BC Muslim School 1

Message from the Principal

BC MUSLIM SCHOOL

NEWSLETTER www.bcmuslimschool.ca

604-270-2511

Inside this Issue:

Message from the

Principal

Absenteeism & late-

ness

Extended Leave of

Absence

Theme of the Month

Health and Well-

Being Day

Student of the Month

Field Trips

Lockdown Drill

Pink Hijab Day

Message from PAC

Dates to Remember

November

2015

Please

remember to

phone the

school office before 8:00

a.m. whenever your child

is absent. Please mention

your child’s name, grade

and the reason of his/her

absence.

PERSEVERANCE—COMMITMENT—KNOWLEDGE—EXCELLENCE

If you have a change

of address and phone

number please

inform the secretary.

Dear Parents,

Assalamu Alaikum,

Next month, on December 6th, the BC Muslim Association will be organizing a Fundraising Dinner to raise funds in order to sponsor refugee families to Canada. These refugees have experienced the horrors of war and have endured the painful journey to flee their homes. It is our duty to help as much as we can so that they are able to live a life of peace and comfort. The school will be collecting donations for this important event over the course of the next two weeks. I urge everyone to donate as much as they can to this worthy cause. May Allah (SWT) reward all of you for do-nating and give you barakah! (Ameen)! One of the goals that we started this Term is to promote the use of respectful lan-

guage. We would like our students to include such phrases as: Thank You, Please, You

are Welcome, and Pardon Me, more often in their conversations. If we work together

to encourage the use of these and other polite words, then we will achieve our goal

of using respectful language on a daily basis in order to create a safe and courteous

school community.

This month, the teachers begin to write the report cards for Term 1. These report

cards will be distributed on Friday, Dec. 4th. It is very important that students com-

plete all their homework each day that it is assigned, and submit it by the due date.

I would like to thank all the parents for supporting the school’s uniform policy. By

doing so, our students feel a strong sense of pride to belong to the BC Muslim School.

A school uniform can improve learning in the classroom by reducing distractions,

and allowing students to focus more on their school work. Also, I would like to thank

all the parents for sending your children to school with proper rain jackets for the

fall weather.

Wassalam,

Shuaib Yunush

Principal

BC Muslim School 2

Absenteeism and Lateness

Parents are asked to call the school by 8:00 a.m. or send a note in advance if their child is to be absent. To avoid congestion on the phones between 8:00 A.M. and

8:20 a.m., parents are encouraged to leave a voicemail message by 8:45am the lat-est. When making outside appointments, parents are asked to be considerate of the child’s school schedule and arrange appointments during non-core instructional

time when possible. Parents are to meet their child at the office to sign them out.

Acceptable excused absences

Illness of the student,

Medical diagnosis and/or treatment,

Death in the immediate family; funerals of other relatives or close friends, may not

exceed one day if in the locality or three days if outside the province,

Contagious disease in the home of the child subject to regulations of the Depart-

ment of Public Health,

Legal business requiring the student's presence, suspension from school, approved

educational visits/trips,

Authorized school-sponsored activities.

Lateness

Parents are asked to send a note in advance or call the school by 8:00 a.m. if their child will arrive at school late. If stuck in an excessively slow traffic jam, please have another adult or responsible child call the office at 604-270-2511 from your

mobile phone. All students arriving after 8:15 a.m. must proceed to the office to re-ceive a late slip prior to entering their classes. If you know of an upcoming lateness (e.g. an appointment), please communicate this to the homeroom teacher and

school office in advance.

Extended Leave of Absence

Please be informed that any extended leave of absences need to be reported to the school office at

least two weeks in advance. Earlier notice will help the teachers to prepare the homework for your

children while they are away from school. Please ensure that your children complete their homework

and submit it to the teachers when they return.

It is mandatory for all parents to complete the Extended Leave of Absence Notification Form when

they take their children away while the school is in operation. The request form is available at the

school office.

BC Muslim School 3

Theme of the Month —Cooperation

WHAT IS COOPERATION?

