Madina Newsletter

Assalamu Alaikum Madina Academy,

Summer is finally here! I've been eagerly waiting to say that. Alhamdulillah, this year has been incredibly fulfilling. We've experienced various days of enjoyment, embarked on exciting trips, and created countless cherished memories.

It has been an absolute honor to serve as the editor for the 2023-24 Madina Newsletter. I consider myself fortunate to state that this year’s newsletter has been consistently impressive, with an edition published every month, all thanks to the exceptional team. The staff writers this year have consistently delivered outstanding work that we can all take pride in. The newsletter's quality has only continued to improve since the start of the school year.

Whether or not I am appointed as the editor for the next term, my goal remains the same: to improve Madina Academy’s newsletter and elevate it to the position it rightfully deserves.

See you next year,

Zainah Khaliq

This year at Madina Academy has been packed with exciting events that brought our community together. Here are the top five events:

1: Spirit Week: Spirit Week allowed students to showcase their creativity with different themed dress-up days. From Media Monday’s character costumes to the elegance of Fancy Friday, each day was a unique celebration of school spirit and fun.

2: The Eid Party: The PTS organized the Eid Party, a festive blend of outdoor and indoor activities. Bouncy houses, face painting, and henna made it a memorable student celebration.

3: Muslimah Night: On February 23, Muslimah Night transformed our event hall into a pink wonderland. With enchanting decor, delicious food, and many activities like slime making, henna, and talent and fashion shows.

4: The Gaza Fundraiser: Our Muslim community came together for the Gaza Fundraiser, raising funds through many activities. The event showcased our compassion for fellow Muslims, showing the importance of empathy.

5: STEM Night: STEM Night was an exciting day of exploring and inventing, families enjoyed exhibits that showcased robots, drones, and engineering projects. Delicious food added to the fun making it a night of learning and enjoyment.

These events throughout the year not only entertain us but also strengthen our school/Muslim community. We look forward to more wonderful occasions next year at Madina Academy!

Two years ago, for the very first time, Madina Academy’s students qualified for the National History Day competition in Maryland. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, the competition moved online, and they couldn’t go on the trip.

Last year, a handful of students qualified for Nationals again, and this time, they went on the trip. Being one of those students myself, I can say that even though we didn’t win, the trip was worth it. Going on a road trip with classmates is a unique bonding experience, and hanging out together made it even more fabulous.

This year, four of our students made it to Nationals. Sarah Elsherbini, Noor Hassan, Enaaya Mohammed, and Musfira Bhuiyan headed to Maryland the week after school ended. Sarah and Noor had already gone the previous year, but their excitement remains the same. “Maryland last year was extremely fun and I loved how we all stayed in one hotel place and we got to hang out so much…we expect to stay in the same place this time” (Sarah Elsherbini, Grade 8). Enaaya and Musfira, both in 6th grade and participating for the first time, are the youngest Madina students to qualify. They’ve heard many stories from last year’s trip and can’t wait to experience it on their own.

We wish them a safe and fun trip to Maryland, inshaAllah. Whether you win or not, you have made us all proud!

Musfira Bhuiyan and Enaya Mohamad recieved Honoroble mentions. This year only one project from all of Connecticut placed! NHD at the Nationals are huge and includes many international teams as well. To even get an honorable mention is indeed a big deal!

WELL DONE TO ENAYA and MUSFIRA and All the other competitors who travleed to Maryland for the National Competitions!

Throughout the year, the upper school students competed in multiple competitions. The competitions included were:

What is NHD?

National History Day is an excellent academic program for both middle and upper school students. Each year, more than half a million students, encouraged by thousands of teachers nationwide, participate in the NHD contest. Students choose historical topics related to a theme and conduct extensive primary and secondary research through libraries, museums, oral history interviews and historic sites. The historical research training, skills, and experience of NHD prepares students for college and careers. Students start to compete at regional level, then can excel to state level, and finally national level. If you are intrigued and would like to learn more about National History Day, check out: https://nhd.org/en/

At Madina Academy, the history teacher (Mrs. Salwa Collings) encourages students in joining NHD, and guides the students throughout the process of NHD. With lots of dedication and hard work from Mrs. Salwa, students, and parents, many students have competed in the regional, states, and even the national competition. This year at Madina Academy, about 20 students competed in the regional competition and a few made it into the national competition. Students Noor Hassan, Sarah Elshirbini, Enaaya Mohammed, and Musfira Bhuiyan won the state competition and are going to compete at the national competition which takes place at the University of Maryland from June 9th - 14th.

