november 6, 2015 az-zahraa islamic academy 23 muharram ... newsletter.pdf · pvg meeting - nov. 19,...

November Newsletter

Az-Zahraa Islamic Academy

Dates of Interest

Nov. 9 - Nov. 16 - Blanket & Adult Clothing Drive

Wed. Nov. 11 - Remembrance Day Holiday

Mon. Nov. 16 - Preparing lunches at Save On Foods

Tues. Nov. 17 - Downtown East Side Trip with RJDS

Thurs. Nov. 19 - PVG Meeting at 8:50 am

Fri. Nov. 27 - Pro-D Day #3

Thurs. Dec. 4 - Term 1 Report Cards Sent Home

Wed. Dec. 9 - Noon Dismissal

Wed. Dec. 9 - Parent / Teacher Conferences -

12:30 - 6:00 pm

Dec. 21 - Jan. 4 - Winter Break

Bismillah.

Respected Parents / Guardians,

Salaamun Alaykum.

May the Almighty accept our commemorations of Imam Hussein (as) and the Shohada-e-Karbala.

I am so proud and feel very blessed to be working alongside a team of highly professional, extremely dedicated and hardworking teachers.

Their planning, which includes teaching and assessment strategies, is thoughtful and reflects the needs of our diverse learners. The

teachers are constantly looking at innovative ways to support and advance each student and to differentiate learning in a welcoming and

safe classroom environment. At AZIA, the staff has also embraced and are piloting large portions of the new BC Curriculum during this

transition year, before it becomes mandated in September 2016. We are ahead of many other schools in our school-wide planning and we

are purchasing and investing in instructional resources so that we can provide the optimum learning opportunities for our students within

the framework of BC’s new curriculum.

We are also very proud of our students who are showing perseverance as they meet their academic, social-emotional, physical and spiritual

goals. We have seen great progress in just these last few weeks as students are demonstrating and continuing to build great work habits,

organizational skills, maintaining focus, developing problem solving skills and demonstrating inclusive behavior, habits that our faith re-

quires all of us to practice.

As parents, you have been extremely supportive partners in ensuring that your child(ren) have as many opportunities as possible to have a

highly successful school year. Ensuring that children arrive on time to school, well rested, with nutritious snacks and lunch options, in

Message from the Principal

November 6, 2015

23 Muharram, 1437

Principal: Sr. Sukaina Jaffer

Theme: Writing Month

Islamic Theme:

Sacrifice & Justice

assisting with providing a regular homework routine, maintaining regular

communications with the teachers, and confirming that homework is completed on

time and to their best ability.

The month of October was anti-bullying month at our school. The students were

involved in several presentations and activities to highlight this theme, including a

school-wide mural entitled, “Stand Against Bullying.” Each student and staff mem-

ber had the opportunity to make the pledge that they would uphold this theme by

placing a painted footprint on a large mural. We took this opportunity to discuss

how Imam Hussein(as) was also bullied and what his valiant response was. The

themes of brotherhood and unity were discussed in relation to the tragedy of

Kerbala, but also how it is applicable to us today in our daily lives.

November is writing month and the themes of sacrifice and justice will be empha-

sized. Students will have an opportunity each day during this month to practice their

writing skills with the WINK program, in which all students will write independently

for about 20 minutes on a variety of topics. The themes of sacrifice and justice will

be discussed from the inspirations we get from the Holy Prophet (S) and the Aimma

(as).

“Surely, there exists in the hearts of the believers, with respect to the martyrdom

of Hussein (as), a heat that never subsides.”

Holy Prophet (saw)

November Pr inc ipa l: Sr. Sukaina Jaf fer

Late Arrivals / Early Pick-ups Please remember that it is vital for our records and the safety of all students that if your child is arriving late to school or

they are being picked up early, that parents please report to the office and use the appropriate folder to sign in or out your

child. This is much appreciated.

Lost & Found This year we are not keeping a lost and found bin at the school. We try our best to ensure that lost items find their rightful owner as soon

as it is brought to the office. We will keep food containers for only 2 days as these containers start to collect bacteria. Please ensure that

all school sweaters and containers are labeled.

Hats, Coats, and Gloves: As the weather begins to get cooler, please ensure that your child arrives to school with weather appropriate outerwear.

