School News

Dear parents,
Assalam Alaikum.

I would like to thank the parents who organized the beautiful Eid celebration for our students. We had four activities happening simultaneously at four different locations, and this required careful planning and many volunteers. May Allah reward you all; it was a wonderful day for our children to celebrate Eidul-Adha together.

The Hajj Book Drive will be extended to Oct 30. This is an opportunity to honor your child with a book dedicated for our beautiful Granada Library. Your donation will enhance our library collection and encourage all students to become lifelong readers. Please read the parent letter for more details.

On Tuesday 10/22 a fire engine visited our school. Three firefighters from the local station gave presentations to our students (preschool to 4th grade) about fire safety. Students got to see the engine of the fire truck, the ladder extended more than 100 feet, and the captain climbing all the way to the top.

On Wednesday 10/23 we had our first Earthquake drill this year. Students practiced: Duck/Cover/and Hold then to evacuate outside. We usually have 3 earthquake drills per year.

Picture day retakes will take place next Tuesday 10/29. Who is Makeup Day for:

• students who were absent on individual portrait day,
• students who did not purchase a package on individual portrait day and would like to buy a package now, and
• students who purchased a picture package but would like to retake their picture.

Students who decide to have their portrait retaken should return all individual portraits to the photographer on October 29. They can keep the group picture as the new package will not contain class group picture.

We have an opening for Quran and Islamic Studies teacher for grades 3-5. Please advise any qualified candidates to send their resume to me very soon. This position is replacement for Ustadh Bilal El-Sakkah who will not be teaching at GIS any more. We wish him the best in his new endeavors! it was great having him around for students, teachers, and parents!

October newsletter will be sent home next week, insha Allah.

Sincerely,

Nihad Mourad

Principal

Dear parents,

Assalam Alaikum. We are indeed in blessed days described by prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, as the best ten days of the year. May Allah help us remember Him, worship Him, and get close to Him during these days. Alhamdulillah we have next week off to fast the Day of Arafa on Monday and celebrate Eid with our families on Tuesday.

When you pick up your child from school today make sure to also collect the first progress report. You will notice some changes in format of the progress report as it is being generated by our newly adopted student information system, Infinite Campus. We are pleased to announce that the Parent Portal on Infinite Campus is now ready to be deployed. Along with the progress report you will find two documents: 

1. Parent Letter with directions on activating you account
2. Infinite Campus Portal Acceptable Use Policy. 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Vice Principal, Dr. Lian Jeeawoody, for the many hours she spent ensuring information are setup and entered properly and supporting our teachers.

Similarly, I would like to thank the parents who volunteered last Wednesday and made our annual Hajj Program a beautiful learning experience for our students. Special thanks to Sr. Ghaida Faour for leading this event alongside with Director of Character Education, Yasmeen Husain. In addition, I would like to thank Sr. Ashieys Abd Al Warith for taking the lead on the Jamba Juice Yearbook fundraiser.

Eid celebration is planned on Monday, October 21, insha Allah. This is a regular school day from 8:00am to 3:15pm. Students will start the day with a potluck breakfast in their classrooms and then go on to their respective field trips. Students are not required to wear the school uniform for the Eid celebration. They are required to observe the Free Dress Day Guidelines (Parent/Student Handbook, Sec 4.6, Page 3). Any student who did nor return the permission slip and money should not come to school on October 21st.

Upcoming Events

• M 10/21 - Eid celebration
• T 10/22 - Fire engine visit for Pk-4 starting at 9:30am
• W 10/23 - CA Shakeout Earthquake drill
• F 10/25 - Parent meeting (nomination and election of PTSO officers) at 2pm, Maryam Hall
• T 10/29 - Picture Day retakes

Sincerely,

Nihad Mourad

Principal

Getting Ready for Eid

Dear parents, 
Assalam Alaikum. A few of our families are going on hajj this year. We pray they have a safe and blessed trip. We hope they will remember to make dua' for our school. For the rest of us we have a week long Eid vacation. Insha Allah you have enjoyable plans for your family.

Congratulations to the Summer Reading Participants! Today the librarians distributed reading certificates and trophies to the students who read 8-10 grade-level-books during the summer. This is an effort to encourage our students to read and read. Check the student list, masha Allah! Photos should be on Facebook very soon. "The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go." Dr. Seuss' books are among my favorites.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow the Eid field trip permission slips and waiver forms are due. Forms were sent home last week, and copies are posted on GIS website homepage:

• PK, K, 1 Eid fun Fest
• Gr. 2 & 3 Sky High Sports
• Gr. 4 & 5 Great Jump
• Gr. 6, 7 & 8 Shoreline Aquatics

Guess what? Tomorrow we are bringing back Jamba Juice Jum'ah! This is the first monthly yearbook fundraiser. The plan is to have Jamba Juice on the first Friday of each month. Sales will take place outside the Basketball Court from 3-4pm. Only one size is available (12 oz.) for $3, cash only. Two flavors will be available: 1) strawberry and 2) mango. Twenty percent (20%) of the proceeds go to GIS Yearbook.

Next Week

Next week we will be holding one of the most popular student activities at GIS: the Hajj Program. Three main parts to this program:

1. Hajj Simulation (w 10/9) - Students will visit stations representing Hajj activities. Please check the parent letter for more details, especially on dress code.
2. Udhiya/ Qurbani (10/7-11) - Granadians are ready for their first competition to raise money for udhiya this year. The Student Council are researching to determine where to send GIS udhiya. We decided to send them through Hidaya Foundation. Our goal is for every student to donate $2 to raise about $150 per grade level.
3. Annual Hajj book Drive - please read the Parent letter with details about this annual fundraising event for the school library. 

Sincerely,
Nihad Mourad
Principal