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November 17 (NO SCHOOL): Parent Teacher Conferences - Please check TeacherWeb or email your child's teacher for more information on signing up for a conference time.
November 20, 2:15 pm: Early Dismissal -Please pick up your child no later than 2:15 pm. There is no after school care available on early dismissal days. Parents, you must pick up your students by 2:15pm.
November 27-28 (NO SCHOOL): Thanksgiving Holiday Break - Students will return to school after the holiday break on Monday, December 1, 2014.
Important Reminders about Tuition
- Monthly Tuition is due by the 10th of every month - late payments will incur a late charge.
- If you would like to know the balance on your account or what your monthly payment fee is, please email our accountant at [email protected]
- If you would like to make a payment via e-check or credit card, you can call the school office and ask to speak with our accountant, Br. Salik Rehmani.
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A Note from the School Council
Assalamualaikum,
The Muslim Community Center Academy's new Parent Portal is up and running. For students in grades 1st-8th, the Portal provides parents with a real-time view of their child's grades and assignments, allowing them to keep updated with their child's progress. You should have received a letter home with your child with the url information and your login and password. If you haven't received this information, please call the school office to request this information. You can link directly to the parent portal from our website by clicking on Maziked Parent Portal.
The school is in the process of renewing its accreditation with AdvancED. An external review team will be visiting the school on December 10th and 11th. Maintaining accreditation through AdvancED is a hallmark of quality of those schools who acquire and retain it.
In conjunction with the accreditation tasks, parents were asked to complete an online survey. We wish to thank all those that took the time to complete the survey. The information provided from the survey results will be used to identify the needs of the school community.
The turn-out for Family Reading Night was excellent! On a personal note, I truly enjoyed the chance to share my favorite books with the kids last Friday. I was especially happy to have the children of my former students, as well as my grandchildren, in the audience!
As always, if you would like to contact the MCC Academy council, please feel free to email me at [email protected] or our Council Chair, Mussarat Khan, at [email protected].
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PSG Parent Representative Counsel Member Election Update
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Assalamualaikum Parents,
Thank you to all of the parents who participated in the nomination process for the PSG Board election for Parent Representative. Since there were only a few nomination forms returned and no one competing for any of the board position, there will not be an election. The position will be filled by Ansar Ahmed.
Ansar Ahmed has a background in IT management, with a Masters in MIS. He has managed & owned several businesses. He has been a member of MCC for over 20 years and as parent for the last 3 years. Congratulations and welcome to the new PSG Member! Once again we would like to congratulate the new member to the PSG and insha'Allah with his time, effort, and dedication our school will flourish and have many productive years. Jazakallah, PSG Election Committee Members Melida Skenderi, Rania Abdul and Mona Mahmood
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Parent Support Group (PSG) Update
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Key Dates:
Nov 5 & 19 - PSG meetings
Nov 17 - Coupon Card Launch
Nov 4 & 18 - School Store, Skokie
Nov 11 & 25 - Popcorn Sale, Skokie
Dec 11 - Giordanos Family Night Fundraiser
Dec - Chili Cook-off! - TBA
Wednesdays - Pizza sale, Skokie
Tuesdays - Pizza sale, Morton Grove
Family Reading Night: Led by Khadija Ahmed and Faizah Syed
PSG sponsored Family Reading Night was great success, Mashallah. About 300 students were in attendance. Children had a great time enjoying five different readers who were animated and fun to listen to. The evening ended with cookies and milk. And all kids went home with a book to enjoy.
Journalism Workshop:
Middle-schoolers enjoyed their hour with Emmy award winning journalist Arjumand Khan. They learned about News Reporting and the importance of writing skills.
Parent Seminar on Mindset (by Carol Dweck) led by Dilnaz Waraich
Attended by about 100 parents who learned Fixed vs Growth mindset. Some of the important key point from the talk:
1. A fixed mindset is always looking for approval and doesn't want to challenge him/herself in case he/she looks "dumb"
2. A growth mindset person loves to learn for the sake of learning new material and doesn't mind making mistakes because he/she learns from the mistakes.
