Oct. 1996 Sunrise Academy – Our School

Staff report

Opening day of Sunrise Academy was somewhat chaotic.  Without the teacher for Arabic and Islamic Studies, the pupils had extra physical education and art.  Their first major art project was rug painting as they decorated their prayer rugs.  The photocopier and some books had not arrived, so the teachers had to do extra work to prepare lessons.  But the weather was beautiful and children and teachers lunched at picnic tables in the nearby park under the trees.

Bit by bit, the pieces have fallen into place and we have the beginnings of our full time Islamic school.  Our staff it temporarily complete now.  We had many good applicants and are keeping files to add staff as our enrollment increases.  Quickly after the first day, Br. Arif Khan has been hired as our school administrator.  Br. Arif has been working for some time on the paperwork for the school renovations.  Everyone who has worked with him has been impressed by his efficiency, organization, and manners.  Arif obtained his degree in architecture from Karachi, Pakistan and completed his masters in city planning at OSU two years ago  The son of a professor of early childhood education, he has a big soft spot for children and is very excited and committed to our school project.

Br. Arif continues to oversee the renovation project and will be responsible for the administrative organization of the school.  The right principal is still being sought for long term, and the school will have education consultants come in from time to time for program and teacher evaluations, but Br. Arif is creating a strong clear sense of structure for the school.

Sr. Souzan El-Kest is the new Arabic and Islamic Studies teacher.  She is taking on a real challenge.  The students have several levels of Arabic, from fluent to none.  She has 4 grades of Arabic to teach, kindergarten through 3^rd, and she has to plan for both Arabic for native speakers and Arabic as a second language for each class.  Then she has the Islamic Studies classes to prepare as well.  An important part of her job will be to help incorporate Islamic Studies throughout the curriculum, coordinating with other teachers for English, social studies, and science projects.  She will also be teaching health, an important subject for Islamic Studies integration.

Sr. Souzan started university studies with a BS degree in food science from Egypt.  A former university professor, she has her masters and PhD from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.  She also has studied early childhood education through several programs, and, in addition to raising 4 children of her own, she has worked in day care and also for 2 years at Khaled Ibn Al Waleed School.

The community effort to support our school is heartening, particularly from the young people, the young adults who know firsthand what goes on in public schools.  A generous donation from the Muslim Youth of Columbus was received recently and went toward the purchase of our school photocopier. For those who wish to volunteer time to the school, there is a volunteer form available at the school to fill out.  This is needed so that the staff can plan to use volunteers in a productive way.  A regular volunteer since the beginning of the school is Sr. Carolyn Matus.  She has been donating about 3 hours each day to assist teachers with art projects and games, as well as some individual tutoring needs.

The school is also looking for a few educational toys for the kindergarten and for any special books or educational software families might have to donate.  If your children have outgrown or finished with such items, and they are still in good serviceable condition, pass them on to the school so that other children might benefit from them.  We particularly are looking for easy readers in Arabic for our library, or educational videos or computer programs in Arabic.  Does anyone have a set of plastic Arabic letters or numbers? Good books in English for science and other topics would be an asset to our beginning library.  If you are up-grading your computer equipment and have a serviceable old one to donate, remember the school. Phone the school at 527-0465 if you can help.

The remodeling of our building is proceeding quickly.  For so long it looked like nothing was happening, but planning and preparation is the most time consuming part of the job.  Now we can see the new windows going in and inside the building major electrical and plumbing work is proceeding properly.  By the beginning of November we should be needing help to move into the completed building Inshallah. Br. Arif is accepting names of volunteers with muscles.

A school is not a static institution.  It grows, like the children who attend.  Our school is in its infancy, and like any infant, it needs lots of support and encouragement from adults, to protect it and help it to grow up big, strong, and healthy.  We are the adults on whom the school depends, all of us in this community, whether we have children or not.  For the education of our children is the responsibility of us all.  It will do us no good t build a beautiful mosque here, if we do not prepare the coming generation to want to use the mosque when we are gone.  The school needs us to sustain it, and at this time the most important form of sustaining it is financial.  Donate to the school, and if you have pledged before, fulfill your pledge, and if you haven’t yet, do it now.  And Allah knows our sacrifice and rewards according to our effort.