AL SADIQ COLLEGE NEWSLETTER

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

In the name of Allah, the Merciful

15 Shaban 1442.

Peace and mercy of God.

Today we celebrate the birthday of Imam Al-Mahdi, Was born on the 15th of Shaban Al-Wafiq, 255 Hijri corresponding to 18-Jan-0869 AD, and the date of the event is Month in 1442 AH from Shaban 15, 2021 AD corresponding to March 28, 2021

s) was born in Samarrah, Iraq on 15th Shabaan 255 AH. His father is Imam Hasan Askari (as) – the 11th Shiite Imam – and his mother,  Narjis Khatoon (sa).

His Father Hasan Askari (as) was imprisoned in Baghdad. During that period, there was a severe drought in the region. Rain had not fallen for some time and crops were drying up.

Imam  Hassan Al Askri (as)  was called  from prison,  By His Oppressor Khlipha (Motamid) to performed a prayer to ask Allah to bring down rain and it started to rain. This was the first time when people became familiar with Imam Hasan Askari (as), They started asking questions on why the Imam was imprisoned. As a result of this incident, the government had no choice, but to allow the Imam (as) to leave But he was kept under house arrest under strict supervision.

Motamid, the Abbasid caliph, was afraid of this son of Imam Hasan Askari (as.). He formed a group of detectives and midwives who had the mission of frequently searching through the houses of the Shiahs, and especially the house of Imam Hasan Askari (as), so that if a newly-born child were found, he could be killed immediately. Therefore on Divine command,

These difficult conditions were no different than during the time of Hazrat Musa (as) and Hazrat Ibrahim (as). Firaun used to kill the children of Bani Israel because he had known from the people that Prophet Musa (as) is one of them and is going to destroy him. (Birth of Prophet Musa)

The largest threat to the oppressors was the Divine promise of the coming of the

Imām al-Mahdī (A), which they knew about. They were so fearful that they went

to the extent of putting Imām Ḥasan al-ʿAskarī (A) under constant surveillance, so

as to monitor the potential birth of any sons and have him killed. The 11th Imām

(A) was also killed while he was very young for this same reason, but the

oppressors could not stop the Divine Will of the birth of the 12th Imām, Imām al-

After the passing away of the 11th Imām (A), Imām al-Mahdī (A) went into the

Minor Occultation (al-Ghaybah al-Ṣughrā). He was hidden from the public eye and

the general public did not know of his whereabouts. He communicated with his

Shīʿahs through four successive deputies (nuwāb).

All praise be to Allah; the Most High, the All-great.

Peace be upon you; O the righteous, pure servant (of Allah).

I entrust with you a testimony of mine that takes me near you on the day of your intercession (for some people).

Kind Regards,

Mr. Ibrahim Wannous

Chaplain

ibrahim.wannous@alsadiq.nsw.edu.au

The holy month of Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calander. For the entire month, Muslims around the world fast from food and water from sunrise to sunset. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, prayer, doing good deeds and spending time with family and friends. The fast will often be broken by families coming together to share in an evening meal (Iftar). 

The fasting teaches us self-discipline, generosity and reminds us of the suffering of the poor. It’s also a time to appreciate the bounty given to us by our God the almighty.  

During Ramadan, it’s also important to refrain from externalities. The tongue must be restrained from backbiting and gossip. The eyes must restrain themselves from looking at unlawful things. The hand must not touch or take anything that does not belong to it. The ears must refrain from listening to idle talk or obscene words. The feet must refrain from going to sinful places. In such a way, every part of the body observes the fast. 

Fasting is not just a physical observance but a spiritual journey where one improves their soul from impurities and re-focus oneself on the worship of God. The Holy Quran states “O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may guard against evil.” (2:183). Our Holy prophets all set the example, Moses (AS) fasted forty days and forty nights (Exodus 34:28) and Jesus (AS) fasted forty days and forty nights, saying: “It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:2-4.) 

If you have any questions regarding Ramadan and the protocols, please speak with Mr Wannous who can give a detailed explanation. 

 Mr. Naz Osta

HSIE Teacher

naz.osta@alsadiq.nsw.edu.au

Hello wonderful ASC students!

