IFNSS Principal Newsletter

Hadith of the Week:“No Muslim man settles into the mosque for prayer and remembrance but that Allah is delighted for him, just as a family is delighted when their absentees return to them.” Source: Sunan Ibn Mājah 800

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ

Assalamu alaikum respected parents,

I pray everyone is doing well in sha Allah. You may have noticed the fencing around IFN. This means that construction for the masjid expansion is finally about to begin Alhumdulillah. Hence the playground will no longer be available for students and we will arrange for alternative activity areas such as indoor recess and./or outdoor activities in the designated areas (front of building). Please talk to your children about following school's guidelines and remaining in designated areas under staff supervision during recess. We appreciate everyone patience and cooperation throughout this process.

MORNING ASSEMBLY: Our morning Assembly on 10/13 was led by myself, on the topic of Attaching our hearts to the masjid. We talked about how important it is for us muslims to keep the masajid full, how to take care of the masjid, spend our time and money for the masjid and follow the etiquettes of the masjid, especially during salah. Please refer to the attached ASSEMBLY FLYER for more information. For any parents who would like to come and lead a morning assembly at Sunday School, or get involved in other volunteer opportunities at Sunday School, please fill out THIS FORM and we will reach out to you with next steps.

PLEASE NOTE that our 1st, 2nd, and 6th grade Classes are already FULL and we apologize that we are NOT accepting any more students in these grades. Any new students in these grades will be put on a waitlist moving forward. JazakAllah Khair to all those parents who have already completed the registration process for their children. However, for any New Students whose registration is NOT COMPLETE, I strongly encourage parents to complete the registration as soon as possible, so we can officially add these students to our roster. You can do this by going to the IFN website at www.ifnonline.com. Next, Click on the "Education" tab in the top bar and click on "IFN Sunday School" on the left side bar. Next, you can go on the "Registration" webpage under IFN Sunday School where you can see the "Link to Register" as well all the "Helpful Documents" linked to help any of your question regarding registration and fee payment etc.

Please see flyer for additional details and sign up this THIS LINK: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1RslbQorzHI_dqFyZhb63dZfLZV83bA-tAb1EB5wO168/viewform?ts=67042785&edit_requested=true

Friday Oct 25, 6pm-9pm

Girls only - Ages 9-12, and 13-16

REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS 10/20/24

IFN will like to invite the ‘GIRL TALK’ group which is comprised of an all-female staff to present their program “Coming of age” to the community girls. Discussion areas include the physical, emotional, and Islamic changes that girls experience during this time.

Objective of the program is to provide a safe and loving space for girls to learn and discuss this sensitive topic with their friends and the speakers. The workshop will take 2-3 hours. Topics include self-esteem, coping with changes, concept of maturity, cleanliness & hygiene, basic Islamic rulings & accountability.

The instructors are experienced in this topic and have both an Islamic & psychology background. A brief introduction to the teachers is shared below.

Course Outline

SOCIAL & EMOTIONAL CHANGES

Identify/Self Image, Hormones, Feelings & Thoughts, Parents, Friends, How to Cope

PHYSICAL & HEALTH CHANGES: : Hormones, Early Physical Changes, Coping with Change, Hayd/Discharge/Abnormal Bleeding, Products & Hygiene, Awareness & Safety

ISLAMIC: Concept of Maturity, Islamic Rulings & Accountability, Hijab & Modesty, Mehram, Qura, Salah, Ramadan, Hayd Calculation, Ghusl, Wudu

Alhumdulillah we have added some excellent teachers and TAs to our team this year. Please refer to this list of TEACHERS & TA's for the 2024-25 school year along with their contact information. Our goal is help parents gets to know their children's teachers in sha Allah. Hence I will be introducing one teachers or TA's every week in my Newsletter Teacher Spot Light Section. See image below.

We continue to offer separate classes for older boys and girls in 7th and 8th grade as it was a successful change implemented after careful thought and consideration in the 2023-24 school year and was greatly appreciated by our students, parents, and teachers.

Alhumdulillah, with the help of our Quran teachers team led by Sr Eman Enaya, Sr Zeinab Moutafa & Sr Ayesha Tanveer, we have updated our Quran & Arabic Curriculum. This year, we are excited to offer an Accelerated Quran & Arabic Classroom, for students in grades 3-6 who may need extra help with learning to read the Quran with proper tajweed and help them catch up to their peers in sha Allah. This class will be taught by Sr Ayesha Tanveer who has many years of experience teaching Quran Accelerated classes at IFNSS. Our Quran teachers are in the process of finalizing student placements for the Accelerated Quran & Arabic classroom and will reach out to parents soon in sha Allah.

