Jumada II 17 th , 1434 Zoobia W.Chaudhry BOE ARS Do you dare to dream? Join us on April 27 th to solve this puzzle H E R I T A G E THE AL-RAHMAH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER Future vision for ARS, Insha’Allah April 20 th , 2013 25 th Anniversary Edition Congratulations to the Al-Rahmah School on being the educational anchor of our growing community for the past 25 years. With its humble beginnings of 27 students fitting into a two small classrooms on the ground floor of Masjid Al- Rahmah in 1987, we have by the infinite mercy of Allah SWT come along way by now having a certified and accredited K-12 institution that last year celebrated its first high school graduating class. In this edition of the Heritage, we reflect upon the various milestones of the past 25 years and eagerly look forward to the amazing journey ahead. The Al-Rahmah School Board of Education will Insha’Allah share its vision for the years ahead during the upcoming 25th Anniversary Benefit Dinner on April 27th. We hope you will join us as we collectively work hard to write the next chapter in this blessed narrative.
Transcript
Jumada II 17th, 1434
Zoobia W.Chaudhry BOE ARS Do you dare to dream?
Join us on April 27th to solve this puzzle
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H E R I T A G E
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Future vision for ARS, Insha’Allah
April 20th, 2013
25th Anniversary Edition
Congratulations to the Al-Rahmah School on being the educational anchor of our growing community for the past 25 years. With its humble beginnings of 27 students fitting into a two small classrooms on the ground floor of Masjid Al-Rahmah in 1987, we have by the
infinite mercy of Allah SWT come along way by now having a certified and accredited K-12 institution that last year celebrated its first high school graduating class. In this edition of the Heritage, we reflect upon the various milestones of the past 25 years and eagerly look forward to the amazing journey ahead. The Al-Rahmah School Board of Education will Insha’Allah share its vision for the years ahead during the upcoming 25th Anniversary Benefit Dinner on April 27th. We hope you will join us as we collectively work hard to write the next chapter in this blessed narrative.
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Heritage Vol 2: Issue 3
I attended Al-Rahmah school from Pre-KG to 8th Grade. I was there when it was one small building (currently the nursery), then when it expanded to the trailers (currently the ISB office), and when they built the second building (where the gym currently sits). I appreciate and cherish my years at Al-Rahmah, I feel as though they have played a big part of shaping who I am today. Both my mother and my wife were teachers at Al-Rahmah at one point in time. I currently work as a Senior Manager of Operations with TEKsystems Global Services (an IT Consulting Company) and help manage my family’s restaurant on the side. I am still in school pursuing a degree in Business Administration and IT at the same time. I am a happily married father of a two year old son who will also grow up around ISB and attend Al-Rahmah School, insha’Allah. I was just recently re-elected to serve for a second term on the ISB Council and am looking forward to a productive 2 years inshallah and working with the President and Council to make some good changes for the community. I do what I can to keep ISB a part of my life as an adult as it has been for me as a child.
Can you tell us how the name Al-Rahmah was picked?
History of Al-Rahmah School Interview with Dr. Maqbool Patel: A Founding Member of ARS
Amna Ali 9th grade
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Could you tell us how and when ARS was started?
ISB was established in 1969. The construction on the original facility was started in1982. Our target was $75, 000. Right before the event few felt we won’t be able to reach it and changed it to $25k. It was again changed back to $75k. We ended raising $85K in 40 minutes. We felt so blessed at that time; we decided to name this Masjid Al-Rahmah. The name has truly been reflective of the blessed bestowed upon this community from Allah SWT.
After we built the masjid we started talking about opening a school, which initially met with some opposition but in 1987 we opened our own school with K-2 with about 47 students.
Why did the community want to start a full time Islamic school?
In the beginning with K-2, enrollment was about 47. In1988 the enrollment went to about 60. In 1993-98 enrollment went up and we began to build new
The school environment is very important. People were complaining about the public school every day. We wanted to start Al-Rahmah School because we wanted people to know Islam. It wasn’t just about coming to the masjid and praying this is why we came up with the idea about the school. This is the first step in building a model community. With growing concerns about public schools and private school costs being up to $20k yearly at the time, we went with the option of opening our own school. Our first year, 70-80% of the community was against the concept of an Islamic School but quickly the sentiment changed once the community saw the plan in action. Tell us how Al Rahmah School has
grown over the last 25 years?
