Reposted with a few new updates: YMCA offer, January lunch, Technology lessons for middle school

Dear NISL Families,

Our students completed the midyear i-Ready Diagnostic Assessment this week. I’d like to take a moment to review what this assessment is, why it is important, and how you can support your child’s progress at home.

What is i-Ready, and why do students take it?

i-Ready is an online assessment that helps us understand your child’s strengths and areas for growth in reading and math. Students take the i-Ready assessment three times a year: at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year. These assessments help us track how much your child is learning and make sure they are on track to meet their goals.

What are Typical and Stretch Growth Goals?

After each i-Ready assessment, your child’s progress is measured in two ways:

• Typical Growth shows the expected amount of growth a student should achieve in a school year based on their starting point.
• Stretch Growth is a more ambitious goal, showing the amount of growth needed to help students catch up to or stay ahead of their grade level.

Your child’s report will show their progress as a percentage of these goals. For example:

• 50% Typical Growth means your child has achieved half of their expected progress for the year.
• 100% Typical Growth means they’ve reached their full expected growth for the year! We celebrate every step of progress and continue working toward even more growth.

What does the Family Report say about my child's performance?

The Family Report gives an easy-to-read snapshot of your child’s growth. It compares their scores from the start of the year to now and explains how they are performing compared to grade-level expectations. These reports will be emailed to you by the middle of January. If you have any questions about this report, don’t hesitate to reach out to your child’s teacher.

How do students reflect on their progress?

We believe in empowering students to take ownership of their learning. Students in grades 2-12 participate in Data Chats with their teacher before and after each diagnostic. Teachers will be emailing the data chats and their family reports once all data chats after the assessment are complete. We will be wrapping up the data chats when we return in January.

During these chats, students:

• Review their scores from prior assessment
• Reflect on their strengths and weaknesses
• Set goals for future assessment

Your child may have already received or will receive a certificate with the percentage of growth towards their typical and stretch growth goals. Please keep in mind that this is not a percentage of answers correct but rather their progress towards their annual growth goals. For example, someone with 50% progress towards their annual typical growth goal is right on track!

I've included a video below on how to understand the Family Report. If you’d like more information about i-Ready, please visit the i-Ready Family Center. Thank you for your partnership in supporting your child’s learning journey. I hope you have a wonderful winter break!

Sincerely,

Aisha Blagaia
Principal

Are you or your child interesting in attending an afterschool weekly club such as a crochet, cooking, or reading club?

Do you have suggestions for in-school competitions or events?

If so, we need your input!

Help us have a strong semester 2 start and complete this survey no later than January 6, 2025.

Bee helpful; bee creative!

Abu Huraira reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said,

“Whoever does not thank people has not thanked Allah.”

Source: Sunan Abī Dāwūd 4811

عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ‏ لاَ يَشْكُرُ اللَّهَ مَنْ لاَ يَشْكُرُ النَّاسَ

4811 سنن أبي داود كتاب الأدب باب في شكر المعروف

• Sr. Amani and Sr. Khadija for their help when it's needed! (Sr. Walaa)
• Sr. Rubeena for exemplary work ethic. Rain or shine, at home or elsewhere, she consistently safeguards student learning in planning, grading, and supervising instruction even in her absence from campus! (Sr. Zainab)
• Sr. Lobna for helping out during her free time. She is proactive in helping NISL run efficiently and pleasantly! (Sr. Zainab)

• Sr. Bothaina for superior parent communication regarding individual student progress, mashaAllah! When I am wrong, I am wrong. (Sr. Zainab)
• Bothaina, Nour, Nilofer, Amani, Khadija, Mebarka, Hamida, Kristen, Noor, Desiree, Lobna, Sakina, Matrid, Walaa, Aisha T, Matou, Ammar, Rubeena, Nouna, Hanane, Wisal, Amel, Khalil, Fatima Ezzahrae, Sara, Stacey, Niveen, Fazeena, Shazeena, and Tabrez for completing one semester (half a school year!). Everyone is shining bright and pushing students towards excellence and the iReady diagnostics prove it! Have a restful break filled with barakah! We appreciate you and are asking Allah for your safety and well-being. Enjoy your families and your selves. (Sr. Zainab)
• Fatima, Hafsa, Fouzia, Madina, Salma, Omar, Karima, Jamila, Aysha, Shayma, Daniel, and Noor for an functional, efficient, nutritious, and clean environment to devote to teaching and learning! There could be no teaching or learning without you! (Sr. Zainab)

