ICS PTSA NEWSLETTER

April 3, 2022

See the ICS Calendar for more upcoming event dates.

FROM THE PTSA

Save Thousands on the Cost of College – Free Webinar Event

Date: April 20, 2022

Time: 6:30pm – 7:30pm

Microsoft Teams Meeting: Link

Join College Financial Planning Advisor Peg Keough as she demystifies the college funding process. Having put two kids through college herself, Peg works with families just like yours to help them realize significant discounts on the cost of college, regardless of income level. Come learn how to navigate the financial aid process without confusion and stress successfully. This webinar is recommended for parents of 9th through 12th graders.

Click HERE for more details on the event and the speaker bio.

FROM THE DEI COMMITTEE

This month the DEI Committee would like to highlight Ramadan. Ramadan is the holiest month of the year for Muslims. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, which begins with the sighting of the new moon. It’s the period in which the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was visited by the archangel Gabriel and began to receive the Qur’an—the final scripture revealed by God. Believers commemorate this revelation through prayer, charity, and building a closer relationship with God.  

Fasting is the hallmark of Ramadan. Participants do not eat, drink, smoke, or engage in intimacy from sunrise to sunset. Each day of the month begins with a pre-dawn meal, Suhoor, and ends with Iftar, the fast-breaking meal. It’s also very common to perform Taraweeh, communal prayers with family or at the mosque, at the close of each day, and spend extra time in personal supplication throughout each night. Fasting folks go about their usual routines at work, school, and home during daylight hours. Be gentle; Your Muslim coworkers and students are probably a bit tired!

In Islam, fasting is one of the significant acts of worship and a means of attaining God-consciousness. Along with the physical aspects of fasting, its spiritual dimensions purify the soul, instill self-reflection and inspire virtuous living. With the goal of God-consciousness in mind, many use the month to reconnect with the Divine - through a focus on spiritual self-improvement. Spiritual self-improvement activities include extra recitation of the Qur’an, more time spent in prayer, the abandonment of bad habits, or a renewed focus on volunteering to assist those in need.  

Ramadan is also a time to bond with family, friends, and community. Muslims are encouraged to spend more time at the mosque, host and attend communal dinners (with their ever-present danger of eating too many samosas), visit extended family and friends, and celebrate together at the end of the month.  

This year in the US, Ramadan will start on April 2, 2022, and end on May 1, 2022. The end of Ramadan is marked by the sighting of the new moon, followed by a day of celebration known as Eid-ul-Fitr. Families wake up early in the morning, put on their best clothes, and go to the mosque for a brief Eid sermon and congregational prayer. They thank God for giving them the opportunity to experience the holy month of Ramadan. The day is filled with celebration, socializing, festive meals, and modest gift-giving, especially to children.  

Recipes for Ramadan: 30 Ramadan recipes to nourish the body between fasting (today.com) 

Want to Learn More? What Is Ramadan? Fasting, Dates, History, and More (learnreligions.com) 

FROM THE ART DAY COMMITTEE

2022 Art Day is coming up on May 23, 2022. The Art Day schedule and the class list are detailed below. A survey form will be sent to the students soon from the school; if required, please help your child fill out the survey.

Help Needed!

The Art Day committee has planned 21 classes, and we need your help to lead the following classes:

1. Indian Cooking
2. Yoga

If you are interested, reach out to lucia.liu@outlook.com

Schedule

The Art Day committee is working on the final schedule. We will be sharing the schedule soon once finalized.

Class List

The Art Day committee has planned 21 fantastic classes for our kids! You can view the class details on our website.

Notes: please read the allergy info for any food class.

• Pasta
• Indian Cooking
• Chinese Cooking
• South Indian Quick Salads
• Chocolate Wafer Balls
• Dutch Cooking
• Sushi
• Kolam Art
• Lino-Cut Printmaking (Stamp Carving)
• Henna
• Arabic Calligraphy
• Paper cut out stop motion.
• Glass Fusion
• Anime Art
• Brush painting or yarn bowls
• Acrylic Painting
• Coding
• Constructing Family Portraits from Torn Paper
• Tree Ring Prints
• Kathak 101
• Yoga

REPEATED ARTICLES

Scholarship Opportunity

The ICS PTSA is awarding 6 scholarships worth $1,500 each to graduating seniors who show exceptional dedication to community work, volunteer efforts, extracurricular activities, and determination for self-improvement. The applicant must be a graduating ICS senior and plan on continuing their education at an institution of higher learning (4-year College or University, Community College, or Vocational Technical Institute) in fall 2022. To apply students will need to answer essay questions and provide a letter of recommendation. Scholarship applications will be accepted from March 7^th until April 24th. See link for the form.

ICS International Cookbook

"Food may not be the answer to world peace, but it's a start." -Anthony Bourdain

We are launching our first ever ICS International Cookbook, and we need your recipes! Everyone knows a foodie in their house and/or someone who cooks amazing food and loves to share it. In many cultures, food is more than just sustenance for the body. Food is seen as something that ties people together through fellowship, love/care, and good times. With COVID being something that has shaken up everyone’s lives, we have not been able to share meals with our loved ones, friends, and/or coworkers. However, through sharing recipes we can have a little of that feeling back, even if it is by making the recipe ourselves. 

We are fortunate to have families from around the world, so we would like to give everyone an opportunity to contribute. Please fill out the ICS International Cookbook form, and be a part of this initiative. Deadline is May 1. Buon Appetito! Questions? Email Mireille Baumoel at mbaumoel@icsptsa.org. 

Volunteers Needed for Tutoring/Homework Help

As the enlightened say, knowledge is a treasure, perhaps the only one, that spreads and grows bigger with sharing. Here is a unique opportunity for parents to share and spread their knowledge/skill/expertise with ICS students. We are seeking parent volunteers to help our students with core ICS curriculum (e.g. Math, Science, Humanities, etc.) as well as other subject areas (e.g. music, art, etc.).

If you are interested, please fill out this form with

• SUBJECT AREA you are interested in teaching with preferred grade levels, if any,
• DAYS of the WEEK and TIMES you are available,
• YOUR NAME, and
• YOUR EMAIL to use to set up a Teams meeting for the class.

If you would like to teach multiple subjects, please submit a different form for each subject area.

If you have any questions, reach out to Scholarship@icsptsa.org.

Parent Meetings Second Tuesday of the Month

All PTSA parent meetings are held on the second Tuesday of the month. This link will take you to the recurring meeting on Teams; you can use it for all parent meetings this school year.