newsletter fortnightly - unity grammar college

13
Weeks 5 - 6 Term 1 2021 Newsletter Fortnightly CEO Message Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatu-Allahi Wabarakaatuh This week I shared an article with our staff on ‘Getting a Good Night’s Sleep’. I thought it would be an interesting read to share with our community. Research The Sleep Health Foundation found that four in 10 Australian adults experi- ence some form of inadequate sleep, which, in turn, affects learning and deci- sion-making, as well as increasing the risk of mental and physical illness (Deloitte Access Economics, 2017). Of the 7.4 million people who frequent- ly suffered from inadequate sleep in this study: 1.1 million reported having a sleep disorder like insomnia and obstruc- tive sleep apnea. 2.5 million had health problems that affect their sleep. 3.8 million routinely failed to get enough sleep, often suffering side effects of sleep deprivation. So how much sleep should we be aiming for? Dr Kathleen Maddison (Uni of WA) sug- gests that newborns have between 14 and 18 hours, teenagers have 8 to 11 hours, and adults between 7 and 10 hours of sleep. What is sleep? Sleep can be divided into two main components, non-rapid eye movement sleep (non-REM) and rapid eye move- ment sleep (REM). Non-REM sleep is your body’s restorative sleep. During this stage of sleep your heart rate slows down, your body temperature settles, and your body is physically repairing. REM sleep is often called dreaming sleep. This stage of sleep helps repair mental health and processes your day- to-day thoughts and emotions. If you interrupt sleep, you interrupt one of those cycles and that’s why some mornings you remember your dreams – you’ve woken up out of REM. Some- times you don’t remember your dreams, but you wake up really tired – you’ve woken up out of non-REM sleep. So how do we get a good night’s rest? Keep to a routine in the time you go to bed, and the time you wake up. Keep your bedroom as dark, comfortable and quiet as possible. Where possible, keep technology out of the bedroom and re- move screen time within the hour of you going to bed. It is also recommended to remove caffeine from your diet after 3pm. The full article can be read here: https://www.teachermagazine.com/au_ en/articles/getting-a-good-nights-sleep Kind regards Aaron Boyd CEO Unity Grammar As salamu alaykum, The love of family and having a caring family is one of the greatest blessings that Allah has bestowed upon us. On the Day of Reckoning, we are in- formed that the pious shall be given their results in the right hand and shall then "...return to their families, in happiness" [Surah Al-Inshiqaq, Verse 9]. Imagine the best blessing of all, Paradise itself, and the news that you have been Spiritual Message admitted to Paradise is itself made more joyous when you share your success with family. The good news of Paradise be- comes more exciting with loved ones! Work on preserving and nurturing your families because great families require hard work and sacrifice, compromise, mercy, love, and time. I ask Allah to bless our families in sharing the joys of this world and the blessings of Paradise in the next. Sh Arshad Khan Head of Islamic Studies

Upload: others

Post on 18-Dec-2021

8 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Newsletter Fortnightly - Unity Grammar College

www.unitygrammar.com.au1800 4 UNITY

Weeks 5 - 6 Term 1 2021

NewsletterFortnightly

CEO Message Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatu-Allahi Wabarakaatuh

This week I shared an article with our staff on ‘Getting a Good Night’s Sleep’. I thought it would be an interesting read to share with our community.

Research The Sleep Health Foundation found that four in 10 Australian adults experi-ence some form of inadequate sleep, which, in turn, affects learning and deci-sion-making, as well as increasing the risk of mental and physical illness (Deloitte Access Economics, 2017).

Of the 7.4 million people who frequent-ly suffered from inadequate sleep in this study:

• 1.1 million reported having a sleep disorder like insomnia and obstruc-tive sleep apnea.

• 2.5 million had health problems that affect their sleep.

• 3.8 million routinely failed to get enough sleep, often suffering side effects of sleep deprivation.

So how much sleep should we be aiming for?Dr Kathleen Maddison (Uni of WA) sug-gests that newborns have between 14 and 18 hours, teenagers have 8 to 11 hours, and adults between 7 and 10 hours of sleep.

