volume 4, issue 1 | october, 2012 sr. diana abdi ... alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh ......
TRANSCRIPT
Volume 4, Issue 1 | October, 2012 Sr. Diana Abdi, Principal
Principal Speaking 1
Homework Hassles 1
Tip 1
Start Fall with New
Responsibilities 2
Use a Secret Signal to
Correct Behavior 2
Curb Procrastination,
Grow Self-Awareness 2
Hadith of The Month 3
School Connection 4-5
5110 Manor Rd.
Austin, TX 78723
Phone: 512-926-1737
Fax: 512-926-9688
Principal Speaking
Tip
Your child
won’t learn
anything in
class if she’s not there,
so make attendance a
priority! To ensure
she’s in school every
single day:
• Embrace routines.
Follow simple bedtime
rituals at night and
routines in the
morning.
• Prep in advance.
Pack lunches and load
book bags before bed.
It’ll make mornings
much less frantic.
• Be firm. Unless your
child is legitimately ill,
insist she go to school.
Source: “Parents Find
Staying Calm Is Key to
Curbing Kid’s Poor
Behavior,”
Parenting.org,, ,
tinyurl.com/6mymg2l.
Provide schedules and space to avoid homework hassles
Parenting Advisory
Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh
Let’s start the year by allowing natural
consequences to teach important lessons to
your child. Don't run to the rescue.
Kids make these phone calls home daily:
“Dad, I forgot my homework. Can you bring
it to school?”; “Mom, I left my lunch on the
counter. Can you drop it off?” When parents
repeatedly get calls like this, it’s time for
natural consequences to take over.
The beauty of natural consequences is that
you don’t have to do anything! They take
care of themselves.
Keep in mind that natural consequences:
• Are delivered by someone else, such as
teachers, nature or friends. For example,
forgetting homework might result in a low
grade. Leaving a toy outside might ruin it.
And refusing to share might cause a friend to
walk away. Help your child make decisions
for better outcomes.
• Should never put your child in danger.
Natural consequences should be mild. If it’s a
bit chilly outside and your child insists on
wearing shorts, relax. The child will probably
regret it and choose wisely next time. But
don’t allow shorts if the weather is bitter
cold.
• Are not right for every situation.
Sometimes there isn’t a positive or negative
natural consequence that will help your child.
If he or she is rude at the dinner table, for
instance, you need to step in with a logical
consequence, such as, “Please go to your
room while we eat dessert.”
Your child will learn when you stop
running to the rescue.
Don’t let homework headaches derail a suc
cessful school year! Follow these steps to
make it easier for your child to complete
take-home assignments:
1 Designate a workspace. Whether it’s a
desk, table, or the floor, have your child work
in the same spot each day.
2 Schedule a time. Get him or her in the
habit of studying at a set hour each day.
3 Stand back. It’s fine to offer guidance
once in awhile, but never do the assignments
for your child.
VOLUME 4, ISSUE 1 PAGE 2
Give Procrastinators
Specific Instructions Does your child drag her feet when you ask
her to do the simplest task? Don’t get an
gry—get specific!
Research shows that people often procrasti-
nate when facing a vague job. But when
they’re given something concrete to com
plete, they get right to it.
The next time you want your child to do
something
promptly, don’t
say, “Clean
your room.”
Instead, be spe-
cific: “Put your
clothes in the
hamper and
make your
bed.”
Source: A. Weinstein, “Why Kids Procras-
tinate and How to Help,” Education.com,
tinyurl.com/7cw7fyg.
When your child was seven, he may have believed, “I’m great at eve
rything!” But now that he’s 10, he likely has a clearer idea of his tal
ents. “I’m better at math than language arts.”
Support this growing awareness by being honest. “You aced that
long-division quiz. If you study hard for the spelling test, I bet you can
ace that, too!”
It’ll remind him that
everyone has
strengths and weak-
nesses. Some things
just take extra effort.
Source: M. Levine,
Ph.D., The Price of
Privilege: How Pa-
rental Pressure and
Material Advantage
Are Creating a Gen-
eration of Discon-
nected and Deeply
Unhappy Kids,
HarperCollins.
As Children Grow, So Does Self-Awareness
It’s a new school year, and your children are
capable of new things! To encourage inde-
pendence, give them tasks they can handle,
and be sure to praise their success! For exam-
ple, they can:
Put their school bags by the front
door each night.
Start Fall with New Responsibilities Choose the next day’s outfit before
bedtime.
Set an alarm clock and wake up on
time.
Follow a simple morning routine.
Use a Secret Signal to Correct Behavior You need to correct your child’s behavior
when you’re out together, but you don’t want
to embarrass her in public. How should you
proceed? With a secret signal!
Develop a sign—such as tugging on your ear
or touching the tip of your nose—that lets her
know she’s being rude, disruptive, etc. The
next time she acts up when you’re out in pub
lic, give her the signal. She’ll know what that
ear-tug means!
