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1 news OCTOBER 2009 SHAWAL 1430 CALENDAR of OCTOBER 2 IPTA MEETING 5 AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS BEGIN 6 PICTURE DAY 16 SOTM ASSEMBLIES 22 END OF FIRST QUARTER 23 NO SCHOOL/ Staff Day NOVEMBER 1 TIME CHANGE 6 IPTA MEETING 12 PICTURE MAKE UP DAY 13 SOTM ASSEMBLIES 20 NO SCHOOL/ Staff Day NO SCHOOL/ Eid ul-adha Look inside... Tarbiyah Workshops/Interviews...2 Awards...3 After School Clubs Eid Mubarak Kids Corner Newsletter Submission DEADLINE: Friday, October 30 th at 5:00P.M. ayanewsletter@ayatampa.com The IPTA will meet on the first Friday of each month from 8:30a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Going to IPTA meetings is a great way to earn family volunteer hours. Life & Times Bismillahi-r- Rahmani-r-Raheem Dear Parents, Staff, Students & Community-Members: Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh! of AYA 5905 E. 130 th Ave., Tampa, Florida (813) I missed seeing everyone at Eid this year; I was visiting family overseas. I hope that everyone had as great an Eid as I had. From the pictures and articles in the Newsletter, it seems that the Eid festivities went very well. We are quickly approaching the end of the 1 st Quarter, and we are seeing some wonderful achievements from our students and our teachers. This is also the point in the school year when the curriculum begins to get a bit more difficult, and some of the students may begin to struggle. So what are we doing this year to make sure that struggling students get the help they need to become stronger and more confident students? After-School Tutoring begins this week for students in Gr By the end of the month, Tutoring will also be in place for students in Gr. K5 4. We are beginning an English Language Learners pull-out program for students in Gr. 2 5 who need to strengthen their skills in Vocabulary, Reading Comprehension and Writing. We will be starting Writing Workshops for our students in Gr We are looking into purchasing and having in place the following software by the beginning of the 2 nd Quarter: Fast Math, Brain Pop, Accelerated Reading & Accelerated Math, and Criterion Writing These programs will help all of our students achieve greater levels of mastery, and are not intended only for the struggling students. What are we doing for our more advanced students? The Gifted Pull-Out Program for Gr. 4 & 5 will begin this week. We took 19 of our 10 th - and 11 th - grade students to HCC last week to take the College Placement Test, which will then allow them to begin taking college courses in January. Preparation has begun for the Science Olympics. To enhance each student s experience at AYA, we have also started the Qur an Hifth Club and the After-School Sports programs. Make sure to register your kids in these programs! They are sure to enjoy them and benefit from them! We hope that each parent will become involved in AYA s activities and programs, and will give us feedback as to how we can further improve them. The IPTA is the best forum for this feedback and interaction. Become involved! Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu, Sr. Magda Elkadi Saleh Principal Attention Students: The Yearbook Class is having a COVER CONTEST. The first place design will be on the front of this year s yearbook. The runners up will have their drawings on the back cover. Please send electronic submissions to mramadan@ayatampa.com. Hard copies can be submitted to Sr. Manal s mailbox, or handed to her directly. DEADLINE: is October 19 th!!!!

