Assalamu Alaikum,

Dear AYA Families,

Alhamdulilah, each month we have many activities that our students and staff participate in. The month of November included the start of the field trip season for many of our clas-ses. These trips are planned to not only be enjoyable but also meaningful since all field trips are reviewed by the administrators to ensure that they align to the curriculum and to the learning objectives. The fieldtrip highlights are included in page 3 of this newsletter.

This month was also dedicated to preparing and showcasing the knowledge, intellectual capability, communication and presentations skills, as well as the creativity of our stu-dents through two school-wide events that included the STEM Fair and Islamic History week. This year, our teachers and administrators worked with our students at all grade lev-els to teach them the scientific process and encouraged all students to participate in the STEM fair. The projects were judged by over 30 experts in the field, and the class and grade level winners were selected based upon their overall average score from two judges. During this time, the teachers, office staff and administrators were simultaneously work-ing to finalize the preparations for the annual AYA Dinner and the semester exams. A spe-cial edition of the newsletter will be released this month that will feature the highlights from the annual dinner, which was a tremendous success.

Alhamdulillah we are blessed as a school community to have our board members, parents, staff and students working so closely together to serve the mission of the school. We are a very proud AYA family!

Farhat Siddiqui Head of School

Inside this issue:

Message from Head of School

1

Counselor's Corner Academic Advising

2

IB Spotlight Field Trips Best Practices

3

STEM Fair 4

Islamic History Week 5

December Calendar 6

Highlights: Best Practices

Field Trips

Science Fair

Islamic History Week

American Youth Academy 2019-2020

November

Newsletter

Stay tuned for our December

Edition of the Newsletter where

we will be featuring highlights

from our 2019 AYA Annual

Dinner!

Assalamu Alaykum AYA EAGLES:

For the month of November, we focused on identifying our feelings and emotions and being able to react to them appropriately. We also discussed what to do when students are faced with a big decision. During my sessions, I explained to students that meditation is a practiced skill like anything else in life. We learned how to meditate prior to our session. The students really enjoyed their meditation session—especially the 7th grade boys.

If they are truly interested in mastering meditation, they can see me for more details. I provided all students with free resources.

New research in the fields of psychology, education and neuroscience shows teaching meditation in schools is having positive effects on students’ well-being, social skills and academic skills. “Mindfulness” meditation is what we practiced. It involves a three-step mental process where students are asked to:

Focus their attention on a particular target (for example their own breathing, a sound, a sensation)

Notice when their attention has wondered away from the target

Bring their attention back to the target

Students are asked to do this without being judgmental and with a curiosity that allows them to identi-fy patterns in their thoughts and feelings. This leads to a clearer mind and a more peaceful outlook.

Examples of mindfulness techniques include teachers striking a music triangle or bell and asking stu-dents to pay attention for the exact moment where the sound turns into silence, giving students a piece of chocolate and asking them to place the food on their tongue and then pay close attention to what is happening to their taste buds, their salivary glands and the temperature in their mouth; or asking students to clap their hands forcefully for 20 seconds and then observe the physical after-effects such as tingling and pulsing in the palms.

These teaching techniques may not seem of sufficient academic nature to take place in schools, but the science is showing that, through these techniques, stu-dents are learning to build their attention skills and regulate their impulses. Both are critical at school and in adult life. By understanding how emotions play into our decision-making process, we can learn to find the perfect balance between reason, intuition, and to make choices that serve us in living our best life.

Alhamdulilah, this month all

seniors applied to their University of choice.

About 50% of AYA students have applied to the top 50 Universities.

Ninth and tenth grade students participated in

the preliminary ACT. Students had a chance to

experience the testing environment and the type

of questions asked. When scores are released,

students will be able to identify their strengths

and weaknesses. Sundus Alsharif, author of

“[Un]broken : A Collection of Poetry, Prose and

Essays on Trusting in God” made a guest visit to

speak to middle school and

high school girls. The AYA

students had a chance to

discuss their Islamic identi-

ty, the struggles they may

face and the best ways to

face the challenges.

Academic Advising

Sr. Amany Hasan

Social Counselor:

Dr. Sara Bassoumi

Student Shadow Survey:

During the month of November, we have

had a few students visit AYA and shadow

their fellow classmates. The students en-

joyed the atmosphere and had an overall

positive experience. They were pleasantly

surprised with the ease with which they

were able to make friends and feel a sense

of belonging. If you or a student is interest-

ed in visiting AYA, please email the regis-

trar, Sr. Eman at registrar@ayatampa.com

IB Spotlight

As we approach the end of semester 1, our teachers are wrapping up their part of the curriculum in their respective classes. Students are preparing for semester 1 exams which will serve as their mock IB exams. Our IB students start exams on December 11th and end on December 19th. Students are encour-aged to organize and plan out their study time accordingly. For our IB 12th graders, this will serve as

practice for their IB exams and exams will be run as such. In keeping the student needs in mind, the IB seniors are given Fri., Dec. 13th off and they are allowed to leave after 3rd period on Mon. Dec. 16th.

Day Date Time Exam

Wednesday December 11th

8:55 AM – 9:50 AM

12th IB Arabic Paper 2 Part 1 (Listening) 12th IB Spanish Paper 2 Part 1 (Listening)

9:55 AM – 10:50 AM 11th IB Arabic Paper 2 Part 1 (Listening) 11th IB Spanish Paper 2 Part 1 (Listening)

Monday December 16th

8:05 AM – 9:40 AM (1st & 2nd Periods)

IB Arabic Paper 2 Part 2 (Reading Comprehension) IB Spanish Paper 2 Part 2 (Reading Comprehension)

Tuesday December 17th

8:15 AM – 9:45 AM IB Biology (Paper 1, 2, & 3)

10:15 AM – 11:45 AM IB English Paper 1

Wednesday December 18th

8:15 AM – 9:45 AM IB/AP History (Paper 2)

10:15 AM – 11:45 AM IB English (Paper 2)

Thursday December 19th

8:15 AM – 9:45 AM

IB Arabic (Paper 1 - Writing)

IB Spanish (Paper 1 - Writing)

10:15 AM – 11:45 AM Math/IB Math (Paper 1 & 2)

Field Trips Best Practices: This section includes student

engaged in activities.

