IIT Chronicle 2016- Summer

SUMMER 2016 IIT CHRONICLE Education for Virtuous Living Principal’s MessageAsalamu Alaykum,Ramadan Mubarak! May Allah (SWT) grant you what you are asking for, Ameen!“…and the men who remember Allah often and the women who do so - for them Allah hasprepared forgiveness and a great reward.” [Surah Al-Ahzab, 35]This is the time and opportunity for us to reach out to Allah and increase in our repentance.Alhamdulillah, we are thankful to Allah (SWT) for another successful school year. As the schoolyear comes to an end, I would like to thank all of you for your trust, commitment and dedication tothe IIT Academy. It has been an honour and a pleasure to serve as principal of IIT Academy. As theprincipal, I ask you to forgive my shortcomings.We always look back on our achievements at the end of each year. This year’s highlights include theQiratul Quran Competition and the Grade 8 Graduation Trip. There are so many other things thathave also been accomplished this year. Some of these include hosting the 89th Annual Spelling BeeCompetition, the 6th Annual Science Fair, BBQs, the Fundraising dinners, Mathematics Contest,tournaments, Sheikh Musleh’s introduction as our guidance counselor, the ski trip, Black HistoryMonth, Scientists in Action and Scientists in the Classroom. Strong partnerships have also beenfostered and developed between students, staff, parents, the rest of the community, as well asconnections with the less fortunate. We also have certain areas where we will have to makeimprovements in the upcoming years at IIT Academy Insha’ Allah. We will make changes in theschool expectations, the French and Arabic programs at a lower level, and school events such as theScience Fair. We will also be looking into our library resources, lab equipment, science kits, and theQuranic Reading Program. We would also like to establish an inclusive atmosphere and build opencommunications between parents and teachers.Lastly, I would like to congratulate our Grade 8 class for their accomplishments. The IIT AcademyStaff wish you all the best as you move on to the next chapter of your life. Always remember to usehikma and the qualities that will make you successful. Persevere, develop and pursue your ambitionsto accomplish your goals. We would like to thank parents for their support, cooperation, and theguidance which they have provided for their child(ren). We would like to establish a regular linkwith our Alumini. We hope that we have given you enough skills while you were at IIT Academy.Please do visit and provide us feedback. May Allah (SWT) keep you on siratul mustaqeem, Ameen.May Allah (SWT) bless all of you at IIT Academy. We have made many friends along the way.Today’s technology can help us be in touch and continue the relationship which we have built. Itencourages and welcomes regular communications with graduates, students, colleagues, parents,board members, and the community at large. Please be in touch with me at –[email protected]. For all other students and parents, the first day of school will be onTuesday, September 6, 2016. Please check our school website, www.iitacademy.ca, to see otherimportant dates. Have a great summer!

IIT CHRONICLE SUMMER 2016IIT Academy’s Qira’atul Qur’an CompetitionOn the authority of Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace and blessingsof Allah be upon him) who said,” No people gather together in a house of the houses of Allah, reciting the Book ofAllah and studying it among themselves, except that tranquility descended upon them, mercy covers them, the angelssurround them and Allah makes mention of them to those in His presence” (Recorded in Muslim).On May 19th 2016, IIT Academy hosted its inaugural Qira’atul Qur’an Competition. Students fromGrade 1 to Grade 8 competed in 7 different categories. Before the final competition, students prepared fortwo months and competed within their class. There were two rounds of selection before the final five fromeach class was selected. The competition was divided into two parts. The Qira’at Category tested thedifferent grades on their memorization of selected Suwaar from Juz Amma. The Hifz Category was opento all grades and was based on memorization of selected Juz.Judges from all over Toronto attended the competition to judge our young Qurrah. Their beautifulrecitations resonated throughout the day and the attendants witnessed the ‘tranquility and mercy’ thatsurrounded the event that day. A special thanks goes out to the Shuyukh, Imam Refaat Mohamed andMustafa Khattab, who not only judged and encouraged the students during the competition but alsoended the afternoon with a beautiful recitation of the Holy Qur’an. They inspired many young students,who made sincere intentions, to start practicing for next year’s Qira’at Competition.We also want to thank Sr. Nuha Nassar, Sr. Zahida Ghanghat, Sr. Samira Alam and Sheikh Umar Patelfor judging the competition. The judges were impressed by the level of competition and had a lot ofpositive comments for the Qur’anic Studies program at IIT. May Allah SWT accept from all of us therecitation of His Kalaam especially in this Blessed Month of Ramadan. Ameen.“[This is] a Book that We have revealed to you, full of blessings, that they may ponder over its versesand that men of understanding may remember.” (Surah Saad: 29)

