Volume 4, Issue 1 | October, 2012 Sr. Diana Abdi, Principal

Principal Speaking 1

Homework Hassles 1

Tip 1

Start Fall with New

Responsibilities 2

Use a Secret Signal to

Correct Behavior 2

Curb Procrastination,

Grow Self-Awareness 2

Hadith of The Month 3

School Connection 4-5

5110 Manor Rd.

Austin, TX 78723

Phone: 512-926-1737

Fax: 512-926-9688

principal@apacademy.org

Principal Speaking

Tip

Your child

won’t learn

anything in

class if she’s not there,

so make attendance a

priority! To ensure

she’s in school every

single day:

• Embrace routines.

Follow simple bedtime

rituals at night and

routines in the

morning.

• Prep in advance.

Pack lunches and load

book bags before bed.

It’ll make morn­ings

much less frantic.

• Be firm. Unless your

child is legitimately ill,

insist she go to school.

Source: “Parents Find

Staying Calm Is Key to

Curbing Kid’s Poor

Behavior,”

Parenting.org,, ,

tinyurl.com/6mymg2l.

Provide schedules and space to avoid homework hassles

Parenting Advisory

Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh

Let’s start the year by allowing natural

consequences to teach important lessons to

your child. Don't run to the rescue.

Kids make these phone calls home daily:

“Dad, I forgot my homework. Can you bring

it to school?”; “Mom, I left my lunch on the

counter. Can you drop it off?” When parents

repeatedly get calls like this, it’s time for

natural consequences to take over.

The beauty of natural consequences is that

you don’t have to do anything! They take

care of themselves.

Keep in mind that natural consequences:

• Are delivered by someone else, such as

teachers, nature or friends. For example,

forgetting homework might result in a low

grade. Leaving a toy outside might ruin it.

And refusing to share might cause a friend to

walk away. Help your child make decisions

for better outcomes.

• Should never put your child in danger.

Natural consequences should be mild. If it’s a

bit chilly outside and your child insists on

wearing shorts, relax. The child will probably

regret it and choose wisely next time. But

don’t allow shorts if the weather is bitter

cold.

• Are not right for every situation.

Sometimes there isn’t a positive or negative

natural consequence that will help your child.

If he or she is rude at the dinner table, for

instance, you need to step in with a logical

consequence, such as, “Please go to your

room while we eat dessert.”

Your child will learn when you stop

running to the rescue.

Don’t let homework headaches derail a suc­

cessful school year! Follow these steps to

make it easier for your child to complete

take-home assignments:

1 Designate a workspace. Whether it’s a

desk, table, or the floor, have your child work

in the same spot each day.

2 Schedule a time. Get him or her in the

habit of studying at a set hour each day.

3 Stand back. It’s fine to offer guidance

once in awhile, but never do the assignments

for your child.

VOLUME 4, ISSUE 1 PAGE 2

Give Procrastinators

Specific Instructions Does your child drag her feet when you ask

her to do the simplest task? Don’t get an­

gry—get specific!

Research shows that people often procrasti-

nate when facing a vague job. But when

they’re given something concrete to com­

plete, they get right to it.

The next time you want your child to do

something

promptly, don’t

say, “Clean

your room.”

Instead, be spe-

cific: “Put your

clothes in the

hamper and

make your

bed.”

Source: A. Weinstein, “Why Kids Procras-

tinate and How to Help,” Education.com,

tinyurl.com/7cw7fyg.

When your child was seven, he may have believed, “I’m great at eve­

rything!” But now that he’s 10, he likely has a clearer idea of his tal­

ents. “I’m better at math than language arts.”

Support this growing awareness by being honest. “You aced that

long-division quiz. If you study hard for the spelling test, I bet you can

ace that, too!”

It’ll remind him that

everyone has

strengths and weak-

nesses. Some things

just take extra effort.

Source: M. Levine,

Ph.D., The Price of

Privilege: How Pa-

rental Pressure and

Material Advantage

Are Creating a Gen-

eration of Discon-

nected and Deeply

Unhappy Kids,

HarperCollins.

As Children Grow, So Does Self-Awareness

It’s a new school year, and your children are

capable of new things! To encourage inde-

pendence, give them tasks they can handle,

and be sure to praise their success! For exam-

ple, they can:

Put their school bags by the front

door each night.

Start Fall with New Responsibilities Choose the next day’s outfit before

bedtime.

Set an alarm clock and wake up on

time.

Follow a simple morning routine.

Use a Secret Signal to Correct Behavior You need to correct your child’s behavior

when you’re out together, but you don’t want

to embarrass her in public. How should you

proceed? With a secret signal!

Develop a sign—such as tugging on your ear

or touching the tip of your nose—that lets her

know she’s being rude, disruptive, etc. The

next time she acts up when you’re out in pub­

lic, give her the signal. She’ll know what that

ear-tug means!

