Assalamu alaikum Wa Rahmatullah

Dearest readers,

Alhamdulillah we have almost completed the academic yearand what an amazing journey it has been for our school. Theblessed month of Ramadan is upon us and I pray that we allbenefit from it as much as possible, insha’Allah. RamadanKareem to the entire Islamia family. We have a lot to be thankful for and feel very positive about.Thinking back to September 2012 we were all very nervousyet hopeful and as the months went by, we began to noticemany changes, some small, some big, our school has workedas a team and this has resulted in an impressive OFSTED result as you all know. After such a positive result which was followed by celebrations, I feared that, like many other schools, we wouldsuffer from the ‘post-OFSTED slump’, but mashallah theteachers, staff and school leadership have continued to workvery hard to further improve our children’s education andagain the results have proven that team effort goes a longway. Our SATs results have improved including the number ofpupils achieving level 5s. We wish the year six children wellin their future and hope that they will continue their journeyin life with the good manners and Islamic values that have

been instilled into them during their time at Islamia. Ameen. The PSA have been extremely busy this term as the familyfun day needed a lot of organising and dedication for it to besuccessful. Alhamdulliah, Allah held back the clouds and allowed us to have a great day and our children truly enjoyedthemselves. We thank you for your feedback and very kindcomments which somewhat eased all our aches and pains. Iwould like to thank all the PSA team who worked so hard notonly on our fun day, but also with events throughout the yearsuch as sports day, uniform sales, fundraising, exhibitions,after school clubs, cake sales, accompanying school trips andmuch more. The PSA support is vital for the enrichment of our children’sschool life and of parents too, so we would like to see moreparents and staff getting involved with PSA work. The moreof us the better, as we grow we can only get better, insha’Allah!I recently learned that our school has won the prestigiousGPU Education Award (Primary). I would like to congratulateour school for winning the award, as it is an amazing achievement. For me, this was an amazing result to end thisyear like the cherry on the cake.I hope that we will all depart for our summer break in peaceand unity. As it is Ramadan we should take this opportunity torepair broken hearts and forgive others as we are only humansand only Allah is perfect. I pray to almighty Allah that ourschool stays united and we are all pleased with each other andwill return in September full of energy to take on new challenges that we will face with confidence, renewed determination and hope, insha’Allah.

"Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those

before you, that you may attain taqwaa." [2:183]

Sahl ibn Sa'd reported that the Prophet (SAW) said: "There is

a gate to Paradise that is called ar-Rayyan. On the Day of

Resurrection it will say: 'Where are those who fasted?' When

the last [one] has passed through the gate, it will be locked."[al-Bukhari and Muslim]

May Allah reward you all and accept your fasting and prayersduring Ramadan and I wish you and your families a veryhappy Eid.

Sr. Nur Enver, PSA Chair

www.islamiaprimary.org Issue: July 2013

Islamia wins GPU Education

Award!We are pleased to announcethat Islamia Primary Schoolhas won the primary GPUEducation Awards 2013. TheGPU Education Awards celebrate the achievements ofMuslim Schools across the

UK and around the world. There are six criterion used byjudges during the selection process, including Promoting theIslamic Personality, School Academic Performance, Creative& Innovative Curriculum, Promotion of Community Cohesion & Tolerance, Parental Participation & Engagementand Extra-Curricular Activities & Achievements. The esteemed panel of five judges included Dame Anna HassanDBE, former Executive Headteacher of Millfields Community, London, Muhammed Akram Khan-CheemaOBE, Chairman of International Board for Educational Research and Resources (IBERR) & Ofsted Registered Inspector, Tahir Alam, Director of Muslim Parents' Association & Ofsted Registered Inspector, Dr Abdul BariMBE, former Secretary General of the Muslim Council ofBritain (2006-2010) and Foezul Ali, Chairman of Nida Trust.This is an enormous achievement by the school which willcoincide with its 30th anniversary. The awards ceremony willtake place on Sat 23rd November 2013, at the Excel centre,London, in front of an audience of over 20,000 people andtelevised to over 250 countries globally via the Islam Channel. Masha'Allah and congratulations to the entire Islamia family for this amazing achievement.

