November 2017

Kwong Lee Dow Young Scholars Recipient

Each year the University of Melbourne runs a the Kwong Lee Dow Young Scholars Program which is an academic enrichment program to support high achievers.  This year they Program received over 1700 applicants.  We are extremely proud to announce that our Year 10 student, Nadine Fawal was selected as a recipient.  We would like to congratulate Nadine on her had work and dedication and wish her all the very best for a successful future.  Well done Nadine!

 

DAV State Wide Debating Competition

On the 17th November our debating team took part in the DAV Primary State Tournament held at Melbourne University. It was a proud moment seeing how far our students have progressed especially our Grade 6 team who have been part of the debating team for 2 years.

Alhamdulah our team delivered strong and convincing arguments and rebuttals. We won 2/3 debates earning us 3rd place overall in the Primary State Tournament. Zohra and Yumna were both nominated ‘best speaker’ in their respective debates.
The Secret topic, ‘That computers should replace teachers’, was revealed by a special guest- Professor Peter Doherty (Nobel Prize winner in Medicine in 1996, and Australian of the Year in 1997).
Our debating team persuaded the adjudicators that no high-tech computer can compare to the emotional support and motivation one gains from their classroom teachers!

The other debating topics were that surveillance cameras should be placed in all public places – St Leonard’s College 1 vs. Altaqwa College 1. (Altaqwa won)
AND
That maths and science should be compulsory through to year 12- Altaqwa College 1 vs. Clifton Hill Primary School 2- (Clifton Hill won)
Congratulations once again to all teachers involved in the training and to our hard working students.

 

Tamzid Islam 6B
Naifah Mohammed 6B
Yumna Syeda 6B
Shayaan Aftab 6B
Zohra Aftaab 5A
Hafsa Khathri 5A
We look forward to continuing our debating journey in 2018.

— Obayda Kannouj
Assistant Head of Upper Primary Grade 4-6
Debating/Media Curriculum Domain Leader

Wonthaggi Penpal Visit

For the second year in a row, we are pleased to say our penpal program with Wonthaggi has been running successfully. On the 13th of November, our grade 6 students got to visit their penpals in Wonthaggi where they had the opportunity to explore the town and bond over lunch. Students strolled the town of Wonthaggi and visited some historical sites. This was a return visit after our penpals came to Al Taqwa 2 weeks ago to learn about the history of our school and gain knowledge on Islam. We aim to continue this program for the coming years.

 

 

— Sara Barez 
Religion & Quran

 

Affirmative	Negative	Winning team
Altaqwa College 2	Alphington Grammar School 2	Altaqwa College 2
Greythorn Primary School	Altaqwa College 1	Altaqwa College 1

Affirmative	Negative	Winning Team
Altaqwa College 1	Kingswood College 2	Altaqwa College 1
Clifton Hill Primary School 3	Altaqwa College 2	Altaqwa College 2

RACI National Titration Competition

Fred Hollows Humanity Award
We are proud to announce that Muhammad Ahmad of 6B has received the Fred Hollows Humanity Award for making a positive difference in our community. The Award celebrates Y6 students who show compassion, integrity and kindness in their everyday lives. Well done Mohammad!

The Fred Hollows Humanity Award is an initiative of The Fred Hollows Foundation and aims to celebrate students who show compassion, integrity and kindness in their lives, just as Fred Hollows did. Since 2012, more than 750 inspiring ACT, NSW, Victorian and Tasmanian students have been recognised, and this year the Award is expanding nationally!

August 2017

Wyndham Athletics Meet Winners

On 17th Aug 2017, in the Wyndham athletics meet, Mohamed ElKurdi 7E won the 100m sprint for 14 years old boys event while Akram Boru 10E won the high jump for 15 years old boys event. Hussein Ali 8G won the 400m race for the 13 year old boys event. While our 4 X 100m relay team also won their event in the 15 years old boys category. Thus, these boys will represent the school in the Western Metropolitan Region Athletics Meet on 21st September 2017.

2017 RACI VIC Branch Titration Results

Al Taqwa College’s name has appeared once again on the top 50 list in the Titration Competition held by RACI. Our year 10 students Amina Kanj, Amina Fazlic and Sumiya Hassan obtained rank 24 out of the 354 teams that participated in the competition with an aggregate difference of just 0.012370 from the expected results. All the other four teams did well as well, even though they are not in the top fifty.
I would like to thank Ms. Arvinder Kaur, who has spent a lot of her planning time in helping to train the students. Ms. Shareena Khan also supported us in the endeavor.
I would also like to thank Mr. Faizul Nurwalis, the lab technician who provided all the equipment and chemicals during the practice sessions.

— Winny George

Domain Leader – Science (10-12)

Word Mania Winners!

Our students placed top spot in Round Two of Word Mania! Congratulations participants!

Our Grade 1 class students have won second place on the Participation Leaderboard for Round One of Word Mania.

 

MAV Games for Year 8 Students

• Hyder Askari
• Ismail Shareef
• Ayan Alaan
• Maya Ashraf

July 2017

Year 11/12 Bachar Houli Cup Champions

They came, they saw and they delivered. On Wednesday 26 July, our boys stuck to their game plan to the letter and delivered our third, year 11/12 Bachar Houli trophy in a row.

The first game was a real test for us against our arch rivals AIA (Coburg). It was a nervous few moments for us at the beginning because we had a few year 9/10 boys in the squad playing against the bigger year 11/12 opponents. After excellent work from Shady Haddara who was our man of the tournament and Talal Houli, we were up by three goals by the end of the first half. Our defence was expertly marshalled by the two brothers Ibrahim Boukhalil and Adam Boukhalil. Once our midfield engine comprising of Ezzat Haddara, Mohamed Uweinat, Bader Ismail, Mohamed El-Abdallah and Mahmoud El Houli was up and running, we were coasting to a comfortable victory in the second half. The final score was 35 to 18. Mahmoud, our captain, played beyond the pain barrier when he got some cramps in the first half. Being the captain and leading by example, Mahmoud continued in the second half which showed how determined our students were in wanting to win this tournament and bringing glory to our school.

The second game was against Ilim College whom we beat with a score of 86 to 44. We then proceeded to beat Mount Hira 121 to 9 in our final game and with that we won our tournament. Alhamdullilah!

Overall results

Al Taqwa College – 35 AIA (Coburg) – 18

Al Taqwa College – 86 Ilim College – 44

Al Taqwa College – 121 Mount Hira College – 9

 

— Mohamed Othman

Secondary Sports Coordinator

 

Table Tennis Tournament

The College is hosted a delegation from Malaysia from 25 to 27 July.  A table tennis tournament was held between both schools. The girls really enjoyed the afternoon and it was run as an integrating session with one of the Malaysian students pairing up with one of the Al-Taqwa students.  The girls played in a round robin senario.

Every pair played each other and we had clear winners in the end, with Azmeen and Amni winning every game. At the end of the session they all said their goodbyes and took photos together.

Overall it was a great success.

