Dear Parents, Students, Staff & Community-Members:

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

We are at the end of the first semester and are ready to enter the 2nd

half of

the year. You can almost feel the end of the year approaching: The order

for caps & gowns being placed and arrangements being made for the

Graduation photographer; Seniors raising money for their trip to

Gatlinburg in May; ads being worded for positions that will be open next

year as the number of students continues to increase; and so much more.

Plans are also underway for our Annual Spring Fundraising Dinner in

March, which will come at the end of Spirit Week.

6th

Annual Spring Fundraising Dinner

Saturday, March 19, 2011

5:00 – 8:00 pm

Guest Speaker:

Dr. Jamal Badawi

Embassy Suites Hotel

Please Join Us!

Some other upcoming events to look forward to:

The Regional Science Fair: On February 14th

and 15th

, six

students will represent AYA at the Regional Science Fair. Last

year, five of our six entrants won in their categories.

The Spelling Bee

Career Hours: So far, we have explored the fields of Nursing,

Medicine and Law. Our next presentations will cover Dentistry,

Business & Accounting, Engineering and Education.

The MAS Myathlon: Our students look forward to many wins!

Junior/Senior Projects: These projects are coordinated through

Islamic Studies to better prepare our students for life after AYA.

Join us for our events; celebrate with us our successes;

share with us your suggestions and ideas.

Wassalamu alaikum,

Sr. Magda Head of School

Eagle’s View

Look inside...

Sr. Magda’s Page 2 New Teacher/Staff Spotlight

3

Elementary Awards 4 Middle & High School Awards

5

Kids’ Corner 6 Advertisements 8

February 1-3 Quarter II Exams 1-3 Early Dismissal @ 12: 30p 2 20/20 Contest Deadline 3 IPTA Meeting @ 8:30a 4 NO SCHOOL/Staff

Workday 11 SOTM Assembly 11 Tarbiyah Program 6-7:30p 14-15 Regional Science Fair 14-18 Scouting 4 Food Program 20 Petra Fundraising Event 22-23 In Class Spelling Bees

24 School-wide Spelling Bee

Newsletter Submission DEADLINE: February 22, 2010

Please email submissions to

ayanewsletter@ayatampa.com

Business Ads Welcome! Full Page Ad = $500 for 2 Months ½ Page Ad = $250 for 2 Months

¼ Page Ad = $ 125 for 1 Month Business Card = $100 for 1 Month

CALENDAR of

EVENTS

NEWS

5905 E. 130th

Ave., Tampa, Florida 33617 www.ayatampa.com (813) 987-9282

Drop-Off/Pick-Up Procedure:

Please remember when exiting

130th

Ave. onto 56th

St., turn

RIGHT ONLY from: 7:45-

8:15 am and 3:25-4:00 pm

American Youth Academy

Page 2

The “Skinny” on Skinny Jeans

Something to Think About…

According to Wikipedia, “skinny jeans have a snug fit

through the legs and end in a small leg opening.”

I honestly do not think they are called Skinny Jeans because

they make you look skinny; I think they are called Skinny

Jeans because they fit you like a second skin.

When the Prophet Muhammad SAWS was asked about how

the women‟s clothing should fit to cover their „awrah (parts

of the body that must be covered), he responded: “It (the

clothing) should not be transparent (see-through), and it

should not be form-fitting.”

" ال يشف و ال بجسى"وفي ي سوي " ال يشف و ال يكسى"

ر إنما أنت مذكر ..."فذك ” "So remind them…

Verily you are the reminder!”

12بسىسة انغاشيت، آيت ( ص)هكزا أيش هللا سسىنا انكشيى Thus Allah SWT ordered our beloved Prophet Muhammad SAWS in

Suraht-il-Ghaashiyah, Ayah 21.

.و با أه قذوتا، فيجب عهيا أ أخز بهزا األيش Since the Prophet SAWS is our role model, we must take this

command as a command for us to follow.

فكم تزكشة هي ني قبم أ تكى نكى، و أطهب يكى أ تزكشوي

.أا و غيشي دائا بانزي هى خيش

Each reminder is for me before it is for you, and I ask that you

remind me and others of what is best always.