Parent involvement is essential for students development, leads to increased student achievement and success and offers many benefits. We highly encourage our parents to get involved at IFN Sunday School which is why we are offering several opportunities for parent involvement this year. These include the following:

1. Join Parent Support Group (PSG) by completing this form

2. Become a Teaching Assistant

3. Become a Lunch/Recess Supervisor

4. Lead a Morning Assembly at Sunday School

5. Be a Substitute Teacher or TA

Please FILL OUT THIS FORM if you are interested in any of the above opportunities and we will contact you regarding next steps. Learn more about the above opportunities on THIS Document.

DROP OFF & PICK UP: Please note that we follow a drop off and go procedure in the morning such that parents are not required to come inside the building in the morning. Parents drive their car up to the front entrance and drop off at the door and leave. Our staff is available to guide children to the Assembly area in the Men's Mussalah. At Dismissal, parents are requested to park their car and come inside to pick up their children from the lobby area (Grades PK-3rd) or outside front door (Grades 4 and above). Staff are available to supervise all students. It has come to our attention that some parents of younger students are picking their children from their classes upstairs after salah. Please NOTE that teachers are not allowed to release students from classes. All younger students go back to their classes to gather materials at the end of Dhuhr Salah and then line up with their teachers to come down to the lobby area for pick up. Parents are requested to pick up from the lobby area. Any parents reading Salah in the Women's Mussalah are requested to pray in the Parent Designated Areas. JazakAllah Khair for your cooperation in helping us remain consistent with our procedures to ensure safety for all students.

Google Classrooms: Our teachers use Google Classrooms as the home to school connection to post announcements related to homework or classwork. All registered students have been invited to join their google classrooms. Please note that students have to be logged into their own IFN domain email accounts to access google classroom. I have attached Step by Step directions HERE on how to 1) access your child's IFN email account and then 2) use that to access their google classrooms. All returning students continue to use their existing IFN email accounts. We are try our best to create IFN email accounts for any NEW students who join us within 1 week of their start date. If you are having difficulty with your child's IFN email or Google Classroom, please reach out to your child's teacher and he/she will be able to help in sha'Allah.

Tardy Procedures: We encourage all parents to drop their children between 9:30 - 9:45 as Assembly starts at 9:45 sharp. Classes start at 10:00 AM and any students who arrive after 10:10, need to check in at the office to get a Tardy pass. Parents are requested to bring their child to the office and NOT go straight to the classroom because it disrupts the learning of other students. If your child is late, they need to check in at the office to get a Tardy pass and one of our office staff will make sure they join their class.

Report Student Absence: If your child is going to be absent, please fill out THIS FORM to report their absence. Our office staff will check this form every week.

Morning Assembly. Every Sunday, we have our morning Assembly from 9:45 - 9:55 AM which is a great way to start the day. We begin with playing "99 Names of Allah SWT audio" which students love to listen to as they gather in the Men's Mussala and get seated in rows by their grade level and wait for the Assembly to begin promptly at 9:45. One of our Assembly each month (usually 1st Sunday of the month) is run by Br. Imam Azfar which is a great opportunity for the students to get to know our Imam and benefit from his wisdom and knowledge. We also welcome parents and leaders from our own community to be the speakers for our Assembly. If you want to lead a morning assembly, please fill out the form linked above in the Parent Involvement Opportunities Section.

Lunch Procedures: All students get lunch at Sunday School (pizza and juice) and it is included in the Sunday School fee. Students can bring lunch from home if they want to but there will be no reduction in fee.

Bathroom Procedures: Students in grades 5th - 8th use a bathroom pass for bathroom break during any class period. Only 1 student at a time is allowed from a class to go for bathroom break. Students use a sign in and sign out sheet for bathroom break during class time and return to class promptly.

Cell Phone Policy: At IFN Sunday school, students are NOT allowed to use cell phone in the classroom during instructional time and all cell phones (if any) may be stored in “Cell Phone Boxes” for the duration of the class time and can only be used during breaks with teacher permission, at the end of class and during lunch/recess.

Salah Procedures: Dhuhr Salah is part of the Sunday School curriculum. We teach all students to respectfully pray behind the Imam and participate in "tasbeeh" and "dua" at the end. Parents who are in the upstairs musalla are requested to please go downstairs and wait in the lobby after Salah is done. TA's will bring all students down when they are done. We do not want the upstairs or lobby area to get too crowded. We appreciate your cooperation as we try to make the dismissal process safe for everyone.

