InternatIonal ProSPeCtUSsevenskiesinternational.org

If you were to walk the corridors of history and go back 500 years, you would find a most amazing state of affairs in the world. You would find a world of innovation; a world where ground-breaking discoveries in science were revolutionizing the way human thought was articulated. You would find a world where the leading figures of the sciences were people of Islam and they came from the land of the Muslims. You would find the scholars of Islam were the pioneers of pushing the limits of the human mind and the benchmark to which all those in the circles of knowledge across the face of the planet aspired to.

Unfortunately, it is only a journey through the pages of our history books that will allow us to see a time where the Muslims where adding significant value to the world in which we live. As ignorance, poverty, and the collapse of security scourge the Muslim civilization of today, it is time that someone steps forward and makes a change.

It is time for a change that will reignite the love of knowledge in the hearts of believing people; a change that will inspire the youth of the modern day to reach for the stars and lead the discoveries of the world. We need a body that will take the finest talent of the Muslim community and mature them into the greatest men and women walking the face of the earth, making them a generation who are thirsty for knowledge and its practical application in the modern day. We need to build a generation that have Allah in their hearts and the world in their hands; leading lives that serve the obligations upon them from their Creator and responding to the needs of humanity around them.

This generation is one that will be delivered through a unique educational program, the Seven Skies International Program (SSIP). SSIP is a global educational program which fuses the latest in educational sciences, classical Islamic scholarship and the finest application of manners and etiquette to build well rounded young people nurtured on excellence to lead humanity into the next millennium.

IntrodUCtIon

Welcome to our Seven Skies International School, Welcome to the Future.

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We are delighted to welcome you to our warm, caring and lively school for our precious future generation. We pride ourselves in aiming to provide a vibrant environment that allows our students and staff to thrive and flourish. With a world class curriculum infusing the best of Islamic and secular sciences and with a focus on character and moral education - Seven Skies is set to become the benchmark for premium quality Islamic schools worldwide.

In the short time of our work globally, Mercy Mission has earned a reputation for educational excellence by pioneering AlKauthar Institute with 60,000 students worldwide, TV mediums like Ramadan TV and knowledge filled conferences like ‘Twins of Faith’ and ‘Being ME’ sisters conferences - widely recognized to be one of the largest conferences in their respective cities. After two years of deep research and experimentation and having built a strong central team of educational personnel, we have now transferred our attention to educate the younger generation in order to enable change at an earlier level and to foster longer-term positive outcomes in our society and community.

Seven Skies is a pioneering effort aiming to combine the best of both worlds - the finest of Islamic education, with high quality secular education. An academically rigorous curriculum is complemented with an equally strong focus on character and moral development. We firmly believe that to build our future generations, it is imperative that the school becomes a focal point of bringing out creativity, passion and drive in our children. It is essential that the school shrouds itself with positivity to nurture the inquisitive mind that Allah has given our children and to help them develop a thoughtful approach to solving problems. That is why at Seven Skies, we constantly challenge our pupils to discover new talents, skills and interests to fully explore and understand the extent of their abilities.

It is our aim to make the daily life of our pupils at Seven Skies an exceptional experience. Time inside the classroom is filled with thoughtful and masterful education from experienced and well trained teachers. Time outside the classroom is filled with a range of activities that unleash the pupils’ interests and show the power of positive Islamic pedagogy. Arts and crafts are nurtured within an Islamic context with a variety of activities, productions and performances that the school will engage in during the course of each term.

Our teachers are the single most important factor in the success of our educational offering. As a result, we have selected some of the best teachers both from locally and abroad who not only have an Islamic mindset, but also have excellent subject knowledge in their respective areas. Our teachers also possess essential mentoring qualities: passion for education, empathy, a caring attitude, and a commitment to moral and character development. Teacher to student ratio is maintained at approximately 1:10 or less, to ensure optimal educational outcomes. We have trained them in an intensive program at our bespoke teacher training center: Reach Academy, with the best of educational leadership and Islamic pedagogical strategies. So, rest assured! Your children are in good hands with us.

Whilst this prospectus does not serve as a personal visit to our school or a one to a one conversation with myself, it is my hope that it will provide you with a brief insight into the lively world of Seven Skies and encourage you to get to know us better.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Tawfique ChowdhuryChairman & CEO Mercy Mission

ChaIrman’SmeSSage

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It is our aim to make the

daily life of our pupils at

Seven Skies an exceptional experience.

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Our uniqueness derives from our desire to create a school that is the best of Islamic and Secular education en par with premium quality grammar schools in Western countries. Our unique points include:

Unique blend of Islamic, secular sciences, moral and character development to produce an exemplary future leader.