A Poem by Dr. Mohamad Iqbal Saleh; Translated by Sr. Magda

Salaat-ul-Fajri صالة الفجر

“Salaat-ul-Fajr, oh mother, brings with it to me blessings; صالة انفجش يا أيي تطانعي بها انبشكت

My day is bright & full of hopes; هاسي كهه أيم و يىيي يقضي أنقا

And, if one day, I missed it, salaat-ul-fajir, oh mother, يا أيي...صالة انفجش في انيىو فاتتي و إ

With stress, my day ends, and I reach the night unsure and worried.”

بضيق يتهي يىيي و أيسي حائشا قهقا

She reminds me; she calls to me with her voice before dawn: بها غسقا تاديي تزكشي بأصىاث

“My son, al-Fajr, don’t be lazy, and your Lord will provide for you!”

بي انفخش ال تكسم و رو انهكىث قذ سصقا

My du’aa, whenever I am guided, for us, as we have been separated by miles:

دعائي كها أهذي نا انتشحال يفتشقا

“Oh my Lord bring us together soon!” I ask of the Creator. انهي شتجي جعا قشيبا جم ي خهقا

Sr. Magda reading to the Gr. 1 A Class.

She also read to K4A and K5A (these classes raised the most money in the Bucks 4 Books Competition). With the money raised from Bucks for Books, 200 new books were purchased for AYA classes.

Sr. Magda’s Page… …

Head of School

From the Prophet’s Du’aa’ SAWS…

انههى إا عىر بك ي انهى و انحض

و عىر بك ي انعجض و انكسم

و انبخم و عىر بك ي انجب

جال و عىر بك ي غهبت انذي و قهش انش

Oh Allah, we seek refuge in You from worry & sadness; and we seek refuge in You from inability & laziness; and we seek refuge in You from cowardice and miserliness; and we seek refuge in You from the burden of debt and the subjugation of men.

American Youth Academy

Page 3

K4-Lamar Jweher (3rd Place: *Surat an-Naas to Surat ul-Qaariah*)

K5- Serene Khdair (2nd Place: *Surat an-Naas to Surat ul-Qaariah*), Belal Mansour (1st Place: *Surat an-Naas to

Surat ul-Qaariah*), Otman Filali (Surat an-Naas to Surat ul-Qaariah) and Abdul-Malik Zekri (Surat an-Naas to Surat ul-Qaariah)

Gr.2- Dana Barakat (Reading Surat an-Najm), Abdullah Bayyari (2nd Place: *Surat ul-Aadiyaat to Surat ish-

Shams*), Adam Mansour (1st Place: *Surat ul-Aadiyaat to Surat ish-Shams*, 2nd

Place: *Surat ul-Mulk, 2nd Place:

*Reading Surat an-Najm*), Hedaia Mohammad (Surat ul-Aadiyaat to Surat ish-Shams), Sanna Nassar (Surat ul-Aadiyaat to Surat ish-Shams), Abdullah Omer (Surat ul-Aadiyaat to Surat ish-Shams) and Saji Rum (Surat ul-Aadiyaat to Surat ish-Shams)

Gr.3- Khawlah Altoubah (3rd Place: *Surat ul-Mulk*), Danya Awshah (3rd

Place *Surat ul-Qiyaamah*), Hasan Benbourenane (1st

Place: *Juz’ `Amma*), Rita Benkirane (3rdPlace: *Reading Surat an-Najm*), Dina Irshaid (Surat

ul-Qiyaamah), Omar Omer (1st Place: *Surat ul-Mulk* ,2nd

Place: *Surat ur-Rahman*), Abdul-Hakim Zekri (Surat ul-Qiyaamah)

Gr.4- Layal Barakat (3rdPlace: *Surat ul-Qiyaamah*, *Reading Surat an-Najm*), Ahmed Nofal (*3rd

Place: Surat ur-Rahman*, *Surat ul-Qiyaamah*, *Reading Surat an-Najm*), Zena Omer (1st