2 INTERVIEWS Tarbiyah Committee PARENTS: You may be wondering, What is going on with my kids? - They do not listen to me. If they do, they do it reluctantly. - They do not like what I tell them, even though it is in their best interest. STUDENTS: You may be wondering, What is wrong with my parents? - They want me to do things they used to do twenty years ago. - They do not understand that kids today are different than when they were young. Since most of us (parents & students) are suffering from this generation gap. It is the Tarbiyah Committee's pleasure to bring you very important workshops to bridge that gap. Our goals are: 1- To develop a faith for daily living based upon Islamic teachings that enable our children to achieve their highest potential as Muslim youth. 2- To help our children develop self-confidence, self-respect and an appreciation of their own worth as individuals. 3- To help our children grow as respected members of their families and citizens of their communities. 4- To help our children appreciate that the health of soul, mind, and body is a sacred gift, and that spiritual wellness, physical fitness, and mental well-being should be maintained. 5- To work toward interracial acceptance and understanding. 6- To help our children develop their capacities for leadership, and use them responsibly with their peers and in community life. 7- To help our children appreciate beauty, diversity, and interdependence of all forms of life and all resources, which Allah has provided in their world, and to develop an ethical basis for guiding the relationships of human kind with the rest of Allah s natural environment, the community at large, and the universe. Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact Br. Mahmoud Gomaa, Assistant Principal Br. Jeff Quick, 4 th Grade By: Ahmad Rifaie and Yezun Ali Please reserve Friday, Oct 23rd, 2009 at 7:15 pm in your schedule for our first meeting. We had the opportunity to interview one of AYA s newest teachers, Br. Jeff Quick. He was more than happy to be interviewed and answered the following questions: 1: How did you learn about AYA, and why did you decide to work here? After seeing an ad about an open teaching position, Br. Jeff wanted to work here, because he was impressed with the school s reputation. 2. What do you like about AYA? Br. Jeff likes the religious environment the school offers its students. 3. What is your favorite subject to teach? Math Rocks! 4. What do you plan to do to help AYA become a better school? Enforce the school rules. 5. What makes a student successful in your class? Students will be successful if they do their class work, homework, and listen to instructions. 6. What do you do in your spare time? I teach tennis lessons and spend time with my family. 7. What did you want to be when you grow up? An Astronaut! Sr. Hebah, 4 th Grade By: Jasmin Gutierrez and Yasmine Hussien Another one of AYA s new 4 th grade teachers is Sr. Hebah Biuk. She decided to teach here at AYA, because she attended this school when she was in the 9 th and 10 th grades. Sr. Hebah has a Bachelor s Degree in Science Elementary Education from the University of South Florida. She likes teaching the 4 th grade, because she loves that her students display their individual personalities at this age. She also likes watching them grow, learn, and that they have different ways to solve problems. What she likes most about teaching is making a difference and providing her students with the knowledge that they need to be successful in the future. She said that the hardest thing about teaching is that there s not enough time in the day. Sr. Hebah utilizes patience and determination to help her get through each day. The funniest moment she had in class while teaching was when she tripped in class a couple of times. Finally, her favorite color is blue. And that is the 411 on a few of AYA s newest teachers! Page 2