3. Every time you work hard, stretch yourself and learn something new your brain forms new connections and over time you become smarter.
4.Parents want to praise efforts, challenges, struggles and give children strategies to face setbacks.
Some Great books to place on the nightstand to promote a growth mindset atmosphere:
1. Age of Opportunity by Laurence Steinberg
2. Whistling Vivaldi:How Stereotypes Affect Us and What We Can Do" by Claude Steele
3. Will Power: Grit, Self-Control and Achievement by Angela Duckworth
4. The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore
PSG Meetings are now Bi-weekly - 1st & 3rd Wednesdays of the month
PSG meetings will be bi-weekly starting November. IA, all meetings will be at the Skokie campus going forward. Meeting room is in the school basement, marked PSG Room (previously marked music room). Please attend meetings to actively participate in school activities.
Coupon Card launch: 11/17
Inshallah, PSG will be launching the new MCC Academy Coupon Card featuring 10 businesses with a '$10 off $30' purchase. Each business will honor this coupon for a one-time use, for a total of $100 value. Each coupon card will be available for purchase for $20. We are counting on our parents' support to sell these cards to family and friends. Inshallah with your help, we estimate to raise upto $10,000 via this fundraiser. Revenue generated from these cards will be used towards teachers' resources, iA. Watch out for more details in the coming days.
Dec 11th - Giordanos Family Night - Save the Date!
Giordanos (Morton Grove location) will be hosting MCC Family Night on Dec 11th. Please support by purchasing your dinner (dine-in or carry-out) that evening as 20% of your check will be donated back to school.
Chili Cook-off! Announcing the 1st ever PSG Chili cook off in Dec! Look out for more details on how to participate!
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After School Clubs & Activities
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AlhumdilAllah, MCC Academy is in full swing with Fall after school activities including Urdu Club, Drama Club, Nasheed Club, Girl Scouts and Daisy Troops and Middle School sports.
We are looking for parents and community members to volunteer to lead additional after school clubs and activities for our students. If you are interested or know a talented individual from the community, perhaps a high school or college student, who would be interested in leading any of the following clubs, please ask them to contact us: - Poetry and Writing
- Arts & Crafts
- Newspaper Club
- Pokemon Club
- Bey Blade Club
- Photography Club
- Video Club
- Boy Scouts
- Home Economics
- and/or any other clubs that might be of interest to our students....
Please contact Vice Principal Arshi Mujtaba if you would like to set up a club for our students. |
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Kids Enjoy Annual Hajj Program at MCC Academy Skokie Campus
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MCC Parent Academy
New Programs at the MEC Masjid
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MCC Academy continually strives to offer programs and education opportunities to our parents and the broader community. Please see information below for two Islamic education series beginning at the MEC masjid at our Morton Grove campus.
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In collaboration with our umbrella organization, MCC, we are pleased to support an upcoming lectures series beginning on Friday, November 7, 2014, 7pm-8:15pm. The lectures will continue every first Friday of the month for one year. Please see the flyer here for more details. To register, please click here.
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Hifz Students Share their Roots
By Hiba Zakai, Hifth Students Core Teacher
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"If you don't know where you're from, you'll have a hard time saying where you're going." Wendell Berry, among others, has voiced this idea that we need to understand our roots to know our place in the world. A poem by George Ella Lyon is called "Where I'm From." The poem lends itself to imitation and makes a wonderful exercise of exploration in belonging. The prompts have a way of drawing out memories of the smells of attics and bottom-drawer keepsakes; the faces of long-departed kin, the sound of their voices you still hold some deep place in memory. As I did this activity with my hifz academics class, I was surprised, yet delighted to notice after the students were done, they wrote things about the sources of your uniqueness that as their new teacher I would not have even considered before. During the writing process, the question I would get: "But Ms. Zakai, this poem does not even rhyme." My answer: "And that is the beauty -- not all poems need to rhyme."