Place *Surat ur-Rahman, Surat Yasin*, 2nd

Place *Surat ul-Qiyaamah*), Leya Rum (1st Place: *Surat ul-Qiyaamah,Reading Surat an-Najm*)

Gr.5- Abdurrahman Muhammad and Hebah Nassar recited Surat ul-Qiyaamah. Esraa Nofal and Khaled Yousef recited Surat ur-Rahman and Surat ul-Qiyaamah. Khaled Yousef received special recognition for Outstanding Effort in Multiple Categories, Accurate Recitation, and Applying Rules of Tajweed.

English Education, and a Master‟s degree in Reading. Before

coming to AYA, she taught at Hardee Senior High School and Bear

Creek Elementary. She has been teaching for a total of four years.

Sr. Rawan chose to teach because of her love for the subject area and

her love for working with people to help them learn. Even growing

up, she loved English class and wanted to become a teacher.

However, if Sr. Rawan wasn‟t a teacher she would want to be an

author. The most difficult part of teaching to her is grading papers.

Coming from teaching in a public school Sr. Rawan noticed that the

students of AYA have better behavior, more eagerness to learn, and

an appreciation for education. So far, Sr. Rawan‟s favorite

experience at AYA is when she worked on the novel “Chew on

This” with her 9th

Grade English class, and she heard all their

thoughts and feedback. Sr. Rawan hopes to help the students

become self learners. Eagerness to learn, good listening, and helping

oneself and others with learning is what makes a person successful

in her class. Sr. Rawan loves to read, write, and cook in her spare

time. Her favorite quote is “Courage does not always roar,

sometimes, it is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, „I will

try again tomorrow.‟” Sr. Rawan would like to add “Shoot for the

moon, so if you miss, you land on a star.”

Sr. Rawan is a new English teacher at

AYA. She teaches 6th-

9th

Grade. She heard

about AYA through her friends and family

and decided to teach at AYA because of its

Islamic environment and the importance of

Islam in the school. She believes that the

Islamic environment of AYA enhances her

teaching. Sr. Rawan is a USF graduate

with three degrees. She has a B.S. in

English Education, a Master‟s degree in

I am proud to introduce one of the

newest teachers of AYA, Br.

Sabri. This is Br. Sabri‟s first year

of teaching. He teaches math here

at AYA. The only other teaching

that he did before was tutoring

some friends. He is also a grad

student at USF.

Br. Sabri already has his B.S. in Electrical

Engineering. He is now working on getting his

Master‟s degree in Electrical Engineering. When

asked how his first year of college was, he answered,

“It was very fun. However, I had to be prepared and

study a lot more, because in college everything is

more difficult.” Br. Sabri attended UAF; he said that

even though he had a good experience there, he felt

that he was not socially prepared for college. His

favorite subjects are math and electromagnetics. His

favorite book is George Orwell‟s “1984." Br.Sabri

likes to work on cars.

Elementary Participants and Winners

American Youth Academy

Page 4

K4A: Aamna Cheema and Jawad Alhadidi K4B: Mohamed Amin and Mohammed Hamouda

K4C: Leena Chouaibi K5A: Malik Falah and Serene Khdair

K5B: Belal Mansour and Abdul-Malik Zekri Gr.1A- Samah Quneibi and Omar Saad

Gr.1B- Banah Swar and Aida Taha Gr.2A-Sajed Ziade and Nehal Ali

Gr.2B-Hedaia Mohammad and Dana Barakat Gr.3A-Rita Benkirane and Dina Irshaid

Gr.3B-Mariam Elsayed and Sofia Mekouar Gr.4- Ahmad Abdulmagid and Minahil Cheema Gr.5A-Zaid Chefchaouni and Amina Laghmani

Gr.5B-May Marie and Esraa Nofal

K4A: Yusuf Elmenayer and Zackaria Mekouar K4B: Adam Hamil and Bayane Faria

K4C: Harith Sullaiman K5A: Otman Filali and Amjad Soukieh K5B: Su’ad Macedonio and Abeir Obeid

