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DURACK Ali Gator Book Far 20/04 – 29/04
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First Day of Term 2 2022 – 20/04
*subject to moon sighting
Newsletter Term 1 Issue 2
Tarbiyah We look forward to welcoming all students back at school on Wednesday 20th April 2022
TERM 1 IN PREP E! The students in Prep E have settled well into their first year of school. The students have enjoyed getting to know new friends and have been trying their very best in class! This term they have been learning letters and their sounds and have been diligently working towards writing in Queensland font. To improve our letter recognition and handwriting we have completed activities such as tracing letters in shaving foam, forming letters with playdough, writing on the white boards and phonics worksheets. These activities have also been a fun way to strengthen muscles in our hands and improve our fine motor skills! In Math we have explored shapes and their characteristics. We have also been learning numbers and counting from 0-10. Students are exploring different ways to represent numbers with blocks, dice, tally marks, counters, number lines and ten frames.
In Science students investigated living things and their needs, including water, nutrients, air and sunlight. We have also been exploring our 5 senses and what we use them for. For HASS this term we have been learning about ourselves and our families to further develop our sense of identity and belonging. Students have explored how families can look different, but many attributes make them the same, like how families make them feel safe and loved.
We have had a fabulous term of learning and playing with our friends and are so excited to continue to learn and grow together in Prep E!
Welcome to 1A, A day in a year 1 class can include anything from losing your first baby tooth, learning to tie your shoelaces, reading your first full book and all the excitements of being 6 years old. This year the students are as adaptable as ever as we have challenged ourselves with exciting new learning experiences. We have dived headfirst into learning procedure writing this term. Building on the skills students had in letter formation, sentence writing and communication. We remind ourselves that our writing does not have to be perfect, just a little bit better than the last time we wrote. Some of the topics we have written about and explored are recipes, crafts and drawings. Students are starting to use these awesome writing skills over all subjects.
1A has been learning about numbers and shapes so far in class and have been discussing how and why we need math skills outside of the classroom as well. Students are finding shapes in the real world, places where you need to count and the jobs that require math. We have members of 1A who want to be builders, shop keepers, chefs, scientists, and teachers and they are very eager to grow their math skills. During Term 1 we have been able to witness many weather changes and a season change as well. As we welcome Autumn in we are learning how autumn looks different in Queensland as it does to many other places, what the weather is typically like, how we dress and how Autumn impacts nature. Alongside us learning about seasons and weather this term, we got to witness firsthand an extreme weather event. Students were very curious and interested to talk about the recent flooding, what they saw and how the floods effected their families. We took the time to learn about floods, why the happen and how they effect people and places. We are very excited to see what the rest of the year holds and all the new learning adventures we will go on. Jesse Lio, 1A Teacher
Assalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh May the peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be with you We have an exciting term ahead for the grade 2 students in class 2A. This term, we begin learning about procedural writing, reading nonfiction texts and recipe mixtures. The students will be lucky enough to go on their first excursion by bus to Beenleigh Historical Village and Museum and learn about how technology has progressed over time by comparing objects from the past and present. Students will see how technology has had a dramatic impact on various aspects of our modern life. One example is seeing how washing was done in the past which will be a hands-on experience. After that, students will write a procedural writing on the steps of what they learned in the excursion. For our ‘Creative Writing’ session students draw a self-image representing their emotions and express their feelings in writing. The children enthusiastically retell their emotion portrait with steps for actions to take to improve/celebrate their emotions with their fellow peers. During Maths class, we will be focusing on place value, stating digit values in ones, tens, and hundreds, counting numbers forwards and backwards and challenging students to understand and write numbers up to and including 1000. We will be investigating how people in the past used various methods with a variety of innovative hands-on activities showcasing their understanding in fun ways using our fantastic library resources. We are also using Mathletics as part of their Maths lesson at school as well as Reading Eggs that helps children learn to read through the incorporation of fun online reading lessons, phonics activities, games, and books. In class 2A we also have a mini session after each recess and lunch time where a group of 2-3 students share the news of what they did during playtime. This assist’s children in resolving disputes in the playground or to help children find friends, as well as encouraging students to be confident speakers. The aim of the session is to foster an environment in which our students have respect for themselves and others as well as take responsibility for their behaviour and encourage their self-esteem, empathy, and sympathy toward their peers. By positively partaking in these activities, I motivate students and improve their self-image by giving students class Dojo points, Islamic badges, and their name displayed as a good Muslim character on our class display board for a week. These earned rewards are awarded at the end of every week on Fridays. This is to develop student’s confidence and self-worth whilst encouraging them to be an active member of the class and school community. I believe that this positive self-image will maximize the opportunity for your child to develop to their full potential. We already have many students in our class that are displaying exceptional talent as authors, mediators, and artists. Our children also show their concern about the environment by cleaning up their classroom and the school during break times. I would be delighted to share some of the excellent examples of student achievement with you. I look forward to a very joyful and productive term for my students in 2022. Mrs Habiba – 2A Classroom Teacher