Another kind of poem they wrote was a haiku -- a Japanese poem, which also does not rhyme when written in its proper format of 3 lines, 7 -5-7 syllables. As the class is reading Fahrenheit 451 and The Giver, one of my favorite activitoes that was what I call "Planetary Mission" -- I ideas was to think of 5 missions you think are your missions here on earth. For examples, in the novel "The Giver" Jonas's mission would be "To receive and to retain feelings and emotions." Some of the mission statements that the students wrote included "to become a hafiz" or "to study hard and make my parents proud."
In addition to "Where I am from poems..." and the "Planetary Mission" activity, the hifz class is working on the "Failure Project" at the moment. They are researching and interviewing famous individuals and/or community members who they admire. During the process they are asking questions such as "Have you ever failed?" and "What did you learn from your failure(s)?" The idea behind the project is to realize that failure is part of the DNA of success. And as I always say, success consists of struggles and sacrifices. If you are not struggling or sacrificing, then you are not doing something right!
In essence, I invite you to stop by the hifz academics board outside the class to see all the great work the class has been doing. I am sure you will learn something new about the hifz students and the everyday-life-lessons the class is highlighting through their resilience attitude of working, studying, and reciting hard without giving up and with a smile on their face, cause as we all know smiling is a sunnah!
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Middle School Science - Mrs. Saleh
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Our 7th grade students were in awe by the delicate flowers they were investigating and had a greater appreciation for Allah (S) creation. From the stigma to the anther, students came to realize the miracle of how flowers reproduce. They identified with the detailed parts of the flower as they were learning about cross pollination and genetics.
Our 8th grade students discovered that electricity flows through salt water. They used electrodes to determine the best metals to conduct electricity that will light a light bulb and also identified with ions. |
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Second graders have gotten off to a great start in their purple classroom. They listened to the story, "Harold and The Purple Crayon," by Crockett Johnson. Like Harold, students imagined themselves going on an adventure using a purple crayon for art. In social studies, we learned about making laws and decided to create our own classroom law book. In Mrs. Baig's classroom we are a family, we all belong, and we thank all of our parents for sending your family photos that have been on display.  |
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To start off the year and in getting to know one another we decided to research about where our families were original from. In doing so students were able to learn how to say in Arabic where each one of them were originally from/or where their families roots came from and make flags of those countries. This initiated healthy conversations in regards to ethnicity and diversity in our classroom. Our unit went beyond a linguistic component and rather brought the beauty in the differences in all of us and the togetherness and belongingness of all of us due to our humanity. We also tied up the conversation with an ayah from Allah's blessed book of " O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other). Verily the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things)" 49:13.
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 Kindergarteners in Mrs. Shariff's class have been learning all about their five senses: tasting, feeling, hearing, seeing and smelling. They also enjoyed making different patterns using shapes and learning to build things using manipulatives. Stuents built sight words using play dough and loved writing in their journals where they also illustrated their entries. We are also doing activities to help students learn the structure of sentences.
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 We have been doing a lot of wonderful things in class. To celebrate Eid we went on a field trip to Chuck E. Cheese. Thank you to Mr. Anarwala, Mrs. Arif, and Mrs. Hubjer for taking time out of their busy schedules and accompanying us.
We are learning how to become better writers. We did some descriptive writing for our Guess Whooo? board and also wrote Hajj Duas.
In Math we are learning about addition. We used hula hoops to act out number stories and make number bonds. Stay tuned for our amazing number stories.
We are so blessed to have had a brand new easel donated to our classroom. It has been so much fun for us to write on and use in our daily learning. Don't forget to stop by our first grade wing to check out the amazing owl murals we created.
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| Mrs. Rahma - Islamic Studies | |
 For Islamic Studies 3B we have been studying the many books Allah sent down to His Prophets. We decided to focus on the Quran closely. We wanted to send a beautiful reminder to everyone around us to read Allah's book everyday via bumper sticker slogans. The students got really creative and thought hard on what the Quran meant to them and tailored their reminders to reflect that. I was really impressed by the catchy phrases the students came up with and exceeded my own small example of "An ayah away keeps the Shaytaan away". Insha'Allah , be on the look out for these little reminders posted around the school walls.