1. Art Week

Art week took place from 6th May 2013, and was packedwith a range of fun and creative activities for all year groups.We had graffiti artists, Br. Mohamed Ali and Br. Kyle Alexander Raja, in school for two days. They worked withYear 4 and 5 pupils to create some amazing pieces of art centred on the words ‘Salam (peace), ‘Hubb (love)’ and‘Muhammed (SAW)’. All pieces were then exhibited at theMuslim Schools Art Exhibition at the Muslim Education Fair,on Sat 18th & Sun 19th May 2013, which was open to thepublic. We also had artist and calligrapher Br. AbdelKarim MatsCederberg, originally from Sweden, who worked with bothYear 4 and 5 classes for two days on Tesselation Islamic Art,which includes repeating symmetrical patterns that can oftenbe seen in mosques around the world. Year 2 and 3 workedwith a local artist (Sr. Hamdi) and produced some beautiful

Batik (wax patterns with dye). Teacher Karima worked withpupils on cake decorating. Year 1 worked on Mosaics and Reception created an amazing Batik design. Reception andYear 1 also took part in drumming led by Br. Abdussalam inthe playground.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable week for all allowing our chil-dren to express themselves through the powerful medium ofart.

2

2. Muslim Education Fair

The school took part in the Muslim Education Fair 2013, atwo day exhibition in May organised by Nida Trust. The aimof the event was to showcase the best of Muslim education inBritain. Staff and the PSA helped run an exhibition stand fortwo days showcasing Islamia Primary School as a modelMuslim primary school. The education fair had over 65 exhibitors, including schools, publishers, education organisations, charities, Universities, public sector organisations which were housed at the London Muslim Centre in Whitechapel, London E1, and was attended by over2000 visitors from across the city. The school was proud totake part in such an innovative way of promoting Muslim education in Britain.

3. Eid Card Competition

During Art Week, the school launched an Eid card competition, where the best ten Eid card designs would beprofessionally printed and would be sold to the public. Wehad a huge number of entries and ten fantastic designs wereselected. The Eid cards have now been professionally printedand are now available to purchase from the PSA. Well done toall pupils with winning designs.

4. Muslim Schools Art

Competition

The school took part in a national Muslim Schools Art competition where twelve selected schools from across thecountry had their artwork included in a two day Art exhibition at the Muslim Education Fair, in London. We wereproud to be able to include artwork produced by Year 4 and 5which was seen by hundreds of visitors.

5. Trees4Life Poetry

CompetitionA number of our pupils entered theTrees4Life Poetry Competition. Thecompetition was organised by theTrees4Life campaign which is aninnovative, global initiative aimingto strike at the root of the problemby partnering with communities andorganizations around the world toplant trees and preserve the world’s

precious forests. Children were required to write a poetryabout protecting the environment and being green. We werepleased that Zainab from 4A was awarded joint runner up forthe Trees4Life Poetry Competition.

6. Sponsoring Orphans

Representatives from Interpal delivered an assembly to thewhole school about the importance of supporting orphans andhighlighted the historical and religious significance of Palestine. Interpal provided all classes with an opportunity tosponsor a child from Palestine. Pupils have each been raising£1 a month to help sponsor one orphan per class. The schoolis now sponsoring 13 orphans. We hope that this will help toteach our children the importance of giving charity but alsothe importance that Islam places on looking after the orphans.Each class will receive updates on how their sponsored orphan is doing.

7. Student Council visit to

Parliament

The school council visited Parliament and were received byGlenda Jackson MP's representative who organised a conference room booking where children were able to meetGlenda and ask her questions regarding how to improve theirown school council. Pupils seized the opportunity to ask somereally inquisitive questions relevant to Glenda's rise as amember of parliament, international policy, foreign affairsand government’s priority on VA schools over newly supported academies.

3

children were very excited aboutdemonstrating how much theyknew about Islam. The teachersfrom each school commented onhow beneficial the visit was andwere keen to organise future visits

for other pupils and teachers at their schools.

10. Qur'an CompetitionIslamia’s annual Qur’an competition took place in June 2013.Pupils in Year 2 – 6 were judged within three categories infront of a panel of judges including, Sh. Khalifa (Chief Imamof Central Mosque), Sh. Mustafa Orhan (Chief Imam of Aziziye Mosque) and Sh. Ahmed Saad (Chief Imam of theNorth London Central Mosque). The categories included:

• Memorisation of Qur’an (1, 2 and 3-5 chapters)• Reading / Recitation

We are pleased to announce that the winners are:

The hour long meeting was followed by a complimentary tourand a brief history of Parliament and its members as well asiconic moments.

8. Congratulations Team

Islamia

Pupils from years 2 - 6 took part in the 4th Muslim SchoolsInterschool Sports Competition (MISSC) held in June 2013 atthe Croydon Athletics Arena. It was the first time that theschool had taken part in the competition. Pupils competed in arange of track and field events. Masha’Allah, the pupils won atotal of 21 medals (7 Gold, 6 Silver, 8 Bronze!). Overall theschool came 3rd out of a total of 9 schools who took partfrom across London. Congratulations to Team Islamia whodid us all proud.