Dear Parents:

If you have a child who will be 5 years old by August 1, 2025 and would like them to attend KG at NISL for the 2025-2026 school year, please stop by the main office and get an enrollment packet, fill it out, and turn in required documents as soon as possible.

As you know, KG is one of the quickest classes to fill up. We already have 6 fully complete applications for KG for the 2025-2026 school year. It is likely we will fill the class before the end of January.

We look forward to seeing your KG children in class next school year!

Christine Hafsah Salleng

Director of Student and Administrative Services

• Jan. 13 - Jan. 17: Islamic Quick Recall NISL Competition Week
• Monday, January 20: No School - MLK
• Friday, January 24: NISL PTO Grades 2-5 Movie Night @ Six Mile Campus - 4:00PM-6:00PM

...inshaAllah

• The Tahfeedh Quran program runs Mon-Fri.
• Offering flexible time slots.
• Open to both NISL students and Non-NISL students.
• Helping students of all ages learn how to read with tajweed, memorize and deepen their connection to the Quran.

School year of 2023/2024 Highlights:

• 95% of students completed learning how to read
• 60% of students memorized 10 pages of Quran
• 29% memorized 1 Juz
• 11% memorized more than 1 Juz.

We look forward to welcoming students of all ages and accommodating their learning needs! Sign up here or use the button below to register your children.

Rawane is one of our star students. She started learning from the fundamental rules of reading Arabic and in one year, she did not only learn how to read the Quran fluently with tajweed but she also memorized more than 1 juz of Quran.

Reminders/Notes

Skill 6 (Amplify) will focus on learning the 's' spelling for the /z/ sound and automatizing previously learned letter-sound correspondences.
Small Groups:

• Group 1: Exploring ending spelling patterns (-tch, -dge, VCC patterns: -ild, -old, -ind, -olt, -ost). Activities will focus on reading, spelling, and fluency.

• Group 2: Working on VCe patterns (a_e, i_e, o_e, e_e), understanding the silent "e," and building reading fluency.

• Group 3: Advanced phonics with FLSZ spelling rules and patterns like -all, -oll, -ull.

Reading Comprehension

Learn about Native Americans and their unique ways of life. These lessons will integrate social studies topics, such as the environment, resources, and cultural traditions, with ELA objectives, including listening, comprehension, and vocabulary building.

Social Studies Connection: Stories like Where’s Winona? and Little Bear Goes Hunting teach about Native American traditions, use of natural resources, and community life.

Science Connection: Discussions on Native Americans how they adapted to their environment and used natural resources

ELA Skills: Focus on listening to and discussing nonfiction texts, building vocabulary related to history, geography, and traditions, answering comprehension questions, sequencing events from stories, and making connections between the past and present.

• Explore the lives of the Prophets mentioned in the Qur'an, focusing on their roles as messengers of Allah and the important teachings they brought to guide humanity.
• Through stories and discussions, students will learn about their perseverance, faith, and the lessons we can apply to our own lives, such as kindness, honesty, and trust in Allah.

Math

• Group 1: Add and subtract within 100 using models and strategies.
• Group 2: Fluently add and subtract within 20.
• Group 3: Add and subtract within 10 using objects and drawings.

