Dear Parents and Students,

We are excited to celebrate the progress and accomplishments of our students as we come to the end of Term 2. Student reports and portfolios will be sent home yesterday.

Students will return to school on Tuesday 13 July 2021 for Term 3.
Wishing all our Maarif students and families a very safe and happy break.

Yours Sincerely

Zeynep Yaseen Principal

We celebrated National Sovereignty and Children's Day (Ulusal Egemenlik ve Çocuk Bayramı) by holding a poetry reciting competition on Friday 23 April 2021.

Maarif students were invited to perform at the Turkish Consulate on the 24th of April along with other Turkish schools from the community to celebrate 23 April National Sovereignty and Children's Day. Our students made our school proud as they performed exceptionally well. We would like to thank Ms Esra Pamuk for her dedication and working with our Folk Dance group and extend our sincere gratitude and appreciation to our parents who brought their children on the day. 

Well done to all students who recieved the "Student of the Week" badge, for displaying behaviour coinciding with our school values. 

Congratulations to Year 3 for receiving the Assembly Star Class trophy!

Photos from Week 2 Monday Assembly:

Week 2- Students of the Week!

Kindergarten - Muhammad Kowaider

Year 1 - Emre Gulce

Year 2 - Aleena Khan

Year 3 - Adam Haouchar

Year 4 - Emre Sonmez

Year 5 - Zeyno Hasgul

Year 6 - Halil Ibrahim Coskun

Spelling practice

Kindergarten students had lots of fun playing with letters, sounds, and words. They practiced putting 3 letters together to make a work and were encouraged to write their name and spell their tricky words on the mat.

This activity allows the child to master their eye hand coordination in addition to practice correct pencil / marker grip. Students are also able to look onto their friend’s work to be guided with putting letters together to make words. These students will be given plenty of opportunities this term to make short words and write different letters with the correct formation.

Mrs Ulku Turkmen

Kindergarten Teacher

Welcome to Term 2!

Year 1 have dived into Term 2 learning about healthy eating and living habits in PDH. Students looked at and discussed what healthy eating looks like and what are some habits they can engage in to remain healthy and active. Students then completed a sorting activity of healthy and unhealthy (sometimes) foods. Students participated in basketball run by My Hoops, where they learnt basic skills of basketball. Year 1 loved participating in basketball games.

Year 1 Teacher

Random Acts of Kindness!

In spirit of Ramadan, students from year 2 made Happy Ramadan cards with their families so we could gift them to our neighbors- Gallipoli Home. Ms Aksu and I delivered the cards along with packaged dates to the residents for them to enjoy. Thankyou Year 2, the cards were thoughtful, and they were very much loved by the residents at the home.

Mrs Dilek Isanc

Year 2 Teacher

Welcome back to Term 2 ?

Students have gotten right back into learning, excited for the term ahead. I would like to give a warm welcome our new student, Meryem, who has joined us this term.

In History, students will be exploring celebrations and commemorations recognised in Australia and around the world. This week, students learnt about ANZAC Day.  We commemorated the day by making individual artwork pieces and collaborating together as a class to create a poppy wreath which students have identified as a symbol of ANZAC Day.

Ms Amel Mehana

Year 3 Teacher

First Fleet

Welcome back to Term 2. I am so delighted to see their smiling faces after 2 weeks. They looked energised and relaxed coming back to school.

In History, students are learning about First Fleet and the experiences of convicts travelling to Australia. This week, students had the opportunity to research on one of the eleven ships that arrived in Australia in First Fleet. Students were engaged and actively participating in extracting the relevant information.

Mrs Samira Asad

Year 4 Teacher

Appreciating our Australian Landscape

Year 5 students are working to produce a replica of a painting created by Albert Namatjira who is a famous Indigenous artist. The painting is of the Australian Landscape before Colonisation and therefore ties in nicely with our History unit this term. Students are using oil pastel as a base to create hard lines and texture in the foreground. They will then use a paint wash for the skyline and mountains. It has been wonderful to see the students come to believe and know that we are all artists and able to express in our own unique way and style.

