Ebony Pope (Lead Teacher)
Sondra Saleem, Najwa Ahmed (Assistant Teachers)

Kindergarten
Shasa Ray-Rasheed

1st & 2nd Math
Tanzania Ruffin (1st Grade Homeroom)

1st & 2nd Rdng, Lng Arts, SS
Hajja Rasheedah Shamsid-Deen

3rd/4th (Combined)
Zakiyyah Ware

Reading Resource Teacher
Jana Alwakeel

Title I Coordinator
Halimah Siddeeq

Middle School – 5th – 8th

Science
Bayyinah Bahar

Math (5th & 6th)
Halimah Siddeeq

Math (7th & 8th)
Ameedah Id-Deen

English/Language Arts
Haniyyah Nu’Man

Social Studies
Hafeezah Abdul-Jaami

Arabic
Jamilla Bouchta
Waleed Nasheed
Imam Sulaimaan Hamed

Islamic Studies
Aisha Squire/TBA

Resource Teacher
Jana Alwakeel

High School 9th – 12th

English
Aaliyah Aziz (10th & 12th)
Qu’ran Shakir Abdul-Khaliq (9th & 10th)

Math
Haazim Sabree (9th, 11th, 10th)
Yusuf Roberts (9th, 10th, 11th)

Science
Ishaq Majeed (Physical Science, Biology, Chemistry)
Yusef Roberts (Physics)

Social Studies
Zarinah Abdul-Mateen

Arabic
Jamila Bouchta
Waleed Nashid

Islamic Studies
Waleed Nashid
Imam Sulaimaan Hamed

Physical Education
Yusef Roberts, Ishaq Majeed

Media
Nafeesah Madyun

Counselor
TBA

Dean of Males
Yusuf Roberts

Dean of Females
Qur’an Shakir Abdul-Khaliq

Office Personnel

Finance Officer
Zahporrah Shamsid-Deen

Administrative Assistant/High School Secretary
Edwina Wazeerud-Din

Registrar/Elementary Secretary
Qadriyyah Shakir

Marketing/Public Relations
Crystal Shahid

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
“No father has given a greater gift to his children than good moral training.”
(Tirmidhi).

Here are some training tips and techniques to transform your children’s minds
and memories this Ramadan:

Let them get their Hands Dirty

Children learn by “doing”. On average, students retain 75 percent of a lesson
when they learn through hands-on activities compared to five percent through
a lecture or 10 percent through reading (Brunmer, Jerome, “The Process of
Learning”).

If, for example, you want to teach your kids the concept of Zakat, get them
to help you calculate your Zakat, decide where to send the money, and mail
the envelopes. Action and implementation can occur while children learn, not
necessarily after!

The Prophet used to take his daughter Fatima with him when he went for prayer
at the Kaba in Makkah. Later, in Madinah, he would bring his grandchildren,
Hassan and Hussain, to the Masjid as toddlers before they knew how to pray.
A concept becomes real and important to children when they experience it rather
than simply read about it. They’ll remember how to do it years later when you
may catch them telling their friends, “I’ve been calculating Zakat since I was a
kid!”

Involve their Emotions

When children get emotionally involved in an activity, they rarely want to
leave it. Video games and TV shows target children’s emotions. As parents and
educators, we can use the same technique for training.

Stories, songs, skits, crafts and games grab children’s emotions. Once a child is
interested and excited, she is more likely to stay attentive till the end and get the
message you want to give. Just as we remember events in our lives that were
emotionally significant, children remember concepts learned through activities
that were “fun”, “funny”, “exciting” or “different”.

Don’t be afraid to stir some fun into your training-you don’t have to lose any
content. Write a song about Eid, create a Hadith treasure box, organize a
Ramadan trivia night, or read a story about Ramadan in Madinah. If they enjoy it,
the kids will come back for more!

Reveal the Purpose
We often hear students complain, “Why do we have to do this?” or “This math
exercise is pointless”. Unfortunately, we often hear responses like, “Because I’m
telling you to,” “Because you have to”, or worse, “You’ll get a new CD player if
you finish the book”.

Like us, if children don’t see the purpose or importance of an action, they won’t
have the motivation to complete it. To avoid getting similar comments from your
kids about prayer or fasting, make sure they understand the purpose. Before you
begin any lesson, whether it’s a story about the Companions of the Prophet or an
Eid craft, explain exactly why you are the doing the activity and what benefits the
children will gain from it.