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 Hajj Mubarak! This month was a festive month. First grade preformed a Hajj simulation. This was the first time many if the first graders went to Hajj! We celebrated Eid by going to Chuck E Cheese's. Students had an amazing time and received numerous compliments from the staff members because of their exceptional behavior.
In Mrs. Motiwala's reading class first graders practiced being illustrators and book critics. Students drew book covers and then reviewed books. They then had a chance to present their covers to the class.
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My second graders have been so busy during this month that we lost track of time. Students completed awesome activities in different subject areas, especially in social studies and science.
In science, they collected different kinds of leaves and classified them into groups.They also did a creative project making shapes with leaves as well as leaf rubbing. To commemorate Christopher Columbus, they colored his picture and read a book about him. To enhance their understanding of continents and oceans, the children drew continents on coffee filters and sprayed water which is displayed outside the classroom along with Christopher Columbus.
My mathematicians are mastering three-digit subtraction problems.
They are writing daily in their journals. In reading, they are almost done with Theme one. Every week students are taking Accelerated Reading tests and vocabulary tests on the computer during their library time. I enjoy teaching a group of enthusiastic learners.
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Here's some tidbits of what we are learning in Mrs. Nabeel's pond.
Reading: Our class created giant Ice cream Cone Book Reports with the yummiest scoops of information. We are learning different genres of texts. Our favorite is the fable "Country Mouse and City Mouse."
Math: We completed our Math About Me projects to practice making addition sentences using math facts about ourselves such as how old we are, how many people are in our families, our favorite numbers, pets, siblings and so forth. We love singing our Math Song that tells us how we use Math for everything.
Social Studies: We created our own personal calendars to help us remember important dates in October.
Field Trip: Our field trip to Chuck e cheese was extremely fun. We had a frog-tastic time.
Hajj Program: We made Hajj mobiles show casting the different parts of performing a Hajj.
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 Assalamu Alaikum dear Parents!
We have had a great month so far, alhamdulillah. We enjoyed shouting, "Labbayk Allahumma Labbayk," during our Hajj simulation, and we had a lot of fun on our Eid field trip to Didier farms. We've started creating a lot of Fall decor for our classroom, and in Reading, we learned about verbs, so we practiced using lots of action verbs as we made pizza with real pizza dough!
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 It has been a great start of the year. The students engaged in a mock hajj to understand thoroughly each part of hajj. Fourth graders had a great time visiting each station: tawaf, Mina, arafah, muzdalifah, jamarat, sacrifice, madinah, and the final tawaf with the school. Students have also started Fall-themed art activities.
We read "Finding the Titanic" where we learned about the history of the Titanic. During math class, students were introduced to factors of numbers. We are wrapping up our cell unit in science. 4th grade had created 3-D cell projects to demonstrate their understanding of cell functions. They did a great job using styrofoam, playdoh, cake, and much more.
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 Mrs. Motiwala's class has started the year off strong with number bonds! Students have been practicing number bonds by playing Number Bond Bonanza and making their own number bonds with cubes. We are looking forward to a year full of fun in Math!
The Beach is open for the school year! We are riding the waves in Mrs. Motiwala's Beach. Surfers brought in bags of items special to them. We had a fun-tastic time getting to know each other! Surfers had a chance to reflect on kindergarten and set goals for themselves to achieve in first grade! Our first Starfish Student was Sufyan Syed! We had a chance to find out all about him. He is new to MCC Academy and is doing an amazing job adjusting to the new school. He is an excellent role model and a really hard worker! I'm excited to ride the first grade waves with him and all of my students!
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Preschoolers had a wonderful time at the class did party. They played musical chairs and freeze dance. They were all also able to take home Eid gifts from the Preschool teachers.
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 It's been a month of celebrations in Ms Bozai's 2nd grade! From learning about hajj in the hajj program to celebrating Eid at a field trip to Jump Zone, we are embracing this beautiful time of year. In reading class, we've been engrossed in the story, "Diary of a Spider." In math, we're learning how to subtract with regrouping. In science, we're learning about how animals grow and change. We're going to choose our own animals to study and research and we're very excited about this project! And on Fridays we love having our parent mystery readers come surprise us with their favorite stories. Every day is special and learning has never been so much fun!
