NEWSLETTER TERM 3EDITORIAL

“Four traits lift a person to the highest ranks, even if their works and

knowledge are little: forbearance, humility, generosity, and good

character. This is the perfection of faith.” Imam Al-Ghazali

It has been an enriching term at Al Ghazali, made more positive by

seeing the above traits.

We also paid tribute, in Term 3, to our very own, Shaakir Kalla.

close your eyes and

make a wish…

there’s a place in the sky where

all dreams rise and the sun makes

Your wishes come true.

it’s the wishing-place, and your dreams go

there when you wish on a rising balloon. if you

want to give it a try,

just close your eyes and make a wish, as

dreamers do. and as the balloons go by like the

years, remember the sky…

♥♥♥♥♥We miss you, Shaakir ♥♥♥♥♥

PAGE 02

All

Things

Sports

On the 4th August, we participated

in the AMS Round Robin Table Tennis

Festival hosted by TMS. The AGC Team

was represented by - U10 Hud Sima,

U11 Aamir Tarki, U12 As’ad Bassier, U13

Muhammad Naiko, U14 Wazeer Ballim,

U15 M Zayd Antulay, U16 Fayyaz

Carrim, U17 Adnan Darki and U18

Zaakir Carrim. The boys performed very

well, despite the tough competition.

BOYS

The Primary and High School Internal Table Tennis

tournament concluded during the term. Fayyaz

Carrim (Gr 9) and M Zaakir Carrim (Gr 11)

dominated the round robin phase of the

tournament. They were unbeaten and went to the

final without dropping a set. The final was a tense

affair as the match ebbed and flowed. Fayyaz

scraped through, 3 sets to 2.

We had a total of 25 participants in the Primary

School section. Players were divided into 4 groups

of 6 and 7 where they played against each player

in their group. The top 2 players in each group

went through to the knockout phase. All matches

were contested over 3 sets with the finals the best

of 5. The finals was contested between Hud Sima

(Gr 4) and Muhammad Naiko (Gr 6). Muhammad

Naiko was crowned champion with a dominant

display winning in straight sets.

SOCCER TOURNAMENT

The Primary School Internal Soccer tournament was

won by Real Madrid. They beat Liverpool 1 - 0 in the

final. Salman Mohideen (Gr 7) was awarded the

Golden Boot award for scoring 13 goals in 8

matches. The Golden Glove went to Daiyaan

Antulay (Gr 4) and Player of the Tournament was

awarded to Muhammad Naiko (Gr 6).

On 4th August we played a series of

friendly matches against Al Asr at TMS.

The following age groups were catered

for - U9, U11, U13 and U17. We lost all

our matches but it was good exposure

for the boys.

On 1st September we played against

TMS at TMS. The following age groups

were catered for - U7 (0 - 0), U8 (0 - 7),

U9 (0 - 11), U11 (0 - 4), U15 (3 - 4) and

U17 (1 - 4).

FATHERS ’ AND SONS ’

TABLE TENNISOn 3rd August, we hosted a Fathers’ and

Sons’ Table Tennis Festival. We had 28

fathers and sons who attended. All the

fathers were placed in 2 groups and all the

sons were placed in 2 groups. Each

participant played 6 matches. The scores

achieved by a father and son combination

were added together to determine the final

champions. As’ad Bassier (Gr 6) and his

dad were crowned champions for the

festival.

“With sons and fathers, there’s an

inexplicable connection and

imprint that your father leaves on

you.”

PAGE 03

The Girls AMS tournament was

held on the 1st September. The

following players represented the

AGC Team - U10 Hadia Gomba,

U11 Lameez Osman, U12 Zahraa

Mahomed, U13 Almaas Mahomed,

U14 Tasmiyah Osman, U15 Zuhaira

Latib, U16 Mariam Jacobs, U17

Zaria Ebrahim and U18 Zarreen

Ebrahim. The girls did exceptionally

well with quite a few of them winning

their matches.

On the 9th September, we participated in

the Laudium Secondary School Table

Tennis tournament. Our team comprised of

14 participants. This tournament also

served as trials for Gauteng North. The

following learners did exceptionally well and

progressed to the district level - U13

Muhammad Naiko, U13 Zahraa Mahomed

and Hania Azeem. U15 Zuhaira Latib, U18

Mariam Jacobs.

PAGE 04

GIRLS

The U9 mini cricket team (boys and girls) entered in the Laudium Cricket Club league.

Matches are played on Wednesday afternoons between 1pm and 2pm at the Laudium Oval.

The girls team is currently unbeaten. The boys have won 3 and lost 3 thus far.

On the 8th September the U9 Boys and Girls teams attended the Northern’s Cricket Union

Provincial festival at Tshwane University of Technology. Schools from all over Pretoria

attended the event. There were approximately 1400 learners from the various schools. The

learners had the opportunity to meet Protea players Mangaliso Mosehle and Dwaine

Pretorius.