What is sleep?Sleep can be divided into two main components, non-rapid eye movement sleep (non-REM) and rapid eye move-ment sleep (REM). Non-REM sleep is your body’s restorative sleep. During

this stage of sleep your heart rate slows down, your body temperature settles, and your body is physically repairing. REM sleep is often called dreaming sleep. This stage of sleep helps repair mental health and processes your day-to-day thoughts and emotions.

If you interrupt sleep, you interrupt one of those cycles and that’s why some mornings you remember your dreams – you’ve woken up out of REM. Some-times you don’t remember your dreams, but you wake up really tired – you’ve woken up out of non-REM sleep.

So how do we get a good night’s rest? Keep to a routine in the time you go to bed, and the time you wake up. Keep your bedroom as dark, comfortable and quiet as possible. Where possible, keep technology out of the bedroom and re-move screen time within the hour of you going to bed. It is also recommended to remove caffeine from your diet after 3pm.

The full article can be read here:

https://www.teachermagazine.com/au_en/articles/getting-a-good-nights-sleep

Kind regards

Aaron BoydCEO Unity Grammar

As salamu alaykum,

The love of family and having a caring family is one of the greatest blessings that Allah has bestowed upon us.

On the Day of Reckoning, we are in-formed that the pious shall be given their results in the right hand and shall then "...return to their families, in happiness" [Surah Al-Inshiqaq, Verse 9].

Imagine the best blessing of all, Paradise itself, and the news that you have been

Spiritual Messageadmitted to Paradise is itself made more joyous when you share your success with family. The good news of Paradise be-comes more exciting with loved ones!

Work on preserving and nurturing your families because great families require hard work and sacrifice, compromise, mercy, love, and time.

I ask Allah to bless our families in sharing the joys of this world and the blessings of Paradise in the next.Sh Arshad Khan

Head of Islamic Studies

Page 2: Newsletter Fortnightly - Unity Grammar College

NewsletterFortnightly

Weeks 5 - 6 Term 1 2021

www.unitygrammar.com.au1800 4 UNITYFollow Us

2

Junior School

Message fromJunior SchoolDear Parents,

Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatu-Alla-hi Wa Barakatu.

Term 1 continues to be at full steam ahead as it sets the tone for anoth-er busy academic year that is full of vigorous and engaging learning ex-

periences showcased across all Key Learning Areas.

Part of my new role as the JS Head of Curriculum is to oversee the man-agement and delivery of a seamless curriculum from Kindergarten to Year 6. One of my major goals this year is to liaise closely with the JS Head of Teaching & Learning, to further elevate the quality of our programs, in order to enhance teaching and learning to best serve our students throughout their educational journey. Our work will be based on current ed-ucational developments and research into curriculum and pedagogy.

Teaching and learning resources are an essential component of imple-menting explicit learning experienc-es and scaffolding students. As such, I will ensure that JS continues to ex-pand its abundance of the best ed-ucational resources that are required to facilitate the development of our students’ understanding across all curriculum areas.

Assessments are an integral element of education as they provide oppor-

tunities for teachers to gather evi-dence about student achievement in relation to outcomes, as well as en-able students to demonstrate what they know and can do. Considering the effect that assessment and feed-back have on students learning and their involvement in their own learn-ing, I have been working collabora-tively with the JS Head of School and the Heads of Teaching and Learning in developing a robust vision for JS assessments. Considerable attention is being given to the value of assess-ments, and to their ongoing process where students and teachers use feedback effectively and reflect on the learning process. The objective is to ensure that growth can be moni-tored so there is continuity and pro-gression of learning over time.

I look forward to working with you and to have another remarkable year.

Sincerely,

Mrs Sahar ChaaraniJunior School Head of Curriculum

Student VoiceAsalamualakum Unity Grammar Families,

One of our highlights for this fortnight was our swimming carnival Monday. It was a great experience for all our fellow students. There were many en-joyable fun races throughout the day such as freestyle, breaststroke and backstroke. The most enjoyable part of the day was the free time at the end, all the students got to enjoy an hour of swimming with their friends.

We are looking forward to our very first service learning experience this week at My Home Disability Service. It gives us the opportunity to give back to the community.

May we thank Allah for giving us the opportunity to have all these fun ac-tivities.

Ella KhleilatiService Learning Prefect

Page 3: Newsletter Fortnightly - Unity Grammar College

NewsletterFortnightly

Weeks 5 - 6 Term 1 2021

www.unitygrammar.com.au1800 4 UNITYFollow Us

3

Junior School

Kindergarten explored the way toys operate and the different push and pull forces that are required to make them move.