Focus on unique developmental features of boys and girls to produce custom designed educational programs adapted to suit the different learning needs of each gender.

Strong teaching leadership program for training teachers in the Seven Skies methodology.

Network of Seven Skies schools worldwide to place students in sister Seven Skies schools in foreign countries in higher secondary - to ease transition to tertiary education.

Strong global team of educational experts continuously developing, evolving and improving the curriculum and learning experience for a best in class learning experience.

WhatmakeSUS UnIqUe?

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There are a number of values that we seek to build in our children to ensure they lead a life of true success. We are committed to ensuring that every child that goes through the Seven Skies International Program, graduates with the following values:

Determination: Allah in our heart and the world in our hands

Character: Manners before knowledge; social intelligence

Excellence: Pursuit of perfection

Curiosity: Hunger for discovery

Leadership: Ownership, responsibility and self-control

Optimism: Positivity in everything

Gratitude: Humility and thankfulness

the SevenSkIeS UltImate vISIon

the SevenSkIeS StUdentvalUeS

Our vision is to create the best Islamic premium schools worldwide that embody a holistic and caring environment whilst fostering excellence in academic and moral education, to create responsible leaders that serve humanity.

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Islamic Ethos: The school operates in total compliance with Islamic principles and aims to build a holistic Islamic learning environment for our students.

High expectations: We have high expectations from our school, our teachers, our students and from our team to achieve the best that we can.

More time: We spend more time and do not make any shortcuts in education. We allocate more time on academic, Islamic and moral education, as well as more time every day at school and every term in the year.

Focus on real results: We judge ourselves by the impact our students make and on objective standardized testing to ensure our educational system is producing the best learning value for our students.

oUr CoreoPeratIonalPIllarS

There are seven core principles that underpin the way our school operates. They are so integral to our work, that we call them our ‘Operational Pillars’. These are based on our vision to make Seven Skies the best premium quality Islamic school in the country:

United learning commitment: Learning at Seven Skies is a commitment from the student, the teacher, the parents and anyone who interacts with our children. All parties collaborate to create a culture of achievement around our students. Training, education and learning new skills is imperative for all stakeholders in the Seven Skies education model.

Best empowered educational leadership: Our teachers are trained to be exceptional organizational and academic leaders that are empowered by the central management structure to make quick and effective decisions that benefit the students and their learning experience.

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g Customized educational opportunities: We aim to provide students educational learning opportunities commensurate with their genders, capabilities and aptitudes. Seven Skies does not have a ‘one size fits all’ model of education. Rather, we focus on discovering our children’s talents and capabilities and helping them to nurture and grow.

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the Seven Skies educational Strategy

Seven Skies International is led by a team of educational experts drawn from across the world who have come together to design, develop and deliver a unique educational experience.

Seven Skies is able to achieve the highest in educational attainment, with the most well- mannered and inspired children through maturing its offering on four key levels:

Educational Research &Development (ERD)

As times change, people change and thus so do their needs, desires and expectations from the educational infrastructure. At Seven Skies we are focused on continued professional development for the experts we have brought together to launch this endeavor. Our ERD department is able to use its central intelligence to benefit the system as well as utilizing the process of peer review to reach new heights in education and facilitate the transition of the classroom from a place of teaching to a theatre of dreams.

Leadership Training for Teachers

We have established a bespoke academy for teachers to lead the way for them to be able to orchestrate the dreams of children, the aspirations of their parents and the will of their Creator to be manifested in every Seven Skies classroom.

The Reach Academy is a leadership program that works to use the educating expertise of teachers and the leadership expertise of our Academy to make an incredible difference in the capacity to educate of every teacher graduating from the Academy.

educational research

&development

leadership training

&development

parenting support

&development

giftedchildren pathway

Parenting Support & Development

‘Parenting for Paradise’ is our parent support program. We recognize that when Seven Skies children go home from school, an opportunity exists to maintain and mature the learning environment they have at school. We are unwilling to allow the children of our schools to return to homes in which the love of learning is absent. Therefore we have designed a fantastic program for the parents of our children, which works to harness their ability to build on what we are doing at school. The program works with parents on practical ways to make the home environment one which reinforces the learning at school and acts as a platform upon which much of the learning is actually put into practice.

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Gifted Children Pathway

‘Precious Pearls’ is the name of our program for gifted children. Unquestionably all children have talent and it is the responsibility of the school to polish that talent. However, there are some children which Allah, the Lord of the worlds blesses in some unique ways.

At Seven Skies International, we have a commitment to ensure that all those gifted children that take a seat in our classroom are supported to go on and achieve their potential and leave a legacy in this world that is in line with their capacity to change the world.