3 K4A: SALAH DEAN DABUS AND SABREEN AHMED K4B: ABIER OBEID AND BELAL MANSOUR K5A: ZANAIB MOHAMED AND OMAR SAAD K5B: AZEEZA SAROUR 1A: ADULLAH FAYIZ AND ADAM ESSOUFI 1B: SANNA NASSAR 2A: SALAM TWAM AND OMAR OMER 2B: DANYA AWSHAH AND RITA BENKIRANE 3rd: LAYAL BARAKAT AND MOSTAFA ZAYED 4A: OSAMA GURWALA AND HEBA NASSAR 4B: KHALED YOUSEF 5TH: YASMEEN HASSAN AND AMIN TAHA EIDMubarak! By: Rahma Elmohd, 9 th Gr. On the morning of Eid we wake up to pray Fajr, wash our face, brush our teeth and put on the wonderful clothes that we picked out for this fantastic day of Eid! We pile into the car, with an excitement that forces the car to bounce with pure pleasure. The blessed words of Allah(swt) ring through the car as we drive up to the Masjid. Once we exit the car a blast of joy gushes out of everyone surrounding us. Smiles are drawn on our faces. The masjid court yard is smeared with color, and compliments are blanketed over us. Everyone becomes silent as the Imam stands for Salat ul-eid, and we line up shoulder to shoulder to praise and worship the one and only Allah (swt). Once the salat is over, we gather together and congratulate each other for a successful Ramadan. The women sit and catch up on the latest news while the children rejoice! We look around at this wonderful community of ours and we know that this Eid will a great one! Category 1: Surat un-nas to Surat ul-qaari ah Abdul-Malik Zekri, K4B Mamoun Zayed, K5B Nadeen Hassan, 1 st Grade Category 2: First Place: Second Place: Third Place: Surat ul-aadiyaat to Surat ush-shams Omar Omer, 2 nd Grade Hasan Benbourenane, 2 nd Grade Abdul-Hakim Zekri, 2 nd Grade Adam Mansour, 1 st Grade Abeer Hassan, 2 nd Grade Category 3: Surat us-saff First Place: Jihad Gomaa, 3 rd Grade Second Place: Mostafa Zayed, 3 rd Grade Second Place: Hussein Mansour, 3 rd Grade Third Place: Majd Merai, 5 th Grade Category 4: First Place: First Place: Second Place: Second Place: Page 3 Surat us-sajdah or Surat ud-dukhaan Zena Omer, 3 rd Grade Sarah Gomaa, 6 th Grade Rashid Annahas, 7 th Grade Abdulrahman Annahas, 10 th Grade Ameen Merai, 1 st Grade Razan Merai, 4 th Grade Bushra Annahas, 11 th Grade

4 Qur an Hifth Club AYA has established the Qur an Hifth Club to help increase your child s memorization of the holy Qur an. WHO: K4-5 th Grade students are eligible WHERE: AYA classrooms WHEN: Every Friday TIME: 12:45-1:30p.m. DURATION: October 9, 2009 to April 23, 2010 FEES: $100 (for the entire program!) REGLISTRATION DEADLINE: WED, OCTOBER 7th Surahs to be Memorized Level 1: Surat An-Nas #114 to Surat Al-Balad #90 Level 2: Surat Al-Fajr #89 to Surat At-Takwir #81 Level 3: Surat Abasa#80-Surat An-Naba # 78 to Surat Al-Mulk #67-Surat Al-Haaqah #69 Please see Sr. Nora in the Front Office for more information! After School Athletics Programs By: Hussien Qasem The third season of AYA s after school athletics programs will begin this week. The school will offer some of the same sports as last year, and has added a few new ones. This year AYA introduces cross country racing, flag football, and the Little Stars Fitness program. Organizers hope to host individual and team competitions at AYA, as well as, play games on the road. AYA will offer: Boys Soccer: 1 st to 5 th graders Girls soccer: 4 th to 10 th graders Boys Soccer: Middle school students Tennis: K3 to K5 and 1 st to 3 rd graders Little Stars Fitness: K3 to K5 students Martial Arts: 1 st to 6 th graders Cross Country Racing: 4 th to 8 th graders Mark your calendars now! Ahlul-Qur an Competition invites you to be a part of the April 2010 contest! Page 4 Boys Flag Football: 6 th to 8 th graders This year, AYA will also accept students outside of the school to participate; however, they must pay an extra $50 registration fee. If you are a High School student interested in being an assistant coach/aid, please contact Br. Souheil in the front office or him at szekri@ayatampa.com. Choose a category that suits your age and abilities and start practicing now! Please remember, if you placed in a category before, you may not participate in the same category again. You may register by at: AhlulQuran.Tampa@gmail.com, or contact: Sr. Dalia El-Deeb at AYA, Sr. Fatma Blassy at UAF, Sr. Mona Hemid, or Br. Hassan Sultan at Sligh Mosque. Look for more information in February 2010, insha Allah. Level 1: Ten Juz a of the Holy Qur an Level 2: Surat Al-Baqarah or Surat Aali- Imraan Level 3: Surat Al-Anfaal or Surat An-Nour Level 4: Surat Luqman and Surat Yaseen He may be one of your teachers. Perhaps, he is a Level 5: The 27 th Juz; a Level 6: The 29 th math whiz or a P.E teacher. Someone that is big Juz a Level 7: The 30 th now was once this small. He is funny and kind. You Juz a Level 8: Surat Ath-Thariyaat could say that he is hard on the outside and soft Level 9: Half the 30 th Juz a on the inside. Level 10: Beginners Level: 20 Suras from Ad-Duha WHO IS THIS PERSON?? to An-Nas+ Al-Fatiha

