scored the highest on the skills test measuring academic apti-tude, the Explore exam, among all 8th grade students who took this high school placement test. Alhamdulillah, for Faisal's great accomplishments, specifically his ability to memorize the Quran in such a short time. May Allah (swt) continue to bless him with the ability and determination to preserve his memorization.

Mabrook Faisal Patel! Hifdh teachers and students were thrilled to witness the first student of the MCCFTS hifdh program complete his memoriza-tion of the holy Quran. Hafidh Faaiz Biabani, head of the pro-gram, along with each of the other Hifdh teachers made spe-cial duas for 8th grade student Faisal Patel upon his completion

end of February. He was present-ed with gifts from his teachers as well.

MashaAllah Faisal completed his memorization in half the time expected. It takes a lot of dedica-tion and focus to accomplish such a great task. AlhumdilAllah, blessed with an enormous amount of barakah, Faisal has excelled in his secular pursuits alongside his hifth studies, having

Hifth Student First to Complete Memorization

M C C F U L L T I M E S C H O O L 8 6 0 1 N . M E N A R D S T . M O R T O N G R O V E , I L 6 0 0 5 3 8 4 7 - 4 7 0 - 8 8 0 1 W W W . M C C F T S . O R G N E W S L E T T E R E D I T O R : J I L L A L A L I J I L L _ A L A L I @ Y A H O O . C O M MCCFTS News

M A R C H 2 0 1 3 V O L U M E 5 , I S S U E 5 K E Y D A T E S :

Mar 6 - Islamic Scientists Workshop

Mar 16 - MCCFTS Annual Fundraising Dinner

Mar 25-29 - NO SCHOOL - Spring Break

April 13 - "Create Like the Masters" Hands-on Children's Art Workshop at MCCFTS, $12 per child for two workshops (see pg )

NEW! Tutoring/Homework Help Club, M-F, 4-5 p.m. - Student/Teacher Ratio of 3:1 - call school for more info., daily and monthly fee schedules available

er, as keynote speak-er of this year's event.

Program begins promptly at 6:30 p.m. MCCFTS families will receive two adult and two children tickets to sell. Ticket prices are as follows: Adult, $65; child,$30; alum-ni, $45; table of 10, $550. Parents receive a discounted rate of $190 if they purchase all four tickets sent home. Additional child tickets are $25 each. Babysitting room will be provid-ed for children 5-10 years old.

"The most

excellent Jihad is

that for

the conquest

of self." (Bukhari)

Our Annual Fundraising Dinner is right around the corner. School council and event chairs have developed a fun and informative program we hope you will enjoy. We hope inshAllah you plan to attend. This is an easy way of participating in one of our many "Sadaqah Made Simple" opportu-nities to help support MCCFTS and your child's education. The program will highlight this year's theme of "Striving for Excellence" while providing information on School Achievements, School Improvements, Future Plans, as well as a Financial Transparency & Status Report.

MCCFTS is pleased to welcome Brother AbdelRahman Murphy, popular role model for Muslim youth and seasoned public speak-

MCCFTS Fundraising Dinner—March 16

P A G E 2

Please

remember to

pay for your

Annual

Fundraising

Dinner Tickets—

Please submit

payment in

school office

ASAP

Mrs. Sheikh - 2nd Grade

Teachers Create Amazing Displays Take a walk around the school and you will see the fruits of our students' labors. Our in-spiring teachers utilize hands-on projects to help reinforce lessons and skills they teach in their classrooms. The photo above is a collage of some of the amazing display boards our

teachers have put together to display their students' work on various topics such as Martin Luther King, Jr., braille writing, chemical properties, Arabic vocabulary, families, ecosys-tems, counting, mammals, and winter-themed art.

class, students participated in activities related to Martin Luther King Day and cele-brated the 100th day of school. Three students par-ticipated in the spelling bee - Ibrahim Mohammed, Aziza Hussain, and Maryam Islam. One student, Nusaybah Quadri, participated in the Inter-Islamic School Math Bowl at Hadi School. Parent Volun-teers Mrs.Mohammed and Mrs.

Busy Budding Scientists! Mrs. Sheikh's 2nd-graders have been busy learning many things in their classroom. In science class, they learned about the solar system and the moon. They saw a demonstration of Earth's rotation around the sun, and the moon's rotation. They did an experiment on the water cycle. For social studies

Siddique visited the classroom to conduct art projects with the class.

Gomaa and Mrs. Saleh were judges. Groups were awarded for the following: healthiest snack, best-tasting snack, funni-est snack, most unique snack, best presentation, weirdest snack, and most common snack. The results were deli-cious!

