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Andalusia Middle School Newsletter – 2nd Trimester 2014/2015
It’s April and we are two-thirds into the 2014/2015 Academic School Year! Boy,
time is flying here at Andalusia! Students are set in their ways and they are
learning so much about the world around them and are simultaneously being
equipped with mechanical and intellectual tools for the future. This is the period-
ic newsletter to inform you about Andalusia Middle’s Schools latest news!
Enjoy!
Awesome News! On Wednesday, February 4
th, 2015 Andalusia School was visited by staff and students of the
Ursuline School of New Rochelle, which is an all-girls Catholic school. The NJHS and NHS
girls of eleventh and eighth grade got to know each other. The girls first introduced them-
selves to each other, and then ate some food. Then we had an icebreaker activity making flags
reflecting who we are. It showed how much everyone had in common despite different reli-
gions and faiths. The Ursuline School girls then got a tour of Andalusia School. Then every-
one met in the Masjid for presentations. A high school student, Emaddudeen Suleiman recited
a few verses of Surat Maryam and Brother Ismail, who is our Islamic Studies teacher, ex-
plained the meaning of the verses. Afterwards, some Andalusia School students presented the
school documentary and
explained what our
school is all about. The
Ursuline School girls
presented a summary of
Christianity and the
similarities between
Christianity and Islam.
Their visit then ended
with photos, exchanging
of contact information,
and hugs.
Now let’s see what the Ursuline School Visitors had to say about Andalusia!
Here’s an 11th Grader’s Account of the Visit:
In the Days leading up to our trip to the Andalusia School, I was nervous. I was
nervous about our presentation, our attire compared to theirs, and what students
would think of us altogether. However, after arriving and spending some time
with the eighth and eleventh graders of Andalusia, I found that we are more sim-
ilar to them than we think. We learn the same things at school, watch the same
TV shows, and play the same sports. The only significant difference is their code
of dress, which entails long skirts and hijabs, and after spending a day with these
girls are wearing their raiment, I hardly noticed it. I also noticed that both Anda-
lusia and Ursuline are similar in that they both emphasize similar religious val-
ues. Both Andalusia and Ursuline are taken from religious contexts, and, similar
to Ursuline’s masses, Andalusia has religious services. In addition to their ser-
vices, the school prays together at least once a day. Our trip to Andalusia im-
pacted me a great deal. Prior to the trip, I misunderstood Muslims. Now, after
learning more about Islam and its people, I realize that, again, we are more simi-
lar than we appear to be.
Another 8th Grade
Student Also Wrote;
At first I was a bit
frightened by going
to the Andalusia
School. I also
thought that the girls
who go to Andalusia
would be a lot differ-
ent than us, but once
I started talking to
them, I realized they
have the same exact interests as me
and other girls. Just because they
wear the hijab, doesn't mean they
are strange or that we should act
foreign to them. After 5 minutes of
talking to them, I saw them for who
they were not what they were wear-
ing. I also thought that they would
eat different food…but turns out
they eat the same things as us!
They are normal human beings.
Students had a bl
Middle School Science Fair
Students learned a lot completing and showcasing their
Science Fair Projects! 6
th Grade Winners: Kareema Ghaswala, Anum Azeem, Zahra Fatima
7th
Grade Winners: Khadijah Kamal, Medina Jasavic
8th
Grade Winners: Khalisah Gafur, Tasnima Ahsan, Firdaus Mohammed
New Lockers!
6th
Grader Salma Nasser being
awarded for completing the most
books over the summer.
Thanks to parents, teachers, students, and
community members we managed to raise
enough money for new lockers!!
Khalid Gafur one of our 7th
grade
students will take a medical leave.
May Allah SWT grant him health
and a speedy recovery!
NEW LOCKERS
Spelling Bee Winner!
ANDALUSIA SCHOOL FIELD TRIP The Hudson River Museum
7th
grade Winners
1st place: Khadijah Kamal
2nd
place: Qusay Alomari
3rd
place: Aisha Dzhambekova
Spelling Bee Judges at work!
The Hudson Valley Museum Fields Trip On January 21st, Andalusia Middle School visited the Hudson
River Museum here in Yonkers, NY. Our students listened with
attention as local historians documented the history of Yonkers.