9. Visits by pupils from local

schoolsOver the summer term we hadthree visits from two locals primaryschools, Malorees Juniors andSalusbury Primary School. The visits were organised to give localprimary school pupils a better understanding of Islam, its beliefand its practices. Whilst seated inthe school’s prayer hall, SheikhAhmed provided the pupils with an

introduction to Islam which was followed by Q and A. The

4

Memorisation of Qur’an

(One Chapter)

Memorisation of Qur’an

(Two Chapters)

1st - Haytham (4B) 1st – Ibrahim (4B)

2nd - Ibtisam (3A) 2nd – Fatimah T. (6A)

3rd – Saif (2A) 3rd – Assia H. (4A)

Memorisation of Qur’an

(3-5 chapters)

Reading / Recitation of

Qur’an

1st – Yahya (4A) 1st – Mohammad

Mahmoud (6B)

2nd – Sumayya H (6A) 2nd – Hamza (6A)

3rd Abdirahman (4B) 3rd Soumia L (5)

A special award was given to Yusuf from 6B for his achievement in memorising more than 20 chapters of theQur’an (masha’Allah). Congratulations to all pupils who tookpart. Thank you to Sheikh Ahmed, Teacher Afaf, TeacherMaryam and Teacher Bahri for organising the competition.We wish to also thank all the parents.

11. Connecting Classrooms with

a Turkish School

On 6th June 2013, a group of Year 6 pupils were given the opportunity to speak LIVE with a class of similar aged pupilsfrom the Bilgiçağı school in Istanbul, Turkey. The pupilsspoke over an internet based platform called Skype for overan hour. The pupils asked each other questions about twothemes. ‘My School Holidays’ and ‘My School’. The groupsalso recited Qur’an for each other and sang nasheeds. Feedback from pupils was very positive and although a firstfor the school, insha’Allah, we will be introducing this initiative to other year groups shortly.

12. Maths WeekIn June 2013, Maths week took place at the school. All pupilslearn about ‘Maths in the Real World’. Monday saw classesfollowing Maths trails around the school and local area. On

Tuesday, pupils brought in Maths games or puzzle. OnWednesday, Happy Puzzle Company conducted workshopswith years 2, 3, 4 and 6. They also delivered a thoroughly enjoyable workshop for parents, which saw parents, teachersand pupils jointly taking part in solving Maths puzzles. Thursday was Market day and all classes set up stalls aroundthe schools where they sold items and learned how to

complete transactions with money. On Friday, the HobgoblinTheatre Company inspired all year groups with an engagingproduction promoting Maths in the real world.

13. School Plays

This term saw a number of classes put together different playseach week during assemblies for the rest of the school. All

5

plays were of high quality. Class 3B’s own version of ourfairy tale favourites including Goldie Locks and the ThreeBears was full of action and humour.

14. Faiths Link Through

Football

Year 5 pupils concluded a very success interfaith programmewhich saw 15 pupils take part in a 4 session 'Linking Pro-gramme' with three other faith schools organised by the Wem-bley Learning Zone and the Three Faiths Forum. Theprogramme uses football to encourage understanding and collaboration between people of different faiths and beliefs.

15. Year 6 Kingswood

Residential

After completing their SATs, Year 6 pupils went on their threeday residential trip to Kingswood Activity Centre in Staffordshire. Pupils took part in outdoor learning and a widerange of adventure activities that helped to build confidence,resilience, problem solving skills and team work which keptthem active throughout their stay at the centre. Pupils tookpart in a range of activities including Aeroball, Archery, Circus Skills, Fencing, Nightline, Problem Solving, QuadBiking, Team Challenge and Zipwire. From team buildingpursuits to high adrenaline experiences on the outdoor adventure park, Kingswood will be an experience that Year 6pupils will never forget.

16. Muslim History WalksYear 6 pupils went on a Muslim History Walk where theylearned about the hidden Muslim history in and around Central London.They discovered an untold Muslim Historyenjoying a 3 hour walk and visit to a gallery to see the

connections, contributions and presence of Muslim History inCentral London - Moors, Crime, Education, Arabic, Royals,War, Money and much more! The walk covered Parliamentsquare, Whitehall, Trafalgar Square and Leicester Square.

17. Sports Week

At the end of June 2013, pupils in all year groups took part inSports week, which included a whole week of exciting sportsactivities. On Monday, pupils took part in a WII Sports Challenge. On Tuesday, Year 2 took part in a Multi Skills Festival held at Willesden Sports centre along with otherschools in the local area. On Wednesday, pupils and staff tookpart in Archery. On Thursday, pupils from all year groups hada wonderful Sport Day taking part in a range of activitiesthroughout the day. We are pleased to announce that the REDteam were the winning team! Staff and coaches also played anexciting football match with a very brave and determinedYear 6 team. On Friday, the school held a Healthy Food Sale.In addition, we had Kwik Cricket and a Speedstack Challengewhich took place at playtimes / lunchtimes. A thoroughly enjoyable and active week for all.