Source: M. Borba, Ed.D., No More Misbe-
havin’: 38 Difficult Behaviors and How to
Stop Them, Jossey-
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, “The faithful, in their love for
one another and in their having mercy for one another and in their kindness
toward one another, are like one body; when a member of it ails, all (the parts of)
the body call one another (to share the pain) through sleeplessness and
fever.” (Muslim)
In this narration, the Prophet Muhammad (saws) teaches the Muslim community about their responsibility to-
ward one another. Just as we regard our own bodies as trusts from Allah (swt), so must we regard the care of our
brothers and sisters in Islam as entrusted to us. We are connected to one another like the parts of a body.
When one member of our community suffers, we are obligated to ease that suffering or to bear it with him or
her. If one person is starving, it is as if we ourselves are starving. Indeed, it is the right of that starving person to
receive sustenance from the community.
The Prophet Muhammad (saws) demonstrated the application of this hadith by his care for Ahl-ul-Suffah (the
People of the Bench) in Medina. These people were the poorest in the new Muslim community and the family
of the Prophet (may Allah be pleased with them) cared for these individuals as members of their own house-
hold. The Prophet’s household never enjoyed more prosperity than the Saaf.
It is a blessing from Allah (swt) that we can share in a community of mutual care and sustenance, and we
should teach our children to value that community. Take time to attend community functions with your kids so
that they can create memories and develop a genuine love for our local Ummah. When you are active, engaged
participants, both you and your children will find that love, kindness, and mercy for the community come easily.
VOLUME 4, ISSUE 1 PAGE 3
Hadith of the MonthHadith of the Month
VOLUME 4, ISSUE 1 PAGE 4
School ConnectionSchool Connection
Austin Peace Academy revisited its old stomping grounds this past
Saturday, September 15 at Nueces Mosque. Sophomores and one
freshman volunteered to help clean the facilities by emptying the stor-
age containers, painting the masjid, and cleaning the grounds to freshen
up the masjid. Alhamdulillah, it was a blessing to take part in cleaning
one of the houses of Allah, creating a facility that befits its role.
Students Clean
Nueces Mosque
Calendar October 17—PSAT
October 17—Picture Day
October 20—International Restaurant
October 24—Hajj Simulation
October 25—Parent Conference, No School
October 26—Eid El Adha, No School
October 29—Reunion Ranch for Eid
Saturday, August 27 was the kickoff for the
2012-13 school year at Austin Peace Acade-
my. Parents were able to meet new teachers
and see where their children will be attending
classes. Approximately 80 parents listened to
Sr. Diana present the vision for the new year
along with a number of policy changes af-
fecting students.
Character education and more rigorous aca-
demic standards dominated the discussion.
The new discipline system, Positive Points
System (PPS), rewards good behavior and
encourages students to make wise choices.
The new system also involves parents taking
a more active role in school discipline by
signing the accountability forms sent home
each week. The schedule for departing clas-
ses each afternoon was discussed at Parent
Orientation, as well as important changes in
the bus service.
One of the major goals for APA this year is
to enlarge our Parent Teacher Organization.
Parent engagement is vital to the success of
our school. Your involvement in your chil-
dren’s schooling will excite and motivate
them, in addition to providing much needed
support to their teachers. Please join PTO!
School Year
Kickoff
Over 100 parents attended the Austin Peace Academy Open House on
Friday, September 21. Teachers opened their classrooms and discussed
everything from reading and math curriculum to how to dissect a frog.
Parents attended ten-minute sessions to hear about all of the courses a
student would attend in a typical day at APA. Several of the parents
commented that, “Now I can see why my child comes home pretty ex
hausted. The expectations are very high at APA but I am glad they are.”
Parents heard presentations about all of the core classes, as well as
P.E., Art, Debate, Islamic Studies, and Arabic. Principal Diana Abdi
said, “I was so pleased to see so many parents attending the Open
House. It is very motivating to our faculty to know how concerned our
parents are about their children’s education.”
Open House A Success
Elementary school students and parents braved a rainy Saturday
morning, September 29, to celebrate the Marathon Kids kick-off. Over
a six month period, children will run 26.2 miles, the equivalent of a
marathon, in increments of a quarter mile and a half mile at a time.
Ms. Emily Lejeune, Physical Education teacher, said that APA stu-
dents love the program and get excited when they’re close to finishing
the marathon. They run as a warm-up activity at the beginning of each
P.E. class, and the more they run, the more they enjoy it.“They start
volunteering to run,” Ms. Emily said. “When I tell them to do two laps,
they’ll do five. When they notice they don’t get winded anymore, they
keep running.” And happily, they’ll run rain or shine.
Marathon Kids Program Begins
Austin Peace Academy high school students
took time from their precious Saturdays, Sep-
tember 29 to volunteer at the Capital Area
Food Bank in South Austin. For three hours,
they sorted, inspected and weeded through
4,500 lbs of bread and pastry items donated by
local supermarkets. They boxed the items for
distribution to local food partners and agencies
that make sure it all goes to those in need
throughout Austin.
We are proud of our students for giving their
time for the sake of others. We were also hap-
py to see the return of an APA alumnus Amine
Boumaraf to help beside our students.
Youth and Family Night is a great opportuni-
ty to volunteer with your children, ages 8 and
up. It is held the first Tuesday of each month
from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM.
Students Volunteer
at Food Bank
VOLUME 4, ISSUE 1 PAGE 5
School ConnectionSchool Connection