Weekly News
December 14-18, 2015

In This Issue...
Islamophobia Conversation     |     Security Update     |     Cookie Dough     |     Blanket Drive
Gala Update     |     Holiday Toy Drive     |     Scholastic Online Fair     |     Noorart Book Fair
Early Dismissal     |     Soccer Shots     |     Buy Your Discounted Yearbook     |     Submit Pics
Resources

December 2015/January 2016
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
13 14
 Islamic book fair items being received this week (possibly Scholastic book fair items as well)

Blanket drive (all week)
15
Turnover 
discussion
@ 8:15am

Gala update meeting @ 9:30am

Cookie dough pick up @ 2:30pm
16
Holiday toy drive ends
17
Community
 Conversation
 on Islamophobia @ 7:30pm at ILM Academy
18
Early Dismissal @ 11:45 (Winter Break Begins)
19
20 21
Winter Holidays / No school (all week)
22 23 24 25 26
27 28
Winter Holidays / No school (all week)
29 30 31 1 2
3 4
First day back to school!
5 6 7 8 9
Security
twoCommunity Conversation Regarding Islamophobia

A discussion event will be held on Thursday regarding the current climate of Islamophobia and how to navigate it in these uncertain times. We know our parents have concerns about the safety of our students due to them attending an Islamic school. This conversation will help you to digest the current information and trials in the political, social, and religious spheres, and provide you with the knowledge and tools you need to go forward. The conversation will be held by PR specialist, Mustafa Tameez. It will be on Thursday, December 17 at 7:30pm. This is an evening event to allow for parents to make it after work hours when traffic is lighter. We hope to have you as a part of this conversation.

Click image to enlarge.

Update on Security

About a week or so ago, we had increased Officer Billy's hours to be present at the school. We used to have him full time in the tail end of the Spring semester when the Islamophobic climate had risen. As the climate was calm again at the beginning of this academic year but wanting to continue with increased security measures than we had in the past, we decided to have Officer Billy present for 3 hours every day for when the students (of all grade levels) would be out at recess and also for a fourth hour on days some of our students would be taken to the masjid for prayer. We have been monitoring the media and also taking into account the concerns parents have voiced to us in the last couple of weeks in support of keeping Officer Billy full time. In response, the school's Advisory Panel has decided to continue with him being on duty full time until the end of the school year. 
Happening This Week
oneCookie Dough Pick Up!

Your cookie dough is almost here, right on time to enjoy in this chilly weather! Please come to the school at 2:30pm this Tuesday to pick up the cookie dough you had ordered. We will try to send the dough home with your students, but if you ordered a lot or your child is young and may not be able to carry the dough, please come in at 2:30pm to pick it up. 
Blanket Drive

One of the Girl Scout troops is holding a blanket drive for the An-Nisa Hope Shelter through this week. They are requesting blankets, throws, etc., which may be lightly used to be donated to give to the families An-Nisa Hope Shelter serves as the temperature continues to drop.  Please drop off the blankets in the designated bin in the school atrium.
Update About Our Gala

Our volunteers have been hard at work with the upcoming fundraising gala. We will be holding an update meeting on Tuesday at 9:30am and encourage you to attend, even if you have not attended the past ones. It is never too late to get involved!

Furthermore, please be sure to save the date of our next gala, which will be on Sunday, February 21 at 5:30pm. We are looking forward to it!
threeHoliday Toy Drive

The holiday toy drive ends this Wednesday! The PTA is holding our annual toy drive for Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital. With the holidays here, we teach our students about the theological differences between Islam and Christianity in regards to Christmas. Two cornerstones of our Islamic studies curriculum, we also teach our students about respecting and tolerating people from all religious backgrounds and giving back to the community. As such, we participate in this annual toy drive to give to children who are patients, and may be spending their holidays in a hospital, so their day can brighten up due to the generosity of local children who happen to be Muslim. 

To target this year's toy drive a little more, we are asking our students of different ages to bring different items. This is ideal, however if you wish to send toys not listed below, the hospital will appreciate it all the same. 
  • ECC and Montessori students: Toys for infants through 3 year olds are needed, such as blocks, teddy bears, pull toys, infant books, and other toys you would typically purchase your child. 
  • 1st-3rd graders: Toys for 6-12 year olds are needed, such as cars, action figures, dolls, Legos, books, Melissa and Doug toys, and anything you would purchase your elementary/middle school child. 
  • 4th-8th graders: Toys for 12 year olds and above are needed, such as card games, board games, movies, books, model airplanes, Nerf guns, sports equipment, light sabers, jewelry, etc. - anything you would buy a 12+ year old. 

Please make sure the toys you bring are NEW, not used. Also, please do NOT wrap them as the hospital will need to sort through them first. There are boxes in the atrium to drop the toys off.

fourScholastic Book Fair Online Orders

The Scholastic book fair books that you ordered online (if any) are on their way to the school. Given that this is holiday season, there is a possibility they may get here after winter break. Whenever we get them, we will hold on to them and send them home with your child as soon as possible. 
Islamic Book Fair Orders

All Noorart book fair orders should be coming in to the school this week. We will send the books home with your child as soon as we get them this week. In case the packaging is such that any books you purchased for our teacher wish lists are packed inside your box, please unpack the books and send back the one that is for us. From our Arabic/Quran teachers: a heartfelt thank you for supporting them. All but one item from their wish list were purchased. They were pleasantly shocked. :)
Friday Early Dismissal

This Friday will be a half day of school with dismissal at 11:45am. Though ECC students eat lunch prior to 11:45, Montessori through 8th graders do not and therefore they do not need to bring a lunch on that day. Please pick your students up from the school no later than 12:10pm as we have teacher in-service scheduled directly afterward. 

We will resume after winter break on Monday, January 4, insha'Allah!
fiveSoccer Shots - Spring Season

You can sign up for the Spring season of Soccer Shots now if you have a child between the ages of 3-5 . Soccer Shots will begin on January 12 and go through May 10 (with no class on March 15 for Spring Break). They will be on Tuesdays directly after school at the playground. (You will have to come at regular dismissal time to pick up your child and take them to the playground.) The cost is $187 for a 17-week season, or you can pay it in 2 installments of $93.50. You can sign up now by clicking on the "Register Now" button at www.soccershots.org/houston.

If you have questions, please contact Soccer Shots at 281.995.7208 or houston@soccershots.org.
The ILM Academy 2015-2016 Yearbook!

Last year's ILM Academy yearbook was a great success! We are making them again this year and, as before, there will be a large discount if ordered by the end of December. We are going with a new company this year, which will offer better quality and more options and our yearbook will be bigger (48 pages of your student's memories!). Options include upgrading the standard soft cover to a hard cover and add additional page inserts. (There are autograph pages already, but you can add more.)

Click here to order the books (only $20 until December 31) and use the ILM Academy code 12634916 to begin.
Submit Your Pictures for the Yearbook!

The school yearbook is open for you to submit your own pictures of your student or any of our school events. You can do so by clicking here, making an account, and entering with the access code JTEXZW. It is not a guarantee the pictures will be used as it depends on the variety and quality (no cell phone pictures please). The yearbook committee appreciates your help in collecting pictures!
The contents of this email message and any attachments or files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the addressee. This transmission is sent in trust, for the sole purpose of delivery to the intended recipient. If you have received this transmission in error, any use, reproduction, or dissemination of this transmission is strictly prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please immediately notify the sender by replying to this email and delete this message and its attachments, if any.