Madina Academy
Principal's Section
As salaam Alaikum Madina Academy Parents,
We hope this newsletter finds you in good health and high spirits. As we move toward the end of
the school year, we would like to bring some important dates and events to your attention. So
please mark your calendars and stay informed about these exciting happenings at our school.
Ramadan Food Drive: Now through April 28th
In the spirit of Ramadan, we are holding a food drive to help those in need in our community.
We kindly ask for your generous contributions to non-perishable food items. The food drive will
continue until April 28th, so please remember to bring in your donations and help make a
difference.
Important Dates to Remember
Eid Party: Join us in celebrating Eid al-Fitr on April 28th. We look forward to a fun-
filled day of activities, food, and community bonding. Parents can arrive at 9 am.
PreK/KG and 5th Grade Graduation: Mark your calendars for June 1st as we
celebrate the achievements of our PreK/KG and 5th-grade students. Let's cheer them on
as they transition to the next chapter of their educational journey!
8th and 12th Grade Graduation: Our 8th and 12th grade students will be graduating on
June 17th. Join us in recognizing their accomplishments and wishing them the best in
their future endeavors.
Scholastic Book Fair: April 24th-27th
Remember to visit our Scholastic Book Fair between April 24th and 27 th . This is a
beautiful opportunity to support our school and promote a love for reading in our
students. We hope to see you there!
NWEA MAP Testing: Week of June 5th - June 9th
Please be aware that NWEA MAP Testing will occur during the week of June 5th and June 9th.
All students must complete the testing to be promoted to the next grade. Therefore, ensure
your child is well-rested and prepared for this critical assessment.
Attendance Reminder
We want to remind all parents and students that regular attendance is essential to academic
success. Therefore, please ensure that your child attends school regularly and is punctual. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.
Re-enrollment Reminder
The deadline for re-enrollment is June 9th. After this date, open re-enrollment will begin, and
enrollment will be on a first-come, first-served basis for all new and returning students. Please
complete the re-enrollment process by the deadline to secure your child's spot for the upcoming school year.
Thank you for your continued support and involvement in our school community. We can create
a nurturing and enriching environment for our students to learn and grow.
Kind regards,
Dr. Cooper
School Achievements!
Students selected for membership of the National Honor Society: Al Qalam Chapter
Zainah Khaliq: President
Imaan Ehmad: Vice President
Tasneem Haroun: Treasurer
Maryam Akbar
Mustafa Mutlu
Yameen Ahmad
Salma Mahmoud
Tasneem Zoghol
Farida Barakat
Tasneem Zoghol!
Grade: 10th
Teacher Mentor: Ms. Sana Farooqi
Project Title: Investigating the effect of dimpled and tubercled geometries in
conjunction on the drag and lift of airfoils.
Prizes:
● Connecticut Science Fair Association Physical Science Awards --- 4th
Place- Physical Sciences Senior High Individual – Plaque
● Petit Family Foundation Women in Science & Engineering Awards --- 2nd
Place High School / plaque
● U.S. Air Force --- Certificate & USAF Merchandise Package
● American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics - Connecticut Section ---
award, certificate
● Vanderbilt Chemicals, LLC --- Vanderbilt Chemicals Award for Excellence
in Tribology and Sustainable Lubrication
● University of Connecticut - Early College Experience --- UCONN Early
College Experience Program: Frontiers in Science - Co-Op Gift Certificate
● Arthur & Ruth Mensing Award --- Mensing Award Excellence in the High
School Physical Sciences
History Day Winners
Events: By: Zainah Khaliq Grade: 9
Alhamdulillah, we have reached the blessed month of Ramadan, and we are filled with gratitude and happiness. Our students were thrilled and eagerly awaiting this beautiful month, putting in their best efforts to decorate the school. The hallways are adorned with construction paper chains, creative lanterns, moons, stars, and Ramadan banners. We hope that these decorations will help to create a peaceful and spiritual environment for all students during this holy month.
To honor this month and focus on our worship to Allah, the school has generously provided the students with a half-day schedule instead of the regular 3:30 dismissal. However, high school students are required to stay after school on Friday until 3:30 pm. We hope this will provide ample time for our students to engage in prayer, reflection, and other spiritual activities during the month of Ramadan.
On March 24th, the school hosted an iftar fundraiser to support our community. Dr. Cooper acknowledged the achievements of Madina students, and some beautiful Quran recitation was performed by our high school students. There was a variety of delicious food available, including samosa chaat, biryani, kebab, and keer. Special thanks to Mrs. Mariah, Mrs. Meena, Ms. Maria, Ms. Rajae, and Nurse Ismerelda for their hard work and dedication in setting up this event.