Harmony CupOn Monday 1st March, a group of stage 3 students participated in a soccer Harmony cup competition at Hurstville Aquatic Leisure Centre. Our students were extremely excited to partake in the tournament and compete against other Islamic schools.

There was a total of 10 schools in attendance which were categorised into two divisions. Our Unity Grammar students put on a magnificent show and finished up first place in our division. As a result of our accomplishment, both our male and female team were destined to verse the team that finished second in the other pool. By the will of Allah (SWT), both teams were victories and began arranging for the most important game of the day, the grand final.

In the finals, the boys were maintain the lead however a goal from the opposition in the dying moments of the game resulted in a draw. Unfortunately, both the Unity Grammar teams were unsuccessful in winning the tournament overall.

To conclude the day, a special guest from the Rugby League made an appearance and led the award presentations for the boys. A few students had the privilege of meeting Sonny Bill Williams and take a photograph with him.

I am extremely proud of the boys and girls who represented Unity Grammar on the day and commend them on their great efforts.

Page 4: Newsletter Fortnightly - Unity Grammar College

NewsletterFortnightly

Weeks 5 - 6 Term 1 2021 Junior School

www.unitygrammar.com.au1800 4 UNITYFollow Us

4

Year 5 have been exploring land clearing in CAPA. They have been using surface pros to explore geographical concepts.

Year 6 students have been discovering the elements of abstract art and then incorporating then in their own compositions.

Athletics carnival is always fun but when it is at the school, with a jumping castle and lots of yummy fruit it becomes so much more.

Year 3 Coral students mastering their fraction skills. They represent-ed, modelled and compared commonly used fractions.

This week in Creative arts, Year 4 students used natural material to create their collages in the style of Jeannie Baker.

Year 2 participated in a Science and Technology incursion called Pol-linators. Students built a bee hotel and investigated other insects.

Page 6: Newsletter Fortnightly - Unity Grammar College

NewsletterFortnightly

Weeks 5 - 6 Term 1 2021

www.unitygrammar.com.au1800 4 UNITYFollow Us

6

Senior School

Message from the Head of School

What a great pleasure to see all our elected Student Shurah Council (SSC) on stage together being inaugurated into the important leadership position. After a rigorous process and voting these elected students were sworn in and en-trusted by the school executive, staff and students to lead by example and be positive agents for change.

Prophet Muhammed PBUH was a leader known for his incredible qualities. Qual-ities that showed care, compassion and will. We ask all out students whether they have a badge or not to be leaders. Leaders within themselves in choosing right from wrong, halal from haram and decision making in all parts of their lives.

Mr Wassim ZoabiHead of Senior School

Message from Senior School

Senior School Girls Athletics

Page 7: Newsletter Fortnightly - Unity Grammar College

NewsletterFortnightly

Weeks 5 - 6 Term 1 2021

www.unitygrammar.com.au1800 4 UNITYFollow Us

7

Senior School

Student Shura Council 2021

It is with great pleasure that we welcome the Stu-dent Shura Council for 2021!

There was a large level of interest from students who nominated themselves for the SSC positions for each of their respective cohorts. Students pre-sented their speeches to their fellow peers and ex-plained why they would make great SSC student representatives.

Votes from students and teachers were counted and the results were determined after a great deal of counting. A male and femal student were select-ed from each Year level.

A we celebrated and announced, sworn in and handed badges to the SSC members formally on Friday 5th March. Our College parents and families were invited to view the ceremony online through a dedicated Zoom session.

Congratulations to all the winners and their fami-lies! The College is also extremely proud of all the students who got involved and made their voices heard regardless of the outcome.

A big Jazakum Allahu Khairan to everyone involved from parents for helping students with speeches and joining the ceremony on zoom, to students nominating themselves and voting for each other and the teachers for voting and organising pres-entations and voting sessions behind the scenes for students.

We cannot wait to share with you all of the experi-ences that our future leaders will achieve in 2021.

