International Maarif Schools of Australia eNewsletter

Dear Maarif Parents,

Time flies; we have already reached the halfway point of the year! I would like to congratulate all students and parents for our collective successes as we reach the midyear mark. This term has been extremely busy with events such as the Eid Celebration, Harmony Day, Talent Show, International Excursions to Türkiye and Cyprus, Wanderers School Soccer Cup, a visit from the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, SWISSA Cross Country, AICES Cross Country, the 19 May Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day in Canberra, an official visit from high-level delegates from Çanakkale, Turkey, Mother's Day, Oodie Day, leadership sessions, visits from the Police Liaison Office focusing on cyberbullying and cyber safety, World Music Day celebrations, a chess competition, and many curriculum-based and fun excursions.

I would also like to mention a slight change in our admin office hours, as I noted in the newsletter. Office inquiries and payments will not be accepted between 3:00 pm and 4:00 pm. Any payments or inquiries to the admin office can be made until 3:00 pm or after 4:00 pm by appointment.

Additionally, it has come to our attention that the number of early pickups has increased, causing significant disruptions in the classes. Therefore, we want to remind you that school finishes at 3:30 pm. Please schedule your appointments after school hours, as we will not approve early pickups without prior approval. We request your cooperation in this matter.

Our Executive Leadership Team attended an Artificial Intelligence workshop, "School Leaders Meetup: Sydney Forge Connections, Drive Innovation," on Friday, 21 June, at the Opera House. Over 200 leaders from more than 130 schools across Greater Sydney participated in the workshop. The topics covered in the workshop:

Powered-up leaders: Neuroscience of performance & wellbeing with Dr Kristy Goodwin and Luke Callier. Dr Kristy Goodwin, CSP and Luke Callier hosted a fascinating live episode of the EdLeaders podcast, where they spoke about the challenges of the digital world that we live in, and how we can improve our own wellbeing with the power of sleep and good digital habits.
Driving AI innovation: A hands-on approach with Brett Salakas and Rob McTaggart
Is your LMS enabling your vision for education? with Misbah Jafary and Nick Morgan
Navigating the future: How AI is reshaping Schools Moderated by Yasmin London, with Anthony England, Lubna Sayed, and Sue Floro

We had the privilege of participating in this fantastic event at the Sydney Opera House.

On Tuesday, 25 June, we visited Deputy Premier, Minister for Education and Early Learning, and Minister for Western Sydney, The Hon. Prue Car MP. We introduced our school to the Minister and requested that our HSC students be allowed to choose Turkish Beginners and Turkish Extension subjects. We explained that while we have students who would like to choose Turkish for their HSC, the current syllabus only offers Turkish Continuers. She promised to address this need and assured us that these subjects would be offered due to the demand from Maarif students. We invited her to our next event, and she expressed her happiness and accepted the invitation.

Have a wonderful holiday!

Best regards,

Screen_Shot_2023_02_20_at_11.07.07_am.jpg

Dr Zeynep Yaseen

Principal

Dear Parents/Carers,

We have come to the end of another productive and successful school term. As we leave Term 2 behind, we reflect on the wonderful teaching and learning that took place, the extra-curricular activities students participated in and the events we celebrated. Harmony Day brought our community together in a celebration of diversity and inclusion. The Wanderers Schools’ Soccer Cup and Chess Competition showcased the talents and competitive spirit of our students, enhancing sportsmanship, strategic thinking and problem-solving skills.

We have now moved to sharing student reports online. Please log in to your Sentral Parent Portal to access your child’s Semester 1 report. If you are having any issues in accessing your child’s report, please contact the school office.

We would like parents to go through their child’s report with them and discuss the areas they are excelling in and areas they need to focus more on. Effort and engagement are equally important as it is an essential element in their overall progress. Our reports showcase English, Turkish, Mathematics and General comments. These comments give you further insight into these core key learning areas and the progress of your child.

I wish all our families a restful school break and look forward to welcoming everyone back for Term 3, ready for more exciting and enriching experiences.

With Regards,

Mrs Reyhan Er

Primary School Coordinator

On Thursday 27th June, Maarif students celebrated Harmony Day. It was a very colourful event showing diversity in the traditional outfits they wore as well as the tasty foods they brought in. The students really enjoyed the parade as they looked at all the different ways culture can be expressed through dance and music. This was a great way show the importance of celebrating difference and being inclusive in a multicultural society.