As we continue through the month of Ramadan, let us keep in mind the importance of self-reflection, compassion, and gratitude. We hope that this month will bring peace, blessings, and joy to our entire community.
High School: By: Marriam Khan Grade: 12
As we move into March, the SAT begins to creep closer, an academic noose tightening around the 11th graders’ necks, with only their sweat, tears, and panic keeping them afloat. Not to worry though! There are preventative measures and intensive preparation to help ease the difficulty of this comprehensive and arduous exam.
The high school SAT prep class comes in clutch as it provides a time dedicated for the juniors to focus on studying for the SAT by taking practice tests and pinpointing their weaknesses from the results. They base their practice problems on the subjects they struggle with the most, at first focusing on the quantity of practice problems, but slowly improving accuracy over time with practice. Khan Academy and College Board have proven to be the most effective and useful SAT prep websites, which are the main sources used in the class. Mentally preparing for the SAT is just as important as knowing all the academic material that will appear on the test. Knowing tips and tricks such as, how to pace timing, can be greatly beneficial in helping students ace the SAT.
Many juniors will take their Scholastic Aptitude Test the summer or spring before their senior year, relieving them of the stress of having to take it during the college application process in the fall of their senior year. They are able to take it up to three times for their scores to be considered. The three hour exam consists of four sections: Reading, Writing & Language, Math With No Calculator, and Math With Calculator.
March madness? Definitely. Just not the kind you’re thinking of.
Advice Column: By: Salma Mahmoud Grade: 10
Q: Perfectionism is hindering my potential. How can I overcome it?
A: Perfectionism is something that a lot of people struggle with. To someone who doesn’t experience it, perfectionism might sound like a good thing. How could making sure to do your best possibly be negative?
Of course, we should always attempt to excel at everything we do -- we learned this both from society and our religion. However, there comes a point where the want for something to be perfect becomes so strong that it becomes a debilitating obsession -- and that’s where the line has to be drawn. As humans, we cannot be perfect, and trying to attain that level will only leave us disappointed and disheartened.
As I discussed in a previous advice column entry, procrastination sometimes stems from perfectionism. Many people experience high levels of anxiety when faced with the prospect of even the smallest failure, which can lead them to avoid beginning the task at all. This is a major issue because it can lead to a work pile-up and increased feelings of stress.
So how do you curb your feelings of perfectionism? Majority of it can be overcome through a mindset change (which, of course, is easier said than done!). Here are a few tips on how to deal with perfectionism:
Set achievable goals. If you are a perfectionist, it can be easy to fall into the trap of only looking into the big, final, perfect picture, which can cause you to ignore all the gears that make it come into place. By allowing yourself smaller goals that you know you can achieve, you will be less likely to spiral into a perfectionist mindset.
Always remember: anything worth doing is worth doing poorly. Now what does this mean? At first glance, this can seem counterintuitive. Of course we should never aim low! However, referring back to the anxiety-caused procrastination, doing something no matter how badly is the first step in doing it at all, especially if you have a perfectionist mindset. For example, brushing your teeth for 30 seconds is better than not brushing at all when 2 minutes seems like too much.
Stop viewing mistakes as the worst thing in the world. Mistakes are meant to be learned from, no matter how cliche that may sound. Being a perfectionist takes away from the ability to sit with your mistakes and question them, rather, you end up denying and pushing them away. Instead of beating yourself up over a mistake, ask yourself: “How can I avoid this next time? What are some ways I can improve?”
Students' Work:
Why People Should Stop Animal Testing By Yousaf Saeed Grade 5
What if someone took you from your home and to a lab just to do tests on you? Animals
get tested every day. Animals lose their homes, their lives, and proper care because of animal
testing. It is very sad that this is still happening.
Animal testing can mean that animals are kept in cages or laboratories all of their lives.
They may be injected with terrible chemicals, medicines, and even have body parts removed or
grown on them. All types of animals get tested on, including rats, rabbits, dogs, monkeys,
chimpanzees, birds, and many others. There are so many companies that test on animals, but the
good news is that we can stop buying from them.
There are many ways that we can stop or show companies that we will not tolerate animal
testing. The best way is to stop buying products that are tested on animals. There are many ways
to tell if a product is tested on animals. Some products will say “ cruelty free “ on the packaging.
Another way to tell is a bunny logo on the package with peta written next to it. If you are unsure,
you can also look online. The internet is a great place to find companies and products that don't
test on animals.
As Muslims it is our duty to treat animals with kindness and respect. There are many
Hadiths condemning the mistreatment of animals. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) gave rights to
animals. Some examples of well known hadiths regarding animal welfare are below:
“Whoever is kind to the creatures of God is kind to himself” (Hadith: Bukhari)
“May God curse anyone who maims animals” (Hadith: Bukhari)
“It is a great sin for man to imprison those animals which are in his power” (Hadith: Muslim)
With this knowledge I hope you will start thinking about animal treatment and make
simple changes that can improve the lives of animals.