 

— Mary Munson

Head of Secondary Girls PE

MAY 2017

Al-Taqwa Emerge as Winners at the PESA Regional Finals 

The PESA Public Speaking Competition is a prestigious competition conducted by VCAA which were held on 24 May for the regional finals.  The schools that vied for the top spot were Susan Corey, Heathdale Christian College, ICOM, Emmanuel College and our very own Al-Taqwa College. We were represented by Asma Mahamad and Shahani Munaff. Both girls delivered topics very pertinent to teenage lives.  Asma spoke passionately about body image and how it should not define who you are.  Shahani fervently advocated for more support for those suffering with mental health issues. We are proud to state that Shahani Munaff won the competition and has now entered the next round for a spot in the State Finals.

Year 9 & Foundation Reading

On 17 May Years 9B and 9C took part in a reading activity where they read to some of the Foundation students. The Year 9 students took their favourite children’s story over to Foundation B and C. The girls were very keen to read their books to the younger generation and the Foundation students were an absolute delight to read to.

All the students enjoyed the activity and by the end of the session, the Foundation students were reading to the older girls.

This was a highly successful activity we held as part of their secondary health lessons of which we hope to do again! Thanks for having us!

 

 

— Mary Munson

Wyndham Soccer Champs

The year 11/12 boys remained undefeated on 11 May. They were crowned the Wyndham District champions after defeating Tarneit Senior College in the penalty shoot-out. The score was 0-0 during normal time and we missed a few clear cut chances in the grand final. After 6 penalties taken by each team in the grand final, both teams were still level. Akram Boru kept his nerve and scored the winning penalty after the other team player ballooned it over. Earlier on, Jalil Goga made two great saves to keep us in the match.

During the preliminary round we defeated Manor Lakes 4-0 and Suzanne Cory 3-1.  It is great to mention that this is the first time the Boru brothers played in the same soccer team. It was difficult to single out any outstanding player because it was a great team effort and kudos to the boys for a job well done. We are very proud of them.  Congratulations.

— Yassin Othman

MARCH 2017

• it promotes confidence and effective public speaking
• it encourages logical and critical thinking, social awareness and an interest in current affairs
• it is  multi-disciplinary: debating techniques can be used in all subject areas.
• its benefits extend through all aspects of the school curriculum

Wyndham Division Netball Tournament

Our Year 7 girls went to Eagle Stadium to participate in the netball tournament on Monday 20 March. In their pool, they had played against three schools. The standard was very high and the girls lost their first match against Wyndham Central, their second game was against Good News Lutheran, where the girls scored their first goals of the day. The last game against Tarneit saw the girls lose 12-6, the girls showed so much improvement throughout the day and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

Well Done to all involved; Mina Atmiko, Siham Abrihim, Samia Hersi, Marwah Rasool, Suhur Sheikh, Nihad Mohamed, Ihsan Boru, Najma Abdullahi, Anntu Yousuf, Hadiya Islam, Asiya Abshir and Aliya Bezuidenhast. Ilham Hassan Ali in Year 10 attended and coached the girls.

 

State Golf Tournament

On Thursday 16 March Al-Taqwa student, Nashya Sohail of Year 10, took part in the annual qualifiers for the State Golf Tournament at Sanctury Lakes.  This year the Competition encouraged all participants, therefore only 9 holes were played.

The day was wet and cold, however Nashya did not let this deter her, she played an awesome round and by hole 7 was -1 under par. By the end of the day Nashya finished on par, which is a great achievement! She finished first in the Senior Competition and has now qualified for the State.  Well Done Nashya, what an awesome effort!

FEBRUARY 2017

Secondary Boys’ Sports Day

The secondary school boys had a great time celebrating their sports day on Wednesday 22nd February 2017 at the Newport Athletics Track. The weather was great and we started the 100m races at 10.20 a.m. after reading the surah Al Fatiha. The highlight of the day was the 100m relay which for the first time included the teachers race which was won by Ali House.

Akram Boru 10E broke a ten year old high jump record by clearing 160 cm.  Brothers Yasein Yasin And Stefanos did a great job commentating the races. The boys were very competitive and were cheering on their team mates throughout the races. We ended the sports day with a cheer competition and a tug-of-war between the year 12 boys and the male teachers. The male teachers easily won the tug-of-war of course. This year Ali House broke the stronghold of Omar House by winning the sports day. Omar came second while Abu Bakar and Othman were joint third.

The boys behaved perfectly and were on task picking up rubbish after our Dzuhur prayers. The year 12 boys were hugging their teachers at the end of the sports day. This may be their last sports activity before the VCE exams at the end of the year which we wish them all the best, inshaAllah. The HPE Department wish to thank the teachers on duty for their diligent work and the SWD team for helping to supervise the students at the sports day venue and the excellent behaviour of all our students. Alhamdulillah.

 

Masjid Art Exhibition at Parliament House, Melbourne CBD

Al-Taqwa College held its first Masjid Art Exhibition at Queen’s Hall in Parliament House during the week of 6-10 February.  The exhibition was open to the public and we received excellent feedback.  The Exhibition art pieces were based on the theme of Ramadan. Each primary classroom was involved in a competition to re-create a famous mosque on canvas. The art works were the students’ own interpretation of a mosque which they re-created based on their own feelings, inspirations and artistic strengths.

 

OCTOBER 2016

Homework Club

The Homework Club kicked off its first session on Wednesday 19 October; the purpose of the Homework Club is to assist students with their classwork and homework. Our mission is to help students develop the skills and habits required to progress as independent learners.

The Homework Club is held upstairs in the Library each Wednesday from 12.50-1.15pm.  The Library can only accommodate for a certain number of students at any given time. Therefore we will be inviting approximately 15 students each session to partake in the program, these students will be shortlisted according to their Academic progress.

Students will be invited to attend Homework Club by their homeroom teachers each Wednesday.

Students are expected to have their Lunch during the short period before the start of the tutoring. They are expected to bring their textbooks, laptops and an exercise book along with their stationery.

Alhamdulillah we have 10 passionate Teachers who have jumped on bandwagon, to volunteer their lunch time and assist our students. A big thanks to those Teachers.

SEPTEMBER

Open Day

On Saturday 3 September, the College held its first Open Day for a long time.  The tours were led by our Student Council and what a fantastic job they did guiding new families throughout the College grounds.  We had many stalls in the multipurpose hall displaying our curriculum and other activities which we run in the College for our students.

There was a sausage sizzle and a competition to win a laptop/tablet, PSW Voucher and a Campion Book Voucher.  The winners will be announced on the last day of the school year.  Thank you to all the staff and students who participated and donated their time on the day.

AUGUST

Science Week 22-26 August

What a spectacular event organised by the Science Faculty!

It indeed was a very busy week for the Department with various activities including bath bomb making, a Lego robotics incursion, cake decorating and much more. The best part of the Science Fair was the display of student work in the MPH on Friday 26 August.

Unbelievable! What some students had creates was beyond our expectations. The hall came alive with working models which the students took pride in presenting. Some even had a hovercraft operated by blue tooth, while others had working catapults, windmills, buzzers, volcanic eruptions, and so much more.

Competitions were also organised which were running in another eight class rooms. These included, building a bridge, hovercraft, earthquake resistant tower, baby lifesaver jackets, parachute egg lander, newspaper tower and bionic hand.

The event continued with the parents and senior students joining us at the end of the day. Many took time out to solve the murder mystery organised by our 10B girls.

Success comes with teamwork and support. We cannot forget to thank the teachers who gave us immense support throughout the event as well as all our Science teachers who motivated and inspired our students with awesome display ideas.