Topic: Putting on Clothes / Letters and Words with Tanween Fat-ha

Objectives

1. Recognize the shape of Tanween Fat-ha in the Quran and Arabic script.

2. Identify the placement of Tanween Fat-ha on letters and words.

3. Pronounce each letter of the alphabet correctly with Tanween Fat-ha.

4. Recognize the difference in sound between Fat-ha and Tanween Fat-ha.

Homework
Complete the worksheet provided.

PE

1. Enhance Focus: Teach kids to concentrate on tasks at each station.

2. Encourage Problem-Solving: Incorporate challenges that require quick thinking and decision-making.

3. Teach Time Management: Help children learn to balance effort and rest during timed intervals.

4. Build Routine Understanding: Familiarize kids with the concept of structured exercise programs.

SEL

• Introduce the positive actions of physical area for exercise
• What is physical activity?
• Why physical exercise is important for a healthy body?

Unit 5: Lesson 10: Drawing and Coloring Software

Ref: Google or Microsoft paint

• Introduction to simple drawing programs.
• Create digital artwork and share with the class.

REMINDERS & NOTES

Explore shapes and colors through collage-making. They will use primary colors and basic geometric shapes to create visually appealing designs.

English Language Arts

• Phonological awareness: Deletion, substitution, and identifying final sounds in words

• Phonics: Learning about affixes (prefixes and suffixes) in reading and writing

• Amplify Skills and knowledge :Preparing for and completing the Unit 4 assessment

• Grammar: Reviewing adjectives to describe nouns in sentences

• Practicing reading fluency for accuracy and expression

Islamic Studies

Math

Science

Weather Instruments

• Identify the tools used to measure weather and their names.

• Describe how different weather instruments are used to collect data for weather predictions.

• Make simple weather predictions using patterns in weather data.

Social Studies

Lesson 9 – Putting the Clothes On
Topic: Words with Sukoon

• Recognize letters with sukūn in Arabic and the Quran.

• Pronounce words with sukūn accurately.

• Collaborate to find words with sukūn in the Quran.

• Read words with sukūn fluently.

• Identify and understand the role of sukūn in different words.

Reading Test will be on Friday, focusing on Lesson 9.

PE

1. Enhance Focus: Teach kids to concentrate on tasks at each station.

2. Encourage Problem-Solving: Incorporate challenges that require quick thinking and decision-making.

3. Teach Time Management: Help children learn to balance effort and rest during timed intervals.

4. Build Routine Understanding: Familiarize kids with the concept of structured exercise programs.

SEL

• Introduce the positive actions of physical area for exercise
• What is physical activity?
• Why physical exercise is important for a healthy body?

REMINDERS & NOTES

English Language Arts

Knowledge 3: The Ancient Greek Civilization

Lesson 1 The Ancient Greeks

• Review the key components of a civilization and recount key details about the ancient Greek civilization.

• Demonstrate understanding of the prefix in– and the Tier 2 word independently.

• Record information about the ancient Greek civilization using a graphic organizer.

Lesson 2 Mount Olympus, Part I

• Recount key details of the ancient Greek religion.

• Demonstrate understanding of the Tier 2 word summoned.

• Use a graphic organizer to identify elements of the ancient Greek civilization.

• Demonstrate an understanding of the characters and sequence of events in “Mount Olympus” by orally retelling the story using temporal words.

Lesson 3: Mount Olympus, Part II

• Recount key details of the ancient Greek religion.

• Demonstrate understanding of the Tier 2 word mission.

• Record information about the ancient Greek civilization using a graphic organizer.

• Demonstrate understanding of the characters and sequence of events by orally retelling the story using temporal words.

Lesson 4 The Olympic Games

• Recount key components of the ancient Greek civilization.
  describe the Olympic Games of ancient Greece and explain how they have influenced the present.

• Distinguish shades of meaning in adjectives describing size.

• Record information about the ancient Greek civilization using a graphic organizer.

• Understand and use the phrase “where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

Spelling Test 1: father, carry, once which solve, stand, upon, though, difference, least, because, almost

Math

Technology

Unit 7: Lesson 10: Drawing and Coloring Software

Ref: Google or Microsoft paint. Introduction to simple drawing programs (e.g. Paint).Create digital artwork and share with the class.