Ms. Danielle's 4th Grade: 3 Branches of Government!
The Legislative Branch made some new rules (bills) for the school!
The Executive Branch Vetoed some and made some into laws: President Azuz signed them into effect!
The Judicial Branch made up consequences if new laws are not followed: Go to the Principal's office!
Ustadh Sufu's Martial Arts Club:
Khalid Chronicles: Fasting
By:Ahella Bedir Grade:11
One day Khalid was taking a walk around his house because he had nothing better to do. He decided he would play with his brother, Ali. Khalid was so bored because it was Ramadan and for some reason people starved themselves so he was being trendy. Khalid started to walk down the stairs when he noticed something- OMG SHAWARMA! Khalid starts running, but halfway down, he remembers, it’s Ramadan. Feeling discouraged, he stops running, but just as he stops, his brother Ali, who was walking right behind him slams into him, and BAM! Khalid flies into the shawarma face first and swallows half of it! As the traces of his betrayal to the month of starving covered his face, his mom walks in. His eyes widened at the sight of the great boss of the house, and his mind can’t begin to think of all the consequences this act of treason would cost him. His brother Ali, who had witnessed the entire tragedy gives Khalid a glance, and dashes down the hall, to the safety of the living room.
Khalid watched in horror as the big boss stomped up to him and yelled, “KHALID! MISH INTA SAYIM YA GAZMA-” (“KHALID AREN’T YOU FASTING YOU SHOE-”)
Khalid scrambled up from the mess of shawarma and ran into the living room, only to slam into something again! Ali was carrying a giant pot of molokhia and then BAM! The molokhia goes flying and lands straight in his mouth, causing yet another betrayal. At least his stomach is full, but this time there is no escaping the boss.
“KHALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIID INTA BITA3MIL AYH YA AHBEL ABOOK HAYAKUL EH!” (“KHALIIIIIIIIIIIIID WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU SILLY, WHAT’S YOUR DAD GOING TO EAT!”
Khalid took this as a threat. He ran past the big boss, almost toppling her over. His legs went as fast as they could, his arms flung around like two strings of spaghetti as he felt the shibshib fly near. But the kitchen was far too cluttered. His arm flung into the ma7shi pot and up went everything into the air and back down into his screaming mouth immediately shutting him up. Alhamdulillah. But just then, a hand smacked his head, and half the ma7shi in his mouth flew, and down his face went into a platter of kushari.
“KHALID YA 7UMAAAAAAAAAR EHEL INTA BITA3MILOH DAAAAAH!” (KHALID YOU DONKEEEEEEEEY WHAT IS THIS THAT YOU’RE DOING!”)
Now he could no longer run. He turned around to face the boss, Kushari still in his mouth.
“Wow mama this is actually goo—”
“GUD YA GAZMA INTA HA TAKUL KUL AL AKL WETOOL GUD BARDOH?” (GOOD YOU SHOE, YOU EAT ALL THE FOOD AND THEN YOU SAY GOOD?”
“NO mama it was an ACCIDENT!”
“ACCIDENT EH YAHBEL?” (“ACCIDENT WHAT YOU SILLY”)
“I fell inside the shawarma mama! It was Ali’s fault!”
Ali, peeking out from behind the door frame holding up some sushi quickly disappeared. The only thing Khalid could hear was:
“SUSHI. IS. GOOD.”
“Howa gab dah minain…?” (“where did he get that..?”) Khalid’s mom watched in confusion, and so did he because who on earth gave him sushi?
The Sheytan stood in the furthest corner of the kitchen, holding a platter of sushi, grinning from ear to ear as he watched the chaos unfold.
Khalid’s mom pulled his ears off, and never let him eat shawarma or molokhia or ma7shi or kushari ever again, and the moral of the story? Don’t run down the stairs while you’re fasting. Especially if your brother is Ali. By the way, the star of the show is the shibshib.
Although Libby has never held a budget before, she must not start with a bad budget that may cause her trouble in the future. By saying that she is going to spend 40% of her monthly expenses towards only housing and the rest is for entertainment is a big issue. That is because there are many other things that she must put money aside for, such as the car that she is planning to buy, as well as groceries, taxes, bills and insurance. By saying that she is still young and may be able to come up with the money to pay out her loans in the future is a very not intelligent way of thinking. By saving money from now, she'll be able to live a more comfortable life in the future as well as am easier life now. She will be able to slowly pay out her loans even if it isn't all at once. She needs to sort her budget into 50% needs, 40% wants, and %20 savings.