We hope that you all enjoyed the 2016 science Fair.

 

Pierre de Coubertin Award

The Pierre de Coubertin Award recognises secondary school students who demonstrate values which are consistent with the Olympic Movement through participation in sporting activities.  More than 15,000 young Australians have received the Award since its inception in 1993.

We are pleased to announce that our Year 12D student Ali has been awarded the Pierre de Coubertin for 2016.  Ali is a champion athlete across many disciplines including cross country, rugby, soccer and basketball.  He has been playing both locally and in New Zealand.

Congratulations Ali on your superb effort, we look forward to watching you representing Australia in the Olympics one day, inshaAllah!

Basketball and Soccer Tournament

The 2016 Basketball and Soccer Tournament was a greater success than all previous years. During early August, each Grade 4, 5 and 6 class represented a country of the world and created their own banners, flags and chants to support their class team. The students took part in competitive and exciting matches against other classes and, during the tournament, students used their flags to cheer on participating students.

There was a real sense of sportsmanship and comradeship throughout both the basketball and soccer tournaments. Most importantly, there was an incredible amount of money raised for charity during the tournaments. The sadaqa went towards the $2000 donated to the Royal Children’s Hospital. The basketball tournament winners were Grades 4D & 5G, 5D, 6E. Soccer tournament winners were 4D & 5G, 5A, 6E. A fantastic effort and well done to all!

DEBATING NEWS

We had a very good round of debates during the first week of August. The Year 9 students did us proud by winning their debate against Emmanuel College.  They strongly defended their arguments on why they believed that women’s sports should get equal media coverage to men. Nayla and Zainab tied with the best speaker. Our Year 10 students went down fighting by a point against Bayside College when they said that Schools should not allow Corporate sponsorship but on a good note Shanoora was awarded Best Speaker. Lastly, the Year 11 students too won their debate against Werribee Secondary College.

JULY

Australian Mathematics Competition

The Australian Mathematics Trust held the Australian Mathematics Competition on 27 July where some of our students participated.  We are very pleased to announce that four Al-Taqwa students scored a distinction level award, with two Year 8 students Wajih and Yousef scoring in the top 6% for Year 8 students in Australia.

This is an outstanding achievement. It shows that from primary to VCE we have quality education that can compete with others in the country.

The students mentioned above are accelerated students which indicates that this program is running successfully and inshaAllah we will celebrate the achievement of more and more students each year in the future.

 

Y11/12 Bachar Houli Cup Champions

On Wednesday 3 August, our Year 11/12 boys defeated Al-Siraat with a score of 117 to 7 in our first game.  Being the defending champions, we were determined to show our mantle.  Al-Siraat was determined to keep the scoreline low but once our Captain Khaled H started to inspire our team with his mazy runs, our boys were scoring at will.  Our stout defence was marshalled by Hamza, our Vice Captain, who did not let in any goal in the first half. He was well supported by his teammates Ali A and Ibrahim.  Khaled H worked in tandem in the midfield with Mohamed C and Mohamed H to provide the passes to our forwards; Shady, Mahmoud and Ali.  Our school completely dominated our second game against Minaret.  We defeated them with a score of 122 to 0.  Alhamdullilah this is the first of the three Bachar Houli trophies that we are aiming for this year.

Our Taekwondo Champ

Our primary sports teacher, Ms Sarah entered the World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships in Perth on Saturday 30th July.

 

Poomsae is the technical aspect of Taekwondo (as opposed to the sparring which is in the Olympics) The competition is based on athletes performing a set routine in front of 7 judges who score based on accuracy and presentation of the pattern and its moves.

 

Ms Sarah won the gold medal in her individual division and qualified.  She was selected for a place on the Australian team to travel to Lima, Peru in the first week of October.

 

While this isn’t her first time on the Australian team, this is the first time she has qualified for an individual place.  Ms Sarah is extremely excited and looking forward to the chance to compete and continue to learn and improve. Congratulations Ms Sarah.

JUNE

G5&6 Iftar

On Monday 20 June and Tuesday 21 June Al-Taqwa College held its first ever student Iftar for primary students during the Holy month of Ramadan. Selected grade 5 and 6 students enjoyed this iftar night in the college’s boardroom with the company of friends, staff, our principal Mr Hallak and our Acting Principal Mr Mohammad Hallak.
We would like to thank all the staff who helped make this night a huge success. May Allah (swt) accept our acts of worship during the blessed month of Ramadan.

Light and Colour Show

On 6 June our Year 10 students participated in an interesting incursion called ‘Light and Colour Show’. The incursion focused on how different colours are formed and on how these lights reflect and refract on various surfaces. Students were generally fascinated by the use of laser beams during the program. We hope that through this program, students are able to explore a career in science and technology in the future.

Mr Chew

 

RMIT Presentation and Panel

On Thursday 2 June, 2016 RMIT representatives gave an overview about occupations to our Year 11 and 12 students. They discussed courses offered under each of their faculty, pathways when ATAR is not clearly-in and the advantages of being a University student.

A lot of advice was given regarding subjects, transitioning from school to University, campuses and travel, hopes and achieving dreams. Each presenter spoke about their personal journey. The session was an eye-opener for our students who were eager to study more effectively, to get into the course they want. To conclude the session, Q & A was given in a panel setting. A lot of questions were asked by our students especially about SNAP (an RMIT program that the school is with) and courses.

The Speakers were;

Engineering: Alexandra Ware

Health and Medical: Harrison Vu

Science: Bethany Green

IT: Sarah Longhurst

The aim of guest speakers is to encourage students to develop a better understanding for different career pathways. The objective is exposure for the students to see as many different careers as possible. Students also get to see people’s personal journey, experiences and passion for their job. Guest speakers help build connections between our school and the local community, and offer glimpses of the various realms that students are studying and may one day enter. They have an essential role to play in preparing students for course objectives and career goals.

 

MAY

Canberra Camp – G6s

During the last two weeks of May, our Grade 6 students visited the capital of Australia, Canberra.  Here are a few words from some students and teachers about their experience.

Firstly it was a wonderful experience and it was worth $600. Actually from the knowledge I have now, it should cost more. I didn’t know a lot about the old parliament and new house, it was so precious we all had to wear gloves. I didn’t know about House of Representatives and the senate, I was surprised that I learned a lot. The war memorial was a blast, I learned so much my mind couldn’t hold that much knowledge. Questacon was amazing I got too much knowledge about science and much more things. Art gallery was so delicate and beautiful and very ancient. When I was at the final post ceremony it was very spiritual and a bit emotional. Our camp site was more than I expected, the food was tasty the rooms were high class.
Thank you
By: Zubair, 6B

 

Assalamualaikum we are the students who were privileged to go to Canberra, Australia’s capital. When we first arrived we were exhausted from the seven hour trip and soon enough we got in our cabins which was different because the students got to pick their cabin mates.

After a restful night we went to The Australian Institute of Sports or AIS it was one of our favorite places. First we went and visited the Australian gymnast’s team. Then we went to visit the Matildas (the Australian women soccer team).Then we got to experience doing the sports ourselves, it was an experience we will never forget.

