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American Youth Academy

Monthly Newsletter—August 2016

New Admin Team ...p2

Back to School—First Day of School ...p3

Free Hot Lunch Program ...p3

Parents Open House ...p4

Fir st Islamic Parents Teachers Association (IPTA) Meeting ...p4

Individual Picture Day …p4

Hajj Simulation (p4)

Author Visit—Story Time (K5-Gr. 2) ...p4

VPK Assessment (AP1)...p4

Latest News

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Head of School

Sr. Farhat Siddiqui

Farhat obtained her B.A degree

in Elementary Education and her

M.Ed. degree from Loyola Uni-

versity, Chicago, specializing in

school leadership and administra-

tion.

She is a Certified Chair for Ad-

vancED. She is an Educational

Speaker and Trainer for the State

Board of Education and conducts

professional development train-

ing for staff, and mentoring and

coaching for school leaders.

Farhat worked as a classroom

teacher for nearly a decade at one

of the largest Islamic Schools in

the United States, Universal

School, where she was awarded

the highest recognition –

“Teacher of the Year”, for her

commitment to excellence in ed-

ucation. She was appointed as a

lead administrator, an Assistant

Principal and eventually a Princi-

pal, where she served until 2009.

Farhat was recognized with the

service award in 2004 and 2009

for her commitment to best prac-

tices in education. Universal

New Admin Team

School was featured in TIME mag-

azine as “The Model School, Is-

lamic Style”.

Farhat Siddiqui served as the Prin-

cipal of College Preparatory

School of America from 2009 to

2013. She received recognition

from the Washington Post in 2013,

as the most academically challeng-

ing school in Illinois.

Farhat joined AYA in October 2015 as a consultant and was ap-pointed as the Head of School in December of 2016, and currently serves in that capacity.

Principal

Br. Feras Abuzayda

Br. Feras Abuzayda has been in

the field of education for more

than fifteen years, both as a

teacher and an administrator. He

holds a bachelors degree in Biol-

ogy & Chemistry double ma-

jor, a masters degree in Physiolo-

gy, a graduate certificate in Edu-

cator Preparation Institute

(EPI), and special certificates in

Administration and Leadership

for school teams and depart-

ments.

Prior to joining American Youth

Academy, Br. Feras has served as

a Principal for Iqra Academy of

Virginia for many years, in which

he led the school to receieve dual

accreditation through AdvancED

and CISNA. Before then, he

worked as one of the district coor-

dinators of St. Lucie County Public

Schools for Science Curriculum,

Instruction, & Assessment

and Science Fair Competition.

Furthermore, Br. Feras chaired the

Science department as well as

taught a variety of Science courses

for nine years at Fort Pierce West-

wood Public High School, at which

he received numerous recognitions

and awards.

Dean of Student Affairs

Br. Abdalla Orabi

Br. Abdalla Orabi holds a BA from Al Azhar University in education, and a Master of Arts degree in Leadership from Concordia Uni-versity in 2010. This degree, along with his professional work experi-ence, has allowed him to maximize his influence and motivate mem-bers within any organization through promoting balanced inter-social relationships. Using motiva-tional skills, he has helped students and staff members delineate a clearer vision and achieve their goals.

He has worked with various –

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Muslim/Non-Muslim youth or-ganizations, focusing on some of the troubled youth. Helping them get back onto a successful path and allowing them to finish their education which ultimately helps their communities.

He is looking forward to being a part of the AYA school commu-nity and living in Tampa.

Assistant Principal - Curriculum and Instruction

Sr. Shabeah Usmanali

Sr. Shabeah Usmanali has worked in the field of education for the past thirteen years in the capacity of a teacher. Her experi-ences in teaching include ele-mentary, middle, and high school divisions. She taught in private and public institutions as a home-room and science teacher. Her educational philosophy is the be-lief that all children deserve the opportunity to have the best pos-sible education. She is passionate about helping students to become lifelong learners who are open-minded.