Libby wants to live alone, but that isn't the best idea, at least not momentarily. She still has no experience, and has only recently started her job. Although she wants not live alone, it's the best idea to find roommates until she is ready to live on her own. By having roommates she won't have to pay as much on rent. However, if she really wants to live on her own, she needs to find an affordable apartment that is enough for only her. She doesn't need to rent a place that is more than she needs.
Since there is a lot of public transportation in Boston, it is best to use what is given. And because she has a lot of public transportation available to her, that means that she has a lot of flexibility in moving around. That is the better option. However, if she were to really want a car, she should buy a used car from a car dealership, or buy an old model where she wouldn't need to spend as much money.
Libby wants to try all the food around the area in Boston. She wants to try new cuisines and different cultural foods. However, she shouldn't make that her priority. She should make her own food at home to save money, and maybe go out to eat on weekends. That way she would satisfy both herself and her budget. She could also consider taking out 20% of her wants money on such things.
Finally, Libby wants to go out and have fun, explore the new city that she moved into. She is definitely not to blame. However, she shouldn't keep spending money on entertaining herself. If she were to take out a specific percentage like about 20% of her wants share on entertainment and shopping, as well as gym subscription. Libby mentions that she NEEDS to go to them all. However, that is not true. She WANTS to go see them all.
Miguel and his Backpack by Salma Tuffaha Grade 9
Entertainment Page Fun Puzzles, Riddles & More!!!
By: Maryam Akbar Enjoy solving this easy crossword puzzle! The Planets
Across 3. No longer a officially considered a planet 4. Coldest planet in the solar system 6. The largest planet 8. Closest planet to the sun Down 1. Famous for its rings 2. Closest planet to Earth 5. The farthest planet from the sun 7. Takes approximately 365 days to rotate around the sun 8. Known as the "Red Planet"
Let’s see who can solve the following Riddle Questions:
They come out at night without being called, and are lost in the day without being stolen. What are they?
I am full of holes but still holds water. What am I?
I am your mother’s brother’s only brother in law. Who am I?
I’m the son of water but when I return to water I die. Who am I?
What goes up when rain comes down?
You can drop me from the tallest building and I’ll be fine, but if you drop me in water I die. What am I?
Who makes it, has no need of it. Who buys it, has no use for it. Who uses it can neither see nor feel it. What is it?
What do pandas have that no other animal has?
What has four legs, but can’t walk?
In 1990, a person is 15 years old. In 1995, that same person is 10 years old. How can this be?
Answers to previous riddles:
Your breath.
Coin
quick draw
road
shadow
piano
window
nothing
seven
spelling
Did You Know?:
- The circulatory system is more than 60,000 miles long.
- The world’s first animated feature film was made in Argentina.
- German chocolate cake was invented in Texas.
- The Philippines consists of 7,641 islands.
- A one-way trip on the Trans-Siberian Railway involves crossing 3,901 bridges.
- There’s enough gold inside Earth to coat the planet.
And Now...Like the color of silver, in the night sky, the new moon rises, the Holy month has past...
The Month of Ramadaan has come to to an end, and the transition from Ramadan to Eid and thereafter should be a path that brings us closer to our Creator and a path that treads the Sunnah i.e. The way of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) .
THE PRIZE GIVING NIGHT : The night before Eid ul Fitr is known as Laylatul Jaaizah (the night of prize giving). It is on this night that Allah Ta-ala rewards His servants for all the good that they have done in Ramadaan.
EID-UL-FITR : Celebrated on the first day of Shawwaal, at the completion of Ramadhaan. Shawwaal is the 10th month of the Islamic calendar. Eid-al-Fitr is a very joyous day for the believing men and women. On this day Muslims show their real joy for the many blessings Allah Ta'ala has given to them to fulfil their obligation of fasting and other good deeds during the blessed month of Ramadhaan.
SUNNAH ACTS ON THE DAY OF EID: Wake up early. Take a Ghusl (bath) before Eid Salaah Brush your teeth (use Miswaak) Dress up, putting on best clothes available. Use itr (perfume) Eat something sweet before proceeding to the Eid Musallah e.g. Dates etc. Pay Sadaqatul Fitr before Salaatul-Eid (on Eid-al-Fitr). Go to Eid Musallah (Eid Gah/prayer ground) early. Offer Salaah-al-Eid in congregation in an Eid Musallah except when weather is not permitting like rain, snow, etc. Use different roads en route to the Eid Musallah and back home. Recite the following Takbir on the way to Eid Musallah : Allahu-Akbar, Allahu-Akbar. La ila-ha illallahu Allahu-Akbar, Allahu-Akbar. Wa-lillahil hamd. (Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest. There is no god but Allah. Allah is Greatest, Allah is Greatest. And all praises are for Allah)