Art

Paint Blow Doodle

• Pour small amounts of watered down paint on your paper,
• Make sure to leave a lot of white space.
• Use your straw to blow on the small puddles of paint to create a paint splatter design. Repeat.
• When it's all dry, use markers or crayons to doodle in the empty space

REMINDERS & NOTES

ELA

Unit 5: Lights and Sound

Lesson 1: What is Light Part 1

• Describe the concept of light.
• Find key ideas and details in the text introducing the concept of light.
• Take notes and write in response to the text about light.

Lesson 2: What is Light Part 2

• Describe and compare characters in a narrative text about light.
• Answer questions and provide evidence from an informational text about light.
• Compare and contrast two texts about light.
• Summarize the main idea and supporting details presented in a video.
• Create adverbs that show “how” and end in –ly.

Lesson 3: How are Shadows Made?

• Work collaboratively in small groups to complete and discuss an experiment about shadows.
• Take notes and record observations about cause and effect from an experiment about light and different surfaces and write a reflection.
• Demonstrate understanding of cause and effect after reading an informational text about how light makes shadows.
• Identify adjectives and adverbs correctly.

Lesson 4: Reflection and Mirrors

• Discuss ideas and apply information gained from listening to text about mirrors and reflections.
• Compare and contrast ideas based on a hands-on investigation with convex and concave reflections.
• Find the main idea and details in text about mirrors and reflections, and find connections between different paragraphs.
• Identify adverbs that tell when and where.

Lesson 5: Reflection and Lenses Part 1

• Use events and details from listening to the story about refraction and lenses and apply what they’ve learned to show cause and effect.
• Ask and answer questions about ideas and details in a text about refraction and lenses.
• Use suffixes –y and –ly correctly.

Spelling List 14 Group A

misspell mistrust misread mistreat misunderstand preplan preheat preview precut prepaid discover dishonest disable disobey discount disagree special yourself drink pull

Spelling List 14 Group B

read happy unhappy retell untangle unkind repaint refill unlike remake unpack reread unlock replay rewrite overheard

Math

• Unit 2 Math in Action Solving Multiplication and Division Problems Packet
• Unit 2 Solving Multiplication and Division Problems REVIEW packet
• Unit 2: Multiplication and Division: Concepts, Relationships, and Patterns TEST on Friday, 1/10!!

Social Studies

CHAPTER 4: US Government

• Lesson 1: Our Democracy
• Lesson 2: Branches of Government
• Lesson 3: Levels of Government
• US Government REVIEW LESSONS 1-3

CHAPTER 4: US Government Chapter TEST Monday 1/13

PE

1. Enhance Focus: Teach kids to concentrate on tasks at each station.

2. Encourage Problem-Solving: Incorporate challenges that require quick thinking and decision-making.

3. Teach Time Management: Help children learn to balance effort and rest during timed intervals.

4. Build Routine Understanding: Familiarize kids with the concept of structured exercise programs.

REMINDERS & NOTES

Language Arts

Winter break paragraph:

"Think about your winter break. What was the most exciting, fun, or relaxing thing you did? Write a detailed story about it. It an include:

• Where you were?

• Who you were with?

• What you did?

• How you felt?

Assigned: Monday, January 06

Due: Friday, January 10

English Language Arts

Technology

Unit 5: Lesson 5: Introduction to Slides

Ref : Google Slides or Microsoft Powerpoint

Introduction, Demonstration, Hands-On Activity, Review and Q&A

Art

Painting Fruits!

If possible please bring your favorite fruit for Painting (ONLY ONE FRUIT)

• Put it in front of you or in front of an interesting background.
• Use acrylic paint to paint the fruit in the background.
• Try to use light colored fruits with dark background.

REMINDERS & NOTES

• Please throughout the break check, Google Classroom (GCR) for videos and upcoming lessons to stay ahead of content during break.