Keeping Afloat in 2022 High School students show their resilience through times of upheaval and uncertainty All praises are due to Allah, Sustainer and Lord of the Universe. If anything, 2022 has taught us that our students are highly adaptable and dynamic individuals who are able to, not just surmount unforeseen challenges, but find solutions to these challenges to become proactive members of the school and the wider community. Looking back on Term 1, it is truly remarkable to reflect on the myriad of activities that students have been engaged in, despite the consistent school closures, demands of online learning, the uncertainties of COVID 19 and flooding which have affected both family and school life. The, very exciting, Australia-Indonesia Bridge Partnership program has kicked off again this year with our first joint activity for the year taking place early in March. Our students had the opportunity to (virtually) meet students from SMA3 Padang to discuss the scourge of plastic waste on our environment, discussing ways to combat the problem and finding creative approaches to recycling plastic waste. The Bridge Program provides a wonderful opportunity for students from across the world to connect and share stories, views and solutions to global challenges facing us today. The program will be ongoing with more students from across High School participating in collaborative activities with our Indonesian counterparts as the year progresses, Insha’Allah. With the easing of social distancing restrictions students and teachers alike have been delighted to return to congregational salaah and assemblies – the first of the year being used to acknowledge our student leaders and senior students whom we look forward to working with to foster excellence in education, service and character amongst all who make up the High School student body. As a semblance of normalcy returns to school life, Senior students have forged forth with their studies, steering headlong through their workloads to ensure success in the first round of internal assessments this term, Alhamdulillah. It is heart-warming to note that many students have also found time to help each other and families in the wider community in their time of need by assisting with cleaning up operations in flood damaged areas, earning the gratitude and respect of all those they have engaged with. Notably, this term has been like no other and students are to be congratulated for the strength of character and resilience they have displayed, and we look forward to a fruitful and blessed Ramadaan, and a prosperous Term Two, Insha’Allah.
Sefina Hassam Secondary School English and Literacy Coordinator
orative Learning in Year 11 English
Year 10 Students Perform for Harmony Day
Poetry Competition Winners – Zohha Hassan and Aisha Ikram
Hello to all of the International Australian Islamic College community, families and friends, my name is Sara Shera and I am thrilled to introduce myself to you as the new Visual Arts teacher and Academic Coordinator for Secondary Creative Arts. Throughout this term I have been getting to know students and have been excited to find out that there is so much creative talent and potential within all the young people I have the pleasure to teach. I have been made to feel very welcome by both students and staff alike and I feel confident and excited to be working alongside so many kind and intelligent people and so many creative and enthusiastic students. I hold a Master of Visual Arts degree from the University of Sydney and a Graduate Diploma of Education from QUT and this will be my seventh year teaching within Queensland schools. I am passionate about the Arts and believe that they comprise a beneficial and important subject that teaches students how they can begin to read the vast visual world around them and how context plays such a vital role in the understanding and articulation of what we see and understand. The Arts teaches the technical skills needed to make artworks, to compose and to design and it is a subject that allows students to find and articulate their own voice through learning how to visually communicate with an audience. The Year 9 Visual Art students have this term been looking at how signs and symbols in their world represent meaning. Signs and symbols surround us in our modern world and we learn how to read their messages until we become fluent in what they communicate to us. Students were asked to research and copy symbols that they could relate to somehow, then from these students created their own symbols that communicated aspects of who they think they are. Students have also been looking at their natural and their built-up world and investigating the work of renowned Queensland based Australian artist, William Robinson. From looking at this Queensland based artist’s work they have been creating their own landscape or city scape pictures using pastels and thinking carefully about how to make a landscape from an interesting perspective, for instance imagining that they were lying down or flying over a space that they knew well. As you can see in the examples below students have created very different images demonstrating to both themselves and audiences alike how every artist perceives the world uniquely through their own particular and individual lens. All Year 9 students did an amazing job of this task and the examples below are just a few of the great works that have been created this term.
As mentioned in 12:87 “AND DO
NOT LOSE HOPE IN THE MERCY OF ALLAH” When you trust Allah and carry his teachings in your heart, you should never lose ‘hope’ in his ‘mercy’. In these trying times of flood in Queensland, many families lost their houses, precious items and the list goes on, but they did not lose hope in the kindness of people around them. The VET students from Year 10, studying Cert III in Active Volunteering, demonstrated the teachings of Allah and following one of the values of school, excellence in service. On Wednesday, 16 March 2022 our students along with Ms. Jehaan Gourley (VET Trainer) assisted Imam Younous in MultiPurpose Hall to organise the donations. This was an opportunity for the students, to not only lend helping hands to assist with donations but also a hands-on experience in the spirit of volunteering to the community.