IIT CHRONICLE SUMMER 2016 Grade 6 EQAO MATH & Canadian Mathematics Competition for Grades 7 and 8 studentsAfter intensive preparation, our students wrote the EQAO Math in the beginning of June. The studentsfelt extremely confident after the test. A subset of the Grade 7 students participated in a Lagrange [after aneminent French mathematician] nation-wide Mathematics contest on April 20. A subset of the Grade 8students participated in an Euler [named after a legendary Swiss mathematician] nation-wideMathematics contest, also held on the aforementioned date. We received astonishing results. Morespecifically, eleven of our students received distinctions. Syed-Abubakr Ahmed, Ammar Rahman,Abdullah Rehman, Sohayby Sahraoui,, Hadiuzzaman Syed, Fatima Abidi, Yusra Asif, FirdousKareemuddin, Affan Rahman, Abdur-Rahman Hamid, and Dania Sherif each obtained a distinction.Amna Alvi, a Grade 7 student, and Ramisa Jaigirder, a Grade 8 student, both received individual goldmedals as well, Masha’Allah. Things to do During Ramadan!1.Make a good deeds calendar -make a calendar of gooddeeds that you can do every day. They can be as simple ashugging a sibling or eating everything on their plate at dinner.2.Make a Sadaqah jar - make and decorate a sadaqah jar orbox from, for example, an empty pasta sauce jar or tissue box.Collect coins from around the house, in the neighborhood, orallowances. Give it to a needy person at Eid.3.Memorize the dua for breaking the fast: Books to Read  Ramadan Moon by Naima Bint Robert  The White Nights of Ramadan, by Maha Addasi  A Party in Ramadan, by Asma Mobin- Uddin

IIT CHRONICLE SUMMER 2016 Other News IIT Chess ClubDid you ever wonder; why do most children join chess? Most join because they are looking for a place tobelong. Many also join because they know that chess is a challenging game and they want to challengethemselves as well. In our Chess club at IIT, everyone is welcomed. My name is Zayd Qadri, and I amproud to be a member of the IIT Chess Club. Every Thursday, students from grades three to eight cometogether to play a friendly game of chess. Each week we get to play chess with new friends.We have a motto in our chess club:(1) Make Friends -- Most important!(2) Have Fun -- If chess isn't fun, why play?(3) Play to Win -- Now you're talking!(4) Sportsmanship -- Treat each other with respect :)I like to participate in the chess club because I improved my chess skills, learned more moves, and madenew friends. Thank you Sr. Farheen for running the chess club, we had lots of fun. We are lookingforward to being a part of the chess club next year as well.Written by Zayd and Ali from Grade 4 Here are 6 free fun things to do this summer:1) Build a Kids' Project at Lowes - Conveniently shop while your kids build a fun and educational projecton select dates in July and August. Recommended for children from grades two to five. Kids will takehome the toy they made, a merit certificate, name tag, apron, and goggles.2) Kids Bowl for Free - The kids bowl FREE program is back at participating locations across Canada.The Kids Bowl Free is a nation-wide program where kids get to bowl for free every day during thesummer at their local bowling alley.3) Kidstown Water Park - Kidstown is one of Scarborough's most popular free outdoor aquatic facilitiesfor kids. It offers a variety of water features, including a tipping bucket, spray rings, squirting aquaticanimals, a slide, wading pool, splash pad and so much more.4) KidsFest at Centreville Amusement Park - KidsFest delivers 3 full days of free family fun on CentreIsland. With face painting clowns, bouncing castle, arts & crafts station, and live animal visits from FarEnough Farm, there is something for everyone! Free admission to the event with entertainment andactivities. Regular rates apply for rides. July 6, 7 and 8, 20165) ROMwalks - Join the ROM for free guided walking tours through Toronto neighborhoods that are ofarchitectural and historical interest. Available most Wednesday evenings and Sunday afternoons untilOctober. Most ROMwalks are free however and note that Museum admission is not included.6) Cherry Picking - A favourite outdoor activity for kids is heading to a local farm to pick your owncherries, and right now is peak season in Ontario! Round up the youngsters and spend the day pluckingjuicy cherries. See www.andrewsscenicacres.com for more details.

