IFNSS Principal Newsletter
Week of Sunday, December 17th, 2023
أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ مَنْ قَرَأَ سُورَةَ الْكَهْفِ فِي يَوْمِ الْجُمُعَةِ أَضَاءَ لَهُ مِنَ النُّورِ مَا بَيْنَ الْجُمُعَتَيْنِ
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ
Assalamu alaikum respected parents,
I pray you are all doing well and enjoying a relaxing Winter Break with your loved ones. On Sunday, 12/17 we finished the make up testing for our IFNSS Annual Qirat Competition and I apologize for not being able to announce the results by the end of the day as we still had to finalize the grading. I have now included the "long awaited" results below in this Newsletter. Although we rank the top three participants for each grade, but we are proud of all the 80+ students who participated in the competition ma Sha Allah and we congratulate them all for their efforts and enthusiasm. All participating students will receive their awards (certificates OR trophies) at the end of the school year graduation ceremony. Our 1st place students will also have the opportunity to compete in the MEC Qiraat Competition (held sometime in March; more details will be shared when available). If you feel your child will not be available to participate in the MEC Qiraat Competition, please let us know so the 2nd or 3rd place runner up students can be given the opportunity.
MORNING ASSEMBLY: On Sunday (12/17), we recognized our Nasheed group of Sunday School girls and played the video of their Nasheed recitation at the IFN Fundraiser Event, during our morning assembly to celebrate the efforts of our young students ma Sha Allah. I encourage all parents to drop students to Sunday School by 9:40 as we start the morning assembly at 9:45 sharp and it is a great way for students to start off their day and establish a good morning routine. Morning Drop off begins at 9:30 AM.
PHOTO GALLERY!
7-8th grade girls presenting Islamic History class projects
2nd graders celebrating last day before Winter Break
2nd grade Islamic Studies class
4th graders listening to Masjid Project Presentation by Rizwan Khaja ماشاء الله
Rizwan Khaja- presenting on Masjid Project In 4th grade Islamic Studies ماشاء الله
Morning Assembly at IFNSS
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Meet our Amazing Staff!
Sr Athar Ahmad - 4th grade Islamic History teacher, a very dedicated, passionate teacher with an excellent work ethic, professionalism and organization, teaching at Sunday School for almost 15 years ma sha Allah!! So blessed to have her on our team Alhumdulillah!
This is one of my favorite sections of the Newsletter as I get to brag about our amazing team Alhumdulillah, who make Sunday School special. We are blessed and fortunate to have an excellent team of teachers and TA's who are very passionate and dedicated members of our community offering their valuable time and efforts to the noble cause of imparting Islamic education to our youth Alhumdulillah. Please refer to this FULL LIST OF TEACHERS for the 2023-24 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 to two teachers/TA's every week in my Newsletter Teacher Spot Light Section. See image below.
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NEWS YOU CAN USE!
Opportunities for Parent Involvement at IFNSS
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)
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.
IFNSS PROCEDURES
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.
PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR CHILDREN HAVE JOINED THEIR GOOGLE CLASSROOMS FOR ALL THREE SUBJECT AREAS i.e 1) Quran/Arabic, 2) Islamic Studies, 3) Islamic History. (Please note that KG through 8th graders have 3 google classrooms for each student. Pre-K students have 2 google classrooms for each student)
Morning Drop off begins at 9:30 and assembly starts at 9:45 in sha'Allah. Parents are requested to drop off their children at the front of the building and our staff will guide students to the Musallah area for assembly in sha'Allah. Parents can drive the car to the front of the building to drop off. Parents do not have to come inside the building for drop off as our staff will be at the front door to supervise students.
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. Our first Assembly of every 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 4th - 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) will 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.
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.
Resources for Parents
Other Helpful Links for Parents to Keep Handy
IMPORTANT CONTACTS FOR EASY REFERENCE!!
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
Co-Vice Principal - Sr. Samina Anwar - samina.t.anwar@ifnonline.com
- Co-Vice Principal - Sr. Muizza Suglatwala - muizza.suglatwala@ifnonline.com
Office Manager - Sr. Saba Fuad - ifnss.office@ifnonline.com
Registrar - ifnss.registrar@ifnonline.com
Education Committee Chair - Dr. Zafeer Ahmad zafeer.ahmad@ifnonline.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.
Tarbiyah Circle Program Lead: Taha Tayyabi : tarbiyah.circle@ifnonline.com Phone: 3128045206