Volume 3, I s sue 6

Date: 03 -2012 S r . D i a n a A b d i - P r i n c i p a l

Principal Speaking 1

Avoiding Homework

Headaches Is Simple 1

TIP 1

Support Your School’s

Discipline Policies 2

How Does Anger Be-

come a Problem 2

Use a Journal to teach

Gratitude, Perspective 2

Hadeeth of The Month 3

School Connection 3-6

Content

5110 MANOR Rd

AUSTIN, TX 78723

Phone: 512-926-1737

Fax: 512-926-9688

principal@apacademy.org

Principal Speaking Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh

TIP

Rewarding

your child’s good behavior

doesn’t have to be pricey. In

fact, it can be free!

The next time your child

earns a positive consequence,

offer a no-cost reward, such

as:

• A later bedtime.

• A sleepover.

• Extra time on the

computer.

• No chores tomorrow.

• The choice of a dinner

menu.

• A trip to the

playground.

.Source: R. Burke, Ph.D. and others,

Common Sense Parenting: Using Your

Head as Well as Your Heart to Raise

School-Aged Children, Boys Town Press.

Build Trust with Interesting Activities When you treat your child with respect and love, he will learn to trust you—

and your rules. He won’t always obey, of course, but he’s more likely to try!

While spending time together, try some of these fun and trust-building activities:

Walk with your eyes closed. Start somewhere safe without too many

obstacles, such as a yard or park. Have your child close his eyes and let you

guide him. Say, “Take two steps. Stop. Okay, now walk to the left. We’re

going around a bench...” Then, when he’s ready, let him guide you.

Confide in each other. At the dinner table, have each person share the

best—and toughest—parts of the day. Focus on respect, understanding and

solutions (not judgment or criticism). “Wow! That was challenging! But

you learned from it. What would you do if it happened again?”

Collaborate on a project. Pick something you and your child will enjoy,

such as planting a garden. Listen to your child’s ideas, make a plan

together, and be willing to compromise. Then give him age-appropriate

responsibilities. Follow through on your duties, too. Show that you can

depend on each other.

Jazakum Allah Khair

Avoiding Homework Headaches Is Simple It’s easy to get frustrated with your child when you’re

trying to help her with homework—especially if the

assignment is tough.

There is a simple way to avoid meltdowns and

misunderstandings between the two of you. Follow these

“homework ABCs”:

A - Accept her for who she is.

B - Believe in her.

C - Communicate clearly with her.

This approach won’t make homework more fun. But it may

keep it from becoming a headache!

Source: J.S. Schumm, Ph.D., How to Help Your Child with Homework: The Complete Guide to

Encouraging Good Study Habits and Ending the Homework Wars, Free Spirit Publishing.

V O LU M E 3, IS S UE 6 P A G E 2

Support Your School’s Discipline Policies

Use a Journal to Teach Gratitude, Perspective

Teachers have rules that make classes run smoothly. But do you know

what they are? If not, ask about them.

Find out what is expected of students. How is good behavior rewarded?

How is misbehavior handled?

This will help you understand and support your child’s school experi-

ences. You may even decide to use similar strategies at home. If your list

of house rules runs several paragraphs, it’s too long! Effective rules aren’t

just clear and brief—they’re also sparse.

A good rule of thumb when developing house rules is to use your

child’s age as a guideline. When your child was five, five rules were

plenty for her to absorb and follow. When she was six, six would do. And

now that she’s eight or nine? Well, you get the idea!

Source: Dr. B. Bailey, There’s Got to Be a Better Way: Discipline That Works, Loving Guidance, Inc. Copyright

Are you tired of listening to your child grumble about

what she/he does not have? Teach them to appreciate what

he/she does have!

Give them a notebook labeled “Gratitude Journal”.

Each day, have them add one thing he/she’s thankful for. It

can be anything from “earning a B on my science quiz” to

“the spring weather”.