IIT CHRONICLE SUMMER 2016 French & Arabic Grade 2-8 Arabic Letter of Appreciation and Gratitude!Narrated by Abu Hurayrah (R) that The Prophet (‫ )ﷺ‬said: “He whodoes not thank people is not thankful to Allah.”As part of our school mission, which is “to produce students whoare fully conscious of their accountability to God, confident in theiridentity as Muslims, and ready to fulfill their obligations as citizensof Canada,” thanking others is part of our gratitude to Allah.Gratitude is one of the character traits of the month that the IITAcademy school strives to nurture and foster in students as theygrow to become exemplary Muslims and productive citizens of theworld.Thus it is important for students to know who is making a difference in their lives. Realizing that, Br.Yousuf, the principal of the school, is one of those people we need to show gratitude to, students havedecided to write and sign a card in Arabic as a token of appreciation to him. Not only are the studentslearning to express their heart-felt appreciation in Arabic, but they also believe that such an act of kindnessis appreciated by Allah. Fatima Abidi said: ”Br. Yousuf, you are a great principal and what you do isgreater...” My Style, My Fashion!Have you ever wanted to create your own brand, or design your veryown clothes collection? Well, that’s exactly what the Grade 8’s did intheir funniest and most creative unit yet, “Mon Style, Ma Mode!” Inthis unit, the whole class got to unlock their fashion sense and creativity,and unleash their true potential of being a designer! From evening andPakistani dresses, to massaging scarves and colour changing brooches,the class was exploding with imaginative, epic ideas and designs. Eachinspiration was taken from different places such as sunsets, peacocks,The Flash and even The Little Mermaid! Yup, even Sebastian the crabwas part of the project! Nous adorons créer des vêtements! We lovedesigning clothes...what about you? Some of us were very hesitant in thebeginning, but after the project, even the boys loved designing clothes!This project definitely brought out the creativity of all the students. Wealso learned so many new words, such as habillé (dressy), chandail(sweater), and moleton (fleece). What a fun, educational, and creativeproject this was! Thank you Br. Aziz, for assigning this project, and forbeing the key to the creativity door of all the Grade 8’s!By Ramisa J. and Firdous K.

IIT CHRONICLE SUMMER 2016 JK/SK Play Day at the Neilson Park!It was a beautiful day for the JK and SK class to have a mini fieldtrip! That’s right! We took a lovely walk down Neilson Rd. and in notime we were at Neilson Park. The walk was fun as students spottedall sorts of butterflies, bees and flowers along the way. At the park,we played on the swings, blew bubbles into the air and even drewwith coloured sidewalk chalk!At lunch time, we spread out our table cloth and had a quiet picnicunder the shade near some of the trees. Then we enjoyed fruitflavoured popsicles, donuts and cool watermelon! All so yummy!Then it was time to run and play some more! Salah time was quickly approaching, so we headedback to IIT. We had a wonderful play day and we are looking forward to it again next year,Insha’Allah. Ramadan StoriesNot only is Ramadan a time for prayer and fasting - it is also a time to expand one’s literary creativity!The Grade 1’s were very busy in language class developing their own Ramadan Story. Students weretasked with using a story map to create a Ramadan story that made use of the following elements:characters, setting, problem, solution and a moral. The Grade 1’s demonstrated very sophisticatedcreativity and produced a stunning variety of stories. Various morals of the stories included not takingthings that don’t belong to you, having the strength to keep your fast, sharing food, not eating too muchand being kind to others. Mabrook to the literary geniuses of Grade 1!!!