Cooperation—(Ta’awun, in Arabic) is working together for the good of everyone. It is a willingness to re-

spect others and to follow rules which keep everyone safe and happy. Cooperation is being helpful to one

another. It is joining others in order to do so something that cannot be done alone.

Cooperation is an important pillar of success in our daily life. Allah (SWT) loves those who cooperate with

others.

One lovely Saturday morning, Muhammad Ali and his father went for a walk. As they walked Muhammad

Ali brought up a question that had come to mind after their last talk, "If people carried out their Islam-

ic responsibilities, there would be a stronger Muslim community, would not they?"

"That is a very wise conclusion," Abdul-Rahman praised his son. "Wouldn't it be wonderful to see

Muslims helping each other and cooperating in peace and harmony? Muslims are encouraged toward help-

ing and cooperating among each other. They are urged to work toward an Islamic community which ap-

plies Islam in its true meaning. It becomes an essential element for such a goal."

"So," Muhammad Ali said, "Islam urges us to develop a strong Islamic community."

"Yes," answered his father pleased, "Islamic community means meaningful cooperation among Muslims

and harmony with an aim to encourage what is good and discourage what is evil. Let us refer to the Holy

Quran. Let us see what Allah Almighty says:

“The Believers Are Like Brothers To One Another; So, Promote Peace And Reconciliation Among

Them, And Fear Allah, That You May Receive Mercy.”

(Surah 49: Ayah 10)

BC Muslim School 4

Health and Well-Being Day—Oct 21, 2015

On Wednesday October 21st, we had our first Health and Well-Being Day. Each month we will be

having a Health and Well-Being Day with different activities and a different focus. This month,

we were promoting teamwork, co-operation and respect. In

their color groups teams rotated through 9 different activities

including, Lego building, board games, floor hockey, origami, an

Islamic board game, and bowling. The day was a huge success

and the students showed excellent teamwork. Thank you to the

Grade 6/7 students for being excellent leaders. At the end of

the year the team with the most points will win the champion-

ship trophy. The teams in the lead so far are: Purple, Green

and Black. We are already looking forward to next month as we

will be going to the Richmond Olympic Oval.

Quran Competition

We are pleased to inform you that the Qur’an Competition is scheduled on April 4th 2016. We encourage

all students to participate and strengthen their knowledge of the Holy Qur’an.

The Surahs of the Qur’an that are assigned for each grade are as follows:

Kindergarten Surah Al-Fatiha & An-Nas to Al-Homaza

Grade 1 Surah Al-Fatiha & An-Nas to Al-Leil

Grade 2 Surah Al-Fatiha & An-Nas to Al-Aala

Grade 3 Surah Al-Fatiha & An-Nas to Abaasa

Grade 4 Surah Al-Fatiha & An-Nas to An-Nabaa

Grade 5 Juz Amma & Surah Al-Mursalaat & Surah Al-Insaan

Grade 6 Juz Amma & Juz Tabaarak (only to Surat Al-Jinn)

Grade 7 Juz Amma & Juz Tabaarak

Challenge (Any Grade) Surat Al-Israa and Surat Al-Fath

The Messenger of Allah Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wa Sallam said: "The best amongst you is the one who learns the

Qur'an and teaches it." [Recorded by al-Bukhari]

BC Muslim School 5

Health and Well Being Day—Album

BC Muslim School 6

STUDENT OF THE MONTH

Alhamdulillah, the October Assembly hosted by the Grade 2 classes highlighted the theme of Re-

spect. The students emphasized the importance of respect in Islam. They also performed an ex-

quisite Respect Poem and a wonderful Nasheed titled “Number One for Me”. Excellent Job!