Gr.1A- Zainab Mohamed and Zakareya Elsayed Gr.1B-Lana Shada and Donia Khawaja

Gr.2A-Sanna Nassar and Adam Mansour Gr.2B-Nadeen Hassan and Lina Ibrahim

Gr. 3A- Khawla Altoubah and Sana Chahbandar Gr.3B- Salam Twam and Abdul-Hakim Zekri

Gr.4- Layal Barakat and Leya Rum Gr.5A- Osama Gurwala and Arian Rafhat

Gr.5B- Amjad Saad and Khaled Yousef

Principal’s Honor Roll: Shahed-Fatima Aisheh, Zakareya Elsayed, Farah Ghanem, Rania Jamal, Aliya Khan,

Zainab Mohamed, Samah Quneibi, Azeeza Sarour, Lana Shada, Amnah Taha, Dana Barakat, Lina Ibrahim, Adam

Mansour, Hedaia Mohammad, Sanna Nassar, Danya Awshah, Omar Omer, Salam Twam, Ahmad Abdulmagid, Layal

Barakat, Minahil Cheema, Zena Omer, Leya Rum, Ahmad Ali, and Hebah Nassar.

High Honor Roll: Suhaib Fariz, Donia Khawaja, Nagam Saleh, Malik Shalabi, Banah Swar, Amina Ahmed,

Asadullah Fayiz, Nadeen Hassan, Abdullah Omer, Saji Rum, Rama Abdulmagid, Khawlah Altoubah, Rita Benkirane,

Dina Irshaid, Abdul-Hakim Zekri, Zainab Jamal, Ahmed Nofal, Osama Gurwala, Amina Laghmani, Esraa Nofal, and

Khaled Yousef.

Honor Roll: Ahlam Abuaram,Lydia Ben Bourennane, Ali Chahbandar, Abdulhakim Chefchaouni, Abrar

Hamdan, Bilal Qasem, Yosef Safiah, Nour Sullaiman, Nehal Ali, Hasan Harake, Hager Kamel, Sajed Ziade, Subreen

Ajjaj, Hasan Benbourenane, Sana Chahbandar, Mariam Elsayed, Abeer Hassan, Khalil Khawaja, Omar Obeid, Danya

Yousef, Nadene Hijaz, Akram Mohammad, Razan Saad, Ronza Saad, Leali Shalabi, Amine Benkirane, Muhammad

Ibrahim, May Marie, Abdurrahman Muhammad, Amjad Saad, and Raghad Soboh.

American Youth Academy

Page 5

Inte

rvie

ws New Teacher Spotlight

6th Grade: Alaa Al-Faham Reham Ali

Yasmine Sekkat Ammar Mattar

Sarah Fayiz 7th Grade: Mariam Mekouar

Sewar Quneibi Elnaz Taherkalateh

Dina Awshah Hamza Bouarfa

8th Grade: Sarah Rifaie Areej Suleiman Sabrina Awshah

Abdulrahman Chahbandar 9th Grade: Isra Aisheh

Nadine Al-Ashker Shaden Yousef Yamaan Ziade

10th Grade: Lama Mattar Sarah Quneibi

11th Grade: Aseel Yousef Yasmin Khawaja

12th Grade: Taymeyah Altoubah Maryam Fahda

Principal’s Honor Roll: 7th Grade: Dina Awshah, Hamza, Bouarfa & Sewar Quneibi 8th Grade:

Sabrina Awshah, Abraham Irshaid, Sarah Rifaie & Areej Suleiman 9th Grade: Nadine Al-Ashker. 10th

Grade: Lama Mattar & Sarah Quneibi 11th Grade: Yasmin Khawaja & Atef Rum 12th Grade:

Taymeyah Altoubah, Suzan Ashour, Maryam Fahda & Sarah Nassar

High Honor Roll: 6th Grade: Sarah Fayiz & Taj Hussein 7th Grade: Lara Mattar, Subhi Quneibi,