• Check with child about classroom supplies (headphones, markers, scissors, erasers, and mechanical pencils).

• Select a science fair project.

English Language Arts

Unit 2

• Lesson 3.1: Investigating Attraction
• Lesson 3.2: Science You Can’t See

Many scientists study things that can’t be seen by making inferences based on evidence. Science findings are based on recognizing patterns.

Social Studies

Technology

Unit 5: Lesson 5: Introduction to Slides

Ref : Google Slides or Microsoft Powerpoint

Introduction, Demonstration, Hands-On Activity, Review and Q&A

Art

Painting Fruits!

If possible please bring your favorite fruit for Painting (ONLY ONE FRUIT)

• Put it in front of you or in front of an interesting background.
• Use acrylic paint to paint the fruit in the background.
• Try to use light colored fruits with dark background.

ELA: Check Google Classroom (GCR) and complete English packets

SOC. ST: Social Studies test on Chapter 1 (The United States) on Tuesday, January 7, covering three sections:

1. Chapter Atlas

2. History of the United States

3. The United States Today

A study guide and their notebooks will be sent home for preparation.

.

PE

1. Enhance Focus: Teach kids to concentrate on tasks at each station.

2. Encourage Problem-Solving: Incorporate challenges that require quick thinking and decision-making.

3. Teach Time Management: Help children learn to balance effort and rest during timed intervals.

4. Build Routine Understanding: Familiarize kids with the concept of structured exercise programs.

Technology

Unit 4 - Lesson 7: Introduction to Slides

• Discuss what Slides are and their uses.
• Show examples of simple slides.
• Demonstrate how to create a Slide with basic formatting
• Students create their own simple Slide (e.g., About Myself - Basic Info, Favorite things and Interesting facts). Provide guidance and assistance as needed.
• Quiz and Assignment. Allow students to ask questions and discuss their work.

REMINDERS & NOTES

There will be a Social Studies test on Chapter 4 (Ancient Egypt and Nubia) on Tuesday, January 7, covering three sections:

1. Egypt Under the Pharaohs

2. Art, Architecture, and Learning in Egypt

3. Egypt and Nubia

A study guide and their notebooks will be sent home for preparation.

• Scientific Title
• Introduction
• Experimental Design- Focus
• References

PE

1. Enhance Focus: Teach kids to concentrate on tasks at each station.

2. Encourage Problem-Solving: Incorporate challenges that require quick thinking and decision-making.

3. Teach Time Management: Help children learn to balance effort and rest during timed intervals.

4. Build Routine Understanding: Familiarize kids with the concept of structured exercise programs.

Technology

Unit 4 - Lesson 7: Introduction to Slides

• Discuss what Slides are and their uses.
• Show examples of simple slides.
• Demonstrate how to create a Slide with basic formatting
• Students create their own simple Slide (e.g., About Myself - Basic Info, Favorite things and Interesting facts). Provide guidance and assistance as needed.
• Quiz and Assignment. Allow students to ask questions and discuss their work.

REMINDERS & NOTES

Dear Parents,

There will be a Social Studies test on Chapter 5 (The 13 English Colonies) on Tuesday, January 7, covering five sections. A study guide and their notebooks will be sent home for preparation.

PE

1. Enhance Focus: Teach kids to concentrate on tasks at each station.

2. Encourage Problem-Solving: Incorporate challenges that require quick thinking and decision-making.

3. Teach Time Management: Help children learn to balance effort and rest during timed intervals.

4. Build Routine Understanding: Familiarize kids with the concept of structured exercise programs.

Technology

Unit 4 - Lesson 7: Introduction to Slides

• Discuss what Slides are and their uses.
• Show examples of simple slides.
• Demonstrate how to create a Slide with basic formatting
• Students create their own simple Slide (e.g., About Myself - Basic Info, Favorite things and Interesting facts). Provide guidance and assistance as needed.
• Quiz and Assignment. Allow students to ask questions and discuss their work.