Please label all items so that if they are left behind, we can reunite the articles with their rightful owner.

Parent and Visitors: Although we always welcome visitors and parents into the school, for safety reasons we would like to remind everyone to

please sign in at the office and proceed to the classrooms if you have an appointment. We can run into privacy issues if

parents are observing a class or other students while the classes are in session. Thank you for your understanding and

cooperation.

Pizza Wednesdays Begins: By popular demand, Pizza Wednesdays is back! Please ensure that your child has placed an order by Tuesday of

each week to avoid any disappointments. Parents are welcome to pay on a weekly, monthly or per term basis

directly to the classroom teacher.

PVG Meeting - Nov. 19, 2015 - 8:50 am The PVG would like to invite all parents to an important meeting to review last year’s many accomplishments

and chart a plan of ideas for this year. Please plan to attend on Thursday, Nov. 19 at 8:50 am in the library. We

encourage all parents to get involved.

Thank You Since the start of the school year, we have had parents help us with different tasks around the school. At this

time, we would like to thank Br. Moussa Mohaidly, Abu Maryam, Br. Haider Ghazi, Sr. Elaheh Jamati, Sr. Elva

Abdul Hadi, Br. Shabbir Dharsi, Br. Hassan Rashid, and Br. Shahji who have helped us in different ways over the

past couple of months. Your assistance is highly appreciated. If you are interested in volunteering at the school,

please feel free to contact the office. We always welcome helping hands.


End of Day Dismissal: We have noticed many students running into the arms of their parents at the end of the day and that is heart-

warming. However, when parents are waiting in the car or far in the parking lot, we have noticed that the

younger children are unaware of the cars that are maneuvering through the parking lot. In order to keep every-

one safe after school we would like the assistance of all parents to receive your child(ren) as close to the en-

trance of the school as possible. Also, we are grateful for the new playground we have and that so many chil-

dren are enjoying the play structures after school. However, children will not be released to play without parental supervision. Please

remember that if you are running late to pick up your child(ren), as a courtesy, please call the school office and we will have your child

(ren) inshaAllah waiting for you inside the school until your arrival.

Uniforms: We are two months into the school year and are still noticing that some students are not arriving to school in proper uniform. We have

spoken to the students regarding the importance of showing pride and unity by being in school uniform each day. The teachers and

school have sent reminders home on several occasions. Girls up to grade three can wear leggings, however it is not islamically appropriate

for girls grade 4 and up. School pants must be purchased from Neat Uniforms. Due to unforeseen circumstances, if your child arrives to

school without proper uniform, please send a note to inform us of the reason so they may be excused. Otherwise, students may be asked

to wait in the office while parents are contacted and the proper uniform is provided. We thank you in advance for helping us to maintain

this important school policy.

Interim Reports: Your child should have brought home an interim report card on Thursday, October 22. This serves as an early indica-

tion of your child’s progress early in the school year. Please take the time to review this with your child and if you have

any questions or concerns, either email the class teacher or request an appointment if necessary. Thank you for your

involvement in your child’s education as this is an indicator of their ongoing success.

Anti-Bullying Awareness Month: We would like to thank Ms. Wassick and Ms. Tom, along with the grade 4 and 5 students, for the many presenta-

tions and activities they organized last month that really brought the concept and ideas of anti-bullying to the

forefront. We were able to make connections to the message of Karbala with this monthly theme. We realized

that the Holy Prophet (s) of Islam was bullied, and even Imam Hussein (as) was bullied. We took examples of

how Imam Hussein (as) responded to the bully of his time to learn strategies we could apply in our own lives.

Please stop by the assembly area and view the pledge students made to “Stand Against Bullying.”


AZIA Guests During Muharram: The sacred month of Muharram brought the blessings of many special guest to AZIA. AlHajj Dr. Moledina, the President of the World

Federation of KSIMC congratulated us on having such a beautiful school with high academic standards in line with the traditions of our

faith. He also told the students how lucky they were to have a Muslim school to attend. Our second visitor was Zakira Asgari Begum

from Houston, Texas. Before conducting the daily majalises for the ladies during the first 12 days of Muharram, she took some time to

visit AZIA. She was very pleased to meet informally with the students and staff and to tour our facilities. Our final guest last month was

Syed Zafar Abbas from the UK, who conducted the evening majalises at Az-Zahraa Centre. He addressed the students about giving im-

portance to their daily salaat and was also very impressed that for a small community as ours, we have such a well-established school

teaching the message of the Holy Prophet (S) and his beloved progeny.