The next day we went to the parliament house which was very educational and it’s a once in a lifetime experience. Then we went to a lot of places such as the electoral education centre, old parliament house, questacon but one of the most emotional place was the war memorial. We got to feel how it felt in war, it was very loud and scary,  Alhamdulillah there is no war in Australia currently. Then we got to put poppies for the dead soldiers on a big wall then we were privileged to be a part of the last post. Our favourite place was mount Ainslie, we got to see the whole city of Canberra. But sadly we had to leave this beautiful city and go on a 9 hour trip back to our home city (Melbourne) and meet our beautiful parents, it was a highlight of 2016.
By: Bilal & Adam 6A

This year, grade six students went interstate to Canberra. This was an educational trip about Australian history.

My experience as one of the students was amazing. I got to go to places like the parliament house, national museum of Australia and Australian Institute of sports. Some of my favourite parts about the trip were going to the war memorial and both of the parliament houses.

I learnt a lot more about Australian federation before and after, learn more about people and many other things. I recommend this trip for next year’s grade six because this is a great chance to see places you have never seen.
By: Ali 6F

Canberra was a very fun and educational trip. We went to many places. My highlight of it all was the Australian National Museum. We saw so many unusual and weird things such as a horses heart, the first Holden car and creating our very own robots. Back at the hotel our rooms were AMAZING! I really do wish our next years grade 6’s also get the chance to go to Canberra!
By: Alaa 6C

“It was an extremely enlightening and enriching educational trip.”
Ms Sandhya

“The Canberra Trip was definitely an unforgettable experience for both teachers and students.”
Ms Yassine

“Most amazing and informative educational trip for all.”
Ms Sartini

“The best school trip so far, it was comfortable fun filled learning experience ever.”
Ms Mary

“It was fun, purposeful and life changing experience for both students and teachers.”
Ms Barez

Wyndham Division Cross Country

A big thank you to our teachers Ms Fee and Ms Schroeder for taking our girls to the Wyndham Division Cross Country event on 24 May. The girls had a good day running their 3km course. We had six of our girls qualify for the Western Metropolitan Region.

Riana – 7D

Leila – 7A

Zaham – 9D

Fatima – 9D

Zena – 10B

Khadija – 10C

Mary Munson

Head of Girls PE

Student Leadership Workshop

On the 20^th of May the Primary and Secondary Student Leaders participated in a Leadership Workshop. The students were given an insight into what their role is as a leader, how to plan events for students and also the qualities of a good leader. The workshop took them through key skills associated with leadership including communication, meetings, problem solving and the art of delegation. Through this the students learned the skills required to be effective leaders. The day was very effective for the students. I would like to thank Lucy Verwey, Maha Saleh and the presenter, Daniel for a wonderful day.

VCE Careers Expo

The VCE and CAREERS Expo was held on Thursday 5th May for year 12 students. The expo provided students with a unique opportunity to obtain VCE, career information and resources in the one location.  The Expo attracts record crowd numbers, and this year was no exception.

There was an extensive program of seminars which ran throughout the Expo.  A total of 156 seminars included;

• VCE subjects including English, Maths, Biology, Business Management, Psychology, Health and Human Development
• Tertiary courses
• Careers
• Gap year options

Each student received a complimentary copy of the Visitors Guide prior to the excursion. Students found the expo useful, fun and asked the standers many questions. They attended the seminars and gained invaluable information.

The exhibitors included;

• Universities, TAFE colleges and training providers
• Publishers of VCE resources for students and teachers
• Employers and employment services
• Career advisers and student support services
• Providers of tutoring services, lecture and study skills programs
• Providers of international exchange and GAP year programs
• Providers of youth services and programs

Raghda Gabr, Careers Coordinator

Parent Seminar – Online Safety

The Counselling & Welfare Department and Head of Year 7 & 8 organised a seminar for parents, and year 7 and 8 students about Online Safety on 5th May 2016. Alhamdullilah we had a tremendous parent turnout with over 75 parents in attendance. Ms. Anisa Sharif, the Australian Federal Police’s Community Liaison Officer, shared several important tips on how to protect one’s child while they are online. As per Ms. Anisa’s recommendation, the following link explains how to protect your home Wi-Fi with a password to prevent strangers from downloading inappropriate/illegal content using your Wi-Fi:

http://www.laptopmag.com/articles/set-a-password-on-your-wi-fi-network-how-to

Naazia Syed on behalf of the Counselling & Welfare team

 

APRIL

Big Science Big Fun

Alhamdulillah the science incursion ‘Big Science Big Fun’ for the year 7s organised by the Secondary Science Department on the 27^th of April 2016 was a successful one. The incursion covered curriculum content for the students in an engaging manner.

This was evident in the enthusiasm and willingness our students showed to participate in the activities and also when answering and responding to the presenter’s questions. The incursion sparked our learners’ inquiry skills which made them ask the presenter very interesting questions.

Few comments from our budding scientists:

“All the year 7 students including me were amazed at the experiments the presenter showed us!.” Afrin Shaik

“One of the experiments he showed us, was involved with a balloon (dummy head) being deflated because it was dipped in nitrogen. But as Ben took the frost off it began to blow up on itself and looked like a perfect balloon. I learnt lot of new things”  Al-Suhaila

Zeinab Abdikadir  “I enjoyed the science incursion….. I learnt lot of things like when pressure is spread evenly it does not hurt.”

 

Secondary Science Department

Bowling Program

On the 20^th April the Year 10 girls embarked on their new unit of Health and PE. However this term their lessons were set out slightly different. In keeping with the Australian curriculum the girls are partaking in a 6 week, 10 pin bowling program at WynCity in Point Cook.

Although not all of the girls were too convinced on the choice of activity for term 2, by the time they started bowling they were all very enthusiastic. The girls are enjoying their new found sport, supporting each other, becoming very competitive and learning new skills each week, such as scoring, learning the rules and coaching each other.

The girls are now half way through their program and are really enjoying their lessons. The girls have been well behaved in public and are a credit to the School and representing the female Islamic community very well. Keep up the good work 10A, 10B and 10C! Thank you to all the teachers giving up their free time to take them.

Mary Munson
PE Teacher

Fitzroy Regional Debating Day

On Wednesday 20 April, the 2016 Al-Taqwa Upper Primary Debating Teams participated in the Fitzroy Regional Debating Day at Fitzroy Community Primary School.  This event involved a day of debating matches with teams from Altaqwa College, Clifton Hill and Fitzroy Community Primary School. Students not only had the opportunity to develop their debating skills but also had a lot of fun in the process.

With only one week to prepare for 2 debates, our students set out to prove their team’s case. To add to their nerves, students were given only one hour to prepare for ‘a secret topic’, on the day.  Our Al-Taqwa debaters, were made up of the following students:

Team A

1^st speaker: Shayaan 5E

2^nd speaker: Naifah 5F

3^rd speaker: Manhal 6E

Sub: Ameena

Team B

1^st speaker: Aysha 5A

2^nd speaker: Yumna 5F

3^rd Speaker: Bilal 6A

Sub: Wesam 5F
The first debating topic was, ‘Students should learn a language other than English’, with both our teams on the negative side. This was a difficult one to prepare for, being a school that prides itself on teaching 2 other languages, other than English (Arabic and Indonesian). Not to mention the fact, that some of our students already speak their mother tongue at home!  But team A, managed to convince the adjudicators that ditching the language learning was the way to go. Furthermore, Manhal Muhiyaddeen and Shayaan Aftab were voted best speakers.