KFC MINI CRICKET

PAGE 05

When a selection of Grade 10’s and 9’s were informed that we would be visiting

the Turkish Embassy in Brooklyn, Pretoria, (to be addressed by the Turkish Ambassador

to South Africa, Elif Çomoğlu Ülgen and guest of honor, the Turkish President, Recep

Tayyip Erdoğan) they initially did not think much of the excursion, expecting political

rhetoric.

However, after doing some research on exactly who the Turkish President was, they were

fascinated and looked forward to listening to him. As they set out on the crisp, clear

morning of July 26th to the Turkish Embassy, there was a sense of pride that President

Erdoğan stood not only for his people, but also stood against oppression, especially

where Muslims were facing injustice. The Turkish President has done a lot for the plight

of the Palestinians and when certain Arab countries, with the help of the U.S wanted to

bring Qatar to its knees, Turkey supplied Qatar with many basic needs including food.

Grade 10 student, Imaad Noormoahmed said, “I then recalled, when, during our visit to

Turkey in December, our Turkish driver told us that Islam has flourished more in Turkey

since Erdoğan had taken office. Back in Brooklyn, we were part of history in the making

as we stood in a row, waving the Turkish and South African flags to welcome the Turkish

President’s motorcade.

AGC at the Turkish Embassy

We found the President’s speech very

interesting, with him touching on trade

between South Africa and Turkey and

speaking about the contributions that

Turkey has made to the world.”

A scrumptious lunch was served after the

speeches, leaving all impressed with the

warmth with which they were received and

definitely leaving learners looking forward to hopefully visiting Turkey one day.

AGC

DAY

TRIPS

The beautiful hot summer’s day of

September 26th was definitely a day to

remember. It was a day where troubles

were left behind and kids could simply

enjoy being kids again. On this day, our

Foundation Phase learners took a bus

trip to the Pretoria Botanical Gardens.

This outing was nothing short of epic!

On arrival , learners were met by very

friendly tour guides who vibrantly

explained the activities for the day. The

learners were divided into their grades,

each grade with their own facilitator.

Learners completed activities whilst on

tour around the western side of the 76

hectare garden. They enjoyed learning

about the different areas such as the

wetlands; cycad, succulent, medicinal,

plant and enabling gardens.

Some learners compared it to a forest

adventure! After all the planned

activities were completed, the teachers

and learners enjoyed a delicious picnic

in the shade of a massive tree. To cool

off from the blazing sun, learners

played ‘catch’ games with the teachers

in the garden sprinklers. It was indeed

a fun filled day, full of enjoyment,

laughter and pleasure.

Foundation Phase excursion

The Ellen Pakkies Story

The Grade 10 and 11 class along with Mr Blennies and

Muallima Amina had the opportunity to watch an

Afrikaans movie called the Ellen Pakkies Story at the

Mall@Reds on 18 September. The experience

touched each learners’ heart as they witnessed the

brilliant portrayal of the real-life story of a Capetonian

mother who murdered her drug addict son. Our

learners were treated the following day to a Skype

session with the lead actor, Jarrid Geduld, who

portrayed the son, Abie Pakkies. We urge our AGC

family to go out and support this local movie as it has

earned critical acclaim in South Africa, as well as

overseas.

Local is lekker! PAGE 06

Eco-Club Session

September 21, Muallima Nazira along with her

green-thumb troop visited the Silverstone Estate

gardens where our learners enjoyed an afternoon

breathing in fresh air amongst nature’s beauty.

The Pretoria News High School Quiz was one of the events on the bucket list for Term

3. Under the guidance and tutelage of Muallim Javeed Ebrahim, a total of eight

students from grades 11 and 12 went up against various high schools from Pretoria.

Taha Arshad Mohamed, Mariam Jacobs, Radiyah Regal and Imaad Noormohamed

represented the grade 10 class while Shehzaad Patel, Riyaad Ayob, Mohamed Ali

Mukadam and Adnan Darki represented the grade 11’s whilst Mohammed Azam

Joosub was the designated substitute.

The students were required to read the Pretoria News daily over a period of 2 weeks as

questions from the quiz were based on these articles. While the participants from Al

Ghazali College did not make the next round, their dedication and hard work did not go

unnoticed. This was the first competition of this nature and our learners did us proud.

The staff of Al Ghazali College would like to thank the participants for their effort and we

hope that, Insha Allah, we bring home the trophy in 2019.

Pretoria News Quiz

PAGE 07

Al Ghazali College

Presents:

Our newest addition to the AGC family -

Muallim Muhammed Javeed Ebrahim.

Muallim Javeed has a background in

Media Studies and Journalism with a

Post Graduate Certificate in Education.

He is currently studying his B Ed: Hons in

Management and teaches English to the

grade 6, 7 and 8 learners. Muallim has

already shown us his passion for the

English language and his dedication to

school events.