Sadaqah jaariyah is something that we are hungry for, and our system uses the finest expertise of contemporary education to ensure the optimal return on investment for the parent and the child and ultimately the Ummah of Muhammad, upon whom be peace and blessings.

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SchoolCurriculumoverview

It is our observation that the Prophetic methodology of teaching is to focus on Islamic manners and moral education – together, which produces quality Islamic character. At the heart of the Seven Skies character is the hunger for excellence and the pursuit of perfection, and as such the achievement of academic success.

We take pride in building the character of the soul, which values and yearns for success, and allows the children to want the success for themselves and to mould their lives accordingly. This method allows for a lifelong approach to learning and achievement, which will allow the Seven Skies children of our time to be successful in all they do, well beyond what they explore in the confides of the school environment.

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EnvironmentalModeling:

One of the key ways in which we achieve this is implement-ing the way the companions of the Prophet Muhammad, upon whom be peace, would raise their children; for the first seven years play with them, then the next seven teach them and in the next seven be their friend. The impact on our program of this is how we build the school day for our children. We take pride in ensur-ing that our teaching model for our children evolves as they do, but does so fusing the Prophetic methodology with the latest educational sciences.

Sensual and Gender Responsiveness:

Schools typically favor one type of learner - the auditory learner not the visual or the kinesthetic learners. Seven Skies seeks to re-spond to all three learning styles. Furthermore, existing schools also do not generally appreciate the differences in physical as well as developmental milestones be-tween boys and girls. Seven Skies focuses attention on responding to these differences from simple things like differential lesson durations to more sophisticated measures surrounding mentoring and coaching.

CompetencyFocus:

The Seven Skies model focuses on creating four important quali-ties in the exemplary graduate through a unique humanities program, which is based on vocational methodologies to yield natural competency in:

• God consciousness and piety

• Confidence and self belief

• Self sufficiency, entrepre-neurship and resourceful-ness

• Caring and merciful behavior for others

Our program is unique as it achieves educational excellence via a focus on:

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These three characteristics define every class taught at Seven Skies. Using the Cambridge educational syllabus for academic structure, and our own bespoke Islamic curriculum, our team tailor it to deliver the ‘model inspired Muslim’ ready for tomorrow.

We feel confident in being able to create such a model through our attention on fusing academic excellence with extra-curricular activity; which reflects the character of a successful Muslim.

Character development is fully integrated into the school daily curriculum through the use of quarterly themes focusing on societal problems that prevail in the community. Our pupils are inspired with information on the problem from local and international experts and then challenged to develop implementable solutions. Teachers and management empower our children with the means to be able to launch their solutions in a multitude of practical ways thus showing them how they can enable change.

Educational excellence is achieved also via a focus on:

• Maturing multilingual competency

• Sport and physical activity• Drama, speaking performances,

Art and Anasheeds

Drama, Speaking Performances, Art and Anasheed

Our students deliver creativity through a number of media, as well as art and craftwork within the values of Islam. Through the use of colors, symbols, Arabic calligraphy, and an understanding of focus, balance and proportion - ideas and feelings are conveyed.

Primary school teachers use drama as an important method for engaging the playful learning nature of children and to build their self confidence in front of others. Drama includes dramatic plays, story enactments, imagination journeys, theatrical games and nasheed singing. They help children learn about emotions, problem solving and relating to others. Drama is used within the values of Islam, up to Primary and Middle school level.

An in-house artist in residence as well as regular visits by world renowned Muslim artists and vocalists allow the children to develop their own capacity in these fields. Regular performances in front of peers, parents and teachers build their confidence and self esteem.

Middle and Secondary students are also schooled in the art of public speaking and presentation skills to enable them to convey effectively their thoughts and ideas. World class speakers are invited to speak and their techniques are learnt at school. Debating competitions and ‘Speech Off’ events are held to build critical analysis, confidence and delivery skills.

Maturing Multilingual Competency

In a world of increasing connectivity and social interaction across cultures on a global scale, we realize that those who are able to communicate more effectively are better placed for success in their life. It is for this reason that Seven Skies pupils focus on developing mastery over language as a key focus of the curriculum.

A focus on English and Arabic form the core of our language focus in early and later years. A third language based on local needs is supplemented into the program.

Daily language lessons are completed by a rich programme of activities, as well as educational trips and school events throughout the year. It is our belief that such a holistic method of strengthening language advancement is critical to enable our pupils to have competency over their language skills.