They toured Glenview Mansion, a late Victorian home complete
with period-specific architecture and ornamentation. At one point,
students participated in a museum-led science lab focused on as-
tronomy. In addition, we were treated to a fascinating planetarium
presentation hosted by a former NASA employee, and students
asked thoughtful questions. During this trip, Andalusia Middle
School students showed a willingness to learn and an interest in
discovering more about the community in which they are taught.
Sprit Day at Andalusia Middle School
Note from 7th
grade Girls: “Spirit Day was an excellent opportunity to
show how much love we have for our school” “We particularly loved
the fact of having a chance to wear our school colors which are green
and white, and green was also our beloved Prophet’s favorite color”
“By experiencing this day, we felt much closer to each other”
NATIONAL JUNIOR
HONOR SOCIETY!
Andalusia Middle School is a
chapter of the National Junior
Honor Society which is an
outgrowth of the National
Honor Society. Through the
years, NJHS has developed
into a unique organization
that recognizes outstanding
middle level students. The ob-
jectives of NJHS are to create
enthusiasm for scholarship, to
stimulate a desire to render
service, to promote worthy
leadership, and to encourage
the development of charac- ter in the nation's secondary
school students. The NJHS members meet every Wednesday to discuss various subjects. All
officers must attend the meeting. Andalusia 6th, 7th and 8th graders who have been at Anda-
lusia for at least one full semester and attained a cumulative average of at least 85% are eligi-
ble for membership in NJHS. Sixth and seventh graders who are inducted at the end of the
school year will have membership during their next grade level at Andalusia. On Wednesday
March 11th
, 2015 we inducted new members into our chapter. We are so proud to welcome
these new members and recognize their achievements.
In the Classroom! Math this Trimester with Sister Hanade!
The Standards for Mathematical Content are a balanced combination of
procedure and understanding. Expectations that begin with the word “under-
stand” are often especially good opportunities to connect the practices to the con-
tent. Students who lack understanding of a topic may rely on procedures too
heavily. Without a flexible base from which to work, they may be less likely to
consider analogous problems, represent problems coherently, justify conclu-
sions, apply the mathematics to practical situations, use technology mindfully to
work with the mathematics, explain the mathematics accurately to other stu-
dents, step back for an overview, or deviate from a known procedure to find a
shortcut. In short, a lack of understanding effectively prevents a student from
engaging in the mathematical practices and there for in math this trimester we
have been going in depth with all of the math concepts.
English this Trimester by Brother James!
In our ELA classes, students are currently reading and writing about topics that
allow them to explore how people form identities. In 6th grade, we're reading
Dragonwings, the story of a young Chinese immigrant who must discover who
he is and defend this identity from those who would oppress him for being differ-
ent. Our 7th grade class is currently reading (and acting out) a play titled Pyg-
malion. This challenging text documents the story of Eliza, an impoverished
woman who seeks to improve her situation in early 20th century England. Stu-
dents are examining Eliza's transformation, all the while addressing the ques-
tion, "Does looking and acting a certain way change who you are?" 8th grade
has just finished To Kill a Mockingbird, a classic American novel that explores
issues of race in Depression-era Alabama. Students are currently writing an ar-
gument essay that explores whether the main character, lawyer Atticus Finch,
should defend a black man accused of rape. Even though Atticus realizes the
man is innocent, the racist citizens of Maycomb present a challenge to Atticus'
identity as a self-respecting attorney. As a side note, we're rapidly approaching
the April date for our state ELA exams, and students have been prepping for the-
se exams through supplemental work at home and in class. We look forward to a
productive and fulfilling third trimester!
Social Studies this Trimester with Brother Ala!
In the Second Trimester, our Middle School Students were active and outspoken
about social issues and current events. Not only are they learning about the vast
and rich history of our World; but they are also becoming well acquainted with
current events. As their Social Studies teacher, I am extremely motivated to in-
spire our Muslim students to be intellectual, charming, and eloquent representa-
tives of Islam; this is imperative upon every American Muslim in our current
state of affairs. However, students cannot acquire this without the reading, writ-
ing, listening, speaking, analytical, and critical thinking skills aligned with the
new Common Core Standards. Our Middle Schoolers have been exploring the
origins, inspirations, and foundations of our modern Democratic systems of gov-
ernments today. They have learned about the ideas of Athenian Democracy, Ro-
man Republicanism, and John Locke’s concept of the Enlightenment as well as
many other theologians and philosophers’ idea about civil liberties and the rela-
tionship between the citizens and the state. Students are becoming empowered
with the intellectual tools they need to be confident and contributive citizens of
America! May Allah SWT give them success!