On Friday 28^th June 2024, Maarif students participated in activities that acknowledged National Sorry and Reconciliation Day. They watched a slideshow about the Indigenous people and the importance they have as first landowners. They watched the Prime Minister’s apology speech, and this enabled the students to empathize about what happened in the past. This was followed by decorating a footprints image, students drew Aboriginal symbols and the Aboriginal flag inside the footprints to recognise this significant day. Activities such as this allows the students to familiarize themselves about the Indigenous culture as well as developing a respect towards it.

The International Maarif Schools of Australia held its first chess tournament, attracting over 60 students. The four-day event featured two categories: high school and primary school, with each match lasting 20 minutes.

The top three players in each category received prizes in a concluding award ceremony. The tournament showcased the students' strategic skills and fostered camaraderie and sportsmanship.

Congratulations to all participants and especially to the winners -Melead Kakall, Uthman Maaliki and Teoman Seyrek- for their outstanding performance.

Well done to the students who have been selected as 'Student of the Week'. These students are selected for academic achievement and for modelling our school values.

	Week 9	Week 10
1A	Luqman Dib	Amira Taha
1B	Melika Naboulsi	Amir Eid
2A	Musa Chehaita	Mayar Mahasneh
2B	Asiya Ulucanli	Ayoub Hawat
3A	Narin Ince	Malik Duran
4A	Sayid Kudusov	Hasan Bulli
4B	Yavuz Caliskan	Uthman Maaliki
5A	Haktan Cetiner	Elisa Ozdemir
5B	Daniyal Khan	Leah Al Saheli
6A	-	-

Also congratulations to these students for receiving an award.

Let’s Use the Bossy ‘e’

1A students have been very busy writing and reading words that contain the bossy ‘e’ at the end. We have learnt that the bossy ‘e’ stretches the word and changes the meaning. For example, the word ‘sit’ becomes ‘site’ once we add the bossy ‘e’. They had fun playing with words and adding the bossy ‘e’ to make new words. We used the whiteboards to write these words followed by writing some sentences. Some students wrote sentences about what they want to do in the school holidays. At the end of the lesson, students had free time to do some creative drawing using the markers on their boards. Students are becoming more confident to write sentences using their tricky words. Reading daily helps the students master these words which as a result enables them to become fluent readers. Being exposed to texts regularly allows the student to use their photographic memory to recognise longer words like the word ‘because’. Thank you to all parents who have been supporting their child’s reading at home.

Mrs Ulku Turkmen

1A Class Teacher

Ninja Parc

1B this term had the exciting opportunity to go to Ninja Parc for our school excursion which was lots of fun. This linked in well with our Physical Education unit. We explored a whole range of obstacle courses which were challenging and enjoyable at the same time. We pushed ourselves to the limits at Ninja Parc and really enjoyed both the structured aspect and free play. The obstacles challenged our balancing skills, hand/eye and foot/eye coordination and our overall strength.

Harmony Day

We also celebrated Harmony Day which was a great way to start conversations in our classroom around cultural diversity, about having respect for other cultures and to respect each other for not only our similarities but also our differences. We bought in food from our cultural backgrounds, wore cultural clothing and watched some fantastic performances. It was a fun filled day!

Miss Bahar Sevgi

1B Class Teacher

Visual Arts

For Visual Arts, students have been learning about techniques for sculpting using clay. Students were tasked with sculpting their own monsters inspired from the story “Where the Wild Things Are”. 2A students were very creative in designing their monsters using different colours and shapes.

Mrs Zeliha Mehcur

2A Class Teacher

Exploring "Where the Wild Things Are" Through Art

This term, students have explored Maurice Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are" for their visual arts curriculum, creating their own imaginative monster artworks inspired by the book. They began by analysing the characters and illustrations, then sketched and used various materials to bring their wild things to life. The classroom buzzed with excitement as students shared progress and offered feedback, culminating in a "Monster Gallery Walk" showcasing a diverse array of unique and creative monsters. This project has fostered creativity, collaboration, and artistic growth, allowing students to bring their imaginations to life through art.

