Mother’s Day Celebration

Each year Second Grade teacher Ms. Zenab hosts a very special event, a perfectly elegant Mother’s Day Brunch.  It isn’t a coincidence that Jannah lies under the feet of our mothers.  May Allah bless our mothers!

“A mother’s happiness is like a beacon, lighting up the future but reflected also on the past in the guise of fond memories.”

– Honore de Balzac

“Mother’s love is peace. It need not be acquired, it need not be deserved.”

– Erich Fromm

 

“Life began with waking up and loving my mother’s face.”

– George Eliot

“We are born of love; Love is our mother.”

– Rumi

“When you look into your mother’s eyes, you know that is the purest love you can find on this earth.”

– Mitch Albom

Our teachers are also like our mothers for a little while.  May Allah bless them…may Allah bless Ms. Zenab for all that she does!

Teacher Appreciation Dinner

Ihsan is an Arabic term meaning “perfection” or “excellence,” and mashaAllah it is very evident that Peace Terrace parents know the meaning of this word very well.  Throughout the week our students have been gifting us beautiful flowers, hand written cards and letters, mugs for tea, and so much more.  Their little or sometimes not so little voices telling us that they love us is so heartwarming and meaningful.

MashaAllah, the parents treated us to a delicious international cuisine dinner!  We’ll let the pictures do the talking.

We are so grateful to all of you, dear parents, and feel utterly appreciated.  We want to give a shout-out to Sr. Siely for organizing the dinner and her vision, Sr. Aisha, Sr. Vendula, Sr. Breshna for helping make the event so special and  to all of you for contributing to the wonderful meal!  May Allah bless the hands that fed us and the hearts that love us!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Lost Tools of Learning Annual Banquet

MashaAllah what a wonderful event we had this past weekend! What an honor to spend an evening among family, friends, and our esteemed speakers!

Each year our annual dinner provides us with key financial resources that help us bring new programs to the school, update our classrooms, and ensures that we are meeting our annual budgetary goals. Currently, Peace Terrace is in its 20th year of operation and alhamdulillah we are thriving as a school.

However, we could not accomplish any of our goals without the support and duas of our community. MashaAllah your generosity and concern for the children in our community gives us the confidence to continue to do the work that we do.

The silent auction baskets and art work is put together by our teachers and local artists.  May Allah bless them for their hard work!

So, on behalf of our school committee, staff, faculty, and students we want to thank you for your generosity.

The Fatima Al-Fihri Education Award presented to Budoor Mohamed, Roohi Qadir, and Zolaikha Khaliqi.

MashaAllah…at the end, the blessing of listening to Shaykh Alaudin El-Bakri and  reflecting on the wisdom of his words.

Thank you to everyone that attended!

Knowing the World

The theme for the month of March was ¨Knowing the World¨ and mashaAllah what a wonderful experience for all of our students.

¨The study of geography is about more than just memorizing places on a map. It’s about understanding the complexity of our world, appreciating the diversity of cultures that exists across continents. And in the end, it’s about using all that knowledge to help bridge divides and bring people together.¨

~Barak Obama

The places we all come from.

“O mankind! We created you from male and female and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise each other). Verily, the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is he who is the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is fully informed.”  ~Sura Hujarat, Verse 13

Ms. Fawzia and her 8th Grade, American History Class creating the map of America on one of our bulletin boards.

Lastly, lest we take ourselves too seriously!

 

Jr. High Service Learning

“Service to others is the rent you pay for your own room here on earth” Muhammad Ali

Our junior high students participated in their 2nd service project of the year. Through Compassion Network – an organization committed to serving those in need representing all faiths, economic and ethnic groups – they were assigned to help some of our elderly in the community with some yard work. The students were split into different groups and visited different homes to get the job done. They pulled weeds, picked up dry and dead leaves, cleaned patios and windows and much more. They also presented a small gift to the tenants to show their appreciation and love for our elderly and for sharing some words of wisdom with them.

 

The Pow-Wow

A pow wow is a social gathering held by many different Native American communities. A modern pow wow is a specific type of event for Native American people to meet and dance, sing, socialize, and honor their cultures. It is an opportunity for tribes to gather, share stories and pass on traditions.

After learning about various native tribes in the month of February we had a pow wow of classes joining together to share things they have learned throughout the month.

Students arrive and gather!

The 7th graders shared poems that they had written about Native life.

The 6th graders presented information about culture, home, food, and traditions of our local Ohlone Tribe.

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The 5th graders shared the hardships of the Navajo Nation during The Long Walk.

The 4th graders presented a story about the day and the night and sang a song about a Chumash Boy and Chumash Girl.

The 3rd graders presented facts and stories from the Trail of Tears and the Cherokee Tribe.  It was an emotional presented as we all thought about families being displaced from their homes.

The 1st and 2nd graders presented a lullaby and a song.

The Kindergarten class presented a song about the rain.

Nursery and Pre-School Presented a wonderful songs with instruments they made in class.

 

Native American History

Over the course of the past month students at Peace Terrace Academy have been learning about the lives of Native American’s in North America.  Students learned about Native culture, lifestyle, beliefs, traditions, and arts.

Each class selected a tribe to study and on Friday, March 9th we had a Pow Wow of all of the tribes.

Although we understand that the representation of the tribes may not be completely authentic and accurate, the past month gave our students an opportunity to think about the contributions of the Native tribes to the United States and get a deeper sense of some of the injustices that took place and continue to take place in their fight for autonomy.

4th Grade students build a diorama and learn to weave baskets like the Chumash tribe. The Chumash ancestors lived in large, dome-shaped homes that were made of willow branches. Whalebone was used for reinforcing and the roofs were composed of tulle mats. The interior rooms were partitioned for privacy by hanging reed mats from the ceiling. As many as 50 people could live in one house. With platform beds built above the ground, the Chumash used the area under the platforms to store personal belongings.

The Pre-School representation of the Hopi tribe.  The Hopi tribe were villagers and farmers. Their villages were located in the lofty plateaus of northern Arizona. The Hopi tribe have kept their culture intact due to living in such isolated areas. The name Hopi means “peaceful ones” which aptly describe the members of this ancient American Indian tribe. Each Hopi village was divided into clans that is governed by a chief, who is also the spiritual leader of the village. The Hopis became noted as stockbreeders and skilled weavers, potters, and silversmiths.

Kindergarten represented the Miwok Tribe.  The Miwok tribe were a California tribe of Native American Indians who were hunter-gathers and fishers. They lived in north-central California, from the Pacific coast to the west slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The Miwok tribe are highly distinctive due to the tattoos and paint they used to adorn their bodies.

The 5th Graders represented the Navajo Nation.  The 5th graders presented a summery of The Long Walk as their presentation at the Pow Wow on the 9th.  The Long Walk of the Navajos is a prominent history in Navajo life because it officially established Navajoland upon the release of the Navajos from Bosque Redondo, New Mexico where they were incarcerated in January 1864. Navajo were forcefully removed from their land due to continued conflict with settlers moving on and surrounding their land.