Sport andPhysical Activity

An essential part of our character development is the physical activity component of our curriculum. Through a myriad of physical activities developed by specialist staff, ranging from Taekwondo training for all students, specialized boot camps every quarter, horse riding training, archery and swimming lessons, our pupils develop physically in addition to their academic training. Football matches, cross country running and swimming galas provide our students an opportunity to learn the value of teamwork and develop healthy competitive attitudes.

Students participate in a number of inter-house as well as inter-school events to present their house and school at our annual school sports day.

We take pride in building the character of the soul, which values and yearns for success, and allows the children to want the success for themselves and to mould their lives accordingly.

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Teachers are the backbone of the education process and as such, the Seven Skies approach is to select, train and constantly develop the best Muslim teaching staff. Our model is based on running our classrooms to a ratio of 1:10, and thus the relationship between our teachers and our students is a close one. The productivity of this relationship is ensured through our six-point teacher plan:

Selection process of qualified teachers with good moral character, Islamic attitude and practice along with a strong passion for teaching and continual development.

Compulsory training at the Reach Academy for teaching leadership skills and basic Islamic education.

Weekly discussions on education and monthly teaching sessions for teachers and parents.

In service training and curriculum review every fortnight.

Every year each teacher is required to visit another school of excellence and bring back the best ideas to be discussed and implemented at our school.

Mentorship from experienced teachers and educational experts.

Seven Skiesteachers

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Parent education and involvement is critical to the school. Seven Skies’ strategy for bridging the gap in school to home education, as well as keep the parents engaged in the development of their child, is based on ensuring that parents take on a significant role in the holistic education process:

Regular fortnightlyclasses for parents that are compulsory attendance. These classes will focus on Islamic, moral as well as parenting skills sessions.

Fortnightly and monthly communication with parents via written means and quarterly face to face parent meetings.

Parents’ committee participation and volunteers for teaching assistants and field trips.

Student lead parent conferences.

Sports day parents’ attendance.

Annual gala dinner for parents at school graduation ceremony.

An annual picture album provided to parents for each child (each teacher is provided a camera to take pictures throughout the year of each child for parent’s viewing).

Seven SkiesParents

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Seven Skies’ daily school life is simply lively and vibrant. Every day school starts early in the morning soon after sunrise, finishing late mid-day with increased school hours than other international schools. Every student is part of a House and every morning starts off with the respective House activities that include moral and character classes. A student’s time outside of academics is productive and exciting - such as either rehearsing for a public performance, training with a team, learning to write calligraphy with our in-house artist in residence, learning nasheeds with our visiting nasheed artist, learning essential life skills with our in house trainers or personal research at our computer center and library.

Learning is interspersed with interactive sessions from local and global experts that talk about everything from environmental issues, community development, business, engineering, medicine, science as well as Muslim scholars on contemporary Islamic issues. Students are introduced to these experts through our weekly ‘Coffee at Seven Skies’ program. Learning is also supplemented with various trips and visits to many local areas and opportunities for educational benefit.

School life is therefore a rich experience with pupil interaction taking place in the playground, canteen, classroom or at a school trip. As a result, our pupils form lasting relationships which give them confidence and a positive and enthusiastic attitude towards school life.

life atSeven Skies

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The Middle school is the center of the Seven Skies educational focus in line with the statement of our pious predecessors: “..For the next seven years, teach them.” Education in the Middle school is broken up into class learning focusing on core academic and Islamic modules and House learning focusing on character and moral development.

Learning takes places via focus on subjects drawn from the Seven Skies bespoke model based on the Cambridge medium as well as our own Islamic curriculum. Reading, writing and Mathematics are tied into core subjects such as Science, Biology and History with an integrated approach such that an Islamic relevance is drawn from each.

Islamic learning follows on from the Primary level by encouraging students to memorize 2 juz of the Quran as a minimum. A complete Quran memorization pathway is also made available for our wiling students. The 40 hadeeth of AnNawawi as well as small texts of hadeeth are memorized. Core Islamic creed and and basic fiqh is taught to an introductory level. Students also study the history of Rasulullahsallallahualaihiwasallam, as well as of all the Prophets of Allah and important Muslim heroes.

The three language focus continues throughout the Middle School with increased focus on speaking and understanding via a variety of creative teaching methods.

Curiosity is also harnessed by quarterly themes that run throughout the school and inspire children’s natural curiosity and the school actively empowers them with skills and tools, whilst challenging them to brain storm solutions to the problem at hand. There is a strong emphasis on group and peer led instruction along with the latest technology being made available to the students. By placing these students at the center of the learning experience, we encourage them to discover, learn and unleash their natural leadership and drive.