Ms Suzan Tarpis

2B Class Teacher

Colourful Learning

Year 3 students had a great time working on a water paint project inspired by Van Gogh's wood artwork. Armed with brushes and bright paints, they explored his style and techniques. The classroom was filled with excitement as the kids brought their own visions to life on paper. Each painting was unique, bursting with color and creativity, and reflected their admiration for Van Gogh's incredible art.

Year 3 students had a lot of fun making 3D shapes using 3D shape nets. They cut out and folded the nets to create shapes like cubes, pyramids, and prisms. The classroom was full of excitement as they helped each other see how the flat pieces turned into 3D forms. This hands-on activity made learning about shapes enjoyable and easy to understand.

Ms Samira Asad

3A Class Teacher

4A Art

Recently, year 4 went on an excursion to an art studio. The students had the chance to paint their self-portraits step by step with guidance from the professional artist. They started with base colours and experimented with mixing to discover new shades. It was important for the students to listen carefully and follow each instruction patiently. Overall, it was an unforgettable experience for all our students.

Ms Melike Tugrul

4A Class Teacher

Healthy Eating

This week for health, students explored healthy eating. Some points they were required to research were: What are the benefits of this fruit/vegetable, what area of your body does it target, which vitamins or support does this fruit/vegetable provide and to find a recipe with said fruit/vegetable that you may like to use at home. Students were shocked by the amount of new and differing information they gathered about everyday fruit or vegetable items that they eat. Hopefully leading to conscious decisions around their consumption.

Mrs Ayse Yildiz

4B Class Teacher

Harmony Day and Robot Coding lessons

On Harmony Day, students in 5A brought in a lot of cultural food to share with others. The class had a mini feast where the students organised the banquet by themselves. There were volunteers serving food and collecting rubbish, and they enjoyed the food with their chosen traditional music and a lot of joy.

As this term approaching to an end, students are consolidating their knowledge about robot coding. They formed groups, participated in quizzes and utilised different codes to command the robot to perform actions. The session facilitated group work and collaboration where students brainstorm ideas and designate jobs. It provided them with a huge sense of achievement when the robot executed their command correctly.

Mr Mike Liu

5A Class Teacher

Diving into Hip Hop

This term, 5B have been exploring dances from different cultures. This week's focus was on the world of Hip-Hop. Students enthusiastically learned some basic moves and had the opportunity to express themselves through a freestyle session, showcasing their creativity and individuality. The energy and excitement in the classroom were truly inspiring as the students embraced this dynamic dance form.

Floating Houses

Wouldn't it be nice if our houses could float on water in the event of a flood? For our latest home activity task, students in 5B gathered unwanted materials from home and crafted houses that float. It was wonderful to see their creations brought into class, showcasing their creativity and resourcefulness. We tested their floating houses to see how well they handled flood conditions, and it was great to see their innovative designs in action. Well done to all students who participated in this project!

Mrs Fatima Memedoski & Ms Amel Mehana

5B Class Teachers

Closing Term 2

Throughout the term, our students undertook assessments across all areas of learning. These assessments are a vital part of our educational process, providing valuable insights into each child's progress and helping us tailor our teaching to better meet their needs. The students approached these assessments with great determination and focus, and we are proud of their hard work and dedication.

We celebrated Harmony Day—a vibrant event that showcased the rich culture of our school community. The children had a blast participating in various activities, learning about different cultures, and sharing their heritage. It was a beautiful day filled with music, dance, traditional attire, and delicious food, fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation of our community.

We wish you all a safe and joyful holiday period and look forward to welcoming our Year 6 students back for an exciting new term filled with more learning and memorable experiences.

Miss Dilara Ozhan

6A Class Teacher

5N 1K

Year 1 students studied the 5W 1H concept. Students responded to questions about who, how, when, where, and why by writing their answers on the board according to the provided sentences.

Ms Özge Ilıca Akçelik

Turkish Language Teacher

Year 2

Year 2 students about the importance of healthy eating and healthy foods. After learning about the positive effects of healthy foods on our bodies, our students eagerly worked on a cut-and-paste activity to fill their lunchboxes with healthy foods.

Year 3

Year 3 students created amazing PowerPoint presentations to share the activities they plan to do during the holiday with their classmates. They showcased the fun and educational activities they want to do over the break, improving their presentation skills and sharing their excitement with their friends.