The 2^nd topic was, ‘The voting age should be lowered to 12’ – Team B was on the affirmative and Team A on the negative side. Team B made some convincing arguments to prove that lowering the voting age was a great idea, and managed to win another debate for Al-Taqwa College. Also, our small yet mighty, Aysha Saeed, was awarded best speaker.

The final round was the secret topic–‘Schools should provide students with free food’. It was again Team A’s on-the -spot-thinking and persuasive techniques that had the audience and adjudicator convinced that our current lunch- packing system was working just fine.

Overall, our Al-Taqwa debating teams did an excellent job and led their school to victory by winning 3 out of the 6 debates, Alhamdullah. Also, Manhal Muhiyaddeen won best speaker from Al-Taqwa College.

We hope to participate in more debating competitions in the upcoming terms, inshallah. Thank you teachers, staff and families for supporting the students in achieving such a successful outcome.

Obayda Kannouj

Qatar Debate

Al-Taqwa College participated in the Qatar debate that was held on the 8-15 April in Doha Qatar. Representing Al-Taqwa College were Hamza of Year 12, Ali of Year 11, Abdirahman of Year 9 and Hussein also of Year 9, alongside Mr Abdulaziz and our beloved Principal Sheikh Omar Hallak. Each year the Qatar debate brings together hundreds of debaters from 50 countries, the debate is held in order to promote the Arabic language, the language of the Holy Quran. Countries that participated in the debate this year included Brazil, America, Austria, Canada, Uk as well as all the Muslim countries around the globe.

Al-Taqwa College members competed furiously against native speakers of the Arabic language, our students practiced and prepared themselves for the debate well and were able to win some debates against fluent Arabic speaking countries. The Al-Taqwa College team encouraged by Mr Hallak, were able to put up a good fight.

Our team’s involvement in this year’s debate enabled our students gain experience and skills to take back to their peers at school. The Team were adamant that next year Al-Taqwa College will bring home an even bigger success. Well done to all the boys and a big thank you to our beloved Principal who facilitated this successful event.

Wyndham District AFL tournament 19 April

The year 9 and10 boys participated in the Wyndham District AFL Tournament.  Our boys defeated Tarneit Senior College with a score of 65 to 25 in the first game.

Tarneit Senior had no answer to our rampaging midfield players consisting of our captain Mohamed Chandab, Mohamed Abdallah, and Mohamed Uweinat. The defence was superbly marshalled by the two brothers Adam and Ibrahim. Jalil and Ezzat together with vice captain Jawad, spearheaded the attack by scoring a few superlative goals.

We easily won the second game against Manor Lakes with a score of 49 to 14. In our final game against The Grange, we defeated them with a score of 54 to 7 thus crowning us district champions.

The school would like to thank Mr Abdul Waheed for helping us coach the boys.

MARCH

A week of GUEST SPEAKERS @ Al-Taqwa College

The aim of guest speakers is to encourage students to develop a better understanding for different career pathways. The objective is exposure for the students to see as many different careers as possible. Students also get to see people’s personal journey, experiences and passion for their job. Guest speakers help build connections between our school and the local community, and offer glimpses of the various realms that students are studying and may one day enter. They have an essential role to play in preparing students for course objectives and career goals.

Tuesday 15 March, 2016 ~ Achieve your dreams

The day kicked off with Laalanne Rind, a young motivated individual who inspired the current Year 10 students through her personal journey and career pathways.

She started with her background, part Aboriginal and part Baluchistan and how her heritage has shaped her to pursue her dreams and continue her education. She advised the students ‘not to limit yourselves, start searching now’ through community work, work experience and utilising the resources the school provides.

Her main tips were to not be shy and ask questions. The session concluded with a Q&A and Laalanne answered student questions and left with this quote.

“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”

Biography: She was born in WA and grew up there where she attended the Australian Islamic College in Perth. After graduating high school, Laalanne started a science degree at UWA, initially wanted to pursue a career in Dentistry however after a year she realised it wasn’t for her. She has always had an interest in Business, in particular Accounting, so she decided to transfer courses to a Bachelor of Accounting, shortly after her family and herself moved to Melbourne where she attended La Trobe University. She wanted to gain work experience in the field of Accounting and Finance prior to graduating so applied for a finance summer internship program at Worley Parsons. Laalanne was successful and she completed the 12 week internship program and was offered a part time position during the semester. In 2014, she decided she wanted to gain further experience during her summer holidays so she applied for the Commonwealth Bank internship program, were she was accepted and completed a 10 week internship within the Foreign Accounts Tax department.

Aside from her work experience she enjoys working with her community. At La Trobe she was the treasurer for the La Trobe University Islamic Society. And has recently taken up the role of coordinator for the Halal Food Bank.

Thursday 17 March, 2016 ~Self Reflection 

An inspirational speaker, Ghaith Krayem shared his personal journey and reflections to our Year 11 students. The students were moved through his personal journey from success to failure and back to success.

He reminded the students that nothing can happen, only if Allah wills it. They were intrigued to hear about his reflections, he advised them to unite ‘your skills and passions’ into their chosen career pathways as he had completed Law and practiced as a Lawyer, but Allah had different plans and he changed his pathway after many trials and tribulations into HR.

Ghaith mentioned about ‘infinite possibilities’ he advised the students to connect with themselves through ‘self reflection’ and not lose their way by their ‘egos (nafs)’.

Biography: Ghaith is an incredible role model and inspiration. He graduated from Law, practiced as a Lawyer. He was the previous ICV President, was head of HR at Australia Post, has established The Light Foundation and now is dedicated to helping the Muslim community to reach its full potential.

Friday 18 March, 2016 ~ Reach your goal

Ex-student Fatimah Schroeder connected with the current Year 12 students with a motivational talk. She spoke to them about her personal journey and different career pathways. She advised the students at Year 12 to reach for their goals, she continued to tell them that they needed to have an’ aim and be realistic’ with their goals.

The students were attentive; the highlight of the session was that the students build a tower only using newspaper and sticky tape in 15 minutes! Students were divided into groups of eight and straight away they began the activity with no instructions. Once the time was up, the towers were judged based on which one was the tallest.

Fatimah then continued to tell them the reason behind the activity; using goal setting (SMART) to reach their goals. That ‘keep building your tower’ is the ‘effort you put in’ and continue to add into your studies, SACs and assessments to strive to what you want.

One of the students asked ‘what got you to want to do teaching?’ Fatimah answered ‘to help and reach to the youth, like yourselves’

Everyone applauded and the session was concluded.

Biography: Fatimah graduated from Al-Taqwa College in 2010. She received a scholarship at Monash University to pursue Accounting, but after one year decided she needed a different pathway so, then decided to do marketing and finally completed her Bachelor of Commerce. Fatimah worked in Conveyancing, legal practice and in property conveyancing. She is currently studying her Masters of Teaching, with methods in Economics and Humanities.

Raghda Gabr

 

Grade 3 Term 1 2016 Excursion: CERES Environment Park G3 – 9-10 March

In Term 1, Grade 3’s were learning about “Community and Remembrance”. As part of the Topic, Grade 3 teachers organised an exciting excursion to CERES Environment Park on 9 and 10 March.