 I’m Mohamed Al Mouiee, I graduated from Al-Sadiq College back in 2015 and went on to study Software and Biomedical engineering at UNSW. Uni was quite a thrilling journey; different to what I went through at school. You get to meet a lot of people from all walks of life, make new friends, experience exciting things you wouldn’t have thought of doing before – all while studying what interests you! It wasn’t an easy journey, but like many things in life, as long as you keep trying and are motivated to achieve what you want, you’ll get there God willing. 

I was always interested in mathematics and engineering, but also wanted to do something in the medical field. I had the choice to pursue a career in Medicine and Pharmacy, but then one day, I came across biomedical engineering. It’s where you combine your engineering skills and tools to solve problems in medicine like designing prosthetics, creating stem cell technology to grow organs and even robotic surgeons! I immediately knew that this was I wanted to do in life – helping to improve patients’ quality of life and making new discoveries about health. I even built an artificially intelligent tool that will help eye doctors diagnose patient blindness and hopefully build a bionic eye in the near future! 

I now work at the Ingham Institute as a computer scientist. I’ve been working there for 4 months now and it’s great! I get to use my software and biomedical skills to help radiotherapists treat cancer patients with cool new technology like a world-first MRI Linac machine project, build AI tools to help solve research questions in radiotherapy and even help day to day patients experiences go smoothly with other tools that we build. It’s a very rewarding field and I own a huge thanks to ASC for helping me reach this goal and to hopefully make more discoveries in the future! If you are interested in software and biomedical engineering, check out my github profile and you’ll find a bunch of cool stuff there. 

Ramadan Kareem to all  and I hope you all accomplish what you wish for. Thanks!

Vaping & e-cigarettes

You may be aware of the issue currently being faced regarding vaping and e-cigarettes. Al Sadiq College is one of many schools that is currently having to manage this issue with young people, and I am writing to you all to express our concern at the College.

“Electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes are battery operated devices that heat a liquid (or e-liquid) to produce a vapour to inhale. E-liquid contains a range of chemicals or flavours, and often contains nicotine. E-cigarettes with nicotine are illegal in NSW. Using an e-cigarette is sometimes called ‘vaping’. E-cigarettes are also known as electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), alternative nicotine delivery systems (ANDS), vapes or e-cigs.” (source: NSW Health. Link provided at bottom of page).

As also mentioned in the above NSW health article, e-cigarettes are available in different flavours and can come in many different shapes and colours, some of which are appealing to our young people i.e. highlighters, pens or USB memory sticks. E-cigarettes, with or without nicotine, can have negative health outcomes, particularly for our young people who are more susceptible to addictive behaviours at a time when their brains are in critical stages of development.

As we all know, the years of adolescence can be a challenging period in which our young people are trying to work out who they are and their place in the world. This involves at times risk taking behaviours as they seek to become accepted by their peers. Research undertaken states that “Students who had vaped most commonly reported getting the last e-cigarette they had used from friends (63%), siblings (8%) or parents (7%). Around 12% of students reported buying an e-cigarette themselves.”  adf: Alcohol & Drug Foundation

At Al Sadiq College, the safety, health and wellbeing of our young people is paramount and therefore, we will continue to take a firm position against any students who choose to bring e-cigarettes to school, supply them or engage in its use. We recognise that, as a school, we have a good platform to educate our young people on the dangers of e-cigarettes and we will be addressing this again soon with our students. I also ask parents as primary carers to please discuss this issue at home with your children. The following link will support you with these discussions. If you have any concerns or would like to talk further about this matter, I encourage you to contact me.

https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/tobacco/Pages/e-cigarette-young-people.aspx

Physical Altercations

This term, while there has been very few  physical altercation or fights, I wanted to ask for the assistance of parents to re-enforce the work being done at the College to ensure students understand that violence has no place in our community or in society in general. Within some young people there seems the need to prove themselves and create/maintain a front or ‘reputation’ and this is often linked with an inability to back down, or a fear of losing face. On Friday, key staff and our male School Captain (Adam Mehrez) spoke on a number of issues after Prayer - this included fighting. Adam spoke sincerely and from his heart, when he reminded the boys that they are brothers in faith and should respect and look after each other and not put others down or fight amongst themselves. I would ask that you help us and share your wisdom and life knowledge with your sons and daughters, even if they already know such an important value and virtue.