Year 5

Year 5 students had the chance to learn about the traditional Turkish shadow play, Hacivat and Karagöz. After understanding the nuances of this performing art, they took turns acting out the characters and putting on their own shadow plays. This activity not only increased their interest in our cultural heritage but also boosted their creativity.

Ms Tutku Sahin

Turkish Language Teacher

Meslekler

Year 3 students engaged in an activity about professions, they chose the appropriate image for the profession they like, cut and pasted it, and wrote the names of the professions and what they do.

Mrs Busranur Namlı

Turkish Language Teacher

Buğdayın Yolculuğu

Year 4 students learnt the journey of wheat. They watched the adventure it takes from a seed in the field to our homes. Afterwards, we discussed the stages and wrote them down one by one.

Unjumble the Words

Year 6 students participated in an interactive online activity where they practised common phrases used by customers and waiters in restaurant dialogues. Through this exercise, they also learned about the structure of Turkish sentences.

Mrs Seyma Akdemir

Turkish Language Teacher

Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh,

(May peace and mercy be upon you)

All praise be to Allah (SWT), the most merciful and may peace and blessings be upon His beloved Prophet Muhammad (SAW), his family, companions and to all those who follow him.

I am honoured to inform that Year 4 students have completed the task of Prayer. Moreover, students have successfully demonstrated how Prayer is performed.

The performance of the class has shown optimism in completing this task by this term.

Mr Usama Mohammad

Primary Religion Teacher

We are about to take a short break from our music journey with our students. In this musical journey, they not only learned the musical instrument they played in the classroom, but also discovered their talents by forming class choirs and saw what they themselves could do. I would like to thank all my students and you, our esteemed parents, who made their best efforts during these studies. Our musical work will continue at full speed and with enthusiasm.

Mrs Fisun Benlisoy

Music Teacher

The final week of Term 2 is here, and wow, that was quick! What a fun sports term it has been.

In this last week, we have had some exciting competitions that our students have been a part of. Hats off to the primary and secondary Maarif boys who participated in the Western Sydney Wanderers Cup.

Well done to our primary boys:

Halil-Ibrahim Aytekin, Haktan Cetiner, Halid Cetiner, Ali-Baran Dede, Kerem Er, Azlaan Haider-Ishaq, Isaac Hussein, Mikail Inan, Musa Kassem, Arqam Yaseen, Khattab Chehaita, Adam Haouchar, and Serkan Sagin.

We may not have won the finals, but your solid effort was phenomenal. Well done boys!

On the last week of the soccer and cricket fields, both sporting teams enjoyed free play and games that brought endless smiles.

There will be some new and exciting news for our Term 3 sports calendar, Keep your eyes out for the new term dates which will be listed to families in the early weeks of Term 3.

Thank you to all the participating students and families. We wish you a happy and safe holiday and we look forward to another successful sporting school semester in Term 3.

A kind reminder to families, please pay any unsettled accounts as soon as possible.

Happy Holidays!

The Student Corner is a dedicated space for students of any year level to showcase their unique work and talents!

Yasmine Bayah - 1A

Asiya Yilmam - 2A

Zara Rafiq - 2B

Berkay Dogru - 3A

Melaad Kakall - 4A

Uthman Maaliki - 4B

Anaum Khan - 5A

Jody Batisha - 5B

Maarif_Behaviour_Expectations_Matrix_final_2 _pdf 98.00 KB

School Drop off and Pick Up

Students need to be dropped off at school by 8:45am daily and pick up at 3:30pm.

Parent-Teacher Communication

When communicating with teachers, please try to be respectful of their time and understand that they may not always be able to respond immediately. This means, giving them a reasonable amount of time to respond to your emails or messages, and understanding their work hours.

Please avoid sending multiple follow-up messages when not receiving a response immediately, teachers have many responsibilities.

Written Communications

Written communications to the school, including emails and letters, please include the student's full name and class for identification purposes

Phone & Electronics

Primary School students are not permitted to bring to school, their phones and/or any electronics. This includes smartwatches.

Birthday Celebrations

We love to celebrate our students at Maarif and accept that some families may want to share the special occasion of their child’s birthday with his/her class peers. As a school, we embrace this opportunity however would like to enforce a strict policy of not bringing in food or other edible items for these one-off occasions. It is important we cater to all students including those who have severe allergies by monitoring this closely. If you would like to celebrate your child’s birthday, we would suggest an alternative to food.