Student Vote 2015 We would like to thank the Grade 5 students and Ms. Tom for the amazing presentations they conducted as part

of the Student Vote Campaign, prior to the Federal Election on October 19, 2015. They shared about the elec-

tion process, different political parties and issues that we should be aware of as citizens and future voters! This

was a new initiative to our school this year, and very worthwhile. AZIA students also gave the Liberals a majori-

ty vote and below is a summary of the results:

Kenny Chiu — Conservative Party of Canada = 3

Joe Peschisolido — Liberal Party of Canada = 40

Laura-Leah Shaw — Green Party of Canada = 12

Scott Stewart — New Democratic Party = 12

Matthew Swanston — Libertarian Party of Canada = 1

Total number of valid votes = 68

Internet Safety – RCMP Presentation Constable Walker from the RCMP conducted a presentation on Wednesday Oct. 28 with the grades 5-7 classes on inter-

net safety. She reminded us about the fact that “everyone is a stranger on the internet.” She cautioned about the use of

social networking and how personal information can be accessed and sold. Cyberbullying is an important issue and can

lead to charges of public mischief. Const. Walker spoke to the children about the dangers of having devices with inter-

net access in your child’s bedroom. As a general rule, parents should have passwords for all the devices in their homes

as well as passwords for their child’s email addresses or social media sites. She did share with us that it is illegal for chil-

dren to have their own accounts on Facebook and other social media sites. For more information regarding internet safety, please visit

the following websites:

www.deal.org

www.commonsensemedia.org

WINK Program (Write Independently, No Kidding!) November is writing month and we are excited to start the WINK program once again this year. Students will be provid-

ed a WINK Journals to write each day a new entry using different formats and styles of writing. Last year, students and

teachers were amazed to see the development, progress and confidence in writing from the start to the end of the school

year. We would like to thank the teachers on the Literacy Committee for preparing a variety of topics that students will use

as story starters.


Although we have commemorated the day of Ashura and the tragedy of Karbala, we will continue to take lessons and apply

them to our time and place. We know that some of the qualities that Imam Hussein (as) exhibited in Karbala and through-

out his life were characters taught to him by the Holy Prophet (s) of Islam. The staff will be looking for students who show

bravery and courage in the month of November and will be nominated to receive the “Spirit of Courage” Award when we commemorate

the Arbaeen (40th day after the greatest tragedy) inshaAll-h on Wed. December 2, 2015. We have discussed with the students that cour-

age can be shown in many ways such as persevering through difficult situations, standing up against bullying or changing something that

may be challenging. We will encourage students to follow the example of Imam Hussein (as) to make the “right” decision, not the “easy

decision.”

“Spirit of Courage Award

Parent Support Session Sr. Fatema Dewji, a qualified BC teacher and longtime community leader will be presenting on Parent Support Session on Friday, No-

vember 6, 2015, from 1:15-3:15 pm. This is a very important opportunity for parents and family members as Sr. Fatema is a highly com-

mitted to helping new families to settle into communities and assist them is seeking services for immigrant families. She will be sharing

about opportunities such as ESL classes, Please RSVP by Wed. Nov. 4, 2015 if you have not already done so.

DTES Blanket / Clothing Drive and Parent Volunteers Needed: Please start collecting gently used adult jackets, shoes, clothing, blankets, hats and gloves to be distributed by our grade

6/7 students when they participate in the 3rd annual RAK (Random Acts of Kindness) Program with the Richmond Jew-

ish Day School. The donated items, along with packed lunches, will be distributed by students from both schools on Tue.

Nov. 17 at the Downtown East Side. If you are interested in helping for a couple of hours to pack lunches at Save-on-

Foods (Ironwood location) on Mon. Nov. 16, please let the office or the Grade 6/7 teacher, Sr Sabera know. Your help

would be highly appreciated.

Remembrance Day: AZIA will acknowledge Remembrance Day on Monday Nov. 10 at 8:30 am during our daily morning assembly. There will

be student presentations and Shaykh Murtaza will speak about the concept of remembrance from an Islamic perspective.