Secondary School Athletics Carnival: 1 April 2021

The Secondary School Athletics Carnival will be held on the last day of term at Sydney Olympic Park. We have made some adjustments to previous years and the carnival will be based around students participating in 8 events throughout the day. Buses will transport students to and from Sydney Olympic Park. This will be a fun and busy day and we believe it will be a positive way to end the term. Further details will be sent out soon.

Kind Regards, 

Mr. Mark Trollope

Head of Sport & PDHPE

mark.trollope@alsadiq.nsw.edu.au

Curriculum News

Year 12 students have completed their Half Yearly examinations. As students receive their marks and feedback, it is a good opportunity to review the examination paper, focusing on strengths and areas for improvement. Understanding the range of questions, verbs, and keywords in each section and how to manage timing is important to improving examination outcomes.

Many Universities offer HSC Study days to support students as they work towards their Trial HSC. These HSC preparatory courses are led by brilliant educators. Each intensive HSC holiday workshop is a valuable complement to your school studies. Students receive a solid induction into HSC exam technique and critical subject-matter knowledge. 

Sydney University is offering the following courses:

https://cce.sydney.edu.au/courses/hsc-preparation

State library 

https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/learning/schools-and-teachers/hsc-base-camp-students/hsc-help-free-school-holiday-programs

https://www.talent-100.com.au/holiday-tutoring-courses/

There are also private courses such as: 

https://inspired.edu.au/our-program/hsc-lectures-schedule/

https://studyworkgrow.com.au/2019/06/20/university-of-sydney-hsc-preparation-workshops/

https://www.uts.edu.au/research-and-teaching/our-research/kidman-centre/events/taking-charge-hsc-stress

Other useful resources:

https://www.hschub.nsw.edu.au/

https://artofsmart.com.au/hsctogether/

https://www.matrix.edu.au/blog/

https://www.learnable.education/resources/?gclid=CjwKCAjwr_uCBhAFEiwAX8YJgd7Vm0YRk4x15OnjRQ81VUd0gRkUFonxidCi10fbW5HHqRev8H8LqhoCrnUQAvD_BwE

NESA HSC Examinations:

https://www.educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/11-12/resources/hsc-exam-papers

https://studentsonline.nesa.nsw.edu.au/

Free Western Sydney University

https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/future/student-life/events/free-hsc-study-sessions.html

Curriculum News:

7-11 Overall progress reports will be sent out during the holiday. Parents must take the opportunity to review these progress reports with their children. These reports provide a qualitative overview of the students’ progress, work ethics, and attitude to learning. The reports are useful in preparation for the Progress Evening in Term 2. 

The Term 2 Assessment Planner will be sent out during the first week of the holidays. The Assessment planner is useful in helping students to get organised. Students must use this Planner to prepare for all assessments in Term 2. 

I am delighted to congratulate many students who can be proud of their achievements this term. For many, their achievements were doing well in assessments. For others it may have been solving that one tricky problem that required perseverance and reasoning. For some students, it may have been their contribution to their basketball team’s win.

Whatever the achievement is for each student, I encourage all to reflect upon their progress this term. I ask them to consider what it was that contributed to their success. Was it that they had to manage their tendency to give up or allow emotions to get the better of them? Was it that they were resourceful in considering all aspects of the problem or was it that they worked well with others in their team. Recognition of these developing skills will play a pivotal role in future success.

I wish all College students and families a safe holiday and Ramadan Mubarak.

Year 7’s Greek Kitchen (Food Technology)

“This lesson we made Traditional Greek salad why? Because we are learning about sustainable food. Sustainable food is healthy well-made food. The ingredients for this dish are cucumber, 4-5 tomatos,1 green capsicum, red onion, seasoning, oregano, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, salt, fetta cheese and olives. This is very delicious and here’s a fact! In Greece, they put the whole block of cheese on the plate for you to break it up and at the end a pinch of oregano then leave it out for 5 to 2 minutes. Thank you for listening that is how you make Traditional Greek salad.”

Gadir Sleiman, Year 7

السلام عليكم 

شهر مبارك للجميع اعاده الله علينا جميعا بالخير والصحة والبركات 

Our students actively participated in the end of term activity, to celebrate what they have been learning during term one. They brought variety of Arabic dishes from home and worked collaboratively to set up their restaurant in the hall. At lunchtime, they welcomed their peers and teachers to show case the Arabic hospitality and take pride in presenting culture cuisine.  