5 Tampa Bay Sports By: Hussien Qasem and Amjad Alshalabi September 10, 2009 This Buccaneer s season promises to be an exciting one. The new coaching staff has made a lot of changes to the roster, and hopes to build a stronger team. The Bucs have signed many new players, including Marcus Johnson. Johnson had been with the Vikings since the 2005 drafts, and shows a lot of potential for Tampa. The Buccaneers will not use Cadillac Williams or Earnest Graham, but will be utilizing C. Smith, Kareem Huggins, and B.J. Askew. The Buccaneers have also signed DB Jarrett Bouie and Center Jonathan Compass, from the Oakland Raiders. Rookie punter AJ Trapasso has been added to the team. In addition, the Buccaneers have fixed their red zone problem. A. Bryant and M. Clayton, the Bucs wide receivers, are ready, and the Bucs have finally resolved their QB problem. To make sure that they were under the 75 man roster, the Bucs waived CB Marshall McDuffie and Guard Ryan Schmidt. Antonio Bryant is back from his injury and ready to play. Rookie wide receiver Sammie Stroughter has also worked on his punt returns. The Buccaneers offensive captains are Brian Leftwich and Jeff Faine, and the defensive captain is Chris Hoven. Will Allen has also been chosen as the special teams captain. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will play the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday for their season opener. Hopefully, the Cowboys will win, JK. update: The Buccaneers just had the most intense games. The Buccaneers had two major problems. Scabby Piscitelli and Jermaine Phillips were not doing their jobs and they left the back wide open. Since they are safety and not line backers, they should worry about their zone and not where the defensive line is. If Mike Nugget and the special team had not missed that field goal, the Bucs could have had some motivation. Also, if Jermaine Phillips had been able to block for Mike Nugget, the Bucs would have been tied with the Cowboys before the half. The Bucs lost to the Dallas Cowboys: In our opinion, new coach Raheem Morris has tried hard to get the team where they currently are, however he is forgetting about the defense. He has not made as much of a deal with the defense as he has with the offense, and it is hurting the team severely. We are not sure if it is because he is young, or because he is inexperienced. We hope that the Bucs will not suffer the same fate of the Lions. On September 20 th, the Bucs also lost to the Buffalo Bills: Community News: WELCOME to the newest members of our community! Abdel-Hameed: proud parents are Sr. Hebah Atieya and Br. Mohammad Hamdan Jude: proud parents are Sr. Sahar and Br. Ayman Barakat. Dalal: proud parents are Sr. Nawal and Br. Khaled Khaled Rayyan: proud parents Sr. Ghadah and Dr. Ziad Taha Fun Facts Random, Fun, and Fascinating By: Rula Hijaz and Kamal Taha There are 2500 known species of fish languages are spoken in the world. It took Leo Tolstoy six years to write War and Peace. The king of hearts is the only king without a moustache. The human heart creates enough pressure to squirt blood 30 ft. The elephant is the only animal with four knees, and they are pregnant for 22 months. Justin Timberlake s half-eaten French toast is selling for $3,000 on ebay. Fifteen people have been known to be killed by tilting vending machines in the hope of free sodas. The glue on Israeli stamps is certified kosher. The world s youngest parents were 8 and 9 years old and lived in China in Termites eat wood twice as fast when listening to heavy metal music. New Advice Column Assalamu alaikum everybody. My name is Br. Helpout, and I will be writing a new advice column for the AYA Newsletter. You can ask about any problem you re having, school struggles, or anything on your mind. I am here to give real-life advice from an AYA student just like you. Don t worry, if you want to stay anonymous, your secret is safe with me. JUST REMEMBER: DO NOT USE YOUR REAL NAME WHEN ING YOUR QUESTIONS! To contact me, please your questions to: ayanewsletter@ayatampa.com Page 5

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7 What s Happening at AYA First Graders Love Science! By: 1 st Grade A The first graders were very eager to start the new school year learning about the scientific process! We started by asking ourselves a question. We wanted to know if seeds really need water to grow. We did a little research and learned that plants need the sun, space, air and water to grow. We than gathered our thoughts to come up with a hypothesis, and Ameen Merai came up with the one we all agreed upon. Ameen eagerly raised his hand and said, "The seeds that we plant and water will grow, and the ones we don't water will die!" Then we started with the messy and fun part, actually conducting the experiment. We took lima bean seeds and planted them in our very own containers that we decorated in our special and unique ways. We then watered half of them, and the others stayed