18. Islamia Clean Sweep of

Young Muslim Writers AwardsWe are pleased to announce that our pupils did incredibly

6

7

well at the Young Muslim Writers Awards 2013, taking homethree awards including the KS2 Poetry Award won by Hiba(4B), KS2 Short Story Award won by Huda (6B) and theYoung Muslim Writer of the Year 2013 won by Huda (6B).The winners were then invited on to the Islam Channel to talkabout their achievements. Congratulations to our budding authors!

19. E-Safety Poster Competition

20. Visitors from SingaporeEarly this month we welcomed a delegation from Singapore.The group of five educators came from the Majlis UgamaIslam Singapura (Islamic Religious Council of Singapore)and Madrasah Al-junied Al-Islamiah. They met with theschool leadership comparing Islamic school models in the UKand Singapore. The group were then taken on a tour of theschool visiting each class. Masha'Allah they were very happyto see the school and said that they were 'overwhelmed' bywhat they saw.

21. £1000 raised for Neasden

MosqueThe school raised £1000 for the Neasden Mosque Appeal,which hopes to build the first Mosque in the heart of Neasden.

22. Family Funday The PSA and staff organised a successful Family Funday inthe school playground. The day was packed with InternationalFoods, BBQ, Cakes, Henna, Face Painting, over 40 stalls,Climbing Wall, Bungee Trampolines, Funfair Rides, BouncyCastles along with an open stage hosting LIVE performancesby the Islamia choir and speeches from local dignitaries. Theevent was attended by 1500-2000 visitors most of who camefrom the local area.

We raised over £10,000! Much of the money raised went towards investing in future events. All the profits will be usedto enhance the school’s curriculum and further improve ourchildren's education, insha'Allah. We will also be donating£1000 to Interpal orphans.

Yaseen (4A) – Competition Winner (Design E-Safety Poster)

Keep up to date at

www.islamiaprimary.org

8

9

23. Year 2 Visit Kew Gardens

Year 2 visited Kew Gardens and took part in an activity tourand workshop that was taught by experienced and enthusiasticKew teaching staff, most of whom are qualified primaryteachers. The workshops were developed to align with theNational Curriculum and the QCA/DfE schemes of work toensure maximum benefit to all pupils who attended.

24. Year 1 Wildlife Garden

Explorers

Year 1 visited the Wildlife Garden at the Natural History Mu-seum. Pupils were provided with hats and binoculars and tookpart in a variety of fun learning activities. Pupils worked ingroups with adults and looked at using the senses, plants andanimals in their local environment, habitats and homes, varia-tion, green plants and leaves. Pupils were encouraged to ob-serve and discuss.

25. End of Year Trips

Gulliver’s Theme Park (KS1)

10

Legoland (Year 3)

Phasel Wood Activity Centre (Year 4 & 5)

Thorpe Park (Year 6)

26. Recycling Assembly by 1B

11

Class 1B delivered a spectacular assembly to an audience ofover 450 people, including pupils, teachers, governors andparents The pupils amazed the crowd wit h their detailed facts about recycling that were presented with confidence, clarityand no notes! A performance that exceeded their years andmade us all very proud indeed. Well done 1B!

27. Year 6 Cultural EveningRoald Dahl's deliciously dark tale of young Charlie Bucket(played by Mohamed from 6B) and the mysterious confectioner Willy Wonka (played by Huda from 6A) came tolife at Islamia with Year 6's spectacular cultural evening performance LIVE in front of an audience of over 300 people.

When Charlie wins a golden ticket to the weird and wonderfulWonka Chocolate Factory, it's the chance of a lifetime to feaston the sweets he's always dreamed of. But beyond the gatesastonishment awaits, as down the sugary corridors andamongst the incredible edible delights, the five lucky winnersdiscover not everything is as sweet as it seems. The play featured a well-designed stage, imaginative costumes and brilliant choreography. It was a choc-full of fantastical treats that dazzled our senses!

28. KS2 SATs Results 2013The KS2 SATs Results 2013 were published on 9th July 2013.We are pleased to announce our results for 2013:

Reading:

88% achieved Level 4+52% achieved Level 5

Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation:

70% achieved Level 4+46% achieved Level 5

Maths:

88% achieved Level 4+54% achieved Level 5

This year’s results, showed an improvement in Maths and asharp increase in the number of Level 5 grades. We wish tocongratulate all teachers, particularly the Year 6 teachers, forworking so hard with the pupils. We also wish to thank parents for supporting their children through the SATs.