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 The year has started great with our students. We started the month blessed with our Hajj program. In preparation to the Hajj program students made a Masjid puzzle and worked as a group to put it together. Students went through all the steps of Hajj to understand the importance of this time. After Hajj we celebrated! Pre-K had a fun filled day with games and a day to wear their cute outfits! This past week Pre-K A made Lava Lamps for letter C, they did a COOL project. They learned about density and reactions, fun, fun science! Gotta love their reactions! Every Friday we have Show and Tell Guess what Mr. Mikael brought for letter C?! There's more learning to come!
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 Takin' Care of Business!
In social studies, we are learned all about the Free Enterprise System. The students created and prepared their very own businesses advertisements which they presented in front of parents and their peers, in their business casual wear. They have created commercials, flyers, billboards, and other forms of advertisements. Their formal presentations included the purpose of their business, goods and services they provide, information about the supply and demand of their business, the profit they are earning, and more!
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| Middle School Islamic Studies - Ms. Iram Shaikh | |
 Sixth, seventh, and eight grade students let their imaginations soar as they brought Hajj to MCC Academy. The students got their creative juices flowing as they collaborated in groups, using different mediums, to replicate the sacred rites of Hajj and present their findings of what the Hujjaj do at that rite, the purpose of why it is done, and the lessons we gain from the sacred pilgrimage. The effort students put into their projects really brought the Hajj spirit to MCC Academy.
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In Mrs. Rahman's class all the students have been in full swing learning the alphabets by focusing on both upper and lower case letters. We are also learning all about numbers and can count to 30! We have been having a lot of hands-on activities focusing on letter and number formation, completing puzzles requiring gross motor skills and special activities to help us remember the sound each letter makes. All the students participate in activities and take complete ownership of their work. Alhamdulillah we have a safe and comfortable environment for the students to take pride in their work and embrace learning. Everyday is a fun filled day in Pre-K!!!
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 Miss Malik's first graders have had an amazing first few weeks of school. We spent a lot of time getting to know each other with activities such as scavenger hunts and All About Me Bags. We're looking forward to a great school year Insha'Allah!
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Elementary School Students Reach to the Sky
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Our students learned a little about the wonderful, healthy practice of yoga thanks to a visit from Ms. Jaya Lodhi.
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Native Deen Performer Drops By for a Visit
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Many of us know about the infamous Native Deen, an Islamic musical group from the Washington, D.C. They are a Muslim "hip hop" group that creates songs focusing on Islam and the remembrance of Allah (swt). On October 15, 2014, MCC Academy was graced by the presence of one of Native Dean's artists, Naeem Muhammad, who sang songs from all three of their albums: Deen You Know, Not Afraid To Stand Alone and The Remedy. Brother Muhammad's performances were exciting and interactive, and had MCC Academy singing and clapping along with him.
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A Poem by Ms. Hiba Zakai,
Hifth Students Core Teacher | |
Lesson Planning
by Ms. Hiba Zakai
As a teacher it is important to plan
Because you're the front man
The least you can do
Is to write a check list
But that is not all - let me insist;
You got to make sure your objective is clear
Because if you don't those students will mutineer
As planning makes the lesson flow
You can even make it like a game show!
Planning is teaching an idea and making it grow
It is not always easy but - hey! - you have to know
It might be challenging
But it gives the kids the scaffolding
To help them learn
As in your heart that is your main concern.
Planning can be fun
But it's got to be done
It's an opportunity to show
How organized you are
And later it will give you an inner glow.
To finish I'll let Dr. Seuss have his say:
"Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find, for a mind maker-upper to make up his mind" From Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!
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Do You Shop Amazon or Target? Both of these Businesses Offer Ways Your Shopping Can Support MCC Academy. Please See Below for Details:
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Please Support our 2014-15 Business Sponsors
If you're interested in advertising your business on our school Facebook page, in our masajed, with a banner in the gymnasium and in our monthly newsletters,
please contact Jill Alali at 847-470-8801
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