What message do you have for the community ?
Allah SWT said that there are three things that Muslim must do 1) every Muslim must know how to read the Quran but they should go beyond the reading and understand the Quran. That is why we established Al-Rahmah School and Quran Academy. 2) Remember what it means to establish your salah. Every Muslim should wake up and say Alhumdulilah, purify themselves and stand before Allah SWT. 3) What ever we have in terms of wealth and property it is amana for us and we should spend it in the way of Allah.
classrooms and added a gymnasium too. In 2000 we started the nursery, a daycare. From 2001 it started to grow up and in 2004 enrollment went to 187 and today we are at 350, Alhumdullah. We do plan to grow to college level.
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Heritage Vol 2: Issue 3
Al-Rahmah School Education Trust (ASET) is a non-profit endowment established to generate long-term investment to support the educational
goals of Al-Rahmah School and Nursery.
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this School, we have many students from many different countries in the world. We differ from each other by many ways such as language, culture, colors, values and behaviors. Despite all these differences, there is one strong similarity. That is ISLAM. When it comes to Islam we are ONE. I am thankful to Allah (SWT) for providing me the opportunity to be part of Al Rahmah School. This is a school that is striving for the last twenty five years to enlighten us with the necessary education for this world, which will help us succeed in the Akhirah, Insha’Allah.
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Every day, we are showered by Allah’s mercy and blessings. One of them is Al Rahmah School. This is a school which provides us with all the required education which will make us succeed in this world. But the most important gift which Al-Rahmah provides us is that it teaches us the path of success in this life, which in turn will help us in the hereafter (Akhirah). As a Muslim, we believe that we have another life in the hereafter. That life is the eternity. This life is a test for the life hereafter and we must strive to be successful for the hereafter life. Al Rahmah is also a school with many good influences on the students. In
Danyah Imam 6th grade What Al-Rahmah means to a Student
On a beautiful and sunny day here on August 10, 2037, Al-Rahmah School has reached yet another great milestone in its history. Today, we mark its 50th anniversary and celebrate it by opening its first science and engineering building which will InshaAllah produce the greatest scientists and engineers of our generation. Over the past fifty years, Al-Rahmah School has grown tremendously and has provided state of the art education with core Islamic foundations to over 10,000 students! Our facilities have grown immensely as well. Starting with two classrooms in the ground floor of Masjid Al-Rahmah, we have now expanded to a sprawling campus where students from across the nation come to receive a wonderful education and developmental experience. Fifty years go, this would have seemed like a distant dream. But today, Alhamdulillah, from all the hard work and efforts that you, the community, put into this shared vision of ours, our then-distant dream has become a reality.” This is the vision we share here at the Al-Rahmah School Education Trust (ASET). We are working hard to reach our vision of creating and fostering one of the greatest Islamic Schools here in the United States. Please visit our website, www.alrahmahtrust.org, to see how you can help make the 50th anniversary vision into a reality.
Heritage Vol 2: Issue 3
Heritage
Arabic Bee Science Fair: Winners
High School Graduation
June 8th
Keynote Speaker
Nouman Ali Khan
Teachers Appreciation week
May 6th to 9th
Upcoming events
Field Day
Sr. Laura’s Farewell Event … TBD
PTS Reading Night
Publication Committee Zoobia W. Chaudhry (Editor) Laura AbdurRahman Lisette Abdiruhman Donna Khan 6631 Johnnycake Road Baltimore, MD 21244 410.719.0921
Sign up for school updates at www.alrahmah.org
Tera Nova Closing programs
KG: Jun 11th
Grades 1-5: Jun 12th
5th and 8th Grade Graduation
May 1st – 3rd
May 8th
Jun 13th
Final Exams
May 28th – Jun7th
Highlights from last quarter Umar Khan – 5th grade