Lana Sarsour & Elnaz Taherkalateh 8th Grade: Abdulrahman Chahbandar, Safa Gurwala, Sarah Mari,

& Samer Sarsour 9th Grade: Nadine Albadawi & Shaden Yousef 10th Grade: Subrine Hijaz 11th

Grade: Haneen Saad 12th Grade: Ja‟afar Harake

Honor Roll: 6th Grade: Iman Ahmad, Alaa Al-Faham, Reham Ali, Halima Hammad, Yasmeen

Hassan, Tamara Irshaid, Ammar Mattar & Yasmine Sekkat 7th Grade: Mariam Mekouar 8th Grade:

Amer Abdelaziz, Rola Ashour, Diana Mustafa, & Amani Taha. 9th Grade: Isra Aisheh, Sally Ashour,

Zaid Dabus, Faris Hawari & Yamaan Ziade 10th Grade: A‟la Faria & Mizba Khan 11th Grade: Omar

Aqqad, Aseel Yousef & Yasmeen Yousef 12th Grade: Umar Abunamous, Emily Al-Aseer &

Mohammed Rifaie

American Youth Academy

Page 6

By: Jamilah Fayiz

My hijab is part of me It brings out my modesty

Can’t you see without it I cannot be? Try to take it and you will see. Try to take this terrific truss.

You think you are better than me? You are wrong.

I will always stay strong. Strong as the wind hitting a tree Proud like a stinging bumble bee.

And honored like a fish swimming in the sea It raises the status of women, ladies, and girls

Around people may stare I DON’T CARE!

Be happy about who you are. You will make it far.

Wear it right. Be polite.

I am proud to say: I am a hijabi!

Congratulations to AYA

In-School Science Fair Winners:

3B: Abdul-Hakim Zekri (Fins, Who Needs Them?),

Rama Abdulmagid (How Do Different Sources of Water

Affect Seed Growth?), Mariam Elsayed (Which Type of

Vinegar Makes More CO2?); 3A: Danya Awshah (Suck It

Up: Capillary Action of Water in Plants), Khawlah

Altoubah (What Keeps You Standing), Saleh Alhammad (The Use of

Organic Fertilizer); 4th

Grade: Zena Omer (Which Object Will Disappear

When You Bury it in The Soil?), Ahmad Abdulmagid (How Heat Affects

Different Liquids?), Minahil Cheema (Which Substance is Best For

Cleaning Teeth?); 5th

Grade: Zaid Chefchaouni (Fruity Eco-Fuel);

Amine Benkirane (Red Cabbage Juice as an Acid Base Indicator), Amin

Nasr (Exergame: Myth or Fact?).

What do you want to be when you

grow up?

Dual Enrollment provides the opportunity for High School students to earn High School and college credits at the same time. Many of

AYA‟s students are participating in the dual enrollment program at Hillsborough Community College. We were proud to interview

one of the students who has been in dual enrollment since the fall of her 10th Gr. year. Yasmeen Yousef wanted to experience the

excitement of being in college and engage in an adult environment. She especially wanted to get ahead of the crowd, because she

wants to be all she can be before she wrinkles. “Taking HCC classes looks good on your transcript,” she said. “Taking classes with

your school classmates is better, especially when it‟s your first time because you feel more comfortable in the new environment and

with the college load.” Her advice to future students is, “Take the easy classes first. Don‟t procrastinate. Familiarize yourself with

the campus a week before you actually start classes, particularly if you take an afternoon class, make sure you go there 30 minutes

before class time, because it is really hard to find a parking spot. You‟re in a mature place, so you should act mature. Also,

remember: when you‟re going to class, you‟re not just representing yourself, but you are also representing Islam.”

Zainab Jamal-a scientist, Ronza Saad-a teacher, Raja Twam-

a scientist, Layal Barakat-an astronaut, Minahil Cheema-a

doctor, Lobna Kamel-a doctor, Razan Saad-a teacher,

Ahmed Haija-a football player, Ahmed Nofal- a doctor,

Ahmad Abdulmagid-a scientist, Leya Rum- a doctor, Zena

Omer-a lawyer, Rund Abu-Freijeh-a fashion designer, Sarah

Judeh-a makeup artist, Suhaib El-Dahla- a rollercoaster

engineer, Mohannad Shihada- a car mechanic, Akram

Mohammed- a engineer, and Br. Jeff wanted to be a rocket

scientist, but it‟s too late for that!