Toys and Valuables

Students are not permitted to bring toys and valuables to school. These include Pokemon cards, fidget toys and weapon-like toys. Students are only permitted to bring in appropriate toys on allocated Show and Tell days. Please check with your child's class teacher if unsure.

Student Lunches

We understand that occasionally dropping off a meal may seem convenient, but we appreciate your cooperation in supporting our efforts to promote fairness and healthy eating for all students by not dropping off fast food for your child. It is no longer allowed at our school. When fast food is brought to school, it can lead to other children feeling left out or upset if they do not have similar meals.

All uniform requests can be made as follows:

Order Submission Only

Primary school parents are to complete the attached uniform order form
Order forms should be emailed to uniforms@maarif.nsw.edu.au or sent to the school office with students if required
Orders will be processed weekly on Wednesdays and uniform items will be sent home with students by the following day
Contact number for uniform-related enquiries 0402 393 844

Attached below is the Uniform Order Form

2024_Primary_School_Uniform_Order_Form.pdf

2024_Primary_School_Uniform_Order_Form _pdf 186.13 KB

Maarif students are expected to wear their Winter school uniform during Term 3. Please be reminded of the importance of naming all items of school uniform with your child’s name and class. This means that lost items found around school can easily be returned.

We consider that uniform is important for several reasons.

It provides pupils with a sense of identity and pride in their school.
It enhances the appearance of pupils and therefore the reputation of the school.
It helps to instil a sense of purpose in pupils when they put on their uniform in the mornings.
It helps overcome the worry about “fitting in” with fashions and keeping up with other children. All children feel equal and there is no stress, competition or worry for families about expensive brands/labels.
It overcomes the problem for both parents and teachers about what is suitable attire for school.

We request that our parents and/or carers be extra cautious during school drop-off and pick-up times.

Years 1 - 3 are dismissed from the Front School Gate.

Years 4 - 6 are dismissed from the Side School Gate.

Road_Safety.pdf

Road_Safety _pdf 274.27 KB

Please ensure NSW Government rules regarding road safety are being followed and adhered to at all times. This means:

- Respecting the road rules and signs, and driving within the speed limit of 40km/h in a school zone.

- Parking safely in designated parking areas or in drop off/pick up zones.

- No double parking, as it is dangerous and illegal.

- Three-point turns and U-turns are not permitted in school zones, as not only is it dangerous for students and other vehicles but it also causes traffic congestion.

- Follow the directions of our school crossing supervisors.

- Give way to our School Bus drivers.

Road_Safety.pdf

Road_Safety _pdf 1.68 MB

Thank you for your cooperation.

According to ACARA National Standards for student attendance, parents are required to complete an Application for Leave Form for holidays within the school term or other leave. Applications should be submitted 14 days prior to the leave. The Principal approves this leave as appropriate.

For all student leave requests (1-50 days) an application form should be submitted to the school at least 14 days prior to the requested leave date. Supporting documentation, such as travel ticket or itinerary, should be included with student holiday leave applications.

Holidays taken by students outside of School vacation periods are included as absences.

Families are encouraged to holiday or travel during school vacations rather than in term time. If travel during the school term is necessary, the following considerations apply:

If the Principal accepts the reason for the absence, the absence will be marked as justified leave.
If the Principal does not believe the absence is in the student’s best interests and does not accept the reason, the absence will be recorded as unjustified leave.

The Leave form can be accessed below:

Student_Short_Term_Leave_Application_Form_less_than_50_days_.pdf

Student_Short_Term_Leave_Application_Form_less_than_50_days pdf 263.96 KB

Did you know you can organise your school fee payments into weekly, fortnight or monthly payments? International Maarif Schools of Australia uses Edstart to provide more flexibility and choice for your school fee payments. There are no additional charges for the service regardless of the schedule or payment method you choose. Getting started is easy, simply visit edstart.com.au/Maarif to set up your payments online or call 1300 139 445. If you would like further information, you can also contact our accounts team at accounts@maarif.nsw.edu.au or 02 8316 0655.

InternationalMaarifSchools_Edstart_A4_Flyer_Plus_2.pdf

InternationalMaarifSchools_Edstart_A4_Flyer_Plus_2 _pdf 642.05 KB

2024_Maarif_Calendar.pdf

2024_Maarif_Calendar _pdf 3.35 MB

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