Whenever she/he feels

like complaining, get

them a journal and re-

mind them of how ter-

rific his/her life really

is! .

Source: M. Taylor, “How to Raise Grateful Kids,” Kiwi, October 2011, May Media Group LLC.

When Does Anger Become A Problem?

It’s normal for kids to get angry. But how can you tell if your child’s anger is

out of control? Ask yourself, “When my child gets upset, does she:

• Destroy property?”

• Threaten to harm herself?”

• Stay angry for an hour or longer?”

• Lash out at others?”

If you answered mostly yes, it’s possible that your child may be dealing with

more than garden-variety anger. Talk to her guidance counselor about where to find

help. Source: “Can Anger in Children be a Sign of Something Serious?” Help-Your-Child-With-Anger.com, http://tinyurl.com/443b8cd.

Respecting others takes

thought and practice. Thank-

fully, it can also be fun! To

help your child with this:

Look up the definition of

respect. Talk about how

you’ve shown respect this

week. How have others

shown it? Notice exam-

ples in real life, on TV and in books.

Sing about respect. Make up a song or rap about

respect. Include the meaning of respect and how it

makes the world a better place.

Challenge yourselves. List ways to show respect

with words, such as please and excuse me. Then list

respectful actions, such as holding a door for some-

one or listening without interrupting. Source: M. Borba, Ed.D., “35 Activities Your Students Can Do To Learn Respect,” MicheleBorba.com,

Develop a Habit of Being Respectful

Career Fair Day

V O LU M E 3, IS S UE 6 P A G E 3

Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace

be upon him) said, “None of you shall attain faith until he loves for his

brother what he loves for himself.”

Fairness The Prophet (saws) in this narration advises his fellow Muslims regarding the importance

of fairness, justice, and a general sense of humanity. Hadith scholars have stated that the

use of “brother” in this hadith extends past the fraternity of faith to the fraternity of human-

ity. We should prefer others, regardless of faith, to ourselves and want the same good for

them that we hope for ourselves. For February, Austin Peace Academy commemorated and

encouraged the noble characteristic of fairness and there is no better example of this trait

than in the character of the Prophet (saws). While he (saws) spent his life never placing

himself above others, he also manifested this fairness with his concern over humanity and

its guidance. We should seek to remind our children of the importance of being fair with

each other in every aspect of our lives and to never consider ourselves more worthy of

something than another.

On Wednesday, February 22, 33 APA students from eighth through twelfth grade attended the Career Day and College Fair at the Cedar Park Center. After the fair the students were invited to stay and watch the Austin Toros basketball team.

The students chose to attend small breakout sessions ranging from Business, Technology, Health Science, Engineering to the Creative Arts and Radio and Television. The small breakout sessions allowed a very individualized approach to questions and answers.

When the breakouts and keynote speaker fin-ished the students visited booths hosted by local colleges from Texas. Director of Academic Af-

fairs, Alex Pritchard, is strongly urg-ing our juniors to take the SAT on June 2nd.

Registration ends on May 8th for that exam.

On February 15, APA held its annual “Muffins for Moms,” hosted by the Parent Teacher Organization. Over 40 parents showed up for the event. The elementary welcomed the mothers by performing patri-otic songs including, “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”, “This Land is Your Land”, and “The Star-Spangled Banner", in front of an elaborate backdrop created by teacher's assistant, Shabana Khader.

After the performances, the mothers en-joyed muffins and refreshments, and were invited to visit their children’s classrooms. For more information about APA’s Parent Teacher Organization visit www.apacademy.org.