By

: S

alh

a S

aed

American Youth Academy

Page 7

The students in Home Economics are learning how to prepare several meals. They made pizza, personal pizzas, tiramisu, and stuffed cabbage, among other items. Students from over the school came to try the food. They voted that the tiramisu was the best food out of all of them. Stuffed cabbage came in a close second. The class made a lot of different cultural food: the stuffed cabbage, an Arabic food, the tiramisu, an Italian food, and so on. Sr. Basema explained to the class all the nutritional facts about the food they cooked. Not only was it delicious, but it turned out to be healthy, too! Most importantly, everyone had a good time, Alhamdulillah!

Many of the cubs participated in the New Fire District Field Olympics, where they all DID THEIR BEST, and a few even took home medals. Ibrahim Hamdan placed in Sit-ups and the Standing Broad Jump for the Tiger Division, Hakim Zekri placed in Sit-ups and the 50 Yard Dash for the Bear Division, and Omar Omer placed in the Standing Broad Jump, Sit-ups, Shuttle Run and the 50 Yard Dash in the Bear Division, M=masha'Allah. Also, the Tiger and Wolf Dens took part in Loopapalooza, where they earned various belt loop achievement awards ranging from Chess to Flag Football, to name a few. The Bear den went to the Wings and Things Camporee, where they learned about everything relating to wings and flying, built and launched their own rockets, and even got the opportunity to ride in a small aircraft over the Lakeland area. The achievement awards that the cubs have earned this semester include: nutrition, good manners, chess, wild life, travel, languages and culture, music, marbles, soccer, kickball, flag football, ultimate, table tennis, hiking, and bowling. Finally, the cubs sold popcorn this year and helped earn money to support their future cub scouting activities, insha’Allah. Their top salesman was Zakareya Elsayed, who sold over $730 worth of popcorn, masha’Allah!

I was happy to speak to Sr. Tara about the MAS Cub Scouts. She explained to me that it has been an exciting 1st Semester for everyone in Pack 226, which is hosted by AYA. The cubs have been eager to learn and experience new things, and the Pack has grown and now includes a Webelos Den (4th and 5th Graders) in addition to the Tigers (1st Grade), Wolves (2nd Grade), and Bears (3rd Grade).

American Youth Academy

Page 8

Bes Inc 11007 N. 56th St., Suite 208, Temple Terrace, FL 33617

PUBLIX Super Markets PO Box 407, Lakeland, FL 33802

Miami Dolphins Miami Dolphins, Ltd Community Relations Depart. 2269 Dan Marino Blvd, Miami Gardens, FL 33056

Microsoft Corporations Microsoft Matching Gifts Program P.O. Box 7405, Princeton, NJ 08543-7405

Smoothie King 5207 E Fowler Ave., Temple Terrace, FL 33617

Antonio's Pasta Grill 11401 N 56th St., Temple Terrace, FL 33617

Outback Steak House 11308 N. 56th St., Temple Terrace, FL 33617

Central Park Restaurant 13418 Telecom Dr., Temple Terrace, FL 33637

Golden Corral 11801 N 56th St., Temple Terrace, FL 33617

Quiznos 5509 East Fowler Ave., Tampa, FL 33617

Salems Gyros 1906 West Kennedy Blvd., Tampa, FL 33606

Green Land Restaurant 10817 North 56th St., Temple Terrace, FL 33617

Panera Bread 11860 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., Tampa, FL 33612

Carrabba's Italian Grill 5515 E Fowler Ave., Temple Terrace, FL 33617

Romano's Macaroni Grill 17641 Bruce B Downs Blvd,, Tampa, FL 33647

Loc

al B

usin

ess

es

Sup

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AYA

AYA sincerely thanks the following businesses for their contributions: