Week 2 9A Updates + Reminders!
Ms. Saima's and Ms. Farah's class shift 1
Ya Ali Madad Students and Families!
I hope this newsletter finds you well. Please read below, details about last week's class as well as reminders for our upcoming class this week.
Objectives for Last Week's class:
- The first classes are a good opportunity for us to create a classroom environment where everyone's ideas matter, we are curious to learn, and we feel comfortable to ask questions and engage. We work on building asabiyya as we work together towards our agreed upon purpose and common good.
A civilization forms when people come together to settle in one place, usually a city, and their combined efforts create a common good from which everyone can benefit.
Beliefs and cultures change and evolve with time. Islam too, has changed throughout time and space. Learning about Islam over time and place helps us understand the diversity of Muslims in belief and practice.
Activities done in class to help achieve the above stated Objectives:
1) Students were divided into groups, where they discussed their ideal classrooms. They created posters to represent the component they chose. Please see below for images for those students who followed directions and sent their images to me on REMIND.
The following are themes from which they chose to represent on their poster: The best classroom LOOKS LIKE... SOUNDS LIKE... FEELS LIKE...
2) Students will be exploring a lot of different narratives and stories. To start off, I asked students to design a 6-word memoir that describes their life. Below is a screenshot of the directions and examples that were provided to them. I promised them I won't share their memoirs so FEEL FREE AND ASK THEM to share with you :)
2) We began recapping the first volume of our curriculum by exploring different primary/secondary sources that explain and describe different components of Arabia in the 7th century onwards. Here is a link to view the primary sources they explored:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/19ji7kcvlZaMh4lkp9J9PtsgNbwWXmRTmAxAop4LNjh4/edit?usp=sharing
Family Discussion:
With your family this week, choose a suitable artifact that holds significance to all of you and represents an aspect of your family's history or culture. It could be a photograph, a piece of jewelry, a letter, a recipe, a small heirloom, or any item that has sentimental or historical value.
Discuss with your family why you chose this artifact. And why persevering artifacts are important for history?
*Resource*-
I stumbled upon a great instagram handle that had a recent post on how NOT to ask your child, "what did you learn today in school?" I am sharing screenshots of what that post said, which also includes the insta-handle, if you have social media and would like to look at that page further.
Mandatory Supplies for Class:
📘 Curriculum Book
📓2-pocket Folder (with rings in the middle)
📱A phone or iPad/tablet with WiFi access. (I will inform you in advance if I need you to bring an i-pad or laptop)
Please make sure the following apps are downloaded onto the device (see below)
Though students will be using their phones/devices throughout each class, we are still encouraging parents to remind students about phone etiquette when in class, and to treat their devices as learning tools and not toys
REMIND app
Emergencies, last minute changes, updates, and class reminders (timings and supplies) will all be shared via REMIND.
Google Classroom
*exit tickets and many class assignments will be shared via google classroom- it's very important that the student has this accessible every class.
Reminders about Class:
Day of class this week: Saturday
Date of class this week: August 26, 2023
Time of class: 10:00am-12:3pm (arrive by 9:50am!)
Important reminders:
1) There will be NO REC class August 30-September 2 due to Labor Day.
2) Important dates regarding Student-Led Conferences, Celebration of Learning, etc. will be provided to you in the near future.