Middle School

The Early Years curriculum focuses on providing a creative and caring environment fostering a ‘play to learn’ atmosphere. Through an infusion of an adapted Montessori model of education, with a focus on developing Islamic awareness early in their childhood, the children develop a positive approach to their external environment. Reading, writing and working with numbers and learning to socialize within a group are skills that are taught through play, art, storytelling and nasheeds. Children memorize a minimum of 15 surahs from the Quran and 10 hadeeths in Arabic. Since the brain’s language centers in children develop early in their growth, our pupils are exposed

to 3 languages (English, Arabic plus a local language) so that they can begin to grasp them early on. They are also taught how to purify and pray, as well as the du’as from the Sunnah of Rasulullahsallallahualaihiwasallam. Love of Allah, self, family, teachers and friends are taught through implementations and focused exercises.

Classrooms are decorated with thoughtful displays to help create a stimulating learning environment. The students’ works are also displayed throughout the school to promote pride in their skills and a culture of respect for others.

Primary: Early Years

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Teachers are essentially mentors and friends to our students, helping the students connect their skills and strengths to the curriculum and extra-curricular pursuits of the school. This unique relationship fosters a stronger bond between teacher and pupil providing them a friendly caring environment during the challenges of their teenage years.

Secondary school pupils enjoy our specialist teachers in core academic subjects to help them become organized and independent and give them a strong grounding for their O and A level examinations. Students continue their study of language and

Islamic creed and Islamic fiqh to one basic opinion. Islamic history from seerah till present day is also taught to our pupils.

Focus on language skills continues from previous levels with specialist help and support to enable students to sit examinations for all the languages.

Our school values the unique strengths and potential of each pupil and encourages critical thinking and independent enquiry. We instill in them a sense of responsibility and help them develop their visions. We equip them in their final years at

school to be able to harness their talents and pursue their dreams. Internship programs in real world jobs engage their interest; local and overseas trips are done to broaden their horizons; and strong scouts and boot camp programs develop strength of character.

Secondary School

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Admission to our school is selective. We look for students that have positive attitudes, are interested in education and extra-curricular activities, have good behavior and are from a supportive family who want to have an Islamic upbringing for their child.

We set high academic as well as moral and character expectations on our children, whilst looking to maximize the potential of each child to pursue excellence. We are committed to ensuring that our students achieve access to some of the world’s best universities or are able to continue their learning to an advanced level, if they move to another country.

Although academic potential is valued, our focus is on the moral and character development of the child, as well as the capacity of the child to contribute to the school life outside of the classroom, such as in sports, life skills, art, drama and speaking performances.

ADMiSSiOnS PROCESS

In order to apply to our school, prospective parents must submit an online application form through our website.

Alternatively, those who are not able to submit an online application can do so at school premises with the assistance of our administration team.

After the application is received, a face to face interview with the child and parents will be scheduled. Where ever possible, parents should bring with them:

Previous academic reports

Copies of the identity documents of the child and parents (e.g. passports)

Signed copy of the code of conduct document (available from the admissions office)

Signed copy of the Conditions and declaration document (available from the admissions office)

admISSIonS

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ADMiSSiOnS CRiTERiA

The aim of our admissions process is to ensure students that study in our school are able to succeed academically, as well as exit our school with the best of character and moral behavior. Their contribution to the school life through sports, arts and social skills is also an important consideration.

As a result, the capacity of a student for spoken and written English and their standard of behavior, work ethic, Islamic mindset, as well as past academic achievements are determining factors for admission.

ACCEPTAnCE AnD wAiTinG LiSTS

The school will communicate the outcome of an application within a few days of the completion of the interview. Parents are then required to accept the placement within five (5) working days of receiving this communication. Failure to confirm acceptance may result in the place being forfeited.

Those children that have a successful interview but are unable to join due to limited availability of places will be offered a place on the waiting list with priority given to:

Siblings of current students

Children transferring from one of our sister schools worldwide

Children of Mercy Mission team members

Children of teaching and management staff

ACADEMiC CALEnDAR

The school year commences in Sep-tember and consists of two terms. The exact term dates vary slightly from year to year due to Ramadan and other events. The current aca-demic calendar is available from the admissions office and our website.

SChOOL FEES

Latest information on school fees are available from the admissions office. The fees are reviewed regularly to ensure that it reflects the premium quality educational experience of-fered at the school.

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No. 20 Jalan Teknologi 3/3A Surian Industrial Park

Kota Damansara PJU5 47810 Petaling Jaya Selangor, Malaysia.

Tel : +603 6151 5952 Fax : +603 6151 5953

info@sevenskiesinternational.orgwww.sevenskiesinternational.org