Science this Trimester with Brother Luqman!
The 2nd marking period was very interesting because students were able to ex-
plore the scientific methodology. The science fair allow student to put on a scien-
tist hat and work collaboratively in completing their project. Students picked a
topic, formulate a hypothesis based on background research, carry out an exper-
iment, and draw a conclusion from the experiment
Islamic Studies this Trimester with Brother Ismael!
Alhamdulilah, the second trimester has been one in which the Middle School
Islamic Studies curriculum contained a detailed and analytical look at the
concept of Zakah, one of the pillars of Islam. Students had an opportunity to not
only study the concept of Zakah but also to perform an actual Zakah calculation
using real-world scenarios. This required that students not only implement the
Islamic concepts of what qualifies as Zakah but also required they use math
concepts such as calculating percent applying the 2.5% Zakah rate. Inshallah,
Allah will give us the third trimester which will full of exciting and fun activities
for our students to do and at the same time will provide real life tools and
experiences for them.
Tips for Success:
With the New Common Core Standards, New York along with other States, has
taken a large leap in standardizing academics. There is much more emphasis
now on critical thinking and deep conceptual analysis as opposed to the prior in-
formation-based instruction. America is preparing our children to compete with
the rest of the world with real life productive skills in areas like critical thinking,
mathematics, technology, science, and so forth. Below are some links to im-
portant websites that students can look to for common core standards and to also
help with individual subjects
http://www.corestandards.org
http://www.khanacademy.org
https://learnzillion.com
https://www.brainpop.com
Username for Brainpop: Yonkers26 Password: yonkers
MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENT OF THE MONTH FROM DECEMBER- FEBRUARY
SUBJECT DECEMBER JANUARY FEBRUARY
MATH Dema Dalia Saleh Nagi Mohammad Yousef
ENGLISH Fahim Rahman Firdaus Mohammed Anum Azeez
SCIENCE Kareema Ghaswala Dema Dalia Salma Nasser
SOCIAL STUDIES Qusay Alomari Brian Ramos Lossine Kamara
ISLAMIC STUDIES Islam Dzhambekove
QURAN Mohammad Eidah Malek Salhab Nader Abdullah
ARABIC Ayoub Rached Ziyad Alkhateeb Alana Ibrahim
Andalusia Middle School teachers are required to call or email and communi-
cate with parents on a regular basis. I hope you had the opportunity to do so with
your child’s teachers. Please find the list of your child’s teachers email addresses
below.
Subject/Grade Teacher E-mail
English/ 6th
-8th
James Finnan [email protected]
Math/ 6th
-8th
MS Instructional Leader Hanade Sarar [email protected]
Science/ 6th
-8th
Luqman [email protected],
Social Studies/ 6th
-8th
Aladin Huda [email protected]
Arabic Level A/ 6th
-8th
Nagla Abdel Karim [email protected]
Arabic Level B/ 6th
-8th
Ibrahim Murtala [email protected]
Quran/ 6th
Rania Albashayreh [email protected]
Quran/ 7th
and 8th
Ibrahim Murtala [email protected]
Islamic Studies/ 6th
-8th
Ismail Rashid [email protected]
Computer/ 6th
-8th
Umme Ayisha [email protected]
Physical Education- Boys Abdul Wali
Physical Education- Girls Radeyah Khan [email protected]
Art Nahed Sarar [email protected]
Andalusia Main Office Office staff [email protected]
Thank you for being a critical part of our school community and for your con-
tinued efforts to help our students succeed. Your commitment to being part of
our team has a profound impact on our student’s academic achievements and
success. Now is the time for students (and to a certain extent, parents) to make
appropriate adjustments in study skills and environment to prepare for continued
success. Parents should make sure their children are studying in a well-lit and
spacious area where they will not “space out” and will be able to focus on and
stay interested in their studies during homework time. Parents should create an
environment where children can practice what they learn at school. Also, you
should keep computers in a central location so they can be monitored, so fast
fingered students aren’t clicking away on Facebook. Just a few helpful hints as
we begin November. Remember, by establishing good habits now, we are setting
our students up to be successful at the next level!
We look forward to sharing our excellence with you throughout the year in many
different venues. Please feel free to contact us at any time if you have questions
or concerns.
JAZAKUM ALLAHU KHYRAN
Hanade Sarar Middle School Instructional Leader