Congratulations to the following students who have been selected by their teachers for demon-

strating their best ability in the following categories:

Grades Student of the Month Best in Quran/ Islamic Studies

Best in Arabic

KA Noura Hussain Haris Saqib Rizwana Mamun

KB Mennal Mustafain Mooad Dalil Abdullah Hasan

1A Anamta Ali Hani Hassan Faridah Metwally

1B Zakaria Gad Khadeja Ebeed Nadha Zacky

2A Fattah Pramono Farah Alayah Shapiray Hashimova

2B Mosawer Fazli Muhammad Hamza Rayhan Abu Malouh

3A Omar Gani Raamiya Ali Hamza Abubakar

3B Bunayya Nazneen Amina Haroun Yasmin Khalilia

4A Menam Mahmood Sondus Hamado Khadija Senouci

4B Yaasir Bacha Abdurrahman Ali Basyah

Hasan Nasim Eshaal Qaisar

5A Yassine Benmoussa Mohammad Chaudhary Shahar Bano

5B Ruweyda mohamoud Zeba Mohammed Ibrahim Somaya Hassan

6/7A Leen Abu Arja (6)

malieka Hussain (7)

Rowah Gheriani (6)

Mohammed Al-Seragi (7)

Manar abrre (6)

Fahim Shah (7)

6/7B Afaaf El-shehawi (6)

Raiq Ahmed (7)

Farhan Sadiq (6)

Zainab Zeyan (7)

Taima Gheriani (6)

Dania Othman (7)

6/7C Malak Mustafa (6)

Haffsa Zahid (7)

Layan Barrieshee (6)

Manahil Khan (7)

Halil Beket (6)

Abdullahi Hussain (7)

BC Muslim School 7

October Assembly Album

BC Muslim School 8

Field Trips

Grade 4 Field Trip—Space Centre:

In October, 4A and 4B went to the HR MacMillan Space Centre for Science! We learned a lot about

light. The students participated in many fun hands on activities. They learned how to make a rainbow

with a flashlight and CDs, used mirrors to play around with light, and we got to go see the huge tele-

scope in the observatory room. We even got to operate the controls for the ob-

servatory roof! It was an awesome day of Science for us.

Grade 6/7 A & 6/7B Field Trip—Cliffhanger:

The Grade 6/7A and 6/7B class went for a fun-filled field trip to Cliffhanger Climbing Gym Vancouver

in October 2015! During their two hour session at the climbing gym, students challenged themselves to

a variety of rock formations that varied from easy to difficult to see if they could successfully reach

the top. Students had to learn to use their full body strength, particularly their upper body strength,

in order to pull themselves up continuously. Further, students learned to evenly distribute their weight

on different rocks and had to make critical choices on which rocks to stand and pull on to make their

climb easier. Bravo to the students that made efforts to get to the top!

BC Muslim School 9

Lockdown Drill

Adults and students at BCMS practiced a Lockdown Drill on Monday, November 23, 2015.

What is a Lockdown?

A lockdown is an emergency response to keep children and adults safe in a situation, when

there is a viable threat to their well-being. An intruder or threat of violence within the school

would be a reason for the school to initiate a lockdown.

Drills are important as they help us learn how best to respond in emergencies and be prepared

for these situations through practice and knowing how to keep safe. By practicing drills in a

safe and calm manner, children will learn to better cope with the concerns and anxious feel-

ings that may arise.

Parents can help by talking to their children about this practice. Remind children that this is

another way we learn to keep ourselves safe. Reassure your child that these drills, like fire

drills, are just to practice how to stay safe in an extremely unlikely event that someone

dangerous may enter the school. The school is undertaking these new procedures carefully and

thoughtfully and teachers will be giving children important messages about learning to be

safe.

Field Trips—Cont.

Grade 1 Field Trip— Richmond Art Gallery

The Grade 1A and Grade 1B had an amazing time at the Richmond Art Gallery. Students were very

excited to have fun at the gallery. Grade 1A and Grade 1B took turns to go to the library and the art

workshop. In the library, students had fun finding different books for a scavenger hunt activity.