Remind your children that they are doing acts of worship to please Allah, not you.
Explain why we need to please Allah and how every action, including washing
dishes or math homework, will help us achieve that goal. If children are praying
only to please you, when you leave, their motivation and prayers will disappear.
If children are motivated to fast Ramadan or complete the Quran for a material
incentive (like a CD player), they may never develop a love of Allah or an intrinsic
desire to perform the action. They may, instead, learn to value material rewards
and when the rewards disappear, the actions may disappear with them.
Help your children understand that, for Muslims, rewards don’t necessarily come
in this life. They may have to wait for the bigger and better rewards of the
hereafter.

Highlight the Big Ideas
“Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in
school.” – Albert Einstein
Ask yourself how many equations or formulas you remember from your Grade
12 Math textbook. It may be five or two or none. Let’s be honest – most of us
retained very little of the details we learned.

Children will not retain all the Fiqh rulings of Zakat or Wudu or Salah and they
won’t need to! Make sure the little that they retain is exactly what you want
them to remember. Focus on the big ideas, such as the awareness that Allah is
watching us, that we get our rulings from the Quran and the Sunnah, that prayer
is a means of self-purification, etc. Repeat these ideas every day in different
ways. While your children instil these principles in their minds, show them how to
learn the rest on their own, when they need it.

Help your kids learn “how to learn”. Teach them where to find the Fiqh
information they need or how to do research on a topic and who to ask for
information. They will be better prepared if they master the basics and know how
to get the specifics. Memorizing every ruling will be a waste of their time and
yours.

Let them Lead!
Children often take responsibilities more seriously than adults. The Prophet,
peace and blessings be upon him, appointed young adults like Ali, Anas and
Usamah ibn Zaid, young adults, for important assignments that sometimes
required them to lead even older and more experienced Companions.
Give children leadership over important tasks and step out of the picture. Assign
one child to wake up all his siblings for Suhur. Let someone else be in charge
of updating the Iftar time every evening. Allow the children to plan, budget and
buy Eid gifts for all the relatives. Let them choose which task they want to “be in
charge of”.

Allow children to make mistakes and realize on their own what they should have
done. Experience often trains better than instruction. Once a child goes out into
the cold without a jacket, he’ll remember, before you can remind him, to put on
his jacket next time.

Train kids to be responsible for their own learning. If a child asks, “Does brushing
teeth break my fast?” a simple “yes” or “no” may give her the answer, but won’t
provide any long-term training. Ask her instead, “Where can you look to find that
answer? Let’s do some research.”

Begin the month of Ramadan by asking your children to do a research project on
what breaks the fast and what does not. If they find the information themselves,
they are likely to remember it and know exactly where to get it again next year.
“The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn and
change.” – Carl Rogers

Get Excited!

Kids catch on to your enthusiasm. Show some excitement and passion about the
topic you’re teaching. Show your kids that you “can’t wait” for Ramadan to begin.
Be cheerful at prayer times. Decorate the house in anticipation of Eid.
The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, taught by example. His character
and actions motivated people to love and emulate him. Be the example you want
your kids to be. Make a genuine effort to love the activities you want your kids to
love.

Combine Love with Learning

Abu Huraira reported that al-Aqra’ b. Habis saw the Prophet, peace and blessings
be upon him, kissing Hasan (his grandson). He said: I have ten children, but I
have never kissed any one of them, whereupon Allah’s Messenger, peace and
blessings be upon him, said: He who does not show mercy, no mercy would be
shown to him. (Muslim)

Show children that you love them, regardless of how they perform. Allow each
child to progress at his own pace. Saying, “look at your cousin Aminah-she’s
already finished the fifteenth juz”, will only lower your child’s self-esteem and
discourage what she’s already accomplishing.

Excessive competition and comparison can often result in helplessness and lack
of motivation for children who learn in different ways or at a slower pace. Allow
children to judge their own progress and compare themselves to their former
level rather than that of others.

Make this Ramadan the beginning of a memorable and long-lasting training
experience for you and your children!

By Shehnaz Toorawa

She is available every Friday after Jumah to take the measurements for your daughter’s uniforms. She will bring the uniforms to Orientation. If you don’t make it on that day, she will be available at Orientation.

But please don’t wait until the last minute. After Orientation, Sis.Amatullah will be available to bring uniforms to the school for only 2 weeks!!! After 2 weeks, it will be up to each individual family to make the arrangements to get their uniforms from Sis.Amatullah!!

New World Fashions, 770-463-2179. Download the order form.