IIT CHRONICLE SUMMER 2016 Cultural Day!As part of our Global Communities unit in SocialStudies, students were delighted to share the food,clothing and country information of any part ofthe world they were interested in researching. Tocelebrate our rich diversity in class, we had aninternational potluck which ranged from Biriyanito sushi! Students from other grades visited ourclass to enjoy the international scene!The students displayed their country project information to visitors and explained to others the kinds ofclothing, sports and landmarks that were present within their country of interest. Students learned that itis important to respect other languages and cultures as it is also an integral part of being a Muslim. Theyalso learned that while we may be different in many ways, we all make up the colours of Islam together! Tree-Top Trekking!Early May marked the final excursion of the school year for Grade 3’s and nothing could have been morefitting than Tree-Top Trekking, a novel and exciting experience that ended with many great memories.The beautiful sunny morning kept students in high spirits upon arrival. Looks of anticipation appeared onthe faces of the students as they peeked and waited to enter the park. Brimming with excitement andsmiles, students rushed through the gates to attempt their favourite activity. In a few minutes, the studentshad taken over every inch of the park with some climbing the balance logs while others scaling the rockwall. Then there were those traversing tricky hammock nets while many others braved wooden bridges tocome down curvy slides. Laughter and liveliness filled the air. It became hard for the teachers to standback and watch so many decided to let their inner child loose and join in the fun! It easily became one ofour most unforgettable trips of the year where the only complaints that we heard were that were leavingso soon!

IIT CHRONICLE SUMMER 2016Our Favourite Cars and Towns and BridgesThe Grade five students have had a good experience illustrating their favourite cars, and on a unit aboutdifferent structures, they have illustrated towns with different types of bridges.In Art, the Grade 5 students have been illustratingfabulous cars. Cars that are big and cars that are small.Cars that are amazing and attractive! Well, I know that Ihad a good experience with drawing cars, because it wasreally fun. The class also had a lots of fun designing,drawing, and colouring their favourite cars.Written by: Saaim Junejo, Gr.5The Grade five students have worked on illustratingtowns with different types of bridges. They made differenttypes of bridges, like Suspension Bridges, CantileverBridges, and Arched Bridges. In the drawings, you cansee one of the towns that was made by me and myclassmate. The town is called “Remarkable”, it has twobridges. The small bridge is called a Runaway bridge, andthe big bridge is called a Bridge Remarkable.This town has three main attractions, Star Fountain, La Tower (stands for Laiba and Afra tower), andAwesomeness Tower. This town has a Rogers Center, TD Bank, Winners, Apartments, Cineplex theatre,and the Remarkable Falls, it has its own helicopter too, and a news channel called Awesomeness TV! Italso has a non-polluting factory, and finally, it has its own hospital as well. We had fun designing andillustrating our towns.Written by: Afra Naowar, Gr.5 The Annual Track and Field DayOn Wednesday May 25th, IIT Academy held its annual trackand field competition. Students from Grades 1 to 8 competedin events like running long jump, shot put and the 100-meterdash on a day filled with fun and excitement. The bright sunshone high in the sky as competitors tested their abilitiesagainst their classmates to see who would reign supreme.More importantly however, was that students developed a sense of unity, determination and perseverance.After much jumping, running, sweating, and cheering, the winners were crowned. They basked not onlyin the bright sun, but in glory, forever remembered as champions until next year’s competition, where newand old challengers will seek to take their crown.

IIT CHRONICLE SUMMER 2016 “Scientists Wanted” in Grade 8An interactive activity “Scientists Wanted” was completed by Grade 8 students at IIT, under thesupervision of Sr. Salma Iftakhar. The activity was designed to create scientific learning throughcontinuous exposure to practicum, emphasizing on hands-on training.‘Scientists Wanted’ required the students to research on the works of a scientist chosen by the student.After a few weeks of research and analysis, the students were fabulously dressed up as the scientist,presenting their life history and achievements using posters in a fun and creative manner. The studentsenacted the scientist in every possible manner, including even bringing in their favorite food! Moreover,they produced and performed brilliant skits on stage relating to the actual life of the scientist.The entire teaching staff, students and the principal of IIT, Br. Yousuf Siddiqui, congratulated the studentson making this activity a shining success and encouraged the students to continue pushing themselves toachieve greater heights in innovation and learning. Congratulations to this year’s Graduates!v On Friday, June 24th, parents, teachers, board members and special guest speakers were in attendance at the Grade 8 graduation ceremony of 2016. IIT Academy graduates received their diplomas, awards and distinctions and also were given important life advice from speakers such as Abdullah Hakim Quick and Musleh Khan and Br. Farhad. We wish all the best for our new graduates and pray that Allah (SWT) protects and blesses them in the years to come, Insha’Allah.