Muffins For Moms

P A G E 4 V O LU M E 3, IS S UE 6

Austin Regional Science Fair 2011-2012

The following APA students won awards at this year’s Austin Energy Regional Science Festival, one of the largest science fairs in Texas, where about 2,500

students participate each year. We would like to say Congratulations to our students for working hard and their parents for being active in their children’s education! MIDDLE SCHOOL - Special Awards Category Austin Energy Best use of Electricity Award Sammy Noueilaty— Title: Baghdad Battery Broadcom Masters SSP Award Mubasshara Galib— Title: Biodegradable oil absorbents that work Niama Ahmad— Title: Turn Salt Water Black Razan Hussein— Title: From Trash to Gas Zaina Thakur— Title: DNA Extraction & Gel Electrophoresis Salwa Khan— Title: Now you see it ….now you don’t MIDDLE SCHOOL - Place Awards Behavioral and Social Science Salwa Khan— 1st place—Title: Now you see it ….now you don’t Biochemistry Niama Ahmad— 1st place—Title: Turn Salt Water Black Cellular and Molecular Biology Zaina Thakur— 1st place—Title: DNA Extraction & Gel Electrophoresis Environmental Management Mubasshara Galib— 2nd place—Title: Biodegradable oil absorbents that work Environmental Sciences Razan Hussein— 1st place— Title: From Trash to Gas (1st & 2nd place will participate in the state competition in San Antonio, TX on March 29—April 1st, 2012)

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - Place Awards 3rd grade 4th grade Malik Rawashdeh—1st place Afnaan Chowdhury —1st place Batul Mabruk— 1st place Hanif Amanullah— 1st place Yaseen Eleyan— 1st place Emaan Khan— 2nd place Nora Boumaraf — 2nd place Zubair Abdullah— 2nd place 5th grade Imaad Thakur—1st place Eeshana Hamed— 1st place Ahmad Elessawy— 1st place

V O LU M E 3, IS S UE 6 P A G E 5

Spelling Bee at APA

To continue our dedication to character education, APA is teaming up once again with Austin-based philanthropy group, A Legacy of Giving. Last month, grades third through eighth attended an assembly addressing the dire issue of global access to clean water.

Did you know?

- 3.575 million people die every year from a water-related disease. This is equal to the entire city of Los Angeles

- 844 million people lack access to clean water. That is almost 3 times the population of the United States.

- The average person (usually a child) in the developing world walks an average of 3.7 miles one way to get clean water. Many children in rural Africa don’t attend school because their day must be dedicated to finding clean water.

How can we help?

APA is uniting with schools across central Texas to build a clean water system for the people of Burundi, Africa, where access to clean water is extremely scarce. On Saturday, April 28th, all students and their families are invited to walk a 3.7 mile course—the average distance a person in the developing world walks one way to get clean water. Family, neighbors and friends can show their support by sponsoring a participating school. The students' goal is to raise $35,000 to build a clean water system for the citizens in the Songa region of Burundi, Africa. To register for the walk or sponsor the school, go to www. alegacyofgiving.org.

This is the second time this school year APA has worked with Legacy of Giving. Last November, APA participated in a food and coat drive spon-sored by the group, and collected 40 coats and 1,960 pounds of food, which

translates to 1,568 meals.

Character Building Continues at APA

Austin Peace Academy held our annual Spelling Bee on Thurs-day, February 16th. Students in grades four through eight par-ticipated in spelling words from the National Spelling Bee list. We had over 40 students participate in the event. Students were presented a word to spell and allowed to ask questions on definition, part of speech, and the word given in a sentence to help them correctly spell his/her word. Students who correctly spelled his/her word moved on to the next round. After an impressive hour of competition our field dwindled down to two competi-tors: Hafsah Khwaja (fourth grade) and Samir Riad (eighth grade). After going back and forth with several words, Hafsah Khwaja was finally able to sneak out a victory as the Austin Peace Academy Spelling Bee cham-pion. She will represent our school at the Regional Spell-ing Bee Competition on Saturday, February 25, 2012. We wish her the best!

Marathon Kids Our elementary students are now all marathon runners!