Source: M. Borba, Ed.D., No More Misbe-

havin’: 38 Difficult Behaviors and How to

Stop Them, Jossey-

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, “The faithful, in their love for

one another and in their having mercy for one another and in their kindness

toward one another, are like one body; when a member of it ails, all (the parts of)

the body call one another (to share the pain) through sleeplessness and

fever.” (Muslim)

In this narration, the Prophet Muhammad (saws) teaches the Muslim community about their responsibility to-

ward one another. Just as we regard our own bodies as trusts from Allah (swt), so must we regard the care of our

brothers and sisters in Islam as entrusted to us. We are connected to one another like the parts of a body.

When one member of our community suffers, we are obligated to ease that suffering or to bear it with him or

her. If one person is starving, it is as if we ourselves are starving. Indeed, it is the right of that starving person to

receive sustenance from the community.

The Prophet Muhammad (saws) demonstrated the application of this hadith by his care for Ahl-ul-Suffah (the

People of the Bench) in Medina. These people were the poorest in the new Muslim community and the family

of the Prophet (may Allah be pleased with them) cared for these individuals as members of their own house-

hold. The Prophet’s household never enjoyed more prosperity than the Saaf.

It is a blessing from Allah (swt) that we can share in a community of mutual care and sustenance, and we

should teach our children to value that community. Take time to attend community functions with your kids so

that they can create memories and develop a genuine love for our local Ummah. When you are active, engaged

participants, both you and your children will find that love, kindness, and mercy for the community come easily.

VOLUME 4, ISSUE 1 PAGE 3

Hadith of the MonthHadith of the Month

VOLUME 4, ISSUE 1 PAGE 4

School ConnectionSchool Connection

Austin Peace Academy revisited its old stomping grounds this past

Saturday, September 15 at Nueces Mosque. Sophomores and one

freshman volunteered to help clean the facilities by emptying the stor-

age containers, painting the masjid, and cleaning the grounds to freshen

up the masjid. Alhamdulillah, it was a blessing to take part in cleaning

one of the houses of Allah, creating a facility that befits its role.

Students Clean

Nueces Mosque

Calendar October 17—PSAT

October 17—Picture Day

October 20—International Restaurant

October 24—Hajj Simulation

October 25—Parent Conference, No School

October 26—Eid El Adha, No School

October 29—Reunion Ranch for Eid

Saturday, August 27 was the kickoff for the

2012-13 school year at Austin Peace Acade-

my. Parents were able to meet new teachers

and see where their children will be attending

classes. Approximately 80 parents listened to

Sr. Diana present the vision for the new year

along with a number of policy changes af-

fecting students.

Character education and more rigorous aca-

demic standards dominated the discussion.

The new discipline system, Positive Points

System (PPS), rewards good behavior and

encourages students to make wise choices.

The new system also involves parents taking

a more active role in school discipline by

signing the accountability forms sent home

each week. The schedule for departing clas-

ses each afternoon was discussed at Parent

Orientation, as well as important changes in

the bus service.

One of the major goals for APA this year is

to enlarge our Parent Teacher Organization.

Parent engagement is vital to the success of

our school. Your involvement in your chil-

dren’s schooling will excite and motivate

them, in addition to providing much needed

support to their teachers. Please join PTO!

School Year

Kickoff

Over 100 parents attended the Austin Peace Academy Open House on

Friday, September 21. Teachers opened their classrooms and discussed

everything from reading and math curriculum to how to dissect a frog.

Parents attended ten-minute sessions to hear about all of the courses a

student would attend in a typical day at APA. Several of the parents

commented that, “Now I can see why my child comes home pretty ex­

hausted. The expectations are very high at APA but I am glad they are.”

Parents heard presentations about all of the core classes, as well as

P.E., Art, Debate, Islamic Studies, and Arabic. Principal Diana Abdi

said, “I was so pleased to see so many parents attending the Open

House. It is very motivating to our faculty to know how concerned our

parents are about their children’s education.”

Open House A Success

Elementary school students and parents braved a rainy Saturday

morning, September 29, to celebrate the Marathon Kids kick-off. Over

a six month period, children will run 26.2 miles, the equivalent of a

marathon, in increments of a quarter mile and a half mile at a time.

Ms. Emily Lejeune, Physical Education teacher, said that APA stu-

dents love the program and get excited when they’re close to finishing

the marathon. They run as a warm-up activity at the beginning of each

P.E. class, and the more they run, the more they enjoy it.“They start

volunteering to run,” Ms. Emily said. “When I tell them to do two laps,

they’ll do five. When they notice they don’t get winded anymore, they

keep running.” And happily, they’ll run rain or shine.

Marathon Kids Program Begins

Austin Peace Academy high school students

took time from their precious Saturdays, Sep-

tember 29 to volunteer at the Capital Area

Food Bank in South Austin. For three hours,

they sorted, inspected and weeded through

4,500 lbs of bread and pastry items donated by

local supermarkets. They boxed the items for

distribution to local food partners and agencies

that make sure it all goes to those in need

throughout Austin.

We are proud of our students for giving their

time for the sake of others. We were also hap-

py to see the return of an APA alumnus Amine

Boumaraf to help beside our students.

Youth and Family Night is a great opportuni-

ty to volunteer with your children, ages 8 and

up. It is held the first Tuesday of each month

from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM.

Students Volunteer

at Food Bank

VOLUME 4, ISSUE 1 PAGE 5

School ConnectionSchool Connection