Al Ghazali College hosted its annual

cancer care day on Thursday, 6

September 2018. This year, the focus

shifted slightly -the event was planned

with the rationale "By the kids, for the

kids.“

Having lost one of our brightest and

most prominent learners, Shaakir Kalla,

to cancer in April of this year, the

decision by the AGC learners to host the

Childhood Cancer Foundation (CHOC)

and Kids of Faith, was indeed a fitting

way to pay tribute to Shaakir. As a

national organisation, CHOC provides

support for cancer-stricken children, and

children with life-threatening blood

disorders.

A short programme was held before the

festivities, with Al Ghazali principal, Mr

Suleman Khan, addressing the guests.

Ms Ina Schomper from CHOC, Pretoria,

was on hand to explain the holistic

approach used by CHOC in cancer

treatment and Ms Fiona from Kids of

Faith spoke about her personal

challenge when dealing with kids with

physical challenges.

Once again, the generous Al Ghazali

community, worked tirelessly to plan and

execute an excellent function. The Al Ghazali

hall was set up with different stalls, ranging from

a pamper station to food stations and even a

colouring station for the kids.

One of our grade 10 learners, Radiyah Regal,

paid tribute to Shaakir in a speech that perfectly

captured his brilliance, his potential and the

impact he made on all those he met. Members

of Shaakir’s family attended the function and

participated in the balloon release.

The generosity of the Al Ghazali community

made it possible for us to present a cheque for

R30 000 to CHOC, handed over by Adam Kalla,

father of Shaakir.

Our culmination of the function was the release

of balloons as a fitting salute to Shaakir and all

those who have lost the battle to cancer.

Our learners at AGC must be commended on

their spirit of giving. Without their generosity and

hard work, this function would not have been

possible.

PAGE 08

Al Ghazali College held an Expo for the Young

Scientist on Wednesday, the 15th of August.

Learners from grades 7 -9 participated.

Learners had to present their investigations to

their peers and teachers. The main aim of the

expo was to encourage excitement, awareness

of science as a subject and promoting self-

discovery learning. Learners were also awarded

marks for their presentation and overall

experiments which will count towards their term

4 Natural Sciences SBA mark. The

investigations ranged from creating underwater

volcanoes to obstacle-avoiding robots. The

expo was a grand success where learners and

teachers all enjoyed the displays and left,

learning something new. Al Ghazali College

would like to thank the Science Department,

particularly Mr Karsan for his organising of the

expo; not forgetting all the learners who

participated and made the day one filled with

fun learning, confidence-building and sharing for

a love of science. Arnold Edinborough once

said, “Curiosity is the very basis of education

and if you tell me that curiosity killed the cat, I

say the cat died nobly.” The key to education is

to stimulate the curiosity of learners, so that

ultimately, they will desire to learn, rather than

forcing knowledge onto them.

Science Expo

PAGE 09

Our Al Ghazali Debating Society is now in its second year. Our senior learners meet for

debating practice every Friday afternoon at the school.

Last week the team entered the prestigious Hemlock Cup. Round 1 took place at St

Teresa’s School in Rosebank. Learners were commended on their debating styles.

Round 2 of the Hemlock Cup will take place on 14 October.

Our learners also engaged in a series of friendly debates against Pretoria Boys High and

St Dunstan’s College.

DEBATE TOURNAMENT

Learners, educators and the public were

fortunate when a Palestinian delegation

visited the College. The delegation

comprised of Usamah, a famous cartoonist

who uses his drawings to depict the plight of

Palestinians on a daily basis. It also included

Roula Tamimi, cousin of the now famous

Ahed Tamimi who both spent time in Israeli

prisons and Umm Shadi, mother of a 12 year old son who has been in prison for 3 years.

PAGE 10

Three of our learners took part in the

MODEL UN Debate at Wits University on

15 September. Taha Arsha Mohamed,

Mariam Jacobs and Imaad Noormohamed

represented Japan and presented their papers to the council.

MODEL

UN 2018

Free free Palestine

On the 16th August we had our Annual Arabic Day. This year

our theme included Palestine and Masjid al-Aqsa. So in

addition to promoting the Arabic Language various items

related to Palestine were also presented. Learners from

Grades R to 7 participated and presented different items that

included Arabic Nasheeds, plays and verses from the Quran

as well as Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad. This was a

wonderful event that even had two Grade 9 learners serve as programme directors for the event.

ARABIC DAY

To Come Term 4: School Opens - 08 October Gr 7 – 11 Excursion - 10 October Hijrah Day - 11 October FP Poetry Festival - 12 October Al Asr Soccer

Tournament U15 & U18 - 13 October Gr 10 & 11 Speech Contest – 13 October APAX AMS Soccer

Tournament U9 & U11 - 20 October