Year 7GC Our Year 7 class has settled into high school very well. Each week, we have an Islamic Wellbeing class where we emphasise developing good character. We have a weekly focus based on the Hadith. So far, we have had lessons on goal setting, respect, honesty, bullying, reflection, and kindness. We do activities which help us understand the weekly focus and guide us to develop our character. So far, we have performed role plays, written reflections about our past experiences and how we can learn from them and acknowledged staff with thank you notes. For our lesson on kindness, we first explored what Islam says. We found the following: The Prophet was kind-hearted and merciful. (Sahih: Bukhari) “There is nothing more beneficial for the heart than treating people well and wanting good for them. If you do this, you will gain the love and affection of strangers; you will maintain the companionship and love of friends; and your kindness will extinguish the fire of hatred raging in the breast of your enemy…” “The person who treats others kindly and thinks well of them, will find that his intention will remain true, he will feel at ease, his heart will be sound, and Allah will protect him from evil and calamity.” Imam ibn al Qayyim (rahimahullah) ~ Madarij al-Salikeen 2/511 Armed with this knowledge, we then thought about how we could show kindness to others. We decided to participate in a Kindness Project. The idea is to perform random acts of kindness, usually anonymously, in our community. Students showed their appreciation to school staff by writing thank you notes. It was a nice way to show that the hard work that happens around our does not go unnoticed. We would like to continue to perform random acts of kindness throughout the year to make sure everyone in our community feels valued. Mrs Driscoll Year 7 Form Teacher
This term has been a busy one to start the 2022 school year. As a new staff member at AIIC it has been a pleasure to get to know the children in our class. We have been busy finding our feet with routines and being flexible with change. Along with our Preps, we also welcomed two new Year One students and a new Year Two student to AIIC City Campus.
We all did our bit for Clean Up Australia Day and the children learnt about the importance of looking after our environment.
The year started a little rocky. With the delayed school start, the Preps had to take a dive into their lessons pretty quickly. Given that some of them had never taken a step into a classroom, it had been a whole new world experience for them. There were tears as much as there were big waves and smiles. MasyaAllah! Parents had been supportive and working with us and these children settled in amazingly well in just a few days.
In English this term, the Prep children had begun to create crafts that are linked to the phonemic sound of the week. They also learn how to refine their fine motor skills for example pinching, grasping and holding small objects by participating in various activities. It is a steep learning curve for them as they learn to write using a good pencil grip and ensuring that they are writing on a line.
My Preppies love art. They have varied imagination and they will not stop talking about their creations. However, no matter how much they love art, they prefer being outdoors. While playing outdoors increase their mobility, agility and overall physical condition, I simply love to see the opportunities they create for themselves to enhance their social skills, overcome fears and develop a lifelong connection with nature. With a greater freedom to make choices, the Preps inevitably walked back into their classroom with better mood and improved concentration.
Our very first whole campus activity is the Clean Up Australia Day. The children were extremely excited and could not wait to go outside and start picking up litter around the campus. Due to the recent major flood, the masjid area was affected. We put on our gloves and start to clear all that rubbish that had been swept into the masjid carpark area. All that glee on these young faces really made our effort worthwhile. We can’t wait to embark on more learning journeys together. With hugs,
Ms. Aida (Logan Campus Coordinator) Ms. Sakina (Teacher Aide)
C T/1 Excursion to Crocodylus Park
AIIC Darwin
PARENT TEACHERS ASSOCIATION 20XX
A Visit from the Leader of the Opposition
March 2022
March Madess
March has been a busy month here at AIIC Darwin. We’ve had visits from politicians, celebrated Harmony Day, done NAPLAN practice and gone on an excursion! We have a new computer lab and laptops for the students. Our favourite new thing on campus is our cold water bubbler to fill water bottles on hot days!
“The T/1 class went on their first excursion to Crocodylus Park. We were able to see so many Australian Native animals. We also had the opportunity to hold and feed baby possums, snakes and of course crocodiles!” -Ms Rzepka.
Early in March the Leader of the Opposition the Honorable Mrs Lia Finocchiaro came to visit our school. She brought some fun science activities for the whole school. We made special prints in the sun with Sunprint paper. The paper changes colour when exposed to the sun. She spoke to the SRC about leadership and fundraising! We also had a special visit from the Honorable Jo Hersey. She is the Shadow Minister for Education here in the Northern Territory. Mrs Hersey came from Katherine to visit our new school an see the new buildings and computer lab.
We had great fun celbrating Harmony Day on March 21. The kids dressed up in orange or their national dress. We started raising money for our new playground. Everyone brought a yummy dish to share and we talked about the importance of diversity and friendship within our school and the community!