Kids Learn to be Healthy Snackers! 5th graders were assigned to create their very own food pyramid snacks. The goal was to create a snack that included an ingredient from each sec-tion of the food pyramid. Mrs.

M C C F T S N E W S

Mrs. Gomaa - 5th Grade

Tactile Projects Reinforce Concepts

Mrs. Siddiqui’s Kindergarten P A G E 3 V O L U M E 5 , I S S U E 5

Presidents, Ground Hogs, 100 Days and more! Mrs. Siddiqui's kindgergarten class recently learned about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln for President's Day. Students learned facts such as Washington is on a quarter and dollar bill. He was the first president of the United States. Abe Lincoln is on a penny and a five dollar bill, and He was the 16th president. Washington did not live in the White House since it was not finished being built at that time. Also, students learned that Abe Lincoln was born and raised in a log cabin, which had only one room, and that he loved to read

books and kept his important docu-ments in his hat. Students then made Abe Lincoln's log cabin using popsicle sticks and construction paper. They also did coin rubbings using a quarter and a penny.

KG celebrated the 100th day of school on Thursday Feb. 14th. They made posters using 100 pieces of one item placed into a design. Win-ners were: 1st, Zyad O.; 2nd, Rayaan Q; and 3rd, Nour K. Stu-dents made a mirror picture of what they would look like when they are 100 and wrote a caption to go with their pictures. They also made a 100-day necklace using fruit loops.

KG students made predictions for Ground Hog's Day. They read a

book about Groundhog's Day, and then we made predictions about the groundhog's shadow. Students watched the news at home with their parents to find out what the news reported about the groundhog's shadow. The next day, students came back and discussed the re-sults. The ground hog did not see its shadow so Spring will be here soon!

They also talked about Martin Lu-ther King. Students learned that he wanted peace in the world. The class put together a mini-book about MLK.

They also recently had "Opposites" theme week where students did things the opposite way, such as having the kids color while laying down under the table. At the end of the week, children came to school in their pajamas and built a tent in the classroom to nap under. The children had a great time!

Getting Cultured! Mrs. Malik's preschool recently celebrated cultural week where parents showcased their cultural roots, giving children a glimpse into the varied backgrounds of their classmates. The week culminated with a party where parents brought in different foods from their cul-ture.

ing the characteristics of different animal groups. Mocho the Guinea Pig visited the first-grade classroom so the students could observe a mammal in real life. Awesome, mashAllah!

An Awe-inspiring Experiment First graders in Miss Malik's class have begun their study of animals in their science class. They are learn-

Mrs. Malik—1st Grade

Mrs. Malik—Preschool

P A G E 4

JazakAllahkhair to the communi-ty members who helped evaluate the science fair projects. As al-

ways, your help is valued and much

appreciated!

Math Bowl Results

5th Annual Science Fair health and the environment.

Congratulations to the follow-ing students who won top honors for their projects:

In 6th grade: 1st, Havva Alver with "Cinnamon: The Super Cure"-microbiology, 2nd, Bajeel Syeda "Cool Blue Light of Luminol"-chemistry; 3rd, Noor ul Iman Usmani "Galileo's Famous Drop"-physics; Honorable Mention, Merjem Murati "How Does

Stunning Display of Talent! Each year for the past five years, our middle school stu-dents seem to take the Annual MCCFTS Science Fair to the next level. With Middle School Science Teacher Mrs. Saleh guiding their way, students conducted challenging experi-ments in all categories of sci-ence including microbiology, chemistry, physics, sociology,

Fear Change with Age?"-sociology

In 7th grade: 1st, Ranya Naser "Biodiesel From Oil"-chemistry; 2nd,Mubashir Ah-med "Uncovering Hidden Sug-ar"-health; 3rd, Farheen Shethwala "What Part of the Air is Oxygen in Oxidation?"-chemistry; Honorable Mention, Sadia Ahmed "Light Energy and Frequency"-physics

In 8th grade: 1st, Aishah Ko-thawala "Battle of Salt Against Bacteris"-microbiology; 2nd, Ajmal Ahmed "Catch It If You Can"-behavioral; 3rd, Yousif Saleh "How to Extract Energy From Waste"-environmental; Honorable Mention, Noor Alyousef "What Duration of Ultraviolet Exposure Kills Bac-teria"-microbiology

Among the winners, special congratulations to the follow-ing students who will be pre-senting their work at the re-gional competition on March 9 at Niles North High School: Ajmal Ahmed, Yousif Saleh, Noor Alyousef, Ranya Naser, and Sadia Ahmed. Regionals will be on March 9th at Niles North High School.