Page 8: Newsletter Fortnightly - Unity Grammar College

NewsletterFortnightly

Weeks 5 - 6 Term 1 2021

www.unitygrammar.com.au1800 4 UNITYFollow Us

8

Senior School

Boys Swimming Carnival

Girls Swimming Carnival

Page 9: Newsletter Fortnightly - Unity Grammar College

NewsletterFortnightly

Weeks 5 - 6 Term 1 2021

www.unitygrammar.com.au1800 4 UNITYFollow Us

9

Senior School

Arabic

English

The Arabic students for 2021 are well underway in their Arabic learning journey for the year. The themes for Term 1 of Arabic are School (Year 7), Friendship (Year 8) and Youth (Stage 5). Students use a range of medium to explore the wonders of the Arabic language.

Last week, students in Advanced English in year 11 and 12 were invited to attend an incursion led by Bell Shakespeare. The part interactive seminar, part performance, was designed for students to enhance their high-level thinking and provide rich, critical analysis of Shakespeare’s plays.

Page 10: Newsletter Fortnightly - Unity Grammar College

NewsletterFortnightly

Weeks 5 - 6 Term 1 2021

www.unitygrammar.com.au1800 4 UNITYFollow Us

10

Senior School

Islamic Studies Year 8 History

Year 11 Jewish Museum Excursion

The Year 7 students are developing their skills in reciting Su-rah al-Mursalaat and reflecting on their progress using the Quran rubric.

Year 8 students have been learning about Medieval Europe and investigating the characteristics of everyday life during the period. Students have studied the different ways people lived and were asked to build their own village/tent for the people of the time.

Year 11 Modern History and English students visited the Sydney Jewish Museum and were able to experience firsthand accounts of the Holocaust. Students had the opportunity to listen and ask questions to Holocaust survivor Kitty Lowinger, a Hungarian Jew who barely made it through the war. Our students had a close glimpse of Jewish artefacts and paid at-tention to insightful information regarding the careful preservation of such artefacts.

Page 11: Newsletter Fortnightly - Unity Grammar College

NewsletterFortnightly

Weeks 5 - 6 Term 1 2021

www.unitygrammar.com.au1800 4 UNITYFollow Us

11

Senior School

Year 8 Visual Arts

Year 11 – Still Life Workshop

Year 9 Visual Arts

Year 8 have been unpacking the fundamentals of art and the 7 main elements of art. Students have explored colour theory and diverse drawing techniques to portray still objects. They have been introduced to multiple mediums including, water-colour, charcoal, and sketch pencils.

Year 9 students investigated diverse mark making practices whilst exploring portraiture. Students have investigated the use of colour and line, whilst looking at artists Joy Hester and Alexander Calder. They have experimented with ink painting and creating wire sculptures to portray the diverse facial fea-tures of famous people.

Throughout the Term Year 11 have been exploring the subject matter of still life and the hidden symbolism within this prolific movement. Islamic artist and activist Amani Haydar gave students an in depth workshop about her own practice and influences. During the interactive and hands on workshop students explored synthetic polymer paint and its layered application on canvas.

Page 12: Newsletter Fortnightly - Unity Grammar College

NewsletterFortnightly

Weeks 5 - 6 Term 1 2021

www.unitygrammar.com.au1800 4 UNITYFollow Us

12

Senior School

Community EngagementOur community engagement team including students from the Junior and Senior Schools have had a very busy fortnight including

• Collecting and preparing food for over 200 homeless people in Martin Place including hot meals prepared by the students and their families.

• Hosting and attending numerous International Wom-en’s Day events.

• Attending the Human Appeal International High Achievers Awards where Asma Khalak, Khalid Khalak and Mahmud Choudhry from the class of 2021 re-ceived awards and prizes for scoring an ATAR above 90.

• Visited the My Care Disability Respite Centre for and art and craft session with young people living with a disability.

• A very special event was having Daniya Syed of Year 11 nominated as a finalist for NSW Woman of the Year alongside NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant in a special ceremony hosted by Premier Gladys Bere-jiklian and the Minister of Women, the Hon. Bronnie Taylor MLC.

Daniya has represented the school and Australia at multi-ple world robotics finals, she has designed her own phone apps, built a heart monitor and a Bionic Hand! She is also a leading member of our community service team, assist-ing in and fundraising to help others for numerous causes locally and abroad.

Mr Osman KaroliaHead of CommunityEngagement