Throughout the first five months of our school year our kindergarten through fifth grade students have been run-ning laps during their P.E. periods and recess. They were accumulating miles in order to reach their goal of 26.2 miles for marathon kids. We ran the kick off back in Octo-ber, and this past Saturday we completed our marathon together with a final lap at the AISD burger stadium. The students were gifted with finisher metals and freebies pro-moting the healthy lifestyles choices the students will be facing as they move into adulthood. The program encour-ages healthy eating, daily exercise, refraining from smok-ing, and appropriate daily water intake. This year was the third year for APA to be involved in Marathon Kids and we are looking forward to increased participation next year!

Thank you to all the parents that brought their students to the final lap and finished up their marathon with them.

The children were so proud of their accomplishment and you should be too!

P A G E 6 V O LU M E 3, IS S UE 6

This year 73 students from APA participated in the PSIA (Private Schools Interscholastic Association) competition. The school competed against 10 private schools in dis-trict 8A. Over 49 students won 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th place in various categories. Congratulations to all our students that participated. APA ranked first place in the championship division for district 8A.

The students who won 1st place and some 2nd/3rd place winners (depending on the competition) will be competing in the PSIA state competition in Forth Worth at Texas Christian University on May 5th, 2012. Students that have (1st Alternative) next to their name will par-

ticipate as back up in the case a competing student does not participate in state. More informa-tion on the alternative students participation will be provided by the end of April.

Congratulations to our students for working hard and their parents for being active in their children’s education! ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

3rd grade: Storytelling: Batul Mabruk – 2nd Place (1st Alt.)

4th grade: Mathematics: Hafsah Khwaja — 2nd Place

Ready Writing Hanif Amanullah — 1st Place; Emaan Khan — 2nd Place

Spelling: Zubair Abdullah — 3rd Place ( 1st Alt.)

Maps, Graphs &Charts: Hafsah Khwaja —3rd Place ( 1st Alt.)

5th grade: Ready Writing: Imaad Thakur –1st Place; Eeshana Hamed — 2nd Place

Spelling: Muaaz Khan — 2nd Place

Vocabulary: Muaaz Khan —2nd Place; Imaad Thakur —3rd Place ( 1st Alt.)

Mathematics: Ahmad Elessawy 3rd Place( 1st Alt .)

Number Sense: Ahmad Elessawy – 2nd Place ( 1st Alt.)

MIDDLE SCHOOL

6th grade: Mathematics: Mubasshara Galib – 2nd Place

Prose Interpretation: Idriss Kahia — 1st Place; Maryam Khawar —3rd Place ( 1st Alt.)

Ready Writing: Mubasshara Galib – 1st Place; Maryam Khawar —2nd Place

Science: Idriss Kahia -- 1st Place; Lilian Nahas —2nd Place

Spelling: Lamia Haque — 2nd Place

Vocabulary: Mubasshara Galib – 1st Place; Maryam Khawar —2nd Place

7th grade: Mathematics: Pareesa Hamed — 3rd Place ( 1st Alt.)

Modern Oratory: Razan Hussein – 1st Place; Nadine Aljamal- 3rd (1st Alt.)

Poetry Interpretation: Nadine Aljamal – 1st Place

Ready Writing: Anisse Boumaraf – 1st Place

Science: Zaina Thakur - 3rd (1st Alt.)

Onsite Drawing: Shanzah Faisal — 2nd Place

Impromptu Speaking: Ryad Nahas - 3rd (1st Alt.)

8th grade: Calculator Applications: Ayoub Kajjaj – 2nd Place

Mathematics: Samir Riad – 2nd Place; Salwa Khan —3rd Place ( 1st Alt.)

Vocabulary: Salwa Khan – 2nd Place

CONGRATULATIONS PSIA WINNERS

Activities in March 2011

Mar 12-16 Spring Break

Mar 23 Parent– Teacher

Conference: No Classes

Mar 24 Spring Carnival

Mar 26: IOWA Exam

We are on the web

www.apacademy.org