The weather was appropriate for the event and everyone was excited. After an hour long travel, we reached CERES. We were welcomed in Aboriginal language saying “Wominjika” meaning welcome!

Soon we were guided towards our activities. First was Aboriginal Dreamtime Stories, an activity where the students enacted the Aboriginal story, “Tiddalick the Frog” wearing proper costumes of different animals, such as Frog, Kangaroos, Cockatoos, Eels and Possums.

Later we were taken on a guided walk along the Merri-Merri Creek. The presenter talked about the interesting History of Merri Creek. We saw many Indigenous plants that are used as bush tucker whilst on the tour.

We also met Jida (an Aboriginal), who shared his life experiences with us. He showed the students how to throw a Boomerang so it returns back to the hunter. He also used ‘Ochre’ (a popular Aboriginal paint), to paint some students’ faces.

The students were very happy and tired at the end of the day. They had an enjoyable and memorable learning experience.

Asra Tanveer

3D Teacher

 

2016 School Captains

Captains

Abdulatif 12D

Zeina 12B

Daniel 6D

Najma 6D

Abdullah 6F

Hind 6C

Vice Captains

Omar 11D

Juaria 11B

Sulaiman 5C

Talal 5F

Naifah 5F

Ikram 5D

Congratulations to the students who were elected by the peers.

 

ATC National Basketball Champions!!

The College is extremely proud to announce that on Thursday 10 March the Year 8 and 9 girls’ basketball team won the National Islamic Schools Basketball Competition.

The team consisted of:

Amnah (Manager), Khadijah (Captain), Marrium, Tasnime, Eman, Donya, Asma, Yatar, Sumiya, Rodanyna and Macey

Unfortunately we were late to arrive due to traffic conditions and so had to walk straight onto the court with only 3 minutes left in the first half.  Although there were only 3 minutes left our girls managed to score 3 baskets and ended the first half in front by 6 nil.  Coming into the second half we were 10-6 down due to being penalised for being late, however this did not affect our girls and they cruised to a 17-11 win against AIA Melbourne.  What an incredible effort!

The second game was against Illm College where our girls got into the stride and won 15-8.  With their third and final game in their pool, they lost to Minaret.  With a tough opposition our girls, however many times they were fouled, refused to retaliate. They unfortunately lost this game 21-10.

The team finished second in their pool of 4 teams and went on to play in the semi final against the winning team of the second pool.  They played against Al Siraat and showed real composure as they beat them 43-8!

By now our girls had played four, 20 minute games.  Although their legs had gone to jelly and the lactic acid had built up, they were determined to beat Minaret, whom they had previously lost to.  The scores were very tight and they were scoring point for point.  On the half time whistle Al-Taqwa were 1 point ahead taking the score to 6-5.  Going into the final half, our girls kept their composure and played their game.  Again the scores went point for point until they were even. With 10 seconds to go our girls scored the winning basket.  What a magnificent play with everyone on the edge of their seats.

Our girls played hard and they played out of their skin.  I am so proud of their performance, behaviour and representation of our School as young Muslim sports women.

Well done to all involved and a special thank you to the Team Manager, Amnah and Captain Kadijah.

Mary Munson

Sports Teacher

 

Year 7 Wyndham Tennis Tournament

The following girls were outstanding in the Year 7 Wyndham Tennis Tournament.  The girls had never played in a tennis tournament before and I was so proud of their determination on the day.  We now move on to the next stage and will play in the finals for the Western Metropolitan Region.  Well Done to Al-Taqwa on winning this tournament for the first time.

Rayan Eljassem 7B

Medina Sabani 7B

Iman Mohamed 7C

Riana Goga 7D

Zeinab Abdikadir 7D

Hana Destanovic 7D

 

Basketball Tournament Secondary Boys

The Secondary Boys Basketball tournament was held on Thursday 10 March.  We had 10 students from year 8 and 9 who participated. It was a fantastic effort by the boys in the competition. The game plan was discussed before arriving at the court to which the boys were committed to.

Unfortunately we arrived half way into our first game as we were a little behind schedule. Due to this, we lost the first game. However our boys refocussed and won the next three games.  There was great teamwork and the boys stuck to the game plan. We progressed onto the semi-finals in which we beat ICOM in a thrilling match to proceed onto the grand final. The boys lost the grand final to AIA only by a six point margin.

Well done to the year 8 and 9 Boys Basketball Team, your effort was fantastic and you represented the school excellently through great sportsmanship during the tournament.

 

Tennis Champs

On 9 March our Year 7 tennis team participated in the Wyndham Division Tennis Tournament and did the College very proud.  The girls won the competition and are now looking forward and working hard towards representing Wyndham in the Western Metropolitan Region.

A big thank you to Miss Fee for training and taking the girls!

 

Futsal Tournament

During the futsal tournament held on Tuesday 8 March, our year 8/9 boys lost the first two games despite leading both matches in the first half. We managed to score our first win in our third game against EPIC. We won with a score of 8-6. In our last group match we need to score more than 10 goals to improve our goal average to make it to the semi-finals. The boys finally found their groove and scored 13 goals against unity Grammar while conceding two. The man of the match was Moonib year 8 who scored 6 goals in that match alone. We were in the semi-final against Minaret College, the champion from group B. Our captain Hamza and vice-captain Badaso played exceptionally well together to ensure us to be in the grand final by beating Minaret College with a score of 4-2. It is the will of Allah (SWT) that three of our best players had cramps in the final and had to withdraw from the game. We tried our best but were finally beaten by AIA Melbourne with a score of 4-3. The boys huffed and puffed in the sweltering heat but cannot find the equaliser after being 4-1 down. The school would like to thanks the boys for their team spirit and sportsmanship shown during the tournament. Well done boys!

 

Grade 4 Polly Woodside Excursion

As part of the study about Australian history, our Grade 4 students went for an excursion on 1-3 March. We went on board of the Tall Ship which is stationed at Southbank in the City.

This excursion has provided our students the opportunity to experience the life of the first Australian immigrants on the First Fleet when they began their new life in Australia. Whilst on the excursion, students were assigned the jobs as those worked on board in the journey like scrubbing the deck, steering the wheel, warning the crew of dangers and many more. They saw the place where the crew slept, cook and worked.

The experiences are unique to our young minds and surely enrich their knowledge of how the early settlers struggled to arrive at this country. Most of the students think that ‘it was the best day ever’!

 

Epworth Hospital Sleep Incursion

VCE Psychology

Teachers: Fatima Shah, Arvinder Kaur and Blagica Nikolovska

On Tuesday 1 March, the VCE Unit 3 Psychology students were privileged to participate in a sleep incursion presented by Epworth Hospital. The presenter Julie, conducted a presentation on sleep, identifying the types, stages and characteristics of sleep patterns, as well as devices used to record sleep.

Students were quizzed on the content that was taught in class and were also shown videos on participants in sleep labs. The highlight of the incursion was when Abdirahman Farah volunteered to be hooked up to various devices that recorded his brain wave patterns, breathing rate, eye movements and muscle movements whilst he was asked to try to fall asleep. The students thoroughly enjoyed watching live recordings of physiological changes that occur to an individual when they sleep.