Students enjoyed participating in role-play to serve dishes to their guests using language and vocabulary learnt throughout this term following the cultural etiquette and greetings. It was a great, enjoyable and memorable learning experience to everyone 

Arabic culture and heritage :

Please find the attachment of the Arabic culture and heritage power-point. 

Thank You

Mrs. Siham Asfour

Arabic Society and Culture

siham.asfour@alsadiq.nsw.edu.au

On the 24th of February, Mrs. Velasi and our Year 11 English studies class walked down the road to the Greenacre shops to put into practice our English skills in the community, as required by the syllabus.

We practised ordering lunch using the appropriate language and manners. This was observed by Mrs Velasi and feedback provided immediately. We learnt that it is common practice to walk on the left-hand side of the street, to allow others to pass. We discussed the need for etiquette within a social environment. Lucky for us, we even had enough time for waffles, getting to know each other and our new teacher. 

We are now all looking forward to our next trip with Mrs Velasi to the city. We hope it is even better than our previous one!

Houda Tawil

Year 11

Salam Parents,

Year 11 visited State Parliament in term 1 to understand  our democratic law-making system.

The Parliament clerk mentioned our school was the best behaved school his seen.

So proud of our students.

Mr. Naz Osta

HSIE Senior Teacher

naz.osta@alsaidiq.nsw.edu.au

The Year  9/10 Design and Technology class visited the Powerhouse Museum in Term 1. 

Mya Ali's recount:

The 9/10 Design and Technology class visited the Powerhouse Museum to experience Design and Technology related exhibitions. This terms design project was to make Shibori designed face masks. Shibori is Japanese fabric dyeing in indigo and white and there are many ways to make a Shibori design. We brought our completed face masks to the Powerhouse Museum and had the opportunity to showcase our works. 

There were many exhibitions that involved designing and making of major projects. This class took inspiration from and we will benefit this for our future studies. 

Please click on the link below to watch how to apply for your chosen university course in 2022.

https://youtu.be/lf93KtmuwoE

Salams parents and friends,

Term 1 has come and gone, but here at Al Sadiq Yagoona, we are proud of what we have achieved.

Our new Kindergarten students have settled well into school life, and are thriving in encouraging environments, where opportunities to learn are endless. We have seen them settle into routines, make new friends, and learn new things each and every day.  In PDH, our students have studied the unit 'This is me’ which gives students the opportunity to identify and describe their personal characteristics, abilities and things which are special to them. This has helped them to understand has special and unique they are, and has definitely had an impact on helping them to settle into school life.

Our Year 1 and Year 2 classes have also achieved amazing things. Both grades have been learning about the past and present, and looking at how things change over time. We also highlight how they are changing, and becoming the hardworking students whom we see before us.

Our Year 3 students have had an extra busy term. With NAPLAN coming up in Term 2, they have been working hard to consolidate their understanding of things which were taught in Years 1 and 2. They are working on their resilience, and starting to look closely at the different strategies which they can use to be effective problem solvers.

Term 1 also saw many exciting events. We took part in Harmony Day activities, celebrated the birthday of Imam Ali (a.s), and also celebrated the birthday of Imam Mehdi (a.s). Our Clubs were also a success. Our Wednesday afternoons were spent enjoying activities together, learning new things, and making new friends. Next term we will have a few new Clubs being introduced – Islamic Art and Craft, Choir, and Indoor Games.

A big thank you to all of our ASC parents and friends, for your ongoing support. We wish you all a wonderful break, and look forward to sharing with you our Term 2 achievements.

Yagoona Campus hard at work.

Thank You

Ms. Courtney Fenton

Head of Yagoona Primary Campus

courtney.fenton@alsadiq.nsw.edu.au   

Al Sadiq College now has access to eBooks by Wheelers Books on their ePlatfom. A wide range of eBooks are available for all our students from Kindergarten to Year 12. eBooks can be read anytime, anywhere on any device. You can even borrow and read eBooks during the school holidays! eBooks cannot be lost or go overdue as they are automatically returned on their due date.

eBooks can be accessed through the ePlatform app available from the App Store and Google Play or through our ePlatfom website https://alsadiqyagoona.eplatform.co/. Students login using their student ID numbers which can be obtained from their classroom teacher or from the school Library Technician. Password is password. Please change your password when you log in for the first time.

Happy reading!

Visit us at: https://alsadiqyagoona.eplatform.co/