Sr. Shabeah has degrees in Medi-cal Technology with a specializa-tion in Microbiology, Biology with a minor in English, and a Masters degree in Education spe-cializing in Curriculum and In-

New Admin Team

struction. She has her teaching cer-tificate in the state of Florida and is working on becoming Gifted En-dorsed. She is also certified by The International Baccalaureate (IB) to teach Physics.

She feels blessed to be working with the AYA community and hon-ored to be given the opportunity to serve as Assistant Principal - Cur-riculum & Instruction.

Academic Advisor

Sr. Samira Elkadi

Sr. Samira Elkadi Elsayed gradu-ated from one of the first Islamic schools in the country, and went on to receive her B.A. from USF and M.A. in Teaching English as a Foreign Language from the American University in Cai-ro. She taught English to both adults and children in South America and North Africa before returning to the United States to teach middle and high school math and English.

Sr. Samira transitioned to an ad-ministrative position several years prior and has worked close-ly with AYA administrators in all matters dealing with academ-ics. As Academic Advisor, her goal is to mentor the students as they navigate their way through high school and prepare for aca-demic success at the University level. She also strives to collabo-rate with Admin to institute the

programs that will best serve our student population.

Back to School

First day at AYA was Wednes-

day August 17, 2016. The first

two days were half days.

Free Hot Lunch Pro-

gram

AYA has been approved for the

National School Lunch Program

Non Pricing Meals. This year all

students will be provided with

breakfast and hot lunch at no

charge.

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School News

Parents Open House

Parents Open House was on Au-

gust 20, 2016 where more than

200 parents attended the open

house. The new admin team was

introduced, and the parents were

eager to visit their children’s

classrooms to meet the teachers.

First IPTA Meeting

The First Islamic Parents Teach-

ers Association (IPTA) meeting

is scheduled for the first Thurs-

day of each month at 8:30am in

the ICT Hall. Due to weather

conditions and school closure,

the first IPTA meeting will be

rescheduled another day in Sep-

tember. An email will be sent to

parents about the new date.

Individual Picture Day

Strawbridge Studios will be tak-

ing an individual portrait of every

student for the yearbook on Tues-

day, September 6.

Tuesday will be a regular uniform

day for all students. Please be sure

to have your child come to school

wearing their school uniform and

looking their best. If your child has

PE on Tuesday, please have him/

her bring their PE shirts and wear it

after their picture has been taken.

Pictures will be taken in the ICT

Hall.

If your child will be absent on

Tuesday, they can have their pic-

ture taken on Tuesday, October 18

on Picture Retake day.

Hajj Simulation

AYA K2 to Gr. 5 students will per-

form the annual Hajj simulation on

Thursday, September 8, 2016 from

9:25am-1:20pm in ICT Hall. Male

students should bring one medium

towel with a pin. Female students

should bring their hijab and prayer

outfit, jilbab or abaya. Please see

attached schedule for details.

Author Visit

Story Time (K5-Gr. 2)

The Author of “When I Grow Up”

Sr. Sundus Iraq, will be visiting the

students of AYA to share her sto-

ries through story time She is

scheduled to visit from September

27th to September 29th.

VPK Assessment (AP1)

Florida law requires all private and

public VPK providers to administer

the pre- and post-assessment to all

children attending a VPK program

(Section 1002.67(3), Florida Stat-

utes). The assessment includes four

measures chosen because they are

predictors of later reading and

mathematics success: print

knowledge, phonological aware-

ness, oral language/vocabulary and

number sense. “Assessment Period

One” (AP1) is the first thirty (30)

calendar days of the VPK class

schedule beginning with the first

VPK instructional day and includ-

ing non-instructional days. AP1

should be completed by Sep 15,

2016.

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CONTACT INFORMATION:

American Youth Academy

5905 E. 130th Ave., Tampa, FL 33617

813.987.9282 813.987.9262

Website: http://www.ayatampa.org

September 2016 Calendar