the social and humanitarian institutions and Non-governmental Organizations of their community. Learners will thus fill their free time with beneficial activities which will help them further discover God through positive contact with His creation.

  • Cultural Program The Cultural Program aimed initially at filling the gap between the existing academic curricula and the actual needs in the cultural knowledge and skills of the learners. Since its instauration in 1995, the program has evolved from scattered topics to a series of linked topics gathered under the theme of the year, and from a lecturer-based program to a learner-presentation program. One of the major goals of the CP is to reinforce character education of the Secondary Division learners by developing their critical thinking and communication skills, self-confidence, self-discipline and respect to each other. Rather than providing answers, the Cultural Program opens new horizons for learners, thus helping them see concepts from different perspectives through tackling the non-academic yet as important aspects of education (Cultural, emotional, sociologic, economic, ecologic, moral, spiritual, ethical…)

  • Career Guidance Program Learners in the Secondary Division go through a major decision-making phase concerning their future career. The Career Guidance Program, which extends over Grades 10, 11 and 12, meets the rising need for thorough vocational guidance. This program helps learners relate their aptitudes and capabilities to their interests, character traits and aspirations. It also familiarizes them with major fields of study in universities in Lebanon, as well as types of tasks and responsibilities required in various jobs from practitioners in the field. It also tries to show the need of the local market, hence, opening the way for new careers.

  • Activities Targeting the Community To show their real image of institutions belonging to the present, keepers of the community values, well anchored in their history and Yet planning for the future, our schools try constantly to consolidate their relationship with the neighbouring communities. This is done through many themed events and activities that try to reach various social groups. These activities range from the entertaining, the sporting, to the cultural and spiritual.