Reminders

Board Election

• Nominations posted on school website
• To participate in the election you need to be an MCA member: MCA Membership
• Candidate Forum: Saturday, March 9 at 8:30pm at the Maryam Hall

Tomorrow Feb 28 is the deadline for:

1. Quran Competition Registration
2. T-shirt Order 

Feb Newsletter was mailed home today.

Board Election

Assalam Alaikum dear parents,

Board Election - Note from Board Secretary (Sadaf Diwan)

GIS Board elections are coming soon in March. GIS Board is responsible for the governance, financial oversight, and strategic planning for the school. Two members will be elected this year.

If you are not an MCA member, it is time to do so! If you signed up before November 15, 2012 you will need to renew your membership. Only MCA members may nominate, be nominated, and/or vote in the election. You may apply online.

Important dates (details on homepage of GIS Website):

• Deadline to receive nomination: Feb 26
• Candidate forum: Mar 8 at 8:30pm
• Election Date: Mar 13 at 7:45am, 1:45pm, and 7:00pm
• General body meeting: Mar 13 at 7:30pm

Monday, Feb 25 - Spirit Day & Sports Days next week

Students are to wear their Granada Golden Eagles on Monday, Feb 25 and their house colors on sports days. Please see parent letter for details. If you are interested to buy t-shirts, please fill an order form (page 1 for student and page 2 for non-student orders) and send to the school office with payment before Feb 28.

Extended Care

I would like to remind you that we offer Extended Care after school to ensure the safety of your children in case you were not able to pick them up at the end of the day (3:15pm). The rate of our extended care ($7/hour) is pretty low compared to other schools. If the office will need to get involved in the collection of payment then we will probably need to increase this cost. I really appreciate your cooperation when you use this service. The Extended Care Provider is just applying the school policy.

Parenting Seminar at MCA

MCA will be hosting a parenting seminar, arranged by ISNA, on March 9 from 9:30am to 4pm. For more information about the program and the speakers, check ISNA Parenting Seminar.

ISNA has launched a parenting awareness campaign, to equip parents across the country with the tools they need to be successful, and to create a space for healthy discussion about the challenges children face in a modern American context.

The Parenting Seminar includes a discussion on the physical, cognitive, and emotional development of the youth and the reality of the environments that the youth face today. The seminar also discusses the role of parents from the Islamic tradition and their application to modern societies.

Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,
Nihad Mourad
Principal

Dear parents,

Assalam Alaikum, 

Did you miss ordering your child's Granada Golden Eagle t-shirt in December? A few families and alumni expressed their interest in ordering more shirts so we are making this available again. You can place an order for students, parents, alumni or anyone until the end of February. The Golden Eagle T-shirt Order Form has 2 pages: page one for student orders and page 2 for non-student orders. Please fill the form and turn it to the GIS office with the money before February 28. This will be the second time and last time for t-shirt orders this year.

Did you watch the Granada 25th Anniversary Video? Masha Allah we already had more than 300 views of this video!

Did you get a chance to see the photos of the 25th Celebration Dinner on Facebook? I would like to thank parent, Samsudin Kamis, for taking these beautiful photos of the event. This year Sr. Salizah, Br. Khamis' wife, has been taking photos of all GIS events. May Allah reward you both for helping us document our activities and share and keep these memories.

I would like to acknowledge the top student fundraising ticket sellers. We had a couple of glitches this time that we learned from and will avoid next time, insha Allah. Here is the final list (thank you to each of you and your families):

1. Yusuf Raziuddin (3A)
2. Ayah Fallah (2B)
3. Ali Hamade (6A)
4. Omar Khalil (5B)

We hope our students enjoy the long weekend (Monday and Tuesday off for Presidents' Day). See you all on Wednesday 2/20, which is a minimum day (Teachers' In-Service).

Sincerely,

Nihad M. Mourad

Principal

Granada 25th Anniversary Dinner & Video

Assalam Alaikum dear GIS parents,

Masha Allah, Granada Islamic School had a wonderful 25^th Anniversary Event at the Marriott Hotel on February 3.  It was heartwarming to see how many parent and community members came to celebrate this milestone with us.  And we had the pleasure of seeing many of our former students at the alumni gathering prior to the main event. 

Through the generosity of the community, we received over $84,000 in donations that night alone.  This will help us fulfill our expansion, academic and physical education goals.  If you were unable to attend, you may still donate.

Please check Granada 25th Anniversary Video, which tell the story of our school over the past 25 years from the perspective of founders, board members, parents, teachers, alumni, students, and administrators. This video was the production of Br. Halim Qayum from Verus Productions under the direction of Sr. Tsunnum Malik and Sr. Michelle Lee. The A/V equipments were directed by Br. Zabed Ahammad and Br. Nasim Islam. May Allah reward them all for their hard work.

 
We would also like to thank our generous sponsors for enabling us to afford such a special event:

Hidaya Foundation

Islamic Relief

Averoes

Bhuiyan & Associates

Cal Micro

Concise Insurance

Fareeda Adeeb, MD

IT NetCentrix

Sarah Azad, MD

Yahya Radwan, DDS

The Sweet Art of Cake

And, of course, we can’t forget all the volunteers and staff whose contribution made this event possible.  We thank them all for their tireless effort in making this celebration such a memorable one.

Sincerely,

Nihad Mourad
Principal

Dear Parents,

Assalam Alaikum! 2nd Progress reports were sent home last Friday. Please make sure you review them and contact your child's teacher if you need any clarification about grades.

Club Session 2 started this week. The tutor-homework center will be open for grades 4-8 on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:30 to 4:30. Check the Tutor-Homework Center flyer for more information.

Next week students will have the Arabic Spelling Bee during their Arabic classes.

School will be closed for Presidents' Holiday on Monday 2/18 and Tuesday 2/19. We will have In-Service on Wednesday 2/20; students will have a minimum day (dismissal at 12pm).

2013-14 Registration and Application packets have been mailed home to parents this week. Detailed information available on Admission Webpage. Important dates to remember:

• March 8: Early registration deadline (Fee $60)
• April 2: Regular registration deadline (Fee $120)

 
School Board Election:

• Open Positions: 2 board members
• Deadline to receive nominations: Feb 26
• Candidate Forum: Mar 9 at 8:30pm
• Election Date: Mar 13
• 7:45-8:30am at GIS
• 1:45-2:30pm at GIS
• 7:00-9:30pm at MCA
• General Body Meeting: Mar 13 at 7:30pm
• More Info and Nomination Form
• MCA Membership

GIS 25th Celebration dinner was a success alhamdulillah. The main event as well as the alumni super bowl party were well-attended. We will post photos of the event on Granada's Facebook page (you do not need a Facebook account to visit our page). We are happy to announce the student Ticket Competition Results:

1. Top Student sellers
• Ali Hamade (6A), $290, Mini iPad
• Yusuf Raziuddin (3A), $280, iPod nano
• Omar Khalil (5B), $235, iPod nano
2. Top Class - 5B
• Pizza party on Friday 2/8
3. House Competition
• Red house: 69 points
• Gold House: 60 points

Sincerely,
Nihad Mourad
Principal