5th grade student,

Hamza Shalabi receiv-ing a letter form a Pen Pal in Wisconsin.

2nd grade student using Play-Doh to create Arabic words

1st graders participating in Job Day

12th Grade IB Biology class using chalk to write on the tables for notes.

Thankful day in KGA

The 6th graders participated in The Forces of Nature program at Busch Gardens where they observed and investigated animals. This trip wraps up their ELA unit on Animal Allies.

This year the grade 11 and 12 students enjoyed a field trip with their English Teachers to the Tampa Theatre to watch a live stage performance from Encore! Encore actors perform five great stories that include The Tell-Tale Heart, The Monkey’s Paw, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, The Necklace, and the Raven. These plays are based on short-stories that are featured in common core curriculum that is taught by our English Department at AYA.

Grade 11 and 12 IB students enjoyed a day at the Tampa Art Museum. Grade 12 Students are preparing for their own IB AYA art exhibition next quarter.

STEM Fair

AYA Eagles have been developing their scientific research and inves-

tigation skills throughout the quarter to showcase their work in the

AYA STEM fair exhibition, held during the week of November 11th to

15th. Students collaborated on some projects and worked independently

at school and at home to on other projects to test their hypothesis

across a number of different scientific concepts.

This year, ALL students participated in the STEM Fair projects and

provided evidence to the judges on how our AYA students can positive-

ly impact the greater society!

Congratulations to our STEM Fair winners!

3rd Grade

Zahra Lazaar, Ayman Momin, Zufar Zokhidkhonov, Ali & Zakary Amegrane - 1st Place

Hadia Alameddin, Muhammed, Gabriel & Hamza Ali - 2nd Place

Yusuf Al Saadi, Nisreen Yacoub & Tala Hilo - 3rd Place

4th Grade

Mohammad Khafaja, Ahmed Ali, Wessam Abu-aish, Badr Fallatah - 1st Place

Zaina Linton, Noor Salhab, Mariah Abdeen,

Mya Ghanem & Lyla Sakr - 2nd Place

Lyna Benbourennane, Liyana Maswadi & Olyssa Saed - 3rd Place

5th Grade

Layan Alrousan, Ayub Talamali, Majd Ahmed, Jana Hamdan & Jude Barakat - 1st Place

Hamza Shalabi, Marawan Sallam, Dalal Khaled, Rianna Hasan, Tasneem Hadeed & Hana Joseph - 2nd Place

Noor Atiyeh, Nada Hamden, Safanah Khatib, Sarah De Carvalho, Abdelhamid Hamdan, Yara Khalil, Mish-ka Jawhar - 3rd Place

6th Grade

Halah Idahmed - 1st Place, Radi Mohammad and Zainulabdeen Al-Qassab - 2nd Place, Ibrahim Moham-mad, Umar Khan, Youssef Alhamzawi - 3rd Place

7th Grade

Mohammad Ismail - 1st Place, Rahma Adnan - 2nd Place, Bashar Tarawneh - 3rd Place

8th Grade

Osayd Bargouthi and Rahmutallah Fakhriddin - 1st Place, Adam Bargouthi - 2nd Place, Asif Mohid & Zackaria Motrib - 3rd Place

9th Grade

Heba Tamimi, 1st Place, Jenna Hamdan, 2nd Place, Laila Farhat, 3rd Place

10th Grade

Saif Abdeljaber, Mohamad Sallam, and Karim Tamimi, 1st Place, Yusuf Jarar, Sufian Naura, and Wasif Mahtab, 2nd Place, Sarah Jabar, 3rd Place

11th Grade (UT track)

Fatima Ali, 1st Place, Maher Albarghouti, 2nd place, Shazzy Khan, 3rd place

Islamic History Week

Alhmadulillah, our Islamic History Week was a success! To instill the Islamic Identity in our youth and celebrate the contributions of Muslim Pioneers to society, our sec-ondary students participated in researching and presenting projects in their Islamic Studies classes during the week of November 18-22. First place winners in each grade presented their project to all students in Middle and High School at a special Friday Assembly on Nov. 22. AYA, in collaboration with Masjid Al-Qassam (ICT) and TMC, hosted Dr. Yasser Fazaqa for the monthly Tarbiyah Program on Friday Nov. 22. Dr. Yasser Fazaqa, who is a Muslim Scholar and Psychologist, is known throughout the United States for working with families and youth on how to cope with today's challenges as a young Muslim growing up in the Western Culture. Great hands-on and relevant learning continue to take place in QAIS classes!

Congratulations to our Islamic History Week Presentation Winners 11th Grade: Shazzy Khan and Shayma Abdelmajid 10th Grade: Mohamed Sallam and Shahd Ismail 9th Grade: Ahmad Mardoud and Heba Tamimi 8th Grade: Adam Bargouthi, Lana Ali and Balqees Hamed 7th Grade: Mohammad Ismail, Rola Mustafa, Razan Elsheikh and Yasmean Saed 6th Grade: Radi Mohammad, Ibrahim Mohammad, Ryyan Zaman and Amily Naura

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