MCCFTS Math Bowl Participants

M C C F T S N E W S

the written exam, Ibrahim Shaheen from 2nd grade won first place and Hovan Pacheco from 3rd grade won 2nd place. In team activities, Omar Siddique from 4th grade and Hannah Choubka from 5th grade each won 1st place, and Hovan Pacheco won 2nd place. This was a very tough competition and Masa'Allah our children did very well. Congratulations to all the winners and participants.

MCCFTS Students Perform Spectacularly! Eight MCCFTS students in 2nd to 5th grade participated in the Inter-Islamic School Math Bowl held at Hadi School in Schaumburg on February 13. They competed against 11 other Islamic schools from all over Chicago. They had to take a written exam and then par-ticipated in six team activities. In

The following students had the honor of participating in this com-petition: Ibrahim Shaheen and Nusaybah Quadri-2nd Grade, Hovan Pacheco and Wafa Choubka-3rd grade, Omar Siddique and Zahra Ahmed-4th Grade, Omar AbdelJabbari and Hannah Choubka-5th Grade. Thank you to Second Grade Teacher Mrs. Sheikh who organizes MCCFTS' participation in this annual contest.

After-school Food Sales Moved to

Cafeteria

Weekly Pizza Sale - every Tuesday

Twice-monthly Popcorn Sale - 1st & 3rd Thursdays of

the month

Ms. Razia’s Quran and Islamic Studies P A G E 5 V O L U M E 5 , I S S U E 5

A Teacher's Mission In teaching Quran to fourth and fifth graders at MCCFTS, Ms. Razia combines her genuine love of teaching with her dedication to educating young Muslim children in our community. She teaches Tajweed rules to students in an effective manner using additional tools to reinforce the concepts. She is able to work with children at different levels of knowledge in the subject matter, tailoring her teach-ing style to each student's specific needs.

Ms. Razia's Mission for her Quranic Studies Curriculum:

*Students will understand the concept of Quran and the respon-sibility of every Muslim to engage and learn it

*They will learn rules and regula-tions of Sharia, stories, duas and implement the fundamental core values from these teachings in their daily lives

*Students will learn the background history before studying new suras

*Help students to read and under-stand the Quran with the proper Tajweed

Boxtops for Education Fund-raising- New Classroom Competition from Feb 25 - Mar 8; Bring your Box-Tops in a Ziploc bag labeled with your child's full name and grade. Winning class will celebrate with an Ice cream Sundae Party sponsored by the PSG

"Create Like the Masters" Children's Hands-on Art Workshop—Saturday, April 13,

PSG is working on many important endeavors . Parents, attend meet-ings to help with the following:

Coupon Card Sales

MCCFTS Annual Fundraising Dinner - PSG manages the children's babysitting program, including hiring qualified babysitters and planning activities, games, movies and treats

After-school Food Sales

11:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Kids will learn about great Master artists and art techniques from around the world

There will be 10 unique workshop experiences to choose from - each participant selects two!

$12 per child for two workshops

Pre-registration to start soon....Stay Tuned! — see back page for flyer

We hope to have the honor of your presence at our dinner. With your crucial support we will be able to continue the most blessed task of educating our children while providing them with a wholesome Islamic environment. Please be sure to purchase the tickets that have been sent home with your child.

Council meetings take place at 7 PM on the first and third Tuesdays

of each month.

If you have any questions or con-cerns directly from the school council, please contact:

Mohammed Sarwar Nasir: mna-sir53@gmail.com or Farisa Hussain: farisa.hussain@gmail.com

Assalamu alaikum,

As we come to the close of MEC'S 21st year in the educational service of our community, preparations for the March 16 MCCFTS Annual Fundraising Dinner are well under-way, alhamdulillah. Council Mem-bers look forward to meeting with community members as we cele-brate the growth and achievements of our school and its students.

Council News! - Update from Council Members

PSG Update—Please Attend Weekly Meetings Weds. 8:30 a.m.

InshAllah, we’ll

see you on

Saturday,

March 16, at

our Annual

MCCFTS

Fundraising

Dinner!

Last month, guests enjoyed an after-noon of giggly-fun entertainment at the MCCFTS Girls Theater Club performance of "The Place Where the Sidewalk Ends," a play based on the works of poet and Illustrator Shel Silverstein. Students spent their Tues-day afternoons during first semester preparing for this big day, making the set pieces, props and costumes, and rehearsing their lines and the intricate choreography involved with pulling off this quick-moving, comedic show. Even our littlest guests were mesmer-ized at seeing real-life versions of the famous characters in Silverstein's book, including the Boa Constrictor, Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout, Lazy Jane, Pirate Captain Jim, Peanut Butter Kind and many more. Congratulations to our Theater Club girls on a spec-tacular and highly entertaining perfor-mance!

Theater Club Performance Garners Lots of Laughs