While in the art gallery, students explored art installations about bees. Students then learnt about

the importance of pollinators, especially bees and what factors are responsible for their reducing

populations. In the art workshop, students carved bees on sheets of styrofoam and used those

styrofoam sheets as stamps to create their art work. The knowledge learnt from this field trip was

very useful to explore our next lesson about how our communities can protect the environment.

BC Muslim School 10

Pink Hijab Day

On October 29th, our school participated in Pink Hijab Day to support cancer awareness and

cancer research. All the girls wore pink/red hijabs and the boys wore pink/red prayer caps or

shirts. Cancer is a life threatening disease that affects people of all ages. The BC Muslim

School raised money to donate to the BC Cancer Foundation. The BC Cancer Foundation is

the fundraising partner of the BC Cancer Agency and the largest charitable funder of cancer

research in this province.

BC Muslim School 11

Message from PAC

Assalamu Aalaikum Parents and Guardians, THANK YOU for your support in our first “Tuck Shop” held on Health and Well-Being Day on November 19, 2015. The funds we collected will be donated to the Syrian Refugee Fundraising Program, Ahamdulillah with your support we were able to raise $670.00. The PAC meets on the first Thursday of every month to discuss the plans for the term, and what we can do to achieve our long term goals. The next PAC Meeting is on December 3, 2015 at 1:30pm in the Board Room. In our last meeting the PAC discussed the following items (Please note this is a summary of our discussion, you can find a copy of our detail minutes in the PAC Binder located in the School Office). 1. Hot Lunch Menu

- Chicken Fajita Wrap with Apples, (confirm date and menu) - If you have suggestions, please attend our meetings, because we would love to hear your

thoughts. We also need volunteers to purchase, prepare and distribute the meals. The Next Hot Lunch Menu and Date will be confirmed on Dec 3.

2. Finalized Tuck Shop

- Date and Menu was confirmed, Funds to be donated to the Syrian Refugee Crisis. - We are always in need of volunteers to purchase items, help sell the items and donate items.

If you are able to help, please leave your contact details at the office. 3. Family Fun Movie Night

- We would like our students, together with friends and families, to watch a movie on a big screen and have a fun filled afternoon/evening.

- details to be confirmed. - to help/participate in this event please contact Sister Sherine at smerhifk@hotmail.com 4. Long Term Goals

- Change current field into “Turf” - Add New Benches - Add Water Stations - Make Paint Marking on Grounds for games. - If you would like to donate funds, to any of the above items, please contact us by leaving your

information at the School Office. If you any other suggestions, please attend our monthly meetings.

Our goal at the PAC is to help our students and work with the school to make our children’s education, and social environment positive and fun! Please try to attend our monthly meetings and give us your feedback. A special thank you to all of the PAC members and our volunteers who currently help us reach our monthly goals! May Allah (SWT) reward you and your families. Inshallah. Ameen.

BC Muslim School 12

Wassalam,

Shuaib Yunush

Principal

Dates to Remember November 17 Fire drill/PAC Hot Lunch

November 18 Photo Retakes

November 19 Health & Well Being Day

November 23 Lockdown Drill

November 25 Gr. 3A/3B Field Trip to Space Centre

November 25 Gr. 5A/5B Field Trip to Science World

November 26 Grade 4 Assembly @ 10:50am

December 02 Core Department Hot Lunch

December 04 Term 1 Report Cards Distributed

December 7 & 8 Parents Phone In for P/T Interviews

December 8 Health and Well Being Day (Richmond Olympic Oval)

December 10 Pro-D Day (School Closed) and P/T interviews ( 1:30pm –6:00pm)

December 15 Fire Drill

December 17 PAC Hot Lunch

December 21 Winter Break Begins

Volunteers Needed We are always in a need of volunteers. There are many school events throughout the school year.

If you would like to contribute your valuable time to school by volunteering for school events,

please contact the school office at 604-270-2511 or PAC (Parents Advisory Committee).

We need volunteers to help sew curtains for our classroom door windows. The time used for this

purpose will be counted towards volunteer hours. If interested please contact the school office on

(604) - 270-2511.

BC Muslim School 13