 

FEBRUARY

Grade 2 Incursion “Toy Stories and Life Then and Now”

The Incursion for Grade 2 was organised at school premises in multi-purpose hall on Monday, 29 February. The incursion was based on workshop activities by a team of “The History Box Ballarat”. The workshops were aligned with the Victorian and Australian curriculum and covered a wide range of Australian and World history topics with “Hands-on” activities.  We had 186 students from Grade 2 who participated in two sessions to experience the hands-on activities and learnt history topics including Indigenous puppet making, Ngaka Naka-stone game, Old fashioned toys, Pen, nib and ink writing, Mystery artefacts, Old fashioned games.

Toy Stories:

Students had the opportunity to look at the toys and games throughout time. Toys of the ancients, wooden toys from the goldfields to Lego, Barbie, Mr Potato Head and many more were on display. Children made their own game that was played by our Indigenous people.

Life Then and Now:

Students explored what life was like when parents and grandparents were younger.

(Life during the 1950’s, 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s). Students were involved in dressing costumes of different era of old time to experience the school uniforms, fashion dresses and the games and activities in different eras. Students also had an opportunity to touch and feel the old house items, appliances used in homes and moderation in toys.

The Story of Writing:

Students were taken on a journey back through time to see how writing has developed from its earliest forms of cave art to our modern scripts. Students experienced to write with quills and feathers and tried their hand at hieroglyphics.

Overall, it was an excellent experience that our students had on the day.

Girls Sports Day 2016

This year our sports day was held on Wednesday 24 February at the Victoria University Athletics Track in Werribee.  We were blessed with a very hot yet beautiful day.  All the girls in attendance gave it their all and achieved great results for their house.

Ali house were the overall winners with 139 points.  The Othman house came in a close second with 137 points and a close third with Omar House at 131 point.  Although Abubakar house were fourth runner up with 93 points they had a great time participating in all sports.

Below is a list of students who won the highest number of events overall within their year level.  What a great effort they put in to achieve fantastic placings.

YEAR LEVEL	FIRST	SECOND	THIRD
Year 7	Asata Siron	Laila Abdi	Naoni Elhouli
Year 8	Hasna Kamereddine	Hiba Hassmi	Rodayna Haddara
Year 9	Shaymaa Elhouli	Maryam Osman	Rayan Eljassam
Year 10	Zena Zaki	Hayat Abdul	Hannifa Ahmed
Year 11	Rejhana Frljak	Soretti Jibrael	Minsha Sajid
Year 12	Lejla Secic	Hayat Abdul	Aseela

The day commenced with the 800m run, followed by a very fun and eventful 3 legged race, 100m race, novelty relay and a 200m race before a well deserved break for lunch and rest in the shade from the beaming sun.

The afternoon started with the 4 x 100m race and tug of war with all involved.  The staff also participated in a 4 x 100m house race.  The day concluded with prayers, cleaning up, a cheer squad and presentations.

We all enjoyed a great sporting day!

Mary Munson

Sports Teacher

 

Secondary Sports Day 24 February

The Secondary Sports Day for the boys was held on Wednesday, 24 February.  The aim of this sports day is for the all-round or holistic development of each pupil.  We hope to reinforce the values of teamwork, leadership, group and self-discipline, loyalty, healthy living and sportsmanship.

We had cheer competition, tug-of-war, team relays, discus, shot put, high jump, long jump and all the running races.  Overall the students competed very well and enjoyed themselves tremendously.  Following last year’s tradition, the male teachers had a tug-of-war against the graduating class which the teachers won.

It was a close race but the sports day for the boys was eventually won by Omar who beat Ali with a mere three points.  Othman came third while Abubakar was fourth.

We received great feedback from students and teachers.  The students behaved exemplary during the sports day and were keen to compete.  Through this sports day, we saw the students showing pride, a sense of belonging and teamwork within their houses.  We also saw great leadership by the house captains.  They lead their house in their cheer and supported the younger boys in their races.  The school would like to thank all the teachers and the rest of the staff for making this year’s Sports Day a successful one.

Mohamed Yassin Othman

Secondary Sports Coordinator

 

Sovereign Hill

Dear Grade 4 Students

It’s my pleasure to share my experience about my excursion to Sovereign Hill. Sovereign Hill is in Ballarat and it took us approximately 2 hours from our school to reach there.

Sovereign Hill is the place created to display Ballarat’s first ten years after the discovery of gold. When we got there, after gathering information from the information centre, we moved on to a street surrounded by old fashioned shops like sweet shops, a post office, dress maker shop and a tentmakers shop. Our class walked to the cottages where antiques, artwork, books, machinery and furniture from the early gold rush period were displayed. This gave the idea of their simple lives.

After the exciting experience of the colonial lifestyle, we took 52 steps underground, through the dark narrow tunnel to the gold mine. This mine is where the second largest gold nugget was found. It made me realise that the process of gold extraction wasn’t easy.

The most thrilling part of our trip was panning for gold. Some of my classmates found pieces of gold and were allowed to keep it. Maybe you might find your own pieces of gold on your trip next year. It was a splendid excursion. Hope you enjoy it next year.

Sincerely,

Amnah 5A

APRIL 2015

On Thursday 23 April, in light of the approaching celebrations of ANZAC day, six of our primary students and eight of our secondary students took part in the laying of a wreath ceremony at the Shrine of Remembrance.

The day was held to prematurely welcome the mark of one-hundred years since our Australian troops and many other men worldwide laid down their lives for the free world that we know today in World War One.

Our students, well dressed, well-mannered and well spoken, were outstanding representatives for all that we embody at our college.

We arrived at the Shrine of Remembrance and were greeted by friendly faces offering every attendee a small bunch of rosemary, a wild bush that grew wildly and madly on the cliffs of Gallipoli – our students proceeded to pin them, at their own will, to their blazer pockets, taking pride in the enormity of what the event meant, past, present and future.

The event consisted of sing-alongs to our nation’s most recognized anthems – Waltzing Matilda and The Australian Anthem, to name a few. Students had the lyrics in their hands and sang with pride and respect, the words that mean so much to this country and the words that always will.

The Governor of Melbourne, as he made his way down the forecourt of the ceremony, stopped to shake the hand of our School Captain, Ibrahim Karadag. Upon shaking hands, the Governor asked what school Ibrahim was representing, to which he proudly replied ‘Al-Taqwa College.’ The Governor knows our school well, has visited the college in the past and asked that Ibrahim say hello to our principal, Mr Omar Hallak.

All in all, the day was a great success and our students were, once again, the representation of all that we stand for here at our college – they were respectful, well-mannered and proud to be a part of this country. The teachers and admin staff who represented the school were able to step aside and put all of their trust in the students, and that is more than a statement as to how we mold and shape our students here at our College.

Miss Bryan
Secondary English and Humanities Teacher
Extra-Curricular Coordinator

 

 

Y8&9 Futsal Champions and Basketball Runners Up!

The 8 and 9 boys did exceptionally well by winning the Inter Islamic schools Futsal competition on 21 April. They played eight games in a row and defeated all the teams.

Yasin Nur our talismanic captain had a great combination with Elyas Nur in attack. Their mesmerising dribbling skills outwitted most of the opponents’ defence. Hamzah Mohamed is technically gifted in the defence. His strength and close control has been the backbone of our attacks.