29. Year 6 Leavers AssemblyYear 6 were given an opportunity to share their thoughts andfeelings on approaching the end of their time at Islamia. Theycame up on stage one at a time and spoke of their hopes andfears as they joined the school nearly seven years ago, howthey were inspired by all their teachers, forged strong friendships with their classmates, and developed skills that

would help them for the rest of their lives. Some spokethrough poetry or the spoken word (rap), and others wentthrough a chronological list of events that led up to that moment. They spoke from their hearts each expressing theirlove for the school and the teachers that helped nurture themover the years. Masha’Allah, we are proud of our Year 6, andpray that they move on to the next stage of their learningholding firm to the values that Islamia has taught them.

30. Exclusive Interview with Dr

Ashan Mirza (Parent Governor) Q1: How many childrendo you have and how oldare they?

I have 2 sons and 1daughter; a 19 year oldand a 14 year old and mydaughter is aged 11 yearsold ( currently graduatingfrom IPS and going toIGS).

Q2: How long have you been a parent at Islamia primaryschool? i have been a parent at IPS for 5 years.

Q3: How long have you been serving as a parent governor ? Ihave been a parent Governor at IPS for 4 years.

Q4: What is your occupation?I am a dental surgeon and part-time Chair of Rehmat Medical

Aid, a free kidney dialysis hospital in Pakistan, please visitwww.rehmatfoundation.com

Q5: What hobbies do you have and do any of them involveyour children? I love playing sports especially Badminton andShotokan Karate; both sports with my children, having a BBQand spending time with my friends and family.

Q6: Over the years as parent governor is there any event orday that stands out for you ? There was a massive fun day planned at Queens Park and thewhole school community together with the local communityall had a wonderful day, it was an amazing multicultural daytogether. Also, when my son Abdullah Mirza played 'Dr Who'at his end of year 6 Play and seeing how my daughter Imaanhas become such a confident young lady so quickly, Maashallah, her end of year 6 speech inspired me...

Islamia Primary SchoolAddress : 129 Salusbury Road

London NW6 6PE, U.K.Telephone : + 44 (0) 20 7372 2532Fax : + 44 (0) 20 7372 2425Email : admin@islamia.brent.sch.uk

For more information visit www.islamiaprimary.org

Q7: What are your feelings about İPS in terms of recent apparent changes which you have also played a role in changing?

The recent Ofsted GOOD grade was a well deserved celebration for the school. It was many months of hard workform all the team and as a Governor I feel that my part inmeeting with Ofsted inspectors and answering questionsabout the school was thoroughly rewarding. This school is onits way to becoming an OUTSTANDING school and I lookforward to being part of its future success too inshaallah.

Q8: What is your favourite thing about İPS ?

The wonderful community feel . It's one big family. The beautiful shiny bright faces of all the wonderful childrenkeeps on motivating me on.

Q9: What is that you would like to see develop in the futureat IPS? I cant wait for IPS to become an outstanding school with thenew big modern 2 FE or even a 3FE school that it so desperately needs to become, inshallah.

Q10: Now that your role as a parent governor has almostcome to an end what will your future be with İPS if any?

I hope that you will all still consider me as part of the IslamiaFamily and that my family and I will be invited to events, fundays etc especially to run the BBQ stall as i have been for thelast few years... its the only place to get a decent kebab roll!I have been invited by the Governors to join them as a Co-opted Governor to assist with The Personal and the

Finance committee at IPS, I have decided to accept their invitation , so I'm sorry you will have still bear with me foranother year or two.

Q 11: Do you have any advise or a final message as parentgovernor to parents?

I truly feel that this is easily one of the best places your children can be educated and the atmosphere, family feelingamongst the school is unprecedented. I pray that Allah Subhanawatallah blesses you all and that we understand andappreciate the efforts of those that have come before us, Theamazing efforts of Br Yusuf Islam, the early Governors, Theones who sacrificed themselves and their families to build thisamazing place that we all have. All the way up to the presentGovernors. We should never forget their efforts, May AllahBless them all.

To top it all, my daughter Imaan Mirza YR 6b ( my newspeech writer!) , recently made a wonderful 'end of year,speech at Islamia and to take a few words from her speech, '..laugh every day, read a good book and you know, chill out...'lol , how can I top that,

I will miss all the parents and ask you to remember my family and me in your duas,

Jazakhallu khasirun

Assalamo alaikum and Ramadan Mubarak.