1. Regional Competition:

• Grade 8: Huda Khaliq and Noora Mahmood

• Grade 6: Salma Hassan and Sohlya Hassan

• Grade 6: Enaaya Mohammed and Musfira Bhuiyan

• Grade 9: Ayoub Elamrani

• Grade 8: Sarah Elsherbini and Noor Hassan

• Grade 11: Yameen Ahmed

1. State Competition:

• Grade 8: Sarah Elshirbini and Noor Hassan

• Grade 6: Enaaya Mohammed and Musfira Bhuiyan

1. National Competition:

The national competition hasn’t happened yet, however let's hope for the best for the students competing!

What is Model UN?

“Model United Nations is an academic simulation of the United Nations where students play the role of delegates from different countries and attempt to solve real world issues with the policies and perspectives of their assigned country.” (Best Delegate) Students are also eligible for receiving awards.

Madina Academies Upper School has been attending UConn’s Model UN for many years. During this school year, UCMUN occurred from November 3rd to the 5th. The upper school students at Madina Academy competed in it and headed to the UConn Storrs campus for the Model UN. The students prepared for it through research and hard work.

The freshman and sophomores at Madina Academy participated in the CFOG Essay Competition. Students could receive prizes up to $1000. It was the 25th Connecticut Foundation for Open Government high school essay contest on the First Amendment. Students had three options to choose from to write about.

The upper school students also had the opportunity to participate in the Law Day contest. The Connecticut Supreme Court Historical Society celebrated its yearly Law Day by encouraging upper school students to participate in their Law Day Contest. The students submitted either a written-word submission, art piece, song or video that discusses the theme of this year which was “Voices of Democracy”. Students were able to win up to 1000$. This year Maryam Haroun, a freshman here at Madina Academy won first place for the contest.

During Ramadan at Madina Academy, Sister Danah and Sister Alaa hosted a Quran competition. The upper school students were able to participate. They had to recite the last 2 ayat of Surah Baqarah and the last 4 ayat from Surah Hashr. The winners from the upper school were Salma Eid, Zainah Khaliq, Hamza Alsaleh, and Ayoub Elamrani.

There are numerous pros and cons to Madina Academy, but one particular issue comes to mind when I hear, "What changes does Madina Academy need?" Madina Academy students should have the opportunity to address student concerns and frustrations directly with the Madina Governing body, i.e. the board. This is a topic that comes up, but is always very quickly dismissed.

We, as students, have many questions for upper management. For example, why did it take so long for the placement of lockers, especially when we had the funds? The lockers is only one example of many such projects. Moreover, there is a disconnect between the Board and the student body, as many students are unfamiliar with the Board members and their school goals. We would have loved to convey our frustration of having to lug around heavy backpacks all day, for example. Since the governing body does not have children that go to our school, they cannot fully understand the student perspective. Thus the disconnect. We would love to see familiar faces on the board to give us a sense of trust and security. Although the bulletproof windows were funded through grants, those who are unaware of this wonder why we cannot have sports facilities, funded extra curricular activities, school-given technology, or other basic resources instead. While the reason given behind the expensive bulletproof glass is safety, school shootings are in fact a rare occurrence, and bulletproofing three windows out of the hundreds we have is unlikely to provide any extra safety, especially considering students are rarely at the front entrance of the school. This just seems like a performative attempt to address an unjustified concern at a high cost.

It is time for all stakeholders to collaborate to make Madina Academy an even better place to work and learn.

Madina Academy has many students skilled at sports, but we need teams or clubs to join. Unlike public schools, where various teams are open to join, we have minimal options. Although students do have the choice of joining teams outside of the Madina community, these extracurriculars can be expensive. In comparison, school teams are much cheaper and more affordable for our parents. I believe that our school could do better by offering sports activities that our students can join.

Because of this, we miss out on the benefits of playing sports, like staying healthy, learning teamwork, and growing as people. Partaking in these sports helps us stay healthy and teaches us important skills like being disciplined and never giving up. It also brings students together and helps us feel proud of our school. If Madina Academy had more sports activities, we could become better students and better people.

Adding sports to our school isn't easy, and I understand that it isn't cheap either, but extracurricular sports and activities play a very important role in student development, and this cannot keep getting constantly overlooked. We don't have a lot of money or a nice indoor place to play, but there are ways we can solve these problems, like working with each other and finding ways to raise extra money. For example, we can hold multiple fundraisers to raise a comfortable amount. It's also important for teachers and parents to support us and see why sports are important for our school, and over time we can raise enough money to actually make a difference.

To make sports better at Madina Academy, we need to start by offering more sports teams and clubs. This could include popular sports like soccer, basketball, and volleyball, as well as other activities like martial arts (which we already have). We should also have small competitions just for fun, and by working together to make this happen, we can find more places to play and get help from people who know about sports to get us started.