Mrs Olivia Peach

Year 5 Teacher

Welcome Back!

Welcome back to school. We hope that all our year 6’s had a restful break in preparation for a busy term ahead! Year 6’s are settling back to study mode and establishing new relationships and routines with the new year 6 teacher Miss Arici very well. The enthusiasm and motivation portrayed by students this term makes us all very happy to see that they are ready for learning.

As part of our term 2 P.E. program, students are participating in basketball training programs run by My Hoops during P.E lessons every Wednesday over at the courts. This program provides students with the opportunity to develop skills in basketball as well as improving their movement skills. Most of the activities run by the organisation allow students to develop critical thinking by learning to interact and operate in teams, helping them understand the concept of strategy in physical sports and allowing them to foster team spirit. This was a great way to start off the term with the year 6’s as they have positive friendships as a whole class.

Here are some photos of the kids enjoying their first introductory lesson of basketball.

Miss Asli Arici

Year 6 Teacher

For Years Kindergarten, Year 3, Year 5 and Year 6

23rd April Children’s Day

Every year, children in Turkey celebrate National Sovereignty and Children's Day as a national holiday. As Maarif School of Australia we celebrated this special day, with poem recitations and a Year 3 singing and dancing performance.

For this special day, Mrs Akdemir prepared a poster with a heart including Maarif students’ photos.

Year 3 Survey

Year 3 Students made a survey. They asked their classmates about their family members and they reported the results in sentences at the end of the survey.

Ramadan Kareem!

Year 5 and 6 students learnt some terms of Ramadan by playing crossword puzzles and a memory games.

Mrs Şeyma Akdemir

Turkish Teacher

Year 1

Year 1 liked the game "Position" the most this term. Students who learned the concepts of "in front of, behind, below, above" in Turkish had a lot of fun while learning this through play. We made these words unforgettable with games enjoyed by all students.

We congratulated our friend Sayid who came first in the poetry reading contest on April 23rd. Our friend, who won the first place in the competition in which all classes participated, made us very proud and happy. May your success be forever, Sayid!

Year 2

This semester Turkish lessons began with the enthusiasm of April 23 Students watched videos about this meaningful day, read poems, sang songs and talked a lot. They also painted the Turkish flag as their favorite activity. They celebrated April 23 with the best activities.

They improved their Turkish vocabulary and learned to count up to 150. They also made dialogues about telling dates in Turkish and about birthdays.

 Year 4

Students made dialogues in Turkish classes at Y4\ear 4. While students are learning Turkish grammar, they also improve their vocabulary knowledge. They reinforce every knowledge they learn with their favorite online games.

Students who had a lot of fun at the April 23 activites at school also watched the celebrations in Turkey.

Miss Esra Pamuk

Turkish Teacher

Kindergarten

We have welcomed the new term and the holy month of Ramadan with our Lantern colouring pages. Students enjoyed the lesson and some even asked to take their coloured lanterns home, to put on their walls. I have showcased our beautiful lanterns in our classroom, and inshallah we will be learning many topics related to Ramadan. Ramadan Mubarak everyone!

Year 2

This term we will be learning about the five pillars of Islam. This week we have learnt that the Arabic term for fasting is “sawm” and the Turkish is “oruc”.  Students have learnt the importance of fasting in Islam, and that fasting brings one closer to Allah. Here is a photo of our classroom, with our lovely Ramadan corner decorations. Each week I will be choosing an item from the corner and advise them how its relevant to the holy month of Ramadan.

Year 3

Students in Year 3 are learning to memorise the Surah al-Quraysh. I have provided each student with a QR code letter to allow them to listen to the video at home to practice. Inshallah our aim to to memorise this Surah with the correct pronounciation by the end of the term.