We have two outstanding midfielders, Yusuf Karadag and Yazied Khiar who is our top scorer with more than fifteen goals. Yazied scored five goals in one of the matches.

In fact, all the players in the team including our excelent goalkeeper, Mohamed Chandab scored at least one goal. They also showed excellent sportmanship and were great ambassadors for our school. The school cannot be more proud of our boys for their excellent achievement and their resounding victory.

Below are the scores:

Al-Taqwa defeated AIA Melbourne 6-1
Al-Taqwa defeated Minaret College 4-3
Al-Taqwa defeated AIA Sydney B team 9-0
Al-Taqwa defeated Ilim College 4-0
Al-Taqwa defeated Al Siraat College 5-1
Al-Taqwa defeated EPIC College 11-0
Al-Taqwa defeated Darul Ulum College 8-0
Al-Taqwa defeated AIA Sydney A team 16-2

Meanwhile we came in second in the Inter Islamic schools Basketball competition on 20th April. We beat all the other Islamic schools except for the eventual champions AIA melbourne who defeated us 16 to 8 in the grand final.

MARCH 2015

Wyndham Inter-School Tennis Tournament Results

Yesterday, the following year 7 boys won the Wyndham inter school tennis tournament without dropping a set. They knocked out the two schools Werribee Secondary College and Wyndham Central to advance to the next round – Western Metropolitan Regionals. We are proud of the boys who played with a big heart despite being small in their sizes for some of them. Abdul El Hawli and Raiyan Hamid both played epic battles but eventually won their sets 6-5 each. Imran has the making of a great tennis champion despite the school jersey reaching below his knee.

A special mention to Yaser Ali Bakhit of 12 D, his brother Khaled of 10E and the two other year 10D boys Mahmoud elHouli and Ali el-Houli who got third in the last week tennis tournament despite fielding three year 10 students in the year 11-12 competition. These boys also helped to coach the younger year 7 boys.

Yasser only dropped a set against a top 500 ranking tennis champion whom he has beaten during a club competition last year. He beat the rest of the other competitors easily. He said he had chosen his studies over tennis and thus has stopped his tennis training last year to concentrate on his VCE. He is clearly has the marking of a great tennis player and a truly outstanding student leader and a great example for the juniors.

1. Yousef Saeed 7E
2. Abdul El Hawli 7D
3. Walid Feki 7D
4. Danish Mirza 7E (Vice Captain)
5. Raiyan Hamid 7F
6. Imran El-kirdi 7D (Captain)

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DECEMBER 2014

Junior IT Girls and Boys Hit the City for an ACMI Experience

This semester year 7, 8 and 9 students from both girls and boys IT classes, participated in an interactive journey through the Australian Centre for the Moving Images (ACMI).  Students experienced two interactive and very hands-on exhibitions, as well as visiting Hosier Lane which is Melbourne’s most renowned Street Art laneway.

Within the DreamWorks Exhibition students received an insightful look at the various stages of animation creation, including basic preliminary sketches to scale down models. This was a great opportunity for students to understand the process and become inspired by the artwork.

The Screen Worlds exhibition took a different direction, showcasing the history behind Australian television as well as video games aging back to the 70’s. Students were indulged in a variety of video game play and participated short film making. The exhibition also incorporated different types of animation and even included a lights display room. For those students who didn’t fancy the kinaesthetic approach to their experience, the range of videos and clips throughout helped capture a more favourable learning experience.

Students were able to bask in the sun and enjoy their lunch in the heart of Federation Square. Here students were able to meet members of the Melbourne community and see the vast multicultural society.

After lunch Al-Taqwa were sent out through Hosier Lane to view some of the interesting graffiti artwork. Students were amazed with the talent and creative expression, students even witness an artist in action.

The trip back to Truganina was filled with delighted discussions about the eventful day.  Smiles filled the buses as students reminisced about the different experiences they shared on the excursion. For the teachers involved it was pleasing for them to have shared the experience with students who were relatively well behaved and represented the school in a positive and mature manner.

May Allah protect us from evil doings and those how commit evil against us, Ameen

A Lighthouse that Guides Ships Give Students a Motivating Direction

Built in 1859 and the second coastal lighthouse in Victoria, Cape Schanck lighthouse is located on the southernmost tip of the Mornington Peninsula. The tower was built from limestone and is 21 metres tall. From a distance the white facade is more visible due to the red capped roof. For our VET Sport and Recreation students this was the second Hike for the year and produced more captivating scenery to say the least.

 

 

Students enjoyed the challenging 5km walk with spectacular ocean views and dense bushland. As well as the beautiful plants, students bumped into native wildlife which weren’t shy to pose for photos.

Students commenced their walk from Boneo Rd and headed 3 kilometres towards Bushrangers Bay. Upon entering the Bay, students found themselves walking down the soft white long sandy beach showcasing basalt cliffs. After an hour on the beach exploring the rock formations and water the hike continued towards Cape Schanck lighthouse. Each step taken towards the lighthouse increased its visibility and motivated students to make it to the destination sooner.

This experience will be a cherished and enjoyable memory. It was also a great opportunity to move away from manmade structures and experience natural wonders that reminded hearts about the creator and prompted us to glorify and thank Allah for His beautiful creations.

 

 

A Ride for a Great Sunnah

It is reported that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said “Teach your children swimming, archery and horse riding” narrated in the hadith from Hazrat Ibn Umar (R.A).

For many students this was the very first time they’d ridden a horse, and perhaps could possibly have even been the first time coming so close. However regardless of their experience prior to this excursion, it was an event that will be remembered for many years to come.

Our 17 brave year 11 students tested their comfort zone and hopped on a saddle to share a rewarding experience on a horse trail ride. Although for the most part the opportunity to ride one of Allah’s beautiful creations was quite pleasant and relaxing, on the odd occasion the horse would stop for a quick feed and students would need to use a firm kick to test the horses’ stubbornness. Trotting on the other hand was a challenge for most students who needed to find some rhythm to keep in tune with the quicker movement of the horse.

 

Hanzel K required an emergency dismount in an attempt to save himself from falling unsafely. This did not destroy his determination, it actually made his ride more thrilling.  Omar B managed to control his horse named ‘Tiger’ and slowly made his way to the front of the single file. Ibrahim K looked like a natural with his larger than average horse, riding the bumps and hills with a grin. Brother Heider was given the most popular dark horse and found himself a new passion in horse riding. Although all students in attendance shared the same intended experience, each came away with their own special moment.  Staff also got into the action and equally enjoyed the journey.

We thank Allah SWT for giving us this opportunity to participate in the excursion and we ask Him to open the doors to more rewarding sunnah’s such as this, and we ask Him to strengthen our faith and guide us all to the straight path. Ameen.

 

Footy Match vs Hoppers Crossing Secondary

On Monday the 18th of April, the years 7 and 8 students participated in an AFL football game against Hoppers Crossing secondary. It was a great effort by the boys.

The game was a tough one, with a fantastic effort by Ezzat, Adam, Jama, Hudeyfa and Mohammed, doing their best throughout the game. Losing this game by 10+ goals was a little disheartening for the boys, but having a post-game discussion really made an encouraging difference as they gained confidence.

Only 1 game was played as other schools pulled out of this competition, but still proud of the boys for remaining good sportsmen. Finally a great big thanks to Stefanos for all the help he gave me and the boys on the day.