September 2022 Monthly Update

Assalamu alaikum Respected parents,

Alhumdulillah we have finished the first month of Sunday School. Ma sha'Allah the students are doing great and are getting used to the Sunday School routines and expectations. We have a total of 158 students currently enrolled across all grade levels and we continue to welcome new students every week. Our 5th grade classroom has already reached full capacity and some other grade levels are approaching full capacity including Kindergarten, 4th and 6th grade.

Morning Drop off begins at 9:30 and assembly starts at 9:45 in sha'Allah. Parents are requested to drop off their children at the front of the building and our staff will guide students to the Musallah area for assembly in sha'Allah. Parents do not have to come inside the building for drop off as our staff will be at the front door to supervise students.

Dismissal is after Dhuhr Salah at 1:30. Cones are placed in the front of the building to block the area for safety. Parents are requested to park their car in the parking lot and come to the outside of the front entrance. 4th through 8th grade students stand outside under staff supervision in designated areas and can leave when parents come to pick. Younger students in grades Pre-K through 3rd grade line up inside the lobby area and are escorted to parents as they come to pick. We appreciate your patience and cooperation with ensuring safe drop off and dismissal for all students.

We are very thankful to our parents for dropping the students on time for our morning Assembly which is a great start of their day (9:45 - 9:55 AM). We start our day with playing "99 Names of Allah SWT audio" which students love to listen to as they wait for the Assembly to begin. Our first Assembly of every month is run by Br. Imam Azfar which is a great opportunity for the students to get to know our Imam and benefit from his wisdom and knowledge. We also invite leaders from our own community to be the speakers for our Assembly. We want our students to get to know our dedicated IFN leaders and be inspired by their words of wisdom. Our students learned about the following topics in the month of September:

9/11/22: 1st Assembly - "Reflections from a Muslim America" - Br. Imam Azfar discussed the relevance of September 11 to Muslims in America and how American Muslims can become strong and confident advocates in the face of stereotypes.

9/18/22: 2nd Assembly - "Three Survival Tips for Muslims in America" - IFN Vice President, Br. Ahmad Nader shared three survival tips for Muslims in America and stressed the importance of relying on each other for a strong sense of community and belonging.

9/25/22: 3rd Assembly - "Growth Mindset vs Fixed Mindset" - Principal Sr. Saddaf Raheel discussed the difference between growth mindset and fixed mindset and stressed the importance of using the growth mindset in our day to day lives to face challenges and overcome hurdles with continuous effort, practice and the "power of yet".

If you would like to be a speaker at one of our Assembly and talk to students for 10 minutes about any topic you feel passionate about, please let us know by sending me an email at ifnss.principal@ifnonline.com. We love to welcome parents as volunteers.

Our teachers use Google Classrooms as the home to school connection to post announcements related to homework or classwork. I know some parents are still having difficulty accessing Google Classrooms. Please note that students have to be logged into their own IFN domain email accounts to access google classroom. I have attached Step by Step directions HERE on how to access your child's IFN email account and then use that to access google classrooms. All returning students continue to use their existing IFN email accounts. We are trying our best to create IFN email accounts for any NEW students who join us within 1 week of their start date. If you are having difficulty with your child's IFN email or Google Classroom, please reach out to your child's teacher and he/she will be able to help in sha'Allah. I have attached a PDF of IFNSS teacher 22-23 that lists all the teacher's names as well as their email addresses for your easy reference.

Alhamdulillah, IFN Sunday School has successfully run the Arabic program for the past 6 years which has been integrated within the Sunday School as an After School Program.

**The goal of this Arabic program is to provide children with proper building blocks to learn how to read, write and understand the Arabic language so that your child may gradually learn to read and understand the Qur''an in the best of manners, Inshallah.

**This program is optional for all grade levels.

This program started last week on 9/25/22 and will takes place every Sunday from 1:30-2:30. There is a small fee of $40 to cover books and materials. Sister Eman and Zainab are overseeing the program. For registration or If you have any questions about the Arabic Program, please contact Sister Eman at 312-813-0526 or via email, emanenaya@yahoo.com.

*Interested in IFN Family Volunteering event?*
Please fill out the below form below

https://forms.gle/4juySeDE5mWio3Hr8

*What*: Packing food items at Northern Illinois Food Bank Lake Forest
*When*: 10/08 Saturday 8:30 am till 11:30 am
*Why*: community service, give back, family fun, get volunteering credit for your college app
*Age limit*: 8 and above, parents, grand parents welcome
*Contact*: naveed.ismail@ifnonline.com - 847-370-1463

For any parents of new or existing students, who have NOT yet submitted the Photo Consent, Handbook Acknowledgement and Medical Emergency forms, I am including them again here for your convenience. Please take a few minutes to complete these forms.

PARENT STUDENT HANDBOOK - Please review with your child

Handbook acknowledgement form - Please submit

Photo Consent Form - Please complete & submit

Medical Emergency Form - Please complete & submit

IFNSS Substitute & Volunteer Form - (OPTIONAL) Please complete & submit ONLY if interested in volunteering at Sunday School. We appreciate your partnership.

• Alhumdulillah I am pleased to announce that we are in the process of upgrading ALL classrooms in sha'Allah such that all classrooms will have Smart TVs, so teachers can conveniently use technology tools into the classroom.
• Also, IFN Sunday School Webpage will be updated in the near future in sha'Allah for parents to have easy access to all the information they need in one place. I will keep you posted when it is ready.

IFN Sunday School team proudly partners with MUHSEN (Muslims Understanding and Helping Special Education Needs) Non profit Program to support and include all students with specific needs. For specific questions, please feel free to contact MUHSEN Facilitators, Sr. Sadia Thiryayi <sadia.thiryayi@ifnonline.com> and Br. Shaaz Adeel <shaaz.adeel@ifnonline.com>

IMPORTANT CONTACTS:

• Principal - Sr. Saddaf Raheel - ifnss.principal@ifnonline.com
• Vice Principal - Sr. Shamim Choudhry - ifnss.viceprincipal@ifnonline.com
• Office Manager - Sr. Saba Fuad - ifnss.office@ifnonline.com
• Registrar - ifnss.registrar@ifnonline.com
• Education Committee Chair - Dr. Zafeer Ahmad zafeer.ahmad@ifnonline.com
• IFN Vice President - Br Ahmed Nader - ahmed.nader@ifnonline.com

IFNSS School Calendar - For easy reference

Presentation Slides for your any new parents who missed the Parent Orientation on August 28th