Ms Gulcan Aksu

Islamic Studies Teacher (Years K, 2 and 3)

Year 1

Welcome to Term 2, hope everyone enjoyed their break. In Quran Lesson Year 1 are Learning about the Arabic letter with the first vowel Fat-ha, they are excited about what they are learning.

In Quran memorisation they are learning Surah Al Masad, students to practice the surah every week.

In Islamic Studies Year 1 are learning about Prophet Muhammad’s life, they were colouring Prophet’s Masjid. They have done great job, well done to all.

I really appreciate your help and support with your child’s learning, hope that we are going to have safe and enjoyable term.

Ms B. Mohammed

Quran and Islamic Studies Teacher (Years 1, 4, 5 and 6)

Harmony Day is celebrated annually in Australia, which celebrates cultural diversity. Maarif students celebrated Harmony day during the last week in Term 1, Tuesday 22nd of March. Students came to school dressed up in their traditional costumes and orange tops and paraded during our special assembly. The best dressed students were judged by Ms Cansu and were awarded prizes. During this special program, students also performed items to celebrate the day. Our wonderful classroom teachers organised their classes so that students had an opoortunity to celebrate other cultures. Thank you to our Teachers Ms Peach and Ms Mehana for organising the day and to all our generous Parents and Carers who have sent cultural food to share and made gold coin donations to help support 'For You Haiti', a non-for-profit relief organisation developed to educate and support the children of Haiti.

Here are some of our photos from Harmony Day:

International Maarif Schools of Australia is one of nine schools in New South Wales to succeed in gaining a funding grant from the Association of Independent Schools NSW for a Physical Development, Health and Physical Education and Wellbeing project. This funding opportunity is supported by Transport for NSW under the School Road Safety Education Program and NSW Health under the Live Life Well @ School initiative. As a school, we recognise the importance of promoting a sustainable and continuous commitment to student wellbeing and this project will focus on K-12 road safety education.

Safer Students, Safer School is a project that aims to implement a whole school approach to increasing awareness, knowledge and importance of road safety through units of work, interactive learning experiences, implementation of school safety procedures and access for parent education and information. The outcomes of our proposed project is to:

− build student self-management skills

− increase student self-awareness

− provide students with the opportunity to become good decision makers and problem solvers

− increase social awareness

− promote overall health and safety for our students and the wider school community

We look forward to updating you on our journey and invite you to celebrate and support this wonderful acknowledgement of our school.

Ms Olivia Peach

Year 5 Teacher

Being on Time

Parents and Carers need to ensure children are at school before the school bell at 9:00am. In case of lateness, parents are required to sign their child/ren in at the office and children will then be marked as partially absent for the day.

School Fees

A reminder to Parents and Carers that Maarif is a private school and the contributions made provide opportunities for students to participate in a variety of different learning experiences. It is a requirement of a student’s enrolment that school fees are paid by Parents/Carers and failure to pay fees will result in the student’s enrolment being withdrawn. Scholarships are available to families who are suffering financial hardship and we encourage all Parents/Carers to apply for scholarships if they are struggling to pay school fees.

Bus Reminder

Students who travel to and from school by bus are reminded to follow bus rules whilst travelling on the bus. Removing seatbelts and walking on the bus is NOT permitted. 

Students will be expected to be dressed in their winter school uniform during Term 2.

For all uniform requirements, our uniform shop will be open every Tuesday from 2:30pm-3:30pm. Please note, invoice or cash payment options are only available on the day.

On behalf of Maarif, we would like to wish our students a very Happy Birthday who have celebrated their birthday during the month of April.

Happy Birthday to Students:

Taner Mesut Karahasanoglu
Omar Ghazi
Beyzanur Karaca
Ali Anmak
Berat Topaktas
Miray Durdu
Arda Kizilkaya
Alara Ferhan
Mohammad Aly
Ahmed Haouchar
Halil Ibrahim Coskun
Yunus Gokdemir