dry and crumbly. Some of us were upset that we didn't get to water our plants, but then again, we were trying to learn something. The boring part was keeping the data. We wanted to shout at Sr. Manal every time she wrote Day 1, Day 3, etc., but, finally, Day 7 had arrived. When we saw the seeds break open their coats and small sprouts emerged, we were super duper excited! We kept the data in our science logs. Maybe you can come by and check it out yourself! Phrases most used by AYA teachers: By: Jasmine Gutierrez and Sarah Quneibi A special THANK YOU to the following volunteers for doing a wonderful job during AYA s Adopt-A-Spot Clean-UP: Abdulhaleem Ibrahim, 10 th Gr., Ahmad Abdulmagid, 3 rd Gr., Layal Barakat, 3 rd Gr., Rama Abdulmagid, 2 nd Gr., Saleh Alhammad, 2 nd Gr., Hakim Zekri, 2 nd Gr., Dana Barakat, 1 st Gr., Malik Zekri, K4B, Muhammad Abdulmagid, Sr. Nadia Moumid, Sr. Diane Triggianni, and Dr. Ayman Abdulmagid. My Eid Days Sr. Hanadi s 1 st Grade Islamic Studies Classes This Eid I had so much fun, because I got to go to the fun rides and I went swimming. I went to Busch Gardens. I went to eat ice cream. Lina Ibrahim, 1A. This Eid I had so much fun, because I got to go the carnival. I ate ice cream. I had fun on the rides with my friends. Abdullah Omer, 1B. This Eid I had so much fun, because I was with Nadir, Abdullah, Amena and Laith. I got Pokemon cards. I went on a fast and fun ride. I ate ice cream. Asadullah Fayiz, 1A. This Eid I had so much fun, because I got to go to the carnival. I ate ice cream and went on the zero gravity ride. Daniel Khosrowabadi, 1B. This Eid I had so much fun, because I got to go to Chuck E. Cheese. I went to a club house. I went to a restaurant. I got to go to someone s house. Muhammad Falah, 1B. Page 7 Sr. Kariman- Iskity! Sr. Shabeah- Don t Memorize! Br. Sohbi: Mash Allah / Guys! Br. Inshirah- Oh Oh!

8 Sr. Maha s K4C Class Stand up for what you believe in, even if you are standing alone. Motto of the Month, contributors: Rahma Elmohd and Rula Hijaz By: Mohammad Fahda and Abdullah Tamari Sr. Alicia Hawari s K4A Class: If you could be any insect or animal, what would you be? Why? Serene Abulhaija: A butterfly, because they fly. Sabreen Ahmad: A beatle, because. Shatha Ajaj: A bee, because I like bees. Salah Dean Dabus: An elephant, because they have long trunks. Elyas Essoufi: Beatles, because they don t sting. Maryam Marie: A butterfly, because. Maya Qudeiri: A butterfly, because they are beautiful. Mazen Saghraoui: A spider, because I like Spiderman the movie. Yousef Shakweer: A lizard, because they have long tails. Moayad Shehadeh: A rhino, because they have nice skin (like armor). Raghad Swar: A horse, because they are beautiful and run fast. Sr. Farah,Naz s K4B class If you could be any cartoon character which one would it be? Why? Nihal Abbu: Alphabet Barney, I don t know why. Walid Alqam: Batman, because he can fight. Malik Falah: Sponge Bob Square Pants, because I like him. Dalia Hawari: Princess Diaries, just because. Hares Ibrahim: Superman, because he fights and flies. Su ad Macedonio: Tinker bell, because she flies. Belal Mansour: Spiderman, because he makes webs. Hiba Mrabtassa: Barbie, because she has nice clothes. Maraim Mustafa: Dora, because she has a monkey. Abeir Obeid: Max And Ruby, I don't know why. LaraTwan: Diego, because he saves animals. Abdul-Malik Zekri: Transformers, because they save the day! We also had very busy day during our Eid party. We had a workshop on how to make Eid cookies. The children enjoyed working with the dough, cutting it using different shapes, and decorating their cookies with icing and sprinkles. Alhumdu Allah, AYA s third K4 class began on September 23, We have a unique group of students from all different backgrounds. On the first day, there were a few tears, but a lot of joy and cheers from parents and their children. Page 8 I would like to remind parents that the K4C class has a different schedule from the rest of the K- building. The drop off time is 8:00 am, and the pick-up time is 12:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Arrivals after 8:15 am will be considered tardy. Insha Allah, together we can make a difference in the future of our children. Please, remember to read to your child at least fifteen minutes a day. Also, make learning a fun experience. For example, when you go to the store, talk about different types of fruit and vegetables that you may see and buy. Explore his/her personality by knowing his/her favorite color, food, clothes, etc. Most importantly, spend more valuable time with him/her at this young age.