Dismissal is after Dhuhr Salah at 1:30. Cones are placed in the front of the building to block the area for safety. Parents are requested to park their car in the parking lot and come to the front lobby to pick up their children. 4th through 8th grade students stand outside under staff supervision in designated areas and can leave when parents come to pick. Younger students in grades Pre-K through 3rd grade line up inside the lobby area and are escorted to parents as they come to pick up from the lobby. Please make sure to pick your children on time before 1:40 as our staff leave after 1:45 and we do not have enough staff to supervise students after 1:45. For any students who are not picked on time, parents have to come to the office and pick them from the office. We appreciate your cooperation in making sure dismissal is completed efficiently and safely for all students.

Early Dismissal: Please inform the class teacher and contact the Sunday School administration at ifnss.office@ifnonline.com for early dismissal requests. IF you are planning to pick up your child/children early please fill out an “Early Release Permission” slip at the office and an office staff will bring your child to you. Parents are requested to NOT go straight to the classroom but check in at the office instead.

Lost & Found!Teachers try their best to remind students to take their belongings. However, some students forget their belongings. We have a Lost and Found Box in the Sunday School Office. If your child has lost some of their belongings, please be sure to check the Lost and Found Box which is kept in the Lobby at Dismissal Time. We dispose off/donate items that are not claimed. JazakAllah for your cooperation.

Alhamdulillah, IFN Sunday School has successfully run the Arabic program for the past 8 years which has been integrated within the Sunday School as an After School Program.

**The goal of this Arabic program is to provide children with proper building blocks to learn how to read, write and understand the Arabic language so that your child may gradually learn to read and understand the Qur''an in the best of manners, Inshallah.

**This program is optional for all grade levels.

This program started on Sunday on 9/8/24 and takes place every Sunday from 1:30-2:45. There is a small fee of $50 to cover books and materials. Sister Eman and Zainab are overseeing the program. For registration or If you have any questions about the Arabic Program, please contact Sister Eman at 312-813-0526 or via email, emanenaya@yahoo.com.

IFN Sunday School team proudly partners with MUHSEN (Muslims Understanding and Helping Special Education Needs) Non profit Program to support and include all students with specific needs. This year, the MUHSEN program is offering two programs to provide a continuum of serivices to support students with special needs including a) an exclusive 1:1 support program in a separate classroom for students needing a higher level of support and b) an inclusive level of support where students will get push in support from MUHSEN TAs inside their regular classroom. For specific questions, please feel free to contact MUHSEN Facilitators, Sr. Sadia Thiryayi <sadia.thiryayi@ifnonline.com> and Br. Shaaz Adeel <shaaz.adeel@ifnonline.com>

Tarbiya Circle High School Youth Program is back for another great year! Registration is ongoing right now and classes will begin on October 6th, in sha Allah!

IFN Sunday School Parent/Student Handbook - please review.

1. Link to Handbook Acknowledgement Form

https://forms.gle/4YDBEQeedz4XJKjN7

2. Link to Photo Consent Form 2024-25

https://forms.gle/cyohysboGRHXf3cH8

3. Link to Medical Emergency Form

https://forms.gle/QBjf3fAKKLukKS489

1. Link to Parent Orientation Slides 2024-25 (from August 25th, 2024)

2. Link to Sunweb Parent Portal

3. Link to Report Absence

4. Link to IFNSS School Calendar 2024-25

5. Link to sign up for Parent Involvement Opportunities

6. Link to Report Bullying incidents at IFNSS

You can call the IFN main phone number 847-406-3730 and then Dial Extension 222 for Sunday School Office

• Principal - Sr. Saddaf Raheel - ifnss.principal@ifnonline.com

• Vice Principal - Sr. Samina Anwar - samina.t.anwar@ifnonline.com

• Office Manager - Sr. Saba Fuad - ifnss.office@ifnonline.com

• Registrar - Br Siraj Khaja - ifnss.registrar@ifnonline.com

• Education Committee Chair - Dr. Sarwar Nasir msnasir53@gmail.com

• Education Committee Vice Chair - Dr Haris Jamil haris.jamil@gmail.com

• IFN President - Br Ahmed Nader - ahmed.nader@ifnonline.com

• IFN Vice President - Br. Mohamed Eslam meslam.mohamed@ifnonline.com

• MUHSEN Facilitators, Sr. Sadia Thiryayi sadia.thiryayi@ifnonline.com & Br. Shaaz Adeel shaaz.adeel@ifnonline.com

• Sunday School After School Arabic Program Coordinator - Sister Eman Enaya 312-813-0526 emanenaya@yahoo.com.

• Tarbiya Circle High School Youth Program Lead - Taha Tayyabi tarbiya.circle@ifnonline.com 312-804-5206