In conclusion, adding more sports activities to Madina Academy is important for helping students grow and learn. If we work together and find ways to make it happen, our school can become a place where everyone has a chance to play and be part of a team. Let's make Madina Academy a better place for sports and our skilled students.

Q: I feel like once summer starts, I lose track of the days and waste so much time. How can I ensure that I’m at least a little productive over the summer?

A: Something you need to remember is that summer vacation is a vacation. You’ve worked hard all year long and you (hopefully) did your best to achieve those good grades. Despite this, I know it can be a little difficult to adjust. You’ll be well rested, but there can be a nagging feeling of uneasiness. I know personally, I always feel a little scared that there is something I’m supposed to be doing that I’m not.

A good way to fix this is to set up a new routine that is not too rigorous, but a little productive. There are three things I would recommend adding in: first, choose a skill you want to learn and allocate some time in the day to work on it. For myself, I picked calligraphy, which I will dedicate around 30 minutes a day to improving and learning. Second, engage in at least one thing that sharpens your brain, whether it’s reading or reviewing concepts you might need for next year. Last, but certainly not least, make sure you use some time to get closer to Allah every day. Reading the Quran, making dua, and praying sunnah prayers can ensure that your summer break was not spent in vain.

Have a good summer, everyone, and make sure to rest up!

Ms. Basma Sallam

1. How was your experience as a biology/chemistry teacher in Madina Academy?

“I really enjoyed teaching biology/chemistry for 9th and 10th grade students in Madina Academy, it was a great experience.”

1. What is your perspective of Madina Academy and the students?

“I like the students and staff muslim community.”

1. What’s one thing you would change about this year?

“Will add more labs, experiments and field trips.”

1. What inspired you to pursue a career in teaching biology/chemistry?

“I love science and explaining it in a simple way to others.”

1. What are your educational background and experiences in the field?

“I have a BSC (Bachelor of Science) in pharmacy with 17 yrs of experience in the medical field.”

1. What attracted you to our school specifically?

“Its unique good community.”

1. How do you plan to support students who may struggle with biology/chemistry?

“By having conversation with them understand their different weak points and needs and try to strength it.”

It wasn’t hard to tell that summer was Alya’s favorite season. The moment the weather reached the 80s, she was taking out her sunglasses and picnic blankets and lawn chairs and swimming suits and water guns from where they had been stashed during the cold, unfriendly months.

Today was the first day of the year that the beach was open again, and Alya would not let this day pass her by. So many months of being shut inside were not doing her justice -- her skin was pale and craving the sun. Luckily, she had friends who she knew would be up for taking a girls’ trip to the ocean. She made her way to FaceTime and phoned the groupchat. The familiar sound of an answered call met her ears and she smiled into the camera.

“Hey guys!” She greeted her friends enthusiastically and, after hearing their replies and engaging in a bit of small talk, she brought up the reason she had called them to begin with.

“Soooo… I was thinking of going to the beach today! You know, we can bring food, oh, I have a watermelon I can cut up! And all my water guns, and it’ll be so fun! The weather is so good today, so what do you guys think?” Alya didn’t have to wait to hear her friends’ excited yesses, and with that, their plan was set.

As Alya began to pack her needed supplies, she stopped and thought. Last summer seemed so far away, yet she remembered it like it was yesterday. This was the final summer before she was starting college. She thought about the next four years of college. They wouldn’t be easy, that’s for sure. She would have to work harder than ever to achieve her dreams.

For now, though, she was just preparing for a trip to the beach.

Let’s see who can complete these spring activities in under 10 minutes!

• Bats are the only flying mammals.

• Snakes smell with their tongue.

• A chicken once lived without its head for 18 months.

• Ketchup was once sold as medicine.

1. Are you asleep yet?

2. A promise.

3. All the people on the boat are married.

4. He was born on February 29.

5. Your right elbow.

1. Angels.

2. 40 days.

3. 2 times.

4. The Battle of Badr.

5. The left ear.

Why is Eid ul-Adha important in Islam? What event(s) led to Muslims celebrating Eid ul-Adha today?

Last Month’s winner goes to Juman Tuffaha!

What is the difference between Sunni and Shia Islam, and what events caused these two sides to split?

Sunni are the Muslims that follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH) hence the name. Shia are the ones who believe in the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) but believe that Ali (ASWS) was the second best option so they hate Abu Bakr As-Siddiq because they believe that Ali (ASWS) should've been the first Caliph. But the main difference between the two branches is their contradicting beliefs on succession after the Prophet Muhammad died.

Have a fantastic summer! We eagerly anticipate welcoming you back for the new academic year!🤩