All parents are welcome to join as usual. Please note that the school will not be in session on Tuesday November 11, as

this is a statutory holiday.

Term 1 Report Cards – Parent-Teacher Conference: First Term report cards will be sent home December 3, 2015. The best way for parents to support their child is to show

your interest in their education by knowing what they are learning. Engage in dialogue each day to ask what your child

has learned that day and how you can help. By being actively involved and in ongoing communication with teachers, you

will have a better indication of your child’s progress in advance of the first official report card. Please note that December 9, 2015 will be

a noon dismissal and Parent-Teacher Conferences will be 12:30-6:00 pm. This year, parents will have the opportunity to call the school in

advance to schedule appointment times for Parent-Teacher Conferences starting December 1, 2015.

School Photo Day: Due to the photographer falling ill, we had to reschedule this year’s photo day. To be respectful of the months of

Muharram and Safar, our photo day, for both Individual and class photos, will take place on Thursday December 17,

2015. Please ensure your child arrives to school in proper uniform on this day.


Mustafa Al-Hamad

Allah (swt) has blessed Musatafa with the gift of being able to recite beautiful Duas. This Muharam Mustafa was in-

vited to the Al-Ghadeer centre in Seattle where he recited latmiya in Arabic. He also recited at the Al-Kawther centre

in Surrey. Next year Mustafa has been invited to recite in Montreal. We are proud of the passion and commitment

Mustafa shows in order to spread the message of the Ahlul Bayt (as).

Muhammad Mehdi Khaku

After graduating from AZIA, Muhammad Mehdi entered Mathew McNair high school where he showed his commitment to his faith by

introducing the idea of halal food at the school’s cafeteria. As a result of his confidence and determination, the high school now they

serves Halal chicken to cater to the large Muslim population at the school. Soon after, Muhammad Mehdi established the table tennis

team at McNair. Muhammad Mehdi did not stop there. He is the current president of the Az-Zahraa Youth Committee and he gives

credit to AZIA. Muhammad Mehdi attributes his success and confidence to AZIA and says this is “where I was coached not to be afraid

to show my Islamic identity and not to be fearful of what people will think of me.”

Nargus Merzayie

Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015 was Take Our Kids To Work Day. This annual career development program allows grade 9 students across

the country to join a parent, friend, or relative and volunteer at their workplace. This year Sr. Nargus was “Principal of AZIA”. She was

impressed by all the organization necessary in this dynamic profession.

Alumni News:

November 2015

Writing Month

Islamic Theme: Sacrifice - Justice

Muharram 1437 / Safar 1437

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 Guests from

As-Sadiq Visit

3 4 Pizza Day

STEM Workshop Gr. 5-6-7 Healthy

Relationships Presentation

Gr. 6/7

5 6 Dental

Presentation for KG with School Nurse

10:00 am

7

8 9

10 Remembrance Day Assembly

11 Remembrance Day Holiday

12 13 1st of Safar

14

15 16 Save-On Foods

volunteers prepares

lunches for the needy

17 AZIA &

RJDS Downtown

East Side Trip to serve the

needy

18 Pizza Day

Grouse Mountain

Trip - Gr. 3&4

8:30 - 3:00 pm

19 PVG

Meeting 8:50 am

Shahadat of Imam Hassan

(as)

20 21

22 23 24 25 Pizza Day

OWL - Gr. 2 Field Trip

12:00 - 2:30 pm

26 27 Pro-D Day #3

28

29 30

December 2015

Doing Your Best

Islamic Theme: Patience / Perserverance

Safar 1437 / Rabi-ul-Awwal 1437

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 Start booking

parent / teacher

interviews

2

Pizza Day Arbaeen pro-

gram “Spirit of Courage” Awards

3 Term 1 Report

Cards Sent Home

4

5

6 7 8 9 NOON

DISMISSAL Parent / Teacher

Conferences 12:30 - 6:00 pm

10 Wafat of Holy Prophet (saw)

11 Shahadat of

Imam Al-Rida (as)

12

13 14 15 Gr. 2 Field Trip Library & Art

Gallery

16

Pizza Day Wafat of Sayyidah

Masuma - e Qum

17 Picture Day

18 Shahadat of Imam Al-Askari (as)

Last of classes

19

20 21 22 23 24 25 26

27 28 29 30 31

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